1956–57 Birmingham City F.C. season
1956–57 season | ||
---|---|---|
Chairman | Harry Morris Jr | |
Manager | Arthur Turner | |
Ground | St Andrew's | |
Football League First Division | 12th | |
FA Cup | Semi-final (eliminated by Manchester United) | |
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | Semi-final | |
Top goalscorer | League: Alex Govan (24) All: Alex Govan (30) | |
Highest home attendance | 57,827 vs Nottingham Forest, FA Cup sixth round, 2 March 1957 | |
Lowest home attendance | 23,747 vs Manchester City, 27 April 1957 | |
Average home league attendance | 32,444 | |
| ||
The 1956–57 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 54th in the Football League and their 30th in the First Division. They finished in 12th position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1956–57 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost in the semi-final to Manchester United. In the inaugural edition of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Birmingham finished top of their group so progressed to the semi-final.[1]
Twenty-four players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were thirteen different goalscorers. Goalkeeper Gil Merrick played in 49 of the 51 first-team matches over the season, and Alex Govan finished as leading goalscorer with 30 goals in all competitions, of which 24 were scored in the league.
Football League First Division
[edit]Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
18 August 1956 | 12th | Manchester United | A | D | 2–2 | Govan, Jones og | 32,958 |
22 August 1956 | 6th | Portsmouth | H | W | 3–1 | Astall, Govan 2 | 33,307 |
25 August 1956 | 3rd | Arsenal | H | W | 4–2 | Brown, Murphy 2, Govan | 37,197 |
29 August 1956 | 2nd | Portsmouth | A | W | 4–3 | Govan 3, Astall | 25,686 |
1 September 1956 | 6th | Burnley | A | L | 0–2 | 25,531 | |
5 September 1956 | 2nd | Newcastle United | H | W | 6–1 | Kinsey, Murphy 2, Govan 3 | 32,506 |
8 September 1956 | 2nd | Preston North End | H | W | 3–0 | Govan 3 | 44,458 |
15 September 1956 | 3rd | Chelsea | A | L | 0–1 | 40,530 | |
22 September 1956 | 4th | Cardiff City | H | W | 2–1 | Kinsey, Govan | 39,931 |
29 September 1956 | 6th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | L | 0–3 | 44,191 | |
6 October 1956 | 6th | Bolton Wanderers | H | D | 0–0 | 29,614 | |
13 October 1956 | 6th | Leeds United | A | D | 1–1 | Larkin | 34,460 |
20 October 1956 | 6th | Luton Town | H | W | 3–0 | Brown 2, Orritt | 31,783 |
27 October 1956 | 7th | Aston Villa | A | L | 1–3 | Astall | 54,927 |
3 November 1956 | 6th | Blackpool | H | D | 2–2 | Astall, Govan | 35,597 |
10 November 1956 | 9th | Manchester City | A | L | 1–3 | Kinsey | 21,005 |
17 November 1956 | 6th | Charlton Athletic | H | W | 4–2 | Brown, Kinsey, Astall, Murphy | 27,564 |
24 November 1956 | 5th | Sunderland | A | W | 1–0 | Orritt | 33,807 |
1 December 1956 | 4th | Tottenham Hotspur | H | D | 0–0 | 38,035 | |
8 December 1956 | 7th | Everton | A | L | 0–2 | 29,579 | |
15 December 1956 | 5th | Manchester United | H | W | 3–1 | Brown 2, Orritt | 36,146 |
22 December 1956 | 8th | Arsenal | A | L | 0–4 | 28,644 | |
25 December 1956 | 6th | Sheffield Wednesday | H | W | 4–0 | Brown, Murphy, Astall, Govan | 24,380 |
29 December 1956 | 5th | Burnley | H | W | 2–0 | Brown, Govan | 31,733 |
1 January 1957 | 6th | Newcastle United | A | L | 2–3 | Brown, Govan | 29,383 |
12 January 1957 | 9th | Preston North End | A | L | 0–1 | 19,430 | |
19 January 1957 | 9th | Chelsea | H | L | 0–1 | 30,157 | |
2 February 1957 | 8th | Cardiff City | A | W | 2–1 | Brown, Astall | 16,854 |
9 February 1957 | 8th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | D | 2–2 | Astall, Govan | 45,915 |
20 February 1957 | 9th | Bolton Wanderers | A | L | 1–3 | Astall | 11,284 |
9 March 1957 | 10th | Everton | H | L | 1–3 | Brown | 23,881 |
16 March 1957 | 12th | Blackpool | A | L | 1–3 | Brown | 17,610 |
30 March 1957 | 13th | Charlton Athletic | A | L | 0–1 | 17,839 | |
3 April 1957 | 13th | Luton Town | A | D | 0–0 | 12,881 | |
6 April 1957 | 13th | Sunderland | H | L | 1–2 | Brown | 24,548 |
10 April 1957 | 13th | Aston Villa | H | L | 1–2 | Murphy | 29,853 |
13 April 1957 | 14th | Tottenham Hotspur | A | L | 1–5 | Astall | 33,512 |
20 April 1957 | 15th | Leeds United | H | W | 6–2 | Brown 2, Govan 3, Astall | 30,642 |
22 April 1957 | 14th | West Bromwich Albion | A | D | 0–0 | 18,755 | |
23 April 1957 | 13th | West Bromwich Albion | H | W | 2–0 | Kinsey, Govan | 30,332 |
27 April 1957 | 12th | Manchester City | H | D | 3–3 | Brown, Govan, Phoenix og | 23,747 |
29 April 1957 | 12th | Sheffield Wednesday | A | L | 0–3 | 13,845 |
League table (part)
[edit]Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10th | Aston Villa | 42 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 55 | 45 | 1.18 | 43 |
11th | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 59 | 61 | 0.97 | 42 |
12th | Birmingham City | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 69 | 69 | 1.00 | 39 |
13th | Chelsea | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 73 | 73 | 1.00 | 39 |
14th | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 16 | 6 | 20 | 82 | 88 | 0.93 | 38 |
