Often Partisan

Letting Go

Nathan Redmond completed his reported £3.2million move to Norwich City yesterday with the 19-year-old signing a four year deal. Redmond was seen by many as the last “crown jewel” left at Birmingham City and his departure leaves the squad shorn of truly saleable assets.

Judging by the forums and by social media last night it’s a move that has been met with weary resignation by Blues fans. It was expected that Redmond would move this week but all the same his departure has seemingly tipped some fans over the edge into anger – not only as there is now no one realistically of high value of the club but the sale of a true prospect raised by the academy for what is seen a low sum seems a very short-term solution to a long term problem.

As much as it hurts that Blues have had to let go of everyone of any value, I think we have to accept that in its current state, there was no choice for Blues. Despite some of the cynicism out there that says otherwise, the truth is Blues need the money from sales of players like Nathan Redmond to remain in operation as there is no investment from above. With no overdraft, a reduced parachute payment and wages still higher than is sustainable in the long-term Blues have to continue to sell the “family heirlooms” to ensure that the bills have been paid.

However, for all the fact that I don’t think things will necessary happen quickly I think we have truly entered the end game. There is nothing left to sell now when the current money runs out and the bills will start mounting in again. At the moment, Birmingham City’s only debts are to Carson and to BIH and it’s not in their interest to put Blues into administration because they will lose out. However, should bills start not getting paid due to a lack of cashflow then they will turn into debts – and some debtors such as HMRC won’t hang around before issuing winding up orders. Thus it seems that Carson will have to bail out now before that happens to prevent losing everything. Throw in the added complications that a conviction would have on his directorship of BCFC and it seems almost inevitable that something will have to give in the next few months.

Thus, for all the pain it’s causing I think we have to take the positives in the sale of Redmond. It should provide some money to keep the wolves from the door and hopefully it will now convince Carson and the BIH board that they cannot maintain their grip on the club any longer. I think Lee Clark has had the right idea in just getting on with things and doing what he can to bring in new players who want to play for the team – they’re not going to be worldbeaters but if they genuinely want to play and do their best for the club we can’t ask for any more.

From a personal perspective, all I think we can do is look for the positives. It might seem like the worst thing to do at the moment because Redmond is truly an excellent prospect and it would have been nice to see that potentially come to fruition. However, the fact remains that we couldn’t afford to hang on to him at this present time and we have to let go so the club is still able to carry on and maybe bring through another great prospect. Losing Redmond hurts but there could always be more where that came from.

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70 Responses to “Letting Go”

  • Nicholas says:

    Hi Do you know the squad thats travelling to Ireland?

    Is King and Ambrose going?

    Thabks

    Nicholas Hobbis

    • almajir says:

      It’s not been announced yet

      • Jonno says:

        Although I don’t know the squad, I do know 4 a fact that Ambrose is going and he isn’t happy about it, stating he would rather b going somewhere nice! Arrogant or what! He is genuinely a nice bloke but seems very frustrated after last season and now being told he can go for free.

  • mark says:

    we has fans need to dust ourselves down……… and move on good……….. luck to the lad. Dan- i am not disappointment because one day our paths may meet again.
    Football is a business………..
    Clark has worked extremely hard to get 10 players in, hopefully with the same speed he is able to blend
    this team very quickly………….. my interest has always been about football. further up the food chain well that’s out of my hand’s. where i and other fans can make a different is getting behind this team whether at home or away……. our colours will always be flying………….kro inclarkwetrust

    • bcfc1975 says:

      totally agree – mark players do come, and go this is part of football business. I for one wish Nathan best of luck. Looking forward to Saturday it been a very long wait, got my new blues top, my voice is in tip top condition ready for kro.

  • Masaccio says:

    Lee Clark is a funking diamond, great attitude and work ethic, wish the same could be said of our reprehensible Board and owners.

  • Mickey07 says:

    Pressure on Carson and pannu now then,hopefully they become desperate….tide is turning.

  • Hardip says:

    Hi m8 is it true that if Carson gets found guilty and goes down and gets made bankrupt he will still beable to own his shares in the club because the shares that he bought are part of a consortium.

