Birmingham 4 Blackburn 1:RELEGATION APPEARED to be almost a side issue for Birmingham City last night as David Sullivan, the club's PLC chairman, claimed he would "move on to another club" after he was subjected to verbal abuse from home supporters on an extraordinary day at St Andrews.
David Gold, Birmingham's co-owner, also suggested he was considering resigning in the wake of scenes that he described as "venomous" after fans sought to confront the St Andrews board.
Frustrations boiled over when it became apparent Reading were winning convincingly at Pride Park, meaning Birmingham would not salvage Premier League status despite emphatically beating Blackburn. Chants of "Sack the board" emanated from the Tilton Road End before a number of Birmingham fans in front of the directors' box turned on the club's hierarchy to vent their anger. Sullivan and Gold were furious.
"These people don't know anything about business and nothing about football," said Sullivan, who was watching the game with his two younger sons, David jr and Jack. "I have had enough. I don't want to be here next season."
Gold claimed he would also leave if he thought the "majority" of fans were behind the unrest.
"I'm a bit stressed by the reaction of the fans. I understand the disappointment of relegation," he said. "But never, in all the time I've been at the football club, have I seen a large section of fans being abusive. Is it 100, is it 1,000 or is it the majority? Because if it's the majority I will be left with no alternative but to resign as chairman."
Regarding the abuse hurled at the board, Gold added: "You could almost excuse the chants of 'Board out' because of their frustration, and they are getting rid of that. If I wasn't chairman, I would probably be joining them. But, of course, what I wouldn't be joining in is the venomous verbal attack.
"I couldn't quote a single word. You don't have to because you could see the hatred in their eyes as they came towards the board and two young children."
Gold admitted he understood some of the fans' grievances, the decision to sell a 29.9 per cent stake to Carson Yeung, the Hong Kong businessman who failed to complete a takeover but did much to unsettle the club on and off the field, now recognised as a mistake.
"It should have been a takeover bid done and dusted in a short space of time," added Gold, who conceded Steve Bruce would probably have stayed but for Yeung's involvement. Instead Bruce departed for Wigan and Alex McLeish, who took over at the end of November, has been unable to arrest the slide towards the Championship for the second time in three seasons.
There no disgrace in Birmingham's performance here. It was full of conviction and belief as they tore into Blackburn. Having come on to the field to a wall of noise, McLeish's players might have gone ahead in the third minute when Mauro Zarate, a late replacement for James McFadden, injured in the warm-up, speared an angled drive inches wide.
It was soon apparent that such enterprising attack was not required to prise a breakthrough.
Out of position following a quickly taken free-kick, the Blackburn defence made the mistake of retreating as David Murphy strolled forward in the space that opened up in front of him. One swing of the left boot and Birmingham, aided by Brad Friedel's poor attempt to save, were beginning to dream.
A reality check followed four minutes after the break when Morten Gamst Pedersen tapped home. At that point, with Reading comfortably in front, Birmingham might have expected to implode but, to their credit, they rallied. Cameron Jerome made up for an embarrassing miss when he scored twice late on before Fabrice Muamba headed beyond Friedel. Not that anyone was talking about the goals.
