The 2002–03 season was Birmingham City Football Club's 100th in the English football league system, their 51st in the top tier, and their debut season in the Premier League, having been promoted via the play-offs. Under the management of Steve Bruce, they finished in 13th position in the 20-team league. Birmingham entered the 2002–03 FA Cup at the third round and lost to Fulham in that round, and, having entered the League Cup in the second round, lost to Preston North End in the third.
French manufacturers Le Coq Sportif supplied Birmingham's kit for the fifth consecutive season, and mobile phone retailer Phones4U retained the shirt sponsorship. Stern John was top scorer with nine goals in all competitions; if only league goals are considered, Clinton Morrison top-scored with six. Steve Vickers was club captain, but his long absences through injury meant that vice-captain Jeff Kenna usually captained the team.
Pre-season
Pre-season friendlies DateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceReport17 July 2002Exeter CityAW1–0Johnson 63'2,60020 July 2002Forest Green RoversAW6–0John 10', Hughes (2) 15' 80', Lazaridis (2) 22' 40', Savage 45'22 July 2002LivingstonAL1–2Andrews (o.g.)2,00024 July 2002MotherwellAL1–2Devlin27 July 2002Partick ThistleAW2–1John 26' (pen), Horsfield31 July 2002Tranmere RoversAW7–0John (2) 8' 50', Hughes (2), Grainger 11', Devlin, Carter3 August 2002Stoke CityAW2–0Mooney 16', Lazaridis 60'10 August 2002Deportivo AlavésHD1–1Hughes 80'9,000
Premier League
Season review
Birmingham's first season in the Premiership was a rollercoaster of a ride that resulted in the team finishing in 13th, although they were favourites to be relegated at the start of the season.
Once Birmingham had secured their states in the Premiership after beating Norwich City in the First Division playoff final the year before, manager Steve Bruce started to strengthen the squad. Internationals Robbie Savage of Wales, Kenny Cunningham and Clinton Morrison of Ireland, and Aliou Cissé of Senegal all joined the side.
Stern John's penalty in the 1–1 draw with Everton on 28 August 2002 was Birmingham's first goal in the Premiership, and first in the top flight since Robert Hopkins scored against Newcastle United back in the 1985–86 season. The next match secured Birmingham their first three points in the league, as they beat Leeds United 2–1 thanks to goals from Paul Devlin and Damien Johnson.
A highlight of the season was the 3–0 victory over local rivals Aston Villa. A first-half goal from Clinton Morrison saw Birmingham in control at half time, before a comedy of errors saw a throw-in by Olof Mellberg roll under the foot of Villa goalkeeper Peter Enckelman and into the net to gift the side a 2–0 lead. Geoff Horsfield added a third later in the game thanks to bad defending from defender Alpay.
By the New Year, Birmingham were in 15th position in the table, seven points clear of 18th-placed Sunderland. This did not stop Bruce spending in the winter transfer window, as Stephen Clemence, Jamie Clapham and Matthew Upson all joined the club. These transfers fall into insignificance compared to the impact that French World Cup-winning forward Christophe Dugarry would make.
A bad start to 2003 saw Birmingham fall to 16th in the table, only five points separating themselves and 18th-placed West Bromwich Albion. This was before Liverpool's visit to St Andrew's, when Birmingham took a two-goal lead through Clemence and Morrison before Michael Owen added a late consolation goal. This game was followed by the visit to Aston Villa. The game kicked into life when Villa striker Dion Dublin was sent off in the 51st minute for headbutting Savage. In the 74th minute, Australian Stan Lazaridis scored his first goal of the season, and three minutes later, a poor header back by Jlloyd Samuel allowed Horsfield to run onto the ball, beat Enckelman and score from close range. The game ended with another sending off, as Villa's Joey Guðjónsson lunged at Upson with a two-footed tackle.
Birmingham were not yet assured of safety by the time they played Sunderland on 12 April, but Bryan Hughes and Christophe Dugarry scored to give Birmingham a 2–0 win. Dugarry went on to score four goals in Birmingham's next three games, including a stunning effort against Middlesbrough where he beat the offside trap before calmly taking the ball out of the air with his knee and volleying it into the net.
