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

DateLeaguepositionOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendance29 August 198120thEvertonAL1–3Van Mierlo33,5501 September 198117thIpswich TownHD1–1Evans17,3285 September 198112thNottingham ForestHW4–3Broadhurst, Evans, Whatmore 219,03512 September 198118thMiddlesbroughAL1–2Whatmore13,16719 September 19818thManchester CityHW3–0Evans 320,10922 September 198113thArsenalAL0–119,58826 September 198114thAston VillaAD0–041,0983 October 198115thWest Ham UnitedHD2–2Langan, Dillon22,29010 October 198111thSouthamptonHW4–0Worthington 2, Whatmore 216,93817 October 198111thManchester UnitedAD1–1Worthington pen48,80024 October 198114thStoke CityAL0–115,39931 October 198115thWest Bromwich AlbionHD3–3Gemmill, Evans, Worthington pen21,6017 November 198113thBrighton & Hove AlbionAD1–1Evans18,40921 November 198115thWolverhampton WanderersHL0–318,67128 November 198120thSwansea CityAL0–115,0965 December 198119thNotts CountyHW2–1Evans 2 (1 pen)11,9145 January 198219thIpswich TownAL2–3Van Mierlo, Broadhurst19,3369 January 198219thNottingham ForestAL1–2Worthington15,90626 January 198219thCoventry CityHD3–3Broadhurst, Evans 213,02330 January 198219thManchester CityAL2–4Worthington 228,4386 February 198219thMiddlesbroughHD0–010,71513 February 198219thWest Ham UnitedAD2–2Whatmore, Van Mierlo22,51216 February 198217thSunderlandHW2–0Van Mierlo, Worthington10,86320 February 198217thAston VillaHL0–132,81727 February 198217thSouthamptonAL1–3Worthington pen20,6206 March 198217thManchester UnitedHL0–119,63713 March 198217thStoke CityHW2–1Curbishley, Hawker12,01820 March 198218thWest Bromwich AlbionAD1–1Evans20,93623 March 198218thTottenham HotspurHD0–017,70827 March 198217thBrighton & Hove AlbionHW1–0Harford13,23430 March 198217thLiverpoolAL1–3Harford24,2246 April 198217thEvertonHL0–212,27310 April 198219thLeeds UnitedHL0–114,49712 April 198220thSunderlandAL0–214,82117 April 198220thWolverhampton WanderersAD1–1Harford18,96424 April 198217thSwansea CityHW2–1Broadhurst, Harford14,97328 April 198216thTottenham HotspurAD1–1Harford25,4701 May 198216thNotts CountyAW4–1Phillips, Evans 2, Harford10,7044 May 198217thArsenalHL0–113,4288 May 198218thLiverpoolHL0–126,38112 May 198216thLeeds UnitedAD3–3Harford 2, Evans18,58315 May 198216thCoventry CityAW1–0Harford15,925

League table (part)

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

+Final First Division table (part)Team14thCoventry City421311185662−65015thNotts County42138216169−84716thBirmingham City421014185361−84417thWest Bromwich Albion421111204657−114418thStoke City42128224463−1944

Results summary

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceThird round2 January 1982Ipswich TownHL2–3Worthington pen, Curbishley 17,236

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentsVenueResultScoreF–AScorersAttendanceSecond round 1st leg6 October 1981Nottingham ForestHL2–3Whatmore, Worthington14,330Second round 2nd leg28 October 1981Nottingham ForestAL1–2Evans16,316

Appearances and goals

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute. Players with name in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Birmingham. Players marked left the club during the playing season. Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward

+ Players' appearances and goals by competitionNameLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotalGoalsGoalsGoalsGoalsGK Tony Coton1501000160GK Roger Jones *40000040GK Jeff Wealands2300020250DF Kevan Broadhurst3541020384DF Mark Dennis1701010190DF Phil Hawker19 (1)1001020 (1)1DF Dave Langan3611010381DF Geoff Scott14 (1)0000014 (1)0DF Colin Todd1901020220DF Pat Van Den Hauwe30 (1)0010031 (1)0MF Bud Brocken1700020190MF Alan Curbishley2911100302MF Kevin Dillon35 (1)1102038 (1)1MF Archie Gemmill 1911020221MF Dave Linney0 (1)000000 (1)0MF Ian Handysides8 (12)00 (1)00 (1)08 (14)0MF Toine van Mierlo4041020434MF Les Phillips7 (4)100007 (4)1MF Byron Stevenson1200000120FW Tony Evans291510113116FW Mick Harford1290000129FW Duncan MacDowall20000020FW Neil Whatmore22 (2)6001123 (2)7FW Frank Worthington 18 (2)9112121 (2)11

See also Birmingham City F.C. seasons

Sources

For match dates, league positions and results: For lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 398–99.

References