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Two Weeks In
Today marks two weeks since (according to Jeremy Wray at least) SMW were told that they were the preferred bidder for purchasing a stake in Birmingham City FC. As yet there has been no announcement as to what is going to happen and life at St Andrew’s has continued as normal with the club being linked with former striker Wes Thomas.
As one would expect during a period of negotiations, Wray and his cohorts have kept radio silence with no interviews with the press and no details as of yet as to where their financial muscle is coming from. That being said, although both Australian members of the board of SMW stepped down on 14 May this website has learned that at least one of those people – Melbourne-based rose farmer Gavin Sheehan – is still actively involved with SMW and negotiations with BIH at this moment in time.
There has been a lot of talk as to why Wray’s bid has been seemingly deemed to be the one to go with when there is another bid on the table from the BCFC2014 consortium which includes former Blues Non-Executive Director Paul Richardson. That decision from BIH as I understand it is purely based on finances; SMW have offered BIH a guaranteed HK$400M (around £30.7M) for their 96% stake in Birmingham City PLC whereas the BCFC2014 bid is a lot lower at around £20M guaranteed. However, from Paul Richardson’s tweet it is obvious that should SMW falter then BCFC2014 are ready to negotiate further with BIH to get the deal done.
In the meantime while all this is going on Lee Clark is doing what he can to bring in new players; Wes Thomas was linked in today’s Birmingham Mail and is available on a Bosman after rejecting a new deal at Rotherham United. There have been the predictable grumblings that Blues are looking at League One players but the fact remains that as of right now it is all we can afford – and should Clark leave signing players until the boardroom situation is sorted he could easily go back into pre-season training with only half a squad – if not start the season in that shape. It might be that investment isn’t sorted for some time and Blues have to continue preparing in some way for the new season – to not do so would be negligent.
In other news, Hayden Mullins, who was released after the Bolton game has signed a new one year deal with Notts County where he spent some time on loan last season.
Tags: BCFC2014, BIH, Gavin Sheehan, Hayden Mullins, SMW, The Takeover, Wes Thomas
74 Responses to “Two Weeks In”
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Wes Thomas…..lolololololol…..bring back the embargo!
For christ sake not him
He would not be my first choice. But let me just ask something here, who do you think we can get better for £0 fee and league one/two wages? He was a goal scorer in league one last year, and who with these constraints is better?
Idiot comments yet again.
I would like to think no news is good news at the moment.
Seems like exactly the same position as last season where we have to rely upon Bosman frees and loans. Lets hope we can get at least one or two decent centre backs, a central midfielder and that Zigic, Burke and Packwood sign new contracts. Season long loans for Huws and Ibe would be good.
the second bidders appeal to me more, as the interest seems to be blues, not just potential profit, but either is better than what we have now.
it makes me wonder, lets just say bihl insist this full take over lasts 2 years.
is the bid binding regardless of club performance ?
i know your initial response will be yes, it is binding, but,
if crowds double, and after the January transfer window, we look like we might just about make the play off’s
can bihl as majority share holders re negotiate the deal or find a legal loop hole to cancel the deal ?
now before you tell me the hong kong stock exchange would not like this.
i would remind you that our owner is a convict, and the guy leading the sale process has been the convicts legal rep for many years.
i don’t know about due diligence, i’d want a microscope to look for hidden fine print
If Eardley is fit at the start of the season we can play three right backs!!!!
All in midfield if LC is still here.
It makes you wonder what might have happened if Caddis hadn’t been playing in midfield against Bolton. In fact, both Caddis and Hancox, although good players, are extremely lacking defensively.
Both Caddis and Hancox give us a more attacking option from the back. However, because of our lack of depth and experience in the central defensive area, coupled with no one able to hold the ball up front we became vulnerable.
Bolton could have been so different if they hadn’t push forward.
If only we didn’t continually pump the ball route one when ziggy plays we would not be under continuous pressure at the back.
KRO+DNM
Hayden Mullins was a big disappointment overall but goes with my blessing having helped save our skins in the last few games of last season. His attitude was faultless knowing that he had been consistently overlooked and that he had no future with the Club.
Hear hear! Good luck to him.
