1998–99 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1998–99 season was Birmingham City Football Club's 96th in the Football League. They finished in fourth place in the Football League First Division, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, in which they were eliminated in the semi-final by Watford in a penalty shootout. Birmingham lost to Leicester City in the third round of the FA Cup and to Wimbledon in the third round of the Football League Cup.

Birmingham City F.C.
1998–99 season
ChairmanDavid Gold
ManagerTrevor Francis
GroundSt Andrew's
Division One4th
Play-offsSemi-final (eliminated by Watford)
FA CupThird round (eliminated by Leicester City)
League CupThird round (eliminated by Wimbledon)
Top goalscorerLeague: Dele Adebola, Paul Furlong (13)
All: Dele Adebola (17)
Highest home attendance29,100 vs Watford, play-off semi-final, 20 May 1999
Lowest home attendance3,443 vs Macclesfield Town, League Cup 2nd round, 22 September 1998
Average home league attendance20,794[1]

Football League First Division

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Match details

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Date League
position
Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance Report
8 August 1998 1st Port Vale A W 2–0 Furlong 21', Adebola 68' 10,465 [2]
16 August 1998 1st Crystal Palace H W 3–1 Adebola 12', O'Connor 29' pen., Forster 90' 16,699 [2]
22 August 1998 2nd Sheffield United A W 2–0 Adebola 55', Forster 81' 17,528 [2]
29 August 1998 4th Barnsley H D 0–0 19,825 [2]
31 August 1998 5th Bradford City A L 1–2 Ndlovu 56' 13,910 [2]
8 September 1998 3rd Bury H W 1–0 Adebola 20' 15,935 [2]
5 September 1998 1st Stockport County H W 2–0 Marsden 15', Hughes 67' 16,429 [2]
12 September 1998 2nd Bolton Wanderers A L 1–3 Rowett 40' 19,637 [2]
19 September 1998 3rd Grimsby Town H L 0–1 17,563 [2]
26 September 1998 7th Norwich City A L 0–2 16,584 [2]
29 September 1998 5th Portsmouth A W 1–0 O'Connor 59 pen. 11,843 [2]
3 October 1998 4th Tranmere Rovers H D 2–2 M. Johnson 40', Ndlovu 72' 17,189 [2]
10 October 1998 3rd Watford A D 1–1 Adebola 22' 10,096 [2]
17 October 1998 2nd Crewe Alexandra H W 3–1 Ndlovu 8', O'Connor 43' pen., Furlong 53' 20,087 [2]
20 October 1998 2nd Swindon Town H D 1–1 Marsden 58' 19,485 [2]
25 October 1998 2nd Queens Park Rangers A W 1–0 Adebola 6' 10,272 [2]
31 October 1998 1st Huddersfield Town H D 1–1 Ndlovu 53' 19,170 [2]
7 November 1998 3rd West Bromwich Albion A W 3–1 Ndlovu 5', 34', Adebola 12' 19,472 [2]
14 November 1998 4th Oxford United H L 0–1 18,216 [2]
22 November 1998 8th Wolverhampton Wanderers A L 1–3 Furlong 21' 23,037 [2]
28 November 1998 4th Bristol City H W 4–2 M. Johnson 5', Ndlovu 11', Forster (2) 42', 72' 17,577 [2]
5 December 1998 7th Ipswich Town A L 0–1 15,901 [2]
12 December 1998 4th Oxford United A W 7–1 Rowett (2) 16', 31', Furlong (2) 17', 43', Grainger 55', Ndlovu 72', Hughes 89' 7,189 [2]
19 December 1998 7th Sunderland H D 0–0 22,095 [2]
26 December 1998 4th Sheffield United H W 1–0 Furlong 20' pen. 22,005 [2]
28 December 1998 3rd Bury A W 4–2 Furlong (2) 32', 56', O'Connor 35', Adebola 74' 7,024 [2]
9 January 1999 2nd Port Vale H W 1–0 Furlong 25' 18,632 [3]
16 January 1999 4th Barnsley A D 0–0 17,114 [2]
31 January 1999 4th Bradford City H W 2–1 Furlong (2) 45', 90' pen. 19,291 [2]
6 February 1999 5th Crystal Palace A D 1–1 Furlong 50' pen. 15,996 [2]
13 February 1999 5th Stockport County A L 0–1 9,056 [2]
21 February 1999 5th Bolton Wanderers H D 0–0 26,051 [2]
27 February 1999 5th Grimsby Town A W 3–0 Ndlovu 36', Adebola 85', Rowett 90' 7,807 [2]
2 March 1999 5th Norwich City H D 0–0 20,749 [2]
6 March 1999 4th Portsmouth H W 4–1 Adebola (2) 26', 60', Forster 50', Hughes 84' 20,617 [2]
9 March 1999 4th Tranmere Rovers A W 1–0 M. Johnson 46' 7,184 [2]
13 March 1999 4th West Bromwich Albion H W 4–0 Adebola (2) 24', 62', Ndlovu 50', Grainger 88' 29,060 [2]
20 March 1999 4th Huddersfield Town A D 1–1 M. Johnson 47' 14,667 [2]
2 April 1999 4th Crewe Alexandra A D 0–0 5,582 [2]
5 April 1999 4th Watford H L 1–2 Holdsworth 87' 24,877 [2]
10 April 1999 4th Swindon Town A W 1–0 Rowett 83' 8,896 [2]
17 April 1999 4th Wolverhampton Wanderers H L 0–1 28,143 [2]
20 April 1999 4th Queens Park Rangers H W 1–0 Forinton 85' 20,888 [2]
24 April 1999 4th Bristol City A W 2–1 Grainger 48' pen., Ndlovu 70' 15,845 [2]
2 May 1999 4th Ipswich Town H W 1–0 Furlong 60' 27,685 [2]
9 May 1999 4th Sunderland A L 1–2 Grainger 38' 41,634 [2]

League table (part)

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Final Division One table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GD Pts
2nd Bradford City 46 26 9 11 82 47 +35 87
3rd Ipswich Town 46 26 8 12 69 32 +37 86
4th Birmingham City 46 23 12 11 66 37 +29 81
5th Watford 46 21 14 11 65 56 +9 77
6th Bolton Wanderers 46 20 16 10 78 59 +19 76
Key Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played;
W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost;
F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Source [4]

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 23 12 11 66 37  +29 81 12 7 4 32 15  +17 11 5 7 34 22  +12

Source: [4]

Play-offs

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Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance Report
Semifinal 1st leg 16 May 1999 Watford A L 0–1 18,535 [2]
Semifinal 2nd leg 20 May 1999 Watford H W 1–0
1–1 agg.
Adebola 2' 29,100 [2]
Watford won 7–6 on penalties. Birmingham scorers: Grainger, Rowett, Bradbury, Hughes, Purse, Poole.

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance Report
Third round 2 January 1999 Leicester City A L 2–4 Robinson 35', Adebola 89' 19,846 [2]

League Cup

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Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A
Scorers Attendance Report
First round 1st leg 11 August 1998 Millwall H W 2–0 Adebola 70', M. Johnson 87' 14,133 [2]
First round 2nd leg 19 August 1998 Millwall A D 1–1
3–1 agg.
Adebola 45' 4,478 [2]
Second round 1st leg 15 September 1998 Macclesfield Town A W 3–0 Forster 66', Marsden 70', Rowett 89' 2,275
Second round 2nd leg 22 September 1998 Macclesfield Town H W 6–0
9–0 agg.
Ndlovu (2) 7', 19', Askey 37' o.g., Marsden 57', Rowett 66', M. Johnson 89' 3,443 [2]
Third round 28 October 1998 Wimbledon H L 1–2 Marsden 34' 11,845 [2]

Transfers

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Date Player Club Fee Ref
13 August 1998 Gary Rowett Derby County £1m
10 December 1998 Simon Marsh Oxford United £250,000
4 February 1999 Graham Hyde Sheffield Wednesday Free [5]
23 March 1999 David Holdsworth Sheffield United £1.25m
Date Player Fee Joined Ref
2 July 1998 Steve Bruce c. £200,000 Sheffield United [6]
23 October 1998 Steve Barnes Free Barnet
13 January 1999 Paul Tait Free Oxford United [7]
1 February 1999 Chris Marsden £800,000 Southampton
22 June 1999 Nicky Forster £650,000 Reading [8]

Loan in

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Date Player Club Return Ref
19 December 1998 Fumaça Catuense 27 January 1999 [9]
25 March 1999 Lee Bradbury Crystal Palace End of season [10]

