History of Birmingham City F.C.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article deals with the history of Birmingham City Football Club, an English professional football club based in the city of Birmingham. For a season-by-season breakdown of the club's performance, see Birmingham City F.C. seasons.

Contents

[edit] 1875 – 1919

Birmingham City were founded as Small Heath Alliance in 1875, and from 1877 played their home games at Muntz Street. The club turned professional in 1885,[1] and three years later became the first football club to become a limited company with a board of directors,[2] under the name of Small Heath F.C. Ltd.[1]

Small Heath F.C., champions of the inaugural Football League Second Division 1892–93.
Small Heath F.C., champions of the inaugural Football League Second Division 1892–93.

From 1889–90 they played in the Football Alliance, which ran alongside the Football League. In 1892, Small Heath, along with the other Alliance teams, were invited to join the newly-formed Football League Second Division. In that first season Small Heath were Second Division champions, scoring no fewer than 90 goals in the 22 matches, but were denied promotion after losing test matches against Newton Heath.[3] The following season promotion to the First Division was secured after a second place finish and test match victory over Darwen.[4]

At an Extraordinary General Meeting held in March 1905, director T. D. Todd proposed that, Small Heath being the only major football club in the city[5] since Birmingham St George's had folded in 1892, the club should be renamed Birmingham City F.C. The shareholders were not in favour, though they were prepared to go as far as plain Birmingham Football Club instead. Even this was a step too far for some; one reporter referred to "the Small Heath club now masquerading as Birmingham".[6] A new ground with reported capacity of 75,000, which became known as St Andrew's, was built and opened the following year,[7] though matters on the field failed to live up to their new surroundings. Birmingham were relegated in 1908, were obliged to apply for re-election two years later, and remained in the Second Division until after the First World War.[8]

[edit] 1919 – 1939

Inspired by Scottish international playmaker Johnny Crosbie and the captaincy of Frank Womack, Birmingham won their second Division Two title in 1920–21.[9] Womack went on to make 515 appearances, a club record for an outfielder, over a twenty-year career.[10] 1920 also saw the debut of the 19-year-old Joe Bradford. Signed from junior football in Leicestershire, he scored a club record 267 goals in 445 games, and won 12 caps for England.[11]

Birmingham failed to enter the 1922 FA Cup because secretary-manager Frank Richards forgot to send in the entry form.[12] Nine years later, manager Leslie Knighton led them to their first Cup Final. Between semifinal and final Birmingham lost six of their nine league matches; opponents West Bromwich Albion were heading for promotion from the Second Division and full of confidence.[13] Joe Bradford had played just once since the semifinal and only declared himself fit on the morning of the match.[14] Birmingham had a goal disallowed early on, then fell behind; Bradford – clearly nowhere near fully fit[15] – equalised, but W. G. Richardson went upfield straight from the kickoff and scored.

Though Birmingham remained in the top flight for 18 seasons, they struggled in the league. Much reliance was placed on England goalkeeper Harry Hibbs to make up for the lack of goals, Bradford excepted, the other end.[16] They were finally relegated in 1938–39, the last full season before the Second World War, when the club's record attendance of 66,844 was set, in the fifth round of the FA Cup against Everton.[17]

[edit] 1939 – 1965

St Andrew's was heavily bombed during the war, and the main stand burnt down, destroying the club's records, when a fireman used petrol instead of water to damp down a brazier.[18] The club's current name of Birmingham City F.C. was adopted in 1943.[19] Harry Storer was appointed manager in 1945. In his first season the club won the Football League South wartime league and reached the semifinal of the first post-war FA Cup. Two years later they won their third Second Division title, conceding only 24 goals in the 42-game season.[20]

Bob Brocklebank succeeded Storer as manager in 1950. Though unable to prevent them being relegated, he and chief scout Walter Taylor laid the foundations for the club's successes of the 1950s. Brocklebank was responsible for introducing future England internationals Trevor Smith and Jeff Hall to the side, and for bringing in the likes of Peter Murphy, Eddy Brown, Roy Warhurst and Alex Govan.[21] Arthur Turner took over as manager in November 1954 with the club mid-table in the Second Division. By the end of the season they had scored 92 goals, with all five first-choice forwards reaching double figures,[22] inflicted a club record 9–1 defeat on Liverpool,[23] and confirmed themselves as champions with a 5–1 win in the last game of the season away at Doncaster Rovers.[24]

Their first season back in the First Division saw Birmingham make their highest league finish of sixth place. They also reached the FA Cup final, losing 3–1 to Manchester City in the game notable for City's goalkeeper Bert Trautmann playing the last 20 minutes with a broken bone in his neck. City won using the Revie Plan; Revie might not have found the freedom to orchestrate the game had the "utterly ruthless"[25] Warhurst not missed the match through injury.[26] It was during this FA Cup campaign, in which all Birmingham's games had been away from home, that Harry Lauder's Keep right on to the end of the road was adopted as the fans' anthem.[27] The following season the club lost in the FA Cup semifinal for the third time since the war, this time beaten 2–0 by Manchester United's "Busby Babes".

Birmingham became the first English club side to take part in European competition when they played their first group game in the inaugural Inter-Cities Fairs Cup competition on 15 May 1956; they went on to reach the semifinal where they drew 4–4 on aggregate with Barcelona, losing the replay 2–1. They became the first English club side to reach the final of a European competition, losing 4–1 on aggregate to Barcelona in 1960 and 4–2 to A.S. Roma in 1961.[28] In the 1961 semifinal they beat Inter Milan home and away; no other English club won a competitive game in the San Siro until Arsenal managed it over 40 years later.[29]

Under manager Gil Merrick, appointed in 1960, league form was uninspired, but the new League Cup competition introduced in 1960–61 provided an alternative. Entry was optional; several top-flight clubs chose not to enter, but Birmingham did so from the first year.[30] In 1962–63, while avoiding relegation to the second division only by winning two of their last three matches, they showed their best form in reaching the final of the new cup competition. The opponents, local rivals Aston Villa, were clear pre-match favourites, having won their most recent league meeting 4–0. But in the home leg Birmingham "served up a treat of attacking football … controlling the game with such assurance that their supporters must have wondered why the team had performed so badly in the First Division",[31] and came out comfortable 3–1 winners, with two goals from Ken Leek and one from Jimmy Bloomfield. Inspired by captain Trevor Smith, who man-marked Bobby Thomson out of the game in the away leg,[32] a solid defensive performance[33] saw Birmingham lift their only major trophy to date. In 1964–65, after ten years in the top flight, they returned to the Second Division.

[edit] 1965 – 1979

Businessman Clifford Coombs took over as chairman in 1965, and lured Stan Cullis, manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers in their glory days, out of retirement to manage the club. Cullis's team played attractive football; he led them to the semifinals of the League Cup in 1967 and the FA Cup in 1968, but league football had changed since the 1950s, and the club needed promotion. Coombs persuaded Cullis back into retirement, approached Brian Clough and Peter Taylor and then Don Revie without success, finally appointing Brighton manager Freddie Goodwin.[34]

Goodwin livened the club up; he added Roger Hynd in defence, Alan Campbell in midfield, Bob Hatton to play up front alongside the home-grown Bob Latchford and introduced the 16-year-old Trevor Francis to first team football. In 1971–72, Birmingham won promotion to the First Division and reached the semifinal of the FA Cup, playing skilful, aggressive football that attracted the fans; average home league attendance rose to over 32,000.[35] The club still needed to raise money. In February 1974, Everton came in with a bid for Latchford; though Goodwin held out for a British record fee – £80,000 cash plus players Howard Kendall and Archie Styles, a deal valued at £350,000 – the team struggled without such a goalscorer.[36][37] The next season they again reached the FA Cup semifinal, this time losing a replay to Second Division Fulham, to a goal scored in the last seconds of extra time as the ball trickled over the line having rebounded off John Mitchell from goalkeeper Dave Latchford's clearance.[38]

