1989–90 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1989–90 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 87th in the Football League and the first in their history in which they played in the third tier of the English football league system. After a sound start to the season, with six wins from the first ten games, their results worsened, and they eventually finished in seventh position in the 24-team Third Division, three points outside the playoff places. They entered the 1989–90 FA Cup in the first round proper and lost in the third, eliminated by Oldham Athletic after a replay, and entered the League Cup at the first round and lost in the second, beaten 3–2 by West Ham United over two legs. They failed to progress from their group in the preliminary round of the Associate Members' Cup, a competition open to teams in the third and fourth tiers of the League.

Birmingham City F.C.
1989–90 season
ChairmanSamesh Kumar
ManagerDave Mackay
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League Third Division7th
FA CupThird round
(eliminated by Oldham Athletic)
League CupSecond round
(eliminated by West Ham United)
Associate Members' CupPreliminary round
Top goalscorerLeague: Dennis Bailey (18)
All: Dennis Bailey (20)
Highest home attendance14,278 vs Reading, 5 May 1990
Lowest home attendance3,168 vs Hereford United, Associate Members' Cup prelim round, 12 December 1989
Average home league attendance8,588

Dennis Bailey was the club's top scorer for the season, with 20 goals in all competitions, of which 18 came in the league.

In April 1989, the club was sold to the Kumar brothers, owners of a Manchester-based fashion and leisurewear company. Dave Mackay was brought in as general manager, previous manager Garry Pendrey refused to stay on as part of Mackay's staff, and Samesh Kumar became chairman.[1]

Football League Third Division

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Date League
position
Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
19 August 1989 1st Crewe Alexandra H W 3–0 Yates, Sturridge, Bailey 10,447
26 August 1989 10th Bristol City A L 0–1 8,938
2 September 1989 5th Swansea City H W 2–0 Bailey, Hopkins 8,071
9 September 1989 10th Shrewsbury Town A L 0–2 4,714
16 September 1989 9th Tranmere Rovers H W 2–1 Gordon, Bailey 8,604
23 September 1989 4th Brentford A W 1–0 Sturridge 5,386
26 September 1989 3rd Walsall H W 2–0 Bailey pen., Tait 10,834
30 September 1989 3rd Blackpool A L 2–3 Sturridge, Gleghorn 5,681
7 October 1989 8th Rotherham United A L 1–5 Sturridge 4,676
14 October 1989 5th Northampton Town H W 4–0 Gleghorn 2, Bailey 2 (1 pen.) 8,731
17 October 1989 9th Chester City A L 0–4 1,890
21 October 1989 10th Huddersfield Town H L 0–1 7,951
28 October 1989 11th Bury A D 0–0 3,383
31 October 1989 10th Cardiff City H D 1–1 Sturridge 7,468
4 November 1989 10th Reading A W 2–0 Sturridge, Hicks og 3,527
11 November 1989 10th Leyton Orient H D 0–0 7,491
25 November 1989 8th Bolton Wanderers H W 1–0 Bailey pen. 8,081
1 December 1989 8th Wigan Athletic A L 0–1 2,506
16 December 1989 7th Preston North End H W 3–1 Yates, Bailey, Frain 6,391
26 December 1989 9th Bristol Rovers A D 0–0 6,573
30 December 1989 9th Notts County A L 2–3 Atkins pen., Bailey 7,786
1 January 1989 9th Fulham H D 1–1 Gleghorn 8,932
13 January 1990 9th Bristol City H L 0–4 11,277
20 January 1990 9th Crewe Alexandra A W 2–0 Bailey, Sturridge 4,681
27 January 1990 9th Shrewsbury Town H L 0–1 7,461
9 February 1990 10th Tranmere Rovers A L 1–5 Bailey pen. 6,033
13 February 1990 11th Swansea City A D 1–1 Madden 3,603
17 February 1990 10th Wigan Athletic H D 0–0 5,473
24 February 1990 12th Bolton Wanderers A L 1–3 Gordon 7,618
3 March 1990 11th Mansfield Town H W 4–1 Sturridge, Bailey 2, Ashley 5,746
6 March 1990 9th Blackpool H W 3–1 Peer, Sturridge, Bailey pen. 7,085
10 March 1990 9th Walsall A W 1–0 Gleghorn 6,036
13 March 1990 10th Brentford H L 0–1 8,169
17 March 1990 9th Rotherham United H W 4–1 Tait, Atkins, Gordon, Sturridge 6,985
20 March 1990 9th Northampton Town A D 2–2 Peer, Gleghorn 4,345
24 March 1990 10th Chester City H D 0–0 7,584
31 March 1990 10th Huddersfield Town A W 2–1 Bailey, Gleghorn 5,837
3 April 1990 10th Mansfield Town A L 2–5 Bailey, Gleghorn 4,164
7 April 1990 10th Bury H D 0–0 6,808
10 April 1990 8th Cardiff City A W 1–0 Hopkins 3,322
14 April 1990 7th Fulham A W 2–1 Hopkins, Gleghorn 4,568
16 April 1990 7th Bristol Rovers H D 2–2 Matthewson, Hopkins 12,438
21 April 1990 7th Preston North End A D 2–2 Bailey 2 7,680
24 April 1990 7th Notts County H L 1–2 Hopkins 10,533
28 April 1990 7th Leyton Orient A W 2–1 Peer, Hopkins 5,691
5 May 1990 7th Reading H L 0–1 14,278

