2014–15 Birmingham City F.C. season

Going into the opening-day visit to Middlesbrough having lost vice-captain Tom Adeyemi to divisional rivals Cardiff City,[30] manager Lee Clark gave starting debuts to Grant Hall, Jonathan Grounds, David Edgar, Stephen Gleeson and, for the second time, to Wes Thomas, and substitute debuts to Mark Duffy and Clayton Donaldson. Birmingham lost 2–0, and in his post-match interview, Clark said the play was too negative: "the stat of no shots on target tells the story".[31] Blues entered the first home game of the season having not won at St Andrew's in the league since October 2013, a second-tier record of 18 winless matches,[32] and with captain Paul Robinson dropped to the bench. A sound defensive display and Thomas's powerful header from David Cotterill's cross just after the break ended the unwanted run of home results.[33] Two draws followed, at home to Ipswich Town, who equalised in stoppage time, and away at Brentford, where Birmingham had a man advantage for 75 minutes and missed numerous chances to make the game safe.[34][35] August ended with Robinson back in the side and Birmingham in 20th place after a 4–0 defeat at Wigan Athletic, who "could have won even more comprehensively than 4–0 such was their total superiority."[36]

Set up by debutant loanee Brek Shea, Thomas's powerful shot broke the stanchion of the goal, delaying the game by nine minutes. Visitors Leeds United came back to draw, and the 18-year-old Demarai Gray was booked for what the referee perceived as a dive.[37] At home to Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham failed to profit from having the better of the first half, and lost 2–0 in the second.[38] A deflected shot from Callum Reilly on his first appearance of the season and Gray's "composed finish" over the goalkeeper gave Blues a half-time lead at top-of-the-table Norwich City. A strong penalty appeal for a foul on Donaldson was turned down and Grounds headed wide, but after the break, Cameron Jerome scored twice to restrict his former club to one point.[39] At home to Fulham, Birmingham wasted several first-half chances, took the lead through Cotterill's first goal for the club, and let it slip to lose 2–1.[40] September finished with the customary win at Millwall which left Birmingham 19th in the table. The 18-year-old Koby Arthur started the match, his first appearance since his recall from loan at Cheltenham Town.[41][42][43]

After conceding an early goal at previously unbeaten Charlton Athletic, strong performances from Davis and Reilly in midfield and Arthur in attack brought Birmingham back into the game. Arthur's goal was disallowed for offside against Donaldson – opinions varied as to whether he had interfered with play or whether he had indeed been in an offside position at all – but Davis's first goal for the club tied the scores.[44][45] After a break for international matches, Birmingham lost 1–0 at home to Bolton Wanderers. Randolph was sent off for bringing down an opponent after Caddis's back pass had left him little alternative, and with all three substitutes already used, Lee Novak went in goal to face Craig Davies's penalty; Davies missed.[46]

The result left Birmingham in 21st place, having won only once at home in the league for more than a year. The following Monday, 20 October, Clark took his customary press conference prior to the next day's visit to Blackburn Rovers. Hours later, he and assistant Steve Watson were sacked.[2] Chief scout Malcolm Crosby, who had had some managerial experience with Sunderland, and coach Richard Beale took over the team on a caretaker basis for the Blackburn match.[2] With Randolph suspended, Colin Doyle played his first league game since the 2012 play-offs.[47] Birmingham had the better of the first half, but conceded early in the second, Neil Eardley was sent off for a second booking, and Andy Shinnie, in his first appearance since the opening day, shot against the crossbar in stoppage time.[48][49]

Birmingham approached the visit of AFC Bournemouth still in 21st place, above the relegation places by a goal difference of one. They lost 8–0, a goal down inside three minutes and a man down three minutes later when Edgar was deemed the last defender. Caddis missed a 53rd-minute penalty that would have made the score 3–1. Bournemouth continued to score at will, including three in the final ten minutes.[50][51] It was their record league win and Birmingham's record home defeat.[52] Paul Robinson apologised for "that shambles of a game", recognised the fans' disappointment at paying a lot of money to come and watch an unacceptable performance, and promised that he and the rest of the players would take responsibility for putting it right.[53]

