1981–82 Leicester City F.C. season
# 1981–82 Leicester City F.C. season

During the 1981–82 English football season, Leicester City F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division.

## Season summary

In the 1981–82 season where the Football League decided to increase the points total on a win to three instead of two points, Leicester's start was inconsistent but during the last couple of months of the campaign, the Foxes revived strongly and finished in eighth. At the end of the season, Wallace left to join Motherwell.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 6 | Barnsley | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 59 | 41 | +18 | 67 |
| 7 | Rotherham United | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 66 | 54 | +12 | 67 |
| 8 | Leicester City | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 56 | 48 | +8 | 66 |
| 9 | Newcastle United | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 52 | 50 | +2 | 62 |
| 10 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 47 | 43 | +4 | 59 |

## Results

Leicester City's score comes first

### Legend

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

### Football League Second Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 29 August 1981 | Grimsby Town | A | 2–2 | 11,032 | Lineker, Melrose |
| 5 September 1981 | Wrexham | H | 1–0 | 12,905 | Hamill |
| 8 September 1981 | Barnsley | H | 1–0 | 15,447 | Hamill |
| 12 September 1981 | Derby County | A | 1–3 | 16,046 | Melrose |
| 19 September 1981 | Luton Town | H | 1–2 | 14,159 | Lynex (pen) |
| 22 September 1981 | Rotherham United | A | 1–1 | 7,781 | May |
| 26 September 1981 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 2–0 | 8,925 | May, Melrose |
| 3 October 1981 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–1 | 12,558 | Lineker |
| 10 October 1981 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 3–0 | 7,361 | Melrose (2), Young |
| 16 October 1981 | Chelsea | H | 1–1 | 18,358 | Melrose |
| 24 October 1981 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–2 | 12,419 | |
| 31 October 1981 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 0–0 | 19,125 | |
| 7 November 1981 | Charlton Athletic | A | 4–1 | 8,212 | Melrose, Lynex (pen), Lineker (2) |
| 14 November 1981 | Orient | H | 0–1 | 11,733 | |
| 21 November 1981 | Cardiff City | A | 1–3 | 6,687 | Welsh |
| 28 November 1981 | Cambridge United | H | 4–1 | 9,524 | Lynex, Hebberd, Peake, Lineker |
| 5 December 1981 | Norwich City | A | 0–0 | 12,768 | |
| 12 December 1981 | Watford | H | 1–1 | 10,340 | Lineker |
| 28 December 1981 | Oldham Athletic | A | 1–1 | 9,174 | Lynex |
| 30 January 1982 | Luton Town | A | 1–2 | 11,810 | Lineker |
| 6 February 1982 | Derby County | H | 2–1 | 14,132 | Lynex (pen), Lineker |
| 20 February 1982 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–0 | 11,667 | Peake |
| 27 February 1982 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | 10,678 | Lynex (pen) |
| 2 March 1982 | Newcastle United | H | 3–0 | 12,497 | Young, Lineker (2) |
| 9 March 1982 | Chelsea | A | 1–4 | 10,586 | Lynex |
| 13 March 1982 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 3–2 | 17,821 | Lynex (pen), Young, Melrose |
| 17 March 1982 | Rotherham United | H | 1–0 | 21,123 | Melrose |
| 20 March 1982 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–2 | 18,962 | |
| 23 March 1982 | Crystal Palace | A | 2–0 | 9,506 | Lynex, Lineker |
| 27 March 1982 | Charlton Athletic | H | 3–1 | 13,681 | Young (2), MacDonald |
| 30 March 1982 | Shrewsbury Town | A | 1–1 | 5,340 | Lineker |
| 10 April 1982 | Newcastle United | A | 0–0 | 25,777 | |
| 13 April 1982 | Oldham Athletic | H | 2–1 | 14,298 | Melrose, Lineker |
| 17 April 1982 | Cardiff City | H | 3–1 | 13,650 | Lineker (2), Lynex |
| 20 April 1982 | Wrexham | A | 0–0 | 4,913 | |
| 24 April 1982 | Cambridge United | A | 2–1 | 7,212 | Lineker, Welsh |
| 1 May 1982 | Norwich City | H | 1–4 | 19,630 | May |
| 4 May 1982 | Barnsley | A | 2–0 | 15,418 | Welsh, Lineker |
| 8 May 1982 | Watford | A | 1–3 | 20,859 | Melrose |
| 12 May 1982 | Grimsby Town | H | 1–2 | 13,941 | Welsh (pen) |
| 15 May 1982 | Shrewsbury Town | H | 0–0 | 11,368 | |
| 18 May 1982 | Orient | A | 0–3 | 2,107 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R3 | 2 January 1982 | Southampton | H | 3–1 | 20,589 | Young (2), Lineker |
| R4 | 23 January 1982 | Hereford United | A | 1–0 | 10,602 | May |
| R5 | 13 February 1982 | Watford | H | 2–0 | 27,991 | O'Neill, Terry (own goal) |
| QF | 6 March 1982 | Shrewsbury Town | H | 5–2 | 29,117 | May, Melrose (2), Lineker, Cross (own goal) |
| SF | 3 April 1982 | Tottenham Hotspur | N | 0–2 | 46,606 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R2 1st leg | 6 October 1981 | Preston North End | A | 0–1 | 5,382 | |
| R2 2nd leg | 28 October 1981 | Preston North End | H | 4–0 (won 4-1 on agg) | 7,685 | Robson, Lynex, Melrose, O'Riordan (own goal) |
| R3 | 11 November 1981 | Aston Villa | H | 0–0 | 19,806 | |
| R3R | 25 November 1981 | Aston Villa | A | 0–2 | 23,136 | |

## 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 | Mark Wallington |
| - | DF | SCO | Tommy Williams |
| - | DF | NIR | John O'Neill |
| - | DF | ENG | Larry May |
| - | DF | SCO | Paul Friar |
| - | MF | ENG | Steve Lynex |
| - | MF | SCO | Ian Wilson |
| - | MF | ENG | Andy Peake |
| - | FW | ENG | Gary Lineker |
| - | FW | SCO | Alan Young |
| - | MF | SCO | Kevin MacDonald |
| - | FW | SCO | Jim Melrose |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | DF | ENG | Norman Leet |
| - | MF | SCO | Eddie Kelly |
| - | MF | NIR | Paul Ramsey |
| - | FW | ENG | Keith Robson |
| - | DF | ENG | Geoff Scott |
| - | DF | SCO | Billy Gibson |
| - | DF | SCO | Peter Welsh |
| - | GK | SCO | Nicky Walker |
| - | MF | ENG | Trevor Hebberd (on loan from Southampton) |
| - | DF | SCO | Bobby Smith |
| - | MF | SCO | Stewart Hamill |
| - | FW | ENG | Dave Buchanan |
