1979–80 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1979–80 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 77th in the Football League and their 32nd in the Second Division, to which they were relegated in 1978–79. They finished in third position in the 22-team division, level on points with Chelsea but with a better goal difference, so were promoted to the First Division for 1980–81. They entered the 1979–80 FA Cup in the third round proper and lost to Tottenham Hotspur in the fifth, and were eliminated from the third round of the League Cup by Exeter City. They also entered the Anglo-Scottish Cup, but failed to progress past the group stage.

Birmingham City F.C.
1979–80 season
ChairmanKeith Coombs
ManagerJim Smith
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League Second Division3rd (promoted)
FA CupFifth round
(eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur)
League CupThird round
(eliminated by Exeter City)
Anglo-Scottish CupGroup stage
Top goalscorerLeague: Keith Bertschin (12)
All: Keith Bertschin (18)
Highest home attendance33,863 vs Notts County, 3 May 1980
Lowest home attendance7,631 vs Bristol City, Anglo-Scottish Cup, 4 August 1979
Average home league attendance20,427

Twenty-one players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were eleven different goalscorers. Midfielder Alan Curbishley appeared in all 51 first-team games of the season – defender Joe Gallagher missed only one – and Keith Bertschin was the club's top scorer with 18 goals, of which 12 were scored in the league.

Football League Second Division
Main article: 1979–80 Football League

The league programme did not end on the same day for all clubs. Although Birmingham were in second place after their last match, on 3 May, the last Second Division fixture was played nine days later, they were overtaken by Sunderland, and finished third.[1]

DateLeague
position		Opponents VenueResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
18 August 1979 15thFulhamH L3–4Evans, Dillon, Bertschin 19,330
22 August 1979 22ndSunderlandA L0–2 25,877
25 August 1979 16thCardiff CityA W2–1Evans 2 11,465
1 September 1979 16thBristol RoversH D1–1Dillon 15,320
8 September 1979 13thChelseaA W2–1Lynex, Curbishley 17,711
15 September 1979 7thCharlton AthleticH W1–0Lynex 16,155
22 September 1979 9thOrientA D2–2Lynex, Curbishley 5,550
29 September 1979 9thNewcastle UnitedH D0–0 19,967
6 October 1979 11thPreston North EndA D0–0 10,772
9 October 1979 6thSunderlandH W1–0Lynex 18,960
13 October 1979 11thWrexhamA L0–1 13,693
20 October 1979 7thSwansea CityH W2–0Lynex, Gemmill 18,624
27 October 1979 5thShrewsbury TownH W1–0Ainscow 17,869
3 November 1979 5thFulhamA W4–2Gemmill pen, Givens 2, Lock og 8,338
10 November 1979 3rdCambridge UnitedH W1–0Lynex 17,120
17 November 1979 6thWatfordA L0–1 14,378
24 November 1979 6thLuton TownA W3–2Bertschin 3 13,720
1 December 1979 6thLeicester CityH L1–2Gallagher 25,748
8 December 1979 6thNotts CountyA D1–1Lynex 11,383
15 December 1979 5thBurnleyH W2–0Worthington 2 13,997
21 December 1979 6thOldham AthleticA L0–1 6,728
29 December 1979 6thCardiff CityH W2–1Worthington, Bertschin 16,682
1 January 1980 5thQueens Park RangersH W2–1Ainscow, Gemmill 25,963
12 January 1980 6thBristol RoversA L0–1 9,351
2 February 1980 5thCharlton AthleticA W1–0Gemmill 6,821
9 February 1980 5thOrientH W3–1Bertschin 3 17,474
20 February 1980 5thNewcastle UnitedA D0–0 27,069
23 February 1980 4thWrexhamH W2–0Dillon, Evans 19,302
29 February 1980 1stSwansea CityA W1–0Lynex 16,363
8 March 1980 4thShrewsbury TownA L0–1 14,801
11 March 1980 1stChelseaH W5–1Broadhurst, Borota og, Dillon, Ainscow 2 27,297
15 March 1980 2ndPreston North EndH D2–2Gemmill pen, Worthington 19,548
22 March 1980 3rdCambridge UnitedA L1–2Smith og 6,805
29 March 1980 2ndWatfordH W2–0Bertschin, Gemmill pen 16,582
1 April 1980 2ndOldham AthleticH W2–0Gemmill, Ainscow 17,118
5 April 1980 1stQueens Park RangersA D1–1Dillon 16,609
7 April 1980 1stWest Ham UnitedH D0–0 28,377
12 April 1980 4thLeicester CityA L1–2Gemmill pen 26,075
19 April 1980 4thLuton TownH W1–0Bertschin 23,662
22 April 1980 1stWest Ham UnitedA W2–1Ainscow, Bertschin 36,167
26 April 1980 2ndBurnleyA D0–0 10,388
3 May 1980 3rdNotts CountyH D3–3Bertschin, Curbishley, Dillon 33,863

