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.

Birmingham City F.C.
1981–82 season
ChairmanKeith Coombs
ManagerJim Smith to February 1982
Ron Saunders thereafter
GroundSt Andrew's
Football League First Division16th
FA CupThird round
(eliminated by Ipswich Town)
League CupSecond round
(eliminated by Nottingham Forest)
Top goalscorerLeague: Tony Evans (15)
All: Tony Evans (16)
Highest home attendance32,817 vs Aston Villa, 20 February 1982
Lowest home attendance10,715 vs Middlesbrough, 6 February 1982
Average home league attendance17,116

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
Main article: 1981–82 Football League
DateLeague
position		Opponents VenueResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
29 August 1981 20thEvertonA L1–3Van Mierlo 33,550
1 September 1981 17thIpswich TownH D1–1Evans 17,328
5 September 1981 12thNottingham ForestH W4–3Broadhurst, Evans, Whatmore 2 19,035
12 September 1981 18thMiddlesbroughA L1–2Whatmore 13,167
19 September 1981 8thManchester CityH W3–0Evans 3 20,109
22 September 1981 13thArsenalA L0–1 19,588
26 September 1981 14thAston VillaA D0–0 41,098
3 October 1981 15thWest Ham UnitedH D2–2Langan, Dillon 22,290
10 October 1981 11thSouthamptonH W4–0Worthington 2, Whatmore 2 16,938
17 October 1981 11thManchester UnitedA D1–1Worthington pen 48,800
24 October 1981 14thStoke CityA L0–1 15,399
31 October 1981 15thWest Bromwich AlbionH D3–3Gemmill, Evans, Worthington pen 21,601
7 November 1981 13thBrighton & Hove AlbionA D1–1Evans 18,409
21 November 1981 15thWolverhampton WanderersH L0–3 18,671
28 November 1981 20thSwansea CityA L0–1 15,096
5 December 1981 19thNotts CountyH W2–1Evans 2 (1 pen) 11,914
5 January 1982 19thIpswich TownA L2–3Van Mierlo, Broadhurst 19,336
9 January 1982 19thNottingham ForestA L1–2Worthington 15,906
26 January 1982 19thCoventry CityH D3–3Broadhurst, Evans 2 13,023
30 January 1982 19thManchester CityA L2–4Worthington 2 28,438
6 February 1982 19thMiddlesbroughH D0–0 10,715
13 February 1982 19thWest Ham UnitedA D2–2Whatmore, Van Mierlo 22,512
16 February 1982 17thSunderlandH W2–0Van Mierlo, Worthington 10,863
20 February 1982 17thAston VillaH L0–1 32,817
27 February 1982 17thSouthamptonA L1–3Worthington pen 20,620
6 March 1982 17thManchester UnitedH L0–1 19,637
13 March 1982 17thStoke CityH W2–1Curbishley, Hawker 12,018
20 March 1982 18thWest Bromwich AlbionA D1–1Evans 20,936
23 March 1982 18thTottenham HotspurH D0–0 17,708
27 March 1982 17thBrighton & Hove AlbionH W1–0Harford 13,234
30 March 1982 17thLiverpoolA L1–3Harford 24,224
6 April 1982 17thEvertonH L0–2 12,273
10 April 1982 19thLeeds UnitedH L0–1 14,497
12 April 1982 20thSunderlandA L0–2 14,821
17 April 1982 20thWolverhampton WanderersA D1–1Harford 18,964
24 April 1982 17thSwansea CityH W2–1Broadhurst, Harford 14,973
28 April 1982 16thTottenham HotspurA D1–1Phillips, Evans 2, Harford 25,470
1 May 1982 16thNotts CountyA W4–1Harford 10,704
4 May 1982 17thArsenalH L0–1 13,428
8 May 1982 18thLiverpoolH L0–1 26,381
12 May 1982 16thLeeds UnitedA D3–3Harford 2, Evans 18,583
15 May 1982 16thCoventry CityA W1–0Harford 15,925

League table (part)

Three points for a win were first awarded in the Football League in 1981–82.

Final First Division table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GD Pts
14th Coventry City421311185662−650
15th Notts County42138216169−847
16th Birmingham City421014185361−844
17th West Bromwich Albion421111204657−1144
18th Stoke City42128224463−1944
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
Main article: 1981–82 FA Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
Third round 2 January 1982Ipswich TownH L2–3Worthington pen, Curbishley 17,236

League Cup
Main article: 1981–82 Football League Cup
Round DateOpponentsVenue ResultScore
F–A		Scorers Attendance
Second round 1st leg 6 October 1981Nottingham ForestH L2–3Whatmore, Worthington 14,330
Second round 2nd leg 28 October 1981Nottingham ForestA L1–2Evans 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.
Players having played at least one first-team match
Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup League Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK ENG Tony Coton 1501000160
GK ENG Roger Jones* 40000040
GK ENG Jeff Wealands 2300020250
DF ENG Kevan Broadhurst 3541020384
DF ENG Mark Dennis 1701010190
DF ENG Phil Hawker 19 (1)1001020 (1)1
DF IRL Dave Langan 3611010381
DF ENG Geoff Scott 14 (1)0000014 (1)0
DF ENG Colin Todd 1901020220
DF WAL Pat Van Den Hauwe 30 (1)0010031 (1)0
MF NED Bud Brocken 1700020190
MF ENG Alan Curbishley 2911100302
MF ENG Kevin Dillon 35 (1)1102038 (1)1
MF SCO Archie Gemmill 1911020221
MF ENG Dave Linney 0 (1)000000 (1)0
MF ENG Ian Handysides 8 (12)00 (1)00 (1)08 (14)0
MF NED Toine van Mierlo 4041020434
MF ENG Les Phillips 7 (4)100007 (4)1
MF WAL Byron Stevenson 1200000120
FW ENG Tony Evans 291510113116
FW ENG Mick Harford 1290000129
FW ENG Duncan MacDowall 20000020
FW ENG Neil Whatmore 22 (2)6001123 (2)7
FW ENG Frank Worthington 18 (2)9112121 (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
  1. "Birmingham City 1981–1982 : English Division One (old) Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
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