Quick Throw: Hope Howard Webb enjoys Coca-Cola...

In a move in no way induced by karma, Howard Webb will be calling contentious penalties in the Colaship this weekend, overseeing Reading v. Birmingham after royally screwing things up on Saturday in, ahem, that match.

The best part is Graham Poll's comment about the matter. Remember Poll? Guy who gave out 3 yellow cards to the same player in Germany '06? It's always nice when someone more incompetent than you turns up to help people forget.

[Guardian Sport]

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Hope or No Hope. You Decide.

Yesterday my beloved Norwich City lost at Ip..Ip..Ip..There, in controversial fashion. I'm not going to look back and tell you what I thought of referee Swarbrick, we'd be here all day. Not bad enough to lose that game, the results elsewhere put Norwich back in the relegation zone. Survival is out of our hands. Two games left for Forest, Plymouth, Southampton and 3 for Barnsley. I have been a miserable shit all day and it could be a very long week. We don't play again until next Monday! This is where you come in. I want YOU to offer me hope or deliver the bad news. Put me out of my misery. How do you do this? Find out after the jump.


So here is the deal. This link HERE will take you all to the BBC Colaship predictor. This clever little fecker will allow you to enter the results for the next 2 (3 if you are Barnsley) games and discover our fate.

—Forest are improved of late and face a trip to Blackpool before hosting Southampton.
—Barnsley play Coventry away tomorrow, Wolves at home on Saturday and Plymouth away on the last day.
—Plymouth head to Q.P.R on Saturday before hosting Barnsley.
—My beloved Norwich play Reading at home next Monday before heading to Charlton on the last day.

You should consider form, desperation and the beach. Some of the teams above will be playing sides who have nowt left to do but head for vacation. The bags are packed and the season is effectively over. Q.P.R, Wolves and Coventry fit into this category. Reading do not!

Anyway. Do your worst and please, for my sake..Be honest!

Leave your bottom 5 teams in the comments below.

Bigus.

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Colaship Review: Fight Time. Who Wants It?

Thats Norwich on the left and Plymouth in their 'gray fur' away kit.

It's been a few weeks, I know. The thing is, punters, it's been very hard to write about the Colaship. In fact, just peeking at the table through my fingers brings panic. My heart races and misery settles in for the rest of the day. My beloved Norwich are in the bottom 3, needing maybe 5 or 6 wins to survive. But it's not just at the bottom that trouble is brewing, Wolves are doing their best to blow the title, but no-one else seems to want it!

Wolves have lost 2 (Burnley and Coventry) and drawn 2 (Norwich and Cardiff) in their last 4. In short, they're doing their best to choke the title, but Birmingham and Reading have wasted the golden opportunity to jump ahead. Wolves look nervous and desperate at the moment. They only managed a point this weekend thanks to an absolute shocking keeper error by Cardiff's bungling goalie Dimitrios Konstantopoulos. Konstantopoulos dropped the ball over his line to gift Wolves at point at home. Wanderers are remarkably still four points clear at the top.

Birmingham blew the chance to make up ground on their midlands rivals by losing at home to Coventry last Saturday, a team that is in serious form after beating Wolves recently too. Oh, and it's a Coventry side who visit Norwich next week (crying inside). In fact, Bongo have just one win in their last four and Alex McLeish must be fuming at the wasted chances to catch Mick McCarthy's stuttering Wolves.

Mick McCarthy is doing his best to give up the title.

What about Reading, Bigus? They were second and right up Wolves backside no? Yes they were and they, ironically, beat Wolves just 3 weeks ago. But they too don't want the title either. Two goalless draws (QPR and Preston) and a loss at home to Bristol City this past weekend has left them 5 points adrift of the top.

Does anyone want to win this league?

Let's now look at the teams below occupying the play-off spots.

Cardiff's cup exploits with Arsenal have left them with 4 games in hand over Wolves and if they win them all, they will catch the leaders. With Watford, QPR and Barnsley making up 3 of those late games, it actually looks possible.

Bristol City are en fuego right now. They may have needed Andy D'Urso to gift them 3 points at Carrow Road two weeks ago but have since picked up six points against Southampton and Reading. They did stutter with a loss at Doncaster but this appears to be a blip, and they look set to make the play-offs for the second season in a row. Testament to the incredible management skills of Gary Johnson. Bristol have a home game with Blackpool coming up before a tough visit to Birmingham.

