The 2000–01 season was Birmingham City Football Clubs 98th season in the English football league system. It ran from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001.

Led by manager Trevor Francis, the team repeated the previous season's fifth-place finish in the Football League First Division to qualify for the play-offs for a second consecutive season, but suffered another semi-final defeat, this time to Preston North End, losing 4–2 on penalties after drawing 2–2 over two legs. They were eliminated in the third round of the FA Cup, and reached the Football League Cup final for the first time since 1963, facing Liverpool. Liverpool took the lead in the 30th minute through Robbie Fowler, but Birmingham equalised in the last minute of normal time with a Darren Purse penalty. No further goals were scored in extra time, so the match was settled in a penalty shoot-out; Martin Grainger's and Andrew Johnson's penalties were saved, and Liverpool won 5–4 on penalties.

The top scorer for the season was Geoff Horsfield, with twelve goals in all competitions, of which seven were in the League; Marcelo also scored seven league goals.

Kit French apparel manufacturers Le Coq Sportif remained Birmingham's kit suppliers for the third season in a row, and introduced a new kit for the season. Auto Windscreens remained the kit sponsors, also for the third consecutive season.

Football League First Division

Match details General sources: Individual match reports are linked from this page. Match content not verifiable from these sources is referenced individually.

DateLeaguepositionOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceRefs12 August 200011thQueens Park RangersAD0–013,92618 August 200016thFulhamHL1–3Sonner 36'21,65926 August 200014thNottingham ForestAW2–1Marcelo 16', Eaden 45'18,82028 August 20005thBarnsleyHW4–1Ndlovu 9', Grainger 35' pen., Holdsworth 51', Hughes 90'17,1609 September 20006thSheffield UnitedHW1–0O'Connor 9' pen.21,49312 September 20004thPreston North EndHW3–1Ndlovu 58', A. Johnson 65', O'Connor 78' pen.16,48417 September 20004thWest Bromwich AlbionAD1–1Horsfield 61'19,85823 September 20004thTranmere RoversHW2–0Grainger 73', Horsfield 90'17,6401 October 20005thWatfordAL0–212,3558 October 20004thCrewe AlexandraAW2–0Hughes 54', Marcelo 81'6,82914 October 20004thCrystal PalaceHW2–1Burchill 72', Adebola 85'17,19117 October 20003rdStockport CountyHW4–0Horsfield 13', Grainger 70' pen., Burchill (2) 80', 87'15,57922 October 20003rdSheffield WednesdayAL0–114,69525 October 20003rdGillinghamHW1–0Marcelo 90'26,04428 October 20003rdPortsmouthAD1–1Eaden 48'15,2184 November 20003rdBolton WanderersHD1–1Grainger 50' pen.20,0437 November 20003rdNorwich CityAL0–113,90018 November 20004thBurnleyHW3–2Adebola 48', O'Connor 50', Burchill 86'19,64125 November 20003rdHuddersfield TownHW2–1Lazaridis 26', Horsfield 45'22,1202 December 20002ndGillinghamAW2–1M. Johnson 78', Horsfield 90'9,2479 December 20003rdWimbledonHL0–316,77817 December 20003rdWolverhampton WanderersAW1–0Adebola 32'19,93823 December 20003rdQueens Park RangersHD0–024,31126 December 20004thBlackburn RoversAL1–2Purse 88'24,8991 January 20016thNottingham ForestHL0–220,03413 January 20016thBarnsleyAW3–2Marcelo 16', M. Johnson 40', Lazaridis 48'13,63127 January 20015thFulhamAW1–0Grainger 47'15,4823 February 20015thNorwich CityHW2–1Hughes 9', Purse 62' pen.18,55110 February 20016thSheffield UnitedAL1–3Horsfield 89'19,31317 February 20014thWest Bromwich AlbionHW2–1Adebola 36', O'Connor 57'25,02520 February 20014thPreston North EndAW2–0Grainger 11', A. Johnson 71'14,8642 March 20014thWatfordHW2–0Eaden 45', Hughes 79'20,7246 March 20014thCrystal PalaceAW2–1Upson 48' o.g., Adebola 59'13,98710 March 20013rdCrewe AlexandraHW2–0Purse 61' pen., A. Johnson 77'28,04214 March 20014thBlackburn RoversHL0–229,15017 March 20014thStockport CountyAL0–27,17620 March 20014thGrimsby TownAD1–1A. Johnson 10'4,84324 March 20014thSheffield WednesdayHL1–2Horsfield 60'19,7331 April 20014thWolverhampton WanderersHL0–124,0037 April 20014thWimbledonAL1–3Marcelo 86'6,61910 April 20015thTranmere RoversAL0–18,00413 April 20014thBolton WanderersAD2–2O'Connor 14', Marcelo 57'15,02516 April 20014thPortsmouthHD0–023,30421 April 20015thBurnleyAD0–017,05728 April 20015thGrimsby TownHW1–0Marcelo 64'24,8226 May 20015thHuddersfield TownAW2–1Woodhouse (2) 21', 45'19,290

League table

Results summary

Play-offs

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceRefsSemifinal 1st leg13 May 2001Preston North EndHW1–0Eaden 54'29,072Semifinal 2nd leg17 May 2001Preston North EndAL1–2 a.e.t.2–4 pens.Horsfield 58'16,928

FA Cup

+ FA Cup match detailsRoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceRefsThird round6 January 2001Manchester CityAL2–3Grainger 57', Adebola 61'19,380

League Cup

General sources: Match content not verifiable from these sources is referenced individually.

