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
Main article: 1998–99 Football League

Match details
DateLeague
position		Opponents VenueResultScore
F–A		Scorers AttendanceReport
8 August 1998 1stPort ValeA W2–0Furlong 21', Adebola 68' 10,465 [2]
16 August 1998 1stCrystal PalaceH W3–1Adebola 12', O'Connor 29' pen., Forster 90' 16,699 [2]
22 August 1998 2ndSheffield UnitedA W2–0Adebola 55', Forster 81' 17,528 [2]
29 August 1998 4thBarnsleyH D0–0 19,825 [2]
31 August 1998 5thBradford CityA L1–2Ndlovu 56' 13,910 [2]
8 September 1998 3rdBuryH W1–0Adebola 20' 15,935 [2]
5 September 1998 1stStockport CountyH W2–0Marsden 15', Hughes 67' 16,429 [2]
12 September 1998 2ndBolton WanderersA L1–3Rowett 40' 19,637 [2]
19 September 1998 3rdGrimsby TownH L0–1 17,563 [2]
26 September 1998 7thNorwich CityH L0–2 16,584 [2]
29 September 1998 5thPortsmouthA W1–0O'Connor 59 pen. 11,843 [2]
3 October 1998 4thTranmere RoversH D2–2M. Johnson 40', Ndlovu 72' 17,189 [2]
10 October 1998 3rdWatfordA D1–1Adebola 22' 10,096 [2]
17 October 1998 2ndCrewe AlexandraH W3–1Ndlovu 8', O'Connor 43' pen., Furlong 53' 20,087 [2]
20 October 1998 2ndSwindon TownH D1–1Marsden 58' 19,485 [2]
25 October 1998 2ndQueens Park RangersA W1–0Adebola 6' 10,272 [2]
31 October 1998 1stHuddersfield TownH D1–1Ndlovu 53' 19,170 [2]
7 November 1998 3rdWest Bromwich AlbionA W3–1Ndlovu 5', 34', Adebola 12' 19,472 [2]
14 November 1998 4thOxford UnitedH L0–1 18,216 [2]
23 November 1998 8thWolverhampton WanderersA L1–3Furlong 21' 23,037 [2]
28 November 1998 4thBristol CityH W4–2M. Johnson 5', Ndlovu 11', Forster (2) 42', 72' 17,577 [2]
5 December 1998 7thIpswich TownA L0–1 15,901 [2]
12 December 1998 4thOxford UnitedA W7–1Rowett (2) 16', 31', Furlong (2) 17', 43', Grainger 55', Ndlovu 72', Hughes 89' 7,189 [2]
19 December 1998 7thSunderlandH D0–0 22,095 [2]
26 December 1998 4thSheffield UnitedH W1–0Furlong 20' pen. 22,005 [2]
28 December 1998 3rdBuryA W4–2Furlong (2) 32', 56', O'Connor 35', Adebola 74' 7,024 [2]
9 January 1999 2ndPort ValeH W1–0Furlong 25' 18,632 [3]
16 January 1999 4thBarnsleyA D0–0 17,114 [2]
31 January 1999 4thBradford CityH W2–1Furlong (2) 45', 90' pen. 19,291 [2]
6 February 1999 5thCrystal PalaceA D1–1Furlong 50' pen. 15,996 [2]
13 February 1999 5thStockport CountyA L0–1 9,056 [2]
21 February 1999 5thBolton WanderersH D0–0 26,051 [2]
27 February 1999 5thGrimsby TownA W3–0Ndlovu 36', Adebola 85', Rowett 90' 7,807 [2]
2 March 1999 5thNorwich CityH D0–0 20,749 [2]
6 March 1999 4thPortsmouthH W4–1Adebola (2) 26', 60', Forster 50', Hughes 84' 20,617 [2]
9 March 1999 4thTranmere RoversA W1–0M. Johnson 46' 7,184 [2]
13 March 1999 4thWest Bromwich AlbionH W4–0Adebola (2) 24', 62', Ndlovu 50', Grainger 88' 29,060 [2]
20 March 1999 4thHuddersfield TownA D1–1M. Johnson 47' 14,667 [2]
2 April 1999 4thCrewe AlexandraA D0–0 5,582 [2]
5 April 1999 4thWatfordH L1–2Holdsworth 87' 24,877 [2]
10 April 1999 4thSwindon TownA W1–0Rowett 83' 8,896 [2]
17 April 1999 4thWolverhampton WanderersH L0–1 28,143 [2]
20 April 1999 4thQueens Park RangersH W1–0Forinton 85' 20,888 [2]
24 April 1999 4thBristol CityA W2–1Grainger 48' pen., Ndlovu 70' 15,845 [2]
2 May 1999 4thIpswich TownH W1–0Furlong 60' 27,685 [2]
9 May 1999 4thSunderlandA L1–2Grainger 38' 41,634 [2]

