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1985–86 Birmingham City F.C. season

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Birmingham City F.C.
1985–86 season
ChairmanKeith Coombs
(until December 1985)
Ken Wheldon thereafter
ManagerRon Saunders
(until 16 January 1986)
Keith Leonard (caretaker)
John Bond
(from 23 January)
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League
First Division		21st (relegated)
FA CupThird round
(eliminated by Altrincham)
League CupThird round
(eliminated by Southampton)
Top goalscorerLeague: Andy Kennedy (7)
All: Andy Kennedy (9)
Highest home attendance24,971 vs Aston Villa, 7 September 1985
Lowest home attendance3,686 vs Bristol Rovers, League Cup 2nd round, 7 October 1985
Average home league attendance10,899

The 1985–86 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 83rd in the Football League and their 50th in the First Division, to which they were promoted in 1984–85. They finished in 21st position in the 22-team division, so were relegated back to the Second Division after only one season. They entered the 1985–86 FA Cup in the third round proper and lost in that round, at home to non-league club Altrincham, a result that prompted the resignation of Ron Saunders as manager.[1] They were eliminated from the League Cup by Southampton in a third-round replay. John Bond succeeded Saunders as manager.

The top scorer was Andy Kennedy with just nine goals, of which seven were scored in league competition.

With the team already in the relegation positions, chairman Keith Coombs resigned in December 1985, selling his 70% shareholding to the former chairman of Walsall F.C., Ken Wheldon, who took over as chairman. The club's serious financial situation, not helped by low attendances, led to the departure of several senior administrative staff.[2][3]

Football League First Division

Main article: 1985–86 Football League
Date League
position		 Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
17 August 1985 5th West Ham United H W 1–0 Hopkins 11,164
20 August 1985 11th Watford A L 0–3 14,278
24 August 1985 17th Chelsea A L 0–2 16,534
26 August 1985 9th Oxford United H W 3–1 Kennedy, Briggs og, Hopkins 10,568
31 August 1985 12th Everton A L 1–4 Kennedy 28,066
3 September 1985 10th Manchester City H W 1–0 Geddis 11,706
7 September 1985 11th Aston Villa H D 0–0 24,971
14 September 1985 10th Ipswich Town A W 1–0 Geddis 11,616
21 September 1985 8th Leicester City H W 2–1 Geddis 2 9,834
28 September 1985 10th Queens Park Rangers A L 1–3 Armstrong 10,911
5 October 1985 12th Sheffield Wednesday H L 0–2 11,708
19 October 1985 14th West Bromwich Albion A L 1–2 Kennedy 14,576
26 October 1985 15th Coventry City H L 0–1 9,267
2 November 1985 17th Luton Town A L 0–2 8,550
9 November 1985 17th Newcastle United H L 0–1 8,162
16 November 1985 17th Southampton A L 0–1 13,167
23 November 1985 20th Liverpool H L 0–2 15,062
30 November 1985 20th Arsenal A D 0–0 16,673
7 December 1985 20th Watford H L 1–2 Wright pen 7,043
14 December 1985 20th West Ham United A L 0–2 17,481
21 December 1985 20th Chelsea H L 1–2 Platnauer 10,594
26 December 1985 21st Nottingham Forest H L 0–1 10,378
28 December 1985 21st Manchester City A D 1–1 Geddis 24,055
1 January 1986 21st Manchester United A L 0–1 43,095
11 January 1986 21st Ipswich Town H L 0–1 6,856
18 January 1986 21st Everton H L 0–2 10,502
1 February 1986 21st Oxford United A W 1–0 Clarke 9,086
8 February 1986 21st West Bromwich Albion H L 0–1 11,514
16 February 1986 21st Coventry City A D 4–4 Kennedy 2, Whitton, Kuhl 14,271
1 March 1986 21st Queens Park Rangers H W 2–0 Clarke pen, Hopkins 7,093
8 March 1986 21st Sheffield Wednesday A L 1–5 Geddis 17,491
12 March 1986 21st Leicester City A L 2–4 Clarke, Kennedy 8,458
15 March 1986 21st Tottenham Hotspur H L 1–2 Kennedy 9,394
22 March 1986 21st Aston Villa A W 3–0 Clarke 2, Whitton 26,294
29 March 1986 21st Manchester United H D 1–1 Handysides 22,551
31 March 1986 21st Nottingham Forest A L 0–3 13,134
6 April 1986 21st Luton Town H L 0–2 8,836
12 April 1986 21st Newcastle United A L 1–4 Hopkins 19,981
16 April 1986 21st Tottenham Hotspur A L 0–2 9,359
19 April 1986 21st Southampton H L 0–2 5,833
26 April 1986 21st Liverpool A L 0–5 42,021
3 May 1986 21st Arsenal H L 0–1 6,234

