1984–85 Birmingham City F.C. season

Birmingham City F.C.
1984–85 season
Chairman Keith Coombs
Manager Ron Saunders
Ground St Andrew's
Football League Second Division 2nd (promoted)
FA Cup Third round
(eliminated by Norwich City)
League Cup Third round
(eliminated by West Bromwich Albion)
Top goalscorer League: Wayne Clarke (17)
All: Wayne Clarke (19)
Highest home attendance 24,871 vs Leeds United, 11 May 1985
Lowest home attendance 7,964 vs Plymouth Argyle, League Cup 2nd round, 25 September 1984
Average home league attendance 12,522

The 1984–85 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 82nd in the Football League and their 33rd in the Second Division, to which they were relegated in 1983–84. They finished in second position in the 22-team division, so were promoted back to the First Division after only one season. They entered the 1984–85 FA Cup in the third round proper, and lost to Norwich City in that round after three replays. They were eliminated from the League Cup by West Bromwich Albion in the third round after a replay.

Wayne Clarke was the club's top scorer, with 19 goals in all competitions, of which 17 were scored in the league.

The last home game of the season, a 1–0 win against Leeds United in front of a season-high crowd of nearly 25,000 that confirmed promotion back to the top flight, was marred by rioting in which 500 people were injured and a 15-year-old boy died when a wall collapsed. The match took place on the same day as the Bradford City stadium fire, and both formed part of the remit of Mr Justice Popplewell's inquiry into safety at sports grounds. According to his report, the events at St Andrew's "more resembled the battle of Agincourt than a football match".[1]

Football League First Division

DateLeague
position
Opponents VenueResultScore
F–A
Scorers Attendance
25 August 1984 6thOldham AthleticA W1–0Clements og 5,307
1 September 1984 4thWimbledonH W4–2Clarke 2, Ferguson, Hopkins 10,445
4 September 1984 2ndFulhamA W1–0Clarke 6,031
8 September 1984 2ndCrystal PalaceA W2–0Clarke, Hopkins 6,523
15 September 1984 1stCarlisle UnitedH W2–0Clarke, Harford 11,740
18 September 1984 1stPortsmouthH L0–1 18,046
22 September 1984 1stWolverhampton WanderersA W2–0Hopkins, Kuhl 16,698
29 September 1984 1stHuddersfield TownH W1–0Hopkins 11,480
6 October 1984 1stBrighton & Hove AlbionA L0–2 13,695
13 October 1984 4thBlackburn RoversH L0–2 12,758
20 October 1984 4thNotts CountyA W3–1Clarke 2, Harford 5,788
27 October 1984 2ndOxford UnitedH D0–0 20,421
3 November 1984 3rdShrewsbury TownH D0–0 9,807
10 November 1984 4thManchester CityA L0–1 25,369
17 November 1984 6thCharlton AthleticA L1–2Morley 4,850
24 November 1984 5thBarnsleyH D0–0 9,505
1 December 1984 5thCardiff CityA W2–1Morley 2 5,057
8 December 1984 5thMiddlesbroughH W3–2Saxby og, Rees, Wright pen 8,004
15 December 1984 4thLeeds UnitedA W1–0Clarke 15,859
22 December 1984 3rdWimbledonA W2–1Geddis 2 3,674
26 December 1984 2ndGrimsby TownH W2–1Geddis, Platnauer 14,180
29 December 1984 3rdFulhamH D2–2Clarke, Hopkins 11,833
1 January 1985 3rdSheffield UnitedA W4–3Hopkins, Geddis, Clarke, West og 16,571
2 February 1985 4thHuddersfield TownA W1–0Geddis 7,460
23 February 1985 4thShrewsbury TownA L0–1 7,177
2 March 1985 3rdOxford UnitedA W3–0Clarke 2, Geddis 11,584
5 March 1985 3rdOldham AthleticH L0–1 10,489
9 March 1985 2ndNotts CountyH W2–1Clarke, Hopkins 9,071
12 March 1985 2ndCarlisle UnitedA L1–2Clarke 4,099
16 March 1985 5thBlackburn RoversA L1–2Rees 10,595
19 March 1985 4thManchester CityH D0–0 18,004
23 March 1985 4thBrighton & Hove AlbionH D1–1Hopkins 8,986
30 March 1985 3rdWolverhampton WanderersH W1–0Geddis 10,236
5 April 1985 4thGrimsby TownA L0–1 6,939
8 April 1985 4thSheffield UnitedH W4–1Clarke 2, Daly, Kennedy 10,235
13 April 1985 2ndPortsmouthA W3–1Geddis 3 23,983
16 April 1985 2ndCrystal PalaceH W3–0Clarke, Geddis, Kennedy 10,727
20 April 1985 2ndCharlton AthleticH W2–1Kennedy, Wright pen 10,697
27 April 1985 2ndBarnsleyA W1–0Geddis 6,757
4 May 1985 2ndCardiff CityH W2–0Hopkins, Kennedy 15,868
6 May 1985 2ndMiddlesbroughA D0–0 7,840
11 May 1985 2ndLeeds UnitedH W1–0Kuhl 24,871

