2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season
Encyclopedia
The 2010–11 season
was Birmingham City Football Clubs seventh season in the Premier League and their 57th in the top tier of English football. It ran from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011. Led by Scotland national team
manager Alex McLeish
, the team finished in 18th place in the League, so were relegated to the Championship
for the 2011–12 season. They reached the quarter-final of the FA Cup
, and won the League Cup
, their first major trophy since 1963, by beating favourites Arsenal
2–1 in the final
with goals from Nikola Žigić
and Obafemi Martins
. The top scorer for the season was Craig Gardner
with ten goals in all competitions, of which eight were in the League. McLeish resigned as manager on 12 June 2011.
's takeover of the club in 2009, Birmingham travelled to their owner's native China for their 2010–11 pre-season tour. They began with a 3–2 victory against a Hong Kong League XI
to win the inaugural Xtep Cup. The winning goal was scored by Garry O'Connor
, set up by debutant Nikola Žigić
from a Stuart Parnaby
cross. In the second match, O'Connor scored the only goal of the game against Beijing Guoan on a dreadful pitch in the Bird's Nest Stadium, and Birmingham then beat Liaoning Whowin
with goals from O'Connor and Sebastian Larsson
to achieve a hat-trick of victories over Chinese opposition. While in China club officials and players performed promotional activities including attending the launch in Beijing of the 2010–11 kit, supplied for the first time by Chinese manufacturer Xtep
.
Back on home soil, Birmingham continued their good form at Pride Park Stadium
, where they were victorious against a Derby County
side featuring former Blues midfielder Robbie Savage
. The following day, a Birmingham XI including first-team players rested for the match against Derby drew 2–2 against Northampton Town, succumbing to a late header from Liam Davis. Birmingham came from two goals down to beat Milton Keynes Dons
. James McFadden
missed a first-half penalty, but two second-half goals from Cameron Jerome
and an 88th-minute winner from O'Connor were enough to see off the League One
opposition. Real Mallorca, the visitors for the only home friendly of the 2010 pre-season, inflicted Birmingham's only defeat with a goal from Emilio Nsue. Craig Gardner
played in an unfamiliar right-back position with both Stephen Carr
and Stuart Parnaby
injured.
. Goalkeeper Ben Foster
made his debut, and Garry O'Connor
returned to the team after two operations on a chronic hip problem caused him to miss most of the previous season. Captain Stephen Carr
fouled Fraizer Campbell
to concede a penalty which Darren Bent
converted, though the foul appeared to have been committed outside the penalty area. Home captain Lee Cattermole
had already avoided punishment for cutting O'Connor's head open with an elbow, but still received two yellow cards
and was sent off before half-time. Carr doubled Sunderland's lead with an own goal
when an attempted headed clearance looped over Foster. Alex McLeish
brought on new signing Nikola Žigić
, who "injected a note of panic hitherto undetected" in the home team's defence as Sebastian Larsson
's crosses produced goals from Scott Dann
and a late equaliser from Liam Ridgewell
after a goalmouth scramble.
Žigić marked his first start, at home to Blackburn Rovers, by pulling Chris Samba's shirt to concede a penalty. After Foster saved Morten Gamst Pedersen
's spot-kick – one of many saves in a man-of-the-match performance – Blackburn took the lead. Craig Gardner
equalised three minutes later with a tap-in from James McFadden
's cushioned volley, and after Nikola Kalinić
had hit the post, Gardner scored the winner in the second half with a 25 yards (22.9 m) shot. Matt Derbyshire
, on loan from Olympiacos
, made his debut as a second-half substitute.
In an eventful visit to Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham took an early lead after a passing move involving McFadden, Lee Bowyer
and Cameron Jerome
was finished by Roger Johnson
with his first goal for the club. After 36 minutes, Johnson fouled goalkeeper Jussi Jääskeläinen
as both competed for a bouncing ball. As the players got to their feet, Jääskeläinen slapped Johnson acoss the face and was sent off. Five minutes into the second half McFadden's cross was headed down by Jerome for Gardner to score a scrappy goal at his second attempt. Bolton pulled one back from the penalty spot after Johnson was judged to have fouled Gary Cahill
, then with ten minutes left, a foul was given against Barry Ferguson
, who had appeared to be squeezed between two Bolton players. From just outside the penalty area, former Birmingham forward Robbie Blake
struck a superb free kick to tie the scores. There were late chances for both sides but the score remained 2–2. BBC Sport
's reporter suggested that "Birmingham's flickers of poise and invention" were "positive signs" for the season to come.
As the transfer window closed, Birmingham signed Spartak Moscow
captain and defender Martin Jiránek
and Chile international
winger Jean Beausejour
, and Barcelona
's Alexander Hleb joined on loan for the season. Marcus Bent
, who had not played for Birmingham since 2009, joined fellow Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan, and youngsters Jake Jervis
and Luke Hubbins
went on loan to fourth-tier club Notts County. Contract talks with Alex McLeish broke down, leading acting chairman Peter Pannu to deny reports of a "bust-up", and contract talks with Sebastian Larsson resumed.
. Pepe Reina kept the visitors in the game with a succession of fine saves from Jerome, Gardner and others.
In the run-up to the visit to West Bromwich Albion, James McFadden suffered an anterior cruciate ligament
injury which was to keep him out for the season, "football consultant" Sammy Yu left the club, and Alex McLeish signed a new three-year contract. The home side appeared to have no answer to Jerome's early goal, but Roberto di Matteo
brought Graham Dorrans
on at half time, moved Peter Odemwingie
from the wing to play up front, and the game was transformed. Odemwingie forced an own goal
off Scott Dann and scored a second as Albion won 3–1. Bowyer was substituted to avoid the likelihood of his being sent off, and the player had to apologise after a foul-mouthed exchange with a female supporter.
At home to Wigan Athletic, the unbeaten home run extended to a day short of twelve months. A dull game was enlivened by an altercation between Roger Johnson and Hugo Rodallega
for which both were booked, the skills of Charles N'Zogbia
and the home supporters' adverse reactions thereto, Cameron Jerome missing chances, and Craig Gardner's reckless tackle on Franco di Santo
for which he was sent off.
won their first match of the season. After Johnson made a mistake to allow Yakubu
in, Foster took enough pace off his shot to give Ridgewell time to make a goalline clearance, but gave Everton the lead when he prodded Leon Osman
's cross past Foster, and Tim Cahill
's stoppage-time header doubled the lead.
Two weeks later, Birmingham took the lead through a Žigić header, Arsenal
equalised from the penalty spot after Marouane Chamakh
went down after minimal contact from Scott Dann, and Chamakh himself scored the winner just after half time. On a day when manager Arsène Wenger
had used his programme notes to highlight the problem of reckless tackling, England hopeful Jack Wilshere
was sent off for a two-footed lunge on Žigić, and Emmanuel Eboué
was fortunate to escape a red card for a scissors-tackle on Liam Ridgewell.
At home to newly promoted Blackpool
, whose attacking style had earned them the best away record in the Premier League, Birmingham played them at their own game, with Alex Hleb given a free role behind Garry O'Connor
and Nikola Žigić, and outclassed them 2–0. The goals came from Ridgewell's close-range header after Žigić had headed against the bar, and from Žigić himself after Charlie Adam
gave the ball away. The Guardian
s reporter suggested that "if City had had more pace and movement up front than was offered by Garry O'Connor and Nikola Zigic, they would have won by five or six."
In an improvement for Birmingham on the last time the clubs had met, they had the better of a goalless draw at Aston Villa. The referee missed a clear handball by Nigel Reo-Coker
, the same player could have been sent off for an apparent knee in the back of Craig Gardner, Cameron Jerome passed to goalkeeper Brad Friedel
with Zigic unmarked in the box, and Ashley Young could have won the game for Villa right at the end with a shot that came off the angle of post and bar.
onto the post. Early in the second half, West Ham took a two-goal lead and nearly scored a third when Victor Obinna's shot from distance hit the woodwork. After Gardner and Beauseajour replaced Hleb and Fahey, Birmingham came back to draw with a Jerome goal from a Zigic knockdown and a characteristic Ridgewell tap-in when Robert Green
failed to gather a Larsson free kick. They could have won it late on when Jerome's shot was deflected on to the crossbar by Danny Gabbidon, and West Ham's penalty appeal against Beausejour for shirt-pulling was turned down.
Birmingham went two goals down at Stoke City, but came back to equalise with a 20 yards (18.3 m) shot from Keith Fahey
and a glancing header by Jerome from a Larsson cross, and Gardner forced two saves from Asmir Begovic
. Stoke manager Tony Pulis
had spoken out before the game about referees' decisions repeatedly going against them, and Birmingham's defence "dithered" appealing for a handball which match referee Mark Clattenburg
failed to notice as Dean Whitehead
won the game for the home side. The defending improved at Manchester City. The nearest the home side came to scoring was when Carlos Tévez
handled the ball over the line and when a James Milner
shot was blocked by Foster and the rebound cleared off the line by man-of-the-match Stephen Carr.
Lee Bowyer
, replacing the injured Craig Gardner, stole unmarked into the penalty area to meet a Jerome knockdown and take a 17th-minute lead at home to Chelsea
. Thereafter, Ben Foster, criticised for his performance for England
against France
in midweek but now "defiance personified", made numerous saves including one where he "somehow clawed out a Didier Drogba
header that was flying in the far corner", as Chelsea failed to score from 32 shots at goal. Away at Fulham
, Alex Hleb made a strong run through midfield to the penalty area and played a pinpoint pass which gave the onrushing Sebastian Larsson time to set himself and pass the ball into the net for his first goal of the season. After Dempsey arguably climbed on Keith Fahey's shoulders to head the equaliser, Birmingham came close to regaining the lead whan Scott Dann's header from a Larsson cross hit the bar, but lost Hleb to a hamstring injury.
scored after Foster failed to deal with a Gareth Bale
free kick, but the introduction of Nikola Žigić, a hero after scoring the winner against Aston Villa in the League Cup quarter-final in the week, made the difference. Ridgewell's powerful shot was blocked by Heurelho Gomes' groin, before Johnson's long ball found Žigić, who headed into the penalty area for Gardner to head home after a well-timed run. Alex McLeish's assessed his team's 1–0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as "We didn't turn up at all for the first 60 minutes. We were outfought and then had a go. We need to start games the way we finish them."
The visit of Newcastle United on 18 December was a late postponement because of heavy snowfall, and the away game at Everton
was called off on Boxing Day morning when frozen pipes within Goodison Park
burst. In Birmingham's last match of 2010, Manchester United scored after an hour through Dimitar Berbatov
, but in the 89th minute, Žigić appeared to foul Rio Ferdinand
as he controlled Roger Johnson's cross with his arm, touching it on to Lee Bowyer who equalised from an arguably offside position.
by three goals to nil. Television replays highlighted incidents, unnoticed by the referee, in which Bowyer stamped on Bacary Sagna
and seemed to rake his studs down the same player's Achilles
. Suggestions in the media that he might be banned for six matches prompted Alex McLeish to argue that the football authorities were not treating all clubs equally when using television evidence. Bowyer received the standard three-match ban for violent conduct.
Birmingham went to Blackpool
as the only Premier League team without an away win. After Blackpool lost at St Andrew's in October, manager Ian Holloway
had promised that if Birmingham used the same attacking tactics when they came to Bloomfield Road
, his players would know how to counter them. He was nearly right. Hleb returned from injury to play behind Jerome and Derbyshire and scored the opening goal after being gifted the ball in the penalty area. Former Birmingham player DJ Campbell equalised, both sides hit the woodwork, the visitors were particularly profligate in front of goal, but Scott Dann scored an 89th-minute winner with a poacher's finish from Johnson's knock-down.
Without Dann, whose hamstring injury sustained in the League Cup first leg was to keep him out for the rest of the season, Ridgewell moved to centre back and David Murphy
started at left back, and loanee David Bentley
made his debut in the Sunday lunchtime kickoff against Aston Villa. Both teams had chances to win but the 1–1 draw left both teams just outside the relegation zone. The attendance of 22,287 was the lowest figure for Premier League matches between the clubs. With the League Cup semi-final four days later, Birmingham gave Jordon Mutch
a League debut and rested Gardner, Jerome and Žigić as they visited Manchester United. They lost 5–0.
made his Premier League debut at home to Manchester City in a match moved to the Wednesday at short notice because of City's FA Cup-tie being televised the previous Sunday. City's Micah Richards
was knocked unconscious in collision with teammate Nigel de Jong
, and manager Roberto Mancini
accused Kevin Phillips
of diving to earn the penalty from which Gardner gave Birmingham what BBC Sport's reporter termed a "deserved equaliser". Returning to West Ham United having beaten them to reach the League Cup final, Birmingham ensured that it would be they and not the hosts who escaped from the relegation places when Nikola Žigić scored the only goal of the game midway through the second half.
Obafemi Martins
had a quiet debut at home to Stoke City. A dull match was goalless until stoppage time, when Asmir Begovic
fumbled Bentley's shot, Jerome robbed him of the ball, flicked it up from the byline and Zigic outjumped John Carew
and headed the winner to give Birmingham their first consecutive Premier League wins for more than a year. McLeish suggested that fatigue might be a factor in Birmingham's "flat" performance three days later as they lost 2–0 at home to Newcastle United to leave themselves in 14th place, three points above the relegation zone.
scored his first Premier League goal in a losing cause at home to West Bromwich Albion, Birmingham's first league match after the League Cup win. His second, a header from a Jordon Mutch
cross, took the lead at Everton
on the Wednesday, but the match was drawn. In the second half, referee Peter Walton
had taken the field without his yellow card, so had to act out issuing a caution to Mutch using an imaginary card. Having exited the relegation places the previous week, Birmingham conceded a stoppage-time goal at Wigan Athletic to find themselves back in it. Ridgewell scored early on from what appeared to be an offside position, and Jiránek left the field soon afterwards with an injury, but Wigan equalised through Tom Cleverley
before Maynor Figueroa
scored a stoppage-time winner from 20 yards (18.3 m). They had exited the relegation places the previous week, but the defeat left them in 19th place, though if they won their game in hand, the three points would take them to a mid-table 13th.
scored an excellent volleyed goal from distance, Bolton Wanderers took heart, and only fine goalkeeping from Ben Foster kept the visitors at bay. Lee Bowyer's tap-in from Jerome's pass took the lead at Blackburn Rovers, and shortly before half-time Roger Johnson received lengthy treatment for a head injury before leaving the pitch for further attention. Seven minutes into stoppage time, he returned to the field, apparently distracting defensive partner Ridgewell who allowed Junior Hoilett to steal the ball and take it past Foster to equalise. Curtis Davies
replaced Johnson for the second half, the first time in nearly two seasons with the club that Johnson had been substituted.
