2002–03 Birmingham City F.C. season

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Birmingham City F.C.
2002–03 season
ChairmanDavid Gold
ManagerSteve Bruce
StadiumSt Andrew's
Premier League13th
FA CupThird round
(eliminated by Fulham)
League CupThird round
(eliminated by Preston North End)
Top goalscorerLeague: Clinton Morrison (6)
All: Stern John (9)
Highest home attendance29,505 (five matches)
Lowest home attendance12,241 vs Preston North End, League Cup 3rd round, 5 November 2002
Average home league attendance28,831[1]

The 2002–03 season was Birmingham City Football Club's 100th in the English football league system, their 51st in the top tier, and their debut season in the Premier League, having been promoted via the play-offs. Under the management of Steve Bruce, they finished in 13th position in the 20-team league. Birmingham entered the 2002–03 FA Cup at the third round and lost to Fulham in that round, and, having entered the League Cup in the second round, lost to Preston North End in the third.

French manufacturers Le Coq Sportif supplied Birmingham's kit for the fifth consecutive season, and mobile phone retailer Phones4U retained the shirt sponsorship.[2] Stern John was top scorer with nine goals in all competitions; if only league goals are considered, Clinton Morrison top-scored with six. Steve Vickers was club captain,[3] but his long absences through injury meant that vice-captain Jeff Kenna usually captained the team.[4]

Pre-season[]

Pre-season friendlies[]

Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance Report
17 July 2002 Exeter City A W 1–0 Johnson 63' 2,600 [5]
20 July 2002 Forest Green Rovers A W 6–0 John 10', Hughes (2) 15' 80', Lazaridis (2) 22' 40', Savage 45' [6]
22 July 2002 Livingston A L 1–2 Andrews (o.g.) 2,000 [7]
24 July 2002 Motherwell A L 1–2 Devlin [8]
27 July 2002 Partick Thistle A W 2–1 John 26' (pen), Horsfield [9]
31 July 2002 Tranmere Rovers A W 7–0 John (2) 8' 50', Hughes (2), Grainger 11', Devlin, Carter [10]
3 August 2002 Stoke City A W 2–0 Mooney 16', Lazaridis 60' [11]
10 August 2002 Deportivo Alaves H D 1–1 Hughes 80' 9,000 [12]

Premier League[]

Main article: 2002–03 FA Premier League

Season review[]

Birmingham's first season in the Premiership was a rollercoaster of a ride that resulted in the team finishing in 13th, although they were favourites to be relegated at the start of the season.

Once Birmingham had secured their states in the Premiership after beating Norwich City in the First Division playoff final the year before, manager Steve Bruce started to strengthen the squad. Internationals Robbie Savage of Wales, Kenny Cunningham and Clinton Morrison of Ireland, and Aliou Cissé of Senegal all joined the side.

Stern John's penalty in the 1–1 draw with Everton on 28 August 2002 was Birmingham's first goal in the Premiership, and first in the top flight since Robert Hopkins scored against Newcastle United back in the 1985–86 season. The next match secured Birmingham their first three points in the league, as they beat Leeds United 2–1 thanks to goals from Paul Devlin and Damien Johnson.

A highlight of the season was the 3–0 victory over local rivals Aston Villa. A first-half goal from Clinton Morrison saw Birmingham in control at half time, before a comedy of errors saw a throw-in by Olof Mellberg roll under the foot of Villa goalkeeper Peter Enckelman and into the net to gift the side a 2–0 lead. Geoff Horsfield added a third later in the game thanks to bad defending from defender Alpay.

By the New Year, Birmingham were in 15th position in the table, seven points clear of 18th-placed Sunderland. This did not stop Bruce spending in the winter transfer window, as Stephen Clemence, Jamie Clapham and Matthew Upson all joined the club. These transfers fall into insignificance compared to the impact that French World Cup-winning forward Christophe Dugarry would make.

A bad start to 2003 saw Birmingham fall to 16th in the table, only five points separating themselves and 18th-placed West Bromwich Albion. This was before Liverpool's visit to St Andrew's, when Birmingham took a two-goal lead through Clemence and Morrison before Michael Owen added a late consolation goal. This game was followed by the visit to Aston Villa. The game kicked into life when Villa striker Dion Dublin was sent off in the 51st minute for headbutting Savage. In the 74th minute, Australian Stan Lazaridis scored his first goal of the season, and three minutes later, a poor header back by Jlloyd Samuel allowed Horsfield to run onto the ball, beat Enckelman and score from close range. The game ended with another sending off, as Villa's Joey Guðjónsson lunged at Upson with a two-footed tackle.