MK Dons had refused Birmingham permission to speak to Karl Robinson,[54] and former manager Chris Hughton was reportedly interested in returning, but by the Bournemouth match, the shortlist comprised three men: Owen Coyle, most recently at Wigan Athletic,[55] and the two candidates believed by the media to be joint favourites, Mike Phelan, former assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, and Burton Albion manager and one-time Birmingham defender Gary Rowett.[50][52] Described by the Birmingham Mail as "by far the most impressive interviewee",[55] Rowett was appointed on 27 October on a one-year rolling contract.[56] He brought his Burton backroom team with him: Kevin Summerfield, Mark Sale and Kevin Poole, all three former Birmingham players themselves, as respectively assistant manager, first-team coach and goalkeeping coach, and appointed Darren Robinson as head of performance.[55] Crosby and previous goalkeeping coach John Vaughan left the club, and Beale returned to a coaching role.[55]

Rowett began what he called the "job that I just couldn't turn down" away at Wolverhampton Wanderers,[57] who were level on points at the top of the table. During the week, he had the players working on "defensive shape and a bit of structure",[58] and had brought in Charlton centre-back Michael Morrison on loan. Morrison replaced the suspended Edgar, and the team lined up with Donaldson as lone striker. Birmingham secured a goalless draw: Grounds' header was well saved, but the same player was perhaps fortunate not to concede a penalty for handball.[59] After two minutes of the home fixture with top-of-the-table Watford, Donaldson's deflected shot produced Birmingham's first goal for more than a month; Watford soon equalised, then with five minutes left, Donaldson headed home from Cotterill's cross to secure a second home league win of the season.[60] A goalless draw with Cardiff City featured disallowed goals for former Birmingham loanee Federico Macheda and substitute Wes Thomas, who was sent off late in the game for striking an opponent.[61]

At Rotherham United, Rowett first picked the starting eleven which was to become his regular selection of choice: in a 4–2–3–1 formation, Randolph in goal, Caddis, Morrison, Robinson and Grounds as a flat back four, Davis and Gleeson in defensive midfield, Cotterill and Gray wide, Shinnie in the hole, and Donaldson as lone striker. Birmingham twice hit the post and missed numerous other chances before Donaldson had time to control the rebound from his saved shot and shoot more accurately for the only goal of the game, and a win that took Birmingham out of the relegation places. Rowett described it as "the most complete performance that we've had since taking over. We played with really good control and some good composure", while his opposite number Steve Evans thought "it looked like two poor teams out there".[62]

At home to Nottingham Forest, a 20-yard (18 m) curled left-footed shot from Cotterill gave Birmingham a lead equalised late in the game by Britt Assombalonga. In the last few minutes, Assombalonga deflected Morrison's header over the bar, and the referee awarded a corner, a decision confirmed by his assistant. When protests continued, the fourth official informed the referee that he had clearly seen the player use his hand to clear the ball, and the referee duly awarded a penalty and sent off the offender. Caddis converted the penalty to give Birmingham a 2–1 win. After the match, it emerged that Forest manager Stuart Pearce had also seen the handball, so accepted that the correct ruling had been made, however unusual it was for a fourth official to become involved in on-field decision-making.[63]

