Birmingham City F. C.
Full name	Birmingham City Football Club
Nickname(s)	Blues, Brum
Founded	1875 as Small Heath Alliance
Ground	St Andrew's Stadium (Capacity 30,009[1])
Chairman	David Gold
Manager	Alex McLeish
League	Premier League
2007–08	Premier League, 19th (relegated)
Home colours 　 Away colours
Current season

Birmingham City Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Birmingham. Football club names are a part of the sport 's culture reflecting century-old traditions This is a of lists of the use of Nicknames in football (soccer. The following is a list of Association football stadia. They are ordered by their capacity, that is the maximum number of spectators that the David Gold is an English businessman In 2005 David wrote his autobiography Pure Gold with professional co-writer Bob Harris Alexander "Alex" McLeish (born 21 January 1959) nicknamed "Big Eck" is a Scottish former professional footballer who The Premier League, colloquially referred to as the Premiership, is an English professional league for football clubs The Premier League, colloquially referred to as the Premiership, is an English professional league for football clubs The 2008–09 season will be Birmingham City FC ' s 116th in The Football League, their second season in The Championship, and England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This article is about people called professionals For the Movie, see The Professional or Leon. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um 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] In the 2007–08 season they were relegated from the Premier League. In many Sports leagues around the world (with North American and Australian professional leagues being the most notable exceptions promotion and relegation The Premier League, colloquially referred to as the Premiership, is an English professional league for football clubs ^[3]

Small Heath were founder members and first ever champions of the Football League Second Division. From 1892 until 1992 the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football. 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 and reached the FA Cup Final in 1956, reached 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. The Football League First Division was the highest division of The Football League between 1993 and 2004 and the highest division of English football overall between The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after Route to the final FA Cup 1955-56 Build-up The 1956 final was the second time Birmingham had reached the showpiece match having lost 2–1 to West Bromwich Albion History Spanish era The first competition was to be held over two seasons to avoid clashes with national leagues fixtures The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup, is an English football competition The 1963 Football League Cup Final, the third to be staged since the competition's inception was contested between local rivals Birmingham City and Aston Villa over They have spent the majority of their history in the top tier of English football,^[4] 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 won the Leyland DAF Cup and the Auto Windscreens Shield. Structure The Trophy is currently contested by just Football League One and Football League Two clubs and from season 2006-07 is played in a knock-out ( Structure The Trophy is currently contested by just Football League One and Football League Two clubs and from season 2006-07 is played in a knock-out (

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. In English football, the Birmingham derby (also known as the Second City derby) is the Local derby between the two major clubs in the city of Birmingham The club's nickname is Blues, due to the colour of their kit, and their fans are known as Bluenoses or Ratcatchers.

Contents 1 History 2 Colours and badge 3 Stadiums 4 Supporters 5 Ownership 6 Honours 7 Statistics and records 8 Players 8.1 Current squad 8.2 Reserves and Academy 8.3 Notable players 9 Managers 9.1 Notable managers 9.2 Current staff 10 References 11 Notes 12 External links

History

For more details on this topic, see History of Birmingham City F.C.. This article deals with the history of Birmingham City Football Club, an English Professional football club based in the city of Birmingham

Birmingham City were founded as Small Heath Alliance in 1875, and from 1877 played their home games at Muntz Street. Muntz Street is the popular name of the ground at which Birmingham City F 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,^[5] under the name of Small Heath F. A private company limited by shares is a type of company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, Scotland, that of certain Commonwealth countries C. Ltd. ^[6] From 1889–90 they played in the Football Alliance, which ran alongside the Football League. The Football Alliance was an Association football league in England which ran for three seasons from 1889&ndash90 to 1891&ndash92. The Football League, also known as the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons is a league competition featuring professional football clubs In 1892, Small Heath, along with the other Alliance teams, were invited to join the newly-formed Football League Second Division. From 1892 until 1992 the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football. 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. A test match in football is a match played at the end of a season between a team that has done badly in a higher league and one that has done well in a lower league The Football League First Division was the highest division of The Football League between 1993 and 2004 and the highest division of English football overall between Darwen FC are a football club from Darwen in Lancashire, north west England. ^[7] 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,^[8] though matters on the field failed to live up to their surroundings. Birmingham were relegated in 1908, were obliged to apply for re-election two years later, and remained in the Second Division until after the First World War. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All ^[4]

The captaincy of Frank Womack and the creativity of Scottish international playmaker Johnny Crosbie contributed much to Birmingham winning their second Division Two title in 1920–21. Frank Womack (b Stannington, Sheffield, 16 September 1888, d Caistor, October 8, 1968) was an English The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. John Anderson 'Johnny' Crosbie was a Scottish professional footballer who played as an inside forward. ^[9] Womack went on to make 515 appearances, a club record for an outfielder, over a twenty-year career. ^[10] 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. Joseph Bradford ( 22 January 1901 – 6 September 1980) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre The English national football team represents England in international football and is controlled by The Football Association, the governing body for football ^[11] 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. Albert Leslie Knighton (born March 15, 1884 in Church Gresley, Derbyshire; died May 10, 1959, in Bournemouth The 1931 FA Cup Final was contested by West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham at Wembley. West Bromwich Albion Football Club (also known as West Brom, The Baggies, Albion, The Albion, The Throstles or WBA) are 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. Henry Edward ‘Harry’ Hibbs ( May 27 1906 – April 23 1984) was an English football goalkeeper who played ^[12] They were finally relegated in 1938–39, the last full season before the Second World War. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

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. Harry Storer ( 2 February 1898 – 1 September 1967) was an English professional footballer Cricketer and The Football League North and Football League South divisions of The Football League were created for the League to continue while limiting the amount of movement Two years later they won their third Second Division title, conceding only 24 goals in the 42-game season. ^[13] Storer's successor Bob Brocklebank, though unable to stave off relegation in 1950, brought in the players who were to produce the club's successes of the next decade. Bob Brocklebank ( 8 April 1908 &ndash September 1981 was an English footballer and manager. ^[14] 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 season confirmed them as champions. Arthur Owen Turner ( 1 April 1909 – 12 January 1994) was an English professional footballer and football manager ^[15] Their first season back in the First Division saw Birmingham achieve 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. Route to the final FA Cup 1955-56 Build-up The 1956 final was the second time Birmingham had reached the showpiece match having lost 2–1 to West Bromwich Albion TalkManchester City FC before changing verbs to singular --> Manchester City Football Club is an English professional football club Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann OBE (born 22 October 1923 in Bremen, Germany is a German football Goalkeeper who played for 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". The Busby Babes were a group of Manchester United players recruited and trained by the club's assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, who progressed from the club's youth ^[15]

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. History Spanish era The first competition was to be held over two seasons to avoid clashes with national leagues fixtures Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Fútbol Club Barcelona ( Catalan fudˈbɔɫ ˌklup bəɾsəˈlonə Spanish ˈfutβol ˌkluβ baɾθeˈlona known familiarly as Barça (Spanish ˈbaɾsa Catalan 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. Associazione Sportiva Roma, ( commonly referred to as simply Roma, is an Italian professional football club from Rome, and are currently amongst ^[16] 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 over 40 years later. Football Club Internazionale Milano, most commonly referred to as simply Internazionale, or Inter, is an Italian professional football club For the town in the Province of Como, see San Siro (Como. For the saint after which these places are named see Syrus of Pavia or Syrus of ^[17] Gil Merrick's side saved their best form for cup competitions. Gilbert 'Gil' Harold Merrick (born 26 January 1922 in Birmingham) is a retired English footballer and football manager 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. The 1963 Football League Cup Final, the third to be staged since the competition's inception was contested between local rivals Birmingham City and Aston Villa over The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup, is an English football competition ^[18] 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. Stan Cullis ( 25 October 1916 - 28 February 2001) was a football player and manager most notably for Wolverhampton Wanderers Though Cullis's team played attractive football which took them to the semifinals of the League Cup in 1967 and the FA Cup in 1968, league football needed a different approach. ^[19] Replacement Freddie Goodwin produced a team playing skilful, aggressive football that won promotion as well as reaching an FA Cup semifinal. Freddie Goodwin (born June 28, 1933 in Heywood, Lancashire, England) is a former English football player ^[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. Robert Dennis "Bob" Latchford (born 18 January 1951) is an English former Association footballer who played as a centre forward Everton Football Club is an English football club located in the city of Liverpool. ^[21][22] Sir Alf Ramsey briefly managed the club before Jim Smith took over in 1978. Sir Alfred Ernest 'Alf' Ramsey (22 January 1920 &ndash 28 April 1999 was a footballer and manager of the English national football team from 1963 to 1974 James Michael "Jim" Smith (born October 17 1940, Sheffield) is a former English football player and manager With relegation a certainty, the club sold Trevor Francis to Nottingham Forest, making him the first £1 million player;^[23] Francis had scored a total of 133 goals in 329 appearances over his nine years at Birmingham. Trevor John Francis (born 19 April 1954 in Boxhill, Plymouth, England) is a former footballer who won 52 caps Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English professional football club based at the City Ground in West Bridgford, a suburb of Nottingham ^[24] Though Smith took Birmingham straight back to the First Division, a poor start to the 1981–82 season saw him replaced by Ron Saunders, who had just resigned from league champions Aston Villa. Ron Saunders (born 6 November 1932 in Birkenhead, Cheshire) was an English football player and successful manager 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. Altrincham Football Club is a football club from Altrincham, Greater Manchester. From the 1992-93 to the 2003-04 season, the Football League Third Division was the third-highest division of The Football League and the fourth-highest ^[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 Leyland DAF Cup. original Wembley Stadium was a football Stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the Structure The Trophy is currently contested by just Football League One and Football League Two clubs and from season 2006-07 is played in a knock-out ( ^[28] Terry Cooper delivered promotion, but the collapse of the 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. Terence "Terry" Cooper (born 12 July 1944 is an English former football player and manager born in Knottingley, Yorkshire, England The Bank of Credit and Commerce International ( BCCI) was a major international Bank founded in London, United Kingdom in 1972 by Agha Administrative receivership is a procedure in the United Kingdom whereby a creditor can enforce security against a company's assets in an effort to obtain In Law, a liquidator is the officer appointed when a company goes into winding-up or Liquidation who has responsibility for collecting in all of the assets ^[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. Sport Newspapers is the UK-based publishing firm responsible for The Daily Sport, Sunday Sport and a number of mid-shelf and top shelf magazine titles such as Adult For the member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, see David B Karren Brady (born April 1969 is a British broadcasting and sport business manager On the last day of the season, the team avoided relegation back to the third tier,^[31] but a poor start to the 1993–94 season saw Cooper replaced by Barry Fry. Barry Francis Fry (born April 7 1945 in Bedford, England) is an English football manager. The change did not prevent relegation, but Fry's first full season brought promotion back to the second tier and victory in the Auto Windscreens Shield at Wembley, beating Carlisle United with a Paul Tait golden goal. Structure The Trophy is currently contested by just Football League One and Football League Two clubs and from season 2006-07 is played in a knock-out ( Carlisle United FC are an English football team based in Carlisle, Cumbria, play in the Football League One this season after gaining For the current Southport player see Paul Tait (footballer born 1974 Paul Ronald Tait (born 31 July 1971) is an English The golden goal is a method used to decide the winner of games in elimination matches which end in a draw after the end of regulation time ^[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. Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce (born 31 December 1960 is an English football manager and former player In his second season the club narrowly missed out on a play-off position, followed by three years of play-off semifinal defeats. The Football League Championship play-offs are a series of Playoff matches contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the Football League Championship table ^[33] They also reached the 2001 League Cup final against Liverpool at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. The 2001 Worthington Cup Final was a football match played between Liverpool and Birmingham City at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Liverpool Football Club are an English professional Association football club based in Liverpool England. Cardiff ( 'kɑːdɪf) is the Capital and the largest city and county in Wales. The Millennium Stadium (Stadiwm y Mileniwm is the National stadium of Wales, located in the capital Cardiff. 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. PLEASE NOTE This section is the introduction Please do not add too much detail here ^[37]

Motivated by the inspirational Christophe Dugarry,^[38] Birmingham's first top-flight season for 16 years finished in mid-table. Christophe Dugarry (born March 24 1972 in Lormont, France) is a former French football forward. 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. Mikael Kaj Forssell (born March 15, 1981 in Steinfurt, Germany) is a German -born Finnish footballer who plays 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. Mark Rosslyn Bowen (born 7 December 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player Eric Black (born 1 October, 1963 in Bellshill, Lanarkshire) is a former professional football player who played for Aberdeen 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". David Gold is an English businessman In 2005 David wrote his autobiography Pure Gold with professional co-writer Bob Harris ^[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. Liverpool Football Club are an English professional Association football club based in Liverpool England. ^[41] Pennant and Heskey left for record fees,^[1][42] many more were released,^[43] but Bruce retained the confidence of the board. Jermaine Lloyd Pennant (born 15 January 1983 in Nottingham) is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool. Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey (born 11 January 1978 in Leicester, England he is a Striker currently playing for Premier League side Wigan Athletic ^[44] His new 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. Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders Carson Yeung Ka-Shing (Chinese楊家誠 is a billionaire businessman from Hong Kong. 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. Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional football team based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. ^[47] His successor, Scotland national team manager Alex McLeish,^[48] was unable to stave off relegation. The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Alexander "Alex" McLeish (born 21 January 1959) nicknamed "Big Eck" is a Scottish former professional footballer who ^[49]

Colours and badge

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. ^[50] Their first uniform kit was a dark blue shirt with a white sash and white shorts. ^[51] 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. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All 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. Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes, family Spheniscidae) are a group of aquatic, flightless Birds living almost ^[52] Since then they have generally worn plain, nominally royal blue shirts, though the actual shade used got 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. ^[51][53]

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. A shower (also called shower bath is a booth for washing usually in a Bathroom, having an overhead nozzle that sprays water down on the body ^[54][55] 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,^[53] a design similar to the Tesco supermarket carrier bag of the time. Tesco plc is a British -based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain

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. Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people 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, submitted by Birmingham supporter Michael Wood, was the line-drawn globe and ball, with ribbon carrying the club name and date of foundation, in plain blue and white. ^[56] This design 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. ^[57]

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. Umbro ( is a British sportswear and equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. ^[58][59]

