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Encyclopedia > Birmingham City F.C.

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

Birmingham City Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Birmingham. 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.[3] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Football club names are a part of the sports culture, reflecting century-old traditions. ... This article is about the building type. ... Rungnado May Day Stadium is the worlds largest football stadium. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... David Gold is an English businessman. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Scotland. ... Alexander Alec McLeish (born January 21, 1959, Barrhead, Renfrewshire, Scotland) nicknamed Big Eck,[1] is a former professional footballer and is currently manager of the Scotland national team. ... The Football League Championship (often referred to as The Championship for short, or the Coca-Cola Football League Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League. ... The 2007–08 season is the 128th season of competitive football in England. ... For other sports leagues which may be referred to by this name, see list of professional sports leagues. ... soccer jersey left arm with white border File links The following pages link to this file: Santos Futebol Clube Template talk:Football kit Template:Football kit/pattern list User:Johan Elisson/football kits FC Inter Categories: GFDL images | Football kit templates ... body of kit template File links The following pages link to this file: Arsenal F.C. Ajax Amsterdam AZ Alkmaar A.S. Roma Torino Calcio A.C. Milan ACF Fiorentina Bristol City F.C. Charlton Athletic F.C. Chievo Verona Chelsea F.C. England national football team Wikipedia:WikiProject Football... soccer jersey right arm with white border File links The following pages link to this file: Santos Futebol Clube Template talk:Football kit Template:Football kit/pattern list User:Johan Elisson/football kits FC Inter Categories: GFDL images | Football kit templates ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... socks of kit template File links The following pages link to this file: Arsenal F.C. Ajax Amsterdam AZ Alkmaar A.S. Roma Torino Calcio A.C. Milan ACF Fiorentina Bristol City F.C. Charlton Athletic F.C. Chievo Verona Chelsea F.C. England national football team Wikipedia:WikiProject Football... It has been suggested that replica shirt be merged into this article or section. ... Image File history File links left arm of kit template File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... soccer jersey with white sides, solid stripe in middle File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... rightarm of kit template File links The following pages link to this file: Arsenal F.C. Ajax Amsterdam AZ Alkmaar A.S. Roma Torino Calcio A.C. Milan ACF Fiorentina Bristol City F.C. Charlton Athletic F.C. Chievo Verona Chelsea F.C. England national football team Wikipedia:WikiProject Football... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... socks of kit template File links The following pages link to this file: Arsenal F.C. Ajax Amsterdam AZ Alkmaar A.S. Roma Torino Calcio A.C. Milan ACF Fiorentina Bristol City F.C. Charlton Athletic F.C. Chievo Verona Chelsea F.C. England national football team Wikipedia:WikiProject Football... It has been suggested that replica shirt be merged into this article or section. ... Image File history File links Soccerball_current_event. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article is about people called professionals. ... Soccer redirects here. ... This article is about the British city. ... The 2007–08 Premier League season (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the sixteenth since its establishment. ... In many sports leagues around the world (with North American and Australian professional leagues being the most notable exceptions), relegation (or demotion) means the mandated transfer of the least successful team(s) of a higher division into a lower division at the end of the season. ... For other sports leagues which may be referred to by this name, see list of professional sports leagues. ...


Small Heath were founder members and first ever champions of the Football League Second Division. The most successful period in their history was in the 1950s and early 1960s. They achieved their highest finishing position of sixth in the First Division 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. 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. From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football. ... From 1889 until 1992, this was the highest division overall of organized football in England. ... This article is about the English FA Cup. ... The 1956 FA Cup Final took place at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 5 May 1956. ... The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. ... The second Inter-Cities Fairs Cup took place between 1958 and 1960 and was won by FC Barcelona for the second consecutive time in a two-legged final against Birmingham City. ... The third Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was the first to be played over a single season, namely the 1960-61 season. ... The Carling Cup Trophy 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 competitions inception, was contested between local rivals Birmingham City and Aston Villa over two legs. ... Aston Villa redirects here. ... The Football League Trophy is the generic name of an English football competition for clubs in the two lower divisions of the Football League, the official name of which is frequently changed to match changes in sponsors, and which is presently called the LDV Vans Trophy. ... The Football League Trophy is the generic name of an English football competition for clubs in the two lower divisions of The Football League and, in some seasons, the leading sides in the Conference National. ...


