September 2009 Archives

Checking up on some background information the other day, I hunted for some of my old Blues programmes.

And there it was, the historic issue from March 6, 1993, the very first match of the Sullivan-Gold-Brady regime.

Paul Peschisolido is pictured on the cover, being presented with the 'young eagle' of the month award. In that kit.

Terry Cooper talked about the need for Blues to 'simply keep calm, play with pride and professionalism, stop throwing priceless points away with sloppy mistakes'.

The True Blue Club page heralded the fact that its members were paying the wages of Paul Fitzpatrick, who had joined from Leicester City in January.

John Frain, in the Captain's Log, column bemoaned the fact that Blues had used six goalkeepers already that season.

And the centre spread feature was on David Foy, a 20-year-old from Coventry who listed his favourite food and drink 'Chinese and lager'. Imagine that today!

Yes, it was a long, long time ago that match against Oxford United (won 1-0 thanks to Pesch's goal), when Karren Brady was introduced to an 11,104 crowd by Jack Wiseman in a pink Puffa jacket.

From another programme back then, you got an insight into how the board kept a watchful eye on the finances, and how they made sure fans knew about it: check out Brady's 'Sincerely Yours' column.

On Saturday, Sullivan, Ralph Gold and Brady say their goodbyes to the St Andrew's faithful. Well, at least Sullivan will for definite as Brady can't make it because she's filming The Apprentice.

There will be no walkabouts or showy speeches. In fact, apart from a piece on the big screen, by the time the game has finished we might not even know that's it, over, no more for the gang of three.

It would be four, but David Gold wants to stay on as chairman, or in a similar capacity. He was due to meet Sammy Yu, Carson Yeung's top chief, on Friday to clarify his role.

Yeung and Vico Hui, chief executive of Grandtop International Holdings, have passed the Premier League 'fit and proper person' test.

And their share offer has become unconditional after it was announced that Grandtop have gathered up 81.7 per cent of the stock.

Alex McLeish has now also had a brief telephone conversation with Yu, so it's all systems go for the takeover.

Back in that 1992/93 season, Blues scrapped the paint pallet kit, splurged on new players, and avoided relegation from Barclays League Division One on the final day, courtesy of Paul Moulden's goal against Charlton Athletic.

It was just the start of a real rollercoaster of a ride at Blues under the Sullivan-led regime.

Very soon the Birmingham Mail will be publishing an in-depth retrospective on their time in charge before the club moves into Far Eastern hands.

The 'fresh doubts' that have surfaced about Blues takeover have surfaced in one ill-informed individual's mind.

A report that claims it's possible Carson Yeung's buy out could collapse again should be disregarded.

Now, I don't claim to be an expert on legal and financial matters relating to the City and takeovers.

But Yeung's purchase of Blues is NOT dependent on the rights offer for Grandtop International Holdings.

The money has already been secured in the form of a bridging loan, and the rights issue has been underwritten by Kingston Securities anyway.

Yeung hasn't asked for any more time to raise cash because it is already available!

And a formal offer document has gone out to shareholders.

It's all systems go as far as the change in ownership is concerned. Even David Sullivan says Blues fans should be optimistic, and get behind Yeung.

Sammy Yu flew into England early on Saturday morning and is expected to watch the Sunderland game and talk to Blues owners, and David Gold about his role.

In the meantime, whilst things take their natural course, on the playing side Blues can reflect on a welcome first away Premier League win since Alex McLeish's debut match, Garry O'Connor scoring at Hull City (pictured).

Those posters were, I suppose, typical Blues.

A grand gesture to say goodbye and thanks . . . then a plug for ticket prices!

Perhaps that's being a little unkind. It was well meaning; I must stop being so cynical.

Twenty billboards around the city proclaimed what we suspected, that David Sullivan, Karren Brady and Ralph Gold plan to resign and be off when Carson Yeung's takoever effectively comes to pass on October 6.

By then he should have accrued their 50 per cent shareholding, to go with his own 29.9 per cent through Grandtop International Holdings, and probably the vast majority of remaining shares in circulation, held by people like you and me.

Regardless, it will be the beginning of a new era and the directors know that they can't really be hanging around.