Key | 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 | ||||||||
Source | [2] |
FA Cup
[edit]Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Third round | 5 January 1957 | Carlisle United | A | D | 3–3 | Murphy 2, Astall | 27,445 |
Third round replay | 9 January 1957 | Carlisle United | H | W | 4–0 | Brown 2, Kinsey, Astall | 56,458 |
Fourth round | 26 January 1957 | Southend United | A | W | 6–1 | Murphy, Govan 3, Cox, Lawler og | 28,964 |
Fifth round | 16 February 1957 | Millwall | A | W | 4–1 | Kinsey 2, Govan, Brown | 41,986 |
Sixth round | 2 March 1957 | Nottingham Forest | H | D | 0–0 | 57,827 | |
Sixth round replay | 6 March 1957 | Nottingham Forest | A | W | 1–0 | Murphy | 36,486 |
Semi-final | 23 March 1957 | Manchester United | Hillsborough, Sheffield | L | 0–2 | 65,107 |
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
[edit]The last two group matches of the inaugural season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup were completed during this season, as a result of which Birmingham qualified for the semi-finals, in which they were to play Barcelona the following season.
Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Group B | 3 December 1956 | Zagreb XI | H | W | 3–0 | Orritt, Brown, Murphy | 40,144 |
Group B | 17 April 1957 | Inter Milan | H | W | 2–1 | Govan 2 | 34,461 |
Appearances and goals
[edit]- Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made or goals scored as a substitute.
- Players marked † left the club during the playing season.
- Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward
Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | FA Cup | Fairs Cup | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
GK | ![]() | Gil Merrick | 40 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 0 |
GK | ![]() | Johnny Schofield | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
FB | ![]() | George Allen | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
FB | ![]() | Jack Badham | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
FB | ![]() | Brian Farmer | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
FB | ![]() | Ken Green | 40 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 0 |
FB | ![]() | Jeff Hall | 36 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
HB | ![]() | Bunny Larkin | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
HB | ![]() | Bert Linnecor † | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
HB | ![]() | Dick Neal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
HB | ![]() | Johnny Newman | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
HB | ![]() | Graham Sissons | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
HB | ![]() | Trevor Smith | 37 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 0 |
HB | ![]() | Roy Warhurst | 33 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
HB | ![]() | Johnny Watts | 27 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
FW | ![]() | Gordon Astall | 40 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 13 |
FW | ![]() | Eddy Brown | 38 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 47 | 20 |
FW | ![]() | Geoff Cox | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 5 (1) | 1 |
FW | ![]() | Bill Finney | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
FW | ![]() | Alex Govan | 35 | 24 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 44 | 30 |
FW | ![]() | Dennis Harper | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
FW | ![]() | Noel Kinsey | 28 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 1 (1)[a] | 0 | 36 (1) | 8 |
FW | ![]() | Peter Murphy | 35 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 43 | 12 |
FW | ![]() | Keith Neale | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
FW | ![]() | Bryan Orritt | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 4 |
FW | ![]() | Peter Warmington | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]General
- Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
- Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. Derby: DB Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85983-853-2.
- Source for match dates and results: "Birmingham City 1956–1957: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 16 September 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
- Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 348–49, 473.
- Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
Specific
- ^ Zea, Antonio & Haisma, Marcel (16 March 2010). "Fairs' Cup 1956–58". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 1 May 2012.
- ^ "Birmingham City 1956–1957: English Division One (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
- ^ "Blues in Europe – Part One 1956–1958". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 7 April 2011.
- ^ "Player search: Kinsey, N (Noel)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ Chapman, Cyril (4 December 1956). "Birmingham City easily beat Zagreb with weakened team". Birmingham Post. p. 20.
Orritt was injured in the 55th minute, but what in a League game would have proved a severe blow was no inconvenience for City, for the experienced Kinsey came on as substitute at inside-right.