1977–78 Birmingham City F.C. season

Last updated

Birmingham City F.C.
1977–78 season
ChairmanKeith Coombs
Manager
Ground St Andrew's
Football League First Division 11th
FA Cup Fourth round
(eliminated by Derby County)
League Cup Second round
(eliminated by Notts County)
Anglo-Scottish Cup Group stage
Top goalscorerLeague: Trevor Francis (25)
All: Trevor Francis (29)
Highest home attendance33,679 vs Aston Villa, 25 February 1978
Lowest home attendance9,512 vs Bristol City, Anglo-Scottish Cup, 12 August 1977
Average home league attendance23,910
←  1976–77
1978–79  →

The 1977–78 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 75th in the Football League and their 44th in the First Division. They finished in 11th position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1977–78 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost to Derby County in the fourth, and lost to Notts County in their opening second-round match in the League Cup. They entered the Anglo-Scottish Cup but failed to progress past the group stage.

Contents

Twenty-two players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were ten different goalscorers. Forward pairing Keith Bertschin and Trevor Francis played in all 48 first-team matches of the season – midfielder Terry Hibbitt missed only one – and Francis was the club's top scorer with 29 goals, of which 25 were scored in the league. Both Francis and Hibbitt had been ever-present in the previous season.

After defeats in the first four league matches of the season, Willie Bell was sacked in September and succeeded by former England national manager Sir Alf Ramsey, a member of the club's board of directors. Ramsey lasted only six months, leaving the club ostensibly for health reasons, [1] but his biography suggests he was "locked in an increasingly bitter three-way dispute with his star player, Trevor Francis, and the board". After initially accepting a transfer request from Francis, the board changed their minds, reluctant to "incur the wrath of already disgruntled fans", so Ramsey handed in his notice. [2] The Times reported that "Sir Alf said he told the board [in February] that he intended to quit and sever his links with the club. ... He said at a board meeting on February 20 he recommended both Francis and the defender, Joe Gallagher, should be transfer listed. The board agreed but three days later changed their minds about Francis. Sir Alf said he then decided to opt out because of the board's policy." [3] Blackburn Rovers manager Jim Smith took over, having decided, according to the Rovers' website, that "Birmingham City offered better career prospects". [4]

Football League First Division

DateLeague
position		OpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A		ScorersAttendance
20 August 197721st Manchester United HL1–4 Hibbitt 28,005
24 August 197722nd Chelsea AL0–218,108
27 August 197722nd Leeds United AL0–124,551
3 September 197722nd Liverpool HL0–128,239
10 September 197720th Middlesbrough AW2–1 Francis 219,240
17 September 197718th Newcastle United HW3–0 Connolly, Bertschin 219,259
24 September 197719th West Bromwich Albion AL1–3Connolly29,115
1 October 197716th Aston Villa AW1–0Bertschin45,436
4 October 197713th Queens Park Rangers HW2–1Francis 221,304
8 October 197716th Coventry City HD1–1Francis pen 27,412
15 October 197716th Ipswich Town AL2–5Francis 221,313
22 October 197715th Derby County HW3–1Hibbitt 2, Towers 23,108
29 October 197714th Arsenal AD1–1Bertschin31,355
5 November 197711th Wolverhampton Wanderers HW2–1Francis, Hibbitt28,103
12 November 197714th Everton AL1–2Bertschin37,743
19 November 197714th Leicester City HD1–1Francis21,208
26 November 197716th Norwich City AL0–116,800
3 December 197716th Nottingham Forest HL0–229,925
10 December 197718th Manchester City AL0–336,671
17 December 197718th Everton HD0–022,177
26 December 197718th West Ham United AL0–125,572
27 December 197718th Bristol City HW3–0 Gallagher, Towers, Francis24,110
31 December 197718th Chelsea HL4–5Bertschin, Francis 2, Hibbitt19,876
2 January 197816th Manchester United AW2–1 Dillon, Francis53,501
14 January 197818th Leeds United HL2–3Bertschin, Connolly23,703
21 January 197817th Liverpool AW3–2 Emmanuel, Bertschin, Francis48,401
4 February 197818th Middlesbrough HL1–2Gallagher14,302
25 February 197817th Aston Villa HW1–0Francis33,679
28 February 197817th West Bromwich Albion HL1–2Francis26,633
4 March 197818th Coventry City AL0–422,925
15 March 197818th Newcastle United AD1–1Francis19,486
18 March 197818th Derby County AW3–1Connolly, Francis, Bertschin19,843
21 March 197818th Arsenal HD1–1Francis22,087
25 March 197815th Bristol City AW1–0Francis21,434
28 March 197813th West Ham United HW3–0Francis 2 (1 pen), Bertschin23,554
1 April 197812th Wolverhampton Wanderers AW1–0Francis19,926
8 April 197812th Norwich City HW2–1Gallagher, Francis20,858
11 April 197810th Ipswich Town HD0–019,289
15 April 19789th Leicester City AW4–1Hibbitt, Pendrey, Bertschin, Francis15,431
22 April 197811th Manchester City HL1–4 Sbragia 25,294
25 April 197811th Queens Park Rangers AD0–016,049
29 April 197811th Nottingham Forest AD0–037,625

