Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight gives honest verdict on Tom Wagner’s Birmingham City deal

Peaky Blinders writer Steven Knight has given his verdict on the proposed Birmingham City takeover.

It was announced last week that an agreement has been reached for the sale of 45.64% of Birmingham City Football Club to Shelby Holdings, but it’s not Knight’s world famous character Tommy who is leading this deal.

The club’s current owners Birmingham Sports Holdings Ltd (BSHL) have informed the club that two sale and purchase agreements have been signed. The identity of those buying the club has also now officially been revealed as Shelby Companies, managed by American financier, Tom Wagner.

Blues fans have been calling for a change of ownership for more than a year now, holding numerous protests before and during home matches over the last 12 months. Birmingham City supporters also recently sent a the letter to the club calling on the owners BSHL to once again put the club up for sale.

Knight is a big Blues fan, and is often seen supporting his team at St Andrew’s. He told BBC WM on Tuesday (May 16) that the takeover is ‘possibly the best thing to happen to Blues since I started supporting them and that was a long time long time ago.”

When asked if he’d been involved in the conversations regarding the takeover, Knight said: “I have. It’s been going on for quite a long time. Longer than I think people think.

“There’s been a TV drama unfolding behind the scenes. I’m just so glad that it’s happened that it’s across the line, and I just hope that in the next ten years things are going to happen that would be unthinkable now.”

He added: “You have to have people (at the club) who are quite unrealistic really, that think things that other people don’t think and then if they have the money to back it up then I think really good things can happen at Blues. As Blues fans we always expect the worst, but with what’s going to happen I think we can hope for the best.”