List of Birmingham City F.C. records and statistics explained

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Founded in September 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, the club turned professional in 1885[1] and three years later, under the name of Small Heath F.C. Ltd, was the first football club to become a limited company with a board of directors.[2] They were later known as Birmingham before adopting their current name in 1943.[3] Elected to the newly formed Second Division of the Football League in 1892, they have never dropped below the third tier of English football.[4] They were also pioneers of European football competition, taking part in the inaugural season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.[5] The list encompasses the major honours won by Birmingham City, records set by the club, their managers and their players, and details of their performance in European competition. The player records section itemises the club's leading goalscorers and those who have made most appearances in first-team competitions. It also records notable achievements by Birmingham players on the international stage, and the highest transfer fees paid and received by the club. Attendance records at St Andrew's, the club's home ground since 1906, are also included.

All figures are correct as of 25 July 2020.

Honours

Birmingham's first ever silverware was the Walsall Cup which they won in 1883. Their first honour in national competitive football was the inaugural championship of the Football League Second Division in 1892–93. The majority of their success came in the period from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s. Promoted to the First Division in 1955, in the following season they achieved their highest league finish of sixth place and their second FA Cup final appearance.[6] [7] They went on to reach two successive finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, and won their only major trophy, the League Cup, for the first time in 1963,[8] a success not repeated until 2011.[9] In the 1994–95 season they completed the "lower-division double", of the Division Two (level 3) title and the Football League Trophy, a cup competition open to teams from the third and fourth tiers of English football;[8] this was the first time the golden goal was used to decide the winner of a senior English cup final.[10]

Birmingham City's honours and achievements include the following:[6] [8] [9] [11]

European competition

The Football League

Domestic cup competition

Wartime competition

Player records

See also: List of Birmingham City F.C. players.

Appearances

Most appearances

Competitive, professional matches only, appearances as substitute in brackets.[14] [15] [16]

No.!width=20%
Namewidth=12%Yearswidth=12% data-sort-type=numberLeaguewidth=12% data-sort-type=numberFA Cupwidth=12% data-sort-type=numberLeague Cupwidth=12% data-sort-type=numberOtherwidth=14% data-sort-type=numberTotal
1style=text-align:left1946–1959485 (0)56 (0)0 (0)10 (0)551 (0)
2style=text-align:left1908–1928491 (0)24 (0)0 (0)0 (0)515 (0)
3style=text-align:left1920–1935414 (0)31 (0)0 (0)0 (0)445 (0)
4style=text-align:left1947–1958401 (0)36 (0)0 (0)4 (0)440 (0)
5style=text-align:left1920–1932409 (0)23 (0)0 (0)0 (0)432 (0)
6style=text-align:left1953–1964365 (0)35 (0)12 (0)18 (0)430 (0)
7style=text-align:left1960–1970data-sort-value=350349 (1)data-sort-value=2524 (1)25 (0)4 (0)data-sort-value=404402 (2)
8style=text-align:left1919–1931382 (0)13 (0)0 (0)0 (0)395 (0)
9style=text-align:left1965–1980data-sort-value=336328 (8)29 (0)14 (0)12 (0)data-sort-value=391383 (8)
10style=text-align:left1926–1938358 (0)30 (0)0 (0)0 (0)388 (0)

Goalscorers

Top goalscorers

Joe Bradford is the all-time top goalscorer for Birmingham City. He was their leading goalscorer for twelve consecutive seasons, from 1921–22 to 1932–33, and won 12 caps for England.[19]

Competitive, professional matches only. Matches played (including as substitute) appear in brackets.[16] [19] [20]

