| 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 | |
|
| ||
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.
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
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.