1982–83 Manchester United F.C. season

Manchester United
1982–83 season
ChairmanMartin Edwards
ManagerRon Atkinson
First Division3rd
FA CupWinners
League CupRunners-up
UEFA CupFirst Round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Frank Stapleton (14)
All:
Frank Stapleton (19)
Highest home attendance58,198 vs Everton (12 March 1983)
Lowest home attendance22,091 vs Bournemouth (6 October 1982)
Average home league attendance41,295

The 1982–83 season was Manchester United's 81st season in the Football League, and their 8th consecutive season in the top division of English football.[1] They finished the season third in the league and won the FA Cup for the fifth time in their history, beating relegated Brighton 4–0 in the replay after drawing the first game 2–2. It was the breakthrough season for teenage striker Norman Whiteside, who was a regular first team player and scored 14 goals in all competitions, including one in the FA Cup final replay.

Atkinson had also added Dutch winger Arnold Muhren to the club's ranks on a free transfer from Ipswich Town before the start of the season, and the new signing was a success, establishing himself as United's regular left winger and scoring a penalty in the FA Cup final replay.

It was also a good second season at United for Frank Stapleton, who was the club's top scorer with 14 goals in the league and 19 in all competitions.

United reached their first League Cup final, but lost 2-1 to Liverpool.

First Division

Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
28 August 1982 Birmingham City H 3–0 Coppell, Moran, Stapleton 48,673
1 September 1982 Nottingham Forest A 3–0 Wilkins, Whiteside, Robson 23,956
4 September 1982 West Bromwich Albion A 1–3 Robson 24,928
8 September 1982 Everton H 2–1 Robson, Whiteside 43,186
11 September 1982 Ipswich Town H 3–1 Whiteside (2), Coppell 43,140
18 September 1982 Southampton A 1–0 Macari 21,700
25 September 1982 Arsenal H 0–0 43,198
2 October 1982 Luton Town A 1–1 Grimes 17,009
9 October 1982 Stoke City H 1–0 Robson 43,132
16 October 1982 Liverpool A 0–0 40,853
23 October 1982 Manchester City H 2–2 Stapleton (2) 57,334
30 October 1982 West Ham United A 1–3 Moran 31,684
6 November 1982 Brighton & Hove Albion A 0–1 18,379
13 November 1982 Tottenham Hotspur H 1–0 Mühren 47,869
20 November 1982 Aston Villa A 1–2 Stapleton 35,487
27 November 1982 Norwich City H 3–0 Robson (2), Mühren 34,579
4 December 1982 Watford A 1–0 Whiteside 25,669
11 December 1982 Notts County H 4–0 Whiteside, Stapleton, Robson, Duxbury 33,618
18 December 1982 Swansea City A 0–0 15,748
27 December 1982 Sunderland H 0–0 47,783
28 December 1982 Coventry City A 0–3 18,945
1 January 1983 Aston Villa H 3–1 Stapleton (2), Coppell 41,545
3 January 1983 West Bromwich Albion H 0–0 39,123
15 January 1983 Birmingham City A 2–1 Whiteside, Robson 19,333
22 January 1983 Nottingham Forest H 2–0 Coppell (pen.), Mühren 38,615
5 February 1983 Ipswich Town A 1–1 Stapleton 23,804
26 February 1983 Liverpool H 1–1 Mühren 57,397
2 March 1983 Stoke City A 0–1 21,266
5 March 1983 Manchester City A 2–1 Stapleton (2) 45,400
19 March 1983 Brighton & Hove Albion H 1–1 Albiston 36,264
22 March 1983 West Ham United H 2–1 McGarvey, Stapleton 30,227
2 April 1983 Coventry City H 3–0 Stapleton, Gillespie (o.g.), Macari 36,814
4 April 1983 Sunderland A 0–0 31,486
9 April 1983 Southampton H 1–1 Robson 37,120
19 April 1983 Everton A 0–2 21,715
23 April 1983 Watford H 2–0 Cunningham, Grimes (pen.) 43,048
30 April 1983 Norwich City A 1–1 Whiteside 22,233
2 May 1983 Arsenal A 0–3 23,602
7 May 1983 Swansea City H 2–1 Robson, Stapleton 35,724
9 May 1983 Luton Town H 3–0 McGrath (2), Stapleton 34,213
11 May 1983 Tottenham Hotspur A 0–2 32,803
14 May 1983 Notts County A 2–3 McGrath, Mühren 14,395

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Liverpool (C) 42 24 10 8 87 37 +50 82 Qualification for the European Cup first round
2 Watford 42 22 5 15 74 57 +17 71 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3 Manchester United 42 19 13 10 56 38 +18 70 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[a]
4 Tottenham Hotspur 42 20 9 13 65 50 +15 69 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
5 Nottingham Forest 42 20 9 13 62 50 +12 69
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ Manchester United qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1982–83 FA Cup winners.