Agree about his performances. Although it could be argued that his performances showed what he could do when given a run in the side and was regularly playing (like he had been for Notts County) as opposed to being in one week and out the next like so many Blues players last season.
I never liked Mullins and don’t think he did anything special in the last three games.
I do agree with you about players playing regularly and hopefully that is one lesson LC has learnt from last season.
We need a settled side with maybe one or two tweaks depending on conditions and opponents. Hopefully we won’t have so many injuries and Robbo can avoid so many bookings.
KRO+DNM
Chris W. I am definitely not a Mullins fan and he did fall asleep for the second Bolton goal, but there was one timely intervention in the first half there and he was overall a steady influence with Robbo out …and yes he could have thought “sod it” and just gone through the motions he seemed to do in his pre-loan games
Well Clark will have deemed to have done a extremely wonderful job this time around if blues stay up, and make any more advances than bottom 4 …..be good to see wes again………
As far as I’m concerned, we’ve waited 2 years for a takeover, so another week or two won’t kill us. I know it’s not ideal where recruitment is concerned, but maybe in a few weeks, we might be able to bring in a couple of better quality loans and see how we go from there. There’s really not a lot else we can do but wait.
staffs!!!!!!!! , your back man ….we missed you
Cheers Rob. My PC died. :'( Had to wait 2 months for my geeky boy to come up from Plymouth. Longest 2 months of my life. Glad to be back among the throng.
Welcome back, Staffs.You were missed
Many thanks Chas!
I only saw Wes Thomas play once – against Derby. He scored twice and changed the game.
I said earlier we cannot afford anyone better. To be honest though- this was his one decent performance in a Blues shirt. The other ten games he was poor, if not mediocre.
that would be 2 of the 3 goals that he scored for us , you should go to all his games Al ,
Whilst one can appreciate that Due-diligence must be respected from both sides, It would be nice if some indication of prospective new owners could give some indication of how they see their role with us, ?.
I believe we will have some news around the 13th if all goes well with the due diligence, anything before will mean SMW have pulled out or thrown out.
Strange that paladini was vilified for speaking out, yet nothing has been said by BIHL about Jeremy Wray or to the HKSE, as usual their complete silence is deafening.
On the home front is there any news regarding Matt Green’s injury, along with Eardley, would be like having 2 new signings.
Not a fan of Mullins, thought he used the club as a cash cow as did some of the other high earners.
If they don’t find new clubs by 30th, the end of their contracts, do we still have to pay any wages to them, I think I read somewhere we have to pay an extra month’s wages?
KRO+DNM
Green has just started running outside @ Waste hills
Thanks, so still some way to go them.
KRO+DNM
What Do Blues fans expect Lee Clark to do ?
He has to get bodies in. Ones that he can trust.
ANY Blues fans expecting anything else than a struggle next season are dreamers.
Spot-on comment, Steve C.
“Ones that he can trust”? Don’t you mean “League Ones that he can trust” ha ha.
Sorry doc couldnot help it “never go to doctor whose office plants have died”
I think without new owners and investment,we’ll be relegated next season.
Well done Steve. Spot on
Tbh,he has to carry on as if there will be no takeover.Hopefully things will change in the near future and a new manager will be given money to spend.Until that happens it’s gonna be the same old dross.Probably worse.
This is nothing personal, but, Wes Thomas was horrendous for us. I understand the beggars and choosers situation we find ourselves in but he was poor.
If nothing changes soon then we won’t stand a chance. We don’t have any quality retained at the minute and time is running out. I would bite your hand off at 21st right now. It sounds harsh but I think it’s sensible.
That’s about right. We don’t have the finances to bring in quality, so we’ll have to settle for quantity. We need to beef up the squad pretty quick, or it won’t be worth turning up at Wast Hills for PST.
Good to see you back Staffs
Appreciated Tony. :)
Horrendous is the word Parchy
Just seen in the B/ham Mail, That we have signed Grant Hall, a 6ft, 2/3inch c/back on a season long loan from Spurs, ?.
I will wait till Thongs says if he is any good.
Whoops, !!. I had forgotten, lol.
Grant Hall the Spurs defender who is loaned to Blues for next season played 27 league games for Swindon last season.
Jeremy Wray’s Swindon connection?
Not a lot known about him really, yet to make an appearance for tottenham and at 22 should have been looking to establish himself by now.
