1982–83 in English football

The 1982–83 season was the 103rd season of competitive football in England.

Overview

First Division

Bob Paisley's last season as Liverpool manager ended on a high as they topped the First Division with a comfortable lead. Bob Paisley retired as Liverpool manager with a record 21 prizes in nine years. His successor was long-serving coach Joe Fagan. Newly promoted Watford were the shock of the season, finishing in second place in their first ever season in the top flight.

Manchester City were relegated despite a four-year spending spree totalling around £5 million. Swansea City were also relegated after only their second season as a First Division club. They had finished sixth a year earlier and at several stages had topped the league table. FA Cup finalists Brighton & Hove Albion joined them on the way down.

Second Division

Queens Park Rangers were champions with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City also promoted to the First Division. Rotherham United, Burnley and Bolton Wanderers were relegated to the Third Division. It was another blow for Bolton, who had been relegated from the First Division three years earlier.

Charlton Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers both came within hours of going bankrupt but were both saved by respective new owners.

Leicester City's promotion was appealed against by Fulham after their final day match against Derby County was stopped with more than a minute to play due to a pitch invasion. Fulham's appeal was eventually rejected and Leicester City's promotion was confirmed.

Third Division

Portsmouth's revival continued as they ran away with the Third Division championship, followed closely behind by runners-up Cardiff City and third-placed Huddersfield Town. Newport County finished 4th, their highest post-Second World War position in the Football League. Occupying the four relegation places were Reading, Wrexham, Doncaster Rovers and Chesterfield.

Fourth Division

Wimbledon were crowned Fourth Division champions and the efforts of manager Dave Bassett were bound to ensure that this would not be their last promotion. Hull City, Port Vale and Scunthorpe United occupied the other three promotion places. The re-election system once again went in favour of the bottom four sides in the Fourth Division, but had things gone differently then Blackpool could have gone out of the Football League little over a decade after they had been a First Division side.

At the end of the season, Fourth Division strugglers Crewe Alexandra appointed Milan-born ex-Wimbledon manager Dario Gradi as their new manager.

FA Cup

Manchester United won their first major trophy under Ron Atkinson's management by beating Brighton 4–0 in the FA Cup final replay after a 2–2 draw in the first match.

League Cup

Liverpool won their third successive League Cup as an added bonus for manager Bob Paisley during his final season in charge. When his team prepared to ascend the 39 steps to the Royal Box, they all insisted that he should be the man to collect the trophy.

European football

Aston Villa win the European Super Cup with midfield dynamo Gordon Cowans playing a major part in the win.

Star players

• Liverpool's dominant side ran away with the honours as Kenny Dalglish was voted Player of the Year by both the PFA and FWA.
• 21-year-old Liverpool striker Ian Rush established himself as one of the league's finest goalscorers after collecting the PFA Young Player of the Year award as well as league championship and League Cup medals.
• Manchester United's FA Cup winning squad included star players like Bryan Robson, Ray Wilkins and the 18-year-old Norman Whiteside.
• Aston Villa's midfield dynamo Gordon Cowans helps inspire Villa to win the European Super Cup.
• The key player in Watford's rise to the top of the English game was prolific striker Luther Blissett.

Star managers

• Bob Paisley's illustrious career as Liverpool manager went out on a high as they were league champions and League Cup winners.
• Graham Taylor guided Watford to an impressive second-place finish in their First Division debut season.
• Ron Atkinson won the FA Cup to end Manchester United's six-year trophy drought.
• Terry Venables took Queens Park Rangers back into the First Division after a four-year exile.
• Jimmy Melia guided Brighton to their first-ever FA Cup final although he couldn't save them from relegation to the Second Division.
• Graham Hawkins took Wolverhampton Wanderers back into the First Division a year after relegation.
• Dave Bassett guided Wimbledon to Fourth Division championship glory with 98 points.
• Malcolm Macdonald took Fulham to fourth place in the Second Division – just missing out on promotion – to achieve their highest league finish for nearly 20 years.
• Keith Burkinshaw inspired Tottenham to fourth place in the First Division and ensured that they would qualify for the following season's UEFA Cup.
• Brian Clough ensured that Nottingham Forest remained among English football's leading sides by inspiring them to fifth place in the league and achieving qualification for the UEFA Cup.

