# 1990–91 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1990–91 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 88th in the Football League and their second in the Third Division. They finished in 12th position in the 24-team division, their lowest finish ever in the Football League. They entered the 1990–91 FA Cup in the first round proper and lost to Brentford in the second, and entered at and lost in the first round of the League Cup, beaten over two legs by AFC Bournemouth. They won the Associate Members' Cup, a cup competition open to clubs in the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system, defeating Tranmere Rovers 3–2 in the final at Wembley Stadium with goals from Simon Sturridge and two from John Gayle.
Off the field, Dave Mackay resigned as manager in January 1991, to be replaced by Lou Macari on a non-contract basis. With the club in financial difficulties, Macari and his staff walked out of the club in June to join Stoke City.
   When I took over the Birmingham job without any contract, things were so bad the chairman asked me to raise £250,000 by the end of the season. It looked impossible, but the revenue was delivered with the great run in the Leyland Daf. It's no secret that, if we hadn't got to Wembley, Birmingham would have been in financial trouble and might have gone under.
Many of the playing staff were out of contract and reluctant to renew, and an action group was formed to try to remove the chairman.

## Football League Third Division

| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 25 August 1990 | 9th | Cambridge United | A | W | 1–0 | Gleghorn | 6,338 |
| 1 September 1990 | 3rd | Leyton Orient | H | W | 3–1 | Bailey, Hopkins, Moran | 5,847 |
| 8 September 1990 | 2nd | Stoke City | A | W | 1–0 | Gleghorn | 16,135 |
| 15 September 1990 | 2nd | Bury | H | W | 1–0 | Peer | 7,344 |
| 18 September 1990 | 3rd | Exeter City | H | D | 1–1 | Bailey | 7,703 |
| 22 September 1990 | 3rd | Wigan Athletic | A | D | 1–1 | Tait | 3,904 |
| 29 September 1990 | 3rd | Preston North End | H | D | 1–1 | Bailey | 7,154 |
| 2 October 1990 | 4th | Fulham | A | D | 2–2 | Matthewson, Overson | 4,011 |
| 6 October 1990 | 5th | Reading | A | D | 2–2 | Matthewson, Sturridge | 5,695 |
| 13 October 1990 | 5th | Southend United | H | D | 1–1 | Sturridge | 9,333 |
| 20 October 1990 | 4th | Grimsby Town | H | D | 0–0 | | 10,123 |
| 23 October 1990 | 5th | Crewe Alexandra | A | D | 1–1 | Gleghorn | 4,449 |
| 27 October 1990 | 7th | Shrewsbury Town | A | L | 1–4 | Bailey | 6,150 |
| 3 November 1990 | 11th | Huddersfield Town | H | L | 1–2 | Tait | 7,412 |
| 10 November 1990 | 8th | Chester City | A | W | 1–0 | Hopkins | 2,273 |
| 24 November 1990 | 10th | AFC Bournemouth | H | D | 0–0 | | 7,416 |
| 1 December 1990 | 14th | Swansea City | A | L | 0–2 | | 4,896 |
| 15 December 1990 | 11th | Rotherham United | H | W | 2–1 | Tait, Overson | 4,734 |
| 21 December 1990 | 12th | Tranmere Rovers | A | L | 0–1 | | 5,054 |
| 26 December 1990 | 15th | Brentford | H | L | 0–2 | | 6,612 |
| 29 December 1990 | 16th | Bolton Wanderers | H | L | 1–3 | Bailey | 7,318 |
| 1 January 1990 | 15th | Mansfield Town | A | W | 2–1 | Gayle 2 | 3,654 |
| 5 January 1991 | 14th | Bradford City | H | D | 1–1 | Frain pen | 6,315 |
| 12 January 1991 | 14th | Leyton Orient | A | D | 1–1 | Sturridge | 4,701 |
| 19 January 1991 | 15th | Cambridge United | H | L | 0–3 | | 5,859 |
| 26 January 1991 | 14th | Bury | A | W | 1–0 | Sturridge | 3,009 |
| 2 February 1991 | 12th | Exeter City | A | W | 2–0 | Gayle 2 | 5,154 |
| 5 February 1991 | 11th | Wigan Athletic | H | D | 0–0 | | 5,319 |
| 13 February 1991 | 13th | Bradford City | A | L | 0–2 | | 4,776 |
| 16 February 1991 | 10th | AFC Bournemouth | A | W | 2–1 | Sturridge, Mundee og | 6,330 |
| 23 February 1991 | 8th | Chester City | H | W | 1–0 | Dolan | 6,702 |
| 2 March 1991 | 6th | Swansea City | H | W | 2–0 | Sturridge, Rodgerson | 6,903 |
| 9 March 1991 | 8th | Rotherham United | A | D | 1–1 | Frain pen | 5,028 |
| 12 March 1991 | 7th | Fulham | H | W | 2–0 | Peer, Gleghorn | 8,083 |
| 16 March 1991 | 10th | Preston North End | A | L | 0–2 | | 5,334 |
| 18 March 1991 | 10th | Southend United | A | L | 1–2 | Gleghorn | 6,328 |
| 23 March 1991 | 11th | Reading | H | D | 1–1 | Rodgerson | 6,795 |
| 30 March 1991 | 12th | Brentford | A | D | 2–2 | Frain, Gleghorn | 6,757 |
| 2 April 1991 | 10th | Tranmere Rovers | H | W | 1–0 | Yates | 7,675 |
| 7 April 1991 | 12th | Bolton Wanderers | A | L | 1–3 | Gayle | 11,280 |
| 13 April 1991 | 12th | Mansfield Town | H | D | 0–0 | | 7,635 |
| 16 April 1991 | 11th | Stoke City | H | W | 2–1 | Matthewson, Hopkins | 6,729 |
| 20 April 1991 | 11th | Grimsby Town | A | D | 0–0 | | 8,842 |
| 27 April 1991 | 11th | Crewe Alexandra | H | L | 0–2 | | 6,429 |
| 4 May 1991 | 13th | Shrewsbury Town | H | L | 0–1 | | 6,256 |
| 11 May 1991 | 12th | Huddersfield Town | A | W | 1–0 | Gayle | 5,195 |

