2010–11 Belgian Cup
The 2010–11 Belgian Cup (also known as Cofidis Cup because of sponsoring purposes) is the 56th season of the main knockout football competition in Belgium. It commenced on 24 July 2010 with the first matches of Round 1 and will conclude with the Final in May 2011. K. A. A. Gent are the defending champions having won their third Belgian Cup in the 2009-10 season.


2010–11 Belgian Cup, Competition modus
The competition consisted of ten rounds. The first seven rounds were held as single-match elimination rounds. When tied after 90 minutes in the first three rounds, penalties were taken immediately. In rounds four to seven, when tied after 90 minutes first an extra time period of 30 minutes was played, then penalties were taken if still necessary. The quarter- and semifinals were played in a two-leg modus, where the team winning on aggregate advanced. The Final was then again played as a single match.


2010–11 Belgian Cup, Competition modus
Teams entered the competition in different rounds, based upon their 2009–10 league affiliation. Teams from the fourth-level Promotion or lower began in Round 1. Third Division teams entered in Round 3, with Second Division teams joining in the following round. Teams from the Belgian First Division entered in Round 6.


2010–11 Belgian Cup, Starting Rounds
The starting five rounds featured only teams of lower divisions and all matches were played during the summer and early fall, mostly in July and August.


2010–11 Belgian Cup, Starting Rounds, Round 1
The matches were played on 23 through 27 July 2010.


2010–11 Belgian Cup, Starting Rounds, Round 2
The matches were played on 31 July and 1 August 2010.


2010–11 Belgian Cup, Starting Rounds, Round 3
The matches were played on 7 and 8 August 2010.


2010–11 Belgian Cup, Starting Rounds, Round 4
The matches were played during the weekend of 14 and 15 August 2010.


2010–11 Belgian Cup, Final Stages, Quarterfinals
The draw for the quarter- and semifinals took place on November 24, 2010. The matches will be played over two legs.


2010–11 Belgian Elite League
The 2010-2011 Belgian Elite League pitted eight Belgian rugby teams. It starts on 12 September 2010 and ending with a final game on 7 May 2011 in the King Baudouin Stadium. The Royal Kituro Rugby Club won the competition by defeating the defending champion, Boitsfort Rugby Club, with a score of 13-8.


2010–11 Belgian First Division (women's football)
In the Season 2010-11 of the First Division 14 clubs played in the competition. Two teams promoted from the Second Division, these were GBA-Kontich FC and Miecroob Veltem.


2010–11 Belgian First Division (women's football)
K. Sint-Truidense VV were the defending champions. Standard Fémina de Liège won the championship and qualified for the UEFA Women's Champions League.


2010–11 Belgian First Division (women's football)
DV Famkes Merkem and Miecroob Veltem relegated to the Second Division and shall not return in the First Division the next season.


2010–11 Belgian Hockey League season
The 2010–11 Belgian Hockey League season was the 91st season of the Belgian Hockey League, the top level of ice hockey in Belgium. Two teams, HYC Herentals and the White Caps Turnhout, participated in a seven-game series for the championship. The teams also participated in the multi-national North Sea Cup.


2010–11 Belgian Pro League
The 2010–11 season of the Belgian Pro League (also known as Jupiler Pro League for sponsorship reasons) is the 108th season of top-tier football in Belgium. It began on 30 July 2010 with the first match of the regular season and ended in May 2011 with the last matches of the playoff rounds. Anderlecht were the defending champions.


2010–11 Belgian Pro League, Changes from 2009–10
For the second time, a system of playoffs was used to determine the Belgian champions (contested by the top 6 teams after the regular season) and which teams would play in Europe the following season (teams ranked 7–14 playoff after the regular season with the winner entering a further playoff for the chance to 'steal' the European place of the lowest ranked team in the Top 6 playoff).


2010–11 Belgian Pro League, Changes from 2009–10
In terms of relegation, a playoff was introduced between the 15th and 16th team after the regular season; those teams would play each other 5 times in a mini-league, with the team which finished fifteenth playing at home in matches 1, 3 and 5 and starting with a 3-point bonus. The loser of this playoff series would be relegated, whilst the winner would play the Second division relegation playoff with three teams from the Belgian Second Division for the chance to retain its place in first division.


2010–11 Belgian Pro League, Teams
On 28 December 2009, during the previous season, Mouscron went bankrupt and was immediately relegated. Roeselare ended the season in 15th place, forcing them to take part in the relegation play offs. As they lost these play offs they were also relegated and replaced by playoff winners Eupen. With this, Eupen became the first ever team from the German community to play at the highest level of Belgian football. Earlier, Belgian Second Division champions Lierse had been directly promoted.


2010–11 Belgian Pro League, Regular season, Positions by round
Note: The classification was made after the weekend (or midweek) of each matchday, so postponed matches were only processed at the time they were played to represent the real evolution in standings. The postponed matches are:


2010–11 Belgian Pro League, Championship Playoff
The points obtained during the regular season will be halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the playoff: Anderlecht 33 points, Genk 32, Gent 29, Club Brugge 27, Lokeren 25 and Standard 25. In the event of ties at the end of the playoffs, the half point was deducted if it had been added. Anderlecht, Gent, Club Brugge and Standard received this type of bonus due to rounding.


2010–11 Belgian Pro League, Championship Playoff, Positions by round
Below the positions per round are shown. As teams did not all start with an equal number of points, the initial pre-playoffs positions are also given.


2010–11 Belgian Pro League, Europa League Playoff
Mechelen, Westerlo, Cercle Brugge, Kortrijk, Zulte-Waregem, Sint-Truiden, Germinal Beerschot and Lierse qualified for the Europa League Playoffs.


2010–11 Belgian Pro League, Europa League Playoff, Europa League playoff final
The winners of both playoff groups competed in a two-legged match. The winners on aggregate than will compete in another match (called Testmatch) against a team from the championship playoff (see below). If both teams are tied after two matches, the away goals rule will be applied. Should both teams still be tied afterwards, thirty minutes of extra time will be played and, if necessary, a penalty shootout will be conducted.


2010–11 Belgian Pro League, Europa League Playoff, Testmatches Europa League
The fourth-placed team from the championship playoff and the winners of the Europa League playoff would have competed for one spot in the third qualifying round of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League.


2010–11 Belgian Pro League, Europa League Playoff, Testmatches Europa League
Before the match, both teams were already sure of qualification for European football. Westerlo because their opponent in the final of the 2010–11 Belgian Cup was Standard Liège, who were already qualified for the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League. Club Brugge because of their league position (4th). As a result, both teams agreed to drop the testmatches regardless of the result of the Belgian Cup final:


2010–11 Belgian Pro League, Relegation Playoff
The teams finishing in the last two positions play each other 5 times. The team ending in 15th position starts with a three-point bonus and has three home matches.


2010–11 Belgian Pro League, Top goalscorers
In contrary to the previous season, which was the inaugural season with playoffs, the goals scored during the playoffs are valid to determine the league top scorer. As a result, Jelle Vossen, who was leading at the end of the regular season with 17 goals, still missed out on the top scorers' trophy.


2010–11 Belgian Second Division
The 2010–11 season of the Belgian Second Division (also known as EXQI League for sponsorship reasons) started on Wednesday 18 August 2010 and finished in May 2011. OH Leuven won the title on the penultimate matchday after a 2-2 draw away to Antwerp. Mons also got promoted after winning the playoffs.


2010–11 Belgian Second Division, Team changes
As a result of the bankruptcy of Mouscron in the first division, the team was automatically demoted to third division. No extra team was promoted to fill this spot and the league therefore moved from 19 teams to the more convenient 18.


2010–11 Belgian Second Division, Regular season, Period winners
The season is divided into three periods. The first ten matchdays form period 1, matchdays 11 to 22 form period two and the last 12 form period three. The three period winners take part in the Belgian Second Division Final Round together with the winner of the 2010–11 Belgian Pro League relegation playoff. The winner of this final round gets to play in the 2011–12 Belgian Pro League.


2010–11 Belgian Second Division, Regular season, Period winners
In case one or more periods are won by the team winning the league or in case one team wins multiple periods, the extra places go the teams finishing the highest in the league not already qualified. So in the theoretical case that one team wins all three periods and becomes the league champion, then the teams in positions 2, 3 and 4 will take part in the final round.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League
The 2010–11 Belize Premier Football League (also known as the 2010–11 Caribbean Motors Cup) is the highest competitive football league in Belize, which was founded in 1991. There were two seasons, the opening (which was played at the end of 2010) and the closing (which was played at the beginning of 2011). In 2011, the Belize Premier Football League withdrew from the Football Federation of Belize and all remaining games were abandoned. Thus no winner was crowned for the closing season.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, Opening season
There were significant team changes from the 2009–10 Belize Premier Football League closing season. Georgetown Ibayani, Paradise Freedom Fighters and Shanaiah Corozal left the league and in came Griga United, San Felipe Barcelona and Toledo Ambassadors. BRC Blaze were also renamed Belmopan Blaze.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, Opening season
The opening season started on 5 September 2010 with the regular season concluding on 23 December 2010. The playoffs, which are the teams which finished in the top 6, will then take place after this date.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, Opening season
On 24 November 2010, San Pedro Sea Dogs withdrew from the league.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, Opening season
On 30 December 2010, it was revealed by the league that Hankook Verdes would be replacing Belmopan Blaze in the playoffs, due to problems with the Blaze.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, Opening season, Regular stage, Results
All of the results on this page have been confirmed by the Belize Premier League. All kick off times are UTC−06:00.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, Opening season, Regular stage, Results
The Round 4 fixtures were put back a week in the schedule, meaning that they were played on 2/3 October 2010 instead of 25/26 September 2010.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, Opening season, Regular stage, Results
Hankook Verdes beat San Pedro Sea Dogs 3–0 by default, therefore no goals were actually scored by players.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, Opening season, Regular stage, Results
The Round 7 fixtures were put back a week in the schedule, meaning that they were played on 30/31 October 2010 instead of 23/24 October 2010.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, Opening season, Regular stage, Results
Belmopan Blaze were awarded a victory, due to the withdrawal of San Pedro Sea Dogs.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, Opening season, Regular stage, Results
Hankook Verdes were awarded a victory, due to the withdrawal of San Pedro Sea Dogs.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, Opening season, Regular stage, Results
San Felipe Barcelona were awarded a victory, due to the withdrawal of San Pedro Sea Dogs.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, Opening season, Regular stage, Results
Toledo Ambassadors were awarded a victory, due to the withdrawal of San Pedro Sea Dogs.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, Opening season, Regular stage, Results
Griga United were awarded a victory, due to the withdrawal of San Pedro Sea Dogs.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, Opening season, Playoffs, Results
(*) Belize Defence Force win the series 8 – 3


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, Opening season, Awards
On 10 February 2011, the Belize Premier Football League in partnership with league sponsors Caribbean Motors presented the 2010–11 Opening Season Awards.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, BPFL Cup
Only four teams from the opening season competed in the BPFL Cup, with the four teams scheduled to play a triple round-robin regular season. The BPFL Cup started on 20 March 2011, with the regular season concluding on 23 April 2011. After Round 7 of the competition it was announced by BPFL Manager Marvin Ottley that the league decided to abort the remaining games of the regular season and go straight to the playoffs.


2010–11 Belize Premier Football League, BPFL Cup, Playoffs, Results
(*) The Belize Premier Football League withdrew from the Football Federation of Belize and subsequently the league abandoned all remaining games, therefore no winner was crowned.


2010–11 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team
The 2010–11 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team represented Belmont University during the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bruins, led by 25th year head coach Rick Byrd, played their home games at the Curb Event Center and are members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finished the season 30–5, 19–1 in A-Sun play to win the regular season conference championship. They also were champions of the 2011 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Tournament to earn an automatic bid in the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament where they were defeated in the second round by Wisconsin.


2010–11 Bemidji State Beavers women's ice hockey season
The Bemidji State Beavers attempted to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.


2010–11 Bermudian Premier Division
The 2010-11 Bermudian Premier Division is the 48th season of the highest competitive football league in Bermuda, which was founded in 1963. Dandy Town Hornets are the defending champions, having won their fifth league championship last season.


2010–11 Bermudian Premier Division, Teams
Hamilton Parish and Somerset Trojans were relegated to the Bermuda First Division after finishing last season in ninth and tenth place. They were replaced by the top two clubs from the First Division, St. David's Warriors and St. George's Colts.


2010–11 Bermudian Premier Division, Teams, Rams' Robinson and Zebras' Smith murdered
Just four days after the final round of matches, North Village Rams midfielder Randy Robinson was killed by gunfire. A month later, on 1 May, PHC Zebras striker Jason Smith was shot dead  . Both players were only 22 years old.


2010–11 Berwick Rangers F.C. season
The 2010–11 season was Berwick Rangers's sixth consecutive season in the Scottish Third Division, having been relegated from the Scottish Second Division at the end of the 2004–05 season. Berwick also competed in the Challenge Cup, League Cup and the Scottish Cup.


2010–11 Berwick Rangers F.C. season, Summary
Berwick finished sixth in the Third Division. They reached the second of the Challenge Cup, the first round of the League Cup and the fourth round of the Scottish Cup, losing to eventual winners Celtic.


2010–11 Beşiktaş J.K. season
The 2010–11 Beşiktaş J.K. season was the club's 53rd season in the Süper Lig and their 107th year in existence. They will play in the 2010–11 Süper Lig and the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League, starting in the second qualifying round.


2010–11 Beşiktaş J.K. season, Current squad
This year Beşiktaş has one of its best squads in team history with the transfers of well known players, such as Ricardo Quaresma, Guti and Roberto Hilbert.


2010–11 Beşiktaş J.K. season, Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2010–11 Beşiktaş J.K. season, Süper Lig
Beşiktaş participated in the 53rd season of the Süper Lig.


2010–11 Beşiktaş J.K. season, Turkish Cup
Beşiktaş participated in the 49th season of the Turkish Cup. In the playoff round, Beşiktaş defeated Mersin İdman Yurdu 3–0 in extra time to secure a berth in the group stage.


2010–11 Beşiktaş J.K. season, UEFA Europa League
Beşiktaş qualified for the UEFA Europa League after finishing fourth in the Süper Lig in the 2009–10 season. They began the competition in the second qualifying round.


2010–11 Beşiktaş J.K. season, UEFA Europa League, Group stage
In the seeding, Beşiktaş were placed in Pot 2. Their opponents in the group stage of the competition were FC Porto of Portugal, CSKA Sofia of Bulgaria and Rapid Wien of Austria. Beşiktaş finished second with 13 points — after Porto with 16 points — to secure a berth in the Round of 32.


2010–11 Beşiktaş J.K. season, UEFA Europa League, Round of 32
In the round of 32, Beşiktaş was matched with Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. The season started on 29 November 2010 in Östersund, Sweden and ended 20 March 2011 in Holmenkollen, Norway.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup, Calendar
Below is the IBU World Cup calendar for the 2010–11 season.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Individual Men
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Individual Men will start at Thursday December 2, 2010 in Östersund and will finish Tuesday March 8, 2011 in Khanty-Mansiysk at Biathlon World Championships 2011 event. Defending titlist is Christoph Sumann of Austria.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Individual Men, Competition format
The 20 kilometres (12 mi) individual race is the oldest biathlon event; the distance is skied over five laps. The biathlete shoots four times at any shooting lane, in the order of prone, standing, prone, standing, totalling 20 targets. For each missed target a fixed penalty time, usually one minute, is added to the skiing time of the biathlete. Competitors' starts are staggered, normally by 30 seconds.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Individual Women
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Individual Women will start at Wednesday December 1, 2010 in Östersund and will finish Wednesday March 9, 2011 in Khanty-Mansiysk at Biathlon World Championships 2011 event. Defending titlist is Anna Carin Olofsson-Zidek of Sweden.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Individual Women, Competition format
The 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) individual race is the oldest biathlon event; the distance is skied over five laps. The biathlete shoots four times at any shooting lane, in the order of prone, standing, prone, standing, totalling 20 targets. For each missed target a fixed penalty time, usually one minute, is added to the skiing time of the biathlete. Competitors' starts are staggered, normally by 30 seconds.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Mass start Men
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Mass start Men was to start on January 9, 2011 in Oberhof. Defending titlist is Evgeny Ustyugov of Russia.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Mass start Men, Competition format
In the mass start, all biathletes start at the same time and the first across the finish line wins. In this 15.0 kilometres (9.3 mi) competition, the distance is skied over five laps; there are four bouts of shooting (two prone, two standing, in that order) with the first shooting bout being at the lane corresponding to your bib (Bib #10 shoots at lane #10 regardless of position in race.) with rest of the shooting bouts being at the lane in the position they arrived (Arrive at the lane in fifth place, you shoot at lane five.). As in sprint races, competitors must ski one 150 m penalty loop for each miss. Here again, to avoid unwanted congestion, World Cup Mass starts are held with only the 30 top ranking athletes on the start line (half that of the Pursuit as here all contestants start simultaneously).


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Mass start Women
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Mass start Women will start at January 9, 2011 in Oberhof and will finish in Oslo. Defending titlist is Magdalena Neuner of Germany.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Mass start Women, Competition format
In the mass start, all biathletes start at the same time and the first across the finish line wins. In this 12.5 kilometres (7.8 mi) competition, the distance is skied over five laps; there are four bouts of shooting (two prone, two standing, in that order) with the first shooting bout being at the lane corresponding to your bib (Bib #10 shoots at lane #10 regardless of position in race.) with rest of the shooting bouts being at the lane in the position they arrived (Arrive at the lane in fifth place, you shoot at lane five.). As in sprint races, competitors must ski one 150 m penalty loop for each miss. Here again, to avoid unwanted congestion, World Cup Mass starts are held with only the 30 top ranking athletes on the start line (half that of the Pursuit as here all contestants start simultaneously).


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Mixed relay
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Mixed Relay will start at Sunday December 19, 2010 in Pokljuka and will finish Thursday March 3, 2011 in Khanty-Mansiysk at Biathlon World Championships 2011 event.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Mixed relay, Competition format
The relay teams consist of four biathletes. Legs 1 and 2 are done by the women, legs 3 and 4 by the men. The women's legs are 6 km and men's legs are 7.5 km., Every athlete leg skied over three laps, with two shooting rounds; one prone, one standing. For every round of five targets there are eight bullets available, though the last three can only be single-loaded manually one at a time from spare round holders or bullets deposited by the competitor into trays or onto the mat at the firing line.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Mixed relay, Competition format
If after eight bullets there are still misses, one 150 m penalty loop must be taken for each missed target remaining. The first-leg participants start all at the same time, and as in cross-country skiing relays, every athlete of a team must touch the team's next-leg participant to perform a valid changeover.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Mixed relay, Competition format
On the first shooting stage of the first leg, the participant must shoot in the lane corresponding to their bib number (Bib #10 shoots at lane #10 regardless of position in race. ), then for the remainder of the relay, the relay team shoots at the lane in the position they arrived (Arrive at the range in 5th place, you shoot at lane five. ).


