# 2018–19 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 2018–19 season is Birmingham City Football Club's 116th season in the English football league system and eighth consecutive season in the second-tier Championship. Under the management of Garry Monk, they began the season under transfer restrictions imposed by the English Football League (EFL) for breaches of their Profitability and Sustainability Regulations, and finished it in 17th place after a nine-point deduction was also imposed. The deduction put paid to hopes of promotion via the play-offs, but the team were able to avoid relegation with two matches still to play. As with all League clubs, the first team competed in the FA Cup and EFL Cup; they lost their first match in both competitions, to West Ham United in the former and to Reading in the latter.
After conflict with the board over transfer policy and other issues, Monk was sacked on 18 June 2019. His assistant, Pep Clotet, was named caretaker head coach.
Twenty-six players made at least one appearance in first-team competition, of whom three were loan signings; there were fourteen different goalscorers. Che Adams, who appeared in all 48 of Birmingham's first-team matches, top scored with 22 goals, all of which came in league matches. The average league attendance, of 22,483, was nearly 7% up on 2017–18.
The season covers the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.

## Overview

After a 2016–17 season in which the club had three different managers and avoided relegation on the final day, Birmingham repeated the process in 2017–18. Garry Monk, appointed in March, vowed to change the pattern: he would be "relentless, and whoever is not on board with that won't be here. The ones who are will be here. It has to be like that. We have to raise the mentality of the club. That goes for everyone at the club." Apart from assistant manager Pep Clotet, the remainder of his backroom staff, including first-team coach James Beattie and goalkeeping coach Darryl Flahavan, were those he had worked with before Middlesbrough sacked him some months earlier. That club had then placed his staff on gardening leave and included a clause preventing their working together or with Monk for a rival club for the next 12 months. After they joined Monk at Birmingham, Middlesbrough sought an injunction to enforce that clause, but the matter was settled out of court after a counter-claim for damages.
For sponsorship reasons, and in the light of the EFL's Profit and Sustainability (P&S) Regulations, the club's owners agreed a three-year naming rights package under which St Andrew's was renamed St Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium and the Wast Hills training ground became the Trillion Trophy Training Centre. It emerged in early July that the EFL had refused to register Birmingham's first signing of the summer window – Danish left-back Kristian Pedersen – because of failure to comply with P&S requirements and had placed the club under a transfer embargo. On 30 July, BBC Sport quoted an EFL spokesperson confirming they had "been in regular contact with the club throughout the summer and set out on 13 July [their] requirements in respect of the basis upon which the club would be able to make additions to Garry Monk's squad." The club then issued a statement expressing their disappointment with the continuing embargo despite their best efforts to comply, and their understanding of and empathy with supporters' frustrations.
However, "after consideration of the legal position as between the Club, Player and the EFL" and despite the EFL being "exceptionally disappointed" at the club's attitude, a deal was reached. The club agreed to a business plan aimed at restricting expenditure, Pedersen was registered, and the club could make a further five signings under strict conditions, interpreted by the Birmingham Mail as meaning loans and free transfers only and a salary cap pitched at a "debilitating" level. The club faced further punishment, including possible points deductions, from an EFL commission to meet later in the year.
Birmingham made four signings in the summer transfer window: three loans – winger Connor Mahoney from AFC Bournemouth, striker Omar Bogle from Cardiff City, and midfielder Gary Gardner – younger brother of Craig Gardner – from Aston Villa, and one free transfer, goalkeeper Lee Camp, also from Cardiff City. They cancelled Diego Fabbrini's contract, loaned out Nicolai Brock-Madsen, Jonathan Grounds, Cheick Keita, Cheikh Ndoye and Greg Stewart, and tried unsuccessfully to offload high-earning goalkeepers David Stockdale and Tomasz Kuszczak.
In the January transfer window, Birmingham made the last of their five permitted signings, Swedish international midfielder or forward Kerim Mrabti, whose contract with Djurgården had expired. Bogle was recalled by his parent club, fringe players Luke Maxwell and Dan Scarr moved on, Viv Solomon-Otabor and Steve Seddon loaned out, and Stewart was recalled from Kilmarnock and loaned to Aberdeen instead. There was considerable interest from Premier League clubs in newly prolific striker Che Adams, but Birmingham did not want to sell, and no offer received was considered enough to force their hand given that the player could neither be replaced nor loaned back because of the signing restriction. A bid of £12 million from Burnley was the highest reported. The Times suggested that a refusal to sell might constitute a further aggravated breach of the P&S rules. It also emerged that the restriction also applied to extending the contracts of existing players, which had particular relevance to team captain Michael Morrison whose contract was due to expire at the end of the season.
The EFL hearing, originally scheduled for February 2019, was postponed to mid-March after a panel member recused themselves, "with the intention of the Disciplinary Commission delivering the outcome quickly so the matter can be fully resolved before the end of this season." The panel finally sat on 18 March, and ruled that nine points be deducted in the current season; neither party took up their right to appeal.
According to the Birmingham Mail, Monk turned the team into "a side vastly superior than the sum of its parts" to keep them in the top half of the table until a run of losses in March and a nine-point deduction led to a 17th-place finish. In June, it was reported that the relationship between Monk and chief executive Xuandong Ren had broken down. After making it clear he would not resign, Monk was sacked on 18 June. According to Ren in an interview with The Times, Monk was sacked because of "his attempt to use a single agent in transfer deals and his refusal to adapt the team's style of play"; "sources close to Monk" disagreed, and "suggested that Ren's comments were designed to explain the surprise sacking ... that has been badly received by many Birmingham fans." A club statement with echoes of Monk's own of a year earlier called for a change in footballing philosophy and stressed the vital importance of "everybody at the club to be sharing the same vision and commitment to the plans and processes." Despite the club's statement that they were not actively looking for a new permanent manager, Pep Clotet was appointed caretaker head coach, the remainder of the backroom staff stayed in post, and Craig Gardner was given a role as player-coach.

## Pre-season

The home kit consists of a blue shirt with white trim on the shoulders and upper chest and white stripes down the side seams, white shorts with blue trim and blue stripes down the side seams, and blue socks with white trim at the turnover. The away kit has a yellow shirt with three blue stripes on the shoulders, blue shorts with yellow stripes down the side seams, and yellow socks with blue trim. The kits are supplied by Adidas and bear the logo of the club's principal sponsor, online bookmaker 888sport.
After a training camp based in Bad Häring, Austria, which included friendly matches against Akhmat Grozny of the Russian Premier League and German fourth-tier club SSV Ulm, Birmingham City's first-team pre-season programme continued with matches against Doncaster Rovers, Cheltenham Town, Las Palmas and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Pre-season match details :
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 12 July 2018 | Akhmat Grozny | N | L | 0–1 | | |
| 14 July 2018 | SSV Ulm | N | D | 1–1 | Jota 61' | |
| 20 July 2018 | Doncaster Rovers | N | W | 1–0 | Adams 87' | |
| 21 July 2018 | Cheltenham Town | A | W | 3–0 | Lakin 26', Lubala 52', Ndoye 89' pen. | 2,234 |
| 27 July 2018 | Las Palmas | N | L | 1–4 | Scarr 45' | |
| 28 July 2018 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | D | 1–1 | Kieftenbeld 31' | 3,434 |

## EFL Championship
### August–September

Birmingham City opened their 2018–19 EFL Championship season at home to Norwich City, without midfielder David Davis and forward Isaac Vassell, both injured, as well as a number of out-of-favour players including both senior goalkeepers, David Stockdale and Tomasz Kuszczak. The team lined up in a 4–4–2 formation with debutant Connal Trueman in goal, Maxime Colin and new signing Kristian Pedersen at full back, Michael Morrison (captain) and Harlee Dean at centre back, Maikel Kieftenbeld alongside Craig Gardner in central midfield, Jota and Jacques Maghoma as wide midfielders, and Che Adams and Lukas Jutkiewicz in the forward line. Birmingham led for much of the second half, but late in stoppage time, Onel Hernández equalised for the visitors.
It was the first of a string of matches in which Birmingham either under-performed, as in the 1–0 defeat at Middlesbrough or the goalless draw with Queens Park Rangers when they had only one shot on target, or were unable to take advantage of their chances, as in the goalless draws with Swansea City and Sheffield United, a missed penalty against West Bromwich Albion, and the visit to Nottingham Forest when they let slip a two-goal lead. In what remained of August, Birmingham brought in four players: Lee Camp took over from Trueman in goal from the third match of the season and Gary Gardner replaced his brother in central midfield, while forward Omar Bogle and winger Connor Mahoney joined the first-team squad.
Their first win finally arrived on 22 September, away to Leeds United, unbeaten and top of the table, courtesy of Adams' sharpness and what Leeds' manager Marcelo Bielsa claimed as a "tactical error" on his part. After conceding what Monk described as two poor goals stemming from two mistakes, Jutkiewicz scored twice in the second half to secure a draw at home to Ipswich Town and finish September in 16th place.

### October–November

Birmingham began October with their eighth draw in eleven league matches, away to Brentford, despite Kieftenbeld's second-half red card for an off-the-ball incident involving opponent Neal Maupay. Garry Monk was also sent to the stands for his verbal reaction to the dismissal: he said afterwards that he was expecting Maupay to be booked for feigning injury. Kieftenbeld's sending off was rescinded on appeal, so he was available for the next match, against Rotherham United, in which Jutkiewicz scored his first Birmingham hat-trick. Jutkiewicz continued with goals against Reading and Sheffield Wednesday and an assist for Adams' winning goal at Stoke City in a run of four wins that earned him the Championship Player of the Month award for October and earned Monk a nomination as Championship Manager of the Month as the team rose to ninth place in the table.
In three consecutive matches, Birmingham scored first and failed to win. Away defeats against Derby County and Aston Villa, in which Jutkiewicz reached double figures, came either side of a home match in which Adams took advantage of defensive errors to put his side 2–0 ahead and Hull City scored three times in 14 minutes before Adams completed his hat-trick to level the scores. Having conceded ten goals in those three matches, Monk wanted his players to "get back to that toughness" that earned them their eleven-match unbeaten run. They finished November with a clean sheet in a 2–0 win at Millwall that left them in tenth place.

### December–February

A rare goal from Kieftenbeld opened Birmingham's scoring in December: seconds after half-time, Preston North End's goalkeeper Declan Rudd misjudged an overhit pass, the ball went through his legs and into the net. That win was followed by a first home defeat since March, inflicted by Bristol City. The year ended with two draws and two wins, Adams took his goals total into double figures, the largest crowd of the season thus far, of 26,344, saw Birmingham complete a double over their former manager Gary Rowett's Stoke City via Omar Bogle's fine individual goal – the only one he scored for the club before his loan ended early – and the team reached seventh place.
Two defeats and a draw preceded the visit to Swansea City, the club where Monk had spent much of his career as player and then manager. Pedersen was sent off before half-time, but Birmingham came back from 2–1 behind to tie the scores, and then took a 71st-minute lead when Adams "whipped in an excellent curling shot from 20 yards (18 m)" that was to win the club's Goal of the Season award. In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Oli McBurnie equalised; the draw left Birmingham in twelfth position. Adams scored in all four January matches, to take his total to 15 for the season.
Adams continued the run with four goals in the first two matches of February, a penalty against Nottingham Forest and a hat-trick at Queens Park Rangers in which Birmingham took a 4–0 first-half lead before conceding three goals and relying on Camp saving a stoppage-time penalty to hold on to the win. An unexpected home defeat to Bolton Wanderers was followed by a 2–2 draw with Blackburn Rovers in which Adams took his total for the season past 20; he was named Championship Player of the Month. February ended with Birmingham in 8th place after a win away to Bristol City.

### March–May

With the EFL hearing delayed until mid-March, Birmingham failed to score a goal or gain a point from the first four fixtures of that month. The eventual nine-point deduction was announced on 22 March, a week before the visit to local rivals West Bromwich Albion, where they twice took the lead before the hosts equalised via a penalty awarded for a foul outside the penalty area and then went on to win 3–2. The result left Birmingham in 17th position, five points above the relegation places having played more matches than the teams below them.
They went through the remaining seven fixtures unbeaten. Adams' 22nd and last goal of the season completed a double over Leeds United, the return to goalscoring form of Jutkiewicz and Morrison earned points against Sheffield United, Ipswich Town and Derby County, and a comfortable win against Rotherham United confirmed their Championship status for next season with two matches still to play. They finished 17th, twelve points above the relegation places.

### Match results

General source: Match content not verifiable from these sources is referenced individually.
| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 4 August 2018 | 7th | Norwich City | H | D | 2–2 | Maghoma 56', Solomon-Otabor 89' | 22,677 |
| 11 August 2018 | 19th | Middlesbrough | A | L | 0–1 | | 23,748 |
| 17 August 2018 | 17th | Swansea City | H | D | 0–0 | | 20,083 |
| 22 August 2018 | 20th | Bolton Wanderers | A | L | 0–1 | | 13,821 |
| 25 August 2018 | 20th | Nottingham Forest | A | D | 2–2 | Jutkiewicz 21', Adams 72' | 26,799 |
| 1 September 2018 | 19th | Queens Park Rangers | H | D | 0–0 | | 21,155 |
| 14 September 2018 | 17th | West Bromwich Albion | H | D | 1–1 | Jota 26' | 22,715 |
| 19 September 2018 | 20th | Sheffield United | A | D | 0–0 | | 23,525 |
| 22 September 2018 | 17th | Leeds United | A | W | 2–1 | Adams 8', 29' | 34,800 |
| 29 September 2018 | 16th | Ipswich Town | H | D | 2–2 | Jutkiewicz 48', 68' | 21,612 |
| 2 October 2018 | 18th | Brentford | A | D | 1–1 | Morrison 26' | 9,715 |
| 6 October 2018 | 17th | Rotherham United | H | W | 3–1 | Jutkiewicz 20', 23', 68' | 19,795 |
| 20 October 2018 | 14th | Stoke City | A | W | 1–0 | Adams 81' | 28,160 |
| 23 October 2018 | 9th | Reading | H | W | 2–1 | G. Gardner 49', Jutkiewicz 70' | 22,126 |
| 27 October 2018 | 9th | Sheffield Wednesday | H | W | 3–1 | Mahoney 43', Jutkiewicz 80', Adams 84' | 23,659 |
| 3 November 2018 | 10th | Derby County | A | L | 1–3 | Jutkiewicz 10' | 28,114 |
| 10 November 2018 | 12th | Hull City | H | D | 3–3 | Adams 21', 45+4', 84' | 21,468 |
| 25 November 2018 | 12th | Aston Villa | A | L | 2–4 | Jutkiewicz 28', Pedersen 57' | 41,200 |
| 28 November 2018 | 10th | Millwall | A | W | 2–0 | Meredith 11' (o.g.), Morrison 76' | 11,644 |
| 1 December 2018 | 9th | Preston North End | H | W | 3–0 | Kieftenbeld 46', Maghoma 61', Adams 77' | 20,523 |
| 8 December 2018 | 9th | Bristol City | H | L | 0–1 | | 20,961 |
| 15 December 2018 | 10th | Blackburn Rovers | A | D | 2–2 | C. Gardner 78' (pen.), Adams 80' | 13,622 |
| 22 December 2018 | 8th | Wigan Athletic | A | W | 3–0 | Adams 26', Morrison 45+1', Maghoma 61' | 13,774 |
| 26 December 2018 | 7th | Stoke City | H | W | 2–0 | Maghoma 43', Bogle 87' | 26,344 |
| 29 December 2018 | 7th | Brentford | H | D | 0–0 | | 23,909 |
| 1 January 2019 | 8th | Sheffield Wednesday | A | D | 1–1 | Adams 48' | 29,462 |
| 12 January 2019 | 8th | Middlesbrough | H | L | 1–2 | Adams 79' | 21,420 |
| 18 January 2019 | 9th | Norwich City | A | L | 1–3 | Adams 14' | 25,932 |
| 29 January 2019 | 12th | Swansea City | A | D | 3–3 | Maghoma 35', Morrison 67', Adams 71' | 18,194 |
| 2 February 2019 | 8th | Nottingham Forest | H | W | 2–0 | Jota 13', Adams 90+3' (pen.) | 24,235 |
| 9 February 2019 | 8th | Queens Park Rangers | A | W | 4–3 | Adams 21', 26', 42', Dean 36' | 14,234 |
| 12 February 2019 | 8th | Bolton Wanderers | H | L | 0–1 | | 21,682 |
| 23 February 2019 | 8th | Blackburn Rovers | H | D | 2–2 | Adams 16', 85' | 21,869 |
| 26 February 2019 | 8th | Bristol City | A | W | 2–1 | Mahoney 42', Morrison 47' | 19,777 |
| 2 March 2019 | 8th | Hull City | A | L | 0–2 | | 12,551 |
| 10 March 2019 | 10th | Aston Villa | H | L | 0–1 | | 26,631 |
| 13 March 2019 | 12th | Millwall | H | L | 0–2 | | 20,151 |
| 16 March 2019 | 13th | Preston North End | A | L | 0–1 | | 17,509 |
| 29 March 2019 | 18th | West Bromwich Albion | A | L | 2–3 | G. Gardner 7', Jutkiewicz 59' | 24,789 |
| 7 April 2019 | 17th | Leeds United | H | W | 1–0 | Adams 29' | 24,197 |
| 10 April 2019 | 17th | Sheffield United | H | D | 1–1 | Morrison 42' | 22,351 |
| 13 April 2019 | 18th | Ipswich Town | A | D | 1–1 | Jutkiewicz 7' | 17,248 |
| 19 April 2019 | 18th | Derby County | H | D | 2–2 | Jutkiewicz 2', Morrison 18' | 23,902 |
| 22 April 2019 | 17th | Rotherham United | A | W | 3–1 | Maghoma 56', Jota 63', Mrabti 90+3' | 10,703 |
| 27 April 2019 | 17th | Wigan Athletic | H | D | 1–1 | Jutkiewicz 2' | 23,645 |
| 5 May 2019 | 17th | Reading | A | D | 0–0 | | 17,247 |

### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 16 | 12 | 18 | 64 | 69 | −5 | 60 |
| 16 | Stoke City | 46 | 11 | 22 | 13 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 55 |
| 17 | Birmingham City | 46 | 14 | 19 | 13 | 64 | 58 | +6 | 52 |
| 18 | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 51 | 64 | −13 | 52 |
| 19 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 53 | 71 | −18 | 51 |
* ↑ Birmingham City were deducted 9 points for failure to comply with the EFL profitability and sustainability rules.

### Result summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
* ↑ Deducted 9 points for breaches of the EFL's profitability and sustainability rules.
Source:

## FA Cup

As with all teams in the top two tiers of English football, Birmingham City entered the FA Cup in the third round. They were drawn to play Premier League club West Ham United at the London Stadium. Marko Arnautović gave West Ham an early lead, but in a "robust and open encounter" Birmingham missed several chances to equalise, and substitute Andy Carroll doubled the lead in stoppage time.
FA Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Refs |
| Third round | 5 January 2019 | West Ham United | A | L | 0–2 | | 54,840 | |

## EFL Cup

In the first round of the EFL Cup, Birmingham were drawn away to another Championship team, Reading. With a televised Championship fixture three days later, Monk made eleven changes from the team that started the previous Saturday, with debuts for Lee Camp, Dan Scarr and Gary Gardner and first starts for Connor Mahoney, Beryly Lubala and Omar Bogle. Reading fielded a full-strength side and were rarely tested.
EFL Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Refs |
| First round | 14 August 2018 | Reading | A | L | 0–2 | | 6,934 | |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Player | Club† | Fee |
| 25 June 2018 | Kristian Pedersen | Union Berlin | Undisclosed |
| 8 August 2018 | Lee Camp | Cardiff City | Free |
| 15 August 2018 | Francis Amartey | FAB Academy | |
| 15 August 2018 | Danny Lupano | Solihull Moors | |
| 15 August 2018 | Michael Luyambula | (Borussia Dortmund) | Free |
| 15 August 2018 | Cameron McGilp | (Melbourne Victory) | Free |
| 18 January 2019 | Kerim Mrabti | (Djurgården) | Free |
    † Brackets round a club's name indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Birmingham.
* 1 2 3 4 Player signed specifically for the U23 team under the club's transfer restrictions.

### Out

| Date | Player | Club† | Fee |
| 3 September 2018 | Diego Fabbrini | (FC Botoșani) | Mutual consent |
| 1 January 2019 | Nicolai Brock-Madsen | (AC Horsens) | Mutual consent |
| 8 January 2019 | Luke Maxwell | Solihull Moors | Undisclosed |
| 10 January 2019 | Ronan Hale | (Crusaders) | Mutual consent |
| 14 January 2019 | Francis Amartey | (Slough Town) | Released |
| 14 January 2019 | Dan Scarr | Walsall | Undisclosed |
| 31 January 2019 | Cameron McGilp | Swindon Town | Undisclosed |
| 5 June 2019 | Jota | Aston Villa | Undisclosed |
| 13 June 2019 | Greg Stewart | (Rangers) | Released |
| 21 June 2019 | Bez Lubala | Crawley Town | Undisclosed sell-on clause |
| 30 June 2019 | Tommy Anderson | | Released |
| 30 June 2019 | Dom Bernard | (Forest Green Rovers) | Released |
| 30 June 2019 | Leo Brown | (Ballymena United) | Released |
| 30 June 2019 | Kieran Dawes | (Coleshill Town) | Released |
| 30 June 2019 | Tomasz Kuszczak | | Released |
| 30 June 2019 | Lewis Landers | (Cambridge City) | Released at end of scholarship |
| 30 June 2019 | Josh Martin | (Hungerford Town) | Released |
| 30 June 2019 | Christ Mayuba | | Released at end of scholarship |
| 30 June 2019 | Kyle McFarlane | (York City) | Released |
| 30 June 2019 | Ben McLean | (Redditch United) | Released at end of scholarship |
| 30 June 2019 | Ryan Moore | (Redditch United) | Released at end of scholarship |
| 30 June 2019 | Michael Morrison | (Reading) | Contract expired |
| 30 June 2019 | Cheikh Ndoye | (Red Star) | Released |
| 30 June 2019 | Nick Okoro | | Released at end of scholarship |
| 30 June 2019 | Viv Solomon-Otabor | (CSKA Sofia) | Contract expired |
    † Brackets round a club's name denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.

### Loan in

| Date | Player | Club | Return |
| 7 August 2018 | Connor Mahoney | AFC Bournemouth | End of season |
| 7 August 2018 | Omar Bogle | Cardiff City | Recalled 28 January 2019 |
| 9 August 2018 | Gary Gardner | Aston Villa | End of season |

### Loan out

| Date | Player | Club | Return |
| 3 January 2018 | Ronan Hale | Derry City | 5 November 2018 |
| 28 June 2018 | Cheick Keita | Eupen | End of season |
| 2 July 2018 | Luke Maxwell | Solihull Moors | 5 January 2019 |
| 24 July 2018 | Dom Bernard | Aldershot Town | 30 April 2019 |
| 26 July 2018 | Leo Brown | Sutton Coldfield Town | End of August |
| 26 July 2018 | Jack Concannon | Sutton Coldfield Town | End of August |
| 26 July 2018 | Kieron Dawes | Sutton Coldfield Town | End of August |
| 9 August 2018 | Nicolai Brock-Madsen | St Mirren | 1 January 2019 |
| 13 August 2018 | Jonathan Grounds | Bolton Wanderers | End of season |
| 16 August 2018 | Cheikh Ndoye | Angers | End of season |
| 17 August 2018 | Corey O'Keeffe | Solihull Moors | Recalled 24 December 2018 |
| 28 August 2018 | Greg Stewart | Kilmarnock | Recalled 13 January 2019 |
| 30 August 2018 | Steve Seddon | Stevenage | 15 January 2019 |
| 8 September 2018 | David Stockdale | Southend United | 28 September 2018 |
| 21 September 2018 | Ben McLean | AFC Totton | 22 December 2018 |
| 21 September 2018 | Adam Siviter | AFC Totton | 22 December 2018 |
| 28 September 2018 | Jake Weaver | Hungerford Town | 28 December 2018 |
| 5 October 2018 | Michael Luyambula | Hungerford Town | 1 November 2018 |
| 26 October 2018 | Francis Amartey | Sutton Coldfield Town | 18 December 2018 |
| 26 October 2018 | Josh Martin | Hungerford Town | 24 April 2019 |
| 9 November 2018 | Odin Bailey | Gloucester City | 9 January 2019 |
| 22 November 2018 | David Stockdale | Wycombe Wanderers | 29 November 2018 |
| 6 December 2018 | Tommy Anderson | Hungerford Town | 7 February 2019 |
| 6 December 2018 | Kieron Dawes | Hednesford Town | One month |
| 13 December 2018 | Jack Concannon | Tamworth | Mid-February 2019 |
| 18 December 2018 | Michael Luyambula | Hungerford Town | 13 January 2019 |
| 24 December 2018 | Adam Siviter | Stafford Rangers | 27 April 2019 |
| 4 January 2019 | Kyle McFarlane | Barrow | 4 February 2019 |
| 16 January 2019 | Steve Seddon | AFC Wimbledon | End of season |
| 18 January 2019 | Greg Stewart | Aberdeen | End of season |
| 25 January 2019 | Jake Weaver | Kidderminster Harriers | 25 February 2019 |
| 31 January 2019 | Viv Solomon-Otabor | Portsmouth | End of season |
| 8 February 2019 | David Stockdale | Coventry City | 22 February 2019 |
| 26 March 2019 | Jake Weaver | Hednesford Town | End of season |
* ↑ Hale was loaned to Derry City in January 2018 with initial expiry date of 30 June; the loan was then extended to the end of that club's season.
* ↑ Brock-Madsen was loaned to St Mirren until 1 January 2019. After he was told he was not in the plans of the club's new manager, he returned to Birmingham in mid-October to train, but would not be eligible to play for them until the loan expired. Birmingham later confirmed that he would be released on that date.

## 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 | NIR | Lee Camp | 44 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | DEN | Kristian Pedersen | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Marc Roberts | 3 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 (5) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | FRA | Maxime Colin | 43 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | NED | Maikel Kieftenbeld | 34 (2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 (2) | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Connor Mahoney * | 17 (13) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 (13) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Craig Gardner | 5 (16) | 1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 (17) | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Che Adams | 43 (3) | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 44 (4) | 22 | 5 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Lukas Jutkiewicz | 44 (2) | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 (2) | 14 | 4 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Isaac Vassell | 2 (12) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (12) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Harlee Dean | 44 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Omar Bogle * † | 3 (12) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 (12) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | SEN | Cheikh Ndoye | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | SWE | Kerim Mrabti | 6 (6) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 (6) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | COD | Jacques Maghoma | 35 (7) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 (7) | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Gary Gardner * | 39 (1) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 (1) | 2 | 13 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Viv Solomon-Otabor | 0 (8) | 1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (9) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | ESP | Jota | 33 (7) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 33 (8) | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Dan Scarr † | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Josh Dacres-Cogley | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | ENG | David Davis | 8 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 (3) | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 27 | GK | ENG | Connal Trueman | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Michael Morrison | 43 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | COD | Beryly Lubala | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Charlie Lakin | 5 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 5 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Steve Seddon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | GK | ENG | Jake Weaver | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | DF | ENG | Wes Harding | 13 (14) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 (14) | 0 | 3 | 0 |
* ↑ Kieftenbeld was sent off against Brentford on 2 October, but the decision was reversed on appeal.
Players not included in matchday squads :
| Pos. | Nat. | Name |
| DF | ENG | Jonathan Grounds |
| GK | POL | Tomasz Kuszczak |
| DF | IRL | Corey O'Keeffe |
| GK | ENG | David Stockdale |