List of Birmingham City F.C. seasons

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For details of the current season, see 2023–24 Birmingham City F.C. season.

Small Heath F.C., champions of the inaugural Football League Second Division 1892–93

Birmingham City Football Club, an association football club based in Birmingham, England, was founded in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance. For the first thirteen years of their existence, there was no league football, so matches were arranged on an ad hoc basis, supplemented by cup competitions organised at local and national level. Small Heath first entered the FA Cup in the 1881–82 season, and won their first trophy, the Walsall Cup, the following season.[1] During the 1880s, they played between 20 and 30 matches each season.[2]

In 1888, the club became a limited company under the name of Small Heath F.C. Ltd,[3] and joined the Combination, a league set up to provide organised football for those clubs not invited to join the Football League which was to start the same year. However, the Combination was not well organised and folded in April 1889 with many fixtures still outstanding.[4] Small Heath were founder members of the Football Alliance in 1889–90, and three years later were elected to the newly formed Second Division of the Football League. They topped the table in their first season, failing to win promotion via the test match system then in operation, but reached the top flight for the first time in 1894.[5] They were renamed Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.[6]

Birmingham City FC Seasons

The club's official history rated 1955–56 as their best season to date.[7] The newly promoted club achieved their highest ever finishing position of sixth in the First Division, reached the 1956 FA Cup Final, and became the first English club side to participate in European competition when they played their opening game in the group stages of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.[a] Their only major trophy is the League Cup, which they won in 1963 and 2011; they reached the FA Cup final twice and the final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup twice. During the 1990s, they twice won the Associate Members' Cup, a competition open to clubs in the third and fourth tiers of English football.

As of the end of the 2022–23 season, the club's first team had spent 57 seasons in the top division of English football, 59 in the second and 4 in the third. The table details their achievements in first-team competitions, and records their top goalscorer and average home league attendance, for each completed season since their first appearance in the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1878–79.

Key[edit]

Details of abandoned competitions – The Combination in 1888–89 and the 1939–40 Football League – are shown in italics and appropriately footnoted.

