1926–27 Birmingham F.C. season

The 1926–27 Football League season was Birmingham Football Club's 31st in the Football League and their 14th in the First Division. They finished in 17th position in the 22-team division. They also competed in the 1926–27 FA Cup, entering at the third round proper and losing to Southampton in the fourth.

Birmingham F.C.
1926–27 season
ChairmanHoward Cant
ManagerBilly Beer until March 1927 Bill Harvey thereafter
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League First Division17th
FA CupFourth round (eliminated by Southampton)
Top goalscorerLeague: Joe Bradford (22)
All: Joe Bradford (23)
Highest home attendance48,104 vs Aston Villa, 30 October 1926
Lowest home attendance6,321 vs Bolton Wanderers, 4 April 1927
Average home league attendance22,030

Twenty-seven players made at least one appearance in nationally organised competition, and there were ten different goalscorers. Half-back George Liddell and forward George Briggs played in 43 of the 44 matches over the season, and Joe Bradford was leading scorer for the sixth successive year, with 23 goals, of which 22 came in the league.

Off the field, the club was in some turmoil regarding transfer policy. In early March 1927, three members of the board of directors resigned. The Sports Argus' editorial suggested that one faction were "anxious to secure talent at almost any price" and the other "desirous with 'going slow' as its motto", and believed that "the former are now in the ascendancy and that they mean business".[1] A few days later, Billy Beer resigned as manager. The Argus was disappointed:

Managers are in a peculiar position. They have many masters to serve and to please them all is impossible. Mr. Beer has discovered this, and ... has cleared out. I am sorry, because, frankly, I thought he would make a good job of his task if given the opportunity.[2]

It was reported later that Beer had found it impossible to work with some members of the board, so had tendered his resignation, if that was thought to be in the best interests of the club, and was less than happy with the treatment he had received.[3]

Football League First Division

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Date League
position
Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
28 August 1926 3rd Blackburn Rovers H W 3–1 Briggs, Bradford 2 24,091
30 August 1926 11th Leicester City A L 2–5 Bradford, Harris 23,883
4 September 1926 6th Huddersfield Town A W 2–0 Bradford 2 19,893
11 September 1926 4th Sunderland H W 2–0 Briggs 2 28,035
13 September 1926 4th Sheffield Wednesday H D 0–0 13,676
18 September 1926 2nd West Bromwich Albion A W 2–1 Briggs 2 26,697
20 September 1926 1st Everton H W 1–0 Briggs 11,411
25 September 1926 2nd Bury H D 2–2 Briggs 2 24,006
2 October 1926 2nd Bolton Wanderers A L 0–1 20,006
9 October 1926 10th Tottenham Hotspur A L 1–6 Bradford 29,392
16 October 1926 7th Derby County H W 1–0 Harris 23,145
23 October 1926 4th Manchester United A W 1–0 Harris 32,010
30 October 1926 7th Aston Villa H L 1–2 Crosbie 48,104
6 November 1926 8th Cardiff City A L 0–1 10,598
13 November 1926 6th Burnley H W 1–0 Bradford 11,208
20 November 1926 8th Newcastle United A L 1–5 Briggs 30,056
27 November 1926 7th Leeds United H W 2–0 Harris, Bradford 19,707
4 December 1926 9th Liverpool A L 1–2 Briggs 27,884
11 December 1926 9th Arsenal H D 0–0 22,982
18 December 1926 9th Sheffield United A L 3–4 Briggs, Harris, Bradford 19,093
25 December 1926 10th West Ham United A L 0–1 27,984
27 December 1926 12th West Ham United H L 0–2 39,204
1 January 1927 12th Leicester City H W 2–1 Bradford 2 31,275
15 January 1927 15th Blackburn Rovers A L 2–3 Islip, Scriven 10,176
22 January 1927 15th Huddersfield Town H L 1–3 Thirlaway 16,779
5 February 1927 15th West Bromwich Albion H W 1–0 Bradford 29,681
12 February 1927 16th Bury A L 1–3 Islip 11,958
16 February 1927 16th Sunderland A L 1–4 Briggs 10,525
26 February 1927 16th Tottenham Hotspur H W 1–0 Cringan 21,145
5 March 1927 17th Derby County A L 1–4 Crosbie 15,154
12 March 1927 16th Manchester United H W 4–0 Bradford 2, Crosbie, Scriven 14,392
19 March 1927 18th Aston Villa A L 2–4 Bond, Scriven 49,334
2 April 1927 18th Burnley A W 2–0 Bradford, Crosbie 12,679
4 April 1927 13th Bolton Wanderers H W 6–1 Crosbie 2, Bradford, Briggs, Scriven, Cringan 6,321
9 April 1927 12th Newcastle United H W 2–0 Bradford, Bond 27,918
16 April 1927 13th Leeds United A L 1–2 Bradford 18,703
18 April 1927 16th Everton A L 1–3 Taylor og 32,880
19 April 1927 15th Sheffield Wednesday A D 4–4 Scriven, Bradford, Liddell, Briggs 17,720
23 April 1927 12th Liverpool H W 3–0 Briggs, Bradford, Bond 14,918
27 April 1927 13th Cardiff City H L 1–2 Bradford 23,681
30 April 1927 16th Arsenal A L 0–3 22,619
7 May 1927 17th Sheffield United H L 2–3 Bradford, Briggs 10,951

