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1981–82 Football League

The Football League
Season1981–82
ChampionsLiverpool

The 1981–82 season was the 83rd completed season (84th overall) of The Football League. This was the first league season with three points for win.

Overview

Three points for a win was introduced for the first time in England. Champions Aston Villa finished a disappointing 11th but made up for this by triumphing in the European Cup at the first attempt.

Liverpool made up for the previous season's slip in league form by winning the league championship for the 13th time in their history, fighting off competition from Ipswich Town, Manchester United and Spurs. Liverpool also won the Football League Cup for the second season in succession. The league triumph was made all the more significant by the fact that they had occupied 10th place on Christmas Day.

Their season of triumph was overshadowed, however, by the death of legendary former manager Bill Shankly, 68, following a heart attack in late September.

Middlesbrough and Wolves were relegated as financial problems at both clubs began to mount. They were joined by Leeds United, only seven years after playing in the European cup final.

West Bromwich Albion felt the loss of manager Ron Atkinson and key players Bryan Robson and Remi Moses as they slumped to 19th in the league and narrowly avoided relegation. This was just the beginning of a sharp decline for a club who three seasons earlier had reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals and almost won the league title.

Swansea City were tipped for relegation by most observers as they reached the First Division for the first time in their history, having just completed their third promotion in four seasons. But John Toshack's men had a brilliant first game in the top flight, crushing Leeds United 5-1 and setting the tone for a season which would end with Leeds going down. Swansea, meanwhile, were the most unlikely title contenders, topping the league at several stages of the season before finishing sixth in the final table.

Manchester United paid a British record fee of £1.75million for West Bromwich Albion's 24-year-old England midfielder Bryan Robson. Robson's record-breaking move reflected on how the size of transfer fees had risen dramatically in a relatively short period of time. Less than four years earlier, the British record fee had been the £516,000 that West Bromwich Albion had paid for David Mills. In such a short amount of time, the British record had more than tripled.

Everton, who had struggled in the league for the past few seasons, turned to their former player Howard Kendall and appointed him as manager in hope of restoring the club to its former glory.

First Division

First Division
Season1981–82
ChampionsLiverpool
13th English title
RelegatedLeeds United
Middlesbrough
Wolverhampton Wanderers
European CupLiverpool
Aston Villa
Cup Winners' CupTottenham Hotspur
Swansea City
UEFA CupIpswich Town
Manchester United
Arsenal
Southampton
Matches played462
Goals scored1,173 (2.54 per match)
Top goalscorerKevin Keegan
(26 goals)[1]
Biggest home winManchester United 5–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
(3 October 1981)
Tottenham Hotspur 6–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
(6 February 1982)
Coventry City 6–1 Sunderland
(27 April 1982)
Biggest away winManchester City 0–5 Liverpool
(10 April 1982)
Highest scoringSouthampton 5–5 Coventry City
(4 May 1982)
Longest winning run11 matches
Liverpool
Longest unbeaten run16 matches
Liverpool
Longest losing run8 matches
Wolverhampton Wanderers

The First Division title race saw many teams take the lead throughout the season, including traditional favourites like Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, as well as thriving Ipswich Town and Southampton, and most incredibly a Swansea City side who had never been in the First Division before, and who had been in the Fourth Division just a few seasons previously. In the end, however, it was Liverpool who clinched the title after a surge in the second half of the campaign which took them from mid table at Christmas to clinching the title on the final day of the season. They also retained the League Cup. Defending champions Aston Villa only finished mid-table but finished the season as European Cup winners, three months after Ron Saunders stood down as manager and was succeeded by his assistant Tony Barton.

Wolves went down to the Second Division for the second time in seven seasons, while Middlesbrough went down after eight years in the First Division. Leeds United, who had gradually lost touch with the First Division's elite since Don Revie left in 1974, lost their top flight status after 18 years.

Other memorable events of the season included the early season transfer of Bryan Robson from West Bromwich Albion to Manchester United for a national record £1.5million, and the death of legendary former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly.