A 2–0 defeat of Sunderland
, with goals from Larsson and Gardner, gave Birmingham seven points from the last three games. With six games left to play, they were in 14th place, five points above the relegation zone with a game in hand on most teams below them, albeit with some difficult games to come. Chelsea
had little difficulty in beating Birmingham 3–1, the visitors' goal coming from the penalty spot; Larsson and Gardner had a lengthy discussion as to who should take the kick, eventually won by Larsson. McLeish confirmed afterwards that Gardner would be the designated penalty-taker in future. Maxi Rodríguez, in the starting eleven only because Andy Carroll
was injured, scored a hat-trick as Ben Foster sustained an injury trying to prevent Liverpool
's second goal and had to be replaced by Colin Doyle, making his first Premier League appearance since 2007.
failed to deal with Foster's clearance. Larsson, having run the length of the field, collected the loose ball and clipped it past the goalkeeper. In an aggressive game, Gardner was booked after an altercation with Jamie O'Hara, and had been the victim of a wild tackle by Richard Stearman
(who went unpunished) when he "went down under pressure" from Jody Craddock
and received a second yellow card for simulation. His second dismissal of the season meant he would miss two of the club's last three games. Birmingham's ten men held on for the draw, which left them four points clear of the relegation zone.
Foster kept Birmingham in the game at Newcastle United until Liam Ridgewell was sent off for handling the ball on the goalline. Newcastle scored the resultant penalty, doubled their lead from a Steven Taylor
header, then Bowyer pulled a goal back just before half-time when Jerome's shot was parried. Larsson missed a clear chance to equalise, shooting over the bar after Tim Krul
fumbled Beausejour's cross, but the home side also had chances to extend their lead.
With Jerome injured, Phillips and Derbyshire started at home to Fulham
, and youngster Akwasi Asante was the only forward among the substitutes. The players seemed nervous, made little impression, were unable to deal with the power of Brede Hangeland
, who scored both Fulham goals, and the only serious chance came when Martin Jiránek turned Stuart Parnaby's cross towards goal with his chest. Birmingham finished the match with only ten men, after losing Hleb, Bowyer, Parnaby and Jiránek to injury, and in 17th place in the league, ahead of Blackpool
and Wigan Athletic only on goal difference after they and Wolverhampton Wanderers all won.
Birmingham went into their final match away at Tottenham Hotspur as one of five teams still at risk of relegation. Doing no worse than Blackpool and Wigan would keep them safe, and there were more complicated calculations depending on the result of the match between Blackburn Rovers and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Jerome, who had undergone specialist treatment all week on his injured heel, was able to start the game, and Curtis Davies
was an excellent replacement for Jiránek. Roman Pavlyuchenko
put Tottenham one up early in the second half, but Gardner's 79th-minute equaliser put his team ahead of Wolverhampton and safe. With stoppage time approaching, Wolves scored again to leave Birmingham needing another goal. The message appeared to take time getting through to the players, but they eventually threw everyone forward, leaving themselves open at the back, and Pavlyuchenko scored a spectacular winner to ensure fifth place and Europa League qualification. Birmingham were relegated in 18th place.
for their opening match in the 2010–11 FA Cup
. With the League Cup
semi-final scheduled for three days later, Alex McLeish
made seven changes from the side that had beaten Blackpool
in midweek, including a first start for Jordon Mutch
after his successful loan spell at Watford
. They might have expected more competition from a team just outside the play-off positions in the Championship
, but two goals from Matt Derbyshire
, a precise free kick from David Murphy
, and a powerful header from Cameron Jerome
shortly after coming on a late substitute gave them a 4–0 lead. Had Millwall's finishing been better – Steve Morison
failed to take a early chance when through on goalkeeper Maik Taylor
, James Henry
had an attempt disallowed for offside, and Morison's weak penalty was saved by Taylor – they might well have achieved more than Danny Schofield
's consolation.
In the fourth round, Birmingham made nine changes from the eleven that had started the League Cup semi-final three days before. After Nikola Žigić
headed wide and Kevin Phillips
' header was deflected onto the crossbar, they went two goals down at home to mid-table Championship club Coventry City. David Bentley
's 25 yards (22.9 m) shot was too hot for Keiren Westwood and went in off the underside of the bar, then in the second half Stuart Parnaby
scored his first senior goal for nearly five years after Alexander Hleb had drawn Westwood out of goal. After 73 minutes, man-of-the-match Phillips controlled a ball from Jean Beausejour
on his thigh and volleyed in for the winner.
A stronger Birmingham team than that selected in previous rounds enjoyed a comfortable win against Sheffield Wednesday of League One
in the fifth round. Goals from Beausejour and Obafemi Martins
, his first for the club, were both set up by Hleb before he left the field on a stretcher, the victim of a late tackle by James O'Connor. Murphy scored a third from close range to take Birmingham into the quarter-finals for the second year running. Roger Johnson
punched the dug-out after he was substituted with half an hour remaining, but McLeish said he took the sensible course, to avoid the risk of a second yellow card which would mean Johnson missing the approaching League Cup final.
Bolton Wanderers had to take the lead three times to eliminate a Birmingham side so short of fit players that they started the 19-year-old Mutch in central midfield, gave a squad number to 17-year-old defender Alpaslan Ozturk, and were still unable to name a full complement of seven substitutes. Johan Elmander
scored for Bolton after 21 minutes, and within the next ten minutes Birmingham had lost Barry Ferguson
and Jiránek to injury. Jerome took advantage of a defensive error to equalise with a tidy finish from 16 yards (14.6 m) and each side made penalty appeals that were correctly turned down. Bolton regained the lead from the penalty spot when Curtis Davies
fouled Kevin Davies
before Phillips first hit the post, then from a flick-on by the 17-year-old Nathan Redmond
, "somehow Phillips swivelled, scissor-kicking a volley from outside the area over the head of Jaaskelainen and in". McLeish brought on striker Derbyshire in place of Murphy and went for the win, but in stoppage time, Kevin Davies headed across goal for Lee Chung-Yong
to take the visitors into the semi-finals.
campaign in the second round, drawn at home to Rochdale
of League One
in the first competitive meeting between the clubs. They made eight changes to the previous starting eleven, giving debuts to Enric Vallès
and, from the substitutes' bench, Nathan Redmond
, at 16 years 173 days the club's second-youngest first-team debutant after Trevor Francis
. A goal down after 26 minutes, Birmingham equalised two minutes later through a "harsh" penalty, scored by James McFadden
, as Marcus Holness
was adjudged to have fouled Matt Derbyshire
. Goals followed from David Murphy
, playing his first game since breaking his kneecap in April 2009, and Derbyshire, but a second Rochdale goal made for a tense last quarter of an hour.
Third-round opponents Milton Keynes Dons proved less of an obstacle. Birmingham made nine changes from their previous match, including a debut for Martin Jiránek
, a first start for Jean Beausejour
, and first games of the season for Kevin Phillips
and Stuart Parnaby
. Alexander Hleb, making his home debut, and Nikola Žigić
each scored their first goal for the club and substitute Craig Gardner
made the score 3–0 in a four-minute spell midway through the first half. Though MK Dons scored late on, Birmingham's victory was comfortable.
Brentford
, Birmingham's third consecutive visitors from League One, had beaten Premier League Everton
on penalties in the third round. Sam Wood
gave them the lead with a volley after 68 minutes, goalkeeper Richard Lee
produced a fine save to deny Gardner's curling shot, and after Žigić headed over the bar with four minutes of normal time remaining, it seemed as though they were going to repeat the upset. But after two minutes of stoppage time, Liam Ridgewell
squared the ball to Phillips who scored with a low shot. In extra time, Lee saved a header from Žigić, and the tie went to penalties. On Brentford's last attempt before sudden death, Craig Woodman
hit the ball straight at Maik Taylor
, who was able to deflect it onto the bar, so Birmingham scraped through to the fifth round.
The quarter-final pitted Birmingham against local rivals Aston Villa, again at home. West Midlands Police
had been sufficiently concerned about the potential for trouble and possible adverse effects on England's World Cup bid that they made an unsuccessful request for a change of date and had four times the usual number of officers on duty. Sebastian Larsson
opened the scoring with a penalty after Richard Dunne
fouled Bowyer, then Gabby Agbonlahor equalised for Villa on the break after Žigić had an apparently valid goal disallowed. Cameron Jerome
shot wide when one-on-one with goalkeeper Brad Friedel
, and Ben Foster
saved well from Ashley Young after parrying a shot from Agbonlahor, but neither side could make the breakthrough until, on 86 minutes, Žigić scrambled home a shot deflected off Luke Young. At the end of the match, large numbers of Birmingham fans invaded the pitch and were separated from the visiting support by riot police. Missiles, including seats and a flare, believed by police to have originated in the visitors' section, were thrown back and forth, and the violence continued outside the ground.
Birmingham were drawn against West Ham United in the two-legged
semifinal. In the first leg, at Upton Park
, West Ham had much the best of the first half, taking a deserved lead when Mark Noble
scored from a tight angle with Foster's view at the near post obscured by Scott Dann
. Dann sustained an injury just before half-time which was to keep him out for the rest of the season. Early in the second half, Birmingham equalised through Ridgewell's header from a corner, then took a man advantage when Victor Obinna was sent off for kicking Larsson in the groin. Even after a penalty was denied when Barry Ferguson
was knocked flying by Matthew Upson
, it looked as Birmingham would go on to win, but goalkeeper Foster blundered when he allowed a weak shot from Carlton Cole
to go through him. West Ham increased their lead to 3–1 on aggregate in the first half of the second leg when Cole collected a throw-in and shot past Foster from 25 yards (22.9 m). The half-time introduction of Žigić put pressure on West Ham's defence. A penalty appeal against Wayne Bridge
for handball was rejected, but from the resultant corner, Lee Bowyer
tied the scores on the night, and prolonged pressure led to Roger Johnson's
79th-minute headed goal which tied the scores overall. With the last play of normal time, Gardner's shot was touched onto the post by Robert Green
, and the game went into extra time. Four minutes later, Gardner repeated the shot with enough power and accuracy to beat Green and give Birmingham the 4–3 aggregate lead which took them into the final.
's potential quadruple
, their failure to win a trophy for six years, and concerns over the fitness of their captain Cesc Fàbregas
. Pundits and bookmakers were in agreement that there could be only one winner, though Cameron Jerome suggested that being overwhelming favourites would put extra pressure on Arsenal, and that if they had a weakness, it lay with their defence.
To counteract Arsenal's perceived strength, their passing ability in midfield, McLeish set his side out in a 4–5–1 formation with three defensive midfielders – Ferguson covering the centre backs and Gardner and Bowyer closing opponents down and chasing – and wide players Fahey and Larsson supporting the tall but less mobile Žigić. In the first two minutes, Bowyer ran on to a through ball from Žigić and was brought down by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny
for what appeared to be a penalty and a red card. Arsenal were relieved to see the linesman raise his flag for offside, though television replays showed his decision to have been wrong. With nearly half an hour gone, Larsson's corner seemed to confuse the Arsenal centre backs. Roger Johnson headed the ball towards goal and Žigić outjumped his opponents to head home. Towards half time, Jack Wilshere
hit the crossbar, and when Birmingham failed to clear, Andrei Arshavin crossed for Robin van Persie
to direct an aerial volley past Foster.
Early in the second half, Beausejour replaced Gardner. A few minutes later he set up Fahey whose poor shot hit teammate Žigić. The ball rebounded to Fahey who reacted quickly to volley it goalwards, only for it to strike the inside of the post with Szczęsny beaten and bounce across the goal to safety. Van Persie, who had hurt himself in the act of scoring, was struggling by the middle of the second half and was replaced by former Birmingham loanee Nicklas Bendtner
. Towards the end of normal time, Birmingham were tiring; Johnson remained on the field after receiving treatment for a calf injury that restricted his movement, and neither he nor Ridgewell had been able to train in the week leading up to the game. The defenders and particularly Foster, who won the man of the match
award for the second time in three years, prevented Arsenal from taking advantage.
With seven minutes left of normal time, Obafemi Martins replaced Fahey for his League Cup debut. After 89 minutes, Foster cleared the ball long, Žigić touched it on, and when Laurent Koscielny
attempted to play it, distracting Szczęsny from making what should have been a straightforward gather, the ball fell loose to Martins in front of goal. He tapped it into an empty net for "the easiest goal [he's] ever scored in [his] career", and celebrated with a trademark series of somersaults. For the remaining few minutes, Birmingham defended stoutly, but Martins had a fine chance to increase the lead when he took the ball past Johan Djourou
and the goalkeeper but found himself with too narrow a shooting angle. Jerome, who had come on during stoppage time, and Ferguson were both booked for time-wasting as Birmingham held on to win their first major trophy for nearly 50 years.
, Grégory Vignal
, Franck Queudrue
and Lee Carsley
, and chose not to sign loanee Christian Benítez on a permanent basis. Goalkeeper Joe Hart
returned to parent club Manchester City, to be replaced by Birmingham's first signing of the new season, Manchester United's Ben Foster
, who joined for an estimated initial fee of £4 million. Next to arrive was striker Nikola Žigić
, who signed from Valencia
shortly before joining up with the Serbian national team
at the World Cup
. After young Spanish midfielder Enric Vallès
joined on a one-year contract and Matt Derbyshire
returned to England on loan from Olympiacos, there were no more signings until transfer deadline day, when Barcelona
midfielder Alexander Hleb arrived on a season-long loan and Chilean
winger Jean Beausejour
and Spartak Moscow
captain and defender Martin Jiránek
agreed permanent deals. Jordon Mutch
joined Championship
club Watford
on an initial one-month loan, later extended until January 2011, and several fringe players left on loan. Garry O'Connor
had two separate loan spells at Barnsley
, initially to regain match fitness after injury, but was released in December to join that club on a permanent contract.
In the January transfer window, Míchel
joined AEK Athens on loan until the end of the season. League Two
club Burton Albion intended to take 16-year-old winger Nathan Redmond
on loan, but the move fell foul of regulations forbidding first-year scholars to sign on loan for League clubs. Tottenham Hotspur winger David Bentley
and Nigerian international
striker Obafemi Martins
came in on loan, and Aston Villa defender Curtis Davies
signed a three-and-a-half-year deal for an estimated £3.5 million fee. Sebastian Larsson
, whose contract was due to expire at the end of the season, was given permission to speak to Newcastle United about a possible transfer, but personal terms were not agreed, and Kevin Phillips
was told he could leave if "the right offer" were received.
Among those players released at the end of the season when their contracts expired were first-teamers Larsson, Phillips, Jiránek, Lee Bowyer
, Maik Taylor
and Stuart Parnaby
, and fringe players Marcus Bent
, Jay O'Shea, Dan Preston
and Robin Shroot
. All the loanees returned to their owning clubs.
