Birmingham City pulled a blinder with £2.25m Fulham deal - It ended a 38-year hoodoo | OneFootball

When Birmingham City paid Fulham £2.25m for a striker in 2000, they found a way of unlocking a 38-year hoodoo.

Birmingham City ended a 39-year hoodoo when they raided Fulham for a striker who would go on to become a club legend in the form of Geoff Horsfield.

By the turn of the new millennium, it had been 14 years since Birmingham had last played in the top flight and almost four decades since they'd last reached a cup final. But in the summer of 2000, they made a signing that would come to change the shape of the club's future.

Trevor Francis had been in charge of the team since 1996, but the team had got stuck in Division One of the Football League - now the Championship - and had lost in the 1999 play-offs to Watford in the semi-finals on penalty kicks.

Geoff Horsfield had worked his way up from the bottom

Geoff Horsfield started his playing career in non-league football, balancing that with his job in the construction industry. His playing career almost ended prematurely with a knee injury in 1996 while playing for Witton Albion, but when he recovered from that he joined Halifax Town - for a second time - and he only turned fully professional when they were promoted into the Football League.

His goals helped power Halifax into the League, and seven goals in his first ten games in Division Three attracted the attention of Fulham, who paid £300,000 to take him to Craven Cottage. The goals kept flowing; 15 goals in 28 games as Fulham won the Second Division title by 14 points, and a further 14 in all competitions the following season.

But Fulham were changing, and when he arrived as the new manager in July 2000, the former French international Jean Tigana decided that Horsfield didn't fit the profile of striker that he wanted and put him up for sale. Birmingham had an offer of £2.25m accepted for him.

Horsfield became a player with a taste for the big occasion

His impact at St Andrew's was almost immediate. His goals helped to fire Birmingham into the play-offs, although they lost in the semi-finals to Preston North End on penalties.

More importantly, though, he got them to a cup final for the first time in 38 years. Birmingham hadn't reached one since the 1963 League Cup final, but Horsfield scored twice in their League Cup semi-final second leg against Ipswich to force the tie into extra-time. Further goals from Martin Grainger and Andrew Johnson finished the job off. In the final, Horsfield had been substituted by the time Liverpool won the penalty shoot-out 5-4 after a 1-1 draw.

The following season, the Blues went one better in the League. Stern John signed that summer from Nottingham Forest, and formed a lethal partnership up front with Horsfield, taking them to fifth place in the table.

And this time Birmingham successfully negotiated their way through the play-offs. In the final, they played Norwich City and the score was still blank at 90 minutes. Norwich took the lead a minute into extra-time, but Horsfield equalised 11 minutes later and Birmingham won the penalty shoot-out 4-2 to secure a return to the top flight for the first time since 1986.

Figures from Transfermarkt

Horsfield didn't lose his appetite for the big occasion upon promotion to the Premier League. He scored his first top-flight goal against Aston Villa in September, and when they played the return match at Villa Park the following March, he ended up in goal. Birmingham won 2-0 to complete their first League double over their bitter rivals since the 1977-78 season.

But by the end of that season, Horsfield's time at St Andrew's was coming to an end. Steve Bruce had replaced Francis in December 2001 and Bruce preferred to use him as an impact substitute. Frustrated at a lack of game time, he started the 2003-04 season for Birmingham, but transferred to Wigan Athletic for £500,000 in September 2003. He'd go on to play for West Bromwich Albion, Sheffield United, Lincoln City and Port Vale, before retiring in 2010.

These were heady times at St Andrew's and Horsfield became a legend as a result. Through their first cup final in almost 60 years and promotion back to the top flight for the first time in 17 years, he was a central character, always there to score the important goal. As they embark on an attempt to get back into the Premier League again, Birmingham fans may be wishing they had someone of his calibre leading their front line this time around.