Final table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Liverpool (C) 42 26 9 7 80 32 +48 87 Qualification for the European Cup first round
2 Ipswich Town 42 26 5 11 75 53 +22 83 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3 Manchester United 42 22 12 8 59 29 +30 78
4 Tottenham Hotspur 42 20 11 11 67 48 +19 71 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[a]
5 Arsenal 42 20 11 11 48 37 +11 71 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
6 Swansea City 42 21 6 15 58 51 +7 69 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup preliminary round[b]
7 Southampton 42 19 9 14 72 67 +5 66 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
8 Everton 42 17 13 12 56 50 +6 64
9 West Ham United 42 14 16 12 66 57 +9 58
10 Manchester City 42 15 13 14 49 50 −1 58
11 Aston Villa 42 15 12 15 55 53 +2 57 Qualification for the European Cup first round[c]
12 Nottingham Forest 42 15 12 15 42 48 −6 57
13 Brighton & Hove Albion 42 13 13 16 43 52 −9 52
14 Coventry City 42 13 11 18 56 62 −6 50
15 Notts County 42 13 8 21 61 69 −8 47
16 Birmingham City 42 10 14 18 53 61 −8 44
17 West Bromwich Albion 42 11 11 20 46 57 −11 44
18 Stoke City 42 12 8 22 44 63 −19 44
19 Sunderland 42 11 11 20 38 58 −20 44
20 Leeds United (R) 42 10 12 20 39 61 −22 42 Relegation to the Second Division
21 Wolverhampton Wanderers (R) 42 10 10 22 32 63 −31 40
22 Middlesbrough (R) 42 8 15 19 34 52 −18 39
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1981–82 FA Cup winners.
  2. ^ Swansea City qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup preliminary round as the 1982 Welsh Cup winners.
  3. ^ Aston Villa qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1981–82 European Cup winners.

Results

Home \ Away ARS AST BIR BHA COV EVE IPS LEE LIV MCI MUN MID NOT NTC SOU STK SUN SWA TOT WBA WHU WOL
Arsenal 4–3 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 4–1 0–1 1–1 0–2 1–3 2–2 2–0 2–1
Aston Villa 0–2 0–0 3–0 2–1 1–2 0–1 1–4 0–3 0–0 1–1 1–0 3–1 0–1 1–1 2–2 1–0 3–0 1–1 2–1 3–2 3–1
Birmingham City 0–1 0–1 1–0 3–3 0–2 1–1 0–1 0–1 3–0 0–1 0–0 4–3 2–1 4–0 2–1 2–0 2–1 0–0 3–3 2–2 0–3
Brighton & Hove Albion 2–1 0–1 1–1 2–2 3–1 0–1 1–0 3–3 4–1 0–1 2–0 0–1 2–2 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–2 1–3 2–2 1–0 2–0
Coventry City 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 2–4 4–0 1–2 0–1 2–1 1–1 0–1 1–5 4–2 3–0 6–1 3–1 0–0 0–2 1–0 0–0
Everton 2–1 2–0 3–1 1–1 3–2 2–1 1–0 1–3 0–1 3–3 2–0 2–1 3–1 1–1 0–0 1–2 3–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–1
Ipswich Town 2–1 3–1 3–2 3–1 1–0 3–0 2–1 2–0 2–0 2–1 3–1 1–3 1–3 5–2 2–0 3–3 2–3 2–1 1–0 3–2 1–0
Leeds United 0–0 1–1 3–3 2–1 0–0 1–1 0–2 0–2 0–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–3 0–0 1–0 2–0 0–0 3–1 3–3 3–0
Liverpool 2–0 0–0 3–1 0–1 4–0 3–1 4–0 3–0 1–3 1–2 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–1 2–0 1–0 2–2 3–1 1–0 3–0 2–1
Manchester City 0–0 1–0 4–2 4–0 1–3 1–1 1–1 4–0 0–5 0–0 3–2 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–3 4–0 0–1 2–1 0–1 2–1
Manchester United 0–0 4–1 1–1 2–0 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 2–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 5–0
Middlesbrough 1–3 3–3 2–1 2–1 0–0 0–2 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–2 1–1 3–0 0–1 3–2 0–0 1–1 1–3 1–0 2–3 0–0
Nottingham Forest 1–2 1–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 0–1 1–1 2–1 0–2 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–2 2–1 0–0 2–0 0–2 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–1
Notts County 2–1 1–0 1–4 4–1 2–1 2–2 1–4 2–1 0–4 1–1 1–3 0–1 1–2 1–1 3–1 2–0 0–1 2–2 1–2 1–1 4–0
Southampton 3–1 0–3 3–1 0–2 5–5 1–0 4–3 4–0 2–3 2–1 3–2 2–0 2–0 3–1 4–3 1–0 3–1 1–2 0–0 2–1 4–1
Stoke City 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–0 4–0 3–1 2–0 1–2 1–5 1–3 0–3 2–0 1–2 2–2 0–2 0–1 1–2 0–2 3–0 2–1 2–1
Sunderland 0–0 2–1 2–0 3–0 0–0 3–1 1–1 0–1 0–2 1–0 1–5 0–2 2–3 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–1 0–2 1–2 0–2 0–0
Swansea City 2–0 2–1 1–0 0–0 0–0 1–3 1–2 5–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–2 1–2 3–2 1–0 3–0 2–0 2–1 3–1 0–1 0–0
Tottenham Hotspur 2–2 1–3 1–1 0–1 1–2 3–0 1–0 2–1 2–2 2–0 3–1 1–0 3–0 3–1 3–2 2–0 2–2 2–1 1–2 0–4 6–1
West Bromwich Albion 0–2 0–1 1–1 0–0 1–2 0–0 1–2 2–0 1–1 0–1 0–3 2–0 2–1 2–4 1–1 1–2 2–3 4–1 1–0 0–0 3–0
West Ham United 1–2 2–2 2–2 1–1 5–2 1–1 2–0 4–3 1–1 1–1 1–1 3–2 0–1 1–0 4–2 3–2 1–1 1–1 2–2 3–1 3–1
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–1 0–3 1–1 0–1 1–0 0–3 2–1 1–0 1–0 4–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 3–2 0–0 2–0 0–1 0–1 0–1 1–2 2–1
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [1] Soccerbase
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Everton England Gordon Lee Sacked 16 May 1981 Pre-season England Howard Kendall 1 June 1981
Coventry City England Gordon Milne Mutual consent 30 May 1981 England Dave Sexton 5 June 1981
Sunderland Scotland Mick Docherty End of caretaker spell 1 June 1981 Wales Alan Durban 1 June 1981
Stoke City Wales Alan Durban Signed by Sunderland 1 June 1981 England Richie Barker 11 June 1981
Middlesbrough England John Neal Signed by Chelsea 1 June 1981 Scotland Bobby Murdoch 19 June 1981
Brighton & Hove Albion England Alan Mullery Resigned 5 June 1981 England Mike Bailey 9 June 1981
Manchester United England Jack Crompton End of caretaker spell 9 June 1981 England Ron Atkinson 9 June 1981
West Bromwich Albion England Ron Atkinson Signed by Manchester United 9 June 1981 England Ronnie Allen 30 June 1981
Wolverhampton Wanderers England John Barnwell Sacked 5 January 1982 18th England Ian Greaves 8 February 1982
Aston Villa England Ron Saunders Resigned 9 February 1982 15th England Tony Barton 9 February 1982
Birmingham City England Jim Smith 15 February 1982 19th England Ron Saunders 22 February 1982