Top goalscorers

First Division

• Luther Blissett (Watford) – 27 goals

Second Division

• Gary Lineker (Leicester City) – 26 goals

Third Division

• Kerry Dixon (Reading) – 26 goals

Fourth Division

• Steve Cammack (Scunthorpe United) – 25 goals

Diary of the season

11 August 1982: Tottenham Hotspur pay Bristol Rovers £105,000 for defender Gary Mabbutt, who turns 21 later this month.

19 August 1982: Newcastle United pay Southampton £100,000 for Kevin Keegan.

24 August 1982: The Shankly Gates are unveiled at Anfield, honouring former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly almost a year after his death.

25 August 1982: Arsenal sign 22-year-old striker Lee Chapman from Stoke City for £500,000.

26 August 1982: Bob Paisley announces that this season as Liverpool manager (his ninth in charge) will be his last.

28 August 1982: The first games of the First Division season are played. Manchester United achieve the biggest win of the opening day of the season, by beating Birmingham City 3–0 to send themselves top of the league and their opponents to the bottom. On the same day, Peter Shilton exits Nottingham Forest to become the world's most expensive goalkeeper in a £325,000 move to Southampton.

9 September 1982: Peter Beardsley, a 21-year-old former Carlisle United playing for Vancouver Whitecaps in Canada, signs for Manchester United in a £325,000 deal.

11 September 1982: Watford, in the First Division for the first time, go top of the league on goal difference (level with Manchester United and Manchester City) by beating West Bromwich Albion 3–0 in their fifth league game of the season.

22 September 1982: England draw 2–2 with Denmark in Copenhagen in their opening Euro 84 qualifier, which is also their first game under the management of Bobby Robson.

25 September 1982: Watford beat Sunderland 8–0 at Vicarage Road in only their seventh game as a First Division club.

30 September 1982: September draws to a close with defending champions Liverpool top of the First Division, with Manchester United in second place. Watford, playing top division football for the first time in their history, occupy third place. West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur complete the top five, while Southampton, Birmingham City and Norwich City occupy the bottom three places. In the Second Division, surprise promotion contenders Grimsby Town are heading the race for a place in the First Division, joined by Wolverhampton Wanderers (relegated last year) and Sheffield Wednesday in the top three. Fulham and QPR are putting pressure on the top three, as are a Crystal Palace side who are showing signs of recovery after two seasons of dismal performances.

31 October 1982: October ends with Liverpool, West Ham United and Manchester United all level on 22 points at the top of the First Division. West Bromwich Albion appear to be on the road to recovery after narrowly avoiding relegation last season, as they finish the month in fourth place. Tottenham Hotspur complete the top five, while Birmingham City, Norwich City and Sunderland occupy the bottom three places. Sheffield Wednesday and QPR now head the Second Division promotion race, with Fulham joining them in the top three and their manager Malcolm Macdonald turning heads with his promising young side who are looking like serious contenders for a second successive promotion. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Grimsby Town and Leeds United are giving the top three a serious run for their money, while Derby County (First Division champions as recently as 1975) are second from bottom.

6 November 1982: In the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, Liverpool beat Everton 5–0 with four goals from Ian Rush and a further goal from Mark Lawrenson.

10 November 1982: Colchester United striker John Lyons, 25, commits suicide at his home in Essex.

17 November 1982: England beat Greece 3–0 in Salonika in the Euro 84 qualifiers.

30 November 1982: Liverpool remain top of the First Division as November draws to a close, leading by four points ahead of second-placed Watford. Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and West Ham United complete the top five, while the bottom three clubs remain unchanged from the end of last month. QPR, Fulham and Sheffield Wednesday head the Second Division promotion race.

15 December 1982: England beat Luxembourg 9–0 at Wembley in the Euro 84 qualifiers. Luther Blissett scores a hat-trick on his England debut and becomes the nation's first black goalscorer, while fellow black team mate Mark Chamberlain is also on the scoresheet.

22 December 1982: Everton sign 26-year-old midfielder Peter Reid from Bolton Wanderers in a £60,000 deal.

31 December 1982: 1982 ends with Liverpool's lead at the top of the First Division increased to six points, with Nottingham Forest their nearest challengers. Manchester United, West Ham United and Coventry City complete the top five, while sixth-place Watford's title challenge is fading fast and their league challenge now appears to be very much a race for a UEFA Cup place rather than for the league title. Sunderland, Birmingham City and Brighton & Hove Albion occupy the bottom three places. An excellent month for Wolverhampton Wanderers has seen the Midlands side storm to the top of the Second Division, joining in the top three by QPR and Fulham. One of the division's smaller clubs, Shrewsbury Town are emerging as unlikely promotion contenders as they stand sixth in the division ahead of much bigger clubs including Leeds United, Chelsea and bottom-of-the-table Derby County.

1 January 1983: Alan Ball, now aged 37 and the only England World Cup winner still playing, leaves Southampton on a free transfer and signs a contract with Bristol Rovers.

19 January 1983: Aston Villa lose 1–0 to Barcelona at the Nou Camp in the first leg of the European Super Cup.

26 January 1983: Aston Villa clinch the European Super Cup by beating Barcelona 3–0 at Villa Park.

31 January 1983: As January ends, Liverpool are now 10 points clear at the top of the First Division, their nearest rivals now being Manchester United. A resurgent Watford have climbed to third place, while Nottingham Forest and Coventry City complete the top five. Brighton & Hove Albion and Birmingham City are still in the bottom three, but Sunderland have climbed out of the relegation zone at the expense of Norwich City. Wolverhampton Wanderers, QPR and Fulham continue to lead the way in the Second Division, with third placed Fulham now nine points ahead of their nearest challengers Sheffield Wednesday. At the other end of the table, fallen giants Derby County show no sign of improvement as they remain bottom of the division and are now eight points adrift of safety.

20 February 1983: Liverpool's hopes of a unique domestic treble are ended when they suffer a shock 2–1 home defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup fifth round.

26 February 1983: Arsenal goalkeeper Pat Jennings, 37, becomes the first footballer to appear in 1,000 competitive games in England, reaching the milestone in a 0-0 league draw with West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.

28 February 1983: Liverpool now have a 14-point advantage at the top of the First Division, with Watford one place behind and with a game in hand. Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa complete the top five. The bottom three remain unchanged from the end of last month. Wolves, QPR and Fulham remain the leading force in the Second Division promotion race, but Leicester City are starting to put pressure on the leading pack.

1 March 1983: Peter Beardsley leaves Manchester United and returns to Vancouver Whitecaps on a free transfer, having only made one appearance for the Old Trafford club.

26 March 1983: Liverpool clinch the Football League Cup for the third season running by beating Manchester United 2–1 at Wembley.

31 March 1983: Liverpool are looking all set to add the league title to their League Cup this season, as they end March as First Division leaders with a 13-point lead over nearest challengers Watford. Manchester United, Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion complete the top five. The bottom three clubs remain unchanged for the second month-end running. QPR have overhauled Wolverhampton Wanderers at the top of the Second Division, while Fulham remain third but still under pressure from a determined Leicester City side. Derby County are at last showing some sign of being able to avoid relegation as they are now just two points adrift of safety.

16 April 1983: Manchester United, FA Cup winners four times, reach the FA Cup final along with Brighton who have never reached the final before.

19 April 1983: Liverpool are confirmed First Division champions for the second season running. Watford, Aston Villa, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest complete the top five, with Stoke City, Southampton, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur providing strong competition in the race for a UEFA Cup place. Brighton & Hove Albion and Birmingham City remain in the bottom two, but Norwich City have climbed out of the drop zone at the expense of Swansea City.

27 April 1983: England beat Hungray 2–0 at Wembley in the Euro 84 qualifiers.

30 April 1983: April ends with champions Liverpool 14 points ahead of second-placed Watford with three games to go, while Manchester United are three points behind Watford with two games in hand. Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest complete the top five, but the next six teams are still in contention for a UEFA Cup place. Swansea City's dismal form has continued as they prop up the First Division and now need something little short of a miracle to stay up. Brighton & Hove Albion and Birmingham City complete the bottom three. QPR's promotion to the First Division has been confirmed, and Wolverhampton Wanderers only need one win from their final three games to be sure of promotion. Fulham, meanwhile, have lapsed and a just one point ahead of Leicester City in the race for the final promotion place. Newcastle United and Sheffield Wednesday still have an outside chance of going up this season.

7 May 1983: FA Cup finalists Brighton are relegated from the First Division after losing 1–0 at home to fellow strugglers Manchester City.

15 May 1983: The First Division campaign ends with Liverpool sealing their 14th league championship, while Watford finish runners-up in their first season at this level. Joining Brighton in the relegation zone are Manchester City and Swansea City. Going up are QPR, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City. The final day drama comes at Maine Road, where ironically Manchester City and Luton Town both went into the game scrapping to avoid the final relegation place. A draw would be enough to keep the home side up, while the visitors had to win to survive. A late goal from Raddy Antic keeps Luton up and relegated a Manchester City side who were top of the league 17 months ago.

20 May 1983: Everton midfielder Steve McMahon, 21, is sold to Aston Villa for £175,000.

21 May 1983: Manchester United and Brighton draw 2–2 in the FA Cup final to book a replay in five days time. Brighton nearly won the game with a late shot by Gordon Smith, which United goalkeeper Gary Bailey saved.

26 May 1983: Manchester United thrash Brighton 4–0 in the FA Cup final replay to lift the trophy on legendary former manager and current director Sir Matt Busby's 74th birthday.

1 June 1983: Paul Rideout, highly rated 19-year-old Swindon Town striker, makes the big step from the Fourth Division to the First Division in a £200,000 move to Aston Villa.

Famous debutants

1 January 1983: Tony Cottee, 17-year-old striker, scores on his debut for West Ham United in 3–0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Upton Park.

26 February 1983: Ian Baird, 18-year-old striker, makes his debut for Southampton in 1–1 draw with West Ham United at Upton Park.

20 April 1983: Colin Hill, 19-year-old defender, makes his debut for Arsenal in 3–1 defeat by Norwich City at Carrow Road.

Honours

Competition	Winner	Runner-up
First Division	Liverpool (14*)	Watford
Second Division	Queens Park Rangers	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Third Division	Portsmouth	Cardiff City
Fourth Division	Wimbledon	Hull City
FA Cup	Manchester United (5)	Brighton & Hove Albion
League Cup	Liverpool (3*)	Manchester United
Charity Shield	Liverpool	Tottenham Hotspur
Home Championship	England	Scotland

Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

League table

First Division

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Liverpool	42	24	10	8	87	37	+50	82
2	Watford	42	22	5	15	74	57	+17	71
3	Manchester United	42	19	13	10	56	38	+18	70
4	Tottenham Hotspur	42	20	9	13	65	50	+15	69
5	Nottingham Forest	42	20	9	13	62	50	+12	69
6	Aston Villa	42	21	5	16	62	50	+12	68
7	Everton	42	18	10	14	66	48	+18	64
8	West Ham United	42	20	4	18	68	62	+6	64
9	Ipswich Town	42	15	13	14	64	50	+14	58
10	Arsenal	42	16	10	16	58	56	+2	58
11	West Bromwich Albion	42	15	12	15	51	49	+2	57
12	Southampton	42	15	12	15	54	58	−4	57
13	Stoke City	42	16	9	17	53	64	−11	57
14	Norwich City	42	14	12	16	52	58	−6	54
15	Notts County	42	15	7	20	55	71	−16	52
16	Sunderland	42	12	14	16	48	61	−13	50
17	Birmingham City	42	12	14	16	40	55	−15	50
18	Luton Town	42	12	13	17	65	84	−19	49
19	Coventry City	42	13	9	20	48	59	−11	48
20	Manchester City	42	13	8	21	47	70	−23	47
21	Swansea City	42	10	11	21	51	69	−18	41
22	Brighton & Hove Albion	42	9	13	20	38	68	−30	40

Second Division

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Queens Park Rangers	42	26	7	9	77	36	+41	85
2	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	20	15	7	68	44	+24	75
3	Leicester City	42	20	10	12	72	44	+28	70
4	Fulham	42	20	9	13	64	47	+17	69
5	Newcastle United	42	18	13	11	75	53	+22	67
6	Sheffield Wednesday	42	16	15	11	60	47	+13	63
7	Oldham Athletic	42	14	19	9	64	47	+17	61
8	Leeds United	42	13	21	8	51	46	+5	60
9	Shrewsbury Town	42	15	14	13	48	48	+0	59
10	Barnsley	42	14	15	13	57	55	+2	57
11	Blackburn Rovers	42	15	12	15	58	58	+0	57
12	Cambridge United	42	13	12	17	42	60	−18	51
13	Derby County	42	10	19	13	49	58	−9	49
14	Carlisle United	42	12	12	18	68	70	−2	48
15	Crystal Palace	42	12	12	18	43	52	−9	48
16	Middlesbrough	42	11	15	16	46	67	−21	48
17	Charlton Athletic	42	13	9	20	63	86	−23	48
18	Chelsea	42	11	14	17	51	61	−10	47
19	Grimsby Town	42	12	11	19	45	70	−25	47
20	Rotherham United	42	10	15	17	45	68	−23	45
21	Burnley	42	12	8	22	56	66	−10	44
22	Bolton Wanderers	42	11	11	20	42	61	−19	44

Third Division

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Portsmouth	46	27	10	9	74	41	+33	91
2	Cardiff City	46	25	11	10	76	50	+26	86
3	Huddersfield Town	46	23	13	10	84	49	+35	82
4	Newport County	46	23	9	14	76	54	+22	78
5	Oxford United	46	22	12	12	71	53	+18	78
6	Lincoln City	46	23	7	16	77	51	+26	76
7	Bristol Rovers	46	22	9	15	84	58	+26	75
8	Plymouth Argyle	46	19	8	19	61	66	−5	65
9	Brentford	46	18	10	18	88	77	+11	64
10	Walsall	46	17	13	16	64	63	+1	64
11	Sheffield United	46	19	7	20	62	64	−2	64
12	Bradford City	46	16	13	17	68	69	−1	61
13	Gillingham	46	16	13	17	58	59	−1	61
14	Bournemouth	46	16	13	17	59	68	−9	61
15	Southend United	46	15	14	17	66	65	+1	59
16	Preston North End	46	15	13	18	60	69	−9	58
17	Millwall	46	14	13	19	64	77	−13	55
18	Wigan Athletic	46	15	9	22	60	72	−12	54
19	Exeter City	46	14	12	20	81	104	−23	54
20	Orient	46	15	9	22	64	88	−24	54
21	Reading	46	12	17	17	64	79	−15	53
22	Wrexham	46	12	15	19	56	76	−20	51
23	Doncaster Rovers	46	9	11	26	57	97	−40	38
24	Chesterfield	46	8	13	25	43	68	−25	37

Fourth Division

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Wimbledon	46	29	11	6	96	45	+51	98
2	Hull City	46	25	15	6	75	34	+41	90
3	Port Vale	46	26	10	10	67	34	+33	88
4	Scunthorpe United	46	23	14	9	71	42	+29	83
5	Bury	46	23	12	11	74	46	+28	81
6	Colchester United	46	24	9	13	75	55	+20	81
7	York City	46	22	13	11	88	58	+30	79
8	Swindon Town	46	19	11	16	61	54	+7	68
9	Peterborough United	46	17	13	16	58	52	+6	64
10	Mansfield Town	46	16	13	17	61	70	−9	61
11	Halifax Town	46	16	12	18	59	66	−7	60
12	Torquay United	46	17	7	22	56	65	−9	58
13	Chester	46	15	11	20	55	60	−5	56
14	Bristol City	46	13	17	16	59	70	−11	56
15	Northampton Town	46	14	12	20	65	75	−10	54
16	Stockport County	46	14	12	20	60	79	−19	54
17	Darlington	46	13	13	20	61	71	−10	52
18	Aldershot	46	12	15	19	61	82	−21	51
19	Tranmere Rovers	46	13	11	22	49	71	−22	50
20	Rochdale	46	11	16	19	55	73	−18	49
21	Blackpool	46	13	12	21	55	74	−19	49*
22	Hartlepool United	46	13	9	24	46	76	−30	48
23	Crewe Alexandra	46	11	8	27	53	71	−18	41
24	Hereford United	46	11	8	27	42	79	−37	41

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
* Two points deducted for on-field brawl.

Deaths

• 8 November 1982 – Jimmy Dickinson, 57, former Portsmouth wing-half and captain, and England international, who played more than 800 matches for Pompey, winning two league championship medals.
• 10 November 1982 – John Lyons, 25, Colchester United striker, committed suicide.
• 3 April 1983 – Jimmy Bloomfield, 49, former inside-forward, most notably at Arsenal and Birmingham City; later manager at Leyton Orient and Leicester City. Died from cancer.
• 13 April 1983 – Gerry Hitchens, 48, former England international striker who scored five goals in seven internationals, and played at club level for Cardiff City, Aston Villa and several teams in the Italian Serie A, including Inter and Torino.