Preston are one of those 'odd' teams. They look fabulous one week and absolute shite the next. They have been picking up points however, and currently sit 5th in the league. But they are punching above their weight and will have a fight on their hands to make the play-off places this year. Sheffield United, Burnley and Swansea are all within distance.

Now for the bottom. This is how the table currently looks.

(Position/Team/Games Played/Goal Difference/Points)
---
15 - Derby 32 -3 41
16 - Doncaster 33 -11 40
17 - Blackpool 34 -14 38
18 - Watford 32 -7 36
19 - Barnsley 32 -11 36
20 - Plymouth 34 -13 36
21 - Nottm F 34 -14 34
--------------------------
22 - Norwich 34 -9 33
23 - Southampton 33 -19 31
24 - Charlton 33 -21 26

As you can see, Norwich are in deep shit. Watford and Barnsley have games in hand to help them out, as do Southampton. But all is not lost. Plymouth are in free fall and have some very tricky fixtures. Forest are in touch and one of Watfords games is with Southampton.

Norwich also have to play Plymouth AND Watford at home and pay a visit to Blackpool.

This coming weekend sees Coventry visit Carrow Road, and Bigus will be there praying for 3 points. Victory at home to the 'Sky Blues', Plymouth, Watford and Sheffield Wednesday are all necessary. I cannot see a victory away from home for the rest of the season except for maybe at the Valley on the last day, and nobody wants to have to rely on that. Trips to Bongo, Swansea and QPR will be fruitless, but points are possible at Blackpool and in the derby at Portaloo Road. Reading and Cardiff at Carrow road is a 'shot in the dark'.

I want to see this nutter cry.

But will 15 or 16 points be enough for survival? Plymouth have a very tough schedule with top three challengers Wolves, Reading and Birmingham. They also have crucial games, that may do Norwich a favor, with Barnsley, Doncaster and Watford. They also have Burnley, OPR and Swansea away. That lot gives me some hope as I can see Plymouth nabbing 8-10 points from the remaining fixtures. Throw in their visit to Carrow Road and our survival could be in our own hands.

The frustrating thing is that we're not playing badly.

Robbed by the worst referee in history (D'Urso) at home to Bristol City and unlucky not to bag a winner at home to Burnley last weekend, City will need to take their chances from now on if they are to stand a chance. The 3-3 draw with Wolves showed we can 'play up' away from home when we want to.

However, Norwich are missing a hero, someone who can bag 4 or 5 goals in 6 games. Whether one shows up is anyone's guess. Cureton is infrequent with his goals these days and Cort has been unlucky but improving every game. Can loanees Killen and Gow step up and help out? Maybe young Luke Daley is the man to hit some form and make an impact like young Chris Martin did two seasons ago. Daley made his debut late on in Saturday's draw. Someone needs to be the catalyst for a run. Hard working performances mean little if the chances are not converted.

Hero to save the day? Young Luke Daley has pace but no experience.

Forest are also in the mix for a drop into 'hell' or 'League One' to use it's correct name. The defeat to rivals Derby has left Forest just one point above Norwich. Forest play Reading next and still have Wolves to play. They also have to face play-off hopefuls Preston, Swansea, Bristol City and Sheffield United. But more importantly, they play no less than four of their relegation rivals -- Watford, Blackpool, Southampton and Barnsley -- and three of the four are away from the City ground. Thank you Lord.

It's going to be a rough ride for sure. Lets hope my ticker holds out.

-Bigus.

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UF Quick Throw: The Football League votes

The Football League has just voted yes on the 'homegrown players' rule, to be implemented from the beginning of the 09/10 season. The rule determines that at least 4 players in each 16-man matchday squad must have been registered domestically for a minimum of three years before their 21st birthday.

So much for the impending arrival of hundreds of second-rate Scandinavian footballers.

What do you lot think? Could you ever imagine the EPL following suit?

[BBC Sport]

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Colaship Review - 3 Lita Special Edition.

Today I write this review with a smile and an air of cockiness. Today this review is filled with goals and lots of joy for Bigus and the fine people of Norfolk! I will wrap up last night's Coca Cola Championship action and look back at Saturday's action... follow me my friends!


Let's start with Wolves, shall we? I mean, they are top of the table. Oh wait... Newsflash, stop the ticker! They are no longer top!

