Groundhog deadline day
Another transfer window deadline day, another fine mess.
That's the instant conclusion to draw from what went on by close of business (if it has indeed closed; who actually knows?).
But out of chaos, can some kind of order be established? Possibly.
Alex McLeish wanted a centre-half. Calum Davenport was preferred but ultimately out of reach. The £3 million price tag plus wages was beyond Blues - and others it seems - and they were eventually outbid on a loan fee by Sunderland.
Blues had also been working on a deal for Doncaster Rovers's Matt Mills, but £1.5 million wasn't enough. His former club Manchester City were due a slice of any profit.
As all this was going on, Stoke City moved for Stephen Kelly. His loan fee, of £500,000, was due to go to the in-coming transfer pot, to boost the Mills kitty. It's being 'creative' apparently.
As an impasse was reached over Mills, the Kelly transfer continued to progress, and it was not related to Ibrahima Sonko coming the other way.
Kelly's loan, at the time of writing, still hasn't been ratified. He's probably stuck in his car at Hilton Park services twiddling his thumbs wondering if Andrei Arshavin has any good advice.
As Stuart Parnaby sits in the treatment room and Jared Wilson was sent to Chesterfield on loan, Blues don't have a right-back at present.
So, McLeish got a striker, Carlos Costly, who could be anything, but no Davenport, no Mills, no Sonko, no Kelly (perhaps), but 500 grand!
Costly cost (forgive me, easily done) £500,000 in loan fees, so in fariness I guess it's break even.
McLeish has chosen his words carefully all along about the centre-half situation. It's become a millstone around his neck since the Gary Cahill saga.
A year ago, some sympathy is due because Blues stumped up the £5 million and both manager and board were left gobsmacked when he decided to join Bolton Wanderers. Every indication was that he would be heading to St Andrew's.
Now, it's no wonder that patience has worn thin. The issue should have been addressed, because it will have to be in the summer, regardless of what division Blues are in.
On the assumption that Radhi Jaidi's contract is allowed to expire and Martin Taylor, on the previous evidence of being overlooked and almost sold to Norwich City, a couple of centre-halves will probably be needed.
Most managers want four competing for the slots, so add the new bloods to Liam Ridgewell and Krystian Pearce.
David Sullivan, in Wednesday's Birmingham Mail, will respond to the criticism, talk about what happened and why the board only went so far.
And whether we like it or not, the directors won't speculate to accumulate, certainly when Blues are a Championship side. A loan, with a view to a permanent signing, is considered a 'safer' option.
For every £3.8 million made available for a Kris Boyd, it then doesn't stay available for someone else. That's the unusual way of doing things for certain 'special case' players. Frustrating, I know.
As for Kelly, it's barmy to move him out at present. Especially when he can do a job at centre-half.
Yet out of chaos, can there be order?
We've forgotten that the transfer window signings are not bad at all and look as if they could make a difference. Hameur Bouazza in particular for me has brought a new dimension to the side.
And next week when players can be loaned by Championship clubs again, you would expect - nay, demand - Blues to do all in their power to secure a centre-half, and a replacement for Kelly.
And I'm mindful of disrespecting Taylor here, who could easily do the business for the remainder of the season - like he did two years ago - if he had to and Parnaby who, in the main, has had a decent season.
On the assumption that there will be additions and McLeish manages to knock into shape what's at his disposal, all might not be lost. Only time will tell whether the kind of stealth and safe transfer policy rather than the splurge works.
Older/Newer
20 Comments
Leave a comment
Profile
Colin Tattum - Mail man Colin Tattum’s view of what’s going on at Birmingham City FC.
If I was AM I'd walk now. The board are supposed to back the manager, and by not signing a centre half that he has identified; they've not backed him.
Any kudos the board may have gained from the "New Year New Start" will evaporate immediately. We (the fans) have known for at least a year, if not two we've needed a good strong centre back. One has not been forthcoming - and no matter what the board says, it will be treated with contempt (which in my opinion is more than justified).
I'm a positive person; I think we've made some good signings this window - but barring Fahey (and Shroot), none of them are now our players. We need to be building now for the future; not next season, but the next few seasons. Lay the foundation for a good side - instead, the board have just bunged a load of polyfilla into the cracks and are hoping for another promotion and another wedge of Sky money.
Tatts - you need to tell David Sullivan et al it's not good enough - and if they think fan's antipathy is bad now, it's only going to get worse.
if Kelly does go it's breathtaking incompetence.
The general consensus is we need a central defender so we get rid of our only available left back?
There must be a personal issue with Kelly for this to happen and they just want him out of the club.
Blues are a (un)funny joke of a club sometimes.
we have more loans the ocean bloody finance.
Kelly? Left back?
When have Blues actually signed this 'Special Player'?
David Sullivan will explain the club's efforts in Wednesday's Mail. What are the Mail doing? Not bothering to ask for his comments and simply re-printing the same old rubbish he trots out after EVERY window for the last.... 10 years?