St Andrew's has been their home ground since 1906. They have a long-standing and fierce rivalry with Aston Villa, their nearest neighbours, with whom they play the Birmingham derby. The club's nickname is Blues, due to the colour of their kit, and their fans are known as Bluenoses. In English football, the Birmingham derby (better known as the Second City derby[1]) is the local derby between the two major clubs in the city of Birmingham – Aston Villa and Birmingham City. ...

Contents

History

For more details on this topic, see History of Birmingham City F.C..
Small Heath F.C., champions of the inaugural Football League Second Division 1892–93.
Small Heath F.C., champions of the inaugural Football League Second Division 1892–93.

Birmingham City were founded as Small Heath Alliance in 1875, and from 1877 played their home games at Muntz Street. The club turned professional in 1885,[1] and three years later became the first football club to become a limited company with a board of directors,[5] under the name of Small Heath F.C. Ltd.[6] From 1889–90 they played in the Football Alliance, which ran alongside the Football League. In 1892, Small Heath, along with the other Alliance teams, were invited to join the newly-formed Football League Second Division. They finished as champions, but failed to win promotion via the test match system; the following season promotion to the First Division was secured after a second place finish and test match victory over Darwen.[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.[4] This article deals with the history of Birmingham City Football Club, an English professional football club based in the city of Birmingham. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... , Muntz Street is the popular name of the ground at which Birmingham City F.C. (under its former names of Small Heath Alliance, Small Heath and Birmingham) played its home games between 1877 and 1906. ... A limited company by shares (limited or Ltd. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... The Football Alliance was an association football league in England from 1889 to 1892. ... The Football League is a league competition featuring professional football clubs from England and Wales. ... From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football. ... 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 of the same football league system. ... From 1889 until 1992, this was the highest division overall of organized football in England. ... Darwen F.C. are a football club from Darwen in the north west of England. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ...


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.[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.[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. 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.[12] They were finally relegated in 1938–39, the last full season before the Second World War. Frank Womack (b. ... First international Scotland 0–0 England  (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win Scotland 11–0 Ireland  (Glasgow, Scotland; 23 February 1901) Biggest defeat  Uruguay 7–0 Scotland (Basel, Switzerland; 19 June 1954) World Cup Appearances 8 (First in 1954) Best result Round 1, all European Championship Appearances 2 (First... John Anderson Johnny Crosbie was a Scottish professional footballer who played as an inside forward. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Joe Bradford (Born 1901, died 1980) was an England international football player. ... First international Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) Biggest defeat Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First in... Leslie Knighton was an English football manager. ... The 1931 FA Cup Final was contested by West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City at Wembley. ... West Bromwich Albion Football Club (also known as West Brom, The Baggies, Albion, The Albion, The Throstles or W.B.A.) are an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands. ... Henry Edward ‘Harry’ Hibbs (May 27, 1906 – April 23, 1984) was a famous goalkeeper for England between the Wars. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...


The club's current name of Birmingham City F.C. was adopted in 1943.[2] Under Harry Storer, appointed manager in 1945, the club won the Football League South wartime league and reached the semifinal of the first post-war FA Cup. Two years later they won their third Second Division title, conceding only 24 goals in the 42-game season.[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.[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.[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. 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".[15] Harry Storer (February 2, 1898 – September 1, 1967) was an English football player and manager, and a cricketer as well. ... The Football League North and Football League South divisions of the Football League were created for one season starting in 1945. ... Bob Brocklebank was an English football manager. ... Arthur Owen Turner (1 April 1909 – 12 January 1994) was an English professional footballer and football manager. ... The 1956 FA Cup Final took place at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 5 May 1956. ... Manchester City Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Manchester. ... Bernhard Carl Bert Trautmann OBE (born October 22, 1923 in Bremen, Germany) is a German football goalkeeper who played for Manchester City for many years. ... MUFC redirects here. ... The Busby Babes were a group of Manchester United players who progressed from the clubs youth team into the first team under Sir Matt Busbys management. ...


Birmingham became the first English club side to take part in European competition when they played their first group game in the inaugural Inter-Cities Fairs Cup competition on 15 May 1956; they went on to reach the semifinal where they drew 4–4 on aggregate with Barcelona, losing the replay 2–1. They were also the first English club side to reach a European final, losing 4–1 on aggregate to Barcelona in 1960 and 4–2 to A.S. Roma in 1961.[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.[17] Gil Merrick's side saved their best form for cup competitions. Though opponents in the 1963 League Cup final, local rivals Aston Villa, were pre-match favourites, Birmingham raised their game and won 3–1 on aggregate to lift their only major trophy to date.[18] In 1965, after ten years in the top flight, they returned to the Second Division. The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A car from 1956 Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Futbol Club Barcelona (Spanish IPA: , Catalan IPA: ), known familiarly as Barça (Spanish IPA: , Catalan IPA: ), is a sports club based in Barcelona, Spain. ... In sport (particularly soccer), a two-legged match is a match-up between two clubs or nations that lasts over two individual games. ... The second Inter-Cities Fairs Cup took place between 1958 and 1960 and was won by FC Barcelona for the second consecutive time in a two-legged final against Birmingham City. ... Associazione Sportiva Roma (ISE: IT0001008876) is a major professional football club both in Italy’s Serie A and in European football. ... The third Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was the first to be played over a single season, namely the 1960-61 season. ... Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as simply Internazionale, Inter or Inter Milan[1], is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy, founded in 1908. ... The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, also known as the San Siro, is a football stadium in Milan,Italy. ... Arsenal Football Club (also known as Arsenal, The Arsenal or The Gunners) are an English professional football club based in Holloway, north London. ... Gilbert Gil Harold Merrick (26 January 1922 - ) is an English footballer and football manager. ... The 1963 Football League Cup Final, the third to be staged since the competitions inception, was contested between local rivals Birmingham City and Aston Villa over two legs. ... The Carling Cup Trophy The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup, is an English football competition. ... Aston Villa redirects here. ... // Overview After a three-way tussle for the League title between Manchester United, Leeds United and Chelsea, Manchester United came out on top and were crowned champions. ...


Businessman Clifford Coombs took over as chairman in 1965, luring Stan Cullis out of retirement to manage the club. 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.[20] Two years later, the club raised money by selling Bob Latchford to Everton for a British record fee of £350,000, but without his goals the team struggled.[21][22] Sir Alf Ramsey briefly managed the club before Jim Smith took over in 1978. With relegation a certainty, the club sold Trevor Francis to Nottingham Forest, making him the first £1 million player;[23] Francis had scored a total of 133 goals in 329 appearances over his nine years at Birmingham.[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. Saunders' team struggled to score goals and in 1984 they were relegated.[25] They bounced back up, but the last home game of the 1984–85 promotion season against Leeds United was marred by rioting, culminating in the death of a boy when a wall collapsed on him; this was on the same day as the Bradford fire, and the events at St Andrew's formed part of the remit of Mr Justice Popplewell's inquiry into safety at sports grounds.[26] The club lacked stability both on and off the field. Saunders quit after FA Cup defeat to Altrincham, staff were laid off, the training ground was sold, and by 1989 Birmingham were in the Third Division for the first time in their history.[27] Stan Cullis, (October 25, 1916 - February 28, 2001), was a football player and manager, most notably for Wolverhampton Wanderers. ... Freddie Goodwin born June 28, 1933 in Heywood was a English football player. ... Robert Dennis Bob Latchford was born in Birmingham on 18 January 1951. ... Everton Football Club is an English football club located in the city of Liverpool. ... Sir Alfred Ernest Alf Ramsey (born 22 January 1920 in Dagenham, England; died 28 April 1999). ... Jim Smith, left, with Harry Redknapp Jim Smith (born October 17, 1940) is a former English football (soccer) player and is now working as a coach. ... Trevor John Francis (born April 19, 1954 in Boxhill, Plymouth, England), was a noted footballer and Englands first £1 million player. ... This article is about the English football club. ... The 1981-82 season was the 102nd season of competitive football in England. ... Ron Saunders (Born Birkenhead 6th November 1932) As a player Ron Saunders was a hard-shooting centre forward. ... // First Division Howard Kendalls world class Everton side beat neighbours Liverpool to the league championship, while Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United followed closely behind. ... The Bradford City Fire Disaster occurred on Saturday May 11, 1985 when a flash fire consumed one side of the Valley Parade football stadium in Bradford, England. ... 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 division in the overall English football league system. ...


