# 2021–22 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 2021–22 season is Birmingham City Football Club's 119th season in the English football league system and 11th consecutive season in the second-tier Championship. As with all English Football League clubs, the first team also competed in the FA Cup and EFL Cup.
The season covers the period from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.

## Background and pre-season

All Birmingham's home matches in the 2020–21 season were played behind closed doors because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under head coach Aitor Karanka, Birmingham City gradually slid down the 2020–21 Championship table until, with ten games remaining and in serious danger of relegation, former Birmingham player Lee Bowyer resigned as manager of Charlton Athletic to take over as head coach. The team lost only one of the next eight matches and retained their Championship status with two games still to play. On 11 May 2021, CEO Ren Xuandong resigned.
In June 2020, the club announced a four-year partnership with Nike as supplier of kits, which carry the logo of the club's principal sponsor, Irish bookmaker BoyleSports. The home shirt has a camouflage-patterned front in two shades of blue, worn with white shorts and blue socks, while the away kit has a yellow shirt with blue pinstripes and trim, similar to the Europa League kit of ten years before, with blue shirts and white socks. In November, they brought out a limited-edition third kit; the shirt has a camouflage front in orange and green and a predominantly green back, and is worn with orange shorts and socks.
After a training camp in Scotland, Birmingham planned five pre-season friendlies: away to Cheltenham Town and Northampton Town, behind-closed-doors games at the Wast Hills training ground against Oxford United – who cancelled due to COVID-19 and were replaced by a Salford City XI – and Barrow, and one match at St Andrew's against West Bromwich Albion.
Pre-season friendly match details :
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers |
| 17 July 2021 | Cheltenham Town | A | W | 3–0 | Gardner 6', Hogan 36', Leko 82' |
| 20 July 2021 | Barrow | H | D | 1–1 | Gardner 76' |
| 24 July 2021 | Salford City XI | H | W | 7–0 | Stirk 1', Williams 9', Lakin 45', Hogan (2) 47', 70', Aneke 48', George 87' |
| 24 July 2021 | Northampton Town | A | L | 2–3 | Sánchez 5', Jutkiewicz 38' |
| 31 July 2021 | West Bromwich Albion | H | L | 0–4 | |

## EFL Championship
### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 18 | Cardiff City | 46 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 50 | 68 | −18 | 53 | |
| 19 | Hull City | 46 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 41 | 54 | −13 | 51 | |
| 20 | Birmingham City | 46 | 11 | 14 | 21 | 50 | 75 | −25 | 47 | |
| 21 | Reading | 46 | 13 | 8 | 25 | 54 | 87 | −33 | 41 | |
| 22 | Peterborough United (R) | 46 | 9 | 10 | 27 | 43 | 87 | −44 | 37 | Relegation to EFL League One |
* ↑ Reading were deducted 6 points for breach of profit and sustainability regulations.

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source:

### Match results

EFL Championship match details :
| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 7 August 2021 | 5th | Sheffield United | A | W | 1–0 | Colin 19' | 29,043 |
| 14 August 2021 | 10th | Stoke City | H | D | 0–0 | | 10,189 |
| 18 August 2021 | 14th | AFC Bournemouth | H | L | 0–2 | | 9,922 |
| 21 August 2021 | 8th | Luton Town | A | W | 5–0 | Marc Roberts 7', Hogan (2) 26', 47', Gardner 84', Aneke 88' | 10,014 |
| 28 August 2021 | 8th | Barnsley | A | D | 1–1 | Jutkiewicz 33' | 13,950 |
| 10 September 2021 | 4th | Derby County | H | W | 2–0 | Hogan 31', Bela 81' | 14,912 |
| 15 September 2021 | 10th | Fulham | H | L | 1–4 | Deeney 87' (pen.) | 14,562 |
| 18 September 2021 | 11th | Peterborough United | A | L | 0–3 | | 12,199 |
| 25 September 2021 | 12th | Preston North End | H | D | 0–0 | | 14,925 |
| 28 September 2021 | 13th | Queens Park Rangers | A | L | 0–2 | | 12,257 |
| 2 October 2021 | 16th | Nottingham Forest | H | L | 0–3 | | 15,148 |
| 15 October 2021 | 16th | West Bromwich Albion | A | L | 0–1 | | 24,870 |
| 20 October 2021 | 19th | Huddersfield Town | A | D | 0–0 | | 15,618 |
| 23 October 2021 | 17th | Swansea City | H | W | 2–1 | Deeney 47', McGree 82' | 16,132 |
| 30 October 2021 | 14th | Middlesbrough | A | W | 2–0 | Marc Roberts 53', Hogan 56' | 21,582 |
| 2 November 2021 | 13th | Bristol City | H | W | 3–0 | McGree 14', Hogan 68', Gardner 76' | 16,143 |
| 6 November 2021 | 15th | Reading | H | L | 1–2 | Hogan 3' | 17,535 |
| 20 November 2021 | 15th | Hull City | A | L | 0–2 | | 12,409 |
| 23 November 2021 | 17th | Coventry City | A | D | 0–0 | | 22,676 |
| 27 November 2021 | 13th | Blackpool | H | W | 1–0 | Jutkiewicz 81' | 17,686 |
| 4 December 2021 | 15th | Millwall | A | L | 1–3 | Deeney 56' | 14,324 |
| 11 December 2021 | 15th | Cardiff City | H | D | 2–2 | Deeney 29', Šunjić 45+1' | 17,840 |
| 18 December 2021 | 17th | Blackburn Rovers | A | L | 0–4 | | 12,148 |
| 2 January 2022 | 18th | Queens Park Rangers | H | L | 1–2 | Aneke 75' | 18,279 |
| 15 January 2022 | 18th | Preston North End | A | D | 1–1 | Hogan 86' | 12,821 |
| 18 January 2022 | 18th | Fulham | A | L | 2–6 | Šunjić 45', Gardner 74' | 16,491 |
| 22 January 2022 | 18th | Barnsley | H | W | 2–1 | Hernández 34', Hogan 51' | 15,742 |
| 25 January 2022 | 18th | Peterborough United | H | D | 2–2 | Gardner 85', Hogan 88' | 16,380 |
| 30 January 2022 | 17th | Derby County | A | D | 2–2 | Taylor 7', Hogan 56' | 32,211 |
| 4 February 2022 | 17th | Sheffield United | H | L | 1–2 | Taylor 61' | 17,194 |
| 9 February 2022 | 18th | AFC Bournemouth | A | L | 1–3 | Hernández 69' | 8,708 |
| 12 February 2022 | 17th | Luton Town | H | W | 3–0 | Bacuna 25', Taylor 46', Hernández 69' | 17,292 |
| 19 February 2022 | 18th | Stoke City | A | D | 2–2 | James 12', Gardner 58' | 23,502 |
| 22 February 2022 | 18th | Reading | A | L | 1–2 | McIntyre 82' (o.g.) | 12,073 |
| 26 February 2022 | 19th | Huddersfield Town | H | L | 0–2 | | 17,318 |
| 5 March 2022 | 18th | Bristol City | A | W | 2–1 | Chong 2', Gordon 13' | 21,942 |
| 12 March 2022 | 19th | Hull City | H | D | 0–0 | | 17,231 |
| 15 March 2022 | 19th | Middlesbrough | H | L | 0–2 | | 15,852 |
| 19 March 2022 | 19th | Swansea City | A | D | 0–0 | | 18,620 |
| 3 April 2022 | 18th | West Bromwich Albion | H | W | 1–0 | Taylor 67' (pen.) | 17,936 |
| 9 April 2022 | 18th | Nottingham Forest | A | L | 0–2 | | 29,293 |
| 15 April 2022 | 20th | Coventry City | H | L | 2–4 | Pedersen 12', Gardner 39' | 17,634 |
| 18 April 2022 | 20th | Blackpool | A | L | 1–6 | Šunjić 63' | 13,993 |
| 23 April 2022 | 20th | Millwall | H | D | 2–2 | Bacuna 47', Taylor 79' (pen.) | 17,206 |
| 30 April 2022 | 20th | Cardiff City | A | D | 1–1 | Bela 22' | 21,395 |
| 7 May 2022 | 20th | Blackburn Rovers | H | L | 1–2 | Pedersen 78' | 18,659 |

## FA Cup

Birmingham City were drawn at home to League One club Plymouth Argyle in the third round.
FA Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Refs |
| Third round | 8 January 2022 | Plymouth Argyle | H | L | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | | 9,823 | |