No.!width=20%
Namewidth=12%Yearswidth=12% data-sort-type=numberLeaguewidth=12% data-sort-type=numberFA Cupwidth=12% data-sort-type=numberLeague Cupwidth=12% data-sort-type=numberOtherwidth=14% data-sort-type=numberTotal
1style=text-align:left1920–1935249 (414)18 (31)0 (0)0 (0)267 (445)
2style=text-align:left1970–1979119 (280)data-sort-value=6.16 (20)4 (19)data-sort-value=4.14 (10)133 (329)
3style=text-align:left1952–1960107 (245)16 (24)0 (0)data-sort-value=4.24 (9)127 (278)
4style=text-align:left1890–1896data-sort-value=99.299 (155)data-sort-value=12.212 (13)0 (0)5 (7)116 (175)
5style=text-align:left1924–193398 (298)9 (26)0 (0)0 (0)107 (324)
6style=text-align:leftdata-sort-value=99.199 (236)3 (17)0 (0)0 (0)102 (253)
7style=text-align:left1964–197079 (221)8 (16)7 (16)0 (0)94 (253)
8style=text-align:left1954–195874 (158)13 (18)0 (0)3 (9)90 (185)
9style=text-align:left1969–197468 (160)data-sort-value=6.26 (12)6 (16)data-sort-value=4.34 (6)84 (193)
10style=text-align:left1898–190570 (173)data-sort-value=12.112 (14)0 (0)0 (0)82 (187)

International caps

This section refers only to caps won while a Birmingham player.

Transfers

Trevor Francis, who joined Birmingham as a 15-year-old, became the first British footballer to be transferred for a fee of at least £1 million when Brian Clough signed him for league champions Nottingham Forest in February 1979. The basic fee was below £1mClough claimed in his autobiography to have set the fee at £999,999 because he did not want the idea of being the first £1m player going to Francis's head[23] but VAT and the transfer levy raised the total payable to £1.18m.[24] Within three months he scored the winning goal in the 1979 European Cup Final.[25] Some four years earlier, Birmingham had also been involved in a British record transfer when they sold Bob Latchford to Everton, in part exchange for Howard Kendall and Archie Styles, the deal valuing Latchford at £350,000.[26] The initial £25m reportedly received from Borussia Dortmund for Jude Bellingham in 2020 made him the most expensive 17-year-old in world football history.[27]

For consistency, fees in the record transfer tables below are all sourced from BBC Sport's contemporary reports of each transfer. Where the report mentions an initial fee potentially rising to a higher figure depending on contractual clauses being satisfied in the future, only the initial fee is listed in the tables.

Record transfer fees paid

No.!width=10%
Feewidth=20%Paid towidth=30%Forwidth=20%Datewidth=10%Refs
1£6.3mDinamo ZagrebIvan Šunjić (Croatia)26 July 2019style=text-align:center[28]
2£6m plusBrentfordJota (Spain)31 August 2017style=text-align:center[29]
3£6mValenciaNikola Žigić (Serbia)26 May 2010style=text-align:center[30]
4£5.5mBlackburn RoversDavid Dunn (England)7 July 2003style=text-align:center[31]
5£5mCardiff CityRoger Johnson (England)25 June 2009style=text-align:center[32]

Record transfer fees received

No.!width=10%
Feewidth=20%Received fromwidth=30%Forwidth=20%Datewidth=10%Refs
1£25mBorussia DortmundJude Bellingham (England)23 July 2020
2£15mSouthamptonChe Adams (England)1 July 2019[33]
3£6.7mLiverpoolJermaine Pennant (England)26 July 2006[34]
4£6mWest Ham UnitedMatthew Upson (England)31 January 2007[35]
5£5.5mWigan AthleticEmile Heskey (England)7 July 2006[36]

Managerial records

See also: List of Birmingham City F.C. managers.

All three of the above had formerly played for the club.[41]

Club records

Goals

Sourced to the Football Club History Database:[4]

Points

Sourced to the Football Club History Database:[4]

Matches

Firsts

Record wins

Sourced to the Birmingham City FC Archive:[49]

Record defeats

Sourced to the Birmingham City FC Archive[49] except where stated:

Record consecutive results

This section applies to league matches only, and is sourced to Statto.com[50] except where stated:

Attendances

This section applies to attendances at St Andrew's, where Birmingham have played their home matches since 1906. Figures from the club's early days are approximate.[52]

Birmingham City in Europe

See main article: Birmingham City F.C. in European football. Invitations to enter the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, a football tournament set up to promote industrial trade fairs, were extended to the city hosting the trade fair rather than to clubs. Some cities entered a select team including players from more than one club, but Aston Villa, the other major club based in the city of Birmingham, rejected the opportunity to field a combined team.[5] [53] Thus Birmingham City became the first English club side to play in European competition when they played their first match in the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup on 15 May 1956. They were also the first English club side to reach a European final, the 1960 Fairs Cup final, in which they met Barcelona. The home leg, a goalless draw, was played on 29 March 1960 and the away leg, which Barcelona won 4–1, some six weeks later. In the semifinal of the 1961 Fairs Cup Birmingham beat Internazionale home and away; no other English club beat them in a competitive match in the San Siro until Arsenal did so in the Champions League more than 40 years later.[54]

