2004–05 Birmingham City F.C. season

Birmingham City F.C.

2004–05 season
Chairman	David Gold
Manager	Steve Bruce
Ground	St Andrew's
Premier League	12th
FA Cup	Fourth round (eliminated by Chelsea)
League Cup	Third round (eliminated by Fulham)
Top goalscorer	League: Emile Heskey (10) All: Emile Heskey (11)
Highest home attendance	29,382 vs Aston Villa, 20 March 2005
Lowest home attendance	15,363 vs Lincoln City, League Cup 2nd round, 21 September 2004
Average home league attendance	28,760[1]
← 2003–04 2005–06 →

The 2004–05 season was Birmingham City Football Club's 102nd season in the English football league system, their third season in the Premier League and their 53rd in the top tier of English football. It ran from 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005. Under the management of former Birmingham City player Steve Bruce, the team finished in 12th place, two places lower than the season before. They reached the fourth round of the FA Cup and the third round of the League Cup. The top scorer for the season was England forward Emile Heskey with eleven goals in all competitions, of which ten were scored in the League.

Pre-season

Pre-season friendlies

Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Report
17 July 2004	Cheltenham Town	A	D	1–1	Izzet 16'	4,255	[2]
19 July 2004	VfB09 Pössneck	A	W	5–0	Morrison (3) 5', 35' 50', John, Forssell	1,000	[3]
21 July 2004	FC Erzgebirge Aue^1	A	L	0–1			[4]
21 July 2004	SpVgg Weiden^1	A	W	4–1	John (2), Morrison, Barrowman		[4]
23 July 2004	SSV Ulm	A	L	0–1			[5]
29 July 2004	Sheffield Wednesday	A	W	1–0	Forssell 77'	8,000	[6]
31 July 2004	Hull City	A	W	4–1	Morrison 14', Izzet 35', Delaney (o.g.) 46', Savage 50'		[7]
3 August 2004	Exeter City	A	W	2–0	Forssell 72', Heskey 82'	4,000	[8]
7 August 2004	Osasuna	H	D	1–1	Clapham 86'		[9]

• Note 1: Each match was 50 minutes long as part of a short four team tournament in Germany

Premier League

Season review

August

Birmingham opened the season with an away trip to Portsmouth. Steve Bruce was able to name four new signings, Emile Heskey, Mario Melchiot, Muzzy Izzet and Jesper Gronkjaer, in the first team, with Julian Gray on the bench. A quick paced game fired into life in the tenth minute as Damien Johnson was fouled just outside the Portsmouth box, and Robbie Savage stepped up to curl the free kick into the top corner of Shaka Hislop's goal. Only five minutes later Portsmouth were level, after Steve Stone was pushed in the area, and a penalty was awarded. Defender David Unsworth made no mistake as he sent keeper Maik Taylor the wrong way. There was chances for both teams to take the points at Fratton Park, but none were taken and the team left the south coast with a creditable 1–1 draw.

Big spending Chelsea were next up at St Andrew's, where Birmingham put in an impressive performance, but lost out to a second half Joe Cole goal. The first half saw chances spurned at both ends, with Chelsea striker Didier Drogba missing perhaps the easiest chance of the half, but it was Birmingham who were doing to pressing towards the end of the first half, and almost took the lead through both Emile Heskey and Julian Gray chances. On the 68th minute Chelsea took the lead, as Cole was given too much time in the Blues half, and he raced forward before beating Taylor at his near post. Cole had only come off the bench five minutes before his goal.

The first mid-week fixture of the season saw Manchester City come to St Andrew's. An eighth-minute goal from Emile Heskey was enough to snatch the points, and Birmingham ended a run of 11 Premier League games without victory. Australian Stan Lazaridis managed to find room on the left to cross the ball into Heskey who finished with a powerful header from 10 yards (9.1 m). Manchester City dominated large parts of the game, but the Birmingham defence stayed strong to secure their first three points of the season.

After a bright start at White Hart Lane against Tottenham Hotspur, the team found themselves pinned into their own half as Tottenham started to dominate the play. The only goal of the game was scored in the 34th minute as Jermain Defoe managed to turn Kenny Cunningham, before cutting inside Matthew Upson and hitting an unstoppable shot from the edge of the area.

