1967–68 Birmingham City F.C. season

Birmingham City F.C.
1967–68 season
ChairmanClifford Coombs
ManagerStan Cullis
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League Second Division4th
FA CupSemi-final
(eliminated by West Bromwich Albion)
Football League CupThird round
(eliminated by Chelsea)
Top goalscorerLeague: Barry Bridges (23)
All: Barry Bridges (28)
Highest home attendance51,586 vs Arsenal, FA Cup 5th round replay, 12 March 1968
Lowest home attendance19,916 vs Charlton Athletic, 7 May 1968
Average home league attendance28,083

The 1967–68 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 65th in the Football League and their 27th in the Second Division. They finished in fourth position in the 22-team division. They entered the 1967–68 FA Cup in the third round proper, and defeated Arsenal (in a replay) and then Chelsea in front of crowds in excess of 50,000 to reach the semi-final, in which they lost 2–0 to local rivals West Bromwich Albion. They entered at the second round of the League Cup and lost in the third to Chelsea.

Twenty-two players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were eleven different goalscorers. Forwards Barry Bridges and Fred Pickering played in all 50 first-team matches over the season; midfielder Malcolm Beard missed only one. Bridges finished as leading goalscorer with 28 goals, of which 23 came in league competition.

Football League Second Division

Main article: 1967–68 Football League
Date League
position		 Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
19 August 1967 1st Bolton Wanderers H W 4–0 Vincent, Bridges 2, Hockey 23,537
26 August 1967 5th Huddersfield Town A W 3–2 Vincent, Vowden 2 14,228
29 August 1967 4th Middlesbrough A D 1–1 Vincent 25,814
2 September 1967 5th Ipswich Town H D 0–0 25,463
4 September 1967 2nd Hull City H W 6–2 Pickering, Vincent, Vowden, Bridges, Beard pen, Murray 25,913
9 September 1967 5th Carlisle United A D 1–1 Vowden 11,200
16 September 1967 6th Blackburn Rovers H D 1–1 Bridges 28,972
23 September 1967 8th Blackpool A L 0–1 25,572
26 September 1967 5th Middlesbrough H W 6–1 Pickering 2, Vincent, Bridges 2, Vowden 28,885
30 September 1967 8th Millwall A L 2–3 Pickering, Vincent 30,567
7 October 1967 7th Aston Villa A W 4–2 Bridges 2, Beard pen, Vowden 50,067
14 October 1967 6th Portsmouth H D 2–2 Pickering, Vowden 26,243
21 October 1967 7th Norwich City A L 2–4 Vowden, Bridges 16,490
28 October 1967 6th Rotherham United H W 4–1 Bridges 3, Vowden 21,478
4 November 1967 6th Derby County A D 2–2 Vincent, Bridges 25,484
11 November 1967 6th Preston North End H W 3–0 Vincent 2, Bridges 27,664
18 November 1967 5th Cardiff City A W 3–1 Vincent, Bridges, Murray 13,673
25 November 1967 4th Crystal Palace H W 1–0 Vincent 27,538
2 December 1967 5th Charlton Athletic A L 1–3 Bridges 13,855
9 December 1967 2nd Queens Park Rangers H W 2–0 Pickering, Hazell og 25,281
16 December 1967 4th Bolton Wanderers A D 1–1 Farrimond og 10,468
23 December 1967 2nd Huddersfield Town H W 6–1 Pickering 2, Vincent, Vowden, Bridges, Leggat 26,163
26 December 1967 1st Bristol City H W 4–1 Bridges, Vowden, Leggat, Briggs og 40,429
30 December 1967 3rd Bristol City A L 1–3 Vincent 23,493
6 January 1967 4th Ipswich Town A L 1–2 Vowden 16,701
13 January 1968 4th Carlisle United H L 1–3 Vowden 21,686
20 January 1968 4th Blackburn Rovers A W 2–1 Pickering, Vowden 17,934
3 February 1968 5th Blackpool H L 1–2 Wylie 29,646
10 February 1968 5th Millwall A D 1–1 Vowden 13,961
24 February 1968 5th Aston Villa H W 2–1 Bridges 2 45,283
2 March 1968 5th Portsmouth A W 2–1 Pickering, Foster 27,836
16 March 1968 5th Norwich City H D 0–0 28,951
23 March 1968 5th Rotherham United A D 1–1 Pickering 16,025
2 April 1968 5th Derby County H W 3–1 Vowden, Bridges, Richardson og 29,327
6 April 1968 5th Preston North End A D 0–0 16,876
13 April 1968 5th Cardiff City H D 0–0 29,044
15 April 1968 5th Plymouth Argyle A W 2–1 Pickering, Vowden 13,886
16 April 1968 4th Plymouth Argyle H D 2–2 Page, Wylie 29,359
20 April 1968 5th Crystal Palace A D 0–0 14,949
4 May 1968 5th Queens Park Rangers A L 0–2 25,985
7 May 1968 4th Charlton Athletic H W 4–0 Pickering, Bridges 2, Vincent 19,916
11 May 1968 4th Hull City A W 1–0 Wilson og 10,346

