1981–82 Swansea City A.F.C. season

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.

Swansea City
1981–82 season
ChairmanMalcolm Struel
ManagerJohn Toshack
(player-manager)
StadiumVetch Field
First Division6th
FA CupThird round
League CupSecond round
Welsh CupWinners
Cup Winners' CupFirst round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Robbie James(15)
All:
Robbie James(20)
Highest home attendance24,115 vs Manchester United
(30 January 1982)
Lowest home attendance11,811 vs Stoke City
(6 March 1982)
Average home league attendance18,194

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.

Transfers

[1]

In

Out

Football League First Division
Main article: 1981–82 Football League § First Division

Results
29 August 1981 1Swansea City5 – 1Leeds UnitedSwansea
Charles  5'
Latchford  46', 50', 55'
Curtis  70'		 Parlane  26' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 23,500
Referee: S Bates
1 September 1981 2Brighton & Hove Albion1 – 2Swansea CityHove
Ritchie  33' L.James  10'
Latchford  14'		 Stadium: Goldstone Ground
Attendance: 19,885
Referee: D Vickers
5 September 1981 3West Bromwich Albion4 – 1Swansea CityWest Bromwich
Regis  17', 67', 73'
MacKenzie  69'		 Robinson  76' Stadium: The Hawthorns
Attendance: 18,063
Referee: R Bridges
12 September 1981 4Swansea City3 – 2Notts. CountySwansea
Curtis  23'
L.James  37'
Latchford  52'		 O'Brien  65' (pen.)
McCulloch  85'		 Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 14,391
Referee: T Spencer
19 September 1981 5Manchester United1 – 0Swansea CityManchester
Birtles  37' Stadium: Old Trafford
Attendance: 47,309
Referee: GJ Napthine
22 September 1981 6Swansea City2 – 1Tottenham HotspurSwansea
R.James  62', 74' Hoddle  65' (pen.) Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 22,206
Referee: DW Civil
26 September 1981 7Swansea City2 – 0SunderlandSwansea
Curtis  56'
L.James  82' (pen.)		 Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 17,826
Referee: R Baker
3 October 1981 8Liverpool2 – 2Swansea CityLiverpool
McDermott  59' (pen.), 63' (pen.) L.James  15' (pen.)
Latchford  57'		 Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 48,645
Referee: A Challinor
10 October 1981 9Swansea City2 – 0ArsenalSwansea
L.James  38'
Thompson  83'		 Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 20,600
Referee: LM Robinson
17 October 1981 10Stoke City1 – 2Swansea CityStoke-on-Trent
Griffiths  35' Stanley  65'
Latchford  79'		 Stadium: Victoria Ground
Attendance: 14,665
Referee: D Scott
24 October 1981 11Coventry City3 – 1Swansea CityCoventry
Hateley  37', 53'
Kaiser  39'		 Curtis  74' Stadium: Highfield Road
Attendance: 14,050
Referee: M Lowe
31 October 1981 12Swansea City0 – 0Wolverhampton WanderersSwansea
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 17,750
Referee: E Read
7 November 1981 13Ipswich Town2 – 3Swansea CityIpswich
Mariner  53'
Muhren  81'		 Curtis  7'
Latchford  63'
Stanley  83'		 Stadium: Portman Road
Attendance: 24,190
Referee: K Salmon
21 November 1981 14Manchester City4 – 0Swansea CityManchester
Tueart  41' (pen.), 86'
Reeves  63', 84'		 Stadium: Maine Road
Attendance: 34,744
Referee: G Courtney
24 November 1981 15Swansea City0 – 0Brighton & Hove AlbionSwansea
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 14,459
Referee: K Baker
28 November 1981 16Swansea City1 – 0Birmingham CitySwansea
R.James  66' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 15,097
Referee: D Hutchinson
5 December 1981 17Everton3 – 1Swansea CityLiverpool
Sharp  49'
O'Keefe  62', 67'		 Latchford  79' Stadium: Goodison Park
Attendance: 23,860
Referee: KA Redfern
12 December 1981 18Swansea City1 – 2Nottingham ForestSwansea
R.James  34' Young  77'
Robertson  89' (pen.)		 Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 17,550
Referee: D Lloyd
15 December 1981 19Swansea City2 – 1Aston VillaSwansea
R.James  12', 40' Thompson  14'(o.g.) Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 15,191
Referee: AR Glasson
28 December 1981 20Southampton3 – 1Swansea CitySouthampton
Armstrong  3'
Keegan  50', 67'		 Rajković  14' Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 22,703
Referee: LC Shapter
16 January 1982 21Leeds United2 – 0Swansea CityLeeds
