1926–27 Birmingham F.C. season

Birmingham F.C.
1926–27 season
Chairman Howard Cant
Manager Billy Beer until March 1927 Bill Harvey thereafter
Ground St Andrew's
Football League First Division 17th
FA Cup Fourth round (eliminated by Southampton)
Top goalscorer League: Joe Bradford (22)
All: Joe Bradford (23)
Highest home attendance 48,104 vs Aston Villa, 30 October 1926
Lowest home attendance 6,321 vs Bolton Wanderers, 4 April 1927
Average home league attendance 22,030

The 1926–27 Football League season was Birmingham Football Club's 31st in the Football League and their 14th in the First Division. They finished in 17th position in the 22-team division. They also competed in the 1926–27 FA Cup, entering at the third round proper and losing to Southampton in the fourth.

Twenty-seven players made at least one appearance in nationally organised competition, and there were ten different goalscorers. Half-back George Liddell and forward George Briggs played in 43 of the 44 matches over the season, and Joe Bradford was leading scorer for the sixth successive year, with 23 goals, of which 22 came in the league.

Off the field, the club was in some turmoil regarding transfer policy. In early March 1927, three members of the board of directors resigned. The Sports Argus' editorial suggested that one faction were "anxious to secure talent at almost any price" and the other "desirous with 'going slow' as its motto", and believed that "the former are now in the ascendancy and that they mean business".[1] A few days later, Billy Beer resigned as manager. The Argus was disappointed:

Managers are in a peculiar position. They have many masters to serve and to please them all is impossible. Mr. Beer has discovered this, and ... has cleared out. I am sorry, because, frankly, I thought he would make a good job of his task if given the opportunity.[2]

It was reported later that Beer had found it impossible to work with some members of the board, so had tendered his resignation, if that was thought to be in the best interests of the club, and was less than happy with the treatment he had received.[3]

Football League First Division

DateLeague
position		Opponents VenueResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
28 August 1926 3rdBlackburn RoversH W3–1Briggs, Bradford 2 24,091
30 August 1926 11thLeicester CityA L2–5Bradford, Harris 23,883
4 September 1926 6thHuddersfield TownA W2–0Bradford 2 19,893
11 September 1926 4thSunderlandH W2–0Briggs 2 28,035
13 September 1926 4thSheffield WednesdayH D0–0 13,676
18 September 1926 2ndWest Bromwich AlbionA W2–1Briggs 2 26,697
20 September 1926 1stEvertonH W1–0Briggs 11,411
25 September 1926 2ndBuryH D2–2Briggs 2 24,006
2 October 1926 2ndBolton WanderersA L0–1 20,006
9 October 1926 10thTottenham HotspurA L1–6Bradford 29,392
16 October 1926 7thDerby CountyH W1–0Harris 23,145
23 October 1926 4thManchester UnitedA W1–0Harris 32,010
30 October 1926 7thAston VillaH L1–2Crosbie 48,104
6 November 1926 8thCardiff CityA L0–1 10,598
13 November 1926 6thBurnleyH W1–0Bradford 11,208
20 November 1926 8thNewcastle UnitedA L1–5Briggs 30,056
27 November 1926 7thLeeds UnitedH W2–0Harris, Bradford 19,707
4 December 1926 9thLiverpoolA L1–2Briggs 27,884
11 December 1926 9thArsenalH D0–0 22,982
18 December 1926 9thSheffield UnitedA L3–4Briggs, Harris, Bradford 19,093
25 December 1926 10thWest Ham UnitedA L0–1 27,984
27 December 1926 12thWest Ham UnitedH L0–2 39,204
1 January 1927 12thLeicester CityH W2–1Bradford 2 31,275
15 January 1927 15thBlackburn RoversA L2–3Islip, Scriven 10,176
22 January 1927 15thHuddersfield TownH L1–3Thirlaway 16,779
5 February 1927 15thWest Bromwich AlbionH W1–0Bradford 29,681
12 February 1927 16thBuryA L1–3Islip 11,958
16 February 1927 16thSunderlandA L1–4Briggs 10,525
26 February 1927 16thTottenham HotspurH W1–0Cringan 21,145
5 March 1927 17thDerby CountyA L1–4Crosbie 15,154
12 March 1927 16thManchester UnitedH W4–0Bradford 2, Crosbie, Scriven 14,392
19 March 1927 18thAston VillaA L2–4Bond, Scriven 49,334
2 April 1927 18thBurnleyA W2–0Bradford, Crosbie 12,679
4 April 1927 13thBolton WanderersH W6–1Crosbie 2, Bradford, Briggs, Scriven, Cringan 6,321
9 April 1927 12thNewcastle UnitedH W2–0Bradford, Bond 27,918
16 April 1927 13thLeeds UnitedA L1–2Bradford 18,703
18 April 1927 16thEvertonA L1–3Taylor og 32,880
19 April 1927 15thSheffield WednesdayA D4–4Scriven, Bradford, Liddell, Briggs 17,720
23 April 1927 12thLiverpoolH W3–0Briggs, Bradford, Bond 14,918
27 April 1927 13thCardiff CityH L1–2Bradford 23,681
30 April 1927 16thArsenalA L0–3 22,619
7 May 1927 17thSheffield UnitedH L2–3Bradford, Briggs 10,951

League table (part)

Final First Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
15th Manchester United4213141552640.8140
16th Sheffield Wednesday421591865920.8139
17th Birmingham421742164730.8838
18th Blackburn Rovers421581977960.8038
19th Blackburn Rovers4212121868770.8836
Key Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played;
W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost;
F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points
Source [4]

FA Cup

Main article: 1926–27 FA Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
Third round 8 January 1927Manchester CityH W4–1Bradford, Islip, Crosbie, Briggs 39,503
Fourth round 29 January 1927SouthamptonA L1–4Briggs 15,804

Appearances and goals

Players having played at least one first-team match
Name Position Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
League FA Cup Total
Hibbs, HarryHarry Hibbs Goalkeeper100010
Owen, WilliamWilliam Owen Goalkeeper501060
Tremelling, DanDan Tremelling Goalkeeper36010370
Barton, PercyPercy Barton Full back30010310
Bruce, HarryHarry Bruce Full back300030
Isherwood, HarryHarry Isherwood Full back100010
Jones, JackJack Jones Full back14020160
Smith, JoeJoe Smith Full back17000170
Womack, FrankFrank Womack Full back26020280
Cringan, JimmyJimmy Cringan Half back35220372
Dale, DickieDickie Dale Half back29010300
Hunter, BillBill HunterLeft club during playing season Half back600060
Leslie, AlecAlec Leslie Half back700070
Liddell, GeorgeGeorge Liddell Half back41120431
Wood, EdmundEdmund Wood Half back100010
Bond, BennyBenny Bond Forward19310203
Bradford, JoeJoe Bradford Forward3422213623
Briggs, GeorgeGeorge Briggs Forward4116224318
Castle, FrederickFrederick Castle Forward100010
Crosbie, JohnnyJohnny Crosbie Forward39621417
Harris, WallyWally Harris Forward22500225
Harvey, EdmundEdmund Harvey Forward100010
Islip, ErnieErnie Islip Forward722193
Oakes, AlfAlf Oakes Forward100010
Russell, JackJack Russell Forward600060
Scriven, AubreyAubrey Scriven Forward17500175
Thirlaway, BillyBilly ThirlawayLeft club during playing season Forward22110231

See also

References

General
Specific
  1. ↑ 'Argus Junior' (5 March 1927). "Leaves of my Notebook". Sports Argus (Birmingham): p.1.
  2. ↑ 'Argus Junior' (12 March 1927). "The Sands of the Hour-Glass". Sports Argus (Birmingham): p.1.
  3. ↑ 'Argus Junior' (2 April 1927). "The Sands of the Hour-Glass". Sports Argus (Birmingham): p.1.
  4. ↑ "Birmingham City 1926–1927: English Division One (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 12 May 2012.