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.[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.[29] The club continued in administration for four months, until Sport Newspapers proprietor David Sullivan bought it for £700,000,[30] installed the then 23-year-old Karren Brady as managing director and allowed Cooper money for signings. On the last day of the season, the team avoided relegation back to the third tier,[31] but a poor start to the 1993–94 season saw Cooper replaced by Barry Fry. The change did not prevent relegation, but Fry's first full season brought promotion back to the second tier and victory in the Auto Windscreens Shield at Wembley, beating Carlisle United with a Paul Tait golden goal.[32] After one more year, Fry was sacked to make way for the return of Trevor Francis. For the new stadium, see Wembley Stadium. ... The Football League Trophy is the generic name of an English football competition for clubs in the two lower divisions of the Football League, the official name of which is frequently changed to match changes in sponsors, and which is presently called the LDV Vans Trophy. ... Terry Cooper (born North Yorkshire, England, July 12, 1944) was a classy and highly-rated full back in the great Leeds United team of the 1960s and 1970s. ... The Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) was a major international bank founded in Pakistan in 1972. ... Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. ... 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 of the company and settling all claims against the company before putting the company into dissolution. ... 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 Sport, Sport Babes, Sport Readers Wives and Ladsmag. ... David Sullivan is a Welsh pornography magnate and newspaper proprietor; he is owner of the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport. ... Karren Brady (born April 1969) is a British broadcasting and sport business manager. ... The 1993-1994 season was the 114th season of competitive football in England. ... Barry Fry (born April 7, 1945) is an English football manager. ... The Football League Trophy is the generic name of an English football competition for clubs in the two lower divisions of The Football League and, in some seasons, the leading sides in the Conference National. ... Carlisle United F.C. are an English football team based in Carlisle, Cumbria, play in the Football League One this season, after gaining promotion from the Football League Two at the end of the 2005-06 season. ... Paul Tait (born in Sutton Coldfield, July 31, 1971) is an ex-professional footballer. ... The golden goal was a method used in football to decide the winner of games in elimination matches which end in a draw after the end of ordinary time (90 minutes). ...


Francis introduced players with top-level experience such as Manchester United skipper Steve Bruce. In his second season the club narrowly missed out on a play-off position, followed by three years of play-off semifinal defeats.[33] They also reached the 2001 League Cup final against Liverpool at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Birmingham equalised in the last minute of normal time, but the match went to a penalty shootout which Liverpool won.[34] By October 2001, lack of progress had made Francis's position untenable. After a 6–0 League Cup defeat to Manchester City, he left by mutual consent,[35] replaced two months later by Steve Bruce.[36] Bruce shook up a stale team, taking them from mid-table into the play-offs where they beat Norwich City on penalties to win promotion.[37] MUFC redirects here. ... Stephen Roger Bruce (born December 31, 1960, in Corbridge, near Hexham in England) is a British football manager currently in charge of Birmingham City. ... The Football League Championship Playoffs are a series of playoff matches contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the Coca Cola Football League Championship table. ... The 2001 Football League Cup Final also known as the 2001 Worthington Cup Final was played between Liverpool and Birmingham City at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on Sunday 25 February 2001. ... Liverpool Football Club are an English professional football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, who play in the Premier League; they are historically the most successful club in the history of English football, having won more trophies than any other English club. ... This article is about the capital city of Wales. ... The Millennium Stadium (Welsh: Stadiwm y Mileniwm), is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital Cardiff, and is used primarily for rugby union and football home internationals. ... Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. ...