We can’t really expect anything better at this stage or until we know who is putting the money in.
KRO+DNM
No mate
Great news well done Mr. Clark you do for me
Mark were you born an idiot, or do you have to work hard at the art?.
It’s a talent
Where you have no talent precious
Daniel forget the sin bin two yellows followed by a straight red should be enough…..dfb lol
Final warning Tony and then it’s a permament ban.
It’s an understandable question Dan.
It’s also called abuse and I ain’t standing for it. Tony has been warned before.
Tony’s only crime is that he doesn’t bite his tongue like others do.
Considering the financial constraints placed on Lee Clark, I for one would like to congratulate him for signing two defenders who are talented and hungry to succeed.
Think you may have overcooked it with talented but the other two pints I’ll agree with.
Both players have been relatively successful in the lower divisions and Grounds does have championship experience. My concern is if new owners decide to change manager or increase the wage structure and investment threshold we are going to be left with a bigger problem on what to do with any new signings.
KRO+DNM
Jonathan Grounds played for Middlesbrough in the Premier League and Spurs don’t sign non-talented players.
I agree with regarding you final sentence though.
Considering Spurs don,t have a manager,i wonder who has let him go?
Ponchettino
Course he is.Cheers beegee.
At Tottenham he didn’t have a squad number, his talent will be found out once the season starts, he seemed popular at Swindon.
KRO+DNM
Gregg Evans for the Evening Mail.
Reports about Grant Hall from spuds.
Mark Robins the Swindon manager ?
Thought it was “The ball might get past me but you wont” Mark Cooper !!
Thank God for OFTENPARTISAN.
I honestly think it would have been better if blues had gone down & maybe gone into admin because by the look of it next season will be torture we are going backwards. I don’t believe anyone is going to buy blues for the simple reason Clark is have to get in rejects again if it was close to being sold surely this wouldn’t be happening we are totally EMBARRASSING.
How would it have been better ?, we would be in league 1 , with minus 10 points to start with , even then who is to say anyone would still wish to buy us.
Well is it any better now I don’t think so it’s getting worse & he wants to bring back rubbish like wes Thomas back that’s going to inspire fans to come back. I honestly think these supposedly interested buyers wanted blues to go into admin really so they wouldn’t have to deal with these silly proposals that our owners want.
your right that things have got worse and worse , think we all hoped that someone with some proper money would be buying us , truth is the pain isnt gonna end soon either way , i cant think of a club thats gone into admin and bouced straight back up ?
We are not going to bounce anywhere apart from down anyway I don’t want us to go into admin but I think it is the only way we are ever going to be rid of these people. When we were on the brink of relegation the owners were saying if we go down most of the people interested will pull out what happened to them I think it was all bull these people will never let go unless they are made to which is why I think admin is the only option because nobody is going to buy us.
I think rounds is a sensible signing ,good defensively not so good going forward means that he will do a job that we needed last season, doing a defensive role on
the side that most sides are strongest ,due to their are less lefties around ,I think hall will frighten a few strikers ,,caddis I feel will do a good job in central midfield ,if he keeps scoring ,and I think Burke and eardley will give blues 45minutes each of non stop attacking wing play throughout a match ,we must keep an average of 7+ shots on target per game and have an average and try for no more than a goal against us on average per game these are our targets we should aim for ,I hope big Ziggy stays as he now is part of blues family kro
Although I’m still not convinced LC is the right manager for us I have to admire his diligence in signing the much needed defenders and possibly forwards in spite of the usual hands/ feet tied attitude by the hated NIHL regime. The only “due diligence” on view with this club is his!
Sorry, I meant BIHL.
Brinkmanship here. The BCFC2014 deal is £10m under the asking price so is not preferred. Now this is sound business sense as it is a more realistic valuation and makes footballing sense too because it means the extra £12m can be used on the team. But if SMW win then it is all in vain and BCFC are losers too. On the other hand BCFC2014 may not have that £12m at all
It’s beginning to look as if any investment will come after the season has started. More loans again. Hopefully LC will be be able to negotiate them as non-returnable until the season ends, so as to create a settled team (as he has done with the Spurs lad). He must have the patience of a saint! Or it’s a new manager – then what?