QPR's Championship Prospects

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Mail/Matt Barlow - QPR set for 'new beginning' if mega-rich trio flex some muscle

EVEN in the good old days, when Stan Bowles and Gerry Francis were lighting up Loftus Road with their fancy feet and feathery mullets, it was hard to imagine Queens Park Rangers ever stealing top billing from the Olympic Games.

But, as the new season looms and the sporting project hailed by QPR chairman Flavio Briatore as Europe’s most exciting moves into its next phase, the buzz around Shepherd’s Bush could power the floodlights.

Iain Dowie

Ballsy: Dowie prepares for the season - but is the QPR manager set for the chop?

The installation of Rangers as pre-season favourites for promotion owes more to the personnel in the boardroom than the dressing room.

They are dubbed the world’s richest club thanks to the spending power of owners Briatore, Bernie Ecclestone and Bhatia’s father-in-law Lakshmi Mittal, Britain’s richest man.

Everton chairman Bill Kenwright claimed this week that a club must find a billionaire backer if they want to reach the Champions League. Well, Rangers have two - Mittal (£27.7bn) and Ecclestone (£2.4bn) plus Briatore’s £120million, although the message from the owners is all about unhurried growth and promotion to the Barclays Premier League in ‘three to five years’.

For vice-chairman Amit Bhatia, the anticipation is so great he has delayed a trip to Beijing to see the new campaign kick off against Barnsley.

‘This is a new beginning for QPR,’ he declared from the Mayfair offices of his investment company.

‘Our involvement began in the second half of last season but this is our first full season. It is a completely new club. We have strengthened our squad and we have great hopes this will be a great season for us.’

‘Like any other fan, I wish we will be promoted next season,’ said Bhatia.

‘But to make it in one year would be unrealistic and unsustainable. We would not be building the club on foundations that are solid. We are building from the ground up. That’s important.’

New sponsorship deals have been struck with Gulf Air and shirt manufacturers Lotto, a new badge unveiled and renovations made to Loftus Road aimed at improving hospitality boxes and opening a restaurant. New players have arrived and a partnership has been struck with Real Madrid which has seen their teenage midfielder Daniel Pajero arrive on loan.

‘Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon is a good friend of Flavio and of my father-in-law,’ explained Bhatia.

‘I have met him on numerous occasions and he invited us out to watch Real Madrid v Barcelona last season with him.’

The ability of QPR’s owners to strike such deals thanks to their A-list friends prompts questions about Iain Dowie’s role in the managerial process. Rumours are already swirling about a row between the former Charlton and Crystal Palace manager and Briatore.

At a glance, it looks like an argument waiting to happen - headstrong Brit with a lifetime in football v flamboyant Italian businessman with big plans for the club after great success in Formula One.

‘We all have an equal voice,’ said Bhatia.

‘We respect Iain’s opinion as our manager. When he makes a suggestion, everyone has to pay attention. When we have a recommendation, we go to him. We are very conscious of the fact that we employ professional football people who can make wiser decisions than us.

‘We realised we needed an English manager, someone who knew Championship
football because it is a unique division. We needed someone who had experience and success at this level.

'We had a series of conversations and we landed on Iain. It will be a great day for him when he takes charge of his first game against Barnsley.’ Mail


SKY - QPR reveal long-term goals
Bhatia targets Premier League success

Queens Park Rangers are prepared to spend money to become a Premier League force over the coming years, according to vice chairman Amit Bhatia.

Iain Dowie's side are among the favourites to win promotion from the Championship this season following the takeover by Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone.

Bhatia is already looking ahead and has formulated a 'three-to-five year plan' for success.

He is confident that QPR will soon be in the top flight and insists that the club will then be able to compete in the financial stakes.

"I think about it," Bhatia said in The Independent. "It's an expensive sport, no doubt. But the Premiership is where everyone wants to be.

"It costs money because all the teams are good. So do you have to spend? Yes. Are we prepared to spend? Absolutely.

"When you get to the Premiership the level gets raised and you have to do it justice. And we will do it justice."
Competitive

Bhatia does not believe there is any point in being in the Premier League 'to finish 14th', and hopes QPR will establish themselves as a team to be feared.

He explained: "Let's get promoted, then not get relegated. Then let us be super-competitive.

"Let's not say Champions League football because that is not realistic for now. We would be spitting in the wind.