Birmingham were not yet assured of safety by the time they played Sunderland on 12 April, but Bryan Hughes and Christophe Dugarry scored to give Birmingham a 2–0 win. Dugarry went on to score four goals in Birmingham's next three games, including a stunning effort against Middlesbrough where he beat the offside trap before calmly taking the ball out of the air with his knee and volleying it into the net.

The last game of the season saw the side entertain West Ham United, who were in real danger of relegation. Birmingham managed a 2–2 draw thanks to goals from Horsfield and John, but it was enough to send the Hammers down.

Match details[]

Date League
position		 Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance Report
18 August 2002 18th Arsenal A L 0–2 38,018 [13]
24 August 2002 19th Blackburn Rovers H L 0–1 27,563 [13]
28 August 2002 17th Everton A D 1–1 John 50' pen. 37,197 [13]
31 August 2002 14th Leeds United H W 2–1 Devlin 32', D. Johnson 58' 27,164 [13]
11 September 2002 15th Liverpool A D 2–2 Morrison (2) 61', 90' 43,113 [13]
16 September 2002 9th Aston Villa H W 3–0 Morrison 31', Enckelman 77' o.g., Horsfield 83' 29,505 [13]
21 September 2002 10th Middlesbrough A L 0–1 29,869 [13]
28 September 2002 14th Newcastle United H L 0–2 29,072 [13]
5 October 2002 12th West Ham United A W 2–1 John (2) 4', 43' 35,010 [13]
19 October 2002 12th West Bromwich Albion A D 1–1 Moore 86' o.g. 27,021 [13]
26 October 2002 13th Manchester City H L 0–2 28,316 [13]
2 November 2002 12th Bolton Wanderers H W 3–1 Purse 61', Savage 72', Horsfield 83' 27,224 [13]
9 November 2002 14th Chelsea A L 0–3 35,237 [13]
17 November 2002 15th Fulham H D 0–0 26,164 [13]
23 November 2002 13th Sunderland A W 1–0 Morrison 89' 38,803 [13]
30 November 2002 11th Tottenham Hotspur H D 1–1 Kenna 68' 29,505 [13]
7 December 2002 13th Southampton A L 0–2 31,132 [13]
15 December 2002 13th Fulham A W 1–0 Kirovski 7' 14,962 [13]
21 December 2002 13th Charlton Athletic H D 1–1 Devlin 67' pen. 29,505 [13]
26 December 2002 13th Everton H D 1–1 Kirovski 45' 29,505 [13]
28 December 2002 15th Manchester United A L 0–2 67,640 [13]
1 January 2003 15th Leeds United A L 0–2 40,034 [13]
12 January 2003 15th Arsenal H L 0–4 29,505 [13]
18 January 2003 15th Blackburn Rovers A D 1–1 John 83' 23,331 [13]
1 February 2003 16th Bolton Wanderers A L 2–4 Savage 44', Morrison 60' 24,288 [13]
4 February 2003 16th Manchester United H L 0–1 29,475 [13]
8 February 2003 16th Chelsea H L 1–3 Savage 87' pen. 29,475 [13]
23 February 2003 16th Liverpool H W 2–1 Clemence 34', Morrison 68' 29,449 [13]
3 March 2003 16th Aston Villa A W 2–0 Lazaridis 74', Horsfield 77' 42,602 [13]
16 March 2003 16th Manchester City A L 0–1 34,596 [13]
22 March 2003 16th West Bromwich Albion H W 1–0 Horsfield 90' 29,449 [13]
5 April 2003 17th Tottenham Hotspur A L 1–2 Devlin 77' pen. 36,058 [13]
12 April 2003 16th Sunderland H W 2–0 Hughes 43', Dugarry 60' 29,132 [13]
19 April 2003 15th Charlton Athletic A W 2–0 Dugarry 20', Savage 55' pen. 25,732 [13]
21 April 2003 13th Southampton H W 3–2 Dugarry 75', 82', Hughes 79' 29,115 [13]
26 April 2003 12th Middlesbrough H W 3–0 Dugarry 18', Clemence 40', Lazaridis 80' 28,821 [13]
3 May 2003 13th Newcastle United A L 0–1 52,146 [13]
11 May 2003 13th West Ham United H D 2–2 Horsfield 80', John 88' 29,505 [13]

