1981–82 Swansea City A.F.C. season

During the 1981–82 English football season, Swansea City A.F.C. competed in the Football League First Division, following promotion from the Second Division. It was their debut season in the English top flight and the first season in which a Welsh club was part of the top English league since arch-rivals Cardiff City were relegated at the end of 1961–62.

Swansea City
1981–82 season
ChairmanMalcolm Struel
ManagerJohn Toshack
(player-manager)
StadiumVetch Field
First Division6th
FA CupThird round
League CupSecond round
Welsh CupWinners
Cup Winners' CupFirst round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Robbie James(15)

All:
Robbie James(20)
Highest home attendance24,115 vs Manchester United
(30 January 1982)
Lowest home attendance11,811 vs Stoke City
(6 March 1982)
Average home league attendance18,194

Background

Swansea's rise to the top flight of English football had come only four seasons after competing in the Fourth Division and thus few tipped Swansea to survive in the First Division. Swansea soon proved the naysayers wrong by crushing Leeds United 5–1 in their first match ever in the top flight, with debutant Bob Latchford scoring a hat-trick. The win saw Swansea rise from the basement division to the top of the entire Football League in barely three years. Victories over footballing royalty such as Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur followed as the club topped the league on several further occasions. However, injuries to key players took their toll, and the lack of depth in the squad meant that the season ended in sixth-place finish.

Transfers

[1]

In

Out

Football League First Division

Results

29 August 1981 1 Swansea City 5 1 Leeds United Swansea
Charles  5'
Latchford  46', 50', 55'
Curtis  70'
Parlane  26' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 23,500
Referee: S Bates
1 September 1981 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 1 2 Swansea City Hove
Ritchie  33' L.James  10'
Latchford  14'
Stadium: Goldstone Ground
Attendance: 19,885
Referee: D Vickers
5 September 1981 3 West Bromwich Albion 4 1 Swansea City West Bromwich
Regis  17', 67', 73'
MacKenzie  69'
Robinson  76' Stadium: The Hawthorns
Attendance: 18,063
Referee: R Bridges
12 September 1981 4 Swansea City 3 2 Notts. County Swansea
Curtis  23'
L.James  37'
Latchford  52'
O'Brien  65' (pen.)
McCulloch  85'
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 14,391
Referee: T Spencer
19 September 1981 5 Manchester United 1 0 Swansea City Manchester
Birtles  37' Stadium: Old Trafford
Attendance: 47,309
Referee: GJ Napthine
22 September 1981 6 Swansea City 2 1 Tottenham Hotspur Swansea
R.James  62', 74' Hoddle  65' (pen.) Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 22,206
Referee: DW Civil
26 September 1981 7 Swansea City 2 0 Sunderland Swansea
Curtis  56'
L.James  82' (pen.)
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 17,826
Referee: R Baker
3 October 1981 8 Liverpool 2 2 Swansea City Liverpool
McDermott  59' (pen.), 63' (pen.) L.James  15' (pen.)
Latchford  57'
Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 48,645
Referee: A Challinor
10 October 1981 9 Swansea City 2 0 Arsenal Swansea
L.James  38'
Thompson  83'
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 20,600
Referee: LM Robinson
17 October 1981 10 Stoke City 1 2 Swansea City Stoke-on-Trent
Griffiths  35' Stanley  65'
Latchford  79'
Stadium: Victoria Ground
Attendance: 14,665
Referee: D Scott
24 October 1981 11 Coventry City 3 1 Swansea City Coventry
Hateley  37', 53'
Kaiser  39'
Curtis  74' Stadium: Highfield Road
Attendance: 14,050
Referee: M Lowe
31 October 1981 12 Swansea City 0 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Swansea
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 17,750
Referee: E Read
7 November 1981 13 Ipswich Town 2 3 Swansea City Ipswich
Mariner  53'
Muhren  81'
Curtis  7'
Latchford  63'
Stanley  83'
Stadium: Portman Road
Attendance: 24,190
Referee: K Salmon
21 November 1981 14 Manchester City 4 0 Swansea City Manchester
Tueart  41' (pen.), 86'
Reeves  63', 84'
Stadium: Maine Road
Attendance: 34,744
Referee: G Courtney
24 November 1981 15 Swansea City 0 0 Brighton & Hove Albion Swansea
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 14,459
Referee: K Baker
28 November 1981 16 Swansea City 1 0 Birmingham City Swansea
R.James  66' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 15,097
Referee: D Hutchinson
5 December 1981 17 Everton 3 1 Swansea City Liverpool
Sharp  49'
O'Keefe  62', 67'
Latchford  79' Stadium: Goodison Park
Attendance: 23,860
Referee: KA Redfern
12 December 1981 18 Swansea City 1 2 Nottingham Forest Swansea
R.James  34' Young  77'
Robertson  89' (pen.)
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 17,550
Referee: D Lloyd
15 December 1981 19 Swansea City 2 1 Aston Villa Swansea
R.James  12', 40' Thompson  14'(o.g.) Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 15,191
Referee: AR Glasson
28 December 1981 20 Southampton 3 1 Swansea City Southampton
Armstrong  3'
Keegan  50', 67'
Rajković  14' Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 22,703
Referee: LC Shapter
16 January 1982 21 Leeds United 2 0 Swansea City Leeds
Stevenson  17'
Butterworth  48'
Stadium: Elland Road
Attendance: 18,709
Referee: NL Wilson
30 January 1982 22 Swansea City 2 0 Manchester United Swansea
Curtis  54'
R.James  56'
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 24,115
Referee: JE Martin
6 February 1982 23 Notts. County 0 1 Swansea City Nottingham
L.James  12' (pen.) Stadium: Meadow Lane
Attendance: 10,070
Referee: N Midgley
13 February 1982 24 Middlesbrough 1 1 Swansea City Middlesbrough
McAndrew  67' (pen.) Kennedy  38' Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 11,209
Referee: D Webb
16 February 1982 25 Swansea City 2 0 Liverpool Swansea
L.James  74'
Curtis  89'
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 22,604
Referee: VG Callow
20 February 1982 26 Sunderland 0 1 Swansea City Sunderland
L.James  23' Stadium: Roker Park
Attendance: 13,163
Referee: RF Nixon
27 February 1982 27 Arsenal 0 2 Swansea City London
Kennedy  17'
R.James  65' (pen.)
Stadium: Highbury Stadium
Attendance: 29,724
Referee: H Taylor
6 March 1982 28 Swansea City 3 0 Stoke City Swansea
R.James  34', 87'
Charles  72'
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 11,811
Referee: LF Burden
13 March 1982 29 Swansea City 0 0 Coventry City Swansea
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 16,425
Referee: LF Burden
20 March 1982 30 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 1 Swansea City Wolverhampton
Walsh  35' Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 14,158
Referee: T Fitzharris
27 March 1982 31 Swansea City 1 2 Ipswich Town Swansea
R.James  31' (pen.) Brazil  20'
Gates  88'
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 20,750
Referee: BL Newsome
30 March 1982 32 Swansea City 0 1 West Ham United Swansea
Van Der Elst  9' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 20,272
Referee: BT Stevens
6 April 1982 33 Swansea City 3 1 West Bromwich Albion Swansea
Marustik  59'
Curtis  80'
Latchford  89'
MacKenzie  45' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 15,744
Referee: RG Milford
10 April 1982 34 West Ham United 1 1 Swansea City London
Goddard  89' R.James  34' Stadium: Boleyn Ground
Attendance: 26,566
Referee: A Robinson
13 April 1982 35 Swansea City 1 0 Southampton Swansea
Curtis  27' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 23,771
Referee: AJ Hamil
17 April 1982 36 Swansea City 2 0 Manchester City Swansea
Stanley  11'
Latchford  36'
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 19,212
Referee: KW Baker
24 April 1982 37 Birmingham City 2 1 Swansea City Birmingham
Broadhurst  32'
Harford  78'
Walsh  54' Stadium: St Andrew's (stadium)
Attendance: 14,973
Referee: CB White
1 May 1982 38 Swansea City 1 3 Everton Swansea
R.James  76' Heath  26'
Sharp  50' (pen.), 60'
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 16,243
Referee: DA Hedges
5 May 1982 39 Tottenham Hotspur 2 1 Swansea City London
Brooke  23', 55' (pen.) L.James  70' Stadium: White Hart Lane
Attendance: 26,358
Referee: LC Shapter
8 May 1982 40 Nottingham Forest 0 2 Swansea City Nottingham
R.James  2', 83' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 15,037
Referee: KP Barratt
15 May 1982 41 Swansea City 1 2 Middlesbrough Swansea
Latchford  77' Otto  84'
Stanley  89' (o.g.)
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 12,961
Referee: D Letts
21 May 1982 42 Aston Villa 3 0 Swansea City Birmingham
Morley  36'
Bremner  44'
Withe  65'
Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 18,294
Referee: M Dimblebee

Last updated: 4 September 2013
Source:[2]

Classification

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
4 Tottenham Hotspur 42 20 11 11 67 48 +19 71 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1982–83 First round[lower-alpha 1]
5 Arsenal 42 20 11 11 48 37 +11 71 UEFA Cup 1982–83 First round
6 Swansea City 42 21 6 15 58 51 +7 69 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1982–83 First round[lower-alpha 2]
7 Southampton 42 19 9 14 72 67 +5 66 UEFA Cup 1982–83 First round
8 Everton 42 17 13 12 56 50 +6 64
Source:
Notes:
  1. FA Cup winners
  2. Swansea City qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as 1982 Welsh Cup winners.

Results summary

OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
42 21 6 15 58 51  +7 69 13 3 5 34 16  +18 8 3 10 24 35  −11

Source: statto.com

Results by round

Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142
GroundHAAHAHHAHAAHAAHHAHHAAHAAHAAHHAHHHAHHAHAAHA
ResultWWLWLWWDWWLDWLDWLLWLLWWDWWWWDWLLWDWWLLLWLL
Position116243332134343244135655432221244333345566
Source: statto.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

FA Cup

2 January 1982 Third Round Swansea City 0 4 Liverpool Swansea
Hansen  35'
Rush  45', 88'
Lawrenson  73'
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 24,179
Referee: CB White

Last updated: 4 September 2013
Source:[3]

Football League Cup

6 October 1981 Second round, first leg Barnsley 2 0 Swansea City Barnsley
Riley  47'
Evans  73'
Stadium: Oakwell
Attendance: 12,793
Referee: RA Banks
27 October 1981 Second round, second leg Swansea City 3 2 (a.e.t.)
(34 agg.)
Barnsley Swansea
L.James  18' (pen.)
Irwin  66'
Curtis  73'
Glavin  46'
Cooper  114'
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 9,897
Referee: A Seville

Last updated: 4 September 2013
Source:[3]

Welsh Cup

2 December 1981 Third Round Stafford Rangers 0–4 Swansea City Stafford
Curtis  23'
Thompson  30'
Harris  49' (o.g.)
Latchford  90'
Stadium: Marston Road
Attendance: 3,077
Referee: EG Morgan
22 December 1981 Fourth Round Swansea City 6–0 Worcester City Swansea
R.James  2', 21', 84'
L.James  29'
Stanley  34'
Attley  55'
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 4,838
Referee: C Thomas
9 February 1982 Fifth Round Swansea City 2–2 Colwyn Bay Swansea
Stanley  25'
Irwin  62'
Phillips  9', 52' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 3,385
Referee: EG Morgan
2 March 1982 Fifth Round Replay Swansea City 0–3 Colwyn Bay Swansea
Curtis  2'
R.James  4', 58'
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 4,922
Referee: EG Morgan
16 March 1982 Semi-final first leg Bangor City 1–2 Swansea City Bangor, Gwynedd
Urquhart  27' L.James  57'
Curtis  78'
Stadium: Farrar Road Stadium
Attendance: 7,500
Referee: R Bridges
20 April 1982 Semi-final second leg Swansea City 0–0 Bangor City Swansea
Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 5,700
Referee: R Bridges
11 May 1982 Final first leg Cardiff City 0–0 Swansea City Cardiff
Stadium: Ninian Park
Attendance: 11,960
Referee: GP Owen
19 May 1982 Final second leg Swansea City 2–1 Cardiff City Swansea
Latchford  7', 18' Bennett  3' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 15,828
Referee: GP Owen

Last updated: 19 January 2014
Sources:,[3] Welsh Football Data Archive[4]

European Cup Winners' Cup

16 September 1981 First round, first leg Swansea City 0 1 Lokomotive Leipzig Swansea
Kinne  70' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 10,295
Referee: J Quinou
30 September 1981 First round, second leg Lokomotive Leipzig 2 1
(31 agg.)
Swansea City Leipzig
Kinne  13'
Moldt  22'
Charles  78' Stadium: Bruno-Plache-Stadion
Attendance: 22,500
Referee: M Ciulli (Italy)

Last updated: 4 September 2013
Source:[5]

Kit

Swansea's kit was manufactured by Belgian company Patrick. The kit bore no sponsorship.

Squad

Squad at end of season[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK  WAL Dai Davies
DF  ENG Colin Irwin (captain)
DF  WAL Wyndham Evans
DF  WAL Dudley Lewis
DF  WAL Nigel Stephenson
DF  YUG Džemal Hadžiabdić
DF  YUG Ante Rajković
MF  ENG Ray Kennedy
MF  WAL David Giles
MF  WAL Leighton James
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF  WAL Robbie James
MF  WAL John Mahoney
MF  WAL Chris Marustik
MF  WAL Neil Robinson
FW  WAL Jeremy Charles
FW  WAL Alan Curtis
FW  WAL Dean Saunders
FW  WAL John Toshack (player-manager)
FW  WAL Ian Walsh

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
MF  WAL David Giles (on loan to Leyton Orient)

Squad statistics

Last updated on 4 September 2013[7]

Appearances and goals

No. Pos Player League FA Cup League Cup Welsh Cup Cup Winners' Cup Total
App. Goals App. Goals App. Goals App. Goals App. Goals App. Goals
-GK Dai Davies41 010207020530
-GK Chris Sander1 00000100020
-GK David Stewart0 00000000000
-DF Ante Rajković40 110107020511
-DF Colin Irwin37 010214100442
-DF Džemal Hadžiabdić25(+1) 00000602033(+1)0
-DF Max Thompson22(+1) 10(+1)010410027(+2)2
-DF Nigel Stevenson20 0100(+1)0502028(+1)0
-DF Dudley Lewis1 00010000020
-DF Wyndham Evans1 00000000(+2)01(+2)0
-DF Gary Richards1 00000000010
-DF Dave Rushbury0 00000000000
-MF Robbie James42 15101085105320
-MF Leighton James34(+4) 91021722046(+4)12
-MF Neil Robinson27(+2) 10020502037(+2)1
-MF John Mahoney25 010103(+2)02032(+2)0
-MF Gary Stanley22(+7) 31020620031(+7)5
-MF Chris Marustik19(+3) 11020500027(+3)1
-MF Ray Kennedy18 200004000222
-MF Brian Attley2(+2) 0000(+1)00(+1)1103(+4)1
-MF Jimmy Loveridge1 00000000010
-MF David Giles0(+2) 00000000(+2)00(+4)0
-MF Tommy Craig0 00000000000
-FW Alan Curtis40 9102173205213
-FW Bob Latchford31 1210205(+1)32041(+1)15
-FW Jeremy Charles9(+4) 20010202114(+4)3
-FW Ian Walsh3(+2) 200000(+1)0003(+3)2
-FW Darren Gale0(+1) 000000(+1)0000(+2)0

Top scorers

Place Position Nationality Number Name League FA Cup League Cup Welsh Cup Cup Winners' Cup Total
1 MF - Robbie James 15 0 0 5 0 20
2 FW - Bob Latchford 12 0 0 3 0 15
3 FW - Alan Curtis 9 0 1 3 0 13
4 MF - Leighton James 9 0 1 2 0 12
5 MF - Gary Stanley 3 0 0 2 0 5
6 FW - Jeremy Charles 2 0 0 0 1 3
7 FW - Ian Walsh 2 0 0 0 0 2
8 MF - Ray Kennedy 2 0 0 0 0 2
9 MF - Chris Marustik 1 0 0 0 0 1
10 DF - Ante Rajković 1 0 0 0 0 1
11 DF - Neil Robinson 1 0 0 0 0 1
12 DF - Max Thompson 1 0 0 1 0 2
13 DF - Colin Irwin 0 0 1 1 0 2
14 DF - Brian Attley 0 0 0 1 0 1
15 - - - Own goal 0 0 0 1 0 1
TOTALS 58 0 3 19 1 81

See also

References

General
  • Rundle, Richard. "Swansea City". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
Bibliography
  • Jones, Colin (2012). Swansea Town & City Football Club: The Complete Record, 1912-2012. From Southern League to Premier League. Dinefwr Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1904323-26-6.
  • Jenkins, Geraint H. (2012). Proud to be a Swan, The History of Swansea City AFC. Ceredigion: Y Lolfa Cyf. ISBN 978-184771-481-7.
Specific
  1. http://www.worldfootball.net/teams/swansea-city/1982/6/
  2. Jones (2012), p. 325-328.
  3. Jones (2012), p. 329.
  4. Thomas, Mel; Garland, Ian (19 January 2014). "Welsh Cup 1981/82". wfda.co.uk. WFDA. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  5. Jones (2012), p. 328.
  6. http://www.worldfootball.net/teams/swansea-city/1982/2/
  7. Jones (2012), p. 330.
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