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- Visit the "cutting-edge" QPR Report Messageboard: For a combination of QPR and football-related articles and board discussion along with old QPR photos and videos. ALL perspectives welcome! Try it!
- See Various Old QPR Videos from 1921 and 1923 and 1948 and 1967 and 1969 and 1970!... Southampton's Parent Body Faces Administration Financial Jeopardy...Apprentices should clean Boots
- Assuming the list is accurate: Dexter Blackstock is in Four Four Two's "Top 50 League Players List (Also: Ex-QPRs Marcus Bean and Tommy Doherty)
- Two Ex-QPR Players Share April 1 Birthday
- Also: - Match Report from England vs Italy U-20s at Loftus Road
- Helguson may be injured: But if he is, much of the press not aware.
- No game yet for on-loan-at-Yeovil, Danny Maguire
- FLASHBACK: From Exactly a Year Ago: QPR's Vice Chairman Amit Bhatia Talking to the Daily Mail/This is London
Mail/This is London - April 1, 2008: We are nothing like Chelsea, says QPR vice-chairman Bhatia as he reveals Rangers' masterplan
- Amit Bhatia has outlined the Mittal family's masterplan to usher in a new era of success at Queens Park Rangers.
- The Rangers vice-chairman, and son-in-law of billionaire owner Lakshmi Mittal, claimed that last week's £20million shirt sponsorship deal with Lotto Sport Italia is a signal of the club's intent to stop at nothing in their bid to become a Premier League powerhouse.
-The key points include:• No plans to move from Loftus Road" for now".
• The club will not "lose control" over spending because "we are nothing like Chelsea".
• QPR will remain"quintessentially English" and no names or badges will change.
• Lakshmi will stay "as a fan rather than an owner" otherwise "he will not get involved unless it is necessary".
• Missing out on promotion next season "would not be a failure".- Bhatia is the public face of the Mittal family's interest in QPR and is keen to allay fears among fans that the London-born Indian businessman will change the identity of the club and move away from their present ground.
- "One of the most attractive things about this club is the stadium, so we have no desire to move from here at all," he said.
- "If the day came where a move was warranted - and I guess that would be when the results were great, we get promoted and we need a 35,000-seat stadium ?- then, yes, maybe we'd explore it. But we don't need it today.
- "Shareholders should not determine what a club looks like. QPR have a great history and a great tradition and for us to maintain that is of prime importance.
- "Consequently, there are no plans to change the logo, club colours or stadium name.
- "There is a need to ensure things are kept fundamentally English. If you look through the roster, there are mostly English players here and we like it that way.?"
- Comparisons with Chelsea are inevitable. Mittal's estimated £26billion fortune dwarfs that of their more illustrious neighbour's owner and should they one day decide to move, the club could outbid Roman Abramovich for potential sites at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, White City or Earls Court.
- Mittal, the fourth-richest man in the world according to Forbes magazine, has lavish tendencies - Bhatia's wedding to Vanisha Mittal in June 2004 was reported to be the most expensive in history at a cost of ?£30m ?- but fans should not expect a similar approach to the club's finances.
- "We are nothing like Chelsea and we will not lose control over spending,?" said Bhatia. "The expenses involved with QPR are far smaller. The £20m deal will go a long way to making us profitable, as would promotion. - "My father-in-law's involvement on an emotional level is already known. He is involved firstly as a fan. If and when something warrants his involvement with the media, he will get involved but, for now, he believes the best way to be involved is as a fan and not an owner."
- With money comes expectation, but the club's officials insist the team are not under pressure to deliver immediate results.
- "We started off by setting a three-year target for promotion," Bhatia added. "If we didn't get promoted in three years, I don't think it would be a failure. We would be disappointed, of course, but I am sure we are going to get there. - "I don't think any of us has got into this to be second best. We have a specific plan and we will do anything it requires to get the club where we want them to be.?"
- Workmen are at present relaying South Africa Road leading up to Rangers?' stadium. Given Bhatia's confident blueprint for success, fans could be forgiven for thinking they will be paving it with gold. Daily Mail