BSH: AGM Answers

For those who want to see the results of the meeting, those can be found at this link.

It’s been a busy week for BSH Chairman Zhao Wenqing.

After the excitement and drama of the 5-4 home defeat to Leeds United, he had a meeting with various board and staff members before flying to Hong Kong to chair the AGM.

As you can imagine, the actual AGM itself was dry with very little matters of interest other than procedure to allow the company to act as normal for another year.

However, Blues fan and BSH shareholder Jeffrey Au was also present at the meeting, and he was able to talk to Zhao afterwards.

Zhao was quick to say he had enjoyed the Leeds game and that Pep Clotet has his full backing.

This ties up with what I had heard from my sources in Birmingham and Hong Kong; that the board convinced that while the defeat was unfortunate that the signs were there that the club would progress in the right direction.

However, I think it’s important to take understand that while this is the public view being given now things can and do change quickly.

Furthermore, it’s very unlikely that the board would openly criticise a manager as it’s terrible PR – so only time will tell just how much backing Pep Clotet actually has.

The other interesting thing that came out of Au’s conversation with Zhao is that Zhao showed concern for the financial situation within the EFL Championship.

Zhao confirmed that he knew Sheffield Wednesday were in trouble with a points deduction a very possible outcome from their upcoming disciplinary hearing.

While Blues are currently on the straight and narrow it is concerning just how far clubs are willing to bend the rules – and the possible consequences that could cause.

It’s no secret that many clubs in the Championship are heavily dependent on owners for funding and I’ve long stated my position that the “sugar daddy” model of club ownership is one that is doomed to failure.

I hope that people like Zhao have come to realise that while it feels unfair in the short term, efforts to make Blues more self-sufficient could really benefit us in the long term if the financial bubble bursts around other teams.