Birmingham City F.C.
2003–04 season
ChairmanDavid Gold
ManagerSteve Bruce
GroundSt Andrew's
Premier League10th
FA Cup
League Cup
Top goalscorerLeague: Mikael Forssell (17)
All: Mikael Forssell (19)
Highest home attendance29,588 vs Arsenal, 22 November 2003
Lowest home attendance18,688 vs Blackburn Rovers, FA Cup 3rd round, 3 January 2004
Average home league attendance29,073[1]

The 2003–04 season was Birmingham City Football Club's 101st season in the English football league system, their second season in the Premier League, and their 52nd season in the top tier of English football. They finished 10th in the 20-team league, three places higher than the previous season. They entered the FA Cup at the third round stage and lost to Sunderland in the fifth after a replay, and lost their opening second-round League Cup-tie to Blackpool. Top scorer was loan signing Mikael Forssell with 19 goals, 17 of which were scored in the league.

Pre-season

Pre-season friendlies

DateOpponents VenueResultScore
F–A		Scorers AttendanceRef
19 July 2003 Burton AlbionA W4–0John (2) 3', 56', Dunn (2) 18', 30' (pen) 1,952 [2]
24 July 2003 Newcastle UnitedN L1–2Devlin 72' (pen) 14,600 [lower-alpha 1][4]
26 July 2003 Malaysia XIN W4–0John (2) 8', 50', Clemence 76', Hughes 82' 12,000 [lower-alpha 1][5]
30 July 2003 Port ValeA L0–2 [6]
2 August 2003 BurnleyA W2–2Horsfield 10', Dunn 26' [7]
5 August 2003 WalsallA W3–1John 30', Dugarry 50', Carter 80' 7,451 [8]
9 August 2003 Real MallorcaH D0–0 19,148 [9]
  1. 1 2 Matches were played as part of the 2003 FA Premier League Asia Cup tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[3]

Premier League

Season review

Having avoided relegation in their first season in the Premier League with seven wins from the last eleven games, Birmingham were expected to struggle.[10] They were unbeaten in the league at the end of September, and went into November still in fourth place. During a poor spell in the middle of the season Steve Bruce's side fell as low as tenth, though they rallied again and stood one point off fourth place with eight matches to go.[11] In contrast to the previous season, just one win from the last eleven games gave Birmingham a tenth-place finish, six points behind city rivals Aston Villa, who had been struggling against relegation at the turn of the year.[10][12]

August–September

In Birmingham's first game of the season, they beat Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 at St Andrew's, courtesy of a debut goal by record signing David Dunn, who converted a penalty awarded for Anthony Gardner's foul on Robbie Savage. Tottenham's manager, Glenn Hoddle, said afterwards that Rob Styles should not have been appointed as referee because he had sent off Birmingham's Kenny Cunningham in pre-season and "it's human nature to balance things up."[13] Steve Bruce's side shared what PA Sport's reporter dubbed "a thrilling 0-0" at Southampton the following weekend. Both sides had chances to win the match as James Beattie struck the post and Stern John saw a shot cleared off the line.[14] Birmingham then overcame Newcastle United 1–0 at St James' Park: after Gary Speed brought down Damien Johnson in the penalty area, Dunn's penalty was saved, but he scored from the rebound to give Birmingham a second league win in three games. In the first minute of the match, referee Matt Messias accidentally struck Savage in the face as he signalled a free kick.[15] Their second league win in three games saw Birmingham climb to sixth in the table as they entered September.[11]

Birmingham signed Finland international striker Mikael Forssell on a season-long loan from Chelsea before the transfer window shut.[16] He scored twice on debut in a 2–2 draw with Fulham at St Andrew's, equalising just before half-time after Louis Saha gave the visitors an early lead and then again tying the scores after 82 minutes. Both sides finished with ten men: Sylvain Legwinski received a second yellow card for tripping Dunn and Darren Purse was sent off for "aiming a punch at" Luis Boa Morte after he scored Fulham's second goal.[17] At Elland Road, Leeds United had the upper hand until Roque Júnior fouled Forssell and was sent off. Paul Robinson saved Dunn's penalty but the assistant referee saw an infringement. Savage's retake was successful and Forssell made the score 2–0.[18] A 2–0 win at home to Portsmouth on 27 September with goals from Stephen Clemence and Stan Lazaridis gave Birmingham their best ever start to a league season and moved them fourth in the table.[19]