Motivated by the inspirational Christophe Dugarry,[38] Birmingham's first top-flight season for 16 years finished in mid-table. 2003–04 saw loan signing Mikael Forssell's 17 league goals help Birmingham to a top half finish, though performances and results tailed off badly towards the end of the season. First-team coach Mark Bowen was sacked and replaced by Eric Black,[39] international players were signed, but an injury to Forssell left the 2004–05 team struggling for goals. More transfer window loan signings ensured another mid-table finish. Only two months later, chairman David Gold said it was time to "start talking about being as good as anyone outside the top three or four" with "the best squad of players for 25 years".[40] Injuries, lack of form, and a lack of investment during the transfer window saw them relegated before the last game of a season whose lowlight was a 0–7 FA Cup defeat to Liverpool.[41] Pennant and Heskey left for record fees,[1][42] many more were released,[43] but Bruce retained the confidence of the board.[44] His 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] Christophe Dugarry (born March 24, 1972 in Lormont) is a former French football (soccer) forward. ... Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira lifting the trophy at Highbury The 2003-04 FA Premier League season was mainly contended between Arsenal, Chelsea and to some extent, Manchester United. ... Mikael Kaj Forssell (born March 15, 1981 in Steinfurt, Germany) is a Finnish footballer who currently plays for Birmingham City who are in Englands FA Premier League. ... Eric Black (born 1 October 1963 in Bellshill, Lanarkshire) is a former professional football player who played for Aberdeen and Metz. ... The 2004-05 season of the FA Premier League began in August 2004 and ended in May 2005. ... David Gold is an English businessman. ... Liverpool Football Club are an English professional football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, who play in the Premier League; they are historically the most successful club in the history of English football, having won more trophies than any other English club. ... Jermaine Lloyd Pennant (born January 15, 1983 in Nottingham) is an English footballer who signed for Liverpool in July 2006. ... Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey[3] (born 11 January 1978 in Leicester, England)[1] is an English footballer. ...


In July 2007, Hong Kong-based businessman Carson Yeung bought 29.9% of shares in the club, making him the biggest single shareholder, with a view to taking full control in the future.[46] Uncertain as to his future under possible new owners, Bruce left in mid-season to become manager of Premier League rivals Wigan Athletic.[47] His successor, Scotland national team manager Alex McLeish,[48] was unable to stave off relegation.[49] Carson Yeung is a billionaire businessman from Hong Kong. ... Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional football team based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. ... First international Scotland 0–0 England  (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win Scotland 11–0 Ireland  (Glasgow, Scotland; 23 February 1901) Biggest defeat  Uruguay 7–0 Scotland (Basel, Switzerland; 19 June 1954) World Cup Appearances 8 (First in 1954) Best result Round 1, all European Championship Appearances 2 (First... Alexander Alec McLeish (born January 21, 1959, Barrhead, Renfrewshire, Scotland) nicknamed Big Eck,[1] is a former professional footballer and is currently manager of the Scotland national team. ...


Colours and badge

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

The Small Heath Alliance members decided among themselves that their colours would be blue; in the early days, they wore whatever blue shirt they had.[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. 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.[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] Image File history File links left arm of kit template File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Football jersey white right sash File links The following pages link to this file: Clube de Regatas Vasco da Gama Template talk:Football kit Associação Atlética Ponte Preta User:Johan Elisson/football kits Categories: GFDL images | Football kit templates ... rightarm of kit template File links The following pages link to this file: Arsenal F.C. Ajax Amsterdam AZ Alkmaar A.S. Roma Torino Calcio A.C. Milan ACF Fiorentina Bristol City F.C. Charlton Athletic F.C. Chievo Verona Chelsea F.C. England national football team Wikipedia:WikiProject Football... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... socks of kit template File links The following pages link to this file: Arsenal F.C. Ajax Amsterdam AZ Alkmaar A.S. Roma Torino Calcio A.C. Milan ACF Fiorentina Bristol City F.C. Charlton Athletic F.C. Chievo Verona Chelsea F.C. England national football team Wikipedia:WikiProject Football... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Modern genera Aptenodytes Eudyptes Eudyptula Megadyptes Pygoscelis Spheniscus For prehistoric genera, see Systematics Some penguins are curious. ...


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.[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. A shower curtain with a penguin pattern Shower curtains are curtains used in bathtubs with a shower or shower enclosures and are usually made out of vinyl, cloth or plastic. ... , For other uses, see Tesco (disambiguation). ...


When the club changed their name from Small Heath to Birmingham in 1905 they adopted the City of Birmingham's coat of arms as their crest, although this was not always worn on the shirts. The 1970s "penguin" shirt carried the letters "BCFC" intertwined at the centre of the chest. The Sports Argus newspaper ran a competition in 1972 to design a new badge for the club. The winning entry, 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] The city from above Centenary Square. ... A modern coat of arms is derived from the medi val practice of painting designs onto the shield and outer clothing of knights to enable them to be identified in battle, and later in tournaments. ...


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.[58][59] The 2008-09 will be the 129th season of competitive football in England. ... Umbro (LSE: UMB) is an internationally recognised football brand based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. ...


Stadiums

Small Heath Alliance played their first home games on waste ground off Arthur Street, Bordesley Green. As interest grew, they moved to a fenced-off field in Ladypool Road, Sparkbrook, where admission could be charged. A year later, they moved again, to a field adjoining Muntz Street, Small Heath, near the main Coventry Road, with a capacity of about 10,000. Muntz Street was adequate for 1880s friendly matches, and the capacity was gradually raised to around 30,000, but when several thousand spectators scaled walls and broke down turnstiles to get into a First Division match against Aston Villa, it became clear that it could no longer cope with the demand.[60] , Muntz Street is the popular name of the ground at which Birmingham City F.C. (under its former names of Small Heath Alliance, Small Heath and Birmingham) played its home games between 1877 and 1906. ... The City of Birmingham Stadium is a proposed multi-purpose stadium in the Saltley area of Birmingham, West Midlands, England, for Birmingham City F.C., to replace the current St Andrews Stadium. ... Bordesley Green is an area of Birmingham, England. ... Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency shown within Birmingham Sparkbrook is an area in south-east Birmingham, England. ... , Muntz Street is the popular name of the ground at which Birmingham City F.C. (under its former names of Small Heath Alliance, Small Heath and Birmingham) played its home games between 1877 and 1906. ... Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency shown within Birmingham Small Heath is an inner-city area within the city of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. ... The A45 is a major road in England. ... From 1889 until 1992, this was the highest division overall of organized football in England. ...


Director Harry Morris identified a site for a new ground in Bordesley Green, some three-quarters of a mile (1 km) from Muntz Street towards the city centre. The site was where a brickworks once operated; the land sloped steeply down to stagnant pools, yet the stadium was constructed in under twelve months from land clearance to opening ceremony on Boxing Day 1906. Heavy snow nearly prevented the opening; volunteers had to clear pitch and terraces before the match, a goalless draw against Middlesbrough, could go ahead.[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. Harry Morris (April 11, 1866 – June 1931) was an English professional footballer who spent all his playing career with Small Heath (now Birmingham City). ... Brickwork is produced when a bricklayer uses bricks and mortar to build up structures such as walls, bridges and chimneys. ... Boxing Day is a public holiday observed in many Commonwealth countries on 26 December. ... Middlesbrough Football Club (commonly known as Boro) are an English football club based in Middlesbrough. ...

Average and peak league attendances at St Andrew's
Average and peak league attendances at St Andrew's

The original capacity of St Andrew's was reported as 75,000, with 4,000 seats in the Main Stand and space for 22,000 under cover.[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.[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. 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] Everton Football Club is an English football club located in the city of Liverpool. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Chief Constable is the title given to the commanding officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except the two responsible for Greater London. ...

Main Stand, St Andrew's, 2005
Main Stand, St Andrew's, 2005

The replacement Main Stand used a propped cantilever roof design, which meant fewer pillars to block spectators' view of the pitch. Floodlights were installed in 1956, and officially switched on for a friendly match against Borussia Dortmund in 1957.[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] A schematic image of two cantilevers. ... 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 conditions. ... BV Borussia Dortmund is a German football club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia and one of the most successful clubs in German football. ...


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. 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. The Taylor Report is a document, whose development was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, concerning the aftermath and causes of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. ... The 1993-1994 season was the 114th season of competitive football in England. ...


In 2004 a proposal was put forward to build a "sports village" comprising a new 55,000 stadium for the club, to be known as the City of Birmingham Stadium, other sports and leisure facilities, and a super casino. The project would be jointly financed by Birmingham City Council, Birmingham City F.C. (via the proceeds of the sale of St Andrew's) and the casino group Las Vegas Sands. The feasibility of the plan depended on the government issuing a licence for a super casino, and Birmingham being chosen as the venue,[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.[69] The City of Birmingham Stadium is a proposed multi-purpose stadium in the Saltley area of Birmingham, West Midlands, England, for Birmingham City F.C., to replace the current St Andrews Stadium. ... This page is about the Government of Birmingham, England. ... This article is about casinos for gaming. ... Las Vegas Sands Corp. ... Main article: Town and Country Planning in the United Kingdom Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. ...


