Birmingham City star James McFadden thanks boss Alex McLeish
May 6 2009 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail
JAMES McFadden has revealed why he has to thank Alex McLeish for keeping him at Blues.
Following relegation, it was widely assumed that star assets McFadden (pictured) and Sebastian Larsson would be sold.
But flush from the £5.75million unexpected windfall from Bolton Wanderers for Fabrice Muamba, plus Olivier Kapo’s £3.25million exit to Wigan Athletic and the £11.5million parachute payment, Blues were not under massive pressure to cash in.
McLeish told the board he wanted to keep the pair no matter what, and they agreed, with David Sullivan vowing that they would ‘not be sold in the next 12 months’.
For Scotland favourite McFadden, it was not a stance that he fought against. In fact, he welcomed it.
“The manager made that decision before me,” he said. “I never had any decisions to make whether I was staying or going.
“He put a lot of faith in me, and he wanted me to stay – not that I wanted to leave.
“There was a lot of talk, but as far as I was concerned I was just going to get on with playing for Birmingham and helping us get back to the Premier League.