Having gone through November unbeaten, Birmingham began December without Shinnie, who had an ankle problem,[64] and gave Lee Clark's new club, Blackpool, only their second win of the season. Rowett suggested that "a lot of [his players were] playing against their old manager and I think some of them expended a lot of nervous energy in getting up for the game and I don't think that helped them."[65] In contrast, Gray produced a first-half hat-trick at home to Reading, who were three points above them in the table. Rowett praised his "clinical" finishing and his positive response to teasing about his lack of goals.[66] Caddis's powerful shot from Grounds' free kick opened the scoring, Shinnie added a fifth immediately after the interval with a low shot after a dribble from the right, and Cotterill's free kick from wide left that evaded everybody completed a 6–1 win. Nikola Žigić, who had re-signed for the club the previous week for a small fraction of his former salary, was a late substitute.[67] A 1–0 win away to Huddersfield Town courtesy of another Cotterill free kick and some desperate stoppage-time defending preceded an "uninspiring" performance in a 4–0 reverse at home to fifth-placed Derby County in heavy Boxing-Day snow.[68] Two days later, a 10-minute spell just before half-time containing two Cotterill free kicks, one touched in by Donaldson, and a defensive mistake gave Birmingham a three-goal lead, effectively securing their double over Nottingham Forest and taking them into the new year 11 points clear of the relegation places.[69]

After a weekend devoted to the third round of the FA Cup, league competition resumed with a Donaldson hat-trick against Wigan Athletic: a second-minute header from Cotterill's cross, a tap-in after Shinnie's shot hit the post, and a claim to the last touch on Gray's goalbound header.[70] The 3–1 win left Birmingham in the top half of the table for the first time since the 2012–13 season.[71] Caddis's early penalty after Donaldson was brought down looked like it would settle the game at Leeds United, but Marco Silvestri's goalkeeping helped Leeds come back into the match, and Luke Murphy equalised when the defence failed to clear a cross.[72] Neither side coped well with a poor Sheffield Wednesday pitch, and what Rowett described as a "fantastic, gritty performance and a very good clean sheet" yielded a point. After fielding the same starting eleven for the previous seven league matches,[73][74] there were two changes for the visit of Norwich City. One was enforced, Jonathan Spector replacing Morrison, who injured an ankle against Sheffield Wednesday,[75] while loanee Lloyd Dyer came in for the rested Shinnie. Neither side could gain ascendancy in a tight match,[76] and the Birmingham Mail reported that Gray, the subject of a series of rejected bids from divisional rivals Bournemouth ranging up to £5 million,[77] "struggled to emulate [Shinnie's] play-making ways".[78]

Shinnie returned for the visit to Fulham, whose early exploitation of a defensive gap on Birmingham's left was equalised by Cotterill's free kick from wide. Donaldson controlled Gleeson's lofted 40-yard (37 m) pass on his chest but shot wide, and later missed a free header, other chances were missed, and Fulham might have been awarded a penalty late in the game.[79][80] Three days later, Millwall won at St Andrew's for the first time since 1968 via a header from a free kick.[81] Top-of-the-table Middlesbrough's goalkeeper conceded a penalty and was sent off in first-half stoppage time, but Birmingham were unable to retain their lead. The prolific Patrick Bamford equalised, and Donaldson headed over from six yards in the 94th minute.[82]

Loanee centre-back Rob Kiernan made his debut in central midfield in place of the injured Davis at Brighton & Hove Albion. Early in the match, Randolph let a near-post shot "squirm out of his grasp and over the line",[83] but Donaldson soon equalised. Chances were missed at both ends in a very open game, before Caddis again took a penalty in first-half stoppage time. This time it was saved, and momentum transferred to the hosts, who soon took a 3–1 lead. The introduction of the mobile Thomas and Novak and adoption of a 4–4–2 formation gave Birmingham a new impetus; both scored, but so did Iñigo Calderón for Albion, and the match finished 4–3.[83][84] Davis returned to midfield for the visit to Ipswich Town, but his presence achieved more in attack than in protecting the defence: he scored twice as Birmingham lost 4–2.[85] Against the background of the club's holding company entering receivership, raising the possibility of a 10-point deduction, Birmingham ended February in 13th position, 11 points above the relegation places, after beating Brentford 1–0 for their first win since 10 January.[86]

