Carson Yeung has outlined his grand ambitions for Birmingham City as he announced his arrival by vowing to make as much as £80m available for new players during the next two transfer windows. The Premier League club's new president also claimed that Birmingham would become more popular than Manchester United and Chelsea in China and spoke of his desire to bring a number of stellar names to St Andrew's.
It was that sort of day in the Midlands as Yeung and the rest of the new Birmingham board talked excitedly about their plans for the future. A few comments were lost in translation, not least when Yeung was asked whether Alex McLeish's position was safe and, to widespread amusement, replied: "Not at the moment." Otherwise, however, this was a day to put smiles back on the faces of Birmingham's supporters.
The club has been yo-yoing between the Premier League and the Championship for the last four years and fans had become increasingly disillusioned with the previous regime. Yeung, however, believes he can reinvigorate Birmingham and establish the club in the top flight through capitalising on untapped potential in China, a country with a population of 1.3 billion where football is "loved".
"The £40m in the January transfer window is my commitment to the Birmingham fans," said Yeung, who will travel from Hong Kong for most of Birmingham's matches. "We have made that decision to spend the money to buy the players. The money is in place and available. The priority for now is staying in the Premier League. Next season we put more than £40m into the team, making it much stronger."
Whether Yeung can stay true to his promises remains to be seen. There was genuine surprise among some of his representatives when he publicly declared the sum of money that would be made available when the window reopens at the turn of the year and they were further taken aback when he suggested that he would match that level of spending the following season.
There is no evidence that Grandtop International Holdings, Yeung's company, could support an £80m outlay on players, although Peter Pannu, the club's vice-chairman, pointed out that the financial backing is there. "Carson is the owner of not only one listed company," Pannu said. "The money is his. He's got energy, water and various enterprises in China. His connections in China are various."
It is understood that the £57m bridging loan used to complete the £81.5m takeover will be paid off on Tuesday and Pannu insisted that Pollyanna Chu, whose company Kingston Securities had underwritten the offer, will have no future involvement thereafter.
Birmingham's main aim will be to drive up interest in the club in China. Vico Hui, the new chairman, suggested that Yao Ming's success in the NBA would provide a "model" to follow, with basketball bringing in around £1.5bn from China every year. "China is a very big market. But because we have businesses in China we have the contacts to sell Birmingham," Yeung added. "We will be more popular than Manchester United and Chelsea."
While Birmingham fans celebrate the start of a new era it would be understandable if McLeish feels a little concerned, particularly with the presence of Sammy Yu, the vice-chairman, on the training pitches. "I can give him a hand," said Yu, who formerly played for Hong Kong. Then again, Yeung's cheque-book in January should help to placate him. "I do not want one star name," Yeung added. "I want a few popular stars."
