The 2007–08 season was

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. The team compete in the ...

's 105th 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 ...

since their admission to

the 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

in 1892, their fifth season in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, and their 55th season in the top tier of English football. Birmingham finished 19th in the 20-team league, so were

relegated Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

back to the

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 sys ...

after just one season at the higher level. After

Steve Bruce Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who was a centre-back in a twenty-year playing career. He is currently the head coa ...

resigned as manager in November,

Alex McLeish Alexander McLeish (born 21 January 1959) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He played as a defender for Aberdeen during their 1980s glory years, making nearly 500 League appearances for the club, and won 77 caps f ...

resigned his post as Scotland national team manager to take over.

Pre-season

After successfully returning to the Premier League at the first attempt, manager Steve Bruce started to look to add depth to his team ahead of the new season. On loan midfielder

Fabrice Muamba Fabrice Ndala Muamba (born 6 April 1988) is a Congolese-born English former professional footballer who played for Arsenal, Birmingham City and Bolton Wanderers as a central midfielder. Born in Zaire, Muamba moved to England at the age of 11 a ...

became the first player to join the Blues, as he moved 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 ...

to the second city for an undisclosed fee. June saw the arrivals of Stuart Parnaby who signed on a free transfer from

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, Scottish striker

Garry O'Connor Garry Lawrence John O'Connor (born 7 May 1983) is a Scottish professional football manager and a former player. He played for Hibernian, Peterhead, Lokomotiv Moscow, Barnsley, Tom Tomsk, Birmingham City, Greenock Morton and represented Scotl ...

who signed for £2.7 million from

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (, ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three occasions; the Soviet Cup twice; and the Russian Cup (football), Russian Cup a record ...

, and French midfielder

Olivier Kapo Obou Narcisse Olivier Kapo (born 27 September 1980), known as Olivier Kapo, is a French former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Early life Born in Marcory, Ivory Coast, Kapo acquired French natio ...

who was signed from

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

for £3m. July saw even more players arrive at St Andrew's: midfielder

Daniël de Ridder Daniël Robin Frederick de Ridder (born 6 March 1984) is a Dutch former professional footballer. He played as a winger operating either on the right or left side but would occasionally play a more advanced role. He represented Ajax, Celta Vigo, ...

signed on a free transfer from

Celta Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was foun ...

, Ghana goalkeeper Richard Kingson also on a free transfer, from

Antalyaspor Antalyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional multi-sport club based in Antalya, southern Turkey. The club's colours are red and white. The association football, football side play their home matches at the Antalya Stadium. In Turkey, the cl ...

, and Brazilian defender Rafael Schmitz on loan from

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

. The Blues were also ready to spend £3m on

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

and Egypt midfielder

Hossam Ghaly Hossam Mohamed El Sayed Metwalli Abdel Sattar Ghaly (; born 21 October 1981) is a member of House of Representatives and board member of Al Ahly SC. Ghaly is a retired Egyptian footballer who played as a central midfielder. His last match before ...

, but the deal was cancelled only days into his Blues career due to a training ground incident that resulted in Bruce sending him back to the London side before a work permit had been granted. Four players were allowed to leave the club: defender Bruno Ngotty left on a free transfer to sign for

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, midfielder

Julian Gray Julian Raymond Marvin Gray (born 21 September 1979) is an English football coach and former professional player. He played in the Football League and Premier League for Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Cardiff City, Birmingham City, Coventry City, Fu ...

also left on a free transfer for

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

, midfielder

Stephen Clemence Stephen Neal Clemence (born 31 March 1978) is an English Association football, football coach and former player, who made nearly 250 appearances in the Premier League and English Football League, Football League playing as a midfielder and was r ...

joined Leicester City for £1m, and striker

DJ Campbell Dudley Junior Campbell (born 12 November 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. Campbell's early career was in non-League football between 2000 and 2005, during which time he was capped by England C. Foll ...

also joining Leicester City for £2.1m. July also saw the Blues become the latest English club to be involved in a take over bid by a foreign millionaire.

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

businessman Carson Yeung brought a 29.9% stake from the club's directors for a reported £15m. The Gold brothers (

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

and

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

) and David Sullivan each sold 14.81% of the club's shares.

