Iain Dowie's On New QPR Sponsorship, Spending Hopes and Non-Concern With Pressure

-
Daily Mail/By ARINDAM REJ
"... QPR manager Iain Dowie wants three new faces if Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya invests in the club this week. The boss of Formula One’s Force India team and Kingfisher beer is on the brink of completing a sponsorship deal which could see Loftus Road re-named Kingfisher Stadium.
Dowie said: ‘Kingfisher beer? Very good. I don’t mind a drop of that at all. I like that but I don’t know anything about the deal.
‘All I’m worried about is getting on the training ground and being a football coach. The deal is for people more erudite than me to do. We can compete with anyone but I think we are two or three people away from being a very, very competitive squad.’
The extra funds will put Dowie under pressure to earn promotion this season. But he said: ‘It doesn’t bother me at all. With the money, you get the expectation that comes with it. You know what modern football is like. You win three games in a row and you’re a hero. You lose three and you’re the devil incarnate. I don’t worry about that.’ - Daily Mail


The Sun/VIKKI ORVICE
"....QPR’s billionaire owners — Flavio Briatore, Lakshmi Mittal and Bernie Ecclestone — want a crack at the top flight too.
But, unless they part with some more loose change, it will remain a distant dream.
It is ironic that, despite their tag of the second-richest club in the league, they looked like paupers compared to Brum.
The Blues’ bench alone had a price tag of £12million compared to £1m for Rangers.
The visitors began well with Lee Cook and Gavin Mahon going close. But, lacking the cutting edge of a Phillips, their confidence ebbed away.
Boss Ian Dowie admitted: “Anyone in this division looks on enviously at Birmingham.
“The owners here are wealthy, successful businessmen and, as a result, expectation is high.
“The pressure’s on but we haven’t spent much. We are two or three people away from a very competitive squad.” Indian businessman Vijay Mallya, the man behind Kingfisher beer, is the latest to be linked with QPR as part of a £20m shirt sponsorship deal.
Dowie added: “I don’t know anything about it. Kingfisher beer? I could do with one now!” The Sun


The Guardian/Mark Tallentire
"....Enjoyment was in short supply for all parties on Saturday as QPR left their Latin contingent on the bench and stiffened the side with Britons for what Iain Dowie anticipated would be a physical battle. While his side were far from overwhelmed, once McLeish switched Quincy Owusu-Abeyie from the left wing to the right Rangers struggled to contain Birmingham's occasional forays but a Radhi Jaidi header apart, they never really looked like conceding another although they never looked likely to equalise either.
Quite what the watching Flavio Briatore made of it is anyone's guess but stories that the Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya, whose interests range from the Force India formula one team to Twenty20 cricket and Kingfisher beer, is being lined up for a £20m cash injection were news to Dowie, who would welcome it all the same. "We can compete with anyone right now but I think we are two or three people away from being a very, very competitive squad," the QPR manager said. "Kingfisher beer? I don't mind a drop of that at all." The Guardian


Mirror/Ian Bayley
"...McLeish, who relegated both James McFadden and Cameron Jerome to the substitutes bench to bring in Phillips and Garry O'Connor, reckons his system is working.
He said: "With five strikers here I need to keep them on their toes. The fact we can rotate means we can maintain our edge with those guys."
Rangers boss Iain Dowie admitted he was envious of the £12million worth of signings his rival had on the bench.
Despite QPR's tag as the Championship's richest club, Dowie has had little to spend, but said: "I don't need to shout that out. Anyone with an incisive view of the game knows we haven't spent much.
"The people running this club are successful businessmen, wealthy men, and the expectation that comes with that is high. I'm disappointed with the points return recently, but we have some young talent and will be a force this year." Mirror