# 2001–02 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 2001–02 season was Birmingham City Football Club's 99th in the Football League. They finished in 5th position in the 24-team Football League First Division, thus qualifying for the play-offs, and were successful in the final, beating Norwich City in a penalty shootout to gain promotion to the Premier League. Birmingham entered the 2001–02 FA Cup at the third round and lost to Liverpool in that round, and after entering the League Cup in the first round, lost to Manchester City in the third.
Trevor Francis was dismissed as manager in October with Birmingham mid-table in the First Division. Mick Mills and Jim Barron acted as caretakers until December, when former Crystal Palace manager Steve Bruce was appointed. French manufacturers Le Coq Sportif supplied Birmingham's kit for the fourth consecutive season, and mobile phone retailer Phones4U were the new shirt sponsors. Tommy Mooney was top scorer with 15 goals, of which 13 were scored in the league.

## Football League First Division

Trevor Francis was dismissed as manager in October with Birmingham mid-table in the First Division. Mick Mills and Jim Barron acted as caretakers until December, when former Crystal Palace manager Steve Bruce was appointed. Under his management Birmingham improved to finish fifth in the First Division for the third season running, qualifying for the play-offs yet again. This season, however, Birmingham finally tasted success: after beating Millwall 2–1 on aggregate in the semi-final, they faced Norwich City in the play-off final at the Millennium Stadium. After normal time ended goalless, the match went to extra time, only for Norwich's Iwan Roberts to score in the first minute of extra time. However, Geoff Horsfield equalised 11 minutes later and, with no further goals, the match went to a penalty shoot-out. Birmingham won 4–2 to finally gain promotion to the Premier League, 16 seasons after their previous top-flight campaign.

### Match details

| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 11 August 2001 | 19th | Wimbledon | A | L | 1–3 | B. Hughes 87' | 9,142 |
| 19 August 2001 | 8th | Millwall | H | W | 4–0 | B. Hughes 22', 27', Horsfield 30', Eaden 45' | 19,091 |
| 25 August 2001 | 7th | Walsall | A | W | 2–1 | Mooney 20', Horsfield 41' | 7,245 |
| 27 August 2001 | 3rd | Stockport County | H | W | 2–1 | Grainger 2', Mooney 21' pen. | 18,478 |
| 8 September 2001 | 3rd | Sheffield Wednesday | H | W | 2–0 | A. Johnson 43', B. Hughes 63' | 19,421 |
| 15 September 2001 | 7th | Manchester City | A | L | 0–3 | | 31,714 |
| 18 September 2001 | 9th | Burnley | H | L | 2–3 | A. Johnson (2) 19', 40' | 18,426 |
| 23 September 2001 | 14th | Preston North End | H | L | 0–1 | | 23,004 |
| 26 September 2001 | 14th | Watford | A | D | 3–3 | B. Hughes 4', Horsfield 47', Grainger 85' | 13,091 |
| 29 September 2001 | 14th | Crewe Alexandra | A | D | 0–0 | | 7,314 |
| 13 October 2001 | 12th | Barnsley | A | W | 3–1 | Marcelo 36', Horsfield 55', Furlong 83' | 11,910 |
| 18 October 2001 | 10th | Nottingham Forest | A | D | 0–0 | | 18,210 |
| 20 October 2001 | 6th | Bradford City | H | W | 4–0 | Marcelo (3) 37', 45', 48', Sonner 39' | 25,011 |
| 23 October 2001 | 5th | Gillingham | H | W | 2–1 | Horsfield (2) 36', 47' | 27,101 |
| 26 October 2001 | 6th | Grimsby Town | A | L | 1–3 | Marcelo 49' | 5,419 |
| 30 October 2001 | 6th | Portsmouth | A | D | 1–1 | Marcelo 25' | 15,612 |
| 4 November 2001 | 10th | Rotherham United | H | D | 2–2 | Branston 45' o.g., Horsfield 51' | 28,436 |
| 7 November 2001 | 10th | West Bromwich Albion | H | L | 0–1 | | 23,554 |
| 17 November 2001 | 12th | Sheffield United | A | L | 0–4 | | 15,686 |
| 25 November 2001 | 11th | Coventry City | H | W | 2–0 | Marcelo (2) 17', 61' | 18,279 |
| 30 November 2001 | 11th | Gillingham | A | D | 1–1 | Marcelo 63' | 8,575 |
| 8 December 2001 | 10th | Norwich City | H | W | 4–0 | Mooney (3) 30', 45', 58' pen., Marcelo 46' | 17,310 |
| 11 December 2001 | 9th | Crystal Palace | H | W | 1–0 | Mooney 64' pen. | 20,119 |
| 16 December 2001 | 10th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | L | 1–2 | Marcelo 40' | 21,482 |
| 22 December 2001 | 7th | Walsall | H | W | 1–0 | Purse 14' pen. | 20,127 |
| 26 December 2001 | 8th | Sheffield Wednesday | A | W | 1–0 | Horsfield 77' | 24,335 |
| 29 December 2001 | 6th | Stockport County | A | W | 3–0 | Vickers 18', Marcelo 49', Mooney 76' | 5,827 |
| 1 January 2002 | 7th | Nottingham Forest | H | D | 1–1 | Mooney 4' | 19,770 |
| 10 January 2002 | 6th | Millwall | A | D | 1–1 | Mooney 45' | 11,856 |
| 19 January 2002 | 8th | Wimbledon | H | L | 0–2 | | 17,766 |
| 29 January 2002 | 8th | West Bromwich Albion | A | L | 0–1 | | 25,266 |
| 16 February 2002 | 9th | Barnsley | H | W | 1–0 | John 51' | 19,208 |
| 23 February 2002 | 9th | Watford | H | W | 3–2 | Purse 21', Mooney (2) 42', 53' pen. | 18,059 |
| 26 February 2002 | 8th | Burnley | A | W | 1–0 | Mooney 25' | 13,504 |
| 2 March 2002 | 9th | Preston North End | A | L | 0–1 | | 15,543 |
| 5 March 2002 | 9th | Manchester City | H | L | 1–2 | M. Johnson 4' | 24,160 |
| 9 March 2002 | 10th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | D | 2–2 | John 36', Devlin 45' | 22,104 |
| 12 March 2002 | 7th | Bradford City | A | W | 3–1 | Purse 6', John 31', Horsfield 82' | 13,105 |
| 15 March 2002 | 7th | Norwich City | A | W | 1–0 | John 22' | 18,258 |
| 24 March 2002 | 7th | Coventry City | A | D | 1–1 | Horsfield 81' | 17,945 |
| 30 March 2002 | 6th | Grimsby Town | H | W | 4–0 | B. Hughes (2) 22', 31', John 50', D. Johnson 64' | 23,249 |
| 1 April 2002 | 6th | Crystal Palace | A | D | 0–0 | | 19,598 |
| 7 April 2002 | 6th | Portsmouth | H | D | 1–1 | John 2' | 25,030 |
| 10 April 2002 | 4th | Crewe Alexandra | H | W | 3–1 | John 30', Carter 45', Mooney 49' | 28,615 |
| 13 April 2002 | 4th | Rotherham United | A | D | 2–2 | Grainger 38', Beech 70' o.g. | 10,536 |
| 21 April 2002 | 5th | Sheffield United | H | W | 2–0 | Horsfield 61', Grainger 63' | 29,178 |

### League table (part)

Final First Division table (part) :
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 3rd | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 25 | 11 | 10 | 76 | 43 | +33 | 86 |
| 4th | Millwall | 46 | 22 | 11 | 13 | 69 | 47 | +22 | 77 |
| 5th | Birmingham City | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 70 | 49 | +21 | 76 |
| 6th | Norwich City | 46 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 60 | 51 | +9 | 75 |
| 7th | Burnley | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 70 | 62 | +8 | 75 |
| 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 | Report |
| Semifinal 1st leg | 28 April 2002 | Millwall | H | D | 1–1 | B. Hughes 56' | 28,282 | |
| Semifinal 2nd leg | 2 May 2002 | Millwall | A | W | 1–0 2–1 agg. | John 90' | 16,391 | |

#### Final
## FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Report |
| Third round | 5 January 2002 | Liverpool | A | L | 0–3 | | 40,875 |

## League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| First round | 22 August 2001 | Southend United | H | W | 3–0 | Mooney (2) 7', 90' pen., Whelan 16' o.g. | 12,015 |
| Second round | 11 September 2001 | Bristol Rovers | A | W | 3–0 | A. Johnson 45', M. Johnson 62', B. Hughes 68' | 5,582 |
| Third round | 10 October 2001 | Manchester City | A | L | 0–6 | | 13,112 |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Player | Club† | Fee |
| 18 June 2001 | Nico Vaesen | Huddersfield Town) | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2001 | Tommy Mooney | (Watford) | Free |
| 1 July 2001 | Chris Ward | Lancaster City | £25,000 |
| 8 August 2001 | Kevin Poole | Unattached | Free |
| 17 December 2001 | Steve Vickers | Middlesbrough | £425,000 |
| 31 January 2002 | Jeff Kenna | Blackburn Rovers | Free |
| 8 February 2002 | Stern John | Nottingham Forest | £100,000 |
| 8 March 2002 | Damien Johnson | Blackburn Rovers | Undisclosed |
| 13 March 2002 | Tom Williams | Peterborough United | Undisclosed |
| 22 March 2002 | Olivier Tébily | Celtic | £700,000 |
| 8 May 2002 | Paul Devlin | Sheffield United | c. £200,000 |
    † Brackets round club names indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Birmingham.

### Out

| Date | Player | Fee | Joined† |
| 13 July 2001 | Jon Bass | Free | Hartlepool United |
| 26 October 2001 | Kevin Poole | Free | Bolton Wanderers |
| 7 February 2002 | Marcelo | Undisclosed | Walsall |
| 7 February 2002 | Martyn O'Connor | Undisclosed | Walsall |
| 8 March 2002 | David Burrows | Released | (Sheffield Wednesday) |
| 8 March 2002 | Jacques Williams | Released | (Scarborough) |
| 8 March 2002 | Mickael Sabathier | Released | |
| 15 March 2002 | Ross Diamond | Released | |
| 30 June 2002 | Jon McCarthy | Released | (Port Vale) |
| 30 June 2002 | Dele Adebola | Released | (Crystal Palace) |
| 30 June 2002 | Danny Sonner | Released | (Walsall) |
| 10 July 2002 | David Holdsworth | Released | (Bolton Wanderers) |
    † Brackets round a club denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.

### Loan in

| Date | Player | Club | Return |
| 10 August 2001 | Carlos Ferrari | Mirassol | 5 March 2002 |
| 24 August 2001 | Alan Kelly | Blackburn Rovers | One month |
| 6 September 2001 | Bjørn Otto Bragstad | Derby County | One month |
| 15 November 2001 | Curtis Fleming | Middlesbrough | One month |
| 16 November 2001 | Steve Vickers | Middlesbrough | One month |
| 21 December 2001 | Arkadiusz Bąk | Polonia Warsaw | 18 February 2002 |
| 24 December 2001 | Jeff Kenna | Blackburn Rovers | One month |
| 4 February 2002 | Paul Devlin | Sheffield United | Three months |
| 11 March 2002 | Tom Williams | Peterborough United | 13 March 2002 |
| 28 March 2002 | Michael Hughes | Wimbledon | End of season |

### Loan out

| Date | Player | Club | Return |
| 17 August 2001 | Graham Hyde | Chesterfield | Two months |
| 21 September 2001 | Tony Capaldi | Hereford United | 1 January 2002 |
| 2 October 2001 | Chris Ward | Forest Green Rovers | One month |
| 18 January 2002 | David Holdsworth | Walsall | End of season |
| 4 February 2002 | Paul Furlong | Sheffield United | One month |
| 20 March 2002 | Dele Adebola | Oldham Athletic | One month |
| 28 March 2002 | Jon McCarthy | Sheffield Wednesday | One month |
| 29 March 2002 | Chris Ward | Southport | One month |

## Appearances and goals

    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 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Nicky Eaden | 25 (5) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Martin Grainger | 40 (1) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 46 (1) | 4 | 12 | 1 |
| 4 | MF | NIR | Danny Sonner | 10 (5) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 (5) | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Darren Purse | 36 (1) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 (1) | 3 | 11 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | David Holdsworth | 3 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | NIR | Jon McCarthy | 3 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | BRA | Marcelo † | 17 (5) | 12 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 (9) | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | TRI | Stern John | 15 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Geoff Horsfield | 34 (7) | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 41 (7) | 12 | 7 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Bryan Hughes | 28 (4) | 7 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 33 (5) | 9 | 4 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | AUS | Stan Lazaridis | 23 (10) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 (3) | 0 | 24 (14) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | CAY | Martyn O'Connor † | 24 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 (2) | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | NIR | Michael Hughes * | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | ENG | Graham Hyde | 1 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (4) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Curtis Woodhouse | 18 (10) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 (11) | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Jerry Gill | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Tommy Mooney | 30 (4) | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 35 (4) | 15 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | JAM | Michael Johnson | 31 (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 35 (2) | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | GK | BEL | Nico Vaesen | 22 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 27 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Andrew Johnson | 9 (14) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 (2) | 0 | 12 (16) | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | CYP | Tom Williams | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | COD | Trésor Luntala | 9 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | ENG | David Burrows † | 9 (3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | NIR | Damien Johnson | 5 (3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 (3) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | ENG | Paul Furlong | 2 (9) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (11) | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | CIV | Olivier Tébily | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Joey Hutchinson | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | GK | AUS | Clint Davies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Kevin Poole † | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | IRL | Curtis Fleming * † | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | POL | Arkadiusz Bąk * † | 2 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | FW | BRA | Carlos Ferrari * | 0 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | GK | ENG | Neil Barnes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | GK | IRL | Alan Kelly * | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | NOR | Bjørn Otto Bragstad * | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Darren Carter | 13 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 14 (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Steve Vickers | 13 (1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | DF | IRL | Jeff Kenna | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | SCO | Paul Devlin | 11 (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 (2) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Players not included in matchday squads :
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Jacques Williams † |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Chris Ward |
| 24 | FW | NGA | Dele Adebola |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Ross Diamond † |
| 27 | DF | NIR | Tony Capaldi |
| 29 | MF | FRA | Mickael Sabathier † |
| 34 | FW | ENG | Craig Fagan |