THE MIDLANDER: Goodbye but not good riddance to Sullivan and Brady

It is farewell then, to David Sullivan and Karren Brady. Colourful, often controversial, cute in business.there is no doubting that the pair formed a formidable partnership at Birmingham City. It has been 16 years since they walked through the door of what was a ramshackle 'enterprise.' A football club that had seriously lost its' way. And now, one of them walks away with his trousers stuffed full of cash - around £25-30m - and the other is a millionairess in her own right with a fantastically enhanced reputation that should see her profit in today's celebrity-obsessed culture. They leave a club struggling to find its' way in the Premier League with new owners of a seriously-unknown quantity. Should Blues' fans look back on their years with fondness, frustration or with a sense that this was a missed opportunity? That, I would venture, depends almost entirely on your viewpoint. At one extreme is the thought that they did rescue an ailing football club. That they did, for a while, put the sparkle back into St Andrew's. I well remember picking up a newspaper - around Christmas 1993 I think it was - and there was an artist's impression of the new-look stadium. 'Yeah, right,' I remember thinking about the investment needed. 'Not going to happen.' But it did. The old Spion Kop and Tilton Road End of the ground was demolished and two spanking new stands put into place. Later, the Railway End was knocked down and re-built, too. Barry Fry's exuberance and largesse ensured there was plenty of juicy copy for us hacks to feast upon. Birmingham City had the feel of a club that was going places. Of course, that was not going to last forever. The recruitment of Trevor Francis was the transfer of the business to a safe pair of hands. When TF pitched up, Birmingham were still training on the old Civil Service Ground on the Coventry Road, dodging the duck and geese muck and listening to the planes roar overhead. Times had changed. The club had made its' way back into the Championship. But the face of football had altered too. Big money started to flow in. All of a sudden, cash that Sullivan and Gold had been prepared to invest was being matched elsewhere. The mantra that they would not lose money was being hammered home to the fan base. And they didn't. Eventually, the club reached the Premier League. The euphoria lasted a couple of seasons but when it became clear that the Blues would not be placed into debt to chase glory, then supporter interest dwindled. Sullivan had made no secret of the fact that he felt Birmingham businesses could do more. Supporters became tired of the constant grab-for-cash while receiving little back by way of return. Sullivan criticised supporters. In turn, they turned their backs on sky-high ticket prices. The love affair had worn thin. Two years ago, £45 was the entrance fee for the big matches. Last Sunday, Aston Villa's supporters were asked to cough up £48. By this time, investment in the stadium had been curtailed. The final piece of the jigsaw, the re-building of the old Main Stand, has never taken place. The training ground has been up-graded. It needed to be, to attract Premier League-quality players. You wonder whether it was done because it was the right thing to do - or whether the club was forced into it. Whatever Sullivan and Brady think of Steve Bruce, he was the one who found the keys to unlock the door to the big money. It is him, more than anyone else, that has enabled them to walk away with such a huge sum this month. Let's face it, Villa only sold for £63.6m. Would they have banked such an exorbitant amount for a Championship club with potential? Not a chance. No, money is Sullivan's god. Therefore, it has been Brady's too. I would venture that there has not been - in cold cash terms - a more successful football club owner than David Sullivan (David Gold's input was minimal compared to Sullivan's) since 1993. On one hand, Birmingham has not gone the way of Leicester City, Coventry City, Derby County and countless others in the region who are still counting the cost of financial excess. However, on the other, they have not pushed it forwards as far as they could have done. Supporters were alienated. If they had tapped into that goodwill, I'm sure they would have reaped the rewards. I firmly believe that goodwill for the club remains huge. During Bruce's second promotion year, 30,000 people turned up on a freezing wet Sunday morning in March for a 11.30am kick-off against Cardiff City for a game being televised live on Sky Sports. Fifty-five thousand-plus attended the Autoglass Windscreens Shield final at Wembley against Carlisle United in 1995. And this is a football club that has won but one trophy of note in 134 years. What would20success bring? It remains the eternal question for Birmingham City. On a personal note, I won't miss being screamed at and informed that my house will not be my own by the time the club has finished dragging me through the law courts. (That story about Jermaine Pennant turning up for training drunk would be right, then, Karren!) david sullivan Plain talker: David Sullivan always said what he thought But I shall miss Sullivan. Two minutes on the phone with him was journalistic gold. He was never, ever, afraid to say what he thought, regardless of the ramifications. (Remember the Dwight Yorke rant?) If he pitches up at your club, the books will balance and the dream won't be chased. And he'll be looked after financially, too, don't worry about that. However, in the final reckoning, I've not always agreed with what they have done, but no-one can deny that Sullivan and Brady have been a safe pair of hands. Their appointment of the most important man at a club - the manager - has always been spot-on. And I include Alex McLeish in that as well. History will show that, overall, they have been good for Birmingham City. And that Birmingham City has been good for the pair of them, too.

Source: Daily_Mail