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{{Fs player| no=10| nat=England| pos=FW| name=[[Cameron Jerome]]}}
{{Fs player| no=10| nat=England| pos=FW| name=[[Cameron Jerome]]}}
{{Fs player| no=11| nat=England| pos=MF| name=[[Gary McSheffrey]]}}
{{Fs player| no=11| nat=England| pos=MF| name=[[Gary McSheffrey]]}}
{{Fs player| no=12| nat=Tunisia| pos=MF| name=[[Mehdi Nafti]]}}<sup>a</sup>
{{Fs player| no=13| nat=Ireland| pos=GK| name=[[Colin Doyle (footballer)|Colin Doyle]]}}
{{Fs player| no=13| nat=Ireland| pos=GK| name=[[Colin Doyle (footballer)|Colin Doyle]]}}
{{Fs player| no=14| nat=Netherlands| pos=MF| name=[[Kemy Agustien]]|other=on loan from [[AZ (football club)|AZ]]}} <sup>a</sup>
{{Fs player| no=15| nat=Tunisia| pos=DF| name=[[Radhi Jaïdi]]}}
{{Fs player| no=15| nat=Tunisia| pos=DF| name=[[Radhi Jaïdi]]}}
{{Fs player| no=16| nat=Scotland| pos=FW| name=[[James McFadden]]}}
{{Fs player| no=16| nat=Scotland| pos=FW| name=[[James McFadden]]}}
{{fs mid}}
{{fs mid}}
{{Fs player| no=17| nat=England| pos=MF| name=[[Jordon Mutch]]}}
{{Fs player| no=17| nat=England| pos=MF| name=[[Jordon Mutch]]}}
{{Fs player| no=18| nat=Honduras| pos=FW| name=[[Carlo Costly]]|other=on loan from [[GKS Bełchatów]]}} <sup>a</sup>
{{Fs player| no=20| nat=France | pos=DF | name=[[Franck Queudrue]]}}
{{Fs player| no=20| nat=France | pos=DF | name=[[Franck Queudrue]]}}
{{Fs player| no=21| nat=England| pos=DF| name=[[Stuart Parnaby]]}}
{{Fs player| no=21| nat=England| pos=DF| name=[[Stuart Parnaby]]}}
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{{Fs player| no=31| nat=England| pos=MF| name=Mitchell McPike}}
{{Fs player| no=31| nat=England| pos=MF| name=Mitchell McPike}}
{{Fs player| no=32| nat=Northern Ireland| pos=MF| name=[[Robin Shroot]]}}
{{Fs player| no=32| nat=Northern Ireland| pos=MF| name=[[Robin Shroot]]}}
{{Fs player| no=33| nat=Algeria| pos=MF| name=[[Hameur Bouazza]] |other=on loan from [[Fulham F.C.|Fulham]]}}
{{Fs player| no=34| nat=Mali| pos=DF| name=[[Djimi Traoré]] |other=on loan from [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]]}}
{{Fs player| no=35| nat=England| pos=GK| name=Dean Lyness}}
{{Fs player| no=35| nat=England| pos=GK| name=Dean Lyness}}
{{Fs end}}
{{Fs end}}


<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bcfc.com/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10412~1652033,00.html |title=Squad rebuilding begins |date=8 May 2009 |publisher=Birmingham City F.C |accessdate=8 May 2009}}</ref>
a. Those players marked <sup>a</sup> will leave the club on the expiry of their contract: Agustien on 26 May, Costly on 31 May, and Nafti on 30 June.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bcfc.com/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10412~1652033,00.html |title=Squad rebuilding begins |date=8 May 2009 |publisher=Birmingham City F.C |accessdate=8 May 2009}}</ref>


===Out on loan===
===Out on loan===

Revision as of 16:15, 15 May 2009

Birmingham City
Badge of Birmingham City
Full nameBirmingham City Football Club
Nickname(s)Blues
Founded1875
as Small Heath Alliance
GroundSt Andrew's Stadium
Capacity30,009[1]
ChairmanEngland David Gold
ManagerScotland Alex McLeish
LeagueThe Championship
2008–09The Championship, 2nd
(promoted)
Current season

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham F.C. in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City F.C. in 1943.[2] At the end of the 2008–09 season, they were promoted from the Football League Championship to the Premier League.

As Small Heath, they were founder members and first ever champions of the Football League Second Division. The most successful period in their history was in the 1950s and early 1960s. They achieved their highest finishing position of sixth in the First Division in the 1955–56 season and reached the 1956 FA Cup Final, progressed to the final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1960 and 1961, and won their only major trophy, the League Cup, in 1963, beating Aston Villa 3–1 on aggregate. They have spent the majority of their history in the top tier of English football,[3] though their darkest era came between 1986 and 2002, when they were continuously outside the top division. This period included two brief spells in the third tier of the English League, during which time they twice won the Football League Trophy.

St Andrew's has been their home ground since 1906. They have a long-standing and fierce rivalry with Aston Villa, their nearest neighbours, with whom they play the Birmingham derby. The club's nickname is Blues, due to the colour of their kit, and their fans are known as Bluenoses.

