Stan Bowles benefit match could be legend's last visit to QPR - so let's fill Loftus Road, says Don Shanks

Stan Bowles is among the finest players ever to wear the blue and white hoops of Queens Park Rangers, lighting up Loftus Road in the Seventies.

His jinking runs and smooth skill dazzled defenders and in 1976 he helped QPR go within 14 minutes of winning the First Division.

Four years ago, at the age of 64, Bowles was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Since then the unforgiving condition has steadily taken away his independence.

He is now cared for by his daughter, Andria, in the part of Manchester where he grew up but a week tomorrow he will travel to

London when QPR host Bournemouth at Loftus Road.

The fixture is a benefit match for Bowles and all proceeds will go towards the long-term needs and care of the Rangers’ former No10.

Don Shanks, his best friend and former QPR team-mate, thinks it will be the final time Bowles visits the corner of Shepherd’s Bush where he once delighted supporters. And Shanks is urging fans to help support one of their own by attending the game.

“It is going to be the last time we will see him in London,” says Shanks. “His condition is getting progressively worse and I do not think it is going to be very long before he reaches a point where he has to leave the family and go into a full-time care home.

“But when he comes to the Bush, for some reason, somehow, he knows where he is. And he walks on the field and for five minutes of his life even in his present condition he appears to come to life and feel at home. We want the place full so he gets to feel the regular and wonderful atmosphere that he has always had.

“He was a great player for the Rs and back in the day he brought a lot of pleasure to a lot of people.

“I do not think we will ever get another player like him, because he was a total one-off. Just a brilliant, beautiful football player.

“If we cannot support Stan Bowles, we cannot support anyone. Without doubt he has been the best player at QPR, the most exciting, flamboyant player, who took us to level we would not have got to if it was not for him.

“All the money raised can help Stan for his final journey. We want to make it as comfortable as possible and we think he deserves this.”

Bowles made more 300 appearances for QPR between 1972 and 1979. A player full of guile, he was synonymous with an exciting side that also included Don Givens, Gerry Francis and Frank McLintock and competed at the top of the English game.

Sadly, Bowles remembers none of his good times at Rangers.

“I will make a phone call and Andria will answer the phone,” says Shanks. “Dad, Don is on the phone. Who? Shanks, Don Shanks. Oh yeah, yeah. Alright Stan? Yeah, yeah. You are ­coming to London soon. Oh yeah, London. Okay Stan, see you soon mate.

“And that is as far as it goes. Stan was a people’s person. You get a lot of players who seem a little flashy and unapproachable. Stan was the opposite. He never blanked anyone, whether it was the dustbin man or a city high-flier. He would talk to everyone. He was the most easy-going person you could ever find. You get a lump in your throat when you think of him then and now.”

Ticket sales have been slow and fans are being encouraged to buy them in advance. At least another 2,000 tickets need to be sold for the Ellerslie Road stand to be opened.

Fans who cannot attend are being encouraged to buy virtual tickets, which will allow them to still support the day and they will also receive a copy of the programme by email. “We realise this was 35 years ago and there are a younger generation of fans now,” says Shanks. “We want the younger generation to embrace the day, bring their dad or their grandad and say, ‘You always told us about that player’.

“We want to get the stadium full if we can. The chief executive, Lee Hoos, and everyone at QPR have been tremendous in making this happen.

“It is now up to the fans to step up and ensure that Stan’s day is special and he gets the send-off from London that he so truly deserves.”