David Gold is likely to be held over, and talks on his new role are to taking place. He is likely to be the conduit between Yeung and supporters, maintain the club's relationship with various football bodies over here and do the usual PR.

Sullivan reckons Yeung and his group will 'throw some money at it' and improve matters. He says he would be surprised if £10 million - £20 million wasn't made available in January.

Alex McLeish, who has not yet sat down with Yeung or his right-hand man Sammy Yu, has already got a list of targets sorted out (a new list, for new owners, if you catch my drift) and it apparently contains some top names at top clubs in Europe. And these players aren't likely to come cheap.

About time too. You have to be prepared to pay what it takes for quality just to keep up with the Jones's in the Premier League.

McLeish himself is relaxed about the impending change, which should all be done and dusted in around four to five weeks time. He has been speaking as if Sullivan and Brady have given him a few encouraging tidbits.

Meeting the media ahead of the Hull City game, he suggested that everyone should be positive and any potential worries had not gnawed away at him.

"I have never felt uncertain by the whole thing. I would like to think my cup is half full. There's change coming, let's embrace that and try and make this work rather than fear what's going to happen.

"It's new exciting times for Birmingham City Football Club and Birmigham City's fans and everybody who is already at the club.

"If they are ambitious enough and they believe in themselves enough, they will believe that they can go forward with the new owners."

Yu told me, after I caught him via phone just after he landed in Hong Kong back from a trip to Beijing, that they would recruit an experienced football executive to replace Brady, and it wouldn't be Peter Kenyon.

He watched the Villa match via satellite television and we discussed whether Blues had or had not been too cautious.

Eck's going to get a surprise in that at least one member of the incoming board will be keen to dissect his tactics rather than dissect his budgets!

So, after Hull, it's onto the Bolton Wanderers game, the 'official' farewell St Andrew's match for Sullivan, Brady and Ralph Gold, as the billboards confirmed. With cut-price tickets, too.

There's been a fair bit of debate about Ashley Young's theatrics and how he tends to exaggerate when going to ground.

I'm having none of it.

The days tick by but the pain doesn't subside much.

Derby games do that to you. And judging from the expressions on the Blues players after Sunday's defeat by Villa, it had cut them to the core as well.

Don't think for a moment that Blues personnel didn't want this one. From the moment that determined James McFadden tackle crashed into Nigel Reo-Coker in the opening minutes you could see it.

Villa, though, have now won the last five fixtures, and three in a row at St Andrew's.

The gap between the sides is getting bigger when you account for the spending.

Martin O'Neill has been able to lavish more than £100 million in his time on players. He fielded three debutants in a £25 million defence.

Yet you would not have guessed that Blues were the supposed poor relations for the most part at St Andrew's.

Defensively they were excellent considering the handicaps, and in midfield Villa were made to look ordinary. How Martin Keown came to the conclusion that Stiliyan Petrov was 'pulling the strings' in his analysis on Match of the Day Two, heaven knows.

I got the impression that Villa were actually quite surprised by Blues keeness to pass and move, and the slick way they did so at times. They probably expected the Brummie Bashers on parade, an up and at 'em kind of scrap.

And afterwards, a couple of O'Neill's men paid a backhanded compliment by telling a Blues rival that if they had put together the kind of approach work Blues did, they believed they would have scored three or four goals.

Where Blues fell down was the marking at the fateful free-kick that presented Gabriel Agbonlahor with the winner.

And there were one or two decisions by Alex McLeish that didn't come off.

McLeish had originally intended to start a 4-4-2 with Christian Benitez. That was in the immediate aftermath of the Spurs game.

The plan was changed over the days as Benitez travelled to South American on international duty, Blues full-backs went down or stayed injured, and after further analysis of Villa's strength and power of their central midfield.

So it was 4-5-1 and I don't think that was so much the issue with most people.

Carson Yeung hopes to gain control of Blues by the end of October/beginning of November.

The time of the Grandtop International Holdings EGM has again been changed again, to September 29.

Shareholders will be asked to agree to a new rights issue. But this does not affect the buy out. Yeung has already secured a £57 million bridging loan to finance his purchase of Blues.

Mindful of the sorry state of affairs in 2007 when Yeung was unable to purchase any more than 29.9 per cent of the club, his camp have been quick to stress that there are no problems this time.

It is because of procedural matters not due to any financial niggle that the takeover has been delayed, they said.

Blues current directors had been working to a timetable of the first week in October as the changeover date.

They viewed Bolton Wanderers on September 26 as their last St Andrew's match, and were making plans for farewells.

Possibly, they could still be around for Sunderland and Steve Bruce's visit on October 24 now.

The EGM was to be held on September 16, then put back to October 5. Another alteration was announced today, to September 29.

The plan is to issue 50 per cent more shares in Grandtop, the Yeung takeover vehicle.

Yeung has got the bridging loan from Kingston Securities, who will take a 29.9 per cent stake in Grandtop.

Once the formal offer documents to all Blues shareholders is sent out, and the EGM has passed, things should accelerate.

David Sullivan, David Gold and Ralph Gold have given an undertaking to sell their shareholding in Blues, which totals almost 50 per cent.

A spokesman for Yeung said: "We were expecting originally for the takeover to happen in early to mid-October and we should be near to completing the deal by the original timing.

"The deal won't change. The timing may slightly, but that is all."

At Grandtop's AGM, it was announced that Steve McManaman (pictured here with Yeung at St Andrew's) was re-elected as an executive director.

But former China star Fan Zhiyi has stood down.

Grandtop said that he had 'retired by rotation' as an executive director and did no offer himself for re-election due to personal reasons.

Fan Zhiyi said that there was no disagreement between him and the board and no matter that needed to be brought to the attention of the Stock Exchange.

Sobering and illuminating to note that Blues are likely to be facing a side that cost in excess of £90 million in the St Andrew's derby.

Villa were the second biggest spenders of the last transfer window just gone, behind Manchester City.

Martin O'Neill has not been short of cash at all since taking over, to say the least.

Remember when it used to be a little different, when Blues persuaded Muzzy Izzet to join them instead of Villa and were happily prepared to splash out £5.5 million on David Dunn and £6.25 million on Emile Heskey?

That was then.

The money Villa agreed to commit for Stewart Downing - who is not included in that figure above by the way - alone covered Alex McLeish's outlay this summer on new players.

McLeish stated he wanted at least 10 players after promotion from the Championship.

Well, 11 have been signed, not all of them were his first choices however. And in one case, wasn't really on his list at all.

Based on transfer fees already paid out, the cost has been about £7 million (Christian Benitez has so far been £1.2 million, Roger Johnson £2 million and Scott Dann £1.5 million).

Two years ago, during the summer window, Steve Bruce brought in 12 players paying £9.95 million in transfer fees.

Sure, it's not always what you spend but the way that you spend it. But Blues have to get away from the loan and free transfer route.

Achille Emana, of Real Betis, has been tracked by McLeish for a while. Emana claimed offers of eight million euros were tabled for his services.

McLeish made an 'ambitious' attempt to strike a loan deal, which failed. He had more joy with Sunderland and Teemu Tainio, a decent acquisition considering the circumstances.

So what next? What happens in January, during the 2010 winter window?

Carson Yeung was prepared to commit at least £5 million last month on one player, plus wages, as a gift which fell foul of complex Stock Market regulations.

You would hope that once he takes charge at St Andrew's that and much more of the same should be forthcoming to suit the required needs.

McLeish plans to sit down with Yeung and his associates at the earliest opportunity to plot a clear and distinct transfer policy. Blues have to hit the ground running in January and not end up scratching around as the deadlines nears.

The Tuncay example, you would believe, suggests that Eck should be able to move away from the bargain bin end of the market.

The word from Yeung's camp is that they won't go mad and lavish untold riches, putting the club in jeopardy.

But they are well aware that the main requirement this season is to ensure the Premier League status. That was described thus by Grandtop International, in a document outlining the reason for buying Blues: 'The initial and primary aim will be supporting the cub to help it retain its Premier League status.'

I keep going back to this point, but it is one that resonates: would they really have offered £1-a-share, a staggering 240 per cent premium over the average share price in the last six months, if they weren't serious and in it for the long haul?

The current directors are already preparing for their 'farewell' game. Bolton Wanderers on September 26 has been identified by them as their final home match in power.