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Pursuit Men
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Pursuit Men will start at Sunday December 5, 2009 in Östersund and will finish Saturday March 19, 2011 in Oslo. Defending titlist is Martin Fourcade of France.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Pursuit Men, Competition format
This is a pursuit competition. The biathletes' starts are separated by their time differences from a previous race, most commonly a sprint race. The contestants ski a distance of 12.5 kilometres (7.8 mi) over five laps. On four of the laps, the contestants shoot at targets; each miss requires the contestant to ski a penalty loop of 150 metres (490 ft). There are two prone shooting bouts and two standing bouts, in that order. The contestant crossing the finish line first is the winner.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Pursuit Men, Competition format
To prevent awkward and/or dangerous crowding of the skiing loops, and overcapacity at the shooting range, World Cup Pursuits are held with only the 60 top ranking biathletes after the preceding race. The biathletes shoot (on a first-come, first-served basis) at the lane corresponding to the position they arrived for all shooting bouts.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Pursuit Men, Competition format
Points are awarded for each event, according to each contestant's finish. When all events are completed. the contestant with the highest number of points is declared the season winner.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Pursuit Women
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Pursuit Women will start at Sunday December 5, 2009 in Östersund and will finish Saturday March 19, 2011 in Oslo. Defending titlist is Magdalena Neuner of Germany.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Pursuit Women, Competition format
This is a pursuit competition. The biathletes' starts are separated by their time differences from a previous race, most commonly a sprint race. The contestants ski a distance of 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) over five laps. On four of the laps, the contestants shoot at targets; each miss requires the contestant to ski a penalty loop of 150 metres (490 ft). There are two prone shooting bouts and two standing bouts, in that order. The contestant crossing the finish line first is the winner.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Pursuit Women, Competition format
To prevent awkward and/or dangerous crowding of the skiing loops, and overcapacity at the shooting range, World Cup Pursuits are held with only the 60 top ranking biathletes after the preceding race. The biathletes shoot (on a first-come, first-served basis) at the lane corresponding to the position they arrived for all shooting bouts.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Pursuit Women, Competition format
Points are awarded for each event, according to each contestant's finish. When all events are completed. the contestant with the highest number of points is declared the season winner.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Men
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Men will start at Sunday December 12, 2010 in Hochfilzen and will finish Friday March 11, 2011 in Khanty-Mansiysk at Biathlon World Championships 2011 event. Defending titlist is Norwegian team.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Men, Competition format
The relay teams consist of four biathletes, who each ski 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi), each leg skied over three laps, with two shooting rounds; one prone, one standing. For every round of five targets there are eight bullets available, though the last three can only be single-loaded manually one at a time from spare round holders or bullets deposited by the competitor into trays or onto the mat at the firing line. If after eight bullets there are still misses, one 150 m penalty loop must be taken for each missed target remaining.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Men, Competition format
The first-leg participants start all at the same time, and as in cross-country skiing relays, every athlete of a team must touch the team's next-leg participant to perform a valid changeover. On the first shooting stage of the first leg, the participant must shoot in the lane corresponding to their bib number (Bib #10 shoots at lane #10 regardless of position in race. ), then for the remainder of the relay, the relay team shoots at the lane in the position they arrived (Arrive at the range in 5th place, you shoot at lane five. ).


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Women
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Women will start at Saturday December 11, 2010 in Hochfilzen and will finish Sunday March 13, 2011 in Khanty-Mansiysk at Biathlon World Championships 2011 event. Defending titlist is Russian team.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Women, Competition format
The relay teams consist of four biathletes, who each ski 6 kilometres (3.7 mi), each leg skied over three laps, with two shooting rounds; one prone, one standing.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Women, Competition format
For every round of five targets there are eight bullets available, though the last three can only be single-loaded manually one at a time from spare round holders or bullets deposited by the competitor into trays or onto the mat at the firing line.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Women, Competition format
If after eight bullets there are still misses, one 150 m penalty loop must be taken for each missed target remaining. The first-leg participants start all at the same time, and as in cross-country skiing relays, every athlete of a team must touch the team's next-leg participant to perform a valid changeover.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Women, Competition format
On the first shooting stage of the first leg, the participant must shoot in the lane corresponding to their bib number (Bib #10 shoots at lane #10 regardless of position in race. ), then for the remainder of the relay, the relay team shoots at the lane in the position they arrived (Arrive at the range in 5th place, you shoot at lane five. ).


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Sprint Men
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Sprint Men will start at Saturday December 4, 2010 in Östersund and will finish Thursday March 17, 2011 in Oslo. Defending titlist is Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Sprint Men, Competition format
The 10 kilometres (6,23 mi) sprint race is the third oldest biathlon event; the distance is skied over three laps. The biathlete shoots two times at any shooting lane, first prone, then standing, totalling 10 targets. For each missed target the biathlete has to complete a penalty lap of around 150 metres. Competitors' starts are staggered, normally by 30 seconds.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Sprint Women
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Sprint Women will start at Friday December 3, 2010 in Östersund and will finish Thursday March 17, 2011 in Oslo. Defending titlist is Simone Hauswald of Germany.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – Sprint Women, Competition format
The 10 kilometres (6,23 mi) sprint race is the third oldest biathlon event; the distance is skied over three laps. The biathlete shoots two times at any shooting lane, first prone, then standing, totalling 10 targets. For each missed target the biathlete has to complete a penalty lap of around 150 metres. Competitors' starts are staggered, normally by 30 seconds.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 1
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup - World Cup 1 was the opening event of the season and was held in Östersund, Sweden, from 1 December until 5 December 2010.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 2
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup - World Cup 2 was held in Hochfilzen, Austria, from 10 December until 12 December 2010.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 3
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup - World Cup 3 was held in Pokljuka, Slovenia, from 16 December until 19 December 2010.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 4
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup - World Cup 4 was held in Oberhof, Germany, from 5 January until 9 January 2011.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 5
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup - World Cup 5 was held in Ruhpolding, Germany, from 12 January until 16 January 2011.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 6
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup - World Cup 6 was held in Antholz, Italy, from 20 January until 23 January 2011.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 7
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup - World Cup 7 was held in Presque Isle, Maine, United States, from 4 February until 6 February 2011.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 8
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup - World Cup 8 was held in Fort Kent, Maine, United States, from 10 February until 13 February 2011.


2010–11 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 9
The 2010–11 Biathlon World Cup - World Cup 9 was held in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway, from 17 March until 20 March 2011.


2010–11 Big 12 Conference men's basketball season
The 2010–11 Big 12 Conference men's basketball season marks the 15th season of Big 12 Conference basketball.


2010–11 Big 12 Conference men's basketball season
This will be the final season for the Big 12 as a 12-team conference, as two schools will leave at the end of the 2010–11 academic year. Colorado will join the Pacific-10 Conference, which will become the Pac-12, while Nebraska will join the Big Ten Conference.


2010–11 Big 12 Conference men's basketball season, Regular season, In-season honors
Throughout the conference regular season, the Big 12 offices name a player of the week each Monday.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season
The 2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 32nd season of competitive basketball played by the Big East Conference, since its inception in 1979, and involved its 16 full-time member schools. The season officially opened on December 27, 2010, when Pittsburgh defeated Connecticut, 78–63, and ended on March 5, 2011, with a 72–56 victory for St. John's over South Florida.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season
Pittsburgh captured the regular season title for the fourth time, and third outright, with a conference win-loss record of 15–3. The Panthers also received the no. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament, and a bye into the quarterfinals, along with 2nd-seed Notre Dame, 3rd-seed Louisville, and 4th-seed Syracuse. St. John's, West Virginia, Cincinnati, and Georgetown rounded out the top eight, and all received a bye into the tournament's second round. Play began at noon on Tuesday, March 8 in Madison Square Garden, when 9th-seed Connecticut defeated 16th-seed DePaul, 97–71. Play ended on Saturday, March 12, when Connecticut won their fifth game in five days, defeating Louisville, 69–66, for their seventh Big East Championship.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season
At the finish of the regular season, prior to seeding for the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, it was widely speculated that the Big East would eclipse its NCAA record 8 bids, sending as many as 11 teams to the tournament. The official tournament selection process took place on Sunday, March 13, and the predictions were accurate, as the following 11 Big East teams received bids into the tournament. Connecticut won the national title, its third-ever national championship.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Preseason, Coaching changes
Prior to the start of the 2010–11 season, four Big East programs hired new coaches, following the dismissal or resignation of their former coaches:


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Preseason, Conference predictions
At Big East media day in October, the conference released their predictions for standings and All-Big East teams.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Preseason, Conference predictions, Preseason All-Big East teams
Big East Preseason Player of the Year: Austin Freeman, G., Georgetown Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year: Fab Melo, C., Syracuse


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Preseason, Watchlists
On October 4, the Wooden Award preseason watch list included seven Big East players. The watchlist was composed of 50 players who were not transfers, freshmen or medical redshirts. On October 29, the Naismith College Player of the Year watchlist of 50 players was announced, which included seven Big East names.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Regular season, Midseason watchlists
On January 6, the Wooden Award midseason watchlist was released, and included five Big East players. The list was composed of 30 players, reduced from the preseason list of 50. Newcomers included senior forward Marshon Brooks of Providence, senior forward Rick Jackson of Syracuse, and senior guard Brad Wanamaker of Pittsburgh. In addition, five Big East players who were on the preseason list did not appear at midseason: Corey Fisher, Ashton Gibbs, Jeremy Hazell, Kris Joseph, and Brandon Triche. On February 11, the Naismith Top 30 was announced, and included newcomers Jackson, Wanamaker, and Notre Dame guard Ben Hansbrough. Meanwhile, Fisher, Gibbs, Hazell, Kevin Jones, and Joseph, who were on the preseason list, did not appear at midseason.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Regular season, Statistical leaders
The regular season team, individual, and attendance figures include all conference and non-conference games played from November 8, 2010 through March 5, 2011.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, Big East Tournament
For the third straight year, all 16 teams in the conference participated in the Big East Tournament. Under this format, the teams finishing 9 through 16 in the regular season standings played first round games, while teams 5 through 8 received a bye to the second round. The top 4 teams during the regular season received a bye to the quarterfinals. The five-round tournament spanned five consecutive days, from Tuesday, March 8, through Saturday, March 12, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, NCAA Tournament
At the finish of the regular season, prior to seeding for the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, it was widely speculated that the Big East would eclipse its NCAA record 8 bids, sending as many as 11 teams to the tournament. The official tournament selection process took place on Sunday, March 13, and the predictions were accurate, as the following 11 Big East teams received bids into the tournament:


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, NCAA Tournament
After winning the 2011 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, Connecticut continued its winning streak all the way to the Final Four in Houston, Texas, defeating Butler in the national championship game for their third national title in school history. Connecticut guard Kemba Walker was named the tournament Most Outstanding Player. Fellow Connecticut guard Jeremy Lamb was also named to the Final Four All-Tournament team. In addition, Walker and Lamb were named to the West All-Regional team, the only Big East players to be named to an All-Region team in the tournament.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, National Invitation Tournament
No Big East teams were selected to play in the 2011 National Invitation Tournament.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Awards and honors, Conference awards and teams
The following individuals received postseason honors after having been chosen by the Big East Conference coaches.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Awards and honors, Conference awards and teams
The Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Scholar Athlete of the Year awards were announced on Tuesday, March 8, after the post-game interviews of the first session of the first round of the Big East Tournament. The remainder of the individual awards were announced on Monday, March 7, while the All-Big East Men's Basketball Teams were announced on Sunday, March 6. Awardees are chosen by a simple ballot, in which coaches are not allowed to vote for their players or themselves (in the case of the Big East Coach of the Year). Coaches voted for Big East Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year from the first team and all-rookie lists, respectively.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Awards and honors, Conference awards and teams
Notre Dame senior guard Ben Hansbrough was named Player of the Year, and head coach Mike Brey was named Coach of the Year, after both leading the Fighting Irish to a surprising second-place finish in the conference regular season, with a record of 14–4. Hansbrough finished the regular season with a team-high 18.5 points per game, and was noted for his all-around quality of play, team leadership, and high efficiency shooting, including .492 field goal shooting, .451 from 3 point range, and .818 at the foul line. Fellow teammate Tim Abromaitis, a senior forward, received the Scholar Athlete of the Year award for the second year in a row, and was only the third player to receive the award in consecutive years.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Awards and honors, Conference awards and teams
Defensive Player of the Year Rick Jackson, a senior guard from Syracuse, was chosen for his shot-blocking and rebounding dominance, having led the Big East in both of these statistics during both the conference and non-conference season. This included a leading average of 10.7 rebounds per game, 7.2 defensive rebounds per game, and 2.5 blocks per game.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Awards and honors, Conference awards and teams
DePaul freshman forward Cleveland Melvin was named Rookie of the Year, after leading the Blue Demons in scoring, at 14.3 points per game, the highest average for a freshman in the league.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Awards and honors, Conference awards and teams
Other awardees included most improved player Dwight Hardy, who was credited with helping lead St. John's to a surprising resurgence in the conference, to a tie for third-place finish, with a conference fourth-best 17.9 points per game. Hardy's teammate Justin Burrell was also honored with the Sixth Man Award, for being key to the Red Storm's success, averaging 6.6 points on 51.1 percent shooting, 5.0 rebounds and 21.1 minutes off the bench. Finally, Pittsburgh senior guard Brad Wanamaker received the Sportsmanship Award for his all-around contribution to the team, as its captain, its leader in rebounds, assists, and steals (at 5.3, 5.2, and 1.5 per game, respectively), and its second-highest scorer (at 11.9 per game).


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Awards and honors, Conference awards and teams
On the All-Big East Men's Basketball Teams, notable members of the first team included Hansbrough, Hardy, and Providence senior guard/forward Marshon Brooks, who were all given no all-conference consideration prior to the start of the season. Brooks led the conference in scoring, averaging 24.8 points per game, including a Big East single-game record 52 points in a loss to Notre Dame on February 23, 2010. On the All-Rookie Team, DePaul forward Cleveland Melvin was the only player to receive a unanimous selection. Notably absent from the list was Preseason Rookie of the Year Fab Melo, a center from Syracuse, who only averaged 9.4 minutes and 2.2 points off the bench.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Awards and honors, National awards and teams, Players
Connecticut guard Kemba Walker was recognized as a consensus First Team All-American after being named to the first team All-American lists by the Associated Press, the USBWA, the NABC, and Sporting News. Notre Dame guard Ben Hansbrough was a consensus Second Team All-American after being named to the Second Team by all four selecting bodies. In addition, Providence forward Marshon Brooks was selected as a Third Team All-American by the Associated Press. Pittsburgh guard Brad Wanamaker, Syracuse forward Rick Jackson, St. John's guard Dwight Hardy, Georgetown guard Austin Freeman, and Pittsburgh guard Ashton Gibbs were all named Honorable Mention All-Americans by the Associated Press.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Awards and honors, National awards and teams, Players
Walker was also selected as the winner of the Bob Cousy Award for the nation's best point guard, and won the second-ever Lute Olson Award for the most outstanding non-freshman in the nation.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Awards and honors, National awards and teams, Players
For the second consecutive year, Notre Dame senior forward Tim Abromaitis was named to the men's basketball Academic All-America First Team, by CoSIDA and ESPN The Magazine. A graduate student, Abromaitis was pursuing an MBA, specializing in finance, and achieved a 3.72 GPA during his penultimate season with the Fighting Irish.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Awards and honors, National awards and teams, Players
On March 14, the Wooden Award final ballot was released, and included four Big East players. The list was composed of 20 players, reduced from the midseason list of 30. St. John's guard Dwight Hardy and Notre Dame guard Ben Hansbrough were newcomers to the list, while three Big East players who were on the midseason list did not appear on the final ballot: Austin Freeman, Rick Jackson, and Brad Wanamaker. On March 20, Kemba Walker was named one of four finalists for the Naismith Award.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Awards and honors, National awards and teams, Players
BYU guard Jimmer Fredette was chosen as both the 2011 Wooden Award and 2011 Naismith Award recipient.


2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season, Awards and honors, National awards and teams, Coaches
Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey was named the Associated Press Coach of the Year, and was selected for the Henry Iba Award by the USBWA.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season
The 2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season marks the continuation of the annual tradition of competitive basketball among Big Ten Conference members that began in 1904. The non-conference portion of the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 8, 2010 with Illinois defeating UC Irvine in the opening round of the 2010 Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic. Conference play is set to begin on December 27, 2010 with Penn State traveling to play Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season
Following conference play, Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis will host the 2011 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament to be played Thursday, March 10 through Sunday, March 13. The Big Ten Conference will host second and third round games of the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament at the United Center in Chicago March 18 and 20, 2011.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season
The Big Ten had seven teams invited to the 68-team 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament (NCAA Tournament) and one team invited to the 2011 National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Ohio State was a number one seed and along with Wisconsin survived until the Sweet Sixteen round. No Big Ten teams made the elite eight and the Big Ten finished with a 7–7 record in the tournament. Northwestern made the elite eight round of the 32-team NIT before being eliminated.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season
JaJuan Johnson was the regular season MVP and Jared Sullinger was the 2011 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament MVP. Both earned first team recognition as 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans and Sullinger earned numerous National Freshman of the Year Awards. The conference led the nation in attendance for the 35th straight season with a 12,826 overall average and 7 of the top 25 schools.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Preseason
Seventeen members of the 2009-10 All-Conference teams returned, including five players who earned first-team honors over the prior two seasons and a previous Big Ten Player of the Year. Eight career 1,000-points scorers, including two 1,500-point scorers returned. Fourteen of the conference's top scorers and rebounders in all games played from last season, including five of the top 10 of each category returned. Eight players that led the conference in a statistical category last season for all games played also returned.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Preseason
The Big Ten media panel announced that they selected Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue as the preseason media day selections. They also announced the 2010–11 All-Big Ten Conference first-team selections: Kalin Lucas MSU, Demetri McCamey ILL, E'Twaun Moore PUR, Jon Leuer WIS, and JaJuan Johnson PUR. Lucas repeated as the preseason conference player of the year.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Preseason, Preseason watchlists
On October 4, 2010, the Wooden Award preseason watch list included eight Big Ten players. The watchlist was composed of 50 players who were not transfers, freshmen or medical redshirts. The list will be reduced to a 30-player mid-season watchlist in December and a final national ballot of about 20 players in March. The Naismith College Player of the Year watchlist of 50 players was announced on November 16, 2010. In late February, a shorter list of the Top 30 will be compiled in preparation for a March vote to narrow the list to the four finalists.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Preseason, Preseason watchlists
Lauer, Moore, Minnesota's Blake Hoffarber, and Ohio State's David Lighty were named as candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Rankings
The Big Ten Conference entered the season with five teams ranked in the USA Today/ESPN Preseason Top 25 Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Player of the week
Throughout the conference regular season, the Big Ten offices named a player of the week each Monday.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Honors and accolades
On February 3, 2011, Michigan's Zack Novak (District 4), Northwestern's Drew Crawford (District 5) and Minnesota's Blake Hoffarber (District 5) were selected by CoSIDA as among the forty Academic All-District players, making them finalists for fifteen Academic All-American selections later in the month. Hoffarber was named as a second team Academic All-American. The conference also had 37 Academic All-Conference Team selections.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Honors and accolades
Jared Sullinger and JaJuan Johnson were among the ten finalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy. Demetri McCamey, Sullinger, Johnson E'Twaun Moore and Jon Leuer were Naismith Award Midseason Top 30 List selections. McCamey and Jordan Taylor are Bob Cousy Award finalists. Sullinger was among the five finalists for the Wayman Tisdale Award. Moore, Leuer and David Lighty were selected among the ten Lowe's Senior CLASS Award finalists.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Honors and accolades, Conference honors
Two sets of conference award winners were recognized by the Big Ten - one selected by league coaches and one selected by the media.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Honors and accolades, NABC
The National Association of Basketball Coaches announced their Division I All-District teams on March 9, recognizing the nation's best men's collegiate basketball student-athletes. Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, 245 student-athletes, from 24 districts were chosen. The selection on this list were then eligible for the State Farm Coaches' Division I All-America teams. The following list represented the Big Ten players chosen to the list. Since the Big Ten Conference was its own district, this is equivalent to being named All-Big Ten by the NABC.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Honors and accolades, USBWA
On March 10, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association released its 2010–11 Men's All-District Teams, based on voting from its national membership. There were nine regions from coast to coast, and a player and coach of the year were selected in each. The following lists all the Big Ten representatives selected within their respective regions.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Honors and accolades, National postseason honors
Jordan Taylor, Jon Leuer, Jared Sullinger, JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore were among the 20 players on the final ballot for the John R. Wooden Award.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Honors and accolades, National postseason honors
Johnson and Sullinger were named first team 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). They were also first team selections by Sporting News and Associated Press who also selected Jordan Taylor to their second teams. The National Association of Basketball Coaches named Johnson and Sullinger to its first team and Taylor and Moore to its third team. The Associated Press named Talor Battle, Jon Leuer, and E'Twaun Moore as honorable mention selections.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Honors and accolades, National postseason honors
Sullinger won the Wayman Tisdale Award as the USBWA's National Freshman of the Year and Sporting News' Freshman of the Year. Sullinger, Aaron Craft, Jereme Richmond and Tim Hardaway Jr. were among the 21 players selected to the 2011 Collegeinsider.com Freshmen All-America team.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Honors and accolades, National postseason honors
Following the season four players were invited to the June 17 – 24, 2011 17-man tryouts for the 12-man FIBA Under-19 World Championship team by USA Basketball: Hardaway (UofM), Keith Appling (MSU), Melsahn Basabe (Iowa) and Meyers Leonard (Ill.). The 12 selected players will compete as Team USA in the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championships in Latvia from June 30 – July 10, 2011. Appling, Hardaway and Leonard made the final roster.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Honors and accolades, National postseason honors
Matt Painter coached Team USA to a 5th-place finish in the 2011 World University Games. The team included Trevor Mbakwe and Draymond Green.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, Other tournaments
The Big Ten did not have any entrants in the other post season tournaments.


