1956–57 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1956–57 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 54th in the Football League and their 30th in the First Division. They finished in 12th position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1956–57 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost in the semi-final to Manchester United. In the inaugural edition of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Birmingham finished top of their group so progressed to the semi-final.[1]

Birmingham City F.C.
1956–57 season
ChairmanHarry Morris Jr
ManagerArthur Turner
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League First Division12th
FA CupSemi-final
(eliminated by Manchester United)
Inter-Cities Fairs CupSemi-final
Top goalscorerLeague: Alex Govan (24)
All: Alex Govan (30)
Highest home attendance57,827 vs Nottingham Forest, FA Cup sixth round, 2 March 1957
Lowest home attendance23,747 vs Manchester City, 27 April 1957
Average home league attendance32,444

Twenty-four players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were thirteen different goalscorers. Goalkeeper Gil Merrick played in 49 of the 51 first-team matches over the season, and Alex Govan finished as leading goalscorer with 30 goals in all competitions, of which 24 were scored in the league.

Football League First Division
Main article: 1956–57 Football League
DateLeague
position		Opponents VenueResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
18 August 1956 12thManchester UnitedA D2–2Govan, Jones og 32,958
22 August 1956 6thPortsmouthH W3–1Astall, Govan 2 33,307
25 August 1956 3rdArsenalH W4–2Brown, Murphy 2, Govan 37,197
29 August 1956 2ndPortsmouthA W4–3Govan 3, Astall 25,686
1 September 1956 6thBurnleyA L0–2 25,531
5 September 1956 2ndNewcastle UnitedH W6–1Kinsey, Murphy 2, Govan 3 32,506
8 September 1956 2ndPreston North EndH W3–0Govan 3 44,458
15 September 1956 3rdChelseaA L0–1 40,530
22 September 1956 4thCardiff CityH W2–1Kinsey, Govan 39,931
29 September 1956 6thWolverhampton WanderersA L0–3 44,191
6 October 1956 6thBolton WanderersH D0–0 29,614
13 October 1956 6thLeeds UnitedA D1–1Larkin 34,460
20 October 1956 6thLuton TownH W3–0Brown 2, Orritt 31,783
27 October 1956 7thAston VillaA L1–3Astall 54,927
3 November 1956 6thBlackpoolH D2–2Astall, Govan 35,597
10 November 1956 9thManchester CityA L1–3Kinsey 21,005
17 November 1956 6thCharlton AthleticH W4–2Brown, Kinsey, Astall, Murphy 27,564
24 November 1956 5thSunderlandA W1–0Orritt 33,807
1 December 1956 4thTottenham HotspurH D0–0 38,035
8 December 1956 7thEvertonA L0–2 29,579
15 December 1956 5thManchester UnitedH W3–1Brown 2, Orritt 36,146
22 December 1956 8thArsenalA L0–4 28,644
25 December 1956 6thSheffield WednesdayH W4–0Brown, Murphy, Astall, Govan 24,380
29 December 1956 5thBurnleyH W2–0Brown, Govan 31,733
1 January 1957 6thNewcastle UnitedA L2–3Brown, Govan 29,383
12 January 1957 9thPreston North EndA L0–1 19,430
19 January 1957 9thChelseaH L0–1 30,157
2 February 1957 8thCardiff CityA W2–1Brown, Astall 16,854
9 February 1957 8thWolverhampton WanderersH D2–2Astall, Govan 45,915
20 February 1957 9thBolton WanderersA L1–3Astall 11,284
9 March 1957 10thEvertonH L1–3Brown 23,881
16 March 1957 12thBlackpoolA L1–3Brown 17,610
30 March 1957 13thCharlton AthleticA L0–1 17,839
3 April 1957 13thLuton TownA D0–0 12,881
6 April 1957 13thSunderlandH L1–2Brown 24,548
10 April 1957 13thAston VillaH L1–2Murphy 29,853
13 April 1957 14thTottenham HotspurA L1–5Astall 33,512
20 April 1957 15thLeeds UnitedH W6–2Brown 2, Govan 3, Astall 30,642
22 April 1957 14thWest Bromwich AlbionA D0–0 18,755
23 April 1957 13thWest Bromwich AlbionH W2–0Kinsey, Govan 30,332
27 April 1957 12thManchester CityH D3–3Brown, Govan, Phoenix og 23,747
29 April 1957 12thSheffield WednesdayA L0–3 13,845