Maps

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Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1981–1982
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Locations of the Football League First Division 1981–1982 teams

Second Division

Second Division
Season1981–82
ChampionsLuton Town
PromotedLuton Town
Watford
Norwich City
RelegatedCardiff City
Wrexham
Orient
Matches played462
Goals scored1,171 (2.53 per match)
Top goalscorerRonnie Moore
(22 goals)[1]
Biggest home winLuton Town 6–0 Grimsby Town
(17 October 1981)
Rotherham United 6–0 Chelsea
(31 October 1981)
Queens Park Rangers 7–1 Bolton Wanderers
(1 May 1982)
Biggest away winCardiff City 0–4 Newcastle United
(3 October 1981)
Newcastle United 0–4 Queens Park Rangers
(5 May 1982)
Highest scoringCardiff City 5–4 Cambridge United
(20 March 1982)

Luton Town clinched the Second Division as their cosmopolitan side ended the club's seven-year exile from the First Division, joined by runners-up Watford (in the First Division for the first time under inspirational manager Graham Taylor) and a Norwich City side who had surged from 10th place to the final promotion place during the final quarter of the campaign. Sheffield Wednesday, QPR and Leicester City just missed out on promotion, as did two surprise contenders still yet to play in the First Division - Barnsley and Rotherham United.

Cardiff City, Wrexham and Orient were relegated; the latter two have not returned to this level since.

Joe Royle, the 33-year-old former Everton striker, began his managerial career at Oldham Athletic.

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Luton Town (C, P) 42 25 13 4 86 46 +40 88 Promotion to the First Division
2 Watford (P) 42 23 11 8 76 42 +34 80
3 Norwich City (P) 42 22 5 15 64 50 +14 71
4 Sheffield Wednesday 42 20 10 12 55 51 +4 70
5 Queens Park Rangers 42 21 6 15 65 43 +22 69
6 Barnsley 42 19 10 13 59 41 +18 67
7 Rotherham United 42 20 7 15 66 54 +12 67
8 Leicester City 42 18 12 12 56 48 +8 66
9 Newcastle United 42 18 8 16 52 50 +2 62
10 Blackburn Rovers 42 16 11 15 47 43 +4 59
11 Oldham Athletic 42 15 14 13 50 51 −1 59
12 Chelsea 42 15 12 15 60 60 0 57
13 Charlton Athletic 42 13 12 17 50 65 −15 51
14 Cambridge United 42 13 9 20 48 53 −5 48
15 Crystal Palace 42 13 9 20 34 45 −11 48
16 Derby County 42 12 12 18 53 68 −15 48
17 Grimsby Town 42 11 13 18 53 65 −12 46
18 Shrewsbury Town 42 11 13 18 37 57 −20 46
19 Bolton Wanderers 42 13 7 22 39 61 −22 46
20 Cardiff City (R) 42 12 8 22 45 61 −16 44 Relegation to the Third Division
21 Wrexham (R) 42 11 11 20 40 56 −16 44
22 Orient (R) 42 10 9 23 36 61 −25 39
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away BAR BLB BOL CAM CAR CHA CHE CRY DER GRI LEI LUT NEW NWC OLD ORI QPR ROT SHW SHR WAT WRE
Barnsley 0–1 3–0 0–0 0–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 0–0 3–2 0–2 4–3 1–0 0–1 3–1 1–0 3–0 3–0 1–0 4–0 0–0 2–2
Blackburn Rovers 2–1 0–2 1–0 1–0 0–2 1–1 1–0 4–1 2–0 0–2 0–1 4–1 3–0 0–0 2–0 2–1 2–0 0–1 0–0 1–2 0–0
Bolton Wanderers 2–1 2–2 3–4 1–0 2–0 2–2 0–0 3–2 1–2 0–3 1–2 1–0 0–1 0–2 1–0 1–0 0–1 3–1 1–1 2–0 2–0
Cambridge United 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–1 4–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 2–2 1–2 1–1 1–0 1–2 0–0 2–0 1–0 3–0 1–2 2–0 1–2 2–3
Cardiff City 0–0 1–3 2–1 5–4 0–1 1–2 0–1 1–0 2–1 3–1 2–3 0–4 1–0 0–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 0–2 1–1 2–0 3–2
Charlton Athletic 2–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 2–2 3–4 2–1 2–1 2–0 1–4 0–0 0–1 0–0 3–1 5–2 1–2 1–2 3–0 1–0 1–1 1–0
Chelsea 1–2 1–1 2–0 4–1 1–0 2–2 1–2 0–2 1–1 4–1 1–2 2–1 2–1 2–2 2–2 2–1 1–4 2–1 3–1 1–3 2–0
Crystal Palace 1–2 1–2 1–0 2–1 1–0 2–0 0–1 0–1 0–3 0–2 3–3 1–2 2–1 4–0 1–0 0–0 3–1 1–2 0–1 0–3 2–1
Derby County 0–1 1–1 0–2 2–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 4–1 1–1 3–1 0–0 2–2 0–2 1–0 1–2 3–1 3–1 3–1 1–1 3–2 2–1
Grimsby Town 3–2 1–1 1–1 1–2 0–1 3–3 3–3 0–1 1–0 2–2 0–0 1–1 1–2 2–1 1–2 2–1 1–2 0–1 5–1 0–2 1–1
Leicester City 1–0 1–0 1–0 4–1 3–1 3–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 3–0 1–4 2–1 0–1 3–2 1–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–0
Luton Town 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–0 2–3 3–0 2–2 1–0 3–2 6–0 2–1 3–2 2–0 2–0 2–0 3–2 3–1 0–3 4–1 4–1 0–0
Newcastle United 1–0 0–0 2–0 1–0 2–1 4–1 1–0 0–0 3–0 0–1 0–0 3–2 2–1 2–0 1–0 0–4 1–1 1–0 2–0 0–1 4–2
Norwich City 1–1 2–0 0–0 2–1 2–1 5–0 2–1 1–0 4–1 2–1 0–0 1–3 2–1 1–2 2–0 0–1 2–0 2–3 2–1 4–2 4–0
Oldham Athletic 1–1 0–3 1–1 2–0 2–2 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–1 3–1 1–1 1–1 3–1 2–0 3–2 2–0 0–3 0–3 1–1 1–1 2–1
Orient 1–3 0–0 3–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–0 3–2 1–2 3–0 0–3 1–0 1–1 0–3 1–1 1–2 3–0 2–0 1–3 0–0
Queens Park Rangers 1–0 2–0 7–1 2–1 2–0 4–0 0–2 1–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 1–2 3–0 2–0 0–0 3–0 1–1 2–0 2–1 0–0 1–1
Rotherham United 2–4 4–1 2–0 1–0 1–0 2–1 6–0 2–0 2–1 2–2 1–1 2–2 0–0 4–1 1–2 1–0 1–0 2–2 3–0 1–2 2–0
Sheffield Wednesday 2–2 2–2 0–1 2–1 2–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 3–3 2–1 2–1 2–1 2–0 1–3 2–0 0–0 3–1 0–3
Shrewsbury Town 0–2 1–2 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 4–1 2–0 1–1 2–2 0–0 0–2 2–1 2–0 2–1 2–1 0–1 0–2 1–1
Watford 3–1 3–2 3–0 0–0 0–0 2–2 1–0 1–1 6–1 0–2 3–1 1–1 2–3 3–0 1–1 3–0 4–0 1–0 4–0 3–1 2–0
Wrexham 0–0 1–0 2–1 0–0 3–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 2–0 0–0 0–2 4–2 2–3 0–3 0–1 1–3 3–2 0–1 1–0 0–1
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [2] Soccerbase
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Maps