Victory in the 2011 Football League Cup Final earned Birmingham qualification for the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League, which they entered at the play-off round.[55] A 3–0 aggregate victory over C.D. Nacional of Portugal[56] qualified Birmingham for the group stage, in which they were drawn alongside the previous season's finalists, S.C. Braga of Portugal, Slovenian champions NK Maribor, and fourth-placed Belgian team Club Brugge. They finished third in group H, one point behind Club Brugge and Braga, so failed to qualify for the knockout rounds.[57]

Record by season

Birmingham City's scores are given first in all scorelines.

SeasonCompetitionRoundOpponentHome legAway legPlay-
off		NotesRefs
scope=colCountryscope=colClub
1955–58Inter-Cities Fairs CupGSstyle=text-align:left Italystyle=text-align:leftInternazionale2–10–0[58]
GSstyle=text-align:leftstyle=text-align:leftZagreb XI3–01–0
SFstyle=text-align:left Spainstyle=text-align:leftBarcelona4–30–11–2
1958–60Inter-Cities Fairs Cup1Rstyle=text-align:left Germanystyle=text-align:leftCologne XI2–02–2[59]
2Rstyle=text-align:leftstyle=text-align:leftZagreb XI1–03–3
SFstyle=text-align:left Belgiumstyle=text-align:leftR. Union Saint-Gilloise4–24–2
Fstyle=text-align:left Spainstyle=text-align:leftBarcelona0–01–4
1960–61Inter-Cities Fairs Cup1Rstyle=text-align:left Hungarystyle=text-align:leftÚjpesti Dózsa3–22–1[60]
2Rstyle=text-align:left Denmarkstyle=text-align:leftKB5–04–4
SFstyle=text-align:left Italystyle=text-align:leftInternazionale2–12–1
Fstyle=text-align:left Italystyle=text-align:leftA.S. Roma2–20–2
scope=row1961–62style=text-align:leftInter-Cities Fairs Cup2Rstyle=text-align:left Spainstyle=text-align:leftRCD Espanyol1–02–5[61]
2011–12UEFA Europa LeaguePOstyle=text-align:left Portugalstyle=text-align:leftC.D. Nacional3–00–0
GSstyle=text-align:left Portugalstyle=text-align:leftS.C. Braga1–30–1
GSstyle=text-align:left Sloveniastyle=text-align:leftNK Maribor1–02–1
GSstyle=text-align:left Belgiumstyle=text-align:leftClub Brugge2–22–1