## EFL Cup

Birmingham were drawn to play League One club Colchester United at home in the first round. Bowyer made 11 changes from the team that started at Sheffield United 72 hours earlier, giving debuts to Chuks Aneke, Jordan Graham and Marcel Oakley, and it was Oakley who scored the only goal of the game with a 75th-minute deflected shot. Tate Campbell made his Birmingham debut as a substitute, and Jobe Bellingham, the 15-year-old brother of England international Jude, was also named on the bench. In the second round they fielded a slightly less weakened team, but still made 10 changes from the previous league match, with Mitch Roberts, Dion Sanderson and (as a substitute) Alfie Chang making their first Birmingham appearances and Neil Etheridge returning in goal after recovering from COVID-19. Opponents Fulham, newly relegated from the Premier League, scored midway through the first half after an error by Ivan Šunjić, but Birmingham held out until stoppage time before conceding a second.
EFL Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Refs |
| First round | 10 August 2021 | Colchester United | H | W | 1–0 | Oakley 75' | 6,199 | |
| Second round | 24 August 2021 | Fulham | H | L | 0–2 | | 4,783 | |

## Transfers

    For those players released or contract ended before the start of this season please see 2020–21 Birmingham City F.C. season.

### In

| Date | Player | Club † | Fee |
| 1 July 2021 | Chuks Aneke | (Charlton Athletic) | Free |
| 1 July 2021 | Jordan Graham | (Gillingham) | Free |
| 1 July 2021 | Ryan Woods | (Stoke City) | Free |
| 16 July 2021 | Oliver Basey | (Sunderland) | Free |
| 9 August 2021 | Archie Matthews | (Swindon Town) | Free |
| 31 August 2021 | Troy Deeney | Watford | Free |
| 15 November 2021 | Renedi Masampu | (Dulwich Hamlet) | Free |
| 27 January 2022 | Juninho Bacuna | Rangers | Undisclosed |
    † Brackets round a club's name indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Birmingham.

### Loaned in

| Date | Player | Club | Return |
| 1 July 2021 | Riley McGree | Charlotte FC | 1 January 2022 |
| 6 July 2021 | Juan Castillo | Chelsea | End of season, recalled 21 January 2022 |
| 9 July 2021 | Tahith Chong | Manchester United | End of season |
| 19 July 2021 | Dion Sanderson | Wolverhampton Wanderers | End of season, recalled 4 January 2022 |
| 26 July 2021 | Matija Sarkic | Wolverhampton Wanderers | End of season, terminated (injury) 6 January 2022 |
| 4 January 2022 | Teden Mengi | Manchester United | End of season |
| 7 January 2022 | Taylor Richards | Brighton & Hove Albion | End of season |
| 14 January 2022 | Onel Hernández | Norwich City | End of season |
| 27 January 2022 | Lyle Taylor | Nottingham Forest | End of season |

### Out

| Date | Player | Club † | Fee |
| 15 July 2021 | Andrés Prieto | (Dinamo Tbilisi) | Mutual consent |
| 22 July 2021 | Steve Seddon | Oxford United | Undisclosed |
| 31 August 2021 | Charlie Lakin | Burton Albion | Undisclosed |
| 5 November 2021 | Adam Clayton | (Doncaster Rovers) | Mutual consent |
| 7 January 2022 | Caolan Boyd-Munce | Middlesbrough | Undisclosed |
| 14 January 2022 | Chuks Aneke | Charlton Athletic | Undisclosed |
| 21 January 2022 | Connor Barratt | Sheffield United | Undisclosed |
| 31 January 2022 | Leo Dos Reis | Monza | Undisclosed |
| 17 February 2022 | Cianole Nguepissi | West Bromwich Albion | Free |
| 30 June 2022 | Jérémie Bela | (Clermont Foot) | Contract expired |
| 30 June 2022 | Renedi Masampu | (Metropolitan Police) | Released |
| 30 June 2022 | Archie Matthews | (Swansea City) | Released |
| 30 June 2022 | Kristian Pedersen | (1. FC Köln) | Contract expired |
| 30 June 2022 | Oriol Soldevila | (Intercity) | Released |
| 30 June 2022 | Kane Thompson-Sommers | (Hereford) | Released |
| 30 June 2022 | Connal Trueman | (Millwall) | Released |
| 30 June 2022 | Yoane Zohore | | Released |
| 30 June 2022 | Iván Sánchez | Real Valladolid | Undisclosed |
| 30 June 2022 | Fran Villalba | Sporting Gijon | Undisclosed |
    † Brackets round a club's name denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.