League table (part)

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Final First Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
15th Manchester United 42 13 14 15 52 64 0.81 40
16th Sheffield Wednesday 42 15 9 18 65 92 0.81 39
17th Birmingham 42 17 4 21 64 73 0.88 38
18th Blackburn Rovers 42 15 8 19 77 96 0.80 38
19th Blackburn Rovers 42 12 12 18 68 77 0.88 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 [4]

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
Third round 8 January 1927 Manchester City H W 4–1 Bradford, Islip, Crosbie, Briggs 39,503
Fourth round 29 January 1927 Southampton A L 1–4 Briggs 15,804

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
Harry Hibbs Goalkeeper 1 0 0 0 1 0
William Owen Goalkeeper 5 0 1 0 6 0
Dan Tremelling Goalkeeper 36 0 1 0 37 0
Percy Barton Full back 30 0 1 0 31 0
Harry Bruce Full back 3 0 0 0 3 0
Harry Isherwood Full back 1 0 0 0 1 0
Jack Jones Full back 14 0 2 0 16 0
Joe Smith Full back 17 0 0 0 17 0
Frank Womack Full back 26 0 2 0 28 0
Jimmy Cringan Half back 35 2 2 0 37 2
Dickie Dale Half back 29 0 1 0 30 0
Bill Hunter Half back 6 0 0 0 6 0
Alec Leslie Half back 7 0 0 0 7 0
George Liddell Half back 41 1 2 0 43 1
Edmund Wood Half back 1 0 0 0 1 0
Benny Bond Forward 19 3 1 0 20 3
Joe Bradford Forward 34 22 2 1 36 23
George Briggs Forward 41 16 2 2 43 18
Frederick Castle Forward 1 0 0 0 1 0
Johnny Crosbie Forward 39 6 2 1 41 7
Wally Harris Forward 22 5 0 0 22 5
Edmund Harvey Forward 1 0 0 0 1 0
Ernie Islip Forward 7 2 2 1 9 3
Alf Oakes Forward 1 0 0 0 1 0
Jack Russell Forward 6 0 0 0 6 0
Aubrey Scriven Forward 17 5 0 0 17 5
Billy Thirlaway Forward 22 1 1 0 23 1

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 1926–1927: Results". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 294–95.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

  1. ^ 'Argus Junior' (5 March 1927). "Leaves of my Notebook". Sports Argus (Birmingham): p.1.
  2. ^ 'Argus Junior' (12 March 1927). "The Sands of the Hour-Glass". Sports Argus (Birmingham): p.1.
  3. ^ 'Argus Junior' (2 April 1927). "The Sands of the Hour-Glass". Sports Argus (Birmingham): p.1.
  4. ^ "Birmingham City 1926–1927: English Division One (old) Table" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 12 May 2012.