Birmingham seek to buy Irish club

BIRMINGHAM CITY have become the latest English soccer club to confirm an interest in becoming involved in the game here with the First Division side issuing an invitation yesterday to the owners of National League sides to offer their clubs for sale.

The St Andrew's based club, who are currently chasing promotion to the Premiership in England, issued a statement expressing their commitment to purchasing an Irish side by the end of the season and inviting any National League club here interested in entering negotiations to send details in writing to Karren Brady at the club.

City's proprietor, David Sullivan, confirmed that the interest was genuine and stated that he was "90 per cent certain" that by the end of the season he would own a club in the Republic of Ireland.

Unlike Wimbledon, who recently expressed an interest in moving their home games to this country, Sullivan, who made a fortune from dealing in soft pornography and currently owns the Dally and Sunday Sport newspapers, said that the primary reason for his interest lay in the potential to exploit new transfer regulations thrown up in the wake of the Bosman case rather than a desire to move his team from its present home.

"That sort of thing would be fine for a club like Wimbledon who want to go to somewhere where more people would be interested in seeing Manchester United and the like but we get 20,000 at our home games - what would be the point in us moving to Dublin?

Sullivan went on to explain that he felt that the Bosman ruling would provide "a lot of opportunities to make money from the transfer system. Fees are going to go right down as a result of this ruling but there will be ways that clubs turn it to their advantage.

His plan is apparently based on the possibility of signing players who are out of contract in England without paying a fee to their club on the basis that they would be leaving Britain and would therefore be free agents under European Union law. Once signed, on contracts of at least three years' duration, the players would play in the National League for a year before being sold back to English sides at a profit.

"We would be smashing the National League's wage structures," said Sullivan. "We'd probably be talking about paying players up to £6,000 or £8,000 a week but you would be looking to make your money on the transfer after a year or so. It would mean a very fast turnover of players but they would be top stars, not players coming to the end of their careers, because we have to be able to sell them at the profit after their time in Ireland."

Sullivan, who along with his business partners David and Ralph Gold - owners of the Ann Summers chain of sex shops in Britain - has put £15 million into Birmingham City in less than three years in charge, added that the aim would be to build a team comprising "four of five top or up and coming stars as well as players knocking on the door of the Birmingham City first team.

"It would be a good and enjoyable experience for some of our younger players and, together with a few really good Premiership players, hopefully we would have something that Irish people would want to come along and see.

He admits that the failure to sell on players while they are still under contract would represent a major setback to the club but, he feels, that it is not something that would render the plan unworkable. "If you don't do it you are stuck with a player at £8,000 for a few years which is obviously a problem but you win some and lose some so you would expect to have to cover the cost of it happening occasionally."

Displaying a sound basic knowledge of the football scene here ("I'm learning by the minute and I'm a fast learner") Sullivan said that he has already had talks with one club, which he declined to name but says that "we are not trying to buy any club, we are trying to buy the best one available. Being in Dublin might also be a bonus but really a club with potential, maybe one with problems that we could sort out, is what we are after.

Reaction to the move among club officials here last night amounted to cautious bemusement with most initially dismissing the idea before conceding that they would have to consider any serious offer that might be put on the table.

"Not very enthusiastic," was how former FAI general secretary Dr Tony O'Neill described his feelings on hearing the news but, he added: "If it is serious you would like to look into it and consider everything very carefully."

Dundalk chairman Enda McGuill joked that "he can have the lot for £5 million" before remarking: "I would have to think about it. We have our own league here and we are well capable of running it. I would be reluctant to get involved in what basically sounds like a bit of a stroke.

One possible obstacle to Sullivan's plans which was brought ups by officials here would be UEFA regulations aimed at limiting the ownership of clubs to just one but Sullivan said that he did not know whether this only applies to clubs within one country or not and that Birmingham City's lawyers were currently looking into the situation. "It might end up that it is me and my partners or the club itself that makes the approach or we might try to take ownership while leaving the current owners there as Irish trustees, but one way or the other I don't think that will prove too difficult to get around in some way."

Asked about his opinion on the idea Cork City chairman Pat O'Donovan remarked: "I've put a lot of love, money and energy into the club here and I know that like a lot of my colleagues at other sides here I'd hate not to be involved but, let's face it, if a man like him offered a man like me a lot of money I'd be a dope not to at least have lunch with him."

Like his colleagues, however, O'Donovan said that he would not be forwarding details of his club to Ms Brady or give the matter serious consideration unless a specific approach was made.