"Things will take time and money and that will come."
Carling Cup 2008/09 Win Outright: Q P R 80/1 Sky


CHRIS KAMARA/THE SUN - Dowie can make it Lofty Road

IT’S been a long time coming, but it’s back at last — and let’s hope I have a bit more luck than I did with my own punt 12 months ago.

At the start of last season I fancied Watford in the Championship — just ahead of West Brom — Swansea in League One and MK Dons in League Two.

What happened? Watford, who looked like romping to the title, let me down for a six-figure treble. Still, it’s only money!

At least I got a bit of a consolation by backing Spain to win Euro 2008 — but the downside of that was the empty feeling caused by England’s absence that you just couldn’t shake off.

Back to the job in hand . . . if there’s one certainty about the Championship, it’s the fact it will witness yet another frantic scramble from clubs desperate to play in the Premier League.

And the fight begins in earnest this weekend, where no less than 16 of the 24 clubs have already played in the top flight — and every one will fancy their chances. But let’s see if I do . . .

The bookies make Iain Dowie’s QPR the favourites to win the race to the promised land, and the Rangers gaffer knows owners Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone have their hearts set on it.

When they took over at Loftus Road nearly 12 months ago they set a three-year target of reaching the Premier League, and after splashing the cash they will certainly go close to realising their dream.

The money men behind QPR have all been hugely successful in their fields, albeit more associated with motor racing.

I spoke to Renault’s Formula One boss Flavio recently and he believes with their passion, drive and commitment, there is every chance this could be their season.

Perhaps the smartest move the billionaires made was appointing Dowie as boss this summer.

His messy departure from Crystal Palace to Charlton hit his standing for a while, but he’s on the road back now.

Dowie did a decent job at Coventry amidst financial problems, but he won’t find any such hurdles at Loftus Road.

The pressure now is turning the owners’ wishes into reality — and giving the fans down at Shepherd’s Bush something to cheer about again.

They have sat and suffered while Chelsea have enjoyed incredible success, with neighbours Fulham rubbing shoulders with the elite for five years.

If this season works out as I expect, those supporters could finally find things changing in their favour at last.

The three relegated clubs will all be there or thereabouts, too — a far cry from 12 months ago, when only Watford went close.

At Birmingham, Alex McLeish is still only really settling in, but his signing of Kevin Phillips was a shrewd move.

Paul Jewell and Derby wrote off last season but will hope this one is memorable for all the RIGHT reasons. It is hard to picture them outside the top six.

Reading, the other club who went down, pulled off a masterstroke in tempting Steve Coppell to stay in charge. That alone will give them a great chance.

Of the others, the presence of James Beattie gives Sheffield United a fine chance of success.


He will have his eyes on the Golden Boot after going agonisingly close last time, missing out by three goals to Wolves’ Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.

Neil Warnock will be hoping he has a similar impact at Palace as he did last season when they came a cropper in the play-offs.

Wolves, Cardiff, Coventry and Ipswich all have enough in their lockers to make sure they will have good seasons.

And Colin Calderwood has spent wisely at newly-promoted Nottingham Forest, which should be enough to ensure there is no chance of them going straight back down again.

So sit back and enjoy the action, folks. It will be thrilling, it will be nail-biting and, hopefully, for those following my tips, it will be extremely profitable!

CHRIS KAMARA was talking to PHIL THOMAS The Sun


THE MIRROR - RESULT!: Money not Dowie to drive QPR

Derek Mcgovern 9/08/2008

The new season starts today and I'm tipping Dumbarton to do better than expected - especially as he's now fit after his release from the nick.

The bad news for Birmingham, 6-1 favourites to win the Championship, is that only once in the last seven years have the antepost jollies clinched automatic promotion. The good news for Birmingham is that the only team to do so were Birmingham, who were runners-up two years ago.

Qpr, whose last three finishes have been 21st, 18th, and 14th, are second favourites for one reason and one reason only. Iain Dowie.

I jest of course. Dowie's future looks safe after he pledged to leave billionaire owner Flavio Briatore's girlfriends alone, but it's money rather than Dowie's prowess that makes Rangers the team bookies fear.

The dream of every punter is to back the winner of all four English divisions without the wife finding out. The winners are the easy bit, its keeping it from the big-nosed bint that defies us.

Your pre-season each-way acca simply must read like this:

Premier League: Liverpool at 7-1; Championship: Wolves at 14-1; League One: Oldham at 28-1; League Two: Darlington at 10-1 (all Ladbrokes).

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JOHN SHAW Mirror