1981–82 Chelsea F.C. season

68th competitive season of Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea 1981–82 football season

Chelsea

1981–82 season

Chairman

Viscount Chelsea
Ken Bates

Manager

John Neal

Stadium

Stamford Bridge

Second Division

12th

FA Cup

Quarter-finals

League Cup

Third round

Top goalscorer

League: Clive Walker (16)
All: Clive Walker (17)

Highest home attendance

42,557 vs Tottenham Hotspur
(6 March 1982)

Lowest home attendance

6,009 vs Orient
(5 May 1982)

Average home league attendance

13,133

Biggest win

4–1 (two matches)

Biggest defeat

0–6 v Rotherham United
(31 October 1981)

Home colours

Away colours

← 1980–81

1982–83 →

The 1981–82 season was Chelsea Football Club's sixty-eighth competitive season.

Season summary

Chelsea began the season with a new manager, John Neal, Geoff Hurst having been sacked at the end of the previous season. Neal's arrival brought no immediate upturn in the club's fortunes, and they finished 12th in the Second Division for the second successive year. The highlight of the season was a run to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup (the club's first appearance in a cup quarter-final since 1973), which included a 2–0 win over reigning European champions Liverpool.

Off the pitch, the club were purchased by businessman Ken Bates for £1 in April 1982.

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
10	Blackburn Rovers	42	16	11	15	47	43	+4	59
11	Oldham Athletic	42	15	14	13	50	51	−1	59
12	Chelsea	42	15	12	15	60	60	0	57
13	Charlton Athletic	42	13	12	17	50	65	−15	51
14	Cambridge United	42	13	9	20	48	53	−5	48

Source:^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored

References

Glanvill, Rick (2006). Chelsea FC: The Official Biography – The Definitive Story of the First 100 Years. Headline Book Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7553-1466-2.
Hockings, Ron. 100 Years of The Blues – A Statistical History of Chelsea FC 1905–2006.

External links

1981–82 season at stamford-bridge.com

v t e Chelsea F.C. seasons
1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

Chelsea F.C. seasons

1905–06
1906–07
1907–08
1908–09
1909–10
1910–11
1911–12
1912–13
1913–14
1914–15
1915–16
1916–17
1917–18
1918–19
1919–20
1920–21
1921–22
1922–23
1923–24
1924–25
1925–26
1926–27
1927–28
1928–29
1929–30
1930–31
1931–32
1932–33
1933–34
1934–35
1935–36
1936–37
1937–38
1938–39
1939–40
1940–41
1941–42
1942–43
1943–44
1944–45
1945–46
1946–47
1947–48
1948–49
1949–50
1950–51
1951–52
1952–53
1953–54
1954–55
1955–56
1956–57
1957–58
1958–59
1959–60
1960–61
1961–62
1962–63
1963–64
1964–65
1965–66
1966–67
1967–68
1968–69
1969–70
1970–71
1971–72
1972–73
1973–74
1974–75
1975–76
1976–77
1977–78
1978–79
1979–80
1980–81
1981–82
1982–83
1983–84
1984–85
1985–86
1986–87
1987–88
1988–89
1989–90
1990–91
1991–92
1992–93
1993–94
1994–95
1995–96
1996–97
1997–98
1998–99
1999–2000
2000–01
2001–02
2002–03
2003–04
2004–05
2005–06
2006–07
2007–08
2008–09
2009–10
2010–11
2011–12
2012–13
2013–14
2014–15
2015–16
2016–17
2017–18
2018–19
2019–20
2020–21
2021–22
2022–23
2023–24

1981–82 in English football

« 1980–81

1982–83 »

National teams

League competitions

Levels 1–4	Football League (First Division, Second Division, Third Division, Fourth Division)
Level 5	Alliance Premier League
Levels 6–7	Isthmian League (Premier, One) Northern Premier League (level 6 only) Southern League (Midland, Southern) (level 6 only)
Levels 8–9	Isthmian League (Two) Athenian League (level 8 only) Cheshire County League (One, Two) Combined Counties League (Eastern, Western) (level 8 only) Town & Country League (level 8 only) Essex Senior League (level 8 only) Hellenic League (Premier, One) Kent League (level 8 only) Lancashire Combination (level 8 only) London Spartan League (Premier, Senior) Midland Football Combination (level 8 only) Midland League (Premier, One) Northern League (level 8 only) South Midlands League (Premier, One) Sussex County League (One, Two) United Counties League (Premier, One) West Midlands (Regional) League (level 8 only) Western League (Premier, One) Yorkshire League (One, Two)

Cup competitions

FA cups	FA Cup (Qualifying rounds, Final) Charity Shield FA Trophy (Final)
Football League cups	League Cup (Final) Football League Group Cup (Final)

European competitions

Club seasons
First Division	Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham City Brighton & Hove Albion Coventry City Everton Ipswich Town Leeds United Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Middlesbrough Nottingham Forest Notts County Southampton Stoke City Sunderland Swansea City Tottenham Hotspur West Bromwich Albion West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers
Second Division	Barnsley Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Cambridge United Cardiff City Charlton Athletic Chelsea Crystal Palace Derby County Grimsby Town Leicester City Luton Town Newcastle United Norwich City Oldham Athletic Orient Queens Park Rangers Rotherham United Sheffield Wednesday Shrewsbury Town Watford Wrexham
Third Division	Brentford Bristol City Bristol Rovers Burnley Carlisle United Chester Chesterfield Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Fulham Gillingham Huddersfield Town Lincoln City Millwall Newport County Oxford United Plymouth Argyle Portsmouth Preston North End Reading Southend United Swindon Town Walsall Wimbledon
Fourth Division	Aldershot Blackpool Bournemouth Bradford City Bury Colchester United Crewe Alexandra Darlington Halifax Town Hartlepool United Hereford United Hull City Mansfield Town Northampton Town Peterborough United Port Vale Rochdale Scunthorpe United Sheffield United Southport Stockport County Torquay United Tranmere Rovers York City