2010–11 in English football
The 2010–11 season was the 131st season of competitive football in England.The season began on 6 August 2010 for the Football Leagues, with the Premier League and Football Conference both starting eight days later on 14 August 2010. The Championship, League One, and League Two ended on 7 May...
was Birmingham City Football Clubs seventh season in the Premier League and their 57th in the top tier of English football. It ran from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011. Led by Scotland national team
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
manager Alex McLeish
Alex McLeish
Alexander "Alex" McLeish , is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager, who is currently managing English Premier League club Aston Villa...
, the team finished in 18th place in the League, so were relegated to the Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
for the 2011–12 season. They reached the quarter-final of the FA Cup
2010–11 FA Cup
The 2010–11 FA Cup was the 130th season of the world's oldest association football knock-out competition; The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup for short...
, and won the League Cup
2010–11 Football League Cup
The 2010–11 Football League Cup, known as the Carling Cup due to the competition's sponsorship by lager brand Carling, was the 51st season of the Football League Cup, a knock-out competition for England's top 92 football clubs....
, their first major trophy since 1963, by beating favourites Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
2–1 in the final
2011 Football League Cup Final
The 2011 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 2010–11 Football League Cup, the 51st season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in the Premier League and the Football League. The match was contested by Arsenal and Birmingham City, at Wembley Stadium in...
with goals from Nikola Žigić
Nikola Žigic
Nikola Žigić is a Serbian footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City as a centre forward.At , Žigić is among the tallest professional players in the world...
and Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Rubin Kazan and the Nigeria national team. He is known for his speed on the ball....
. The top scorer for the season was Craig Gardner
Craig Gardner
Craig Gardner is an English footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Sunderland. A versatile midfielder, Gardner can play in many different positions, although central midfield is his preferred position...
with ten goals in all competitions, of which eight were in the League. McLeish resigned as manager on 12 June 2011.
Pre-season
Following Carson YeungCarson Yeung
Carson Yeung Ka Sing is a businessman from Hong Kong. He is the chairman and an executive director of Birmingham International Holdings , an investment, entertainment and sportswear firm registered in the Cayman Islands, through which he owns English football club Birmingham City F.C...
's takeover of the club in 2009, Birmingham travelled to their owner's native China for their 2010–11 pre-season tour. They began with a 3–2 victory against a Hong Kong League XI
Hong Kong League XI
Hong Kong League XI, or known as Hong Kong XI or Hong Kong League Selection, is a football team which represents the Hong Kong First Division League in exhibitional matches, mainly the Lunar New Year Cup....
to win the inaugural Xtep Cup. The winning goal was scored by Garry O'Connor
Garry O'Connor
Garry Lawrence John O'Connor is a Scottish professional footballer who currently plays for Hibernian. He has also played for the Scotland international team....
, set up by debutant Nikola Žigić
Nikola Žigic
Nikola Žigić is a Serbian footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City as a centre forward.At , Žigić is among the tallest professional players in the world...
from a Stuart Parnaby
Stuart Parnaby
Stuart Parnaby is an English footballer who plays as a right back.Parnaby graduated from Middlesbrough F.C.'s Academy, which was run by his father, Dave. He went on to make more than 100 appearances for Middlesbrough's first team before joining Birmingham City in 2007...
cross. In the second match, O'Connor scored the only goal of the game against Beijing Guoan on a dreadful pitch in the Bird's Nest Stadium, and Birmingham then beat Liaoning Whowin
Liaoning Whowin F.C.
Liaoning Whowin F.C. is a professional association football club of the Chinese Super League who plays at the 24,000-seat Shenyang Tiexi Stadium in China's sports capital Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China...
with goals from O'Connor and Sebastian Larsson
Sebastian Larsson
Sebastian Bengt Ulf Larsson is a Swedish footballer who plays for Premier League club Sunderland and the Sweden national team. Larsson is renowned for being a set piece specialist.-Arsenal:...
to achieve a hat-trick of victories over Chinese opposition. While in China club officials and players performed promotional activities including attending the launch in Beijing of the 2010–11 kit, supplied for the first time by Chinese manufacturer Xtep
Xtep
Xtep International Holdings Limited is a publicly-traded sportswear company headquartered in Quanzhou, Fujian, China. It is engaged in the design, development, manufacture and sales of sportswear under the company-owned "Xtep" brand and "Koling" brand and the Disneyland Sports brand.It was listed...
.
Back on home soil, Birmingham continued their good form at Pride Park Stadium
Pride Park Stadium
Pride Park Stadium is an all-seater football stadium located on the Pride Park business park on the outskirts of Derby, England. It is the current home of Football League Championship club Derby County, who moved to the stadium from the Baseball Ground upon its opening in 1997...
, where they were victorious against a Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
side featuring former Blues midfielder Robbie Savage
Robbie Savage
Robert William "Robbie" Savage is a football pundit and former Welsh professional footballer who played predominantly as a midfielder. During his career he captained Derby County, and also played for the Welsh national team. He now presents 606 on BBC Radio Five Live on Sunday evenings alongside...
. The following day, a Birmingham XI including first-team players rested for the match against Derby drew 2–2 against Northampton Town, succumbing to a late header from Liam Davis. Birmingham came from two goals down to beat Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons F.C.
.Milton Keynes Dons Football Club is an English professional football club founded in 2004 and based since 2007 at Stadium mk, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire...
. James McFadden
James McFadden
James McFadden is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Everton.McFadden started his career with Scottish Premier League club Motherwell. He came to prominence in the 2002–03 season by scoring 19 goals and winning the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year award....
missed a first-half penalty, but two second-half goals from Cameron Jerome
Cameron Jerome
Cameron Zishan Rana-Jerome is an English footballer who plays for Stoke City as a striker. He also played for Cardiff City in the Football League, and for Birmingham City in the Football League and Premier League, and at international level has several caps for the England under-21 team.-Early...
and an 88th-minute winner from O'Connor were enough to see off the League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
opposition. Real Mallorca, the visitors for the only home friendly of the 2010 pre-season, inflicted Birmingham's only defeat with a goal from Emilio Nsue. Craig Gardner
Craig Gardner
Craig Gardner is an English footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Sunderland. A versatile midfielder, Gardner can play in many different positions, although central midfield is his preferred position...
played in an unfamiliar right-back position with both Stephen Carr
Stephen Carr
Stephen Carr is an Irish footballer who plays for and captains Birmingham City. He previously played for the Premier League teams Tottenham Hotspur and, for a shorter spell, Newcastle United. He is a former international player with the Republic of Ireland...
and Stuart Parnaby
Stuart Parnaby
Stuart Parnaby is an English footballer who plays as a right back.Parnaby graduated from Middlesbrough F.C.'s Academy, which was run by his father, Dave. He went on to make more than 100 appearances for Middlesbrough's first team before joining Birmingham City in 2007...
injured.
August
Birmingham opened their Premier League campaign with a visit to SunderlandSunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
. Goalkeeper Ben Foster
Ben Foster (footballer)
Benjamin Anthony "Ben" Foster is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for West Bromwich Albion, on loan from Birmingham City, and internationally for the England national team.-Stoke City:...
made his debut, and Garry O'Connor
Garry O'Connor
Garry Lawrence John O'Connor is a Scottish professional footballer who currently plays for Hibernian. He has also played for the Scotland international team....
returned to the team after two operations on a chronic hip problem caused him to miss most of the previous season. Captain Stephen Carr
Stephen Carr
Stephen Carr is an Irish footballer who plays for and captains Birmingham City. He previously played for the Premier League teams Tottenham Hotspur and, for a shorter spell, Newcastle United. He is a former international player with the Republic of Ireland...
fouled Fraizer Campbell
Fraizer Campbell
Fraizer Lee Campbell is an English footballer who plays for Sunderland as a striker. He previously played for Manchester United, Royal Antwerp, Hull City and Tottenham Hotspur....
to concede a penalty which Darren Bent
Darren Bent
Darren Ashley Bent is an English footballer who plays for Aston Villa as a striker.Bent started his career with Ipswich Town. After progressing through their youth system he made his first team debut in 2001. He made 122 appearances and scored 48 goals in the league for Ipswich, before joining...
converted, though the foul appeared to have been committed outside the penalty area. Home captain Lee Cattermole
Lee Cattermole
Lee Barry Cattermole is an English professional footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Sunderland in the Barclays Premier League. His preferred position is in central midfield in front of the back four and he is known for his tough-tackling midfield play.-Early life:Cattermole was...
had already avoided punishment for cutting O'Connor's head open with an elbow, but still received two yellow cards
Penalty card
A penalty card is used in many sports as a means of warning, reprimanding or penalising a player, coach or team official. Penalty cards are most commonly used by referees or umpires to indicate that a player has committed an offense. The referee will hold the card above his or her head while...
and was sent off before half-time. Carr doubled Sunderland's lead with an own goal
Own goal
An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....
when an attempted headed clearance looped over Foster. Alex McLeish
Alex McLeish
Alexander "Alex" McLeish , is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager, who is currently managing English Premier League club Aston Villa...
brought on new signing Nikola Žigić
Nikola Žigic
Nikola Žigić is a Serbian footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City as a centre forward.At , Žigić is among the tallest professional players in the world...
, who "injected a note of panic hitherto undetected" in the home team's defence as Sebastian Larsson
Sebastian Larsson
Sebastian Bengt Ulf Larsson is a Swedish footballer who plays for Premier League club Sunderland and the Sweden national team. Larsson is renowned for being a set piece specialist.-Arsenal:...
's crosses produced goals from Scott Dann
Scott Dann
Scott Dann is an English footballer who plays for Premier League club Blackburn Rovers as a centre back. He began his Football League career with Walsall, before moving on to Coventry City and then to Birmingham City in 2009...
and a late equaliser from Liam Ridgewell
Liam Ridgewell
Liam Matthew Ridgewell is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Birmingham City. He is primarily a centre half but can also play at left back. Previously a player for Birmingham's arch-rivals Aston Villa, Ridgewell also spent a spell on loan at A.F.C. Bournemouth in 2002.-Early...
after a goalmouth scramble.
Žigić marked his first start, at home to Blackburn Rovers, by pulling Chris Samba's shirt to concede a penalty. After Foster saved Morten Gamst Pedersen
Morten Gamst Pedersen
Morten Gamst Pedersen is a Norwegian footballer who plays for Blackburn Rovers and the Norway national football team.-Tromsø IL:...
's spot-kick – one of many saves in a man-of-the-match performance – Blackburn took the lead. Craig Gardner
Craig Gardner
Craig Gardner is an English footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Sunderland. A versatile midfielder, Gardner can play in many different positions, although central midfield is his preferred position...
equalised three minutes later with a tap-in from James McFadden
James McFadden
James McFadden is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Everton.McFadden started his career with Scottish Premier League club Motherwell. He came to prominence in the 2002–03 season by scoring 19 goals and winning the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year award....
's cushioned volley, and after Nikola Kalinić
Nikola Kalinic
Nikola Kalinić is a Croatian footballer who plays for Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the Ukrainian Premier League.Croatia manager Slaven Bilić described him as "the future of Croatian football".-Early career:...
had hit the post, Gardner scored the winner in the second half with a 25 yards (22.9 m) shot. Matt Derbyshire
Matt Derbyshire
Matthew Anthony "Matt" Derbyshire is an English footballer who plays for Nottingham Forest. He is a striker, who played for Blackburn Rovers for five years, and had loan spells with Plymouth Argyle, Wrexham and Olympiacos, before joining the latter club on a permanent basis in 2009. He played for...
, on loan from Olympiacos
Olympiacos
Olympiacos F.C. , also known simply as Olympiacos, Olympiacos Piraeus or with its full name Olympiacos C.F.P. , Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus, is a Greek association football club, part of Olympiacos CFP, based in Piraeus....
, made his debut as a second-half substitute.
In an eventful visit to Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham took an early lead after a passing move involving McFadden, Lee Bowyer
Lee Bowyer
Lee David Bowyer is an English professional footballer born in Canning Town, London, who plays as a midfielder for Ipswich Town of the Football League Championship....
and Cameron Jerome
Cameron Jerome
Cameron Zishan Rana-Jerome is an English footballer who plays for Stoke City as a striker. He also played for Cardiff City in the Football League, and for Birmingham City in the Football League and Premier League, and at international level has several caps for the England under-21 team.-Early...
was finished by Roger Johnson
Roger Johnson (footballer)
Roger Johnson is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers....
with his first goal for the club. After 36 minutes, Johnson fouled goalkeeper Jussi Jääskeläinen
Jussi Jääskeläinen
Jussi Albert Jääskeläinen is a Finnish football goalkeeper, who plays for Bolton Wanderers.-Club career:Jääskeläinen was born in Mikkeli, and made his Veikkausliiga debut in Finland for MP Mikkeli in 1992, and became the club's first choice goalkeeper in 1994. In 1996, he moved to VPS Vaasa where...
as both competed for a bouncing ball. As the players got to their feet, Jääskeläinen slapped Johnson acoss the face and was sent off. Five minutes into the second half McFadden's cross was headed down by Jerome for Gardner to score a scrappy goal at his second attempt. Bolton pulled one back from the penalty spot after Johnson was judged to have fouled Gary Cahill
Gary Cahill
Gary James Cahill is an English footballer who plays for Premier League club Bolton Wanderers and the England national football team.-Club career:...
, then with ten minutes left, a foul was given against Barry Ferguson
Barry Ferguson
Barry Ferguson MBE is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Blackpool.Ferguson has made 82 appearances in European competitions, all for Rangers, which makes him the record European appearance holder at the club. He was also inducted into the Rangers F.C. Hall of Fame...
, who had appeared to be squeezed between two Bolton players. From just outside the penalty area, former Birmingham forward Robbie Blake
Robbie Blake
Robert James "Robbie" Blake is an English footballer, currently playing for Bolton Wanderers in the Barclays Premier League...
struck a superb free kick to tie the scores. There were late chances for both sides but the score remained 2–2. BBC Sport
BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC. It became a fully dedicated division of the BBC in 2000. It incorporates programmes such as Match of the Day, Grandstand , Test Match Special, Ski Sunday, Rugby Special and coverage of Formula One motor racing, MotoGP and the Wimbledon Tennis...
's reporter suggested that "Birmingham's flickers of poise and invention" were "positive signs" for the season to come.
As the transfer window closed, Birmingham signed Spartak Moscow
FC Spartak Moscow
FC Spartak Moscow is a Russian football club from Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships and 9 of 19 Russian championships they are one of the country's most successful clubs. They have also won the Soviet Cup 10 times and the Russian Cup 3 times...
captain and defender Martin Jiránek
Martin Jiránek
Martin Jiránek is a Czech international footballer who plays for Russian Premier League club FC Terek Grozny. A defender, Jiránek has played in the top division of several countries.-Spartak Moscow:...
and Chile international
Chile national football team
The Chilean national football team represents Chile in all major international football competitions. The team is controlled by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile which was established in 1895. They have appeared in eight World Cup tournaments and were hosts of the 1962 FIFA World Cup finishing in...
winger Jean Beausejour
Jean Beausejour
Jean André Emanuel Beausejour Coliqueo , nicknamed Palmatoria or Francés, is a Chilean footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City...