Sir Alf Ramsey briefly managed the club before Jim Smith took over in 1978, creating a stir by signing Argentina's World Cup-winning fullback Alberto Tarantini. With relegation a certainty – the first league win came nearly three months into the season[39] – the club sold Trevor Francis to Nottingham Forest, making him the first £1 million player;[40] Francis had scored a total of 133 goals in 329 appearances over his nine years at Birmingham.[41]

[edit] 1979 – 1993

Smith invested the proceeds of the Francis sale in experience, bringing in Archie Gemmill, Colin Todd, Frank Worthington and Jeff Wealands, and took Birmingham straight back to the First Division in 1980. A poor start to the 1981–82 season saw Smith dismissed, to be replaced by Ron Saunders, who had just resigned from league champions and local rivals Aston Villa. This did not go down well on either side of the city.[42][43] Saunders assembled a team full of "hard men" – Mick Harford, Noel Blake, Robert Hopkins – which struggled to score goals, in two years average attendance had dropped to just over 14,000 and they were relegated again.[44]

They bounced back up, but promotion came at a cost. The last home game of the 1984–85 season against Leeds United was marred by rioting, culminating in the death of a boy when a wall collapsed on him; this was on the same day as the Bradford fire, and the events at St Andrew's formed part of the remit of Mr Justice Popplewell's inquiry into safety at sports grounds.[45] After a long period without a win, and defeat to Altrincham in the FA Cup, Saunders quit. The club was in trouble financially; the Coombs family sold out to Ken Wheldon, former Walsall chairman, staff cuts followed both on and off the field, and the training ground was sold. By 1989, average attendance was down to 6,200 and the club was down in the Third Division for the first time in their history.[46]

In 1989 Wheldon sold the club to the Kumar brothers, owners of a Manchester-based clothing chain, who said they would invest in the team. Dave Mackay replaced Garry Pendrey as manager. His first season was one of getting used to lower-division football, the second brought the prospect of further relegation, terrace protests, the resignation of Mackay and his staff[47] and introduction of Lou Macari as manager, and a successful trip to Wembley in the Leyland DAF Cup. Macari and his backroom staff walked out to join Stoke City,[48] an action group was formed to try and remove the chairman, and many of the playing staff were out of contract and reluctant to renew.[49]

The next manager, Terry Cooper, delivered promotion via a combination of a professional approach and sound signings, some of which were paid for with money raised by supporters. Off the field, Cooper and Kumar were at odds; the team needed the promised investment but the club was heavily in debt and losing money. The collapse of the BCCI bank put the Kumars' businesses into receivership; in November 1992 BCCI's liquidator put up for sale their 84% holding in the football club.[50] Though several groups expressed interest, the club continued in administration for four months, until Sport Newspapers proprietor David Sullivan bought it for £700,000.[51] Sullivan installed the 23-year-old Karren Brady as managing director and allowed Cooper money for signings. On the last day of the season, the team avoided relegation back to the third tier.[52]

[edit] 1993 – 2002

A poor start to the 1993–94 season saw Cooper's resignation, to be replaced by Barry Fry. Birmingham were fined by the Football League and ordered to pay compensation to Southend United after being found guilty of poaching Fry and his staff,[53] though the change of manager did not prevent relegation. At the end of the season, the Kop and Tilton Road sections of St Andrew's were demolished, to be re-opened the next season as all-seater stands.[54] The season ended with promotion back to the second tier and victory in the Auto Windscreens Shield at Wembley. Birmingham beat Carlisle United with a golden goal scored by Paul Tait, the first time this method had been used to settle a senior final in England.[55] After one more year, Fry was sacked to make way for the return of Trevor Francis.

