2019–20 Birmingham City F.C. season

Pep Clotet's first competitive match as Birmingham City's head coach was away to Brentford on 3 August 2019. The team lined up in a 3–4–2–1 formation with Lee Camp in goal, Kristian Pedersen, Marc Roberts and newly appointed captain Harlee Dean in central defence, Maxime Colin and debutant Steve Seddon at wing back/wide midfielder, David Davis alongside Gary Gardner in central midfield, and Jacques Maghoma and new arrival Dan Crowley supporting centre forward Lukas Jutkiewicz.[23] According to Sky Sports, "Blues were saved by a combination of the woodwork – which Brentford hit three times before the break – and keeper Lee Camp",[24] and the only goal was scored by Pedersen, whose header from Seddon's cross "looped powerfully and perfectly" over the goalkeeper from outside the penalty area.[25]

Defensive midfielder Ivan Šunjić made a first start and attacking midfielder Fran Villalba made a lively debut at home to Bristol City. Both sides missed chances before Jutkiewicz scored with a powerful header from Roberts' chipped cross. Late in the game, the defence was caught out of position for the visitors' equaliser – last man Wes Harding apologised afterwards for his part in the proceedings.[26][27] At Nottingham Forest, an unchanged starting eleven suffered Birmingham's first league defeat since March. After a bright start, they were unable to prevent Joe Lolley reacting quickly to a 15th-minute free kick and running through to score; the same player's run and cross set up Lewis Grabban's header seven minutes later, and Michael Dawson's second-half header completed a 3–0 win.[28] Three days later, Birmingham made amends at home to Barnsley. Harding replaced the injured Colin, Seddon returned to the team, and Álvaro Giménez started alongside Jutkiewicz up front. After a low-key and defensively sound first hour, Jutkiewicz converted Harding's cross, Giménez chested down Seddon's through ball and lobbed the goalkeeper, and loanee winger Jefferson Montero made a lively 10-minute cameo on his debut.[29]

In the televised lunchtime visit to Swansea City, still goalless after an hour despite the hosts' domination, Birmingham conceded three in 12 second-half minutes.[30] Montero, who was contractually unavailable to face his parent club, made his full debut at home to Stoke City; he lasted only half an hour before injury forced his replacement by Jude Bellingham, who had made his first Football League appearance as a late substitute at Swansea. A penalty should have been awarded when Danny Batth hauled Giménez back, forced him to the floor and kicked him in the face,[31] and shortly after Dan Crowley replaced the ineffective Villalba, Stoke opened the scoring. Birmingham livened up, Jutkewicz outjumped Tommy Smith at the far post to equalise, and three minutes later, Bellingham's shot crept into the net via a generous deflection to win the match and make him Birmingham's youngest ever goalscorer at 16 years and 93 days.[32][33]

September began with the visit to Charlton Athletic unbeaten at home for nearly a year and managed by Birmingham's 2011 League Cup-winner Lee Bowyer. Bellingham scored the only goal of the game after a pinpoint pass from Kerim Mrabti. Towards the end, Bowyer's reaction to a time-wasting incident involving the coaching staff saw him sent off and Birmingham's bench receive a yellow card.[34][35] An unchanged starting eleven struggled at home to Preston North End, who won the match with a first-half free kick that Camp pushed onto the post from which Sean Maguire tapped in the rebound.[36] Derby County hosted Birmingham just days after two Derby players were charged with drink-driving following a car crash that left their captain badly injured. Derby took a two-goal lead, but within minutes Birmingham had equalised with goals from Gardner and Šunjić,[37] the latter a "rasping rising 20-year shot which flew into the net" and won him the Championship Goal of the Month award.[38] Former Birmingham loanee Krystian Bielik fouled Giménez for a penalty, Jutkiewicz missed it, and Derby secured the win with 15 minutes left.[37]

