Jack Butland

[yamiedo]

i think its a spend that'll have to be spent. a little forward planning, maybe...
if pepe is off in the summer and we dont go for butland now then he might be picked up by another team, and if we wait till the summer if/once pepe goes then butlands price will increase.

[Kenneth]

i think its a spend that'll have to be spent. a little forward planning, maybe...
if pepe is off in the summer and we dont go for butland now then he might be picked up by another team, and if we wait till the summer if/once pepe goes then butlands price will increase.

Yes, and this is still valid if pepe leaves in 18 months time.


WHat i am most curious about is where people are getting the knowledge of what transfer budget we have and what we can afford. Did i miss a statement from the owners or something?

[Exiled_red]

Has anyone seen much of him/Birmingham this season, according to wikipedia he/they have conceded 38 goals in 24 games in the Championship, how much of this is down to him and how much is down to the team just being awful?

[Shaggy]

£11m, wow. That's what our rivals spend on one squad player. Pepe wil need to be replaced in the not too distant future I suspect so do we wait until that point and spend £10m+ on a proven keeper and put him straight in the first team with the risk that comes with it, or try and buy one of the best young gk prospects and have him ready when the time comes?

And Yesil is a kid, of course he's not playing yet.

And how do we know what we can afford?

You'll have to remind me of the last time Stoke, West Brom or Fulham spent £11m on a squad player.

We clearly do not have much to spend. Rodgers has said as much.

If you think spending £11m on three players who will not play is prudent, when we have a number of glaring deficiencies in the first team, that's your call.

[marcus50bucks]

Peter Pannu: "My top priority now - and if I do offend anyone, I care not - is to make sure this club stays afloat."

Peter Pannu interview part one: Birmingham City are prepared to sell stars like Jack Butland to save the club says acting chairman



Peter Pannu has opened up about the extent of Birmingham City’s financial woes.

And he admitted for the first time that he was prepared to sell Jack Butland and possibly other stars in the January transfer window to stop Blues from going under.

Debts racked up by parent company Birmingham International Holdings Limited (BIHL), loss of revenue due to relegation and Carson Yeung’s assets freeze have contributed to Blues monetary mess.

Despite the sale of some £35 million worth of talent since Blues lost Premier League status in 2011 three months after winning the Carling Cup and swingeing reductions in costs and salaries, the club are in a dire state.

In a frank and forthright interview with the Birmingham Mail, Pannu warned: “If I allow this club to go into administration, I think I will never [be able to] step foot in Birmingham city. Never.

“And I am not going to allow that to happen.

“If I do annoy the fans and I do dispose of players, it will be to keep the club afloat.



“I will be abrogating my responsibility to the club, to the fans if I allow that [administration].

“And that’s not an excuse for me to dispose of players, I just need to do what I have to do.”

England cap Butland is Blues most saleable asset. And Pannu admitted he could go, and the drain of Nikola Zigic’s £50,000-a-week plus wages was too much.

“I can’t say that we are in a very wonderful situation, I would be lying if I said that.

“This is a very tricky question [player sales].

“What I can say is that - and I might be blasted for this by the fans - but no one is for sale and everyone is available. As in any club.

“Give me a £15 million offer for Jack Butland, can I say no?

“I have rejected £6 million from Southampton [in the summer] but I rejected it when our finances were OK.

“As the time is ticking, I might not be able to reject it if I get something similar.”

“I do have a responsibility to keep the club running,” continued Pannu.

“Many eminent managers, players have said it umpteen times, that no one is bigger than the club.

“My top priority now - and if I do offend anyone, I care not - is to make sure this clubs stays afloat.

“I will do what I have to do and buy some time to ensure that I can hand this club over to good people who can take us to the next level.

“Ziggy obviously is earning a lot of money here. He’s a very good guy, a gentleman, a gentle giant and I have got lots of time for him.

“But I can’t shy away from the fact that we are paying a lot of money which I’m sure we can’t [afford to]. He realises that.

“We might have to consider his position in January.

“There are other players who are earning a lot of money, at least four, five players I’d hope weren’t earning that much.

“It might be the case that if opportunities arise I will have to look at that.”

“The principle is to keep the club going.

“I can’t let this club run to the ground. I need some time to ensure I can pass it on to good people who can take us to the next level,” Pannu added.

Pannu, chief of parent company BIHL, who own 96 per cent of Blues, said Lee Clark would not be able to make any cash signings in January, but if finances could be juggled sufficiently - dependent on what offers they received - incoming loans were feasible.

Liverpool, Everton, Spurs and West Ham United have all been eyeing Butland.