+ League Cup match detailsRoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceRefsFirst round first leg22 August 2000Southend UnitedAW5–0Eaden 5', Marcelo 10', M. Johnson 28', Adebola 74', Hughes 85'3,694First round second leg5 September 2000Southend UnitedHD0–05–0 agg.9,507Second round first leg19 September 2000Wycombe WanderersAW4–3Horsfield (2) 3', 22', A. Johnson (2) 24', 87'2,537Second round second leg26 September 2000Wycombe WanderersHW1–05–3 agg.Ndlovu 66'8,960Third round31 October 2000Tottenham HotspurAW3–1Adebola (2) 15', 28', Burchill 45'27,096Fourth round29 November 2000Newcastle UnitedHW2–1Adebola 31', M. Johnson 90'18,520Quarter-final12 December 2000Sheffield WednesdayHW2–0Sonner 28', Adebola 57'22,911Semi-final first leg9 January 2001Ipswich TownAL0–121,684Semi-final second leg31 January 2001Ipswich TownHW4–1 a.e.t4–2 agg.Grainger 43', Horsfield (2) 56', 103', A. Johnson 117'28,624

Final

Transfers

In DatePlayerClubFeeRef 1 July 2000 David Burrows (Coventry City) Free 5 July 2000 Nicky Eaden (Barnsley) Free 10 July 2000 Geoff Horsfield Fulham £2.25m 3 August 2000 Danny Sonner (Sheffield Wednesday) Free 2 February 2001 Curtis Woodhouse Sheffield United £1m

Brackets round club names indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Birmingham.

Out DatePlayerFeeJoinedRef 28 June 2000 Gary Rowett £3m Leicester City January 2001 Jimmy Haarhoff Free Chester City 2 February 2001 Peter Ndlovu Released (Sheffield United) 9 February 2001 Steve Robinson Undisclosed Swindon Town 10 April 2001 Simon Marsh Released (Tamworth) 30 June 2001 Jon Bass Released (Hartlepool United) 30 June 2001 James Dyson Released (Hednesford Town) 30 June 2001 Kevin Poole Released (Birmingham City)

Brackets round a club denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.

Loan in DatePlayerClubReturnRef 15 September 2000 Gary Charles West Ham United One month 22 September 2000 Mark Burchill Celtic Three months 13 November 2000 Richard Edghill Manchester City One month 14 December 2000 Steve Jenkins Huddersfield Town One month 9 February 2001 Carl Tiler Charlton Athletic 21 February 2001 13 February 2001 Peter Atherton Bradford City Three months 16 March 2001 Jamie Pollock Crystal Palace 17 May 2001

Loan out DatePlayerClubReturnRef 7 August 2000 Paul Furlong Queens Park Rangers Two months

Appearances and goals Source:Matthews, pp. 436–37. Discipline statistics are sourced to individual player/season pages linked from this page.

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 competitionNameLeagueFA CupLeague CupPlay-offsTotalDisciplineGoalsGoalsGoalsGoalsGoals1 GKIan Bennett4501010020580202 DFNicky Eaden44 (1)3101011 (1)156 (2)5403 DFMartin Grainger3561110110478414 DFDavid Burrows8 (5)0000 (2)0008 (7)0105 DFDarren Purse34 (3)3108 (1)12045 (4)4916 DFDavid Holdsworth24 (5)100400 (1)028 (6)1817 MFJon McCarthy7 (8)000101 (1)09 (9)0108 FWMarcelo16 (15)70 (1)02 (3)12020 (19)8309 FWGeoff Horsfield25 (9)70 (1)05 (1)42132 (11)128010MFBryan Hughes38 (7)40 (1)06 (3)10 (2)044 (13)54011MFStan Lazaridis26 (5)2105 (2)01 (1)033 (8)23012MFMartin O'Connor28 (2)510902040 (2)58013GKKevin Poole10000000101014MFGraham Hyde1 (2)0000 (1)0001 (3)01015DFJerry Gill21 (8)010700029 (8)04017DFMichael Johnson3921082205044018MFSteve Robinson 0 (4)0000 (2)0000 (6)00018MFJamie Pollock * 4 (1)00000004 (1)01019FWAndrew Johnson20 (14)4001 (6)30021 (20)74019DFGary Charles * 30000000300020MFJacques Williams1 (2)0000 (1)0001 (3)00021MFTrésor Luntala00000000000022DFSteve Jenkins * 30001000402023DFJon Bass0 (1)00000000 (1)00024FWDele Adebola16 (15)5116 (2)50023 (17)111025FWPaul Furlong0 (4)00000000 (4)00026FWPeter Ndlovu 10 (2)2105 (1)10016 (3)31027DFTony Capaldi00000000000029DFCarl Tiler * 10000000100029DFPeter Atherton *1000000201200029DFRichard Edghill * 30000000300030MFCurtis Woodhouse1720000201924030FWMark Burchill * 4 (9)400003 (1)17 (10)50032MFDanny Sonner22 (4)110912034 (4)26033GKNeil Barnes000000000000

+ Players not included in matchday squadsName16DFJames Dyson22DFSimon Marsh28MFJimmy Haarhoff 28DFJoey Hutchinson31GKDarren Horrigan 31MFMickael Sabathier

References General

Specific