2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Postseason, 2011 NBA Draft
A total of five Big Ten players were selected in the 2011 NBA Draft.


2010–11 Binghamton Senators season
The 2010–11 Binghamton Senators season was the American Hockey League franchise's ninth season of play. It was the Senators' first season under head coach Kurt Kleinendorst. The Senators finished the season in fifth place in the East division, qualifying for the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time since 2004–05. In the playoffs, the Senators defeated the Houston Aeros four games to two in the Calder Cup Finals to capture their first Calder Cup Championship. The Senators captain was Ryan Keller. The Senators alternate captains were Cody Bass and Derek Smith.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season
The 2010–11 season was Birmingham City Football Club's seventh season in the Premier League and their 57th in the top tier of English football. It ran from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011. Led by former Scotland national team manager Alex McLeish, the team finished in 18th place in the league, thus being relegated to the Championship for the 2011–12 season. They reached the quarter-final of the FA Cup and won the League Cup, their first major trophy since 1963, by beating favourites Arsenal 2–1 in the final with goals from Nikola Žigić and Obafemi Martins.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season
The League Cup win brought Birmingham qualification for the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League, their first appearance in European competition since 1961. The top scorer for the season was Craig Gardner with ten goals in all competitions, of which eight were in the Premier League. McLeish resigned as manager on 12 June 2011.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Pre-season
Following Hong Kong-based businessman Carson Yeung's takeover of the club in 2009, Birmingham travelled to China for their 2010–11 pre-season tour. They began with a 3–2 victory against a Hong Kong League XI to win the inaugural Xtep Cup. The winning goal was scored by Garry O'Connor, set up by debutant Nikola Žigić from a Stuart Parnaby cross.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Pre-season
In the second match, O'Connor scored the only goal of the game against Beijing Guoan on a dreadful pitch in the Bird's Nest Stadium, and Birmingham then beat Liaoning Whowin with goals from O'Connor and Sebastian Larsson to achieve a hat-trick of victories over Chinese opposition. While in China, club officials and players were involved in promotional activities including attending the launch in Beijing of the 2010–11 kit, supplied for the first time by Chinese manufacturer Xtep.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Pre-season
Back on home soil, Birmingham continued their good form at Pride Park, where they beat a Derby County side featuring former Blues midfielder Robbie Savage. The following day, a Birmingham XI including first-team players rested for the match against Derby drew 2–2 against Northampton Town, conceding a late header from Liam Davis. Birmingham came from two goals down to beat Milton Keynes Dons. James McFadden missed a first-half penalty, but two second-half goals from Cameron Jerome and an 88th-minute winner from O'Connor were enough to see off the League One opposition. Mallorca, the visitors for the only home friendly of the 2010 pre-season, inflicted Birmingham's only defeat with a goal from Emilio Nsue. Craig Gardner played in an unfamiliar right-back position with both Stephen Carr and Stuart Parnaby injured.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, August
Birmingham opened their Premier League campaign with a visit to Sunderland. Garry O'Connor returned to the team after two operations on a chronic hip problem caused him to miss most of the previous season, and goalkeeper Ben Foster made his debut. Captain Stephen Carr fouled Fraizer Campbell to concede a penalty which Darren Bent converted, though the foul appeared to have been committed outside the penalty area. Home captain Lee Cattermole had already avoided punishment for cutting O'Connor's head open with an elbow, but still received two yellow cards and was sent off before half-time.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, August
Carr doubled Sunderland's lead with an own goal when an attempted headed clearance looped over Foster. Alex McLeish brought on new signing Nikola Žigić, who "injected a note of panic hitherto undetected" in the home team's defence as Sebastian Larsson's crosses produced goals from Scott Dann and a late equaliser from Liam Ridgewell after a goalmouth scramble.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, August
Žigić marked his first start, at home to Blackburn Rovers, by pulling Christopher Samba's shirt to concede a penalty. After Foster saved Morten Gamst Pedersen's spot-kick – one of many saves in a man-of-the-match performance – Blackburn took the lead. Craig Gardner equalised three minutes later with a tap-in from James McFadden's cushioned volley, and after Nikola Kalinić had hit the post, Gardner scored the winner in the second half with a 25-yard (23 m) shot. Matt Derbyshire, on loan from Olympiacos, made his debut as a second-half substitute.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, August
In an eventful visit to Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham took an early lead after a passing move involving McFadden, Lee Bowyer and Cameron Jerome was finished by Roger Johnson with his first goal for the club. After 36 minutes, Johnson fouled goalkeeper Jussi Jääskeläinen as both competed for a bouncing ball. As the players got to their feet, Jääskeläinen slapped Johnson across the face and was sent off. Five minutes into the second half, McFadden's cross was headed down by Jerome for Gardner to score a scrappy goal at his second attempt.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, August
Bolton pulled one back from the penalty spot after Johnson was judged to have fouled Gary Cahill, then with ten minutes left, a foul was given against Barry Ferguson, who had appeared to be squeezed between two Bolton players. From just outside the penalty area, former Birmingham forward Robbie Blake struck a superb free kick to tie the scores. There were late chances for both sides but the score remained 2–2. BBC Sport's reporter suggested that "Birmingham's flickers of poise and invention" were "positive signs" for the season to come. Contract talks with Alex McLeish broke down, leading acting chairman Peter Pannu to deny reports of a "bust-up," and contract talks with Sebastian Larsson resumed.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, September
McFadden and Ferguson were instrumental as Birmingham extended their unbeaten Premier League home record to 17 matches with a goalless draw with Liverpool. Pepe Reina kept the visitors in the game with a succession of fine saves from Jerome, Gardner and others. In the run-up to the visit to West Bromwich Albion, McFadden suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury which was to keep him out for the season, football consultant Sammy Yu left the club, and McLeish signed a new three-year contract.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, September
The home side appeared to have no answer to Jerome's early goal, but Roberto Di Matteo brought Graham Dorrans on at half time, moved Peter Odemwingie from the wing to play up front, and the game was transformed. Odemwingie forced an own goal off Scott Dann and scored a second as Albion won 3–1. Bowyer was substituted to avoid the likelihood of his being sent off, and the player had to apologise after a foul-mouthed exchange with a female supporter.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, September
At home to Wigan Athletic, the unbeaten home run extended to a day short of 12 months. A dull game was enlivened by an altercation between Johnson and Hugo Rodallega for which both were booked, the skills of Charles N'Zogbia and the home supporters' adverse reactions thereto, Jerome missing chances, and Gardner's reckless tackle on Franco Di Santo for which he was sent off.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, October
Having gone 18 top-flight games unbeaten to equal the club record, Birmingham made little impression as Everton won their first match of the season. After Johnson's mistake allowed Yakubu in, Foster took enough pace off his shot to give Ridgewell time to make a goalline clearance, but Johnson then gave Everton the lead when he prodded Leon Osman's cross past Foster, and Tim Cahill's stoppage-time header doubled their advantage.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, October
Two weeks later, Birmingham took the lead through a Žigić header, Arsenal equalised from the penalty spot after Marouane Chamakh went down after minimal contact from Dann, and Chamakh himself scored the winner just after half time. On a day when manager Arsène Wenger used his programme notes to highlight the problem of reckless tackling, England hopeful Jack Wilshere was sent off for a two-footed lunge on Žigić, and Emmanuel Eboué was fortunate to escape a red card for a scissors tackle on Ridgewell.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, October
At home to newly promoted Blackpool, whose attacking style had earned them the best away record in the Premier League, Birmingham played them at their own game, with Alexander Hleb given a free role behind O'Connor and Žigić, and outclassed them 2–0. The goals came from Ridgewell's close-range header after Žigić had headed against the bar, and from Žigić himself after Charlie Adam gave the ball away. The Guardian's reporter suggested that "if City had had more pace and movement up front than was offered by Garry O'Connor and Nikola Zigic, they would have won by five or six."


