# 1975–76 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1975–76 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 73rd in the Football League and their 42nd in the First Division. They were in the bottom four from mid-October onwards, and eventually finished in 19th position in the 22-team division, one place above the relegation places. They entered the 1975–76 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost to Portsmouth in that round after a replay, and lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round of the League Cup. To celebrate the centenary of the club's foundation in 1875, they played a friendly match against Celtic, winning 1–0.
Twenty-seven players made at least one first-team appearance, and there were thirteen different goalscorers. Defender Joe Gallagher missed only one of the 46 competitive matches played over the season, and Trevor Francis was the club's leading scorer with 18 goals, all but one scored in the league.
Keith Coombs took over the chairmanship following the death of his father Clifford.

## Football League First Division

| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 16 August 1975 | 11th | Leicester City | A | D | 3–3 | Hatton, Kendall 2 (1 pen) | 25,547 |
| 19 August 1975 | 14th | Manchester United | H | L | 0–2 | | 33,177 |
| 23 August 1975 | 19th | Everton | H | L | 0–1 | | 26,814 |
| 26 August 1975 | 21st | Middlesbrough | A | L | 0–2 | | 22,423 |
| 30 August 1975 | 21st | Ipswich Town | A | L | 2–4 | Hatton 2 | 22,659 |
| 6 September 1975 | 21st | Queens Park Rangers | H | D | 1–1 | Kendall | 27,305 |
| 13 September 1975 | 21st | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | L | 0–2 | | 25,142 |
| 20 September 1975 | 21st | Burnley | H | W | 4–0 | Campbell, Withe, Kendall, Francis | 25,830 |
| 23 September 1975 | 17th | Newcastle United | H | W | 3–2 | Withe 2, Francis pen | 31,166 |
| 27 September 1975 | 18th | Aston Villa | A | L | 1–2 | Francis | 53,782 |
| 4 October 1975 | 17th | Sheffield United | H | W | 2–0 | Hatton, Francis | 26,121 |
| 11 October 1975 | 19th | Liverpool | A | L | 1–3 | Hatton | 36,532 |
| 18 October 1975 | 19th | Leeds United | H | D | 2–2 | Francis, Gallagher | 33,775 |
| 25 October 1975 | 19th | Norwich City | A | L | 0–1 | | 19,605 |
| 1 November 1975 | 20th | West Ham United | H | L | 1–5 | Francis | 28,474 |
| 8 November 1975 | 21st | Manchester City | A | L | 0–2 | | 28,329 |
| 15 November 1975 | 21st | Arsenal | H | W | 3–1 | Francis pen, Withe, Hatton | 21,652 |
| 22 November 1975 | 21st | Leeds United | A | L | 0–3 | | 26,640 |
| 29 November 1975 | 21st | Coventry City | A | L | 2–3 | Burns, Kendall pen | 21,800 |
| 6 December 1975 | 19th | Derby County | H | W | 2–1 | Burns, Page | 30,620 |
| 13 December 1975 | 21st | Everton | A | L | 2–5 | Kendall, Withe | 20,188 |
| 20 December 1975 | 19th | Leicester City | H | W | 2–1 | Francis pen, Withe | 21,890 |
| 26 December 1975 | 19th | Tottenham Hotspur | A | W | 3–1 | Francis 2, Withe | 21,651 |
| 27 December 1975 | 19th | Stoke City | H | D | 1–1 | Hatton | 37,166 |
| 10 January 1976 | 19th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | L | 0–1 | | 28,552 |
| 17 January 1976 | 19th | Queens Park Rangers | A | L | 1–2 | Francis | 16,759 |
| 31 January 1976 | 20th | Manchester United | A | L | 1–3 | Withe | 50,274 |
| 7 February 1976 | 19th | Middlesbrough | H | W | 2–1 | Kendall, Hatton | 18,599 |
| 14 February 1976 | 19th | Manchester City | H | W | 2–1 | Gallagher, Kendall | 22,445 |
| 21 February 1976 | 19th | Arsenal | A | L | 0–1 | | 20,907 |
| 28 February 1976 | 19th | Norwich City | H | D | 1–1 | Francis pen | 22,359 |
| 6 March 1976 | 19th | West Ham United | A | W | 2–1 | Withe, Emmanuel | 19,863 |
| 13 March 1976 | 19th | Liverpool | H | L | 0–1 | | 31,797 |
| 20 March 1976 | 19th | Coventry City | H | D | 1–1 | Francis pen | 22,956 |
| 27 March 1976 | 19th | Derby County | A | L | 2–4 | Francis, Needham | 28,161 |
| 3 April 1976 | 19th | Aston Villa | H | W | 3–2 | Hibbitt, Burns, Francis | 46,251 |
| 7 April 1976 | 19th | Newcastle United | A | L | 0–4 | | 18,900 |
| 10 April 1976 | 20th | Burnley | A | L | 0–1 | | 13,679 |
| 13 April 1976 | 19th | Ipswich Town | H | W | 3–0 | Francis pen, Hibbitt, Burns | 20,497 |
| 17 April 1976 | 19th | Tottenham Hotspur | H | W | 3–1 | Gallagher, Francis, Burns | 30,616 |
| 19 April 1976 | 19th | Stoke City | A | L | 0–1 | | 19,928 |
| 4 May 1976 | 19th | Sheffield United | A | D | 1–1 | Hibbitt | 30,782 |

