# 2000–01 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 2000–01 season was Birmingham City Football Club's 98th season in the English football league system. It ran from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001.
Led by manager Trevor Francis, the team repeated the previous season's fifth-place finish in the Football League First Division to qualify for the play-offs for a second consecutive season, but suffered another semi-final defeat, this time to Preston North End, losing 4–2 on penalties after drawing 2–2 over two legs. They were eliminated in the third round of the FA Cup, and reached the Football League Cup final for the first time since 1963, facing Liverpool. Liverpool took the lead in the 30th minute through Robbie Fowler, but Birmingham equalised in the last minute of normal time with a Darren Purse penalty. No further goals were scored in extra time, so the match was settled in a penalty shoot-out; Martin Grainger's and Andrew Johnson's penalties were saved, and Liverpool won 5–4 on penalties.
The top scorer for the season was Geoff Horsfield, with twelve goals in all competitions, of which seven were in the League; Marcelo also scored seven league goals.

## Kit

French apparel manufacturers Le Coq Sportif remained Birmingham's kit suppliers for the third season in a row, and introduced a new kit for the season. Auto Windscreens remained the kit sponsors, also for the third consecutive season.

## Football League First Division
### Match details

    General sources: Match content not verifiable from these sources is referenced individually.
| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 12 August 2000 | 11th | Queens Park Rangers | A | D | 0–0 | | 13,926 |
| 18 August 2000 | 16th | Fulham | H | L | 1–3 | Sonner 36' | 21,659 |
| 26 August 2000 | 14th | Nottingham Forest | A | W | 2–1 | Marcelo 16', Eaden 45' | 18,820 |
| 28 August 2000 | 5th | Barnsley | H | W | 4–1 | Ndlovu 9', Grainger 35' pen., Holdsworth 51', Hughes 90' | 17,160 |
| 9 September 2000 | 6th | Sheffield United | H | W | 1–0 | O'Connor 9' pen. | 21,493 |
| 12 September 2000 | 4th | Preston North End | H | W | 3–1 | Ndlovu 58', A. Johnson 65', O'Connor 78' pen. | 16,484 |
| 17 September 2000 | 4th | West Bromwich Albion | A | D | 1–1 | Horsfield 61' | 19,858 |
| 23 September 2000 | 4th | Tranmere Rovers | H | W | 2–0 | Grainger 73', Horsfield 90' | 17,640 |
| 1 October 2000 | 5th | Watford | A | L | 0–2 | | 12,355 |
| 8 October 2000 | 4th | Crewe Alexandra | A | W | 2–0 | Hughes 54', Marcelo 81' | 6,829 |
| 14 October 2000 | 4th | Crystal Palace | H | W | 2–1 | Burchill 72', Adebola 85' | 17,191 |
| 17 October 2000 | 3rd | Stockport County | H | W | 4–0 | Horsfield 13', Grainger 70' pen., Burchill (2) 80', 87' | 15,579 |
| 22 October 2000 | 3rd | Sheffield Wednesday | A | L | 0–1 | | 14,695 |
| 25 October 2000 | 3rd | Gillingham | H | W | 1–0 | Marcelo 90' | 26,044 |
| 28 October 2000 | 3rd | Portsmouth | A | D | 1–1 | Eaden 48' | 15,218 |
| 4 November 2000 | 3rd | Bolton Wanderers | H | D | 1–1 | Grainger 50' pen. | 20,043 |
| 7 November 2000 | 3rd | Norwich City | A | L | 0–1 | | 13,900 |
| 18 November 2000 | 4th | Burnley | H | W | 3–2 | Adebola 48', O'Connor 50', Burchill 86' | 19,641 |
| 25 November 2000 | 3rd | Huddersfield Town | H | W | 2–1 | Lazaridis 26', Horsfield 45' | 22,120 |
| 2 December 2000 | 2nd | Gillingham | A | W | 2–1 | M. Johnson 78', Horsfield 90' | 9,247 |
| 9 December 2000 | 3rd | Wimbledon | H | L | 0–3 | | 16,778 |
| 17 December 2000 | 3rd | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | W | 1–0 | Adebola 32' | 19,938 |
| 23 December 2000 | 3rd | Queens Park Rangers | H | D | 0–0 | | 24,311 |
| 26 December 2000 | 4th | Blackburn Rovers | A | L | 1–2 | Purse 88' | 24,899 |
| 1 January 2001 | 6th | Nottingham Forest | H | L | 0–2 | | 20,034 |
| 13 January 2001 | 6th | Barnsley | A | W | 3–2 | Marcelo 16', M. Johnson 40', Lazaridis 48' | 13,631 |
| 27 January 2001 | 5th | Fulham | A | W | 1–0 | Grainger 47' | 15,482 |
| 3 February 2001 | 5th | Norwich City | H | W | 2–1 | Hughes 9', Purse 62' pen. | 18,551 |
| 10 February 2001 | 6th | Sheffield United | A | L | 1–3 | Horsfield 89' | 19,313 |
| 17 February 2001 | 4th | West Bromwich Albion | H | W | 2–1 | Adebola 36', O'Connor 57' | 25,025 |
| 20 February 2001 | 4th | Preston North End | A | W | 2–0 | Grainger 11', A. Johnson 71' | 14,864 |
| 2 March 2001 | 4th | Watford | H | W | 2–0 | Eaden 45', Hughes 79' | 20,724 |
| 6 March 2001 | 4th | Crystal Palace | A | W | 2–1 | Upson 48' o.g., Adebola 59' | 13,987 |
| 10 March 2001 | 3rd | Crewe Alexandra | H | W | 2–0 | Purse 61' pen., A. Johnson 77' | 28,042 |
| 14 March 2001 | 4th | Blackburn Rovers | H | L | 0–2 | | 29,150 |
| 17 March 2001 | 4th | Stockport County | A | L | 0–2 | | 7,176 |
| 20 March 2001 | 4th | Grimsby Town | A | D | 1–1 | A. Johnson 10' | 4,843 |
| 24 March 2001 | 4th | Sheffield Wednesday | H | L | 1–2 | Horsfield 60' | 19,733 |
| 1 April 2001 | 4th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | L | 0–1 | | 24,003 |
| 7 April 2001 | 4th | Wimbledon | A | L | 1–3 | Marcelo 86' | 6,619 |
| 10 April 2001 | 5th | Tranmere Rovers | A | L | 0–1 | | 8,004 |
| 13 April 2001 | 4th | Bolton Wanderers | A | D | 2–2 | O'Connor 14', Marcelo 57' | 15,025 |
| 16 April 2001 | 4th | Portsmouth | H | D | 0–0 | | 23,304 |
| 21 April 2001 | 5th | Burnley | A | D | 0–0 | | 17,057 |
| 28 April 2001 | 5th | Grimsby Town | H | W | 1–0 | Marcelo 64' | 24,822 |
| 6 May 2001 | 5th | Huddersfield Town | A | W | 2–1 | Woodhouse (2) 21', 45' | 19,290 |

### League table (part)

Final First Division table (part) :
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 3rd | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 24 | 15 | 7 | 76 | 45 | 31 | 87 |
| 4th | Preston North End | 46 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 64 | 52 | 12 | 78 |
| 5th | Birmingham City | 46 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 59 | 48 | 11 | 78 |
| 6th | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 60 | 52 | 8 | 74 |
| 7th | Burnley | 46 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 50 | 54 | −4 | 72 |
| Key | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points |
| Source | | | | | | | | | |

### Results summary

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

### Play-offs

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Refs |
| Semifinal 1st leg | 13 May 2001 | Preston North End | H | W | 1–0 | Eaden 54' | 29,072 | |
| Semifinal 2nd leg | 17 May 2001 | Preston North End | A | L | 1–2 a.e.t. 2–4 pens. | Horsfield 58' | 16,928 | |

## FA Cup

FA Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Refs |
| Third round | 6 January 2001 | Manchester City | A | L | 2–3 | Grainger 57', Adebola 61' | 19,380 | |

## League Cup

    General sources: Match content not verifiable from these sources is referenced individually.
League Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| First round first leg | 22 August 2000 | Southend United | A | W | 5–0 | Eaden 5', Marcelo 10', M. Johnson 28', Adebola 74', Hughes 85' | 3,694 |
| First round second leg | 5 September 2000 | Southend United | H | D | 0–0 5–0 agg. | | 9,507 |
| Second round first leg | 19 September 2000 | Wycombe Wanderers | A | W | 4–3 | Horsfield (2) 3', 22', A. Johnson (2) 24', 87' | 2,537 |
| Second round second leg | 26 September 2000 | Wycombe Wanderers | H | W | 1–0 5–3 agg. | Ndlovu 66' | 8,960 |
| Third round | 31 October 2000 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | W | 3–1 | Adebola (2) 15', 28', Burchill 45' | 27,096 |
| Fourth round | 29 November 2000 | Newcastle United | H | W | 2–1 | Adebola 31', M. Johnson 90' | 18,520 |
| Quarter-final | 12 December 2000 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | W | 2–0 | Sonner 28', Adebola 57' | 22,911 |
| Semi-final first leg | 9 January 2001 | Ipswich Town | A | L | 0–1 | | 21,684 |
| Semi-final second leg | 31 January 2001 | Ipswich Town | H | W | 4–1 a.e.t 4–2 agg. | Grainger 43', Horsfield (2) 56', 103', A. Johnson 117' | 28,624 |

### Final
## Transfers
### In

| Date | Player | Club† | Fee |
| 1 July 2000 | David Burrows | (Coventry City) | Free |
| 5 July 2000 | Nicky Eaden | (Barnsley) | Free |
| 10 July 2000 | Geoff Horsfield | Fulham | £2.25m |
| 3 August 2000 | Danny Sonner | (Sheffield Wednesday) | Free |
| 2 February 2001 | Curtis Woodhouse | Sheffield United | £1m |
    † Brackets round club names indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Birmingham.

### Out

| Date | Player | Fee | Joined† |
| 28 June 2000 | Gary Rowett | £3m | Leicester City |
| January 2001 | Jimmy Haarhoff | Free | Chester City |
| 2 February 2001 | Peter Ndlovu | Released | (Sheffield United) |
| 9 February 2001 | Steve Robinson | Undisclosed | Swindon Town |
| 10 April 2001 | Simon Marsh | Released | (Tamworth) |
| 30 June 2001 | Jon Bass | Released | (Hartlepool United) |
| 30 June 2001 | James Dyson | Released | (Hednesford Town) |
| 30 June 2001 | Kevin Poole | Released | (Birmingham City) |
    † Brackets round a club denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.

### Loan in

| Date | Player | Club | Return |
| 15 September 2000 | Gary Charles | West Ham United | One month |
| 22 September 2000 | Mark Burchill | Celtic | Three months |
| 13 November 2000 | Richard Edghill | Manchester City | One month |
| 14 December 2000 | Steve Jenkins | Huddersfield Town | One month |
| 9 February 2001 | Carl Tiler | Charlton Athletic | 21 February 2001 |
| 13 February 2001 | Peter Atherton | Bradford City | Three months |
| 16 March 2001 | Jamie Pollock | Crystal Palace | 17 May 2001 |

### Loan out

| Date | Player | Club | Return | Ref |
| 7 August 2000 | Paul Furlong | Queens Park Rangers | Two months | |

## Appearances and goals

    Source:
    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 | League Cup | League Cup | Play-offs | Play-offs | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Ian Bennett | 45 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 58 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Nicky Eaden | 44 (1) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 1 (1) | 1 | 56 (2) | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Martin Grainger | 35 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | David Burrows | 8 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 (7) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Darren Purse | 34 (3) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 (1) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 45 (4) | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | David Holdsworth | 24 (5) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 28 (6) | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | NIR | Jon McCarthy | 7 (8) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 9 (9) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | BRA | Marcelo | 16 (15) | 7 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (3) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 20 (19) | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Geoff Horsfield | 25 (9) | 7 | 0 (1) | 0 | 5 (1) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 32 (11) | 12 | 8 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Bryan Hughes | 38 (7) | 4 | 0 (1) | 0 | 6 (3) | 1 | 0 (2) | 0 | 44 (13) | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | AUS | Stan Lazaridis | 26 (5) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 (2) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 33 (8) | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | CAY | Martin O'Connor | 28 (2) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 (2) | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Kevin Poole | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Graham Hyde | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (3) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Jerry Gill | 21 (8) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 (8) | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | JAM | Michael Johnson | 39 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Steve Robinson † | 0 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Jamie Pollock * † | 4 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Andrew Johnson | 20 (14) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 (6) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 21 (20) | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Gary Charles * † | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Jacques Williams | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | COD | Trésor Luntala | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | WAL | Steve Jenkins * † | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Jon Bass | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | NGA | Dele Adebola | 16 (15) | 5 | 1 | 1 | 6 (2) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 23 (17) | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | ENG | Paul Furlong | 0 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | ZIM | Peter Ndlovu † | 10 (2) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 (3) | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | NIR | Tony Capaldi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Carl Tiler * † | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Peter Atherton * | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Richard Edghill * † | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Curtis Woodhouse | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | SCO | Mark Burchill * † | 4 (9) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (1) | 1 | 7 (10) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | NIR | Danny Sonner | 22 (4) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 34 (4) | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 33 | GK | ENG | Neil Barnes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Players not included in matchday squads :
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name |
| 16 | DF | ENG | James Dyson |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Simon Marsh |
| 28 | MF | NIR | Jimmy Haarhoff † |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Joey Hutchinson |
| 31 | GK | ENG | Darren Horrigan † |
| 31 | MF | FRA | Mickael Sabathier |