The 2020–21 season is

Birmingham City Football Club Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first tea ...

's 118th season in the

English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...

and 10th consecutive season in the second-tier

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

. As with all

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

clubs, the first team competed in the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

, in which they lost to

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

in the

first round First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

, and in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, in which they lost to

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

in the

third round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

. Because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, all of Birmingham's home matches were played behind closed doors.

Aitor Karanka Aitor Karanka de la Hoz (Basque and ; born 18 September 1973) is a Spanish football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of Segunda División club Granada. Save for a brief spell in the United States at age 32, Karanka ...

was appointed head coach on 31 July 2020, and was replaced by

Lee Bowyer Lee David Bowyer (; born 3 January 1977) is an English football manager and former professional player. As a player, he was a midfielder who featured for Charlton Athletic, Leeds United, West Ham United (two spells), Newcastle United, Birmingha ...

on 16 March 2021, with the team 21st in the table with ten matches left. With five wins and two draws from the next eight, Birmingham avoided relegation with two matches to spare, and eventually finished 18th. The season covers the period from July 2020 to 30 June 2021.

Background and pre-season

With nine matches of the 2019–20 season still to play and Birmingham lying 16th in the table, football was interrupted for three months because of the

. On 8 June12 days before the Championship resumed behind closed doorsthe club confirmed that head coach

Pep Clotet Josep Clotet Ruiz (born 28 April 1977) is a Spanish football coach, currently in charge of Italian Serie B club Brescia. As well as working as assistant at several clubs, he managed Cornellà, Figueres, Espanyol B, Halmstad, Málaga B, Oxfor ...

would leave at the end of the season to "explore other coaching opportunities"; after a series of poor results, he left by mutual consent on 8 July.

Steve Spooner Stephen Alan Spooner (born 25 January 1961) is an English footballer who played as a central midfielder. Spooner began his professional career with Derby County but got his breakthrough with Halifax Town, where in the 1982–83 season he was a ...

and

Craig Gardner Craig Gardner (born 25 November 1986) is an English professional football coach and former player who made 260 appearances in the Premier League and a further 67 in the Championship. He joined the coaching staff at Birmingham City in January 20 ...

acted as caretakers for the last four matches. Birmingham accrued just three points after the resumption, extending a winless run to 14 league matches, and finished 20th, avoiding relegation on the final day thanks to favourable results elsewhere and a 12-point deduction because of

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

's entering

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

. On 31 July, former

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

and

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

manager

was appointed as head coach on a three-year contract.
Of the senior players, goalkeeper

David Stockdale David Adam Stockdale (born 20 September 1985) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for York City F.C., York City. Stockdale started his career with the Huddersf ...

, defenders

Jonathan Grounds Jonathan Martin Grounds (born 2 February 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left back or centre back for club Exeter City. Grounds began his career with his local club, Middlesbrough, but never became a regular memb ...

and Cheick Keita, and wingers

Jacques Maghoma Jacques Ilonda Maghoma (born 23 October 1987) is a Congolese former professional footballer who made 380 appearances in the Football League between 2009 and 2020 and 25 for the DR Congo national team between 2010 and 2019. A midfielder, Magho ...

and Kerim Mrabti were released at the end of their contracts; Lee Camp extended his contract to cover the last nine games of the season, and then left; and midfielder Craig Gardner retired to concentrate on coaching. Forward

Álvaro Giménez Álvaro Giménez Candela (born 19 May 1991), sometimes known simply as Álvaro, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a forward. He began his senior career with Elche and played for Valencia B and Torrellano Illice before making his top-fligh ...

' loan at

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

was converted to a permanent move after that club were promoted.

Jude Bellingham Jude Victor William Bellingham (born 29 June 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the England national team. Bellingham joined Birmingham City as an under-8, became ...

, who became Birmingham's youngest first-team debutant at the age of 16 years 38 days and youngest goalscorer 25 days later, set more records, for transfer fee received by the club and as the world's most expensive 17-year-old, when he joined

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

for a fee reported as an initial £25 million. Karanka's first signing was defender

George Friend George Andrew Jordan Friend (born 19 October 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Birmingham City. In the 2012–13 season, Friend won Middlesbrough players' player of the season award. The following s ...

