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1996–97 Birmingham City F.C. season

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Birmingham City F.C.
1996–97 season
ChairmanJack Wiseman
ManagerTrevor Francis
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League Division One10th
FA CupFifth round
(eliminated by Wrexham)
League CupSecond round
(eliminated by Coventry City)
Top goalscorerLeague: Paul Devlin (16)
All: Paul Devlin (19)
Highest home attendance25,157 vs Bradford City, 12 October 1996
Lowest home attendance13,189 vs Southend United, 8 March 1997
Average home league attendance17,732[1]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]
Main article: 1996–97 Football League

Match details

[edit]
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)

[edit]
Final Division One table (part)
Pos 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

[edit]
Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
46 17 15 14 52 48  +4 66 11 7 5 30 18  +12 6 8 9 22 30  −8

Source: [5]

FA Cup

[edit]
Main article: 1996–97 FA Cup
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance Report
Third round 4 January 1997 Stevenage Borough Ha W 2–0 Francis 27', Devlin 64' pen. 15,365 [6]
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

[edit]
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

[edit]

In

[edit]
Date Player Club† Fee Ref
August 1996 Steve Sutton Derby County Free [7]
28 October 1996 Chris Holland Newcastle United £600,000 [7]
November 1996 Martyn O'Connor Peterborough United £500,000a [8]
20 January 1997 Anders Limpar Everton £100,000 [9]
27 January 1997 Kenny Brown West Ham United £75,000 [10]
January 1997 Nicky Forster Brentford £700,000 [11]
March 1997 Bryan Hughes Wrexham £800,000 [12]
May 1997 Darren Wassall Derby County Undisclosedb [13]
a. The deal also included Andy Edwards moving in the other direction.[8]
b. The move was part of the deal in which Jonathan Hunt moved in the other direction for a £500,000 fee.[13]

Out

[edit]
Date Player Fee Joined† Ref
September 1996 Paul Barnes £350,000 Burnley [14]
October 1996 Bart Griemink £25,000 Peterborough United [15]
October 1996 Steve Finnan £300,000 Notts County [16]
October 1996 Gary Poole £250,000 Charlton Athletic [16]
November 1996 Jae Martin £25,000 Lincoln City [17]
November 1996 Andy Edwards Undiscloseda Peterborough United [8]
December 1996 John Cornforth £25,000 Wycombe Wanderers [18]
January 1997 Gary Breen £2.5m Coventry City [11]
10 February 1997 Louie Donowa Free Peterborough United [19]
27 March 1997 John Frain Free Northampton Town [20]
15 April 1997 Anders Limpar Contract cancelled (AIK) [21]
May 1997 Jonathan Hunt £500,000b Derby County [13]
June 1997 Wayne Dyer Released
June 1997 Steve Castle Released
June 1997 Steve Sutton 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.[8]
b. The deal also included Darren Wassall moving in the other direction.[13]

Loan in

[edit]
Date Player Club Return Ref
3 September 1996 Chris Holland Newcastle United 28 October 1996 [7]
October 1996 Marco Gabbiadini Derby County One month [4]
31 October 1996 Matt Jackson Everton 20 December 1996 [22]
28 November 1996 Terry Cooke Manchester United One month [23]
23 December 1996 Birkir Kristinsson SK Brann 1 February 1997 [24]
28 December 1996 Kenny Brown West Ham United One month [10]
26 March 1997 Darren Wassall Derby County End of season [25]

Loan out

[edit]
Date Player Club Return Ref
21 August 1996 Jae Martin Lincoln City Three months [17]
9 September 1996 Bart Griemink Barnsley One months [26]
19 September 1996 Ricky Otto Charlton Athletic Two months [27]
1 October 1996 Jon Bass Carlisle United One month [28]
19 December 1996 Mike Newell West Ham United February 1997 [29]
24 January 1997 John Frain Northampton Town 27 March 1997 [20]
3 February 1997 Steve Castle Leyton Orient One month [30]
6 February 1997 Louie Donowa Walsall End of season [19]
13 December 1996 Louie Donowa Peterborough United Two months [19]
6 February 1997 Ricky Otto Peterborough United End of season [27]
17 March 1997 Mike Newell Bradford City End of season [29]