Fry used no fewer than 47 players in his last season;[56] Francis set about introducing some stability. He mixed top-flight experience – Furlong, Ablett and Manchester United skipper Steve Bruce – with promising youth – Adebola, Ndlovu, Purse – and in his second season the club narrowly missed out on a play-off position. Off the field, the third side of the ground, the Railway End, was modernised. Then followed three years of play-off semifinal defeats, to Watford on penalties, Barnsley on aggregate, then Preston North End on penalties.[57]

They reached the 2001 League Cup final against Liverpool, the first major final played at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium during the construction of Wembley Stadium. Birmingham equalised Fowler's opening goal with a Darren Purse penalty in the last minute of normal time, then referee David Elleray failed to award another penalty during extra time when Andrew Johnson was tripped. The match went to a penalty shootout which Liverpool won.[58]

By October 2001, lack of progress had made Francis's position untenable. After a 6–0 League Cup defeat to Manchester City, he left by mutual consent.[59] Coaches Mick Mills and Jim Barron acted as caretaker managers while the battle to secure Steve Bruce's release from employers Crystal Palace reached the High Court.[60] Bruce shook up a stale team, taking them from mid-table into the play-offs. This time they were successful, beating Millwall on aggregate in the semifinal and in the final, again at Cardiff, beating Norwich City on penalties to take the club back to the top flight after 16 years away.[61]

[edit] 2002 – present

Bruce strengthened the team significantly, adding Cunningham, Morrison, Senegal World Cup captain Aliou Cissé and the combative Robbie Savage. After starting the season well, they faded when the small squad was hit by injury and suspension.[62] Further reinforcement in the January transfer window, buying Upson, Clemence and Clapham and signing the inspirational Christophe Dugarry on loan, resulted in a comfortable finish in 13th place, above local rivals Aston Villa whom they had beaten home and away.[63][64]

The start of the 2003–04 campaign saw Birmingham never out of the top six. Loan signing Mikael Forssell's 17 League goals helped them to a top half finish, but performances and results tailed off badly towards the end of the season. First-team coach Mark Bowen was sacked and replaced by former Coventry City manager Eric Black.[65] International class players were signed – Grønkjær, Heskey, Melchiot – but an injury to Forssell left them struggling for goals. Aided by transfer window loan signings Pennant, Nafti and Pandiani, another mid-table finish ensued.

Before the 2005–06 season, chairman David Gold said it was time to "start talking about being as good as anyone outside the top three or four" with "the best squad of players for 25 years".[66] Forssell, Nafti, Pandiani and Pennant had signed permanently, Butt and Jarošík joined on loan, but the first seven home games produced one point. Injuries, lack of form, and a lack of investment during the transfer window saw them facing the second half of the season with a strike-force of Heskey, an injury-prone Chris Sutton and the lively but inexperienced DJ Campbell. They suffered a 0–7 defeat to Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final and by the last game of the season were already relegated.[67]

Heskey and Pennant left for record fees,[68][17] many more were released,[69] though Bruce was not. The board concluded that "Steve is the right man to achieve this ambition" of immediate promotion.[70] A new recruitment strategy was adopted, combining young "hungry" players – Jerome, McSheffrey – with loan signings – the Arsenal trio Bendtner, Muamba and Larsson – and free-transfer experience – Jaïdi, N'Gotty. An up-and-down season had calls for the manager's head in October, topping the table and beating Newcastle United 5–1 on their own ground in January,[71] no league games for a month due to freak postponements, culminating in automatic promotion.[72]

In July 2007, Hong Kong-based businessman Carson Yeung bought 29.9% of shares in the club, making him the biggest single shareholder, with a view to taking full control in the future.[73] On the field, the club prepared for the 2007–08 season by making eight permanent and four loan signings, most notably former French international Olivier Kapo, Dutch U-21 winger Daniël de Ridder, Aston Villa defender Liam Ridgewell, and Arsenal defender Johan Djourou on loan.

Bruce resigned in November 2007 to take up the post of manager of Wigan Athletic.[74] Alex McLeish stepped down as Scottish national coach to become his replacement.[75]

[edit] References

  • Lewis, Peter (ed.) (2000). Keeping right on since 1875. The Official History of Birmingham City Football Club. Lytham: Arrow. ISBN 1-900722-12-7. 
  • Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-010-2. 
  • Matthews, Tony (October 2000). The Encyclopedia of Birmingham City Football Club 1875-2000. Cradley Heath: Britespot. ISBN 0-9539288-0-2. 

