1971–72 Birmingham City F.C. season

Birmingham City F.C.
1971–72 season
ChairmanClifford Coombs
ManagerFreddie Goodwin
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League Second Division2nd (promoted)
FA CupThird place
(eliminated by Leeds United)
League CupSecond round
(eliminated by Queens Park Rangers)
Anglo-Italian Cup4th, English group
Top goalscorerLeague: Bob Latchford (23)
All: Bob Latchford (30)
Highest home attendance52,470 vs Huddersfield Town, FA Cup 6th round, 18 March 1972
Lowest home attendance22,410 vs Portsmouth, 8 January 1972
Average home league attendance32,337

The 1971–72 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 69th in the Football League and their 31st in the Second Division. They finished in second place in the 22-team division, so were promoted to the First Division for 1972–73, despite never having been in the promotion positions until after the final game of the season.

They entered the 1971–72 FA Cup in the third round proper and progressed to the semi-final, in which they lost to Leeds United. This was the third year of five in which the losing semifinalists were required to compete in a "match for third place";[1] following a goalless 90 minutes, Birmingham beat Stoke City in a penalty shootout, the first time this method had been used to determine the result of an FA Cup match.[2] They lost to Queens Park Rangers in their opening match in the second round of the League Cup, and finished fourth of the six English entrants in the third staging of the Anglo-Italian Cup, a tournament held after the end of the league season.

Twenty-five players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were ten different goalscorers. Defender Roger Hynd, midfielder Alan Campbell and centre-forward Bob Latchford played in all 53 first-team matches over the season. Latchford finished as leading goalscorer with 30 goals, of which 23 came in league competition. The average attendance in Second Division matches exceeded 32,000.

Football League Second Division

Main article: 1971–72 Football League
Date League
position		 Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
14 August 1971 8th Sunderland A D 1–1 Bowker 9,749
21 August 1971 6th Carlisle United H W 3–2 Summerill, Bowker, Campbell 26,254
28 August 1971 12th Portsmouth A L 0–1 14,729
1 September 1971 17th Hull City A L 0–1 16,746
4 September 1971 10th Charlton Athletic H W 4–1 Francis, R. Latchford 3 25,231
11 September 1971 12th Luton Town A D 0–0 14,678
18 September 1971 9th Bristol City H W 1–0 R. Latchford 28,745
25 September 1971 9th Blackpool A D 1–1 Francis 22,610
28 September 1971 5th Watford H W 4–1 R. Latchford 3, Francis 28,095
2 October 1971 5th Oxford United H D 0–0 31,759
9 October 1971 8th Queens Park Rangers A L 0–1 16,039
16 October 1971 8th Sunderland H D 1–1 R. Latchford 27,341
19 October 1971 8th Swindon Town A D 1–1 R. Latchford 14,269
23 October 1971 8th Preston North End H D 2–2 R. Latchford, Francis 28,956
30 October 1971 8th Burnley A D 1–1 R. Latchford 17,170
6 November 1971 7th Orient H W 2–0 Hatton, R. Latchford 27,349
13 November 1971 6th Norwich City A D 2–2 Campbell pen, R. Latchford 24,094
20 November 1971 8th Millwall A L 0–3 15,724
27 November 1971 7th Fulham H W 3–1 R. Latchford, Hatton 2 25,545
4 December 1971 6th Middlesbrough A D 0–0 15,761
11 December 1971 7th Sheffield Wednesday H D 0–0 29,272
18 December 1971 7th Charlton Athletic A D 1–1 Hatton 8,313
27 December 1971 5th Cardiff City H W 3–0 Pendrey, Hatton, Francis 40,793
1 January 1971 6th Bristol City A L 0–1 17,457
8 January 1972 5th Portsmouth H W 6–3 Hatton 2, R. Latchford 2, Campbell pen, Francis 22,410
22 January 1972 4th Watford A W 1–0 Francis 10,884
29 January 1972 4th Swindon Town H W 4–1 Francis, R. Latchford 2, Hatton 27,824
12 February 1972 4th Preston North End A D 0–0 17,794
19 February 1972 4th Burnley H W 2–0 Taylor, Hatton 32,035
4 March 1972 4th Norwich City H W 4–0 Hatton 2, R. Latchford, Hynd 40,899
11 March 1972 4th Queens Park Rangers H D 0–0 35,557
21 March 1972 3rd Carlisle United A D 2–2 Hatton, R. Latchford 12,279
25 March 1972 3rd Luton Town H W 1–0 Hatton 34,539
31 March 1972 3rd Oxford United A W 1–0 Hatton 18,990
1 April 1972 3rd Cardiff City A D 0–0 23,667
4 April 1972 3rd Blackpool H W 2–1 R. Latchford, Francis 45,181
8 April 1972 3rd Millwall H W 1–0 R. Latchford 43,483
18 April 1972 3rd Fulham A D 0–0 16,553
22 April 1972 3rd Middlesbrough H D 1–1 Francis 37,202
25 April 1972 3rd Hull City H W 2–0 Campbell pen, Francis 40,749
29 April 1972 3rd Sheffield Wednesday A W 2–1 Hatton, Francis 27,991
2 May 1972 2nd Orient A W 1–0 R. Latchford 33,383

