Steve Bruce had the winner's mentality for Birmingham City
Karren Brady talks to Steve Bruce at a press conference in 2007.
Bruce’s powers of persuasion and the board’s £40,000-a-week stirred Dugarry and his inspirational performances carried Blues to safety.
David Sullivan and the Gold brothers also funded other key additions in the January transfer window of Matthew Upson, Stephen Clemence, Jamie Clapham (the less said about Ferdinand Coly and Piotr Swierczeski the better).
Sullivan said: “In that first season, Dugarry was the best player ever to pull on a Birmingham shirt in my time there. He was on a different planet to any player we had ever had and lifted the morale of the whole team.”
Blues were in uncharted territory now. David Dunn was bought for £5.5 million for the 2003-04 campaign and the inspired loan signing of Mikael Forssell, who scored 19 goals, saw Blues finish 10th, their highest placing since 1972-73.
Karren Brady was by now emerging as an established football figure. She developed great relationships with the power-brokers, and moved effortlessly in the sort of circles that earned her admiration and respect from the likes of David Dein, Peter Kenyon, Freddy Shepherd and Rick Parry.
As Blues were in the big-time, more agents came calling and more agents found her a tough negotiator, if not downright difficult. But, in the main, despite driving a hard bargain, Blues tended to get their man, like the Mounties.
In the summer of 2004, the Bruce-Brady-board axis worked wonders. Emile Heskey, for another club record, £6.25 million, was recruited. Forssell, permanently, Muzzy Izzet, Mario Melchiot and Jesper Gronkjaer also arrived.
Yet it could have all been so different. Bruce was targeted by his boyhood club, Newcastle United, to replace Sir Bobby Robson. Shepherd wanted Brady too.
Bruce felt he couldn’t jump ship again, especially considering the way the team was evolving with such big names. And Brady remained too.
Blues flattered to deceive during the subsequent season and finished 13th. The next campaign, despite understandable optimism, Blues let it slide and were relegated.
Before a ball was kicked, David Gold said Blues had assembled the best squad in 25 years. Trevor Francis went as far as saying it was the best in Blues history.
“It’s time to shrug off that fear of relegation and start talking about being as good as anyone outside the top three or four,” trumpeted Gold.
In the transfer window of January 2006, the signs of Blues recent yo-yo existence and unrest could be traced.
Bruce lost out on Curtis Davies and Paul Scharner, and in the latter’s case, Bruce was so annoyed that he was publicly critical of the board for the first time.
Blues owners were wary of splashing out huge fees and huge wages after what happened the previous season. Instead, as Portsmouth gambled and spent, Bruce had to settle for Chris Sutton, DJ Campbell and Martin Latka.
Pompey stayed up, Blues returned to the second-tier and the Championship. The team, including Nicky Butt and Jiri Jarosik, was leaden and didn’t have a spark. It was as if Bruce had taken their collective eye off the ball.
Brady often talked about balancing ‘risk and reward’ in the Premier League; it appeared as if the policy had shifted to ensure Blues remained in the black.
After agonising over his future during the summer - Sullivan basically gave Bruce an open invitation to resign - the manager carried on and got Blues promoted at the first attempt.
It wasn’t easy. In fact, the job he did, under so much pressure, was not given the credit it deserved.
Leaning on Brady’s contacts, Blues brought in Sebastian Larsson, Nicklas Bendtner and Fabrice Muamba on loan from Arsenal. Cameron Jerome and Gary McSheffrey were significant buys too.
Bruce was on the verge of the sack in October after a dreadful performance at home to Norwich City capped a five-game winless streak.
He was given a reprieve, Blues got a fortunate win from a deflected Clemence goal at Derby County, and never looked back.
One of the main themes of the Sullivan-Gold-Brady years was their determination to give managers time.
Not only were all of their appointments good, but they never made knee-jerk reactions in the face of public opinion. They felt there was always a better chance of success if there was continuity and a sense for stability.
Yet in 2007-08, it was a season too far for Bruce. Blues longest serving post War manager, he had become ground down and his sparkle, and the board’s - as well as their compatibility - wasn’t quite the same.
When Carson Yeung appeared on the scene, it proved a way out for him and, ultimately, a way out for them.
