If you’d have told me in the wake of the three-nil humping handed to Blues by Bristol City back in March that Blues would be mathematically safe with two games to go, I’d have laughed. Yet a 2-1 comeback win against fellow strugglers Derby County has done just that, putting Blues in a nosebleed 16th place to boot.
The accounts for Birmingham City Football Club plc and it’s UK parent Birmingham City plc became live on the Companies House website on Tuesday. Although we’ve already seen general information on how the club has fared financially from segmented parts of the Birmingham Sports Holdings accounts, these accounts give us a good chance to understand the specific issues the club is facing.
Sunday sees Birmingham City travel to the New York Stadium to play Rotherham United in a game that could have a massive bearing on both team’s seasons. The Millers’ defeat to Coventry City on Thursday night leaves Paul Warne’s men four points from safety with just two games in hand. Blues sit six points ahead in 19th with destiny very much in their own hands.
“Financial Armageddon” screamed the headline. Ten clubs under a transfer embargo with the EFL, of which Birmingham City was one. The article from the Daily Mail appears to have gone, but the backlash hasn’t, with Coventry City, Luton Town and Cardiff City all issuing statements refuting the story. Was it all just a storm in a teacup or is there more to read into this?
The announcement that Birmingham Sports Holdings are to sell their remaining stake in Birmingham City Stadium Ltd offered more questions than answers for Blues fans. One of the big questions right now is just how safe the club’s tenure at St Andrew’s will be once the sale has completed.
Birmingham Sports Holdings announced to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Wednesday afternoon that it had agreed to sell off its remaining 75% stake in Birmingham City Stadium Ltd. The sale passes St Andrew’s Stadium into the hands of a British Virgin Islands investment vehicle – and further muddies the water of how the club is run.