### League table (part)

Final Third Division table (part) :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 10th | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 20 | 9 | 17 | 71 | 54 | +17 | 69 |
| 11th | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 57 | 51 | +6 | 67 |
| 12th | Birmingham City | 46 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 45 | 49 | −4 | 65 |
| 13th | Leyton Orient | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 55 | 58 | −3 | 64 |
| 14th | Stoke City | 46 | 16 | 12 | 18 | 55 | 59 | −4 | 60 |

### 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 |
| First round | 17 November 1990 | Cheltenham Town | H | W | 1–0 | Sturridge | 7,942 |
| Second round | 12 December 1990 | Brentford | H | L | 1–3 | Aylott | 5,072 |

## League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| First round 1st leg | 28 August 1990 | AFC Bournemouth | H | L | 0–1 | | 5,110 |
| First round 2nd leg | 4 September 1990 | AFC Bournemouth | A | D | 1–1 | Downs pen | 4,490 |

## Associate Members' Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Preliminary round | 6 November 1990 | Walsall | A | W | 1–0 | Skipper og | 5,053 |
| Preliminary round | 27 November 1990 | Lincoln City | H | W | 2–0 | Clarke og, Sturridge | 2,922 |
| First round | 18 February 1991 | Swansea City | H | D | 0–0 4–2 pens | | 3,555 |
| Southern area quarter-final | 26 February 1991 | Mansfield Town | H | W | 2–0 | Matthewson, Gayle | 5,358 |
| Southern area semi-final | 5 March 1991 | Cambridge United | H | W | 3–1 | Peer, Gleghorn, Overson | 9,429 |
| Southern area final 1st leg | 26 March 1991 | Brentford | H | W | 2–1 | Rodgerson, Gayle | 16,219 |
| Southern area final 2nd leg | 9 April 1991 | Brentford | A | W | 1–0 | Sturridge | 8,745 |
| Final | 26 May 1991 | Tranmere Rovers | Wembley | W | 3–2 | Sturridge, Gayle 2 | 58,756 |

## 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 | Associate Members' Cup | Associate Members' Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | WAL | Martin Thomas | 45 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 56 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | Dean Williams | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Kevin Ashley † | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Ian Clarkson | 34 (3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 (1) | 0 | 42 (4) | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Greg Downs | 16 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 22 (1) | 1 |
| DF | ENG | Trevor Matthewson | 46 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 58 | 4 |
| DF | ENG | Gary O'Reilly * | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Vince Overson | 40 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 51 | 3 |
| DF | ENG | Ian Rodgerson | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 29 | 3 |
| MF | SCO | Dougie Bell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | IRL | Eamonn Dolan | 5 (5) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 (5) | 1 |
| MF | ENG | John Frain | 42 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 54 | 3 |
| MF | ENG | Matthew Fox | 9 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 (2) | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Andy Harris | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Robert Hopkins | 18 (5) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 (5) | 4 |
| MF | ENG | Dean Peer | 37 (3) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 49 (3) | 3 |
| MF | ENG | Mark Rutherford | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Paul Tait | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 3 |
| FW | ENG | Trevor Aylott | 23 (2) | 0 | 0 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 (1) | 0 | 27 (4) | 1 |
| FW | ENG | Dennis Bailey | 25 (7) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 (3) | 0 | 30 (10) | 5 |
| FW | ENG | Sean Francis | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (3) | 0 |
| FW | ENG | John Gayle | 20 (2) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 (1) | 4 | 26 (3) | 10 |
| FW | ENG | Nigel Gleghorn | 42 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 54 | 7 |
| FW | ENG | Colin Gordon | 3 (2) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (3) | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Richie Moran | 2 (6) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (7) | 1 |
| FW | ENG | Phil Robinson * | 9 | 01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 11 (1) | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Simon Sturridge | 33 (5) | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 (2) | 0 | 8 | 3 | 43 (7) | 10 |
| FW | ENG | Mark Yates | 8 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 (1) | 1 |