What happened, readers? They came to Carrow Road and got bitch-slapped, that's what! Pinch yourself if you must, but it's true. My beloved Norwich City thumped league leaders Wolves 5-2 last night and finally found their scoring touch. Leroy Lita hit a hatrick and even winger Lee Croft popped one in!

5 star City

It's about time. Now that we've adjusted our goal radars and found the bloody thing, we need to make sure the scoring continues and we hit some form. Recent weeks have seen us lose to the odd goal while failing to convert any one of 5-6 chances a game. This was just the case last Saturday as we lost 1-0 away to Bristol City. Hopefully now we can push on and take the chances. If we falter at home to Doncaster on Saturday, last night's performance will be meaningless.

Alright, lets head elsewhere.

If Wolves are no longer top, who is? Bongo FC, that's who. They reclaimed the top spot after a very very very late winner from Gary O'Connor 4 minutes into injury time at home to Palace last night. The win followed up Bongo's point at Burnley last Saturday, and they're now 2 points clear of Wolves at the top.

Barnsley surprised neighbors Sheffield Wednesday last night as they creeped closer to safety with a 2-1 win. Hulme set them on their way early and Wednesday's Tony Mahon was sent off on 34 minutes before both sides converted second half penalties.

Blackpool followed up their dour draw with Doncaster on Saturday with 3 points at home to Derby last night. The Tangerines edged out Paul Jewell's men 3-2.

Bristol City have hit form again with a 2-nil victory at the Valley yesterday. At the start of proceedings in August, I said they would not repeat last year's excellent form and I thought they were starting to look dodgy after losing to Wolves and Sheffield United before the international break. How wrong I was. Last night's win, along with the 3 points they took at home to my lot at the weekend, has seen them jump back into 4th place. Meanwhile Charlton have lost two on the spin and 3 of their last 4.

Burnley are 6th today after a successful trip to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. They won 3-1 with goals coming from Duff, Blake and Chris Eagles. They took a point at home to Bongo at the weekend and they are certainly looking improved of late.

Forest remain rooted to the bottom after a 1-1 draw at home with Ip..Ip..Ip..them. They lost 2-1 at the weekend and it looks bleak for Forest. As for Ip..Ip..Them, last night draw was their second in a row after Swansea took a point at Portaloo Road 4 days ago.

Swansea and Q.P.R play out a goal-less draw last night

Elsewhere last eve, Plymouth beat Preston 1-0, Reading closed in on second place with a 2-1 win over Donny Rovers, Sheffield United and Southampton and Swansea and Q.P.R were all involved in scoreless draws while Watford and Cardiff shared a point in a 2-2 tie at Vicarage Road. Finally, did I mention Norwich beat Wolves 5-2?

Last weekend's results in full...

Sheff Wed 1, Sheff U 0
Bristol City 1, Norwich City 0
Burnley 1, Bongo FC 1
Cardiff 2, Charlton 0
Palace 3, Barnsley 0
Derby 2, Plymouth 1
Scum 2, Swans 2
Donny Rovers 0, Blackpool 0
Preston 2, Reading 1
Hoops 2, Forest 1
Saints 0, Watford 3
Wolves 2, Coventry 1

Click here for the full table or see our home page for the brief version. Another Coca Cola Championship round-up next Monday.

- Bigus.

Read more on "Colaship Review - 3 Lita Special Edition."...

Championship Preview - Charlton Athletic

The Valley...Looks like it could be another year of under-achievement!

Not that much to say about Charlton except that there is a big sale going on and they have been flogging some of their top players in what appears to be an attempt to balance the books. Charlton failed to reach the promised land last season, finishing 11th, and so it looks as if they've decided to settle for life in the Colaship and recoup some money.

Not what Bigus was expecting at all. I had not paid much attention to Charlton this off-season until now, but I expected a few in and a push for the playoffs this season. Lets have a closer look at the comings and goings...

Out: Marcus Bent (on loan last year), Sam Sodje, Leroy Lita (loaned from Reading), Madjid Bougherra (to Rangers for 2.5 million), Chris Iwelumo (to Wolves), Patrick McCarthy (to Crystal Palace), Greg Halford (loaned from Sunderland, moved to Sheffield United), Ben Thatcher (Free agent to Ip... Ip... Them) and Chris Powell.

In: Oh dear... Mark Hudson (from Palace), Stuart Fleetwood (from Forest Green).

Not a happy chappy...Pard's.

Addicks boss Alan Pardew seems a little unhappy at all of the exits at the Valley...

"The agenda that I was given this year was a bit of a shock to me, especially the financial situation we're in which wasn't made clear to me,"

There is no doubt that Charlton will miss Bougherra, Halford, Iwelumo (46 games last term), McCarthy and the out-going Zheng Zhi (7 goals from midfield last season). Pardew admitted today that Charlton were considering a bid made for the Chinese national team captain (look out for Zhi in the Olympics starting this week!).

Varney: Needs to find his Crewe shooting boots.

Pardew will need to sign a couple of players fast and return to his contact book to bring a couple of loans in. Lita won't be returning though, Reading have joined Charlton in the Colaship and his goals will be needed for their promotion push.

Ambrose, Faye, Holland, Fortune and Varney are all good players but they will need to step up and stay fit for Charlton to have any hope of the playoffs. Varney especially. He has only managed 8 goals in 40 games after a 2 million pound move from Crewe.

My prediction? 9th.

-Bigus.

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Derby's Eleven

Derby County were a fun distraction in the EPL last season, mainly due to their commitment to futility. 11 points from their 38 games saw them return swiftly to the untelevised comfort of the Colaship, and it saw their manager get fined for a tirade against Phil Dowd, as well as being caught in a sex tape scandal!

And now, they're enjoying some interesting times once again, as their ex-owner is fighting with the newly-installed American Investment Group! Oh, and they've signed 11 new players since the end of the season.

Remarkable times ahead at Pride Park, that's for sure.

First up, the business business.

It appears that their former chairman, Peter Gadsby, was terminated on Friday. This morning, he made a statement showing his anger at the manner in which he was terminated (perhaps something to do with the persistence he showed in trying to get some investment numbers from the new Yank overlords, and even hinted at possible legal action:

"Following my appointment as a non-executive director at the time of the club’s takeover by GS&E in January this year, I repeatedly sought confirmation that public pledges of an investment of £50m – £18m to purchase shares, £22m to clear debts and £10m for new signings – were being honoured... Right up to the moment I discovered that my position had been terminated, no answers were forthcoming.

Nor was there a single official board meeting at which these crucial matters could be raised, an astounding state of affairs for any company, let alone one facing up to serious challenges in a difficult business climate."

Not particularly inspiring, is it?

His statement continued:

“On several occasions after the takeover, Adam Pearson [Rams’ chairman of football] maintained publicly that the club would go forward “free of debt” as the result of the investment of “substantial new monies” and it was announced that a takeover worth £50m included £10m for new signings.

From the outset, I expressed my unhappiness that such were being made without corroboration and was told that corrected figures would be forthcoming later, when all possible sources of new investment had been explored."

So we're looking at possible grounds for unfair dismissal, or some deviation from that if Gadsby himself could only provide evidence that proves what he's saying.

However, the weird turn here is that he also offered to buy back the club from General Sport and Entertainment!

“I sincerely hope that, in making my doubts about an unhappy situation public, I may help to exert pressure on the owners to produce a full and precisely detailed account of the terms of their takeover, of the amount of new monies invested, the current financial position and the identity of the investors, as well as future financial intentions.

Such is my disappointment and sense of frustration about the situation that I now contend that the current owners should either make good their financial commitments to Derby County and provide the supporters with proof that their initial promises have been honoured or give me the opportunity to buy the club back and return it to local ownership more atuned to the needs and expectations of its outstandingly loyal supporters.”

A rather bizarre game of He-Said, She-Said, isn't it?

Meanwhile, the club has been out spending money like Charles Barkley in Vegas, bringing in eleven (!) new faces recently. A week ago, the club added Polish loaner Przemyslaw Kazmierczak (Don't ask me how to pronounce that) to their haul of faces and names who will all need to get acquainted rather quickly:

- former Plymouth Argyle defender Paul Connolly
- midfielder Paul Green (from Doncaster Rovers)
- Watford left-back Jordan Stewart
- winger Kris Commons (from Nottingham Forest)
- Watford striker Nathan Ellington (loan)
- Ex-Sheffield United striker Rob "f*cking useless" Hulse
- Striker Steve Davies from Tranmere Rovers
- Midfielder Ruben Zadkovich from Sydney FC
- Ex-West Brom defender Martin Albrechtsen
- Striker Liam Dickinson from Stockport County

It's a lot of new faces, and almost enough for a brand-new starting XI! (and they just got turned down by a possible 12th signing, Welsh international midfielder John Oster)

Considering the talent of some players still with the Rams, like Giles Barnes, it's fair to assume that they'll bounce back up, but who can say? Let's just hope for their sake that the ownership situation gets sorted before it becomes too distracting. You get the impression that it's going to take a lot to keep Gadsby quiet.