Pre-season friendlies

Season review

August

The new season started with a tough away trip to

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...

to play last season's runners-up Chelsea. But it was the Blues that struck first with former Chelsea forward

Mikael Forssell Mikael Kaj Forssell (born 15 March 1981) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently working as an assistant coach of HJK Helsinki, having previously worked as a youth coach for the club. Forssell bega ...

scoring a header from a

Gary McSheffrey Gary McSheffrey (born 13 August 1982) is an English football manager and former player who is U-21 head coach at Sheffield United. As a player he was a striker and left winger who made more than 450 appearances in the Football League and Pr ...

free kick just 15 minutes in. Chelsea fought back: goals from

Claudio Pizarro Claudio Miguel Pizarro Bosio (; born 3 October 1978) is a Peruvian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He is currently serving as club ambassador for Bayern Muni ...

and

Florent Malouda Florent Johan Malouda (born 13 June 1980) is a French football coach and former professional player who played as a left winger. Born in French Guiana, he represented both France and French Guiana at the international level. Malouda spent most ...

gave them a 2–1 lead before new signing Olivier Kapo struck an unstoppable shot past

Petr Čech Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and current ice hockey player who plays as a goaltender for Oxford City Stars. He has ...

to leave the scores level at half time. The only goal of the second half, from

Michael Essien Michael Kojo Essien (born 3 December 1982) is a Ghanaian Association football, football coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach at Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland. During his prime he was regarded as on ...

, gave Chelsea all three points. The Blues' first home game of the season was against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

who had beaten the Blues to the Championship title the previous season. An own goal from

Paul McShane Paul McShane may refer to: * Paul McShane (footballer) (born 1986), Irish football player * Paul McShane (rugby league) (born 1989), rugby league footballer See also *Paul Shane Paul Shane (19 June 1940 – 16 May 2013) was a British actor ...

was enough to give the Blues the lead at half time, but Sunderland fought back with a goal from

Michael Chopra Rocky Michael Chopra (born 23 December 1983) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. A product of the Newcastle United youth system, he spent six years at the club without managing to secure a regular first team ...

before a Garry O'Connor goal seemed to have given Blues their first win of the season. However, a late

Stern John Stern John (born 30 October 1976) is a Trinidadian football manager and former player who is currently managing Saint Lucia. He managed Anguilla from 2020 to 2022. He previously played for a number of American and English football clubs that inc ...

goal was enough to earn Sunderland a point.

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

were the next team to visit St Andrew's, where a

Mark Noble Mark James Noble (born 8 May 1987) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the sporting director of Premier League club West Ham United F.C., West Ham United. A fan of the c ...

penalty was the only goal of the game that gave the London club all three points. The last league game of the month saw the side visit

Pride Park Pride Park is a business park on the southern outskirts of the city centre of Derby, England. It covers 80 hectares of contaminated former industrial land between the River Derwent and railway lines, and was developed between the 1990s and ear ...

where two

Cameron Jerome Cameron Zishan Rana-Jerome (born 14 August 1986), known as Cameron Jerome, is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Jerome began his career as a trainee with Huddersfield Town, Grimsby Town, Sheffield Wednesday and ...

goals were enough to defeat Derby who scored a goal of their own from

Matt Oakley Matthew Oakley (born 17 August 1977) is an English football coach and former professional Association football, footballer. As a player, he was a midfielder, notably in the Premier League with Southampton F.C., Southampton playing there for ove ...

. August also saw the close of the transfer window. Before the season had begun, Steve Bruce continued to strengthen his side with the signings of defender

Franck Queudrue Franck Roger Queudrue (born 27 August 1978) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left back. He began his career with Lens, for whom he played in Ligue 1, and went on to play in the Premier League for Middlesbrough, Fulham a ...

for £2m from

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, centre back

Liam Ridgewell Liam Matthew Ridgewell (born 21 July 1984) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a defender. He was primarily a centre back but could also play at left back. He is currently an assistant coach with the Portland Timbers. R ...

for £2m from local rivals

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

, and Swiss defender

Johan Djourou Danon Issouf Johannes Djourou Gbadjere (; born 18 January 1987), known as Johan Djourou, is a Swiss former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), centre back. According to his profile on the ...

on loan from

. The final day of the transfer window also saw some activity as Spanish midfielder Borja Oubiña joined on loan from

and highly rated

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

midfielder

Wilson Palacios Wilson Roberto Palacios Suazo (; born 29 July 1984) is a Honduran former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder. Born in La Ceiba, he played for C.D. Victoria, Victor ...

also joined on loan from Deportivo Olimpia.