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, October
In an improvement for Birmingham on the last time the clubs met, they had the better of a goalless draw at Aston Villa. The referee missed a clear handball by Nigel Reo-Coker; the same player could have been sent off for "kicking his former team-mate (Gardner) up the backside". Jerome passed to goalkeeper Brad Friedel with Žigić unmarked in the box, and Ashley Young could have won the game for Villa right at the end with a shot that came off the angle of post and bar.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, November
West Ham United co-owner David Gold, formerly Birmingham's co-owner, was banned from attending the clubs' meeting on 6 November for referring to vice-chairman Peter Pannu in the press as "disgusting." The club later accepted Gold's apology. On the field, Birmingham played the diamond formation that had been effective against Blackpool. Apart from the sprinklers suddenly coming on soon after kickoff, the highlight of the first half was Foster's fine save to tip a short-range shot from Carlton Cole onto the post.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, November
Early in the second half, West Ham took a two-goal lead and nearly scored a third when Victor Obinna's shot from distance hit the woodwork. After Gardner and Beauseajour replaced Hleb and Keith Fahey, Birmingham came back to draw with a Jerome goal from a Žigić knockdown and a characteristic Ridgewell tap-in when Robert Green failed to gather a Larsson free kick. They could have won it late on when Jerome's shot was deflected on to the crossbar by Danny Gabbidon, and West Ham's penalty appeal against Jean Beausejour for shirt-pulling was turned down.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, November
Birmingham went two goals down at Stoke City, but came back to equalise with a 20-yard (18 m) shot from Fahey and a glancing header by Jerome from a Larsson cross, and Gardner forced two saves from Asmir Begović. Stoke manager Tony Pulis had spoken out before the game about referees' decisions repeatedly going against them; this time, match referee Mark Clattenburg failed to notice a handball in the build-up to Dean Whitehead's winning goal for the home side. The defending improved at Manchester City. The nearest the home side came to scoring was when Carlos Tevez handled the ball into the net and when Foster blocked a James Milner shot and man-of-the-match Stephen Carr cleared the rebound off the line.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, November
Bowyer, replacing the injured Gardner, stole unmarked into the penalty area to meet a Jerome knockdown and take a 17th-minute lead at home to Chelsea. Thereafter, Foster, criticised for his performance for England against France in midweek but now "defiance personified," made numerous saves including one where he "somehow clawed out a Didier Drogba header that was flying in the far corner," as Chelsea failed to score from 32 shots at goal.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, November
Away at Fulham, Hleb made a strong run through midfield to the penalty area and played a pinpoint pass which gave the onrushing Larsson time to set himself and pass the ball into the net for his first goal of the season. After Clint Dempsey arguably climbed on Fahey's shoulders to head the equaliser, Birmingham came close to regaining the lead when Dann's header from a Larsson cross hit the bar, but lost Hleb to a hamstring injury.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, December
Gardner was central to Birmingham achieving a draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur. Sébastien Bassong scored after Foster failed to deal with Gareth Bale's free kick, but the introduction of Žigić, a hero after scoring the winner against Aston Villa in the League Cup quarter-final in the week, made the difference. Ridgewell's powerful shot was blocked by Heurelho Gomes' groin, before Johnson's long ball found Žigić, who headed into the penalty area for Gardner to head home after a well-timed run. Speaking after the 1–0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers, McLeish said, "We didn't turn up at all for the first 60 minutes. We were outfought and then had a go. We need to start games the way we finish them."