Seasons[edit]

List of seasons, including league division and statistics, cup results, top scorer and average league attendance
Season League[4][5][10][9] FA Cup[11][e] League Cup[14][f] Other[14][16][17] Top scorer(s)[g] Avg.[h] attendance
Division[i] Pld W D L GF GA Pts Pos Competition Result Player(s) Goals
1878–79 — — — — — — — — — — — Birmingham Senior Cup R1 n/a — —
1879–80 — — — — — — — — — — — Birmingham Senior Cup R2 n/a — —
1880–81 — — — — — — — — — — — Birmingham Senior Cup R4 n/a — —
1881–82 — — — — — — — — — R2 — Birmingham Senior Cup R2 Billy Slater[j] 2 —
1882–83 — — — — — — — — — R1 — Birmingham Senior Cup R1 Billy Slater 2 —
1883–84 — — — — — — — — — R1 — Birmingham Senior Cup R3 Arthur James 2 —
1884–85 — — — — — — — — — R1 — Birmingham Senior Cup R2 No goalscorer — —
1885–86 — — — — — — — — — SF — Birmingham Senior Cup R2 Eddy Stanley 7 —
1886–87 — — — — — — — — — R1 — Birmingham Senior Cup SF Jack Price 1 —
1887–88 — — — — — — — — — R2 — Birmingham Senior Cup R1
  • Walter Dixon
  • Austin Smith
 2 —
1888–89 Comb[b] 11 6 3 2 24 17 15 6th R1 — Birmingham Senior Cup R1 Will Devey[k] 5 —
1889–90 All 22 6 5 11 44 67 17 10th R2 — Birmingham Senior Cup R2 Will Devey 27 1,068
1890–91 All 22 7 2 13 58 66 16 10th DQ[l] — Birmingham Senior Cup R1
17 2,545
1891–92 All 22 12 5 5 53 36 29 3rd R2 — Birmingham Senior Cup R2 Fred Wheldon 29 2,100
1892–93 Div 2[m] 22 17 2 3 90 35 36 1st[n] R1 — Birmingham Senior Cup SF Fred Wheldon[o] 26 ♦ 2,181
1893–94
  • Div 2 ↑
  • United
  • 28
  • 6
  • 21
  • 2
  • 0
  • 1
  • 7
  • 3
  • 103
  • 14
  • 44
  • 14
  • 42
  • 5
R1 — Birmingham Senior Cup R1 Frank Mobley[q] 25 ♦ 2,928
1894–95 Div 1 30 9 7 14 50 74 25 12th R1 — Birmingham Senior Cup SF Frank Mobley 13 6,440
1895–96 Div 1 ↓ 30 8 4 18 39 79 20 15th[r] R1 — Birmingham Senior Cup R1 Frank Mobley 11 6,233
1896–97 Div 2 30 16 5 9 69 47 37 4th R1 — Birmingham Senior Cup R2 Jimmy Inglis 16 4,526
1897–98 Div 2 30 16 4 10 58 50 36 6th[s] QR3 — Birmingham Senior Cup R2 Walter Abbott 19 5,633
1898–99 Div 2 34 17 7 10 85 50 41 8th R2 — Birmingham Senior Cup R2 Walter Abbott[t] 42 ♦ 5,588
1899–1900 Div 2 34 20 6 8 78 38 46 3rd QR5 — Birmingham Senior Cup R1 Bob McRoberts 24 5,176
1900–01 Div 2 ↑ 34 19 10 5 57 24 48 2nd QF — Birmingham Senior Cup R1 Bob McRoberts 17 5,558
1901–02 Div 1 ↓ 34 11 8 15 47 45 30 17th IntR — Birmingham Senior Cup R1 Bob McRoberts 11 13,058
1902–03 Div 2 ↑ 34 24 3 7 74 36 51 2nd R1 — Birmingham Senior Cup R1 Arthur Leonard 16 7,411
1903–04 Div 1 34 11 8 15 39 52 30 11th IntR — Birmingham Senior Cup R1
8 11,386
1904–05 Div 1 34 17 5 12 54 38 39 7th R1 — Birmingham Senior Cup W Billy Jones 16 14,441
1905–06 Div 1 38 17 7 14 65 59 41 7th QF — — — Billy Jones 24 11,868
1906–07 Div 1 38 15 8 15 52 52 38 9th R1 — — — Billy Jones 15 15,315
