1983–84 Birmingham City F.C. season explained

Club:Birmingham City F.C.
Season:1983–84
Manager:Ron Saunders
Chairman:Keith Coombs
Stdtitle:Ground
Stadium:St Andrew's
League:Football League First Division
League Result:20th (relegated)
Cup1:FA Cup
Cup1 Result:Sixth round
(eliminated by Watford)
Cup2:League Cup
Cup2 Result:Fourth round
(eliminated by Liverpool)
League Topscorer:Mick Harford, Howard Gayle (8)
Season Topscorer:Mick Harford (15)
Highest Attendance:40,220 vs Watford, FA Cup 6th round, 10 March 1984
Lowest Attendance:7,786 vs Derby County, League Cup 2nd round, 25 October 1983
Average Attendance:14,106
Pattern La1:_whiteborder
Pattern B1:_whitesleevelinesandsides
Pattern Ra1:_whiteborder
Pattern So1:_whitetop
Leftarm1:0000ff
Body1:0000ff
Rightarm1:0000ff
Socks1:ff0000
Prevseason:1982–83
Nextseason:1984–85

The 1983–84 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 81st in the Football League and their 49th in the First Division. They finished in 20th position in the 22-team division, so were relegated to the Second Division for 1984–85. They entered the 1983–84 FA Cup in the third round proper and lost to Watford in the quarter-final. In the League Cup, after defeating Notts County in the third round only after three replays, they lost to Liverpool in the fourth round after a replay.

Mick Harford was the club's top scorer with 15 goals in all competitions; if only league games are counted, Harford and Howard Gayle were joint leaders with 8. The highest attendance, of 40,220 against Watford in the FA Cup sixth round, was the last 40,000 crowd seen at St Andrew's, as of 2012; the ground capacity was reduced to around 30,000 when the stadium was converted to all-seater in the 1990s.[1]

Football League First Division

See main article: 1983–84 Football League.

DateLeague
position
OpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A
ScorersAttendance
27 August 198321stWest Ham UnitedAL0–419,729
30 August 198322ndNotts CountyAL1–2Harford11,031
3 September 198317thWatfordHW2–0Hopkins, Halsall11,931
6 September 198311thStoke CityHW1–0Blake pen13,728
10 September 198310thWolverhampton WanderersAD1–1Wright pen15,933
17 September 198310thIpswich TownHW1–0Gayle13,159
24 September 198312thEvertonAD1–1Gayle15,254
1 October 19838thLeicester CityHW2–1Rees, Harford15,212
15 October 198312thAston VillaAL0–139,318
22 October 198315thTottenham HotspurHL0–118,937
29 October 198313thWest Bromwich AlbionAW2–1Gayle, Harford20,109
5 November 198314thCoventry CityHL1–2Blake16,169
12 November 198314thLuton TownAD1–1Hopkins11,111
19 November 198315thQueens Park RangersAL1–2Harford10,824
26 November 198316thSunderlandHL0–111,948
3 December 198317thLiverpoolAL0–124,791
10 December 198317thNorwich CityHL0–19,971
17 December 198317thSouthamptonAL1–2Stevenson15,248
26 December 198319thNottingham ForestHL1–2Rogers14,482
27 December 198319thArsenalAD1–1Hopkins25,642
31 December 198319thWatfordAL0–114,403
2 January 198419thEvertonHL0–210,004
14 January 198419thWest Ham UnitedHW3–0Hopkins, Halsall, Harford10,334
21 January 198419thIpswich TownAW2–1Harford, Butcher og12,884
4 February 198419thLeicester CityAW3–2Peake og, Gayle, Wright pen13,776
7 February 198419thManchester UnitedHD2–2Hopkins, Wright pen19,957
11 February 198418thWolverhampton WanderersHD0–014,319
25 February 198415thTottenham HotspurAW1–0Harford23,564
28 February 198414thWest Bromwich AlbionHW2–1Rees, Broadhurst16,780
3 March 198414thCoventry CityAW1–0Gayle13,696
17 March 198415thStoke CityAL1–2Gayle13,506
20 March 198415thLuton TownHD1–1Wright pen9,592
24 March 198413thNotts CountyHD0–09,040
31 March 198412thAston VillaHW2–1Stevenson, Gayle23,993
7 April 198415thManchester UnitedAL0–139,896
14 April 198415thQueens Park RangersHL0–210,255
21 April 198417thNottingham ForestAL1–5Harford15,323
23 April 198417thArsenalHD1–1Kuhl11,164
28 April 198418thSunderlandAL1–2Wright pen13,061
5 May 198419thLiverpoolHD0–018,817
7 May 198418thNorwich CityAD1–1Gayle12,111
12 May 198420thSouthamptonHD0–016,445

League table (part)

!scope="col"
Team
18thStoke City421311184463-1950
19thCoventry City421311185777-2050
20thBirmingham City421212183950-1148
21stNotts County421011215072-2241
22ndWolverhampton Wanderers42611252780-5329

Results summary

FA Cup

See main article: 1983–84 FA Cup.

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A
ScorersAttendance
Third round7 January 1984Sheffield UnitedAD1–117,202
Third round replay10 January 1984Sheffield UnitedHW2–0Harford, Wright pen10,888
Fourth round28 January 1984SunderlandAW2–1Kuhl, Harford21,226
Fifth round18 February 1984West Ham UnitedHW3–0Hopkins, Rees, Wright pen29,570
Sixth round10 March 1984WatfordHL1–3Terry og40,220

League Cup

See main article: 1983–84 Football League Cup.

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A
ScorersAttendance
Second round 1st leg5 October 1983Derby CountyAW3–0Watson og, Rees, Gayle13,114
Second round 2nd leg25 October 1983Derby CountyHW4–0Harford 3, Gayle7,786
Third round8 November 1983Notts CountyHD2–210,484
Third round replay22 November 1983Notts CountyAD0–0
aet
8,268
Third round 2nd replay29 November 1983Notts CountyHD0–0
aet
9,678
Third round 3rd replay5 December 1983Notts CountyAW3–1Hopkins 2, Harford7,361
Fourth round20 December 1983LiverpoolHD1–1Harford17,405
Fourth round replay22 December 1983LiverpoolAL0–311,638

Appearances and goals

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute.

Players with name in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Birmingham.

Players marked left the club during the playing season.

Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward

Players' appearances and goals by competition
NameLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotal
GoalsGoalsGoalsGoals
GKTony Coton4105080540
GKMark Kendall10000010
DFNoel Blake3925080522
DFKevan Broadhurst22 (1)1500027 (1)1
DFJim Hagan30 (3)0008039 (3)0
DFMark McCarrick12 (3)0300 (1)015 (4)0
DFWayne Mumford3 (2)000003 (2)0
DFBrian Roberts1100000110
DFPat Van Den Hauwe4205080550
DFBilly Wright4055380538
MFMick Halsall212304 (1)028 (1)2
MF4 (1)000115 (1)1
MFRobert Hopkins3255172448
MFMartin Kuhl20 (2)1513024 (2)2
MF3 (1)000003 (1)0
MF18 (2)0008126 (3)1
MFKevin Rogers8 (1)100008 (1)1
MFByron Stevenson21 (4)2406 (1)031 (5)2
FWHoward Gayle *32 (1)8408244 (1)10
FWMick Harford39852755115
FW10001010
FWTony Rees22 (3)2113125 (3)4

See also

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Matthews (2010), Complete Record, p. 402.