1906–07 Birmingham F.C. season

The 1906–07 Football League season was Birmingham Football Club's 15th in the Football League and their 7th in the First Division. They finished in ninth place in the 20-team league. They also took part in the 1906–07 FA Cup, entering at the first round proper and losing in that round to Liverpool.

Birmingham F.C.
1906–07 season
ChairmanWalter W. Hart
Secretary-managerAlf Jones
GroundCoventry Road until 22 December 1906
St Andrew's Ground from 26 December 1906
Football League First Division9th
FA CupFirst round (eliminated by Liverpool)
Top goalscorerLeague: Billy Jones (15)
All: Billy Jones (15)
Highest home attendance60,000 vs Aston Villa, 19 January 1907
Lowest home attendance6,000 vs Bury, 22 December 1906
Average home league attendance16,684
Team colours

Twenty-six players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were twelve different goalscorers. Forwards Benny Green and Billy Jones were ever-present over the 39-match season; full-back Frank Stokes and half-backs Billy Beer and Walter Wigmore missed only one, and three other players exceeded 30 appearances. Billy Jones was leading scorer with 15 goals, all of which came in the league.

The last league match at the Coventry Road ground, which no longer met the club's needs, was played on 22 December 1906. Birmingham beat Bury 3–1. The last goal was scored by Arthur Mounteney, and the Birmingham Daily Post described how

At the conclusion of the match the band played "Auld Lang Syne", and the crowd silently left the ground which has been the home of the club for so many years and the scene of many brilliant victories and many heartbreaking defeats, and of an uphill struggle from which the club, thanks to the courage of the directors, has at length emerged triumphant.[1]

Within months the ground had been demolished and the land cleared for housing.[2]

Construction of the St Andrew's Ground, in the Bordesley district some three-quarters of a mile (1 km) closer to the city centre, had taken less than a year from leasing the land to official opening on Boxing Day 1906. Heavy overnight snowfall put the ceremony, and the scheduled match against Middlesbrough, at risk. Dozens of volunteers, including members of the club's board, worked all morning to clear the pitch. The game finally kicked off an hour late, finishing goalless in front of 32,000 spectators.[3][4] The Birmingham Daily Post editorial next day suggested that "the fact that so many spectators attended under such adverse conditions augurs well for the step that the directors have taken", and that the directors were "to be congratulated in having provided their supporters with a ground second to none in the country".[4] The Football Association chose the ground to host the FA Cup semi-final in March 1907 between Sheffield Wednesday and Woolwich Arsenal.

Football League First Division

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Date League
position
Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
1 September 1906 18th Preston North End A L 0–2 12,000
3 September 1906 15th Bristol City H D 2–2 Green, Mounteney 12,000
8 September 1906 17th Newcastle United H L 2–4 W.H. Jones, Beer 20,000
15 September 1906 17th Aston Villa A L 1–4 Mounteney 45,000
22 September 1906 14th Liverpool H W 2–1 W.H. Jones, Mounteney 10,000
29 September 1906 16th Bristol City A D 0–0 15,000
6 October 1906 14th Notts County H W 2–0 Stokes, Kearns 10,000
13 October 1906 15th Sheffield United A L 0–2 10,000
20 October 1906 12th Bolton Wanderers H W 4–2 W.H. Jones, Beer pen, Anderson 15,000
27 October 1906 15th Manchester United A L 1–2 W.H. Jones 12,000
3 November 1906 14th Stoke H W 2–1 W.H. Jones 2 8,000
10 November 1906 14th Blackburn Rovers A L 0–1 12,000
17 November 1906 12th Sunderland H W 2–0 W.H. Jones, Tickle 10,000
24 November 1906 10th Derby County H W 2–1 Anderson, Wigmore 10,000
1 December 1906 13th Everton A L 0–3 14,000
8 December 1906 11th Woolwich Arsenal H W 5–1 Green 2, W.H. Jones 2, Beer 19,000
15 December 1906 10th Sheffield Wednesday A W 1–0 Beer 10,000
22 December 1906 9th Bury H W 3–1 Mounteney 2, Wigmore 6,000
25 December 1906 8th Manchester City A L 0–1 14,000
26 December 1906 9th Middlesbrough H D 0–0 32,000
29 December 1906 7th Preston North End H W 3–0 Green 2, W.H. Jones 25,000
1 January 1907 8th Middlesbrough A L 0–1 20,000
5 January 1907 10th Newcastle United A L 0–2 28,000
19 January 1907 9th Aston Villa H W 3–2 Glover, Mounteney, Green 60,000
26 January 1907 10th Liverpool A L 0–2 14,000
9 February 1907 9th Notts County A D 2–2 W.H. Jones 2 10,000
16 February 1907 9th Sheffield United H D 0–0 12,000
2 March 1907 9th Manchester United H D 1–1 Morris 20,000
9 March 1907 10th Stoke A L 0–3 3,000
11 March 1907 9th Bolton Wanderers A W 3–2 Tickle, Green, Anderson 5,000
16 March 1907 8th Blackburn Rovers H W 2–0 W.H. Jones, Tickle 10,000
23 March 1907 8th Sunderland A L 1–4 Anderson 15,000
29 March 1907 8th Manchester City H W 4–0 Green, Gooch, Anderson, W.H. Jones 16,000
30 March 1907 8th Derby County A D 1–1 Wigmore 5,000
6 April 1907 9th Everton H W 1–0 Green 12,000
13 April 1907 9th Woolwich Arsenal A L 1–2 Glover 15,000
25 April 1907 9th Sheffield Wednesday H D 1–1 Morris 10,000
27 April 1907 9th Bury A L 0–1 5,000