October–December

Manchester United inflicted Birmingham's first league defeat of the season, winning 3–0 at Old Trafford after goalkeeper Maik Taylor was sent off by Mike Dean for fouling Paul Scholes.[20] A goalless draw was enough to take normally free-scoring Chelsea top of the league and Birmingham fourth.[21] Having lost both Second City derbies in 2002–03, Aston Villa held out for a goalless draw at St Andrew's "in a game high on energy but desperately low on quality".[22] A fine save by Taylor from Bolton Wanderers' Kevin Davies helped Birmingham keep another clean sheet and a well-worked goal by Forssell gave them a fifth win of the season. Faced with criticism of his team's style of play, Bruce was pragmatic: "I wanted to assemble a team that was difficult to beat. If I'd gone down the other route and brought in six flair players we’d have ended up bottom of the League."[23]

Having conceded only five league goals in the first three months of the season, Birmingham's defence was unusually fragile against Charlton Athletic. Matt Holland's two goals and Dean Kiely's multiple saves helped them become the first team for nine months to win at St Andrew's. Christophe Dugarry's powerfully headed goal was his first of the season and the last of his Birmingham career.[24] Forssell scored just after half-time in a 1–1 draw at home to local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers,[25] before Birmingham lost 3–0 at home to Arsenal.[26] They had the better of the first half against Liverpool at Anfield, but two spectacular second-half goals gave the hosts a 3–1 victory that left Birmingham in eighth place.[27]

Four goals in the last half hour gave Blackburn Rovers an emphatic win at Birmingham. Dugarry, who had earlier missed from a yard out and whose foul in the build-up caused Forssell's goal to be disallowed, was sent off on 72 minutes after receiving two yellow cards.[28] He was later charged with misconduct by the Football Association over an incident missed by the referee in which Craig Short's nose was broken, and banned for three matches.[29] In Dugarry's absence with a knee injury, Clinton Morrison made his first league start for eight months and scored the opening goal in a match in which two opponents were sent off: Leicester City's captain, Matt Elliott, for an arm in Dunn's face in the first half and their goalkeeper, Ian Walker, after an hour for handling the ball a long way outside his penalty area. Forssell's header completed a 2–0 win, and Maik Taylor ended the match with a black eye and three stitches.[30] Manchester City took an early lead at St Andrew's on Boxing Day, and despite pressure from Birmingham it took two fortunate goals in the last ten minutes – Jeff Kenna headed home the rebound after Savage's free kick struck the goalpost, and Richard Dunne's attempted clearance bounced in off Forssell – to secure the three points.[31] Against Everton at Goodison Park, when Taylor was "jostled" by both Duncan Ferguson and Alan Stubbs, no foul was given, and Wayne Rooney scored the only goal of the match;[32] the defeat left Birmingham ninth in the table.[11]

January–February

With a defence disrupted by injury – midfielder Darren Carter, making his first start of the season, was one of three players used at left back in the first 40 minutes – Birmingham conceded three times to Tottenham Hotspur in the first half. Savage's penalty reduced the deficit, but Morrison missed a chance when through on goal, and the match ended 4–1.[33] A goal apiece after 16 minutes, Antti Niemi's goalkeeping kept Southampton in the game, but Kenna scored the winner after an exchange of passes with Morrison; it was his second goal in two weeks and third in 8+1⁄2 years. Moments later, Kenna was having his head stitched after a challenge for which David Prutton was sent off.[34] At Stamford Bridge, PA Sport's reporter highlighted Birmingham's incredible tenacity, Savage and Clemence "excelling in central midfield as they outplayed, let alone outfought, their far more illustrious opponents" to record another goalless draw with Chelsea, helped by Olivier Tebily's acrobatic clearance off the line after a rare error by Maik Taylor.[35] After Newcastle United took a first-half lead at St Andrew's, Birmingham dominated without success. They were awarded a free kick in the second minute of stoppage time, which was moved forward 10 yards after a Newcastle player kicked the ball away. Cunningham took the free kick, and Stern John slid in to score.[36]