League table (part)

Final Second Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GD Pts
1st Oxford United42259884364884
2nd Birmingham City422571059332682
3rd Manchester City4221111066402674
4th Portsmouth422014869501974
5th Blackburn Rovers4221101166412573
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; Pts = Points
Source [2]

FA Cup

Main article: 1984–85 FA Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A
Scorers Attendance
Third round 5 January 1985Norwich CityH D0–0 12,941
Third round replay 23 January 1985Norwich CityA D1–1
aet
Wright 11,883
Third round 2nd replay 26 January 1985Norwich CityH D1–1
aet
Geddis 11,755
Third round 3rd replay 28 January 1985Norwich CityA L0–1 12,396

League Cup

Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A
Scorers Attendance
Second round 1st leg 25 September 1984Plymouth ArgyleH W4–1Clarke, Hopkins, Harford, Rees 7,964
Second round 2nd leg 9 October 1984Plymouth ArgyleA W1–0Clarke 4,650
Third round 30 October 1984West Bromwich AlbionH D0–0 17,616
Third round replay 7 November 1984West Bromwich AlbionA L1–3Shearer 16,717

Appearances and goals

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.
Players with name 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 having played at least one first-team match
Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup League Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK ENG Tony CotonLeft club during playing season 70000070
GK IRL Jim McDonagh* 10000010
GK ENG Mark Prudhoe 10004050
GK ENG David Seaman 3304000370
DF SCO Ken Armstrong 3603040430
DF NIR Jim Hagan 21 (8)01 (2)04026 (10)0
DF ENG Ray Ranson 2804000320
DF ENG Brian Roberts 4104040490
DF WAL Pat Van Den HauweLeft club during playing season 60000060
DF ENG Billy Wright 4224140503
MF SCO Des Bremner 3004030370
MF IRL Gerry Daly 29 (1)1402035 (1)1
MF ENG Paul GormanLeft club during playing season 60001070
MF ENG Mick HalsallLeft club during playing season 2 (1)000204 (1)0
MF ENG Robert Hopkins 39940214510
MF ENG Mark Jones 9 (1)0001 (1)010 (2)0
MF ENG Martin Kuhl 25 (2)2004031 (2)2
MF ENG Tony Morley* 43000043
MF ENG Nick Platnauer 1114000151
MF WAL Byron Stevenson 60000060
MF ENG Stuart Storer 00001010
FW ENG Ian Brown 00000 (1)00 (1)0
FW ENG Wayne Clarke 401740324719
FW ENG Mick FergusonLeft club during playing season 21000021
FW ENG David Geddis 181200412213
FW ENG Mick HarfordLeft club during playing season 1220031153
FW SCO Andy Kennedy 4 (3)400004 (3)4
FW ENG John Linford* 1 (1)000001 (1)0
FW WAL Tony Rees 5 (4)2001 (1)16 (5)3
FW ENG Guy Russell 10000010
FW ENG Peter Shearer 2 (2)000113 (2)1

See also

References

General

Specific

  1. Webster, Philip (25 July 1985). "Ban on visiting fans urged in judge's football safety report". The Times. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  2. "Birmingham City 1984–1985 : English Division Two (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
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