September

Deadline day signing Dwight Yorke made his debut at the Riverside Stadium as Birmingham took on Middlesbrough but could not prevent Mark Viduka taking the points. In the 27th minute, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink found Viduka, who controlled the ball and slotted it past Taylor. Birmingham equalised in the 42nd minute, as Heskey flicked the ball on to Forssell, who returned the ball for Heskey to smash home after a neat run into the area. Just after half time, Viduka got his second of the game. After a poor clearance from a Middlesbrough corner, Boudewijn Zenden got a cross into the area, which was flicked on by Gareth Southgate for Viduka to score from close range.

Yorke had more luck in Birmingham's next game, against Charlton Athletic. A weak cross from Jonatan Johansson was fumbled by Taylor, and Luke Young pounced to give Charlton the lead in the 49th minute. This got worse in the 57th minute, as Damien Johnson was sent off for a second booking after upending Johansson on the halfway line. Manager Steve Bruce decided to act, and in the 61st minute, be brought on Yorke and David Dunn, who was making his first start of the season after injury. Seven minutes later, an Izzet corner was met with a bullet header from Yorke, that left Dean Kiely no chance, and level the game.

Birmingham's next game was against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium. A free kick by Iván Campo was cleared poorly by Upson, and the ball fell to Radhi Jaidi who controlled the ball before volleying past Taylor to give Bolton the lead. A better start to the second half saw Birmingham bounce back as Gronkjaer found room in the area before flicking the ball inside for Izzet to hit a first time shot in off the bar.

October

Nicky Butt scored an equaliser when Newcastle United came to St Andrew's. Goals from Yorke and Upson had given Birmingham a 2–1 lead but Butt pounced on 67 minutes to rescue the Magpies a point.

Birmingham held Manchester United to a goalless draw at St Andrew's two weeks later and also played out a 0-0 draw at St Mary's Stadium against Southampton after that.

But they were disappointing in a 1-0 loss at home to Crystal Palace on 24 October. Former Birmingham striker Andrew Johnson scored the goal for Palace, who were coming into form. Johnson ran clear of the Birmingham backline after a quick Palace counterattack.

November

Following a run of eight games without a win, Birmingham beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield. Veteran Darren Anderton scored the goal on 77 minutes. He turned home from one yard out after Upson had headed a corner across goal. It was Birmingham's first away win in the league all season.

But Birmingham fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Everton the following week. Thomas Gravesen scored a 69th-minute penalty after Izzet handled a shot on the goalline. Referee Rob Styles sent Izzet off and awarded Everton the spot-kick. Heskey was denied a leveller by a great last-ditch block by Tony Hibbert and Yorke wasted a late chance from 10 yards.

Birmingham wasted a two-goal lead at Ewood Park against Blackburn Rovers. Matt Jansen gave the hosts an early lead with an incisive finish but Anderton equalised 12 minutes later. Robbie Savage put Birmingham ahead on 38 minutes after Melchiot's marauding run down the right. Moments before half-time Dunn netted against his old side to give Birmingham a commanding 3-1 lead at the interval. But Steven Reid and Paul Gallagher's goals in the second period rescued Rovers an unlikely point.

Clinton Morrison gave Birmingham an early lead against Norwich at St Andrew's with his first goal of the campaign but Darren Huckerby's stunning second-half strike denied the Blues their third league win of the season.

December

Arsenal thumped Birmingham 3-0 in early December. Robert Pirès gave the Gunners the advantage before Thierry Henry netted twice.

Birmingham bounced back by beating arch-rivals Aston Villa 2-1 on December 12 at Villa Park. Clinton Morrison scored the opener after Villa goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen let the ball slip through his hands. Shortly afterwards, David Dunn doubled Birmingham's lead after a swift counterattack. He converted Damien Johnson's cross to silence Villa Park. Gareth Barry scored a late consolation for the hosts but they were unable to prevent another defeat to their city rivals.

City recorded back-to-back league wins for the first time that season when they beat West Bromwich Albion 4–0 at St Andrew's. Former Birmingham defender Darren Purse conceded a penalty by holding Morrison and Savage was able to net his third goal of the season. Morrison, who impressed throughout, scored his side's second on 23 minutes after a quick free-kick and, minutes afterwards, Heskey angled home Birmingham's third. Anderton heaped more misery on the struggling visitors by scoring a late free-kick.

