A heavy 4-2 defeat to Bristol City on Saturday has left Birmingham City not only 18th in the Championship table, but has massively increased concerns of relegation among some fans. This lack of form coupled with the collapse of the Maxco “takeover” and news from the far east that BSHL do not wish to sell has in turn caused the idea of protest to once again be spoken out loud.
Birmingham City came down to earth with a bump on Tuesday evening following a 3-0 defeat to Burnley at Turf Moor. Victory would have seen John Eustace’s men climb to fifth in the table; however the loss means that Blues lie in 15th place at the bottom of a pack of 11 teams separated by just three points.
News broke on Friday afternoon that 136 days after holding a conference on the Kop Car Park to tell fans the deal was done, Paul Richardson and Maxi Lopez have pulled out from their attempt to buy Birmingham City.
For the first time in a long time, hope has a home at St Andrew’s. A good 2-0 win against Queens Park Rangers on Friday elevated Blues into the top half of the table and has got some supporters dreaming of a top six position come the end of the season. While the playoffs are still realistically some way off, things definitely look to be brightening up for Birmingham City.
Birmingham City face West Bromwich Albion tonight in their first game for 12 days following the postponement of the Swansea game due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II. While any momentum picked up from the away win against Preston might have been lost, it’s given John Eustace a bit of extra time to work with his injury depleted squad.
September has started well for Birmingham City. Saturday saw Blues pick up three points on the road against Preston North End against a team who hadn’t conceded a goal yet this season at a place that hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Blues over the years. Off the pitch, the club released an update which while sparse on detail did finally confirm officially that the Maxco consortium are in the process of buying a shareholding in the club.
Transfer deadline day was a curious one for Birmingham City fans. Normally, the signing of a young talent such as Tahith Chong to a long-term contract would be met with joy and seen as evidence of longer term planning from the club. However, the failure of Blues to sign a striker despite very public links from journalists has caused more aggro than it really should have.
It’s been almost a week now since Laurence Bassini went on TalkSPORT to talk about buying Birmingham City, and I think I’ve only just caught my breath from it. I’ve said all along that Bassini is a fantasist who shouldn’t be entertained when it comes to buying a football club, but even I didn’t expect him to blow up so spectacularly live on national radio.
With any chance of a takeover happening still incredibly uncertain right now, there has been some fear among Blues fans that this will be the season Blues go under financially. The more dramatic fans on social media have seized on the idea that the owners will not fund the club if it is not sold with all the attendant crises that would cause.
Despite the best efforts of Millwall fans to storm the Kop on Saturday, I think the biggest Birmingham City news over the last few days has been rumours of the club being sold. While rumours of buyers making bids are always out there, this bit of gossip seemed to gain life of its own online.
