2001–02 Birmingham City F.C. season explained

Club:	Birmingham City F.C.
Season:	2001–02
Manager:	Trevor Francis (until 15 October) (joint caretakers) Steve Bruce (from 12 December)
Stdtitle:	Ground
League Result:	5th
Cup2 Result:	Third round (eliminated by Liverpool)
Cup3 Result:	Third round (eliminated by Manchester City)
Season Topscorer:	Tommy Mooney (15)
Highest Attendance:	29,178 vs Sheffield United,
Lowest Attendance:	12,015 vs Southend United,
Average Attendance:	21,978^[1]
Nextseason:	2002–03

The 2001–02 season was Birmingham City Football Club's 99th in the Football League. They finished in 5th position in the 24-team Football League First Division, thus qualifying for the play-offs, and were successful in the final, beating Norwich City in a penalty shootout to gain promotion to the Premier League. Birmingham entered the 2001–02 FA Cup at the third round and lost to Liverpool in that round, and after entering the League Cup in the first round, lost to Manchester City in the third.

Trevor Francis was dismissed as manager in October with Birmingham mid-table in the First Division. Mick Mills and Jim Barron acted as caretakers until December, when former Crystal Palace manager Steve Bruce was appointed.^[2] French manufacturers Le Coq Sportif supplied Birmingham's kit for the fourth consecutive season, and mobile phone retailer Phones4U were the new shirt sponsors.^[3] Tommy Mooney was top scorer with 15 goals, of which 13 were scored in the league.

Football League First Division

Trevor Francis was dismissed as manager in October with Birmingham mid-table in the First Division. Mick Mills and Jim Barron acted as caretakers until December, when former Crystal Palace manager Steve Bruce was appointed.^[2] Under his management Birmingham improved to finish fifth in the First Division for the third season running, qualifying for the play-offs yet again. This season, however, Birmingham finally tasted success: after beating Millwall 2–1 on aggregate in the semi-final, they faced Norwich City in the play-off final at the Millennium Stadium. After normal time ended goalless, the match went to extra time, only for Norwich's Iwan Roberts to score in the first minute of extra time. However, Geoff Horsfield equalised 11 minutes later and, with no further goals, the match went to a penalty shoot-out. Birmingham won 4–2 to finally gain promotion to the Premier League, 16 seasons after their previous top-flight campaign.