History

Further information: History of Birmingham City F.C.
Small Heath F.C., champions of the inaugural Football League Second Division in 1892–93

Birmingham City were founded as Small Heath Alliance in 1875, and from 1877 played their home games at Muntz Street. The club turned professional in 1885,[1] and three years later became the first football club to become a limited company with a board of directors,[4] under the name of Small Heath F.C. Ltd.[5] From the 1889–90 season they played in the Football Alliance, which ran alongside the Football League. In 1892, Small Heath, along with the other Alliance teams, were invited to join the newly-formed Football League Second Division. They finished as champions, but failed to win promotion via the test match system; the following season promotion to the First Division was secured after a second place finish and test match victory over Darwen.[6] The club adopted the name Birmingham Football Club in 1905, and moved into their new ground, which became known as St Andrew's, the following year,[7] though matters on the field failed to live up to their surroundings. Birmingham were relegated in 1908, obliged to apply for re-election two years later, and remained in the Second Division until after the First World War.[3]

Frank Womack's captaincy and the creativity of Scottish international playmaker Johnny Crosbie contributed much to Birmingham winning their second Division Two title in 1920–21.[8] Womack went on to make 515 appearances, a club record for an outfielder, over a twenty-year career.[9] 1920 also saw the debut of the 19-year-old Joe Bradford, who went on to score a club record 267 goals in 445 games, and won 12 caps for England.[10] In 1931, manager Leslie Knighton led the club to their first FA Cup Final, which they lost 2–1 to Second Division club West Bromwich Albion. Though Birmingham remained in the top flight for 18 seasons, they struggled in the league, with much reliance placed on England goalkeeper Harry Hibbs to make up for the lack of goals, Bradford excepted, at the other end.[11] They were finally relegated in 1938–39, the last full season before the Football League was abandoned for the duration of the Second World War.

The club's current name of Birmingham City F.C. was adopted in 1943.[2] Under Harry Storer, appointed manager in 1945, the club won the Football League South wartime league and reached the semifinal of the first post-war FA Cup. Two years later they won their third Second Division title, conceding only 24 goals in the 42-game season.[12] Storer's successor Bob Brocklebank, though unable to stave off relegation in 1950, brought in players who made a major contribution to the club's successes of the next decade.[13] When Arthur Turner took over as manager in November 1954, he made them play closer to their potential, and a 5–1 win on the last day of the 1954–55 season confirmed them as champions.[14] In their first season back in the First Division, Birmingham achieved their highest league finish of sixth place. They also reached the FA Cup final, losing 3–1 to Manchester City in the game notable for City's goalkeeper Bert Trautmann playing the last 20 minutes with a broken bone in his neck. The following season the club lost in the FA Cup semifinal for the third time since the war, this time beaten 2–0 by Manchester United's "Busby Babes".[14]

Birmingham became the first English club side to take part in European competition when they played their first group game in the inaugural Inter-Cities Fairs Cup competition on 15 May 1956; they went on to reach the semifinal where they drew 4–4 on aggregate with Barcelona, losing the replay 2–1. They were also the first English club side to reach a European final, losing 4–1 on aggregate to Barcelona in 1960 and 4–2 to A.S. Roma in 1961.[15] In the 1961 semifinal they beat Inter Milan home and away; no other English club won a competitive game in the San Siro until Arsenal managed it more than 40 years later.[16] Gil Merrick's side saved their best form for cup competitions. Though opponents in the 1963 League Cup final, local rivals Aston Villa, were pre-match favourites, Birmingham raised their game and won 3–1 on aggregate to lift their only major trophy to date.[17] In 1965, after ten years in the top flight, they returned to the Second Division.

Businessman Clifford Coombs took over as chairman in 1965, luring Stan Cullis out of retirement to manage the club.[18] Cullis's team played attractive football which took them to the semifinals of the League Cup in 1967 and the FA Cup in 1968, but league football needed a different approach.[19] Successor Freddie Goodwin produced a team playing skilful, aggressive football that won promotion as well as reaching an FA Cup semifinal.[20] Two years later, the club raised money by selling Bob Latchford to Everton for a British record fee of £350,000, but without his goals the team struggled.[21][22] Sir Alf Ramsey briefly managed the club before Jim Smith took over in 1978. With relegation a certainty, the club sold Trevor Francis to Nottingham Forest, making him the first player transferred for a fee of £1 million;[23] Francis had scored a total of 133 goals in 329 appearances over his nine years at Birmingham.[24] Smith took Birmingham straight back to the First Division, but a poor start to the 1981–82 season saw him replaced by Ron Saunders, who had just resigned from league champions Aston Villa. Saunders' team struggled to score goals and in 1984 they were relegated.[25] They bounced back up, but the last home game of the 1984–85 promotion season, against Leeds United, was marred by rioting, culminating in the death of a boy when a wall collapsed on him; this was on the same day as the Bradford fire, and the events at St Andrew's formed part of the remit of Mr Justice Popplewell's inquiry into safety at sports grounds.[26] The club lacked stability both on and off the field. Saunders quit after FA Cup defeat to Altrincham, staff were laid off, the training ground was sold, and by 1989 Birmingham were in the Third Division for the first time in their history.[27]

In April 1989 the Kumar brothers, owners of a clothing chain, bought the club. A rapid turnover of managers, the absence of promised investment, and a threatened mass refusal of players to renew contracts was only relieved by a victorious trip to Wembley in the Associate Members Cup.[28] Terry Cooper delivered promotion, but the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) bank put the Kumars' businesses into receivership; in November 1992 BCCI's liquidator put up for sale their 84% holding in the football club.[29] The club continued in administration for four months, until Sport Newspapers' proprietor David Sullivan bought it for £700,000,[30] installed the then 23-year-old Karren Brady as managing director and allowed Cooper money for signings. On the last day of the season, the team avoided relegation back to the third tier,[31] but after a poor start to the 1993–94 season Cooper was replaced by Barry Fry. The change did not prevent relegation, but Fry's first full season brought promotion back to the second tier and victory in the Football League Trophy at Wembley, beating Carlisle United with a Paul Tait golden goal.[32] After one more year, Fry was sacked to make way for the return of Trevor Francis.

Francis introduced players with top-level experience such as Manchester United skipper Steve Bruce. In his second season the club narrowly missed out on a play-off position, followed by three years of play-off semifinal defeats.[33] They also reached the 2001 League Cup final against Liverpool at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Birmingham equalised in the last minute of normal time, but the match went to a penalty shootout which Liverpool won.[34] By October 2001, lack of progress had made Francis's position untenable. After a 6–0 League Cup defeat to Manchester City, he left by mutual consent,[35] replaced two months later by Steve Bruce.[36] Bruce shook up a stale team, taking them from mid-table into the play-offs where they beat Norwich City on penalties to win promotion.[37]

Motivated by the inspirational Christophe Dugarry,[38] Birmingham's first top-flight season for 16 years finished in mid-table. 2003–04 saw loan signing Mikael Forssell's 17 league goals help Birmingham to a top half finish, though performances and results tailed off badly towards the end of the season. First-team coach Mark Bowen was sacked and replaced by Eric Black,[39] international players were signed, but an injury to Forssell left the 2004–05 team struggling for goals. More transfer window loan signings ensured another mid-table finish. Only two months later, chairman David Gold said it was time to "start talking about being as good as anyone outside the top three or four" with "the best squad of players for 25 years".[40] Injuries, lack of form, and a lack of investment during the transfer window saw them relegated before the last game of a season whose lowlight was a 0–7 FA Cup defeat to Liverpool.[41] Pennant and Heskey left for record fees,[1][42] many more were released,[43] but Bruce retained the confidence of the board.[44] His amended recruitment strategy, combining young "hungry" players with free-transfer experience and shrewd exploitation of the loan market, brought automatic promotion at the end of a season which had included calls for his head.[45]

In July 2007, Hong Kong-based businessman Carson Yeung bought 29.9% of shares in the club, making him the biggest single shareholder, with a view to taking full control in the future.[46] Uncertain as to his future under possible new owners, Bruce left in mid-season to become manager of Premier League rivals Wigan Athletic.[47] His successor, Scotland national team manager Alex McLeish,[48] was unable to stave off relegation,[49] but achieved promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt.[50]

Colours and badge

Small Heath Alliance original kit
File:Bluescirca1911.jpg
The club's shirts featured a distinctive bold "V" around the time of the First World War.

The Small Heath Alliance members decided among themselves that their colours would be blue; in the early days, they wore whatever blue shirt they had.[51] Their first uniform kit was a dark blue shirt with a white sash and white shorts.[52] Several variations on a blue theme were tried; the one that stuck was the royal blue shirt with a white "V", adopted during the First World War and retained until the late 1920s. Though the design changed, the royal blue remained. In 1971 they adopted the "penguin" strip – royal blue with a broad white central front panel – which lasted five years.[53] Since then they have generally worn plain, nominally royal blue shirts, though the actual shade used became gradually lighter over the years. Shorts have been either blue or white, and socks either blue, white or a combination. The colours of Birmingham's change strip have varied greatly over the years; white or yellow (on their own or with blue or black) and red with white or black have been the most frequently used combinations.[52][54]

There have been aberrations. The 1992 kit, sponsored by Triton Showers, was made of a blue material covered with multicoloured splashes which resembled a shower curtain.[55][56] Birmingham have only ever worn stripes on their home shirt once; in 1999 they wore a blue shirt with a front central panel in narrow blue and white stripes,[54] a design similar to the Tesco supermarket carrier bag of the time.

When the club changed their name from Small Heath to Birmingham in 1905 they adopted the City of Birmingham's coat of arms as their crest, although this was not always worn on the shirts. The 1970s "penguin" shirt carried the letters "BCFC" intertwined at the centre of the chest. The Sports Argus newspaper ran a competition in 1972 to design a new badge for the club. The winning entry, the line-drawn globe and ball, with ribbon carrying the club name and date of foundation, in plain blue and white,[57] was adopted by the club but not worn on playing shirts until 1976. An experiment was made in the early 1990s with colouring in the globe and ball, but the club soon reverted to the plain version.[58]

For the 2008–09 season, Birmingham's home kit is in a traditional, darker shade of royal blue, plain apart from a white collar and arm trim, with blue shorts and white socks. The away kit consists of a white "penguin"-style shirt with red front panel, white shorts and red socks. It is manufactured by Umbro and carries the name of the sponsors, F&C Investments.[59][60]

Stadiums

Main articles: Muntz Street, St Andrew's, and City of Birmingham Stadium

Small Heath Alliance played their first home games on waste ground off Arthur Street, Bordesley Green. As interest grew, they moved to a fenced-off field in Ladypool Road, Sparkbrook, where admission could be charged. A year later, they moved again, to a field adjoining Muntz Street, Small Heath, near the main Coventry Road, with a capacity of about 10,000. Muntz Street was adequate for 1880s friendly matches, and the capacity was gradually raised to around 30,000, but when several thousand spectators scaled walls and broke down turnstiles to get into a First Division match against Aston Villa, it became clear that it could no longer cope with the demand.[61]

Director Harry Morris identified a site for a new ground in Bordesley Green, some three-quarters of a mile (1 km) from Muntz Street towards the city centre. The site was where a brickworks once operated; the land sloped steeply down to stagnant pools, yet the stadium was constructed in under twelve months from land clearance to opening ceremony on Boxing Day 1906. Heavy snow nearly prevented the opening; volunteers had to clear pitch and terraces before the match, a goalless draw against Middlesbrough, could go ahead.[61] The ground is reputed to have been cursed by gypsies evicted from the site;[62] gypsies are known to have camped nearby,[63] but there is no contemporary evidence for their eviction by the club.

Average and peak league attendances at St Andrew's

The original capacity of St Andrew's was reported as 75,000, with 4,000 seats in the Main Stand and space for 22,000 under cover.[61] By 1938 the official capacity was 68,000, and February 1939 saw the attendance record set at the fifth round FA Cup tie against Everton, variously recorded as 66,844 or 67,341.[B] On the outbreak of the Second World War, the Chief Constable ordered the ground's closure because of the danger from air-raids; it was the only ground to be thus closed, and was only re-opened after the matter was raised in Parliament. It was badly damaged during the war, the Railway End and the Kop as a result of bombing, the Main Stand burnt down when a fireman mistook petrol for water.[61]

Main Stand, St Andrew's, 2005

The replacement Main Stand used a propped cantilever roof design, which meant fewer pillars to block spectators' view of the pitch. Floodlights were installed in 1956, and officially switched on for a friendly match against Borussia Dortmund in 1957.[64] By the early 1960s a stand had been built at the Railway End to the same design as the Main Stand, roofs had been put on the Kop and Tilton Road End, and the ground capacity was down to about 55,000.[64]

Resulting from the 1986 Popplewell report into the safety of sports grounds and the later Taylor Report, the capacity of St Andrew's was set at 28,235 for safety reasons,[26][64] but it was accepted that the stadium had to be brought up to modern all-seated standards. After the last home game of the 1993–94 season, the Kop and Tilton Road terraces were demolished – with fans taking home a significant proportion as souvenirs – to be replaced at the start of the new season by a 7,000-seat Tilton Road Stand, continuing round the corner into the 9,500-seat Kop which opened two months later.[61] The 8,000-seat Railway Stand followed in 1999,[65] but the Main Stand has still to be modernised.

In 2004 a proposal was put forward to build a "sports village" comprising a new 55,000 stadium for the club, to be known as the City of Birmingham Stadium, other sports and leisure facilities, and a super casino. The project would be jointly financed by Birmingham City Council, Birmingham City F.C. (via the proceeds of the sale of St Andrew's) and the casino group Las Vegas Sands. The feasibility of the plan depended on the government issuing a licence for a super casino, and Birmingham being chosen as the venue,[66] but this did not happen. The club have planning permission to redevelop the Main Stand,[67] but club and council have continued to seek alternative sources of funding for the City of Birmingham Stadium project.[68]

Supporters

Birmingham fans consider their main rivals to be Aston Villa, their nearest neighbours geographically, with whom they contest the Birmingham derby. Lesser rivalries exist with fellow West Midlands clubs Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion. According to a 2003 Football Fans Census survey, Aston Villa fans think of Birmingham City as their main rivals, though this has not always been the case.[69]

Birmingham City mascot Beau Brummie

The fans are referred to as Bluenoses, a nickname attributed by the Football Fans Census survey to an "accusation they are left out in the cold when it comes to success".[69] Ondré Nowakowski's Sleeping Iron Giant, a piece of public sculpture in the form of a ten-times-life-size head lying on a mound near the St Andrew's ground, has been repeatedly defaced with blue paint on its nose.[70][71] Between 1994 and 1997 the club mascot took the form of a blue nose,[72] though it is now a dog called Beau Brummie, a play on the name Beau Brummell and Brummie, the slang word for a person from Birmingham.

There are a number of supporters' clubs affiliated to the football club, both in England and abroad.[73] While an action group was formed in 1991 to protest against chairman Samesh Kumar,[28] the club blamed an internet petition for the collapse of the purchase of player Lee Bowyer in 2005,[74] and antipathy towards the board provoked hostile chanting and a pitch invasion after the last match of the 2007–08 season,[75][76] relations between club and fanbase have never been so poor as to provoke the formation of an independent supporters' group. When the club was in financial difficulties, supporters contributed to schemes which funded the purchase of players Brian Roberts in 1984[77] and Paul Peschisolido in 1992.[28]

There have been several fanzines published by supporters; in 2008, two were regularly on sale, Made in Brum, first issued in 2000, and the longer-established Zulu. The hooligan firm associated with the club, the Zulus, were unusual in that they had multi-racial membership at a time when many such firms had associations with racist or right-wing groups.[78][79] The 2005 film Green Street features hooliganism surrounding a fictional match between West Ham United and Birmingham.

The fans' anthem,[80] an adaptation of Harry Lauder's Keep right on to the end of the road,[81] was adopted during the 1956 FA Cup campaign. The Times' football correspondent described in his Cup Final preview how

the Birmingham clans swept their side along to Wembley – the first side ever to reach a final without once playing at home – on the wings of the song "Keep right on to the end of the road".[82]

Player Alex Govan is credited with popularising the song, by singing it on the coach on the way to the quarter final,[83] and when he revealed in an interview that it was his favourite.

