Birmingham City

Ridgewell undergoes leg operation
Central defender Liam Ridgewell has undergone an operation on the broken leg he suffered in Birmingham's 1-1 draw with Plymouth on Easter Monday. The 24-year-old will miss the the end of the season after being injured in a challenge with Argyle striker Jamie Mackie midway through the first half. Blues boss Alex McLeish told the club's website: "It wasn't anybody's fault, but suffice to say his season is over." Meanwhile the Blues have also appealed against keeper Maik Taylor's dismissal. Taylor was sent off after 22 minutes after being adjudged to have brought down Jamie Mackie for a penalty.

Birmingham re-sign keeper Krysiak
Birmingham have completed the re-signing of teenage goalkeeper Artur Krysiak on a one-year contract. Krysiak, 19, joined Blues in the summer of 2006 but was available on a free after his original three-year deal with the club expired. The Poland Under-19 international has been a regular academy and reserve player for Birmingham and has had several loan spells since 2007. Krysiak had temporary spells with Gretna, York, Swansea and Motherwell.

Yeung in Birmingham cash pledge
Hong Kong billionaire Carson Yeung has pledged to spend up to £5m of his own money on new players once his company takes over Birmingham City. Yeung's company, Grandtop International Holdings, bid £57m for Birmingham last week but has yet to take full control. "I have already contacted some players. I personally will invest £4m to £5m pounds," said Yeung. Meanwhile, Grandtop's chief operations officer Sammy Yu confirmed Birmingham manager Alex McLeish will be kept on. Yu also confirmed managing director Karren Brady will stay at St Andrew's once the takeover is complete. Despite spending £20m on new players since winning promotion last season, McLeish claimed at the start of this campaign that his side were still not strong enough to survive in the Premier League unless more money was made available for new signings. Since then Birmingham have made a solid start to the new season, with a win over Portsmouth, a draw with Stoke and defeat by Manchester United. Grandtop chairman Yeung said his initial goal is for Birmingham to stay in mid table of the Premier League this season before pushing on. "When all the arrangements are in place, when strong players arrive, our results will improve," he added. "Before the 1 September transfer deadline, I hope I can buy some useful players." Yeung's company, which failed with a bid to take over Birmingham in 2007, already holds a 29.9 % stake in the club and is waiting for shareholders to take up the £1-per-share offer. Grandtop appointed former Liverpool and England midfielder Steven McManaman to the company's board in July 2007. And Yu said he expects McManaman to play a role under Birmingham's new ownership. "Of course, when we have an icon like that, we hope he can contribute his knowledge about football to the club," he stated. "I'm quite sure he will part of us in the day-to-day operation. Surely he will be our ambassador."

McLeish excited by Blues takeover
Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish says Carson Yeung's takeover of the club can be the springboard for future success. Hong Kong billionaire Yeung has bought more than a 90% stake in the Premier League club and can purchase the rest of the shares on a compulsory basis. "There is a buzz about the place," said McLeish. "It is exciting times and something I've great anticipation for." The Scot said he hoped there would be money to spend on players as he looks to keep the Blues in the top flight. "I am looking forward to working with the new owners," said McLeish, who steered the club to promotion last season. "I am ambitious and they are ambitious and, of course, if there is money to spend, we would welcome it. "We are looking forward to a new era. The fans are anticipating another step forward." Yeung's takeover means that half of the Premier League's 20 clubs are now in foreign ownership. The news of Yeung's takeover represents the formal end of the David Sullivan, Ralph Gold and Karren Brady era at St Andrews, although David Gold is poised to remain as chairman. "He seems genuinely interested in the club," Sullivan told Radio 5 live. "He has made all sorts of pledges to the supporters and he's passionate about football. "I hope he'll do extremely well and I have every reason to believe he'll do extremely well." David Gold was equally optimistic, adding: "This is a day of opportunity and we should grasp it optimistically." Yeung must now begin the job of winning over Blues supporters. His failed takeover attempt during the 2007-08 season was widely viewed as a key factor in the club's relegation from the Premier League and in the departure of then-manager Steve Bruce. According to Sullivan, Yeung, who is expected to fly to England next week, has already assured McLeish's position is safe. Should Yeung's investment company, Grandtop Holdings, complete a compulsory purchase on the remaining shares, he can take the club off the Alternative Investment Market and into private ownership. At this stage, there is no definite deadline by which Grandtop will have acquired 100% of the shares. It has left an open timetable to those shareholders who own the remaining 6% of the share capital to return their certificates.

Birmingham City signing Matt Derbyshire wants to stay
Birmingham City's new loan signing Matt Derbyshire is determined to turn the move into a permanent deal. The 24-year-old former Blackburn Rovers striker has returned to the Premier League on a season's loan from Greek club Olympiakos. Derbyshire told WM: "The targets for me are to start playing well, helping the team to win and hopefully making the loan deal permanent." He could make his debut against former club Blackburn on Saturday. Derbyshire added: "It's important to show the manager and the fans what I can do. "I'm ready and it's all down to the manager to say if I'm ready." Derbyshire began his career with Blackburn but found it difficult to cement a regular starting place at Ewood Park. The England Under-21 international joined Olympiakos in January 2009, initially on loan, and then completed a permanent transfer later that year. But he said the time he spent in Greece made him realise how much he wanted to return to the Premier League. "I've missed the mentality of the English game and I'm glad to be back now," said Derbyshire. "I'm glad I had the opportunity and I'm glad that I went, but I'm a Birmingham player now and I'm very excited."

McLeish sad for Di Matteo
Alex McLeish was disappointed to see Roberto Di Matteo become the latest Premier League manager to be axed at West Brom on Sunday. And the Birmingham boss has questioned whether Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger would have been given the time to build their dynasties at Manchester United and Arsenal in the current 'knee-jerk' sacking culture. Di Matteo was the fourth top-flight boss to be shown the door this season, while McLeish admitted recently he himself is not immune from facing a similar scenario, despite his success during three years at St. Andrew's. And the former Scotland coach has expressed his doubts over whether Ferguson and Wenger would be allowed to develop teams if they were starting out as new managers now. Knee-jerk When asked about Di Matteo's sacking, he said: "Nothing surprises you in the game these days. "We live in that knee-jerk culture where results are huge. The stakes are immense and it is difficult for managers these days. "If Sir Alex and Arsene were now starting out to build a team, would they get that time? "Their longevity is astonishing." McLeish added: "I am disappointed for Roberto because it looks as if he was doing a decent job. "It is a hard league and I don't think the quality has ever been better in terms of the lower half of the table." Meanwhile, McLeish is predicting encouraging times ahead for Scotland after their 3-0 win over Northern Ireland in the Carling Nations Cup on Wednesday night. He said: "I see bright times ahead for Scotland. I see a lot of good players at (manager) Craig Levein's disposal. "The quality that was on show last night was great. Recovered "Don't forget there are also guys like James McFadden to come back into it as well when recovered from injury. "I think it is promising times for the national team because we do have a lot of good quality players." Birmingham goalkeeper Ben Foster has recovered from the thumb injury that forced him out of England's friendly in Denmark in time to face Stoke at St. Andrew's on Saturday. McLeish added: "Ben is fine. He is okay. England were very accommodating and I thank Fabio Capello and his staff for that."

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