Appearances and goals

[edit]
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
Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup League Cup Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals A yellow rectangle, denoting the yellow penalty card shown to a player being cautioned A red rectangle, denoting the red penalty card shown to a player being sent off
GK  ENG Ian Bennett 40 0 3 0 4 0 47 0 0 0
GK  NED Bart Griemink † 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
GK  ISL Birkir Kristinsson * † 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
GK  ENG Steve Sutton 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0
DF  ENG Gary Ablett 39 (3) 1 3 0 4 0 46 (3) 1 6 0
DF  ENG Dave Barnett 6 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0
DF  ENG Jon Bass 11 (2) 0 1 0 0 0 11 (2) 0 1 0
DF  IRE Gary Breen † 20 (2) 1 1 0 4 0 25 (2) 1 0 0
DF  ENG Kenny Brown 11 0 1 0 0 0 12 0 0 0
DF  ENG Steve Bruce 30 (2) 0 3 1 4 0 37 (2) 1 9 0
DF  ENG Andy Edwards † 1 (2) 0 0 0 1 0 2 (2) 0 0 0
DF  IRE Steve Finnan 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0
DF  ENG John Frain † 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
DF  ENG Martin Grainger 21 (2) 3 2 0 0 0 23 (2) 3 6 1
DF  ENG Matt Jackson * † 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 1 0
DF  JAM Michael Johnson 28 (7) 0 1 (2) 0 0 (2) 0 29 (11) 0 5 0
DF  ENG Gary Poole † 9 (1) 0 0 0 3 0 12 (1) 0 4 1
DF  ENG Darren Wassall * 8 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 3 0
MF  WAL Jason Bowen 19 (6) 3 1 (2) 0 1 (1) 0 21 (9) 3 1 0
MF  ENG Steve Castle 4 (4) 0 0 0 4 0 8 (4) 0 2 0
MF  ENG Terry Cooke * † 1 (3) 0 0 0 0 0 1 (3) 0 0 0
MF  SCO Paul Devlin 32 (6) 16 3 2 3 (1) 1 38 (7) 19 6 2
MF  ENG Louie Donowa † 0 (4) 0 0 0 1 0 1 (4) 0 1 0
MF  ENG Chris Holland 28 (4) 0 3 0 0 0 31 (4) 0 1 0
MF  WAL Barry Horne 33 0 3 0 4 0 40 0 4 0
MF  ENG Bryan Hughes 10 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 10 (1) 0 0 0
MF  ENG Jonathan Hunt 6 (6) 2 1 0 0 (2) 0 7 (8) 2 0 0
MF  WAL Andy Legg 22 (11) 4 2 (1) 0 3 (1) 0 27 (13) 4 6 0
MF  SWE Anders Limpar † 3 (1) 0 1 0 0 0 4 (1) 0 1 0
MF  ENG Martyn O'Connor 24 (4) 0 0 0 0 0 24 (4) 0 1 1
MF  ENG Ricky Otto 1 (3) 0 0 0 0 0 1 (3) 0 0 0
MF  ENG Steve Robinson 6 (3) 0 0 0 0 0 6 (3) 0 0 0
MF  ENG Paul Tait 17 (9) 0 1 0 0 (1) 0 18 (10) 0 4 0
FW  ENG Nicky Forster 4 (3) 3 0 0 0 0 4 (3) 3 0 0
FW  SKN Kevin Francis 4 (15) 1 1 (1) 2 0 0 5 (16) 3 3 0
FW  ENG Paul Furlong 37 (6) 10 2 1 4 1 43 (6) 12 5 1
FW  ENG Marco Gabbiadini * † 0 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 (2) 0 0 0
FW  ENG Mike Newell 11 (4) 1 0 (1) 0 4 2 15 (5) 3 3 0
Players not included in matchday squads
Pos. Nat. Name
FW  ENG Paul Barnes †
MF  WAL John Cornforth †
MF  ENG Wayne Dyer
FW  ENG Jae Martin †

See also

[edit]

Sources

[edit]
  • Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  • Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. Derby: DB Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85983-853-2.
  • For match dates, league positions and results: "Birmingham City 1996–1997: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  • For lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 428–29.
  • For goal times: "Birmingham Results 1996/97". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  • For transfers: "Birmingham Transfers 1996/97". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  • For discipline: individual player pages linked from "Birmingham Squad details 1996/97". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 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.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "English historical attendance and performance: Birmingham City". European Football Statistics. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  2. ^ Shaw, Phil (8 May 1996). "Francis fancied as Fry is sacked". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Francis returns to St Andrew's". The Independent. London. 11 May 1996. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Football: Another blank away day for Birmingham". The Independent. London. 19 October 1996. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "Birmingham City 1996–1997 : English Division One Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  6. ^ a b Culley, Jon (5 January 1997). "Sodje's flaw fells Stevenage". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "Chris Holland: Career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  8. ^ a b c d "O'Connor leaves Canaries smartin'". The Mirror. London. 2 December 1996. p. 4. Retrieved 3 May 2022 – via Gale OneFile: News.
  9. ^ "Anders Limpar: Career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  10. ^ a b "Kenny Brown: Career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  11. ^ a b "On the move". The Independent. London. 2 February 1997. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  12. ^ "First Division". The Mirror. London. 22 March 1997. p. 32. Retrieved 3 May 2022 – via Gale OneFile: News.
  13. ^ a b c d "On the move". The Independent. London. 25 May 1997. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  14. ^ "On the move". The Independent. London. 8 September 1996. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  15. ^ Oakes, Peter (13 October 1996). "Red-face start for Bart". The People. London. p. 62. Retrieved 3 May 2022 – via Gale OneFile: News.
  16. ^ a b "Northampton Town manager turns down approach from Cardiff". The Independent. London. 31 October 1996. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  17. ^ a b "Jae Martin: Career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  18. ^ "On the move". The Independent. London. 8 December 1996. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  19. ^ a b c "Louie Donowa: Career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  20. ^ a b "John Frain: Career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  21. ^ Davies, Ian (16 April 1997). "Boro given final piece of fixture jigsaw". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Games played by 1996–97 Birmingham City F.C. season in 1996/1997". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  23. ^ "Terry Cooke: Career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  24. ^ "Landsliðsmarkvörðurinn Birkir Kristinsson með Birmingham til 1. február" [International goalkeeper Birkir Kristinsson with Birmingham until 1 February]. Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Iceland. 24 December 1996. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  25. ^ "Darren Wassall: Career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  26. ^ "Bart Griemink: Career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  27. ^ a b "Ricky Otto: Career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  28. ^ "Jon Bass: Career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  29. ^ a b "Mike Newell: Career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  30. ^ "Steve Castle: Career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
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