Stevenson  17'
Butterworth  48'		 Stadium: Elland Road
Attendance: 18,709
Referee: NL Wilson
30 January 1982 22Swansea City2 – 0Manchester UnitedSwansea
Curtis  54'
R.James  56'		 Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 24,115
Referee: JE Martin
6 February 1982 23Notts. County0 – 1Swansea CityNottingham
L.James  12' (pen.) Stadium: Meadow Lane
Attendance: 10,070
Referee: N Midgley
13 February 1982 24Middlesbrough1 – 1Swansea CityMiddlesbrough
McAndrew  67' (pen.) Kennedy  38' Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 11,209
Referee: D Webb
16 February 1982 25Swansea City2 – 0LiverpoolSwansea
L.James  74'
Curtis  89'		 Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 22,604
Referee: VG Callow
20 February 1982 26Sunderland0 – 1Swansea CitySunderland
L.James  23' Stadium: Roker Park
Attendance: 13,163
Referee: RF Nixon
27 February 1982 27Arsenal0 – 2Swansea CityLondon
Kennedy  17'
R.James  65' (pen.)		 Stadium: Highbury Stadium
Attendance: 29,724
Referee: H Taylor
6 March 1982 28Swansea City3 – 0Stoke CitySwansea
R.James  34', 87'
Charles  72'		 Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 11,811
Referee: LF Burden
13 March 1982 29Swansea City0 – 0Coventry CitySwansea
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 16,425
Referee: LF Burden
20 March 1982 30Wolverhampton Wanderers0 – 1Swansea CityWolverhampton
Walsh  35' Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 14,158
Referee: T Fitzharris
27 March 1982 31Swansea City1 – 2Ipswich TownSwansea
R.James  31' (pen.) Brazil  20'
Gates  88'		 Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 20,750
Referee: BL Newsome
30 March 1982 32Swansea City0 – 1West Ham UnitedSwansea
Van Der Elst  9' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 20,272
Referee: BT Stevens
6 April 1982 33Swansea City3 – 1West Bromwich AlbionSwansea
Marustik  59'
Curtis  80'
Latchford  89'		 MacKenzie  45' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 15,744
Referee: RG Milford
10 April 1982 34West Ham United1 – 1Swansea CityLondon
Goddard  89' R.James  34' Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 26,566
Referee: A Robinson
13 April 1982 35Swansea City1 – 0SouthamptonSwansea
Curtis  27' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 23,771
Referee: AJ Hamil
17 April 1982 36Swansea City2 – 0Manchester CitySwansea
Stanley  11'
Latchford  36'		 Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 19,212
Referee: KW Baker
24 April 1982 37Birmingham City2 – 1Swansea CityBirmingham
Broadhurst  32'
Harford  78'		 Walsh  54' Stadium: St Andrew's (stadium)
Attendance: 14,973
Referee: CB White
1 May 1982 38Swansea City1 – 3EvertonSwansea
R.James  76' Heath  26'
Sharp  50' (pen.), 60'		 Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 16,243
Referee: DA Hedges
5 May 1982 39Tottenham Hotspur2 – 1Swansea CityLondon
Brooke  23', 55' (pen.) L.James  70' Stadium: White Hart Lane
Attendance: 26,358
Referee: LC Shapter
8 May 1982 40Nottingham Forest0 – 2Swansea CityNottingham
R.James  2', 83' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 15,037
Referee: KP Barratt
15 May 1982 41Swansea City1 – 2MiddlesbroughSwansea
Latchford  77' Otto  84'
Stanley  89' (o.g.)		 Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 12,961
Referee: D Letts
21 May 1982 42Aston Villa3 – 0Swansea CityBirmingham
Morley  36'
Bremner  44'
Withe  65'		 Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 18,294
Referee: M Dimblebee

Last updated: 4 September 2013
Source:[2]

Classification
Main article: 1981–82 Football League § First Division
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
4 Tottenham Hotspur 42 20 11 11 67 48 +19 71 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1982–83 First round[lower-alpha 1]
5 Arsenal 42 20 11 11 48 37 +11 71 UEFA Cup 1982–83 First round
6 Swansea City 42 21 6 15 58 51 +7 69 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1982–83 First round[lower-alpha 2]
7 Southampton 42 19 9 14 72 67 +5 66 UEFA Cup 1982–83 First round
8 Everton 42 17 13 12 56 50 +6 64
Source:
Notes:
  1. FA Cup winners
  2. Swansea City qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as 1982 Welsh Cup winners.

