2003–04 Birmingham City F.C. season

Birmingham City F.C.

2003–04 season
Chairman	David Gold
Manager	Steve Bruce
Ground	St Andrew's
Premier League	10th
FA Cup	Fifth round (eliminated by Sunderland)
League Cup	Second round (eliminated by Blackpool)
Top goalscorer	League: Mikael Forssell (17) All: Mikael Forssell (19)
Highest home attendance	29,588 vs Arsenal, 22 November 2003
Lowest home attendance	18,688 vs Blackburn Rovers, FA Cup 3rd round, 3 January 2004
Average home league attendance	29,073[1]
← 2002–03 2004–05 →

The 2003–04 season was Birmingham City Football Club's 101st season in the English football league system, their second season in the Premier League, and their 52nd season in the top tier of English football. They finished 10th in the 20-team league, three places higher than the previous season. They entered the FA Cup at the third round stage and lost to Sunderland in the fifth after a replay, and lost their opening second-round League Cup-tie to Blackpool. Top scorer was loan signing Mikael Forssell with 19 goals, 17 of which were scored in the league.

Pre-season

Pre-season friendlies

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Report
19 July 2004	Burton Albion	A	W	4–0	John (2) 8' 60', Dunn (2) 40' 43'	1,952	[2]
24 July 2004	Newcastle United1	A	L	1–2	Devlin 73' (pen)		[3][4]
26 July 2004	Malaysia XI1	A	W	4–0	John (2) 8' 50', Clemence 76', Hughes 82'		[5]
30 July 2004	Port Vale	A	L	0–2			[6]
2 August 2004	Burnley	A	W	2–2	Horsfield 8', Dunn 27'		[7]
5 August 2004	Walsall	A	W	3–1	John, Dugarry, Carter	8,000	[8]
9 August 2004	Real Mallorca	H	D	0–0			[9]

• Note 1: Matches were played as part of the FA Premier League Asia Cup tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Premier League

Season review

Having avoided relegation in their first season in the Premier League with seven wins from the last eleven games, Birmingham were expected to struggle.^[10] They were unbeaten in the league at the end of September, and went into November still in fourth place. During a poor spell in the middle of the season Steve Bruce's side fell as low as tenth, though they rallied again and stood one point off fourth place with eight matches to go.^[11] In contrast to the previous season, one win from the last eleven games gave Birmingham a tenth-place finish, six points behind city rivals Aston Villa, who had been struggling against relegation at the turn of the year.^[10][12]

August

Birmingham's first game of the season was televised live on Sky Sports on August 16. They beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at St Andrew's, courtesy of a debut goal by David Dunn. The midfielder netted from the penalty spot after Anthony Gardner fouled Robbie Savage.

Steve Bruce's side battled to draw 0-0 at Southampton the following weekend. Both sides had chances to win the match as James Beattie struck the post and Stern John saw a shot cleared off the line.

Birmingham overcame Newcastle United 1-0 at St James' Park as their impressive form continued. Gary Speed brought down Damien Johnson in the box but Dunn saw his penalty saved. Dunn scored the rebound to give Birmingham a second league win in three games. In the game, referee Matt Messias unintentionally floored Blues midfielder Robbie Savage with a flying elbow as he signalled a free-kick.

The win saw Birmingham climb to 6th in the table as they entered September.

September

Birmingham signed Mikael Forssell on a season-long loan from Chelsea before the transfer window shut. The Finn impressed on his debut live on Sky Sports in a lively 2-2 draw against Fulham at St Andrew's. Louis Saha gave the away side an early lead but Forssell equalised moments before half-time. Sylvain Legwinski was harshly sent off for tripping David Dunn. Fulham still took a late lead through Luis Boa Morte but Forssell levelled from close range on 82 minutes. Darren Purse was then dismissed by referee Steve Dunn after an altercation with Boa Morte in the aftermath of the goal.

Leeds lost 2-0 to Birmingham at Elland Road after they had Roque Junior sent off on 77 minutes. He brought down Mikael Forssell in the box and David Dunn stepped up to take the spot-kick. He saw his penalty saved by Paul Robinson but the assistant referee deemed the goalkeeper moved before the ball was kicked. Robbie Savage made no mistake with the retake and Forssell's smart finish late on sealed the win.

Birmingham made their best start to a league season courtesy of their win over Portsmouth at St Andrews on September 27. Stephen Clemence and Stan Lazaridis each scored for Blues and moved their side to fourth in the table.

October

Manchester United stunted Birmingham's strong start by beating them 3-0 at Old Trafford on 4 October. Goalkeeper Maik Taylor was sent off by referee Mike Dean on 38 minutes after he fouled Paul Scholes. Ruud van Nistelrooy scored the penalty and Scholes and Ryan Giggs added to the lead in the second period.

Birmingham held Chelsea to a 0-0 draw at St Andrew's on 14 October. Birmingham's watertight defence kept Chelsea at bay and ensured they remained 4th in the league.

Aston Villa came to St Andrews's in search of their first win over arch-rivals Birmingham in the Premiership. They lost the two encounters the season before. Stephen Clemence came the closest for Birmingham with a long-range effort, which was denied by a fine Thomas Sorensen save.

Birmingham beat Bolton Wanderers 1-0 at the end of the month to notch their fifth league win of the season. The lively Forssell scored on 31 minutes after a swift counterattack. The clean sheet ensured Birmingham only conceded three goals in the whole of October.

November

A Matt Holland brace condemned Birmingham to their second defeat of the season as Charlton moved up to seventh place in the Premiership on November 3. The game saw Christophe Dugarry score his last goal for Birmingham with a powerful header on 64 minutes but the hosts were unable to rescue a late point.

Mikael Forssell scored his fifth league goal of the season in Birmingham's 1-1 draw at home to local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers to give his side a 48th minute advantage, but the impressive forward Stefan Iversen snatched his side a draw.

Birmingham slipped to eighth after a 3-0 home loss to Arsenal on November 22. Freddie Ljungberg, Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires scored as Arsenal made it 13 games unbeaten.

The defeat was followed another loss as Liverpool rallied to beat Birmingham 3-1 at Anfield. Forssell gave Birmingham the lead on 33 minutes but Liverpool's dogged resilience saw them fight back. Goals from Steven Gerrard, Harry Kewell and Emile Heskey saw The Reds celebrate their first win over Birmingham in the Premiership.

December

December began badly for Birmingham as Blackburn Rovers thrashed them 4-0 at St Andrew's. Barry Ferguson grabbed his first Premiership goal since his switch from Rangers to set Rovers on their way in the 66th minute. Lucas Neill added the second just two minutes later, Tugay made sure of a vital three points with a superb piledriver before Paul Gallagher added a fourth. Christophe Dugarry was sent off on 72 minutes after receiving two yellow cards.

But Birmingham bounced back to defeat Leicester City 2-0 at the Walker's Stadium in a highly charged Midlands derby. Referee Mike Riley sent off Leicester skipper Matt Elliott after he caught David Dunn with his forearm in an aerial challenge. Minutes later Clinton Morrison opened his account for the season, latching onto Jamie Clapham's excellent cross. Leicester goalkeeper Ian Walker was sent off for handling outside his penalty area on 61 minutes before Forssell headed home City's second.

Birmingham scored twice in the last 10 minutes to come from behind and beat Manchester City at St Andrews on Boxing Day 2003. Robbie Fowler put Manchester City ahead on 14 minutes but Blues defender Jeff Kenna scored a rare goal to equalise on 81 minutes from a free-kick. And Birmingham won it on 87 minutes after Mikael Forssell netted for the eighth time in the league that season.

Wayne Rooney grabbed the only goal of the game when Birmingham made the trip up to Everton on December 28. Birmingham ended the calendar year in 10th place in the table.

January

Stephane Dalmat impressed and scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur thumped Birmingham 4-1 at White Hart Lane. Robbie Savage scored from the penalty spot on 68 minutes but Birmingham conceded three in a dismal first half and a late Robbie Keane strike.

Jeff Kenna struck against his former club in Birmingham's 2-1 win over Southampton at St Andrew's. It was Birmingham's first victory in three games but they had to come from behind after Brett Ormerod put Saints ahead on six minutes. A Fitz Hall own goal restored parity on 16 minutes after a header from a corner deflected off the defender and in. Kenna scored the winner after playing a great one-two with Clinton Morrison and side-footing past Antti Niemi. David Prutton was sent off minutes later for elbowing Kenna.

Birmingham recorded their second 0-0 draw against Chelsea that season when they visited Stamford Bridge on January 18. Defender Oliver Tebily cleared superbly off the line to deny William Gallas and Maik Taylor pulled off several fine saves to keep a clean sheet.

Newcastle visited St Andrew's on January 31. Gary Speed had given them the lead with an excellent 30-yard thunderbolt but, in a lively second-half, Bryan Hughes hit the bar and Shay Given denied Forssell with a smart stop. Deep in stoppage time, Stern John dramatically rescued a point for Birmingham when he turned home a long Kenny Cunningham free-kick.

February

Another Maik Taylor masterclass shutout Manchester City when Birmingham travelled to Eastlands on February 8. The game ended goalless after Taylor pulled off some stunning saves to deny Robbie Fowler, Antoine Sibierski and Jon Macken in particular.

Three days later Birmingham won impressively at Everton, thanks to goals by Damien Johnson, Stan Lazardis and Mikael Forssell. Birmingham took the lead on eight minutes through Johnson and doubled their advantage when Lazardis scored a spectacular second. Forssell's strike, his 10th league goal of the season, sealed a comfortable away victory.

But Birmingham fell two goals behind to Aston Villa in the Second City Derby on February 22 within 47 minutes. Darius Vassell and Thomas Hitzelsperger gave Villa the handsome advantage but Forssell rifled home for Blues on 60 minutes. Deep in stoppage time, Stern John pounced from two yards out to rescue a point for the plucky away side.

March

Birmingham City made it seven games without defeat after they beat Middlesbrough 3-1 at St Andrew's on March 3. Martin Taylor opened the scoring, deflecting in Mikael Forssell's shot to score his first goal for Birmingham. Robbie Savage then curled in a fine free-kick on 57 minutes. Szilard Nemeth pulled a goal back with a low shot for the visitors but Forssell scored on 79 minutes to seal his side's win. It was his 13th goal of the campaign. Boudewijn Zenden was sent off late on for receiving a second yellow card after a foul on the lively Damien Johnson.

Birmingham recorded back-to-back wins by doing the double over Bolton Wanderers a week later. Forssell scored for the fourth game in a row to give Steve Bruce's side a 29th minute advantage and Bryan Hughes netted his first goal of the season for Birmingham in the second half. The victory saw the club climb to fifth in the table.

Match details

Date	League position	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Report
16 August 2003	6th	Tottenham Hotspur	H	W	1–0	Dunn 36' pen.	29,358	[13]
23 August 2003	6th	Southampton	A	D	0–0		31,656	[13]
30 August 2003	6th	Newcastle United	A	W	1–0	Dunn 61'	52,006	[13]
14 September 2003	8th	Fulham	H	D	2–2	Forssell (2) 45', 82'	27,250	[13]
20 September 2003	7th	Leeds United	A	W	2–0	Savage 79' pen., Forssell 84'	34,305	[13]
27 September 2003	4th	Portsmouth	H	W	2–0	Clemence 21', Lazaridis 50'	29,057	[13]
4 October 2003	5th	Manchester United	A	L	0–3		67,633	[13]
14 October 2003	4th	Chelsea	H	D	0–0		29,460	[13]
19 October 2003	4th	Aston Villa	H	D	0–0		29,546	[13]
25 October 2003	4th	Bolton Wanderers	A	W	1–0	Forssell 31'	25,023	[13]
3 November 2003	4th	Charlton Athletic	H	L	1–2	Dugarry 64'	27,225	[13]
8 November 2003	5th	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	D	1–1	Forssell 49'	28,831	[13]
22 November 2003	5th	Arsenal	H	L	0–3		29,588	[13]
30 November 2003	8th	Liverpool	A	L	1–3	Forssell 33'	42,683	[13]
6 December 2003	8th	Blackburn Rovers	H	L	0–4		29,354	[13]
13 December 2003	8th	Leicester City	A	W	2–0	Morrison 42', Forssell 66'	30,639	[13]
26 December 2003	8th	Manchester City	H	W	2–1	Kenna 81', Forssell 87'	29,520	[13]
28 December 2003	9th	Everton	A	L	0–1		39,631	[13]
7 January 2004	10th	Tottenham Hotspur	A	L	1–4	Savage 68' pen.	30,016	[13]
10 January 2004	8th	Southampton	H	W	2–1	Clemence 16', Kenna 67'	29,071	[13]
18 January 2004	9th	Chelsea	A	D	0–0		41,073	[13]
31 January 2004	9th	Newcastle United	H	D	1–1	John 90'	29,513	[13]
8 February 2004	10th	Manchester City	A	D	0–0		46,967	[13]
11 February 2004	9th	Everton	H	W	3–0	Johnson 8', Lazaridis 39', Forssell 49'	23,331	[13]
22 February 2004	8th	Aston Villa	A	D	2–2	Forssell 60', John 90'	40,061	[13]
3 March 2004	7th	Middlesbrough	H	W	3–1	Martin Taylor 23', Savage 57', Forssell 79'	29,369	[13]
6 March 2004	5th	Bolton Wanderers	H	W	2–0	Forssell 24', Hughes 69'	28,003	[13]
13 March 2004	6th	Leicester City	H	L	0–1		29,491	[13]
20 March 2004	7th	Middlesbrough	A	L	3–5	Forssell (2) 23', 59', Morrison 45'	30,244	[13]
27 March 2004	6th	Leeds United	H	W	4–1	Hughes (2) 12', 67, Forssell (2) 69', 82' pen.	29,069	[13]
3 April 2004	6th	Fulham	A	D	0–0		14,667	[13]
10 April 2004	6th	Manchester United	H	L	1–2	Grainger 53'	29,548	[13]
12 April 2004	8th	Portsmouth	A	L	1–3	John 67'	20,104	[13]
17 April 2004	8th	Charlton Athletic	A	D	1–1	Morrison 84'	29,115	[13]
25 April 2004	9th	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	D	2–2	Forssell 34', Morrison 41'	29,494	[13]
1 May 2004	9th	Arsenal	A	D	0–0		38,061	[13]
8 May 2004	10th	Liverpool	H	L	0–3		29,553	[13]
15 May 2004	10th	Blackburn Rovers	A	D	1–1	John 83'	26,070	[13]