Match details

Date	League position	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Report
11 August 2001	19th	Wimbledon	A	L	1–3	B. Hughes 87'	9,142	^[4]
19 August 2001	8th	Millwall	H	W	4–0	B. Hughes 22', 27', Horsfield 30', Eaden 45'	19,091
25 August 2001	7th	Walsall	A	W	2–1	Mooney 20', Horsfield 41'	7,245
27 August 2001	3rd	Stockport County	H	W	2–1	Grainger 2', Mooney 21' pen.	18,478
8 September 2001	3rd	Sheffield Wednesday	H	W	2–0	A. Johnson 43', B. Hughes 63'	19,421
15 September 2001	7th	Manchester City	A	L	0–3		31,714
18 September 2001	9th	Burnley	H	L	2–3	A. Johnson (2) 19', 40'	18,426
23 September 2001	14th	Preston North End	H	L	0–1		23,004
26 September 2001	14th	Watford	A	D	3–3	B. Hughes 4', Horsfield 47', Grainger 85'	13,091
29 September 2001	14th	Crewe Alexandra	A	D	0–0		7,314
13 October 2001	12th	Barnsley	A	W	3–1	Marcelo 36', Horsfield 55', Furlong 83'	11,910
18 October 2001	10th	Nottingham Forest	A	D	0–0		18,210
20 October 2001	6th	Bradford City	H	W	4–0	Marcelo (3) 37', 45', 48', Sonner 39'	25,011
23 October 2001	5th	Gillingham	H	W	2–1	Horsfield (2) 36', 47'	27,101
26 October 2001	6th	Grimsby Town	A	L	1–3	Marcelo 49'	5,419
30 October 2001	6th	Portsmouth	A	D	1–1	Marcelo 25'	15,612
4 November 2001	10th	Rotherham United	H	D	2–2	Branston 45' o.g., Horsfield 51'	28,436
7 November 2001	10th	West Bromwich Albion	H	L	0–1		23,554
17 November 2001	12th	Sheffield United	A	L	0–4		15,686
25 November 2001	11th	Coventry City	H	W	2–0	Marcelo (2) 17', 61'	18,279
30 November 2001	11th	Gillingham	A	D	1–1	Marcelo 63'	8,575
8 December 2001	10th	Norwich City	H	W	4–0	Mooney (3) 30', 45', 58' pen., Marcelo 46'	17,310
11 December 2001	9th	Crystal Palace	H	W	1–0	Mooney 64' pen.	20,119
16 December 2001	10th	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	L	1–2	Marcelo 40'	21,482
22 December 2001	7th	Walsall	H	W	1–0	Purse 14' pen.	20,127
26 December 2001	8th	Sheffield Wednesday	A	W	1–0	Horsfield 77'	24,335
29 December 2001	6th	Stockport County	A	W	3–0	Vickers 18', Marcelo 49', Mooney 76'	5,827
1 January 2002	7th	Nottingham Forest	H	D	1–1	Mooney 4'	19,770
10 January 2002	6th	Millwall	A	D	1–1	Mooney 45'	11,856
19 January 2002	8th	Wimbledon	H	L	0–2		17,766
29 January 2002	8th	West Bromwich Albion	A	L	0–1		25,266
16 February 2002	9th	Barnsley	H	W	1–0	John 51'	19,208
23 February 2002	9th	Watford	H	W	3–2	Purse 21', Mooney (2) 42', 53' pen.	18,059
26 February 2002	8th	Burnley	A	W	1–0	Mooney 25'	13,504
2 March 2002	9th	Preston North End	A	L	0–1		15,543
5 March 2002	9th	Manchester City	H	L	1–2	M. Johnson 4'	24,160
9 March 2002	10th	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	D	2–2	John 36', Devlin 45'	22,104
12 March 2002	7th	Bradford City	A	W	3–1	Purse 6', John 31', Horsfield 82'	13,105
15 March 2002	7th	Norwich City	A	W	1–0	John 22'	18,258
24 March 2002	7th	Coventry City	A	D	1–1	Horsfield 81'	17,945
30 March 2002	6th	Grimsby Town	H	W	4–0	B. Hughes (2) 22', 31', John 50', D. Johnson 64'	23,249
1 April 2002	6th	Crystal Palace	A	D	0–0		19,598
7 April 2002	6th	Portsmouth	H	D	1–1	John 2'	25,030
10 April 2002	4th	Crewe Alexandra	H	W	3–1	John 30', Carter 45', Mooney 49'	28,615
13 April 2002	4th	Rotherham United	A	D	2–2	Grainger 38', Beech 70' o.g.	10,536
21 April 2002	5th	Sheffield United	H	W	2–0	Horsfield 61', Grainger 63'	29,178

League table (part)

Pos!scope="col"

Club	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
3rd	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	25	11	10		76	43	+33	86
4th	Millwall	46	22	11	13	69	47	+22	77
5th	Birmingham City	46	21	13	12	70	49	+21	76
6th	Norwich City	46	22	9	15	60	51	+9	75
7th	Burnley	46	21	12	13	70	62	+8	75
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]

Play-offs

Round	Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Report
Semifinal 1st leg	28 April 2002	Millwall	H	D	1–1	B. Hughes 56'	28,282
Semifinal 2nd leg	2 May 2002	Millwall	A	W	1–0 2–1 agg.	John 90'	16,391

Final

See main article: 2002 Football League First Division play-off Final.

FA Cup

See main article: 2001–02 FA Cup.

League Cup

See main article: 2001–02 Football League Cup.

Round	Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Report
First round	22 August 2001	Southend United	H	W	3–0	Mooney (2) 7', 90' pen., Whelan 16' o.g.	12,015
Second round	11 September 2001	Bristol Rovers	A	W	3–0	A. Johnson 45', M. Johnson 62', B. Hughes 68'	5,582
Third round	10 October 2001	Manchester City	A	L	0–6		13,112

Transfers

In

Date	Player	Club	Fee	Ref
18 June 2001		Huddersfield Town)	Undisclosed	^[6]
1 July 2001		(Watford)	Free	^[7]
1 July 2001			£25,000	^[8]
8 August 2001		Unattached	Free	^[9]
17 December 2001			£425,000	^[10]
31 January 2002			Free	^[11]
8 February 2002			£100,000	^[12]
8 March 2002			Undisclosed	^[13]
13 March 2002			Undisclosed	^[14]
22 March 2002			£700,000	^[15]
8 May 2002				^[16]

Brackets round club names indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Birmingham.