League table (part)

Final Second Division table (part)[1]
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts
2nd Queens Park Rangers 42 25 8 9 67 36 1.86 58
3rd Blackpool 42 24 10 8 71 43 1.65 58
4th Birmingham City 42 19 14 9 83 51 1.63 52
5th Portsmouth 42 18 13 11 68 55 1.24 49
6th Middlesbrough 42 17 12 13 60 54 1.11 46
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

FA Cup

Main article: 1967–68 FA Cup
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
Third round 27 January 1968 Halifax Town A W 4–2 Pickering, Vowden, Bridges, Beard 18,117
Fourth round 17 February 1968 Leyton Orient H W 3–0 Vowden 2, Bridges 29,320
Fifth round 9 March 1968 Arsenal A D 1–1 Vowden 45,515
Fifth round replay 12 March 1968 Arsenal H W 2–1 Bridges 2 51,586
Sixth round 30 March 1968 Chelsea H W 1–0 Pickering 51,576
Semi-final 27 April 1968 West Bromwich Albion Villa Park,
Birmingham 		L 0–2 60,831

League Cup

Main article: 1967–68 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
Second round 13 September 1967 Plymouth Argyle A W 2–0 Vowden, Hockey 10,038
Third round 11 October 1967 Derby County H L 1–3 Bridges 24,827

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 competition
Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK  SCO Jim Herriot 40 0 6 0 2 0 48 0
GK  ENG Terry Twell 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
DF  ENG Winston Foster 16 1 6 0 0 0 22 1
DF  WAL Colin Green 26 0 5 0 1 0 32 0
DF  ENG Ray Martin 21 (5) 0 4 (1) 0 1 0 26 (6) 0
DF  ENG Bert Murray 40 2 5 0 2 0 47 2
DF  ENG Brian Sharples 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
DF  ENG John Sleeuwenhoek 12 0 0 0 0 0 12 0
MF  ENG Malcolm Beard 41 2 6 1 2 0 49 3
MF  ENG Ron Fenton † 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF  WAL Malcolm Page 20 (1) 1 4 0 2 0 26 (1) 1
MF  SCO Bobby Thomson † 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 1 (1) 0
MF  SCO Ron Wylie 39 2 6 0 2 0 47 2
FW  ENG Barry Bridges 42 23 6 4 2 1 50 28
FW  ENG Mick Darrell 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0
FW  WAL Trevor Hockey 30 1 3 0 2 1 35 2
FW  SCO Graham Leggat 4 (3) 2 0 0 0 0 4 (3) 2
FW  ENG Fred Pickering 42 13 6 2 2 0 50 15
FW  ENG Phil Summerill 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FW  ENG Denis Thwaites 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FW  ENG Johnny Vincent 36 (1) 14 3 0 2 0 41 (1) 14
FW  ENG Geoff Vowden 40 17 6 4 2 1 48 22

See also

References

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 1967–1968: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  • Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 370–71.
  • Source for kit: "Birmingham City". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 22 May 2018.

Specific

  1. ^ "Birmingham City 1967–1968: English Division Two (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2012.