1982–83 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. season

The 1982–83 season was the 84th of competitive league football in the history of Wolverhampton Wanderers. They finished runners-up in the Second Division to win promotion back to the First Division after one season away.

Wolverhampton Wanderers
1982–83 season
ChairmanDerek Dougan
ManagerEngland Graham Hawkins
StadiumMolineux
Football League Second Division2nd (promoted)
Milk CupSecond round
FA CupFourth round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Mel Eves (18)
All:
Mel Eves (19)
Highest home attendance22,567 v Leeds United (Division Two, 3 January 1983)
Lowest home attendance11,856 v Middlesbrough (Division Two, 4 December 1982)
Average home league attendance15,683

Season summary

Wolves were relegated from the First Division at the end of the 1981–82 season and went into receivership as financial difficulties following construction of the new John Ireland stand caught up with them. They came close to liquidation but were saved at the eleventh hour by a consortium fronted by former player Derek Dougan.[1]

Dougan sacked manager Ian Greaves and replaced him with former Wolves teammate Graham Hawkins.[2] Hawkins named Jim Barron as his assistant and put Frank Upton in charge of the youth team with a brief that young players would be important to the first team due to the club's tight budget.[3] Indeed, three teenagers – Dave Wintersgill, Billy Livingstone and Paul Butler – made their debuts against Blackburn Rovers on the opening day of the new season.[4]

Wolves were unbeaten for the first 10 matches and also went 817 minutes without conceding a league goal. Both runs were ended by Leicester City on 16 October,[5] the first of five defeats in seven matches, but an 11-match unbeaten run followed and a 3–0 win over Leeds United on 3 January took Wolves six points clear at the top of the division. Promotion was secured by a 3–3 draw at Charlton Athletic on 2 May, despite Wolves struggling for form in the latter half of the campaign and eventually finishing 10 points behind champions Queens Park Rangers.[6]

Squad
Substitute appearances indicated in brackets
Pos. Nat. Name League Milk Cup FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK  ENG Paul Bradshaw 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
GK  ENG John Burridge 42 0 2 0 2 0 46 0
DF  IRE Hugh Atkinson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF  ENG Bobby Coy 15(3) 0 2 0 0 0 17(3) 0
DF  ENG Alan Dodd 27 3 0 0 2 0 29 3
DF  ENG Joe Gallagher 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
DF  ENG Mike Hollifield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF  ENG John Humphrey 42 3 2 0 2 0 46 3
DF  ENG Geoff Palmer 40(1) 5 2 0 2 0 44(1) 5
DF  IRE John Pender 39 1 2 0 2 0 43 1
DF  SCO Gordon Smith 24(3) 2 1 0 2 0 27(3) 2
MF  ENG Paul Butler 1(7) 0 0(2) 0 0 0 1(9) 0
MF  ENG Ian Cartwright 7(2) 1 0 0 0 0 7(2) 1
MF  ENG Peter Daniel 13 0 2 0 0 0 15 0
MF  ENG Kenny Hibbitt 27(4) 2 1 0 2 1 30(4) 3
MF  SCO Billy Kellock 9 3 0 0 0 0 9 3
MF  IRE Anthony Kernan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF  ENG Mick Matthews 40 5 2 0 2 0 44 5
MF  ENG Dale Rudge 8 0 0 0 1 0 9 0
MF  ENG Dave Wintersgill 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
FW  ENG Wayne Clarke 38(1) 12 2 0 1 0 41(1) 12
FW  IRE John Croke 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW  ENG Mel Eves 40 18 2 1 2 0 44 19
FW  SCO Andy Gray 33 10 1 0 2 0 36 10
FW  ENG Billy Livingstone 10(1) 3 1 0 0 0 11(1) 3
FW  ENG John Richards 2(2) 0 0 0 0 0 2(2) 0

[7]

Second Division

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Queens Park Rangers 42 26 7 9 77 36 +41 85 Division Champions, promoted
2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 20 15 7 68 44 +24 75 Promoted
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
Source:

Results

Second Division
Date Opponents H / A Result
F – A		 Scorers Attendance
28 August 1982 Blackburn Rovers H 2–1 Eves 2 15,605
31 August 1982 Chelsea A 0–0 14,192
4 September 1982 Leeds United A 0–0 16,462
7 September 1982 Charlton Athletic H 5–0 Eves, Gray, Palmer, Clarke, Matthews 13,063
11 September 1982 Barnsley H 2–0 Humphrey, Eves 15,065
18 September 1982 Bolton Wanderers A 1–0 Livingstone 9264
25 September 1982 Rotherham United H 2–0 Clarke, Humphrey 16,377
2 October 1982 Carlisle United A 2–0 Smith, Livingstone 7723
9 October 1982 Sheffield Wednesday A 0–0 21,519
16 October 1982 Leicester City H 0–3 15,782
30 October 1982 Derby County H 2–1 Palmer (pen), Gray 13,804
2 November 1982 Cambridge United A 1–2 Eves 4571
6 November 1982 Grimsby Town H 3–0 Gray, Eves, Clarke 12,701
13 November 1982 Oldham Athletic A 1–4 Hibbitt 7962
20 November 1982 Fulham H 2–4 Clarke, Gray 14,448
27 November 1982 Crystal Palace A 4–3 Matthews 2, Clarke, Gray 10,225
4 December 1982 Middlesbrough H 4–0 Eves 2, Cartwright, Dodd 11,856
11 December 1982 Newcastle United A 1–1 Eves 19,485
18 December 1982 Queens Park Rangers H 4–0 Humphrey, Clarke, Palmer (pen), Dodd 15,423
27 December 1982 Shrewsbury Town A 2–0 Clarke 2 13,336
28 December 1982 Burnley H 2–0 Eves, Gray 21,961
1 January 1983 Fulham A 3–1 Pender, Clarke, Eves 17,196
3 January 1983 Leeds United H 3–0 Clarke, Gray, Eves 22,567
15 January 1983 Blackburn Rovers A 2–2 Matthews, Dodd 7401
22 January 1983 Chelsea H 2–1 Eves, Clarke 19,533
5 February 1983 Barnsley A 1–2 Smith 13,535
12 February 1983 Carlisle United H 2–1 Eves, Livingstone 13,171
26 February 1983 Leicester City A 0–5 13,530
1 March 1983 Sheffield Wednesday H 1–0 Clarke (pen) 16,656
5 March 1983 Cambridge United H 1–1 Eves 13,204
12 March 1983 Derby County A 1–1 Kellock 17,644
19 March 1983 Grimsby Town A 1–1 Eves 7600
26 March 1983 Oldham Athletic H 0–0 12,940
2 April 1983 Burnley A 1–0 Palmer 9593
4 April 1983 Shrewsbury Town H 2–2 Palmer (pen), Eves 17,509
9 April 1983 Rotherham United A 1–1 Hibbitt 7286
16 April 1983 Bolton Wanderers H 0–0 12,723
23 April 1983 Middlesbrough A 0–0 10,315
30 April 1983 Crystal Palace H 1–0 Gray 12,523
2 May 1983 Charlton Athletic A 3–3 Kellock 2, Eves 7935
7 May 1983 Queens Park Rangers A 1–2 Gray 19,854
14 May 1983 Newcastle United H 2–2 Matthews, Gray 22,446

[8]

Milk Cup
Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F – A		 Scorers Attendance
5 October 1982 Second Round First Leg Sunderland H 1–1 Eves 13,662
27 October 1982 Second Round Second Leg Sunderland A 0–5 11,901

[9]

FA Cup
Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F – A		 Scorers Attendance
8 January 1983 Third Round Tranmere Rovers A 1–0 Hibbitt 10,803
29 January 1983 Fourth Round Aston Villa A 0–1 43,121

[10]

References
  1. "Wolves are saved by last-minute deal". The Times. London. 31 July 1982. p. 17.
  2. Tossell 2012, p. 229
  3. Hawkins 2022, p. 103
  4. Hawkins 2022, p. 107
  5. Hawkins 2022, p. 109
  6. Hawkins 2022, p. 111
  7. Rothmans 1983-84, pp. 396–398
  8. Rothmans 1983-84, p. 396
  9. Rothmans 1983-84, pp. 507 & 510
  10. Rothmans 1983-84, pp. 545–546
Bibliography
  • Tossell, David (2012). In Sunshine Or In Shadow: A Journey Through the Life of Derek Dougan. Pitch. ISBN 978-1-908051-39-4.
  • Hawkins, Kirstie (2022). A Marriage Made In Football. Amazon. ISBN 9798839490499.
  • Rothmans Football Yearbook 1983-84 (Editor: Tony Williams). London: Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0-356-09727-7.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.