Taylor made several fine saves, including a "superlative double reflex save from first Macken and then Sibierski", in a goalless draw with Manchester City at Eastlands. Johnson had and missed a late chance to win the match for Birmingham, which even Bruce thought would have been a injustice.[37] Three days later Birmingham comfortably beat Everton with goals by Johnson, Forssell and Stan Lazaridis: "after collecting a pass from Savage in his own half, the Australian embarked on a speedy, purposeful and unchecked 40-yard (37 m) run before unleashing a fierce cross-shot into the roof of the net"[38] that earned him the club's Goal of the Season award.[39] Birmingham came back from 2–0 down at Villa Park to draw the Second City derby; the equaliser came in the fourth minute of stoppage time when Morrison's shot was parried and Stern John "thrashed the loose ball into the roof of the net".[40] It was Christophe Dugarry's final appearance before his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.[41]

March–May

Home wins against Middlesbrough, League Cup winners just three days before, in which recent signing Martin Taylor scored his first goal when Forssell's shot struck his shoulder,[42] and League Cup losers Bolton Wanderers, in which Bryan Hughes's first goal of the season and Forssell's fourth in four games took Birmingham fifth in the table.[43] Leicester City prepared for their visit to Birmingham with a "bonding" break in Spain during which nine players were arrested, three of whom were jailed; thanks to Les Ferdinand's goal and their hosts' poor finishing, they put an end to Birmingham's eight-match unbeaten run.[44] The away match with Middlesbrough, played in a howling gale, was described by the Independent as "an eight-goal thriller in which a keeper (Middlesbrough's Mark Schwarzer) was the star and managed to keep the scoring within reasonable bounds" and by the Guardian as "a snatch of comic relief, a red-face day out of the blue"; Birmingham lost 5–3, and the last goal was scored by Szilard Nemeth after Matthew Upson tried to head the ball back to his goalkeeper but could not reach it until he was almost flat on the floor.[45] Birmingham conceded early at home to Leeds United but had a 3–1 lead when a penalty was awarded. Although Forssell was the designated penalty-taker, Hughes had two goals already and wanted to complete his hat-trick; Bruce intervened in favour of Forssell, who duly scored his 18th goal of the season.[46]

Two weeks after Maik Taylor's loan from Fulham was made permanent,[47] his goalkeeping was instrumental in Birmingham's goalless draw with his former club; the result left them in sixth place.[48] Martin Grainger, who had replaced the injured Lazaridis after 14 minutes, opened the scoring against Manchester United after 39 with a free kick. He was himself substituted at half-time because of a patellar tendon torn before he took the free kick, and he never played again. Cristiano Ronaldo and Louis Saha gave United a 2–1 win.[49] Just before half-time at Portsmouth, Yakubu Aiyegbeni gave the hosts the lead. Referee Barry Knight disallowed the goal, sent off Maik Taylor for handling the ball outside his area, and awarded a free kick, from which Dejan Stefanović scored. Portsmouth doubled their lead, and then Stern John made the score 2–1. Knight then awarded a penalty, converted by Yakubu, and disallowed John's second for offside – harshly, according to BBC Sport.[50] Morrison gave Birmingham the lead at Charlton, who promptly equalised; Hughes miskicked in front of an open goal in stoppage time.[51] Away to Wolverhampton Wanderers, Forssell scored his 19th and last goal of the season and played a through ball from which Morrison gave Birmingham a 2–1 lead, but Taylor parried the ball to Carl Cort's feet for the equaliser.[52]

Without Maik Taylor and Forssell, Birmingham secured a goalless draw away to a strong Arsenal side already confirmed as league champions. Had Morrison not failed to control Lazaridis' second-half cross, their unbeaten record might well have been broken.[53] In their last home game of the season, Birmingham lost 3–0 to Liverpool; Emile Heskey, who made the assist for Michael Owen's goal and scored the second, signed for Birmingham ten days later.[54] With Cunningham suspended, Savage captained the team for the visit to Blackburn Rovers; Stern John's late equaliser secured a 1–1 draw away and a tenth-place finish, six points short of European qualification.[55]

Match details

Premier League match details[56]
Date League[11]
position		 Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance Ref(s)
16 August 2003 6thTottenham HotspurH W1–0Dunn 36' pen. 29,358 [13]
23 August 2003 6thSouthamptonA D0–0 31,656 [14]
30 August 2003 6thNewcastle UnitedA W1–0Dunn 61' 52,006 [15]
14 September 2003 8thFulhamH D2–2Forssell (2) 45', 82' 27,250 [17]
20 September 2003 7thLeeds UnitedA W2–0Savage 79' pen., Forssell 84' 34,305 [18]
27 September 2003 4thPortsmouthH W2–0Clemence 21', Lazaridis 50' 29,057 [19]
4 October 2003 5thManchester UnitedA L0–3 67,633 [20]
14 October 2003 4thChelseaH D0–0 29,460 [21]
19 October 2003 4thAston VillaH D0–0 29,546 [22]
25 October 2003 4thBolton WanderersA W1–0Forssell 31' 25,023 [23]
3 November 2003 4thCharlton AthleticH L1–2Dugarry 64' 27,225 [24]
8 November 2003 5thWolverhampton WanderersA D1–1Forssell 49' 28,831 [25]
22 November 2003 5thArsenalH L0–3 29,588 [26]
30 November 2003 8thLiverpoolA L1–3Forssell 33' 42,683 [27]
6 December 2003 8thBlackburn RoversH L0–4 29,354 [28]
13 December 2003 8thLeicester CityA W2–0Morrison 42', Forssell 66' 30,639 [30]
26 December 2003 8thManchester CityH W2–1Kenna 81', Forssell 87' 29,520 [31]
28 December 2003 9thEvertonA L0–1 39,631 [32]
7 January 2004 10thTottenham HotspurA L1–4Savage 68' pen. 30,016 [33]
10 January 2004 8thSouthamptonH W2–1Clemence 16', Kenna 67' 29,071 [34]
18 January 2004 9thChelseaA D0–0 41,073 [35]
31 January 2004 9thNewcastle UnitedH D1–1John 90' 29,513 [36]
8 February 2004 10thManchester CityA D0–0 46,967 [37]
11 February 2004 9thEvertonH W3–0Johnson 8', Lazaridis 39', Forssell 49' 29,004 [38]
22 February 2004 8thAston VillaA D2–2Forssell 60', John 90' 40,061 [40]
3 March 2004 7thMiddlesbroughH W3–1Martin Taylor 23', Savage 57', Forssell 79' 29,369 [42]
6 March 2004 5thBolton WanderersH W2–0Forssell 24', Hughes 69' 28,003 [43]
13 March 2004 6thLeicester CityH L0–1 29,491 [44]
20 March 2004 7thMiddlesbroughA L3–5Forssell (2) 23', 59', Morrison 45' 30,244 [45]
27 March 2004 6thLeeds UnitedH W4–1Hughes (2) 12', 67, Forssell (2) 69', 82' pen. 29,069 [46]
3 April 2004 6thFulhamA D0–0 14,667 [48]
10 April 2004 6thManchester UnitedH L1–2Grainger 53' 29,548 [49]
12 April 2004 8thPortsmouthA L1–3John 67' 20,104 [50]
17 April 2004 8thCharlton AthleticA D1–1Morrison 84' 25,206 [51]
25 April 2004 9thWolverhampton WanderersH D2–2Forssell 34', Morrison 41' 29,494 [52]
1 May 2004 9thArsenalA D0–0 38,061 [53]
8 May 2004 10thLiverpoolH L0–3 29,553 [54]
15 May 2004 10thBlackburn RoversA D1–1John 83' 26,070 [55]