Out

Date	Player	Fee	Joined	Ref
13 July 2001		Free	Hartlepool United	^[17]
26 October 2001		Free	Bolton Wanderers	^[18]
7 February 2002		Undisclosed	Walsall	^[19]
7 February 2002		Undisclosed	Walsall
8 March 2002		Released	(Sheffield Wednesday)	^[20]
8 March 2002		Released	(Scarborough)
8 March 2002	Mickael Sabathier	Released
15 March 2002	Ross Diamond	Released		^[21]
30 June 2002		Released	(Port Vale)	^[22]
30 June 2002		Released	(Crystal Palace)
30 June 2002		Released	(Walsall)
10 July 2002		Released	(Bolton Wanderers)	^[23]

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

Loan in

Date	Player	Club	Return	Ref
10 August 2001			5 March 2002	^[24] ^[25]
24 August 2001			One month	^[26]
6 September 2001			One month	^[27]
15 November 2001			One month	^[28]
16 November 2001			One month	^[29]
21 December 2001			18 February 2002	^[30]
24 December 2001			One month	^[31]
4 February 2002			Three months	^[32]
11 March 2002			13 March 2002
28 March 2002			End of season	^[33]

Loan out

Date	Player	Club	Return	Ref
17 August 2001			Two months	^[34] ^[35]
21 September 2001			1 January 2002	^[36]
2 October 2001			One month	^[37]
18 January 2002			End of season	^[38] ^[39]
4 February 2002			One month
20 March 2002			One month	^[40]
28 March 2002			One month	^[41]
29 March 2002			One month	^[42]

Appearances and goals

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute.

Players marked left the club during the playing season.

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

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		Play-offs		Total		Discipline^[43]
					Goals		Goals		Goals		Goals		Goals
1	GK		Ian Bennett	19	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	20	0	0	0
2	DF		Nicky Eaden	25 (5)	1	0	0	3	0	0	0	28 (5)	0	0	0
3	DF		Martin Grainger	40 (1)	4	0	0	3	0	3	0	46 (1)	4	12	1
4	MF		Danny Sonner	10 (5)	1	0	0	3	0	0	0	13 (5)	1	2	2
5	DF		Darren Purse	36 (1)	3	1	0	1	0	2	0	40 (1)	3	11	1
6	DF		David Holdsworth	3 (1)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	4 (1)	0	0	0
7	MF		Jon McCarthy	3 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3 (1)	0	0	0
8	FW			17 (5)	12	0 (1)	0	0 (3)	0	0	0	17 (9)	12	1	0
8	FW		Stern John	15	8	0	0	0	0	3	1	18	8	0	0
9	FW		Geoff Horsfield	34 (7)	11	1	0	3	0	3	1	41 (7)	12	7	0
10	MF		Bryan Hughes	28 (4)	7	0 (1)	0	2	1	3	1	33 (5)	9	4	0
11	MF		Stan Lazaridis	23 (10)	0	0	0	1 (1)	0	0 (3)	0	24 (14)	0	1	0
12	MF			24	0	0 (1)	0	0 (1)	0	0	0	24 (2)	0	5	0
12	MF		Michael Hughes *	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0
13	MF		Graham Hyde	1 (4)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1 (4)	0	1	0
14	MF		Curtis Woodhouse	18 (10)	0	1	0	2 (1)	0	0	0	21 (11)	0	7	1
15	DF		Jerry Gill	14	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	17	0	2	0
16	FW		Tommy Mooney	30 (4)	13	1	0	1	2	3	0	35 (4)	15	2	0
17	DF		Michael Johnson	31 (2)	1	0	0	3	1	1	0	35 (2)	2	3	0
18	GK		Nico Vaesen	22 (1)	0	0	0	2	0	3	0	27 (1)	0	1	0
19	FW		Andrew Johnson	9 (14)	3	1	0	2	1	0 (2)	0	12 (16)	4	3	0
20	MF		Tom Williams	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0
21	MF		Trésor Luntala	9 (6)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	10 (6)	0	0	0
22	DF			9 (3)	0	1	0	1 (1)	0	0	0	11 (4)	0	0	0
22	MF		Damien Johnson	5 (3)	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	6 (3)	1	2	0
25	FW		Paul Furlong	2 (9)	1	0	0	0 (2)	0	0	0	2 (11)	1	3	0
26	DF		Olivier Tébily	7	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	10	0	0	0
28	DF		Joey Hutchinson	0 (3)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1 (3)	0	0	0
29	GK		Clint Davies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	GK			0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
30	DF		Curtis Fleming *	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	1	0
30	MF		Arkadiusz Bąk *	2 (2)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3 (2)	0	0	0
31	FW		Carlos Ferrari *	0 (4)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0 (4)	0	0	0
32	GK		Neil Barnes	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	GK		Alan Kelly *	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	0	0
33	DF		Bjørn Otto Bragstad *	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0
33	MF		Darren Carter	13 (1)	1	0	0	0	0	1 (1)	0	14 (2)	1	0	0
35	DF		Steve Vickers	13 (1)	1	1	0	0	0	2	0	16 (1)	1	0	0
36	DF		Jeff Kenna	22	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	25	0	1	0
37	MF		Paul Devlin	11 (2)	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	13 (2)	1	2	0

