Going to see QPR on Boxing Day has become a tradition in the Young household – and not because we hold out much hope of winning. The Hoops have only won 19 of the 71 Boxing Day fixtures we’ve played since 1882, when the club was founded. The last time was in 2018, when we beat Ipswich 3-0 at home, and we haven’t won away since 1967. But going to watch our team, however poorly we play, beats festering at home in that fallow period between Christmas Day and 1 January, so my three sons and I piled into the car for the 150-mile round-trip to Fratton Road in Portsmouth.

We had an additional reason for making the journey, which was a special Christmas offer from Toby Carvery whereby anyone called Toby could eat for free. The Portsmouth branch was fully booked, but there was space in Bishopstoke, which wasn’t a massive detour. Admittedly, it did seem a bit excessive to be going for a roast meat buffet on 26 December, given how much turkey, stuffing and sausages we’d eaten on Christmas Day. But the boys were strongly in favour and I couldn’t resist the prospect of a free meal.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go according to........

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