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, December
The visit of Newcastle United on 18 December was a late postponement because of heavy snowfall, and the Boxing Day trip to Everton was called off on the morning of the match after frozen pipes within Goodison Park burst. In Birmingham's last match of 2010, Manchester United scored after an hour through Dimitar Berbatov, but in the 89th minute, Žigić appeared to foul Rio Ferdinand as he controlled Johnson's cross with his arm, touching it on to Bowyer who equalised from an arguably offside position.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, January
Birmingham began the new year outplayed by Arsenal by three goals to nil. Television replays highlighted incidents, unnoticed by the referee, in which Bowyer stamped on Bacary Sagna and seemed to rake his studs down the same player's achilles. Suggestions in the media that he might be banned for six matches prompted Alex McLeish to argue that the football authorities were not treating all clubs equally when using television evidence. Bowyer received the standard three-match ban for violent conduct.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, January
Birmingham went to Blackpool as the only Premier League team without an away win. After Blackpool lost at St Andrew's in October, manager Ian Holloway had promised that if Birmingham used the same attacking tactics when they came to Bloomfield Road, his players would know how to counter them. He was nearly right. Hleb, returning from injury to play behind Jerome and Matt Derbyshire, scored the opening goal after being gifted the ball in the penalty area. Former Birmingham player DJ Campbell equalised, both sides hit the woodwork, the visitors were particularly profligate in front of goal, but Dann scored an 89th-minute winner with a poacher's finish from Johnson's knock-down.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, January
Without Dann, whose hamstring injury sustained in the League Cup first leg was to keep him out for the rest of the season, Ridgewell moved to centre back, David Murphy started at left back, and loanee David Bentley made his debut in the Sunday lunchtime kickoff against Aston Villa. Both teams had chances to win but the 1–1 draw left both teams just outside the relegation zone. The attendance of 22,287 was the lowest for Premier League matches between the clubs. With the League Cup semi-final four days later, Birmingham gave Jordon Mutch a League debut and rested Gardner, Jerome and Žigić as they visited Manchester United. They lost 5–0.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, February
Martin Jiránek made his Premier League debut at home to Manchester City in a match moved to the Wednesday at short notice because City's FA Cup-tie was being televised the previous Sunday. City's Micah Richards was knocked unconscious in collision with teammate Nigel de Jong, and manager Roberto Mancini accused Kevin Phillips of diving to earn the penalty from which Gardner gave Birmingham what BBC Sport's reporter termed a "deserved equaliser." Returning to West Ham United having beaten them to reach the League Cup final, Birmingham ensured that it would be they and not the hosts who escaped from the relegation places when Žigić scored the only goal of the game midway through the second half.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, February
Obafemi Martins had a quiet debut at home to Stoke City. A dull match was goalless until stoppage time, when Begović fumbled Bentley's shot, Jerome robbed him of the ball, flicked it up from the byline and Žigić outjumped John Carew and headed the winner to give Birmingham their first consecutive Premier League wins for more than a year. McLeish suggested that fatigue might be a factor in Birmingham's "flat" performance three days later as they lost 2–0 at home to Newcastle United to leave themselves in 14th place, three points above the relegation zone.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, March
Beausejour scored his first Premier League goal in a losing cause at home to West Bromwich Albion, in Birmingham's first league match after the League Cup win. His second, a header from Mutch's cross, took the lead at Everton, but the match was drawn. In the second half, referee Peter Walton had taken the field without his yellow card, so had to act out issuing a caution to Mutch using an imaginary card. Having exited the relegation zone the previous week, Birmingham conceded a stoppage-time goal at Wigan Athletic to find themselves back in it.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, March
Ridgewell scored early on from what appeared to be an offside position, and Jiránek left the field soon afterwards with an injury, but Wigan equalised through Tom Cleverley before Maynor Figueroa scored the winner from 20 yards (18 m). The defeat left them in 19th place, though if they won their game in hand, the three points would take them to a mid-table 13th.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, April
After goals by Phillips from a Larsson corner and by Gardner after a one-two with Jerome, a Larsson goal disallowed for offside and a Johnson volley drawing a good save from Jääskeläinen, Birmingham should have been comfortable. However, Johan Elmander scored an excellent volleyed goal from distance, Bolton Wanderers took heart, and only fine goalkeeping from Foster kept the visitors at bay. Bowyer's tap-in from Jerome's pass took the lead at Blackburn Rovers, and shortly before half-time, Johnson received lengthy treatment for a head injury before leaving the pitch for further attention.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, April
Seven minutes into stoppage time, he returned to the field, apparently distracting defensive partner Ridgewell who allowed Junior Hoilett to steal the ball and take it past Foster to equalise. Curtis Davies replaced Johnson for the second half, the first time in nearly two seasons with the club that Johnson had been substituted.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, April
A 2–0 defeat of Sunderland, with goals from Larsson and Gardner, gave Birmingham seven points from the last three games. With six games left to play, they were in 14th place, five points above the relegation zone with a game in hand on most teams below them, albeit with some difficult fixtures to come. Chelsea had little difficulty in beating Birmingham 3–1, the visitors' goal coming from the penalty spot; Larsson and Gardner had a lengthy discussion as to who should take the kick, eventually won by the former.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, April
McLeish confirmed afterwards that Gardner would be the designated penalty-taker in future. Maxi Rodríguez, in the starting eleven only because Andy Carroll was injured, scored a hat-trick as Foster sustained an injury trying to prevent Liverpool's second goal and had to be replaced by Colin Doyle, making his first Premier League appearance since 2007.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, May
Bentley left the ground "in a huff" when not included in the matchday squad for the home game with Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves took an early lead from the penalty spot before Michael Mancienne failed to deal with Foster's clearance. Larsson, having run the length of the field, collected the loose ball and clipped it past the goalkeeper. In an aggressive game, Gardner was booked after an altercation with Jamie O'Hara, and after suffering a wild tackle by Richard Stearman, who went unpunished, he "went down under pressure" from Jody Craddock and received a second yellow card for simulation. His second dismissal of the season meant he would miss two of the club's last three games. Birmingham's ten men held on for the draw, which left them four points clear of the relegation zone.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, May
Foster kept Birmingham in the game at Newcastle United until Ridgewell was sent off for handling the ball on the goalline. Newcastle scored the resultant penalty, doubled their lead from Steven Taylor's header, then Bowyer pulled a goal back just before half-time when Jerome's shot was parried. Larsson missed a clear chance to equalise, shooting over the bar after Tim Krul fumbled Beausejour's cross, but the home side also had chances to extend their lead.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, May
With Jerome injured, Phillips and Derbyshire started at home to Fulham and youngster Akwasi Asante was the only forward among the substitutes. The players seemed nervous, made little impression, were unable to deal with the power of Brede Hangeland, who scored both Fulham goals, and the only serious chance came when Jiránek turned Parnaby's cross towards goal with his chest. Birmingham finished the match with only ten men, after losing Hleb, Bowyer, Parnaby and Jiránek to injury, and in 17th place in the league, ahead of Blackpool and Wigan Athletic only on goal difference after they and Wolves all won.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, May
Birmingham went into their final match, away to Tottenham Hotspur, as one of five teams still at risk of relegation. Doing no worse than Blackpool and Wigan would keep them safe, and there were more complicated calculations depending on the result of the match between Blackburn and Wolves. Jerome, who had undergone specialist treatment all week on his injured heel, was able to start the game, and Davies was an excellent replacement for Jiránek. Roman Pavlyuchenko put Tottenham one up early in the second half, but Gardner's 79th-minute equaliser put his team ahead of Wolves and safe.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, May
With stoppage time approaching, Wolves scored again to leave Birmingham needing another goal. The message appeared to take time getting through to the players, but they eventually threw everyone forward, leaving themselves open at the back, and Pavlyuchenko scored a spectacular winner to ensure fifth place and Europa League qualification. Birmingham finished 18th, and were relegated.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Premier League, Match details
Match content not verifiable from these sources is referenced individually. Scorelines list Birmingham's score first.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, FA Cup
Birmingham were drawn away against Millwall for their opening match in the 2010–11 FA Cup. With the League Cup semi-final scheduled for three days later, McLeish made seven changes from the side that had beaten Blackpool in midweek, including a first start for Jordon Mutch after his successful loan spell at Watford. They might have expected more competition from a team just outside the play-off positions in the Championship, but two goals from Derbyshire, a precise free kick from Murphy, and a powerful header by Jerome shortly after coming on a late substitute gave them a 4–0 lead. Had Millwall's finishing been better – Steve Morison failed to take an early chance when through on goalkeeper Maik Taylor, James Henry had an attempt disallowed for offside, and Taylor saved Morison's weak penalty – they might well have achieved more than Danny Schofield's consolation.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, FA Cup
In the fourth round, Birmingham made nine changes from the eleven that had started the League Cup semi-final three days before. After Žigić headed wide and Phillips' header was deflected onto the crossbar, they went two goals down at home to mid-table Championship club Coventry City. Bentley's 25-yard (23 m) shot was too hot for Keiren Westwood and went in off the underside of the bar, then in the second half Parnaby scored his first senior goal for nearly five years after Hleb had drawn Westwood out of goal. After 73 minutes, Phillips volleyed in a ball from Beausejour for the winner.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, FA Cup
A stronger Birmingham team than that selected in previous rounds enjoyed a comfortable win against Sheffield Wednesday of League One in the fifth round. Goals from Beausejour and Martins, his first for the club, were both set up by Hleb before he left the field on a stretcher, the victim of a late tackle by James O'Connor. Murphy scored a third from close range to take Birmingham into the quarter-finals for the second year running. Roger Johnson punched the dug-out after he was substituted with half an hour remaining, but McLeish said he took the sensible course, to avoid the risk of a second yellow card which would mean Johnson missing the approaching League Cup final.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, FA Cup
Bolton Wanderers had to take the lead three times to eliminate a Birmingham side so short of fit players that they started the 19-year-old Mutch in central midfield, gave a squad number to 17-year-old defender Alpaslan Öztürk, and were still unable to name a full complement of seven substitutes. Johan Elmander scored for Bolton after 21 minutes, and within the next ten minutes Birmingham had lost Ferguson and Jiránek to injury. Jerome took advantage of a defensive error to equalise with a tidy finish from 16 yards (15 m), and each side made penalty appeals that were correctly turned down.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, FA Cup
Bolton regained the lead from the penalty spot when Curtis Davies fouled Kevin Davies before Phillips first hit the post, then from a flick-on by the 17-year-old Nathan Redmond, "somehow Phillips swivelled, scissor-kicking a volley from outside the area over the head of Jaaskelainen and in." McLeish brought on striker Derbyshire in place of Murphy and went for the win, but in stoppage time, Kevin Davies headed across goal for Lee Chung-yong to take the visitors into the semi-finals.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, League Cup
Birmingham began their League Cup campaign in the second round, drawn at home to Rochdale of League One in the first competitive meeting between the clubs. They made eight changes to the previous starting eleven, giving debuts to Enric Vallès and, from the substitutes' bench, Nathan Redmond, at 16 years 173 days the club's second-youngest first-team debutant after Trevor Francis. A goal down after 26 minutes, Birmingham equalised two minutes later through a "harsh" penalty scored by McFadden, as Marcus Holness was adjudged to have fouled Derbyshire. Goals followed from Murphy, playing his first game since breaking his kneecap in April 2009, and Derbyshire, but a second Rochdale goal made for a tense last quarter of an hour.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, League Cup
Third-round opponents Milton Keynes Dons proved less of an obstacle. Birmingham made nine changes from their previous match, including a debut for Jiránek, a first start for Beausejour, and first games of the season for Phillips and Parnaby. Hleb, making his home debut, and Žigić each scored their first goal for the club and substitute Gardner made the score 3–0 in a four-minute spell midway through the first half. Though MK Dons scored late on, Birmingham's victory was comfortable.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, League Cup
Brentford, Birmingham's third consecutive visitors from League One, had beaten Premier League Everton on penalties in the third round. Sam Wood gave them the lead with a volley after 68 minutes, goalkeeper Richard Lee produced a fine save to deny Gardner's curling shot, and after Žigić headed over the bar with four minutes of normal time remaining, it seemed as though they were going to repeat the upset. But after two minutes of stoppage time, Ridgewell squared the ball to Phillips who scored with a low shot. In extra time, Lee saved a header from Žigić, and the tie went to penalties. On Brentford's last attempt before sudden death, Craig Woodman hit the ball straight at Taylor, who was able to deflect it onto the bar, so Birmingham scraped through to the fifth round.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, League Cup
The quarter-final pitted Birmingham against local rivals Aston Villa, again at home. West Midlands Police had been sufficiently concerned about the potential for trouble and possible adverse effects on England's World Cup bid that they made an unsuccessful request for a change of date and had four times the usual number of officers on duty. Larsson opened the scoring with a penalty after Richard Dunne fouled Bowyer, then Gabriel Agbonlahor equalised for Villa on the break after Žigić had an apparently valid goal disallowed.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, League Cup
Jerome shot wide when one-on-one with goalkeeper Brad Friedel, and Foster saved well from Ashley Young after parrying a shot from Agbonlahor, but neither side could make the breakthrough until, on 86 minutes, Žigić scrambled home a shot deflected off Luke Young. At the end of the match, large numbers of Birmingham fans invaded the pitch and were separated from the visiting support by riot police. Missiles, including seats and a flare, believed by police to have originated in the visitors' section, were thrown back and forth, and the violence continued outside the ground.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, League Cup
Birmingham were drawn against West Ham United in the two-legged semi-final. In the first leg, at Upton Park, West Ham had much the best of the first half, and took a deserved lead when Mark Noble scored from a tight angle with Foster's view at the near post obscured by Dann. Dann sustained an injury just before half-time which was to keep him out for the rest of the season. Early in the second half, Birmingham equalised through Ridgewell's header from a corner, then took a man advantage when Victor Obinna was sent off for kicking Larsson in the groin.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, League Cup
Even after a penalty was denied when Ferguson was knocked flying by Matthew Upson, it looked as Birmingham would go on to win, but goalkeeper Foster blundered when he allowed a weak shot from Carlton Cole to go through him. West Ham increased their lead to 3–1 on aggregate in the first half of the second leg when Cole collected a throw-in and shot past Foster from 25 yards (23 m). The half-time introduction of Žigić put pressure on West Ham's defence.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, League Cup
A penalty appeal against Wayne Bridge for handball was rejected, but from the resultant corner, Bowyer tied the scores on the night, and prolonged pressure led to Johnson's 79th-minute headed goal which tied the scores overall. With the last play of normal time, Gardner's shot was touched onto the post by Green, and the game went into extra time. Four minutes later, Gardner repeated the shot with enough power and accuracy to beat Green and give Birmingham the 4–3 aggregate lead which took them into the final.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, League Cup, Final
Going into the final, media focus centred on the competition being the first element of Arsenal's potential quadruple, their failure to win a trophy for six years, and concerns over the fitness of their captain Cesc Fàbregas. Pundits and bookmakers were in agreement that there could be only one winner, though Cameron Jerome suggested that being overwhelming favourites would put extra pressure on Arsenal, and that if they had a weakness, it lay with their defence.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, League Cup, Final
To counteract Arsenal's perceived strength, their passing ability in midfield, McLeish set his side out in a 4–5–1 formation with three defensive midfielders – Ferguson covering the centre backs and Gardner and Bowyer closing opponents down and chasing – and wide players Fahey and Larsson supporting the tall but less mobile Žigić. In the first two minutes, Bowyer ran on to a through ball from Žigić and was brought down by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny for what appeared to be a penalty and a red card.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, League Cup, Final
Arsenal were relieved to see the linesman raise his flag for offside, though television replays showed his decision to have been wrong. With nearly half an hour gone, Larsson's corner seemed to confuse the Arsenal centre backs. Roger Johnson headed the ball towards goal and Žigić outjumped his opponents to head home. Towards half time, Jack Wilshere hit the crossbar, and when Birmingham failed to clear, Andrey Arshavin crossed for Robin van Persie to direct an aerial volley past Foster.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, League Cup, Final
Early in the second half, Beausejour replaced Gardner. A few minutes later he set up Fahey, whose poor shot hit teammate Žigić. The ball rebounded back to Fahey who reacted quickly to volley it goalwards, only for it to strike the inside of the post with Szczęsny beaten and bounce across the goal to safety. Van Persie, who had hurt himself in the act of scoring, was struggling by the middle of the second half and was replaced by former Birmingham loanee Nicklas Bendtner.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, League Cup, Final
Towards the end of normal time, Birmingham were tiring; Johnson remained on the field after receiving treatment for an injury that restricted his movement, Jiránek was limping, and the defence as a whole had hardly trained in the week leading up to the game. But it was that defence, and particularly Foster, who won the man of the match award for the second time in three years, who prevented Arsenal from taking advantage.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, League Cup, Final
With seven minutes left of normal time, Obafemi Martins replaced Fahey for his League Cup debut. After 89 minutes, Foster cleared the ball long, Žigić touched it on, and when Laurent Koscielny attempted to play it, distracting Szczęsny from making what should have been a straightforward gather, the ball fell loose to Martins in front of goal. He tapped it into an empty net for what he called "the easiest goal I've ever scored in my career", and celebrated with his trademark somersaults, although not the ten he had promised.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, League Cup, Final
For the remaining few minutes, Birmingham defended stoutly, but Martins had a fine chance to increase the lead when he took the ball past Johan Djourou and the goalkeeper but found himself with too narrow a shooting angle. Jerome, who had come on during stoppage time, and Ferguson were both booked for time-wasting as Birmingham held on to win their first major trophy for nearly 50 years.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Transfers
At the end of the 2009–10 season, Birmingham released first-team players Gary McSheffrey, Grégory Vignal, Franck Queudrue and Lee Carsley, and chose not to sign loanee Christian Benítez on a permanent basis. Goalkeeper Joe Hart returned to parent club Manchester City, to be replaced by Birmingham's first signing of the new season, Manchester United's Ben Foster, who joined for an estimated initial fee of £4 million. Next to arrive was striker Nikola Žigić, who signed from Valencia shortly before joining up with the Serbian national team at the World Cup.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Transfers
After young Spanish midfielder Enric Vallès joined on a one-year contract and Matt Derbyshire returned to England on loan from Olympiacos, there were no more signings until transfer deadline day, when Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb arrived on a season-long loan and Chilean winger Jean Beausejour and Spartak Moscow captain and defender Martin Jiránek agreed permanent deals. Jordon Mutch joined Championship club Watford on an initial one-month loan, later extended until January 2011, and several fringe players left on loan. Garry O'Connor had two separate loan spells at Barnsley, initially to regain match fitness after injury, but was released in December to join that club on a permanent contract.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Transfers
In the January transfer window, Míchel joined AEK Athens on loan until the end of the season. League Two club Burton Albion intended to take 16-year-old winger Nathan Redmond on loan, but the move fell foul of regulations forbidding first-year scholars to sign on loan for League clubs. Tottenham Hotspur winger David Bentley and Nigerian international striker Obafemi Martins came in on loan, and Aston Villa defender Curtis Davies signed a three-and-a-half-year deal for an estimated £3.5M fee. Sebastian Larsson, whose contract was due to expire at the end of the season, was given permission to speak to Newcastle United about a possible transfer, but personal terms were not agreed, and Kevin Phillips was told he could leave if "the right offer" were received.


