When is a takeover not a takeover? When it's a Birmingham City takeover.
Let's face it, it's been a farce hasn't it?
One wonders what Ken Wheldon would have made of it all.
A mystery Far East bidder is revealed as a former hairdresser who has dreams of taking Blues
into the Champions League and making them - and I quote - the fifth most well known in China in a year.
He adds Steve McManaman and Christian Karembeu to his number, stops Steve Bruce getting a new contract but struggles to raise the required cash.
All along, Carson Yeung stays silent and hardly communicate with the people he's supposed to be buying Blues from.
Yeung has the money, it's just that he preferred to borrow it from other sources and considering
the current world credit crunch, that wasn't a smart move.
The 29.9 per cent shareholding he bought in July remains intact, but he has no pull or power at
the club whatsoever.
While all this was playing out, QPR were quietly transforming themselves into the richest club in the world.
If Lakshmi Mittal was indeed sniffing around Blues at the same time as Yeung, as we were told, then what a cock-up.
Blues should not have jumped into bed so eagerly with Yeung.
At least now the directors can take stock and if they do decide to invite future offers, they will
be more wary and considered and, hopefully, attract a blue chip interest.
(Forget about Russian oil billionaire Vagit Alekperov by the way, that was the figment of
someone's furtive imagination).
In the meantime, it's the status quo at St Andrew's (no . . . not that one).
David Sullivan and the Gold brothers do seem to have got their keeness for the club back.
And I have always had a sneaky suspicion that for all his moans, Sullivan secretly enjoys the
cut and thrust of football and would miss Blues if he ever did depart.
You get the feeling that Blues have had a lucky escape.
Yeung has always come across as a decent, well meaning man who loves his football.
But there was always that nagging doubt in the back of your mind when you met him and his
entourage about his credentials and suitability for the task of running Blues.
Asked a question at one of the two press conferences he gave in England about the new stadium, the answer came from his right-hand man William Chan and was all about how they planned to bring over the top 100 Chinese restaurateurs to Birmingham from Guangzhou province. Bizarre.
And I will always remember the look on Bruce's face when he relayed the story of the first time
he met Yeung at Wast Hills.
He was taken aback when Yeung pulled out a digital camera, gave it to one of his group, put his arm round Bruce and asked for a picture to be taken like some star-struck autograph hunter.