Stadiums

Main articles: St Andrew's, St Andrews (stadium), and City of Birmingham Stadium

Small Heath Alliance played their first home games on waste ground off Arthur Street, Bordesley Green. Muntz Street is the popular name of the ground at which Birmingham City F The City of Birmingham Stadium is a proposed multi-purpose Stadium in the Saltley area of Birmingham, West Midlands, England, for Bordesley Green is an inner-city area of Birmingham, England about two miles south-east from the city centre As interest grew, they moved to a fenced-off field in Ladypool Road, Sparkbrook, where admission could be charged. Sparkbrook is an area in south-east Birmingham, England. It is one of the four wards forming the Hall Green formal district within 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 is the popular name of the ground at which Birmingham City F Small Heath is an inner-city area within the city of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. This article is about a road in England for the highway in Spain see A45 road (Spain The A45 is a major Road in England. 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. The Football League First Division was the highest division of The Football League between 1993 and 2004 and the highest division of English football overall between ^[60]

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. Harry Morris ( April 11, 1866 – June 1931 was an English professional footballer who spent all his playing career with Small Heath 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. A Brickworks also known as a brick factory is a factory for the manufacturing of Bricks, from Clay or Shale. Boxing Day is a public holiday in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, as well as many other members of the Commonwealth Heavy snow nearly prevented the opening; volunteers had to clear pitch and terraces before the match, a goalless draw against Middlesbrough, could go ahead. Middlesbrough Football Club, also known as The Boro are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Premier League. ^[60] The ground is reputed to have been cursed by gypsies evicted from the site;^[61] gypsies are known to have camped nearby,^[62] but there is no contemporary evidence for their eviction by the club.

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. ^[60] 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. Everton Football Club is an English football club located in the city of Liverpool. ^[63][64] 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. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Chief Constable is the title given to the Chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except the two responsible for Greater 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. ^[60]

The replacement Main Stand used a propped cantilever roof design, which meant fewer pillars to block spectators' view of the pitch. A cantilever is a beam supported on only one end The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and Shear stress. Floodlights were installed in 1956, and officially switched on for a friendly match against Borussia Dortmund in 1957. The broad-beamed strong artificial lights known as floodlights are often used to illuminate large or outdoor Playing fields while a sports event is being held during low-light BV Borussia Dortmund is a German football club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia and one of the most successful clubs ^[65] 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. ^[65]

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][65] but it was accepted that the stadium had to be brought up to modern all-seated standards. The Taylor Report is a document whose development was overseen by Lord Taylor of Gosforth, concerning the aftermath and causes of the Hillsborough disaster in 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. ^[60] The 8,000-seat Railway Stand followed in 1999,^[66] 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 City of Birmingham Stadium is a proposed multi-purpose Stadium in the Saltley area of Birmingham, West Midlands, England, for The project would be jointly financed by Birmingham City Council, Birmingham City F. Birmingham shown within C. (via the proceeds of the sale of St Andrew's) and the casino group Las Vegas Sands. A casino is in the modern sense of the word a facility that houses and accommodates certain types of Gambling activities Las Vegas Sands Corp ( is a Casino resort company based in Las Vegas Nevada and majority owned by one of the world's richest men Sheldon Adelson The feasibility of the plan depended on the government issuing a licence for a super casino, and Birmingham being chosen as the venue,^[67] but this did not happen. The club have planning permission to redevelop the Main Stand,^[68] but club and council have continued to seek alternative sources of funding for the City of Birmingham Stadium project. See Development Control for an overall explanation of how control under the Town and Country Planning legislation is operated in the United Kingdom ^[69]

Supporters

Birmingham fans consider their main rivals to be Aston Villa, their nearest neighbours geographically, with whom they contest the Birmingham derby. In English football, the Birmingham derby (also known as the Second City derby) is the Local derby between the two major clubs in the city of Birmingham Lesser rivalries exist with fellow West Midlands clubs Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion. The West Midlands is a Metropolitan county in western central England with a population of 2591300 West Bromwich Albion Football Club (also known as West Brom, The Baggies, Albion, The Albion, The Throstles or WBA) are According to a 2003 Football Fans Census survey, fans of Aston Villa think of Birmingham City as their main rivals, though this has not always been the case. ^[70]

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". ^[70] 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. ^[71][72] Between 1994 and 1997 the club mascot took the form of a blue nose,^[73] 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. Beau Brummell, né George Bryan Brummell (7 June 1778 London, England &ndash, Caen, France was the Arbiter of men's Brummie (sometimes Brummy) is a colloquial term for the inhabitants accent and Dialect of Birmingham, England, as well as being a