, who rejected a contract extension at Middlesbrough in favour of rejoining his former manager. He was followed by midfielder Jon Toral, who was Birmingham's Player of the Season when on loan from

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in 2015–16, wingers

Iván Sánchez Iván Sánchez (born November 19, 1974 in Móstoles, Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish actor, model and film producer. Career After his time as a model, Sánchez started acting in 2002 in his home country doing cinema, television, and theater. His fi ...

, fresh from helping

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,the Spanish top flight, and

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

's Jonathan Leko, the first signing for whom a feereported as £1 millionwas paid, goalkeepers Andrés Prieto and Neil Etheridge, and another former Middlesbrough player, midfielder

Adam Clayton Adam Charles Clayton (born 13 March 1960) is an English-born Irish musician who is the bass guitarist of the rock band U2. He has resided in County Dublin, Ireland since his family moved to Malahide in 1965, when he was five years old. Cla ...

. After a loan spell in 2019–20 during which he scored seven goals in eight league games before lockdown but none after,

Scott Hogan Scott Andrew Hogan (born 13 April 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Birmingham City and the Republic of Ireland national team. Hogan played in the youth system at Rochdale but was released in 2010. He entered ...

arrived from

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee, and

Mikel San José Mikel San José Domínguez (; ; born 30 May 1989) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder or centre-back. After starting out at Liverpool's reserves San José joined Athletic Bilbao in 2009, initially on ...

, a Spanish international midfielder or defender released after eleven years with

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

, signed for two years. In June 2020, the club announced a four-year partnership with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

as supplier of kits, which carry the logo of the club's principal sponsor, Irish

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...

BoyleSports. The home kit consists of a blue shirt with white collar, sleeves and trim, white shorts and blue socks. Birmingham played four

pre-season friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

: at home to

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

, and away to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

EFL Championship

September–October

After 16 winless matches in all competitions, Birmingham City's Championship campaign began at home to

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

on 12 September. Because of the

, no fans were present. The team lined up in new head coach

's preferred 4–2–3–1 formation. In goal, making his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

debut, was the 19-year-old Zach Jeacock, selected in place of the injured Andrés Prieto and ahead of the newly arrived Neil Etheridge. Captain Harlee Dean partnered

in central defence, with

Maxime Colin Maxime Jean-Yves Colin (born 15 November 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a full back for club Birmingham City. He previously played for Boulogne, Troyes, Anderlecht and Brentford. He won seven caps for France at under- ...

and

Kristian Pedersen Kristian Majdahl Pedersen (born 4 August 1994) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln and the Denmark national team. He plays predominantly at left back but can also play at centre back. He ...

at full back. Ivan Šunjić and newcomer

occupied central midfield, with

Jérémie Bela Jérémie Bela (born 8 April 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Ligue 1 club Clermont and the Angola national team. He has played for Lens, Dijon, Albacete and Birmingham City. He represented his native Fra ...

wide left and

, making his first appearance in English football, wide right. Jon Toral played behind last season's Player of the Season and top scorer

Lukas Jutkiewicz Lukas Isaac Paul Jutkiewicz (born 28 March 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Birmingham City. He previously played for Swindon Town, Everton, Plymouth Argyle, Huddersfield Town, Motherwell, Coventr ...

, who had been injured throughout pre-season. Although the visitors hit the woodwork twice and might well have been awarded a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

when Pedersen appeared to pull down

Pontus Jansson Pontus Sven Gustav Jansson (; born 13 February 1991) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Brentford, where he serves as club captain. Jansson started his career with local club Malmö FF before moving to Ita ...

, Birmingham's organisation and apparent team spirit were much improved from the 2019–20 version, and the only goal came after 37 minutes when Sánchez whipped in a corner and Bela, unmarked in the six-yard box, glanced a header past the goalkeeper at his near post. Etheridge made his debut in a solid defensive performance in a goalless draw at Swansea City, marred by Swansea coach

Alan Tate Alan Tate (born 2 September 1982) is an English professional football coach and retired footballer who is an assistant head coach at Nottingham Forest. A former defender, Tate spent the majority of his playing career at Swansea City. After ...