### League table (part)

Final First Division table (part) :
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts |
| 17th | Arsenal | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 47 | 53 | 0.89 | 36 |
| 18th | West Ham United | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 48 | 71 | 0.68 | 36 |
| 19th | Birmingham City | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 57 | 75 | 0.76 | 33 |
| 20th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 51 | 68 | 0.75 | 30 |
| 21st | Burnley | 42 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 43 | 66 | 0.65 | 28 |
| Key | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Third round | 3 January 1976 | Portsmouth | A | D | 1–1 | Francis | 19,414 |
| Third round replay | 6 January 1976 | Portsmouth | H | L | 0–1 | | 26,106 |

## League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Second round | 9 September 1975 | Orient | H | W | 4–0 | Gallagher, Morton, Hatton, Want | 18,238 |
| Third round | 7 October 1975 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | L | 0–2 | | 29,822 |

## Centenary match

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 25 November 1975 | Celtic | H | W | 1–0 | Withe | 14,670 |

## Appearances and goals

    Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute.
    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 competition :
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | ENG | Dave Latchford | 40 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | Steve Smith | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Steve Bryant | 19 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 (1) | 0 |
| DF | SCO | Kenny Burns | 36 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 5 |
| DF | ENG | Joe Gallagher | 41 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 45 | 4 |
| DF | SCO | Roger Hynd † | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Ray Martin | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Ian Osborne | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Garry Pendrey | 14 (3) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 16 (5) | 0 |
| DF | WAL | John Roberts | 5 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 (2) | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Archie Styles | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Tony Want | 20 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 (1) | 1 | 20 (2) | 1 |
| MF | SCO | Jimmy Calderwood | 15 | 3 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 (1) | 3 |
| MF | SCO | Alan Campbell † | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
| MF | WAL | Gary Emmanuel | 10 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 (1) | 1 |
| MF | ENG | Paul Hendrie † | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Terry Hibbitt | 27 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 3 |
| MF | SCO | Bobby Hope † | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Howard Kendall | 36 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 8 |
| MF | ENG | Roy Morton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| MF | WAL | Malcolm Page | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| MF | ENG | Gordon Taylor † | 7 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 (2) | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Trevor Francis | 35 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 18 |
| FW | ENG | Bob Hatton | 33 (4) | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 37 (4) | 9 |
| FW | ENG | Andy Needham | 2 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Steve Phillips † | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Peter Withe | 32 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 9 |