1980–81 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1980–81 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 78th in the Football League and their 46th in the First Division, to which they were promoted in 1979–80. They finished in 13th position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1980–81 FA Cup in the third round proper and lost to Coventry City in the fourth, and were eliminated in the quarter-final of the League Cup by Liverpool.

Birmingham City F.C.
1980–81 season
ChairmanKeith Coombs
ManagerJim Smith
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League First Division13th of 22
FA CupFourth round
(eliminated by Coventry City)
League CupFifth round
(eliminated by Liverpool)
Top goalscorerLeague: Frank Worthington (16)
All: Frank Worthington (18)
Highest home attendance33,879 vs Aston Villa, 11 October 1980
Lowest home attendance12,163 vs Bristol City, League Cup 2nd round, 26 August 1980
Average home league attendance19,248

Twenty-three players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were eleven different goalscorers. Defenders Joe Gallagher and Dave Langan and midfielder Archie Gemmill each played in every game but one over the season, and Frank Worthington was the club's top scorer with 18 goals, of which 16 were scored in the league.

Football League First Division
Main article: 1980–81 Football League
DateLeague
position		Opponents VenueResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
16 August 1980 4thCoventry CityH W3–1Curbishley 2, Dillon 21,877
20 August 1980 10thNottingham ForestA L1–2Worthington 26,561
23 August 1980 7thManchester UnitedH D0–0 28,661
30 August 1980 13thSouthamptonA L1–3Worthington 21,683
6 September 1980 15thLiverpoolH D1–1Worthington 27,042
13 September 1980 14thBrighton & Hove AlbionA D2–2Curbishley, Bertschin 15,767
20 September 1980 15thWest Bromwich AlbionH D1–1Givens 22,016
27 September 1980 14thNorwich CityA D2–2Ainscow, Worthington 13,561
4 October 1980 15thWolverhampton WanderersA L0–1 22,777
7 October 1980 13thArsenalH W3–1Lynex, Worthington, Dillon 15,511
11 October 1980 15thAston VillaH L1–2Worthington pen 33,879
18 October 1980 14thManchester CityA W1–0Gemmill pen 30,041
25 October 1980 14thStoke CityH D1–1Bertschin 16,535
1 November 1980 11thMiddlesbroughA W2–1Worthington 2 13,292
8 November 1980 9thCrystal PalaceH W1–0Bertschin 16,910
11 November 1980 9thNottingham ForestH W2–0Worthington 2 22,433
15 November 1980 10thCoventry CityA L1–2Curbishley 18,429
22 November 1980 10thTottenham HotspurH W2–1Curbishley, Ainscow 24,817
29 November 1980 9thEvertonA D1–1Ainscow 22,274
6 December 1980 10thLeicester CityH L1–2Scott og 18,479
13 December 1980 12thAston VillaA L0–3 41,101
20 December 1980 13thIpswich TownH L1–3Ainscow 16,161
26 December 1980 13thLeeds UnitedA D0–0 19,214
27 December 1980 14thSunderlandH W3–2Gemmill, Bertschin, Worthington 19,005
10 January 1981 14thTottenham HotspurA L0–1 24,909
13 January 1981 14thIpswich TownA L1–5Worthington 21,148
17 January 1981 14thSouthamptonH L0–3 16,491
31 January 1981 18thManchester UnitedA L0–2 39,081
7 February 1981 17thBrighton & Hove AlbionH W2–1Evans, Curbishley 13,691
14 February 1981 14thLiverpoolA D2–2Evans, Ainscow 32,199
20 February 1981 10thNorwich CityH W4–0Ainscow, Evans 2, Gemmill 14,686
28 February 1981 14thWest Bromwich AlbionA D2–2Worthington, Ainscow 24,848
17 March 1981 12thWolverhampton WanderersH W1–0Worthington 20,005
21 March 1981 10thManchester CityH W2–0Worthington, Evans 16,160
28 March 1981 10thStoke CityA D0–0 14,624
31 March 1981 11thArsenalA L1–2Worthington 17,431
4 April 1981 11thMiddlesbroughH W2–1Evans, Broadhurst 12,472
11 April 1981 11thCrystal PalaceA L1–3Ainscow 11,122
18 April 1981 11thSunderlandA L0–3 20,158
21 April 1981 13thLeeds UnitedH L0–2 14,505
25 April 1981 13thLeicester CityA L0–1 13,686
2 May 1981 13thEvertonH D1–1Evans 12,863

League table (part)
Final First Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GD Pts
11th Stoke City421218125160−942
12th Manchester City421411175659−339
13th Birmingham City421312175061−1138
14th Middlesbrough42165215361−837
15th Everton421310195558−336
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 [1]

FA Cup
Main article: 1980–81 FA Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
Third round 3 January 1981SunderlandH D1–1Bertschin 23,098
Third round replay 7 January 1981SunderlandA W2–1Bertschin, Evans 27,793
Fourth round 24 January 1981Coventry CityA L2–3Worthington pen, Ainscow 29,492

League Cup
Main article: 1980–81 Football League Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
Second round 1st leg 26 August 1980Bristol CityH W2–1Ainscow, Gemmill pen 12,163
Second round 2nd leg 2 September 1980Bristol CityA D0–0 6,958
Third round 23 September 1980Blackburn RoversH W1–0Gallagher 14,580
Fourth round 28 October 1980Ipswich TownH W2–1Worthington pen, Ainscow 18,968
Fifth round 2 December 1980LiverpoolA L1–3Bertschin 30,236

Appearances and goals
Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.
Players with name struck through and marked left the club during the playing season.
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 Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK ENG Tony Coton 30100040
GK ENG Jeff Wealands 3902050460
DF ENG Kevan Broadhurst 1510000151
DF ENG Mark Dennis 1904000230
DF ENG Joe Gallagher 4103051491
DF ENG Phil Hawker 1100010120
DF IRL Dave Langan 4203040490
DF ENG Terry Lees 20300050
DF WAL Malcolm Page 20001030
DF ENG Colin Todd 4003050480
DF WAL Pat Van Den Hauwe 3 (1)000003 (1)0
MF ENG Alan Ainscow 40831524811
MF ENG Alan Curbishley 2963040366
MF ENG Kevin Dillon 38 (1)2204044 (1)2
MF SCO Archie Gemmill 4133051494
MF ENG Terry Goode 0 (2)000000 (2)0
MF ENG Ian Handysides 6 (2)000006 (2)0
FW ENG Keith Bertschin 28 (2)4324134 (2)7
FW ENG Tony Evans 16 (1)70 (1)10016 (2)8
FW IRL Don Givens 4 (6)1002 (1)06 (7)1
FW ENG Paul Ivey 1 (1)000001 (1)0
FW ENG Steve Lynex 6 (8)110108 (8)1
FW ENG Frank Worthington 361631414318

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, league positions and results: "Birmingham City 1980–1981: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 396–97.
Specific
  1. "Birmingham City 1980–1981 : English Division One (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 30 March 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.