There are a number of supporters' clubs affiliated to the football club, both in England and abroad. ^[74] 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 Lee Bowyer in 2005,^[75] and antipathy towards the board provoked hostile chanting and a pitch invasion after the last match of the 2007–08 season,^[76][77] relations between club and fanbase have never been so poor as to provoke the formation of an independent supporters' group. Lee David Bowyer (born 3 January 1977 in Canning Town, London) is an English professional footballer who currently plays When the club was in financial difficulties, supporters contributed to schemes which funded the purchase of players Brian Roberts in 1984^[78] and Paul Peschisolido in 1992. Brian Leslie Ford Roberts (born 6 November 1955 in Manchester) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender Paolo Pasquale Peschisolido, commonly known as Paul Peschisolido (born May 25, 1971 in Scarborough) is a Canadian professional ^[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. A fanzine (see also Zine) is a nonprofessional publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre for the pleasure 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. The Birmingham Zulus are a Football firm associated with English football club Birmingham City. ^[79][80] The 2005 film Green Street features hooliganism surrounding a fictional match between West Ham United and Birmingham. Green Street is a 2005 Drama film about Football hooliganism in England. } West Ham United Football Club is an English football club based in Upton Park, London Borough of Newham, East London, who have played

The fans' anthem,^[81] an adaptation of Harry Lauder's Keep right on to the end of the road,^[82] was adopted during the 1956 FA Cup campaign. Sir Henry Lauder ( 4 August 1870 - 26 February 1950) known professionally as Harry Lauder, was a notable Scottish 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'. The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. ^[83]

Player Alex Govan is credited with popularising the song, either by singing it on the coach on the way to the quarter final,^[84] or when he revealed in an interview that it was his favourite. Alexander "Alex" Govan (born 16 June 1929) is a former Scottish professional footballer who played at Outside left.

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. ^[85]

Ownership

Small Heath F. C. became a limited company in 1888; its first share issue was to the value of £650. A private company limited by shares is a type of company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, Scotland, that of certain Commonwealth countries ^[86] The board was made up of local businessmen and dignitaries until 1965, when the club was sold to Clifford Coombs. ^[87] By the mid-1980s the club was in financial trouble. Control passed from the Coombs family to former Walsall chairman Ken Wheldon, who cut costs, made redundancies, and sold off assets, including the club's training ground. Walsall Football Club are an English football club based in Walsall, West Midlands, currently playing in League One. 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 BCCI bank put the Kumars' businesses into receivership. The Bank of Credit and Commerce International ( BCCI) was a major international Bank founded in London, United Kingdom in 1972 by Agha Administrative receivership is a procedure in the United Kingdom whereby a creditor can enforce security against a company's assets in an effort to obtain 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. Sport Newspapers is the UK-based publishing firm responsible for The Daily Sport, Sunday Sport and a number of mid-shelf and top shelf magazine titles such as Adult For the member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, see David B In Law, a liquidator is the officer appointed when a company goes into winding-up or Liquidation who has responsibility for collecting in all of the assets ^[29][30]

The football club is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Birmingham City plc, listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). The Alternative Investment Market (AIM is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, allowing smaller companies to float shares with a ^[88] The plc was floated in 1997 with an issue of 15 million new shares,^[89] raising £7. A Public Limited Company ( PLC, plc or plc or p l c is a type of Limited company in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland which is 5 million of new investment. ^[90] The club made a pre-tax profit of £2. 7M in the year ending 31 August 2006^[91] 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. Events 1056 - Byzantine Empress Theodora becomes ill dying suddenly a few days later without children to succeed the Throne Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (also branded as Deloitte) is one of the largest Professional services firms in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along ^[92]

The plc has approximately 81. 5M shares in issue. On 27 June 2007, the major shareholders entered into an agreement to sell 29. Events 1358 - Republic of Dubrovnik is founded 1709 - Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. 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. Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders Carson Yeung Ka-Shing (Chinese楊家誠 is a billionaire businessman from Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange ( also 港交所 abbreviated as HKEX;) is the Stock exchange of Hong Kong. ^[93] The offer price of 61. 331 pence per share^[94] valued the club at approximately £50M, well above any previous market capitalisation. ^[88] On 16 July GIH exercised their option to purchase,^[95] which made Yeung the largest single shareholder, with plc chairman David Sullivan controlling 23. Events 622 - The beginning of the Islamic calendar. 1054 - Three Roman legates fractured relations between the Western and For the member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, see David B 22% via two of his companies, and football club chairman David Gold holding the same amount jointly with his brother Ralph. David Gold is an English businessman In 2005 David wrote his autobiography Pure Gold with professional co-writer Bob Harris ^[96] In August Yeung stated his intention to take full control of the club once due diligence was complete,^[97] 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",^[98] though GIH claimed it was they who had "temporarily shelve[d]" the bid due to Birmingham's failure to co-operate. Due Diligence is a term used for a number of concepts involving either the performance of an investigation of a business or person or the performance of an act with a certain Standard Events 69 - Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[99]

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. Karren Brady (born April 1969 is a British broadcasting and sport business manager In the Criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between Natural persons to break the law at some time in the future and in some cases with at least one overt act In the broadest sense a fraud is a Deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual In 2006, several allegations were made of corruption in English football by sources inside and outside of the game ^[100]

Honours

Birmingham City's honours include the following:^[101][102]

• Second Division / The Championship (level 2)
  • Champions: 1892–93, 1920–21, 1947–48, 1954–55
  • Runners up: 1893–94, 1900–01, 1902–03, 1971–72, 1984–85, 2006–07
  • Play-off winners: 2001–02
• Third Division / Division Two (level 3)
  • Champions: 1994–95
  • Runners up: 1991–92
• FA Cup
  • Runners up: 1931, 1956
• League Cup
  • Winners: 1963
  • Runners up: 2001
• Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
  • Runners up: 1960, 1961
• Associate Members Cup / Football League Trophy
  • Winners: 1991, 1995
• Birmingham Senior Cup
  • Winners: 1905, 1907, 1915, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1983, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2008

Statistics and records

For more details on this topic, see List of Birmingham City F.C. statistics and records. From 1892 until 1992 the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football. The Football League Championship (often referred to as The Championship for short or the Coca-Cola Football League Championship for sponsorship reasons The Football League Championship play-offs are a series of Playoff matches contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the Football League Championship table From the 1992-93 to the 2003-04 season, the Football League Third Division was the third-highest division of The Football League and the fourth-highest From 1892 until 1992 the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football. The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The 1931 FA Cup Final was contested by West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham at Wembley. Route to the final FA Cup 1955-56 Build-up The 1956 final was the second time Birmingham had reached the showpiece match having lost 2–1 to West Bromwich Albion The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup, is an English football competition The 1963 Football League Cup Final, the third to be staged since the competition's inception was contested between local rivals Birmingham City and Aston Villa over The 2001 Worthington Cup Final was a football match played between Liverpool and Birmingham City at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff History Spanish era The first competition was to be held over two seasons to avoid clashes with national leagues fixtures Structure The Trophy is currently contested by just Football League One and Football League Two clubs and from season 2006-07 is played in a knock-out ( The Birmingham Senior Cup is a Football (soccer competition for Birmingham County FA club teams organized by the Birmingham County Football Association. Birmingham City Football Club are a professional Association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England.

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. Frank Womack (b Stannington, Sheffield, 16 September 1888, d Caistor, October 8, 1968) was an English Gilbert 'Gil' Harold Merrick (born 26 January 1922 in Birmingham) is a retired English footballer and football manager If all senior competitions are included, Merrick has 551, less closely followed by Womack's 515 which is the record for an outfield player. ^[103] As of December 2007, the player who has won most international caps while at the club is Maik Taylor with 37 for Northern Ireland. December 2007 is the twelfth month of that year It began on a Saturday and 31 days later ended on a Monday Maik Stefan Taylor (born September 4, 1971 in Hildesheim, Germany) is a Northern Irish international football goalkeeper The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international football. ^[104]

The goalscoring record is held by Joe Bradford, with 249 league goals, 267 altogether, scored between 1920 and 1935; no other player comes close. Joseph Bradford ( 22 January 1901 – 6 September 1980) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre 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. Walter Abbott (born 7 December 1877 in Small Heath Birmingham, died 1 February 1941 in Birmingham was an English professional footballer who played for From 1892 until 1992 the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football. ^[105] Bradford holds the record for league goals scored in a top flight season with 29 in 1927–28. The Football League First Division was the highest division of The Football League between 1993 and 2004 and the highest division of English football overall between ^[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. The Football Alliance was an Association football league in England which ran for three seasons from 1889&ndash90 to 1891&ndash92. Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English professional football club based at the City Ground in West Bridgford, a suburb of Nottingham Walsall Football Club are an English football club based in Walsall, West Midlands, currently playing in League One. Doncaster Rovers Football Club (or informally Donny) are an English football club based at the Keepmoat Stadium in the town of Doncaster Their heaviest league defeats were 9–1, both in the First Division, against Blackburn Rovers in 1895 and Sheffield Wednesday in 1930. The Football League First Division was the highest division of The Football League between 1993 and 2004 and the highest division of English football overall between Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. 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. The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after NEWI Cefn Druids AFC (Derwyddon Cefn NEWI is a football team based in the village of Cefn Mawr, Wrexham, Wales playing in the Welsh Liverpool Football Club are an English professional Association football club based in Liverpool England. ^[106]

Birmingham's home attendance record was set at the fifth round FA Cup tie against Everton on 11 February 1939. Everton Football Club is an English football club located in the city of Liverpool. Events 660 BC - Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. It is variously recorded as 66,844 or 67,341. ^[63][64] 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][107] while the most spent by the club on a player was £3. Jermaine Lloyd Pennant (born 15 January 1983 in Nottingham) is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool. 5M, possibly rising to £6. 25M, for Emile Heskey from Liverpool in May 2004. Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey (born 11 January 1978 in Leicester, England he is a Striker currently playing for Premier League side Wigan Athletic ^[1][108] James McFadden was bought from Everton in January 2008 for a fee of £5M, possibly rising to £6M depending on appearances; if the full fee becomes payable, this will be the club's record purchase. James McFadden (born 14 April, 1983) is a Scottish professional footballer currently playing as a Striker for Birmingham City ^[109]

Players

Current squad

As of 30 May 2008. Events 1416 - The Council of Constance, called by the Emperor Sigismund a supporter of Antipope John XXIII burns Jerome of Prague following 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^{[110][111][112][113][114][115]}

No. Position Player 1 GK Maik Taylor 2 DF Stephen Kelly 4 DF Martin Taylor 6 DF Liam Ridgewell 7 MF Sebastian Larsson 8 FW Garry O'Connor 10 FW Cameron Jerome 11 MF Gary McSheffrey 12 MF Mehdi Nafti 13 GK Colin Doyle 14 DF David Murphy 15 DF Franck Queudrue

No. In many team Sports a goalkeeper (termed goaltender netminder, goalie, or keeper in some sports Maik Stefan Taylor (born September 4, 1971 in Hildesheim, Germany) is a Northern Irish international football goalkeeper In Association football (soccer a defender is a player who tries to prevent the other team from scoring This is about Irish soccer player for the American priest and activist see Stephen Kelly (SJ Stephen Michael Kelly ( Irish name In Association football (soccer a defender is a player who tries to prevent the other team from scoring Martin Taylor (born November 9, 1979 in Ashington, Northumberland) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender In Association football (soccer a defender is a player who tries to prevent the other team from scoring Liam Matthew Ridgewell (born July 21, 1984 in London) is an English footballer and defender for Birmingham City. For the Australian Rules position see Midfielder (Australian Rules. Alfe Inge Sebastian Larsson (born June 6 1985) is a Swedish international footballer born in Eskilstuna, who currently plays for Strikers, also known as forwards and attackers, are the players on a team in Association football (soccer in the row nearest to the opposing Garry Lawrence O'Connor (born May 7, 1983 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish professional footballer who currently plays for Birmingham Strikers, also known as forwards and attackers, are the players on a team in Association football (soccer in the row nearest to the opposing Cameron Zishan R Jerome (born October 14, 1986 in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire) is an English footballer He plays for For the Australian Rules position see Midfielder (Australian Rules. Gary McSheffrey, (born August 13, 1982) is an English footballer currently playing for Birmingham City in the Football League Championship For the Australian Rules position see Midfielder (Australian Rules. Mehdi Nafti (مهدي نافطي (born November 28, 1978 in Toulouse) is a French-born Tunisian football player In many team Sports a goalkeeper (termed goaltender netminder, goalie, or keeper in some sports Colin Anthony Doyle (born June 12 1985 in Cork, Ireland) is an Irish footballer who plays for Birmingham City In Association football (soccer a defender is a player who tries to prevent the other team from scoring David Paul Murphy (born 1 March 1984 is an English professional footballer who currently plays for Birmingham City. In Association football (soccer a defender is a player who tries to prevent the other team from scoring Franck Queudrue (born August 27, 1978 in Paris, France) is a French footballer, currently playing for Birmingham City Position Player 16 FW James McFadden 20 MF Daniël de Ridder 21 DF Stuart Parnaby 22 MF Damien Johnson (captain) 23 MF Olivier Kapo 24 DF Radhi Jaïdi 25 FW Sone Aluko 26 MF Fabrice Muamba 30 DF Krystian Pearce 31 MF Jordon Mutch MF Lee Carsley

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. Strikers, also known as forwards and attackers, are the players on a team in Association football (soccer in the row nearest to the opposing James McFadden (born 14 April, 1983) is a Scottish professional footballer currently playing as a Striker for Birmingham City For the Australian Rules position see Midfielder (Australian Rules. Daniël de Ridder born March 6, 1984) is a Dutch footballer, who currently plays for Wigan Athletic in the Premier League In Association football (soccer a defender is a player who tries to prevent the other team from scoring Stuart Parnaby (born July 19, 1982) is an English footballer who plays for Birmingham City as a right-back. For the Australian Rules position see Midfielder (Australian Rules. Damien Michael Johnson (born November 18, 1978 in Lisburn) is a Northern Irish international football Midfielder For the Australian Rules position see Midfielder (Australian Rules. Narcisse-Olivier Kapo-Obou, known as Olivier Kapo, (born 27 September 1980 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire) is a French international In Association football (soccer a defender is a player who tries to prevent the other team from scoring Radhi Ben Abdelmajid Jaïdi (راضي بن عبدالمجيد جعايدي (born August 30, 1975 in Tunis) is a Tunisian footballer Strikers, also known as forwards and attackers, are the players on a team in Association football (soccer in the row nearest to the opposing Sone Aluko (born 19 February 1989) is an English footballer currently playing for Aberdeen. For the Australian Rules position see Midfielder (Australian Rules. Fabrice Ndala Muamba (born 6 April 1988) is an English footballer He is a Midfielder who currently plays for Bolton Wanderers In Association football (soccer a defender is a player who tries to prevent the other team from scoring Krystian Mitchell Victor Pearce (born 5 January 1990) is an English Professional footballer currently playing as a central defender For the Australian Rules position see Midfielder (Australian Rules. For the Australian Rules position see Midfielder (Australian Rules. Lee Kevin Carsley (born 28 February 1974 in Birmingham) is a professional footballer who plays for Birmingham City. Birmingham City FC Reserves and Academy are the Reserve team and the youth development system respectively of Birmingham City Football Club. Birmingham City Football Club, then known as Small Heath Alliance, first entered the FA Cup in the 1882&ndash1883 season This chronological list of managers of Birmingham City Football Club comprises all those who have held the position of manager of the first team of Birmingham City Gilbert 'Gil' Harold Merrick (born 26 January 1922 in Birmingham) is a retired English footballer and football manager The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup, is an English football competition The 1963 Football League Cup Final, the third to be staged since the competition's inception was contested between local rivals Birmingham City and Aston Villa over Merrick also led the club to the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final in 1961, following Pat Beasley who did the same in 1960. History Spanish era The first competition was to be held over two seasons to avoid clashes with national leagues fixtures Albert "Pat" Beasley ( July 16, 1913 — 27 February, 1986) was a Professional footballer and manager ^[116] Leslie Knighton took the club to the final of the FA Cup in 1931;^[12] 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. Albert Leslie Knighton (born March 15, 1884 in Church Gresley, Derbyshire; died May 10, 1959, in Bournemouth The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The 1931 FA Cup Final was contested by West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham at Wembley. Arthur Owen Turner ( 1 April 1909 – 12 January 1994) was an English professional footballer and football manager Route to the final FA Cup 1955-56 Build-up The 1956 final was the second time Birmingham had reached the showpiece match having lost 2–1 to West Bromwich Albion The Football League First Division was the highest division of The Football League between 1993 and 2004 and the highest division of English football overall between ^[15] 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. The 2001 Worthington Cup Final was a football match played between Liverpool and Birmingham City at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Trevor John Francis (born 19 April 1954 in Boxhill, Plymouth, England) is a former footballer who won 52 caps Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce (born 31 December 1960 is an English football manager and former player The Premier League, colloquially referred to as the Premiership, is an English professional league for football clubs ^[37][45]

Current staff

As of 13 May 2008. Events 1497 - Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^{[117][118][119]}

• Team manager: Alex McLeish
• First team coach: Roy Aitken
• First team coach: Andy Watson
• Goalkeeping coach: Dave Watson
• Academy manager: Terry Westley
• Chief scout: Paul Montgomery

References

• Matthews, Tony (1995). Alexander "Alex" McLeish (born 21 January 1959) nicknamed "Big Eck" is a Scottish former professional footballer who Robert Sime "Roy" Aitken (born 24 November 1958) is a former footballer who went on to become a coach with Leeds United and Andrew Watson (born 3 September 1959 in Aberdeen) is a former professional Football (soccer player and is currently a coach David Watson (born 10 November 1973) is a former English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Barnsley Terry Westley is currently the Academy Director at Birmingham City where he oversees the development of the club's young talent Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.  
• Matthews, Tony (October 2000). The Encyclopedia of Birmingham City Football Club 1875-2000. Cradley Heath: Britespot. ISBN 978-0-9539288-0-4.  
• Lewis, Peter (ed. ) (2000). Keeping right on since 1875. The Official History of Birmingham City Football Club. Lytham: Arrow. ISBN 1-900722-12-7.  

Notes

External links

• Club's official website
• Birmingham City F. C. on BBC Sport: Club News - Recent results - Upcoming fixtures - Club stats
• Premierleague.com - Birmingham City
• Graphical History of Birmingham City Kits
• AIM: BMC

Preceded by Tranmere Rovers	Football League Trophy Winners 1990–91	Succeeded by Stoke City
Preceded by Swansea City	Football League Trophy Winners 1994–95	Succeeded by Rotherham United

The Alternative Investment Market (AIM is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, allowing smaller companies to float shares with a Tranmere Rovers Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League One and based at Prenton Park, Tranmere Structure The Trophy is currently contested by just Football League One and Football League Two clubs and from season 2006-07 is played in a knock-out ( Stoke City Football Club is a football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Swansea City AFC ( Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Abertawe) is a Welsh football team playing in the Coca Cola Championship from Structure The Trophy is currently contested by just Football League One and Football League Two clubs and from season 2006-07 is played in a knock-out ( Rotherham United Football Club (also known as 'The Millers' are an English professional football club temporarily based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire,

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