Birmingham Mail

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.

Mikael Forssell is a journo's dream.
He always has time to speak, his views on the game and life in general are articulate and
thought-provoking.
He's not a bad player either.

Bit of a whirlwind, Alex McLeish says. Not half.
Straight off the plane from South Africa, into David Sullivan's lair, up to Wast Hills and then announced at St Andrew's the next day.
Now it's his first game, away at Spurs on Sunday, for the Big 'Eck Era to launch.

It will be a blessed relief when the latest twist in the Blues soap revolves around nothing more than a football match on Saturday.

After a week when the boundaries of incredulity have been stretched to the limit, Portsmouth's visit to St Andrew's should provide some normality.

Or will it? There could be more hinging on the game than we might realise.

When you are down at the bottom, it never rains . . .

The Second City derby ended in heartache for Blues and showed that they are so near, yet so far.

Interesting to see that Andrew Johnson (not Andy) has signed a new five-year contract at Everton.

Had Blues and Crystal Palace not been on such bad terms, then AJ could have been penning that deal now at St Andrew's.

Not a lot tends to raise David Gold's hackles.

The Blues chairman is a mild-manered, equitable chap.

In business, he may well be ruthless and demanding. But with his Birmingham City hat on, he is even-minded and decent when dealing with, or speaking about, others.

But the 'pig in mud' affair has really got to him.

The cloud of uncertainty has lifted over St Andrew's . . . or has it?

That was Steve Bruce's hope following the meeting with Carson Yeung and his associates.

Yeung said all the right things - the takeover would happen, Bruce would stay as manager, there would be money to spend (although no figures have yet been agreed).

Sometimes it's the little things that give it away.

If anyone thinks Steve Bruce's mind is on the Bolton Wanderers job, or pastures new in general, think again.

Simon Jordan and Neil Warnock, the 'dream ticket' according to the Crystal Palace chairman.

Gawd help us.

But smile not, Blues fans. Imagine Warnock down St Andrew's way?

Not so far fetched, actually.

Warnock was a serious contender for the manager's job back in the day.

David Sullivan has always liked Warnock's ability to organise, motivate and get results on limited resources.

And when Trevor Francis was put on his bike, Warnock was up there among the replacements being seriously considered.

Had Steve Bruce not untangled himself from the legalities of leaving/quitting/being sacked by Jordan, you never know . . .

Warnock has always been complimentary to Blues board in his public comments as well.

Sullivan has always been a fan of Mick McCarthy's too, going back to his time with Ireland.

Steve Bruce, Blues longest-serving manager of the post-War years.

Time flies, doesn't it.

But will Bruce fly, or be swatted, after all the ructions regarding Carson Yeung's decision to block his new contract?

In Yeung's eyes, it might all be a big fuss about nothing.

He has always said that he likes Bruce and wants him to stay when his takeover is complete.

But by using his veto, he has stirred up a right hornet's nest.

It has brought into focus not just Bruce's future, but plonked a general cloud of uncertainty over St Andrew's.

Concern about Yeung's plans and the way he is to raise the capital to fund his purchase through Grandtop International has also been questioned.

Check out an outsider's take on the saga - Martin Samuel's piece in The Times is excellent.
link
When Bruce and Yueng meet ahead of the Manchester City game, issues need to be sorted, the air needs to be cleared. That cloud has to be lifted.

Yeung has to tell the supporters just what his intentions are and Blues must let him have his say.

It's in his and the club's best interests for that to happen after all.

Your starter for 10: the 'official' language down at Wast Hills?

English? No. Cantonese. Well, not yet anyway. Geordie? Only in one office.

Give up? It's French, of course.

Pre-season tours just ain't what they used to be.

Blues flew safely into Germany, all focused and ready to get down to some hard graft in the sun. Nothing has been left to chance, it seems.

They are billeted in a typically spick and span family-run hotel in a small village in Baden-Wurttemberg, to the south west of the country, near Stuttgart.

There are no distractions in a place that's better described as 'comatose' than 'quiet' and the sports complex of the local side where they are training is a mere five minutes stroll away.

Rewind to the early 1990s and it was different, to say the least.

Remember when Blues won the Leyland DAF Cup in 1991? Well they received a Leyland DAF minibus for their troubles (really) and took it on tour to Ireland with them.

Trouble was that the whole squad, plus kit and luggage, had to be crammed into it for an horrendous drive from Cork up country to Galway.

I can still remember poor Simon Sturridge lying across laps and suitcases trying to get comfortable as everyone packed inside like sardines.

As for the training facilities, Blues were presented with a bumpy parks pitch, complete with rusty goalposts and a worn out six-yard area.

If nothing else, that trip was good for building team spirit as Blues went on to win promotion that season from the old Third Division.

DJ Campbell was left out of the travelling party in order that his transfer from the club can be concluded. But his presence, of sorts, is still with us as the first thing you see when you walk through the entrance to the team's hotel is a poster advertising Wednesday's friendly against Heidenheimer SB that shows Campbell in all his glory celebrating a goal.