September

On 1 September Birmingham travelled to the

Riverside Stadium The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since its opening in 1995. It has an all-seated capacity of 34,742, although provisional planning permission is in place to expan ...

to take on

. Two first half goals from David Wheater and

Stewart Downing Stewart Downing (born 22 July 1984) is an English former professional footballer. He played most of his career as a winger or left-back He is currently the assistant coach for Leeds United's U21 squad. Downing started his career at Middlesbro ...

were enough to see off the Blues, who rarely threatened the Middlesbrough goal. The next game saw

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

visit St Andrew's. A free kick from Queudrue was flicked on for Kapo to secure his second goal of the season, and more importantly, Blues' first three points at home. A difficult trip to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

followed, where the Blues were able to secure a valuable point in a 0–0 draw. The downside to the game was a 13th-minute injury to Borja Oubiña that would see him injured until the end of the season. The final game of the month saw the side take on

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. Although the Blues bossed large parts of the game, it was the Manchester side that finished with the points. Bad play from the Blues defence allowed Manchester United to score the only goal of the game from

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

October

Blues' first game in October saw them return to Ewood Park for the second time in eleven days. Goals from David Bentley and

Benni McCarthy Benedict Saul McCarthy (born 12 November 1977) is a South African football coach who is currently the manager of the Kenya national football team. He previously worked as head coach of South African Premier Division team AmaZulu, and as assis ...

saw Blackburn take a two-goal lead, before Cameron Jerome struck to give the Blues a lifeline, but there was to be no comeback. It ended in a 2–1 win for Blackburn Rovers, leaving Birmingham 13th in the league table after nine games played. Thirteen days later a trip to

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

was next on the agenda for the Blues, where a 37th-minute goal from

Elano Elano Blumer (born 14 June 1981), known as Elano, is a Brazilian football coach and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. Known for his accurate passing and precise set pieces, Elano started his senior career at Santos, and spe ...

saw the points stay in Manchester. The last game of the month was a crucial bottom of the table clash with

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

at St Andrew's. A

Marcus Bent Marcus Nathan Bent (born 19 May 1978) is an English retired professional footballer. A former England under-21 international, the journeyman striker played 573 games and scored 113 goals for 14 different clubs. His numerous transfer fees total ...

goal in the 23rd minute was cancelled out three minutes later when Kapo scored from a penalty. After half time, Bent was able to recover Wigan's lead before they were pegged back again, this time by a goal scored by Birmingham defender Liam Ridgewell. The game could have gone either way before Kapo struck again, this time in the 81st minute leaving Wigan no chance to come back. It was Birmingham's third win of the season, and at the end of the month they were in 13th position with 11 points.

November

November started with an away game at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...

against Everton. An early

Yakubu Yakubu is a male-given Hausa language, Hausa, Yoruba language, Yoruba and some parts of Edo State, Edo. The name is commonly used as a surname in Nigeria and other African countries. The name means "God is merciful.". It is a cognate of Jacob (na ...

goal was cancelled out in the 80th minute by Kapo, only for two injury-time goals from

Lee Carsley Lee Kevin Carsley (born 28 February 1974) is an Irish professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of the England national under-21 football team. In a playing career lasting 17 years, Carsley played as a midfielder in t ...

and James Vaughan saw Everton snatch all three points. Next up was the

Second City derby In English football, the Second City derby or Birmingham derby is the local derby between the two major clubs in the city of Birmingham—Aston Villa F.C. and Birmingham City F.C.—first contested in 1879. Villa play at Villa Park while Birmi ...

against Aston Villa at St Andrew's. An early Ridgewell own goal gave Villa a first-half lead. Forssell tied the game early in the second half, but Gabriel Agbonlahor gave Villa all three points. The Villa game was to be the last game in charge of the Blues for Steve Bruce, who left the club to join Wigan Athletic on 20 November 2007. This left Bruce's assistant

Eric Black John Eric Black (born 1 October 1963) is a Scottish former professional football player and coach. Black played as a striker for Aberdeen and Metz, winning major trophies with both clubs, and earned two international caps for the Scotland nat ...

in charge for the game against

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

at St Andrew's. Debutant goalkeeper Richard Kingson was at fault for Portsmouth's first goal as

Sulley Muntari Suleyman Ali "Sulley" Muntari (born 27 August 1984) is a Ghanaian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his career in Italy, playing for clubs such as Udinese Calcio, Udinese, Inter Mil ...

