# 2022–23 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 2022–23 season is Birmingham City Football Club's 120th season in the English football league system and 12th consecutive season in the second-tier Championship. As with all English Football League clubs, the first team competed in the FA Cup, from which they were eliminated by Blackburn Rovers in the fourth round, and the EFL Cup, in which they lost to Norwich City in the first. They secured their Championship status for a further season following a 1–0 win at Millwall with three matches left to play, and finished in 17th place.
The season covers the period from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023.

## Background and pre-season

On 2 July 2022, amid rumours of an imminent takeover of the club, head coach Lee Bowyer was sacked, to be replaced the following day by John Eustace.
The club planned a pre-season training camp in Portugal, to include a friendly match against Primeira Liga club Portimonense, and domestic friendlies away to League One clubs Burton Albion and Cheltenham Town, and at home to Rayo Vallecano. On the same date as the Cheltenham match, a Birmingham team faced Solihull Moors for the inaugural Arthur Cup, a match in aid of children's charities in memory of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes.
Pre-season friendly match details :
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 5 July 2022 | Walsall | H | W | 1–0 | Hogan | 0 (behind closed doors) |
| 12 July 2022 | Portimonense | N | D | 1–1 | Hogan 33' | |
| 16 July 2022 | Burton Albion | A | W | 2–1 | Hall 37', Cosgrove 87' | 2,588 |
| 19 July 2022 | Cheltenham Town | A | L | 0–1 | | 1,429 |
| 19 July 2022 | Solihull Moors | A | L | 0–1 | | |
| 23 July 2022 | Rayo Vallecano | H | D | 2–2 | Płacheta 15', Bacuna 53' | 2,542 |

## EFL Championship

Birmingham opened their season with a goalless draw away to Luton Town. There were four debutants: John Ruddy in goal and three loanees, Dion Sanderson, in his second loan spell with the club, and Auston Trusty in central defence, and Przemysław Płacheta at wing-back. The three-man back line was completed by Marc Roberts and Maxime Colin was the other wing-back. Ryan Woods, Jordan James, and Juninho Bacuna formed the midfield, and the forwards were Scott Hogan and captain Troy Deeney. According to the Birmingham Mail's assessment, Ruddy's "commanding presence" and a well-organised defence prevented the hosts taking advantage of their greater number of chances; Luton manager Nathan Jones complained about Birmingham's time-wasting tactics.

### League table (part)

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 15 | Hull City | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 51 | 61 | −10 | 58 |
| 16 | Stoke City | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 55 | 54 | +1 | 53 |
| 17 | Birmingham City | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 47 | 58 | −11 | 53 |
| 18 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 47 | 62 | −15 | 53 |
| 19 | Rotherham United | 46 | 11 | 17 | 18 | 49 | 60 | −11 | 50 |