Final league table[]

Further information: 2002–03 FA Premier League § League table
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
11 Middlesbrough 38 13 10 15 48 44 +4 49
12 Charlton Athletic 38 14 7 17 45 56 −11 49
13 Birmingham City 38 13 9 16 41 49 −8 48
14 Fulham 38 13 9 16 41 50 −9 48
15 Leeds United 38 14 5 19 58 57 +1 47
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results summary[]

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
38 13 9 16 41 49  −8 48 8 5 6 25 23  +2 5 4 10 16 26  −10

Source: [14]

FA Cup[]

Main article: 2002–03 FA Cup

Birmingham failed to get past the third round of the FA Cup, losing to Premiership side Fulham.

Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance Report
Third round 5 January 2003 Fulham A L 1–3 John 90' 9,203 [13]

League Cup[]

Main article: 2002–03 Football League Cup

Birmingham reached the third round of the League Cup before losing to Preston North End of the First Division.

Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance Report
Second round 2 October 2002 Leyton Orient A W 3–2 John 16', 27', 77' 3,615 [13]
Third round 5 November 2002 Preston North End H L 0–2 12,241 [13]

Transfers[]

In[]

Date Player Clubdagger Fee Ref
30 May 2002 Robbie Savage Leicester City £2.5m–£3m [15]
9 July 2002 Aliou Cissé Montpellier £4.5m [16]
16 July 2002 Kenny Cunningham Wimbledon Undisclosed [17]
30 July 2002 Clinton Morrison Crystal Palace Undisclosed[A] [18]
15 August 2002 Jovan Kirovski (Crystal Palace) Free [20]
13 September 2002 Darryl Powell (Derby County) Free [21]
10 January 2003 Jamie Clapham Ipswich Town £1.3m [22]
10 January 2003 Stephen Clemence Tottenham Hotspur £900,000 [22]
22 January 2003 Matthew Upson Arsenal £1.1m [23]
13 March 2003 Andy Marriott Barnsley Nominal [24]
dagger Brackets round club names indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Birmingham.

Out[]

Date Player Fee Joineddagger Ref
30 July 2002 Andrew Johnson Crystal Palace Undisclosed[A] [18]
5 September 2002 Paul Furlong Queens Park Rangers Free [25]
21 October 2002 Nicky Eaden Wigan Athletic Nominal [26]
11 November 2002 Jerry Gill Northampton Town Free [27]
22 November 2002 Graham Hyde (Bristol Rovers) Released [28]
15 January 2003 Darryl Powell (Sheffield Wednesday) Released [29]
8 May 2003 Tony Capaldi Plymouth Argyle Free [30]
22 May 2003 Tommy Mooney (Swindon Town) Released [31]
30 June 2003 Clint Davies Released [32]
30 June 2003 Andy Marriott Released [32]
30 June 2003 Steve Vickers Released [32]
dagger Brackets round a club denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.
  1. ^ Jump up to: a b The total fee for Morrison to join Birmingham was announced as a club record.[18] The deal included Andrew Johnson moving to Crystal Palace as a makeweight; the fee for Morrison was reported as £4.25m and that for Johnson as £750,000.[19]

Loan in[]

Date Player Club Return Ref
1 January 2003 Ferdinand Coly RC Lens End of season [33]
2 January 2003 Christophe Dugarry Bordeaux End of season [34]
21 January 2003 Piotr Świerczewski Marseille End of season [35]

Loan out[]

Date Player Club Return Ref
8 August 2002 Paul Furlong Queens Park Rangers One month [36]
8 August 2002 Jerry Gill Northampton Town Two months [27][37]
8 August 2002 Tom Williams Queens Park Rangers End of season [36]
13 September 2002 Tommy Mooney Stoke City Three months [27][38]
20 September 2002 Nicky Eaden Wigan Athletic One month [39]
20 September 2002 Graham Hyde Peterborough United Two months [28][40]
15 January 2003 Craig Fagan Bristol City One month [41]
17 January 2003 Tommy Mooney Sheffield United 3 March 2003 [42]
27 January 2003 Curtis Woodhouse Rotherham United End of season [citation needed]
19 March 2003 Tommy Mooney Derby County End of season [43]

Appearances and goals[]

