Birmingham keep right on with a record-smashing solution

St Andrew’s might be an unprepossessing football ground in England’s second city but it has a different name these days: St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park. Why is that? Knighthead Capital Management LLC is the investment vehicle of the club’s chairman Tom Wagner, head of an operation specialising in “distressed and high yield companies”. Ah.
Distressed? Sounds about right. Blues are one of English football’s ugly ducklings, a club from a huge metropolis that has won just two major trophies in almost 150 years of existence. With respect to Jasper Carrott, Mike Skinner and Roy Wood, being a Blue seems a grim existence. It’s been a while since Obafemi Martins picked Arsenal’s pockets to snatch the Milk Cup in 2011, yet longer since Villa – yes, Villa – were beaten over two legs in 1963 to win the same trophy. And if Villa, West Brom and Wolves have each had problems, Blues – the club of Gil Merrick, Trevor Francis, Bob Hatton, Ian Handysides, Paul Tait et al – have often been as hopeless as any of them.
High yield? Like a number of Stateside compatriots, Tom Wagner sees opportunities in English football. Knightshead Park reflects the purchase of land around St Andrews for further business activity. “A Key Step Toward Creating a Vibrant Sports Quarter and New World Class Stadium,” as the PR bumph after buying an old racetrack declared. American ownership is no new beast in English football. It has ranged from former New England Patriot Terry Smith at Chester City, which didn’t end at all well, to FSG’s clipped professionalism at Liverpool. There’s Chelsea, too, these days a byword for evangelism for the power of the market. And thus far at Birmingham, it’s been more Chelsea than Liverpool. Last season was the Wayne Rooney experience, 15 matches of failure that not even the influence of another Patriot, Tom Brady, the winningest 3.3% owner helping “the sports science department advise on health, nutrition and recovery programmes”, could prevent.
Wagner took relegation on his shoulders. “Our dedication to the betterment of this wonderful club transcends this unfortunate outcome, anchoring us firmly in our continued ambition for what is to come,” he droned. The solution? To throw more cash at it, £30m – £9m more than Manchester City this summer – on 11 players. The headline event was the League One record-smashing signing of Jay Stansfield for a reported £15m – it may rise to even more – announced via Stansfield poking his head into a social media disgrace post from Cuddly Tom. Fulham fans were waiting on Stansfield to be their homegrown goal-poaching hero, especially when he scored last week at Blues in the Carling Cup. “It’s about business, it’s not a normal number for that type of club,” grumped Marco Silva. Blues boss Chris Davies is in his first job but you may recognise him as former bagman for Brendan Rodgers and Ange Postecoglou. How’s it going? Three wins, one draw, level with equally ambitious Wrexham and Stockport. Keep right on to the end of this road and that high yield might even deliver.
“The book is basically closed. I think that when you’re 26, the ambition should be sporting and not financial. He could have stayed at Ajax, that’s not bad either. And I think they pay pretty well too. Anyway, everyone has a different view and it’s their choice. I personally wouldn’t have made it” – Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman calls time on Steven Bergwijn’s international career after he completed a move to Al-Ittihad. When asked if these were double standards after he named Al-Ettifaq’s Georginio Wijnaldum, 33, in his Euros squad, Koeman replied: “He had problems at Paris Saint-Germain and this was the only opportunity for him to play. In addition, there is a difference in age.”
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