• Silence from Yeung despite Gold’s offer to stay on as chairman
• Gold not interested in becoming the club’s vice-president
David Gold, right, seen here with Birmingham City’s manager, Alex McLeish, is unlikely to stay on as the club’s chairman. Photograph: Tom Jenkins
David Gold has become increasingly resigned to the prospect of severing his ties with Birmingham City after hearing nothing from Carson Yeung in relation to his offer to stay on as the Premier League club’s chairman.
Yeung’s £81.5m takeover is set to go through today and Gold has reluctantly accepted that he will be forced to leave Birmingham if the Hong Kong-based businessman has not got in touch with him before this afternoon’s anticipated announcement to the stock exchange, when the Midlands club are expected to confirm that the offer has been declared unconditional in all respects, heralding the beginning of a new era at St Andrew’s.
While David Sullivan, Birmingham’s plc chairman, and Karren Brady, the club’s managing director, signalled their intention to move on and make a fresh start elsewhere, Gold opted to hold talks with Yeung’s representatives, Sammy Yu and Peter Pannu, to discuss remaining in his current role to provide some continuity between the board and Alex McLeish, the manager, and to assist the new regime with getting to grips with the running of the club.
Gold initially sensed that Yu and Pannu were receptive to the idea and felt there was genuine enthusiasm for his suggestion but the lack of communication since has led him to believe he will not be offered the chance to hold on to his position. Indeed, it appears more likely that Yeung will propose that Gold becomes vice-president of the club, a position the 72-year-old would not be interested in accepting as it would dilute his responsibilities.
Either way, Gold is not prepared to play a waiting game and, having heard nothing from Yeung or his representatives, he is preparing to bring an end to his 16-year tenure at St Andrew’s and look for a new opportunity. He is determined to remain involved in football and will consider both investing in a club on his own as well as working alongside Sullivan, his long-term business partner at Birmingham who has been linked with a takeover at West Ham United.
Meanwhile, today’s statement to the stock exchange is expected to reveal that Yeung’s company, Grandtop International Holdings, is on the brink of reaching the 90% threshold that would lead to a compulsory buy-out of all remaining shares. Yeung, who failed with a takeover bid two years ago, is expected to oversee his first game as Birmingham’s new owner against Arsenal on Saturday week.