If ever there was a story with 'legs' this might be the one. It has possibilities…

'Legs' is one of those words that can have many a meaning; so, for example, in my rough trade of journalism, a story can have 'legs'.

It means it stands up. Not only that, it is a story that can be re-visited; worked upon; enhanced; up-dated� in short, it's got enough legs to go round the block again.

Which brings us, in a roundabout way, to this week's story involving the owners of Birmingham City and their apparent interest in acquiring Norwich City Football Club.

For me, this is a story with legs.

There would, of course, be something deliciously and typically Norwich about a change of ownership that involved the club being passed from the saintly hands of the nation's favourite TV cook and writer to a man whose fortunes had been amassed via publications of an altogether more top-shelf nature.

Or, indeed, if David Sullivan continued to have David Gold for company, then City's financial fortunes would pass from sales of Delia's Winter Collection to that of Ann Summers.

It would, as I say, be typical Norwich to go from one to the other.

But it has legs.

However unlikely it may seem, the Smiths, the Sullivans and the Golds � plus their long-time front woman at St Andrew's, Karren Brady � do get on. There is a genuine respect and friendship in the midst of this.

And they have done deals before � most notably when the two clubs decided to divvie up the proceeds from the 2002 Championship Play-off Final at Cardiff in a new way; to the winner went the spoils of the Premiership; to the loser went the day's gate receipts.

So, they all 'get' eachother. In their eyes, Delia and Michael would not be bequeathing their club to an unknown; nor do they view either the Golds or the Sullivans as the devils in disguise. All four come from the same background � publishing. The only thing that separates them is about three shelves.

Little else.

Now, for the other pieces in the jigsaw.

One of the biggest factors that undermined Sullivan's love for Blues was the travel time from his Essex home.

His passion for the game remains undimmed; despite an invariably fractious relationship with sections of the Blues support.

And much the same can be said for Gold. He, of course, has a bigger West Ham 'thing' going on in that he once played for their Youth team.

So if he's sat somewhere off the A12 somewhere, his eyes might look south; back towards his old manor.

Not that buying into the Hammers would be easy. Or cheap.

Last time anyone looked, their debts were up around the �150 million mark. And nor is it as straight-forward as going round to Delia and Michael's for dinner and doing a deal over the chocolate compots.

Straumur, the collapsed Icelandic bank, are or were the principal creditors; that role now presides with the asset management company, CB Holdings. Straumur have to sell keep their own creditors at bay.

It's a mess, in short. A bottomless pit, potentially.

Neither Gold or Sullivan are likely to be too concerned about events of the other night; good East End boys, they know what happens when people come north of the river of a night�

But the fact remains that as tempting a Premiership prize as the Hammers might be; as much as it might be in their blood � certainly that of Gold � it's not an easy 'buy'.

Norwich, however, might be.

It's a few more miles up the A11 than Gold might like, but the finances are likely to be more transparent; he'll have no legacy of Premiership player wages to deal with; he can start with a clean slate wages-wise; set his level from Day One, as opposed to trying to knock people down from Day One.

Again, when they first went into Blues, the club was all but on its knees. St Andrew's was a dump; the club was going nowhere. In fact, in all probability the only way it could go was up � with the right tweak here, the right appointment there.

And as much as people might suggest that Norwich could still have another 'drop' in them, I suspect we're pretty much scrabbling along at the bottom right now. Colchester (h) could be the lowest of the low ebbs if Paul Lambert starts to make a mark.

Which is why Gold and Sullivan might be tempted; only takes one promotion season and they've got 19,000 season ticket holders signed up for next year. They can talk to Alex McLeish re Lambert; have a chat with Martin O'Neill across the city. Get a sense that he's a manager on the rise and it starts to look ever more tempting.

Everything is in place already; take it off the shelf�

At Upton Park, events can swiftly turn nasty. Irrespective of who your Carling Cup opponents are. And whilst the pair may be worth a reported �750 million between them, that doesn't cut much ice in the Premiership these days. Just ask Mike Ashley.

Chances are you'll only ever be playing for sixth or seventh. That and the Carling Cup. To compete at the next level, you're going to need a new home to call your own; long-term, you'll need a 50,000-seater stadium to de-throne an Arsenal; to out-shine a Spurs.

And that costs. Big time. Bigger than either the Golds or the Sullivans of this world can afford.

No. This one is a story with legs. One that could yet run and run