1975–76 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1975–76 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 73rd in the Football League and their 42nd in the First Division. They were in the bottom four from mid-October onwards, and eventually finished in 19th position in the 22-team division, one place above the relegation places. They entered the 1975–76 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost to Portsmouth in that round after a replay, and lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round of the League Cup. To celebrate the centenary of the club's foundation in 1875, they played a friendly match against Celtic, winning 1–0.

Birmingham City F.C.
1975–76 season
ChairmanKeith Coombs
Manager
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League First Division19th
FA CupThird round
(eliminated by Portsmouth)
League CupThird round
(eliminated by Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Top goalscorerLeague: Trevor Francis (17)
All: Trevor Francis (18)
Highest home attendance46,251 vs Aston Villa, 3 April 1976
Lowest home attendance18,238 vs Orient, League Cup 2nd round, 9 September 1975
Average home league attendance28,002

Twenty-seven players made at least one first-team appearance, and there were thirteen different goalscorers. Defender Joe Gallagher missed only one of the 46 competitive matches played over the season, and Trevor Francis was the club's leading scorer with 18 goals, all but one scored in the league.

Keith Coombs took over the chairmanship following the death of his father Clifford.[1]

Football League First Division

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Date League
position
Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
16 August 1975 11th Leicester City A D 3–3 Hatton, Kendall 2 (1 pen) 25,547
19 August 1975 14th Manchester United H L 0–2 33,177
23 August 1975 19th Everton H L 0–1 26,814
26 August 1975 21st Middlesbrough A L 0–2 22,423
30 August 1975 21st Ipswich Town A L 2–4 Hatton 2 22,659
6 September 1975 21st Queens Park Rangers H D 1–1 Kendall 27,305
13 September 1975 21st Wolverhampton Wanderers A L 0–2 25,142
20 September 1975 21st Burnley H W 4–0 Campbell, Withe, Kendall, Francis 25,830
23 September 1975 17th Newcastle United H W 3–2 Withe 2, Francis pen 31,166
27 September 1975 18th Aston Villa A L 1–2 Francis 53,782
4 October 1975 17th Sheffield United H W 2–0 Hatton, Francis 26,121
11 October 1975 19th Liverpool A L 1–3 Hatton 36,532
18 October 1975 19th Leeds United H D 2–2 Francis, Gallagher 33,775
25 October 1975 19th Norwich City A L 0–1 19,605
1 November 1975 20th West Ham United H L 1–5 Francis 28,474
8 November 1975 21st Manchester City A L 0–2 28,329
15 November 1975 21st Arsenal H W 3–1 Francis pen, Withe, Hatton 21,652
22 November 1975 21st Leeds United A L 0–3 26,640
29 November 1975 21st Coventry City A L 2–3 Burns, Kendall pen 21,800
6 December 1975 19th Derby County H W 2–1 Burns, Page 30,620
13 December 1975 21st Everton A L 2–5 Kendall, Withe 20,188
20 December 1975 19th Leicester City H W 2–1 Francis pen, Withe 21,890
26 December 1975 19th Tottenham Hotspur A W 3–1 Francis 2, Withe 21,651
27 December 1975 19th Stoke City H D 1–1 Hatton 37,166
10 January 1976 19th Wolverhampton Wanderers H L 0–1 28,552
17 January 1976 19th Queens Park Rangers A L 1–2 Francis 16,759
31 January 1976 20th Manchester United A L 1–3 Withe 50,274
7 February 1976 19th Middlesbrough H W 2–1 Kendall, Hatton 18,599
14 February 1976 19th Manchester City H W 2–1 Gallagher, Kendall 22,445
21 February 1976 19th Arsenal A L 0–1 20,907
28 February 1976 19th Norwich City H D 1–1 Francis pen 22,359
6 March 1976 19th West Ham United A W 2–1 Withe, Emmanuel 19,863
13 March 1976 19th Liverpool H L 0–1 31,797
20 March 1976 19th Coventry City H D 1–1 Francis pen 22,956
27 March 1976 19th Derby County A L 2–4 Francis, Needham 28,161
3 April 1976 19th Aston Villa H W 3–2 Hibbitt, Burns, Francis 46,251
7 April 1976 19th Newcastle United A L 0–4 18,900
10 April 1976 20th Burnley A L 0–1 13,679
13 April 1976 19th Ipswich Town H W 3–0 Francis pen, Hibbitt, Burns 20,497
17 April 1976 19th Tottenham Hotspur H W 3–1 Gallagher, Francis, Burns 30,616
19 April 1976 19th Stoke City A L 0–1 19,928
4 May 1976 19th Sheffield United A D 1–1 Hibbitt 30,782

