The 2006–07 season was Birmingham City Football Club's 104th consecutive season played in the English football league system, their 46th in the second tier of English football, and their first season at that level under the name of the Football League Championship. Managed by Steve Bruce, Birmingham were promoted back to the Premier League after just one season in the Championship. They reached the fourth round of both the 2006–07 FA Cup and League Cup. The 2006–07 season also marked the 100th anniversary of the first match held at their St Andrew's stadium.
Gary McSheffrey was top scorer with 16 goals, of which 13 were scored in the league.
Pre-season
Pre-season friendlies DateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceReport8 July 2006Burton AlbionAW5–1Campbell (4) 6' 86' 88' 90', Jerome 48'22 July 2006Tottenham HotspurHL0–229 July 2006AS NancyHD1–1Forssell
Season review Birmingham returned straight back to the Premier League by finishing second in The Championship thereby gaining automatic promotion. The team had started the season inconsistently leaving them in ninth position after the 0–1 defeat to Norwich City on 17 November. This led to supporters calling for the sacking of manager Steve Bruce, but the board held firm and the team pulled themselves around. The year finished with Birmingham topping the table by nine points after dropping only seven points in 15 games since the defeat against Norwich.
Boxing Day saw the centenary of the opening of St Andrew's. Queens Park Rangers were the team to visit on the historic day, and Birmingham marked the occasion by defeating their rivals 2–1. Many fans also hoped that the 'curse of the gypsies' would finally be dispelled from the stadium, and at last the team could make their mark on English football.
The FA Cup saw Birmingham overturn Newcastle United away from home that was undoubtedly the result of the season. Goals from Gary McSheffrey, Bruno Ngotty, Sebastian Larsson, DJ Campbell, and an own goal by former Aston Villa midfielder Nolberto Solano gave Birmingham a 5–1 victory at St James' Park. Blues went on to lose in the next round to Reading.
Birmingham once again returned to some inconsistent form, but a run of good results after the Easter games against Burnley and Barnsley saw them climb back to the top of the table with one game to go, and after Crystal Palace beat Derby County, promotion was secured. The only thing left to be sorted out was who would win the league, Birmingham or Sunderland? Blues had a one-point lead, but after a defeat to Preston North End and a victory for Sunderland, Blues were confined to finishing second. But promotion back to the big time was secured.
The end of season awards ceremony, held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel, saw Stephen Clemence win the player of the season and players' player of the season awards. Fabrice Muamba was chosen young player of the season, and Krystian Pearce was the Academy player of the season. Sebastian Larsson's goal against Sheffield Wednesday on 28 April was chosen goal of the season, and the breakthrough award, sponsored by the local radio station, went to goalkeeper Colin Doyle, whose penalty save against Wolverhampton Wanderers in April earned him the "magic moment" award. The season ended with the club recording the most league wins (26) in a season.
The Championship
Match details
DateLeaguepositionOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceReport5 August 20064thColchester UnitedHW2–1Campbell 30', Bendtner 79'24,238 Individual match reports are linked from this page.9 August 20064thSunderlandAW1–0Forssell 40' pen.26,66812 August 20064thStoke CityAD0–012,34719 August 20061stCrystal PalaceHW2–1Bendtner 23', Larsson 90'20,22326 August 20064thCardiff CityAL0–220,1099 September 20062ndHull CityHW2–1Campbell 16', Bendtner 53'19,22812 September 20061stQueens Park RangersAW2–0Ngotty 23', Jerome 90'10,93616 September 20062ndIpswich TownHD2–2Campbell 74', Dunn 86'20,84123 September 20062ndLeeds UnitedAL2–3Warner 13' o.g., Bendtner 74'18,89830 September 20062ndLeicester CityHD1–1McSheffrey 58'18,00214 October 20066thLuton TownAL2–3Campbell 14' Danns 66'9,27517 October 20069thNorwich CityHL0–120,53721 October 20068thDerby CountyAW1–0Clemence 84'25,67328 October 20066thWest Bromwich AlbionHW2–0McSheffrey (2) 19', 90'21,00931 October 20064thCoventry CityAW1–0Bendtner 26'27,2124 November 20064thPlymouth ArgyleAW1–0Jaïdi 75'17,00811 November 20063rdBarnsleyHW2–0McSheffrey 35', Danns 90'19,34418 November 20063rdWolverhampton WanderersHD1–1McSheffrey 30'22,25625 November 20063rdBurnleyAW2–1Bendtner 15', Campbell 83'12,88929 November 20063rdSouthamptonAL3–4Jerome 68', Bendtner 72', Jaïdi 90'21,8892 December 20061stPlymouth ArgyleHW3–0Bendtner 21', Upson 30', McSheffrey 41'22,5929 December 20061stPreston North EndHW3–1McSheffrey (3) 32', 40', 89' pen.23,15916 December 20061stSheffield WednesdayAW3–0Clemence 42', McSheffrey 65', Jerome 90'26,08323 December 20061stSouthend UnitedAW4–0Campbell 8', Clemence 38', McSheffrey 54', Jaïdi 84'9,78126 December 20061stQueens Park RangersHW2–1Upson 22', Jerome 62'29,43129 December 20061stLuton TownHD2–2McSheffrey 31', Danns 90'24,6421 January 20071stIpswich TownAL0–122,43630 January 20072ndSouthend UnitedHL1–3Clarke 9' o.g.19,1773 February 20074thColchester UnitedAD1–1Clemence 66'5,91811 February 20072ndStoke CityHW1–0McSheffrey 71'15,85417 February 20072ndCrystal PalaceAW1–0Jerome 34'17,23320 February 20073rdSunderlandHD1–1Campbell 90'20,94124 February 20073rdHull CityAL0–218,81127 February 20071stLeeds UnitedHW1–0Bendtner 15'18,3634 March 20071stCardiff CityHW1–0Larsson 56'28,2239 March 20071stDerby CountyHW1–0Vine 45'20,96213 March 20071stNorwich CityAL0–123,50418 March 20072ndWest Bromwich AlbionAD1–1D. Johnson 86'21,4341 April 20072ndCoventry CityHW3–0Jaïdi 13', Campbell (2) 65', 78'25,4247 April 20073rdBurnleyHL0–128,7779 April 20073rdBarnsleyAL0–115,85714 April 20073rdSouthamptonHW2–1Jaïdi 13', Bendtner 79'19,75417 April 20072ndLeicester CityAW2–1Jaïdi 13', Larsson 19'24,29022 April 20071stWolverhampton WanderersAW3–2Cole 54', Bendtner 77', Jerome 88'22,75428 April 20071stSheffield WednesdayHW2–0Jerome 74', Larsson 84'28,3176 May 20072ndPreston North EndAL0–116,837
League table
Results summary
FA Cup
Birmingham reached the fourth round of the 2006–07 FA Cup before losing to Reading of the Premier League.
RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceReportThird round6 January 2007Newcastle UnitedHD2–2Campbell 15', Larsson 86'16,444Third round replay17 January 2007Newcastle UnitedAW5–1McSheffrey 5', Solano 45' o.g., Ngotty 59', Larsson 83', Campbell 89'26,099Fourth round27 January 2007ReadingHL2–3Martin Taylor 47', Larsson 90'20,041
League Cup
Birmingham reached the fourth round of the 2006–07 League Cup before losing to Liverpool of the Premier League.
RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceReportFirst round22 August 2006Shrewsbury TownHW1–0Larsson 83'12,428Second round19 September 2006WrexhamHW4–1a.e.t.Jerome 41', McSheffrey (2) 102', 113', Bendtner 117'10,491Third round24 October 2006Sheffield UnitedAW4–2Campbell 41, Bendtner 70', Jerome 79', Larsson 90'10,584Fourth round8 November 2006LiverpoolHL0–123,061
Transfers
In DatePlayerClubFeeRef 31 May 2006 Cameron Jerome Cardiff City £3m 20 June 2006 Neil Danns Colchester United £500,000 28 June 2006 Stephen Kelly Tottenham Hotspur £750,000 6 July 2006 Bruno Ngotty (Bolton Wanderers) Free 4 August 2006 Radhi Jaïdi Bolton Wanderers £2m 16 August 2006 Gary McSheffrey Coventry City £4m 31 August 2006 Artur Krysiak UKS SMS Łódź Undisclosed 11 January 2007 Rowan Vine Luton Town £2.5m 31 January 2007 Patrick Kavanagh (UCD) Free 31 January 2007 Sebastian Larsson Arsenal £1m
Brackets round club names indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Birmingham.