1907–08 Div 1 ↓ 38 9 12 17 40 60 30 20th R1 — — — Edmund Eyre 9 15,473
1908–09 Div 2 38 14 9 15 58 61 37 11th R1 — — —
8 10,607
1909–10 Div 2 38 8 7 23 42 78 23 20th[u] R1 — — — Walter Freeman 10 8,921
1910–11 Div 2 38 12 8 18 42 64 32 16th R1 — — — Jack Hall 14 13,764
1911–12 Div 2 38 14 6 18 55 59 34 12th R1 — — — Jack Hall 21 13,052
1912–13 Div 2 38 18 10 10 59 44 46 3rd R1 — — — Billy Jones 16 15,157
1913–14 Div 2 38 12 10 16 48 60 34 14th R3 — — — Andy Smith 10 17,411
1914–15 Div 2 38 17 9 12 62 39 43 6th R3 — — — Andy Smith 24 11,315
1915–19
The Football League and FA Cup were suspended until after the First World War.[v]
1919–20 Div 2 42 24 8 10 85 34 56 3rd R3 — — — Bert Millard 15 22,880
1920–21 Div 2 ↑ 42 24 10 8 79 38 58 1st R1 — — — Harry Hampton 16 31,244
1921–22 Div 1 42 15 7 20 48 60 37 18th DNE[w] — — —
10 27,967
1922–23 Div 1 42 13 11 18 41 57 37 17th R1 — — — Joe Bradford 19 25,328
1923–24 Div 1 42 13 13 16 41 49 39 14th R1 — — — Joe Bradford 24 20,395
1924–25 Div 1 42 17 12 13 49 53 46 8th R3 — — —
11 22,547
1925–26 Div 1 42 16 8 18 66 81 40 14th R4 — — — Joe Bradford 27 21,649
1926–27 Div 1 42 17 4 21 64 73 38 17th R4 — — — Joe Bradford 23 24,372
1927–28 Div 1 42 13 15 14 70 75 41 11th R5 — — — Joe Bradford 32 21,646
1928–29 Div 1 42 15 10 17 68 77 40 15th R4 — — — Joe Bradford 24 23,406
1929–30 Div 1 42 16 9 17 67 62 41 11th R4 — — — Joe Bradford 23 22,193
1930–31 Div 1 42 13 10 19 55 70 36 19th F[x] — — — Joe Bradford 22 21,275
1931–32 Div 1 42 18 8 16 78 67 44 9th R4 — — — Joe Bradford 28 23,380
1932–33 Div 1 42 14 11 17 57 57 39 13th QF — — —
14 20,044
1933–34 Div 1 42 12 12 18 54 56 36 20th R5 — — — Fred Roberts 8 24,718
1934–35 Div 1 42 13 10 19 63 81 36 19th QF — — — Wilson Jones 17 22,795
1935–36 Div 1 42 15 11 16 61 63 41 12th R3 — — — Wilson Jones 20 22,955
1936–37 Div 1 42 13 15 14 64 60 41 11th R3 — — — Seymour Morris 16 25,452
1937–38 Div 1 42 10 18 14 58 62 38 18th R3 — — —
9 26,434
1938–39 Div 1 ↓ 42 12 8 22 62 84 32 21st R5 — — — Fred Harris 17 22,432
1939–40 Div 2 3 2 1 0 5 1 5 2nd[y] — — — —
1 —
1939–45
The Football League and FA Cup were suspended until after the Second World War.[aa]
1945–46 —[ab] — — — — — — — — SF[ac] — — — Jock Mulraney[k] 7 —
1946–47 Div 2 42 25 5 12 74 33 55 3rd QF — — — Cyril Trigg 19 32,462
1947–48 Div 2 ↑ 42 22 15 5 55 24 59 1st R3 — — — Harold Bodle 14 36,467
1948–49 Div 1 42 11 15 16 36 38 37 17th R3 — — — Jackie Stewart 11 38,821
1949–50 Div 1 ↓ 42 7 14 21 31 67 28 22nd R3 — — — Jimmy Dailey 9 34,310
1950–51 Div 2 42 20 9 13 64 53 49 4th SF — — — Cyril Trigg 19 24,728
1951–52 Div 2 42 21 9 12 67 56 51 3rd R4 — — — Tommy Briggs 19 24,570
1952–53 Div 2 42 19 10 13 71 66 48 6th QF — — — Peter Murphy 26 20,046
1953–54 Div 2 42 18 11 13 78 58 47 7th R4 — — — Ted Purdon 15 22,594
1954–55 Div 2 ↑ 42 22 10 10 92 47 54 1st QF — — — Peter Murphy 20 21,002
