1981–82 Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. season
# 1981–82 Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. season

During the 1981–82 English football season, Brighton & Hove Albion competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

Brighton achieved their highest-ever league finish of 13th. On 6 March 1982 the Seagulls also scored an impressive clean-sheet win at Anfield against the 1981-82 First Division Champions Liverpool 0-1 (the champions' final league loss of the season).

## Kit

Brighton's kit was manufactured by Adidas and sponsored by British Caledonian.

## Results

Brighton & Hove Albion's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| - | - | - |

### First Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Liverpool (C) | 42 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 80 | 32 | +48 | 87 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 26 | 5 | 11 | 75 | 53 | +22 | 83 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Manchester United | 42 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 59 | 29 | +30 | 78 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 67 | 48 | +19 | 71 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 5 | Arsenal | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 48 | 37 | +11 | 71 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Swansea City | 42 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 58 | 51 | +7 | 69 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup preliminary round |
| 7 | Southampton | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 72 | 67 | +5 | 66 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 8 | Everton | 42 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 56 | 50 | +6 | 64 | |
| 9 | West Ham United | 42 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 66 | 57 | +9 | 58 | |
| 10 | Manchester City | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 58 | |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 57 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 12 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 42 | 48 | −6 | 57 | |
| 13 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 52 | |
| 14 | Coventry City | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 56 | 62 | −6 | 50 | |
| 15 | Notts County | 42 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 61 | 69 | −8 | 47 | |
| 16 | Birmingham City | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 53 | 61 | −8 | 44 | |
| 17 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 46 | 57 | −11 | 44 | |
| 18 | Stoke City | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 44 | 63 | −19 | 44 | |
| 19 | Sunderland | 42 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 38 | 58 | −20 | 44 | |
| 20 | Leeds United (R) | 42 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 39 | 61 | −22 | 42 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 21 | Wolverhampton Wanderers (R) | 42 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 63 | −31 | 40 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Middlesbrough (R) | 42 | 8 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 52 | −18 | 39 | Relegation to the Second Division |

* ↑ Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1981–82 FA Cup winners.
* ↑ Swansea City qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup preliminary round as the 1982 Welsh Cup winners.
* ↑ Aston Villa qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1981–82 European Cup winners.

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| — | GK | ENG | Graham Moseley |
| — | DF | ENG | Steve Foster |
| — | DF | ENG | Steve Gatting (captain) |
| — | DF | ENG | Graham Pearce |
| — | DF | ENG | Chris Ramsey |
| — | DF | ENG | Gary Stevens |
| — | DF | NIR | Sammy Nelson |
| — | DF | IRL | Gerry Ryan |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Jimmy Case |
| — | MF | WAL | Mickey Thomas |
| — | MF | IRL | Tony Grealish |
| — | MF | IRL | Gary Howlett |
| — | FW | ENG | Andy Ritchie |
| — | FW | SCO | Gordon Smith |
| — | FW | IRL | Michael Robinson |

## Transfers

### In

* Steve Gatting - Arsenal, July
* Tony Grealish - Luton Town, July
* Sammy Nelson - Arsenal, October
* Mickey Thomas - Everton, January

### Out

* Moshe Gariani - Maccabi Netanya, June
* Brian Horton - Luton Town, June
* Mark Lawrenson - Liverpool, June
* Peter O'Sullivan - Fulham, June
* John Phillips - Charlton Athletic, June