League table (part)

Final Premier League table (part)

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
8th	Bolton Wanderers	38	14	11	13	48	56	−8	53
9th	Fulham	38	14	10	14	52	46	−6	52
10th	Birmingham City	38	12	14	12	43	48	−5	50
11th	Middlesbrough	38	13	9	16	44	52	−8	48
12th	Southampton	38	12	11	15	44	45	−1	47
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	[12]

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	12	14	12	43	48	−5	50	8	5	6	26	24	+2	4	9	6	17	24	−7

Source: ^[12]

FA Cup

Birmingham reached the fifth round of the 2003–04 FA Cup before losing to Sunderland of Division One after a replay.

Round	Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Report
Third round	3 January 2004	Blackburn Rovers	H	W	4–0	Morrison 23', Clemence 36', Forssell 78', Hughes 84'	18,688	[13]
Fourth round	24 January 2004	Wimbledon	H	W	1–0	Hughes 4'	22,159	[13]
Fifth round	14 February 2004	Sunderland	A	D	1–1	Forssell 28'	24,966	[13]
Fifth round replay	25 February 2004	Sunderland	H	L	0–2		25,645	[13]

League Cup

Birmingham lost in the second round of the 2003–04 League Cup to Blackpool of Division Two.

Round	Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Report
Second round	23 September 2003	Blackpool	A	L	0–1		7,370	[13]

Transfers

In

Date	Player	Club	Fee	Ref
1 July 2003	Christophe Dugarry	Bordeaux	Free	[14]
7 July 2003	David Dunn	Blackburn Rovers	£5.5m	[15]
23 July 2003	Luciano Figueroa	Rosario Central	£2.5m	[16]
2 February 2004	Martin Taylor	Blackburn Rovers	£1.25m	[17]

Out

Date	Player	Fee	Joined	Ref
8 July 2003	Tommy Mooney	Free	Swindon Town	[18]
8 August 2003	Joey Hutchinson	Free	Darlington	[19]
14 August 2003	Michael Johnson	Nominal	Derby County	[19]
5 September 2003	Geoff Horsfield	£500,000	Wigan Athletic	[20]
12 September 2003	Paul Devlin	£150,000	Watford	[20]
23 December 2003	Luciano Figueroa	Contract cancelled	(Cruz Azul)	[21]
2 February 2004	Jovan Kirovski	Released	(Los Angeles Galaxy)	[22]
11 March 2004	Christophe Dugarry	Released	(Qatar SC)	[23]
12 March 2004	Jeff Kenna	Free	Derby County	[24]
25 March 2004	Craig Fagan	Free	Colchester United	[25]
30 March 2004	Tommy Williams	Released	Peterborough United	[26]
18 June 2004	Darren Purse	£750,000	West Bromwich Albion	[27]
30 June 2004	Bryan Hughes	Released	(Charlton Athletic)	[28]

Brackets round club names denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.