Loanee Jake Clarke-Salter made his first league appearance for Birmingham, in place of the injured Roberts away to newly promoted Wigan Athletic. Neither side looked like scoring until Camp let a shot from distance go underneath his body.[39][40] At home to Middlesbrough, Birmingham had most of the play, but the only goal was Villalba's first for the club from the edge of the area. Both Gardner and Pedersen hit the woodwork, and former Birmingham goalkeeper Darren Randolph made what BBC Sport's reporter dubbed a "string of sublime saves", before, with three minutes of normal time remaining, a defensive error led to an equaliser. Two minutes later, the 19-year-old academy product Odin Bailey headed home Crowley's cross to confirm a first win after three consecutive defeats.[41][42] Birmingham were the visitors as Leeds United celebrated their centenary: they were defensively sound until Colin allowed Jack Harrison to outpace him and cross for Kalvin Phillips to score.[43] Incidents after the match both inside and outside the ground were described by a police spokesman as "the worst trouble we have seen at Elland Road for over a decade."[44] At home to Blackburn Rovers, Colin headed home Crowley's cross for the only goal after half an hour; Birmingham again failed to convert chances but were able to hold on to their lead.[45] October ended with a third consecutive home win, by two goals to one against Luton Town, that took Birmingham to 11th in the table, one point outside the play-off places; the goals both came from headers, Pedersen's on the stroke of half-time and Jutkiewicz from a corner after 82 minutes.[46]

Birmingham went through November without a win. Away to Cardiff City, Pedersen gave them an early lead but they failed to convert their first-half superiority into goals, Dean conceded a penalty for shirt-pulling which according to BBC Sport's reporter "was tough to spot", and the momentum changed. At 2–1, Cardiff had a player sent off, but they then increased their lead on the break, Dean was sent off in stoppage time, and the match ended 4–2.[47] At home to Fulham, claims that Roberts had been fouled were to no avail when Camp dropped a cross at the feet of Aleksandar Mitrović.[48] Backup goalkeeper Connal Trueman made his first appearance of the season and Jérémie Bela his first start in a better team performance at Huddersfield Town, in which Birmingham came back from a goal behind when Roberts' header was deflected in off Jutkiewicz's shoulder.[49][50] Ahead of the visit to Garry Monk's new club, Sheffield Wednesday, the former Birmingham manager claimed he had made an "error of judgment" in working with Clotet, suggested he was untrustworthy, and refused the customary pre-match handshake.[51] Starting instead of Jutkiewicz, Giménez opened the scoring from Bela's cross, but Wednesday equalised with ten minutes left.[52] BBC Sport thought Birmingham "twice unlucky not to be awarded spot-kicks" as Millwall failed to retain a lead thanks to a combination of Clarke-Salter's header and Trueman's performance in goal.[53]

Making his first start, Josh McEachran contributed to a 3–2 win away to Reading in which Birmingham's former captain, Michael Morrison, opened the scoring with an own goal, and Bela scored with a 25-yard (23 m) free kick that was voted Birmingham's goal of the season before setting up Giménez' matchwinner.[54][55] The rest of the year went winless and, but for Mrabti's penalty at Blackburn Rovers, pointless. Defensively poor against Queens Park Rangers and "half a yard off everything" against Hull City,[56][57] Birmingham led second-placed West Bromwich Albion until substitute Charlie Austin scored two late goals,[58] and came from behind to equalise three times against table-topping Leeds United before losing 5–4 to Wes Harding's 95th-minute own goal.[59]

Bottom-of-the-table Wigan Athletic celebrated the new year with their first away won of the season as, with two senior centre-backs injured, Clotet's selection of midfielder Gary Gardner as a makeshift central defender, in preference to Harding or the youngster Bajrami, backfired. A positional mix-up between Bellingham and Gardner led to Wigan's first goal, their second was his own goal, and the third came when Jutkiewicz's attempt at a headed clearance rebounded off a Wigan player.[60][61] Away to Luton Town, who had replaced Wigan at the foot of the table, Clotet again made changes: Clarke-Salter was fit to play at centre-back and, despite a fine performance by Trueman against Wigan,[39] Camp returned in goal, and in central midfield, Davis came in to partner Gardner, who scored the winning goal.[62] At home to Cardiff City, with Roberts fit to replace the suspended Dean and Sunjic alongside Bellingham, who opened the scoring and came close to a second, but Cardiff equalised with a header from a corner.[63]

Jutkiewicz scored his tenth goal of the season at Middlesbrough before the hosts equalised, and Camp saved a penalty. Late in the game a collision between Bellingham and Marcus Tavernier left the latter on the ground; both teams played on, and Jutkiewicz appeared to score. However, with Middlesbrough staff on the field demanding play be stopped for treatment to their player, the referee blew his whistle before the ball crossed the line. In the subsequent melee, two staff members – one from each side – were sent off.[64] Writing in the Sunday Times, Rod Liddle saw the incident as an example of the increasing trend for players, with the apparent support of their managerial staff, to "play possum" to provoke the referee into stopping an oposition attack for fear of missing a serious injury.[65]

On 29 January, Aston Villa recalled striker Scott Hogan from Stoke City, where he had scored little and fallen out of favour, and loaned him to Birmingham. Playing in partnership with Jutkiewicz, he was an immediate success.[66][67] Visitors Nottingham Forest scored early, but when Pedersen conceded a penalty, Camp saved and initiated a Birmingham attack which ended with Hogan's close-range equaliser from Jutkiewicz's headed pass. Pedersen scored a late winner.[68] At Bristol City, despite Roberts' careless back-pass gifting the hosts a first-minute lead, Hogan was available to tap in the rebound from Bela's shot, and Birmingham went on to win 3–1,[69] and away at Barnsley, he missed a straightforward chance early in the game but scored a second-half winner.[70] Hogan's dummy was instrumental in Jutkiewicz's goal in a draw at Brentford,[71] and he scored a last-minute equaliser against Sheffield Wednesday from Jutkiewicz's header.[72] A goalless draw at Millwall, in which Pedersen's volleyed strike was disallowed for pushing by Dean, was marred by reported racial abuse of Jérémie Bela by a spectator.[73] February ended with a 2–2 draw away to Queens Park Rangers in which Bela injured a hamstring and Hogan's two goals took his record to six in seven league matches,[74] which earned him the EFL Championship Player of the Month award.[75]

Hogan scored again as Birmingham lost 3–1 at home to Reading on 7 March.[76] Six days later, as an initial response to the coronavirus pandemic, professional football in England was suspended until 3 April at the earliest.[5] Birmingham were reported to be the first Championship club to ask their higher-paid players to take wage deferrals over the coronavirus-affected period; some at least agreed.[77]

At a meeting in May, Championship clubs confirmed their intention to finish the season if possible, and aimed to resume training on 25 May.[78] On 31 May, the EFL announced a restart date of 20 June, "subject to the strict proviso that all safety requirements and government guidance is met". Matches would be played behind closed doors, would include drinks breaks, and teams could name nine substitutes and use five.[79] Birmingham's squad was significantly reduced in size. Of those whose contracts expired on 30 June, Camp, Hogan and Clarke-Salter extended their deals to cover the last nine games,[80][81][67] while the rest, including first-team regulars Maghoma and Mrabti, did not.[82] Fringe players returning from loans at clubs whose seasons had been ended early, although theoretically available for the parent club, were effectively unusable after the EFL clarified that they could only be used if a club could not otherwise field a full 20-man matchday squad even after under-23s, academy players and scholars had been included.[83]

With two weeks to go before the restart, Birmingham announced that Clotet would be leaving at the end of the season to "explore other coaching opportunities",[2] having, in his view, fulfilled his brief of improving the playing style, developing young and home-grown players, and still getting acceptable results within restrictive financial constraints.[84]

Birmingham resumed their season 16th in the table and eight points clear of the relegation places.[76] Without the injured Pedersen, Roberts and Šunjić, Clotet said that the "last thing [he] wanted was an open game". His team complied, putting up a sound defensive display to secure a goalless draw away to West Bromwich Albion.[58] Visitors Hull City scored two first-half goals before Bela replaced Kieftenbeld at half-time and Birmingham levelled the scores. Hull regained the lead when the defensive wall jumped over Herbie Kane's 20-yard (18 m) free kick, but Gardner's 88th-minute header from Bela's cross secured a draw.[85] A 3–0 defeat at home to relegation rivals Huddersfield Town preceded a visit to Fulham, who were without star striker Aleksandar Mitrović, in which Bellingham might have had an early hat-trick and Camp put in an excellent performance to hold Fulham out until the fifth minute of stoppage time.[86][87] Jutkiewicz scored after five minutes against Swansea City, but increasingly characteristic defensive frailty, particularly in home matches, led to a 3–1 loss,[88] after which board and Clotet came to a mutual agreement to part ways immediately. With four matches left and four points above the relegation zone, professional development coach Steve Spooner and first-team coach Craig Gardner took caretaker charge. Jutkiewicz denied that the players had been adversely affected by knowing that Clotet would be leaving, and stated that they needed to take collective responsibility for what happened on the pitch.[3]