And Birmingham moved up to 12th for the visit of Middlesbrough on Boxing Day. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink had an early goal disallowed for offside before Morrison netted his third goal in as many matches. Heskey confirmed Birmingham's dominance when he headed in from six yards moments before half-time.

Birmingham's impressive December form continued at Fulham on 28 December. Heskey lashed his side ahead with a stunning drive on 25 minutes but Sylvain Legwinski equalised against the run of play. Darren Carter turned home a Heskey header to restore Birmingham's advantage four minutes before half-time. Savage sealed the win with a spectacular second-half volley. Tomasz Radzinski found the net late on for a consolation goal.

January

Following a successful December, Birmingham slumped to four straight losses in January and, by the end of the month, fell to 15th in the table. By the time Emile Heskey scored at St James' Park, Birmingham were already 2–0 down to Newcastle United. Shola Ameobi and Lee Bowyer had scored. Kevin Nolan scored a last-minute winner as Bolton Wanderers won for the first time in the Premiership since October by beating Birmingham 2–1 at St Andrew's. Birmingham's dreadful run continued as they lost 3–1 at The Valley to Charlton Athletic.

Steve Bruce's side didn't manage to record a single point during January. Fulham won at St Andrew's on 22 January. An own goal by Moritz Volz gave Birmingham the lead on 51 minutes. Luis Boa Morte was soon booked for diving under pressure by Birmingham goalkeeper Maik Taylor but, minutes later, Fulham were awarded a spot-kick. Boa Morte went to ground again under Damien Johnson's challenge but contact appeared to be outside the penalty box. Referee Phil Dowd awarded the penalty and Andy Cole converted. Fulham won it after Papa Bouba Diop scored a late header.

February

Birmingham signed striker Walter Pandiani and winger Jermaine Pennant on loans in January after slipping towards the relegation zone. The duo combined in their next game at St Andrew's against struggling Southampton. Pandiani headed home a Pennant cross on 12 minutes. Fellow new signing Robbie Blake scored from the penalty spot on 41 minutes after Melchiot was fouled. Southampton debutant Henri Camara netted a spectacular consolation in the second period.

Three days later on February 5, Birmingham lost 2–0 at Old Trafford to Manchester United. Wayne Rooney scored the pick of the goals against an injury-ravaged City team.

But resilient Birmingham bounced back to beat Liverpool 2–0 on February 12. Sami Hyypia fouled ex-Liverpool striker Heskey in the box and Pandiani duly delivered from the spot on 38 minutes. Birmingham doubled their advantage moments before half-time. Pennant crossed for Julian Gray to head in his first goal of the campaign. Birmingham completed the double over Liverpool that season.

The win was followed by a 2–0 loss at Crystal Palace, who celebrated the double over Birmingham. Upson conceded two penalties, both scored by Andrew Johnson. The referee was Phil Dowd, whom Bruce publicly criticised after the match as he had now given three penalties against Birmingham in the past two games he refereed them.

March

Birmingham began March poorly, with a 2–0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion. The Baggies were fighting to stay in the division and easily saw off a lethargic Birmingham team. Neil Clement and Kevin Campbell scored the second-half goals.

Following an international break, Birmingham rallied to beat rivals Aston Villa and celebrated another double over their neighbours. Heskey put his side ahead on 52 minutes after another goalkeeping error by Sørensen. Gray sealed the victory late on with his second goal in four games.

April

The win over Aston Villa saw Bruce's squad climb up to 13th in the table. They faced Tottenham Hotspur at St Andrew's on 2 April. Stephen Kelly, who would later go on to become a Birmingham player, netted Spurs' opener on 59 minutes but Darren Carter levelled for the hosts on 66 minutes with his second goal of the campaign.

Birmingham were denied a win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge after a late Drogba goal cancelled out another Pandiani strike. The Uruguayan was becoming a favourite with the fans, who were calling for him to be signed permanently.

Birmingham drew for a third time in a row on 16 April 16 when Portsmouth travelled to St Andrew's. Chances were at a premium in a dull 0–0.

Manchester City thumped Birmingham City 3–0 on 20 April. Clinton Morrison thought he had given his side the lead early on but the goal was ruled out for offside. The hosts scored all their goals in the second-half, including an unfortunate own goal by Maik Taylor.