### Loaned out

| Date | Player | Club | Return |
| 27 July 2021 | Ryan Stirk | Mansfield Town | End of season |
| 30 July 2021 | Zach Jeacock | Salford City | End of season, recalled 11 January 2022 |
| 2 August 2021 | Kane Thompson-Sommers | Woking | January 2022 |
| 3 August 2021 | Fran Villalba | Sporting Gijon | End of season |
| 9 August 2021 | Odin Bailey | Livingston | End of season |
| 10 August 2021 | Josh Andrews | Rochdale | End of season |
| 11 August 2021 | Sam Cosgrove | Shrewsbury Town | End of season, recalled 31 January 2022 |
| 31 August 2021 | Jonathan Leko | Charlton Athletic | End of season |
| 16 September 2021 | Archie Matthews | Bath City | 16 October 2021 |
| 23 November 2021 | Connal Trueman | Oxford United | 30 November 2021 |
| 26 November 2021 | Oliver Basey | Hednesford Town | 5 January 2022 |
| 26 January 2022 | Harlee Dean | Sheffield Wednesday | End of season |
| 31 January 2022 | Sam Cosgrove | AFC Wimbledon | End of season |
| 31 January 2022 | Mitchell Roberts | Carlisle United | End of season |
| 31 January 2022 | Iván Sánchez | Real Valladolid | End of season |
| 11 February 2022 | Kyle Hurst | Alvechurch | End of season |
| 11 March 2022 | Oliver Basey | Hednesford Town | End of season |
| 18 March 2022 | Archie Matthews | Gloucester City | One month |
| 24 March 2022 | Yohan Zohore | Hednesford Town | 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 competition :
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | PHI | Neil Etheridge | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | FRA | Maxime Colin | 31 (2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 (2) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | DEN | Kristian Pedersen | 37 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 2 | 11 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Marc Roberts | 39 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | George Friend | 12 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 (2) | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Ryan Woods | 25 (5) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 (5) | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | NED | Tahith Chong * | 19 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 (1) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Taylor Richards * | 2 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (4) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | IRL | Scott Hogan | 28 (8) | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 (8) | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Lukas Jutkiewicz | 17 (19) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 (19) | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | FRA | Jérémie Bela | 26 (5) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 (5) | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Harlee Dean | 14 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | MNE | Matija Sarkic * † | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Jonathan Leko | 1 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 (3) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | ENG | Chuks Aneke † | 1 (17) | 2 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 (18) | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ESP | Iván Sánchez | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | AUS | Riley McGree * † | 10 (3) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 11 (4) | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Teden Mengi * | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | WAL | Jordan James | 13 (7) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 (7) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Gary Gardner | 31 (4) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 (4) | 6 | 9 | 2 |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Dion Sanderson * † | 14 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | CUR | Juninho Bacuna | 16 (1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 (1) | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | NED | Juan Castillo * † | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Jordan Graham | 18 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 (6) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | CUB | Onel Hernández * | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 27 | GK | ENG | Connal Trueman | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Charlie Lakin † | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | MSR | Lyle Taylor * | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | CRO | Ivan Šunjić | 33 (8) | 3 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 (9) | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | ENG | George Hall | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | FW | ENG | Troy Deeney | 15 (6) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 (6) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | GK | ENG | Zach Jeacock | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | ENG | Jobe Bellingham | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | MF | ENG | Remi Walker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | MF | ENG | Alfie Chang | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | DF | ENG | Mitch Roberts | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | DF | ENG | Renedi Masampu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | MF | ENG | Brandon Khela | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | MF | ENG | Josh Williams | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | DF | ENG | Nico Gordon | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 52 | DF | ENG | Marcel Oakley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 53 | MF | ENG | Tate Campbell | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 54 | FW | ENG | Keyendrah Simmonds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Players not included in matchday squads :
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Sam Cosgrove |
| 37 | MF | ENG | Odin Bailey |
| 40 | FW | ENG | Adan George |
| 44 | MF | NIR | Caolan Boyd-Munce † |
| 47 | MF | WAL | Ryan Stirk |
| 51 | MF | ENG | Kyle Hurst |