League table (part)

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Final First Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
7th Woolwich Arsenal 38 20 4 14 66 59 1.12 44
8th Manchester United 38 17 8 13 53 56 0.95 42
9th Birmingham 38 15 8 15 52 52 1.00 38
10th Sunderland 38 14 9 15 65 66 0.98 37
11th Middlesbrough 38 15 6 17 56 63 0.89 36
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
Source [5]

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
First round 12 January 1907 Liverpool A L 1–2 Green pen 20,000

Appearances and goals

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This table includes appearances and goals in nationally organised competitive matches – the Football League and FA Cup – only.
For a description of the playing positions, see Formation (association football)#2–3–5 (Pyramid).
Players marked † left the club during the playing season.
Players' appearances and goals by competition
Name Position League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Jack Dorrington Goalkeeper 2 0 0 0 2 0
Nat Robinson Goalkeeper 36 0 1 0 37 0
John Glover Full back 33 2 1 0 34 2
John Kearns Full back 9 1 0 0 10 1
Frank Stokes Full back 37 1 1 0 38 1
Billy Beer Half back 38 4 1 0 38 4
Frank Cornan Half back 13 0 0 0 13 0
Jim Dougherty Half back 26 0 1 0 27 0
Arthur Hallworth Half back 1 0 0 0 1 0
Ambrose Hartwell Half back 1 0 0 0 1 0
Charles Harvey Half back 1 0 0 0 1 0
Walter Wigmore Half back 37 3 1 0 38 3
George Anderson Forward 31 5 1 0 32 5
Edmund Eyre Forward 2 0 0 0 2 0
Percy Gooch Forward 3 1 0 0 3 1
Benny Green Forward 38 9 1 1 39 10
Roly Harper Forward 7 0 1 0 8 0
Aaron Jones Forward 1 0 0 0 1 0
Billy Jones Forward 38 15 1 0 39 15
Conyers Kirby Forward 1 0 0 0 1 0
Bill McCafferty Forward 4 0 0 0 4 0
Arthur Morris Forward 3 2 0 0 3 2
Arthur Mounteney Forward 25 6 1 0 26 6
Jack Smith Forward 3 0 0 0 3 0
George Southall Forward 9 0 0 0 9 0
Charlie Tickle Forward 19 3 0 0 19 3

See also

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References

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General

  • Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Breedon Books (Derby). ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  • Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. DB Publishing (Derby). ISBN 978-1-85983-853-2.
  • Source for match dates and results: "Birmingham City 1906–1907: Results". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 258–59. Note that attendance figures are estimated.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

  1. ^ "Birmingham Again Victorious". Birmingham Daily Post. 24 December 1905.
  2. ^ Inglis, Simon (1996). Football Grounds of Britain (3rd ed.) London: CollinsWillow. p. 44. ISBN 0-00-218426-5.
  3. ^ Inglis, p. 45.
  4. ^ a b "News Summary". Birmingham Daily Post. p. 4. 27 December 1906.
  5. ^ "Birmingham City 1906–1907: English Division One (old) Table" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 22 May 2012.