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Championship Preview - Birmingham

Bongo FC may have missed out on a place in the Premiership this year by a solitary point, but don't worry all you bluenoses: you are more than 'tooled up' for a promotion push this season. Quite frankly, your collection of forwards will scare the living daylights out of most of your opponents, and it's a real shame that they can't all play at once. Maybe a 4 2 4! That would certainly accommodate their midfield losses this summer.

Talking of those... Birmingham lost 3 of their midfielders since relegation. Oliver Kapo and Daniel De Ridder to Wigan and ex-boss Steve Bruce and ex-gooner prospect Fabrice Muamba to Bolton. Mikael Forsell and Mauro Zarate also decided that the Championship was not for them and they joined Rafael Schmitz at the bus stop.

Kapo and Muamba will surely be missed, as will Forssell [Ed. Note: he must be enjoying Hannover 96, having scored 10 on his pre-season debut] but Birmingham pretty much managed to hold onto a lot of their quality players and even added some serious Championship experience to their front line.

In comes Lee Carsley from Everton, who will still have plenty to offer at this level despite being 34. He is joined by another oldie up top, Kevin Phillips. Phillips (35) shoved the ball passed Championship keepers a mere 24 times last term for West Brom, helping them seal a trip to the big dance and he will once again be a handful to defenses this season.

They also nabbed former bin man Marcus Bent from Charlton for an undisclosed fee.

Kevin Phillips: An oldie but a goodie!

So who do they have up front this year Bigus? Garry McSheffrey, Cameron Jerome, Kevin Phillips, Marcus Bent, Garry O'Connor and James McFadden (also plays left wing). That is one formidable front line.

Each one of those players could and SHOULD score 17-20 goals in this league with 40-odd starts. I doubt that manager Alex Mcleish will be able to keep them all happy and the Bongo board will see this overloaded position as an opportunity to make some money. I can see McFadden (brought in from Everton for 5 million) and Cameron Jerome moving on. Many consider McFadden as a Premiership player and Jerome will have no shortage of suitors at Championship level.

At the back Birmingham boast experience at this level with Martin Taylor. He was a rock at the back when they gained promotion 2 years ago. He will be joined by Liam Ridgewell, Stuart Parnaby, Radhi Jaidi, David Murphy and former Middlesborough wing back Franck Queudrue. All though McLeish has told Queudrue he can leave, I don't see anyone rushing to pay his Premiership wages.

The only area for improvement in this Brimingham team is in midfield. They will surely feel the loss of Kapo and Muamba. Should Carsley or Damien Johnson get injured then they may struggle in this area.

Alex McLeish. Over rated in Bigus' eyes but will he be able to stop the hangover?

So where will Birmingham City finish?

They should finish in the top two with this team, but we all know about the famous Premiership hangover and I think that Birmingham may take a couple of months to settle back in this division. Will they be able to get the job done away to Burnley or Doncaster in a mid-week fixture? This is a crucial season for them. Fail and they will need to sell and rebuild, stars will want out and the division will start to look like home. I can see them heading back up via the playoffs. Top 6 for me.

-Bigus

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The Colaship doesn't pay well enough these days

Bradley Wright-Phillips: fond of ladies' purses

When football players try and relax, the Law of Averages will dictate that for every player that is tucked in and asleep by eleven o'clock, there will be a few that stay out late, get in fights, film themselves masturbating on a webcam, videotape orgies with their teammates, or simply commit petty theft.

This week is no different, as Southampton stars Nathan Dyer and Bradley Wright-Phillips got caught on CCTV stealing money, cigarettes and cell phones from some bartenders' handbags at a nightclub.

One can only hope that the phones had some good ringtones.