Loaning out Kelly to raise funds for Mills is a disgrace. New Year New Start?
The only thing that has become VERY apparent is that the owners want out, double quick. Taking 500k in salary, selling a 1/3rd of their shares for £ 15 million and only spending ONE transfer fee in the last 12 months.
Too risky spending money when we don't know what division we'll be in? It's been the same for over 2 years and will be the same if we win promotion this season, after all, we'll be told the first season is the most difficult.
Anway, congratulations 'Marketing Genius'. You've lost over half your customer base inside 4 years. This weekend, £15 quid in, £10 concessions, £5 Under 12's.
Won't be more than 17k there
You've lost us. Now sell, you say owning the club is such a massive milestone around your necks, well, with the massive wealth you enjoy, sell for the 750k you paid for it. Enjoy your 15 million.
Remember when the board bought the Blues and the January of our first Premiership season ? There was some speculate to accumulate then as their hunger to do well was still there. In my opinion as time has moved on they run the club more and more on business lines and prefer the comfort zone.
No amount of PR will help them at present. If they mean what they say they would just do it instead of repeatedly saying they will.
Collectively the board and AM have had three transfer windows to get the one player everyone agrees we need - a centr half. The fact they haven't speaks louder than any words
Tatts,
Many thanks for your info - you've answered all my questions - its just as i thought. The Kelly deal (if it happens) is yet another 'own-goal' in the catalogue of incompetance which can be filed under "Public Relations Disasters" at the club. As i said before, they say that money is available for a 'Special Case' (Boyd) but i give to you the thought that a quality centre back has been a special case for what....3 years now?! Unbelievable....no, actually it is. This is Blues.
Tatts,
I agree with all the comments posted so far. I know your blog is trying to bring some sense to all this but you are trying to defend the indefensible.
It is sheer incompetence by the club.
Did McLeish sanction Kelly's loan or was it the Board going above McLeish's head?
Everyone knows that signing at least one CB was a priority, why was this left until the very last minute?
All the appreciation from most fans over the 10-point plan will now disappear. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.
I normally try to defend the Board and McLeish on message boards against the criticism they get but this debacle is just crazy (as Benitez would say).
They should be working around the clock this week to line up a RB and a CB to come in next Monday, if they don't then incompetent is too small a word for my feelings towards them.
I know you have a good relationship with the Club, which you need to maintain, but you have to let them know just how let down the fans feel about this. It is just so typical of the way the Club operates at the moment that I guess we shouldn't be surprised but this has definitely alienated the fans even more.
On a positive note I think we have signed some decent players in the transfer window but the number of loans is a big worry.
Regardless of the fine words, and the aspiration to get someone in on loan, I for one have had enough. I can't believe I am saying this while we are sitting 3rd in the league, but it seems to me taht we are doing all in our power to avoid promotion rather than push for it. Kelly was one of the few on the books that can hack it in the prem, so we ship him out for £500k. as Hansen would have it UNBELIEVABLE
I see David Sullivan is trotting out lame excuses over why we didn't sign a centre-back before the window closed....time ran out for one transfer and another fell through because the player wanted a Premier League club with big gates.
Some questions...
What groundwork did the board do in the run-up to the month-long transfer window and during the time it was open to secure a signing?
Could Sunderland's place in the top division - and the gates they attract - be anything to do with the fact that they have an ambitious board not a bunch of penny-pinchers who are ready to blame anyone but themselves?
MrS, we are sick and tired of your parsimony and buck passing.
Tatts,
Here is a copy of an email i sent to the board yesterday morning, before Mr. Sullivan trotted out his usual lame excuses.
Dear All,
Yet again you have failed to bring in a centre half. It has been patently obvious that we needed a centre half over a year ago and for the third transfer window in succession you have not signed a centre half. The Chairman by his own admission on Talksport last year said you should have signed a centre half in the window last January....and you still haven't signed one. The three we have at present are not good enough; Jaidi is too slow, Ridgewell is error prone. How many goals/points did he cost us last season? Taylor is not up to it.
This constant penny pimching and reluctance to spend money cost the team last season and will do so again this season. I am sick of the empty promises and pathetic 'ten point plans' offered, because when it comes to putting resources into the team you never back it up with action or cash. Its no good pointing to loaness, free transfers or bids made, that doesn't cut any ice. You made £5,000,000 profit and sold Muamba and Kapo and have since spent £800K on Bent and Fahey, oh and 25p on Shroot. Add to that the parachute money. Where's it all gone? Not on a central defender!
I was a Season Ticket holder until the end of last season, and after we were relegated i decided to wait and see if you would make an investment in the team to get us back up. However, the £500K you spent on Bent, the loanees and free transfers did not offer any indication that you would back your words with hard cash, so i didnt bother to give you my money. Until you do so then i will not buy another match ticket let alone a season ticket. I am fed up with the hot air spouted by you lot and the overpriced facilities that you offer. I have better things to spend my money on and i say that because thats the only thing you understand or care about.
