Blues takeover near?

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It is being reported that Carson Yeung is close to securing a deal to sell Birmingham City to a Far Eastern consortium.   It is thought that he will recover about £40m of the £80m he put into the club.

It has not been a happy period for the Blues and supporters’ group Blues Trust are claiming that the club lost out on a complex deal for the use of the club’s name and badge in China.

Dream league turns out to be fantasy

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The Times devoted three pages to the story this morning under the headline ‘Sheiks shake world game’ and branding it an ‘exclusive’. But it now seems certain that the idea of a super summer competition in Qatar for top European clubs was a hoax, starting with a spoof on a French website. Qatar has denied any knowledge of the scheme.

Should Reading have sacked their manager now?

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Yesterday we published a story about a study by Henley Business School, coincidentally not far from Reading, which looked at when football managers should be sacked. The general implication was that under performance could be picked up quickly and managers who under performed should be got rid of sooner rather than later. The rest should be given more time.

United line up lucrative sponsorship renewal

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Manchester United has the prospect of renewing its merchandising and sponsorship deal with Nike on very lucrative terms. It could be the most valuable sponsorship deal in sporting history. Nike are likely to be keen to keep the deal as there are very few sporting franchises with genuinely global appeal.

PSG spend big and have small losses

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Since the Qatar Investment Authority became Paris Saint-Germain’s majority shareholder money has been no object in building up the club as one of the leading sides in Europe. £92m was spent in the first year of ownership and £128m this season.

It is therefore surprising that PSG made a loss of only £4.8m in the 2011-12 season which puts it on the right side of Uefa’s financial fair play rules. Media rights, commercial income and match day revenue add up to just £84.5m, well short of spending.

Fans bail out Quakers

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Northern League leaders Darlington have been bailed out by their fans to the tune of £50,000. The money has come from fans’ groups who invested in Darlington FC Community Interest Company who run the phoenix club. The company has 800 members and a 52 per cent controlling interest in the club.

Apparently, the cash was needed to cover a shortfall covered by a drop in income, an overspend on playing costs and what were described as ‘crucial budgeting errors.’