League table (part)

Final First Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GD Pts
18th Oxford United 42 10 12 20 62 80 −18 42
19th Leicester City 42 10 12 20 54 76 −22 42
20th Ipswich Town 42 11 8 23 32 55 −9 41
21st Birmingham City 42 8 5 29 30 73 −43 29
22nd West Bromwich Albion 42 4 12 26 35 89 −54 24
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 [4]

FA Cup

Main article: 1985–86 FA Cup
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
Third round 14 January 1986 Altrincham H L 1–2 Hopkins 6,636

League Cup

Main article: 1985–86 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
Second round 1st leg 24 September 1985 Bristol Rovers A W 3–2 Wright 2 (2 pens), Geddis 4,332
Second round 2nd leg 8 October 1985 Bristol Rovers H W 2–1 Kennedy, Tanner og 3,686
Third round 29 October 1985 Southampton H D 1–1 Kennedy 4,832
Third round replay 6 November 1985 Southampton A L 0–3 9,085

Appearances and goals

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.
Players with name struck through and 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 having played at least one first-team match
Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK  ENG David Seaman 42 0 1 0 4 0 47 0
DF  ENG Ken Armstrong 22 1 1 0 3 0 26 1
DF  ENG Julian Dicks 18 (5) 0 1 0 1 (1) 0 20 (6) 0
DF  ENG Billy Garton* 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
DF  NIR Jim Hagan 31 0 1 0 3 (1) 0 35 (1) 0
DF  ENG Mark Jones 19 0 0 0 3 0 22 0
DF  ENG Ray Ranson 37 0 1 0 3 0 41 0
DF  ENG Brian Roberts 31 (2) 0 1 0 4 0 36 (2) 0
DF  ENG Mark Smalley* 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
DF  ENG Billy Wright 29 1 0 (1) 0 3 (1) 2 32 (2) 3
MF  SCO Des Bremner 32 0 1 0 3 0 36 0
MF  IRL Gerry Daly† 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
MF  ENG John Frain 1 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 1 (2) 0
MF  ENG Ian Handysides 6 1 0 0 0 0 6 1
MF  ENG Robert Hopkins 38 4 1 1 4 0 43 5
MF  ENG Lee Jenkins† 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF  ENG Martin Kuhl 33 (4) 1 1 0 3 0 37 (4) 1
MF  ENG Nick Platnauer 12 (5) 1 1 0 3 0 16 (5) 1
MF  ENG Billy Ronson* 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
MF  ENG Stuart Storer 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
FW  ENG Wayne Clarke 28 5 0 0 0 0 28 5
FW  ENG David Geddis 25 (1) 6 0 0 3 0 28 (1) 6
FW  SCO Andy Kennedy 27 (5) 7 1 0 4 2 32 (5) 9
FW  WAL Tony Rees 4 (4) 0 0 0 0 0 4 (4) 0
FW  ENG Guy Russell 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0
FW  ENG Steve Whitton 8 2 0 0 0 0 8 2

See also

References

General

  • 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.
  • Source for match dates, league positions and results: "Birmingham City 1985–1986: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 406–07.

Specific

  1. ^ Jones, Stuart (17 January 1986). "Bitter end for Saunders as he resigns from embattled Birmingham". The Times. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  2. ^ "Eire move for Clough". The Times. 17 December 1985. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  3. ^ Matthews (1995), Complete Record, p. 44.
  4. ^ "English Division One (old) 1985–1986 : Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
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