"A measure of the excitement engendered by the investment of Ecclestone, Briatore and Mittal is that long-suffering QPR fans are already referring to new signing Akos Buzsaky (the Hungarian international) as 'the new Stan Bowles'. "Excitement is the key word after the uncertainty of years of administration and lack of money," acknowledges Gareth Ainsworth, the much-travelled midfielder now in his fifth season at Loftus Road"
the telegraph
"Avram Grant, the Chelsea first-team coach, is well placed to tell Luigi De Canio, his opposite number at QPR, how to deal with a billionaire backer. The combined fortunes of Flavio Briatore, Bernie Ecclestone and Lakshmi Mittal, the Coca-Cola Championship club’s owners, far outweigh that of Abramovich, giving QPR a competitive advantage over their Championship rivals that could result in the return of this West London derby as a regular fixture."
the times
"De Canio insisted that they would be spending their money sensibly. "These are successful and rich men because they've always handled their finances well," he said. "Just because we have the potential to spend a lot of money doesn't mean that we will necessarily do that. We're following a carefully planned project in which we must get the balance right between investment, footballing success and technical results."
the independent
"Rangers used to be as unassuming as Chelsea were flash. In the years since Simon Barker equalised John Spencer's goal to earn Ray Wilkins' side a point on their last visit to Stamford Bridge, the drama which has enveloped this pocket of Shepherds Bush would have been considered too outlandish for a failing soap opera."
the grauniad
"But enough vulgar triumphalism (there's time for that when we win the Champions League). Instead, a note of caution: everything we have ever known is about to change. Should we be careful what we wish for?"
our own benjie goodhart in the grauniad
"But (Ray) Wilkins cannot see the FA Cup holders being dumped out, adding: "QPR go into the tie in good form with four wins from their last six but all 11 of their players will have to be at their very best and five or six of the Chelsea boys will need to be below par if they are to get anything."
daily mail
""I remember getting promoted at Sheffield Wednesday in 2004 and still realising administration was hanging over us, with none of us knowing whether we'd be paid the next week and that we might not be getting our bonuses. "We've come full circle since then. We've got Chelsea in the FA Cup and suddenly it's potentially two of the biggest clubs in the world playing each other. It's amazing."
daily mirror
"It's WestEnders
IF the scriptwriters of Footballers Wives ever submitted QPR’s recent history for screening, the plot would be rejected as being too far-fetched. A club on the verge of bankruptcy rescued by a couple of Formula One magnates and Britain’s richest man. Then there were guns in the boardroom, a player tragically killed in a car crash, another stabbed to death, mass brawls with the Chinese national team and now a dream FA Cup clash with their superstar neighbours Chelsea."
the sun
and bbc sport on why they are NOT covering our match live:
"The other tie a number of people have mentioned is Chelsea v QPR. This will be a full-blooded local derby, but we normally prefer it if the lower-ranked club is at home, where they tend to have a better chance. Should Rangers hold Chelsea to a draw, Loftus Road would be a leading contender to stage a live replay. "
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