League table (part)

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Final Third Division table (part)[2]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
5th Bury 46 21 11 14 70 49 +21 74
6th Bolton Wanderers 46 18 15 13 59 48 +11 69
7th Birmingham City 46 18 12 16 60 59 +1 66
8th Huddersfield Town 46 17 14 15 61 62 −1 65
9th Rotherham United 46 17 13 16 71 62 +9 64

Results summary

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Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
46 18 12 16 60 59  +1 66 10 7 6 33 19  +14 8 5 10 27 40  −13

Source: [3]

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
First round 17 November 1989 Leyton Orient A W 1–0 Sturridge 4,063
Second round 9 December 1989 Colchester United A W 2–0 Gleghorn 4', 90' 3,858
Third round 7 January 1990 Oldham Athletic H D 1–1 Gleghorn 13,131
Third round replay 10 January 1990 Oldham Athletic A L 0–1 9,982

League Cup

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Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
First round 1st leg 22 August 1989 Chesterfield H W 2–1 Atkins, Bailey 6,722
First round 2nd leg 28 August 1989 Chesterfield A W 1–0 Bailey 3,313
Second round 1st leg 19 September 1989 West Ham United H L 1–2 Sproson 10,987
Second round 2nd leg 4 October 1989 West Ham United A D 1-1 Atkins 12,187

Associate Members' Cup

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Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance
Preliminary round 28 November 1989 Aldershot A L 0–3 1,148
Preliminary round 12 December 1989 Hereford United H W 1–0 Atkins 3,168

Appearances and goals

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Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute.
Players with name in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Birmingham.
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 Associate Members' Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK   ENG Roger Hansbury 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
GK   WAL Martin Thomas 42 0 4 0 4 0 2 0 52 0
GK   ENG Dean Williams 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
DF   ENG Kevin Ashley 31 1 2 0 3 0 1 0 37 1
DF   ENG Ian Atkins 45 2 4 0 4 2 2 1 55 5
DF   ENG Ian Clarkson 15 (5) 0 3 0 1 0 2 0 21 (5) 0
DF   ENG John Frain 36 (2) 1 4 0 2 0 2 0 44 (2) 1
DF   ENG Trevor Matthewson 46 1 4 0 4 0 2 0 56 1
DF   ENG Vince Overson 27 (3) 0 3 0 3 (1) 0 1 0 34 (4) 0
DF   ENG Brian Roberts 9 (1) 0 0 0 0 (1) 0 0 (1) 0 9 (3) 0
DF   ENG Phil Sproson 12 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 16 1
MF   SCO Dougie Bell 14 (1) 0 4 0 0 0 2 0 20 (1) 0
MF   ENG John Deakin 3 (4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0 3 (5) 0
MF   ENG Andy Harris 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0
MF   ENG Robert Hopkins 16 (2) 6 0 (2) 0 2 (1) 0 0 0 18 (5) 6
MF   ENG Kevin Langley 33 0 4 0 1 0 2 0 40 0
MF   ENG David Madden * 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
MF   ENG Dean Peer 22 (5) 3 0 0 3 (1) 0 0 0 25 (6) 3
MF   ENG Mark Rutherford 0 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (2) 0
MF   ENG Paul Tait 7 (7) 2 0 (1) 0 1 (1) 0 0 (1) 0 8 (10) 2
FW   ENG Dennis Bailey 40 (3) 18 4 0 4 2 2 0 50 (3) 20
FW   ENG Nigel Gleghorn 43 9 4 3 2 0 2 0 51 12
FW   ENG Colin Gordon 14 (7) 3 0 0 2 (1) 0 0 0 16 (8) 3
FW   ENG Simon Sturridge 30 (1) 10 4 1 2 (1) 0 1 0 37 (2) 11
FW   ENG Mark Yates 12 (8) 2 0 (1) 0 2 0 1 0 15 (9) 2

See also

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Sources

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  • 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.
  • For match dates, league positions and results: "Birmingham City 1989–1990: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 7 April 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  • For lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 414–15, 480.

References

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  1. ^ Matthews (1995), Complete Record, p. 44–46.
  2. ^ "English Division Three (old) 1989–1990 : Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 7 March 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  3. ^ "Birmingham City league performance history". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 30 May 2024. Select content required via dropdown menus.