During the 1981–82 English football season, Swansea City A.F.C. competed in the Football League First Division, following promotion from the Second Division. It was their debut season in the English top flight and the first season in which a Welsh club was part of the top English league since arch-rivals Cardiff City were relegated at the end of 1961–62.
Background
Swansea's rise to the top flight of English football had come only four seasons after competing in the Fourth Division and thus few tipped Swansea to survive in the First Division. Swansea soon proved the naysayers wrong by crushing Leeds United 5–1 in their first match ever in the top flight, with debutant Bob Latchford scoring a hat-trick. The win saw Swansea rise from the basement division to the top of the entire Football League in barely three years. Victories over footballing royalty such as Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur followed as the club topped the league on several further occasions. However, injuries to key players took their toll, and the lack of depth in the squad meant that the season ended in sixth-place finish.
Rundle, Richard. "Swansea City". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
Bibliography
Jones, Colin (2012). Swansea Town & City Football Club: The Complete Record, 1912-2012. From Southern League to Premier League. Dinefwr Press Ltd. ISBN978-1904323-26-6.
Jenkins, Geraint H. (2012). Proud to be a Swan, The History of Swansea City AFC. Ceredigion: Y Lolfa Cyf. ISBN978-184771-481-7.
^Thomas, Mel; Garland, Ian (19 January 2014). "Welsh Cup 1981/82". wfda.co.uk. WFDA. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.