Players not included in matchday squads

			Name
20	MF
23	FW		Chris Ward
24	FW		Dele Adebola
26	MF		Ross Diamond
27	DF		Tony Capaldi
29	MF		Mickael Sabathier
34	FW		Craig Fagan

See also

• List of Birmingham City F.C. seasons

References

General

• 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.
• Source for match dates, league positions and results: Web site: Birmingham City 2001–2002: Results . Statto Organisation . 19 June 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064640/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/birmingham-city/2001-2002/results . 4 March 2016 . dead.
• Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 438–39.
• Source for goal times: Web site: Birmingham Results 2001/02 . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 19 June 2013.
• Source for transfers: Web site: Birmingham Transfers 2001/02 . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 19 June 2013.

Specific

Notes and References

1. Web site: Statistics: Attendance: Birmingham City 2001/02 . The Football League . 20 June 2013.
2. News: Birmingham unveil Bruce . BBC Sport . 12 December 2001 . 20 June 2013.
3. Web site: Birmingham City: Kit history . Historical Kits . Dave & Matt Moor . 20 June 2013.
4. News: https://web.archive.org/web/20120522235537/http://www.sportinglife.com/football/cc_championship/birmingham/reports/birmingham_2001.html . Birmingham City Reports – 2001–2002 . sportinglife.com . 365 Media Group . 22 May 2012. Individual match reports are linked from this page.
5. Web site: Birmingham City 2001–2002 : English Division One Table . Statto Organisation . 4 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121018125453/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/birmingham-city/2001-2002/table . 18 October 2012 . dead.
6. News: Vaesen joins Birmingham City . BBC Sport . 18 June 2001 . 6 September 2011.
7. News: Mooney joins Birmingham . BBC Sport . 8 June 2001 . 6 September 2011.
8. News: Cup Blues . The Bolton News . 27 April 2001 . 4 November 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131105000413/http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/archive/2001/04/27/6032932.Cup_Blues/ . 5 November 2013 . dead.
9. News: Poole is in from the cold . Tattum, Colin . Birmingham Evening Mail . 8 August 2001 . 19 June 2013.
10. News: Blues land Vickers . BBC Sport . 17 December 2001 . 6 September 2011.
11. News: Kenna joins Birmingham . BBC Sport . 1 February 2002 . 6 September 2011.
12. News: Ginola wings in for Everton . Johnson, William . amp. Davies, Christopher . The Daily Telegraph. 8 February 2002 . 19 June 2013.
13. News: Blues snap up Johnson . BBC Sport . 8 March 2002 . 6 September 2011.
14. News: Williams proving upwardly mobile to boost Blues bid . Halford, Brian . Birmingham Post . 14 March 2002 . 19 June 2013.
15. News: O'Neill sends Tebily on his way . Lawrie, Alasdair . The Scotsman . 23 February 2002 . 6 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20051107083021/http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/sport.cfm?id=318222002 . 7 November 2005 . dead.
16. News: Devlin deal signed and sealed . Birmingham Evening Mail . 8 May 2002 . 19 June 2013.
17. News: Turner's triple strike as Miller decides on move . The Northern Echo . 15 July 2001 . 4 November 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131105001222/http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/archive/2001/07/15/7104245.Turner_s_triple_strike_as_Miller_decides_on_move/ . 5 November 2013 . dead.