FA Cup

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
8 January 1983 Round 3 West Ham United H 2–0 Coppell, Stapleton 44,143
29 January 1983 Round 4 Luton Town A 2–0 Moran, Moses 20,516
19 February 1983 Round 5 Derby County A 1–0 Whiteside 33,022
12 March 1983 Round 6 Everton H 1–0 Stapleton 58,198
16 April 1983 Semi-final Arsenal N 2–1 Robson, Whiteside 46,535
21 May 1983 Final Brighton & Hove Albion N 2–2 Stapleton, Wilkins 100,000
26 May 1983 Final
Replay 		Brighton & Hove Albion N 4–0 Robson (2), Whiteside, Mühren (pen.) 92,000

League Cup

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
6 October 1982 Round 2
First leg 		Bournemouth H 2–0 Redknapp (o.g.), Stapleton 22,091
26 October 1982 Round 2
Second leg 		Bournemouth A 2–2 Coppell (pen.), Mühren 13,226
10 November 1982 Round 3 Bradford City A 0–0 15,568
24 November 1982 Round 3
Replay 		Bradford City H 4–1 Albiston, Coppell, Moran, Moses 24,507
1 December 1982 Round 4 Southampton H 2–0 McQueen, Whiteside 28,378
19 January 1983 Round 5 Nottingham Forest H 4–0 McQueen (2), Coppell, Robson 44,413
15 February 1983 Semi-final
First leg 		Arsenal A 4–2 Whiteside, Stapleton, Coppell (2) 43,136
23 February 1983 Semi-final
Second leg 		Arsenal H 2–1 Coppell, Moran 56,635
26 March 1983 Final Liverpool N 1–2 Whiteside 100,000

UEFA Cup

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
15 September 1982 Round 1
First leg 		Valencia H 0–0 46,588
29 September 1982 Round 1
Second leg 		Valencia A 1–2 Robson 35,000

Squad statistics

Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup UEFA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England Gary Bailey 37 0 7 0 9 0 2 0 55 0
GK England Jeff Wealands 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
DF Scotland Arthur Albiston 38 1 7 0 9 1 2 0 56 2
DF Scotland Martin Buchan 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 6 0
DF England Mike Duxbury 42 1 7 0 9 0 2 0 60 1
DF England John Gidman 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
DF Republic of Ireland Paul McGrath 14 3 0(1) 0 1 0 0 0 15(1) 3
DF Scotland Gordon McQueen 37 0 7 0 8 3 1 0 53 3
DF Republic of Ireland Kevin Moran 29 2 7 1 7 2 1 0 44 5
MF England Steve Coppell 29 4 4 1 8 6 1(1) 0 42(1) 11
MF England Laurie Cunningham 3(2) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3(2) 1
MF Wales Alan Davies 2(1) 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4(1) 0
MF Republic of Ireland Ashley Grimes 15(1) 2 1 0 2 0 2 0 20(1) 2
MF England Remi Moses 29 0 5 1 8 1 1 0 43 2
MF Netherlands Arnold Mühren 32 5 6 1 8 1 0 0 46 7
MF England Bryan Robson 33 10 6 3 8 1 2 1 49 15
MF England Ray Wilkins 26 1 4 1 3(1) 0 2 0 35(1) 2
FW England Peter Beardsley 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW Scotland Lou Macari 2(7) 2 0(1) 0 1(2) 0 0(1) 0 3(11) 2
FW Scotland Scott McGarvey 3(4) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3(4) 1
FW Republic of Ireland Frank Stapleton 41 14 7 3 9 2 2 0 59 19
FW Northern Ireland Norman Whiteside 39 8 7 3 7(2) 3 2 0 55(2) 14

References

  1. ^ "Manchester United Season 1982/83". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2011.