1981–82_Football_League_First_Division

Second Division
Season	1981–82
Champions	Luton Town
Promoted	Luton Town; Watford; Norwich City
Relegated	Cardiff City; Wrexham; Orient
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,171 (2.53 per match)
Top goalscorer	Ronnie Moore; (22 goals)
Biggest home win	Luton Town 6–0 Grimsby Town; (17 October 1981); Rotherham United 6–0 Chelsea; (31 October 1981); Queens Park Rangers 7–1 Bolton Wanderers; (1 May 1982)
Biggest away win	Cardiff City 0–4 Newcastle United; (3 October 1981); Newcastle United 0–4 Queens Park Rangers; (5 May 1982)
Highest scoring	Cardiff City 5–4 Cambridge United; (20 March 1982)
	← 1980–81 1982–83 →

First Division
Season	1981–82
Champions	Liverpool; 13th English title
Relegated	Leeds United; Middlesbrough; Wolverhampton Wanderers
European Cup	Liverpool; Aston Villa
Cup Winners' Cup	Tottenham Hotspur; Swansea City
UEFA Cup	Ipswich Town; Manchester United; Arsenal; Southampton
Matches played	462
Goals scored	1,173 (2.54 per match)
Top goalscorer	Kevin Keegan; (26 goals)
Biggest home win	Manchester United 5–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers; (3 October 1981); Tottenham Hotspur 6–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers; (6 February 1982); Coventry City 6–1 Sunderland; (27 April 1982)
Biggest away win	Manchester City 0–5 Liverpool; (10 April 1982)
Highest scoring	Southampton 5–5 Coventry City; (4 May 1982)
Longest winning run	11 matches; Liverpool
Longest unbeaten run	16 matches; Liverpool
Longest losing run	8 matches; Wolverhampton Wanderers
	← 1980–81 1982–83 →

The Football League
Season	1981–82
Champions	Liverpool
	← 1980–81 1982–83 →

1981–82 Football League

83rd season of the Football League

The 1981–82 season was the 83rd completed season (84th overall) of The Football League. This was the first league season with three points for win.

Quick Facts Season, Champions ...

Overview

Three 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, 68, 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.

Second Division

Quick Facts Season, Champions ...

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.

Cardiff City, Wrexham and Orient were relegated; the latter two have not returned to this level since.

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

Results

More information Home \ Away, BAR ...

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

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.

Quick Facts Season, Champions ...

More information Pos, Team ...

Source: rsssf.com (incorrect), source=11v11.com
Notes:

2 points deducted

Results

More information Home \ Away, BRE ...

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

Fourth Division

Quick Facts Season, Champions ...

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.

More information Pos, Team ...

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results

More information Home \ Away, ALD ...

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

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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article 1981–82_Football_League_First_Division, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[table_note_res_CWC1R0.078924308567738-2] Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1981–82 FA Cup winners.

[table_note_res_CWCPR0.078924308567738-3] Swansea City qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup preliminary round as the 1982 Welsh Cup winners.

[table_note_res_EC1RC0.078924308567738-4] Aston Villa qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1981–82 European Cup winners.

[table_hth_BRR0.38625919138373-5] 2 points deducted

[topscorers-1] [1]
"English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Liverpool (C)	42	26	9	7	80	32	+48	87	Qualification for the European Cup first round
2	Ipswich Town	42	26	5	11	75	53	+22	83	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3	Manchester United	42	22	12	8	59	29	+30	78	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4	Tottenham Hotspur	42	20	11	11	67	48	+19	71	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round^{[lower-alpha 1]}
5	Arsenal	42	20	11	11	48	37	+11	71	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
6	Swansea City	42	21	6	15	58	51	+7	69	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup preliminary round^{[lower-alpha 2]}
7	Southampton	42	19	9	14	72	67	+5	66	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
8	Everton	42	17	13	12	56	50	+6	64
9	West Ham United	42	14	16	12	66	57	+9	58
10	Manchester City	42	15	13	14	49	50	−1	58
11	Aston Villa	42	15	12	15	55	53	+2	57	Qualification for the European Cup first round^{[lower-alpha 3]}
12	Nottingham Forest	42	15	12	15	42	48	−6	57
13	Brighton & Hove Albion	42	13	13	16	43	52	−9	52
14	Coventry City	42	13	11	18	56	62	−6	50
15	Notts County	42	13	8	21	61	69	−8	47
16	Birmingham City	42	10	14	18	53	61	−8	44
17	West Bromwich Albion	42	11	11	20	46	57	−11	44
18	Stoke City	42	12	8	22	44	63	−19	44
19	Sunderland	42	11	11	20	38	58	−20	44
20	Leeds United (R)	42	10	12	20	39	61	−22	42	Relegation to the Second Division
21	Wolverhampton Wanderers (R)	42	10	10	22	32	63	−31	40
22	Middlesbrough (R)	42	8	15	19	34	52	−18	39

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Everton	Gordon Lee	Sacked	16 May 1981	Pre-season	Howard Kendall	1 June 1981
Coventry City	Gordon Milne	Mutual consent	30 May 1981		Dave Sexton	5 June 1981
Sunderland	Mick Docherty	End of caretaker spell	1 June 1981		Alan Durban	1 June 1981
Stoke City	Alan Durban	Signed by Sunderland	1 June 1981		Richie Barker	11 June 1981
Middlesbrough	John Neal	Signed by Chelsea	1 June 1981		Bobby Murdoch	19 June 1981
Brighton & Hove Albion	Alan Mullery	Resigned	5 June 1981		Mike Bailey	9 June 1981
Manchester United	Jack Crompton	End of caretaker spell	9 June 1981		Ron Atkinson	9 June 1981
West Bromwich Albion	Ron Atkinson	Signed by Manchester United	9 June 1981		Ronnie Allen	30 June 1981
Wolverhampton Wanderers	John Barnwell	Sacked	5 January 1982	18th	Ian Greaves	8 February 1982
Aston Villa	Ron Saunders	Resigned	9 February 1982	15th	Tony Barton	9 February 1982
Birmingham City	Jim Smith	Resigned	15 February 1982	19th	Ron Saunders	22 February 1982

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Luton Town (C, P)	42	25	13	4	86	46	+40	88	Promotion to the First Division
2	Watford (P)	42	23	11	8	76	42	+34	80
3	Norwich City (P)	42	22	5	15	64	50	+14	71
4	Sheffield Wednesday	42	20	10	12	55	51	+4	70
5	Queens Park Rangers	42	21	6	15	65	43	+22	69
6	Barnsley	42	19	10	13	59	41	+18	67
7	Rotherham United	42	20	7	15	66	54	+12	67
8	Leicester City	42	18	12	12	56	48	+8	66
9	Newcastle United	42	18	8	16	52	50	+2	62
10	Blackburn Rovers	42	16	11	15	47	43	+4	59
11	Oldham Athletic	42	15	14	13	50	51	−1	59
12	Chelsea	42	15	12	15	60	60	0	57
13	Charlton Athletic	42	13	12	17	50	65	−15	51
14	Cambridge United	42	13	9	20	48	53	−5	48
15	Crystal Palace	42	13	9	20	34	45	−11	48
16	Derby County	42	12	12	18	53	68	−15	48
17	Grimsby Town	42	11	13	18	53	65	−12	46
18	Shrewsbury Town	42	11	13	18	37	57	−20	46
19	Bolton Wanderers	42	13	7	22	39	61	−22	46
20	Cardiff City (R)	42	12	8	22	45	61	−16	44	Relegation to the Third Division
21	Wrexham (R)	42	11	11	20	40	56	−16	44
22	Orient (R)	42	10	9	23	36	61	−25	39

Club	Final Position	Votes
Northampton Town	22nd (Fourth Division)	53
Crewe Alexandra	24th (Fourth Division)	50
Rochdale	21st (Fourth Division)	48
Scunthorpe United	23rd (Fourth Division)	48
Telford United	3rd (Alliance Premier League)	13

1981–82_Football_League_First_Division

1981–82 Football League

Overview

First Division

Final table

Results

Managerial changes

Maps

Second Division

League table

Results

Maps

Third Division

Results

Maps

Fourth Division

Results

Maps

Election/Re-election to the Football League

See also

References

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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	Promoted
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