### Results summary

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

### Match results

EFL Championship match details :
| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 30 July 2022 | 11th | Luton Town | A | D | 0–0 | | 9,921 |
| 5 August 2022 | 1st | Huddersfield Town | H | W | 2–1 | Hogan 5', Płacheta 45' | 17,065 |
| 13 August 2022 | 11th | Cardiff City | A | L | 0–1 | | 18,893 |
| 16 August 2022 | 11th | Watford | H | D | 1–1 | Hall 19' | 16,811 |
| 20 August 2022 | 18th | Wigan Athletic | H | L | 0–1 | | 16,013 |
| 27 August 2022 | 21st | Rotherham United | A | L | 0–2 | | 11,027 |
| 30 August 2022 | 21st | Norwich City | H | L | 1–2 | Hogan 50' | 16,156 |
| 3 September 2022 | 20th | Preston North End | A | W | 1–0 | Colin 16' | 16,098 |
| 14 September 2022 | 14th | West Bromwich Albion | A | W | 3–2 | Hogan (3) 14', 54', 71' | 23,089 |
| 17 September 2022 | 17th | Coventry City | H | D | 0–0 | | 16,633 |
| 1 October 2022 | 15th | Sheffield United | A | D | 1–1 | Deeney 70' | 29,927 |
| 5 October 2022 | 19th | Middlesbrough | A | L | 0–1 | | 22,374 |
| 8 October 2022 | 14th | Bristol City | H | W | 3–0 | Trusty (2) 3', 43', Sanderson 75' | 16,807 |
| 16 October 2022 | 12th | Hull City | A | W | 2–0 | Deeney 14' (pen.), Bacuna 47' | 16,587 |
| 19 October 2022 | 14th | Burnley | H | D | 1–1 | Hogan 80' | 16,303 |
| 22 October 2022 | 14th | Blackburn Rovers | A | L | 1–2 | Hogan 80' | 14,092 |
| 28 October 2022 | 11th | Queens Park Rangers | H | W | 2–0 | Trusty 4', Longelo 29' | 19,007 |
| 2 November 2022 | 13th | Millwall | H | D | 0–0 | | 15,030 |
| 5 November 2022 | 11th | Stoke City | A | W | 2–1 | Hogan 13', Dean 67' | 22,459 |
| 8 November 2022 | 10th | Swansea City | H | D | 2–2 | Hogan 12', Deeney 89' | 15,491 |
| 11 November 2022 | 10th | Sunderland | H | L | 1–2 | Jutkiewicz 78' | 18,702 |
| 10 December 2022 | 14th | Blackpool | A | D | 0–0 | | 12,853 |
| 16 December 2022 | 7th | Reading | H | W | 3–2 | Deeney (2) 2', 23' (pen.), Chong 36' | 14,647 |
| 27 December 2022 | 15th | Burnley | A | L | 0–3 | | 20,945 |
| 30 December 2022 | 16th | Hull City | H | L | 0–1 | | 17,868 |
| 2 January 2023 | 17th | Middlesbrough | H | L | 1–3 | Chong 74' | 17,823 |
| 14 January 2023 | 18th | Bristol City | A | L | 2–4 | Deeney 34' (pen.), Khadra 76' | 21,489 |
| 21 January 2023 | 19th | Preston North End | H | L | 1–2 | Jutkiewicz 83' | 16,608 |
| 4 February 2023 | 18th | Swansea City | A | W | 4–3 | Hogan 14' (pen.), Chong 55', Jutkiewicz 90, Trusty 90+7' | 17,247 |
| 10 February 2023 | 16th | West Bromwich Albion | H | W | 2–0 | Mejbri 10', Bielik 52' | 17,781 |
| 14 February 2023 | 18th | Cardiff City | H | L | 0–2 | | 14,369 |
| 18 February 2023 | 18th | Huddersfield Town | A | L | 1–2 | Deeney 6' | 19,564 |
| 21 February 2023 | 19th | Norwich City | A | L | 1–3 | Colin 53' | 25,657 |
| 25 February 2023 | 19th | Luton Town | H | L | 0–1 | | 16,866 |
| 4 March 2023 | 19th | Wigan Athletic | A | D | 1–1 | Bacuna 4' | 13,741 |
| 11 March 2023 | 18th | Rotherham United | H | W | 2–0 | Khadra 5', Long 35' | 15,932 |
| 14 March 2023 | 18th | Watford | A | L | 0–3 | | 18,403 |
| 18 March 2023 | 16th | Queens Park Rangers | A | W | 1–0 | Chong 3' | 15,097 |
| 1 April 2023 | 16th | Blackburn Rovers | H | W | 1–0 | Khadra 61' | 16,623 |
| 7 April 2023 | 16th | Reading | A | D | 1–1 | Jutkiewicz 29' | 16,084 |
| 10 April 2023 | 17th | Stoke City | H | D | 0–0 | | 17,413 |
| 15 April 2023 | 17th | Sunderland | A | L | 1–2 | Hall 29' | 37,673 |
| 18 April 2023 | 15th | Millwall | A | W | 1–0 | Jutkiewicz 28' | 13,311 |
| 22 April 2023 | 17th | Blackpool | H | L | 0–1 | | 16,636 |
| 29 April 2023 | 17th | Coventry City | A | L | 0–2 | | 30,175 |
| 8 May 2023 | 17th | Sheffield United | H | L | 1–2 | Sanderson 79' | 18,853 |

