# 2009–10 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 2009–10 season was Birmingham City Football Club's sixth season in the Premier League and their 56th in the first tier of English football. The side was managed by former Scotland manager Alex McLeish, who successfully guided the side to promotion from the Championship the previous season.

## Review
### Carson Yeung takeover

Following his unsuccessful attempt to purchase the club during the 2007–08 season, Carson Yeung returned to complete a deal to purchase Birmingham City.
On 20 August, Carson Yeung's Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed Grandtop International placed a deposit of £3 million ahead of a new proposed takeover bid. This was quickly followed by Yeung's decision to donate £5 million to the club for the purchase of Middlesbrough's Tuncay, but such a gift would have broken HKSE rules, and the player signed for Stoke City instead.
The takeover date was put back from October to mid-November, because of a delay to the EGM required to approve the issue of an additional 50% shares, following his capture of a £57m bridging loan to cover the purchase of the club.
Formal documents outlining Yeung's £1-per-share offer were sent out to club shareholders in mid-September. By 24 September, he had acceptances on 81.7% of the shares, including the holdings of former owners David Sullivan, David Gold and Ralph Gold, and by the closing date of 6 October, the takeover was complete, with acceptances in respect of 94% of the shares, a level allowing a compulsory purchase of the remainder.
At a press conference on 15 October, the board and executive was named as: Yeung himself, president; Michael Wiseman, vice-president; Vico Hui, chairman; Peter Pannu and Sammy Yu, vice chairmen; and Michael Dunford, chief executive. The name of the holding company was changed from Grandtop International to Birmingham International Holdings.

## Chronological list of events

The following is a list of all significant events to occur during the 2009–10 season. This list does not include transfers, which are listed in the transfer section, or results, which are listed in the matches section.
* 7 July: The club broke its transfer record by signing Christian Benítez from Mexican side Santos Laguna for a fee that will rise to $12.5 million (around £7.75m).
* 7 August: Co-owner David Sullivan and managing director Karren Brady were told that no further action would be taken against them after a two-year investigation into corruption in football.
* 14 August: Vice-chairman Jack Wiseman died at the age of 92.
* 17 November: Former Aberdeen player Malky Thomson is appointed as reserve team manager.
* 8 January: Alex McLeish was awarded the manager of the month award for December.
* 3 February: Former Birmingham goalkeeper and manager Gil Merrick died at the age of 88.

## Pre-season

Pre-season friendly match details :
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 21 July 2009 | VfB Stuttgart | N | L | 0–2 | | 876 |
| 23 July 2009 | FC Augsburg | N | L | 0–2 | | c. 400 |
| 26 July 2009 | Al-Hilal | N | L | 0–3 | | |
| 29 July 2009 | Dagenham & Redbridge | A | W | 1–0 | Bent 77' | 1,022 |
| 1 August 2009 | Nottingham Forest | A | L | 1–2 | Carsley 79' | 6,735 |
| 4 August 2009 | Crewe Alexandra | A | L | 1–4 | McFadden 18' | 1,827 |
| 8 August 2009 | Sporting de Gijón | H | D | 0–0 | | 10,360 |

## Premier League
### Match details

    General sources (match reports): Match content not verifiable from these sources is referenced individually.
| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 16 August 2009 | 13th | Manchester United | A | L | 0–1 | | 75,062 |
| 19 August 2009 | 9th | Portsmouth | H | W | 1–0 | McFadden 90+2' pen. | 19,922 |
| 22 August 2009 | 7th | Stoke City | H | D | 0–0 | | 21,694 |
| 29 August 2009 | 11th | Tottenham Hotspur | A | L | 1–2 | Bowyer 75' | 35,318 |
| 13 September 2009 | 15th | Aston Villa | H | L | 0–1 | | 25,196 |
| 19 September 2009 | 11th | Hull City | A | W | 1–0 | O'Connor 75' | 23,759 |
| 26 September 2009 | 14th | Bolton Wanderers | H | L | 1–2 | Phillips 84' | 28,671 |
| 3 October 2009 | 15th | Burnley | A | L | 1–2 | Larsson 90+5' | 20,102 |
| 17 October 2009 | 16th | Arsenal | A | L | 1–3 | Bowyer 38' | 60,028 |
| 24 October 2009 | 14th | Sunderland | H | W | 2–1 | Ridgewell 37', McFadden 48' | 21,723 |
| 1 November 2009 | 14th | Manchester City | H | D | 0–0 | | 21,462 |
| 9 November 2009 | 15th | Liverpool | A | D | 2–2 | Benítez 26', Jerome 45+3' | 42,560 |
| 21 November 2009 | 12th | Fulham | H | W | 1–0 | Bowyer 16' | 23,659 |
| 29 November 2009 | 11th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | W | 1–0 | Bowyer 3' | 26,668 |
| 5 December 2009 | 8th | Wigan Athletic | A | W | 3–2 | Larsson (2) 61', 72', Benítez 66' | 18,797 |
| 12 December 2009 | 8th | West Ham United | H | W | 1–0 | Bowyer 52' | 28,203 |
| 15 December 2009 | 6th | Blackburn Rovers | H | W | 2–1 | Jerome (2) 12', 48' | 23,187 |
| 20 December 2009 | 7th | Everton | A | D | 1–1 | Larsson 22' | 33,660 |
| 26 December 2009 | 8th | Chelsea | H | D | 0–0 | | 28,958 |
| 28 December 2009 | 7th | Stoke City | A | W | 1–0 | Jerome 50' | 27,211 |
| 9 January 2010 | 8th | Manchester United | H | D | 1–1 | Jerome 39' | 28,907 |
| 27 January 2010 | 8th | Chelsea | A | L | 0–3 | | 41,293 |
| 30 January 2010 | 8th | Tottenham Hotspur | H | D | 1–1 | Ridgewell 90+1' | 27,238 |
| 7 February 2010 | 8th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | W | 2–1 | Phillips (2) 80', 85' | 24,165 |
| 10 February 2010 | 8th | West Ham United | A | L | 0–2 | | 34,458 |
| 21 February 2010 | 10th | Fulham | A | L | 1–2 | Baird 3' o.g. | 21,758 |
| 27 February 2010 | 8th | Wigan Athletic | H | W | 1–0 | McFadden 45+2' pen. | 25,921 |
| 9 March 2010 | 8th | Portsmouth | A | W | 2–1 | Jerome (2) 16', 42' | 18,465 |
| 13 March 2010 | 8th | Everton | H | D | 2–2 | Jerome 26', Gardner 52' | 24,579 |
| 20 March 2010 | 9th | Sunderland | A | L | 1–3 | Jerome 60' | 37,962 |
| 24 March 2010 | 9th | Blackburn Rovers | A | L | 1–2 | McFadden 55' | 23,856 |
| 27 March 2010 | 9th | Arsenal | H | D | 1–1 | Phillips 90+2' | 27,039 |
| 4 April 2010 | 9th | Liverpool | H | D | 1–1 | Ridgewell 56' | 27,909 |
| 11 April 2010 | 9th | Manchester City | A | L | 1–5 | Jerome 42' | 45,209 |
| 17 April 2010 | 9th | Hull City | H | D | 0–0 | | 26,669 |
| 25 April 2010 | 9th | Aston Villa | A | L | 0–1 | | 42,788 |
| 1 May 2010 | 9th | Burnley | H | W | 2–1 | Jerome 29', Benítez 41' | 24,578 |
| 9 May 2010 | 9th | Bolton Wanderers | A | L | 1–2 | McFadden 77' | 22,863 |

### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 7 | Liverpool | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 61 | 35 | +26 | 63 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 8 | Everton | 38 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 60 | 49 | +11 | 61 | |
| 9 | Birmingham City | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 38 | 47 | −9 | 50 | |
| 10 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 41 | 55 | −14 | 50 | |
| 11 | Stoke City | 38 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 34 | 48 | −14 | 47 | |
* ↑ Originally Portsmouth qualified for the third qualifying round of the Europa League as the FA Cup runners-up, replacing the winners, Champions League-qualified Chelsea. However, they failed to apply for a UEFA licence. Therefore, Liverpool as the best placed team not qualified for the European competitions took their place.

### 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

FA Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Third round | 2 January 2010 | Nottingham Forest | A | D | 0–0 | | 20,975 |
| Third round replay | 12 January 2010 | Nottingham Forest | H | W | 1–0 | Ferguson 62' | 9,399 |
| Fourth round | 23 January 2010 | Everton | A | W | 2–1 | Benítez 7', Ferguson 40' | 30,875 |
| Fifth round | 13 February 2010 | Derby County | A | W | 2–1 | Dann 73', Ridgewell 90+3' | 21,043 |
| Sixth round | 6 March 2010 | Portsmouth | A | L | 0–2 | | 20,456 |

## League Cup

Birmingham entered the 2009–10 League Cup in the second round. The draw saw them travel down to the south coast to play League One team Southampton for the second time in consecutive seasons. Goals from midfielders Lee Carsley and Lee Bowyer cancelled out Adam Lallana's strike to see Birmingham progress to the next round 2–1. In the third round, Birmingham visited fellow Premier League side Sunderland. An early goal from Jordan Henderson and a strike by Fraizer Campbell midway through the first half was enough to see Birmingham knocked out of the cup 2–0.
League Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Report |
| Second round | 25 August 2009 | Southampton | A | W | 2–1 | Bowyer 77', Carsley 80' | 11,753 | |
| Third round | 22 September 2009 | Sunderland | A | L | 0–2 | | 20,576 | |

## Appearances and goals

    Source:
    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 | NIR | Maik Taylor | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | IRE | Stephen Carr | 35 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | David Murphy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Lee Bowyer | 34 (1) | 5 | 4 (1) | 0 | 1 (1) | 1 | 39 (3) | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| 5† | DF | ENG | Martin Taylor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Liam Ridgewell | 30 (1) | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 36 (1) | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | SWE | Sebastian Larsson | 26 (7) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 (7) | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | SCO | Garry O'Connor | 5 (5) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 6 (6) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Kevin Phillips | 2 (17) | 4 | 1 (3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 (20) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Cameron Jerome | 32 | 11$^a$ | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 11 | 5 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | ECU | Christian Benítez | 21 (9) | 3 | 3 (2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 25 (11) | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | SCO | Barry Ferguson | 37 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 2 | 9 | 1 |
| 13 | GK | IRE | Colin Doyle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DW | ENG | Roger Johnson | 38 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 15 | DW | ENG | Scott Dann | 30 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | SCO | James McFadden | 32 (4) | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 36 (5) | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| 17† | DF | ECU | Giovanny Espinoza | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ESP | Míchel | 3 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (6) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | IRE | Keith Fahey | 18 (16) | 0 | 3 (2) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 21 (19) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Gary McSheffrey | 1 (4) | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 (6) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | FRA | Franck Queudrue | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Stuart Parnaby | 6 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 (2) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | NIR | Damien Johnson | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Marcus Bent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | IRE | Jay O'Shea | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | ENG | Joe Hart* | 36 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | IRE | Lee Carsley | 3 (4) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 (4) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | FRA | Grégory Vignal | 6 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 (2) | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | FIN | Teemu Tainio* | 5 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Ashley Sammons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Dan Preston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Jordon Mutch | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Jake Jervis | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Craig Gardner | 10 (3) | 1 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 (5) | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | ENG | Nathan Redmond | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
    a. Soccerbase's stats exclude Birmingham's opening goal against Burnley on 1 May, originally credited as a Brian Jensen own goal but awarded to Jerome by the Dubious Goals Panel.

## Transfers

Before the start of the season, Stephen Carr was given a new two-year contract and Cameron Jerome signed a five-year deal. Youngsters Jacob Rowe and Shaun Timmins were given their first professional one-year contracts and Jared Wilson received a one-year extension.

### In

| Date | Player | Club† | Fee |
| 12 June 2009 | Scott Dann | Coventry City | Undisclosed |
| 24 June 2009 | Giovanny Espinoza | Barcelona SC | Undisclosed |
| 25 June 2009 | Roger Johnson | Cardiff City | £5m |
| 7 July 2009 | Christian Benítez | Santos Laguna | Undisclosed |
| 8 July 2009 | Lee Bowyer | (West Ham United) | Free |
| 13 July 2009 | Artur Krysiak | (Birmingham City) | Free |
| 17 July 2009 | Barry Ferguson | Rangers | £1.2m |
| 10 August 2009 | Jay O'Shea | Galway United | Undisclosed |
| 13 August 2009 | Grégory Vignal | RC Lens | Undisclosed |
| 11 January 2010 | Michel | Sporting de Gijón | £3m |
| 26 January 2010 | Craig Gardner | Aston Villa | £3m |
    † Brackets round club names indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Birmingham.

### Out

| Date | Player | Fee | Joined† |
| 12 January 2010 | Giovanny Espinoza | Released | (Unión Española) |
| 19 January 2010 | Krystian Pearce | Free | Huddersfield Town |
| 29 January 2010 | Martin Taylor | Free | Watford |
| 1 February 2010 | Damien Johnson | Free | Plymouth Argyle |
| 30 June 2010 | Lee Carsley | Released | (Coventry City) |
| 30 June 2010 | Artur Krysiak | Released | (Exeter City) |
| 30 June 2010 | Gary McSheffrey | Released | (Coventry City) |
| 30 June 2010 | Franck Queudrue | Released | (RC Lens) |
| 30 June 2010 | Jacob Rowe | Released | |
| 30 June 2010 | Shaun Timmins | Released | |
| 30 June 2010 | Grégory Vignal | Released | (Atromitos) |
| 30 June 2010 | Jared Wilson | Released | |
    † Brackets round club names denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.

### Loan in

| Date | Player | Club | Return | Ref |
| 24 June 2009 | Joe Hart | Manchester City | End of season | |
| 1 September 2009 | Teemu Tainio | Sunderland | End of season | |

### Loan out

| Date | Player | Club | Return |
| 1 July 2009 | Robin Shroot | Burton Albion | January 2010 |
| 20 July 2009 | Krystian Pearce | Peterborough United | 11 January 2010 |
| 10 August 2009 | Artur Krysiak | Burton Albion | End of season |
| 30 October 2009 | Marcus Bent | Middlesbrough | 16 January 2011 |
| 26 November 2009 | Jordon Mutch | Hereford United | 2 January 2011 |
| 23 December 2009 | Jacob Rowe | Redditch United | One month |
| 26 January 2010 | Jordon Mutch | Doncaster Rovers | One month |
| 29 January 2010 | Gary McSheffrey | Leeds United | End of season |
| 1 February 2010 | Marcus Bent | Queens Park Rangers | End of season |

### Transfer notes

* It is believed that the fee paid for Scott Dann is in the region of £3.5 million.
* Birmingham City did not mention an official cost for Giovanny Espinoza. Newspaper reports suggest that the fee was lower than €600,000 (£375,000).
* A fee and personal terms for Benítez were agreed on 3 June 2009, but were later renegotiated after a problem with Benítez's knee was discovered during his medical. Benítez officially joined the club on 7 July 2009. The fee for Benítez is thought to be $2 million (about £1.2 million) rising to $12.5 million (about £7.75 million) with add-ons, and also includes a 'get out' clause that will see him return to Mexico at the end of the season if his knee problem becomes serious.
* It was announced on 15 May 2009 that Artur Krysiak would be released from the club when his contract expired on 30 June 2009. It was later announced that the side had re-signed the Polish goalkeeper.
* Radhi Jaïdi, Stephen Kelly and Mehdi Nafti all left the club when their contracts expired. Kelly joined Fulham, while Nafti joined Greek side Aris Thessaloniki. Jaïdi signed for Southampton on 2 September 2009.
* Robin Shroot was originally loaned out to Burton Albion for the season, but was later cancelled, with the player returning to Birmingham on 1 January.
* Artur Krysiak's loan deal with Burton Albion was originally a one-month loan deal. This was extended until January on 1 September. The deal was further extended on 24 December to cover the remainder of the season.
* Jordon Mutch's loan deal to Hereford United, and later to Doncaster Rovers, were both Football League Youth Loans. This meant he would still be eligible for Birmingham City reserve and academy fixtures, but Hereford/Doncaster fixtures would take priority if on the same day.