In the build-up to the 1956 FA Cup semi-final with Sunderland I was interviewed by the press and happened to let slip that my favourite song was Harry Lauder's old music hall number "Keep Right on to the End of the Road". I thought no more about it, but when the third goal went in at Hillsborough the Blues fans all started singing it. It was the proudest moment of my life.[84]

Ownership

Small Heath F.C. became a limited company in 1888; its first share issue was to the value of £650.[85] The board was made up of local businessmen and dignitaries until 1965, when the club was sold to Clifford Coombs.[86] By the mid-1980s the club was in financial trouble. Control passed from the Coombs family to former Walsall F.C. chairman Ken Wheldon, who cut costs, made redundancies, and sold off assets, including the club's training ground. Still unable to make the club pay, Wheldon sold it to the Kumar brothers, owners of a clothing chain.[27] Debt was still increasing when matters came to a head; the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) put the Kumars' businesses into receivership. The club continued in administration for four months until Sport Newspapers' proprietor David Sullivan bought the Kumars' 84% holding for £700,000 from BCCI's liquidator in March 1993.[29][30]

The football club is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Birmingham City plc, listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).[87] The plc was floated in 1997 with an issue of 15 million new shares,[88] raising £7.5 million of new investment.[89] The club made a pre-tax profit of £2.7M in the year ending 31 August 2006[90] which, according to Deloitte's Annual Review of Football Finance, made them one of only four Premier League clubs to finish the 2005–06 season without debt.[91]

The plc has approximately 81.5M shares in issue. On 27 June 2007, the major shareholders entered into an agreement to sell 29.9% of the company to Hong Kong-based businessman Carson Yeung Ka-shing via the company Grandtop International Holdings Limited ("GIH"), which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.[92] The offer price of 61.331 pence per share[93] valued the club at approximately £50M, well above any previous market capitalisation.[87] On 16 July GIH exercised their option to purchase,[94] which made Yeung the largest single shareholder, with plc chairman David Sullivan controlling 23.22% via two of his companies, and football club chairman David Gold holding the same amount jointly with his brother Ralph.[95] In August Yeung stated his intention to take full control of the club once due diligence was complete,[96] but the process became protracted, until on 20 December 2007, the day before a deadline set for completion of the deal, the plc announced that discussions had terminated with the directors "no longer confident that GIH will be able to make a general offer for the Company",[97] though GIH claimed it was they who had "temporarily shelve[d]" the bid due to Birmingham's failure to co-operate.[98]

In April 2008, Sullivan and managing director Karren Brady were arrested and questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting in connection with an ongoing investigation of alleged corruption in English football.[99]

Honours

Birmingham City's honours include the following:[100][101]

Statistics and records

Further information: List of Birmingham City F.C. statistics and records
League positions since the 1946–47 season.
Coloured horizontal lines indicate league divisions.

Frank Womack holds the record for Birmingham league appearances, having played 491 matches between 1908 and 1928, closely followed by Gil Merrick with 485 between 1946 and 1959. If all senior competitions are included, Merrick has 551, less closely followed by Womack's 515 which is the record for an outfield player.[102] As of June 2008, the player who has won most international caps while at the club is Maik Taylor with 39 for Northern Ireland.[103]

The goalscoring record is held by Joe Bradford, with 249 league goals, 267 altogether, scored between 1920 and 1935; no other player comes close. Walter Abbott holds the records for the most goals scored in a season, in 1898–99, with 34 league goals in the Second Division and with 42 goals in total.[104] Bradford holds the record for league goals scored in a top flight season with 29 in 1927–28.[1]

The club's widest victory margin in the league was 12–0, a scoreline which they achieved once in the Football Alliance, against Nottingham Forest in 1899, and twice in the Second Division, against Walsall Town Swifts in 1892 and Doncaster Rovers in 1903. Their heaviest league defeats were 9–1, both in the First Division, against Blackburn Rovers in 1895 and Sheffield Wednesday in 1930. Their record FA Cup win was 10–0 against Druids in the fourth qualifying round of the 1899 competition; their record FA Cup defeat was 0–7 against Liverpool in the 2006 quarter final.[105]

Birmingham's home attendance record was set at the fifth-round FA Cup tie against Everton on 11 February 1939. It is variously recorded as 66,844 or 67,341.[B] As the current ground capacity is around 30,000, it is unlikely that this record will be broken in the foreseeable future.

The highest transfer fee received for a Birmingham player is £6.7 million, possibly rising to £8M, from Liverpool for Jermaine Pennant in July 2006,[1][106] while the most expensive player bought was David Dunn, who joined from Blackburn Rovers in July 2003 for a fee undisclosed by the club, though widely reported as £5.5M.[A] James McFadden was bought from Everton in January 2008 for a fee of £5M, possibly rising to £6.5M depending on appearances; if the full fee becomes payable, this will be the club's record purchase.[107]

Players

Current squad

As of 8 May 2009.[108]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Northern Ireland NIR Maik Taylor
2 DF Ireland EIR Stephen Carr
3 DF England ENG David Murphy
4 MF England ENG Lee Bowyer (on loan from West Ham United)
5 DF England ENG Martin Taylor
6 DF England ENG Liam Ridgewell
7 MF Sweden SWE Sebastian Larsson
8 FW Scotland SCO Garry O'Connor
9 FW England ENG Kevin Phillips
10 FW England ENG Cameron Jerome
11 MF England ENG Gary McSheffrey
12 MF Tunisia TUN Mehdi Nafti a
13 GK Ireland EIR Colin Doyle
14 MF Netherlands NED Kemy Agustien (on loan from AZ) a
15 DF Tunisia TUN Radhi Jaïdi
16 FW Scotland SCO James McFadden
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF England ENG Jordon Mutch
18 FW Honduras HON Carlo Costly (on loan from GKS Bełchatów) a
20 DF France FRA Franck Queudrue
21 DF England ENG Stuart Parnaby
22 MF Northern Ireland NIR Damien Johnson (club captain)[109]
23 FW England ENG Marcus Bent
25 DF England ENG Jared Wilson
26 MF Ireland EIR Lee Carsley (acting captain)[109]
29 MF England ENG Ashley Sammons
30 MF Ireland EIR Keith Fahey
31 MF England ENG Mitchell McPike
32 MF Northern Ireland NIR Robin Shroot
33 MF Algeria ALG Hameur Bouazza (on loan from Fulham)
34 DF Mali MLI Djimi Traoré (on loan from Portsmouth)
35 GK England ENG Dean Lyness

a. Those players marked a will leave the club on the expiry of their contract: Agustien on 26 May, Costly on 31 May, and Nafti on 30 June.[110]