Key

European attendance records

References

General

Specific

External links

Notes and References

  1. Matthews (1995), p. 8.
  2. Web site: Fact Sheet 10: The 'New' Football Economics . John . Williams . Sam . Neatrour . Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research, University of Leicester . March 2002 . 26 May 2018 . 28 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150128132102/http://www.furd.org/resources/fs10.pdf . live .
  3. Matthews (2000), "Club name", p. 55.
  4. Web site: Small Heath . 12 April 2024 . 27 May 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120527165830/http://www.fchd.info/SMALLHEA.HTM . live ., Web site: Birmingham . 12 April 2024 . 24 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230924225520/https://www.fchd.info/BIRMINGH.HTM . live ., and Web site: Birmingham City . Football Club History Database (FCHD) . Richard Rundle . 26 May 2018 . 5 September 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070905171637/http://www.fchd.info/BIRMINGC.HTM . live .
  5. Book: Radnedge, Keir . The Complete Encyclopedia of Football . Inter-Cities Fairs/UEFA Cup . 200 . Carlton Books . 1998 . 978-1-85833-979-5.
  6. Web site: Honours . https://web.archive.org/web/20050308115356/http://www.bcfc-archive.freeserve.co.uk/honours.htm . 8 March 2005 . The Birmingham City FC Archive.
  7. Web site: Team Records . https://web.archive.org/web/20030623114246/http://www.bcfc-archive.freeserve.co.uk/teamrecords.htm . 23 June 2003 . The Birmingham City FC Archive.
  8. Book: Oliver, Peter . Birmingham City The Official Annual 2008 . Grange Communications . 2007 . 978-1-905426-79-9.
  9. News: Arsenal 1–2 Birmingham . Philip . McNulty . BBC Sport . 27 February 2011 . 28 February 2011 . 3 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170803074616/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/9405702.stm . live .
  10. News: Fry's delight as Carlisle succumb to sudden death . The Independent . London . Haylett . Trevor . 24 April 1995 . 6 September 2009 . 4 November 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121104083519/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/frys-delight-as-carlisle-succumb-to-sudden-death-1616946.html . live .
  11. News: Birmingham clinch top-flight spot . Paul . Fletcher . 3 May 2009 . 3 May 2009 . BBC Sport . 13 January 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160113002043/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/8015130.stm . live .
  12. Web site: Bellingham creates Blues history . Birmingham City F.C. . 6 August 2019 . 7 August 2019 . 30 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200430082546/https://www.bcfc.com/news/articles/2019/bellingham-creates-blues-history/ . dead .
  13. Matthews (2000), "Age", p. 10.
  14. Web site: Appearance Records . The Birmingham City FC Archive . https://web.archive.org/web/20050311225137/http://www.bcfc-archive.freeserve.co.uk/apps.htm . 11 March 2005.
  15. Matthews (1995), pp. 201–16, 243–44.
  16. Matthews (2000), "Appearances", pp. 12–14.
  17. Web site: Individual Records . https://web.archive.org/web/20050311225137/http://www.bcfc-archive.freeserve.co.uk/individualrecords.htm . 11 March 2005 . The Birmingham City FC Archive.
  18. Web site: Top League Goalscorers . https://web.archive.org/web/20030410031013/http://www.bcfc-archive.freeserve.co.uk/toplgescorers.htm . 10 April 2003 . The Birmingham City FC Archive.
  19. Web site: Top Goalscorers . https://web.archive.org/web/20030410031013/http://www.bcfc-archive.freeserve.co.uk/topscorers.htm . 10 April 2003 . The Birmingham City FC Archive . Tony Jordan.
  20. Matthews (2000), "Goalscoring", pp. 96–97.
  21. Matthews (2000), "International Blues", pp. 119–22.
  22. Web site: England in Switzerland 1954 . England Football Online . 26 May 2018 . 15 January 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120115070804/http://www.englandfootballonline.com/cmpwc/CmpWC1954Squad.html . live .
  23. Book: Clough, Brian . Clough: The Autobiography . 1995 . Corgi . 978-0-552-14003-4.
  24. News: Landmark £1m fee for Francis was no big deal for Clough . Nick . Harris . The Independent . London . 4 February 2004 . 26 . 26 May 2018.
  25. Matthews (2000), "Francis, Trevor", p. 86.
  26. Matthews (2000), "Latchford, Bob", p. 132.
  27. News: Jude Bellingham signs for Borussia Dortmund from Birmingham . Sky Sports . 20 July 2020 . 25 July 2020 . 20 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200720121831/https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11899/12029767/jude-bellingham-signs-for-borussia-dortmund-from-birmingham . live .
  28. News: Ivan Sunjic: Birmingham City sign Dinamo Zagreb midfielder on five-year deal . BBC Sport . 26 July 2019 . 28 February 2020 . 23 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221023050501/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49133875 . live .
  29. News: Birmingham City: Jota, Maxime Colin and Jason Lowe join Championship club . BBC Sport . 1 September 2017 . 8 September 2017 . 5 September 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170905235034/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41108631 . live .
  30. News: Birmingham seal signing of giant striker Nikola Zigic . BBC Sport . 26 May 2010 . 11 June 2010 . 8 September 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170908204405/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/8704954.stm . live .
  31. News: Dunn signs for Blues . BBC Sport . 7 July 2003 . 8 February 2008 . 8 September 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170908204311/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/3037362.stm . live .
