[1] Trading in shares in the club's parent company, Birmingham International Holdings (BIH), was suspended in June 2011 after the arrest of major shareholder Carson Yeung on charges of money-laundering.
[18] Chief executive Peter Pannu's service contract expired at the end of September, though he remained a director,[19] and his de facto successor Panos Pavlakis claimed the club was in a sounder financial state than previously.
[25] The Football League made public their concerns over Yeung's attempts to impose his choice of directors on the BIHL board despite his conviction disqualifying him from exerting influence over a club.
Their statement stressed that no winding-up petition had been issued and the company was not in liquidation,[27][28] and the receivers assured the League that the club was not in an "insolvency event" of the type that could trigger a ten-point deduction.
[31] Blues entered the first home game of the season having not won at St Andrew's in the league since October 2013, a second-tier record of 18 winless matches,[32] and with captain Paul Robinson dropped to the bench.
[33] Two draws followed, at home to Ipswich Town, who equalised in stoppage time, and away at Brentford, where Birmingham had a man advantage for 75 minutes and missed numerous chances to make the game safe.
[38] A deflected shot from Callum Reilly on his first appearance of the season and Gray's "composed finish" over the goalkeeper gave Blues a half-time lead at top-of-the-table Norwich City.
[41][42][43] After conceding an early goal at previously unbeaten Charlton Athletic, strong performances from Davis and Reilly in midfield and Arthur in attack brought Birmingham back into the game.
[2] Birmingham's chief scout, Malcolm Crosby, who had had some managerial experience with Sunderland, and coach Richard Beale took over the team on a caretaker basis for the Blackburn match.
[47] Birmingham had the better of the first half, but conceded early in the second, Neil Eardley was sent off for a second booking, and Andy Shinnie, in his first appearance since the opening day, shot against the crossbar in stoppage time.
[52] Paul Robinson apologised for "that shambles of a game", recognised the fans' disappointment at paying a lot of money to come and watch an unacceptable performance, and promised that he and the rest of the players would take responsibility for putting it right.
[53] MK Dons had refused Birmingham permission to speak to Karl Robinson,[54] and former manager Chris Hughton was reportedly interested in returning, but by the Bournemouth match, the shortlist comprised three men: Owen Coyle, most recently at Wigan Athletic,[55] and the two candidates believed by the media to be joint favourites, Mike Phelan, former assistant to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, and Burton Albion manager and one-time Birmingham defender Gary Rowett.
[60] A goalless draw with Cardiff City featured disallowed goals for former Birmingham loanee Federico Macheda and substitute Wes Thomas, who was sent off late in the game for striking an opponent.
[61] At Rotherham United, Rowett first picked the starting eleven which was to become his regular selection of choice: in a 4–2–3–1 formation, Randolph in goal, Caddis, Morrison, Robinson and Grounds as a flat back four, Davis and Gleeson in defensive midfield, Cotterill and Gray wide, Shinnie in the hole, and Donaldson as lone striker.
After the match, it emerged that Forest manager Stuart Pearce had also seen the handball, so accepted that the correct ruling had been made, however unusual it was for a fourth official to become involved in on-field decision-making.
[67] A 1–0 win away to Huddersfield Town courtesy of another Cotterill free kick and some desperate stoppage-time defending preceded an "uninspiring" performance in a 4–0 reverse at home to fifth-placed Derby County in heavy Boxing-Day snow.
[68] Two days later, a 10-minute spell just before half-time containing two Cotterill free kicks, one touched in by Donaldson, and a defensive mistake gave Birmingham a three-goal lead, effectively securing their double over Nottingham Forest and taking them into the new year 11 points clear of the relegation places.
Neither side could gain ascendancy in a tight match,[76] and the Birmingham Mail reported that Gray, the subject of a series of rejected bids from divisional rivals Bournemouth ranging up to £5 million,[77] "struggled to emulate [Shinnie's] play-making ways".
[85] Against the background of the club's holding company entering receivership, raising the possibility of a 10-point deduction, Birmingham ended February in 13th position, 11 points above the relegation places, after beating Brentford 1–0 for their first win since 10 January.
[87] For the visit to Derby County, for whom Rowett had formerly played, he omitted Donaldson for the first time,[88] selecting Novak as the lone striker, and included Dyer in preference to Gray.
[89] A rather less eventful home match against Huddersfield Town finished 1–1,[91] and March ended with a poor performance at Cardiff City in which the team lost 2–0 and the manager was sent to the stand for throwing the ball to the ground when disputing a throw-in.
[92] April began with a 2–1 defeat of Rotherham United, featuring a rejected penalty claim that visiting manager Steve Evans called "the worst refereeing decision I've ever seen" and Rowett saw as just a tangle of legs.
[93] The trip to AFC Bournemouth started with what Rowett viewed as "some of the best attacking play we've had since I've been here",[94] as the strength of Tesche and Davis in midfield freed Donaldson and Cotterill to give Birmingham a 2–0 lead; the former missed a chance to make it three.
By half-time, Bournemouth were level, the first after Randolph had failed to deal with a corner and the second when Callum Wilson "coasted away from Robinson as though the defender was wearing concrete boots",[95] and in the second half, they secured a win that took them top of the table.
[94] The player – in the side instead of the rested Kiernan, a decision which Rowett later admitted might have been a mistake[96] – assessed the performance as "comfortable and well organised, then we just crumbled for one reason or another", and claimed he was indifferent to criticism from supporters.
[97] Loanee Diego Fabbrini made his debut in the playmaker role at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, wearing a protective mask over the broken nose that forced him to miss the Bournemouth match.
A poor performance, mitigated by Randolph's saves and Reading's lack of penetration – their previous match was an extra-time defeat to Arsenal at Wembley in the FA Cup semifinal – was relieved when they reverted to a system the players were used to and enlivened when Gray came on as a late substitute.
[103][104] Fabbrini, who came off after 18 minutes at Reading when his face-mask was split by what Rowett alleged was a punch by Nathaniel Chalobah,[105] returned for the last home match of the season against Charlton Athletic.
After 77 minutes, the Birmingham contingent thought the ball had gone out of play in Sunderland's defensive third, but the referee disagreed; the visitors broke and Jordi Gómez beat Doyle from 25 yards (23 m).