Loan in DatePlayerClubReturnRef 3 August 2006 Fabrice Muamba Arsenal End of season 4 August 2006 Nicklas Bendtner Arsenal End of season 4 August 2006 Sebastian Larsson Arsenal 31 January 2007 31 January 2007 Gary Dicker UCD End of season 21 March 2007 Andy Cole Portsmouth End of season
Out DatePlayerFeeJoinedRef 7 July 2006 Emile Heskey £5.5m Wigan Athletic 26 July 2006 Jermaine Pennant £6.7m Liverpool 3 August 2006 Alex Bruce Free Ipswich Town 5 January 2007 Peter Till Free Grimsby Town 11 January 2007 Oliver Allen Released (Barnet) 17 January 2007 David Dunn £5.5m Blackburn Rovers 25 January 2007 James Blake Released (Redditch United) 31 January 2007 Marcos Painter £25,000 Swansea City 31 January 2007 Matthew Upson £6m West Ham United 30 June 2007 Mathew Birley Released (Bromsgrove Rovers) 30 June 2007 Julian Gray Released (Coventry City) 30 June 2007 Mark Hall Released 30 June 2007 Patrick Kavanagh Released (Bray Wanderers) 30 June 2007 Jake Meredith Released (Team Bath) 30 June 2007 Bruno Ngotty Free (Leicester City) 30 June 2007 Jamie Price Released (Gloucester City) 30 June 2007 Nick Wright Released (Halesowen Town)
Brackets round club names denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.
Loan out DatePlayerClubReturnRef 6 October 2006 Peter Till Leyton Orient One month 12 October 2006 Nick Wright Bristol City One month 27 October 2006 Adam Legzdins Oldham Athletic January 2007 14 November 2006 Marcos Painter Swansea City 31 January 2007 23 November 2006 Mathew Birley Lincoln City One month 23 November 2006 Nick Wright Northampton Town One month 23 November 2006 Peter Till Grimsby Town 5 January 2007 4 January 2007 Jamie Price Tamworth One month 12 January 2007 Adam Legzdins Macclesfield Town One month 16 February 2007 Sam Oji Bristol Rovers Two months 30 March 2007 Asa Hall Ashford Town (Kent) End of season 30 March 2007 Nick Wright Ashford Town (Kent) End of season
Appearances and goals
Sources:
Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute. Players 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 listed with no appearances have been in the matchday squad but only as unused substitutes. Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward
+ Players' appearances and goals by competitionNameLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotalDisciplineGoalsGoalsGoalsGoals1GK Maik Taylor2703010310002DF Stephen Kelly35 (1)0103 (1)039 (2)0503DF Mat Sadler3603020410304DF Martin Taylor29 (2)02 (1)14035 (3)1105DF Matthew Upson 8 (1)2300011 (1)2206MF Stephen Clemence31 (3)4001032 (3)4607MF Sebastian Larsson27 (16)4334234 (16)9908MF David Dunn 9 (2)1000 (1)09 (3)1308FW Andy Cole *51000051009FW Mikael Forssell3 (5)100205 (5)10010FW Cameron Jerome20 (18)7204226 (18)94111MF Julian Gray2 (5)000305 (5)02112MF Mehdi Nafti18 (14)00 (1)01019 (15)07013GK Colin Doyle19000302200014FW DJ Campbell15 (17)9322 (2)120 (19)121015MF Neil Kilkenny0 (8)00 (3)02 (1)02 (12)00016DF Olivier Tébily5 (1)000106 (1)01017MF Neil Danns11 (18)30 (3)03014 (21)33019FW Rowan Vine10 (7)1000010 (7)10020DF Marcos Painter 100010201021DF Bruno Ngotty25121002722122MF Damien Johnson24 (2)1300027 (2)12124DF Radhi Jaïdi38610304262226MF Fabrice Muamba *30 (4)0303 (1)036 (5)09127FW Nicklas Bendtner *38 (4)111 (1)00 (4)239 (9)135128FW Gary McSheffrey4013311 (1)244 (1)166129GK Adam Legzdins0000000000
+ Players not included in matchday squadsName18DF Sam Oji25FW Sone Aluko23MF Mathew Birley 19MF Peter Till
References General
Source for match dates, league positions and results: Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 448–49. Source for goal times: Source for transfers:
Specific