Club: | Birmingham City F.C. |
Season: | 1956–57 |
Manager: | Arthur Turner |
Chairman: | Harry Morris Jr |
Stdtitle: | Ground |
Stadium: | St Andrew's |
League: | Football League First Division |
League Result: | 12th |
Cup1: | FA Cup |
Cup1 Result: | Semi-final (eliminated by Manchester United) |
Cup2: | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup |
Cup2 Result: | Semi-final |
Season Topscorer: | Alex Govan (30) |
Highest Attendance: | 57,827 vs Nottingham Forest, FA Cup sixth round, 2 March 1957 |
Lowest Attendance: | 23,747 vs Manchester City, 27 April 1957 |
Average Attendance: | 32,444 |
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Pattern B1: | _vneckwhite |
Pattern Ra1: | _whiteborder |
Pattern Sh1: | _sides_on_white |
Pattern So1: | _hoops_white |
Leftarm1: | 000099 |
Body1: | 000099 |
Rightarm1: | 000099 |
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Socks1: | 000099 |
Prevseason: | 1955–56 |
Nextseason: | 1957–58 |
The 1956–57 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 54th in the Football League and their 30th in the First Division. They finished in 12th position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1956–57 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost in the semi-final to Manchester United. In the inaugural edition of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Birmingham finished top of their group so progressed to the semi-final.[1]
Twenty-four players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were thirteen different goalscorers. Goalkeeper Gil Merrick played in 49 of the 51 first-team matches over the season, and Alex Govan finished as leading goalscorer with 30 goals in all competitions, of which 24 were scored in the league.
See main article: 1956–57 Football League.
Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
18 August 1956 | 12th | Manchester United | A | style=background:#ffc | D | 2–2 | Govan, Jones og | 32,958 | |
22 August 1956 | 6th | Portsmouth | H | style=background:#cfc | W | 3–1 | Astall, Govan 2 | 33,307 | |
25 August 1956 | 3rd | Arsenal | H | style=background:#cfc | W | 4–2 | Brown, Murphy 2, Govan | 37,197 | |
29 August 1956 | 2nd | Portsmouth | A | style=background:#cfc | W | 4–3 | Govan 3, Astall | 25,686 | |
1 September 1956 | 6th | Burnley | A | style=background:#fcc | L | 0–2 | 25,531 | ||
5 September 1956 | 2nd | Newcastle United | H | style=background:#cfc | W | 6–1 | Kinsey, Murphy 2, Govan 3 | 32,506 | |
8 September 1956 | 2nd | Preston North End | H | style=background:#cfc | W | 3–0 | Govan 3 | 44,458 | |
15 September 1956 | 3rd | Chelsea | A | style=background:#fcc | L | 0–1 | 40,530 | ||
22 September 1956 | 4th | Cardiff City | H | style=background:#cfc | W | 2–1 | Kinsey, Govan | 39,931 | |
29 September 1956 | 6th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | style=background:#fcc | L | 0–3 | 44,191 | ||
6 October 1956 | 6th | Bolton Wanderers | H | style=background:#ffc | D | 0–0 | 29,614 | ||
13 October 1956 | 6th | Leeds United | A | style=background:#ffc | D | 1–1 | Larkin | 34,460 | |
20 October 1956 | 6th | Luton Town | H | style=background:#cfc | W | 3–0 | Brown 2, Orritt | 31,783 | |
27 October 1956 | 7th | Aston Villa | A | style=background:#fcc | L | 1–3 | Astall | 54,927 | |
3 November 1956 | 6th | Blackpool | H | style=background:#ffc | D | 2–2 | Astall, Govan | 35,597 | |
10 November 1956 | 9th | Manchester City | A | style=background:#fcc | L | 1–3 | Kinsey | 21,005 | |
17 November 1956 | 6th | Charlton Athletic | H | style=background:#cfc | W | 4–2 | Brown, Kinsey, Astall, Murphy | 27,564 | |
24 November 1956 | 5th | Sunderland | A | style=background:#cfc | W | 1–0 | Orritt | 33,807 | |
1 December 1956 | 4th | Tottenham Hotspur | H | style=background:#ffc | D | 0–0 | 38,035 | ||
8 December 1956 | 7th | Everton | A | style=background:#fcc | L | 0–2 | 29,579 | ||
15 December 1956 | 5th | Manchester United | H | style=background:#cfc | W | 3–1 | Brown 2, Orritt | 36,146 | |
22 December 1956 | 8th | Arsenal | A | style=background:#fcc | L | 0–4 | 28,644 | ||
25 December 1956 | 6th | Sheffield Wednesday | H | style=background:#cfc | W | 4–0 | Brown, Murphy, Astall, Govan | 24,380 | |
29 December 1956 | 5th | Burnley | H | style=background:#cfc | W | 2–0 | Brown, Govan | 31,733 | |
1 January 1957 | 6th | Newcastle United | A | style=background:#fcc | L | 2–3 | Brown, Govan | 29,383 | |
12 January 1957 | 9th | Preston North End | A | style=background:#fcc | L | 0–1 | 19,430 | ||
19 January 1957 | 9th | Chelsea | H | style=background:#fcc | L | 0–1 | 30,157 | ||
2 February 1957 | 8th | Cardiff City | A | style=background:#cfc | W | 2–1 | Brown, Astall | 16,854 | |
9 February 1957 | 8th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | style=background:#ffc | D | 2–2 | Astall, Govan | 45,915 | |
20 February 1957 | 9th | Bolton Wanderers | A | style=background:#fcc | L | 1–3 | Astall | 11,284 | |
9 March 1957 | 10th | Everton | H | style=background:#fcc | L | 1–3 | Brown | 23,881 | |
16 March 1957 | 12th | Blackpool | A | style=background:#fcc | L | 1–3 | Brown | 17,610 | |
30 March 1957 | 13th | Charlton Athletic | A | style=background:#fcc | L | 0–1 | 17,839 | ||
3 April 1957 | 13th | Luton Town | A | style=background:#ffc | D | 0–0 | 12,881 | ||
6 April 1957 | 13th | Sunderland | H | style=background:#fcc | L | 1–2 | Brown | 24,548 | |
10 April 1957 | 13th | Aston Villa | H | style=background:#fcc | L | 1–2 | Murphy | 29,853 | |