's shot rolled under the arms of the keeper.

Niko Kranjčar Niko Kranjčar (; born 13 August 1984) is a Croatian former professional Association football, footballer. He primarily played as an attacking midfielder, but could also operate as a Midfielder (association football)#Winger, winger or Forward (a ...

added a late second as Portsmouth strolled to victory. Black's short reign as Blues manager ended on 26 November as he left to join Bruce at Wigan. The following day, former

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

manager

was appointed manager of the club. McLeish had quit Scotland the day before to take over at the midlands club, and brought his two Scottish assistants, Andy Watson and former Villa caretaker manager

Roy Aitken Robert Sime "Roy" Aitken (born 24 November 1958) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He made over 480 league appearances for Celtic, and later played for Newcastle United, St Mirren and Aberdeen. Aitken also made 57 international ...

December

McLeish's first game in charge was a tricky visit to

. Gary McSheffrey was able to give the Blues a first-half lead from a penalty given away by

Younès Kaboul Younes Kaboul (born 4 January 1986) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre-back for AJ Auxerre, Auxerre, Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth F.C., Portsmouth, Sunderland A.F.C., ...

. It all changed in the early stages of the second half, as

Robbie Keane Robert David Keane (born 8 July 1980) is an Irish professional football coach and former player who played as a striker and is currently the head coach of Ferencváros. Keane served as captain of the Republic of Ireland from March 2006 until h ...

scored twice, the first from another penalty that was won by

Dimitar Berbatov Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov (; born 30 January 1981) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Known for his technique and ball control, Berbatov is regarded as one of the greatest Bulgarian players of all time. He cap ...

, the second due to bad defending from a corner. The game changed again as

Phil Dowd Philip Dowd (born 26 January 1963)
: The

sent Keane off and Jerome scored an equaliser. In the final minutes, Sebastian Larsson scored a screamer that secured McLeish his first victory. Next up was a trip to

St James' Park St James' Park is a Association football, football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United. With a seating capacity of 52,305, it is the List of football stadiums in England, 8th la ...

to play

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

. Jerome gave the Blues an early lead, but a controversial penalty was put away by

Obafemi Martins Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins (born 28 October 1984) is a Nigerian former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. After leaving Nigeria for Italy at age 16, he played for a number of L ...

, and a late

Habib Beye Habib Frédéric Beye (born 19 October 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He is currently the manager of French Ligue 1 club Rennes. Formed at Paris Saint-Germain, where he was only a reserve, he played in Lig ...

goal gave Newcastle the three points. McLeish's first home game in charge was against Reading. A fourth-minute goal from Mikael Forssell was cancelled out again by another penalty, this time scored by Stephen Hunt. An away trip to Bolton Wanderers failed to gain any points for the Blues, as a goal from

El Hadji Diouf El Hadji Ousseynou Diouf (; born 15 January 1981) is a Senegalese former professional footballer. Throughout his career, Diouf played as a winger or a forward. Having started his professional football career in France with Sochaux, Rennes a ...

and two from

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (born 14 March 1979) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. As a player, he regularly featur ...

gave Bolton an easy 3–0 win.

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

saw Middlesbrough visit St Andrew's. An own goal by Stewart Downing and a Forssell goal gave the Blues a 2–0 lead at half time, and McSheffrey converted a penalty to finish off Middlesbrough's resistance. The last game of 2007 saw Fulham entertained at St Andrew's. An early

Carlos Bocanegra Carlos Manuel Bocanegra (born May 25, 1979) is an American sports executive and former professional soccer player. A two-time MLS Defender of the Year, Bocanegra also played professionally in England, Scotland, France, and Spain. He earned over ...

goal was not enough to give Fulham a win as a 55th-minute Larsson goal shared the points. December also saw the collapse of Carson Yeung's attempted takeover of the club. The board decided to terminate talks, as Yeung had failed to come up with the reported £35m to buy the remaining 70.1% shares of the club. David Gold also confirmed that there would be no chance of another takeover bid until summer 2008.

January

January would see the Blues play three of the "big four" in English football. First up was a trip to

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

to play Manchester United.