, and Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
's Alexander Hleb joined on loan for the season. Marcus Bent
Marcus Bent
Marcus Nathan Bent is an English football striker who plays for Indonesian club Mitra Kukar. A former England under-21 international, the journeyman striker has played for fourteen different clubs, playing over 570 games and scoring 110 goals in the process.A England under-21 international, he...
, who had not played for Birmingham since 2009, joined fellow Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan, and youngsters Jake Jervis
Jake Jervis
Jake Mario Jervis is an English footballer who plays for Swindon Town on loan from Birmingham City. He plays as a striker...
and Luke Hubbins
Luke Hubbins
Luke Anthony Hubbins is an English footballer who plays for Birmingham City. He made his professional debut in August 2010 in the Football League Cup while on loan to Notts County...
went on loan to fourth-tier club Notts County. Contract talks with Alex McLeish broke down, leading acting chairman Peter Pannu to deny reports of a "bust-up", and contract talks with Sebastian Larsson resumed.
September
McFadden and Ferguson were instrumental as Birmingham extended their unbeaten Premier League home record to 17 matches with a goalless draw against LiverpoolLiverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
. Pepe Reina kept the visitors in the game with a succession of fine saves from Jerome, Gardner and others.
In the run-up to the visit to West Bromwich Albion, James McFadden suffered an anterior cruciate ligament
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
injury which was to keep him out for the season, "football consultant" Sammy Yu left the club, and Alex McLeish signed a new three-year contract. The home side appeared to have no answer to Jerome's early goal, but Roberto di Matteo
Roberto Di Matteo
Roberto Di Matteo is a Swiss-born Italian former professional footballer and the current assistant manager of Chelsea. As a midfielder, he enjoyed spells at Schaffhausen, Zürich Aarau, Lazio, and Chelsea. He was capped by Italy 34 times, scoring two goals for the Italian national team, and played...
brought Graham Dorrans
Graham Dorrans
Graham Dorrans is a Scottish footballer who currently plays as an Attacking Midfielder for Premier League club West Bromwich Albion and the Scotland national side. He has a wife and 1 daughter Leah Dorrans...
on at half time, moved Peter Odemwingie
Peter Odemwingie
Peter Osaze Odemwingie is a footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Premier League side West Bromwich Albion. His name, Osaze, means "God chooses "....
from the wing to play up front, and the game was transformed. Odemwingie forced an own goal
Own goal
An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....
off Scott Dann and scored a second as Albion won 3–1. Bowyer was substituted to avoid the likelihood of his being sent off, and the player had to apologise after a foul-mouthed exchange with a female supporter.
At home to Wigan Athletic, the unbeaten home run extended to a day short of twelve months. A dull game was enlivened by an altercation between Roger Johnson and Hugo Rodallega
Hugo Rodallega
Hugo Rodallega Martínez is a Colombian footballer who plays for English Premier League club Wigan Athletic. He primarily plays as a striker, but can also play on the wing....
for which both were booked, the skills of Charles N'Zogbia
Charles N'Zogbia
Charles N'Zogbia is a French footballer who plays for Aston Villa in the Premier League. N'Zogbia was capped for the France under-21 team on thirteen occasions, and made his debut for the senior side in 2010....
and the home supporters' adverse reactions thereto, Cameron Jerome missing chances, and Craig Gardner's reckless tackle on Franco di Santo
Franco di Santo
Franco Matías di Santo is an Argentine footballer who plays as a striker for Wigan Athletic.- Audax Italiano :Di Santo began his club career in the Chilean team Audax Italiano. In the 2006–07 season he scored 26 goals in 76 matches, including one goal in six matches in the Copa Libertadores...
for which he was sent off.
October
Having gone 18 top-flight games unbeaten to equal the club record, Birmingham made little impression as EvertonEverton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
won their first match of the season. After Johnson made a mistake to allow Yakubu
Yakubu
Yakubu was ruler of the Hausa city-state of Gobir from 1795 to 1801. Succeeding Bawa, Yakubu waged a number of military campaigns. His reign is also noted for a deterioration of relations between the Hausa elite of Gobir and Fulani Islamic reformer Usman dan Fodio, who would soon oppose them in...
in, Foster took enough pace off his shot to give Ridgewell time to make a goalline clearance, but gave Everton the lead when he prodded Leon Osman
Leon Osman
Leon Osman is an English football player who plays for Everton in the Premier League. He has spent his whole career as an Everton player, though he has spent time on loan at Carlisle United and Derby County.-Biography:...
's cross past Foster, and Tim Cahill
Tim Cahill
Timothy Filiga "Tim" Cahill is an football player of Australian nationality who plays for Everton and the Australian national football team...
's stoppage-time header doubled the lead.
Two weeks later, Birmingham took the lead through a Žigić header, Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
equalised from the penalty spot after Marouane Chamakh
Marouane Chamakh
Marouane Chamakh is a French-Moroccan footballer who plays for English club Arsenal in the Premier League and the Moroccan national team as a striker. He is described as a prototypical target man and is noted for his "tall stature" and "excellent heading ability".Chamakh started his career...
went down after minimal contact from Scott Dann, and Chamakh himself scored the winner just after half time. On a day when manager Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...
had used his programme notes to highlight the problem of reckless tackling, England hopeful Jack Wilshere
Jack Wilshere
Jack Andrew Garry Wilshere is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Arsenal and the England national team....
was sent off for a two-footed lunge on Žigić, and Emmanuel Eboué
Emmanuel Eboué
Emmanuel Eboué is an Ivorian footballer who plays for Süper Lig club Galatasaray and Ivory Coast. His natural position is at right back, but he is also used in various other positions. Eboué also holds a Belgian passport.-Early career:...
was fortunate to escape a red card for a scissors-tackle on Liam Ridgewell.
At home to newly promoted Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
, whose attacking style had earned them the best away record in the Premier League, Birmingham played them at their own game, with Alex Hleb given a free role behind Garry O'Connor
Garry O'Connor
Garry Lawrence John O'Connor is a Scottish professional footballer who currently plays for Hibernian. He has also played for the Scotland international team....
and Nikola Žigić, and outclassed them 2–0. The goals came from Ridgewell's close-range header after Žigić had headed against the bar, and from Žigić himself after Charlie Adam
Charlie Adam
Charles Graham "Charlie" Adam is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liverpool and the Scotland national football team....
gave the ball away. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s reporter suggested that "if City had had more pace and movement up front than was offered by Garry O'Connor and Nikola Zigic, they would have won by five or six."
In an improvement for Birmingham on the last time the clubs had met, they had the better of a goalless draw at Aston Villa. The referee missed a clear handball by Nigel Reo-Coker
Nigel Reo-Coker
Nigel Shola Andre Reo-Coker is an English footballer of Sierra Leonean descent. He currently plays for Bolton Wanderers of the Premier League. He is known for being a robust midfielder with good overall tackling and passing qualities...
, the same player could have been sent off for an apparent knee in the back of Craig Gardner, Cameron Jerome passed to goalkeeper Brad Friedel
Brad Friedel
Bradley Howard Friedel is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League....
with Zigic unmarked in the box, and Ashley Young could have won the game for Villa right at the end with a shot that came off the angle of post and bar.
November
Former co-owner David Gold, now co-owner of West Ham United, was banned from attending the clubs' meeting on 6 November for referring to vice-chairman Peter Pannu in the press as "disgusting". The club later accepted Gold's apology. On the field, Birmingham played the diamond formation that had been effective against Blackpool. Apart from the sprinklers suddenly coming on soon after kickoff, the highlight of the first half was Foster's fine save to tip a short-range shot from Carlton ColeCarlton Cole
Carlton Michael Cole Okirie is an English footballer who plays as a striker for West Ham United in the Npower Championship....
onto the post. Early in the second half, West Ham took a two-goal lead and nearly scored a third when Victor Obinna's shot from distance hit the woodwork. After Gardner and Beauseajour replaced Hleb and Fahey, Birmingham came back to draw with a Jerome goal from a Zigic knockdown and a characteristic Ridgewell tap-in when Robert Green
Robert Green
Robert Paul Green is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United and the England national football team as a goalkeeper.-Norwich City:...
failed to gather a Larsson free kick. They could have won it late on when Jerome's shot was deflected on to the crossbar by Danny Gabbidon, and West Ham's penalty appeal against Beausejour for shirt-pulling was turned down.
Birmingham went two goals down at Stoke City, but came back to equalise with a 20 yards (18.3 m) shot from Keith Fahey
Keith Fahey
Keith Declan Fahey is an Republic of Ireland international footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City. With Ireland he was part of the team that secured qualification for UEFA Euro 2012....
and a glancing header by Jerome from a Larsson cross, and Gardner forced two saves from Asmir Begovic
Asmir Begovic
Asmir Begović is a Bosnian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Stoke City and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team....
. Stoke manager Tony Pulis
Tony Pulis
Anthony Richard "Tony" Pulis is a Welsh former football player and is currently the manager of Stoke City. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at the age of 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him one of the youngest professional players ever to have obtained the qualification...
had spoken out before the game about referees' decisions repeatedly going against them, and Birmingham's defence "dithered" appealing for a handball which match referee Mark Clattenburg
Mark Clattenburg
Mark Clattenburg is an English professional football referee, who officiates primarily in the Premier League, and for FIFA. He is based in Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne...
failed to notice as Dean Whitehead
Dean Whitehead
Dean Whitehead is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Stoke City.Whitehead joined his local non-league club Abingdon Town before he signed for Football League side Oxford United in 1999. He impressed in the lower divisions and was signed by Championship side...
won the game for the home side. The defending improved at Manchester City. The nearest the home side came to scoring was when Carlos Tévez
Carlos Tévez
Carlos Alberto Tévez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City...
handled the ball over the line and when a James Milner
James Milner
Milner was described as a "first class" student at his school; he left with 11 GCSEs and an award for his performance in physical education. Milner also showed talent in cricket, sprinting and long-distance running...
shot was blocked by Foster and the rebound cleared off the line by man-of-the-match Stephen Carr.
Lee Bowyer
Lee Bowyer
Lee David Bowyer is an English professional footballer born in Canning Town, London, who plays as a midfielder for Ipswich Town of the Football League Championship....
, replacing the injured Craig Gardner, stole unmarked into the penalty area to meet a Jerome knockdown and take a 17th-minute lead at home to Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
. Thereafter, Ben Foster, criticised for his performance for England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
against France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
in midweek but now "defiance personified", made numerous saves including one where he "somehow clawed out a Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily is an Ivorian footballer who plays in the centre forward position. He currently plays for Chelsea in the Premier League, where he is deputy vice-captain, and is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team...
header that was flying in the far corner", as Chelsea failed to score from 32 shots at goal. Away at Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
, Alex Hleb made a strong run through midfield to the penalty area and played a pinpoint pass which gave the onrushing Sebastian Larsson time to set himself and pass the ball into the net for his first goal of the season. After Dempsey arguably climbed on Keith Fahey's shoulders to head the equaliser, Birmingham came close to regaining the lead whan Scott Dann's header from a Larsson cross hit the bar, but lost Hleb to a hamstring injury.
December
Craig Gardner was central to Birmingham achieving a draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur. Sébastien BassongSébastien Bassong
Sébastien Aymar Bassong Nguena is a French-born Cameroonian football defender who plays for Tottenham Hotspur and the Cameroon national football team.-Early career:...
scored after Foster failed to deal with a Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale
Gareth Frank Bale is a Welsh footballer who plays for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Wales national team. Bale began his professional career with Southampton in 2005 and was transferred to Tottenham two years later...
free kick, but the introduction of Nikola Žigić, a hero after scoring the winner against Aston Villa in the League Cup quarter-final in the week, made the difference. Ridgewell's powerful shot was blocked by Heurelho Gomes' groin, before Johnson's long ball found Žigić, who headed into the penalty area for Gardner to head home after a well-timed run. Alex McLeish's assessed his team's 1–0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as "We didn't turn up at all for the first 60 minutes. We were outfought and then had a go. We need to start games the way we finish them."
The visit of Newcastle United on 18 December was a late postponement because of heavy snowfall, and the away game at Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
was called off on Boxing Day morning when frozen pipes within Goodison Park
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
burst. In Birmingham's last match of 2010, Manchester United scored after an hour through Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a forward for Manchester United. He captained the Bulgarian national team from 2006 to 2010, and is its all-time leading goalscorer and has also won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year a record seven times, surpassing the number of...
, but in the 89th minute, Žigić appeared to foul Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Gavin Ferdinand is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and for the England national football team...
as he controlled Roger Johnson's cross with his arm, touching it on to Lee Bowyer who equalised from an arguably offside position.
January
Birmingham began the new year outplayed by ArsenalArsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
by three goals to nil. Television replays highlighted incidents, unnoticed by the referee, in which Bowyer stamped on Bacary Sagna
Bacary Sagna
Bacary Sagna is a French footballer who plays for Arsenal and the France national football team. His cousin Ibrahima Sonko also plays in England, for Ipswich Town. Sagna is called Bac by the majority of his teammates...
and seemed to rake his studs down the same player's Achilles
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.- Anatomy :The Achilles is the tendonous extension of 3 muscles in the lower leg:...
. Suggestions in the media that he might be banned for six matches prompted Alex McLeish to argue that the football authorities were not treating all clubs equally when using television evidence. Bowyer received the standard three-match ban for violent conduct.
Birmingham went to Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
as the only Premier League team without an away win. After Blackpool lost at St Andrew's in October, manager Ian Holloway
Ian Holloway
Ian Scott Holloway is an English football manager and former player. He became the manager of Blackpool in May 2009. Holloway is well-known amongst football fans for his off-the-wall interviews, with a wide selection of quotes and soundbites being printed. Holloway's playing career spanned 18...
had promised that if Birmingham used the same attacking tactics when they came to Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road is an all-seater football stadium in the English town of Blackpool, Lancashire. It has been the permanent home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901 and is named after the road on which the stadium's main entrance used to stand. The stadium has been in a process of redevelopment since 2000...
, his players would know how to counter them. He was nearly right. Hleb returned from injury to play behind Jerome and Derbyshire and scored the opening goal after being gifted the ball in the penalty area. Former Birmingham player DJ Campbell equalised, both sides hit the woodwork, the visitors were particularly profligate in front of goal, but Scott Dann scored an 89th-minute winner with a poacher's finish from Johnson's knock-down.
