Steve Bruce established Birmingham City as a force in the premiership during the 2002 – 2003 season as he guided the club to a very decent 13th position finish.
The club made dramatic improvement over the next two years as they finished off the campaign in 12th and tenth positions respectively. They boasted a strong side during the 2004 – 2005 season, including, Emile Heskey, Clinton Morrison, Robbie Savage, Stern John, Kenny Cunningham, Chris Sutton and Maik Taylor.
They reached the fifth round of the FA Cup in the year 2004 as they suffered defeat against Sunderland in the competition. The 2005 FA cup saw the blues reach the fourth round; however they met eventual title winners, Chelsea and suffered a 2-0 defeat against the London club.
The 2005 – 2006 premiership campaign saw the blues finish off in 18th position, suffering relegation back in to the championship. They enjoyed decent runs in the FA Cup and league cup, suffering a 3-1 defeat against Manchester United in the last eight of the league cup and they suffered an embarrassing 7-0 hammering against Liverpool in the quarter finals of the FA Cup.