Loan in

Date	Player	Club	Return	Ref
8 August 2003	Maik Taylor	Fulham	End of season	[29]
28 August 2003	Mikael Forssell	Chelsea	End of season	[19][30]

Loan out

Date	Player	Club	Return	Ref
1 August 2003	Craig Fagan	Colchester United	25 March 2004	[25]
10 October 2003	Andrew Barrowman	Crewe Alexandra	One month	[31]
21 November 2003	Mat Sadler	Northampton Town	Two months	[32]
24 December 2003	Nico Vaesen	Gillingham	One month	[33]
1 January 2004	Tommy Williams	Peterborough United	Three months	[26][34]
12 February 2004	Martin Grainger	Coventry City	18 March 2004	[35]
13 February 2004	Nico Vaesen	Bradford City	One month	[36]
18 March 2004	Nico Vaesen	Crystal Palace	End of season	[37]

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

No.	Pos	Nat	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total		Discipline
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals!
1	GK	ENG	Ian Bennett	4 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	4 (2)	0	0	0
2	DF	IRE	Jeff Kenna	14 (3)	2	4	0	0	0	18 (3)	2	1	0
3	DF	ENG	Martin Grainger	3 (1)	1	0	0	0	0	3 (1)	1	0	0
4	DF	IRE	Kenny Cunningham	36	0	4	0	1	0	41	0	3	1
5	DF	ENG	Darren Purse	9	0	3	0	0	0	12	0	1	1
6	MF	SEN	Aliou Cissé	5 (10)	0	0 (1)	0	1	0	6 (11)	0	6	1
7	MF	SCO	Paul Devlin	0 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	0 (2)	0	9	0
8	MF	WAL	Robbie Savage	31	3	4	0	0	0	34	3	12	0
9	FW	ENG	Geoff Horsfield	2 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	2 (1)	0	0	0
9	FW	FIN	Mikael Forssell	32	17	3 (1)	2	0 (1)	0	35 (2)	19	1	0
10	MF	ENG	Bryan Hughes	17 (9)	3	3 (1)	2	0	0	20 (10)	5	0	0
11	MF	AUS	Stan Lazaridis	25 (5)	2	2	0	1	0	28 (5)	2	0	0
12	GK	NIR	Maik Taylor	34	0	4	0	1	0	39	0	2	2
13	GK	IRE	Colin Doyle	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	FW	TRI	Stern John[lower-alpha 1]	7 (22)	4	1 (1)	0	1	0	9 (23)	4	0	0
15	FW	USA	Jovan Kirovski	0 (6)	0	0 (1)	0	0 (1)	0	0 (8)	0	0	0
15	DF	ENG	Martin Taylor	11 (1)	1	0	0	0	0	11 (1)	1	0	0
16	MF	ENG	David Dunn	20 (1)	2	3	0	1	0	24 (1)	2	2	0
18	GK	BEL	Nico Vaesen	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	FW	IRE	Clinton Morrison	19 (13)	4	4	1	1	0	24 (13)	5	1	0
21	FW	FRA	Christophe Dugarry	12 (2)	1	0 (1)	0	0	0	12 (3)	1	6	1
22	MF	NIR	Damien Johnson[lower-alpha 2]	35	1	4	0	1	0	40	1	7	0
23	DF	ENG	Jamie Clapham	22 (3)	0	0 (1)	0	1	0	23 (4)	0	0	0
24	MF	ENG	Darren Carter	1 (4)	0	0 (3)	0	0	0	1 (7)	0	0	0
25	DF	ENG	Matthew Upson	30	0	2	0	1	0	33	0	2	0
26	DF	CIV	Olivier Tébily	17 (10)	0	2	0	0	0	19 (10)	0	4	0
27	FW	SCO	Andrew Barrowman	0 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	0	0
28	MF	ENG	Carl Motteram	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	MF	ENG	Stephen Clemence	32 (3)	2	1 (1)	1	1	0	34 (4)	3	4	0
35	FW	ARG	Luciano Figueroa	0 (1)	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	0 (2)	0	0	0

Players not included in matchday squads

No.	Pos	Nat	Name
20	MF	ENG	Tom Williams
27	DF	ENG	Joey Hutchinson
29	DF	ENG	Craig Fagan
30	DF	ENG	Mat Sadler
34	MF	ENG	Neil Kilkenny

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 2003–2004: Results". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 11 July 2013. 
• Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 442–43.
• Source for goal times: "Birmingham Results 2003/04". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 June 2013. 
• Source for transfers: "Birmingham Transfers 2003/04". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 June 2013. 

Specific