## FA Cup

As with all teams in the top two divisions, Birmingham entered the competition in the third round, in which they were drawn away to League One club Forest Green Rovers.
FA Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Third round | 17 January 2023 | Forest Green Rovers | A | W | 2–1 | Jutkiewicz 50', Long 65' | 3,701 |
| Fourth round | 28 January 2023 | Blackburn Rovers | A | D | 2–2 | Khadra 3', James 90+1' | 13,687 |
| Fourth round replay | 31 January 2023 | Blackburn Rovers | H | L | 0–1 a.e.t. | | 7,183 |

## EFL Cup

Birmingham made seven changes from their previous starting eleven for the first-round visit to fellow Championship club Norwich City; the three-man central midfield comprised Jordan James, a first-team regular at just 18, Alfie Chang (19), and Jobe Bellingham, the 16-year-old brother of England international Jude. Norwich took a two-goal lead in first-half stoppage time, but Jonathan Leko's first goal for the club and an own goal following a corner kick brought the scores level, so the tie was determined on penalties. Sam Cosgrove and Leko missed their kicks, but Norwich missed only one of their first four, so went through to the next round.
EFL Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Refs |
| First round | 9 August 2022 | Norwich City | A | D | 2–2 (2–4 pens.) | Leko 53', Tomkinson 77' o.g. | 18,971 | |

## Transfers

    For those players released or contract ended before the start of this season, see 2021–22 Birmingham City F.C. season.

### In

| Date | Player | Club † | Fee |
| 1 July 2022 | Finley Thorndike | (Aston Villa) | Out of contract |
| 14 July 2022 | John Ruddy | (Wolverhampton Wanderers) | Out of contract |
| 1 September 2022 | Tahith Chong | Manchester United | Undisclosed |
| 12 October 2022 | Lewis Cunningham * | (York City) | Out of contract |
| 5 January 2023 | Kevin Long | Burnley | Undisclosed |
| 31 January 2023 | Emmanuel Longelo | West Ham United | Undisclosed |
    † Brackets round a club's name indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Birmingham.
    * Signed primarily for the development squad

#### Loaned in

| Date | Player | Club | Return |
| 5 July 2022 | Dion Sanderson | Wolverhampton Wanderers | End of season |
| 6 July 2022 | Przemysław Płacheta | Norwich City | Terminated 3 January 2023 |
| 15 July 2022 | Auston Trusty | Arsenal | End of season |
| 29 July 2022 | Krystian Bielik | Derby County | End of season |
| 29 August 2022 | Hannibal Mejbri | Manchester United | End of season |
| 30 August 2022 | Emmanuel Longelo | West Ham United | Signed permanently 31 January 2023 |
| 10 January 2023 | Reda Khadra | Brighton & Hove Albion | End of season |

### Out

| Date | Player | Club † | Fee |
| 22 July 2022 | Kyle Hurst | Doncaster Rovers | Free |
| 18 August 2022 | Ryan Woods | Hull City | Undisclosed |
| 1 September 2022 | Odin Bailey | Salford City | Undisclosed |
| 13 January 2023 | Jonathan Leko | Milton Keynes Dons | Undisclosed |
| 30 June 2023 | Alfie Brooks | (Stoke City) | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | Maxime Colin | (FC Metz) | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | Lewis Cunningham | (Mickleover) | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | Harlee Dean | (Reading) | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | Troy Deeney | (Forest Green) | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | George Friend | (Bristol Rovers) | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | Adan George | (Alvechurch) | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | Jordan Graham | (Leyton Orient) | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | Mitchell Roberts | (Oxford City) | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | Keyendrah Simmonds | (Vukovar 1991) | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | Ryan Stirk | (Walsall) | Released |
| 30 June 2023 | Remi Walker | (AFC Telford United) | Released |
* † Brackets round a club's name denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.

#### Loaned out

| Date | Player | Club | Return |
| 5 July 2022 | Ivan Šunjić | Hertha BSC | End of season |
| 8 July 2022 | Josh Andrews | Doncaster Rovers | January 2023 |
| 25 August 2022 | Mitchell Roberts | Oldham Athletic | 1 January 2023 |
| 1 September 2022 | Sam Cosgrove | Plymouth Argyle | End of season |
| 1 September 2022 | Marcel Oakley | Arbroath | 7 January 2023 |
| 1 September 2022 | Keyendrah Simmonds | Grimsby Town | 14 January 2023 |
| 25 August 2022 | Mitchell Roberts | Solihull Moors | End of season |
| 1 February 2023 | Marcel Oakley | Queen's Park | End of season |
| 3 February 2023 | Oliver Basey | Barwell | Youth loan |
| 7 February 2023 | Remi Walker | Alvechurch | Youth loan |
| 10 February 2023 | Callum Sullivan | Bath City | 10 March 2023 |
| 16 February 2023 | Ryan Stirk | Bromley | End of season |
| 16 March 2023 | Oliver Basey | Hednesford Town | End of season |
| 17 March 2023 | Finley Thorndike | Boston United | 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 | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | PHI | Neil Etheridge | 3 (1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | FRA | Maxime Colin | 44 | 2 | 2 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | George Friend | 2 (4) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Marc Roberts | 20 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 (5) | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | USA | Auston Trusty * | 44 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Ryan Woods † | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | TUN | Hannibal Mejbri * | 21 (17) | 1 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 (18) | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | CUR | Juninho Bacuna | 33 (10) | 2 | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 (12) | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Troy Deeney | 24 (9) | 7 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 (10) | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | IRL | Scott Hogan | 30 (7) | 10 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 (8) | 10 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Lukas Jutkiewicz | 19 (25) | 5 | 1 (1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 21 (26) | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Jordan Graham | 12 (13) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 (14) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Harlee Dean | 14 (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 (2) | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Jonathan Leko † | 0 (8) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 (8) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Sam Cosgrove | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | POL | Przemysław Płacheta * † | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | GER | Reda Khadra * | 12 (2) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 (2) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | NED | Tahith Chong | 35 (3) | 4 | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 (5) | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | WAL | Jordan James | 9 (24) | 0 | 1 (2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 (26) | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Gary Gardner | 3 (5) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | GK | ENG | John Ruddy | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Manny Longelo | 18 (5) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 (5) | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Nico Gordon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | IRL | Kevin Long | 17 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | ENG | Jobe Bellingham | 5 (17) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 (17) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Dion Sanderson * | 31 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Tate Campbell | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | POL | Krystian Bielik * | 35 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 1 | 13 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | ENG | George Hall | 13 (17) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 (17) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | GK | ENG | Zach Jeacock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | MF | ENG | Alfie Chang | 7 (6) | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 (8) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 47 | MF | WAL | Ryan Stirk | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | MF | ENG | Josh Williams | 6 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 49 | MF | ENG | Romelle Donovan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | FW | ENG | Trevan Sanusi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Players not included in matchday squads :
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Marcel Oakley |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Finley Thorndike |
| 37 | MF | ENG | Odin Bailey † |
| 40 | FW | ENG | Adan George |
| 41 | MF | ENG | Remi Walker |
| 43 | DF | ENG | Mitchell Roberts |
| 45 | FW | ENG | Keyendrah Simmonds |
| 46 | MF | ENG | Brandon Khela |