# 1980–81 Leicester City F.C. season

During the 1980–81 English football season, Leicester City F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.
In the 1980–81 season, Leicester were in the relegation places for most of the season and were stuck in the bottom three since the beginning of November which also included only 2 wins in 16 league games from beginning of September to the end of November. Their only highlight of the season was their famous league double over Liverpool as well as inflicting Liverpool's first home defeat in 85 games on 31 January 1981 with a 2–1 win at Anfield.
In 1980, ex-player Dave Richardson joined Leicester City as Youth Team Manager, bringing paedophile, Ted Langford, from his old club to become a scout.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 18 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 43 | 55 | −12 | 35 | |
| 19 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 54 | 67 | −13 | 35 | |
| 20 | Norwich City (R) | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 49 | 73 | −24 | 33 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 21 | Leicester City (R) | 42 | 13 | 6 | 23 | 40 | 67 | −27 | 32 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Crystal Palace (R) | 42 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 47 | 83 | −36 | 19 | Relegation to the Second Division |

## Results

Leicester City's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 16 August 1980 | Ipswich Town | H | 0–1 | 21,640 | |
| 19 August 1980 | Everton | A | 0–1 | 23,337 | |
| 23 August 1980 | Liverpool | H | 2–0 | 28,455 | Peake, Henderson |
| 30 August 1980 | Leeds United | A | 2–1 | 18,530 | O'Neill, Henderson |
| 6 September 1980 | Sunderland | H | 0–1 | 20,638 | |
| 13 September 1980 | Manchester United | A | 0–5 | 43,229 | |
| 20 September 1980 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–5 | 27,145 | |
| 27 September 1980 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–1 | 22,616 | Smith, Buchanan |
| 4 October 1980 | Arsenal | A | 0–1 | 28,490 | |
| 8 October 1980 | Stoke City | H | 1–1 | 14,549 | Wilson |
| 11 October 1980 | Coventry City | H | 1–3 | 17,104 | Lineker |
| 18 October 1980 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–2 | 16,387 | Young |
| 21 October 1980 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–1 | 13,114 | |
| 25 October 1980 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–0 | 18,133 | Henderson, Young |
| 1 November 1980 | Aston Villa | A | 0–2 | 29,953 | |
| 8 November 1980 | Manchester City | H | 1–1 | 19,104 | Young |
| 12 November 1980 | Everton | H | 0–1 | 15,511 | |
| 15 November 1980 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–3 | 19,892 | Williams |
| 22 November 1980 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–3 | 17,752 | Lineker |
| 29 November 1980 | Norwich City | H | 1–2 | 13,958 | Young |
| 6 December 1980 | Birmingham City | A | 2–1 | 18,479 | Melrose (2) |
| 13 December 1980 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–0 | 13,998 | MacDonald |
| 20 December 1980 | Stoke City | A | 0–1 | 13,433 | |
| 26 December 1980 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 0–1 | 19,570 | |
| 27 December 1980 | Southampton | A | 0–4 | 21,886 | |
| 10 January 1981 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 0–2 | 17,778 | |
| 17 January 1981 | Leeds United | H | 0–1 | 16,094 | |
| 31 January 1981 | Liverpool | A | 2–1 | 35,154 | Byrne, Melrose |
| 7 February 1981 | Manchester United | H | 1–0 | 26,085 | Melrose |
| 14 February 1981 | Sunderland | A | 0–1 | 22,569 | |
| 21 February 1981 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 2–1 | 27,326 | Lynex, Byrne |
| 28 February 1981 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–1 | 26,608 | Lynex |
| 7 March 1981 | Arsenal | H | 1–0 | 20,198 | Williams |
| 14 March 1981 | Coventry City | A | 1–4 | 21,430 | Young |
| 21 March 1981 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–1 | 15,176 | O'Neill |
| 28 March 1981 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–0 | 21,694 | Melrose |
| 31 March 1981 | Manchester City | A | 3–3 | 10,291 | Williams, Young, Melrose |
| 4 April 1981 | Aston Villa | H | 2–4 | 26,032 | Lynex (2, 1 pen) |
| 18 April 1981 | Southampton | H | 2–2 | 21,349 | Young, Lynex (pen) |
| 20 April 1981 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 1–2 | 21,176 | MacDonald |
| 25 April 1981 | Birmingham City | H | 1–0 | 13,666 | Williams |
| 2 May 1981 | Norwich City | A | 3–2 | 24,675 | Melrose (3) |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 3 January 1981 | Cardiff City | H | 3–0 | 17,527 | Lineker, Buchanan, Melrose |
| R4 | 24 January 1981 | Exeter City | H | 1–1 | 20,996 | Henderson |
| R4R | 28 January 1981 | Exeter City | A | 1–3 | 15,268 | Melrose |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st leg | 26 August 1980 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–1 | 13,810 | |
| R2 2nd leg | 3 September 1980 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 0–1 (lost 0–2 on agg) | 17,081 | |

## Squad

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 | SCO | Alexander Edmond |
| - | GK | ENG | Mark Wallington |
| - | DF | SCO | Tommy Williams |
| - | DF | SCO | William Gibson |
| - | MF | ENG | Andy Peake |
| - | DF | ENG | Larry May |
| - | DF | NIR | John O'Neill |
| - | MF | ENG | Paul Edmunds |
| - | FW | SCO | Jim Melrose |
| - | FW | SCO | Alan Young |
| - | DF | SCO | Ian Wilson |
| - | DF | SCO | Bobby Smith |
| - | FW | SCO | Martin Henderson |
| - | MF | ENG | Mark Goodwin |
| - | DF | ATG | Everton Carr |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | MF | ENG | Neil Grewcock |
| - | DF | ENG | Peter Welsh |
| - | MF | SCO | Eddie Kelly |
| - | DF | ENG | Geoff Scott |
| - | FW | ENG | Dave Buchanan |
| - | FW | ENG | Gary Lineker |
| - | MF | IRL | Pat Byrne |
| - | MF | SCO | Stewart Hamill |
| - | MF | SCO | Kevin MacDonald |
| - | DF | SCO | Paul Friar |
| - | MF | ENG | Steve Lynex |
| - | MF | NIR | Paul Ramsey |
| - | DF | ENG | Norman Leet |