Bradley is the son of former Arsenal & England star Ian Wright, and half-brother to Chelsea winger Shaun, and currently earns about $16,000 a week, while Nathan makes $10,000 a week.

The bartenders? 10 bucks an hour. A little lopsided, no?

The duo were disciplined for their actions, made even more laughable as the night in question was less than 48 hours before their next match against Ipswich [a game they drew 1-1].

It's no OJ-level of robbery, sure, but it's still pretty pathetic. If they make it up to the EPL, they'll need to try harder than this to get tabloid attention. Like maybe shaving their balls.

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Spray tan comes to Loftus Road

Would you buy a car from this guy?

The Guardian ran a story today about Flavio Briatore and his new toy, Queen's Park Rangers. It was framed as your typical fish out of water story. You know, glamorous Italian buys lower league club, brings style to the bottom of the Championship. The piece also plumbs the depths of naivety on occasion. Pretty women with big sunglasses in the directors box! Rich people wear nice clothes! Flavio impregnated Heidi Klum! After the jump, what Flavio & Co are really up to, and why other London clubs should be worried.

QPR are a West London club with a mildly illustrious history, winning a League Cup in 1967, and a reputation for a bit of hooliganism. They also had a Lou Dobbs moment last year and brawled with the Chinese U-23 national team. At times in the 1980s and 1990s they were probably on par or better than most of their local rivals, notably Chelsea. They finished fifth in the inaugural season of the Premiership in 1992. After they were relegated in 1996, QPR slid all the way down to what is now League 1. The club's finances mirrored the shoddy state of play on the pitch, and QPR even went bankrupt in 2001.

Into this environment came Flavio Briatore, Bernie Ecclestone, and recently Lakshmi Mittal. Flavio is one of slimier team bosses in F1, which is quite an accomplishment given the shark pit that is the modern pit lane. He was actually running Benneton's retail operation in the United States in the late 80s when the Benneton family took over the struggling Toleman team. Briatore became team boss in 1990, enjoying great success thanks to Michael Schumacher, a bunch of cheating, and the death of Ayrton Senna. Flavio was sacked in 1997, but returned to the team when Renault took over in 2002. He then won two more titles due to the fine driving of Fernando Alonso. Flavio, at the very least, has a well deserved reputation as a pretty good talent spotter, taking both Schumacher and Alonso under his wing very early in their careers.

The day job: models in Monaco.

These days, running an F1 team isn't enough for the perma-tanned Italian. Thanks to the fortune he has somehow managed to accumulate from his time in Formula 1, Flavio now owns a ridiculous game lodge in Africa, a new clothing line, a night club in Sardinia, and god knows what else. He has also engaged in a bit of model sportfucking, having relationships with Naomi Campbell, Heidi Klum, and others.

In August 2007, Flavio teamed up with Ecclestone, who has managed to trouser a couple billion pounds from his shrewd exploitation of F1's tv rights (picture Roger Goodell, but if half of the NFL's tv rights revenue went directly into his pocket), to buy QPR. The cost was somewhere around 14 million pounds, which is like couch cushion change for these gentlemen. Lakshmi Mittal, multibillionaire owner of the eponymous ArcelorMittal steel empire, has since bought 20%. In combined financial might, the trio blows Roman Abramovich out of the water. Like many of his previous business deals, Flavio is the frontman for richer financial backers.

The new regime installed Luigi de Canio as manager before the start of this season, and he has QPR playing some attractive but inconsistent football. QPR beat Championship leaders Stoke 3-nil on Sunday at Loftus Road and currently sit 15th in the table. Obviously they won't be pushing for promotion this year, but our rather wealthy protagonists didn't buy QPR for the midweek fixtures at Leicester City.

What is it with Italians named de Canio and salutes?

Flavio told the Guardian that "'[w]e have to take it slowly, step by step. I don't want to go up to the Premiership and come straight down again like an elevator. Little by little. That's the way to become a protagonist in English football." So clearly they are gunning for promotion next year! If they do make the Premiership, it wouldn't be surprising to see them open up the purse strings a little more. After all, what's the point of owning a club if you can't impress your billionaire friends with your all-Brazilian $200 million midfield. There are also rumors that the new owners are looking to either renovate Loftus Road or move to a new stadium. Either way, it would be exciting/terrifying if another club with wealthy backers had delusions of glory and really splurged on the transfer market.

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