# 1983–84 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1983–84 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 81st in the Football League and their 49th in the First Division. They finished in 20th position in the 22-team division, so were relegated to the Second Division for 1984–85. They entered the 1983–84 FA Cup in the third round proper and lost to Watford in the quarter-final. In the League Cup, after defeating Notts County in the third round only after three replays, they lost to Liverpool in the fourth round after a replay.
Mick Harford was the club's top scorer with 15 goals in all competitions; if only league games are counted, Harford and Howard Gayle were joint leaders with 8. The highest attendance, of 40,220 against Watford in the FA Cup sixth round, was the last 40,000 crowd seen at St Andrew's, as of 2012; the ground capacity was reduced to around 30,000 when the stadium was converted to all-seater in the 1990s.

## Football League First Division

| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 27 August 1983 | 21st | West Ham United | A | L | 0–4 | | 19,729 |
| 30 August 1983 | 22nd | Notts County | A | L | 1–2 | Harford | 11,031 |
| 3 September 1983 | 17th | Watford | H | W | 2–0 | Hopkins, Halsall | 11,931 |
| 6 September 1983 | 11th | Stoke City | H | W | 1–0 | Blake pen | 13,728 |
| 10 September 1983 | 10th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | D | 1–1 | Wright pen | 15,933 |
| 17 September 1983 | 10th | Ipswich Town | H | W | 1–0 | Gayle | 13,159 |
| 24 September 1983 | 12th | Everton | A | D | 1–1 | Gayle | 15,254 |
| 1 October 1983 | 8th | Leicester City | H | W | 2–1 | Rees, Harford | 15,212 |
| 15 October 1983 | 12th | Aston Villa | A | L | 0–1 | | 39,318 |
| 22 October 1983 | 15th | Tottenham Hotspur | H | L | 0–1 | | 18,937 |
| 29 October 1983 | 13th | West Bromwich Albion | A | W | 2–1 | Gayle, Harford | 20,109 |
| 5 November 1983 | 14th | Coventry City | H | L | 1–2 | Blake | 16,169 |
| 12 November 1983 | 14th | Luton Town | A | D | 1–1 | Hopkins | 11,111 |
| 19 November 1983 | 15th | Queens Park Rangers | A | L | 1–2 | Harford | 10,824 |
| 26 November 1983 | 16th | Sunderland | H | L | 0–1 | | 11,948 |
| 3 December 1983 | 17th | Liverpool | A | L | 0–1 | | 24,791 |
| 10 December 1983 | 17th | Norwich City | H | L | 0–1 | | 9,971 |
| 17 December 1983 | 17th | Southampton | A | L | 1–2 | Stevenson | 15,248 |
| 26 December 1983 | 19th | Nottingham Forest | H | L | 1–2 | Rogers | 14,482 |
| 27 December 1983 | 19th | Arsenal | A | D | 1–1 | Hopkins | 25,642 |
| 31 December 1983 | 19th | Watford | A | L | 0–1 | | 14,403 |
| 2 January 1984 | 19th | Everton | H | L | 0–2 | | 10,004 |
| 14 January 1984 | 19th | West Ham United | H | W | 3–0 | Hopkins, Halsall, Harford | 10,334 |
| 21 January 1984 | 19th | Ipswich Town | A | W | 2–1 | Harford, Butcher og | 12,884 |
| 4 February 1984 | 19th | Leicester City | A | W | 3–2 | Peake og, Gayle, Wright pen | 13,776 |
| 7 February 1984 | 19th | Manchester United | H | D | 2–2 | Hopkins, Wright pen | 19,957 |
| 11 February 1984 | 18th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | D | 0–0 | | 14,319 |
| 25 February 1984 | 15th | Tottenham Hotspur | A | W | 1–0 | Harford | 23,564 |
| 28 February 1984 | 14th | West Bromwich Albion | H | W | 2–1 | Rees, Broadhurst | 16,780 |
| 3 March 1984 | 14th | Coventry City | A | W | 1–0 | Gayle | 13,696 |
| 17 March 1984 | 15th | Stoke City | A | L | 1–2 | Gayle | 13,506 |
| 20 March 1984 | 15th | Luton Town | H | D | 1–1 | Wright pen | 9,592 |
| 24 March 1984 | 13th | Notts County | H | D | 0–0 | | 9,040 |
| 31 March 1984 | 12th | Aston Villa | H | W | 2–1 | Stevenson, Gayle | 23,993 |
| 7 April 1984 | 15th | Manchester United | A | L | 0–1 | | 39,896 |
| 14 April 1984 | 15th | Queens Park Rangers | H | L | 0–2 | | 10,255 |
| 21 April 1984 | 17th | Nottingham Forest | A | L | 1–5 | Harford | 15,323 |
| 23 April 1984 | 17th | Arsenal | H | D | 1–1 | Kuhl | 11,164 |
| 28 April 1984 | 18th | Sunderland | A | L | 1–2 | Wright pen | 13,061 |
| 5 May 1984 | 19th | Liverpool | H | D | 0–0 | | 18,817 |
| 7 May 1984 | 18th | Norwich City | A | D | 1–1 | Gayle | 12,111 |
| 12 May 1984 | 20th | Southampton | H | D | 0–0 | | 16,445 |