      • Dan H says:

        Our Youth Team and Development Squad Coaches have saved the club. From Terry Bullivant to Richard Beale and Kristian Speakman without them developing Mutch, Butland, Redmond we would now be another Coventry / Portsmouth.

        The production line has replaced HSBC as our Fund, arguably more sustainable than debt.

        • Just Jim says:

          Agreed. The Academy have certainly earned their corn over the past few years despite having to catch up after Sullivan initially scrapped it. Not meaning to be pedantic but think you mean Terry Westley rather than Terry Bullivant

  • James says:

    Fully agree with the article.

    Good luck to Nathan; didn’t see his full potential, but hope he does well under CH.

    As for us? Suck it up, back the shirt – the atmosphere at St Andrews needs to change pronto. A young squad with some flair and who knows?

    KRO

  • river says:

    Impressed with the sighnings LC has made cant wait to see shinnie,green the 2 centre halfs and tom ademiyi play maybe we have the next redmond already.Please can someone take a look at the potential our club has and take the risk and buy us KRO

  • Tony says:

    Mr Pannu will only agree a deal to sell the club once there are insufficient funds to pay his outlandish contract. However, the pain of the last 12 months could have been avoided had the greedy so and so agreed to sell the club 12 months ago, had that happened we, in all probability, would be building a team round Mutch, Butland and Redmond or would have at least received far higher fees for their transfers. My contempt for the man knows no bounds.

  • thongs says:

    This sale has made me weep. I loved Nathan both as a player.and as a young man. I will miss his pace, his trickery and his youthful exuberance. I won’t miss his Twitter though or his hair.

  • andy says:

    Its not so much losing the likes of Redmond and Butland its the pittance Birmingham have sold them for. Both Stoke and Norwich cannot believe their luck but as has been pointed out above, we have to be positive and accept it. Birmingham were obviously desperate for a certain amount of cash, not just to keep the club afloat but to fund players coming in. I doubt very much without the sales of Davies and Redmond, the new players that have arrived, would have happened. I hope at least, Birmingham get Shane Ferguson back with the potential of signing him permanently to offset the Redmond departure.

  • Chris Walker says:

    A brilliant article that really hits the nail on the head.
    We all knew we had to sell to survive, but that does not make it any easier to accept, especially with so much of our income reportedly paying wages to staff in Hong Kong with a large chunk, again reported, going to Peter Pannu.
    Regarding the sale of the club, that is out of the supporters hands and will eventually happen, sooner the better really, and hopefully to someone who has the interests of BCFC and supporters in mind.
    I was quite vociferous towards Lee, his methods and some of the rumours that circulated during his early days.
    Towards the end of the season things started to take shape and were only a couple of wins off a play–off spot.
    Being a supporter for over 50 years I have come to terms with the fact we rarely do things simple, we flirted precariously close to the relegation zone for comfort at times. Lee bought in a couple of loans in January and things settled where we had a decent run and saw us finish mid table.
    Lee has gone about his business diligently, without a moan or a groan, publicly at least, made some promising signings along with two season long loans.
    Some of the signings are new to the Championship, their rawness and hunger should prove to make this season one of promise and excitement if they gel as a team, something the supporters have missed for sometime.
    The atmosphere at St Andrews was reminiscent of a funeral at times; we need to get behind these young players and make St Andrews a place feared by the opposition.
    KRO

    • Masaccio says:

      I hope the atmosphere gets better next season, I agree it was pitiful at times last season, can’t see much improving though until the chinese depart.

  • AL-LAD says:

    Burke could go in Jan if he does well in the first half of the season, 500k will keep Pannu happy until the summer of ’14 and it only takes Hancox, Reilly or Arthur to have a decent season and there’s the next load out the door. I’m inclined to think that Carsons ego believes he’ll be found not guilty and so is desperately doing all he can to keep hold of the club, until he’s assets are unfrozen, and he can once again take control of the Blues board room.

