1996–97 Birmingham City F.C. season explained

Club:	Birmingham City F.C.
Season:	1996–97
Manager:	Trevor Francis
Chairman:	Jack Wiseman
Stdtitle:	Ground
Stadium:	St Andrew's
League:	Football League Division One
League Result:	10th
Cup1:	FA Cup
Cup1 Result:	Fifth round (eliminated by Wrexham)
Cup2:	League Cup
Cup2 Result:	Second round
League Topscorer:	Paul Devlin (16)
Season Topscorer:	Paul Devlin (19)
Highest Attendance:	25,157 vs Bradford City, 12 October 1996
Lowest Attendance:	13,189 vs Southend United, 8 March 1997
Average Attendance:	17,732^[1]
Pattern La1:	_blacklowerthin
Pattern B1:	_thinblacksides
Pattern Ra1:	_blacklowerthin
Pattern Sh1:	_darkbluesides_2
Pattern So1:	_blacktop
Leftarm1:	0000ff
Body1:	0000ff
Rightarm1:	0000ff
Socks1:	0000ff
Prevseason:	1995–96
Nextseason:	1997–98

The 1996–97 season was Birmingham City Football Club's 94th in the Football League. They finished in tenth position in the 24-team Division One, the second tier of the English football league system. They entered the 1996–97 FA Cup at the third round, losing to Wrexham in the fifth, and entered the League Cup in the first round and lost to Coventry City in the second.

Season summary

This was the first season under the managership of playing legend Trevor Francis, appointed in May 1996 after the dismissal of previous incumbent Barry Fry.^{[2] [3]} Francis introduced players with top-level experience such as Manchester United captain Steve Bruce. There were a significant number of transfers and loans with Peterborough United, Fry's new team.

Football League First Division

See main article: 1996–97 Football League.

Match details

Date	League position	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Report
18 August 1996	8th	Crystal Palace	H	W	1–0	Devlin 25'	18,765
24 August 1996	5th	Sheffield United	A	D	4–4	Furlong 9', Newell 37', Devlin 75' pen., Hunt 83'	16,332
7 September 1996	20th	Tranmere Rovers	A	L	0–1		8,548
10 September 1996	19th	Oldham Athletic	H	D	0–0		17,228
14 September 1996	14th	Stoke City	H	W	3–1	Furlong (2) 2', 65', Legg 32	18,612
21 September 1996	17th	Manchester City	A	L	0–1		26,757
28 September 1996	18th	Queens Park Rangers	H	D	0–0		17,430
8 October 1996	23rd	Huddersfield Town	A	L	0–3		10,904
12 October 1996	18th	Bradford City	H	W	3–0	Devlin (2) 1', 50', Hunt 88'	25,157
15 October 1996	11th	Ipswich Town	H	W	1–0	Bowen 50'	15,664
18 October 1996	13th	Oxford United	A	D	0–0		7,594	^[4]
26 October 1996	15th	Norwich City	H	L	2–3	Devlin (2) 40', 86'	18,869
29 October 1996	16th	Portsmouth	A	D	1–1	Furlong 22'	6,334
2 November 1996	20th	Port Vale	A	L	0–3		8,388
13 November 1996	16th	Bolton Wanderers	H	W	3–1	Furlong 55', Bowen 56', Todd 81' o.g.	17,033
17 November 1996	14th	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	W	2–1	Breen 8', Legg 58'	22,627
20 November 1996	14th	Charlton Athletic	A	L	1–2	Legg 13'	8,574
23 November 1996	10th	Swindon Town	H	W	1–0	Furlong 29'	16,559
26 November 1996	9th	Reading	A	D	0–0		8,407
30 November 1996	7th	Norwich City	A	W	1–0	O'Connor 62'	12,764
3 December 1996	8th	Barnsley	H	D	0–0		24,004
7 December 1996	8th	Grimsby Town	H	D	0–0		17,001
20 December 1996	9th	Southend United	A	D	1–1	Devlin 88'	5,100
10 January 1997	18th	Stoke City	A	L	0–1		10,049
18 January 1997	15th	Reading	H	W	4–1	Furlong 33', Devlin (2) 56' pen., 75, Gilkes 89' o.g.	15,363
29 January 1997	15th	Queens Park Rangers	A	D	1–1	Devlin 36'	12,138
1 February 1997	16th	Bolton Wanderers	A	L	1–2	Devlin 56'	16,737
4 February 1997	17th	West Bromwich Albion	H	L	2–3	O'Connor 14', Devlin 55' pen.	21,600
8 February 1997	19th	Portsmouth	H	L	0–3		15,897
23 February 1997	20th	Port Vale	H	L	1–2	Devlin 8' pen.	13,192
26 February 1997	20th	Swindon Town	A	L	1–3	Ablett 22'	7,428
1 March 1997	20th	Grimsby Town	A	W	2–1	O'Connor 60', Forster 61'	17,609
4 March 1997	20th	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	L	1–2	Forster 70'	19,838
8 March 1997	20th	Southend United	H	W	2–1	Forster 6', O'Connor 37' pen.	13,189
13 March 1997	16th	Manchester City	H	W	2–0	Furlong 51' pen., Francis 69'	20,084
16 March 1997	19th	West Bromwich Albion	A	L	0–2		16,125
22 March 1997	19th	Sheffield United	H	D	1–1	Legg 53'	14,969
29 March 1997	18th	Crystal Palace	A	W	1–0	Grainger 41'	16,331
31 March 1997	16th	Charlton Athletic	H	D	0–0		14,525
5 April 1997	13th	Barnsley	A	W	1–0	Grainger 12'	13,092
8 April 1997	13th	Oldham Athletic	A	D	2–2	Furlong 17', Grainger 30'	5,942
12 April 1997	12th	Huddersfield Town	H	W	1–0	Jenkins 90' o.g.	14,394
15 April 1997	12th	Tranmere Rovers	H	D	0–0		22,364
19 April 1997	12th	Bradford City	A	W	2–0	Devlin 22', Furlong 86'	15,824
26 April 1997	10th	Oxford United	H	W	2–0	Devlin 54', Bowen 87'	16,109
4 May 1997	10th	Ipswich Town	A	D	1–1	Devlin 81'	20,570

