For the 2011-12 English Premier League season, like in previous years we have 3 newly promoted sides who came up from the second division below the Premier League; Queens Park Rangers FC was promoted on virtue of being crowned champions of the Football League Championship for 2010-11 season. They have the honour of playing in the top division for the first time in 15 years.
QPR is a London football club, based in Shepherd’s Bush,Hammersmith and Fulham, west London and they play in the Lotus Road stadium. The club has been managed by Neil Warnock since March 2010 and the current chairman of the club is Gianni Paladini. When you look at the squad you won’t see any big name players with the sole exception of English & former Newcastler midfielder Kieron Dyer.
After a number of years of financial difficulties which included a period in financial administration, QPR was bought by Formula One tycoons and multi-millionaires Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore in a £14 million takeover in August 2007 and then the Mittal family purchased a 33% stake from Briatore. On 18th August 2011, Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes was unveiled as the majority shareholder after having bought out Ecclestone’s 66% stake in the club for a rumoured fee of around ?35 million, while the Mittal Family retaines their 33% stake.
Musicians Alan Wilder of Depeche Mode and Recoil, Ian Gillan of Deep Purple, Mick Jones of punk band The Clash, Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols, Robert Smithof The Cure, Pete Doherty, of The Libertines and Babyshambles are all fans of the club. Let’s see how well the club does at the top level in England.