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Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1981–1982
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Locations of the Football League Second Division 1981–1982 teams

Third Division

Burnley, Carlisle United and Fulham enjoyed some success after a string of disappointments by winning promotion to the Second Division.

Going down were Wimbledon, Swindon Town, Bristol City and Chester. Bristol had completed a unique succession of three relegations, while Swindon had been League Cup winners little over a decade earlier. Wimbledon, meanwhile, would not be enduring any more disappointing season for many years after 1982.

Football League
Third Division
Season1981–82
ChampionsBurnley (1st title)
PromotedCarlisle United,
Fulham
RelegatedBristol City,
Chester,
Swindon Town,
Wimbledon
Matches played552
Goals scored1,422 (2.58 per match)
Top goalscorerGordon Davies (Fulham), 24 [1]

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Burnley 46 13 7 3 37 20 8 10 5 29 25 +21 80 Division Champions, promoted
2 Carlisle United 46 17 4 2 44 21 6 7 10 21 29 +15 80 Promoted
3 Fulham 46 12 9 2 44 22 9 6 8 33 29 +26 78
4 Lincoln City 46 13 7 3 40 16 8 7 8 26 24 +26 77
5 Oxford United 46 10 8 5 28 18 9 6 8 35 31 +14 71
6 Gillingham 46 14 5 4 44 26 6 6 11 20 30 +8 71
7 Southend United 46 11 7 5 35 23 7 8 8 28 28 +12 69
8 Brentford 46 8 6 9 28 22 11 5 7 28 25 +9 68
9 Millwall 46 12 4 7 36 28 6 9 8 26 34 0 67
10 Plymouth Argyle 46 12 5 6 37 24 6 6 11 27 32 +8 65
11 Chesterfield 46 12 4 7 33 27 6 6 11 24 31 −1 64
12 Reading 46 11 6 6 43 35 6 5 12 24 40 −8 62
13 Portsmouth 46 11 10 2 33 14 3 9 11 23 37 +5 61
14 Preston North End 46 10 7 6 25 22 6 6 11 25 34 −6 61
15 Bristol Rovers 46 12 4 7 35 28 6 5 12 23 37 −7 61[a]
16 Newport County 46 9 10 4 28 21 5 6 12 26 33 0 58
17 Huddersfield Town 46 10 5 8 38 25 5 7 11 26 34 +5 57
18 Exeter City 46 14 4 5 46 33 2 5 16 25 51 −13 57
19 Doncaster Rovers 46 9 9 5 31 24 4 8 11 24 44 −13 56
20 Walsall 46 10 7 6 32 23 3 7 13 19 32 −4 53
21 Wimbledon 46 10 6 7 33 27 4 5 14 28 48 −14 53 Relegated
22 Swindon Town 46 9 5 9 37 36 4 8 11 18 35 −16 52
23 Bristol City 46 7 6 10 24 29 4 7 12 16 36 −25 46
24 Chester 46 2 10 11 16 30 5 1 17 20 48 −42 32
Source: rsssf.com (incorrect), source=11v11.com
Notes:
  1. ^ 2 points deducted