"raising his arm to the neck area of Toral before shoving him to the ground" at half-time, for which

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

gave him a four-match touchline ban and a fine. At home to

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

, Birmingham switched to a 4–4–2 formation to accommodate the debut of

. Neither side were effective in attack, and after 87 minutes, Bela's clumsy tackle gave away a penalty from which the visitors scored. Minutes later, Toral won a penalty, and Bela showed what Karanka called "personality" to fulfil his role as designated taker and secure the draw. Without Jutkiewicz, who had tested positive for coronavirus, Birmingham failed to score in the three matches after the international break. Their first league defeat of the season came against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

via a penalty awarded for what the victim,

Callum Paterson Callum Thomas Owen Paterson (born 13 October 1994) is a professional association football, footballer who plays for Sheffield Wednesday F.C., Sheffield Wednesday as a striker and the Scotland national football team. Paterson started his career w ...

, described as "a bit of a nudge in the back" by Clayton. Their second came three days later away to promotion favourites

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

: their well-organised defensive shape held out until the last five minutes when Clayton was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

and Norwich took advantage. A more attacking formation, with Jonathan Leko partnering Hogan up front, achieved a goalless draw at

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

Gary Gardner Gary Gardner (born 29 June 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Birmingham City. A product of the Aston Villa Academy, Gardner made his senior debut while on loan at Coventry City. He first pl ...

's header from Bela's free kick opened the scoring at home to

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

, who equalised late on; even later, Leko's shot hit the bar and Jutkiewicz, who had come on after an hour, tapped in the rebound to secure Birmingham's second win of the season via their first goal from open play. They won again at

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

, via

Riley McGree Riley Patrick McGree (born 2 November 1998) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for EFL Championship club Middlesbrough and the Australian national team. Born in Gawler, South Australia, McGree playe ...

's first goal for Birmingham, two minutes into his first start, and another Gardner header, to end October in mid-table.

November–December

Birmingham went winless through November. At home to

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...

, who had gained their first ever point at Championship level the previous week, Marc Roberts scored his first goal for years while several team-mates failed to take their chances. Wycombe took advantage of their hosts' ineffective second-half performance, first to equalise and then to force a winner via Pedersen's

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

. Karanka said afterwards that Wycombe "showed more determination than us to win the game. But they controlled the second half – we couldn't keep the ball or pass the ball and we didn't create anything." The 3–1 loss to a superior

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

team brought an improvement in attitude and a first goal of the season for Hogan, who said he was feeling fitter and sharper, noting that he'd "always been able to

core Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber), the signal-carrying portion of an optical fiber * Core, the central ...

quite consistently in the past when e'dplayed regularly." Despite the new regulations that allowed five changes from a nine-man bench, Hogan was one of eight unused substitutes in the goalless draw with

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

, the first league meeting between the clubs since Coventry began their groundshare at St Andrew's. Etheridge's goalkeeping earned Birmingham a draw away to

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

, although Šunjić's stoppage-time shot would have secured all three points but for a fine save from his compatriot Simon Sluga, and the month ended with a dull goalless draw with

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

that left Birmingham 17th in the table. December opened with a well-worked goal from Hogan at home to

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

, but what ''BBC Sport'' dubbed a "contentious penalty", when Pedersen was judged to have tripped

Callum Brittain Callum James Brittain is an English professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Championship club Blackburn Rovers. Club career Milton Keynes Dons Brittain joined Milton Keynes Dons' academy in 2006 aged 8. On 27 April 2016, Brittain ...

, and a late deflected shot extended Birmingham's winless run to six games. The defensive nature of the visit to

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

was enlivened by the arrival of

Alen Halilović Alen Halilović (; born 18 June 1996) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Croatian SuperSport HNL club Rijeka. As the Prva HNL's youngest ever goalscorer (until May 2021) and the youngest ever debuta ...

for a 20-minute debut, and Dean's header from a corner gave Birmingham all three points. Uncharacteristically, Karanka made only one (enforced) team change for the next match. In front of 2,000

socially distanced In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious disea ...

fans at the

Madejski Stadium The Madejski Stadium (currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Reading. It is the home of Reading Football Club, who play in the EFL Championship. It also provides the finish for the Rea ...