League table (part)

Pos!scope="col"

Club	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
8th	Port Vale	46	17	16	13	58	55	+3	67
9th	Queens Park Rangers	46	18	12	16	64	60	+4	66
10th	Birmingham City	46	17	15	14	52	48	+4	66
11th	Tranmere Rovers	46	17	14	15	63	56	+7	65
12th	Stoke City	46	18	10	18	51	57	+6	64
Key	Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Source	^[5]

Note that goals scored took precedence over goal difference as a tiebreaker in the Football League.^[5]

Results summary

FA Cup

See main article: 1996–97 FA Cup.

Round	Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Report
Third round	4 January 1997	Stevenage Borough	H^a	W	2–0	Francis 27', Devlin 64' pen.	15,365
Fourth round	25 January 1997	Stockport County	H	W	3–1	Furlong 29', Devlin 48', Francis 69'	18,487
Fifth round	25 January 1997	Wrexham	H	L	1–3	Bruce 37'	21,511

a. The match was drawn to be played at Stevenage Borough's Broadhall Way ground, but the venue was switched on police advice.^[6]

League Cup

See main article: 1996–97 Football League Cup.

Round	Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Report
First round 1st leg	21 August 1996	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	W	1–0	Devlin 49' pen.	5,132
First round 2nd leg	4 September 1996	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	W	2–0 3–0 agg.	Newell (2) 40', 86'	20,050
Second round 1st leg	18 September 1996	Coventry City	A	D	1–1	Daish 88'	11,828
Second round 2nd leg	24 September 1996	Coventry City	H	L	0–1 1–2 agg.		15,281

Transfers

In

Date	Player	Club	Fee	Ref
August 1996			Free
28 October 1996			£600,000
November 1996			£500,000^a	^[7]
20 January 1997			£100,000	^[8]
27 January 1997			£75,000
January 1997			£700,000	^[9]
March 1997			£800,000	^[10]
May 1997		Derby County	Undisclosed^b	^[11]

a. The deal also included Andy Edwards moving in the other direction.^[7]

b. The move was part of the deal in which Jonathan Hunt moved in the other direction for a £500,000 fee.^[11]

Out

Date	Player	Fee	Joined	Ref
September 1996		£350,000	Burnley	^[12]
October 1996		£25,000	Peterborough United	^[13]
October 1996		£300,000	Notts County	^[14]
October 1996		£250,000	Charlton Athletic
November 1996		£25,000	Lincoln City
November 1996		Undisclosed^a	Peterborough United
December 1996		£25,000	Wycombe Wanderers	^[15]
January 1997		£2.5m	Coventry City
10 February 1997		Free	Peterborough United
27 March 1997		Free	Northampton Town
15 April 1997		Contract cancelled	(AIK)	^[16]
May 1997		£500,000^b	Derby County
June 1997		Released
June 1997		Released
June 1997		Released

Brackets round a club denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.

a. The move was part of the deal in which Martyn O'Connor moved in the other direction for a £500,000 fee.^[7]

b. The deal also included Darren Wassall moving in the other direction.^[11]