1955–56 Div 1 42 18 9 15 75 57 45 6th[ad] F[ae] — Inter-Cities Fairs Cup[a] — Eddy Brown 29 33,828
1956–57 Div 1 42 15 9 18 69 69 39 12th[af] SF — Inter-Cities Fairs Cup — Alex Govan 30 32,582
1957–58 Div 1 42 14 11 17 76 89 39 13th R3 — Inter-Cities Fairs Cup SF Peter Murphy 23 29,647
1958–59 Div 1 42 20 6 16 84 68 46 9th R5 — Inter-Cities Fairs Cup — Bunny Larkin 23 26,893
1959–60 Div 1 42 13 10 19 63 80 36 19th R3 — Inter-Cities Fairs Cup[ag] F Johnny Gordon 19 26,880
1960–61 Div 1 42 14 6 22 62 84 34 19th R5 R3 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup[ah] F Jimmy Harris 17 25,751
1961–62 Div 1 42 14 10 18 65 81 38 17th R3 R1 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup R2
20 23,587
1962–63 Div 1 42 10 13 19 63 90 33 20th R3 W[ai] — — Ken Leek 29 22,559
1963–64 Div 1 42 11 7 24 54 92 29 20th R3 R2 — — Bertie Auld 10 21,996
1964–65 Div 1 ↓ 42 8 11 23 64 96 27 22nd R3 R2 — —
10 19,714
1965–66 Div 2 42 16 9 17 70 75 41 10th R4 R2 — — Geoff Vowden 23 14,398
1966–67 Div 2 42 16 8 18 70 66 40 10th QF SF — — Geoff Vowden 21 19,798
1967–68 Div 2 42 19 14 9 83 51 52 4th SF R3 — — Barry Bridges 28 28,083
1968–69 Div 2 42 18 8 16 73 59 44 7th R5 R2 — —
17 26,008
1969–70 Div 2 42 11 11 20 51 78 33 18th R3 R2 — — Phil Summerill 13 24,028
1970–71 Div 2 42 17 12 13 58 48 46 9th R3 R4 — — Phil Summerill 21 24,164
1971–72 Div 2 ↑ 42 19 18 5 60 31 56 2nd P3rd[aj] R2 Anglo-Italian Cup Group Bob Latchford[ak] 30 ♦ 32,337
1972–73 Div 1 42 15 12 15 53 54 42 10th R3 R4 — — Bob Latchford 20 36,663
1973–74 Div 1 42 12 13 17 52 64 37 19th R4 QF Texaco Cup[al] QF Bob Hatton 20 33,048
1974–75 Div 1 42 14 9 19 53 61 37 17th SF R2 Texaco Cup SF Bob Hatton 18 30,854
1975–76 Div 1 42 13 7 22 57 75 33 19th R3 R3 — — Trevor Francis 18 28,002
1976–77 Div 1 42 13 12 17 63 61 38 13th R4 R2 — — Trevor Francis 21 28,338
1977–78 Div 1 42 16 9 17 55 60 41 11th R4 R2 Anglo-Scottish Cup Group Trevor Francis 29 23,910
1978–79 Div 1 ↓ 42 6 10 26 37 64 22 21st R3 R2 — — Alan Buckley 8 20,164
1979–80 Div 2 ↑ 42 21 11 10 58 38 53 3rd[am] R5 R3 Anglo-Scottish Cup Group Keith Bertschin 18 20,427
1980–81 Div 1 42 13 12 17 50 61 38 13th R4 QF — — Frank Worthington 18 19,248
1981–82 Div 1[an] 42 10 14 18 53 61 44 16th R3 R2 — — Tony Evans 16 17,116
1982–83 Div 1 42 12 14 16 40 55 50 17th R4 R4 — — Mick Ferguson 8 15,880
1983–84 Div 1 ↓ 42 12 12 18 39 50 48 20th QF R4 — — Mick Harford 15 14,106
1984–85 Div 2 ↑ 42 25 7 10 59 33 82 2nd R3 R3 — — Wayne Clarke 19 12,522
1985–86 Div 1 ↓ 42 8 5 29 30 73 29 21st R3 R3 — — Andy Kennedy 8 10,899
1986–87 Div 2 42 11 17 14 47 59 50 19th R4 R3 Full Members' Cup R2 Wayne Clarke 19 7,426
1987–88 Div 2 44 11 15 18 41 66 48 19th R5 R1 Full Members' Cup R1 Steve Whitton 16 8,576
1988–89 Div 2[ao] ↓ 46 8 11 27 31 76 35 23rd R3 R2 Full Members' Cup R1 Steve Whitton 6 6,289
