# 2005–06 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 2005–06 season was Birmingham City Football Club's 103rd season in the English football league system and their fourth in the Premier League. Under the management of Steve Bruce, they finished in 18th position in the 20-team division, so were relegated to the Championship for 2006–07. They entered the 2005–06 FA Cup at the third round and progressed to the sixth round (quarter-final), in which they suffered their heaviest ever FA Cup defeat, and their heaviest defeat at St Andrew's in any competition, losing 7–0 at home to Liverpool. They also reached the quarter-final of the League Cup, in which they were eliminated by Manchester United.
Jiří Jarošík was top scorer in league competition, with just five goals. If all competitions are included, Jarošík and fellow loanee Mikael Forssell scored eight apiece.

## Pre-season
### Pre-season friendlies

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers |
| 13 July 2005 | Egersunds IK | A | W | 2–0 | Gray 44', Kuqi 70' |
| 16 July 2005 | Viking Stavanger | A | W | 1–0 | Pennant 43' |
| 19 July 2005 | Brann Bergen | A | L | 0–4 | |
| 23 July 2005 | Derby County | A | W | 4–0 | Forssell 33', Heskey (2) 43' 55', Kuqi 90' |
| 27 July 2005 | Northampton Town | A | L | 0–1 | |
| 30 July 2005 | QPR | A | L | 1–2 | Pennant 90' (pen) |
| 30 July 2005 | Peterborough United | A | L | 1–2 | Morrison 35' |
| 6 August 2005 | Deportivo La Coruna 'B' | A | W | 1–0 | Forssell (pen) |
| 6 August 2005 | Deportivo La Coruna 'A' | A | L | 0–2 | |
* Note 1: Each match was 45 minutes long as part of a short three-team tournament in Spain

## Premier League
### Match details

| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 11 August 2005 | 7th | Fulham | A | D | 0–0 | | 16,550 |
| 20 August 2005 | 13th | Manchester City | H | L | 1–2 | Butt 7' | 26,366 |
| 23 August 2005 | 18th | Middlesbrough | H | L | 0–3 | | 27,998 |
| 27 August 2005 | 13th | West Bromwich Albion | A | W | 3–2 | Heskey 10', 33', Jarošík 26' | 23,993 |
| 10 September 2005 | 16th | Charlton Athletic | H | L | 0–1 | | 26,846 |
| 17 September 2005 | 15th | Portsmouth | A | D | 1–1 | Jarošík 6' | 19,319 |
| 24 September 2005 | 14th | Liverpool | H | D | 2–2 | Warnock 72' o.g., Pandiani 75' | 27,733 |
| 2 October 2005 | 15th | Arsenal | A | L | 0–1 | | 37,891 |
| 16 October 2005 | 17th | Aston Villa | H | L | 0–1 | | 29,312 |
| 22 October 2005 | 18th | Blackburn Rovers | A | L | 0–2 | | 18,341 |
| 29 October 2005 | 19th | Everton | H | L | 0–1 | | 26,554 |
| 5 November 2005 | 19th | Newcastle United | A | L | 0–1 | | 52,191 |
| 26 November 2005 | 19th | Sunderland | A | W | 1–0 | Gray 68' | 32,442 |
| 5 December 2005 | 19th | West Ham United | H | L | 1–2 | Heskey 11' | 24,010 |
| 10 December 2005 | 18th | Fulham | H | W | 1–0 | Butt 84' | 27,597 |
| 17 December 2005 | 19th | Manchester City | A | L | 1–4 | Jarošík 76' | 41,343 |
| 26 December 2005 | 19th | Tottenham Hotspur | A | L | 0–2 | | 36,045 |
| 28 December 2005 | 19th | Manchester United | H | D | 2–2 | Clapham 18', Pandiani 78' | 28,459 |
| 31 December 2005 | 19th | Chelsea | A | L | 0–2 | | 40,652 |
| 2 January 2006 | 19th | Wigan Athletic | H | W | 2–0 | Melchiot 20', Pennant 33' | 29,189 |
| 14 January 2006 | 19th | Charlton Athletic | A | L | 0–2 | | 26,312 |
| 21 January 2006 | 18th | Portsmouth | H | W | 5–0 | Jarošík 5', Pennant 37', Upson 55', Forssell 90' pen., Dunn 90' | 29,138 |
| 1 February 2006 | 18th | Liverpool | A | D | 1–1 | Alonso 88' o.g. | 43,851 |
| 4 February 2006 | 18th | Arsenal | H | L | 0–2 | | 27,075 |
| 13 February 2006 | 18th | West Ham United | A | L | 0–3 | | 31,294 |
| 25 February 2006 | 18th | Sunderland | H | W | 1–0 | Heskey 39' | 29,257 |
| 4 March 2006 | 18th | Middlesbrough | A | L | 0–1 | | 28,141 |
| 11 March 2006 | 18th | West Bromwich Albion | H | D | 1–1 | Forssell 49' pen. | 28,041 |
| 18 March 2006 | 18th | Tottenham Hotspur | H | L | 0–2 | | 26,398 |
| 26 March 2006 | 18th | Manchester United | A | L | 0–3 | | 69,070 |
| 1 April 2006 | 19th | Chelsea | H | D | 0–0 | | 26,364 |
| 4 April 2006 | 17th | Bolton Wanderers | H | W | 1–0 | Jarošík 37' | 26,493 |
| 8 April 2006 | 18th | Wigan Athletic | A | D | 1–1 | Dunn 77' | 18,669 |
| 16 April 2006 | 18th | Aston Villa | A | L | 1–3 | Sutton 25' | 40,158 |
| 19 April 2006 | 17th | Blackburn Rovers | H | W | 2–1 | Butt 62', Forssell 87' | 25,287 |
| 22 April 2006 | 18th | Everton | A | D | 0–0 | | 35,420 |
| 29 April 2006 | 18th | Newcastle United | H | D | 0–0 | | 28,331 |
| 7 May 2006 | 18th | Bolton Wanderers | A | L | 0–1 | | 26,275 |

### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 42 | 55 | −13 | 42 | |
| 17 | Portsmouth | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 37 | 62 | −25 | 38 | |
| 18 | Birmingham City (R) | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 28 | 50 | −22 | 34 | Relegation to the Football League Championship |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion (R) | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 58 | −27 | 30 | Relegation to the Football League Championship |
| 20 | Sunderland (R) | 38 | 3 | 6 | 29 | 26 | 69 | −43 | 15 | Relegation to the Football League Championship |

### 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

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Third round | 7 January 2006 | Torquay United | A | D | 0–0 | | 5,974 |
| Third round replay | 17 January 2006 | Torquay United | H | W | 2–0 | Forssell 45', Jarošík 68' | 24,650 |
| Fourth round | 28 January 2006 | Reading | A | D | 1–1 | Dunn 67' | 23,762 |
| Fourth round replay | 7 February 2006 | Reading | H | W | 2–1 | Forssell 30', Gray 67' | 16,644 |
| Fifth round | 19 February 2006 | Stoke City | A | W | 1–0 | Forssell 47' | 18,768 |
| Sixth round | 21 March 2006 | Liverpool | H | L | 0–7 | | 27,378 |

## League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Second round | 20 September 2005 | Scunthorpe United | A | W | 2–0 | Forssell 15', 70' pen. | 6,109 |
| Third round | 26 October 2005 | Norwich City | H | W | 2–1 | Pennant 5', Jarošík 86' | 28,825 |
| Fourth round | 29 November 2005 | Millwall | A | W | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–3 pens.) | Gray 10', Heskey 102' | 7,732 |
| Fifth round | 20 December 2005 | Manchester United | H | L | 1–3 | Jarošík 75' | 20,454 |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Player | Club† | Fee |
| 10 June 2005 | Mikael Forssell | Chelsea | £3m |
| 30 June 2005 | Mehdi Nafti | Racing Santander | Undisclosed |
| 5 August 2005 | Walter Pandiani | Deportivo La Coruña | £3m |
| 21 November 2005 | Ingi Højsted | (B36 Tórshavn) | Free |
| 5 January 2006 | Chris Sutton | Celtic | Free |
| 31 January 2006 | DJ Campbell | Brentford | £500,000 |
    † Brackets round club names indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Birmingham.

### Out

| Date | Player | Fee | Joined† |
| 4 July 2005 | Darren Carter | £1.5m | West Bromwich Albion |
| 18 July 2005 | Robbie Blake | Undisclosed | Leeds United |
| 22 August 2005 | Darren Anderton | Free | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| 25 August 2005 | Clinton Morrison | £2m | Crystal Palace |
| 13 January 2006 | Walter Pandiani | £1m | RCD Espanyol |
| 31 January 2006 | Andrew Barrowman | Free | Walsall |
| 5 April 2006 | Ingi Højsted | Free | (B36 Tórshavn) |
| 30 June 2006 | Sam Alsop | Released | |
| 30 June 2006 | Jamie Clapham | Released | (Wolverhampton Wanderers) |
| 30 June 2006 | Chris Cottrill | Released | |
| 30 June 2006 | Kenny Cunningham | Released | (Sunderland) |
| 30 June 2006 | James Dormand | Released | |
| 30 June 2006 | Muzzy Izzet | Retired | |
| 30 June 2006 | Njazi Kuqi | Released | (FC Groningen) |
| 30 June 2006 | Stan Lazaridis | Released | (Perth Glory) |
| 30 June 2006 | Mario Melchiot | Released | (Rennes) |
| 30 June 2006 | Carl Motteram | Released | (Torquay United) |
| 30 June 2006 | Chris Sutton | Released | (Aston Villa) |
| 30 June 2006 | Nico Vaesen | Released | (Lierse) |
    † Brackets round club names denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.

### Loan in

| Date | Player | Club | Return |
| 3 August 2005 | Nicky Butt | Newcastle United | End of season |
| 22 August 2005 | Jiří Jarošík | Chelsea | End of season |
| 30 January 2006 | Martin Latka | Slavia Prague | End of season |

### Loan out

| Date | Player | Club | Return |
| 17 August 2005 | Alex Bruce | Tranmere Rovers | 27 October 2005 |
| 9 August 2005 | James Dormand | Tamworth | End of season |
| 5 October 2005 | Peter Till | Scunthorpe United | 9 January 2006 |
| 24 November 2005 | Colin Doyle | Millwall | 19 December 2005 |
| 24 November 2005 | Carl Motteram | Tamworth | 2 January 2006 |
| 24 November 2005 | Sam Oji | Doncaster Rovers | Six weeks |
| 23 December 2005 | Colin Doyle | Millwall | Two weeks |
| 6 January 2006 | Asa Hall | Boston United | Three months |
| 12 January 2006 | Peter Till | Boston United | End of season |
| 12 January 2006 | Colin Doyle | Millwall | End of season |
| 23 January 2006 | Njazi Kuqi | Blackpool | One month |
| 17 March 2006 | Njazi Kuqi | Peterborough United | End of season |
| 24 March 2006 | Sam Alsop | Yeovil Town | End of season |

## 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 | 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 | 34 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Martin Taylor | 20 (1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 27 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Jamie Clapham | 13 (3) | 1 | 2 (1) | 0 | 3 (1) | 0 | 18 (5) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | IRE | Kenny Cunningham | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Matthew Upson | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | TUR | Muzzy Izzet | 10 (6) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 (6) | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Jermaine Pennant | 35 (3) | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 45 (3) | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | URU | Walter Pandiani † | 7 (10) | 2 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 9 (12) | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | DF | CZE | Martin Latka * | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | FIN | Mikael Forssell | 10 (17) | 3 | 4 (1) | 3 | 2 (1) | 2 | 16 (19) | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ENG | David Dunn | 8 (7) | 2 | 2 (1) | 1 | 1 (1) | 0 | 11 (9) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | AUS | Stan Lazaridis | 11 (6) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 13 (7) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | TUN | Mehdi Nafti | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | IRL | Colin Doyle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | CZE | Jiří Jarošík * | 19 (5) | 5 | 4 (1) | 1 | 2 (1) | 2 | 25 (7) | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | AUS | Neil Kilkenny | 6 (12) | 0 | 1 (3) | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 8 (17) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Emile Heskey | 34 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 40 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| 18 | GK | BEL | Nico Vaesen | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 19 | FW | IRE | Clinton Morrison † | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Nicky Butt * | 22 (2) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 27 (2) | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Julian Gray | 18 (3) | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 24 (3) | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | NIR | Damien Johnson | 31 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Mat Sadler | 8 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | IRL | Alex Bruce | 3 (3) | 0 | 4 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 (5) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Stephen Clemence | 13 (2) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 (2) | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | CIV | Olivier Tébily | 12 (4) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 (5) | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | ENG | DJ Campbell | 4 (7) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (7) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | NED | Mario Melchiot | 22 (1) | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 (1) | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Sam Oji | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | IRE | Marcos Painter | 2 (2) | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 5 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Sam Alsop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | ENG | Mathew Birley | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | ENG | Peter Till | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | FW | ENG | Sone Aluko | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | FW | ENG | Chris Sutton | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 41 | FW | ENG | Oliver Allen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Players not included in matchday squads :
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Darren Anderton † |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Asa Hall |
| 19 | FW | ENG | James McPike |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Carl Motteram |
| 28 | FW | SCO | Andrew Barrowman † |
| 32 | MF | NIR | David Howland |
| 33 | FW | FIN | Njazi Kuqi |
| 34 | GK | ENG | James Dormand |
| 38 | DF | ENG | Chris Cottrill |