, Jon Toral demonstrated what the ''Birmingham Mail'' called "an inexplicable difference to the form he had showed so far this season" to score twice in the first half. After

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

made the score 1–2, Dean received a second yellow card for a foul in the penalty area and was sent off. Etheridge saved the kick, and Birmingham held on for a second consecutive win. Toral remained unused in a defensive setup at home to

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

, it was Pedersen's turn to be sent off for conceding a penalty, and

Troy Deeney Troy Matthew Deeney (born 29 June 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains club Birmingham City. Deeney started his professional career at Walsall. He spent a brief spell on loan with Southern Leag ...

converted for his fifth goal against Birmingham. Jake Clarke-Salter's error led to

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

's opening goal, Roberts equalised, and Sánchez "slalomed through three defenders and picked out the far corner with an absolute piledriver" to give Birmingham the lead and join the now seven-way tie for top scorer with two goals. The goal was voted Birmingham's Goal of the Season. Etheridge saved a penalty, awarded for Clarke-Salter's hand-ball, but Cardiff scored twice late on. Colin gave Birmingham an early lead at home to

before the mistakes set in: two half-time substitutions and three more after an hour made little impact and the match ended as a 4–1 loss. A goalless draw at

was followed by a 4–0 loss at home to

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

summed up by Karanka as "like going to the cinema and watching the same film. One mistake, one goal. Two mistakes, two goals. Three mistakes, three goals. ... I expected ups and downs this season, but not these same individual mistakes every single game."

January–March

Birmingham went into 2021 18th in the table, seven points above the relegation places. A 2–0 loss to

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

their eighth home defeat of the season, the most in the top four divisionswas followed by George Friend's man-of-the-match performance on his return to

, where a well-worked goal by Hogan gave Birmingham their first win in seven. Two more winless home games, a loss to

and a draw with

, left Birmingham 20th in the table, four points above

who had two games in hand, and Karanka still talking about mistakes, goals and ''

Groundhog Day Groundhog Day ( pdc, Grund'sau dåk, , , ; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from ...

''. Goalless at rock-bottom Wycombe Wanderers, with Hogan, new signing

Sam Cosgrove Sam Benjamin Cosgrove (born 2 December 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Barnsley. He began his career with Wigan Athletic, and had loan spells in non-league football with Barrow, Chorley, Nantwi ...

, and three other attacking players on the bench, Karanka made no changes until Roberts was sent off in the 88th minute. He claimed that "even one second lack of concentration can be dangerous. We were going to be fighting to the last second and one mistake of concentration could have been difficult for us." Birmingham had the better of the first half away to

: Hogan opened the scoring with the aid of a goalkeeping error, and after Sánchez had a shot cleared off the line, Pedersen's angled volley was disallowed for offside. In a game of two poor defences, the hosts regained the lead, Hogan equalised, but his side could not hold on. The defeat placed them in the relegation zone, and earned the head coach the 100% confidence of his superiors. After his team lost 1–0 at home to

and dropped to 23rd, he said if they kept playing like that they would not stay up. The positive intent shown by selecting two strikers at

was blunted two minutes into the game when

underhit a backpass and Jed Wallace beat Etheridge to the ball and scored; the match ended 2–0. Fellow relegation candidates

had a man sent off just after half-time, and Hogan scored some 15 minutes later; it remained the only goal of the game thanks to Etheridge's "stunning" late save. Birmingham produced what Karanka claimed to be "the best 45 minutes we have played this season" to hold table-topping

to 1–1, thanks in part to Etheridge's penalty save, but luck went against them in the second half, when a deflection made it easy for

Teemu Pukki Teemu Eino Antero Pukki (born 29 March 1990) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Norwich City and the Finland national team. Pukki began his career with KTP and made his debut on senior leve ...

to score his second, and they conceded again on the break deep into stoppage time. At

, Birmingham missed several chances and conceded against the run of play. After an hour, Karanka made a triple change: in the last ten minutes, Pedersen headed an equaliser from substitute Roberts' long throw, and it was another substitute,

, whose curling shot secured Birmingham's first home win since October. The next three games brought one point, via Marc Roberts' equaliser away to

, but no change to the negativity surrounding the club. A change of formation, introducing Jutkiewicz, a striker whose game relied on crosses into the box, while omitting the wingers who might supply them, failed to produce a shot on target against

, preceded a capitulation to

. Karanka was asked if he would resign; he replied "No chance". The ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'' Neil Moxley reported that, when captain Harlee Dean was asked whether the manager still had the backing of the players, the silence had become awkward. The following day, 14 March, rumours began to emerge that Karanka had been sacked, not by the unpopular chief executive but by a senior director. On the 15th,

, who had been a member of Birmingham's 2011 League Cup-winning side, resigned his post as manager of

. The next day, 16 March, a brief statement on the club website confirmed that Karanka had "stepped down as head coach." Shortly afterwards, Bowyer was announced as his replacement. The board "highlight dhis man-management skills and motivational qualities", while Bowyer said he was "absolutely delighted and it's great to be back", and stressed his priority was to lift the whole club.