1989–90 Div 3 46 18 12 16 60 59 66 7th R3 R2 Associate Members' Cup Group Dennis Bailey 20 8,558
1990–91 Div 3 46 16 17 13 45 49 65 12th[ap] R2 R1 Associate Members' Cup[aq] W
10 7,030
1991–92 Div 3 ↑ 46 23 12 11 69 52 81 2nd R1 R3 Associate Members' Cup Group Nigel Gleghorn 22 12,399
1992–93 Div 1[ar] 46 13 12 21 50 72 51 19th R1 R1 Anglo-Italian Cup R1 John Frain 8 12,328
1993–94 Div 1 ↓ 46 13 12 21 52 69 51 22nd R3 R2 Anglo-Italian Cup Prelim
10 14,378
1994–95 Div 2 ↑ 46 25 14 7 84 37 89 1st R3 R2 Football League Trophy[as] W Steve Claridge 25 16,941
1995–96 Div 1 46 15 13 18 61 64 58 15th R3 SF Anglo-Italian Cup QF Jonathan Hunt 15 18,098
1996–97 Div 1 46 17 15 14 52 48 66 10th R5 R2 — — Paul Devlin 19 17,732
1997–98 Div 1 46 19 17 10 60 35 74 7th[at] R5 R3 — — Paul Furlong 19 18,751
1998–99 Div 1 46 23 12 11 66 37 81 4th[au] R3 R3 — — Dele Adebola 17 20,794
1999–2000 Div 1 46 22 11 13 65 44 77 5th[av] R4 R4 — — Paul Furlong 11 21,895
2000–01 Div 1 46 23 9 14 59 48 78 5th[aw] R3 F[ax] — — Geoff Horsfield 12 21,283
2001–02 Div 1 ↑ 46 21 13 12 70 49 76 5th[ay] R3 R3 — — Tommy Mooney 15 21,978
2002–03 Prem 38 13 9 16 41 49 48 13th R3 R3 — — Stern John 9 28,831
2003–04 Prem 38 12 14 12 43 48 50 10th R5 R2 — — Mikael Forssell 19 29,078
2004–05 Prem 38 11 12 15 40 46 45 12th R4 R3 — — Emile Heskey 11 28,760
2005–06 Prem ↓ 38 8 10 20 28 50 34 18th QF QF — —
8 27,392
2006–07 Champ[az] ↑ 46 26 8 12 67 42 86 2nd R4 R4 — — Gary McSheffrey 16 22,273
2007–08 Prem ↓ 38 8 11 19 46 62 35 19th R3 R3 — — Mikael Forssell 9 26,181
2008–09 Champ ↑ 46 23 14 9 54 37 83 2nd R3 R2 — — Kevin Phillips 14 19,081
2009–10 Prem 38 13 11 14 38 47 50 9th QF R3 — — Cameron Jerome 11 25,246
2010–11 Prem ↓ 38 8 15 15 37 58 39 18th QF W[ba] — — Craig Gardner 10 25,461
2011–12 Champ 46 20 16 10 78 51 76 4th[bb] R5 R3 UEFA Europa League[bc] Group Marlon King 18 19,126[58]
2012–13 Champ 46 15 16 15 63 69 61 12th R3 R2 — — Marlon King 14 16,702
2013–14 Champ 46 11 11 24 58 74 44 21st[bd] R4 R4 — —
10 15,457
2014–15 Champ 46 16 15 15 54 64 63 10th R4 R2 — — Clayton Donaldson 16 16,111
2015–16 Champ 46 16 15 15 53 49 63 10th R3 R3 — — Clayton Donaldson 11 17,602
2016–17 Champ 46 13 14 19 45 64 53 19th R3 R1 — — Lukas Jutkiewicz 12 18,717
2017–18 Champ 46 13 7 26 38 68 46 19th R4 R2 — — Ché Adams 9 21,041
2018–19 Champ 46 14 19 13 64 58 52[be] 17th R3 R1 — — Ché Adams 22 22,483
2019–20 Champ 46 12 14 20 54 75 50 20th R5 R1 — — Lukas Jutkiewicz 15 20,411[bf]
2020–21 Champ 46 13 13 20 37 61 52 18th R3 R1 — — Lukas Jutkiewicz 8 0[bg]
2021–22 Champ 46 11 14 21 50 75 47 20th R3 R2 — — Scott Hogan 10 16,161[bh]
2022–23 Champ 46 14 11 21 47 58 53 17th R4 R1 — — Scott Hogan 10 16,758[bh][64]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Birmingham City became the first English club team to take part in European competition when they played their first group game in the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup on 15 May 1956, a goalless draw away at Internazionale. The competition lasted over three English seasons with the final not played until 1958. The London XI, a representative side made up of players from several London clubs, were the first English team when they played their first group game in 1955.[38]
  2. ^ a b An attempt was made to set up a league called The Combination involving clubs not invited to join the Football League. Lack of proper organisation meant it was wound up in April 1889 with many fixtures still outstanding. Small Heath played 11 of their full 16 fixtures.[4]
  3. ^ Founder member of the Football Alliance, which started a year after the Football League.[5]
  4. ^ The United League (or United Midland Counties League) was one of several short-lived leagues of similar name. This one was established in 1894, involving ten teams from the Midlands, to be played as a supplementary competition to fill vacant dates in the season without the trouble and expense of arranging friendly matches.[8] Small Heath finished third in their four-team section in the 1893–94 season,[9] and did not participate again.
  5. ^ Beginning with the 1925–26 season, the FA Cup was structured so that the third round proper contained 64 teams. Prior to that date, the structure had varied, so rounds are not directly comparable to the round of the same name after 1925. For example, in 1892–93, Small Heath's first season in the Football League, there were only three rounds proper before the semifinal, as compared with the current six.[12][13]
  6. ^ The League Cup competition started in the 1960–61 season.[15]
  7. ^ Includes goals scored in the Football Alliance, the Football League, including test matches and play-offs, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, UEFA Europa League, Associate Members' Cup / Football League Trophy, Anglo-Italian Cup, Texaco Cup, Anglo-Scottish Cup and Full Members' Cup. Goals scored in seasons from 1881–82 to 1888–89 sourced to Matthews (1995), p. 231, from 1889–90 to 2009–10 sourced to Matthews (2010), pp. 224–455, 473–483 and from 2010–11 onwards sourced to Soccerbase.[18]
  8. ^ League matches only (including Football Alliance, Football League and Premier League, but excluding test matches and play-offs). Sourced from Matthews (1995) up to and including the 1994–95 season, from European Football Statistics[19] from 1995–96 to 2001–02 inclusive, from ESPN FC[20] thereafter, or individually.
  9. ^ Divisions are sorted according to their level within the English football league system at the time.
  10. ^ The first of Slater's two goals in the FA Cup first round tie against Derby Town, a 4–1 win played at the Coventry Road ground on 17 October 1881, was the club's first goal in national competitive football.[21]
  11. ^ a b FA Cup goals only.
  12. ^ Disqualified for fielding an improperly registered player, after eliminating Hednesford Town and Wednesbury Old Athletic in the qualifying rounds.[3]
  13. ^ The Football League expanded its membership at the end of this season by forming a Second Division. All but one of the 12 Football Alliance teams accepted invitations to join.[22]
  14. ^ Promotion and relegation decided by test matches, in which third bottom in First Division played third in Second Division, second bottom in First Division played second in Second Division, and bottom club in First Division played top club from Second Division, in one-off games at neutral venues, winners to play in the following season's First Division. Small Heath drew 1–1 with Newton Heath but lost the replay 5–2, so were not promoted despite winning the division.[23]
  15. ^ The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) lists Wheldon as having scored a divisional best 24 goals in Division Two,[24] but Matthews (2010) assigns him 25.[25]
  16. ^ Promoted via test match, beating Darwen 3–1.[14]
  17. ^ Scored 24 goals in Division Two,[24]
  18. ^ Promotion and relegation decided by test match system in which bottom two clubs in First Division and top two clubs in Second Division played a mini-league of home and away matches against the two clubs in the other division, top two in mini-league to play in following season's First Division. Small Heath finished third in the mini-league so were relegated.[26]
  19. ^ The final test match left the two clubs involved needing to draw for them both to win promotion, which unsurprisingly is what happened. The Football League decided to expand each division by two places, and the existing clubs voted for two clubs to take the two new places in the First Division. Candidates were the losers from the two test match series plus teams placed third to sixth in the Second Division. Small Heath came fourth in the vote, so remained in the Second Division. From then on the League adopted promotion and relegation directly dependent on league position (two up, two down).[27]
  20. ^ Abbott's 34 Second Division goals and 42 total goals in a season are club records.[28]
  21. ^ There was no automatic relegation from the Football League until 1987.[15] The bottom two clubs in the League, together with candidates from outside the League, applied for re-election. Each current League club had a vote. Small Heath were re-elected.[29]
  22. ^ The club played 106 competitive games in regional football, the Midland Section Principal and Subsidiary Competitions, over three seasons from 1916 to 1919. Guest players were permitted, and results and records from this period are not included in official statistics.[30]
  23. ^ Secretary-manager Frank Richards failed to submit the entry form in time to be granted exemption from qualifying, and the Football Association refused to bend the rules in their favour. Although that decision did not preclude their entering the competition in the qualifying rounds, the directors chose not to.[31][32]
  24. ^ Birmingham's first appearance in the Cup Final was a 2–1 defeat to Second Division West Bromwich Albion.[14]
  25. ^ When the Second World War began, the 1939–40 Football League season was abandoned with three matches played and Birmingham in second position.[33]
  26. ^ Plus one own goal.[34]
  27. ^ The club played 215 competitive games in regional league and cup football between 1939 and 1946. Guest players were permitted, and results and records from this period are not included in official statistics.[30]
  28. ^ This was the only full season played in the wartime Football League North and South regionalised competitions. These leagues included Football League First and Second Division clubs divided geographically, playing each other home and away. Birmingham won the Southern section on goal average from Aston Villa.[35]
  29. ^ From the first round proper to the sixth round of the 1945–46 FA Cup, matches were played over two legs. In the semifinal, Birmingham drew with Derby County at Hillsborough, Sheffield, in front of 65,000 spectators. The replay at Maine Road, Manchester, which attracted a crowd of over 80,000, went goalless into extra time, when defender Ted Duckhouse broke his leg trying to stop Derby's first goal. No substitutes were allowed, and Birmingham went on to lose 4–0.[35]
  30. ^ Highest League finish.
  31. ^ Reached the 1956 FA Cup Final without being drawn at home in any round, the first club so to do.[36] Lost 3–1 to Manchester City in the game remembered for City's goalkeeper Bert Trautmann playing the last 15 minutes of the game with a broken bone in his neck.[37]
  32. ^ Equal with Chelsea on goal average; number of goals scored was not taken into account.[39]
  33. ^ Birmingham became the first English club team to reach the final of a European competition, losing on aggregate to Barcelona (0–0 at home, 1–4 away). The London XI, consisting of players from several London clubs, were the first English team when they reached the final of the 1955–58 Fairs Cup.[40]
  34. ^ Lost on aggregate to A.S. Roma (2–2 at home, 0–2 away).[41]
  35. ^ Beat Aston Villa 3–1 on aggregate (3–1 at home, 0–0 away) to win club's first major trophy.[5]
  36. ^ Between 1969–70 and 1973–74 the losing FA Cup semi-finalists took part in a third-place play-off.[42] Birmingham beat Stoke City on penalties after a goalless draw, the first time an FA Cup match had been decided via a penalty shootout.[43]
  37. ^ Scored 23 goals in Division Two.[24]
  38. ^ The home leg of the quarter final match against Newcastle United finished 1–1. Despite use of floodlights being banned due to the fuel crisis, the League refused to allow an earlier kickoff time for the away leg. The match was abandoned at 1–1 after 10 minutes of extra time in almost total darkness. When the match was replayed, Birmingham lost 3–1.[44]
  39. ^ Number of teams promoted to and relegated from the First Division raised from two to three in 1973.[15]
  40. ^ This season saw the introduction of three points for a win instead of two.[15]
  41. ^ Relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time.