  • TracyKRO says:

    Dan I wonder if you can get a message to BCFC or Wayne Cowen for me, got friends who live in London trying to buy Season Tickets on line they couldn’t because you cant get through to map, I also tried and couldn’t do it, im going away tomorrow so theres nothing I can do now accept to ask if you can do anything Thanks Dan KRO

  • Richard Granfield says:

    Nobody is more disappointed than I that some of our young stars have left, but it happens at all clubs.
    Man U lost Ronaildo, Arsenal lost Van Persie, Spurs lost Modric, Liverpool lost Owen etc.
    It comes down to who you replace them and I think that Lee Clark has done very well in his transfer dealings this summer.

  • andy says:

    I think United and others received a touch more money for their players than Birmingham!!

    • blue says:

      bit of a difference though between proven premiership quality goalscorers and someone who hasn’t been there and done it yet, nath’s good but he could easily go the way of hundreds of potential prospects.(José Dominguez springs to mind). if he was a proven premiership goalscorer it’d be different. in the real world though given all the circumstance’s it doesn’t sound like a bad deal for him or us. i wish nathan luck and hopefully his replacement will do just as well if not better.

      the king is dead, long live the king

      KRO

  • StaffsBlue says:

    Excellent, balanced article from Almajir. I have nothing to add that I haven’t said over the last few days. KRO and good luck to the lads for the season.

  • Grimlin says:

    The way I see it is that until we’re competing regularly in the top half of the prem, any TRULY good youngsters we bring through are going to leave eventually, so better sooner rather than later once we’ve grown more attached to them!

    At least that’s what I keep telling myself…

  • joking says:

    Is the ground a saleable asset? look at the mess just down the A45

  • Francis 4 Bolton 0 says:

    Brilliant summary. Tomorrow sees the first step on our new road. Let’s keep right on it!
    It will obviously take a while for the new squad to blend together, I hope it happens more quickly than last season and that, with a few good early results, we can all become much more positive.
    The start of a season is a magical time (I’ve seen over 50 of them), the sparkling stadium, the fresh green grass, the new blue shirts and a crowd full of expectancy. It is a potent mix that we, the true fans, can add too by getting right behind the team and giving them our full support!

  • Dave says:

    Are they able to sell St Andrews?

  • Ali Duncan says:

    Nor sure about the new kit. It seems very cluttered with the manufacturers name, ball and global and fagbusters on it.

  • Ed says:

    The interesting point for me is the lack of cash flow. If we have no cash flow it won’t be very long before the real problems start. The sale of Davies and Redmond +/- £6m will only pay the bills for approx 3 months, I think. If my assumption is correct then before the end of this year either we go into administration, we are sold, or Carson has to get some money from some where.

  • nik S says:

    The kit looks like it will need a bit of getting use to.

    Maybe Tom Ross is right. Maybe he knows something.

    Lets hope and get this club back up to where we belong.

  • StaffsBlue says:

    Maybe they’re trying to re-create the good old days with the new kit! It would be good to see a new Francis, Hatton or Latchford emerge this season… a new hero in a penguin shirt! Come on you Blue Boys!

  • JohnBond says:

    Should have bagged 4-5 for Redmond they say we need money to keep the club afloat what’s the crack with selling all the asesets for peanuts then??

    • almajir says:

      It’s called economics John – people will only pay what he is worth

      • KeepRightcroydOn says:

        I write with hindsight, wonderful thing that it is. If only PP had accepted Saints £6 for Butland last year instead of false bullishness saying he would only accept an ‘eye popping offer’, there’s a fair chance we might have still had Redmond because it would have eased the cash flow for a longer period of time.

        Additionally once he accepted peanuts for Butland, the myth that he was a tough negotiator was bust, and bidding clubs realised that they were in with a chance of getting Redmond for a pittance.

        For all his big talk PP has been shown up as a pussy cat when negotiating deals for the sale of our assets.

  • SteveC says:

    Yes, think this is thankfully approaching the ‘end game’ for our glorious ‘owners’.
    Redmond’s fee added to the others, plus parachute payments must have recouped much of the 81 million they naively shelled out to Sullivan and Gold.
    Once that final parachute payment is safely banked I reckon they’ll be accepting offers for the club and good riddance !

  • Dave says:

    Re the new kit: I think it looks great. But then the penguin was the first kit i had as a kid, so that probably colours my judgement!

  • Art Watson says:

    Where is the voice of reason?

    Not heard from him for a while?

    I

  • jazzzy786 says:

    Wish Redmond all the best. He scored the first goal in my first ever European game so will forever be a legend to me. I hope one day he returns home.

    LC though has bought well and if we can get Ferguson and Ravel I am pretty optimistic for the coming season.

  • bluenoserob says:

    if we start the first game of the season with Ziggy and green up front , do you think there has ever been a bigger gap in wages between forward partners.

  • jazzzy786 says:

    Yes man city played Sturridge and Aguero up front when Sturridge was still on 15k and Aguero was on 200k

  • Tony says:

    Dan has said on many occasions that no money has left these shores for Hong Kong, is he still of that opinion?if so all the money coming in has been used purely to keep the club going apart fom the fat controllers errr renumeration (cough). Dan is that a correct assumption?.

    • mark says:

      Wait until dan done his book you will be able to read to.your heart content…………….and you will be dealing with facts….. Rather than hearsay. Imo

  • bluenoserob says:

    firstly wasnt sturridge at chelsea when Aguero signed for man city , and secondly Green would still have to be on 4k a week plus ….not sure is blues are paying him that much.

  • StaffsBlue says:

    I see we’ll be playing Udinese B again this season. http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11688/8809085/Sky-Sources-Watford-close-to-signing-eight-players-on-permanent-deals

    I hope we whack em home and away.

    • chas says:

      Sky ‘understands’ that Blues are Favourites to sign Ferguson on loan from Newkie for another season. Apparently , wolves have bid 1.5 m for him, which hasnt pleased the Newkie Fans who say he is underpriced at that.

      • StaffsBlue says:

        I read that too. I simply can’t understand why a player of his quality would drop 2 whole divisions (permanently,) when he can play in the Champs, at a club he knows, with a manager and fans he knows… and still remain a Premier League player. Anyone?

  • bluenoserob says:

    i dont think there is anyway that fergie will drop two divisions , but it shows you how far we have fallen if they can offer a fee for him and we cant.

  • Tony says:

    Newcastle would never sell at that price he will be worth 4 times that, no way he would drop down two divisions.

  • Blueboy88 says:

    Here you go….

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23197299

    More poor FL governance..

    • StaffsBlue says:

      All the organisations running football today are bunch of wasters. Couldn’t run a piss up in a bewery the lot of ’em!

    • chas says:

      They are just using the rules, we would do the same. We borrowed from Arsenal when we had a line to them and none of us moaned. I agree it is wrong morally, but it is up to the FA to make rules to stop it if it is being abused.

  • Evesham Blue says:

    Nathan had 1 year left on his contract. We were werent going to keep him as soon as he did well for England U21’s.We got 2M upfront so hence reduced overall fee. Also got to remember we are a champ club Selling on players is probably the way of it until we have new owners and a bit of money.

    If we can survive next season (financially) at least big Zig and all the the high earners will finally be gone draining the club. Its a wonder we havent gone into admin a long time ago.

    As for next season I think we will do well on the pitch. There is a glimmer of hope that the old regime time is running out.

  • StaffsBlue says:

    Blues not on tv once up to the end of November. Leeds 3 times, QPR 3 times, Sheff Wed twice, Leicester twice, Derby twice. Even Wolves have a game Feckin’ disgusting!!

    http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11688/8804073/Football-League-announce-early-matches-to-be-shown-live-on-Sky-Sports

  • Dean says:

    Not sure if anyone ha ever raised an not feeling bitter to someone taking advantage to one if the most outrages contracts agreed with our beloved Blues, but one if the main cash flow issues is Zigic weekly salary.
    Not knowing the stats that he has been fit to play, not allowed to play due to majority stupid and silly suspensions , and lazy training sessions (maybe 2 games being dropped) but surely we can review this year, should such antics continue , and he does not lead correctly as a role model, he is fined!!
    Is there any loop hole in such a player win all contract??


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