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.
Players with squad numbers struck through and marked Left club during playing season left the club during the playing season.
Players with names in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Birmingham.
Players included in matchday squads
No. Pos Nat Name League FA Cup League Cup Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals! A yellow rectangle, denoting the yellow penalty card shown to a player being cautioned A red rectangle, denoting the red penalty card shown to a player being sent off
1 GK  ENG Ian Bennett 10 0 0 0 2 0 12 0 0 0
2 DF  IRE Jeff Kenna 36 (1) 1 1 0 1 0 38 (1) 1 1 0
3 DF  ENG Martin Grainger 8 (1) 0 1 0 0 0 9 (1) 0 3 0
4 DF  ENG Steve Vickers 5 0 0 0 1 0 6 0 0 0
5 DF  ENG Darren Purse 19 (1) 1 0 0 1 0 20 (1) 1 7 1
6 MF  SEN Aliou Cissé 21 0 0 0 0 0 21 0 11 0
7 MF  SCO Paul Devlin 20 (12) 3 1 0 0 0 12 (12) 3 4 0
8 MF  WAL Robbie Savage 33 4 1 0 0 0 34 4 10 0
9 FW  ENG Geoff Horsfield 15 (16) 5 0 0 2 0 17 (16) 5 1 2
10 MF  ENG Bryan Hughes 10 (12) 2 0 (1) 0 1 0 11 (13) 2 3 0
11 MF  AUS Stan Lazaridis 17 (13) 2 0 0 2 0 19 (13) 2 1 0
12 DF  IRE Kenny Cunningham 31 0 0 0 1 0 32 0 1 0
14 FW  TRI Stern John 20 (10) 5 0 (1) 1 1 3 21 (11) 9 2 0
15 FW  USA Jovan Kirovski 5 (12) 2 1 0 1 (1) 0 7 (13) 2 1 0
16 FW  ENG Tommy Mooney 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0 1 0
17 FW  JAM Michael Johnson 5 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 5 (1) 0 0 0
18 GK  BEL Nico Vaesen 27 0 1 0 0 0 28 0 0 0
19 FW  IRE Clinton Morrison 24 (4) 6 1 0 1 0 26 (4) 6 6 0
21Left club during playing season DF  ENG Nicky Eaden 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 FW  FRA Christophe Dugarry* 16 5 0 0 0 0 16 5 4 0
22 MF  NIR Damien Johnson 28 (2) 1 1 0 0 (1) 0 29 (3) 1 6 0
23 DF  ENG Jamie Clapham 16 0 0 0 0 0 16 0 1 0
24 MF  ENG Darren Carter 3 (9) 0 0 0 1 0 4 (9) 0 0 0
25Left club during playing season MF  JAM Darryl Powell 3 (8) 0 1 0 2 0 6 (8) 0 3 0
25 DF  ENG Matthew Upson 14 0 0 0 0 0 14 0 1 1
26 DF  CIV Olivier Tébily 12 0 0 0 1 0 13 0 5 1
27 DF  ENG Joey Hutchinson 1 0 1 0 1 0 3 0 0 0
28 MF  ENG Curtis Woodhouse 0 (3) 0 0 0 1 0 1 (3) 0 0 0
29 FW  ENG Craig Fagan 0 (1) 0 0 (1) 0 0 (2) 0 0 (4) 0 0 0
30 DF  ENG Mat Sadler 2 0 0 0 2 0 4 0 1 0
32 MF  ENG Stephen Clemence 15 2 0 0 0 0 15 2 3 0
33 DF  SEN Ferdinand Coly* 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 0
34 MF  POL Piotr Świerczewski* 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0 1 0
35 GK  AUS Clint Davies 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
36 GK  WAL Andy Marriott 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Players not included in matchday squads
No. Pos Nat Name
13Left club during playing season MF  ENG Graham Hyde
13Left club during playing season DF  NIR Tony Capaldi
20 MF  ENG Tom Williams
23Left club during playing season DF  ENG Jerry Gill
25Left club during playing season FW  ENG Paul Furlong
31 MF  FRA Christophe Grondin

References[]

General

  • Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  • Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. Derby: DB Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85983-853-2.
  • Source for match dates, league positions and results: "Birmingham City 2002–2003: Results". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 440–41.
  • Source for goal times: "Birmingham Results 2002/03". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  • Source for transfers: "Birmingham Transfers 2002/03". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 June 2013.