  42. ^ Lowest League finish.
  43. ^ Beat Tranmere Rovers 3–2 in the final of what was better known by its sponsored name of the Leyland DAF Cup at Wembley.[45]
  44. ^ The Second Division was renamed Division One after the FA Premiership broke away from the Football League.[15]
  45. ^ Beat Carlisle United 1–0 in the final of what was better known by its sponsored name of the Auto Windscreens Shield at Wembley in front of a crowd of 76,663. The goal was scored by Paul Tait in sudden-death extra time. This was the first time a major tournament in England was decided on a golden goal.[46]
  46. ^ Missed out on a play-off place to Sheffield United by virtue of goals scored, which took precedence over goal difference from the 1992–93 to the 1998–99 Football League seasons.[47]
  47. ^ Lost in the play-off semifinal to Watford on penalties.[48]
  48. ^ Lost in the play-off semifinal to Barnsley on aggregate.[49]
  49. ^ Lost in the play-off semifinal to Preston North End on penalties.[50]
  50. ^ Lost to Liverpool on penalties after the game had finished 1–1 after extra time, in the first English final to be settled by a penalty shootout,[51] and the first English football final to be held at the Millennium Stadium while the new Wembley Stadium was being built.[52]
  51. ^ Promoted to the Premier League via the play-offs, beating Millwall 2–1 on aggregate in the semifinal and Norwich City on penalties in the final after the game had finished 1–1 after extra time.[53]
  52. ^ Division One was renamed The Championship from the 2004–05 season.[54]
  53. ^ Beat favourites Arsenal 2–1 at Wembley to win League Cup for the second time.[55]
  54. ^ Lost in the play-off semifinal to Blackpool 3–2 on aggregate.[56]
  55. ^ Appearing in European competition for the first time in 50 years, courtesy of the 2011 League Cup win, Birmingham beat Nacional of Portugal in the 2011–12 Europa League play-off round to progress to the group stage. They finished third in Group H, one point behind Braga and Club Brugge, having beaten Brugge away and NK Maribor home and away.[57]
  56. ^ Avoided relegation on goal difference via Paul Caddis's stoppage-time equaliser at Bolton Wanderers in the last match of the season.[59]
  57. ^ Nine points deducted for breaches of the EFL's profitability and sustainability rules.[60]
  58. ^ The 2019–20 season was interrupted for three months because of the COVID-19 pandemic before being completed behind closed doors;[61] the average attendance only covers those matches played with spectators present.
  59. ^ Because of COVID restrictions, all Birmingham's 2020–21 home matches were played behind closed doors. Some clubs in lower-risk areas were able to admit fans, as a brief pilot in September and more widely in December, but Birmingham was in too high a tier to qualify.[62]
  60. ^ a b The lower tiers of two sides of Birmingham's stadium were closed for safety reasons for the entire season.[63]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Matthews (1995), p. 8.
  2. ^ Matthews (2000), p. 8.
  3. ^ a b Matthews (1995), p. 9.
  4. ^ a b c Shury, Alan; Landamore, Brian (2005). The Definitive Newton Heath F.C. (2nd ed.). Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 11. ISBN 1-899468-16-1.
  5. ^ a b c d "Small Heath", "Birmingham" and "Birmingham City". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  6. ^ Matthews (2000), p. 194.
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Sources[edit]

  • 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.
  • Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. Derby: Derby Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-853-2.

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