Supporters

Birmingham fans consider their main rivals to be Aston Villa, their nearest neighbours geographically, with whom they contest the Birmingham derby. Lesser rivalries exist with fellow West Midlands clubs Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion. According to a 2003 Football Fans Census survey, fans of Aston Villa think of Birmingham City as their main rivals, though this has not always been the case.[70] Aston Villa redirects here. ... In English football, the Birmingham derby (better known as the Second City derby[1]) is the local derby between the two major clubs in the city of Birmingham – Aston Villa and Birmingham City. ... The County of West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a population of around 2,600,000 people. ... Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club are an English professional football club based in Wolverhampton, West Midlands. ... West Bromwich Albion Football Club (also known as West Brom, The Baggies, Albion, The Albion, The Throstles or W.B.A.) are an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands. ...

Birmingham City mascot Beau Brummie
Birmingham City mascot Beau Brummie

The fans are referred to as Bluenoses, a nickname attributed by the Football Fans Census survey to an "accusation they are left out in the cold when it comes to success".[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. Brummell, engraved from a miniature portrait. ... Brummie (sometimes Brummy) is a colloquial term for the inhabitants, accent and dialect of Birmingham, England, as well as being a general adjective used to denote a connection with the city, locally called Brum. ...


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. 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.[28] Lee David Bowyer (born January 3, 1977 in Newham, London) is an English professional footballer who currently plays for FA Premier League side West Ham United. ... The 2007–08 Premier League season (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the sixteenth since its establishment. ... Paolo Pasquale Peschisolido, commonly known as Paul Peschisolido (born May 25, 1971 in Scarborough, Canada) is a professional footballer, currently without a club after being released from Derby County. ...


There have been several fanzines published by supporters; in 2008, two were regularly on sale, Made in Brum, first issued in 2000, and the longer-established Zulu. The hooligan firm associated with the club, the Zulus, were unusual in that they had multi-racial membership at a time when many such firms had associations with racist or right-wing groups.[79][80] The 2005 film Green Street features hooliganism surrounding a fictional match between West Ham United and Birmingham. 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 of others who share their interest. ... A hooligan firm (or a simply a firm) is an organised gang that supports a football team, formed with the intent to engage in fights with members of firms from other clubs. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... For the actual street, see Green Street (street). ... Current season West Ham United Football Club is an English football club based in Upton Park, London Borough of Newham, East London, and have played their home matches at the 35,303 capacity Boleyn Ground stadium since 1904. ...


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. The Times' football correspondent described in his Cup Final preview how Sir Harry Lauder (4 August 1870 - 26 February 1950) was a famous Scottish entertainer. ... For other uses, see Times. ...

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'.[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 June 16, 1929) is a former Scottish professional footballer who played on the left wing. ...

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.[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. 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 club continued in administration for four months until Sport Newspapers proprietor David Sullivan bought the Kumars' 84% holding for £700,000 from BCCI's liquidator in March 1993.[29][30] A limited company by shares (limited or Ltd. ... Walsall Football Club are an English football club based in Walsall, West Midlands, currently playing in League One. ... The Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) was a major international bank founded in Pakistan in 1972. ... Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. ... 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 Sport, Sport Babes, Sport Readers Wives and Ladsmag. ... David Sullivan is a Welsh pornography magnate and newspaper proprietor; he is owner of the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport. ... 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 of the company and settling all claims against the company before putting the company into dissolution. ...


The football club is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Birmingham City plc, listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).[88] The plc was floated in 1997 with an issue of 15 million new shares,[89] raising £7.5 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.[92] The Alternative Investment Market (AIM) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, allowing smaller companies to float shares with a more flexible regulatory system than is applicable to the Main Market. ... The initials PLC after a UK or Irish company name indicate that it is a public limited company, a type of limited company whose shares may be offered for sale to the public. ... is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Deloitte & Touche (also referred to as Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and branded as Deloitte. ... The 2005–06 season was the 126th season of competitive football in England. ...


The plc has approximately 81.5M shares in issue. On 27 June 2007, the major shareholders entered into an agreement to sell 29.9% of the company to