League table (part)

Final Second Division table (part)[3]
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
1st Norwich City 42 21 15 6 60 36 1.67 57
2nd Birmingham City 42 19 18 5 60 31 1.94 56
3rd Millwall 42 19 17 6 64 46 1.39 55
4th Queens Park Rangers 42 20 14 8 58 28 2.04 54
5th Sunderland 42 17 16 9 67 57 1.18 50
Key Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played;
W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost;
F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points

FA Cup

Main article: 1971–72 FA Cup
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
Third round 15 January 1972 Port Vale H W 3–0 Hynd, Francis 2 32,937
Fourth round 5 February 1972 Ipswich Town H W 1–0 R. Latchford 40,709
Fifth round 26 February 1972 Portsmouth H W 3–1 Hatton, R. Latchford 2 43,886
Sixth round 18 March 1972 Huddersfield Town H W 3–1 Page, R. Latchford, Hatton 52,470
Semi-final 15 April 1972 Leeds United Hillsborough,
Sheffield 		L 0–3 54,723
3rd/4th place playoff 5 August 1972 Stoke City H W 0–0
4–3 pens		 Campbell, Francis, Hope, Harland 23,841

League Cup

Main article: 1971–72 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
Second round 7 September 1971 Queens Park Rangers A L 0–1 15,032

Anglo-Italian Cup

Main article: Anglo-Italian Cup
Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
1 June 1972 Lanerossi Vicenza A D 0–0 3,000
4 June 1972 Sampdoria A L 1–2 Campbell pen 15,000
7 June 1972 Lanerossi Vicenza H W 5–3 R. Latchford 2, Francis, Hatton, Taylor 23,642
10 June 1972 Sampdoria H W 2–0 R. Latchford, Hatton 19,510

Clubs were classified according to total points (2 for a win, 1 for a draw) added to goals scored. The top club of each national section qualified for the final.[4]

English section
Pos Club Pld W D L F A Pts Total
3rd Leicester City 4 2 0 2 11 7 4 15
4th Birmingham City 4 2 1 1 8 5 5 13
5th Sunderland 4 1 2 1 8 7 4 12
Key Pos = Position; Pld = Matches played
W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost
F = Goals for; A = Goals against
Pts = Points; Total = Sum of points and goals scored

Appearances and goals

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute.
Players with name in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Birmingham.
Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward
Players' appearances and goals by competition
Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup League Cup Anglo-Italian Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK  ENG Paul Cooper 12 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 19 0
GK  ENG Mike Kelly 19 0 0 0 0 0 1 (1) 0 20 (1) 0
GK  ENG Dave Latchford 11 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 14 0
DF  SCO Kenny Burns 7 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 (1) 0
DF  IRL Tommy Carroll 27 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 33 0
DF  ENG Stan Harland 19 0 6 0 0 0 4 0 29 0
DF  ENG Mike Harrison 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
DF  SCO Roger Hynd 42 1 6 1 1 0 4 0 53 2
DF  ENG Ray Martin 14 (1) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 15 (1) 0
DF  ENG Garry Pendrey 40 1 5 0 1 0 2 (1) 0 48 (1) 1
DF  ENG Dave Robinson 10 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 (2) 0
DF  ENG Tony Want 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 5 0
DF  ENG Alan Whitehead 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0 3 (1) 0
MF  SCO Alan Campbell 42 4 6 0 1 0 4 1 53 5
MF  SCO Bobby Hope 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 5 0
MF  ENG Mike O'Grady * 2 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 (1) 0
MF  WAL Malcolm Page 38 (1) 0 5 1 1 0 4 0 48 (1) 1
MF  ENG George Smith 22 (3) 0 1 (1) 0 1 0 2 0 26 (4) 0
MF  ENG Gordon Taylor 27 (3) 1 5 (1) 0 1 0 4 1 37 (4) 2
FW  ENG Keith Bowker 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 2
FW  ENG Trevor Francis 39 12 6 2 1 0 2 1 48 15
FW  ENG Bob Hatton 26 15 6 2 0 0 4 2 36 19
FW  ENG Bob Latchford 42 23 6 4 1 0 4 3 53 30
FW  ENG Steve Phillips 6 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 (1) 0
FW  ENG Phil Summerill 7 (2) 1 0 0 1 0 0 (1) 0 7 (3) 1

See also

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 and results: "Birmingham City 1971–1972: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 378–79, 477, 483.
Specific
  1. ^ "Semi-Final Factfile". The Football Association. 13 April 2005. Archived from the original on 15 April 2005.
  2. ^ "FA Cup Trivia". The Football Association. 16 May 2003. Archived from the original on 6 January 2004.
  3. ^ "Birmingham City 1971–1972: English Division Two (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  4. ^ Garin, Erik (15 October 2000). "Anglo-Italian Cup 1972". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 28 March 2012.