The last ten matches

Both Bowyer and Dean stressed the value of clear, simple instructions and of encouragement. In the first match, at home to

, Bowyer recalled Jutkiewicz, played him alongside Hogan and with wingers to supply the crossesa system preferred by both forwardsand four minutes into the match, he headed home from Bela's cross to score his 50th goal for Birmingham and first in 24 games. Reading equalised before Dean's header from a corner won the match; his goal celebration, a shrug of the shoulders, seemed to mock Karanka's mannerism. Although Birmingham lost 3–0 away to second-placed

, the manager's appreciation of the need for formation changes and the team's ability to implement them illustrated the increased focus on shape work under Bowyer. The same applied to the next match, at home to Swansea City, in which the half-time replacement of the enthusiastic but yellow-carded

Steve Seddon Steven Jeffrey Seddon (born 25 December 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Cambridge United, on loan from fellow club Oxford United. Seddon was on the books of Reading as a youngster before joining Birmin ...

by Friend strengthened the defence and Hogan's last-minute penalty, after Jutkiewicz had missed an earlier one, won the game. They followed up with a goalless draw away to

, in which the highlights were Etheridge's goalkeeping and the performance of McGree out of position at wing-back. With

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

's defence expecting yet another long throw, Roberts threw short, Colin passed it back to him, and his "first-time curling cross was headed home powerfully by Jutkiewicz" for his 50th league goal for Birmingham. His 51st completed a 2–0 win. Six points behind Birmingham but still with two games in hand,

held out until Dean's 88th-minute header went in off a defender. Away to another relegation candidate,

, Birmingham led through Roberts' fourth goal of the season until six minutes into stoppage time, when the referee awarded a penalty for what he saw as a foul by Jutkiewicz. After the match, Bowyer was critical of the quality of officiating at Championship level, and correctly predicted he would receive an apology for the mistake from the head of refereeing. Another two Jutkiewicz goals helped Birmingham come from behind to beat

2–1 and secure their Championship status with two matches of the season remaining. Bowyer used the last two fixtures to look at fringe players, in appreciation of their contribution as part of the squad and to see how the younger players coped with starting a competitive fixture. Both were heavy defeats. The matches saw first-team debuts for Ryan Stirk and Keke Simmonds, first starts for

and Amari Miller, first appearances of the season for Nico Gordon and Connal Trueman, a chance to bid farewell to the long-serving Josh Dacres-Cogley, and Jutkiewicz's eighth goal of the season, which was enough to make him the team's top scorer.

League table (part)

Results summary

Match results

FA Cup

As with all teams in the top two divisions, Birmingham entered the competition in the third round, in which they were drawn to play away to

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

EFL Cup

Birmingham were drawn to play at home to

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

club

in the first round. They went into the match with an 18-year-old debutant, Adan George, as lone striker in the absence of the injured

. They conceded after 18 minutes when debutant goalkeeper Andrés Prieto misjudged a set-piece, and came closest to an equaliser shortly afterwards when

hit the crossbar with a shot from distance. The team remained winless since February, and Karanka said that he and his staff needed to change what he perceived as a "losing mentality" after the previous season had ended with such a poor run of results.

Transfers

:For those players released or contract ended before the start of this season please see 2019–20 Birmingham City F.C. season.

In

: Brackets round a club's name indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Birmingham. : * Signed primarily for the development squad

Loaned in

Out

: Brackets round a club's name denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.

Loaned out

Appearances and goals

:Sources: Sources for representative nationality:
:Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute. :Players marked left the club during the playing season. :Players with names ''in italics'' and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Birmingham. :Players listed with no appearances have been in the matchday squad but only as unused substitutes. :Key to positions: GK –

Goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

; DF – Defender; MF –

Midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

; FW –

Forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 Birmingham City F.C. Season Birmingham City F.C. seasons

Birmingham City F.C. Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first tea ...