The clock is ticking at Birmingham City - whether it is counting down to salvation or oblivion - no-one knows.
But a day of reckoning will soon come at a club that has been battered from pillar to post - not just during this season - but for the majority of the past decade.
It’s three months now since golf bigwig Keith Pelley and former Microsoft salesman Jeremy Dale were unveiled as the latest hopefuls to step forward in the hope of wrestling control away from the Hong Kong-listed company that has dragged the Second City outfit to its knees.
But the chances of a takeover before the end of the campaign in which manager John Eustace has battled gamely against the tide of negativity are now receding fast.
Decisions need to be taken - on player budgets for next season, a schedule of works to right a crumbling stadium and repairs to a training ground that suffered extensive damage when fire in a room off the club’s canteen rendered the site unusable. Those now look certain to be left in the hands of the hated custodians.
The club’s owners - to the embarrassment of the Football League their identity remains unclear - are facing an investigation. Failed would-be investors - Birmingham businessman Paul Richardson and ex-Barcelona star Maxi Lopez - are under the spotlight too for ownership breaches.
If found guilty - and the investigation remains on-going while the authority attempts to establish clear facts in both cases - it is likely to invoke serious sanctions.
They would seriously hamper the sale process and deter would-be investors from coming forward as the threat of points deduction remains blindingly real.
To complicate matters still further, the owners are demanding £35m in staged payments from any would-buyers to satisfy their need to retain their listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Profit projections for the next three years show the club losing between £13-16m per season - which means that any purchaser needs to prove to the EFL they have liquid funds of around £75m. None of which is proving in any way enticing - as Pelley and Dale have found out.
Bidders have stepped forward - a locally-based consortium and a US-based investment house are two to have stuck their heads above the parapet - only to take a sharp intake of breath as the size of the job-in-hand becomes apparent.
Cash is always at a premium but set against a backdrop of rising costs and wages, the estimated £5.25m bill for repairing the rotting stands is rocketing too, adding yet more financial pain. It is this most potent and toxic cocktail that has set alarm bells clanging.
A spokesman for the Birmingham City Supporters’ Trust said: “We’re very concerned - the club’s been in decline for a number of years. The infrastructure is decaying, investment has been poor and there are on-going disciplinary issues with the Football League.
“The debts to the owners total over £80m, the club is significantly loss-making and a majority shareholding in St Andrew’s has been sold off to a third party.
“The EFL have already disciplined the club twice and additional have been levelled over one aborted takeover. Trust has broken down irrevocably between the fans and owners.
“We believe the only way forward is for the owners to sell up and Blues’ fans have launched a ‘sell the club’ campaign - the sooner the better.”
The blaze at the club’s Wast Hills training ground has led to more upheaval - Eustace and his squad are now based at a site near Henley-in-Arden that was left deserted when Premiership rugby club Wasps fell into administration. On the pitch at least, the manager has just about managed to steady the ship. Two more victories from the final eight games should be sufficient for the Blues to retain their Championship status.
However, with costs piling up at the door of the Chinese owners the question remains as to how long they can keep paying the bills. Investors will swoop to take over a club in administration but that will bring an inevitable points deduction and will still require significant funding, potentially through the course of next season.
It all paints a sorry picture at a club that should be the heartbeat of its city. But it remains stuck on a life-support machine with no sign of a revival anywhere in sight.
