Source: Daily_Mail
Sportsmail remembers Sullivan and Gold's moments at Birmingham
King of Upton Park: David Sullivan [LNB]David Gold and David Sullivan have completed their £105m takeover at West Ham. And the ex-Birmingham City owners have brought in ex-St Andrew's chief Karren Brady to be vice-chairman at Upton Park.[LNB]After so much financial instability and rumour, the Hammers at last have new people at the helm, ending four years of Icelandic ownership.[LNB]Gold, Sullivan and Brady did a great job at Birmingham in the 16 years they were they there and left the club in a much better state than when they arrived.[LNB]They combined their love of football and business acumen with spectacular results.[LNB]Sportsmail's Midlands football expert Neil Moxley looks back at their best and worst moments at St Andrew's.[LNB] The old team: David Gold and Karren Brady start life at West Ham[LNB]THESE WERE THE DAYS OF OUR OUR LIVES...Big personality: Barry Fry was an inspired choice as manager[LNB]Buying the club in 1993The club was broke, the stadium a shambles and the playing squad weak beyond belief after years of under-investment. Suddenly, hope appeared on the horizon. Well, Karren Brady did, flaunting the club's new assets dressed in a Blues' shirt. [LNB]Re-building St Andrew'sA tangible sign that the new owners meant business. Out with the ramshackle Kop and Tilton Road End of the ground, to be replaced with a wraparound stand.[LNB] The Railway End was also demolished to make way for a new stand.(Pity the job was never finished. The old main stand is well past its' sell-by date.) [LNB]The board's management choicesBarry Fry added pizzazz and put the club back on the map with his outrageous antics - and success. [LNB]Trevor Francis was the return of the prodigal son and his veneer of class ensured the Blues stopped being a laughing stock. [LNB]Steve Bruce gave the whole club self-belief that culminated in its' first taste of Premier League football. And Alex McLeish could turn out to be the best appointment of the lot.... [LNB]I CAN HEAR THE VILLA FANS LAUGHING FROM HERE... Not a good move: The aged Chris Sutton helped take City down[LNB]Paying the supporters little more than lip serviceDavid Sullivan's continual carping about perceived failure of the fans to put their hands in their pockets eventually turned the core punters against the board.[LNB]Failure to take seize the moment Anyone remember Trevor Francis going to war with the board over a Dane called Christian Poulsen?[LNB] He's been at Real Madrid and Juventus since then. Also think back to the 2006 transfer window. [LNB]An ageing Chris Sutton was the sole improvement. The result? Relegation. [LNB]Doing everything on the cheapBirmingham's supporters deserve better. Far better.[LNB] THE MIDLANDER: Goodbye but not good riddance to Sullivan and BradyDavid Sullivan targets the Champions League after completing £105m West Ham takeover with David GoldDavid Sullivan completes West Ham takeover deal: Full statementZola facing the axe from West Ham's new ownersBIRMINGHAM CITY FC