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.
Players marked † left the club during the playing season.
Players listed with no appearances have been in the matchday squad but only as unused substitutes.
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 Play-offs Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals    
GK   ENG Ian Bennett 10 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 14 0 0 0
GK   ENG Kevin Poole 36 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 40 0 0 0
DF   ENG Gary Ablett 23 (3) 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 28 (3) 0 1 0
DF   ENG Jon Bass 9 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 (2) 0 2 0
DF   ENG Simon Charlton 27 (1) 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 30 (1) 0 4 1
DF   ENG Jerry Gill 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 1 0
DF   ENG Martin Grainger 30 (10) 4 0 (1) 0 2 (1) 0 2 0 34 (12) 4 11 0
DF   ENG David Holdsworth 8 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 10 (1) 0 4 1
DF   JAM Michael Johnson 43 (3) 4 1 0 4 2 2 0 50 (3) 6 6 0
DF   ENG Simon Marsh 6 (1) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 (1) 0 0 0
DF   ENG Darren Purse 11 (9) 0 0 0 2 (1) 0 0 (1) 0 13 (11) 0 2 0
DF   ENG Simon Rea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF   ENG Gary Rowett 42 5 1 0 4 2 2 0 49 7 5 0
DF   ENG Darren Wassall 0 (3) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (3) 0 0 0
MF   GER Tony Hey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF   ENG Chris Holland 7 (6) 0 0 0 1 (4) 0 1 (1) 0 9 (11) 0 0 0
MF   ENG Bryan Hughes 20 (8) 3 0 (1) 0 1 (1) 0 1 0 22 (10) 3 2 0
DF   ENG Graham Hyde 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 0 4 1
MF   ENG Chris Marsden 20 2 0 0 5 3 0 0 25 5 4 0
MF   NIR Jon McCarthy 35 (8) 0 1 0 5 0 2 0 43 (8) 0 6 0
MF   CAY Martyn O'Connor 35 (2) 4 1 0 4 0 2 0 42 (2) 4 7 0
MF   ENG Steve Robinson 20 (11) 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 24 (11) 1 1 0
FW   NGA Dele Adebola 33 (6) 13 1 1 4 2 1 (1) 1 39 (7) 17 3 0
FW   ENG Lee Bradbury * 6 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 1 (1) 0 7 (2) 0 1 0
FW   ENG Howard Forinton 0 (3) 1 0 0 1 (1) 0 0 0 1 (4) 1 0 0
FW   ENG Nicky Forster 8 (24) 5 0 (1) 0 2 (2) 1 0 0 10 (27) 6 0 0
FW   ENG Paul Furlong 24 (5) 13 1 0 1 0 2 0 28 (5) 13 4 0
FW   ENG Andrew Johnson 0 (3) 0 0 0 0 (2) 0 0 0 0 (5) 0 2 0
FW   ZIM Peter Ndlovu 37 (6) 11 1 0 4 2 1 (1) 0 43 (7) 13 3 1
Players not included in matchday squads
Pos. Nat. Name
MF   ENG Steve Barnes
MF   ENG Paul Tait
MF   BRA Fumaça *

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, league positions and results: "Birmingham City 1998–1999: Results". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 432–33.
  • Source for goal times: "Birmingham Results 1998/99". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  • Source for transfers: "Birmingham Transfers 1998/99". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  • Source for discipline: individual player pages linked from "Birmingham Squad details 1998/99". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 June 2013.

Specific

  1. ^ "English historical attendance and performance: Birmingham City". European Football Statistics. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az "Birmingham City Reports – 1998–1999". sportinglife.com. 365 Media Group. Archived from the original on 22 May 2012. Individual match reports are linked from this page.
  3. ^ "Blues do it hard way – again". Evening Mail. Birmingham. 11 January 1999. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Birmingham City 1998–1999 : English Division One Table". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  5. ^ "Blues swoop for Owls ace". Birmingham City F.C. 4 February 1999. Archived from the original on 4 May 1999.
  6. ^ Tattum, Colin (2 July 1998). "Gold – we tried to keep Bruce". Birmingham Evening Mail. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  7. ^ "One-time golden boy Tait closes Blues era". Birmingham Post. 14 January 1999. Retrieved 13 June 2013. (subscription required)
  8. ^ "Forster joins Reading in £650,000 move". Birmingham Evening Mail. 23 June 1999. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2011. (subscription required)
  9. ^ "Blues sign Brazil star". Birmingham Evening Mail. 19 December 1998. Retrieved 13 June 2013. (subscription required)
    "Blues drop Brazilian". Birmingham Evening Mail. 27 January 1999. Retrieved 13 June 2013. (subscription required)
  10. ^ Milledge, Adrian (26 March 1999). "Loan star Bradbury signs up for promotion push". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 13 June 2013. (subscription required)