Results

Home \ Away BRE BRI BRR BUR CRL CHE CHF DON EXE FUL GIL HUD LIN MIL NPC OXF PLY POR PNE REA STD SWI WAL WDN
Brentford 0–1 1–0 0–0 1–2 1–0 2–0 2–2 2–0 0–1 0–1 0–1 3–1 4–1 2–0 1–2 0–0 2–2 0–0 1–2 0–1 4–2 0–0 2–3
Bristol City 0–1 1–2 2–3 1–1 1–0 0–0 2–2 3–2 0–0 2–1 0–0 0–1 4–1 2–1 0–2 3–2 0–1 0–0 2–0 0–2 0–3 0–1 1–3
Bristol Rovers 1–2 1–0 2–1 0–1 2–2 1–0 3–0 3–2 1–2 2–0 3–2 0–2 0–1 2–0 1–0 2–3 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–1 1–4 2–1 2–2
Burnley 0–0 2–0 4–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 3–3 2–2 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–1 2–1 2–1 1–0 3–0 2–0 3–0 3–5 0–2 2–1 2–2
Carlisle United 1–0 2–2 1–2 1–0 3–0 3–0 2–0 3–2 1–2 2–0 2–2 1–0 2–1 2–2 2–1 3–1 2–0 1–0 2–1 3–2 1–1 2–1 2–1
Chester 1–2 0–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 0–0 3–1 1–2 0–0 0–2 2–2 0–3 3–2 0–1 2–3 1–1 0–0 0–0 1–1
Chesterfield 0–2 1–0 2–0 1–2 1–0 3–5 3–1 2–1 3–0 1–3 1–0 0–2 0–1 1–0 2–2 2–2 2–2 0–0 2–1 1–2 2–1 1–0 2–0
Doncaster Rovers 1–0 2–2 4–2 0–1 1–1 4–3 0–0 3–0 2–1 1–1 1–2 4–1 1–0 0–2 1–1 2–2 0–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–3
Exeter City 3–1 4–0 1–3 2–1 2–1 3–0 0–3 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–2 5–4 1–0 1–2 1–1 3–3 4–3 4–3 1–1 1–2 2–0 2–1
Fulham 1–2 2–1 4–2 1–1 4–1 2–0 1–0 3–1 4–1 0–0 2–2 1–1 0–0 3–1 0–0 1–3 1–1 3–0 2–2 2–1 2–0 1–1 4–1
Gillingham 1–1 1–1 2–0 3–1 0–0 0–1 3–2 3–0 2–3 2–0 3–2 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 3–2 4–2 0–2 2–1 2–0 1–0 1–4 6–1
Huddersfield Town 1–1 5–0 0–2 1–2 2–1 1–2 1–1 1–2 1–1 1–0 2–0 0–2 1–2 2–0 2–0 0–0 0–1 2–3 6–1 3–2 3–0 2–1 1–1
Lincoln City 1–0 1–2 1–0 1–1 0–0 3–0 2–1 5–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 0–1 2–2 2–1 2–0 1–1 1–2 2–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 5–1
Millwall 0–1 2–0 0–0 4–3 1–2 2–1 3–2 0–2 5–1 4–3 1–2 1–3 1–1 1–0 1–2 2–1 1–0 2–1 0–1 1–1 0–0 2–0 2–1
Newport County 2–0 1–1 1–1 0–0 2–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–3 4–2 1–0 0–0 1–1 3–2 0–1 1–1 1–1 3–1 3–2 1–0 2–2 0–0
Oxford United 1–2 1–0 1–1 0–0 2–1 3–1 1–1 3–1 0–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 0–2 3–0 1–0 0–2 5–0 0–1 0–3
Plymouth Argyle 1–0 2–1 4–0 1–1 1–0 5–1 0–2 4–2 2–1 3–1 1–2 1–1 0–2 2–1 1–2 0–1 0–0 0–3 1–1 0–0 2–1 4–1 2–0
Portsmouth 2–2 2–0 0–0 1–2 1–2 2–0 5–1 0–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 2–2 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 3–0 0–0 3–0 1–0 1–0
Preston North End 1–3 1–3 0–1 1–1 0–1 0–1 2–0 3–1 1–0 1–3 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–2 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 3–2
Reading 4–1 3–1 0–3 1–1 2–2 4–1 0–2 3–3 4–0 0–3 3–2 1–2 3–2 4–0 2–1 0–3 2–2 2–1 2–1 0–2 1–1 0–0 2–1
Southend 1–1 3–0 1–0 1–4 1–1 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–1 0–0 3–0 4–0 0–2 2–2 0–4 0–1 3–0 2–0 2–2 2–0 0–0 3–2 2–0
Swindon Town 0–3 0–0 5–2 1–2 2–1 3–0 1–2 2–2 3–2 1–4 0–1 1–5 1–0 1–2 1–1 3–2 0–2 2–0 4–0 0–2 0–0 2–2 4–1
Walsall 3–0 0–1 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 3–1 1–3 0–1 3–1 0–3 1–2 0–1 5–0 1–0
Wimbledon 1–2 0–0 1–0 0–0 3–1 1–0 3–1 0–1 1–1 1–3 0–2 2–0 1–1 1–3 2–3 2–3 2–1 3–2 3–2 0–0 3–0 1–1 2–0
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [3] Soccerbase
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Maps