Without Dann, whose hamstring injury sustained in the League Cup first leg was to keep him out for the rest of the season, Ridgewell moved to centre back and David Murphy
David Murphy (footballer)
David Paul Murphy is an English professional footballer who plays for Birmingham City. Murphy, born in Hartlepool, County Durham, is a defender who plays at left back.-Club career:...
started at left back, and loanee David Bentley
David Bentley
David Michael Bentley is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United as a winger, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur....
made his debut in the Sunday lunchtime kickoff against Aston Villa. Both teams had chances to win but the 1–1 draw left both teams just outside the relegation zone. The attendance of 22,287 was the lowest figure for Premier League matches between the clubs. With the League Cup semi-final four days later, Birmingham gave Jordon Mutch
Jordon Mutch
Jordon James Edward Sydney Mutch is an English footballer who plays for Birmingham City. He plays as a midfielder. Mutch made his first-team debut for Birmingham in the League Cup in August 2008, and made his debut in the Football League while on loan to Hereford United, spending subsequent loan...
a League debut and rested Gardner, Jerome and Žigić as they visited Manchester United. They lost 5–0.
February
Martin JiránekMartin Jiránek
Martin Jiránek is a Czech international footballer who plays for Russian Premier League club FC Terek Grozny. A defender, Jiránek has played in the top division of several countries.-Spartak Moscow:...
made his Premier League debut at home to Manchester City in a match moved to the Wednesday at short notice because of City's FA Cup-tie being televised the previous Sunday. City's Micah Richards
Micah Richards
Micah Lincoln Richards is an English footballer who plays for Manchester City and the England national team. A versatile defender, Richards is equally adept at centre back and right back or in centre midfield...
was knocked unconscious in collision with teammate Nigel de Jong
Nigel de Jong
Nigel de Jong is a Dutch footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City and the Netherlands national team....
, and manager Roberto Mancini
Roberto Mancini
Roberto Mancini is an Italian football manager, formerly an international player and current manager of Premier League club Manchester City.As a player Mancini was best known for his time at Sampdoria, where he played more than 550 matches, and helped them win the Serie A league title, four Coppa...
accused Kevin Phillips
Kevin Phillips (footballer)
Kevin Mark Phillips is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Blackpool.Phillips was the Premier League top scorer in the 1999–2000 season with 30 goals for Sunderland, a tally which won him the European Golden Shoe. He remains the only Englishman to win the trophy...
of diving to earn the penalty from which Gardner gave Birmingham what BBC Sport's reporter termed a "deserved equaliser". Returning to West Ham United having beaten them to reach the League Cup final, Birmingham ensured that it would be they and not the hosts who escaped from the relegation places when Nikola Žigić scored the only goal of the game midway through the second half.
Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Rubin Kazan and the Nigeria national team. He is known for his speed on the ball....
had a quiet debut at home to Stoke City. A dull match was goalless until stoppage time, when Asmir Begovic
Asmir Begovic
Asmir Begović is a Bosnian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Stoke City and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team....
fumbled Bentley's shot, Jerome robbed him of the ball, flicked it up from the byline and Zigic outjumped John Carew
John Carew
John Alieu Carew , is a Norwegian professional association football player who plays for West Ham United and the Norwegian national team. His father is Gambian and his mother is Norwegian; he was born and raised in Norway.-Vålerenga:John Alieu Carew began his career with his local club Lørenskog,...
and headed the winner to give Birmingham their first consecutive Premier League wins for more than a year. McLeish suggested that fatigue might be a factor in Birmingham's "flat" performance three days later as they lost 2–0 at home to Newcastle United to leave themselves in 14th place, three points above the relegation zone.
March
Jean BeausejourJean Beausejour
Jean André Emanuel Beausejour Coliqueo , nicknamed Palmatoria or Francés, is a Chilean footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City...
scored his first Premier League goal in a losing cause at home to West Bromwich Albion, Birmingham's first league match after the League Cup win. His second, a header from a Jordon Mutch
Jordon Mutch
Jordon James Edward Sydney Mutch is an English footballer who plays for Birmingham City. He plays as a midfielder. Mutch made his first-team debut for Birmingham in the League Cup in August 2008, and made his debut in the Football League while on loan to Hereford United, spending subsequent loan...
cross, took the lead at Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
on the Wednesday, but the match was drawn. In the second half, referee Peter Walton
Peter Walton (referee)
Peter Walton , is an English professional football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League, and former player in the United Counties League. He is based in Long Buckby, Northamptonshire, the town which he played his football for...
had taken the field without his yellow card, so had to act out issuing a caution to Mutch using an imaginary card. Having exited the relegation places the previous week, Birmingham conceded a stoppage-time goal at Wigan Athletic to find themselves back in it. Ridgewell scored early on from what appeared to be an offside position, and Jiránek left the field soon afterwards with an injury, but Wigan equalised through Tom Cleverley
Tom Cleverley
Thomas William "Tom" Cleverley is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder in the Premier League for Manchester United....
before Maynor Figueroa
Maynor Figueroa
Maynor Alexis Figueroa Róchez is a Honduran footballer who plays as a left back for Premier League club Wigan Athletic.-Club career:...
scored a stoppage-time winner from 20 yards (18.3 m). They had exited the relegation places the previous week, but the defeat left them in 19th place, though if they won their game in hand, the three points would take them to a mid-table 13th.
April
After two goals scored by Kevin Phillips from a Larsson corner and Craig Gardner after a one-two with Cameron Jerome, a Larsson goal disallowed for offside and a Roger Johnson volley drawing a good save from Jaaskelainen, Birmingham should have been comfortable. However, Johan ElmanderJohan Elmander
Johan Erik Calvin Elmander is a Swedish footballer who plays as a striker for Galatasaray and the Sweden national football team. He joined in a free transfer after his contract with English club Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League expired...
scored an excellent volleyed goal from distance, Bolton Wanderers took heart, and only fine goalkeeping from Ben Foster kept the visitors at bay. Lee Bowyer's tap-in from Jerome's pass took the lead at Blackburn Rovers, and shortly before half-time Roger Johnson received lengthy treatment for a head injury before leaving the pitch for further attention. Seven minutes into stoppage time, he returned to the field, apparently distracting defensive partner Ridgewell who allowed Junior Hoilett to steal the ball and take it past Foster to equalise. Curtis Davies
Curtis Davies
Curtis Eugene Davies is an English professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Birmingham City. Davies has previously played for Luton Town, where he began his career, West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa and Leicester City....
replaced Johnson for the second half, the first time in nearly two seasons with the club that Johnson had been substituted.
A 2–0 defeat of Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
, with goals from Larsson and Gardner, gave Birmingham seven points from the last three games. With six games left to play, they were in 14th place, five points above the relegation zone with a game in hand on most teams below them, albeit with some difficult games to come. Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
had little difficulty in beating Birmingham 3–1, the visitors' goal coming from the penalty spot; Larsson and Gardner had a lengthy discussion as to who should take the kick, eventually won by Larsson. McLeish confirmed afterwards that Gardner would be the designated penalty-taker in future. Maxi Rodríguez, in the starting eleven only because Andy Carroll
Andy Carroll
Andrew Thomas "Andy" Carroll is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team....
was injured, scored a hat-trick as Ben Foster sustained an injury trying to prevent Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
's second goal and had to be replaced by Colin Doyle, making his first Premier League appearance since 2007.
May
David Bentley left the ground "in a huff" when not included in the matchday squad for the home game with Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves took an early lead from the penalty spot before Michael MancienneMichael Mancienne
Michael Ian Mancienne is an English footballer who plays for German Bundesliga club Hamburger SV as a defender.Schooled primarily as a centre back, Mancienne can also play as a defensive midfielder as well as both fullback positions as he showed during appearances for Chelsea, and multiple loan...
failed to deal with Foster's clearance. Larsson, having run the length of the field, collected the loose ball and clipped it past the goalkeeper. In an aggressive game, Gardner was booked after an altercation with Jamie O'Hara, and had been the victim of a wild tackle by Richard Stearman
Richard Stearman
Richard James Michael Stearman is an English footballer of Irish descent who plays as a defender for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers...
(who went unpunished) when he "went down under pressure" from Jody Craddock
Jody Craddock
Jody Darryl Craddock is an English football defender signed to Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.Craddock broke into league football at Cambridge United in the mid 1990s before spending six years at Sunderland, with whom he won promotion to the Premier League...
and received a second yellow card for simulation. His second dismissal of the season meant he would miss two of the club's last three games. Birmingham's ten men held on for the draw, which left them four points clear of the relegation zone.
Foster kept Birmingham in the game at Newcastle United until Liam Ridgewell was sent off for handling the ball on the goalline. Newcastle scored the resultant penalty, doubled their lead from a Steven Taylor
Steven Taylor (footballer)
Steven Vincent Taylor is an English footballer, currently playing for Premier League club Newcastle United. He is a versatile central defender who can play at right back or, on rare occasions, at left back...
header, then Bowyer pulled a goal back just before half-time when Jerome's shot was parried. Larsson missed a clear chance to equalise, shooting over the bar after Tim Krul
Tim Krul
Timothy Michael "Tim" Krul is a Dutch footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Newcastle United and the Netherlands national team.-Newcastle United:...
fumbled Beausejour's cross, but the home side also had chances to extend their lead.
With Jerome injured, Phillips and Derbyshire started at home to Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
, and youngster Akwasi Asante was the only forward among the substitutes. The players seemed nervous, made little impression, were unable to deal with the power of Brede Hangeland
Brede Hangeland
Brede Paulsen Hangeland is a Norwegian footballer who plays for Fulham in the Premier League and the Norwegian national team, of which he is the captain. The son of a Norwegian oil company worker, Hangeland was born in Houston, Texas during his parents' two-year spell in the United States, but...
, who scored both Fulham goals, and the only serious chance came when Martin Jiránek turned Stuart Parnaby's cross towards goal with his chest. Birmingham finished the match with only ten men, after losing Hleb, Bowyer, Parnaby and Jiránek to injury, and in 17th place in the league, ahead of Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
and Wigan Athletic only on goal difference after they and Wolverhampton Wanderers all won.
Birmingham went into their final match away at Tottenham Hotspur as one of five teams still at risk of relegation. Doing no worse than Blackpool and Wigan would keep them safe, and there were more complicated calculations depending on the result of the match between Blackburn Rovers and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Jerome, who had undergone specialist treatment all week on his injured heel, was able to start the game, and Curtis Davies
Curtis Davies
Curtis Eugene Davies is an English professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Birmingham City. Davies has previously played for Luton Town, where he began his career, West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa and Leicester City....
was an excellent replacement for Jiránek. Roman Pavlyuchenko
Roman Pavlyuchenko
Roman Anatolyevich Pavlyuchenko is an footballer who currently plays as a centre forward for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and for the Russian national team.-Spartak Moscow:...
put Tottenham one up early in the second half, but Gardner's 79th-minute equaliser put his team ahead of Wolverhampton and safe. With stoppage time approaching, Wolves scored again to leave Birmingham needing another goal. The message appeared to take time getting through to the players, but they eventually threw everyone forward, leaving themselves open at the back, and Pavlyuchenko scored a spectacular winner to ensure fifth place and Europa League qualification. Birmingham were relegated in 18th place.
League table (part)
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16th | Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic F.C. Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW... |
38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 40 | 61 | ||
| 42 | |||||||||
| 17th | Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at... |
38 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 46 | 66 | ||
| 40 | |||||||||
| 18th | Birmingham City Birmingham City F.C. Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the... |
38 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 37 | 58 | ||
| 39 | |||||||||
| 19th | Blackpool Blackpool F.C. Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the... |
38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 55 | 78 | ||
| 39 | |||||||||
| 20th | West Ham United West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current... |
38 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 43 | 70 | ||
| 33 | |||||||||
| 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 Goal difference In sports such as ice hockey and association football, goal difference is often the first tiebreaker used to rank teams which finish a league competition with an equal number of points.... ; Pts = Points |
||||||||
| Source | |||||||||
Results summary
Results by round
FA Cup
Birmingham were drawn away against MillwallMillwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
for their opening match in the 2010–11 FA Cup
2010–11 FA Cup
The 2010–11 FA Cup was the 130th season of the world's oldest association football knock-out competition; The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup for short...
. With the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
semi-final scheduled for three days later, Alex McLeish
Alex McLeish
Alexander "Alex" McLeish , is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager, who is currently managing English Premier League club Aston Villa...
made seven changes from the side that had beaten Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
in midweek, including a first start for Jordon Mutch
Jordon Mutch
Jordon James Edward Sydney Mutch is an English footballer who plays for Birmingham City. He plays as a midfielder. Mutch made his first-team debut for Birmingham in the League Cup in August 2008, and made his debut in the Football League while on loan to Hereford United, spending subsequent loan...
after his successful loan spell at Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
. They might have expected more competition from a team just outside the play-off positions in the Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
, but two goals from Matt Derbyshire
Matt Derbyshire
Matthew Anthony "Matt" Derbyshire is an English footballer who plays for Nottingham Forest. He is a striker, who played for Blackburn Rovers for five years, and had loan spells with Plymouth Argyle, Wrexham and Olympiacos, before joining the latter club on a permanent basis in 2009. He played for...
, a precise free kick from David Murphy
David Murphy (footballer)
David Paul Murphy is an English professional footballer who plays for Birmingham City. Murphy, born in Hartlepool, County Durham, is a defender who plays at left back.-Club career:...
, and a powerful header from Cameron Jerome
Cameron Jerome
Cameron Zishan Rana-Jerome is an English footballer who plays for Stoke City as a striker. He also played for Cardiff City in the Football League, and for Birmingham City in the Football League and Premier League, and at international level has several caps for the England under-21 team.-Early...
shortly after coming on a late substitute gave them a 4–0 lead. Had Millwall's finishing been better – Steve Morison
Steve Morison
Steven William "Steve" Morison is a Welsh international footballer who plays for Norwich City as a striker.Morison started his career at Northampton Town at the age of 16, progressing through the club's centre of excellence...
failed to take a early chance when through on goalkeeper Maik Taylor
Maik Taylor
Maik Stefan Taylor is a professional footballer who plays for Leeds United and is a former Northern Ireland international....
, James Henry
James Henry (footballer)
James Henry is an English footballer who plays for Millwall as a right winger or as a central midfielder.-Reading:Henry was born in Reading. Having grown up in Woodley, attending Waingels College which has sport facilities, and started his playing career at local club, Woodley Saints...
had an attempt disallowed for offside, and Morison's weak penalty was saved by Taylor – they might well have achieved more than Danny Schofield
Danny Schofield
Daniel James "Danny" Schofield is a professional footballer who plays for Rotherham United.-Huddersfield Town:Schofield was signed by Huddersfield Town from Brodsworth Welfare for a fee of £2,000 in 1998...
's consolation.
In the fourth round, Birmingham made nine changes from the eleven that had started the League Cup semi-final three days before. After Nikola Žigić
Nikola Žigic
Nikola Žigić is a Serbian footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City as a centre forward.At , Žigić is among the tallest professional players in the world...
headed wide and Kevin Phillips
Kevin Phillips (footballer)
Kevin Mark Phillips is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Blackpool.Phillips was the Premier League top scorer in the 1999–2000 season with 30 goals for Sunderland, a tally which won him the European Golden Shoe. He remains the only Englishman to win the trophy...
' header was deflected onto the crossbar, they went two goals down at home to mid-table Championship club Coventry City. David Bentley
David Bentley
David Michael Bentley is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United as a winger, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur....
