Adrian Chiles offers free advice to Tom Wagner after embarrassing Birmingham City remark
West Brom supporters will be looking forward to facing rivals Birmingham City after they were promoted from League One last season.
Birmingham have made headlines ever since their American takeover, with their ambitious new owners determined to throw enough money around to ensure they are eventually promoted to the Premier League.
With West Brom also aiming to get promoted to the Premier League, Birmingham could prove to be a side that Ryan Mason and Co. are forced to take note of.
However, recent comments from Birmingham chairman Tom Wagner will give West Brom supporters something to laugh about.
Chiles pokes fun at recent Wagner remark
Albion supporters have also been treated to the good news recently that Gianluca Frabotta has left The Hawthorns in a move that could potentially save them millions.
But the claims made by their Midlands rivals’ hierarchy in their Amazon series regarding the takeover may have given the West Brom faithful even more reason to smile.
TV presenter and Albion supporter Chiles was critical of Wagner after he claimed that his and NFL icon Tom Brady’s “ultimate objective” from their involvement at Birmingham was to “make some good money”.
Baffled at the naivety of the American’s comments, Chiles offered the Birmingham chairman some words of advice, with his comments certain to go down like a lead balloon at St Andrews.
“Here’s some free PR advice for you, Mr Wagner,” Chiles wrote in his column for The Sun (Page 15, 9 August).
“Next time you’re asked, say something along the lines of, ‘Our ultimate objective is to see this club enjoy success on the pitch and put a smile on the faces of its long-suffering fans. They deserve it. If we make a bit of money along the way, we’re obviously good with that too.’ There you go. Much better.”
Wagner comments could play into West Brom’s hands
Due to the amount of money now behind Birmingham, they are set to be an immediate threat despite only just returning to the Championship.
These comments from Wagner, however, will drive their supporters crazy, and West Brom would be one of the beneficiaries if the owners faced so much criticism that they either reduced their investment or cut ties with the club altogether.
Despite Albion potentially having to sell Heggem to Bologna due to the lucrative potential fees being thrown about, supporters in B13 will not envy Birmingham’s wealthy owners, who evidently just view them as a business and nothing more.
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