2002–03 Birmingham City F.C. season
# 2002–03 Birmingham City F.C. season

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

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 17 July 2002 | Exeter City | A | W | 1–0 | Johnson 63' | 2,600 |
| 20 July 2002 | Forest Green Rovers | A | W | 6–0 | John 10', Hughes (2) 15' 80', Lazaridis (2) 22' 40', Savage 45' | |
| 22 July 2002 | Livingston | A | L | 1–2 | Andrews (o.g.) | 2,000 |
| 24 July 2002 | Motherwell | A | L | 1–2 | Devlin | |
| 27 July 2002 | Partick Thistle | A | W | 2–1 | John 26' (pen), Horsfield | |
| 31 July 2002 | Tranmere Rovers | A | W | 7–0 | John (2) 8' 50', Hughes (2), Grainger 11', Devlin, Carter | |
| 3 August 2002 | Stoke City | A | W | 2–0 | Mooney 16', Lazaridis 60' | |
| 10 August 2002 | Deportivo Alavés | H | D | 1–1 | Hughes 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

| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 18 August 2002 | 18th | Arsenal | A | L | 0–2 | | 38,018 |
| 24 August 2002 | 19th | Blackburn Rovers | H | L | 0–1 | | 27,563 |
| 28 August 2002 | 17th | Everton | A | D | 1–1 | John 50' pen. | 37,197 |
| 31 August 2002 | 14th | Leeds United | H | W | 2–1 | Devlin 32', D. Johnson 58' | 27,164 |
| 11 September 2002 | 15th | Liverpool | A | D | 2–2 | Morrison (2) 61', 90' | 43,113 |
| 16 September 2002 | 9th | Aston Villa | H | W | 3–0 | Morrison 31', Enckelman 77' o.g., Horsfield 83' | 29,505 |
| 21 September 2002 | 10th | Middlesbrough | A | L | 0–1 | | 29,869 |
| 28 September 2002 | 14th | Newcastle United | H | L | 0–2 | | 29,072 |
| 5 October 2002 | 12th | West Ham United | A | W | 2–1 | John (2) 4', 43' | 35,010 |
| 19 October 2002 | 12th | West Bromwich Albion | A | D | 1–1 | Moore 86' o.g. | 27,021 |
| 26 October 2002 | 13th | Manchester City | H | L | 0–2 | | 28,316 |
| 2 November 2002 | 12th | Bolton Wanderers | H | W | 3–1 | Purse 61', Savage 72', Horsfield 83' | 27,224 |
| 9 November 2002 | 14th | Chelsea | A | L | 0–3 | | 35,237 |
| 17 November 2002 | 15th | Fulham | H | D | 0–0 | | 26,164 |
| 23 November 2002 | 13th | Sunderland | A | W | 1–0 | Morrison 89' | 38,803 |
| 30 November 2002 | 11th | Tottenham Hotspur | H | D | 1–1 | Kenna 68' | 29,505 |
| 7 December 2002 | 13th | Southampton | A | L | 0–2 | | 31,132 |
| 15 December 2002 | 13th | Fulham | A | W | 1–0 | Kirovski 7' | 14,962 |
| 21 December 2002 | 13th | Charlton Athletic | H | D | 1–1 | Devlin 67' pen. | 29,505 |
| 26 December 2002 | 13th | Everton | H | D | 1–1 | Kirovski 45' | 29,505 |
| 28 December 2002 | 15th | Manchester United | A | L | 0–2 | | 67,640 |
| 1 January 2003 | 15th | Leeds United | A | L | 0–2 | | 40,034 |
| 12 January 2003 | 15th | Arsenal | H | L | 0–4 | | 29,505 |
| 18 January 2003 | 15th | Blackburn Rovers | A | D | 1–1 | John 83' | 23,331 |
| 1 February 2003 | 16th | Bolton Wanderers | A | L | 2–4 | Savage 44', Morrison 60' | 24,288 |
| 4 February 2003 | 16th | Manchester United | H | L | 0–1 | | 29,475 |
| 8 February 2003 | 16th | Chelsea | H | L | 1–3 | Savage 87' pen. | 29,475 |
| 23 February 2003 | 16th | Liverpool | H | W | 2–1 | Clemence 34', Morrison 68' | 29,449 |
| 3 March 2003 | 16th | Aston Villa | A | W | 2–0 | Lazaridis 74', Horsfield 77' | 42,602 |
| 16 March 2003 | 16th | Manchester City | A | L | 0–1 | | 34,596 |
| 22 March 2003 | 16th | West Bromwich Albion | H | W | 1–0 | Horsfield 90' | 29,449 |
| 5 April 2003 | 17th | Tottenham Hotspur | A | L | 1–2 | Devlin 77' pen. | 36,058 |
| 12 April 2003 | 16th | Sunderland | H | W | 2–0 | Hughes 43', Dugarry 60' | 29,132 |
| 19 April 2003 | 15th | Charlton Athletic | A | W | 2–0 | Dugarry 20', Savage 55' pen. | 25,732 |
| 21 April 2003 | 13th | Southampton | H | W | 3–2 | Dugarry 75', 82', Hughes 79' | 29,115 |
| 26 April 2003 | 12th | Middlesbrough | H | W | 3–0 | Dugarry 18', Clemence 40', Lazaridis 80' | 28,821 |
| 3 May 2003 | 13th | Newcastle United | A | L | 0–1 | | 52,146 |
| 11 May 2003 | 13th | West Ham United | H | D | 2–2 | Horsfield 80', John 88' | 29,505 |

### Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 11 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 48 | 44 | +4 | 49 |
| 12 | Charlton Athletic | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 45 | 56 | −11 | 49 |
| 13 | Birmingham City | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 41 | 49 | −8 | 48 |
| 14 | Fulham | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 41 | 50 | −9 | 48 |
| 15 | Leeds United | 38 | 14 | 5 | 19 | 58 | 57 | +1 | 47 |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

Source:

## FA Cup

Birmingham failed to get past the third round of the FA Cup, losing to Premiership side Fulham.

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Report |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Third round | 5 January 2003 | Fulham | A | L | 1–3 | John 90' | 9,203 | |

## League Cup

Birmingham reached the third round of the League Cup before losing to Preston North End of the First Division.

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Report |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Second round | 2 October 2002 | Leyton Orient | A | W | 3–2 | John 16', 27', 77' | 3,615 | |
| Third round | 5 November 2002 | Preston North End | H | L | 0–2 | | 12,241 | |

## Transfers

### In

| Date | Player | Club† | Fee |
| - | - | - | - |
| 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

| Date | Player | Fee | Joined† |
| - | - | - | - |
| 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.
* 1 2 The total fee for Morrison to join Birmingham was announced as a club record. The deal included Andrew Johnson moving to Crystal Palace as a makeweight; the fee for Morrison was reported as £4.25m and that for Johnson as £750,000.

### Loan in

| Date | Player | Club | Return |
| - | - | - | - |
| 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

| Date | Player | Club | Return |
| - | - | - | - |
| 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 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 | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals! | | |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Ian Bennett | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | IRE | Jeff Kenna | 36 (1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 (1) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Martin Grainger | 8 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 (1) | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Steve Vickers | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Darren Purse | 19 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 (1) | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 6 | MF | SEN | Aliou Cissé | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | SCO | Paul Devlin | 20 (12) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 (12) | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | WAL | Robbie Savage | 33 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Geoff Horsfield | 15 (16) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 (16) | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Bryan Hughes | 10 (12) | 2 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 (13) | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | AUS | Stan Lazaridis | 17 (13) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 (13) | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | IRE | Kenny Cunningham | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | TRI | Stern John | 20 (10) | 5 | 0 (1) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 21 (11) | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | USA | Jovan Kirovski | 5 (12) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 7 (13) | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Tommy Mooney | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | JAM | Michael Johnson | 5 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | GK | BEL | Nico Vaesen | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | IRE | Clinton Morrison | 24 (4) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 (4) | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| 21† | DF | ENG | Nicky Eaden | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | FRA | Christophe Dugarry* | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | NIR | Damien Johnson | 28 (2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 29 (3) | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Jamie Clapham | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Darren Carter | 3 (9) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 (9) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25† | MF | JAM | Darryl Powell | 3 (8) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 (8) | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Matthew Upson | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 26 | DF | CIV | Olivier Tébily | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Joey Hutchinson | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Curtis Woodhouse | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | ENG | Craig Fagan | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Mat Sadler | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Stephen Clemence | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | SEN | Ferdinand Coly* | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | POL | Piotr Świerczewski* | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 35 | GK | AUS | Clint Davies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | GK | WAL | Andy Marriott | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |

Players not included in matchday squads :

| No. | Pos | Nat | Name |
| - | - | - | - |
| 13† | MF | ENG | Graham Hyde |
| 13† | DF | NIR | Tony Capaldi |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Tom Williams |
| 23† | DF | ENG | Jerry Gill |
| 25† | FW | ENG | Paul Furlong |
| 31 | MF | FRA | Christophe Grondin |
