Birmingham City Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Birmingham. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham F.C. in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City F.C. in 1943.[2] In the 2007–08 season they were relegated from the Premier League.

Small Heath were founder members and first ever champions of the Football League Second Division. The most successful period in their history was in the 1950s and early 1960s. They achieved their highest finishing position of sixth in the First Division and reached the FA Cup Final in 1956, reached the final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1960 and 1961, and won their only major trophy, the League Cup, in 1963, beating Aston Villa 3–1 on aggregate. They have spent the majority of their history in the top tier of English football, though their darkest era came between 1986 and 2002, when they were continuously outside the top division. This period included two brief spells in the third tier of the English League, during which time they won the Leyland DAF Cup and the Auto Windscreens Shield.

St Andrew’s has been their home ground since 1906. They have a long-standing and fierce rivalry with Aston Villa, their nearest neighbours, with whom they play the Birmingham derby. The club’s nickname is Blues, due to the colour of their kit, and their fans are known as Bluenoses or Ratcatchers.

Current squad
As of 30 May 2008.

1 GK Maik Taylor
2 DF Stephen Kelly
4 DF Martin Taylor
6 DF Liam Ridgewell
7 MF Sebastian Larsson
8 FW Garry O’Connor
10 FW Cameron Jerome
11 MF Gary McSheffrey
12 MF Mehdi Nafti
13 GK Colin Doyle
14 DF David Murphy
15 DF Franck Queudrue
16 FW James McFadden
20 MF Daniël de Ridder
21 DF Stuart Parnaby
22 MF Damien Johnson (captain)
23 MF Olivier Kapo
24 DF Radhi Jaïdi
25 FW Sone Aluko
26 MF Fabrice Muamba
30 DF Krystian Pearce
31 MF Jordon Mutch
MF Lee Carsley