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
24 FW Germany GER Semih Aydilek (on loan to Motherwell for the season)[111]
27 DF England ENG Krystian Pearce (on loan to Scunthorpe United for the season)[112]
No. Pos. Nation Player
28 GK Poland POL Artur Krysiak (on loan to Motherwell for the season)[113]
— DF Ireland EIR Stephen Kelly (on loan to Stoke City for the season)[114]

Reserves and Academy

Main article: Birmingham City F.C. Reserves and Academy

Notable players

Main article: List of Birmingham City F.C. players

Managers

Main article: List of Birmingham City F.C. managers

Notable managers

Gil Merrick is the only Birmingham manager to have won a major trophy, the League Cup in 1963. Merrick also led the club to the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final in 1961, following Pat Beasley who did the same in 1960.[115] Leslie Knighton took the club to the final of the FA Cup in 1931;[11] Arthur Turner did likewise in 1956, as well as taking charge of the club's highest league finish, sixth place in the 1955–56 First Division.[14] Birmingham reached the 2001 Football League Cup Final under Trevor Francis,[34] whose successor as permanent manager, Steve Bruce, twice achieved promotion to the Premier League.[37][45]

Current staff

As of 23 November 2008.[116][117]

Notes

A. ^ The records page on Birmingham City's website suggests that Emile Heskey is the club's record signing, at £6.25 million.[1] This transfer was reported as an initial fee of £3.25M potentially rising to £6.25M.[118] Managing director Karren Brady told the club's 2006 AGM that "there is £1.5million due to Liverpool for Emile which, if we don't stay up, doesn't have to be paid";[119] as they did not maintain their Premier League status, the total paid for Heskey would therefore have been £4.75M. The fee for Dunn, though officially undisclosed,[120] was reported as £5.5M,[121] a figure later quoted by then manager Steve Bruce.[122]

B. a b Some sources give the record attendance as 66,844: these include the records page of Birmingham City F.C.'s website[1] and Rothman's Football Yearbook.[123] Others, including the history page of Birmingham City F.C.'s website,[33] Matthews' Encyclopedia,[124] and The Times newspaper from the Monday following the match,[125] say 67,341.