Specific

  1. ^ "Barclaycard Premiership 2002–2003 Season Attendance Table". Football365.com. 365 Media Group. Archived from the original on 29 February 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Birmingham City: Kit history". Historical Kits. Dave & Matt Moor. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  3. ^ "Birmingham 1 Charlton 1". Birmingham City F.C. 21 December 2002. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010.
  4. ^ Halford, Brian (22 August 2002). "Blues home in on big-time". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 11 July 2013. (subscription required)
  5. ^ Cartlidge, Brian (17 July 2002). "Exeter 0 - Blues 1". Singing The Blues. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  6. ^ Cartlidge, Brian (20 July 2002). "Forest Green 0 - Blues 6". Singing The Blues. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  7. ^ Barker, Richard (22 July 2002). "Livingston 2 - Blues 1". Singing The Blues. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  8. ^ Barker, Richard (24 July 2002). "Motherwell 2 - Blues 1". Singing The Blues. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  9. ^ Barker, Richard (27 July 2002). "Partick 1 - Blues 2". Singing The Blues. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  10. ^ Cartlidge, Brian (31 July 2002). "Tranmere 0 - Blues 7". Singing The Blues. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  11. ^ Cartlidge, Brian (3 August 2002). "Stoke 0 - Blues 2". Singing The Blues. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  12. ^ Cartlidge, Brian (10 August 2002). "SBlues 1 - Alavés 1". Singing The Blues. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao "Birmingham City Reports – 2002–2003". sportinglife.com. 365 Media Group. Archived from the original on 22 May 2012. Individual match reports are linked from this page.
    "Fixtures & Results 2002/2003". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 5 January 2008.
  14. ^ "Birmingham City 2002–2003 : English Premier League Table". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  15. ^ "Savage completes Blues move". BBC Sport. 30 May 2002. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  16. ^ "Birmingham land Cisse". BBC Sport. 9 July 2002. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  17. ^ "Cunningham seals Blues deal". BBC Sport. 16 July 2002. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Birmingham net Morrison". BBC Sport. 30 July 2002. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  19. ^ "Transfers – July, 2002". BBC Sport. 5 September 2002. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  20. ^ "Kirovski cleared for Blues". BBC Sport. 15 August 2002. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  21. ^ "Blues complete Powell signing". BBC Sport. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b "Blues seal double deal". BBC Sport. 10 January 2003. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  23. ^ "Birmingham sign Upson". BBC Sport. 11 February 2003. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  24. ^ "Marriott joins Birmingham". BBC Sport. 13 March 2003. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  25. ^ Tattum, Colin (6 September 2002). "Capital gain for Paul". Birmingham Evening Mail. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  26. ^ "Wigan seal Eaden deal". BBC Sport. 21 October 2002. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  27. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Gill seals Cobblers deal". BBC Sport. 11 November 2002. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  28. ^ Jump up to: a b "Hyde released by Blues". Birmingham Evening Mail. 23 September 2002. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  29. ^ "Owls snap up Powell". BBC Sport. 15 January 2003. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  30. ^ "Pilgrims sign Capaldi". BBC Sport. 8 May 2003. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  31. ^ Tattum, Colin (23 May 2003). "Mooney feeling positive". Birmingham Evening Mail. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  32. ^ Jump up to: a b c "The List: players released by Premiership clubs". The Daily Telegraph. 2 June 2003. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  33. ^ "Blues complete Coly deal". BBC Sport. 6 December 2002. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  34. ^ "Birmingham land Dugarry". BBC Sport. 2 January 2003. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  35. ^ "Birmingham seal Swierczewski switch". UEFA. 21 January 2003. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  36. ^ Jump up to: a b Tattum, Colin (9 August 2003). "Blues eye big guns". Birmingham Evening Mail. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  37. ^ "Cobblers seal Gill deal". BBC Sport. 8 August 2002. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  38. ^ "Stoke swoop for Mooney". BBC Sport. 13 September 2002. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  39. ^ "Wigan seek double boost". BBC Sport. 19 September 2002. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  40. ^ Tattum, Colin (21 September 2002). "Bruce shows faith in Fagan". Birmingham Evening Mail. Retrieved 20 June 2013. (subscription required)
  41. ^ Tattum, Colin (15 January 2003). "Hughes – I won't stay at Leicester". Birmingham Evening Mail. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  42. ^ Nursey, James (18 January 2003). "Bruce close to sealing deal". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
    O'Rourke, Peter (3 March 2003). "Blades take Gavin on trial". Sky Sports. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  43. ^ "Stoke swoop for Mooney". BBC Sport. 19 March 2003. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
    "Tommy Mooney". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
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