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Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1981–1982
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Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1981–1982

Fourth Division

Football League
Fourth Division
Season1981–82
ChampionsSheffield United (1st title)
PromotedBournemouth,
Bradford City,
Wigan Athletic
Failed re-electionNone
Matches played552
Goals scored1,512 (2.74 per match)
Top goalscorerKeith Edwards (Hull City / Sheffield United) 36 [1]

Sheffield United began the first phase of their revival by winning the Fourth Division championship, which marked a superb start to the management career of Ian Porterfield. Also promoted were Bradford City, Wigan Athletic and Bournemouth.

Crewe Alexandra endured a terrible season and propped up the league with just 27 league points, but the other league members voted in their favour and they maintained their league status.

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion
1 Sheffield United 46 15 8 0 53 15 12 7 4 41 26 +53 96 Division Champions, promoted
2 Bradford City 46 14 7 2 52 23 12 6 5 36 22 +43 91 Promoted
3 Wigan Athletic 46 17 5 1 47 18 9 8 6 33 28 +34 91
4 Bournemouth 46 12 10 1 37 15 11 9 3 25 15 +32 88
5 Peterborough United 46 16 3 4 46 22 8 7 8 25 35 +14 82
6 Colchester United 46 12 6 5 47 23 8 6 9 35 34 +25 72
7 Port Vale 46 9 12 2 26 17 9 4 10 30 32 +7 70
8 Hull City 46 14 3 6 36 23 5 9 9 34 38 +9 69
9 Bury 46 13 7 3 53 26 4 10 9 27 33 +21 68
10 Hereford United 46 10 9 4 36 25 6 10 7 28 33 +6 67
11 Tranmere Rovers 46 7 9 7 27 25 7 9 7 24 31 −5 60
12 Blackpool 46 11 5 7 40 26 4 8 11 26 34 +6 58
13 Darlington 46 10 5 8 36 28 5 8 10 25 34 −1 58
14 Hartlepool United 46 9 8 6 39 34 4 8 11 34 50 −11 55
15 Torquay United 46 9 8 6 30 25 5 5 13 17 34 −12 55
16 Aldershot 46 8 7 8 34 29 5 8 10 23 39 −11 54
17 York City 46 9 5 9 45 37 5 3 15 24 54 −22 50
18 Stockport County 46 10 5 8 34 28 2 8 13 14 39 −19 49
19 Halifax Town 46 6 11 6 28 30 3 11 9 23 42 −21 49
20 Mansfield Town 46 8 6 9 39 39 5 4 14 24 42 −18 49
21 Rochdale 46 7 9 7 26 22 3 7 13 24 40 −12 46 Re-elected
22 Northampton Town 46 9 5 9 32 27 2 4 17 25 57 −27 42
23 Scunthorpe United 46 7 9 7 26 35 2 6 15 17 44 −36 42
24 Crewe Alexandra 46 3 6 14 19 32 3 3 17 10 52 −55 27
Source: [citation needed]