### League table (part)

Final First Division table (part) :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 18th | Stoke City | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 44 | 63 | −19 | 50 |
| 19th | Coventry City | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 57 | 77 | −20 | 50 |
| 20th | Birmingham City | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 39 | 50 | −11 | 48 |
| 21st | Notts County | 42 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 50 | 72 | −22 | 41 |
| 22nd | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 6 | 11 | 25 | 27 | 80 | −53 | 29 |

### 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 1984 | Sheffield United | A | D | 1–1 | Wright pen | 17,202 |
| Third round replay | 10 January 1984 | Sheffield United | H | W | 2–0 | Harford, Wright pen | 10,888 |
| Fourth round | 28 January 1984 | Sunderland | A | W | 2–1 | Kuhl, Harford | 21,226 |
| Fifth round | 18 February 1984 | West Ham United | H | W | 3–0 | Hopkins, Rees, Wright pen | 29,570 |
| Sixth round | 10 March 1984 | Watford | H | L | 1–3 | Terry og | 40,220 |

## League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Second round 1st leg | 5 October 1983 | Derby County | A | W | 3–0 | Watson og, Rees, Gayle | 13,114 |
| Second round 2nd leg | 25 October 1983 | Derby County | H | W | 4–0 | Harford 3, Gayle | 7,786 |
| Third round | 8 November 1983 | Notts County | H | D | 2–2 | Handysides, Phillips | 10,484 |
| Third round replay | 22 November 1983 | Notts County | A | D | 0–0 aet | | 8,268 |
| Third round 2nd replay | 29 November 1983 | Notts County | H | D | 0–0 aet | | 9,678 |
| Third round 3rd replay | 5 December 1983 | Notts County | A | W | 3–1 | Hopkins 2, Harford | 7,361 |
| Fourth round | 20 December 1983 | Liverpool | H | D | 1–1 | Harford | 17,405 |
| Fourth round replay | 22 December 1983 | Liverpool | A | L | 0–3 | | 11,638 |

## 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 | 41 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 54 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | Mark Kendall | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Noel Blake | 39 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 52 | 2 |
| DF | ENG | Kevan Broadhurst | 22 (1) | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 (1) | 1 |
| DF | NIR | Jim Hagan | 30 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 39 (3) | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Mark McCarrick | 12 (3) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 15 (4) | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Wayne Mumford | 3 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (2) | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Brian Roberts | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| DF | WAL | Pat Van Den Hauwe | 42 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 55 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Billy Wright | 40 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 53 | 8 |
| MF | ENG | Mick Halsall | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 (1) | 0 | 28 (1) | 2 |
| MF | ENG | Ian Handysides † | 4 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 (1) | 1 |
| MF | ENG | Robert Hopkins | 32 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 44 | 8 |
| MF | ENG | Martin Kuhl | 20 (2) | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 24 (2) | 2 |
| MF | ENG | Ivor Linton † | 3 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (1) | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Les Phillips † | 18 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 26 (3) | 1 |
| MF | ENG | Kevin Rogers | 8 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 (1) | 1 |
| MF | WAL | Byron Stevenson | 21 (4) | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 (1) | 0 | 31 (5) | 2 |
| FW | ENG | Howard Gayle * | 32 (1) | 8 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 44 (1) | 10 |
| FW | ENG | Mick Harford | 39 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 51 | 15 |
| FW | ENG | Ian Muir † | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | WAL | Tony Rees | 22 (3) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 25 (3) | 4 |