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books, p. 8. ISBN 1-85983-010-2. 
  2. ^ Williams, John (May 2002). Fact Sheet 10: The 'New' Football Economics. Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research: University of Leicester. Retrieved on 2007-07-06.
  3. ^ Division 2 1892/93. Football Facts and Figures. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
  4. ^ Division 2 1893/94. Football Facts and Figures. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
  5. ^ Aston Villa were based in the municipal borough of Aston Manor, which was added to the county borough of Birmingham only in 1911.
  6. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 12.
  7. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 12-13.
  8. ^ Birmingham City. Football Facts and Figures. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
  9. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 14.
  10. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 135-6.
  11. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 74.
  12. ^ Matthews, Encyclopedia, p. 190.
  13. ^ "The Cup Victory Of West Bromwich, A Triumph Of Youth" (via Times Digital Archive (subscription required)), The Times, 1931-04-27, p. 5. Retrieved on 2007-10-05. "The victory of West Bromwich Albion was the victory of youthful enthusiasm and confidence." 
  14. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 18, 173.
  15. ^ The Times, 'Victory of West Bromwich'. "Birmingham took the chance of playing Bradford, their centre-forward, after many weeks' absence from football through an injury to his knee. It is probable that, if they had another centre-forward available, they would not have taken the chance. It was evident almost in the first minute of the game that he was not himself. He had a slight limp at times. He could not trust himself too far and he did not go in for the ball as he would have done if he had been wholly fit."
  16. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 15-17.
  17. ^ a b Birmingham City Records (registration required). Birmingham City F.C.. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
  18. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 22.
  19. ^ Matthews, Encyclopedia, p. 55. "City was added to Birmingham (to make Birmingham City Football Club) in the summer of 1943 (and not 1945 as previously thought). The official Blues home programmes for the 1943–44 season clearly show Birmingham City Football Club on the front cover."
  20. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 22-23.
  21. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 61.
  22. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 25-27.
  23. ^ LFC Records. Liverpool F.C.. Retrieved on 2007-10-02.
  24. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 27.
  25. ^ "Trevor Smith", The Times, 2003-08-20. Retrieved on 2007-10-05. 
  26. ^ Alex Govan. Birmingham City F.C. (registration required) (2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-05. “It was a fair result but I still say to this day that if Roy Warhurst had been fit then there would only have been one winner.”
  27. ^ Keeping right on, p. 63. Alex Govan says: "In the build-up to the 1956 FA Cup semi-final with Sunderland I was interviewed by the press and happened to let slip that my favourite song was Harry Lauder's old music hall number Keep Right on to the End of the Road. I thought no more about it, but when the third goal went in at Hillsborough the Blues fans all started singing it. It was the proudest moment of my life."
  28. ^ Ross, James M (2006-07-13). European Cups Archive. RSSSF. Retrieved on 2007-07-27.
  29. ^ Moore, Chris. "Harris beats Henry", The Sun, 2003-11-27. Retrieved on 2008-01-04. 
  30. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 29-31.
  31. ^ Jawad, Hyder (March 2005). Strange Magic. Birmingham City v Aston Villa. Birmingham Post, p. 27. 
  32. ^ Ponting, Ivan. "Obituary: Trevor Smith" (via findarticles.com), The Independent, 2003-09-15. Retrieved on 2007-07-11. 
  33. ^ Jawad, Strange Magic, pp. 27-28. "Villa did not have the craft to stage a fightback and Birmingham, eager to protect their lead rather than add to it, spent most of the match kicking the ball out for throw-ins."
  34. ^ (1972-08-19) "'Taffy' Coombs... The man who rebuilt the Blues", GOAL magazine, p. 27. 
  35. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 63, 37-38.
  36. ^ Corbett, James. "Bob Latchford", Observer Sport Monthly, The Observer, 2006-03-05. Retrieved on 2007-10-08. 
  37. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 38-39, 209-215.
  38. ^ Shaw, Phil. "Hendrie senses new Cup glory with Tamworth", The Independent, 1998-11-11. Retrieved on 2007-10-09. 
  39. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 39-41, 214.
