19 players out of contract this summer !

From The Birmingham Mail.

Birmingham City have a whopping 19 players out of contract in the summer.

It is primarily a consequence of the disposal and hiring policy since Premier League relegation in 2011.

Because of financial reasons, the club decided not to commit to long-term deals when the squad overhaul began under Chris Hughton.

And 26 of their 29 signings since dropping into the Championship have been either frees, loans or on short-term deals.

Blues have only paid cash for Pablo, Wade Elliott and Darren Ambrose.

The club do have options on several of the players whose deals are set to expire at the end of June.

But there is clearly scope for a major clear-out, especially if the finances continue to dictate matters at St Andrew’s.

The out-of-contract players are: Chris Burke, Steven Caldwell, Stephen Carr, Colin Doyle, Elliott, Keith Fahey, Morgaro Gomis, Mitch Hancox, Pablo, Will Packwood, Callum Reilly, Adam Rooney and Jonathan Spector.

Akwasi Asante, Amari’i Bell, Jack Deaman, Graham Hutchison, Fraser Kerr and Brice Ntambwe also only have six months left on their deals.

Current first-team regulars Ravel Morrison, Robert Hall and Paul Caddis are all loaned-in players, while Rooney is with Swindon Town on loan until the summer.

Blues have options, of either two years or one year, on Burke, Caldwell, Elliott, Fahey, Gomis, Reilly, Rooney and Spector.

Curtis Davies’ contract has 18 months to go (plus a one-year option), while Marlon King’s is due to run out in the summer of 2014.

Nikola Zigic’s Blues contract expires in 2014, as does Nathan Redmond’s and David Murphy’s.

Jack Butland’s agreement runs to 2015 – his is the longest contract Blues are currently committed to.

Blues development squad has been supplemented by two non-contract players Marcel Henry-Francis and Ryan Higgins, both of whom have been named among the substitutes recently for the first team.

While Reece Hales, who came on for his debut at Leeds United in the FA Cup, is an Academy scholar.

The situation is both a blessing and a curse for Clark.

On the one hand with so many players’ deals due to expire, it provides him with a straightforward opportunity to rebuild to his liking at the season’s end – depending on what money is available, the actual financial health of Blues and the ownership issue.

But, on the other hand, it cannot be ideal asking players to perform, especially with Blues struggling at the wrong end of the Championship table, when they have no security and are unsure where their futures lie.

Throw in the fact Peter Pannu has made it clear that players have to be moved on during the January transfer window to generate funds and cut costs, Blues’ foundations are hardly solid; there is uncertainty on and off the pitch.

Blues are at Burnley on Saturday.

Clark had to tell Papa Bouba Diop that his month-to-month contract would not be renewed due to financial reasons.


Anyone else think we are well and tuely Fekked ?

Thoughts ?

How can we be moving on players to raise funds when they're out of contract? Out of contract means they go for free.

inconsistent reporting, just for a change

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