A defeat at Stoke City was mitigated by the confirmation that Wigan Athletic had entered administration and would, according to league rules, be deducted 12 points if they finished outside the relegation positions.[89] At home to fellow strugglers Charlton Athletic, Hogan missed an early penalty at home to Charlton Athletic, who equalised after an hour; Bellingham came off the bench, "lifted Blues with his energy and ingenuity", and crossed for Dean's blocked shot that was turned in by Jutkiewicz for a stoppage-time equaliser and a career-record 15th goal of the season.[90] Yet another failure to defend set pieces led to a 2–0 defeat away to Preston North End, which left Birmingham facing the last match of the season, at home to Derby County, unlikely to go down, albeit still not mathematically safe.[91] Before that match, Bellingham's transfer to Borussia Dortmund, for a Birmingham club-record fee understood by Sky Sports to be an initial £25 million – making him the most expensive 17-year-old in history – plus "several million more" dependent on performance-related criteria, was confirmed.[92][93] He was allowed to play, and despite Birmingham conceding three goals at home for the sixth time in seven matches, the defeat was not enough to relegate them.[94]

General source:[95] Match content not verifiable from these sources is referenced individually.

Date	Player	Club	Fee	Ref
5 June 2019	Gary Gardner	Aston Villa	Undisclosed	[110]
5 July 2019	Jayden Reid	(Swansea City)	Free	[111]
18 July 2019	Dan Crowley	Willem II	Undisclosed	[112]
26 July 2019	Ivan Šunjić	Dinamo Zagreb	Undisclosed	[113]
27 July 2019	Iván Guzmán	(UE Olot)	Free	[114]
28 July 2019	Agus Medina	(UE Cornellà)	Free	[115]
6 August 2019	Álvaro Giménez	Almería	Undisclosed	[116]
7 August 2019	Fran Villalba	Valencía	Free	[117]
15 August 2019	Miguel Fernández	(UE Cornellà)	Free	[118]
1 September 2019	Bernard Sun	(Estudiantes de Murcia)	Free	[119]
27 September 2019	Josh McEachran	(Brentford)	Free	[120]
6 November 2019	Jérémie Bela	(Albacete)	Free	[121]

Brackets round a club's name indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Birmingham.

Date	Player	Club	Fee	Ref
1 July 2019	Che Adams	Southampton	Undisclosed	[125]
8 August 2019	Isaac Vassell	Cardiff City	Undisclosed	[126]
30 June 2020	George Baker	(Ytterhogdals IK)	Released	[127][128]
30 June 2020	Josh Bradley-Hurst		Released at end of scholarship	[129]
30 June 2020	Ben Forrest		Released	[127]
30 June 2020	Craig Gardner		Retired	[130]
30 June 2020	Jonathan Grounds	(Swindon Town)	Released	[82][131]
30 June 2020	Rhys Hilton		Released	[127]
30 June 2020	Cheick Keita		Released	[82]
30 June 2020	Nick Kinina		Released at end of scholarship	[129]
30 June 2020	Kai Knight		Released at end of scholarship	[129]
30 June 2020	Michael Luyambula	(VfB Lübeck)	Released	[127][132]
30 June 2020	Jacques Maghoma		Released	[82]
30 June 2020	Olly McCoy		Released	[127]
30 June 2020	Kerim Mrabti	(KV Mechelen)	Released	[82][133]
30 June 2020	Corey O'Keeffe	(Mansfield Town)	Released	[134]
30 June 2020	Lucas Powell		Released at end of scholarship	[129]
30 June 2020	Adam Siviter		Released	[127]
30 June 2020	David Stockdale	(Wycombe Wanderers)	Released	[135]
30 June 2020	Oumar Traoré		Released at end of scholarship	[129]
30 June 2020	Jake Weaver	(Leamington)	Released	[127][136]
22 July 2020	Álvaro Giménez	Cádiz	Undisclosed	[137]
23 July 2020	Jude Bellingham	Borussia Dortmund	Undisclosed	[lower-alpha 1]
3 August 2020	Lee Camp		Released	[139]

Brackets round a club's name denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.