Loanee Robert Tesche made his debut in midfield in place of the suspended Gleeson against Blackpool in Lee Clark's first return to Birmingham. A single goal decided the match, Tesche's cross landing on the unmarked Shinnie's head.[87] For the visit to Derby County, for whom Rowett had formerly played, he omitted Donaldson for the first time,[88] selecting Novak as the lone striker, and included Dyer in preference to Gray. Derby were in control throughout normal time: they had a two-goal lead,[89] Birmingham had had no shots on target,[90] and Rowett had become "involved in a heated exchange" with opposing players because the ball had not been returned to Birmingham after an injury stoppage. Then Tom Ince tripped Tesche and Caddis converted the penalty in the 93rd minute. Three minutes further into time added on, Thomas pulled the ball back from the byline after a corner, and the ball was scrambled over the line for the equaliser by substitute Donaldson.[89] A rather less eventful home match against Huddersfield Town finished 1–1,[91] and March ended with a poor performance at Cardiff City in which the team lost 2–0 and the manager was sent to the stand for throwing the ball to the ground when disputing a throw-in.[92]

April began with a 2–1 defeat of Rotherham United, featuring a rejected penalty claim that visiting manager Steve Evans called "the worst refereeing decision I've ever seen" and Rowett saw as just a tangle of legs.[93] The trip to AFC Bournemouth started with what Rowett viewed as "some of the best attacking play we've had since I've been here",[94] as the strength of Tesche and Davis in midfield freed Donaldson and Cotterill to give Birmingham a 2–0 lead; the former missed a chance to make it three. By half-time, Bournemouth were level, the first after Randolph had failed to deal with a corner and the second when Callum Wilson "coasted away from Robinson as though the defender was wearing concrete boots",[95] and in the second half, they secured a win that took them top of the table. Robinson "hacked Wilson down" to concede a penalty soon after the break, Bournemouth's fourth came after 74 minutes, and soon afterwards Robinson was sent off for another foul on Wilson.[94] The player – in the side instead of the rested Kiernan, a decision which Rowett later admitted might have been a mistake[96] – assessed the performance as "comfortable and well organised, then we just crumbled for one reason or another", and claimed he was indifferent to criticism from supporters.[97]

Loanee Diego Fabbrini made his debut in the playmaker role at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, wearing a protective mask over the broken nose that forced him to miss the Bournemouth match. The prolific Benik Afobe gave the visitors an early lead, but Birmingham took the win with goals from a Kiernan header – after Grounds' shot crossed the line unnoticed by the officials and was pushed back into play – and Gray's solo run from deep in his own half,[98][99] which won the club's Goal of the Season award.[100] Birmingham twice came from behind to draw with Blackburn Rovers; both Grounds and Gray scored their second in three days, but this time Grounds' effort was allowed.[101] Shinnie returned in place of Fabbrini, ineligible to play against his parent club, and came close to scoring as Birmingham held out for nearly an hour at Watford. As soon as the pacy Ikechi Anya and Odion Ighalo were brought on, Watford won a corner from which defender Craig Cathcart scored with an overhead kick.[102]

At Reading, Rowett set the team up in a 3–5–2 formation, with Thomas alongside Donaldson up front and Spector as the third centre-back. A poor performance, mitigated by Randolph's saves and Reading's lack of penetration – their previous match was an extra-time defeat to Arsenal at Wembley in the FA Cup semifinal – was relieved when they reverted to a system the players were used to and enlivened when Gray came on as a late substitute. Donaldson scored an 83rd-minute winner with a header from Gleeson's cross.[103][104] Fabbrini, who came off after 18 minutes at Reading when his face-mask was split by what Rowett alleged was a punch by Nathaniel Chalobah,[105] returned for the last home match of the season against Charlton Athletic. Birmingham dominated, but scored only once, late in the game, when Dyer shot powerfully across the goalkeeper.[106] The final fixture, away at Bolton Wanderers, was less dramatic than in 2013–14. Tesche scored the only goal of the game after Gray's corner was blocked on the goal-line, to give Birmingham a win that raised them to 10th position, their highest placing of the season.[107]

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

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