Carlos Tevez Carlos Alberto Tevez (; né Martínez; born 5 February 1984) is an Argentine professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. A dynamic forward (association football), forward in his prime, Tevez ...

struck the only goal of the game for the Manchester side 25 minutes in. Next up in the league for the Blues was their first ever trip to the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a association football, football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. ...

to take on Arsenal. A penalty from

Emmanuel Adebayor Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor (; born 26 February 1984) is a Togolese former professional footballer who played as a striker. During his career, he played for English clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace, as well as ...

had given Arsenal a first half lead, but the Blues fought back to earn a point just after half time through O'Connor's header from a Larsson corner. The third of the "big four" were Chelsea, who visited St Andrew's. It took a late goal from

to beat Blues, as Chelsea took all three points from the encounter. The last game of the month was a must-win tie in the north east as the Blues took on Sunderland. But it was not to be as Sunderland won a one sided encounter with goals from

Daryl Murphy Daryl Michael Murphy (born 15 March 1983) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Murphy began his career at Waterford United, having previously played youth football for Waterford-based side Southend United and Eng ...

and

Rade Prica Rade Stanislav Prica (born 30 June 1980) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the only player who has won league championships in the three Scandinavian countries – Sweden, Denmark and Norway. He also play ...

. January also saw the opening of the transfer window. McLeish was able to strengthen his side with the signings of left back David Murphy for £1.5m from Hibernian, striker

James McFadden James Henry McFadden (born 14 April 1983) is a Scottish football coach and former professional player who played as a forward who now works as a football pundit. McFadden started his playing career with Motherwell, where he came to prominence ...

for £5m from Everton and the loan signing of striker

Mauro Zárate Mauro Matías Zárate (; born 13 March 1987) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a forward. Zárate started his career with Vélez Sarsfield in his native country, playing three years for the team and winning the Pri ...

from

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

i side

Al-Sadd Al Sadd Sports Club () is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the capital city Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in the top level of Qatari football, the Qatar Stars League. Locally, it i ...

. McLeish also allowed some fringe players to leave the club: Neil Kilkenny joining

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

for £150,000,

Rowan Vine Rowan Lewis Vine (born 21 September 1982) is an English former footballer. A striker, Vine previously played League football for Portsmouth, Brentford, Colchester United, Luton Town, Birmingham City, Queens Park Rangers (QPR), Hull City, Milton ...

joined

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

for £1n, Neil Danns joined

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

for £600,000, and

Mat Sadler Mathew John Sadler (born 26 February 1985) is an English former professional footballer who is currently head coach of Walsall. He played as a left-footed defender, capable of playing either at full-back or as a centre-back. Sadler played in ...

joined

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

for £750,000. Defender Olivier Tébily was also allowed to leave the club after not featuring in the side since the start of the previous season.

February

February featured three Premier League encounters. Derby County were in real trouble in the Premier League, occupying 20th position, with 19th-place Fulham well out of reach for the East Midlands club. Their visit to St Andrew's also saw the return of

Robbie Savage Robert William Savage (born 18 October 1974) is a Welsh former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder, now a association football, football pundit and head coach at National League North club Macclesfield F.C., ...

who left the Blues back in 2005. A Larsson goal looked like it had secured a valuable three points for the Blues before an 89th-minute

Emanuel Villa Emanuel Alejandro Villa (born 24 February 1982), commonly known as "Tito Villa", is an Argentine former professional footballer. He is a Mexican naturalized citizen. He previously played for Huracán, Atlético Rafaela and Rosario Central in Ar ...

goal secured a point for Derby. A trip to West Ham was next up for the Blues.

Freddie Ljungberg Karl Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg ( ; born 16 April 1977) is a Swedish former professional association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger. He is also a former Manager (association football), manager, and was most recent ...

scored in the opening encounters for the Hammers, but a penalty from new signing McFadden made sure that the Blues would at least leave with a point. The last game of the month was a home match between the Blues and Arsenal. A 28th-minute free kick from McFadden opened the scoring, before two

Theo Walcott Theo James Walcott (born 16 March 1989) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He represented England at the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2012 and won 47 caps, scoring eight goals. Walcott currently appears as a cl ...

goals within five minutes looked to have given the points to Arsenal, before an injury time McFadden penalty stole a point for the Blues. The game became highly controversial as within minutes of the kick off, a badly timed challenge by centre-back Martin Taylor broke the leg of Arsenal striker

Eduardo Eduardo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the male name Edward. Another version is Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Dudu (footballer, born 1992) (Eduardo Pereira Rodrigues), Brazilian footballer * Eduardo (footballer, born 1 ...