The last game of the season saw the side entertain West Ham United, who were in real danger of relegation. Birmingham managed a 2–2 draw thanks to goals from Horsfield and John, but it was enough to send the Hammers down.
Match details
DateLeaguepositionOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceReport18 August 200218thArsenalAL0–238,018 Individual match reports are linked from this page.24 August 200219thBlackburn RoversHL0–127,56328 August 200217thEvertonAD1–1John 50' pen.37,197 31 August 200214thLeeds UnitedHW2–1Devlin 32', D. Johnson 58'27,16411 September 200215thLiverpoolAD2–2Morrison (2) 61', 90'43,11316 September 20029thAston VillaHW3–0Morrison 31', Enckelman 77' o.g., Horsfield 83'29,50521 September 200210thMiddlesbroughAL0–129,869 28 September 200214thNewcastle UnitedHL0–229,0725 October 200212thWest Ham UnitedAW2–1John (2) 4', 43'35,01019 October 200212thWest Bromwich AlbionAD1–1Moore 86' o.g.27,02126 October 200213thManchester CityHL0–228,3162 November 200212thBolton WanderersHW3–1Purse 61', Savage 72', Horsfield 83'27,2249 November 200214thChelseaAL0–335,23717 November 200215thFulhamHD0–026,16423 November 200213thSunderlandAW1–0Morrison 89'38,80330 November 200211thTottenham HotspurHD1–1Kenna 68'29,5057 December 200213thSouthamptonAL0–231,13215 December 200213thFulhamAW1–0Kirovski 7'14,96221 December 200213thCharlton AthleticHD1–1Devlin 67' pen.29,50526 December 200213thEvertonHD1–1Kirovski 45'29,50528 December 200215thManchester UnitedAL0–267,6401 January 200315thLeeds UnitedAL0–240,03412 January 200315thArsenalHL0–429,50518 January 200315thBlackburn RoversAD1–1John 83'23,3311 February 200316thBolton WanderersAL2–4Savage 44', Morrison 60'24,2884 February 200316thManchester UnitedHL0–129,4758 February 200316thChelseaHL1–3Savage 87' pen.29,47523 February 200316thLiverpoolHW2–1Clemence 34', Morrison 68'29,4493 March 200316thAston VillaAW2–0Lazaridis 74', Horsfield 77'42,60216 March 200316thManchester CityAL0–134,59622 March 200316thWest Bromwich Albion HW1–0Horsfield 90'29,4495 April 200317thTottenham HotspurAL1–2Devlin 77' pen.36,05812 April 200316thSunderlandHW2–0Hughes 43', Dugarry 60'29,13219 April 200315thCharlton AthleticAW2–0Dugarry 20', Savage 55' pen.25,73221 April 200313thSouthamptonHW3–2Dugarry 75', 82', Hughes 79'29,11526 April 200312thMiddlesbroughHW3–0Dugarry 18', Clemence 40', Lazaridis 80'28,8213 May 200313thNewcastle UnitedAL0–152,14611 May 200313thWest Ham UnitedHD2–2Horsfield 80', John 88'29,505
Final league table
Results summary
FA Cup
Birmingham failed to get past the third round of the FA Cup, losing to Premiership side Fulham.
RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceReportThird round5 January 2003FulhamAL1–3John 90'9,203
League Cup
Birmingham reached the third round of the League Cup before losing to Preston North End of the First Division.
RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceReportSecond round2 October 2002Leyton OrientAW3–2John 16', 27', 77'3,615Third round5 November 2002Preston North EndHL0–212,241
Transfers
In DatePlayerClubFeeRef 30 May 2002 Robbie Savage Leicester City £2.5m–£3m 9 July 2002 Aliou Cissé Montpellier £4.5m 16 July 2002 Kenny Cunningham Wimbledon Undisclosed 30 July 2002 Clinton Morrison Crystal Palace Undisclosed 15 August 2002 Jovan Kirovski (Crystal Palace) Free 13 September 2002 Darryl Powell (Derby County) Free 10 January 2003 Jamie Clapham Ipswich Town £1.3m 10 January 2003 Stephen Clemence Tottenham Hotspur £900,000 22 January 2003 Matthew Upson Arsenal £1.1m 13 March 2003 Andy Marriott Barnsley Nominal
Brackets round club names indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Birmingham.