Birmingham scored an early goal at Goodison Park to take the lead against Everton. Heskey powered home from 20 yards but Birmingham were denied all three points late on. Experienced forward Duncan Ferguson scored after a goalmouth scramble to rescue Everton a draw.

May

Heskey continued his impressive form in Birmingham's next game, against Blackburn Rovers. Birmingham fell behind at St Andrew's to an early Jon Stead goal but, in the second half, Blake netted his second goal for Blues. Heskey won it on 80 minutes after rifling home a long-range strike with his weaker left foot for his 10th goal of the season.

But Birmingham were unable to cement back-to-back victories. They travelled to a Norwich City side fighting to stay in the league. The Canaries won the match 1–0, courtesy of a Dean Ashton penalty in the first half. Birmingham played most of the match with ten men after Damien Johnson punched an opponent.

Arsenal visited St Andrew's to complete the season. Pandiani gave Birmingham the lead on 79 minutes with his fourth goal for the club after a goalmouth scramble but veteran Dennis Bergkamp equalised on 88 minutes. An error by Philippe Senderos allowed Heskey in to crash home a winner in injury time.

Match details

Date	League position	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Report
14 August 2004	5th	Portsmouth	A	D	1–1	Savage 10'	20,021	[10]
21 August 2004	19th	Chelsea	H	L	0–1		28,559	[10]
24 August 2004	7th	Manchester City	H	W	1–0	Heskey 8'	28,551	[10]
28 August 2004	13th	Tottenham Hotspur	A	L	0–1		35,290	[10]
11 September 2004	14th	Middlesbrough	A	L	1–2	Heskey 42'	30,252	[10]
18 September 2004	14th	Charlton Athletic	H	D	1–1	Yorke 68'	27,400	[10]
25 September 2004	15th	Bolton Wanderers	A	D	1–1	Izzet 49'	23,692	[10]
3 October 2004	15th	Newcastle United	H	D	2–2	Yorke 23', Upson 57'	29,021	[10]
16 October 2005	14th	Manchester United	H	D	0–0		29,221	[10]
24 October 2004	14th	Southampton	A	D	0–0		27,568	[10]
30 October 2004	16th	Crystal Palace	H	L	0–1		28,916	[10]
6 November 2004	14th	Liverpool	A	W	1–0	Anderton 77'	42,669	[10]
13 November 2004	15th	Everton	H	L	0–1		28,388	[10]
21 November 2004	14th	Blackburn Rovers	A	D	3–3	Anderton 17', Savage 38', Dunn 45'	20,290	[10]
27 November 2004	13th	Norwich City	H	D	1–1	Morrison 9'	29,120	[10]
4 December 2004	15th	Arsenal	A	L	0–3		38,064	[10]
12 December 2004	14th	Aston Villa	A	W	2–1	Morrison 9', Dunn 18'	41,329	[10]
18 December 2004	14th	West Bromwich Albion	H	W	4–0	Savage 4' pen., Morrison 23', Heskey 30'	28,880	[10]
26 December 2004	12th	Middlesbrough	H	W	2–0	Morrison 10', Heskey 45'	29,082	[10]
28 December 2004	9th	Fulham	A	W	3–2	Heskey 25', Carter 41', Savage 53'	18,706	[10]
1 January 2005	12th	Newcastle United	A	L	1–2	Heskey 64'	52,222	[10]
4 January 2005	13th	Bolton Wanderers	H	L	1–2	Upson 66'	27,177	[10]
15 January 2005	14th	Charlton Athletic	A	L	1–3	Melchiot 55'	26,111	[10]
22 January 2005	15th	Fulham	H	L	1–2	Volz 51' o.g.	28,512	[10]
2 February 2005	14th	Southampton	H	W	2–1	Pandiani 12', Blake 41' pen.	28,797	[10]
5 February 2005	14th	Manchester United	A	L	0–2		67,838	[10]
12 February 2005	12th	Liverpool	H	W	2–0	Pandiani 38' pen., Gray 45'	29,318	[10]
26 February 2005	12th	Crystal Palace	A	L	0–2		23,376	[10]
6 March 2005	13th	West Bromwich Albion	A	L	0–2		25,749	[10]
20 March 2005	13th	Aston Villa	H	W	2–0	Heskey 52', Gray 89'	29,382	[10]
2 April 2005	13th	Tottenham Hotspur	H	D	1–1	Carter 66'	29,304	[10]
9 April 2005	13th	Chelsea	A	D	1–1	Pandiani 65'	42,031	[10]
16 April 2005	12th	Portsmouth	H	D	0–0		28,883	[10]
20 April 2005	13th	Manchester City	A	L	0–3		42,453	[10]
23 April 2005	13th	Everton	A	D	1–1	Heskey 5'	36,828	[10]
30 April 2005	12th	Blackburn Rovers	H	W	2–1	Blake 61', Heskey 8'	28,621	[10]
7 May 2005	13th	Norwich City	A	L	0–1		25,477	[10]
15 May 2005	12th	Arsenal	H	W	2–1	Pandiani 80', Heskey 90'	29,302	[10]

