| 1965–66 season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Clifford Coombs | |
| Manager |
| |
| Ground | St Andrew's | |
| Football League Second Division | 10th | |
| FA Cup | Fourth round (eliminated byLeicester City) | |
| Football League Cup | Second round (eliminated byMansfield Town) | |
| Top goalscorer | League:Geoff Vowden (21) All:Geoff Vowden (23) | |
| Highest home attendance | 46,680 vsLeicester City, FA Cup 4th round 12 February 1966 | |
| Lowest home attendance | 7,597 vsLeyton Orient, 8 September 1965 | |
| Average home league attendance | 14,398 | |
The1965–66 Football League season wasBirmingham City Football Club's 63rd in theFootball League and their 25th in theSecond Division, to which they wererelegated in 1964–65. Having persuaded formerWolverhampton Wanderers managerStan Cullis out of retirement as successor toJoe Mallett, who remained with the club as Cullis's assistant,[1] they finished in tenth position in the 22-team division. They entered the1965–66 FA Cup in the third round proper and lost toLeicester City in the fourth, and were beaten in their opening second-round match in theLeague Cup byMansfield Town.
Twenty-two players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were thirteen different goalscorers. ForwardAlec Jackson played in all but two of the team's 45 matches, andGeoff Vowden finished as leading scorer with 23 goals, of which 21 came in league competition.
This season saw the introduction ofsubstitutes into the Football League. In the third game of the season, away toPreston North End on 26 August,Brian Sharples replaced the injuredRon Wylie to become Birmingham's first Football League substitute.[2]
| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 August 1965 | 7th | Crystal Palace | H | W | 2–1 | Thwaites 2 | 19,205 |
| 25 August 1965 | 6th | Middlesbrough | H | D | 2–2 | Beard | 16,772 |
| 28 August 1965 | 8th | Preston North End | A | D | 3–3 | Vowden, Beard 2 | 16,397 |
| 31 August 1965 | 8th | Middlesbrough | A | D | 1–1 | Vowden | 17,300 |
| 4 September 1965 | 9th | Charlton Athletic | H | D | 2–2 | Beard,Jacksonpen | 15,324 |
| 8 September 1965 | 10th | Leyton Orient | H | D | 2–2 | Thomson, Vowden | 7,597 |
| 11 September 1965 | 13th | Plymouth Argyle | A | L | 1–6 | Vowden | 10,777 |
| 13 September 1965 | 14th | Leyton Orient | A | L | 1–2 | Thomson | 7,114 |
| 18 September 1965 | 19th | Portsmouth | H | L | 1–3 | Beard | 11,790 |
| 25 September 1965 | 17th | Bolton Wanderers | A | W | 2–1 | Thomson, Vowden | 12,117 |
| 9 October 1965 | 12th | Norwich City | H | W | 1–0 | Jackson | 11,626 |
| 16 October 1965 | 16th | Bury | A | L | 1–5 | Darrell | 8,184 |
| 23 October 1965 | 17th | Southampton | H | L | 0–1 | 11,693 | |
| 30 October 1965 | 21st | Derby County | A | L | 3–5 | Bullock,Vincent,Page | 12,464 |
| 6 November 1965 | 17th | Cardiff City | H | W | 4–2 | Bullock, Thomson,Lynnpen, Jackson | 10,744 |
| 13 November 1965 | 21st | Carlisle United | A | L | 0–1 | 10,243 | |
| 20 November 1965 | 21st | Coventry City | H | L | 0–1 | 25,953 | |
| 27 November 1965 | 21st | Bristol City | A | L | 0–2 | 13,727 | |
| 4 December 1965 | 20th | Manchester City | H | W | 3–1 | Jackson, Vowden, Thwaites | 10,445 |
| 11 December 1965 | 17th | Rotherham United | A | W | 4–3 | Vowden 3, Jackson | 10,684 |
| 18 December 1965 | 15th | Bury | H | W | 4–0 | Thomson, Thwaites 2,Fenton | 10,998 |
| 28 December 1965 | 14th | Huddersfield Town | H | W | 2–1 | Vowden, Thwaites | 19,763 |
| 1 January 1966 | 13th | Norwich City | A | D | 2–2 | Vowden, Fenton | 15,297 |
| 8 January 1966 | 12th | Carlisle United | H | W | 2–1 | Vowden, Beard | 14,998 |
| 29 January 1966 | 13th | Crystal Palace | A | L | 0–1 | 14,090 | |
| 5 February 1966 | 12th | Preston North End | H | D | 1–1 | Jackson | 14,054 |
| 19 February 1966 | 14th | Charlton Athletic | A | L | 1–2 | Thwaites | 13,742 |
| 26 February 1966 | 11th | Plymouth Argyle | H | W | 1–0 | Thomson | 13,117 |
| 5 March 1966 | 10th | Southampton | A | W | 1–0 | Thwaites | 18,295 |
| 12 March 1966 | 10th | Portsmouth | A | W | 1–0 | Vowden | 12,367 |
| 15 March 1966 | 10th | Huddersfield Town | A | L | 0–2 | 19,156 | |
| 19 March 1966 | 11th | Bolton Wanderers | H | L | 0–1 | 13,770 | |
| 26 March 1966 | 11th | Ipswich Town | A | W | 1–0 | Beard | 9,351 |
| 2 April 1966 | 8th | Cardiff City | A | W | 3–1 | Vowden,Carverog | 8,150 |
| 9 April 1966 | 8th | Derby County | H | D | 5–5 | Vowden,Hockey, Beard 2 (1pen),Saxtonog | 13,078 |
| 11 April 1966 | 10th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | D | 2–2 | Vincent, Vowden | 28,902 |
| 12 April 1966 | 10th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | L | 0–2 | 32,511 | |
| 16 April 1966 | 10th | Coventry City | A | L | 3–4 | Fenton, Vowden, Jackson | 27,111 |
| 22 April 1966 | 11th | Bristol City | H | L | 1–3 | Beardpen | 11,732 |
| 30 April 1966 | 15th | Manchester City | A | L | 1–3 | Vowden | 28,409 |
| 3 May 1966 | 9th | Ipswich Town | H | W | 4–1 | Fenton 2, Vowden, Jackson | 9,331 |
| 17 May 1966 | 10th | Rotherham United | H | W | 3–0 | Barber, Vowden, Hockey | 11,469 |
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8th | Derby County | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 71 | 68 | 1.04 | 43 |
| 9th | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 62 | 59 | 1.05 | 41 |
| 10th | Birmingham City | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 70 | 75 | 0.93 | 41 |
| 11th | Crystal Palace | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 47 | 52 | 0.90 | 41 |
| 12th | Portsmouth | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 74 | 78 | 0.95 | 40 |
| Key | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA =Goal average; Pts = Points | ||||||||
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Third round | 22 January 1966 | Bristol City | H | W | 3–2 | Vowden 2,Thomson | 24,340 |
| Fourth round | 12 February 1966 | Leicester City | H | L | 1–2 | Thwaites | 46,680 |
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Second round | 22 September 1965 | Mansfield Town | A | L | 1–2 | Beard | 9,344 |
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| GK | Jim Herriot | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 0 | |
| GK | Johnny Schofield | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| FB | Cammie Fraser | 33 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 (1) | 0 | |
| FB | Colin Green | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
| FB | Ray Martin | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 0 | |
| HB | Malcolm Beard | 36 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 11 | |
| HB | Winston Foster | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| HB | Terry Hennessey † | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
| HB | Stan Lynn | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
| HB | Malcolm Page | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | |
| HB | Brian Sharples | 3 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (1) | 0 | |
| HB | Ron Wylie | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
| FW | Eric Barber | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| FW | Mickey Bullock | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | |
| FW | Mick Darrell | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
| FW | Ron Fenton | 15 (2) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 (2) | 5 | |
| FW | Trevor Hockey | 24 (1) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 (1) | 2 | |
| FW | Alec Jackson | 40 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 8 | |
| FW | Bobby Thomson | 27 (1) | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 (1) | 7 | |
| FW | Denis Thwaites | 30 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 9 | |
| FW | Johnny Vincent | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 2 | |
| FW | Geoff Vowden | 38 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 23 | |
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