Results summary
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
42 21 6 15 58 51  +7 69 13 3 5 34 16  +18 8 3 10 24 35  −11

Source: statto.com

Results by round
Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142
GroundHAAHAHHAHAAHAAHHAHHAAHAAHAAHHAHHHAHHAHAAHA
ResultWWLWLWWDWWLDWLDWLLWLLWWDWWWWDWLLWDWWLLLWLL
Position116243332134343244135655432221244333345566
Source: statto.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

FA Cup
Main article: 1981–82 FA Cup
2 January 1982 Third RoundSwansea City0 – 4LiverpoolSwansea
Hansen  35'
Rush  45', 88'
Lawrenson  73'		 Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 24,179
Referee: CB White

Last updated: 4 September 2013
Source:[3]

Football League Cup
Main article: 1981–82 Football League Cup
6 October 1981 Second round, first legBarnsley2 – 0Swansea CityBarnsley
Riley  47'
Evans  73'		 Stadium: Oakwell
Attendance: 12,793
Referee: RA Banks
27 October 1981 Second round, second legSwansea City3 – 2 (a.e.t.)
(3–4 agg.)		BarnsleySwansea
L.James  18' (pen.)
Irwin  66'
Curtis  73'		 Glavin  46'
Cooper  114'		 Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 9,897
Referee: A Seville

Last updated: 4 September 2013
Source:[3]

Welsh Cup
2 December 1981 Third RoundStafford Rangers0 – 4Swansea CityStafford
Curtis  23'
Thompson  30'
Harris  49' (o.g.)
Latchford  90'		 Stadium: Marston Road
Attendance: 3,077
Referee: EG Morgan
22 December 1981 Fourth RoundSwansea City6 – 0Worcester CitySwansea
R.James  2', 21', 84'
L.James  29'
Stanley  34'
Attley  55'		 Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 4,838
Referee: C Thomas
9 February 1982 Fifth RoundSwansea City2 – 2Colwyn BaySwansea
Stanley  25'
Irwin  62'		 Phillips  9', 52' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 3,385
Referee: EG Morgan
2 March 1982 Fifth Round ReplaySwansea City0 – 3Colwyn BaySwansea
Curtis  2'
R.James  4', 58'		 Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 4,922
Referee: EG Morgan
16 March 1982 Semi-final first legBangor City1 – 2Swansea CityBangor, Gwynedd
Urquhart  27' L.James  57'
Curtis  78'		 Stadium: Farrar Road Stadium
Attendance: 7,500
Referee: R Bridges
20 April 1982 Semi-final second legSwansea City0 – 0Bangor CitySwansea
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 5,700
Referee: R Bridges
11 May 1982 Final first legCardiff City0 – 0Swansea CityCardiff
Stadium: Ninian Park
Attendance: 11,960
Referee: GP Owen
19 May 1982 Final second legSwansea City2 – 1Cardiff CitySwansea
Latchford  7', 18' Bennett  3' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 15,828
Referee: GP Owen

Last updated: 19 January 2014
Sources:,[3] Welsh Football Data Archive[4]

European Cup Winners' Cup
Main article: 1981–82 European Cup Winners' Cup
16 September 1981 First round, first legSwansea City 0 – 1 Lokomotive LeipzigSwansea
Kinne  70' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 10,295
Referee: J Quinou
30 September 1981 First round, second legLokomotive Leipzig 2 – 1
(3–1 agg.)		 Swansea CityLeipzig
Kinne  13'
Moldt  22'		 Charles  78' Stadium: Bruno-Plache-Stadion
Attendance: 22,500
Referee: M Ciulli (Italy)

Last updated: 4 September 2013
Source:[5]

Kit

Swansea's kit was manufactured by Belgian company Patrick. The kit bore no sponsorship.