League table (part)
Final Second Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GD Pts
1st Leicester City422113858382055
2nd Sunderland422112969422754
3rd Birmingham City4221111058382053
4th Chelsea422371266521453
5th Queens Park Rangers4218131175532249
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 [2]

FA Cup
Main article: 1979–80 FA Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
Third round 5 January 1980SouthamptonH W2–1Bertschin, Gallagher 24,548
Fourth round 26 January 1980MiddlesbroughH W2–1Gemmill pen, Bertschin 29,152
Fifth round 16 February 1980Tottenham HotspurA L1–3Bertschin 49,936

League Cup
Main article: 1979–80 Football League Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
Second round 1st leg 28 August 1979Preston North EndH W2–1Ainscow, Dillon 13,660
Second round 2nd leg 4 September 1979Preston North EndA W1–0Lynex 11,043
Third round 26 September 1979Exeter CityH L1–2Ainscow 13,669

Anglo-Scottish Cup
Main article: Anglo-Scottish Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
Group stage 4 August 1979Bristol CityH L0–4 7,631
Group stage 6 August 1979Plymouth ArgyleA D1–1Bertschin 3,137
Group stage 8 August 1979FulhamA W5–0Bertschin 2, Evans, Ainscow, Dillon 2,899

Appearances and goals
Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.
Players with names in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Birmingham.
Players having played at least one first-team match
Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup League Cup Anglo-Scottish Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK ENG Neil Freeman 2010002050
GK ENG Jeff Wealands 40020301 (1)046 (1)0
DF ENG Kevan Broadhurst 231300000261
DF SCO Jimmy Calderwood 1000003040
DF ENG Mark Dennis 400203000450
DF ENG Joe Gallagher 411313030502
DF ENG Terry Lees 9 (1)010102013 (1)0
DF WAL Malcolm Page 3000103070
DF ENG Colin Todd 33 (1)030100037 (1)0
DF ENG Tony Towers 220003010260
DF WAL Pat Van Den Hauwe 1000002 (1)03 (1)0
MF ENG Alan Ainscow 376303221457
MF ENG Alan Curbishley 40 (2)330303049 (2)3
MF ENG Kevin Dillon 30 (1)300312 (1)135 (2)5
MF SCO Archie Gemmill 378313010449
MF SCO Willie Johnston* 150300000180
MF ENG Steve Lynex 20 (10)80 (3)0212024 (13)9
FW ENG Keith Bertschin 34 (3)12331 (1)03341 (4)18
FW ENG Tony Evans 10 (3)400203115 (3)5
FW IRL Don Givens 7 (3)20010008 (3)2
FW ENG Frank Worthington 17 (2)430000020 (2)4

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 1979–1980 : Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 394–95.
  • Source for Anglo-Scottish Cup attendances: Matthews (1995), Complete Record, p. 243.
Specific
  1. "Birmingham City 1979–1980 : Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  2. "Birmingham City 1979–1980 : English Division One (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
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