1981–82 Birmingham City F.C. season
The 1981–82 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 79th in the Football League and their 47th in the First Division. They finished in 16th position in the 22-team division. They lost in their opening match in both cup competitions: to Ipswich Town in the third round proper of the 1981–82 FA Cup and to Nottingham Forest in the second round of the League Cup.
1981–82 season | ||
---|---|---|
Chairman | Keith Coombs | |
Manager | Jim Smith to February 1982 Ron Saunders thereafter | |
Ground | St Andrew's | |
Football League First Division | 16th | |
FA Cup | Third round (eliminated by Ipswich Town) | |
League Cup | Second round (eliminated by Nottingham Forest) | |
Top goalscorer | League: Tony Evans (15) All: Tony Evans (16) | |
Highest home attendance | 32,817 vs Aston Villa, 20 February 1982 | |
Lowest home attendance | 10,715 vs Middlesbrough, 6 February 1982 | |
Average home league attendance | 17,116 | |
| ||
Twenty-four players appeared in at least one first-team game, and Dutch international midfielder Toine van Mierlo made most appearances, with 43 of the possible 45. There were 14 different goalscorers; Tony Evans was the club's leading scorer with 16 goals, of which 15 were scored in the league.
Football League First Division
Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
29 August 1981 | 20th | Everton | A | L | 1–3 | Van Mierlo | 33,550 |
1 September 1981 | 17th | Ipswich Town | H | D | 1–1 | Evans | 17,328 |
5 September 1981 | 12th | Nottingham Forest | H | W | 4–3 | Broadhurst, Evans, Whatmore 2 | 19,035 |
12 September 1981 | 18th | Middlesbrough | A | L | 1–2 | Whatmore | 13,167 |
19 September 1981 | 8th | Manchester City | H | W | 3–0 | Evans 3 | 20,109 |
22 September 1981 | 13th | Arsenal | A | L | 0–1 | 19,588 | |
26 September 1981 | 14th | Aston Villa | A | D | 0–0 | 41,098 | |
3 October 1981 | 15th | West Ham United | H | D | 2–2 | Langan, Dillon | 22,290 |
10 October 1981 | 11th | Southampton | H | W | 4–0 | Worthington 2, Whatmore 2 | 16,938 |
17 October 1981 | 11th | Manchester United | A | D | 1–1 | Worthington pen | 48,800 |
24 October 1981 | 14th | Stoke City | A | L | 0–1 | 15,399 | |
31 October 1981 | 15th | West Bromwich Albion | H | D | 3–3 | Gemmill, Evans, Worthington pen | 21,601 |
7 November 1981 | 13th | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | D | 1–1 | Evans | 18,409 |
21 November 1981 | 15th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | L | 0–3 | 18,671 | |
28 November 1981 | 20th | Swansea City | A | L | 0–1 | 15,096 | |
5 December 1981 | 19th | Notts County | H | W | 2–1 | Evans 2 (1 pen) | 11,914 |
5 January 1982 | 19th | Ipswich Town | A | L | 2–3 | Van Mierlo, Broadhurst | 19,336 |
9 January 1982 | 19th | Nottingham Forest | A | L | 1–2 | Worthington | 15,906 |
26 January 1982 | 19th | Coventry City | H | D | 3–3 | Broadhurst, Evans 2 | 13,023 |
30 January 1982 | 19th | Manchester City | A | L | 2–4 | Worthington 2 | 28,438 |
6 February 1982 | 19th | Middlesbrough | H | D | 0–0 | 10,715 | |
13 February 1982 | 19th | West Ham United | A | D | 2–2 | Whatmore, Van Mierlo | 22,512 |
16 February 1982 | 17th | Sunderland | H | W | 2–0 | Van Mierlo, Worthington | 10,863 |
20 February 1982 | 17th | Aston Villa | H | L | 0–1 | 32,817 | |
27 February 1982 | 17th | Southampton | A | L | 1–3 | Worthington pen | 20,620 |
6 March 1982 | 17th | Manchester United | H | L | 0–1 | 19,637 | |
13 March 1982 | 17th | Stoke City | H | W | 2–1 | Curbishley, Hawker | 12,018 |
20 March 1982 | 18th | West Bromwich Albion | A | D | 1–1 | Evans | 20,936 |
23 March 1982 | 18th | Tottenham Hotspur | H | D | 0–0 | 17,708 | |
27 March 1982 | 17th | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | W | 1–0 | Harford | 13,234 |
30 March 1982 | 17th | Liverpool | A | L | 1–3 | Harford | 24,224 |
6 April 1982 | 17th | Everton | H | L | 0–2 | 12,273 | |
10 April 1982 | 19th | Leeds United | H | L | 0–1 | 14,497 | |
12 April 1982 | 20th | Sunderland | A | L | 0–2 | 14,821 | |
17 April 1982 | 20th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | D | 1–1 | Harford | 18,964 |
24 April 1982 | 17th | Swansea City | H | W | 2–1 | Broadhurst, Harford | 14,973 |
28 April 1982 | 16th | Tottenham Hotspur | A | D | 1–1 | Phillips, Evans 2, Harford | 25,470 |
1 May 1982 | 16th | Notts County | A | W | 4–1 | Harford | 10,704 |
4 May 1982 | 17th | Arsenal | H | L | 0–1 | 13,428 | |
8 May 1982 | 18th | Liverpool | H | L | 0–1 | 26,381 | |
12 May 1982 | 16th | Leeds United | A | D | 3–3 | Harford 2, Evans | 18,583 |
15 May 1982 | 16th | Coventry City | A | W | 1–0 | Harford | 15,925 |
League table (part)
Three points for a win were first awarded in the Football League in 1981–82.
Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
14th | Coventry City | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 56 | 62 | −6 | 50 |
15th | Notts County | 42 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 61 | 69 | −8 | 47 |
16th | Birmingham City | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 53 | 61 | −8 | 44 |
17th | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 46 | 57 | −11 | 44 |
18th | Stoke City | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 44 | 63 | −19 | 44 |
Key | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | ||||||||
Source | [1] |
FA Cup
Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Third round | 2 January 1982 | Ipswich Town | H | L | 2–3 | Worthington pen, Curbishley | 17,236 |
League Cup
Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Second round 1st leg | 6 October 1981 | Nottingham Forest | H | L | 2–3 | Whatmore, Worthington | 14,330 |
Second round 2nd leg | 28 October 1981 | Nottingham Forest | A | L | 1–2 | Evans | 16,316 |
Appearances and goals
- Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.
- Players with name struck through and marked
left the club during the playing season. - Players with names in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Birmingham.
Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
GK | Tony Coton | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
GK | Roger Jones* | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
GK | Jeff Wealands | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 0 | |
DF | Kevan Broadhurst | 35 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 4 | |
DF | Mark Dennis | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
DF | Phil Hawker | 19 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 (1) | 1 | |
DF | Dave Langan | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 1 | |
DF | Geoff Scott | 14 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 (1) | 0 | |
DF | Colin Todd | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
DF | Pat Van Den Hauwe | 30 (1) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31 (1) | 0 | |
MF | Bud Brocken | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
MF | Alan Curbishley | 29 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 2 | |
MF | Kevin Dillon | 35 (1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 (1) | 1 | |
MF | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 1 | ||
MF | Dave Linney | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | |
MF | Ian Handysides | 8 (12) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 8 (14) | 0 | |
MF | Toine van Mierlo | 40 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 4 | |
MF | Les Phillips | 7 (4) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 (4) | 1 | |
MF | Byron Stevenson | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
FW | Tony Evans | 29 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 16 | |
FW | Mick Harford | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 9 | |
FW | Duncan MacDowall | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
FW | Neil Whatmore | 22 (2) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 23 (2) | 7 | |
FW | 18 (2) | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 21 (2) | 11 |
See also
- Birmingham City F.C. seasons
References
- General
- Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
- Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. Derby: DB Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85983-853-2.
- Source for match dates, league positions and results: "Birmingham City 1981–1982 : Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- Source for lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 398–99.
- Specific
- "Birmingham City 1981–1982 : English Division One (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2012.