League table (part)
Final First Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
10th Aston Villa4214151355451.1843
11th West Bromwich Albion4214141459610.9742
12th Birmingham City421591869691.0039
13th Chelsea4213131673731.0039
14th Sheffield Wednesday421662082880.9338
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 [2]

FA Cup
Main article: 1956–57 FA Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
Third round 5 January 1957Carlisle UnitedA D3–3Murphy 2, Astall 27,445
Third round replay 9 January 1957Carlisle UnitedH W4–0Brown 2, Kinsey, Astall 56,458
Fourth round 26 January 1957Southend UnitedA W6–1Murphy, Govan 3, Cox, Lawler og 28,964
Fifth round 16 February 1957MillwallA W4–1Kinsey 2, Govan, Brown 41,986
Sixth round 2 March 1957Nottingham ForestH D0–0 57,827
Sixth round replay 6 March 1957Nottingham ForestA W1–0Murphy 36,486
Semi-final 23 March 1957Manchester UnitedHillsborough, Sheffield L0–2 65,107

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
Main article: 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

The last two group matches of the inaugural season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup were completed during this season, as a result of which Birmingham qualified for the semi-finals, in which they were to play Barcelona the following season.

Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
Group B 3 December 1956Zagreb XIH W3–0Orritt, Brown, Murphy 40,144
Group B 17 April 1957Inter MilanH W2–1Govan 2 34,461

Appearances and goals
  • Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as a substitute.
  • Players with name struck through and marked left the club during the playing season.
Players having played at least one first-team match
Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup Fairs Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK ENG Gil Merrick 4007020490
GK ENG Johnny Schofield 20000020
FB ENG George Allen 802010110
FB ENG Jack Badham 10000010
FB ENG Brian Farmer 30001040
FB ENG Ken Green 4005020470
FB ENG Jeff Hall 3607010440
HB ENG Bunny Larkin 71000081
HB ENG Bert Linnecor 1101000121
HB ENG Dick Neal 20000020
HB ENG Johnny Newman 80100090
HB ENG Graham Sissons 10000010
HB ENG Trevor Smith 3707010450
HB ENG Roy Warhurst 3307020420
HB ENG Johnny Watts 2705020340
FW ENG Gordon Astall 401162104713
FW ENG Eddy Brown 381673214720
FW ENG Geoff Cox 40110 (1)05 (1)1
FW ENG Bill Finney 40000040
FW SCO Alex Govan 352474224430
FW ENG Dennis Harper 10000010
FW WAL Noel Kinsey 28573 1 (1)[lower-alpha 1]0 36 (1)8
FW ENG Peter Murphy 35764214312
FW ENG Keith Neale 20000020
FW WAL Bryan Orritt 1831011204
FW ENG Peter Warmington 10000010
  1. Matthews source omits Kinsey's substitute appearance at home to Zagreb.[3][4][5]

See also

References

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 1956–1957: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 16 September 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 348–49, 473.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

  1. Zea, Antonio & Haisma, Marcel (16 March 2010). "Fairs' Cup 1956–58". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  2. "Birmingham City 1956–1957: English Division One (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  3. "Blues in Europe – Part One 1956–1958". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 7 April 2011.
  4. "Player search: Kinsey, N (Noel)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  5. Chapman, Cyril (4 December 1956). "Birmingham City easily beat Zagreb with weakened team". Birmingham Post. p. 20. Orritt was injured in the 55th minute, but what in a League game would have proved a severe blow was no inconvenience for City, for the experienced Kinsey came on as substitute at inside-right.
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