1981–82 Football League

The 1981–82 season was the 83rd completed season (84th overall) of The Football League.

The Football League
Season1981–82
ChampionsLiverpool

Overview

3 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, 67, 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.

Final league tables and results

The tables and results below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website,[1] with home and away statistics separated.

During the first five seasons of the league, that is, until the season 1893–94, re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894–95 season and until the 1920–21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league. From the 1922–23 season on it was required of the bottom two teams of both Third Division North and Third Division South. Since the Fourth Division was established in the 1958–59 season, the re-election process has concerned the bottom four clubs in that division.[2]

First Division
Football League
First Division
Season1981–82
ChampionsLiverpool (13th English title)
RelegatedLeeds United,
Middlesbrough,
Wolverhampton Wanderers
1982–83 European CupLiverpool,
Aston Villa
FA Cup winners
1982–83 European Cup Winners' Cup		Tottenham Hotspur (7th FA Cup title),
Swansea City (Welsh Cup winners)
1982–83 UEFA CupArsenal,
Ipswich Town,
Manchester United,
Southampton
Matches played462
Goals scored1,173 (2.54 per match)
Top goalscorerKevin Keegan (Southampton), 26 [3]
Biggest home winCoventry – Sunderland 6–1 (27 April 1982)
Tottenham – Wolverhampton 6–1 (6 February 1982)
Manchester United –Wolverhampton 5–0 (3 October 1982)
Biggest away winManchester City – Liverpool 0–5 (10 April 1982)
Highest scoringSouthampton – Coventry 5–5 (4 May 1982)
Longest winning runLiverpool (11 games)
Longest unbeaten runLiverpool (16 games)
Longest losing runWolverhampton Wanderers (8 games)

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.

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Liverpool 42 14 3 4 39 14 12 6 3 41 18 +48 87 European Cup 1982–83 First round[lower-alpha 1]
2 Ipswich Town 42 17 1 3 47 25 9 4 8 28 28 +22 83 UEFA Cup 1982–83 First round
3 Manchester United 42 12 6 3 27 9 10 6 5 32 20 +30 78
4 Tottenham Hotspur 42 12 4 5 41 26 8 7 6 26 22 +19 71 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1982–83 First round[lower-alpha 2]
5 Arsenal 42 13 5 3 27 15 7 6 8 21 22 +11 71 UEFA Cup 1982–83 First round
6 Swansea City 42 13 3 5 34 16 8 3 10 24 35 +7 69 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1982–83 First round[lower-alpha 3]
7 Southampton 42 15 2 4 49 30 4 7 10 23 37 +5 66 UEFA Cup 1982–83 First round
8 Everton 42 11 7 3 33 21 6 6 9 23 29 +6 64
9 West Ham United 42 9 10 2 42 29 5 6 10 24 28 +9 58
10 Manchester City 42 9 7 5 32 23 6 6 9 17 27 −1 58
11 Aston Villa 42 9 6 6 28 24 6 6 9 27 29 +2 57 European Cup 1982–83 First round[lower-alpha 4]
12 Nottingham Forest 42 7 7 7 19 20 8 5 8 23 28 −6 57
13 Brighton & Hove Albion 42 8 7 6 30 24 5 6 10 13 28 −9 52
14 Coventry City 42 9 4 8 31 24 4 7 10 25 38 −6 50
15 Notts County 42 8 5 8 32 33 5 3 13 29 36 −8 47
16 Birmingham City 42 8 6 7 29 25 2 8 11 24 36 −8 44
17 West Bromwich Albion 42 6 6 9 24 25 5 5 11 22 32 −11 44
18 Stoke City 42 9 2 10 27 28 3 6 12 17 35 −19 44
19 Sunderland 42 6 5 10 19 26 5 6 10 19 32 −20 44
20 Leeds United 42 6 11 4 23 20 4 1 16 16 41 −22 42 Relegated
21 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 8 5 8 19 20 2 5 14 13 43 −31 40
22 Middlesbrough 42 5 9 7 20 24 3 6 12 14 28 −18 39
Source:
Notes:
  1. Liverpool were also this season's League Cup Winners.
  2. FA Cup winners
  3. Swansea City qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as 1982 Welsh Cup winners.
  4. Aston Villa won the European Cup this year, and thus qualified for the following season's competition as defending champions.

Results
Home \ Away ARS AST BIR B&HA 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 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: Soccerbase
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

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

Second Division

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.

Orient, Wrexham and Cardiff City went down to the Third Division.

Football League
Second Division
Season1981–82
ChampionsLuton Town (1st title)
PromotedNorwich City,
Watford
RelegatedCardiff City,
Orient,
Wrexham
Matches played462
Goals scored1,171 (2.53 per match)
Top goalscorerRonnie Moore (Rotherham United), 22 [3]
Biggest home winQPR –Bolton Wanderers 7–1 (1 May 1982)
Rotherham –Chelsea 6–0 (31 October 1981)
Luton –Grimsby Town 6–0 (17 October 1981)
Biggest away winCardiff City –Newcastle 0–4 (3 October 1981)
Newcastle –QPR 0–4 (5 May 1982)
Highest scoringCardiff City –Cambridge United 5–4 (20 March 1982)
Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Luton Town 42 16 3 2 48 19 9 10 2 38 27 +40 88 Division Champions, promoted
2 Watford 42 13 6 2 46 16 10 5 6 30 26 +34 80 Promoted
3 Norwich City 42 14 3 4 41 19 8 2 11 23 31 +14 71
4 Sheffield Wednesday 42 10 8 3 31 23 10 2 9 24 28 +4 70
5 Queens Park Rangers 42 15 4 2 40 9 6 2 13 25 34 +22 69
6 Barnsley 42 13 4 4 33 14 6 6 9 26 27 +18 67
7 Rotherham United 42 13 5 3 42 19 7 2 12 24 35 +12 67
8 Leicester City 42 12 5 4 31 19 6 7 8 25 29 +8 66
9 Newcastle United 42 14 4 3 30 14 4 4 13 22 36 +2 62
10 Blackburn Rovers 42 11 4 6 26 15 5 7 9 21 28 +4 59
11 Oldham Athletic 42 9 9 3 28 23 6 5 10 22 28 −1 59
12 Chelsea 42 10 5 6 37 30 5 7 9 23 30 0 57
13 Charlton Athletic 42 11 5 5 33 22 2 7 12 17 43 −15 51
14 Cambridge United 42 11 4 6 31 19 2 5 14 17 34 −5 48
15 Crystal Palace 42 9 2 10 25 26 4 7 10 9 19 −11 48
16 Derby County 42 9 8 4 32 23 3 4 14 21 45 −15 48
17 Grimsby Town 42 5 8 8 29 30 6 5 10 24 35 −12 46
18 Shrewsbury Town 42 10 6 5 26 19 1 7 13 11 38 −20 46
19 Bolton Wanderers 42 10 4 7 28 24 3 3 15 11 37 −22 46
20 Cardiff City 42 9 2 10 28 32 3 6 12 17 29 −16 44 Relegated
21 Wrexham 42 9 4 8 22 22 2 7 12 18 34 −16 44
22 Orient 42 6 8 7 23 24 4 1 16 13 37 −25 39
Source:

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: Soccerbase
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

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

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

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 [3]
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[lower-alpha 1]
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: Soccerbase
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Maps
Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1981–1982
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 [3]

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:

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: Soccerbase
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Maps
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 Town22nd (Fourth Division)53
Crewe Alexandra24th (Fourth Division)50
Rochdale21st (Fourth Division)48
Hartlepool United23rd (Fourth Division)48
Telford United3rd (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
  • 1981-82 in English football

References
  1. "England 1981–82". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 26 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  2. Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
  3. "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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