Cheerio, cheerio, cheerio
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 ã10 million - ã20 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.
Older/Newer
« Going down | Belly up? »
10 Comments
Profile
Colin Tattum - Mail man Colin Tattum's view of what's going on at Birmingham City FC.
So, these boards. Who is paying for them then and how much are they costing?
who is paying? A N Other.
who cares who's paying? If I had the cash i'd pop a few of my own little messages up
Tatts, Fascinating insight as usual. I have to say I find all this self congratulatory spiel from DS rather ridiculous. Typical self promotion. I also think we are being mislead again over the ticket prices being reduceed as a leaving present. When the match day pricing schedule came out in July there were always two Grade DD matches priced at ã15 a ticket, surely the Bolton match is one of those matches. No goodwill gesture as far as I can see. I notice you threw in a nice little titbit about Eck's tactics being dissected by one of the Board. Would you care to expand, is that a Mr McMananman by any chance? Let's just hope that as you suggest Eck is given a reasonable transfer pot in January.
No, it was Sammy Yu talking tactics as indicated in the copy. McManaman isn't going to have as influential a role as people seem to think from what I can gather. He's basically been a paid PR for Carson Yeung in the Far East, giving him prestige out there. I don't think Yeung or Yu are going to be picking the team and insisting on certain players either, not as a lot of the scaremongering has had it. The bottom line for me is that for it to work Blues have to be a PL club so I would be suprised if the new people came in, having spent so much on the shares, and then started taking the club backwards!
It's obvious who has paid for the posters, Yeung will be left the invoice when he comes in lol
Tatts, Thanks for the response. I'm with you in believing that CY will allow Big Eck to manage the team his way. Given a decent transfer budget I think he could take the club a long way.
The one thing that they will try to influence is a less negative style of play and Far East football seems to be played with flair and verve.
SY will need convincing that AM is prepared to embrace subject to having the players that can implement it.
Julian Glass you've not seen Blues this season then? Eck has got the team passing the ball and playing in an attractive style. If you are prepared to pay the money to get the best players then its easy to implement it ergo. Do you watch football regularly in China and the Far East? Thought so. Another armchair expert who likes to see his name in print
Tankmeister,
Yes I go to every game and yes I have seen the attractive passing football and marvelled at it, as we all have done.
We are currently setting out our stall to get to the 70 minute no worse than 0-0 then go from 4-5-1 (4-1-4-1;4-4-1-1) to 4-4-2. I understand why. However this play is not enabling us to create many chances and goalmouth action and this I feel is what CY will want to help sell the club in the Far East.