Birmingham's new owner to spend big

BIRMINGHAM, England: New Birmingham owner Carson Yeung pledged Thursday to invest up to 40 million pounds ($65 million) on strengthening the squad in the January transfer window.

With promoted Birmingham 14th in the standings and struggling with injuries, Yeung recognizes that staying in the top flight is the priority and will provide manager Alex McLeish with the funds to try and achieve that.

However, the Hong Kong businessman told The Associated Press that he expects his investment to produce a trophy by 2012.