1972–73 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1972–73 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 70th in the Football League and their 39th in the First Division, to which they were promoted as Second Division runners-up in 1971–72. After spending much of the season in the lower reaches of the table, eight wins and a draw from the last ten matches brought them up to tenth position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1972–73 FA Cup in the third round proper and lost in that round to Swindon Town, and entered the League Cup in the second round, eliminated in the fourth by Blackpool.

Birmingham City F.C.
1972–73 season
ChairmanClifford Coombs
ManagerFreddie Goodwin
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League First Division10th
FA CupThird round
(eliminated by Swindon Town)
League CupFourth round
(eliminated by Blackpool)
Top goalscorerLeague: Bob Latchford (19)
All: Bob Latchford (20)
Highest home attendance51,278 vs Manchester United, 10 March 1973
Lowest home attendance20,962 vs Luton Town, League Cup 2nd round, 5 September 1972
Average home league attendance36,663

Twenty-seven players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competitions, and there were fourteen different goalscorers. Centre-forward Bob Latchford played in all but one of the 48 first-team matches over the season, and finished as the leading goalscorer with 20 goals, of which 19 came in league competition. The home attendance in First Division matches never fell below 30,000.

Football League First Division

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Date League
position
Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
12 August 1972 15th Sheffield United H L 1–2 R. Latchford 37,390
15 August 1972 9th Newcastle United H W 3–2 McFaul og, Hope, R. Latchford 35,831
19 August 1972 13th Ipswich Town A L 0–2 17,775
23 August 1972 19th Tottenham Hotspur A L 0–2 30,798
26 August 1972 18th Crystal Palace H D 1–1 Francis 31,066
30 August 1972 16th West Bromwich Albion A D 2–2 Hatton, R. Latchford 37,108
2 September 1972 19th Wolverhampton Wanderers A L 2–3 Hope, Burns 32,539
9 September 1972 15th Manchester City H W 4–1 R. Latchford 3, Campbell 32,983
16 September 1972 18th Derby County A L 0–1 33,753
23 September 1972 15th Everton H W 2–1 R. Latchford, Francis 37,133
26 September 1972 15th Arsenal A L 0–2 30,003
30 September 1972 16th West Ham United A L 0–2 26,482
7 October 1972 17th Chelsea H D 2–2 Hope, R. Latchford 38,756
14 October 1972 19th Manchester United A L 0–1 52,104
21 October 1972 18th Southampton H D 1–1 Roberts 30,757
28 October 1972 19th Coventry City A D 0–0 35,304
4 November 1972 19th Tottenham Hotspur H D 0–0 38,504
11 November 1972 21st Newcastle United A L 0–3 26,042
18 November 1972 17th Stoke City A W 2–1 R. Latchford 2 23,040
25 November 1972 16th Norwich City H W 4–1 Pendrey, Hope, Want, Hatton 32,890
2 December 1972 16th Liverpool A L 3–4 Taylor, Hope, R. Latchford 45,407
9 December 1972 16th Leicester City H D 1–1 Calderwood 32,481
16 December 1972 17th Leeds United A L 0–4 25,275
23 December 1972 19th Arsenal H D 1–1 Bowker 32,721
26 December 1972 18th Everton A D 1–1 R. Latchford 39,363
30 December 1972 19th Ipswich Town H L 1–2 Hatton 32,705
27 January 1973 21st Manchester City A L 0–1 31,877
10 February 1973 20th Derby County H W 2–0 R. Latchford, Francis 38,096
17 February 1973 18th Sheffield United A W 1–0 Francis 22,220
27 February 1973 19th Wolverhampton Wanderers H L 0–1 43,759
3 March 1973 18th Chelsea A D 0–0 26,259
6 March 1973 16th Crystal Palace A D 0–0 26,014
10 March 1973 15th Manchester United H W 3–1 R. Latchford, Hatton, Campbell pen 51,278
17 March 1973 17th Southampton A L 0–2 14,612
24 March 1973 17th Coventry City H W 3–0 Hatton, R. Latchford, Taylor 34,775
31 March 1973 15th Norwich City A W 2–1 R. Latchford 2 23,899
7 April 1973 16th Liverpool H W 2–1 R. Latchford, Hatton 48,114
14 April 1973 12th Leicester City A W 1–0 Campbell 27,652
21 April 1973 11th Stoke City H W 3–1 Page, Francis, Hatton 32,513
23 April 1973 11th West Ham United H D 0–0 36,942
28 April 1973 11th West Bromwich Albion H W 3–2 R. Latchford, Hynd, Burns 36,784
30 April 1973 10th Leeds United H W 2–1 Francis, Burns 34,449

League table (part)

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Final First Division table (part)[1]
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
8th Tottenham Hotspur 42 16 13 13 58 48 1.21 45
9th Newcastle United 42 16 13 13 60 51 1.18 45
10th Birmingham City 42 15 12 15 53 54 0.98 42
11th Manchester City 42 15 11 16 57 60 0.95 41
12th Chelsea 42 13 14 15 49 51 0.96 40
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 13 January 1973 Swindon Town A L 0–2 17,373

League Cup

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Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
Second round 5 September 1972 Luton Town H D 1–1 R. Latchford 20,962
Second round replay 13 September 1972 Luton Town A D 1–1 Campbell 13,806
Second round 2nd replay 19 September 1972 Luton Town County Ground,
Northampton
W 1–0 Francis 11,451
Third round 3 October 1972 Coventry City H W 2–1 Francis, Barry og 27,803
Fourth round 31 October 1972 Blackpool A L 0–2 13,332

Appearances and goals

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Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute.
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 Paul Cooper 3 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
GK   ENG Mike Kelly 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
GK   ENG Dave Latchford 32 0 1 0 4 0 37 0
DF   ENG Keith Bowker 5 1 0 0 0 0 5 1
DF   IRL Tommy Carroll 11 0 0 0 3 0 14 0
DF   ENG Stan Harland 18 1 1 0 3 0 22 0
DF   ENG Dave Howitt 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 0
DF   SCO Roger Hynd 40 1 1 0 4 0 45 1
DF   ENG Ray Martin 23 0 0 0 1 0 24 0
DF   ENG Garry Pendrey 39 (1) 1 1 0 5 0 45 (1) 1
DF   WAL John Roberts 21 1 0 0 0 0 21 1
DF   ENG Dave Robinson 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
DF   ENG Tony Want 20 1 1 0 2 0 23 1
DF   ENG Alan Whitehead 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF   SCO Kenny Burns 9 (5) 3 0 0 3 (2) 0 12 (7) 3
MF   SCO Jimmy Calderwood 5 1 0 0 0 0 5 1
MF   SCO Alan Campbell 29 (3) 3 0 0 4 1 33 (3) 4
MF   SCO Paul Hendrie 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0
MF   SCO Bobby Hope 24 (1) 5 1 0 4 0 29 (1) 5
MF   WAL Malcolm Page 26 (1) 1 1 0 3 0 30 (1) 1
MF   ENG George Smith 5 0 0 0 1 0 6 0
MF   ENG Gordon Taylor 34 (2) 2 1 0 2 (1) 0 37 (3) 2
FW   ENG Trevor Francis 31 6 1 0 5 2 37 8
FW   ENG Bob Hatton 31 (1) 7 0 (1) 0 3 0 34 (2) 7
FW   ENG Bob Latchford 42 19 1 0 5 1 47 20
FW   ENG Steve Phillips 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
FW   ENG Phil Summerill 1 (1) 0 0 0 1 0 2 (1) 0

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 1972–1973 : Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 380–381.

Specific

  1. ^ "Birmingham City 1972–1973: English Division One (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2012.