Loan in

Date	Player	Club	Return	Ref
3 September 1996			28 October 1996	^[17]
October 1996			One month
31 October 1996			20 December 1996
28 November 1996			One month	^[18]
23 December 1996			1 February 1997	^[19]
28 December 1996			One month	^[20]
26 March 1997		Derby County	End of season	^[21]

Loan out

Date	Player	Club	Return	Ref
21 August 1996			Three months	^[22]
9 September 1996			One months	^[23]
19 September 1996			Two months	^[24]
1 October 1996			One month	^[25]
19 December 1996			February 1997	^[26]
24 January 1997			27 March 1997	^[27]
3 February 1997			One month	^[28]
6 February 1997			End of season	^[29]
13 December 1996	Louie Donowa		Two months
6 February 1997	Ricky Otto	Peterborough United	End of season
17 March 1997	Mike Newell		End of season

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.

Players listed with no appearances have been in the matchday squad but only as unused substitutes.

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

Players' appearances and goals by competition

		Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total		Discipline
				Goals		Goals		Goals		Goals
GK		Ian Bennett	40	0	3	0	4	0	47	0	0	0
GK			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
GK		Birkir Kristinsson *	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
GK		Steve Sutton	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	0	0
DF		Gary Ablett	39 (3)	1	3	0	4	0	46 (3)	1	6	0
DF		Dave Barnett	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	0	0
DF		Jon Bass	11 (2)	0	1	0	0	0	11 (2)	0	1	0
DF			20 (2)	1	1	0	4	0	25 (2)	1	0	0
DF		Kenny Brown	11	0	1	0	0	0	12	0	0	0
DF		Steve Bruce	30 (2)	0	3	1	4	0	37 (2)	1	9	0
DF			1 (2)	0	0	0	1	0	2 (2)	0	0	0
DF		Steve Finnan	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0
DF			1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
DF		Martin Grainger	21 (2)	3	2	0	0	0	23 (2)	3	6	1
DF		Matt Jackson *	10	0	0	0	0	0	10	0	1	0
DF		Michael Johnson	28 (7)	0	1 (2)	0	0 (2)	0	29 (11)	0	5	0
DF			9 (1)	0	0	0	3	0	12 (1)	0	4	1
DF		Darren Wassall *	8	0	0	0	0	0	8	0	3	0
MF		Jason Bowen	19 (6)	3	1 (2)	0	1 (1)	0	21 (9)	3	1	0
MF		Steve Castle	4 (4)	0	0	0	4	0	8 (4)	0	2	0
MF		Terry Cooke *	1 (3)	0	0	0	0	0	1 (3)	0	0	0
MF		Paul Devlin	32 (6)	16	3	2	3 (1)	1	38 (7)	19	6	2
MF			0 (4)	0	0	0	1	0	1 (4)	0	1	0
MF		Chris Holland	28 (4)	0	3	0	0	0	31 (4)	0	1	0
MF		Barry Horne	33	0	3	0	4	0	40	0	4	0
MF		Bryan Hughes	10 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	10 (1)	0	0	0
MF		Jonathan Hunt	6 (6)	2	1	0	0 (2)	0	7 (8)	2	0	0
MF		Andy Legg	22 (11)	4	2 (1)	0	3 (1)	0	27 (13)	4	6	0
MF			3 (1)	0	1	0	0	0	4 (1)	0	1	0
MF		Martyn O'Connor	24 (4)	0	0	0	0	0	24 (4)	0	1	1
MF		Ricky Otto	1 (3)	0	0	0	0	0	1 (3)	0	0	0
MF		Steve Robinson	6 (3)	0	0	0	0	0	6 (3)	0	0	0
MF		Paul Tait	17 (9)	0	1	0	0 (1)	0	18 (10)	0	4	0
FW		Nicky Forster	4 (3)	3	0	0	0	0	4 (3)	3	0	0
FW		Kevin Francis	4 (15)	1	1 (1)	2	0	0	5 (16)	3	3	0
FW		Paul Furlong	37 (6)	10	2	1	4	1	43 (6)	12	5	1
FW		Marco Gabbiadini *	0 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	0 (2)	0	0	0
FW		Mike Newell	11 (4)	1	0 (1)	0	4	2	15 (5)	3	3	0

Players not included in matchday squads

		Name
FW
MF
MF		Wayne Dyer
FW

See also

• List of Birmingham City F.C. seasons

Sources

• Book: Matthews, Tony . Birmingham City: A Complete Record . 1995 . Breedon Books . Derby . 978-1-85983-010-9.
• Book: Matthews, Tony . Birmingham City: The Complete Record . 2010 . DB Publishing . Derby . 978-1-85983-853-2.
• For match dates, league positions and results: Web site: Birmingham City 1996–1997: Results . Statto Organisation . 12 June 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065930/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/birmingham-city/1996-1997/results . 4 March 2016.
• For lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 428–29.
• For goal times: Web site: Birmingham Results 1996/97 . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 12 June 2013.
• For transfers: Web site: Birmingham Transfers 1996/97 . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 12 June 2013.
• For discipline: individual player pages linked from Web site: Birmingham Squad details 1996/97 . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 12 June 2013. Note that the Soccerbase figures omit appearances in the away game at Norwich City, so the figures above omit any disciplinary cards received in that game.

Notes and References

1. Web site: English historical attendance and performance: Birmingham City . European Football Statistics . 8 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110719102809/http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attnclub/birc.htm . 19 July 2011.
2. News: Francis fancied as Fry is sacked . Phil . Shaw . The Independent . London . 8 May 1996 . 3 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220316083124/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/francis-fancied-as-fry-is-sacked-1346265.html . 16 March 2022 . registration . live.
3. News: Francis returns to St Andrew's . The Independent . London . 11 May 1996 . 3 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304201503/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/francis-returns-to-st-andrews-1346761.html . 4 March 2016 . registration . live.
4. News: Football: Another blank away day for Birmingham . The Independent . London . 19 October 1996 . 3 May 2022 . registration . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305043622/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-another-blank-away-day-for-birmingham-1359178.html . 5 March 2016 . live.
5. Web site: Birmingham City 1996–1997 : English Division One Table . Statto Organisation . 8 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151005113828/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/birmingham-city/1996-1997/table . 5 October 2015 . dead .
6. News: Sodje's flaw fells Stevenage . Jon . Culley . The Independent . London . 5 January 1997 . 3 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220503113706/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/sodje-s-flaw-fells-stevenage-1281799.html . 3 May 2022 . registration . live.
7. News: O'Connor leaves Canaries smartin' . The Mirror . London . Gale OneFile: News . 2 December 1996 . 4 . 3 May 2022 . subscription.
8. Web site: Anders Limpar: Career . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 8 October 2011.
9. News: On the move . The Independent . London . 2 February 1997 . 3 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305032914/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/on-the-move-1276421.html . 5 March 2016 . registration . live.
10. News: First Division . The Mirror . London . Gale OneFile: News . 22 March 1997 . 32 . 3 May 2022 . subscription.
11. News: On the move . The Independent . London . 25 May 1997 . 3 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210811205859/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-on-the-move-5565939.html . 11 August 2021 . registration . live.
12. News: On the move . The Independent . London . 8 September 1996 . 3 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210811205907/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/on-the-move-5601482.html . 11 August 2021 . registration . live.
13. News: Red-face start for Bart . Peter . Oakes . The People . London . Gale OneFile: News . 13 October 1996 . 62 . 3 May 2022 . subscription.
14. News: Northampton Town manager turns down approach from Cardiff . The Independent . London . 31 October 1996 . 3 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304233558/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/northampton-town-manager-turns-down-approach-from-cardiff-1361136.html . 4 March 2016 . registration . live.
15. News: On the move . The Independent . London . 8 December 1996 . 3 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210811205901/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-move-5589373.html . 11 August 2021 . registration . live.
16. News: Boro given final piece of fixture jigsaw . Ian . Davies . The Independent . London . 16 April 1997 . 3 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211101192151/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/boro-given-final-piece-of-fixture-jigsaw-1267535.html . 1 November 2021 . registration . live.
17. Web site: Chris Holland: Career . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 8 October 2011.
18. Web site: Terry Cooke: Career . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 8 October 2011.
19. News: Landsliðsmarkvörðurinn Birkir Kristinsson með Birmingham til 1. február . International goalkeeper Birkir Kristinsson with Birmingham until 1 February . is . Morgunblaðið . Iceland . 24 December 1996 . 3 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220503115627/https://www.mbl.is/greinasafn/grein/306516/ . 3 May 2022 . live.
20. Web site: Kenny Brown: Career . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 8 October 2011.
21. Web site: Darren Wassall: Career . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 8 October 2011.
22. Web site: Jae Martin: Career . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 8 October 2011.
23. Web site: Bart Griemink: Career . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 9 October 2011.
24. Web site: Ricky Otto: Career . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 8 October 2011.
25. Web site: Jon Bass: Career . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 8 October 2011.
26. Web site: Mike Newell: Career . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 8 October 2011.
27. Web site: John Frain: Career . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 20 January 2012.
28. Web site: Steve Castle: Career . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 8 October 2011.
29. Web site: Louie Donowa: Career . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 8 October 2011.