. No one could complain about the automatic red card that referee Mike Dean showed Taylor, but comments after the game by

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...

campaigned for a much longer ban than the traditional three-match ban. Although Wenger later retracted his comments, his idea gained support with

Sepp Blatter Joseph Sepp Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former association football, football administrator who served as the list of Presidents of FIFA, eighth president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participatin ...

in particular, who campaigned for Taylor to be punished with a season-long ban. The defender also received death threats from supporters of the Croatia national team, as Eduardo would miss

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

in the summer.

March

March started with the newly crowned League Cup winners visiting St Andrew's. It was not to be Tottenham's day, however, as the Blues emphatically won 4–1. A Forssell hat-trick and a free kick from Larsson saw the Blues lead 4–0 before a late

Jermaine Jenas Jermaine Anthony Jenas ( ; born 18 February 1983) is an English television presenter, football pundit and former professional footballer. He played as a central midfielder for English club sides Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenh ...

goal in second half injury time saw Maik Taylor fail to get his clean sheet. Next up for the Blues was a tricky away tie to another team going well in a domestic cup. Portsmouth, who had just qualified for the semi-final of the FA Cup, went into an early two-goal lead thanks to

Jermain Defoe Jermain Colin Defoe (born 7 October 1982) is an English football coach and former professional player. He was most recently the under-18s coach at Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Defoe was a striker and began his career with Charlto ...

, before goals from Fabrice Muamba and another Larsson free kick saw Blues complete a first-half comeback. Second-half goals from Hermann Hreiðarsson and

Nwankwo Kanu Nwankwo Kanu (born 1 August 1976) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was a member of the Nigeria national team, and played for Nigerian club Iwuanyanwu Nationale, Dutch side Ajax, Inter Milan of Italy, a ...

saw the Blues fail to get anything from the south coast. The next two Blues games would see the team go head to head with other Premier League teams in trouble at the foot of the table. Newcastle were first up at St Andrew's, where a James McFadden goal in the first half was cancelled out by an early goal in the second half by

Michael Owen Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker for Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid, Newcastle United ...

. Then it was a trip to the

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

, where Reading were able to capitalise on poor defending from set plays to earn a 2–1 victory, leaving the Blues only a point from 18th placed Bolton. The only highlight of the game was a goal for Mauro Zárate. The last game of the month saw Manchester City visit St Andrew's. Two Zárate goals and a penalty by Gary McSheffrey were enough to overcome the Manchester team, who scored with a penalty of their own from Elano.

April

The first game in April came on the 5th, an away trip to Wigan. Former Birmingham boss Steve Bruce managed his side to a 2–0 win over Birmingham, with Ryan Taylor scoring both the goals. Also in that match, club captain

Damien Johnson Damien Michael Johnson (born 18 November 1978) is a Northern Irish football coach and former international player. Since 2019 he has been first team technical coach & head of player development at Blackburn Rovers. He began his career with Po ...

was sent off for two-footed foul on

Kevin Kilbane Kevin Daniel Kilbane (born 1 February 1977) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a left winger or Full back (association football), full back. born in England, Kilbane won 110 caps for the Republic of Ireland n ...

. A week later, Birmingham were at home against Everton. Zárate rescued a point for the Blues with a free kick in the 83rd minute, after defender

Joleon Lescott Joleon Patrick Lescott (born 16 August 1982) is an English former professional association football, footballer, coach and sports pundit. He currently works as an interim coach with the England national football team, England senior team and pla ...

put Everton in front. The game ended in a 1–1 draw. At this time Birmingham were 17th in the table. The

Birmingham Derby In English football, the Second City derby or Birmingham derby is the local derby between the two major clubs in the city of Birmingham—Aston Villa F.C. and Birmingham City F.C.—first contested in 1879. Villa play at Villa Park while Birmin ...

took place eight days later as Birmingham were beaten 5–1 by Aston Villa away at

Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...