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
8 Bolton Wanderers 38 14 11 13 48 56 −8 53
9 Fulham 38 14 10 14 52 46 +6 52
10 Birmingham City 38 12 14 12 43 48 −5 50
11 Middlesbrough 38 13 9 16 44 52 −8 48 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[lower-alpha 1]
12 Southampton 38 12 11 15 44 45 −1 47
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ↑ Middlesbrough qualified as the 2003–04 Football League Cup winners.

Results summary

OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
38 12 14 12 43 48  −5 50 8 5 6 26 24  +2 4 9 6 17 24  −7

Source: [12]

FA Cup

Birmingham reached the fifth round of the 2003–04 FA Cup before losing to Sunderland of Division One after a replay.

FA Cup match details[56]
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
Third round 3 January 2004Blackburn RoversH W4–0Morrison 23', Clemence 36', Forssell 78', Hughes 84' 18,688
Fourth round 24 January 2004WimbledonH W1–0Hughes 4' 22,159
Fifth round 14 February 2004SunderlandA D1–1Forssell 28' 24,966
Fifth round replay 25 February 2004SunderlandH L0–2 25,645

League Cup

Birmingham entered the 2003–04 League Cup at the second round. They conceded after six minutes away to Blackpool of the Second Division, and when given a chance from the penalty spot, Clemence's kick cleared the bar.[57]

League Cup match details
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
Second round 23 September 2003BlackpoolA L0–1 7,370

Transfers

In

Date Player Club Fee Ref
1 July 2003Christophe DugarryBordeauxFree [58]
7 July 2003David DunnBlackburn Rovers£5.5m [59]
23 July 2003Luciano FigueroaRosario Central£2.5m [60]
2 February 2004Martin TaylorBlackburn Rovers£1.25m [61]

Out

Date Player Fee Joined† Ref
8 July 2003Tommy MooneyFreeSwindon Town [62]
8 August 2003Joey HutchinsonFreeDarlington [16]
14 August 2003Michael JohnsonNominalDerby County [16]
5 September 2003Geoff Horsfield£500,000Wigan Athletic [63]
12 September 2003Paul Devlin£150,000Watford [63]
23 December 2003Luciano FigueroaContract cancelled(Cruz Azul) [64]
2 February 2004Jovan KirovskiReleased(Los Angeles Galaxy) [65]
11 March 2004Christophe DugarryReleased(Qatar SC) [66]
12 March 2004Jeff KennaFreeDerby County [67]
25 March 2004Craig FaganFreeColchester United [68]
30 March 2004Tom WilliamsReleasedPeterborough United [69]
18 June 2004Darren Purse£750,000West Bromwich Albion [70]
30 June 2004Bryan HughesReleased(Charlton Athletic) [71]
† Brackets round club names denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.

Loan in

Date Player Club Return Ref
8 August 2003 Maik TaylorFulhamEnd of season [72]
28 August 2003 Mikael ForssellChelseaEnd of season [16][73]

Loan out

Date Player Club Return Ref
1 August 2003Craig FaganColchester United25 March 2004 [68]
10 October 2003Andrew BarrowmanCrewe AlexandraOne month [74]
21 November 2003Mat SadlerNorthampton TownTwo months [75]
24 December 2003Nico VaesenGillinghamOne month [76]
1 January 2004Tom WilliamsPeterborough UnitedThree months [69][77]
12 February 2004Martin GraingerCoventry City18 March 2004 [78]
13 February 2004Nico VaesenBradford CityOne month [79]
18 March 2004Nico VaesenCrystal PalaceEnd of season [80]