League table (part)
Final Division One table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GD Pts
2nd Bradford City46269118247+3587
3rd Ipswich Town46268126932+3786
4th Birmingham City462312116637+2981
5th Watford462114116556+977
6th Bolton Wanderers462016107859+1976
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
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
46 23 12 11 66 37  +29 81 12 7 4 32 15  +17 11 5 7 34 22  +12

Source: [4]

Play-offs
Main article: Football League Championship play-offs § 1999
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers AttendanceReport
Semifinal 1st leg 16 May 1999WatfordA L0–1 18,535 [2]
Semifinal 2nd leg 20 May 1999WatfordH W1–0
1–1 agg.		Adebola 2' 29,100 [2]
Watford won 7–6 on penalties. Birmingham scorers: Grainger, Rowett, Bradbury, Hughes, Purse, Poole.

FA Cup
Main article: 1998–99 FA Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers AttendanceReport
Third round 2 January 1999Leicester CityA L2–4Robinson 35', Adebola 89' 19,846 [2]

League Cup
Main article: 1998–99 Football League Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers AttendanceReport
First round 1st leg 11 August 1998MillwallH W2–0Adebola 70', M. Johnson 87' 14,133 [2]
First round 2nd leg 19 August 1998MillwallA D1–1
3–1 agg.		Adebola 45' 4,478 [2]
Second round 1st leg 15 September 1998Macclesfield TownA W3–0Forster 66', Marsden 70', Rowett 89' 2,275
Second round 2nd leg 22 September 1998Macclesfield TownH W6–0
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 1998WimbledonH L1–2Marsden 34' 11,845 [2]

Transfers

In
Date Player Club Fee Ref
13 August 1998Gary RowettDerby County£1m
10 December 1998Simon MarshOxford United£250,000
4 February 1999Graham HydeSheffield WednesdayFree [5]
23 March 1999David HoldsworthSheffield United£1.25m

Out
Date Player Fee Joined Ref
2 July 1998Steve Brucec. £200,000Sheffield United [6]
23 October 1998Steve BarnesFreeBarnet
13 January 1999Paul TaitFreeOxford United [7]
1 February 1999Chris Marsden£800,000Southampton
22 June 1999Nicky Forster£650,000Reading [8]

Loan in
Date Player Club Return Ref
19 December 1998FumaçaCatuense27 January 1999 [9]
25 March 1999Lee BradburyCrystal PalaceEnd of season [10]

Appearances and goals
Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.
Players with squad numbers 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 included in matchday squads
Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup League Cup Play-offs Total Discipline
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK ENG Ian Bennett 10000400014000
GK ENG Kevin Poole 36010102040000
DF ENG Gary Ablett 23 (3)010400028 (3)010
DF ENG Jon Bass 9 (2)00000009 (2)020
DF ENG Simon Charlton 27 (1)000300030 (1)041
DF ENG Jerry Gill 300010004010
DF ENG Martin Grainger 30 (10)40 (1)02 (1)02034 (12)4110
DF ENG David Holdsworth 8 (1)000002010 (1)041
DF JAM Michael Johnson 43 (3)410422050 (3)660
DF ENG Simon Marsh 6 (1)01000007 (1)000
DF ENG Darren Purse 11 (9)0002 (1)00 (1)013 (11)020
DF ENG Simon Rea 000000000000
DF ENG Gary Rowett 42510422049750
DF ENG Darren Wassall 0 (3)00000000 (3)000
MF GER Tony Hey 000000000000
MF ENG Chris Holland 7 (6)0001 (4)01 (1)09 (11)000
MF ENG Bryan Hughes 20 (8)30 (1)01 (1)01022 (10)320
DF ENG Graham Hyde 13000000013041
MF ENG Chris Marsden 20200530025540
MF NIR Jon McCarthy 35 (8)010502043 (8)060
MF CAY Martyn O'Connor 35 (2)410402042 (2)470
MF ENG Steve Robinson 20 (11)011201024 (11)110
FW NGA Dele Adebola 33 (6)1311421 (1)139 (7)1730
FW ENG Lee Bradbury* 6 (1)000001 (1)07 (2)010
FW ENG Howard Forinton 0 (3)1001 (1)0001 (4)100
FW ENG Nicky Forster 8 (24)50 (1)02 (2)10010 (27)600
FW ENG Paul Furlong 24 (5)1310102028 (5)1340
FW ENG Andrew Johnson 0 (3)0000 (2)0000 (5)020
FW ZIM Peter Ndlovu 37 (6)1110421 (1)043 (7)1331
Players not included in matchday squads
Pos Nat Name
MF ENG Steve Barnes
MF ENG Paul Tait
MF BRA Fumaça*

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 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. "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. "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)
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