League table (part)

Final Premier League table (part)

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
10th	Aston Villa	38	12	11	15	45	52	−7	47
11th	Charlton Athletic	38	12	10	16	52	48	4	46
12th	Birmingham City	38	11	12	15	40	46	−6	45
13th	Fulham	38	12	8	18	52	60	−8	44
14th	Newcastle United	38	10	14	14	47	57	−10	44
Key	Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Source	[11]

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	11	12	15	40	46	−6	45	8	6	5	24	15	+9	3	6	10	16	31	−15

Source: ^[11]

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Report
Third round	8 January 2005	Leeds United	H	W	3–0	Heskey 11', Carter (2) 21', 65'	25,159	[10]
Fourth round	30 January 2005	Chelsea	A	L	0–2		40,379	[10]

League Cup

Birmingham lost in the second round of the 2003–04 League Cup to Blackpool of Division Two.

Round	Date	Opponents	Venue	Result	Score F–A	Scorers	Attendance	Report
Second round	3 October 2004	Lincoln City	H	W	3–1	Grønkjær 64', Morrison 77', Savage 80' pen.	15,363	[10]
Third round	27 October 2004	Fulham		L	0–1		26,371	[10]

Transfers

In

Date	Player	Club	Fee	Ref
18 May 2004	Emile Heskey	Liverpool	£6.25m	[12]
23 June 2004	Julian Gray	(Crystal Palace)	Free	[13]
1 July 2004	Muzzy Izzet	(Leicester City)	Free	[14]
9 July 2004	Mario Melchiot	(Chelsea)	Free	[15]
12 July 2004	Jesper Grønkjær	Chelsea	£2.2m	[16]
10 August 2004	Darren Anderton	(Tottenham Hotspur)	Free	[17]
31 August 2004	Dwight Yorke	Blackburn Rovers	Undisclosed	[18]
1 January 2005	Njazi Kuqi	FC Lahti	£400,000	[19]
5 January 2005	Robbie Blake	Burnley	£1.25m	[20]
25 January 2005	Alex Bruce	Blackburn Rovers	Undisclosed	[21]

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

Out

Date	Player	Fee	Joined	Ref
6 August 2004	Aliou Cissé	£300,000	Portsmouth	[22]
14 September 2004	Stern John	£200,000	Coventry City	[23]
1 January 2005	Jesper Grønkjær	Undisclosed	Atlético Madrid	[24]
19 January 2005	Robbie Savage	£3m	Blackburn Rovers	[25]
30 June 2005	Ian Bennett	Free	(Leeds United)	[26]
25 April 2004	Dwight Yorke	Cancelled	(Sydney FC)	[27]

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

Loan in

Date	Player	Club	Return	Ref
1 July 2004	Mikael Forssell	Chelsea	End of season	[28]
18 January 2005	Salif Diao	Liverpool	End of season	[29]
31 January 2005	Mehdi Nafti	Racing Santander	End of season	[30]
31 January 2005	Walter Pandiani	Deportivo La Coruña	End of season	[31]
31 January 2005	Jermaine Pennant	Arsenal	End of season	[32]

Loan out

Date	Player	Club	Return	Ref
2 August 2004	Andrew Barrowman	Blackpool	Three weeks	[33]
16 September 2004	Darren Carter	Sunderland	6 December 2004	[34]
22 October 2004	Colin Doyle	Chester City	One month	[35]
18 November 2004	Neil Kilkenny	Oldham Athletic	End of season	[36]
4 December 2004	Colin Doyle	Nottingham Forest	End of season	[37]
9 December 2004	Ian Bennett	Sheffield United	One month	[38]
16 February 2005	Ian Bennett	Coventry City	One month	[39]
11 March 2005	Alex Bruce	Sheffield Wednesday	End of season	[40]

Appearances and goals

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.

Players with squad numbers struck through and 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 included in matchday squads

No.	Pos	Nat	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total		Discipline
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals!
1	GK	NIR	Maik Taylor	38	0	2	0	2	0	42	0	0	0
2	DF	CIV	Olivier Tebily	9 (6)	0	0 (2)	0	0	0	9 (8)	0	2	0
3	DF	ENG	Jamie Clapham	18 (9)	0	1 (1)	0	1 (1)	0	20 (11)	0	0	0
4	DF	IRE	Kenny Cunningham	36	0	1	0	1	0	38	0	3	0
5	DF	ENG	Matthew Upson	36	2	2	0	2	0	40	2	7	0
6	MF	TUR	Muzzy Izzet	10	1	0	0	0	0	10	1	3	1
7	MF	DEN	Jesper Grønkjær	13 (3)	0	0	0	2	1	15 (3)	1	1	0
7	FW	ENG	Robbie Blake	2 (9)	2	1 (1)	0	0	0	3 (10)	2	0	0
8	MF	WAL	Robbie Savage	18	4	0	0	1	1	19	5	6	0
8	MF	ENG	Jermaine Pennant	12	0	0	0	0	0	12	0	3	0
9	FW	FIN	Mikael Forssell*	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0
9	FW	URU	Walter Pandiani*	13 (1)	4	0	0	0	0	13 (1)	4	2	0
10	MF	ENG	David Dunn	9 (2)	2	0	0	0 (1)	0	9 (3)	2	4	0
11	MF	AUS	Stan Lazaridis	15 (5)	0	1	0	0 (1)	0	16 (6)	0	1	0
12	GK	ENG	Ian Bennett	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	FW	TRI	Stern John	0 (3)	0	0	0	0	0	0 (3)	0	0	0
14	FW	FIN	Njazi Kuqi	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	DF	ENG	Martin Taylor	4 (3)	0	1	0	1	0	6 (3)	0	1	0
16	FW	ENG	Emile Heskey	34	10	2	1	2	0	38	11	6	0
18	GK	BEL	Nico Vaesen	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	FW	IRE	Clinton Morrison	13 (13)	4	1 (1)	0	0 (1)	1	14 (15)	5	5	0
20	MF	SEN	Salif Diao*	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0
21	MF	ENG	Julian Gray	18 (14)	2	2	0	2	0	22 (14)	2	0	0
22	MF	NIR	Damien Johnson	36	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	36 (1)	0	8	2
24	MF	ENG	Darren Carter	12 (3)	2	2	2	0	0	14 (3)	4	1	0
25	MF	ENG	Stephen Clemence	13 (9)	0	2	0	2	0	17 (9)	0	3	0
29	DF	NED	Mario Melchiot	33	1	2	0	2	0	37	1	3	0
32	MF	ENG	Darren Anderton	9 (11)	3	2	0	2	0	13 (11)	3	2	0
33	FW	TRI	Dwight Yorke	4 (9)	2	0 (1)	0	2	0	6 (10)	2	1	0
36	MF	TUN	Mehdi Nafti*	7 (3)	0	0	0	0	0	7 (3)	0	4	0

Players not included in matchday squads

No.	Pos	Nat	Name
13	GK	IRE	Colin Doyle
17	FW	ENG	Neil Kilkenny
20	DF	ENG	Martin Grainger
23	DF	ENG	Mat Sadler
26	DF	ENG	Chris Cottrill
27	FW	SCO	Andrew Barrowman
28	MF	ENG	Carl Motteram
30	DF	ENG	Sam Oji
31	DF	ENG	Sam Alsop
34	MF	ENG	Peter Till
35	DF	IRE	Alex Bruce

References

General

• Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
• Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. Derby: DB Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85983-853-2.
• Source for match dates, league positions and results: "Birmingham City 2004–2005: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
• Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 444–45.
• Source for goal times: "Birmingham Results 2004/05". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
• Source for transfers: "Birmingham Transfers 2004/05". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 June 2013.

