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The partnership between the two only lasted one season though as Ferdinand moved to Newcastle that summer and Gallen, and his new partner, Danny Dichio were asked to do the impossible - replace Les' goals at their young age. Ultimately that proved impossible and Rangers were relegated from the Premiership mainly because of the lack of a replacement for Ferdinand and too much being expected of his young replacements.
The following season hopes were high that Rangers would bounce straight back up and Gallen looked to be in fine form during the early games, he scored in the season opener, a 2-1 win over Oxford at Loftus Road and bagged both goals against Portsmouth in another 2-1 victory to give The R's a one hundred percent start to the season. However he famously injured his knee whilst scoring the second in that game and that moment changed his career forever.
It took him nearly a year to get back to match fitness and by the time he returned Rangers were making the first moves towards rack and ruin. He featured heavily in the 97/98 season but only scored four times as QPR finished just outside the relegation zone.
1998/99 saw him double that tally to eight as Rangers once again struggled to stay in the division. The return of Gerry Francis to the club brought about a brief turnaround as he led us to the great escape thanks to a 6-0 win over Crystal Palace on the final day of the season, Gallen came off the bench for the last four minutes of that one.
The next season saw Rangers enjoy a decent campaign but Gallen found himself in and out of the picture and, once again, he struggled with form, fitness and goals - scoring just four times from thirty three appearances, although in fairness, twenty four of those were off the bench.
That summer Gallen moved on from Loftus Road in search of more regular football, he joined Huddersfield on a free transfer and played for one season there scoring ten times before moving to Barnsley the next summer also on a free transfer.
By this point Gallen's career was going downhill and his boyhood clubs fortunes were doing much the same. Rangers were back in the third tier of English football having been relegated the season after he left. A record of one win from eight games had seen huge pressure heaped on Ian Holloway at Loftus Road, not helped by two embarrassing cup exits in that run, a 3-0 defeat at Yeovil in the Football League Trophy and a 4-0 humbling at Swansea in the FA Cup.
Gallen was miserable in Barnsley and asked his agent if there was anyway he could get back to QPR, his timing couldn't have been better, Holloway needed a boost as much as Gallen needed a fresh start and before you could say "returning hero" Gallen was back at Loftus Road the day after that Swansea game. His signing inspired the team to a 4-0 win over Swindon just a day later and Kevin scored on his Loftus Road return.
He went on to remain pretty much an ever present that season and Rangers slowly turned things around to finish a credible eight in that first season down. Despite being constantly dogged about his fitness and weight over the years, Gallen would go on to barely miss a game for the next three years as Rangers slowly built towards their Championship return in 2004 via that heartbreaking play off final defeat the previous year. He also found the goalscoring touch again, scoring thirty one times in his two full seasons of third tier football.
Back in the Championship and his partnership with Paul Furlong continued to surprise as the two old timers combined to produce nearly thirty goals, with Gallen grabbing eleven of them and Rangers finishing in eleventh spot.
Last season things started to go wrong, Gallen found himself struck down with injuries once again, he was in and out of the side and asked to fill in in various positions around the pitch. He never was and never will be a midfielder and the sight of him being shunted around the place was sad to see especially for those who believed he could still do a job upfront.
The departure of Ian Holloway and then Gary Waddock just made things worse, John Gregory has found a bright young strike partnership in Ray Jones and Dexter Blackstock and, despite returning to fitness, Gallen was never going to be a first choice front man ahead of those two. His last game for QPR was the 1-0 home win over Colchester, where once again he was asked to play out of position in central midfield, he looked lost during the game and contributed little.
It's a shame that Gallen's last months at Loftus Road will be characterised by poor performances in midfield. He has given the club everything over the years, yes he should have been a better player for us than he was but it's not his fault he buggered up his cruciates a couple of years before medical science stopped it being a career changing injury.
He had to fight back and change his game in order to compete at any decent level despite surely knowing in his heart he would never fulfill the potential he had displayed in his early years. That took guts and determination. He always gave his best when playing, particularly after his return to the club, and he played a vital role in re-establishing QPR as a Championship side. The impact of his return was immense at the time and shouldn't be forgotten, who knows how that season would have gone if our paths hadn't crossed again.
Now he has moved on to his fourth club and we wish him all the luck in the world, you never know Kev, you might get a run upfront now mate.
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