League table (part)

Final First Division table (part) [5]
PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
9th Leeds United 421810146353+1046
10th Manchester United 421610166763+442
11th Birmingham City 42169175560−541
12th Derby County 421413155459−541
13th Norwich City 421118135266−1440

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A		ScorersAttendance
Third round7 January 1978 Wigan Athletic HW4–0 Francis 2, Bertschin 229,202
Fourth round1 February 1978 Derby County AL1–2Bertschin31,955

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A		ScorersAttendance
Second round30 August 1977 Notts County HL0–214,993

Anglo-Scottish Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–A		ScorersAttendance
Group stage5 August 1977 Plymouth Argyle AD1–1Craven og 5,176
Group stage9 August 1977 Bristol Rovers AD1–1 Francis 2,317
Group stage12 August 1977 Bristol City HW1–0Francis9,512

Appearances and goals

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute.
Players marked † left the club during the playing season.
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-Scottish Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GKFlag of England.svg  ENG Dave Latchford 1000000010
GKFlag of England.svg  ENG Jimmy Montgomery 410101030460
GKFlag of England.svg  ENG Steve Smith †0010000010
DFFlag of Scotland.svg  SCO Jimmy Calderwood 36020100 (1)039 (1)0
DFFlag of England.svg  ENG Joe Gallagher 213200000233
DFFlag of England.svg  ENG Pat Howard 350201000380
DFFlag of England.svg  ENG Garry Pendrey 371101030421
DFFlag of England.svg  ENG Mick Rathbone 2000002040
DFFlag of Scotland.svg  SCO Ricky Sbragia 5100002071
DFFlag of England.svg  ENG Archie Styles 5 (1)01000006 (1)0
DFFlag of England.svg  ENG Tony Want †180001030220
MFFlag of England.svg  ENG Kevan Broadhurst 9 (1)00000009 (1)0
MFFlag of Scotland.svg  SCO John Connolly 12 (8)410003016 (8)4
MFFlag of England.svg  ENG Kevin Dillon 16 (1)120000018 (1)2
MFFlag of Wales (1959-present).svg  WAL Gary Emmanuel 20 (2)110000021 (2)1
MFFlag of England.svg  ENG Steve Fox 10 (1)000000010 (1)0
MFFlag of England.svg  ENG Terry Hibbitt 416201030476
MFFlag of England.svg  ENG Gary Jones †3 (2)00000306 (2)0
MFFlag of Wales (1959-present).svg  WAL Malcolm Page 29 (1)000103033 (1)0
MFFlag of England.svg  ENG Tony Towers 37 (1)220102042 (1)2
FWFlag of England.svg  ENG Keith Bertschin 42112310304814
FWFlag of England.svg  ENG Trevor Francis 42252210324829

See also

Sources

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References

  1. ↑ "Birmingham City Managers". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  2. ↑ McKinstry, Leo (2006). Sir Alf . London: Harper Sport. pp.  485–87. ISBN   978-0-00-719378-3.
  3. ↑ "Francis issue caused Sir Alf to quit". The Times. 9 March 1978. p. 14.
  4. ↑ "1975–1984: The bald eagle has landed". Blackburn Rovers F.C. 2 July 2007. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  5. ↑ "Birmingham City 1977–1978 : English Division One (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
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