2010–11 Birmingham City F.C. season, Transfers
Among those players released at the end of the season when their contracts expired were first-teamers Larsson, Phillips, Jiránek, Lee Bowyer, Maik Taylor and Stuart Parnaby and fringe players Marcus Bent, Jay O'Shea, Dan Preston and Robin Shroot. All the loanees returned to their owning clubs.


2010–11 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season
The 2010–11 season was Blackburn Rovers' 123rd season as a professional football club. The 2010–11 season was also Blackburn Rovers' 17th season in the Premier League, and their 10th consecutive season in the top division of English football.


2010–11 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season
In November 2010, the Indian company V H Group bought Blackburn Rovers under the name of Venky's London Limited for £23 million. A few weeks later the new owners sacked manager Sam Allardyce and replaced him with first-team coach Steve Kean, initially on a temporary basis, but by January 2011 he had been awarded a full-time contract until June 2013. Kean's appointment was shrouded in a great deal of controversy since his agent Jerome Anderson had earlier played a major role in advising Venky's during the takeover of the club in the preceding months.


2010–11 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season, First-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2010–11 Blackpool F.C. season
The 2010–11 season was Blackpool F.C. 's debut season in the Premier League, after winning the 2009–10 Championship play-off Final in what was their 99th consecutive season in the Football League. It was also their 28th overall season in English football's top tier, but their first since 1971. It was Ian Holloway's second season as manager. The club finished 19th and were relegated back to the Championship.


2010–11 Blackpool F.C. season, Season summary
The talk during the build-up to the new season was mainly centred around the club's lack of activity in the transfer market. Indeed, 81 days passed between the play-off final and the first arrivals at Bloomfield Road for the forthcoming season. After the release of five players, plus the sale of Ben Burgess to Notts County and the forced retirement of Stephen McPhee, coupled with the departure of the five loan players who finished the 2009–10 campaign at the club, Ian Holloway had just fifteen senior players at his disposal.


2010–11 Blackpool F.C. season, Season summary
On 11 August, however, the club replaced those five players with a quintet of new faces. A sixth, Chris Basham from Bolton Wanderers, followed two days later. On 13 August, the eve of the new term, Blackpool had a first-team squad of 26; however, the advent of a new Premier League rule meant that, between 1 September and 1 January, the maximum number of players a club could pick from for Premier League games was 25. Eight of these must have been home-grown players.


2010–11 Blackpool F.C. season, Season summary
According to the Premier League: "A home-grown player means a player who, irrespective of his nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday (or the end of the Season during which he turns 21)." On 1 February, clubs named another 25-man squad to see them through to the end of the Premier League season.


2010–11 Blackpool F.C. season, Season summary
On 18 August, Israeli international centre-back Dekel Keinan was finally able to complete a deal that was set up earlier in the close season, after receiving his work permit. He arrived on a free transfer. He left the club in the January transfer window, however, for Cardiff City.


2010–11 Blackpool F.C. season, Season summary
Several players, including Gary Taylor-Fletcher, Jason Euell and Charlie Adam, kept the squad number assigned to them for the 2009–10 season despite their number not falling inside the traditional 1 to 11. Paul Rachubka retained the number 1 shirt despite being second choice to Matthew Gilks the previous campaign and the start of the new one.


2010–11 Blackpool F.C. season, Season summary
On 1 September, the club submitted their squad (of 24, not the maximum 25) to the Premier League.


2010–11 Blackpool F.C. season, Season summary, Pre-season
In July, Blackpool partook in the pre-season South West Challenge Cup, in Devon, and won the competition.


2010–11 Blackpool F.C. season, Season summary, Season proper
Following an opening-day 4–0 win over Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium on 14 August, a result that briefly put them top of the entire English football pyramid for the first time since the opening day of the 1957–58 season, Blackpool earned the League Managers Association's "Performance of the Week Award".


2010–11 Blackpool F.C. season, Season summary, Season proper
Seven days later, they suffered their first defeat, 6–0 at Arsenal. Theo Walcott opened the scoring on twelve minutes. Just after the half-hour mark, Ian Evatt brought down Marouane Chamakh inches outside the penalty area, but the referee, Mike Jones, awarded a penalty and dismissed the Blackpool defender. Andrei Arshavin doubled the Gunners' lead from the spot. Walcott netted his second of the half to make it 3–0 at the break. Abou Diaby made it 4–0 four minutes after the restart, and Walcott completed his hat-trick inside an hour. Chamakh completed the scoring with seven minutes remaining. The result saw Blackpool drop to tenth place in the table.


2010–11 Blackpool F.C. season, Season summary, Season proper
On 24 August, Blackpool were knocked out of the League Cup in the second round by MK Dons.


2010–11 Blackpool F.C. season, Season summary, Season proper
Three days later, Luke Varney joined Blackpool on a season-long loan from Derby County, with a view to a permanent deal. Varney scored on his debut in the following day's fixture: a 2–2 draw with Fulham at Bloomfield Road, in what was the first-ever Premier League game played at the ground.