  40. ^ The European Cup Team 1979. History. Nottingham Forest F.C.. Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
  41. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 88.
  42. ^ Adams, Tim. "Aston Villa, 1981", Observer Sport Monthly, The Observer, 2006-03-05. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  43. ^ Birmingham City Football Club A Brief History. Keep Right On (a Birmingham City fansite). Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
  44. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 42, 219.
  45. ^ Webster, Philip. "Ban on visiting fans urged in judge's football safety report" (via Newsbank), The Times, 1985-07-25. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. "The Birmingham riot in which more than 500 were injured and in which a boy of 15 died when a wall collapsed 'more resembled the battle of Agincourt than a football match.' " 
  46. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 44-45, 224.
  47. ^ Moore, Chris. "Birmingham turn to Atkins" (via Newsbank), The Times, 1991-01-25. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  48. ^ "Ambitious Macari appointed by Stoke" (via Newsbank), The Times, 1991-06-19. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. "When I took over the Birmingham job without any contract, things were so bad the chairman asked me to raise £250,000 by the end of the season. It looked impossible, but the revenue was delivered with the great run in the Leyland Daf. It's no secret that, if we hadn't got to Wembley, Birmingham would have been in financial trouble and might have gone under." 
  49. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, p. 48.
  50. ^ Goodbody, John. "Receivers put football club up for sale" (via Newsbank), The Times, 1992-11-07. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  51. ^ "Sullivan takes control" (via Newsbank), The Times, 1993-03-06. Retrieved on 2008-01-04. 
  52. ^ Matthews, Complete Record, pp. 48-52.
  53. ^ Kempson, Russell. "Club fined £55,000 for poaching Fry from Southend" (via Newsbank), The Times, 1994-02-18. Retrieved on 2007-10-11. 
  54. ^ Matthews, Encyclopedia, pp. 194-95.
  55. ^ The highs and lows of Carlisle United. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
  56. ^ Matthews, Encyclopedia, p. 88.
  57. ^ Club History. Birmingham City F.C.. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
  58. ^ Curtis, John. "Birmingham 1 Liverpool 1 (4-5 on pens)", PA Sport, 2001-02-25. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  59. ^ "Francis leaves Blues", BBC, 2001-10-15. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  60. ^ "Birmingham unveil Bruce", BBC, 2001-12-12. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  61. ^ May, John. "Cool Carter in blue heaven", BBC, 2002-05-12. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  62. ^ "Bruce seeks new players", BBC, 2002-10-21. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  63. ^ "Blues humiliate Villa", BBC, 2002-09-16. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  64. ^ "Blues win fierce derby", BBC, 2003-03-03. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  65. ^ Tattum, Colin. "Bowen out in Blues shake up", Evening Mail, 2004-06-23. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  66. ^ Scott, Ged. "Golden time to talk up Blues", Birmingham Post, 2005-07-07. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  67. ^ Shaw, Phil. "'Shattered' Bruce to consider future at Birmingham" (via findarticles.com), The Independent, 2006-05-01. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  68. ^ "Wigan seal £5.5m move for Heskey", BBC, 2006-07-07. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  69. ^ "Birmingham release seven players", BBC, 2006-05-09. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  70. ^ "Bruce stays on as Birmingham boss", BBC, 2006-05-19. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  71. ^ Bevan, Chris. "Newcastle 1-5 Birmingham", BBC, 2007-01-17. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  72. ^ Jawad, Hyder. "Bruce and the art of living through a crisis", Birmingham Post, 2007-05-02. Retrieved on 2007-10-12. 
  73. ^ "Yeung takes stake in Birmingham", BBC, 2007-07-16. Retrieved on 2007-07-23. 
  74. ^ "Bruce leaves Birmingham for Wigan", BBC Sport, 2008-05-02. Retrieved on 2007-11-19. 
  75. ^ "Birmingham unveil McLeish as boss", BBC Sport, 2007-11-28. Retrieved on 2008-05-02. 

[edit] External links

Birmingham City F.C.
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Birmingham City F.C. | History | Managers | Players | Records | Seasons
Grounds: St Andrew's | Muntz Street | City of Birmingham Stadium
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