Trevor Birch

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Trevor Birch
Personal information
Date of birth	16 February 1958 (1958-02-16) (age 50)
Place of birth	Liverpool, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position	Midfield
Youth clubs
1974–79	Liverpool
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1987–88 c.1988	Shrewsbury Town Chester City Marine Runcorn Northwich Victoria Skelmersdale United	25 (4) 31 (0) 31 (2) 06 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Trevor Birch (born 16 February 1958) is an English football executive and former football player. He has principally been involved with clubs undergoing financial difficulties, and was most recently the chief executive of Derby County.

Birch started out as a footballer and was on the books of Liverpool - he was the last player signed by Bill Shankly^[1] - but only played for the reserves and by 1979 had left the club altogether. He also had brief spells with Shrewsbury Town and Chester City, after which he retired from playing professionally and became a chartered accountant, playing non-league football with clubs including Marine ^[2], Runcorn ^[3], Northwich Victoria ^[4] and Skelmersdale United. Birch failed to score a league goal in his season with Chester but did find the net in the FA Cup against Barnsley ^[5].

Specialising in insolvency, Birch became chief executive of Chelsea, a club with a debt burden of around £80m, in February 2002, and attempted to restructure their finances. He also helped put together the £140m Roman Abramovich takeover during June and July of 2003.^[6] The takeover wiped out most of the club's debts, making Birch's role no longer necessary, and he was replaced by Peter Kenyon. Birch was offered another role, but instead resigned.^[7]

In October 2003, Birch was appointed chief executive of Leeds United, another club with high debts, and was briefly chairman following Professor John McKenzie's resignation. He helped the club avoid administration, and oversaw the takeover of Leeds by Gerald Krasner's consortium, before moving on to Everton in June 2004 to become their chief executive. Birch was given the task of overhauling the Merseyside club's finances, but resigned just six weeks later.^[8]

In June 2007 he became Chief Executive Officer of Derby County, replacing Mike Horton's previous role as managing director. Horton remained on the board as vice chairman. ^[9]

In October 2007 Birch left Derby County. He was lined up to be the new Southampton Chairman heading the new regime if the proposed takeover from Daniel Williams had materialised.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ "New Blues chief has 'unfinished business'", ESPN Soccernet, 2002-02-21. Retrieved on 2007-02-25. 
2. ^ Chas Sumner (1997). On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City 1885-1997, p.135. ISBN 1-874427-52-6. 
3. ^ John Hardman (2005). Alliance to Conference 1979-2004: The First 25 Years, p.536 & 545. ISBN 1-869833-52-X. 
4. ^ John Hardman (2005). Alliance to Conference 1979-2004: The First 25 Years, p.485. ISBN 1-869833-52-X. 
5. ^ Chas Sumner (1997). On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City 1885-1997, stats section. ISBN 1-874427-52-6. 
6. ^ Glanvill, Rick (2006). Chelsea FC: The Official Biography - The Definitive Story of the First 100 Years. Headline Book Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7553-1466-2. , pp. 158-164
7. ^ "Birch quits Chelsea", BBC, 2003-09-13. Retrieved on 2007-02-25. 
8. ^ Phil McNulty. "Everton chief Birch resigns", BBC, 2004-07-16. Retrieved on 2007-02-25. 
9. ^ "Derby appoint new chief executive", BBC, 2007-06-12. Retrieved on 2007-07-02. 

Sporting positions
Preceded by John McKenzie	Leeds United chairman 2003-2004	Succeeded by Gerald Krasner