's 25 yards (22.9 m) shot was too hot for Keiren Westwood and went in off the underside of the bar, then in the second half Stuart Parnaby
Stuart Parnaby
Stuart Parnaby is an English footballer who plays as a right back.Parnaby graduated from Middlesbrough F.C.'s Academy, which was run by his father, Dave. He went on to make more than 100 appearances for Middlesbrough's first team before joining Birmingham City in 2007...
scored his first senior goal for nearly five years after Alexander Hleb had drawn Westwood out of goal. After 73 minutes, man-of-the-match Phillips controlled a ball from Jean Beausejour
Jean Beausejour
Jean André Emanuel Beausejour Coliqueo , nicknamed Palmatoria or Francés, is a Chilean footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City...
on his thigh and volleyed in for the winner.
A stronger Birmingham team than that selected in previous rounds enjoyed a comfortable win against Sheffield Wednesday of League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
in the fifth round. Goals from Beausejour and Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Rubin Kazan and the Nigeria national team. He is known for his speed on the ball....
, his first for the club, were both set up by Hleb before he left the field on a stretcher, the victim of a late tackle by James O'Connor. Murphy scored a third from close range to take Birmingham into the quarter-finals for the second year running. Roger Johnson
Roger Johnson (footballer)
Roger Johnson is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers....
punched the dug-out after he was substituted with half an hour remaining, but McLeish said he took the sensible course, to avoid the risk of a second yellow card which would mean Johnson missing the approaching League Cup final.
Bolton Wanderers had to take the lead three times to eliminate a Birmingham side so short of fit players that they started the 19-year-old Mutch in central midfield, gave a squad number to 17-year-old defender Alpaslan Ozturk, and were still unable to name a full complement of seven substitutes. Johan Elmander
Johan Elmander
Johan Erik Calvin Elmander is a Swedish footballer who plays as a striker for Galatasaray and the Sweden national football team. He joined in a free transfer after his contract with English club Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League expired...
scored for Bolton after 21 minutes, and within the next ten minutes Birmingham had lost Barry Ferguson
Barry Ferguson
Barry Ferguson MBE is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Blackpool.Ferguson has made 82 appearances in European competitions, all for Rangers, which makes him the record European appearance holder at the club. He was also inducted into the Rangers F.C. Hall of Fame...
and Jiránek to injury. Jerome took advantage of a defensive error to equalise with a tidy finish from 16 yards (14.6 m) and each side made penalty appeals that were correctly turned down. Bolton regained the lead from the penalty spot when Curtis Davies
Curtis Davies
Curtis Eugene Davies is an English professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Birmingham City. Davies has previously played for Luton Town, where he began his career, West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa and Leicester City....
fouled Kevin Davies
Kevin Davies
Kevin Cyril Davies is an English footballer who currently plays for Bolton Wanderers and the England national football team as a striker. He was made Bolton team captain in January 2009....
before Phillips first hit the post, then from a flick-on by the 17-year-old Nathan Redmond
Nathan Redmond
Nathan Daniel Jerome Redmond is an English professional footballer who plays for Birmingham City. He made his first-team debut for Birmingham in the Football League Cup second-round tie against Rochdale in August 2010, becoming the club's second-youngest player ever at the age of 16 years and 173...
, "somehow Phillips swivelled, scissor-kicking a volley from outside the area over the head of Jaaskelainen and in". McLeish brought on striker Derbyshire in place of Murphy and went for the win, but in stoppage time, Kevin Davies headed across goal for Lee Chung-Yong
Lee Chung-Yong
Lee Chung-Yong is a South Korean footballer who plays for Premier League club Bolton Wanderers and the South Korean national team. His nickname, Blue Dragon, is a transliteration of his given name "Chung-Yong" derived from Hanja, 청용...
to take the visitors into the semi-finals.
League Cup
Birmingham began their League CupFootball League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
campaign in the second round, drawn at home to Rochdale
Rochdale A.F.C.
Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...
of League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
in the first competitive meeting between the clubs. They made eight changes to the previous starting eleven, giving debuts to Enric Vallès
Enric Vallès
Enric Vallès Prat is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City. He plays as a midfielder. He began his career in the youth system of FC Barcelona before playing in the Dutch Eredivisie for NAC Breda....
and, from the substitutes' bench, Nathan Redmond
Nathan Redmond
Nathan Daniel Jerome Redmond is an English professional footballer who plays for Birmingham City. He made his first-team debut for Birmingham in the Football League Cup second-round tie against Rochdale in August 2010, becoming the club's second-youngest player ever at the age of 16 years and 173...
, at 16 years 173 days the club's second-youngest first-team debutant after Trevor Francis
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis , is a former footballer who won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest and played for England 52 times. He was England's first £1 million player...
. A goal down after 26 minutes, Birmingham equalised two minutes later through a "harsh" penalty, scored by James McFadden
James McFadden
James McFadden is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Everton.McFadden started his career with Scottish Premier League club Motherwell. He came to prominence in the 2002–03 season by scoring 19 goals and winning the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year award....
, as Marcus Holness
Marcus Holness
Marcus Lewis Holness is an English professional footballer who currently plays for Rochdale AFC. He is a central defender....
was adjudged to have fouled Matt Derbyshire
Matt Derbyshire
Matthew Anthony "Matt" Derbyshire is an English footballer who plays for Nottingham Forest. He is a striker, who played for Blackburn Rovers for five years, and had loan spells with Plymouth Argyle, Wrexham and Olympiacos, before joining the latter club on a permanent basis in 2009. He played for...
. Goals followed from David Murphy
David Murphy (footballer)
David Paul Murphy is an English professional footballer who plays for Birmingham City. Murphy, born in Hartlepool, County Durham, is a defender who plays at left back.-Club career:...
, playing his first game since breaking his kneecap in April 2009, and Derbyshire, but a second Rochdale goal made for a tense last quarter of an hour.
Third-round opponents Milton Keynes Dons proved less of an obstacle. Birmingham made nine changes from their previous match, including a debut for Martin Jiránek
Martin Jiránek
Martin Jiránek is a Czech international footballer who plays for Russian Premier League club FC Terek Grozny. A defender, Jiránek has played in the top division of several countries.-Spartak Moscow:...
, a first start for Jean Beausejour
Jean Beausejour
Jean André Emanuel Beausejour Coliqueo , nicknamed Palmatoria or Francés, is a Chilean footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City...
, and first games of the season for Kevin Phillips
Kevin Phillips (footballer)
Kevin Mark Phillips is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Blackpool.Phillips was the Premier League top scorer in the 1999–2000 season with 30 goals for Sunderland, a tally which won him the European Golden Shoe. He remains the only Englishman to win the trophy...
and Stuart Parnaby
Stuart Parnaby
Stuart Parnaby is an English footballer who plays as a right back.Parnaby graduated from Middlesbrough F.C.'s Academy, which was run by his father, Dave. He went on to make more than 100 appearances for Middlesbrough's first team before joining Birmingham City in 2007...
. Alexander Hleb, making his home debut, and Nikola Žigić
Nikola Žigic
Nikola Žigić is a Serbian footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City as a centre forward.At , Žigić is among the tallest professional players in the world...
each scored their first goal for the club and substitute Craig Gardner
Craig Gardner
Craig Gardner is an English footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Sunderland. A versatile midfielder, Gardner can play in many different positions, although central midfield is his preferred position...
made the score 3–0 in a four-minute spell midway through the first half. Though MK Dons scored late on, Birmingham's victory was comfortable.
Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
, Birmingham's third consecutive visitors from League One, had beaten Premier League Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
on penalties in the third round. Sam Wood
Sam Wood (footballer)
Samuel James Wood is an English professional footballer who plays for Football League One side Brentford. Wood is a left-sided and right-sided player who can play either at full back or on the wing.-Early career:...
gave them the lead with a volley after 68 minutes, goalkeeper Richard Lee
Richard Lee (footballer)
Richard Anthony Lee is an English footballer. He is a goalkeeper and currently plays for Brentford.-Playing career:...
produced a fine save to deny Gardner's curling shot, and after Žigić headed over the bar with four minutes of normal time remaining, it seemed as though they were going to repeat the upset. But after two minutes of stoppage time, Liam Ridgewell
Liam Ridgewell
Liam Matthew Ridgewell is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Birmingham City. He is primarily a centre half but can also play at left back. Previously a player for Birmingham's arch-rivals Aston Villa, Ridgewell also spent a spell on loan at A.F.C. Bournemouth in 2002.-Early...
squared the ball to Phillips who scored with a low shot. In extra time, Lee saved a header from Žigić, and the tie went to penalties. On Brentford's last attempt before sudden death, Craig Woodman
Craig Woodman
Craig Alan Woodman is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Brentford.Woodman began his career with Bristol City as a trainee, turning professional in June 2000. His first team debut came on 5 December 2000 in the Football League Trophy defeat away to Plymouth Argyle...
hit the ball straight at Maik Taylor
Maik Taylor
Maik Stefan Taylor is a professional footballer who plays for Leeds United and is a former Northern Ireland international....
, who was able to deflect it onto the bar, so Birmingham scraped through to the fifth round.
The quarter-final pitted Birmingham against local rivals Aston Villa, again at home. West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.Covering an area with nearly 2.6 million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and also the Black Country; the force is made up...
had been sufficiently concerned about the potential for trouble and possible adverse effects on England's World Cup bid that they made an unsuccessful request for a change of date and had four times the usual number of officers on duty. Sebastian Larsson
Sebastian Larsson
Sebastian Bengt Ulf Larsson is a Swedish footballer who plays for Premier League club Sunderland and the Sweden national team. Larsson is renowned for being a set piece specialist.-Arsenal:...
opened the scoring with a penalty after Richard Dunne
Richard Dunne
Richard Patrick Dunne is an Irish footballer who plays as a defender for Aston Villa and the Republic of Ireland national football team. With Ireland he was a member of the 2002 FIFA World Cup squad and helped his team qualify for UEFA Euro 2012.Dunne began his professional career at Everton...
fouled Bowyer, then Gabby Agbonlahor equalised for Villa on the break after Žigić had an apparently valid goal disallowed. Cameron Jerome
Cameron Jerome
Cameron Zishan Rana-Jerome is an English footballer who plays for Stoke City as a striker. He also played for Cardiff City in the Football League, and for Birmingham City in the Football League and Premier League, and at international level has several caps for the England under-21 team.-Early...
shot wide when one-on-one with goalkeeper Brad Friedel
Brad Friedel
Bradley Howard Friedel is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League....
, and Ben Foster
Ben Foster (footballer)
Benjamin Anthony "Ben" Foster is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for West Bromwich Albion, on loan from Birmingham City, and internationally for the England national team.-Stoke City:...
saved well from Ashley Young after parrying a shot from Agbonlahor, but neither side could make the breakthrough until, on 86 minutes, Žigić scrambled home a shot deflected off Luke Young. At the end of the match, large numbers of Birmingham fans invaded the pitch and were separated from the visiting support by riot police. Missiles, including seats and a flare, believed by police to have originated in the visitors' section, were thrown back and forth, and the violence continued outside the ground.
Birmingham were drawn against West Ham United in the two-legged
Two-legged match
In sport , a two-legged tie is a contest between two teams which comprises two matches or legs, with each team as the home team in one leg. The winning team is usually determined by aggregate score, the sum of the scores of the two legs...
semifinal. In the first leg, at Upton Park
Boleyn Ground
The Boleyn Ground, more commonly referred to as Upton Park due to its location in Upton Park, London is the football stadium of West Ham United.-History:...
, West Ham had much the best of the first half, taking a deserved lead when Mark Noble
Mark Noble
Mark James Noble is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United. He has played all his youth and first team football for West Ham and made 20 appearances, scoring 3 goals, for the England under-21 team which he captained.Despite his relatively young age, Noble is the longest serving player...
scored from a tight angle with Foster's view at the near post obscured by Scott Dann
Scott Dann
Scott Dann is an English footballer who plays for Premier League club Blackburn Rovers as a centre back. He began his Football League career with Walsall, before moving on to Coventry City and then to Birmingham City in 2009...
. Dann sustained an injury just before half-time which was to keep him out for the rest of the season. Early in the second half, Birmingham equalised through Ridgewell's header from a corner, then took a man advantage when Victor Obinna was sent off for kicking Larsson in the groin. Even after a penalty was denied when Barry Ferguson
Barry Ferguson
Barry Ferguson MBE is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Blackpool.Ferguson has made 82 appearances in European competitions, all for Rangers, which makes him the record European appearance holder at the club. He was also inducted into the Rangers F.C. Hall of Fame...
was knocked flying by Matthew Upson
Matthew Upson
Matthew James Upson is an English footballer who plays for Stoke City in the Premier League. He is a central defender and he has played for England at full international level including at the 2010 World Cup....
, it looked as Birmingham would go on to win, but goalkeeper Foster blundered when he allowed a weak shot from Carlton Cole
Carlton Cole
Carlton Michael Cole Okirie is an English footballer who plays as a striker for West Ham United in the Npower Championship....
to go through him. West Ham increased their lead to 3–1 on aggregate in the first half of the second leg when Cole collected a throw-in and shot past Foster from 25 yards (22.9 m). The half-time introduction of Žigić put pressure on West Ham's defence. A penalty appeal against Wayne Bridge
Wayne Bridge
Wayne Michael Bridge is an English footballer who plays as a left back for Manchester City.A graduate of the Southampton Academy where he made his debut in 1998, he has also played for Chelsea and Fulham during his Premiership career....
for handball was rejected, but from the resultant corner, Lee Bowyer
Lee Bowyer
Lee David Bowyer is an English professional footballer born in Canning Town, London, who plays as a midfielder for Ipswich Town of the Football League Championship....
tied the scores on the night, and prolonged pressure led to Roger Johnson's
Roger Johnson (footballer)
Roger Johnson is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers....
79th-minute headed goal which tied the scores overall. With the last play of normal time, Gardner's shot was touched onto the post by Robert Green
Robert Green
Robert Paul Green is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United and the England national football team as a goalkeeper.-Norwich City:...
, and the game went into extra time. Four minutes later, Gardner repeated the shot with enough power and accuracy to beat Green and give Birmingham the 4–3 aggregate lead which took them into the final.
Final
Going into the final, media focus centred on the competition being the first element of ArsenalArsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
's potential quadruple
Tuples in association football
The quadruple is a term sometimes used in football that refers to a club winning four tournaments in a single season, usually their country's top-tier league and the two most highly-regarded domestic cup competitions, as well as the top-level continental cup competition - in European football, the...
, their failure to win a trophy for six years, and concerns over the fitness of their captain Cesc Fàbregas
Cesc Fàbregas
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...
. Pundits and bookmakers were in agreement that there could be only one winner, though Cameron Jerome suggested that being overwhelming favourites would put extra pressure on Arsenal, and that if they had a weakness, it lay with their defence.