Ashley Young Ashley Simon Young (born 9 July 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger, midfielder, or full-back. He is currently a free agent. Young started his career as a winger at Watford and made his first senior appearance i ...

and

John Carew John Alieu Carew (born 5 September 1979) is a Norwegian actor and former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was capped 91 times and scored 24 goals for the Norway national team. Club career Vålerenga Carew began his career ...

each scored twice. Forssell got a consolation goal for Blues, then Agbonlahor finished it off for Aston Villa. With other teams' results around them not going their way, Blues dropped to 18th in the league table. Birmingham's final game of April came on the 26th against Liverpool at St Andrew's. Birmingham went into this game having drawn four and won two of their last six meetings against Liverpool in the Premier League. Birmingham opened the scoring through Forssell on the 34th minute, were looking comfortable throughout most of the game, and Larsson scored a 30-yard free kick to make it 2–0. Birmingham, however, let their lead slip, after

Peter Crouch Peter James Crouch (born 30 January 1981) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He was Cap (sport), capped 42 times by the England national football t ...

and

Yossi Benayoun Yossi Shai Benayoun (; born 5 May 1980) is an Israeli former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his career in Israel and England and captained the Israel national team. Born in Dimona, he is sometimes nicknamed ...

both scored for Liverpool to share the points. Birmingham remained in 18th position.

May

At the end of season awards ceremony, held at the

International Convention Centre, Birmingham The International Convention Centre (ICC) is a major conference venue in Birmingham, England. The centre incorporates Symphony Hall and faces Centenary Square, with another entrance leading to the canals of Birmingham. The Westside area, whi ...

, Sebastian Larsson swept the board of player-of-the-season honours, and also won the goal-of-the-season and "magic moment" awards for his stoppage-time goal at Tottenham in December.

Jordon Mutch Jordon James Edward Sydney Mutch (born 2 December 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Gold Coast Knights. Mutch joined Birmingham City in 2007 from Derby County's youth system. He made his competiti ...

was

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

player of the season, and Stephen Kelly received an outstanding achievement award for playing every minute of the Premier League season. A must-win game for Birmingham against relegation rivals Fulham followed, described by McLeish as "the most important game of the season". The first half ended goalless, but Fulham took the lead through

Brian McBride Brian Robert McBride (born June 19, 1972) is an American former association football, soccer player who played as a forward (association football), forward for Columbus Crew, Fulham F.C., Fulham and Chicago Fire SC, Chicago Fire. He is the sixt ...

Erik Nevland Erik Nevland (born 10 November 1977) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is currently the sporting director of Viking. He played for clubs in Norway, England, Sweden and the Netherlands, and earned eight cap ...

then doubled Fulham's tally in the 87th minute, and the game ended 2–0. It took Fulham out of the relegation zone, while Birmingham fell to 19th. Birmingham's final game of the season saw them score four goals against Blackburn. A first-half goal from David Murphy was cancelled out by Blackburn's

Morten Gamst Pedersen Morten Gamst Pedersen (born 8 September 1981) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. During his spell for Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League he was known for his skill and long range goals. Pedersen began his care ...

early in the second half. After a miss from close range by Cameron Jerome, the striker responded by scoring two goals, and Muamba got a late goal. It turned out not to be enough, as both Fulham and Reading secured wins, which left Birmingham to be relegated back to the Championship in 19th place. In Birmingham's last game in the 2007–08 Premier League season, they beat Blackburn 4–1. The game saw the Birmingham fans calling for the board to resign after the club was relegated.

Post-season

Birmingham issued a statement confirming that

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

footage of the pitch invasion had been given to the police and recommended the courts impose banning orders on anyone found guilty. They announced a profit of about £32.6m, which was up from £14.3m the previous year. Sammy Yu, speaking on behalf of major shareholder Carson Yeung, released a statement saying that Yeung still wanted to buy the club. David Sullivan blamed former manager Steve Bruce for the club's relegation, accusing him of buying poorly the previous summer, and singled out Franck Queudrue and Richard Kingson as particularly poor, calling Kingson a "waste of space". Queudrue hit back, saying that he had not played enough to be judged so harshly. Sullivan apologised to Queudrue for his outburst, but not to Kingson, who expressed his sadness at the incident, which he described as a "slap in the face". Kingson was released: McLeish said, "It's about opinions and we have other plans, so for the sake of his first-team future, we have let Richard move on." Birmingham also decided to release youth players Asa Hall, David Howland, Adam Legzdins and

Stefan Milojević Stefan Milojević may refer to: * Stefan Milojević (footballer, born January 1989), Serbian football attacking midfielder for Teleoptik, Voždovac, Banat Zrenjanin, Borac Čačak, Bežanija, Novi Pazar, Kokkolan, Kolubara, and Trayal Kruševac * ...