Specific

1. "Barclays Premiership 2004–2005 Season Attendance Table". Football365.com. 365 Media Group. Archived from the original on 17 March 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
2. Cartlidge, Brian (17 July 2004). "Izzet Scores Debut Goal". Singing The Blues. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
3. Cartlidge, Brian (19 July 2004). "VFB09 Possneck 0 - Blues 5". Singing The Blues. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
4. Cartlidge, Brian (21 July 2004). "Germany Tournament Results". Singing The Blues. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
5. Cartlidge, Brian (23 July 2004). "SSV Ulm 1 - Blues 0". Singing The Blues. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
6. Cartlidge, Brian (29 July 2007). "Blues Beat The Owls". Singing The Blues. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
7. Cartlidge, Brian (31 July 2004). "Hull City 1 - Blues 4". Singing The Blues. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
8. Cartlidge, Brian (3 August 2004). "Heskey On Target At Exeter". Singing The Blues. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
9. Cartlidge, Brian (7 August 2004). "Blues 1 Osasuna 1". Singing The Blues. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
10. "Birmingham City Reports – 2004–2005". sportinglife.com. 365 Media Group. Archived from the original on 23 May 2012.
    "Fixtures & Results 2004/2005". Birmingham City F.C. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Individual match reports are linked from each page; archive.org has no copies of Birmingham City F.C. website match reports for the last eight matches of the season.
11. "Birmingham City 2004–2005: English Premier League Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
12. "Birmingham sign Heskey". BBC Sport. 18 May 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
13. "Gray becomes a Blue". BBC Sport. 23 June 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
14. "Birmingham sign Izzet". BBC Sport. 3 June 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
15. "Melchiot joins Birmingham". BBC Sport. 9 July 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
16. "Birmingham sign Gronkjaer". BBC Sport. 12 July 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
17. "Birmingham sign Anderton". BBC Sport. 10 August 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
18. "Yorke makes Blues switch". BBC Sport. 31 August 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
19. "Kuqi completes Birmingham move". BBC Sport. 30 December 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
20. "Blake's Birmingham move completed". BBC Sport. 5 January 2005. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
21. "Bruce signs son from Blackburn". BBC Sport. 25 January 2005. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
22. "Cisse signs for Portsmouth". BBC Sport. 6 August 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
23. "Coventry snap up John". BBC Sport. 14 September 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
24. "Gronkjaer ties up move to Madrid". BBC Sport. 21 December 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
25. "Savage seals switch to Blackburn". BBC Sport. 19 January 2005. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
26. "Blackwell brings Bennett to Leeds". BBC Sport. 17 June 2005. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
27. "Birmingham end Yorke's contract". BBC Sport. 25 April 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
28. "Blues extend Forssell loan". BBC Sport. 27 April 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
29. "Diao completes move to Birmingham". BBC Sport. 18 January 2005. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
30. "Birmingham recruit Nafti on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2005. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
31. "Birmingham complete Pandiani loan". BBC Sport. 1 February 2005. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
32. "Pennant joins Birmingham on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2005. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
33. "Hendry snaps up Barrowman". BBC Sport. 2 August 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
    "Barrowman leaves Blackpool". BBC Sport. 19 August 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
34. "Sunderland get Carter". BBC Sport. 16 September 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
    "Birmingham recall on-loan Carter". BBC Sport. 6 December 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
35. "Chester sign keeper Coyle on loan". BBC Sport. 22 October 2004. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
36. "Loan deal takes Kilkenny to Latics". icBirmingham (Trinity Mirror). 19 November 2004. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
    "Kilkenny to remain with Latics". BBC Sport. 31 December 2004. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
37. Kendall, Mark (4 December 2004). "Forest land Prem keeper". Sky Sports. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
    "Latest News: Doyle extends loan". Nottingham Forest F.C. 29 December 2004. Archived from the original on 29 December 2004.
38. "Ian Bennett". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
39. "Coventry announce double signing". BBC Sport. 16 February 2005. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
40. "Bruce completes Owls loan switch". BBC Sport. 11 March 2005. Retrieved 21 September 2011.