2002–03 Birmingham City F.C. season

Birmingham City F.C.
2002–03 season
Chairman David Gold
Manager Steve Bruce
Stadium St Andrew's
Premier League 13th
FA Cup Third round
(eliminated by Fulham)
League Cup Third round
(eliminated by Preston North End)
Top goalscorer League: Clinton Morrison (6)
All: Stern John (9)
Highest home attendance 29,505 (five matches)
Lowest home attendance 12,241 vs Preston North End, League Cup 3rd round, 5 November 2002
Average home league attendance 28,831[1]
← 2001–02 2003–04 →

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

DateOpponents VenueResultScore
F–A		Scorers AttendanceReport
17 July 2004 Exeter CityA W1–0Johnson 63' 2,600 [5]
20 July 2002 Forest Green RoversA W6–0John 10', Hughes (2) 15' 80', Lazaridis (2) 22' 40', Savage 45' [6]
22 July 2002 LivingstonA L1–2Andrews (o.g.) 2,000 [7]
24 July 2002 MotherwellA L1–2Devlin [8]
27 July 2002 Partick ThistleA W2–1John 26' (pen), Horsfield [9]
31 July 2002 Tranmere RoversA W7–0John (2) 8' 50', Hughes (2), Grainger 11', Devlin, Carter [10]
3 August 2002 Stoke CityA W2–0Mooney 16', Lazaridis 60' [11]
10 August 2002 Deportivo AlavesH D1–1Hughes 80' 9,000 [12]

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

DateLeague
position		Opponents VenueResultScore
F–A		Scorers AttendanceReport
18 August 2002 18thArsenalA L0–2 38,018 [13]
24 August 2002 19thBlackburn RoversH L0–1 27,563 [13]
28 August 2002 17thEvertonA D1–1John 50' pen. 37,197 [13]
31 August 2002 14thLeeds UnitedH W2–1Devlin 32', D. Johnson 58' 27,164 [13]
11 September 2002 15thLiverpoolA D2–2Morrison (2) 61', 90' 43,113 [13]
16 September 2002 9thAston VillaH W3–0Morrison 31', Enckelman 77' o.g., Horsfield 83' 29,505 [13]
21 September 2002 10thMiddlesbroughA L0–1 29,869 [13]
28 September 2002 14thNewcastle UnitedH L0–2 29,072 [13]
5 October 2002 12thWest Ham UnitedA W2–1John (2) 4', 43' 35,010 [13]
19 October 2002 12thWest Bromwich AlbionA D1–1Moore 86' o.g. 27,021 [13]
26 October 2002 13thManchester CityH L0–2 28,316 [13]
2 November 2002 12thBolton WanderersH W3–1Purse 61', Savage 72', Horsfield 83' 27,224 [13]
9 November 2002 14thChelseaA L0–3 35,237 [13]
17 November 2002 15thFulhamH D0–0 26,164 [13]
23 November 2002 13thSunderlandA W1–0Morrison 89' 38,803 [13]
30 November 2002 11thTottenham HotspurH D1–1Kenna 68' 29,505 [13]
7 December 2002 13thSouthamptonA L0–2 31,132 [13]
15 December 2002 13thFulhamA W1–0Kirovski 7' 14,962 [13]
21 December 2002 13thCharlton AthleticH D1–1Devlin 67' pen. 29,505 [13]
26 December 2002 13thEvertonH D1–1Kirovski 45' 29,505 [13]
28 December 2002 15thManchester UnitedA L0–2 67,640 [13]
1 January 2003 15thLeeds UnitedA L0–2 40,034 [13]
12 January 2003 15thArsenalH L0–4 29,505 [13]
18 January 2003 15thBlackburn RoversA D1–1John 83' 23,331 [13]
1 February 2003 16thBolton WanderersA L2–4Savage 44', Morrison 60' 24,288 [13]
8 February 2003 16thChelseaH L1–3Savage 87' pen. 29,475 [13]
23 February 2003 16thLiverpoolH W2–1Clemence 34', Morrison 68' 29,449 [13]
3 March 2003 16thAston VillaA W2–0Lazaridis 74', Horsfield 77' 42,602 [13]
16 March 2003 16thManchester CityA L0–1 34,596 [13]
22 March 2003 16thWest Bromwich Albion H W1–0Horsfield 90' 29,449 [13]
5 April 2003 17thTottenham HotspurA L1–2Devlin 77' pen. 36,058 [13]
12 April 2003 16thSunderlandH W2–0Hughes 43', Dugarry 60' 29,132 [13]
19 April 2003 15thCharlton AthleticA W2–0Dugarry 20', Savage 55' pen. 25,732 [13]
21 April 2003 13thSouthamptonH W3–2Dugarry 75', 82', Hughes 79' 29,115 [13]
26 April 2003 12thMiddlesbroughH W3–2Dugarry 18', Clemence 40', Lazaridis 80' 28,821 [13]
3 May 2003 13thNewcastle UnitedA L0–1 52,146 [13]
11 May 2003 13thWest Ham UnitedH D2–2Horsfield 80', John 88' 29,505 [13]