To counteract Arsenal's perceived strength, their passing ability in midfield, McLeish set his side out in a 4–5–1 formation with three defensive midfielders – Ferguson covering the centre backs and Gardner and Bowyer closing opponents down and chasing – and wide players Fahey and Larsson supporting the tall but less mobile Žigić. In the first two minutes, Bowyer ran on to a through ball from Žigić and was brought down by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny
Wojciech Szczęsny
Wojciech Tomasz Szczęsny is a Polish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Arsenal and the Poland national football team. He is the son of former Polish goalkeeper Maciej Szczęsny....
for what appeared to be a penalty and a red card. Arsenal were relieved to see the linesman raise his flag for offside, though television replays showed his decision to have been wrong. With nearly half an hour gone, Larsson's corner seemed to confuse the Arsenal centre backs. Roger Johnson headed the ball towards goal and Žigić outjumped his opponents to head home. Towards half time, Jack Wilshere
Jack Wilshere
Jack Andrew Garry Wilshere is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Arsenal and the England national team....
hit the crossbar, and when Birmingham failed to clear, Andrei Arshavin crossed for Robin van Persie
Robin van Persie
Robin van Persie is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Arsenal and the Dutch national team. He is a youth product of Feyenoord. Having joined Arsenal in 2004, Van Persie became the club captain on 16 August 2011...
to direct an aerial volley past Foster.
Early in the second half, Beausejour replaced Gardner. A few minutes later he set up Fahey whose poor shot hit teammate Žigić. The ball rebounded to Fahey who reacted quickly to volley it goalwards, only for it to strike the inside of the post with Szczęsny beaten and bounce across the goal to safety. Van Persie, who had hurt himself in the act of scoring, was struggling by the middle of the second half and was replaced by former Birmingham loanee Nicklas Bendtner
Nicklas Bendtner
Nicklas Bendtner , is a Danish international footballer who plays for Sunderland on loan from Arsenal as a striker...
. Towards the end of normal time, Birmingham were tiring; Johnson remained on the field after receiving treatment for a calf injury that restricted his movement, and neither he nor Ridgewell had been able to train in the week leading up to the game. The defenders and particularly Foster, who won the man of the match
Alan Hardaker Trophy
The Alan Hardaker Trophy has been awarded to the Man of the Match at every Football League Cup final since 1990. The winners to date include:...
award for the second time in three years, prevented Arsenal from taking advantage.
With seven minutes left of normal time, Obafemi Martins replaced Fahey for his League Cup debut. After 89 minutes, Foster cleared the ball long, Žigić touched it on, and when Laurent Koscielny
Laurent Koscielny
Laurent Koscielny is a French footballer who plays as a defender for Arsenal. He primarily plays as a centre back but he can also play as an right back, a position where he started his career. Koscielny is a youth product of Guingamp. He is described as an aggressive, uncompromising and...
attempted to play it, distracting Szczęsny from making what should have been a straightforward gather, the ball fell loose to Martins in front of goal. He tapped it into an empty net for "the easiest goal [he's] ever scored in [his] career", and celebrated with a trademark series of somersaults. For the remaining few minutes, Birmingham defended stoutly, but Martins had a fine chance to increase the lead when he took the ball past Johan Djourou
Johan Djourou
Johan Danon Djourou-Gbadjere , more commonly known as Johan Djourou, is an Ivorian-born Swiss international footballer who plays for Arsenal. He used to play as a defensive midfielder in his youth for former club Etoile Carouge, but on his arrival at Arsenal was converted to a central defender...
and the goalkeeper but found himself with too narrow a shooting angle. Jerome, who had come on during stoppage time, and Ferguson were both booked for time-wasting as Birmingham held on to win their first major trophy for nearly 50 years.
Transfers
At the end of the 2009–10 season, Birmingham released first-team players Gary McSheffreyGary McSheffrey
Gary McSheffrey is an English footballer who plays as a left winger. He is currently in his second spell with hometown team Coventry City in the Football League Championship....
, Grégory Vignal
Gregory Vignal
Grégory Vignal is a French footballer. A left full back or midfielder, he is currently a free agent, having played most recently for Premier League club Birmingham City....
, Franck Queudrue
Franck Queudrue
Franck Queudrue is a French footballer who plays as a left back for Lens. He began his career with Lens, for whom he played in Ligue 1, and went on to play in the Premier League for Middlesbrough, Fulham and Birmingham City, and in the Football League for Colchester United.-Lens:Queudrue began his...
and Lee Carsley
Lee Carsley
Lee Kevin Carsley is a former professional footballer who played in the Football League and Premier League for Derby County, Blackburn Rovers, Coventry City, Everton and Birmingham City. Although English by birth, he represented the Republic of Ireland internationally...
, and chose not to sign loanee Christian Benítez on a permanent basis. Goalkeeper Joe Hart
Joe Hart
Charles Joseph John "Joe" Hart is an English football goalkeeper who plays for Premier League club Manchester City and the England national football team and was previously a regular for the England under-21 team....
returned to parent club Manchester City, to be replaced by Birmingham's first signing of the new season, Manchester United's Ben Foster
Ben Foster (footballer)
Benjamin Anthony "Ben" Foster is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for West Bromwich Albion, on loan from Birmingham City, and internationally for the England national team.-Stoke City:...
, who joined for an estimated initial fee of £4 million. Next to arrive was striker Nikola Žigić
Nikola Žigic
Nikola Žigić is a Serbian footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City as a centre forward.At , Žigić is among the tallest professional players in the world...
, who signed from Valencia
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
shortly before joining up with the Serbian national team
Serbia national football team
The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović...
at the World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
. After young Spanish midfielder Enric Vallès
Enric Vallès
Enric Vallès Prat is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City. He plays as a midfielder. He began his career in the youth system of FC Barcelona before playing in the Dutch Eredivisie for NAC Breda....
joined on a one-year contract and Matt Derbyshire
Matt Derbyshire
Matthew Anthony "Matt" Derbyshire is an English footballer who plays for Nottingham Forest. He is a striker, who played for Blackburn Rovers for five years, and had loan spells with Plymouth Argyle, Wrexham and Olympiacos, before joining the latter club on a permanent basis in 2009. He played for...
returned to England on loan from Olympiacos, there were no more signings until transfer deadline day, when Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
midfielder Alexander Hleb arrived on a season-long loan and Chilean
Chile national football team
The Chilean national football team represents Chile in all major international football competitions. The team is controlled by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile which was established in 1895. They have appeared in eight World Cup tournaments and were hosts of the 1962 FIFA World Cup finishing in...
winger Jean Beausejour
Jean Beausejour
Jean André Emanuel Beausejour Coliqueo , nicknamed Palmatoria or Francés, is a Chilean footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City...
and Spartak Moscow
FC Spartak Moscow
FC Spartak Moscow is a Russian football club from Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships and 9 of 19 Russian championships they are one of the country's most successful clubs. They have also won the Soviet Cup 10 times and the Russian Cup 3 times...
captain and defender Martin Jiránek
Martin Jiránek
Martin Jiránek is a Czech international footballer who plays for Russian Premier League club FC Terek Grozny. A defender, Jiránek has played in the top division of several countries.-Spartak Moscow:...
agreed permanent deals. Jordon Mutch
Jordon Mutch
Jordon James Edward Sydney Mutch is an English footballer who plays for Birmingham City. He plays as a midfielder. Mutch made his first-team debut for Birmingham in the League Cup in August 2008, and made his debut in the Football League while on loan to Hereford United, spending subsequent loan...
joined Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
club Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
on an initial one-month loan, later extended until January 2011, and several fringe players left on loan. Garry O'Connor
Garry O'Connor
Garry Lawrence John O'Connor is a Scottish professional footballer who currently plays for Hibernian. He has also played for the Scotland international team....
had two separate loan spells at Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
, initially to regain match fitness after injury, but was released in December to join that club on a permanent contract.
In the January transfer window, Míchel
Miguel Marcos Madera
Miguel Marcos Madera , known as Míchel, is a Spanish footballer who plays for Getafe as a central midfielder.Having been brought through the youth academy of Asturias side Real Oviedo, he played with the first team of rivals Sporting de Gijón in both the second and first divisions, before...
joined AEK Athens on loan until the end of the season. League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
club Burton Albion intended to take 16-year-old winger Nathan Redmond
Nathan Redmond
Nathan Daniel Jerome Redmond is an English professional footballer who plays for Birmingham City. He made his first-team debut for Birmingham in the Football League Cup second-round tie against Rochdale in August 2010, becoming the club's second-youngest player ever at the age of 16 years and 173...
on loan, but the move fell foul of regulations forbidding first-year scholars to sign on loan for League clubs. Tottenham Hotspur winger David Bentley
David Bentley
David Michael Bentley is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United as a winger, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur....
and Nigerian international
Nigeria national football team
The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles or Green Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation . The team has ranked as high as 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, in April 1994...
striker Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Rubin Kazan and the Nigeria national team. He is known for his speed on the ball....
came in on loan, and Aston Villa defender Curtis Davies
Curtis Davies
Curtis Eugene Davies is an English professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Birmingham City. Davies has previously played for Luton Town, where he began his career, West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa and Leicester City....
signed a three-and-a-half-year deal for an estimated £3.5 million fee. Sebastian Larsson
Sebastian Larsson
Sebastian Bengt Ulf Larsson is a Swedish footballer who plays for Premier League club Sunderland and the Sweden national team. Larsson is renowned for being a set piece specialist.-Arsenal:...
, whose contract was due to expire at the end of the season, was given permission to speak to Newcastle United about a possible transfer, but personal terms were not agreed, and Kevin Phillips
Kevin Phillips (footballer)
Kevin Mark Phillips is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Blackpool.Phillips was the Premier League top scorer in the 1999–2000 season with 30 goals for Sunderland, a tally which won him the European Golden Shoe. He remains the only Englishman to win the trophy...
was told he could leave if "the right offer" were received.
Among those players released at the end of the season when their contracts expired were first-teamers Larsson, Phillips, Jiránek, Lee Bowyer
Lee Bowyer
Lee David Bowyer is an English professional footballer born in Canning Town, London, who plays as a midfielder for Ipswich Town of the Football League Championship....
, Maik Taylor
Maik Taylor
Maik Stefan Taylor is a professional footballer who plays for Leeds United and is a former Northern Ireland international....
and Stuart Parnaby
Stuart Parnaby
Stuart Parnaby is an English footballer who plays as a right back.Parnaby graduated from Middlesbrough F.C.'s Academy, which was run by his father, Dave. He went on to make more than 100 appearances for Middlesbrough's first team before joining Birmingham City in 2007...
, and fringe players Marcus Bent
Marcus Bent
Marcus Nathan Bent is an English football striker who plays for Indonesian club Mitra Kukar. A former England under-21 international, the journeyman striker has played for fourteen different clubs, playing over 570 games and scoring 110 goals in the process.A England under-21 international, he...
, Jay O'Shea, Dan Preston
Dan Preston
Daniel Sean "Dan" Preston is an English footballer who plays for AFC Telford United. A centre half, he made his debut for Birmingham City in the League Cup in September 2009, and his first appearance in the Football League while on loan to Hereford United in February 2010...
and Robin Shroot
Robin Shroot
Robin Alexander E. Shroot is an English-born footballer who plays for League One side Stevenage.Shroot started his career at Wimbledon as an eight-year-old, progressing through the club's youth system before being released at 16. He then spent time at Staines Town's academy, playing a peripheral...
. All the loanees returned to their owning clubs.
In
| Date | Player | Club | Fee | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 May 2010 | Ben Foster Ben Foster (footballer) Benjamin Anthony "Ben" Foster is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for West Bromwich Albion, on loan from Birmingham City, and internationally for the England national team.-Stoke City:... |
Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958... |
Undisclosed | |
| 26 May 2010 | Nikola Žigić Nikola Žigic Nikola Žigić is a Serbian footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City as a centre forward.At , Žigić is among the tallest professional players in the world... |
Valencia Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the... |
Undisclosed | |
| 1 July 2010 | Enric Vallès Enric Vallès Enric Vallès Prat is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City. He plays as a midfielder. He began his career in the youth system of FC Barcelona before playing in the Dutch Eredivisie for NAC Breda.... |
(NAC Breda NAC Breda NAC Breda , simply often known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Dutch Eredivisie and are known by the fierce and fanatic support of... ) |
Free | |
| 31 August 2010 | Martin Jiránek Martin Jiránek Martin Jiránek is a Czech international footballer who plays for Russian Premier League club FC Terek Grozny. A defender, Jiránek has played in the top division of several countries.-Spartak Moscow:... |
Spartak Moscow FC Spartak Moscow FC Spartak Moscow is a Russian football club from Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships and 9 of 19 Russian championships they are one of the country's most successful clubs. They have also won the Soviet Cup 10 times and the Russian Cup 3 times... |
Undisclosed | |
| 31 August 2010 | Jean Beausejour Jean Beausejour Jean André Emanuel Beausejour Coliqueo , nicknamed Palmatoria or Francés, is a Chilean footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City... |
Club América Club América Club América is a Mexican Professional football club based in Mexico City. It competes in the Primera División, the top professional league in the country. The team's nickname is Las Águilas .... |
Undisclosed | |
| 28 January 2011 | Curtis Davies Curtis Davies Curtis Eugene Davies is an English professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Birmingham City. Davies has previously played for Luton Town, where he began his career, West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa and Leicester City.... |
Aston Villa Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder... |
Undisclosed |
- Brackets round club names indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Birmingham.