Pannu pointed out that a player's head was often also easily turned - citing the raft of knocking on his door that took place after relegation.

“Let’s use Butland as an example," said Pannu.



"I understand there are talks with Liverpool, I understand that Everton might be interested, Southampton gave me an offer in the past, I know not whether they want him.

“His is a phenomenal player and let’s move this from another angle.

“For example, if Liverpool come in for Butland, do you not think Butland wouldn’t want to go there?

“Even if Liverpool came to me with £4 million, I’m sure if his agent is doing a proper job he will blow my door down and say he wants the Liverpool opportunity.

“Remember when we were relegated, I had 50 doors changed.

“We have to look at things from various angles, not just purely the financial side of things.

“We have got players who are human and humans have needs, then we have got their agents on top who want to do the best for their players."

“Now it might not be good for us, but it might not necessarily be bad," Pannu added.

“So using Butland again, if I can translate that into £6 million coming up in front, then the only priority I would have to off-load people would perhaps be Zigic.

“Zigic needs to go out and showcase himself. And if a new club likes him, there might be a chance that they will be permanent transfer.

“And under these circumstances, I might not need to off-load anyone else and then I might have some funds to bring in on-loan strikers for us."

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/peter-pannu-interview-part-one-389303

[Shaggy]

Yes, and this is still valid if pepe leaves in 18 months time.


WHat i am most curious about is where people are getting the knowledge of what transfer budget we have and what we can afford. Did i miss a statement from the owners or something?

Bizarre.

Here's one of numerous examples:

Rodgers added: “The budget was going to be tight this year, for a number of reasons, but we will be doing something because it is the need of the group.

“From next season the purse strings should loosen a bit more but in terms of this season it was always on the understanding it was going to be tight in terms of finance.”

[marcus50bucks]

Clearly he is inviting Liverpool to bid for Butland.

Two of their most promising players are Butland and Redmond (don't rate the latter myself, Sterling is better) and I reckon Birmingham will lose both next month imo.

[Captain Stu]

Sneijder is available for €8M - not saying we'd get him but that'd make more sense than signing a fecking keeper when our biggest problem is not converting chances.

[Kenneth]

You'll have to remind me of the last time Stoke, West Brom or Fulham spent £11m on a squad player.

We clearly do not have much to spend. Rodgers has said as much.

If you think spending £11m on three players who will not play is prudent, when we have a number of glaring deficiencies in the first team, that's your call.

Weat Brom, Stoke and Fulham? What are you talking about?

[yamiedo]

From goal.com

With the Blues struggling financially since their relegation from the Premier League, they may be forced to sell some of their most prized assests in order to keep afloat.

And acting chairman at St. Andrews Peter Pannu has confirmed that Liverpool are interested in the young goalkeeper, however they're not the only club who are keen on the England international.

He told the Birmingham Mail: "I understand there are talks with Liverpool, I understand that Everton might be interested, Southampton gave me an offer in the past, I know not whether they want him."

“What I can say is that - and I might be blasted for this by the fans - but no one is for sale and everyone is available. As in any club.

“Give me a £15 million offer for Jack Butland, can I say no?

“I have rejected £6 million from Southampton [in the summer] but I rejected it when our finances were OK.

“As the time is ticking, I might not be able to reject it if I get something similar.”

[Kenneth]

Sneijder is available for €8M - not saying we'd get him but that'd make more sense than signing a fecking keeper when our biggest problem is not converting chances.

How the **** do you know that it's either/or?

[Captain Stu]

How the **** do you know that it's either/or?

Because Rodgers has made it abundantly clear - several times - that he doesn't have a lot of money to spend!

[Shaggy]

Weat Brom, Stoke and Fulham? What are you talking about?

City, Chelsea et al are not our rivals. If you think we're competing them then you are deluded. We are not competing with them. We are in competition with Stoke, West Brom, Fulham etc for 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th place. Take a look at the league table. When was the last time any of the teams around us spent £11m on a squad player?

[Exiled_red]

i think its a spend that'll have to be spent. a little forward planning, maybe...
if pepe is off in the summer and we dont go for butland now then he might be picked up by another team, and if we wait till the summer if/once pepe goes then butlands price will increase.

Where is the suggestion about Reina leaving coming from?

[Captain Stu]

City, Chelsea et al are not our rivals. If you think we're competing them then you are deluded. We are not competing with them. We are in competition with Stoke, West Brom, Fulham etc for 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th place. Take a look at the league table. When was the last time any of the teams around us spent £11m on a squad player?

Bang on.

The sooner the LFC fanbase opens their collective eyes and realises that we've fallen massively away from the top four the better.