References

General
  • Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  • Matthews, Tony (2000). The Encyclopedia of Birmingham City Football Club 1875-2000. Cradley Heath: Britespot. ISBN 978-0-9539288-0-4. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Lewis, Peter, ed. (2000). Keeping right on since 1875. The Official History of Birmingham City Football Club. Lytham: Arrow. ISBN 1-900722-12-7.
Specific
  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Birmingham City Records". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
  2. ^ a b Matthews, Encyclopedia, 'Club name', p. 55. "City was added to Birmingham (to make Birmingham City Football Club) in the summer of 1943 (and not 1945 as previously thought). The official Blues home programmes for the 1943–44 season clearly show Birmingham City Football Club on the front cover."
  3. ^ a b "Birmingham City". Football Facts and Figures. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
  4. ^ Williams, John (2002). "Fact Sheet 10: The 'New' Football Economics". Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research: University of Leicester. Retrieved 6 July 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 8.
  6. ^ "Division 2 1893/94". Football Facts and Figures. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
  7. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 12–13.
  8. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 14.
  9. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 135–36.
  10. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 74.
  11. ^ a b Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 15–17.
  12. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 22–23.
  13. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 61.
  14. ^ a b c Matthews, Complete Record, p. 27–29.
  15. ^ Ross, James M. (13 July 2006). "European Cups Archive". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
  16. ^ Moore, Chris (27 November 2003). "Harris beats Henry". The Sun. Retrieved 4 January 2008.
  17. ^ Jawad, Hyder (2005). Strange Magic. Birmingham City v Aston Villa. Birmingham Post. pp. 27–28. It is a mystery how Birmingham won but they did produce perhaps their most impressive display of the season to win the first leg 3–1 ... Birmingham served up a treat of attacking football ... controlling the game with such assurance that their supporters must have wondered why the team had performed so badly in the First Division. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  18. ^ Holden, Jim (2000). Stan Cullis: the iron manager. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 161. ISBN 1-85983-211-3. He had been out of the game for less than a year when Clifford Coombs, the chairman of Birmingham City, began to make a serious approach to secure the Iron Manager. The pair were friends and St Andrew's was close enough to Wolverhampton that Cullis would not necessarily have to move house or area to take up the position.
  19. ^ "'Taffy' Coombs... The man who rebuilt the Blues". GOAL magazine. 19 August 1972. p. 27.
  20. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 37–38, 63.
  21. ^ Corbett, James (5 March 2006). "Bob Latchford". Observer Sport Monthly. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 8 October 2007.
  22. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 38–39, 209–15.
  23. ^ "The European Cup Team 1979". Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
  24. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 88.
  25. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 42, 219.
  26. ^ a b Webster, Philip (25 July 1985). "Ban on visiting fans urged in judge's football safety report" (reprint). The Times. NewsBank. Retrieved 10 October 2007. The Birmingham riot in which more than 500 were injured and in which a boy of 15 died when a wall collapsed 'more resembled the battle of Agincourt than a football match.'
  27. ^ a b Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 44–46.
  28. ^ a b c Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 48–49.
  29. ^ a b Goodbody, John (7 November 1992). "Receivers put football club up for sale" (reprint). The Times. NewsBank. Retrieved 10 October 2007.
  30. ^ a b "Sullivan takes control" (reprint). The Times. NewsBank. 6 March 1993. Retrieved 4 January 2008.
  31. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 48–52.
  32. ^ "The highs and lows of Carlisle United". BBC. Archived from the original on 22 October 2004.
  33. ^ a b "Club History". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
  34. ^ a b Curtis, John (25 February 2001). "Birmingham 1 Liverpool 1 (4–5 on pens)". sportinglife.com. Press Association. Retrieved 12 December 2007.
  35. ^ "Francis leaves Blues". BBC Sport. 15 October 2001. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
  36. ^ "Birmingham unveil Bruce". BBC Sport. 12 December 2001. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
  37. ^ a b May, John (12 May 2002). "Cool Carter in blue heaven". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
  38. ^ Haylett, Trevor (27 April 2003). "Slow-starter Dugarry makes up for lost time". Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 13 November 2007. Those who rubbish the notion that one player can transform a team and inspire 10 others to exciting deeds should consider the case of Christophe Dugarry. It is difficult to imagine Birmingham easing their way to safety quite so comfortably without him.
  39. ^ Tattum, Colin (23 June 2004). "Bowen out in Blues shake up". Evening Mail. Birmingham. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
  40. ^ Scott, Ged (7 July 2005). "Golden time to talk up Blues". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
  41. ^ Shaw, Phil (1 May 2006). "'Shattered' Bruce to consider future at Birmingham" (reprint). The Independent. findarticles.com. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
  42. ^ "Wigan seal £5.5m move for Heskey". BBC Sport. 7 July 2006. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
  43. ^ "Birmingham release seven players". BBC Sport. 9 May 2006. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
  44. ^ "Bruce stays on as Birmingham boss". BBC Sport. 19 May 2006. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
  45. ^ a b Jawad, Hyder (2 May 2007). "Bruce and the art of living through a crisis". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
  46. ^ "Yeung takes stake in Birmingham". BBC Sport. 16 July 2007. Retrieved 23 July 2007.
  47. ^ "Bruce leaves Birmingham for Wigan". BBC Sport. 19 November 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2007.
  48. ^ "Birmingham unveil McLeish as boss". BBC Sport. 28 November 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  49. ^ "Birmingham 4-1 Blackburn". BBC Sport. 11 May 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2008.
  50. ^ Fletcher, Paul (3 May 2009). "Birmingham clinch top-flight spot". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  51. ^ Lewis, p. 25.
  52. ^ a b Matthews, Encyclopedia, 'Colours', pp. 56–57.
  53. ^ "Influential and Classic Football Kits". Historical Football Kits. Dave Moor. Retrieved 23 November 2008. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  54. ^ a b "Birmingham City" (GIF). Classic Kits. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  55. ^ "Room 101- The Worst Football Kits Ever". Historical Football Kits. Dave Moor. Retrieved 28 September 2007. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  56. ^ Lewis, p. 31.
  57. ^ Lewis, pp. 27–29.
  58. ^ "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Dave Moor. Retrieved 28 September 2007. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  59. ^ "Home kit". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  60. ^ "Away kit". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  61. ^ a b c d e Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 57–59.