  32. News: Johnson completes Birmingham move . BBC Sport . 25 June 2009 . 25 June 2009 . 8 September 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170908203935/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/8113313.stm . live .
  33. News: Che Adams: Southampton sign Birmingham forward . BBC Sport . 1 July 2019 . 1 July 2019 . 1 July 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190701150625/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48826733 . live .
  34. News: Pennant completes Liverpool move . BBC Sport . 26 July 2006 . 8 February 2008.
  35. News: West Ham capture Upson from Blues . BBC Sport . 31 January 2007 . 8 February 2008.
  36. News: Wigan seal £5.5m move for Heskey . BBC Sport . 7 July 2006 . 8 February 2008.
  37. News: Birmingham F.C. Team manager appointed . Birmingham Daily Mail . 20 June 1911 . 5 . Newspapers.com . 13 May 2022 . 12 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220512190056/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101723367/mcroberts-appointed-team-manager-with/ . live .
  38. Web site: Manager search: McRoberts, R (Bobby) . English National Football Archive . subscription . 13 May 2022 . 16 October 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211016162130/https://www.enfa.co.uk/managersearch.php . live .
  39. Web site: Managers . The Birmingham City FC Archive . https://web.archive.org/web/20030409213753/http://www.bcfc-archive.freeserve.co.uk/managers.htm . 9 April 2003.
  40. Web site: Birmingham Managers . Soccerbase . Centurycomm . 23 March 2012 . 21 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190421112708/https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=291&teamTabs=managers . live .
  41. Matthews (2000), "Managers", p. 148.
  42. Matthews (1995), p. 231.
  43. Matthews (1995), p. 140.
  44. Matthews (1995), p. 141.
  45. Matthews (1995), p. 142.
  46. Matthews (1995), p. 13.
  47. Matthews (1995), p. 241.
  48. Matthews (1995), p. 196.
  49. Web site: Record Results . The Birmingham City FC Archive . https://web.archive.org/web/20050311225137/http://www.bcfc-archive.freeserve.co.uk/recordresults.htm . 11 March 2005.
  50. Web site: Birmingham City: Records . Statto Organisation . 26 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161209023422/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/birmingham-city/records . 9 December 2016.
  51. News: Blues hold ten-man United . Sky Sports . 9 January 2010 . 26 May 2018 . 27 May 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180527120719/http://www.skysports.com/football/birmham-vs-man-utd/139121 . live .
  52. Matthews (2000), "Attendances", pp. 20–21.
  53. Book: Goodyear . David . Matthews . Tony . Aston Villa A Complete Record 1875–1988 . Breedon Books . Derby . 1988 . 0-907969-37-2 . At this time there seemed a general lack of ambition at Villa Park. The club were slow to install floodlights, they turned down the chance of combining with Blues to field a 'Birmingham' team for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup....
  54. News: Arsenal routs Inter Milan . The New York Times . Reuters . 25 November 2003 . 16 December 2019 . 16 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191216184848/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/25/sports/soccer/arsenal-routs-inter-milan.html . live .
  55. Web site: 2011/12 list of participants . UEFA . 20 August 2011 . 13 December 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151213111506/http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2012/accesslist/listofparticipants/index.html . live .
  56. News: UEFA Europa League 2012: Nacional–Birmingham . UEFA . 3 September 2011 . 4 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111004132619/http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2012/matches/round=2000271/match=2007226/index.html . live .
    News: UEFA Europa League 2012: Birmingham–Nacional . UEFA . 3 September 2011 . 29 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160329210323/http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2012/matches/round=2000271/match=2007263/index.html . live .
  57. Web site: UEFA European Competitions 2011–12: Europa League . Karel . Stokkermans . 23 April 2015 . . 26 May 2018 . 24 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220724160008/https://www.rsssf.org/ec/ec201112.html . live .
  58. Web site: European Competitions 1957–58: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1955–58 . James M. . Ross . 28 February 2008 . . 20 August 2011 . 1 September 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070901045144/http://www.rsssf.com/ec/ec195758.html . live .
  59. Web site: European Competitions 1959–60: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1958–60 . Ross . James M. . 27 June 2007 . . 20 August 2011 . 21 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220921212252/https://www.rsssf.org/ec/ec195960.html . live .
  60. Web site: European Competitions 1960–61: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1960–61 . Ross . James M. . 27 June 2007 . . 20 August 2011 . 1 November 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121101123741/http://rsssf.com/ec/ec196061.html . live .
  61. Web site: European Competitions 1961–62: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1961–62 . Ross . James M. . 27 June 2007 . . 20 August 2011 . 22 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220922080638/https://www.rsssf.org/ec/ec196162.html . live .
  62. Matthews (1995), "Blues in Europe", pp. 241–42.

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