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The start of the 1981/82 season went poorly for Arsenal manager Terry Neill. After losing Liam Brady in the summer of 1980, Frank Stapleton was the next star to leave Highbury, joining Manchester United in August 1981. Arsenal received only £1.5 million for the departure of their two stars, making it difficult to find replacements. [1]
Arsenal reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup and League Cup but on both occasions were beaten by Manchester United. [1] Arsenal's foray into the 1982-83 UEFA Cup was short as they lost 8–4 on aggregate to Spartak Moscow, including a 5–2 drubbing at Highbury. Arsenal fans demonstrated that they could appreciate fine football for what it was.
Arsenal also bought defensive midfielder Peter Nicholas from Crystal Palace in March 1981. He joined Arsenal when the club had won a grand total of three of the last 14 games played. After that Arsenal played nine, and only dropped two points and Nicholas didn’t play on the losing side.
30 April 1981: Manchester United sack Dave Sexton after four trophyless seasons as manager. 2 May 1981: Aston Villa seal their first league title for 71 years despite losing their final game of the season 2–0 to Arsenal as Ipswich Town lose 2–1 to Middlesbrough, their third League defeat in four matches.
When Arsenal was founded in 1886 by munition workers' from Woolwich, the club resisted the lure of professionalism and remained an amateur side. [12] Success in local cup competitions soon followed, and a tie against Derby County in the FA Cup on 17 January 1891 led to the opposition approaching two of Arsenal's players, in view of offering them professional contracts. [12]
25 October 1982 - Bill Eckersley, 57, played 406 league games for Blackburn Rovers at left-back between 1947 and 1961 and was capped 17 times for England. 8 November 1982 – Jimmy Dickinson, 57, former Portsmouth wing-half and captain, and England international, who played more than 800 matches for Pompey, winning two league championship medals.
29 August 1981: The first Football League games of the season are played. Swansea City begin life as a First Division side on a high note by beating Leeds United 5–1. [1] Promoted Notts County win 1–0 at Villa Park against defending champions Aston Villa.
The First Division title race saw many teams take the lead throughout the season, including traditional favourites like Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, as well as thriving Ipswich Town and Southampton, and most incredibly a Swansea City side who had never been in the First Division before, and who had been in the Fourth Division just a few seasons previously.