18. News: Gordon Sharrock's Reebok Diary . The Bolton News . 27 October 2001 . 4 November 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131105000410/http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/archive/2001/10/27/6002950.Gordon_Sharrock_s_Reebok_Diary/ . 5 November 2013 . dead.
19. News: Saddlers sign quartet to aid fight . Birmingham Post . 8 February 2002 . 19 June 2013.
20. Web site: March 2002 . ESPN FC . 31 March 2002 . 19 June 2013.
21. News: In brief: Football . https://web.archive.org/web/20160309001729/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-83907645.html . dead . 9 March 2016 . Birmingham Post . 16 March 2002 . 19 June 2013.
22. News: Blues release trio . Livie, Alex . Sky Sports . 21 May 2002 . 19 June 2013.
23. News: Blues let Holdsworth go . https://web.archive.org/web/20181117132734/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-88754968.html . dead . 17 November 2018 . Tattum, Colin . Birmingham Evening Mail . 11 July 2002 . 19 June 2013.
24. News: Brazilian joins Blues on loan . https://web.archive.org/web/20181115200415/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-77130834.html . dead . 15 November 2018 . Birmingham Evening Mail . 10 August 2001 . 19 June 2013.
25. News: Devlin keen on Blues move . BBC Sport . 6 March 2002 . 19 June 2013.
26. Web site: Soccer: Irish 'keeper Kelly joins Birmingham on month's loan . BreakingNews.ie . 24 August 2001 . 19 June 2013.
27. News: Bragstad to revitalize career . The Norway Post . 7 September 2001 . 19 June 2013.
28. Web site: Curtis Fleming . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 19 June 2013.
29. Web site: Steve Vickers . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 19 June 2013.
30. News: Polish star Bak joins Blues . Tattum, Colin . Birmingham Evening Mail . 21 December 2001 . 19 June 2013.
    News: Arek's Bak in Poland . icBirmingham . Trinity Mirror . 18 February 2002 . 19 June 2013.
31. News: Kenna joins Birmingham on loan . Fennelly, Amanda . RTÉ Sport . 24 December 2001 . 19 June 2013.
32. News: Devlin shocked at Blues switch . Halford, Brian . Birmingham Post . 5 February 2002 . 19 June 2013.
33. News: Blues finally land Hughes . O'Rourke, Peter . Sky Sports . 28 March 2002 . 19 June 2013.
34. Web site: Hyde seals loan switch . Bailey, Graeme . Sky Sports . 20 August 2001 . 4 November 2013.
35. Web site: Graham Hyde . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 19 June 2013.
36. Web site: Tony Capaldi . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 19 June 2013 .
    News: Confident Bulls aiming to pile on misery at Green . Worcester News . 4 January 2002 . 4 November 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131105000258/http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/archive/2002/01/04/7727481.Confident_Bulls_aiming_to_pile_on_misery_at_Green/ . 5 November 2013 . dead.
37. News: Defender hits out at Francis uncertainty . Tattum, Colin . Birmingham Evening Mail . 2 October 2001 . 19 June 2013.
38. News: David Holdsworth . Halford, Brian . Birmingham Post . 18 January 2002 . 19 June 2013.
39. News: Lee hoping new faces can turn the tide for Walsall . Szczepanik, Nick . The Times . 9 February 2002 . 19 June 2013.
40. News: Vickers fear for Blues . Scott, Ged . Birmingham Post . 21 March 2002 . 19 June 2013.
41. Web site: Blues loan McCarthy to Sheffield Wednesday . Scott, Ged . Birmingham Post . 29 March 2002 . 19 June 2013.
42. News: Southport sign Ward . NonLeague Daily . 29 March 2002 . 7 September 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120616151416/http://www.nonleaguedaily.com/news/index.php?newsmode=FULL&nid=3404 . 16 June 2012 .
43. Web site: Statistics: Discipline: Birmingham City 2001/02 . The Football League . 6 September 2011.