1968–69 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1969–70 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 66th in the Football League and their 28th in the Second Division. They made a poor start, suffering seven defeats in the first nine matches, but an improved second half of the season led to a seventh-place finish in the 22-team division. They entered the 1969–70 FA Cup in the third round proper, reaching the fifth round in which they lost to Manchester United after a replay, and were beaten by Chelsea in their opening second-round match in the League Cup.

Twenty-three players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were twelve different goalscorers. Midfielder Johnny Vincent played in 46 of the 48 first-team matches over the season. Fred Pickering and Phil Summerill finished as joint leading goalscorers with 17 goals in all competitions; the best goal return in League competition was Summerill's 16.

Football League Second Division

On 7 September 1968, the home match against Huddersfield Town saw Geoff Vowden become the first substitute to score a hat-trick in a Football League match.

Note that Birmingham were in sixth place in the division after their last match of the season, played on 19 April, but not every team completed their fixtures on that date. By the time all matches had been played, on 30 April, they had dropped to seventh.

DateLeaguepositionOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendance10 August 196817thNorwich CityHL1–2Pickering27,71527 August 196820thCrystal PalaceAL2–3Vowden, Vincent17,67920 August 196822ndCharlton AthleticAL1–3Vincent14,22024 August 196817thPortsmouthHW5–2Pickering 2, Vowden, Summerill, Tindall og23,91528 August 196821stCardiff CityAL0–414,96731 August 196822ndPreston North EndAL1–4Greenhoff13,1127 September 196819thHuddersfield TownHW5–1Greenhoff, Pickering, Vowden 325,00114 September 196821stMiddlesbroughAL1–3Vincent17,39817 September 196821stBuryHL1–3Greenhoff24,17821 September 196820thAston VillaHW4–0Vowden, Greenhoff, Vincent, Summerill40,52728 September 196818thCarlisle UnitedAW3–2Greenhoff, Summerill, Green7,6235 October 196817thFulhamHW5–4Greenhoff 4, Vincent28,4488 October 196815thCardiff CityHW2–0Greenhoff, Vincent28,23812 October 196815thBristol CityAD0–019,57819 October 196815thMillwallHL1–2Greenhoff pen29,77026 October 196817thDerby CountyAL0–134,2182 November 196818thOxford UnitedHL0–123,4669 November 196819thBlackburn RoversAL2–3Pickering 211,72116 November 196817thBlackpoolHW1–0Summerill22,20623 November 196817thBolton WanderersAD0–07,17530 November 196816thHull CityHW5–2Pickering, Greenhoff, Summerill 321,3527 December 196817thSheffield UnitedAL0–214,33914 December 196817thBristol CityHW2–0Pickering 218,95821 December 196816thMillwallAW3–1Pickering, Vincent, Darrell12,65226 December 196817thFulhamAL0–213,19211 January 196815thOxford UnitedAW2–1Pickering, Summerill11,58714 January 196914thDerby CountyHD1–1Pickering39,97718 January 196912thBlackburn RoversHW3–1Pickering, Robinson pen, Coddington og27,1611 February 196914thBlackpoolAL1–2James og11,2941 March 196917thNorwich CityAD1–1Vowden15,8944 March 196916thSheffield UnitedHD2–2Pickering, Beard25,1238 March 196916thCrystal PalaceHL0–125,29815 March 196915thPortsmouthAD0–015,55622 March 196913thPreston North EndHW3–1R. Latchford 2, Summerill22,02025 March 196911thBolton WanderersHW5–0Vincent, Summerill 3, Beard20,45429 March 196911thHuddersfield TownAD0–08,1055 April 196911thCarlisle UnitedHW3–0Greenhoff 2, Hockey22,3977 April 196911thCharlton AthleticHD0–025,8848 April 19699thBuryAW2–1Summerill 25,81912 April 196910thAston VillaAL0–153,64715 April 19698thHull CityAW2–1Vincent, Hockey8,70219 April 19696thMiddlesbroughHW3–1Summerill 2, G. Smith og25,899

League table (part)

+Final Second Division table (part)PosClubPldWDLFAGAPts5thCardiff City422071567541.24476thHuddersfield Town4217121353461.15467thBirmingham City421881673591.24448thBlackpool4214151351411.24439thSheffield United4216111561501.2243Key Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played;W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost;F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceThird round4 January 1969Lincoln CityHW2–1Pickering, Robinson31,429Fourth round25 January 1969Sheffield WednesdayAD2–2Pickering, Thwaites52,062Fourth round replay28 January 1969Sheffield WednesdayHW2–1Pickering, Beard51,463Fifth round11 February 1969Manchester UnitedHD2–2Beard, Robinson51,685Fifth round replay24 February 1969Manchester UnitedAL2–6Greenhoff, Summerill61,934

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceSecond round3 September 1968ChelseaHL0–131,530

Appearances and goals

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute. 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 competitionNameLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotalGoalsGoalsGoalsGoalsGK Jim Herriot3805010440GK Dave Latchford40000040DF Winston Foster50001060DF Colin Green2815010341DF Ray Martin31 (1)0500 (1)036 (2)0DF Bert Murray8 (2)000109 (2)0DF Garry Pendrey1000000100DF Dave Robinson2915200343DF Brian Sharples10000010DF John Sleeuwenhoek7 (1)00 (1)0008 (2)0DF Bobby Thomson1000000100MF Malcolm Beard3223 (1)21036 (1)4MF Malcolm Page33 (1)0501039 (1)0MF Ron Wylie2603010300FW Barry Bridges 20000020FW Mick Darrell4 (1)110005 (1)1FW Jimmy Greenhoff311451003615FW Trevor Hockey3725000422FW Bob Latchford42000042FW Fred Pickering321453204017FW Phil Summerill28 (2)161 (1)11030 (3)17FW Denis Thwaites20310051FW Johnny Vincent40 (1)9401045 (1)9FW Geoff Vowden22 (4)7001023 (4)7

See also Birmingham City F.C. seasons

References General

Source for match dates and results: Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 372–73. Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific