Sun 1st Nov - St Andrews Stadium
By Laura Slatcher Last updated: 22nd November 2008
Ronaldo: Gold criticism
Birmingham City chairman David Gold has hit out at the excessive wage demands of Premier League players as the country faces recession.
Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo comes under particular criticism from Gold, who believes club loyalty should be a player's priority.
Ronaldo has allegedly insisted that he deserves a pay increase as his agents confirmed he is set to have talks over a new deal at Old Trafford.
"There is a recession for the people who watch Ronaldo play," Gold told The Times.
"They are all feeling it, they are turning off their lights a little earlier, they're all driving a bit slower. They are in recession.
"For the United fans, sure, he's a hero to them and deserves every penny he gets. But to the non-United fans. He wants more money? Yes, they may well despise him for that.
"If I was his dad or his PR or his agent I'd be saying to him that this is not the route we want to be going down. They should be building his image as a loyal servant. I'd like to see players kissing their badge more, not their wallets."
But Gold believes that the current economic climate has added 'realism' to football despite admitting that many Championship clubs are only just surviving.
"As painful as the crunch may be, though, it has also brought a degree of realism to the game," added Gold.
"You have to balance the books and clubs are doing this aggressively.
"Going around the boardrooms as I do, there is no panic. Everyone is being realistic.
"But when they go to their banks now to increase their overdraft from £10million to £12million, they're being told, 'No, reduce it to £8million.'"

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| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Monday 9th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | Liverpool vs Birmingham |
| Saturday 21st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Birmingham vs Fulham |
| Sunday 29th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:00 | Wolverhampton vs Birmingham |
| Saturday 5th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Birmingham |
| Saturday 12th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Birmingham vs West Ham |
| Tuesday 15th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | Birmingham vs Blackburn |
| Sunday 20th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Everton vs Birmingham |
| Saturday 26th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Birmingham vs Chelsea |
| Monday 28th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Stoke vs Birmingham |
| Saturday 9th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 17:30 | Birmingham vs Man Utd |
| Saturday 16th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Portsmouth vs Birmingham |
| Wednesday 27th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Chelsea vs Birmingham |
| Saturday 30th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Birmingham vs Tottenham |
| Saturday 6th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:00 | Birmingham vs Wolverhampton |
| Tuesday 9th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | West Ham vs Birmingham |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Sunday 1st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Birmingham 0 - 0 Man City | |
| Saturday 24th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Birmingham 2 - 1 Sunderland | |
| Saturday 17th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Arsenal 3 - 1 Birmingham | |
| Saturday 3rd October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Burnley 2 - 1 Birmingham | |
| Saturday 26th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Birmingham 1 - 2 Bolton | |
| Tuesday 22nd September | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Sunderland 2 - 0 Birmingham | |
| Saturday 19th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Hull 0 - 1 Birmingham | |
| Sunday 13th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Birmingham 0 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Saturday 29th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Tottenham 2 - 1 Birmingham | |
| Tuesday 25th August | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Southampton 1 - 2 Birmingham | |
| Saturday 22nd August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Birmingham 0 - 0 Stoke | |
| Wednesday 19th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Birmingham 1 - 0 Portsmouth | |
| Sunday 16th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man Utd 1 - 0 Birmingham | |
| Wednesday 5th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Tamworth 3 - 1 Birmingham | |
| Tuesday 4th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Crewe 4 - 1 Birmingham | |
| Sunday 2nd August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Cheltenham 0 - 4 Birmingham | |
| Saturday 1st August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Nottm Forest 2 - 1 Birmingham | |
| Wednesday 29th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Dag & Red 0 - 1 Birmingham | |
| Saturday 25th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Burton Albion 3 - 2 Birmingham | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Blackburn Rovers | 11 | 13 |
| 14 | Everton | 10 | 12 |
| 15 | Birmingham City | 11 | 11 |
| 16 | Bolton Wanderers | 11 | 11 |
| 17 | West Ham United | 11 | 10 |
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