# 1981–82 Birmingham City F.C. season

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

| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 29 August 1981 | 20th | Everton | A | L | 1–3 | Van Mierlo | 33,550 |
| 1 September 1981 | 17th | Ipswich Town | H | D | 1–1 | Evans | 17,328 |
| 5 September 1981 | 12th | Nottingham Forest | H | W | 4–3 | Broadhurst, Evans, Whatmore 2 | 19,035 |
| 12 September 1981 | 18th | Middlesbrough | A | L | 1–2 | Whatmore | 13,167 |
| 19 September 1981 | 8th | Manchester City | H | W | 3–0 | Evans 3 | 20,109 |
| 22 September 1981 | 13th | Arsenal | A | L | 0–1 | | 19,588 |
| 26 September 1981 | 14th | Aston Villa | A | D | 0–0 | | 41,098 |
| 3 October 1981 | 15th | West Ham United | H | D | 2–2 | Langan, Dillon | 22,290 |
| 10 October 1981 | 11th | Southampton | H | W | 4–0 | Worthington 2, Whatmore 2 | 16,938 |
| 17 October 1981 | 11th | Manchester United | A | D | 1–1 | Worthington pen | 48,800 |
| 24 October 1981 | 14th | Stoke City | A | L | 0–1 | | 15,399 |
| 31 October 1981 | 15th | West Bromwich Albion | H | D | 3–3 | Gemmill, Evans, Worthington pen | 21,601 |
| 7 November 1981 | 13th | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | D | 1–1 | Evans | 18,409 |
| 21 November 1981 | 15th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | L | 0–3 | | 18,671 |
| 28 November 1981 | 20th | Swansea City | A | L | 0–1 | | 15,096 |
| 5 December 1981 | 19th | Notts County | H | W | 2–1 | Evans 2 (1 pen) | 11,914 |
| 5 January 1982 | 19th | Ipswich Town | A | L | 2–3 | Van Mierlo, Broadhurst | 19,336 |
| 9 January 1982 | 19th | Nottingham Forest | A | L | 1–2 | Worthington | 15,906 |
| 26 January 1982 | 19th | Coventry City | H | D | 3–3 | Broadhurst, Evans 2 | 13,023 |
| 30 January 1982 | 19th | Manchester City | A | L | 2–4 | Worthington 2 | 28,438 |
| 6 February 1982 | 19th | Middlesbrough | H | D | 0–0 | | 10,715 |
| 13 February 1982 | 19th | West Ham United | A | D | 2–2 | Whatmore, Van Mierlo | 22,512 |
| 16 February 1982 | 17th | Sunderland | H | W | 2–0 | Van Mierlo, Worthington | 10,863 |
| 20 February 1982 | 17th | Aston Villa | H | L | 0–1 | | 32,817 |
| 27 February 1982 | 17th | Southampton | A | L | 1–3 | Worthington pen | 20,620 |
| 6 March 1982 | 17th | Manchester United | H | L | 0–1 | | 19,637 |
| 13 March 1982 | 17th | Stoke City | H | W | 2–1 | Curbishley, Hawker | 12,018 |
| 20 March 1982 | 18th | West Bromwich Albion | A | D | 1–1 | Evans | 20,936 |
| 23 March 1982 | 18th | Tottenham Hotspur | H | D | 0–0 | | 17,708 |
| 27 March 1982 | 17th | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | W | 1–0 | Harford | 13,234 |
| 30 March 1982 | 17th | Liverpool | A | L | 1–3 | Harford | 24,224 |
| 6 April 1982 | 17th | Everton | H | L | 0–2 | | 12,273 |
| 10 April 1982 | 19th | Leeds United | H | L | 0–1 | | 14,497 |
| 12 April 1982 | 20th | Sunderland | A | L | 0–2 | | 14,821 |
| 17 April 1982 | 20th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | D | 1–1 | Harford | 18,964 |
| 24 April 1982 | 17th | Swansea City | H | W | 2–1 | Broadhurst, Harford | 14,973 |
| 28 April 1982 | 16th | Tottenham Hotspur | A | D | 1–1 | Phillips, Evans 2, Harford | 25,470 |
| 1 May 1982 | 16th | Notts County | A | W | 4–1 | Harford | 10,704 |
| 4 May 1982 | 17th | Arsenal | H | L | 0–1 | | 13,428 |
| 8 May 1982 | 18th | Liverpool | H | L | 0–1 | | 26,381 |
| 12 May 1982 | 16th | Leeds United | A | D | 3–3 | Harford 2, Evans | 18,583 |
| 15 May 1982 | 16th | Coventry City | A | W | 1–0 | Harford | 15,925 |

### League table (part)

Three points for a win were first awarded in the Football League in 1981–82.
Final First Division table (part) :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 14th | Coventry City | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 56 | 62 | −6 | 50 |
| 15th | Notts County | 42 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 61 | 69 | −8 | 47 |
| 16th | Birmingham City | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 53 | 61 | −8 | 44 |
| 17th | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 46 | 57 | −11 | 44 |
| 18th | Stoke City | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 44 | 63 | −19 | 44 |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source:

## FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Third round | 2 January 1982 | Ipswich Town | H | L | 2–3 | Worthington pen, Curbishley | 17,236 |

## League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Second round 1st leg | 6 October 1981 | Nottingham Forest | H | L | 2–3 | Whatmore, Worthington | 14,330 |
| Second round 2nd leg | 28 October 1981 | Nottingham Forest | A | L | 1–2 | Evans | 16,316 |

## 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 competition :
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | ENG | Tony Coton | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | Roger Jones * | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | Jeff Wealands | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Kevan Broadhurst | 35 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 4 |
| DF | ENG | Mark Dennis | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Phil Hawker | 19 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 (1) | 1 |
| DF | IRL | Dave Langan | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 1 |
| DF | ENG | Geoff Scott | 14 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 (1) | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Colin Todd | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| DF | WAL | Pat Van Den Hauwe | 30 (1) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31 (1) | 0 |
| MF | NED | Bud Brocken | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Alan Curbishley | 29 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 2 |
| MF | ENG | Kevin Dillon | 35 (1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 (1) | 1 |
| MF | SCO | Archie Gemmill † | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| MF | ENG | Dave Linney | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Ian Handysides | 8 (12) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 8 (14) | 0 |
| MF | NED | Toine van Mierlo | 40 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 4 |
| MF | ENG | Les Phillips | 7 (4) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 (4) | 1 |
| MF | WAL | Byron Stevenson | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Tony Evans | 29 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 16 |
| FW | ENG | Mick Harford | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 9 |
| FW | ENG | Duncan MacDowall | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Neil Whatmore | 22 (2) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 23 (2) | 7 |
| FW | ENG | Frank Worthington † | 18 (2) | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 21 (2) | 11 |