Out
| Date | Player | Fee | Joined | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 December 2010 | Garry O'Connor Garry O'Connor Garry Lawrence John O'Connor is a Scottish professional footballer who currently plays for Hibernian. He has also played for the Scotland international team.... |
Released | (Barnsley Barnsley F.C. Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's... ) |
|
| 30 June 2011 | Marcus Bent Marcus Bent Marcus Nathan Bent is an English football striker who plays for Indonesian club Mitra Kukar. A former England under-21 international, the journeyman striker has played for fourteen different clubs, playing over 570 games and scoring 110 goals in the process.A England under-21 international, he... |
Released | (Mitra Kukar) | |
| 30 June 2011 | Lee Bowyer Lee Bowyer Lee David Bowyer is an English professional footballer born in Canning Town, London, who plays as a midfielder for Ipswich Town of the Football League Championship.... |
Released | (Ipswich Town Ipswich Town F.C. Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02.... ) |
|
| 30 June 2011 | Martin Jiránek Martin Jiránek Martin Jiránek is a Czech international footballer who plays for Russian Premier League club FC Terek Grozny. A defender, Jiránek has played in the top division of several countries.-Spartak Moscow:... |
Released | (Terek Grozny FC Terek Grozny FC Terek Grozny is a Russian football club, currently playing in the Russian Premier League.... ) |
|
| 30 June 2011 | Sebastian Larsson Sebastian Larsson Sebastian Bengt Ulf Larsson is a Swedish footballer who plays for Premier League club Sunderland and the Sweden national team. Larsson is renowned for being a set piece specialist.-Arsenal:... |
Released | (Sunderland Sunderland A.F.C. Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League... ) |
|
| 30 June 2011 | Stuart Parnaby Stuart Parnaby Stuart Parnaby is an English footballer who plays as a right back.Parnaby graduated from Middlesbrough F.C.'s Academy, which was run by his father, Dave. He went on to make more than 100 appearances for Middlesbrough's first team before joining Birmingham City in 2007... |
Released | ||
| 30 June 2011 | Kevin Phillips Kevin Phillips (footballer) Kevin Mark Phillips is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Blackpool.Phillips was the Premier League top scorer in the 1999–2000 season with 30 goals for Sunderland, a tally which won him the European Golden Shoe. He remains the only Englishman to win the trophy... |
Released | (Blackpool Blackpool F.C. Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the... ) |
|
| 30 June 2011 | Maik Taylor Maik Taylor Maik Stefan Taylor is a professional footballer who plays for Leeds United and is a former Northern Ireland international.... |
Released | (Leeds United) | |
| 30 June 2011 | Mitch McPike | Released | ||
| 30 June 2011 | Jay O'Shea | Released | (Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons F.C. .Milton Keynes Dons Football Club is an English professional football club founded in 2004 and based since 2007 at Stadium mk, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire... ) |
|
| 30 June 2011 | Dan Preston Dan Preston Daniel Sean "Dan" Preston is an English footballer who plays for AFC Telford United. A centre half, he made his debut for Birmingham City in the League Cup in September 2009, and his first appearance in the Football League while on loan to Hereford United in February 2010... |
Released | (AFC Telford United) | |
| 30 June 2011 | Luke Rowe | Released | (Team Wellington Team Wellington Team Wellington are one of the eight franchises in the New Zealand ASB Premiership football competition. They play their home games at Newtown Park, Wellington.- History :... ) |
|
| 30 June 2011 | Robin Shroot Robin Shroot Robin Alexander E. Shroot is an English-born footballer who plays for League One side Stevenage.Shroot started his career at Wimbledon as an eight-year-old, progressing through the club's youth system before being released at 16. He then spent time at Staines Town's academy, playing a peripheral... |
Released | (Stevenage) |
- Brackets round a club denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.
Loan in
| Date | Player | Club | Return | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 August 2010 | Matt Derbyshire Matt Derbyshire Matthew Anthony "Matt" Derbyshire is an English footballer who plays for Nottingham Forest. He is a striker, who played for Blackburn Rovers for five years, and had loan spells with Plymouth Argyle, Wrexham and Olympiacos, before joining the latter club on a permanent basis in 2009. He played for... |
Olympiacos | End of season | |
| 31 August 2010 | Alexander Hleb | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... |
End of season | |
| 12 January 2011 | David Bentley David Bentley David Michael Bentley is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United as a winger, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur.... |
Tottenham Hotspur | End of season | |
| 31 January 2011 | Obafemi Martins Obafemi Martins Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Rubin Kazan and the Nigeria national team. He is known for his speed on the ball.... |
Rubin Kazan | End of season |
Loan out
| Date | Player | Club | Return | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 August 2010 | Jordon Mutch Jordon Mutch Jordon James Edward Sydney Mutch is an English footballer who plays for Birmingham City. He plays as a midfielder. Mutch made his first-team debut for Birmingham in the League Cup in August 2008, and made his debut in the Football League while on loan to Hereford United, spending subsequent loan... |
Watford | January 2011 | |
| 5 August 2010 | Jake Jervis Jake Jervis Jake Mario Jervis is an English footballer who plays for Swindon Town on loan from Birmingham City. He plays as a striker... |
Notts County Notts County F.C. Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system... |
4 January 2011 | |
| 7 August 2010 | Robin Shroot Robin Shroot Robin Alexander E. Shroot is an English-born footballer who plays for League One side Stevenage.Shroot started his career at Wimbledon as an eight-year-old, progressing through the club's youth system before being released at 16. He then spent time at Staines Town's academy, playing a peripheral... |
Cheltenham Town | January 2011 | |
| 20 August 2010 | Luke Hubbins Luke Hubbins Luke Anthony Hubbins is an English footballer who plays for Birmingham City. He made his professional debut in August 2010 in the Football League Cup while on loan to Notts County... |
Notts County Notts County F.C. Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system... |
January 2011 | |
| 31 August 2010 | Marcus Bent Marcus Bent Marcus Nathan Bent is an English football striker who plays for Indonesian club Mitra Kukar. A former England under-21 international, the journeyman striker has played for fourteen different clubs, playing over 570 games and scoring 110 goals in the process.A England under-21 international, he... |
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at... |
4 January 2011 | |
| 10 September 2010 | Garry O'Connor Garry O'Connor Garry Lawrence John O'Connor is a Scottish professional footballer who currently plays for Hibernian. He has also played for the Scotland international team.... |
Barnsley Barnsley F.C. Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's... |
One month | |
| 26 October 2010 | Jay O'Shea | Stevenage | 16 January 2011 | |
| 8 November 2010 | Garry O'Connor Garry O'Connor Garry Lawrence John O'Connor is a Scottish professional footballer who currently plays for Hibernian. He has also played for the Scotland international team.... |
Barnsley Barnsley F.C. Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's... |
One month | |
| 26 November 2010 | Mitch McPike | Kidderminster Harriers | One month | |
| 18 January 2011 | Marcus Bent Marcus Bent Marcus Nathan Bent is an English football striker who plays for Indonesian club Mitra Kukar. A former England under-21 international, the journeyman striker has played for fourteen different clubs, playing over 570 games and scoring 110 goals in the process.A England under-21 international, he... |
Sheffield United | 16 April 2011 | |
| 20 January 2011 | Jay O'Shea | Port Vale | One month | |
| 20 January 2011 | Nathan Redmond Nathan Redmond Nathan Daniel Jerome Redmond is an English professional footballer who plays for Birmingham City. He made his first-team debut for Birmingham in the Football League Cup second-round tie against Rochdale in August 2010, becoming the club's second-youngest player ever at the age of 16 years and 173... |
Burton Albion | 31 January 2011 | |
| 21 January 2011 | Míchel Miguel Marcos Madera Miguel Marcos Madera , known as Míchel, is a Spanish footballer who plays for Getafe as a central midfielder.Having been brought through the youth academy of Asturias side Real Oviedo, he played with the first team of rivals Sporting de Gijón in both the second and first divisions, before... |
AEK Athens | End of season | |
| 21 January 2011 | Jake Jervis Jake Jervis Jake Mario Jervis is an English footballer who plays for Swindon Town on loan from Birmingham City. He plays as a striker... |
Hereford United | One month | |
| 28 January 2011 | Dan Preston Dan Preston Daniel Sean "Dan" Preston is an English footballer who plays for AFC Telford United. A centre half, he made his debut for Birmingham City in the League Cup in September 2009, and his first appearance in the Football League while on loan to Hereford United in February 2010... |
Hereford United | 13 April 2011 |
Appearances and goals
- Source:
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | League 2010–11 Premier League The 2010–11 Premier League was the 19th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The 2010–11 fixtures were released on 17 June 2010 at 09:00 BST. The season began on 14 August 2010, and ended on 22 May 2011... |
FA Cup 2010–11 FA Cup The 2010–11 FA Cup was the 130th season of the world's oldest association football knock-out competition; The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup for short... |
League Cup 2010–11 Football League Cup The 2010–11 Football League Cup, known as the Carling Cup due to the competition's sponsorship by lager brand Carling, was the 51st season of the Football League Cup, a knock-out competition for England's top 92 football clubs.... |
Total | Discipline | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |  |  |
||||
| 1 | GK |  Northern Ireland |
Maik Taylor Maik Taylor Maik Stefan Taylor is a professional footballer who plays for Leeds United and is a former Northern Ireland international.... |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Stephen Carr Stephen Carr Stephen Carr is an Irish footballer who plays for and captains Birmingham City. He previously played for the Premier League teams Tottenham Hotspur and, for a shorter spell, Newcastle United. He is a former international player with the Republic of Ireland... |
38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 3 | DF |  England |
David Murphy David Murphy (footballer) David Paul Murphy is an English professional footballer who plays for Birmingham City. Murphy, born in Hartlepool, County Durham, is a defender who plays at left back.-Club career:... |
10 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | England |
Lee Bowyer Lee Bowyer Lee David Bowyer is an English professional footballer born in Canning Town, London, who plays as a midfielder for Ipswich Town of the Football League Championship.... |
29 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 36 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | England |
Roger Johnson Roger Johnson (footballer) Roger Johnson is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.... |
38 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 45 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | England |
Liam Ridgewell Liam Ridgewell Liam Matthew Ridgewell is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Birmingham City. He is primarily a centre half but can also play at left back. Previously a player for Birmingham's arch-rivals Aston Villa, Ridgewell also spent a spell on loan at A.F.C. Bournemouth in 2002.-Early... |
36 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 43 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| 7 | MF |  Sweden |
Sebastian Larsson Sebastian Larsson Sebastian Bengt Ulf Larsson is a Swedish footballer who plays for Premier League club Sunderland and the Sweden national team. Larsson is renowned for being a set piece specialist.-Arsenal:... |
35 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 41 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | England |
Craig Gardner Craig Gardner Craig Gardner is an English footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Sunderland. A versatile midfielder, Gardner can play in many different positions, although central midfield is his preferred position... |
29 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 37 | 10 | 7 | 2 |
| 9 | FW | England |
Kevin Phillips Kevin Phillips (footballer) Kevin Mark Phillips is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Blackpool.Phillips was the Premier League top scorer in the 1999–2000 season with 30 goals for Sunderland, a tally which won him the European Golden Shoe. He remains the only Englishman to win the trophy... |
14 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | England |
Cameron Jerome Cameron Jerome Cameron Zishan Rana-Jerome is an English footballer who plays for Stoke City as a striker. He also played for Cardiff City in the Football League, and for Birmingham City in the Football League and Premier League, and at international level has several caps for the England under-21 team.-Early... |
34 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 42 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 11 | FW |  Scotland |
Garry O'Connor Garry O'Connor Garry Lawrence John O'Connor is a Scottish professional footballer who currently plays for Hibernian. He has also played for the Scotland international team.... |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | England |
David Bentley David Bentley David Michael Bentley is an English footballer who plays for West Ham United as a winger, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur.... |
13 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | Scotland |
Barry Ferguson Barry Ferguson Barry Ferguson MBE is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Blackpool.Ferguson has made 82 appearances in European competitions, all for Rangers, which makes him the record European appearance holder at the club. He was also inducted into the Rangers F.C. Hall of Fame... |
35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | Colin Doyle | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 14 | FW | England |
Matt Derbyshire Matt Derbyshire Matthew Anthony "Matt" Derbyshire is an English footballer who plays for Nottingham Forest. He is a striker, who played for Blackburn Rovers for five years, and had loan spells with Plymouth Argyle, Wrexham and Olympiacos, before joining the latter club on a permanent basis in 2009. He played for... |
13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | England |
Scott Dann Scott Dann Scott Dann is an English footballer who plays for Premier League club Blackburn Rovers as a centre back. He began his Football League career with Walsall, before moving on to Coventry City and then to Birmingham City in 2009... |
20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 25 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | Scotland |
James McFadden James McFadden James McFadden is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Everton.McFadden started his career with Scottish Premier League club Motherwell. He came to prominence in the 2002–03 season by scoring 19 goals and winning the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year award.... |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF |  Spain |
Míchel Miguel Marcos Madera Miguel Marcos Madera , known as Míchel, is a Spanish footballer who plays for Getafe as a central midfielder.Having been brought through the youth academy of Asturias side Real Oviedo, he played with the first team of rivals Sporting de Gijón in both the second and first divisions, before... |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW |  Nigeria |
Obafemi Martins Obafemi Martins Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Rubin Kazan and the Nigeria national team. He is known for his speed on the ball.... |
4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | Keith Fahey Keith Fahey Keith Declan Fahey is an Republic of Ireland international footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City. With Ireland he was part of the team that secured qualification for UEFA Euro 2012.... |
24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| 19 | FW |  Serbia |
Nikola Žigić Nikola Žigic Nikola Žigić is a Serbian footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City as a centre forward.At , Žigić is among the tallest professional players in the world... |
25 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 34 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Spain |
Enric Vallès Enric Vallès Enric Vallès Prat is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City. He plays as a midfielder. He began his career in the youth system of FC Barcelona before playing in the Dutch Eredivisie for NAC Breda.... |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | England |
Stuart Parnaby Stuart Parnaby Stuart Parnaby is an English footballer who plays as a right back.Parnaby graduated from Middlesbrough F.C.'s Academy, which was run by his father, Dave. He went on to make more than 100 appearances for Middlesbrough's first team before joining Birmingham City in 2007... |
5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | MF |  Belarus |
Alexander Hleb | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW |  Chile |
Jean Beausejour Jean Beausejour Jean André Emanuel Beausejour Coliqueo , nicknamed Palmatoria or Francés, is a Chilean footballer who plays for English club Birmingham City... |
17 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Jay O'Shea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 25 | MF | England |
Jordon Mutch Jordon Mutch Jordon James Edward Sydney Mutch is an English footballer who plays for Birmingham City. He plays as a midfielder. Mutch made his first-team debut for Birmingham in the League Cup in August 2008, and made his debut in the Football League while on loan to Hereford United, spending subsequent loan... |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | England |
Ben Foster Ben Foster (footballer) Benjamin Anthony "Ben" Foster is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for West Bromwich Albion, on loan from Birmingham City, and internationally for the England national team.-Stoke City:... |
38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | England |
Nathan Redmond Nathan Redmond Nathan Daniel Jerome Redmond is an English professional footballer who plays for Birmingham City. He made his first-team debut for Birmingham in the Football League Cup second-round tie against Rochdale in August 2010, becoming the club's second-youngest player ever at the age of 16 years and 173... |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF |  Czech Republic |
Martin Jiránek Martin Jiránek Martin Jiránek is a Czech international footballer who plays for Russian Premier League club FC Terek Grozny. A defender, Jiránek has played in the top division of several countries.-Spartak Moscow:... |
10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | England |
Marcus Bent Marcus Bent Marcus Nathan Bent is an English football striker who plays for Indonesian club Mitra Kukar. A former England under-21 international, the journeyman striker has played for fourteen different clubs, playing over 570 games and scoring 110 goals in the process.A England under-21 international, he... |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | FW |  Netherlands |
Akwasi Asante | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | Scotland |
Fraser Kerr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | England |
Curtis Davies Curtis Davies Curtis Eugene Davies is an English professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Birmingham City. Davies has previously played for Luton Town, where he began his career, West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa and Leicester City.... |
6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | DF |  Belgium |
Alpaslan Öztürk | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | GK | England |
Jack Butland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |