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1955–56 Birmingham City F.C. season

FieldValue
clubBirmingham City F.C.
season1955–56
managerArthur Turner
chairmanHarry Morris Jr
stdtitleGround
stadiumSt Andrew's
leagueFootball League First Division
league result6th
cup1FA Cup
cup1 resultRunners-up
(eliminated by Manchester City)
cup2Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
cup2 resultGroup stage
league topscorerEddy Brown (21)
season topscorerEddy Brown (29)
highest attendance48,000 vs Preston North End, 3 September 1955
lowest attendance23,800 vs Sheffield United, 24 December 1955
average attendance32,207
pattern_la1_whiteborder
pattern_b1_whitecollarplain
pattern_ra1_whiteborder
pattern_so1_hoops_white
leftarm1000099
body1000099
rightarm1000099
shorts1FFFFFF
socks1000099
prevseason1954–55
nextseason1956–57

(eliminated by Manchester City) The 1955–56 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 53rd in the Football League and their 29th in the First Division, having been promoted as Second Division champions in 1954–55. They finished in a club-record sixth position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1955–56 FA Cup in the third round proper and reached the Final for only the second time, despite being drawn to play away from home in each round, the first time this had occurred. They lost 3–1 to Manchester City in a match remembered for City's goalkeeper Bert Trautmann playing the last 25 minutes with a broken neck.

Birmingham City became the first English club side to take part in European competition when they played their first group game in the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup on 16 May 1956, a goalless draw away at Inter Milan. The competition lasted over three English seasons with the final not played until 1958. Invitations to enter the Fairs Cup, a tournament set up to promote industrial trade fairs, were extended to the city hosting the trade fair rather than to clubs. Some cities entered a select team including players from more than one club, but Aston Villa, the other major club based in the city of Birmingham, rejected the opportunity to field a combined team.

Twenty-four players made at least one appearance in nationally or internationally organised first-team competition, and there were thirteen different goalscorers. Goalkeeper Gil Merrick and forwards Eddy Brown and Peter Murphy played in 46 of the 50 first-team matches over the season, and Brown finished as leading goalscorer with 29 goals in all competitions, of which 21 were scored in the league.

Football League First Division

Main article: 1955–56 Football League

Note that not all teams completed their playing season on the same day. Birmingham were in fourth position after their last game of the season, on 21 April, but by the time the last game was played, on 2 May, they were sixth, having been overtaken by Manchester City and Arsenal.

DateLeague
positionOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–AScorersAttendance20 August 195524 August 195527 August 195531 August 19553 September 19555 September 195510 September 195517 September 195521 September 195524 September 19551 October 19558 October 195515 October 195522 October 195529 October 19555 November 195512 November 195519 November 195526 November 19553 December 195510 December 195517 December 195524 December 195526 December 195527 December 195531 December 195514 January 195621 January 19564 February 195611 February 195625 February 19567 March 195610 March 195621 March 195624 March 195631 March 19562 April 19563 April 19567 April 195614 April 195618 April 195621 April 1956
8thManchester UnitedHD2–2Kinsey, Astall37,612
7thNewcastle UnitedAD2–2Murphy, Astall34,473
4thSheffield UnitedAW3–0Brown, Kinsey, Murphy23,299
2ndNewcastle UnitedHW3–1Brown, Murphy, Warhurst38,369
8thPreston North EndHL0–347,014
5thAston VillaAD0–056,935
10thBurnleyAL2–3Kinsey, Astall22,808
12thLuton TownHD0–031,013
10thAston VillaHD2–2Brown, Astall32,642
13thCharlton AthleticAL0–221,912
10thTottenham HotspurHW3–0Brown, Murphy, Clarke og31,320
12thSunderlandHL1–2Hudgell og37,946
10thPortsmouthAW5–0Brown 3, Kinsey, Govan28,952
7thManchester CityHW4–3Lane, Murphy, Govan, Boyd28,398
10thWolverhampton WanderersAL0–147,006
8thChelseaHW3–0Astall 2, Boyd30,499
11thBlackpoolAL0–221,967
8thHuddersfield TownHW5–0Brown 2, Murphy, Astall, Warhurst24,841
10thCardiff CityAL1–2Brown23,638
7thArsenalHW4–0Kinsey 2, Brown, Astall35,765
9thBolton WanderersAL0–615,793
10thManchester UnitedAL1–2Brown27,936
13thSheffield UnitedHL0–223,822
13thEvertonHW6–2Brown 2, Kinsey 3, Govan25,541
15thEvertonAL1–5Astall42,236
14thPreston North EndAD1–1Astall25,834
16thBurnleyHL1–2Kinsey27,388
16thLuton TownAW1–0Brown18,970
14thCharlton AthleticHW4–0Brown 3, Kinsey24,447
11thTottenham HotspurAW1–0Astall26,141
9thPortsmouthHW3–2Kinsey 2, Brown31,955
8thHuddersfield TownAW3–2Brown9,224
8thWolverhampton WanderersHD0–045,161
6thChelseaAW2–1Kinsey, Govan12,637
7thBlackpoolHL1–2Murphy47,933
10thManchester CityAD1–1Murphy44,777
8thWest Bromwich AlbionHW2–0Brown, Murphy38,891
4thWest Bromwich AlbionAW2–0Murphy 235,858
3rdCardiff CityHW2–1Brown, Baker og37,154
6thArsenalAL0–131,775
7thSunderlandAL0–114,824
4thBolton WanderersHW5–2Kinsey, Warmington, Astall, Wheeler 2 ogs29,640

League table (part)

PosClubPldWDLFAGAPts4th5th6th7th8thKeySource
Manchester City4218101482691.1946
Arsenal4218101460610.9846
Birmingham City421891575571.3245
Burnley421881664541.1944
Bolton Wanderers421871771581.2243
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

Main article: 1955–56 FA Cup, 1956 FA Cup Final

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–AScorersAttendanceThird roundFourth roundFifth roundSixth roundSemi-finalFinal
7 January 1956Torquay UnitedAW7–1Astall, Brown 3, Kinsey, Murphy 218,730
28 January 1956Leyton OrientAW4–0Brown 2, Murphy, Finney24,727
18 February 1956West Bromwich AlbionAW1–0Murphy57,213
3 March 1956ArsenalAW3–1Astall, Murphy, Brown67,872
17 March 1956SunderlandHillsborough, SheffieldW3–0Kinsey, Astall, Brown65,107
5 May 1956Manchester CityWembley, LondonL1–3Kinsey98,982

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Main article: 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScore
F–AScorersAttendanceGroup BGroup B
15 May 1956InternazionaleAD0–08,000
24 May 1956Zagreb XIAW1–0Brown12,000

Appearances and goals

:Players marked left the club during the playing season. :Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward

Pos.Nat.NameLeagueFA CupFairs CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GKENG3806020460
GKENG40000040
FBENG20001030
FBENG1601020190
FBENG2806010350
FBENG3806000440
FBSCO20000020
HBENG3236010393
HBENG60000060
HBENG1401020170
HBENG3006000360
HBENG3024010352
HBENG21001031
HBENG1000010110
FWENG391263004515
FWENG10000010
FWENG382167214629
FWENG30002050
FWENG1002110131
FWSCO3643010404
FWENG10000010
FWWAL341563204218
FWENG1011010121
FWENG381165204616

References

General

  • Source for match dates and results:
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 346–47, 473.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

References

  1. (5 May 1956). "Every Prospect of a Good Final". The Times.
  2. "Blues in Europe – Part One 1956–1958". Birmingham City F.C.
  3. Zea, Antonio. (28 March 2007). "European Champions' Cup 1955–56 – Details".
  4. Radnedge, Keir. (1998). "The Complete Encyclopedia of Football". Carlton Books.
  5. "Birmingham City 1955–1956: English Division One (old) Table". Statto Organisation.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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