The 1986–87 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 84th in the Football League and their 34th in the Second Division, to which they were relegated in 1985–86. They finished in 19th position in the 22-team division, and avoided a second successive relegation only by two points. They entered the 1986–87 FA Cup in the third round proper and lost to Walsall in the fourth, and were eliminated from the League Cup in the third round by Tottenham Hotspur. They entered the second season of the Full Members' Cup, a competition created for teams in the top two divisions after English clubs were banned from UEFA competitions following the Heysel disaster, and lost in the second round away to Charlton Athletic in front of a crowd of less than a thousand.
The top scorer was Wayne Clarke with 19 goals, of which 16 were scored in league matches. The average attendance, of under 7,500, was a record low for a season at St Andrew's.Matthews (1995), Complete Record, p. 44.
Football League Second Division
DateLeaguepositionOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendance23 August 19861stStoke CityAW2–0Hemming og, Whitton11,54825 August 19861stBradford CityHW2–1Mortimer 27,00330 August 19861stDerby CountyHD1–1Clarke12,2093 September 19863rdBrighton & Hove AlbionAL0–29,9556 September 19865thSheffield UnitedAD1–1Bremner10,29713 September 19867thHuddersfield TownHD1–1Clarke6,93420 September 198611thHull CityAL2–3Clarke 26,85127 September 198612thIpswich TownHD2–2Clarke 27,2274 October 198612thBarnsleyHD1–1Kennedy6,42711 October 198617thPortsmouthAL0–211,25218 October 198612thCrystal PalaceHW4–1Bremner, Overson, Whitton, Clarke5,98725 October 198614thSunderlandAL0–215,5531 November 198617thWest Bromwich AlbionAL2–3Lynex, Clarke15,0298 November 198618thOldham AthleticHL1–3Clarke pen6,08215 November 198616thMillwallAW2–0Clarke, Rees4,79522 November 198611thLeeds UnitedHW2–1Clarke, Bremner7,86329 November 19869thGrimsby TownAW1–0Whitton4,7346 December 198610thBlackburn RoversHD1–1Clarke6,42813 December 198613thShrewsbury TownAL0–14,79719 December 19869thSheffield UnitedHW2–1Clarke 2 (1 pen)5,00726 December 198612thReadingAD2–2Lynex, Clarke7,66229 December 198613thMillwallHD1–1Mortimer8,0061 January 198711thPlymouth ArgyleHW3–2Kuhl, Clarke, Mortimer8,6963 January 198711thBradford CityAD0–08,67924 January 198711thStoke CityHD0–010,6437 February 198710thDerby CountyAD2–2Bremner, Whitton16,83614 February 19878thBrighton & Hove AlbionHW2–0Rees 26,43921 February 19879thIpswich TownAL0–310,16928 February 198711thHull CityHD0–06,8583 March 19879thHuddersfield TownAD2–2Whitton, Rees5,17714 March 198713thCrystal PalaceAL0–66,17121 March 198713thPortsmouthHL0–19,82328 March 198713thBarnsleyAD2–2Whitton, Wigley4,68831 March 198710thSunderlandHW2–0North, Whitton5,5634 April 198710thOldham AthleticAD2–2Whitton, Linighan og6,55511 April 198711thWest Bromwich AlbionHL0–111,15818 April 198712thPlymouth ArgyleAD0–013,37220 April 198712thReadingHD1–1Frain5,42725 April 198715thLeeds UnitedAL0–419,1332 May 198715thGrimsby TownHW1–0Whitton4,4575 May 198716thBlackburn RoversAL0–15,6229 May 198719thShrewsbury TownHL0–27,724
League table (part)
+Final Second Division table (part)Team17thHuddersfield Town421312175461−75118thShrewsbury Town42156214153−125119thBirmingham City421117144759−125020thSunderland421212184959−104821stGrimsby Town421014183959−2044
Results summary
FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceThird round10 January 1987Ipswich TownAW1–0Mortimer11,616Fourth round31 January 1987WalsallAL0–114,810
League Cup
RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceSecond round 1st leg23 September 1986MiddlesbroughAD2–2Whitton, Mortimer9,412Second round 2nd leg7 October 1986MiddlesbroughHW3–2aetClarke 2, Whitton4,978Third round29 October 1986Tottenham HotspurAL0–515,542
Full Members' Cup
RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceThird round1 October 1986Brighton & Hove AlbionAW3–0Clarke, Kuhl, O'Regan og3,794Fourth round4 November 1986Charlton AthleticAL2–3Geddis, Shirtliff og821
Appearances and goals
Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute. Players with name in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Birmingham. Players marked left the club during the playing season. Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward
+ Players' appearances and goals by competitionNameLeagueFA CupLeague CupFull Members' CupTotalGoalsGoalsGoalsGoalsGoalsGKRoger Hansbury310203020380GKPaul Tomlinson *110000000110DFKevin Ashley7000000070DFAdrian Bird6000000060DFJulian Dicks33 (1)010202038 (1)0DFJim Hagan12000301 (1)016 (1)0DFPaul Hart1000000010DF Mark Jones 5000001060DFVince Overson340103020400DFRay Ranson16 (1)020201021 (1)0DFBrian Roberts23 (1)020100026 (1)0DFTommy Williams29020200 (1)033 (1)0MFDes Bremner404303020474MFRichard Cooke *5000001060MFJohn Frain2 (1)10000002 (1)1MFIan Handysides19 (1)020000021 (1)0MF Robert Hopkins 3000000030MF Martin Kuhl 23120301 (1)129 (1)2MFSteve Lynex *102000010112MFDennis Mortimer334211110376MFDean Peer1 (1)00000001 (1)0MFMartin Russell *3 (2)00000104 (2)0MF Stuart Storer 3 (3)00010004 (3)0MFSteve Wigley111000000111FW Wayne Clarke 24161032213019FW David Geddis 20000 (2)0113 (2)1FWAndy Kennedy5 (4)10020007 (4)1FWMarc North *4 (1)10000004 (1)1FWTony Rees27 (3)420101 (1)031 (4)4FWSteve Whitton3992032204611
See also Birmingham City F.C. seasons
Sources
For match dates, league positions and results: For lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 408–09, 419.
References