It’s been another tough weekend to be a Blues fan. While a 1-1 draw at Wigan arrested a run of defeats, it did nothing to ease relegation fears and Blues remain just seven points clear of the drop zone. Meanwhile, a fire at the training ground on Thursday night / Friday morning was just the latest episode in the shitshow that is Birmingham City FC right now.
Birmingham Sports Holdings published their interim accounts for the six months ending December 2022 on Tuesday afternoon. As expected, the Hong Kong listed company have posted another loss, but while the accounts are unaudited there are a few bits we can take from it that tell us more about the state Birmingham City is in right now.
The EFL announced on Monday evening that they have brought charges against Birmingham City Football Club as well as a number of other individuals in relation to breaches of EFL Regulations. The statement goes on to confirm that they had been considering of anybody involved with the “proposed acquisition of control” complied with Regulations in relation to the Owners’ and Directors’ Test (OADT).
Saturday felt like a familiar kick in the teeth as a Birmingham City fan. Against West Bromwich Albion it felt like hope and belief was returning to the team but two successive poor defeats to struggling opposition has once again brought the anguished and pessimistic to share their despair online.
With both the previous Maxco bid and the current Often Partisan Limited offer for the club, there is a long drawn-out multi-stage process to complete the deal. Part of the issue is a two-year period put in place for Birmingham Sports Holdings to find another company to replace the club in the group, before finally relinquishing control.
The run up to the match between Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion on Friday February 10 has been an interesting one from a social media perspective. There’s been a push from the club to build on the positivity from the win against Swansea City in attempt to dispel any negativity from around the club.
For the first time in nearly two years, Birmingham City came from a losing position to win a game. A 90th minute equaliser from Lukas Jutkiewicz and an injury time winner from Auston Trusty ensured won 4-3 at Swansea, snapping a five-match losing streak. Off the pitch however, the shenanigans of the last few years don’t seem to be ending any time soon.
With news breaking of a new takeover bid at Birmingham City, there have been questions from fans arising from the ongoing EFL investigation into Wang Yaohui (aka the elusive Mr King), and the issues it may cause a potential takeover.
On Friday afternoon Matt Slater of the Athletic reported that Jeremy Dale was the front man for a consortium holding talks with Birmingham City for what was described as an investment deal.
One of the main problems that I’ve seen this season with the Blues team is the continued reliance on loan players. I’ve long had a feeling that this short-term solution was part of what was causing the boom/bust cycle the club have been going through on a yearly basis and rather than just relying on gut instinct, I thought it would be a good idea to quantify it.