Out DatePlayerFeeJoinedRef 30 July 2002 Andrew Johnson Crystal Palace Undisclosed 5 September 2002 Paul Furlong Queens Park Rangers Free 21 October 2002 Nicky Eaden Wigan Athletic Nominal 11 November 2002 Jerry Gill Northampton Town Free 22 November 2002 Graham Hyde (Bristol Rovers) Released 15 January 2003 Darryl Powell (Sheffield Wednesday) Released 8 May 2003 Tony Capaldi Plymouth Argyle Free 22 May 2003 Tommy Mooney (Swindon Town) Released 30 June 2003 Clint Davies Released 30 June 2003 Andy Marriott Released 30 June 2003 Steve Vickers Released
Brackets round a club denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.
Loan in DatePlayerClubReturnRef 1 January 2003 Ferdinand Coly RC Lens End of season 2 January 2003 Christophe Dugarry Bordeaux End of season 21 January 2003 Piotr Świerczewski Marseille End of season
Loan out DatePlayerClubReturnRef 8 August 2002 Paul Furlong Queens Park Rangers One month 8 August 2002 Jerry Gill Northampton Town Two months 8 August 2002 Tom Williams Queens Park Rangers End of season 13 September 2002 Tommy Mooney Stoke City Three months 20 September 2002 Nicky Eaden Wigan Athletic One month 20 September 2002 Graham Hyde Peterborough United Two months 15 January 2003 Craig Fagan Bristol City One month 17 January 2003 Tommy Mooney Sheffield United 3 March 2003 27 January 2003 Curtis Woodhouse Rotherham United End of season 19 March 2003 Tommy Mooney Derby County End of season
Appearances and goals
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 Ian Bennett1000020120002DF Jeff Kenna36 (1)1101038 (1)1103DF Martin Grainger8 (1)010009 (1)0304DF Steve Vickers50001060005DF Darren Purse19 (1)1001020 (1)1716MF Aliou Cissé21000002101107MF Paul Devlin20 (12)3100012 (12)3408MF Robbie Savage33410003441009FW Geoff Horsfield15 (16)5002017 (16)51210MF Bryan Hughes10 (12)20 (1)01011 (13)23011MF Stan Lazaridis17 (13)2002019 (13)21012DF Kenny Cunningham31000103201014FW Stern John20 (10)50 (1)11321 (11)92015FW Jovan Kirovski5 (12)2101 (1)07 (13)21016FW Tommy Mooney0 (1)000000 (1)01017FW Michael Johnson5 (1)000005 (1)00018GK Nico Vaesen27010002800019FW Clinton Morrison24 (4)6101026 (4)66021DF Nicky Eaden000000000021FWChristophe Dugarry *16500001654022MF Damien Johnson28 (2)1100 (1)029 (3)16023DF Jamie Clapham16000001601024MF Darren Carter3 (9)000104 (9)00025MF Darryl Powell 3 (8)010206 (8)03025DF Matthew Upson14000001401126DF Olivier Tébily12000101305127DF Joey Hutchinson101010300028MF Curtis Woodhouse0 (3)000101 (3)00029FW Craig Fagan0 (1)00 (1)00 (2)00 (4)00030DF Mat Sadler200020401032MF Stephen Clemence15200001523033DFFerdinand Coly *101000201034MFPiotr Świerczewski *0 (1)000000 (1)01035GK Clint Davies000000000036GKAndy Marriott1000001010
+ Players not included in matchday squadsName13MF Graham Hyde 13DF Tony Capaldi 20MF Tom Williams23DF Jerry Gill 25FW Paul Furlong 31MF Christophe Grondin
References General
Source for match dates, league positions and results: Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 440–41. Source for goal times: Source for transfers:
Specific