1981–82 Swansea City A.F.C. season

September 2020 May 2026 Swansea City 1981–82 John Toshack (player-manager) Malcolm Struel Vetch Field First Division 6th FA Cup Third round League Cup Second round Welsh Cup Winners Cup Winners' Cup First round Robbie James(15) Robbie James(20) 24,115 vs Manchester United(30 January 1982) 11,811 vs Stoke City(6 March 1982) 18,194 _bmo1011h _bmo1011h _bmo1011h _blackstripe _dyf1 _whitecollar _dyf1 _whitetop E20E0E E20E0E E20E0E 000000 000000 1980–81 1982–83 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. 3 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 https://www.worldfootball.net/teams/te1879/swansea-city/transfers/ Swansea City - Transfers 1981/1982 In WAL Dai Davies - WAL Wrexham, July ENG Ray Kennedy - ENG Liverpool, January, £160,000 WAL Ian Walsh - ENG Crystal Palace, February ENG Colin Irwin - ENG Liverpool, £338,800 Out WAL Leighton Phillips - ENG Charlton Athletic, June, £25,000 WAL David Giles - ENG Leyton Orient, December, loan Football League First Division 1981–82 Football League#First Division Results 1 29 August 1981 Swansea City 5–1 Leeds United Charles 5Latchford 46 50 55Curtis 70 Parlane 26 Vetch Field Swansea 23,500 S Bates W 2 1 September 1981 Brighton & Hove Albion 1–2 Swansea City Ritchie 33 L.James 10Latchford 14 Goldstone Ground Hove 19,885 D Vickers W 3 5 September 1981 West Bromwich Albion 4–1 Swansea City Regis 17 67 73MacKenzie 69 Robinson 76 The Hawthorns West Bromwich 18,063 R Bridges L 4 12 September 1981 Swansea City 3–2 Notts. County Curtis 23 L.James 37Latchford 52 O'Brien 65 pen.McCulloch 85 Vetch Field Swansea 14,391 T Spencer W 5 19 September 1981 Manchester United 1–0 Swansea City Birtles 37 Old Trafford Manchester 47,309 GJ Napthine L 6 22 September 1981 Swansea City 2–1 Tottenham Hotspur R.James 62 74 Hoddle 65 pen. Vetch Field Swansea 22,206 DW Civil W 7 26 September 1981 Swansea City 2–0 Sunderland Curtis 56L.James 82 pen. Vetch Field Swansea 17,826 R Baker W 8 3 October 1981 Liverpool 2–2 Swansea City McDermott 59 pen. 63 pen. L.James 15 pen.Latchford 57 Anfield Liverpool 48,645 A Challinor D 9 10 October 1981 Swansea City 2–0 Arsenal L.James 38Thompson 83 Vetch Field Swansea 20,600 LM Robinson W 10 17 October 1981 Stoke City 1–2 Swansea City Griffiths 35 Stanley 65Latchford 79 Victoria Ground Stoke-on-Trent 14,665 D Scott W 11 24 October 1981 Coventry City 3–1 Swansea City Hateley 37 53Kaiser 39 Curtis 74 Highfield Road Coventry 14,050 M Lowe L 12 31 October 1981 Swansea City 0–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Vetch Field Swansea 17,750 E Read D 13 7 November 1981 Ipswich Town 2–3 Swansea City Mariner 53Muhren 81 Curtis 7Latchford 63Stanley 83 Portman Road Ipswich 24,190 K Salmon W 14 21 November 1981 Manchester City 4–0 Swansea City Tueart 41 pen. 86Reeves 63 84 Maine Road Manchester 34,744 G Courtney L 15 24 November 1981 Swansea City 0–0 Brighton & Hove Albion Vetch Field Swansea 14,459 K Baker D 16 28 November 1981 Swansea City 1–0 Birmingham City R.James 66 Vetch Field Swansea 15,097 D Hutchinson W 17 5 December 1981 Everton 3–1 Swansea City Sharp 49O'Keefe 62 67 Latchford 79 Goodison Park Liverpool 23,860 KA Redfern L 18 12 December 1981 Swansea City 1–2 Nottingham Forest R.James 34 Young 77Robertson 89 pen. Vetch Field Swansea 17,550 D Lloyd L 19 15 December 1981 Swansea City 2–1 Aston Villa R.James 12 40 Thompson 14(o.g.) Vetch Field Swansea 15,191 AR Glasson W 20 28 December 1981 Southampton 3–1 Swansea City Armstrong 3Keegan 50 67 Rajković 14 The Dell Southampton 22,703 LC Shapter L 21 16 January 1982 Leeds United 2–0 Swansea City Stevenson 17Butterworth 48 Elland Road Leeds 18,709 NL Wilson L 22 30 January 1982 Swansea City 2–0 Manchester United Curtis 54R.James 56 Vetch Field Swansea 24,115 JE Martin W 23 6 February 1982 Notts. County 0–1 Swansea City L.James 12 pen. Meadow Lane Nottingham 10,070 N Midgley W 24 13 February 1982 Middlesbrough 1–1 Swansea City McAndrew 67 pen. Kennedy 38 Ayresome Park Middlesbrough 11,209 D Webb D 25 16 February 1982 Swansea City 2–0 Liverpool L.James 74Curtis 89 Vetch Field Swansea 22,604 VG Callow W 26 20 February 1982 Sunderland 0–1 Swansea City L.James 23 Roker Park Sunderland 13,163 RF Nixon W 27 27 February 1982 Arsenal 0–2 Swansea City Kennedy 17R.James 65 pen. Highbury Stadium London 29,724 H Taylor W 28 6 March 1982 Swansea City 3–0 Stoke City R.James 34 87Charles 72 Vetch Field Swansea 11,811 LF Burden W 29 13 March 1982 Swansea City 0–0 Coventry City Vetch Field Swansea 16,425 LF Burden D 30 20 March 1982 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–1 Swansea City Walsh 35 Molineux Wolverhampton 14,158 T Fitzharris W 31 27 March 1982 Swansea City 1–2 Ipswich Town R.James 31 pen. Brazil 20Gates 88 Vetch Field Swansea 20,750 BL Newsome L 32 30 March 1982 Swansea City 0–1 West Ham United Van der Elst 9 Vetch Field Swansea 20,272 BT Stevens L 33 6 April 1982 Swansea City 3–1 West Bromwich Albion Marustik 59Curtis 80Latchford 89 MacKenzie 45 Vetch Field Swansea 15,744 RG Milford W 34 10 April 1982 West Ham United 1–1 Swansea City Goddard 89 R.James 34 Boleyn Ground London 26,566 A Robinson D 35 13 April 1982 Swansea City 1–0 Southampton Curtis 27 Vetch Field Swansea 23,771 AJ Hamil W 36 17 April 1982 Swansea City 2–0 Manchester City Stanley 11Latchford 36 Vetch Field Swansea 19,212 KW Baker W 37 24 April 1982 Birmingham City 2–1 Swansea City Broadhurst 32Harford 78 Walsh 54 St Andrew's (stadium) Birmingham 14,973 CB White L 38 1 May 1982 Swansea City 1–3 Everton R.James 76 Heath 26Sharp 50 pen. 60 Vetch Field Swansea 16,243 DA Hedges L 39 5 May 1982 Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 Swansea City Brooke 23 55 pen. L.James 70 White Hart Lane London 26,358 LC Shapter L 40 8 May 1982 Nottingham Forest 0–2 Swansea City R.James 2 83 City Ground Nottingham 15,037 KP Barratt W 41 15 May 1982 Swansea City 1–2 Middlesbrough Latchford 77 Otto 84Stanley 89 (o.g.) Vetch Field Swansea 12,961 D Letts L 42 21 May 1982 Aston Villa 3–0 Swansea City Morley 36Bremner 44Withe 65 Villa Park Birmingham 18,294 M Dimblebee L Last updated: 4 September 2013Source:Jones (2012), p. 325-328. Classification 1981–82 Football League#First Division First Division y SWA Results summary 13 3 5 34 16 8 3 10 24 35 statto.com September 2013 Results by round table b Round Ground H/A/A/H/A/H/H/A/H/A/A/H/A/A/H/H/A/H/H/A/A/H/A/A/H/A/A/H/H/A/H/H/H/A/H/H/A/H/A/A/H/A Result W/W/L/W/L/W/W/D/W/W/L/D/W/L/D/W/L/L/W/L/L/W/W/D/W/W/W/W/D/W/L/L/W/D/W/W/L/L/L/W/L/L Position 1/1/6/2/4/3/3/3/2/1/3/4/3/4/3/2/4/4/1/3/5/6/5/5/4/3/2/2/2/1/2/4/4/3/3/3/3/4/5/5/6/6 Home Away green2 Win yellow2 Draw red2 Loss 1st 2nd 3rd red1 statto.com September 2013 FA Cup 1981–82 FA Cup Third round 2 January 1982 Swansea City 0–4 Liverpool Hansen 35Rush 45 88Lawrenson 73 Vetch Field Swansea 24,179 CB White L Last updated: 4 September 2013Source:Jones (2012), p. 329. Football League Cup 1981–82 Football League Cup Second round, first leg 6 October 1981 Barnsley 2–0 Swansea City Riley 47Evans 73 Oakwell Barnsley 12,793 RA Banks L Second round, second leg 27 October 1981 Swansea City 3–2 yes 3–4 Barnsley L.James 18 pen.Irwin 66Curtis 73 Glavin 46Cooper 114 Vetch Field Swansea 9,897 A Seville W Last updated: 4 September 2013Source: Welsh Cup Third round 2 December 1981 Stafford Rangers 0–4 Swansea City Curtis 23Thompson 30Harris 49 (o.g.)Latchford 90 Marston Road Stafford 3,077 EG Morgan W Fourth Round 22 December 1981 Swansea City 6–0 Worcester City R.James 2 21 84L.James 29Stanley 34Attley 55 Vetch Field Swansea 4,838 C Thomas W Fifth Round 9 February 1982 Swansea City 2–2 Colwyn Bay Stanley 25Irwin 62 Phillips 9 52 Vetch Field Swansea 3,385 EG Morgan D Fifth Round Replay 2 March 1982 Swansea City 3–0 Colwyn Bay Curtis 2R.James 4 58 Vetch Field Swansea 4,922 EG Morgan W Semi-final first leg 16 March 1982 Bangor City 1–2 Swansea City Urquhart 27 L.James 57Curtis 78 Farrar Road Stadium Bangor, Gwynedd 7,500 R Bridges W Semi-final second leg 20 April 1982 Swansea City 0–0 2–1 Bangor City Vetch Field Swansea 5,700 R Bridges D Final first leg 11 May 1982 Cardiff City 0–0 Swansea City Ninian Park Cardiff 11,960 GP Owen D Final second leg 19 May 1982 Swansea City 2–1 2–1 Cardiff City Latchford 7 18 Bennett 3 Vetch Field Swansea 15,828 GP Owen W Last updated: 19 January 2014Sources:, Welsh Football Data Archivehttp://www.wfda.co.uk/welsh_cup.php?id=95 Welsh Cup 1981/82 Thomas Mel Garland Ian 19 January 2014 wfda.co.uk WFDA 19 January 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140201193543/http://www.wfda.co.uk/welsh_cup.php?id=95 1 February 2014 dead European Cup Winners' Cup 1981–82 European Cup Winners' Cup First round, first leg 16 September 1981 Swansea City WAL 0–1 GDR Lokomotive Leipzig Kinne 70 Vetch Field Swansea 10,295 J Quinou L First round, second leg 30 September 1981 Lokomotive Leipzig GDR 2–1 3–1 WAL Swansea City Kinne 13Moldt 22 Charles 78 Bruno-Plache-Stadion Leipzig 22,500 M Ciulli (Italy) L Last updated: 4 September 2013Source:Jones (2012), p. 328. Kit Swansea's kit was manufactured by Belgian company Patrick. The kit bore no sponsorship. Squad Squad at end of seasonhttps://www.worldfootball.net/teams/te1879/swansea-city/squad/ Swansea City - Squad 1981/1982 yes yes WAL GK Dai Davies yes ENG DF Colin Irwin captain yes WAL DF Wyndham Evans yes WAL DF Dudley Lewis yes WAL DF Nigel Stephenson yes SFR Yugoslavia DF Džemal Hadžiabdić yes SFR Yugoslavia DF Ante Rajković yes ENG MF Ray Kennedy yes WAL MF David Giles yes WAL MF Leighton James yes yes WAL MF Robbie James yes WAL MF John Mahoney yes WAL MF Chris Marustik yes WAL MF Neil Robinson yes WAL FW Jeremy Charles yes WAL FW Alan Curtis yes WAL FW Dean Saunders yes WAL FW John Toshack player-manager yes WAL FW Ian Walsh Left club during season yes yes WAL MF David Giles on loan to Leyton Orient Squad statistics Last updated on 4 September 2013Jones (2012), p. 330. Appearances and goals No. Squad number Pos Position Player League FA Cup League Cup Welsh Cup Cup Winners' Cup Total App. Appearances Goals App. Appearances Goals App. Appearances Goals App. Appearances Goals App. Appearances Goals App. Appearances Goals - GK WAL Dai Davies 41 0 1 0 2 0 7 0 2 0 53 0 - GK WAL Chris Sander 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 - GK SCO David Stewart 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - DF YUG Ante Rajković 40 1 1 0 1 0 7 0 2 0 51 1 - DF ENG Colin Irwin 37 0 1 0 2 1 4 1 0 0 44 2 - DF YUG Džemal Hadžiabdić 25(+1) 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 2 0 33(+1) 0 - DF ENG Max Thompson 22(+1) 1 0(+1) 0 1 0 4 1 0 0 27(+2) 2 - DF WAL Nigel Stevenson 20 0 1 0 0(+1) 0 5 0 2 0 28(+1) 0 - DF WAL Dudley Lewis 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 - DF WAL Wyndham Evans 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(+2) 0 1(+2) 0 - DF WAL Gary Richards 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - DF WAL Dave Rushbury 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - MF WAL Robbie James 42 15 1 0 1 0 8 5 1 0 53 20 - MF WAL Leighton James 34(+4) 9 1 0 2 1 7 2 2 0 46(+4) 12 - MF WAL Neil Robinson 27(+2) 1 0 0 2 0 5 0 2 0 37(+2) 1 - MF WAL John Mahoney 25 0 1 0 1 0 3(+2) 0 2 0 32(+2) 0 - MF ENG Gary Stanley 22(+7) 3 1 0 2 0 6 2 0 0 31(+7) 5 - MF WAL Chris Marustik 19(+3) 1 1 0 2 0 5 0 0 0 27(+3) 1 - MF ENG Ray Kennedy 18 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 22 2 - MF WAL Brian Attley 2(+2) 0 0 0 0(+1) 0 0(+1) 1 1 0 3(+4) 1 - MF WAL Jimmy Loveridge 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - MF WAL David Giles 0(+2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(+2) 0 0(+4) 0 - MF SCO Tommy Craig 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - FW WAL Alan Curtis 40 9 1 0 2 1 7 3 2 0 52 13 - FW ENG Bob Latchford 31 12 1 0 2 0 5(+1) 3 2 0 41(+1) 15 - FW WAL Jeremy Charles 9(+4) 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 2 1 14(+4) 3 - FW WAL Ian Walsh 3(+2) 2 0 0 0 0 0(+1) 0 0 0 3(+3) 2 - FW WAL Darren Gale 0(+1) 0 0 0 0 0 0(+1) 0 0 0 0(+2) 0 Top scorers PlacePositionNationalityNumberNameLeagueFA CupLeague CupWelsh CupCup Winners' CupTotal1 MFWAL - Robbie James 15 0 0 5 0 202 FWENG - Bob Latchford 12 0 0 3 0 153 FWWAL - Alan Curtis 9 0 1 3 0 134 MFWAL - Leighton James 9 0 1 2 0 125 MFENG - Gary Stanley 3 0 0 2 0 56 FWWAL - Jeremy Charles 2 0 0 0 1 37 FWWAL - Ian Walsh 2 0 0 0 0 28 MFENG - Ray Kennedy 2 0 0 0 0 29 MFWAL - Chris Marustik 1 0 0 0 0 110 DFYUG - Ante Rajković 1 0 0 0 0 111 DFENG - Neil Robinson 1 0 0 0 0 112 DFENG - Max Thompson 1 0 0 1 0 213 DFENG - Colin Irwin 0 0 1 1 0 214 DFWAL - Brian Attley 0 0 0 1 0 115 - - - Own goal 0 0 0 1 0 1TOTALS 58 0 3 19 1 81 See also 1981–82 in English football List of Swansea City A.F.C. seasons References General https://www.fchd.info/SWANSEAC.HTM Swansea City Football Club History Database Richard Rundle 2 September 2013 Bibliography Jones, Colin Swansea Town & City Football Club: The Complete Record, 1912-2012. From Southern League to Premier League Dinefwr Press Ltd 2012 978-1904323-26-6 Jenkins, Geraint H. Proud to be a Swan, The History of Swansea City AFC Y Lolfa Cyf. Ceredigion 2012 978-184771-481-7 Specific 1981-82 Category:English football clubs 1981–82 season Category:Welsh football clubs 1981–82 season