The Stop Talking Award of the Week Goes To…

By: chris | January 18th, 2008

…Flavio Briatore, head cheese over at the newly Italianised QPR who also moonlights as Heidi Klum’s baby daddy (for a supermodel, she has atrocious taste in men). First, all parts of this story are filled with hilarity, right down to the picture above. As you can see, Flavio has an inch or two on bidness partner Bernie Ecclestone, his personal British Mini-me, just with much crappier hair. Then, Flavio decided to make grandiose proclamations which he has zero chance of backing up.

Briatore insisted: “Within four years we will challenge Milan in Europe. Our programme is to reach the Premier League within three years.

“I want to be in Europe within four years. It would be great to challenge Milan. Briatore against [Adrian] Galliani [Milan president].

QPR currently sits 3 whole points above the relegation zone in the Championship, which means it’s going to take nothing short of a miracle to get to the Prem anytime soon.

Of course, that minor miracle supposedly arrived in the form of billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, one of the richest men in the world, who purchased 20% of the club and then placed his son-in-law on the board. Which is where things go right, because it’s being though the purchase was more for the son-in-law, and that QPR isn’t going to become Chelsea Jr. anytime soon. None of that big steel money has seen its way to QPR yet, reportedly. So it’s not as though there is a quick-fix plan being thrown into place ASAP.

In order to get to the Premier League, QPR would have to both go from relegation fodder to promotion material in the next two years, then displace the big four within two years (unless Milan drops into UEFA Cup territory permanently, which is highly improbable due to the arrival of The Most Bestest Player Ever, Alexandre Pato). Even if we’re using the Chelsea model, the Blues had made Europe in some form the previous 7 seasons antiRoman.

In short: ain’t hapennin’.

Then, Flavio decided to up the ante with his comments:

“I love football. But buying a football club is not what the doctor ordered so you need to enjoy yourself. That’s why I got Bernie Ecclestone involved emotionally. I don’t think he even knew QPR existed.”

Ah, just another week of ridiculous statements from a man who makes them often.