League table (part)

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Final First Division table (part)[2]
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
17th Arsenal 42 13 10 19 47 53 0.89 36
18th West Ham United 42 13 10 19 48 71 0.68 36
19th Birmingham City 42 13 7 22 57 75 0.76 33
20th Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 10 10 22 51 68 0.75 30
21st Burnley 42 9 10 23 43 66 0.65 28
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

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Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
Third round 3 January 1976 Portsmouth A D 1–1 Francis 19,414
Third round replay 6 January 1976 Portsmouth H L 0–1 26,106


League Cup

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Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
Second round 9 September 1975 Orient H W 4–0 Gallagher, Morton, Hatton, Want 18,238
Third round 7 October 1975 Wolverhampton Wanderers H L 0–2 29,822

Centenary match

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Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
25 November 1975 Celtic H W 1–0 Withe 14,670

Appearances and goals

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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 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK   ENG Dave Latchford 40 0 2 0 2 0 44 0
GK   ENG Steve Smith 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
DF   ENG Steve Bryant 19 (1) 0 1 0 1 0 21 (1) 0
DF   SCO Kenny Burns 36 5 2 0 2 0 40 5
DF   ENG Joe Gallagher 41 3 2 0 2 1 45 4
DF   SCO Roger Hynd 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0
DF   ENG Ray Martin 22 0 1 0 2 0 27 0
DF   ENG Ian Osborne 10 0 1 0 0 0 11 0
DF   ENG Garry Pendrey 14 (3) 0 1 (1) 0 1 (1) 0 16 (5) 0
DF   WAL John Roberts 5 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 5 (2) 0
DF   ENG Archie Styles 16 0 0 0 0 0 16 0
DF   ENG Tony Want 20 (1) 0 2 0 0 (1) 1 20 (2) 1
MF   SCO Jimmy Calderwood 15 3 0 (1) 0 0 0 15 (1) 3
MF   SCO Alan Campbell 9 1 1 0 1 1 11 2
MF   WAL Gary Emmanuel 10 (1) 1 0 0 0 0 10 (1) 1
MF   ENG Paul Hendrie 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
MF   ENG Terry Hibbitt 27 3 1 0 2 0 30 3
MF   SCO Bobby Hope 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
MF   ENG Howard Kendall 36 8 1 0 2 0 39 8
MF   ENG Roy Morton 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1
MF   WAL Malcolm Page 19 1 2 0 0 0 21 1
MF   ENG Gordon Taylor 7 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 7 (2) 0
FW   ENG Trevor Francis 35 17 2 1 2 0 39 18
FW   ENG Bob Hatton 33 (4) 8 2 0 2 1 37 (4) 9
FW   ENG Andy Needham 2 (1) 1 0 0 0 0 2 (1) 0
FW   ENG Steve Phillips 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
FW   ENG Peter Withe 32 9 2 0 2 0 36 9

See also

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References

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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 1975–1976 : Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 386–87.
  • Source for centenary match details: Matthews (1995), Complete Record, p. 243.
Specific
  1. ^ Matthews (1995), Complete Record, p.44.
    "Mr William Collingwood". The Times. London. 4 July 1975. p. 16.
  2. ^ "Birmingham City 1975–1976 : English Division One (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2012.