# 1984–85 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1984–85 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 82nd in the Football League and their 33rd in the Second Division, to which they were relegated in 1983–84. They finished in second position in the 22-team division, so were promoted back to the First Division after only one season. They entered the 1984–85 FA Cup in the third round proper, and lost to Norwich City in that round after three replays. They were eliminated from the League Cup by West Bromwich Albion in the third round after a replay.
Wayne Clarke was the club's top scorer, with 19 goals in all competitions, of which 17 were scored in the league.
The last home game of the season, a 1–0 win against Leeds United in front of a season-high crowd of nearly 25,000 that confirmed promotion back to the top flight, was marred by rioting in which 500 people were injured and a 15-year-old boy died when a wall collapsed. The match took place on the same day as the Bradford City stadium fire, and both formed part of the remit of Mr Justice Popplewell's inquiry into safety at sports grounds. According to his report, the events at St Andrew's "more clearly resembled the Battle of Agincourt than a football match".

## Football League First Division

| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 25 August 1984 | 6th | Oldham Athletic | A | W | 1–0 | Clements og | 5,307 |
| 1 September 1984 | 4th | Wimbledon | H | W | 4–2 | Clarke 2, Ferguson, Hopkins | 10,445 |
| 4 September 1984 | 2nd | Fulham | A | W | 1–0 | Clarke | 6,031 |
| 8 September 1984 | 2nd | Crystal Palace | A | W | 2–0 | Clarke, Hopkins | 6,523 |
| 15 September 1984 | 1st | Carlisle United | H | W | 2–0 | Clarke, Harford | 11,740 |
| 18 September 1984 | 1st | Portsmouth | H | L | 0–1 | | 18,046 |
| 22 September 1984 | 1st | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | W | 2–0 | Hopkins, Kuhl | 16,698 |
| 29 September 1984 | 1st | Huddersfield Town | H | W | 1–0 | Hopkins | 11,480 |
| 6 October 1984 | 1st | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | L | 0–2 | | 13,695 |
| 13 October 1984 | 4th | Blackburn Rovers | H | L | 0–2 | | 12,758 |
| 20 October 1984 | 4th | Notts County | A | W | 3–1 | Clarke 2, Harford | 5,788 |
| 27 October 1984 | 2nd | Oxford United | H | D | 0–0 | | 20,421 |
| 3 November 1984 | 3rd | Shrewsbury Town | H | D | 0–0 | | 9,807 |
| 10 November 1984 | 4th | Manchester City | A | L | 0–1 | | 25,369 |
| 17 November 1984 | 6th | Charlton Athletic | A | L | 1–2 | Morley | 4,850 |
| 24 November 1984 | 5th | Barnsley | H | D | 0–0 | | 9,505 |
| 1 December 1984 | 5th | Cardiff City | A | W | 2–1 | Morley 2 | 5,057 |
| 8 December 1984 | 5th | Middlesbrough | H | W | 3–2 | Saxby og, Rees, Wright pen | 8,004 |
| 15 December 1984 | 4th | Leeds United | A | W | 1–0 | Clarke | 15,859 |
| 22 December 1984 | 3rd | Wimbledon | A | W | 2–1 | Geddis 2 | 3,674 |
| 26 December 1984 | 2nd | Grimsby Town | H | W | 2–1 | Geddis, Platnauer | 14,180 |
| 29 December 1984 | 3rd | Fulham | H | D | 2–2 | Clarke, Hopkins | 11,833 |
| 1 January 1985 | 3rd | Sheffield United | A | W | 4–3 | Hopkins, Geddis, Clarke, West og | 16,571 |
| 2 February 1985 | 4th | Huddersfield Town | A | W | 1–0 | Geddis | 7,460 |
| 23 February 1985 | 4th | Shrewsbury Town | A | L | 0–1 | | 7,177 |
| 2 March 1985 | 3rd | Oxford United | A | W | 3–0 | Clarke 2, Geddis | 11,584 |
| 5 March 1985 | 3rd | Oldham Athletic | H | L | 0–1 | | 10,489 |
| 9 March 1985 | 2nd | Notts County | H | W | 2–1 | Clarke, Hopkins | 9,071 |
| 12 March 1985 | 2nd | Carlisle United | A | L | 1–2 | Clarke | 4,099 |
| 16 March 1985 | 5th | Blackburn Rovers | A | L | 1–2 | Rees | 10,595 |
| 19 March 1985 | 4th | Manchester City | H | D | 0–0 | | 18,004 |
| 23 March 1985 | 4th | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | D | 1–1 | Hopkins | 8,986 |
| 30 March 1985 | 3rd | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | W | 1–0 | Geddis | 10,236 |
| 5 April 1985 | 4th | Grimsby Town | A | L | 0–1 | | 6,939 |
| 8 April 1985 | 4th | Sheffield United | H | W | 4–1 | Clarke 2, Daly, Kennedy | 10,235 |
| 13 April 1985 | 2nd | Portsmouth | A | W | 3–1 | Geddis 3 | 23,983 |
| 16 April 1985 | 2nd | Crystal Palace | H | W | 3–0 | Clarke, Geddis, Kennedy | 10,727 |
| 20 April 1985 | 2nd | Charlton Athletic | H | W | 2–1 | Kennedy, Wright pen | 10,697 |
| 27 April 1985 | 2nd | Barnsley | A | W | 1–0 | Geddis | 6,757 |
| 4 May 1985 | 2nd | Cardiff City | H | W | 2–0 | Hopkins, Kennedy | 15,868 |
| 6 May 1985 | 2nd | Middlesbrough | A | D | 0–0 | | 7,840 |
| 11 May 1985 | 2nd | Leeds United | H | W | 1–0 | Kuhl | 24,871 |

### League table (part)

Final Second Division table (part) :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1st | Oxford United | 42 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 84 | 36 | +48 | 84 |
| 2nd | Birmingham City | 42 | 25 | 7 | 10 | 59 | 33 | +26 | 82 |
| 3rd | Manchester City | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 66 | 40 | +26 | 74 |
| 4th | Portsmouth | 42 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 69 | 50 | +19 | 74 |
| 5th | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 66 | 41 | +25 | 73 |

### 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 | 5 January 1985 | Norwich City | H | D | 0–0 | | 12,941 |
| Third round replay | 23 January 1985 | Norwich City | A | D | 1–1 aet | Wright | 11,883 |
| Third round 2nd replay | 26 January 1985 | Norwich City | H | D | 1–1 aet | Geddis | 11,755 |
| Third round 3rd replay | 28 January 1985 | Norwich City | A | L | 0–1 | | 12,396 |

## League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Second round 1st leg | 25 September 1984 | Plymouth Argyle | H | W | 4–1 | Clarke, Hopkins, Harford, Rees | 7,964 |
| Second round 2nd leg | 9 October 1984 | Plymouth Argyle | A | W | 1–0 | Clarke | 4,650 |
| Third round | 30 October 1984 | West Bromwich Albion | H | D | 0–0 | | 17,616 |
| Third round replay | 7 November 1984 | West Bromwich Albion | A | L | 1–3 | Shearer | 16,717 |

## Appearances and goals

    Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute.
    Players with name in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Birmingham.
    Players marked † left the club during the playing season.
    Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward
Players' appearances and goals by competition :
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | ENG | Tony Coton † | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| GK | IRL | Jim McDonagh * | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | Mark Prudhoe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | David Seaman | 33 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| DF | SCO | Ken Armstrong | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 0 |
| DF | NIR | Jim Hagan | 21 (8) | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 26 (10) | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Ray Ranson | 28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Brian Roberts | 41 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 49 | 0 |
| DF | WAL | Pat Van Den Hauwe † | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Billy Wright | 42 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 3 |
| MF | SCO | Des Bremner | 30 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| MF | IRL | Gerry Daly | 29 (1) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 (1) | 1 |
| MF | ENG | Paul Gorman † | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Mick Halsall † | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 (1) | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Robert Hopkins | 39 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 45 | 10 |
| MF | ENG | Mark Jones | 9 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 10 (2) | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Martin Kuhl | 25 (2) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 31 (2) | 2 |
| MF | ENG | Tony Morley * | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| MF | ENG | Nick Platnauer | 11 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| MF | WAL | Byron Stevenson | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Stuart Storer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Ian Brown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Wayne Clarke | 40 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 47 | 19 |
| FW | ENG | Mick Ferguson † | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| FW | ENG | David Geddis | 18 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 13 |
| FW | ENG | Mick Harford † | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 3 |
| FW | SCO | Andy Kennedy | 4 (3) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (3) | 4 |
| FW | ENG | John Linford * | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 |
| FW | WAL | Tony Rees | 5 (4) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 1 | 6 (5) | 3 |
| FW | ENG | Guy Russell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Peter Shearer | 2 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 (2) | 1 |