Silk - 1.25% a year out of the club is ridiculously low return, and that isn’t in place to allow them to make money on their investment.

Yes, but only £7 million would count against their budget. And they also sold £14 million of players which is also added to the budget.

It said in that article that Birmingham spent around £34m in the summer of 2024.

RK - he signed for 7 years but the cap is 5 years.

Silk, shouldn't it be the length of the contract, possible that it was five years of course ...

Their revenue was £35.6 million which would leave them a budget of £17.8 million. He was perfectly affordable within EFL limits

With the Stansfield transfer only 20% of that fee would count against the team budget as it can spread over five years. So even at £15 million only £3million would count against that years budget.

Silk - to be honest if we got better results, better players, less drivel served up, increased temp stands, I’d have no problem with any individual making some money

On the field good to see Ogundere back on the bench. In time for the FA Cup and another revenue stream.

How long is sweeney out for?

The benefit to the investors is if they can make us a Championship club they could very well sell their investment for £100 million or more. They also take money out of the club for the management fee which is 1.25% of their total investment. I believe the £16 million will get them £200,000 per year they can take out.

Norwich now 3–2 up from 2-0 behind vs Watford…. Maghoma scored again…

Ogs on the bench.

Have now watched the second meeting, and overall I think it was a lot better and more reassuring than the first one. There were some honest answers from both parties. I think there are a lot of question marks over various aspects of the deal, but I'm not sure they will ever really be answered. I think there is a really valid view to take that the initial £16m gets us out of a massive hole and anything else is bonus. I agree with Erik's concerns that the football strategy is optimistic (politely), and I think one of the main areas of concern is still that there is no real football leadership experience in the group taking control of football. There might be a lot of polite nodding and upwards management in JJ and CC's futures. I thought it was interesting that Rosen pretty much said that public speaking isn't Bertrand's thing and he's a lot better one on one. He'd have to be!

Wu - on the first question, I think they've heavily implied the answer is no, it's not secured, but then up until year 3 if it's not paid, their economic rights ownership stops growing. I have to say I am unclear why, over a five year deal, the economic rights top out at Y3.

Is the full £87m legally committed and financially secured, or is it dependent on Mir's future financial circumstances? Has independent legal advice confirmed that Plough Lane is protected against the club's financial and corporate liabilities?

I do not hide that my uneasiness is based largely on gut feel and that is entirely subjective. I would be more reassured if: the second meeting had been live streamed or, failing that, the recording hadn't been edited; they hadn't withdrawn from the SOW podcast on 30 minutes' notice citing time pressures (but managed to do WHAD); if they could explain why RA 4A 'does not apply' instead of just batting that away. If you want sceptics to be onside, don't do anything that gives anyone reason to be doubtful.

I asked AI what the average league 1 playing budget is and they said £7m. Not sure what ours is this season but around £4m tops i guess

Birmingham spent a League 1 record £15m+ on Jay Stansfield alone. [Link]

Good to read some positivity about SSC, yet to see the podcast or 2nd meeting

I think a lot of investors do look for investments that align to their personal beliefs, preferences, ethos etc so it can be true that we were attractive because of the values the club carries whilst also looking like a ‘good’ investment on paper. We as a club have a lot going for us, as they say, we are run efficiently, plus we have a relatively new ground that has no backlog of issues generally, it has planning for 20k, we are in a good catchment, good links, decent academy and community programs. If you were looking for a football club to invest in, what else would you be looking for?

I think Birmingham were reported to have spent £10m in the season they got back out of L1 so we should be able to reach the Championship under the promised numbers. Doubt we’d trouble the playoff spots there though.

Agreed on the no one knows aspect.

OI - more or less how I see it.

There is no long term guarantee whatever you do. Citeh may be a non-league club next season (OK unlikely). I don't think this guarantees us 5 years, the 16 million used sensibly gets us close to that, any money beyond that may or may not appear. Every option has risks, this one seems the best way for me to enjoy the football for a while.