13 April 1957 | 14th | Tottenham Hotspur | A | style=background:#fcc | L | 1–5 | Astall | 33,512 | |
20 April 1957 | 15th | Leeds United | H | style=background:#cfc | W | 6–2 | Brown 2, Govan 3, Astall | 30,642 | |
22 April 1957 | 14th | West Bromwich Albion | A | style=background:#ffc | D | 0–0 | 18,755 | ||
23 April 1957 | 13th | West Bromwich Albion | H | style=background:#cfc | W | 2–0 | Kinsey, Govan | 30,332 | |
27 April 1957 | 12th | Manchester City | H | style=background:#ffc | D | 3–3 | Brown, Govan, Phoenix og | 23,747 | |
29 April 1957 | 12th | Sheffield Wednesday | A | style=background:#fcc | L | 0–3 | 13,845 |
Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10th | Aston Villa | 42 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 55 | 45 | 1.18 | 43 | |
11th | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 59 | 61 | 0.97 | 42 | |
12th | Birmingham City | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 69 | 69 | 1.00 | 39 | |
13th | Chelsea | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 73 | 73 | 1.00 | 39 | |
14th | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 16 | 6 | 20 | 82 | 88 | 0.93 | 38 | |
Key | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points | |||||||||
Source | [2] |
See main article: 1956–57 FA Cup.
Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Third round | 5 January 1957 | Carlisle United | A | style=background:#ffc | D | 3–3 | Murphy 2, Astall | 27,445 | |
Third round replay | 9 January 1957 | Carlisle United | H | style=background:#cfc | W | 4–0 | Brown 2, Kinsey, Astall | 56,458 | |
Fourth round | 26 January 1957 | Southend United | A | style=background:#cfc | W | 6–1 | Murphy, Govan 3, Cox, Lawler og | 28,964 | |
Fifth round | 16 February 1957 | Millwall | A | style=background:#cfc | W | 4–1 | Kinsey 2, Govan, Brown | 41,986 | |
Sixth round | 2 March 1957 | Nottingham Forest | H | style=background:#ffc | D | 0–0 | 57,827 | ||
Sixth round replay | 6 March 1957 | Nottingham Forest | A | style=background:#cfc | W | 1–0 | Murphy | 36,486 | |
Semi-final | 23 March 1957 | Manchester United | Hillsborough, Sheffield | style=background:#fcc | L | 0–2 | 65,107 |
See main article: 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
The last two group matches of the inaugural season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup were completed during this season, as a result of which Birmingham qualified for the semi-finals, in which they were to play Barcelona the following season.
Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Group B | 3 December 1956 | Zagreb XI | H | style=background:#cfc | W | 3–0 | Orritt, Brown, Murphy | 40,144 | |
Group B | 17 April 1957 | Inter Milan | H | style=background:#cfc | W | 2–1 | Govan 2 | 34,461 |
Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made or goals scored as a substitute.
Players marked left the club during the playing season.
Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward
Name | League | FA Cup | Fairs Cup | Total | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Goals | Goals | Goals | Goals | |||||||||
data-sort-value=1 | GK | 40 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 0 | |||
data-sort-value=1 | GK | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
data-sort-value=2 | FB | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |||
data-sort-value=2 | FB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
data-sort-value=2 | FB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
data-sort-value=2 | FB | 40 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 0 | |||
data-sort-value=2 | FB | 36 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 0 | |||
data-sort-value=3 | HB | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | |||
data-sort-value=3 | HB | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | |||
data-sort-value=3 | HB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
data-sort-value=3 | HB | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |||
data-sort-value=3 | HB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
data-sort-value=3 | HB | 37 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 0 | |||
data-sort-value=3 | HB | 33 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 0 | |||
data-sort-value=3 | HB | 27 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |||
data-sort-value=4 | FW | 40 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 13 | |||
data-sort-value=4 | FW | 38 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 47 | 20 | |||
data-sort-value=4 | FW | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | data-sort-value=0.1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 5 (1) | 1 | ||
data-sort-value=4 | FW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
data-sort-value=4 | FW | 35 | 24 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 44 | 30 | |||
data-sort-value=4 | FW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
data-sort-value=4 | FW | 28 | 5 | 7 | 3 | data-sort-value=1.1 | 1 (1) | 0 | 36 (1) | 8 | ||
data-sort-value=4 | FW | 35 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 43 | 12 | |||
data-sort-value=4 | FW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
data-sort-value=4 | FW | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 4 | |||
data-sort-value=4 | FW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
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