The 'centre half problem' has existed since we last went up, why has it not been solved before now? Why did the board wait until the last day of the transfer window to start negotiating?
Why, because they dont want to spend the money. They have it, but there keeping it to make the books look good when they sell us. The sooner the better!
This side is a makeshift bunch of losers put together by an incompetant board who should go and GO NOW
I don't think its a disaster that Kelly has left at all and the only question i have is why didn't the other players at the club with 'NO HEART' and 'NO BOTTLE' follow him out?
I'd rather watch players at the club that want to be there giving there everything then players that would walk out the club at the first opportunity! so with this sentiment im guessing Larssons next?
Tatts, as if you didn't already know it,the strength of feeling against The Board is so strong,you can almost touch it.
For Sullivan to have yet another pop at the fans over his we are only getting 15000 jibe,is frankly unbelievable. The bloke must be an idiot. How he has made millions from running a business,goodness knows.
The bottom line is, that if we were playing well, all of this negativity would not be there,but, we are being subjected to dross week in week out.
Talking to a died in the wool Bluenose today who is going to Twickernham on Saturday, as he just can't bear to watch Blues anymore.
I must say it is so painfull.
Goodness knows if we will sell any STs next season.
The club needs a change of ownership, but it is difficult to see where it is going to come from, unless they are prepared to 'give' it away.
Mr. Sullivan.
Whilst you are talking stats regarding only getting gates of 15,000, can I make you aware of some figures for you.
15,000 - the amount of extra unemployed people in the west midlands in the last year.
£60 - jobseeker's allowance unemployed are entitled to a week
do not criticise attendances when jobs are being culled day after day - i appreciate the work you are doing to get those in, but, people are cutting back, will only spend on things they need or very much enjoy - like football.
Typical Blues, were like a bloody soap opera, other clubs must see our club as one long joke, players come to us for a pay cheque and it seems management are exactly the same. I'm not even gonna mention the fact that Mcleish has decided no reserve team for us. I forgot it saves money
this club is fast going down the drain, i even look at the baggies and wolves to be more professional in there business
fans are deserting the club and sullivan will continue blaming us for the downward trend and the credit crunch. No David it's because your product is rubbish!!
The farcical actions and comments of David Sullivan have now become more predictable than ever, he regularly insults our intelligence and he’s better at "spin" than Shane Warne.
Last time we were in this division Blues sold Upson,it was as the January Window was closing and he was never replaced for the successful promotional run-in. With the benefit of hindsight the board now know they got lucky in 2007 as we had no injury worries in defence from February onwards, and obviously now they think history will repeat itself. Penny pinching is no way to run a football club chasing promotion to the PL with all it’s riches.
I'm no lover of this Blues board; and AM and his staff have yet to win me over (although AM has a difficult task with a team full of loanees, free-transfers etc) but at times some of our “better” players don’t appear to be up for it this season.
The Wheldon/Kumar days used to be the darkest days of BCFC, but at least we had players who were loyal and gave us everything they had, some of whom were local lads coming up through the ranks. They were real penny-pinching days (with a serious lack of ambition/investment) and we knew it at the time, and the clubs owners at the time knew it, and they didn’t try to kid us otherwise. But this current board are like a bunch of politicians (false-hope, spin etc), Governments who allow morale to reach so low often get voted out by the people who matter. The writing’s already on the wall, if we miss out on promotion it’ll be in capital letters.
The only thing I don't think is bad is Kelly going. His heart is not in it and if we bring in a better right back then fine. The timing is terrible as we don't have a right back to play there. Kelly cannot pass to save his life. We have made good signings in the window however not signing a centre half - from the mighty Doncaster! - is another example of the ineptitude and lack of care/passion by the board. McLeish made it clear all along that he put the names to the board months ago and left it in their hands. Clever if you ask me because he has taken so much heat for their penny pinching ways. The crowds are down because we are fed up with the lack of ambition. Brady seems more bothered making wisecracks in the sun and getting on the television and boasting about another profit than doing her proper job. Hates me to say it but if we don't go up then we will get what we deserve. Nothing will ever change until the board go. Doesn't matter what manager we have.
Blues fans should have the backbone to give back some of the crap that the Board have given us year in year out by staging a vocal and vociferous protest at the end of every match regardless of the result – peacefully from the terraces only though.
I have been supporting Blues for 40 years and regularly went to away games when we only had 5,000 at home, but I have never felt as disenchanted with the club as I do now.
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 ambition for the club they have a stranglehold on and who also insult the intelligence of the fans every time they open their mouth with their self hype, false promises and spin.
Ditto to much of the above.
Would the board get the message that we do care but no longer want to line their pockets if 5000 of us stay aways turned up and sat in the Kop car park during every home game? If it got the message through then I for one would be willing.
I like the protest idea but from speaking to mates the old hardcore fans that don't go anymore are so disollusioned that they probably couldn't even be bothered to do that. The board have taken the passion out of peoples hearts and it takes more than 10 pledges to get that back