Appearances and goals

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.
Players with squad numbers 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 included in matchday squads
No. Pos Nat Name League FA Cup League Cup Total Discipline
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals! 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
1GK ENG Ian Bennett 4 (2)000004 (2)000
2†DF IRE Jeff Kenna 14 (3)2400018 (3)210
3DF ENG Martin Grainger 3 (1)100003 (1)100
4DF IRE Kenny Cunningham 360401041031
5DF ENG Darren Purse 90300012011
6MF SEN Aliou Cissé 5 (10)00 (1)0106 (11)061
7†MF SCO Paul Devlin 0 (2)000000 (2)090
8MF WAL Robbie Savage 3134000343120
9†FW ENG Geoff Horsfield 2 (1)000002 (1)000
9FW FIN Mikael Forssell 32173 (1)20 (1)035 (2)1910
10MF ENG Bryan Hughes 17 (9)33 (1)20020 (10)500
11MF AUS Stan Lazaridis 25 (5)2201028 (5)200
12GK NIR Maik Taylor 340401039022
13GK IRE Colin Doyle 0000000000
14FW TRI Stern John[lower-alpha 1] 7 (22)41 (1)0109 (23)400
15†FW USA Jovan Kirovski 0 (6)00 (1)00 (1)00 (8)000
15DF ENG Martin Taylor 11 (1)1000011 (1)100
16MF ENG David Dunn 20 (1)2301024 (1)220
18GK BEL Nico Vaesen 0000000000
19FW IRE Clinton Morrison 19 (13)4411024 (13)510
21†FW FRA Christophe Dugarry 12 (2)10 (1)00012 (3)161
22MF NIR Damien Johnson[lower-alpha 2] 351401040170
23DF ENG Jamie Clapham 22 (3)00 (1)01023 (4)000
24MF ENG Darren Carter 1 (4)00 (3)0001 (7)000
25DF ENG Matthew Upson 300201033020
26DF CIV Olivier Tébily 17 (10)0200019 (10)040
27FW SCO Andrew Barrowman 0 (1)000000 (1)000
28MF ENG Carl Motteram 0000000000
32MF ENG Stephen Clemence 32 (3)21 (1)11034 (4)340
35†FW ARG Luciano Figueroa 0 (1)0000 (1)00 (2)000
  1. ↑ Soccerbase omits four substitute appearances in the Premier League by Stern John.
  2. ↑ Soccerbase counts four of Damien Johnson's Premier League starts as substitute appearances.
Players not included in matchday squads
No. Pos Nat Name
20†MF ENG Tom Williams
27†DF ENG Joey Hutchinson
29†DF ENG Craig Fagan
30DF ENG Mat Sadler
34MF ENG Neil Kilkenny

Sources

  • 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.

References

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  2. ↑ Tattum, Colin (21 July 2003). "Blues get started in style". Birmingham Evening Mail. Archived from the original on 14 August 2003.
  3. ↑ Saaid, Hamdan (31 July 2003). "FA Premier League Asia Cup 2003 (Kuala Lumpur)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  4. ↑ Nursey, James (25 July 2003). "Bruce puts brave face on lost". Birmingham Post. Archived from the original on 19 December 2003.
  5. ↑ "Stern shoots back in style". Sunday Mercury. Birmingham. 27 July 2003. Archived from the original on 20 August 2003.
  6. ↑ Nursey, James (31 July 2003). "Vale of woe for Blues". Birmingham Post. Archived from the original on 20 August 2003.
  7. ↑ Tattum, Colin (4 August 2003). "Bruce aims to hit Prem peak". Birmingham Evening Mail. p. 70. Retrieved 26 January 2021 – via Gale OneFile: News.
  8. ↑ "Duga lights up the night". Coventry Telegraph. 6 August 2003. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  9. ↑ "Blues cool Real heat". Sports Argus. Birmingham. 9 August 2003. p. 2. Retrieved 26 January 2021 – via Gale OneFile: News.
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