The Gold standard
Blues or Middlesbrough?
David Gold has stirred up another hornet's nest with his comments about how much more interesting it is being a yo-yo club than one like Middlesbrough.
You can understand where the chairman is coming from - to a degree.
Boro are not a fashionable club by any means, and they maintain their Premier League status, for the most part, unspectacularly.
But they have won the League Cup and reached the UEFA Cup final, and spend big money on big players. Their backer, Steve Gibson, is in tune with the community from which he came.
After promotion in 2002, Blues spent four years in the Premier League but we could all see the cracks starting to appear and, sure enough, relegation followed.
Blues bounced back, then got relegated again. They could well bounce back once more this season.
Then what? It's all well and good riding the emotional rollercoaster, and you can make a case for a life in the Championship being more exciting than the Premier League because of the parity.
But do Blues supporters really want their team to be going from one extreme to the other every season? I think not.
Yes, it is getting harder and harder for the majority of sides to keep a Premier League foothold.
But isn't that part of the challenge for club owners, managers and players, testing your ability at the highest level, on a regular basis and, indeed, making a mark, making history?
Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and FA Cup winners Portsmouth - they cope, and don't tell me a club from England's Second City can't and shouldn't be aiming higher than being a big fish in a small pool.
Blues had a great chance to kick on and progress after finishing 10th - their highest position for 31 years - in 2004.
They were at least the equals of 'our friends across the road', as Barry Fry used to describe them.
Now the gap between the Birmingham rivals has widened. Witness Alex McLeish's stark assessment after the 5-1 derby battering.
If you effectively accept that you are going to be relegated after winning promotion, what's the point in striving for promotion in the first place?
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Colin Tattum
Mail man Colin Tattum’s view of what’s going on at Birmingham City FC.
Absolutely spot on. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed our season in the championship a couple of years ago, and I thoroughly expect to enjoy this one too. But, why can't we at least aim to be competitive at premiership level? All this stuff from David Gold does is reinforce what a great deal of Blues fans have come to realise over the last few seasons, Blues directors have NO ambition for the club other than to have their slice of the pie from the GreedIsGood league.
If I could give our esteemed directors one piece of advice it would be "shut up" because with almost every utterance they alienate more supporters and deprress the dwindling band of us that are actually left.
As for you Tatts, you want to be careful with this speaking your mind, or you'll end up on the "Pat Murphy List"
(138 is the magic number)
Another good piece Tatts.
The one thing that I was really disappointed with last year that made me think twice about renewing my season ticket was that we had missed an(other) opportunity. We had the chance to kick on and become an established premier league side, but as usual our owners decided to penny pinch and try to do things on the cheap. We had some good players last year and with a few more additions (the now infamous one more defender) we could have maintained our premier league status and brought in some better players to add to few quality ones we already had.
It's no surprise that Portsmouth, after spending so much money on some really good players have now won the FA Cup and are playing in Europe. You pay for the better players, you get a better team, you have more chance of winning things. It's not rocket science is it?
Unfortunately our owners simply do not have that kind of ambition and, while I absolutely appreciate everything they have done for us so far, until we get someone in who wants to "have a go", the owners' lack of ambition will only be matched by our lack of achievement.
So much of this comes down to money. How much have Boro been subsidised by Gibson to maintain their premier league status? It is clear that our board don’t want to throw their millions at us as and the club is self financing - hence our yo-yo status.
Good article, Tatts.
It's pleasing that we have at least one high-profile local journalist who's not afraid to echo the thoughts of many Blues fans, rather than religiously brown-nose around Blues' failing Board.
With his incessant stream of inane outbursts; David Gold is increasingly making a laughing stock of not only himself, but the club and the city as well. He would do well to remember that him and David Sullivan are NOT the owners of Birmingham City, they are just shareholders, each of whom own less of the club than Carson Yeung. They speak only for themselves.
I try my best to look on the positive side when I think about our board and when I go back to the days of Weldon and Kumars,it sends a shiver down my spine and sends me into a deep depression.
5,000 gates, Altrincham in the F.A cup,losing 5-1 at places like Rotherham, 5-2 at Mansfield, Ice Cubes in the pies, Carl Richards, Richie Moran, a terraced house converted into a Club shop and a football ground that was on the verge of being a death trap springs to mind and I will always be grateful to our owners for putting some respectability back into my Club because when I was growing up and supporting The Blues in the late 70's,80's and 90's it was pure torture and at times embarassing following the boys in Blue!
It's plain to see that our owners are a good Championship Board of Directors and are clearly in their comfort zone in this league: the Premiership is not a playground they want to play in, or want to be in for long, because that means money and if you want to stick around in it you have to spend it. The truth is in the facts; the teams that spend the least are not in for long.
I cant defend Gold's words because for a man so rich and intelligent I find them more embarassing than our 5-1 defeat to our friends across the road. Cup finals,European football and 10 million signings, BORING???? Come on Mr Gold who are you trying to kid???
With that silly statement it is more clear than ever that their time is well and truly up, but the way football is at the moment with so many clubs (and big clubs at that) who are on the border of bankruptcy, I think it's going to be a very long time before we see the multi billionaire that everyone craves rolling into town; spending money like there is no tomorrow and handing out £99 season tickets to everyone. So until that happens I think the Club is in safe hands and is at a level they can compete at without getting into serious trouble.
I would be very worried if I was a Man City,Leeds Utd,Notts Forest or Sheff Wed fan,who at the moment are taking loans out to pay existing loans and there is only so long they can do that.
In my eyes it's better the Devil you know, than the Devil you dont know, until something better comes along! Man City have never owed so much money until Frank Sinatra rolled into town and the only guaranteed collatoral they have is their Premier League status and Sky Money. If and when that goes,so do Manchester City. Birmingham City Football Club is in a lot better postion than what people think or want them to be in. KRO!!!!
Ouch is all I can say to Tatts comments. Very true and searching, and hopefully a few home truths will register to certain individuals.
My worry is by his honesty it may come back to haunt our hero and other egos will brush things to one side whilst maintaining things are 'not their fault'.
The Blues board have spent the last three years washing their hands and spinning. It's time fans woke up to the fact that they have no ambition and no willingness to spend what it takes to compete with Fulham or Bolton for goodness sake. I ask David Gold: what's so good about relegation? It's embarrassing and shows the team is not good enough and the board is not good enough.
Blues go down
Blues go down
Blues go down together
Come back up
Go back down
Come back up
Go back down
Come back up
Go back down
Come back up
Go back down
Come back up
Go back down
David Gold is a clown
QUINBLUE
I am sick of BCFC being used as a perennial cash cow for a clique of businessmen who demonstrably have no respect for the supporters and no sporting ambition for the club they have a stranglehold on.
Get rid!!!!!