The 1971–72 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 69th in the Football League and their 31st in the Second Division. They finished in second place in the 22-team division, so were promoted to the First Division for 1972–73, despite never having been in the promotion positions until after the final game of the season.

They entered the 1971–72 FA Cup in the third round proper and progressed to the semi-final, in which they lost to Leeds United. This was the third year of five in which the losing semifinalists were required to compete in a "match for third place"; following a goalless 90 minutes, Birmingham beat Stoke City in a penalty shootout, the first time this method had been used to determine the result of an FA Cup match. They lost to Queens Park Rangers in their opening match in the second round of the League Cup, and finished fourth of the six English entrants in the third staging of the Anglo-Italian Cup, a tournament held after the end of the league season.

Twenty-five players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were ten different goalscorers. Defender Roger Hynd, midfielder Alan Campbell and centre-forward Bob Latchford played in all 53 first-team matches over the season. Latchford finished as leading goalscorer with 30 goals, of which 23 came in league competition. The average attendance in Second Division matches exceeded 32,000.

Football League Second Division

DateLeaguepositionOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendance14 August 19718thSunderlandAD1–1Bowker9,74921 August 19716thCarlisle UnitedHW3–2Summerill, Bowker, Campbell26,25428 August 197112thPortsmouthAL0–114,7291 September 197117thHull CityAL0–116,7464 September 197110thCharlton AthleticHW4–1Francis, R. Latchford 325,23111 September 197112thLuton TownAD0–014,67818 September 19719thBristol CityHW1–0R. Latchford28,74525 September 19719thBlackpoolAD1–1Francis22,61028 September 19715thWatfordHW4–1R. Latchford 3, Francis28,0952 October 19715thOxford UnitedHD0–031,7599 October 19718thQueens Park RangersAL0–116,03916 October 19718thSunderlandHD1–1R. Latchford27,34119 October 19718thSwindon TownAD1–1R. Latchford14,26923 October 19718thPreston North EndHD2–2R. Latchford, Francis28,95630 October 19718thBurnleyAD1–1R. Latchford17,1706 November 19717thOrientHW2–0Hatton, R. Latchford27,34913 November 19716thNorwich CityAD2–2Campbell pen, R. Latchford24,09420 November 19718thMillwallAL0–315,72427 November 19717thFulhamHW3–1R. Latchford, Hatton 225,5454 December 19716thMiddlesbroughAD0–015,76111 December 19717thSheffield WednesdayHD0–029,27218 December 19717thCharlton AthleticAD1–1Hatton8,31327 December 19715thCardiff CityHW3–0Pendrey, Hatton, Francis40,7931 January 19716thBristol CityAL0–117,4578 January 19725thPortsmouthHW6–3Hatton 2, R. Latchford 2, Campbell pen, Francis22,41022 January 19724thWatfordAW1–0Francis10,88429 January 19724thSwindon TownHW4–1Francis, R. Latchford 2, Hatton27,82412 February 19724thPreston North EndAD0–017,79419 February 19724thBurnleyHW2–0Taylor, Hatton32,0354 March 19724thNorwich CityHW4–0Hatton 2, R. Latchford, Hynd40,89911 March 19724thQueens Park RangersHD0–035,55721 March 19723rdCarlisle UnitedAD2–2Hatton, R. Latchford12,27925 March 19723rdLuton TownHW1–0Hatton34,53931 March 19723rdOxford UnitedAW1–0Hatton18,9901 April 19723rdCardiff CityAD0–023,6674 April 19723rdBlackpoolHW2–1R. Latchford, Francis45,1818 April 19723rdMillwallHW1–0R. Latchford43,48318 April 19723rdFulhamAD0–016,55322 April 19723rdMiddlesbroughHD1–1Francis37,20225 April 19723rdHull CityHW2–0Campbell pen, Francis40,74929 April 19723rdSheffield WednesdayAW2–1Hatton, Francis27,9912 May 19722ndOrientAW1–0R. Latchford33,383

League table (part)

+Final Second Division table (part)PosClubPldWDLFAGAPts1stNorwich City422115660361.67572ndBirmingham City421918560311.94563rdMillwall421917664461.39554thQueens Park Rangers422014858282.04545thSunderland421716967571.1850Key Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played;W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost;F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceThird round15 January 1972Port ValeHW3–0Hynd, Francis 232,937Fourth round5 February 1972Ipswich TownHW1–0R. Latchford40,709Fifth round26 February 1972PortsmouthHW3–1Hatton, R. Latchford 243,886Sixth round18 March 1972Huddersfield TownHW3–1Page, R. Latchford, Hatton52,470Semi-final15 April 1972Leeds UnitedHillsborough,SheffieldL0–354,7233rd/4th place playoff5 August 1972Stoke CityHW0–04–3 pensCampbell, Francis, Hope, Harland23,841

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceSecond round7 September 1971Queens Park RangersAL0–115,032

Anglo-Italian Cup

DateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendance1 June 1972Lanerossi VicenzaAD0–03,0004 June 1972SampdoriaAL1–2Campbell pen15,0007 June 1972Lanerossi VicenzaHW5–3R. Latchford 2, Francis, Hatton, Taylor23,64210 June 1972SampdoriaHW2–0R. Latchford, Hatton19,510

Clubs were classified according to total points (2 for a win, 1 for a draw) added to goals scored. The top club of each national section qualified for the final.

+ English sectionPosClubPldWDLFAPtsTotal3rdLeicester City42021174154thBirmingham City4211855135thSunderland412187412Key Pos = Position; Pld = Matches playedW = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lostF = Goals for; A = Goals againstPts = Points; Total = Sum of points and goals scored

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. :Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward

+ Players' appearances and goals by competitionNameLeagueFA CupLeague CupAnglo-Italian CupTotalGoalsGoalsGoalsGoalsGoalsGK Paul Cooper120400030190GK Mike Kelly19000001 (1)020 (1)0GK Dave Latchford110201000140DF Kenny Burns7 (1)00000007 (1)0DF Tommy Carroll270600000330DF Stan Harland190600040290DF Mike Harrison1000000010DF Roger Hynd421611040532DF Ray Martin14 (1)000100015 (1)0DF Garry Pendrey40150102 (1)048 (1)1DF Dave Robinson10 (2)000000010 (2)0DF Tony Want0010004050DF Alan Whitehead3000000 (1)03 (1)0MF Alan Campbell424601041535MF Bobby Hope0010004050MF Mike O'Grady *2 (1)00000002 (1)0MF Malcolm Page38 (1)051104048 (1)1MF George Smith22 (3)01 (1)0102026 (4)0MF Gordon Taylor27 (3)15 (1)0104137 (4)2FW Keith Bowker6200000062FW Trevor Francis39126210214815FW Bob Hatton26156200423619FW Bob Latchford42236410435330FW Steve Phillips6 (1)00000006 (1)0FW Phil Summerill7 (2)100100 (1)07 (3)1

See also Birmingham City F.C. seasons

References General

Source for match dates and results: Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 378–79, 477, 483.

Specific