  62. ^ Smith, Martin (26 December 2006). "Birmingham hope curse has run course". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  63. ^ Marsden, Bob (1987). A.B.C. of Small Heath and Bordesley Green Past and Present. Small Heath Local History Society. p. 44. St. Andrew's [Church] was erected in 1846, the fifth and last to be built by the Church Building Society. It was an unsuitable site, and for many years after its building, the only dwellings nearby were huts where brickworkers lived, a few cottages, and an occasional gipsy camp. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  64. ^ a b c Matthews, Encyclopedia, 'St Andrew's', pp. 193–96.
  65. ^ Sharrock, Gordon (22 February 1999). "Wanderers middle men hailed as the best". Bolton Evening News. Retrieved 6 December 2007.
  66. ^ Connor, Neil (26 October 2005). "Blues unveil stadium plan". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  67. ^ Tattum, Colin (24 December 2006). "Blues still hoping for new stadium". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  68. ^ Tattum, Colin (9 March 2007). "Blues revive bid for new stadium". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 February 2007.
  69. ^ a b "Rivalry Uncovered!" (PDF). The Football Fans Census. 2003. p. 3. Retrieved 15 November 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  70. ^ Noszlopy, George T. (1998). Public Sculpture of Birmingham. Liverpool University Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-85323-692-4. Retrieved 4 January 2008.
  71. ^ Upton, Chris (11 January 2006). "Bygone memories of bygone years" (PDF). Forward (25). Birmingham City Council: p. 7. Retrieved 18 November 2007. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help)
  72. ^ Lewis, pp. 167–68.
  73. ^ "Official Blues supporters' clubs". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 5 December 2007.
  74. ^ Lawton, James (18 June 2005). "Bowyer and Birmingham given notice that fans' loyalty to the shirt is not blind" (reprint). The Independent. findarticles.com. Retrieved 5 December 2007.
  75. ^ Tattum, Colin (12 May 2008). "Thanks for the noise, Alex McLeish tells Birmingham City fans". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 30 May 2008.
  76. ^ "David Gold 'hurt' by Birmingham City fans attacks". Birmingham Mail. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2008.
  77. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 120.
  78. ^ Gall, Caroline (2006). Zulus: Black, White and Blue: the Story of the Zulu Warriors Football Firm. Milo Books. ISBN 978-1-903854-53-2.
  79. ^ Murray, Bill (1994). Football: A History of the World Game. Aldershot: Scolar Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-1-85928-091-1., cited in Greenfield, Steve (1996). "After the Act? The (re)construction and regulation of football fandom" (reprint). Journal of Civil Liberties. 1. ISSN 1362-3451. Retrieved 22 January 2009. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  80. ^ "Keep Right On". Birmingham City Swedish Supporters Club. Retrieved 13 September 2007.
  81. ^ William Dillon and Harry Lauder. "The End of the Road". A Celebration of Sir Harry Lauder "Laird of the Music Hall". Retrieved 13 September 2007.
  82. ^ "Every Prospect Of A Good Final". The Times. 5 May 1956. p. 4.
  83. ^ Boyden, Malcolm (19 April 2003). "Ross finds ways to turn airwaves blue". The Times. Retrieved 13 September 2007. Govan was the man who first sang the Blues anthem Keep Right on to the End of the Road on the way to Birmingham's 1956 FA Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. The song spread quickly among the players—and then to the fans.
  84. ^ Lewis, p. 63.
  85. ^ Lewis, p. 11.
  86. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 35.
  87. ^ a b "BMC BIRMINGHAM CITY PLC ORD 10P". London Stock Exchange. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
  88. ^ Shore Capital for Birmingham City plc (February 1993). Birmingham City plc (company flotation prospectus). p. 1.
  89. ^ "Karren Brady (Birmingham City Football Club)". Growing Business (17). 2003. Retrieved 30 July 2007. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  90. ^ "Preliminary Statement of Final Results for the Year Ended 31 August 2006" (DOC). Birmingham City plc. 26 January 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
  91. ^ "Highlights" (PDF). Annual Review of Football Finance 2007. Deloitte. 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2007. Three Premier League clubs other than Manchester United finished the 2005/06 season with net funds rather than net debt – Birmingham City, Charlton Athletic and Tottenham Hotspur.
  92. ^ "GRANDTOP INT'L (2309 )". Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
  93. ^ "Regulatory Announcement No.1369Z: Birmingham City PLC Directors' share sales". London Stock Exchange. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
  94. ^ "Regulatory Announcement No.3291A: Grandtop International Holdings Ltd Form 8.1". London Stock Exchange. 16 July 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
  95. ^ "Regulatory Announcement No.3087A: Birmingham City plc Directors' shareholdings". London Stock Exchange. 16 July 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
  96. ^ Tattum, Colin (17 August 2007). "Carson targets Autumn takeover of Blues". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
  97. ^ "Regulatory Announcement No.3568K: Birmingham City PLC Offer discussions terminated". London Stock Exchange. 20 December 2007. Retrieved 20 December 2007.
  98. ^ "Yeung shelves Birmingham City takeover plan". Agence France Presse. 21 December 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
  99. ^ "Blues bosses arrested by police". BBC News. 9 April 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2008.
  100. ^ Oliver, Peter (2007). Birmingham City The official Annual 2008. Grange Communications. ISBN 978-1-905426-79-9.
  101. ^ "Honours". The Birmingham City FC Archive. Tony Jordan. Archived from the original on 8 March 2005.
  102. ^ Matthews, Encyclopedia, 'Appearances', pp. 12–15.
  103. ^ Includes caps won while on loan from Fulham. "Squad profiles Maik Taylor". Irish Football Association. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
  104. ^ Matthews, Encyclopedia, 'Goalscoring', pp. 96–97.
  105. ^ Matthews, Encyclopedia, 'Wins', p. 240, and 'Defeats', p. 68.
  106. ^ "Pennant completes Liverpool move". BBC Sport. 26 July 2006. Retrieved 15 October 2007.
  107. ^ "Exclusive first interview with McFadden". Birmingham City F.C. 18 January 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
  108. ^ "Player profiles". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 15 April 2009.
  109. ^ a b Tattum, Colin (29 December 2008). "Birmingham lucky to get a draw, says Damian Johnson". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  110. ^ "Squad rebuilding begins". Birmingham City F.C. 8 May 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  111. ^ "Young Blues On The Move". Birmingham City F.C. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  112. ^ "Pearce Allowed To Play / Loan To Be Extended". Scunthorpe United F.C. 28 November 2008. Retrieved 24 December 2008.
  113. ^ "Krysiak Heads For The Well". Birmingham City F.C. 2 January 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
  114. ^ "Stephen Signs". Stoke City F.C. 4 February 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  115. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 62.
  116. ^ "The backroom team". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  117. ^ "Academy staff". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  118. ^ "Birmingham sign Heskey". BBC Sport. 22 January 2009.
  119. ^ Tattum, Colin (6 April 2006). "Blues prepared for the worst". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
  120. ^ "Deal Is 'Dunn'". Blackburn Rovers F.C. 7 July 2003. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
  121. ^ "Dunn signs for Blues". BBC Sport. 7 July 2003. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
  122. ^ "Rover And Out For Dunn". Birmingham City F.C. 17 January 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
  123. ^ Rollin, Jack, ed. (1990). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1990–91. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 81. ISBN 0-356-17911-7.
  124. ^ Matthews, Encyclopedia, 'Attendances', pp. 20–21.
  125. ^ "Fifth round official figures". The Times. 13 February 1939. p. 5.
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