Squad
Squad at end of season[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
GK Dai Davies
DF Colin Irwin (captain)
DF Wyndham Evans
DF Dudley Lewis
DF Nigel Stephenson
DF Džemal Hadžiabdić
DF Ante Rajković
MF Ray Kennedy
MF David Giles
MF Leighton James
No. Position Player
MF Robbie James
MF John Mahoney
MF Chris Marustik
MF Neil Robinson
FW Jeremy Charles
FW Alan Curtis
FW Dean Saunders
FW John Toshack (player-manager)
FW Ian Walsh

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
MF David Giles (on loan to Leyton Orient)

Squad statistics
Last updated on 4 September 2013[7]

Appearances and goals
No. Pos Player League FA Cup League Cup Welsh Cup Cup Winners' Cup Total
App. Goals App. Goals App. Goals App. Goals App. Goals App. Goals
-GK Dai Davies41 010207020530
-GK Chris Sander1 00000100020
-GK David Stewart0 00000000000
-DF Ante Rajković40 110107020511
-DF Colin Irwin37 010214100442
-DF Džemal Hadžiabdić25(+1) 00000602033(+1)0
-DF Max Thompson22(+1) 10(+1)010410027(+2)2
-DF Nigel Stevenson20 0100(+1)0502028(+1)0
-DF Dudley Lewis1 00010000020
-DF Wyndham Evans1 00000000(+2)01(+2)0
-DF Gary Richards1 00000000010
-DF Dave Rushbury0 00000000000
-MF Robbie James42 15101085105320
-MF Leighton James34(+4) 91021722046(+4)12
-MF Neil Robinson27(+2) 10020502037(+2)1
-MF John Mahoney25 010103(+2)02032(+2)0
-MF Gary Stanley22(+7) 31020620031(+7)5
-MF Chris Marustik19(+3) 11020500027(+3)1
-MF Ray Kennedy18 200004000222
-MF Brian Attley2(+2) 0000(+1)00(+1)1103(+4)1
-MF Jimmy Loveridge1 00000000010
-MF David Giles0(+2) 00000000(+2)00(+4)0
-MF Tommy Craig0 00000000000
-FW Alan Curtis40 9102173205213
-FW Bob Latchford31 1210205(+1)32041(+1)15
-FW Jeremy Charles9(+4) 20010202114(+4)3
-FW Ian Walsh3(+2) 200000(+1)0003(+3)2
-FW Darren Gale0(+1) 000000(+1)0000(+2)0

Top scorers
Place Position Nationality Number Name League FA Cup League Cup Welsh Cup Cup Winners' Cup Total
1 MF - Robbie James 15 0 0 5 0 20
2 FW - Bob Latchford 12 0 0 3 0 15
3 FW - Alan Curtis 9 0 1 3 0 13
4 MF - Leighton James 9 0 1 2 0 12
5 MF - Gary Stanley 3 0 0 2 0 5
6 FW - Jeremy Charles 2 0 0 0 1 3
7 FW - Ian Walsh 2 0 0 0 0 2
8 MF - Ray Kennedy 2 0 0 0 0 2
9 MF - Chris Marustik 1 0 0 0 0 1
10 DF - Ante Rajković 1 0 0 0 0 1
11 DF - Neil Robinson 1 0 0 0 0 1
12 DF - Max Thompson 1 0 0 1 0 2
13 DF - Colin Irwin 0 0 1 1 0 2
14 DF - Brian Attley 0 0 0 1 0 1
15 - - - Own goal 0 0 0 1 0 1
TOTALS 58 0 3 19 1 81

See also

References
General
  • 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. ISBN 978-1904323-26-6.
  • Jenkins, Geraint H. (2012). Proud to be a Swan, The History of Swansea City AFC. Ceredigion: Y Lolfa Cyf. ISBN 978-184771-481-7.
Specific
  1. http://www.worldfootball.net/teams/swansea-city/1982/6/
  2. Jones (2012), p. 325-328.
  3. Jones (2012), p. 329.
  4. 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.
  5. Jones (2012), p. 328.
  6. http://www.worldfootball.net/teams/swansea-city/1982/2/
  7. Jones (2012), p. 330.
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