Results

Home \ Away ALD BLP BOU BRA BRY COL CRE DAR HAL HAR HER HUL MAN NOR PET PTV ROC SCU SHU STP TOR TRA WIG YOR
Aldershot 3–2 2–0 0–2 1–2 1–1 3–0 0–0 3–1 1–2 2–2 0–3 2–3 2–1 0–1 1–2 2–2 4–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–0 0–1
Blackpool 0–2 0–3 1–0 1–1 0–0 5–0 1–0 7–1 2–2 1–0 3–1 2–3 1–0 2–2 2–3 1–1 2–0 0–1 2–0 2–1 1–2 1–2 3–1
Bournemouth 2–2 1–0 0–2 3–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 5–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 1–0 4–0 1–1 0–0 5–1
Bradford City 4–1 1–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 4–1 3–0 5–2 1–0 0–0 1–1 3–4 2–1 2–0 1–0 2–0 0–0 0–2 5–1 3–0 1–1 3–3 6–2
Bury 1–1 0–1 2–2 1–1 4–3 2–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 3–2 7–1 3–1 3–2 3–0 4–0 1–1 2–0 0–1 4–0 5–3 3–1
Colchester United 1–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 3–3 4–0 2–0 0–1 5–1 1–1 1–0 3–2 2–1 5–2 0–1 3–0 4–0 1–2 4–0
Crewe Alexandra 2–3 1–1 0–0 0–1 1–2 1–3 1–0 0–1 1–2 1–0 1–1 0–2 2–2 0–1 0–2 1–2 3–0 2–3 0–2 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–1
Darlington 0–1 2–2 0–1 1–5 2–3 1–2 1–0 1–1 5–2 0–1 2–1 1–0 3–0 0–0 1–1 2–0 4–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 1–2 3–1 3–1
Halifax Town 2–2 0–0 1–1 0–0 2–1 0–2 2–1 3–3 2–0 1–2 2–2 2–1 2–1 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–2 1–5 4–1 1–2 0–2 0–0 0–0
Hartlepool 2–2 2–2 1–1 0–2 1–0 1–3 1–2 1–2 3–2 2–1 3–2 3–0 3–1 0–1 3–1 1–1 3–3 2–3 2–2 0–0 0–0 2–1 3–2
Hereford United 0–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 3–0 2–2 4–1 1–1 2–2 1–1 2–2 3–1 2–1 2–1 1–0 0–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 0–3 1–1 3–0 2–1
Hull City 1–2 1–0 0–0 2–1 3–2 2–3 1–0 1–3 2–0 5–2 2–1 2–0 0–1 1–1 3–1 2–1 2–0 2–1 0–0 1–0 1–2 0–2 2–0
Mansfield Town 1–0 2–2 0–1 0–2 1–1 1–3 0–1 2–3 3–2 3–2 2–1 3–3 4–1 1–2 1–3 4–3 1–1 1–1 2–2 3–1 3–0 1–2 0–2
Northampton Town 0–0 0–1 1–0 0–2 1–0 1–2 3–0 0–1 0–1 2–1 2–3 1–1 1–1 1–0 3–5 2–1 1–1 1–2 0–0 2–0 3–2 2–3 5–0
Peterborough United 7–1 3–1 1–0 2–0 1–0 2–2 3–0 3–1 0–0 4–4 3–1 3–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 5–1 2–1 0–4 2–0 1–0 1–2 0–3 0–1
Port Vale 1–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 0–0 2–2 0–0 5–2 1–1 2–1 0–0 1–0 1–3 1–1 2–1 0–2 1–0 2–0 0–0 1–1 0–0
Rochdale 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–2 1–0 3–2 0–1 2–1 0–1 0–1 1–1 5–3 1–1 1–2 1–1 0–1 4–1 1–0 0–0 1–1 2–0
Scunthorpe United 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–3 2–2 2–1 0–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 2–2 4–4 1–0 2–1 0–1 0–0 1–0 2–1 0–0 0–2 2–1 2–7 0–3
Sheffield United 2–0 3–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 4–0 0–0 2–2 1–1 2–2 0–0 4–1 7–3 4–0 2–1 3–1 1–0 4–0 4–1 2–0 1–0 4–0
Stockport County 4–2 2–3 1–2 2–3 2–1 0–0 2–0 1–0 2–1 0–2 1–1 1–2 3–0 0–0 3–0 1–2 0–4 1–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 0–1 4–1
Torquay United 2–1 1–1 1–2 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–2 2–2 1–1 1–2 2–1 2–0 2–2 1–2 0–1 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–2 0–0 3–2
Tranmere 1–0 3–1 0–1 1–1 1–3 2–1 3–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 2–2 2–2 0–2 1–2 1–2 2–0 0–1 2–2 2–0 1–1 0–0 0–2
Wigan Athletic 1–0 2–1 0–0 4–1 3–2 3–2 3–0 2–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 3–1 3–1 5–0 2–0 1–1 2–1 0–1 2–1 1–0 0–0 4–2
York City 4–0 0–4 0–1 0–3 0–0 3–0 6–0 2–2 4–0 1–2 3–4 1–3 2–1 2–1 4–3 2–0 1–2 3–1 3–4 2–2 1–1 1–3 0–0
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: [4] Soccerbase
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Maps

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Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1981–1982

Election/Re-election to the Football League

This year Runcorn, the winners of the Alliance Premier League, could not apply for election because they did not meet Football League requirements. 2nd placed Enfield could not apply either for the same reasons, so 3rd placed Telford United won the right to apply for election to the Football League to replace one of the four bottom sides in the 1981–82 Football League Fourth Division. The vote went as follows:

Club Final Position Votes
Northampton Town 22nd (Fourth Division) 53
Crewe Alexandra 24th (Fourth Division) 50
Rochdale 21st (Fourth Division) 48
Scunthorpe United 23rd (Fourth Division) 48
Telford United 3rd (Alliance Premier League) 13

As a result of this, all four Football League teams were re-elected, and Telford United were denied membership of the League.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
  • Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
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