Birmingham get the blues as Santa Cruz fires Blackburn

Birmingham City lasted just one year in the Premier League after gaining automatic promotion the previous season when finishing in second place in the Championship.

Before, the Blues had enjoyed a four-year spell in the top echelon from 2002-03 to 2005-06. Steve Bruce played a big part in City's revival and had also succeeded in taking them back to the top flight.

Yet, last November the board decided to show Bruce the back door. He eventually joined Wigan and helped them keep their status in the Premiership. Birmingham decided to appoint former Scotland manager Alex McLeish in Bruce's place but the move misfired.

Upheavals in the boardroom continued to rock Birmingham.

The arrival of Argentine forward Mauro Zarate in January gave the club a much-needed boost yet the side continued to struggle. The off-field distractions included the arrest of David Sullivan and Karen Brady on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting in connection with an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in English football

Although McLeish did a decent job, the team continued to perform inconsistently and they remained just above the relegation zone until they went down on the final day of the season despite a fine 4-1 win over Blackburn Rovers at St Andrews.

Mark Hughes, now manager at Manchester City, had been at the Blackburn helm since September 2004.

At Ewood Park, Paraguayan Roque Santa Cruz became the hero after scoring 23 goals in league and cups.

Hughes was not happy that his side failed to gain at least a place in the Intertoto Cup when they were pipped for the place in the last encounter of the season by Aston Villa. Apart from Santa Cruz, other players Hughes relied on last season include David Bentley, Benni McCarthy and Morten Gamst Pedersen.

After turning a UEFA Cup place via the Intertoto Cup, Blackburn failed to reach the group stages of the competition when they were knocked out by Greek club Larissa in the first round. Blackburn reached the quarter-finals of the League Cup but fell to Arsenal 2-3 after extra time at Ewood Park.

In the third round of the FA Cup they joined the exodus of Premier clubs to bow out to the smaller sides. Malta striker Michael Mifsud put two goals past the Rovers' rearguard in the 4-1shock win by Coventry City at Ewood Park.

Birmingham also had a torrid time in the domestic cups. League One side Huddersfield gave them a 5-1 hiding at Galpharm Stadium in the third round of the FA Cup.

The exit from the League Cup also came at the same stage, going down to Blackburn 0-3 away.