, McLeish chose not to pursue the purchase of loanee Rafael Schmitz, and

's contract was cancelled by mutual consent at the end of June; he joined Wigan the following day. The club were unable to agree a new contract with top scorer Mikael Forssell, and chose not to take up their two-year option, so he left for

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

on a free transfer under the

Bosman ruling ''Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman'' (1995) C-415/93 (known as the Bosman ruling) is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of associati ...

. Fabrice Muamba, the club's Young Player of the Year in 2006–07, signed for Bolton Wanderers for an initial £5m fee, with an extra £750,000 potentially payable in add-ons. Two members of the backroom staff also left the club: fitness coach Dan Harris joined West Bromwich Albion and physiotherapist Neil McDiarmid ended a 14-year connection with the club to concentrate on private practice. McLeish said that he would not rush into signing new players, but that he would take time to make sure he buys quality players to help the club achieve promotion back to the Premier league at the first time of asking. He urged fans to be patient, as most signings would happen during July. He was aiming for a minimum squad size of 23, and expected to retain Larsson and McFadden. The club decided to activate the one-year option on Tunisian midfielder Mehdi Nafti's contract, which had been due to expire in June. McLeish told Maik Taylor he would remain as first-choice goalkeeper if he agreed a new contract; Taylor signed a two-year deal a few weeks later. It was confirmed that Everton midfielder

would join Birmingham on a free transfer when his contract expired.

Aberdeen University The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, petitioned Pope Al ...

announced the award of an honorary degree to Alex McLeish in recognition of his distinguished service to football.

Premier League

Match details

:General sources (match reports): Individual match reports are linked from this page.
Match content not verifiable from these sources is referenced individually.

League table

Results summary

FA Cup

Birmingham's third round encounter pitted them against

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

opponents

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

at the

Galpharm Stadium Kirklees Stadium, currently known as the John Smith's Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of Huddersfield Town Association Football Club ...

. Huddersfield took an early lead thanks to

Luke Beckett Luke John Beckett (born 25 November 1976) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker from 1998 to 2012. Born in Sheffield, England, Beckett played in the Football League for ten years notably appearing for Sheffield U ...

, but the Blues struck back with Garry O'Connor on target to take the game into half time at 1–1. But it was to be Huddersfield's day as a late goal from

Chris Brandon Christopher William Brandon (born 7 April 1976) is an English professional footballer who last played in Thailand for BEC Tero Sasana. He is a midfielder who has played more than 300 games during his professional career, which did not start ...

saw them advance into the fourth round.

Football League Cup

The last game in August saw League Two

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

visit St Andrew's in the second round of the League Cup. Two first half goals from Garry O'Connor and Gary McSheffrey saw Blues lead at half time, only for Hereford to fight back in the second half to score through Theo Robinson. But it was too little too late from the

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

side as Blues dumped them out of the cup. Blues' exploits in the League Cup came to an undramatic end as they bowed out to

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

Ewood Park Ewood Park () is a Association football, football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the English Football League, Football League and Premier League, who have played there since ...

. Goals from

David Bentley David Michael Bentley (born 27 August 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played primarily as a winger, but also played as a central midfielder or as a second striker. Bentley started his career with Arsenal in the Premier ...

Matt Derbyshire Matthew Anthony Derbyshire (born 14 April 1986) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for club Matlock Town. He began his career with non-League side Great Harwood Town before earning himself a move to local Premier League team ...

and

Roque Santa Cruz Roque Luis Santa Cruz Cantero (; born 16 August 1981) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Paraguayan Primera División club Libertad. He is the record goal scorer and has earned over 100 caps for the Paraguay n ...

were enough to see off a much weakened Blues team.

Transfers

In

: Brackets round club names denote the player's contract with that club expired before he joined Birmingham City.

Out

: Brackets round club names denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.

Loan in

Loan out

Appearances and goals

:Sources: :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 that involve scoring goal (sport), 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 i ...

; DF – Defender; MF –

Midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

; 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) ** Smal ...

References

General * * * Source for match dates, league positions and results: * Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), ''Complete Record'', pp. 450–51. * Source for goal times: * Source for transfers: Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:2007-08 Birmingham City F.C. season Birmingham City F.C. seasons

Birmingham City 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. The team compete in the ...