League table (part)

Final Premier League table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GD Pts
11th Middlesbrough381310154844+449
12th Charlton Athletic38147174556−1149
13th Birmingham City38139164149−848
14th Fulham38139164150−948
15th Leeds United38145195857+147
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 [14]

Results summary

OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
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 DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers AttendanceReport
Third round 5 January 2003FulhamA L1–3John 90' 9,203 [13]

League Cup

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

Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers AttendanceReport
Second round 2 October 2002Leyton OrientA W3–2John 16', 27', 77' 3,615 [13]
Third round 5 November 2002Preston North EndH L0–2 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[upper-alpha 1] [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[upper-alpha 1] [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. 1 2 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 [43]
19 March 2003 Tommy Mooney Derby County End of season [44]

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
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals! A yellow rectangle, denoting the yellow penalty card shown to a player being cautioned A red rectangle, denoting the red penalty card shown to a player being sent off
1GK ENG Ian Bennett 100002012000
2DF IRE Jeff Kenna 36 (1)1101038 (1)110
3DF ENG Martin Grainger 8 (1)010009 (1)030
4DF ENG Steve Vickers 5000106000
5DF ENG Darren Purse 19 (1)1001020 (1)171
6MF SEN Aliou Cissé 2100000210110
7MF SCO Paul Devlin 20 (12)3100012 (12)340
8MF WAL Robbie Savage 3341000344100
9FW ENG Geoff Horsfield 15 (16)5002017 (16)512
10MF ENG Bryan Hughes 10 (12)20 (1)01011 (13)230
11MF AUS Stan Lazaridis 17 (13)2002019 (13)210
12DF IRE Kenny Cunningham 310001032010
14FW TRI Stern John 20 (10)50 (1)11321 (11)920
15FW USA Jovan Kirovski 5 (12)2101 (1)07 (13)210
16FW ENG Tommy Mooney 0 (1)000000 (1)010
17FW JAM Michael Johnson 5 (1)000005 (1)000
18GK BEL Nico Vaesen 270100028000
19FW IRE Clinton Morrison 24 (4)6101026 (4)660
21Left club during playing seasonDF ENG Nicky Eaden 0000000000
21FW FRA Christophe Dugarry* 165000016540
22MF NIR Damien Johnson 28 (2)1100 (1)029 (3)160
23DF ENG Jamie Clapham 160000016010
24MF ENG Darren Carter 3 (9)000104 (9)000
25Left club during playing seasonMF JAM Darryl Powell 3 (8)010206 (8)030
25DF ENG Matthew Upson 140000014011
26DF CIV Olivier Tébily 120001013051
27DF ENG Joey Hutchinson 1010103000
28MF ENG Curtis Woodhouse 0 (3)000101 (3)000
29FW ENG Craig Fagan 0 (1)00 (1)00 (2)00 (4)000
30DF ENG Mat Sadler 2000204010
32MF ENG Stephen Clemence 152000015230
33DF SEN Ferdinand Coly* 1010002010
34MF POL Piotr Świerczewski* 0 (1)000000 (1)010
35GK AUS Clint Davies 0000000000
36GK WAL Andy Marriott 1000001010
Players not included in matchday squads
No. Pos Nat Name
13Left club during playing seasonMF ENG Graham Hyde
13Left club during playing seasonDF NIR Tony Capaldi
20MF ENG Tom Williams
23Left club during playing seasonDF ENG Jerry Gill
25Left club during playing seasonFW ENG Paul Furlong
31MF FRA Christophe Grondin

References

General

Specific

  1. ↑ "Barclaycard Premiership 2002–2003 Season Attendance Table". Football365.com. 365 Media Group. 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 "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 October 2008.
  14. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 "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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 "Gill seals Cobblers deal". BBC Sport. 11 November 2002. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  28. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 "The List: players released by Premiership clubs". 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. 1 2 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. ↑ "Footie index". The Sun. 24 January 2003. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  44. ↑ "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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