1982–83 Stoke City F.C. season


The 1982–83 season was Stoke City's 76th season in the Football League and 50th in the First Division.
More transfer activity took place in the summer of 1982 with club legend Denis Smith departing the club after 14 seasons at the Victoria Ground. Mark Chamberlain arrived from City rivals Port Vale and the 1982–83 season saw Stoke produce some high quality football. They were involved in a number of exciting matches most notably a 4–4 draw with Luton Town in September. Stoke were neither in a fight for a top half finish nor relegation and finished in a safe mid-table position of 13th.

Season review

League

After one season at the helm manager Ritchie Barker continued to clear out with Denis Smith becoming the last member of the 1972 League Cup winning squad to leave the Victoria Ground. Also released were Paul A. Johnson and Steve Kirk. Barker then went to his old club Wolverhampton Wanderers and brought in Derek Parkin and George Berry to fill the gap in defence. With the 1982–83 season fast approaching he sold last season's top goalscorer Lee Chapman to Arsenal for £500,000 and used £200,000 of that to bring in Mickey Thomas. He also turned to near neighbours Port Vale and signed Mark Harrison plus the Chamberlain brothers Mark and Neville in a triple signing.
Former defender Bill Asprey was appointed as assistant manager and with the new arrivals Stoke produced some eye catching performances. Their attacking style of play won many admirers and with Mark Chamberlain catching the eye he earned himself an England call-up during the season, unfortunately his brother, Neville, failed to make an impact. There were some terrific team performances during the course of the season with the most notable being a classic 4–4 draw with Luton Town in September. Stoke finished an entertaining season in 13th place with 57 points. Chairman Percy Axon died at the end of the season. He was replaced by Frank Edwards who also died two years later.

FA Cup

Stoke beat Sheffield United 3–2 in an entertaining replay but were then ousted 2–0 by Liverpool at Anfield.

League Cup

Stoke again failed to make it past the second round this time West Ham United knocking City out of the League Cup.

Final league table

Key: P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Results

Stoke's score comes first

Legend

Football League First Division

MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
128 August 1982ArsenalH2–115,504Berry 5', O'Callaghan 50'
21 September 1982Manchester CityA0–127,847
34 September 1982Birmingham CityA4–114,412Hawker 20', Chamberlain 33', 36', Griffiths 43'
48 September 1982West Bromwich AlbionH0–317,447
511 September 1982Swansea CityH4–114,056Watson 15', Thomas 25', Davies 55', Magurie 80'
618 September 1982Ipswich TownA3–219,119Thomas 12', Magurie 18', 47'
725 September 1982Luton TownH4–418,475Berry 10', 22', Bracewell 50', O'Callaghan 84'
82 October 1982Nottingham ForestA0–117,122
99 October 1982Manchester UnitedA0–143,132
1016 October 1982Brighton & Hove AlbionH3–013,936Thomas 4', Chamberlain 41' McIlroy 50'
1123 October 1982LiverpoolH1–129,401Thomas 36'
1230 October 1982SunderlandA2–216,406Magurie 5', Chamberlain 70'
136 November 1982West Ham UnitedH5–217,589O'Callaghan 13', Hampton 29', Thomas 41', McIlroy 44', 76'
1413 November 1982WatfordA0–118,713
1520 November 1982Norwich CityA2–413,658McIlroy 21', O'Callaghan 76'
1627 November 1982Aston VillaH0–318,886
174 December 1982SouthamptonA0–117,198
1811 December 1982Tottenham HotspurH2–015,849Watson 4', McIlroy 68'
1918 December 1982Coventry CityA0–210,065
2027 December 1982EvertonH1–025,427Chamberlain 77'
2128 December 1982Notts CountyA0–411,600
221 January 1983Norwich CityH1–015,669McIlroy 32'
233 January 1983Birmingham CityH1–115,428Painter 76'
2415 January 1983ArsenalA0–319,428
2522 January 1983Ipswich TownH1–014,026Painter 58'
265 February 1983West Bromwich AlbionA1–111,486Berry 7'
2726 February 1983Brighton & Hove AlbionA2–114,937Thomas 33', Painter 43'
282 March 1983Manchester UnitedH1–020,950O'Callaghan 75'
295 March 1983LiverpoolA1–530,020Bracewell 50'
3012 March 1983SunderlandH0–112,806
3116 March 1983Nottingham ForestH1–010,880Thomas 67'
3219 March 1983West Ham UnitedA1–116,446Thomas 69'
3326 March 1983WatfordH4–014,276Thomas 10', Painter 63', Chamberlain 70', McAughtrie 82'
342 April 1983Notts CountyH1–016,314McIlroy 54'
354 April 1983EvertonA1–315,360Thomas 54'
369 April 1983Manchester CityH1–015,372McIlroy 61'
3716 April 1983Swansea CityA1–110,100Thomas 58'
3823 April 1983SouthamptonH1–114,903Berry 60'
3930 April 1983Aston VillaA0–420,944
402 May 1983Luton TownA0–011,877
417 May 1983Coventry CityH0–312,048
4214 May 1983Tottenham HotspurA1–433,691Magurie 67'

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
R38 January 1983Sheffield UnitedA0–023,239
R3 Replay12 January 1983Sheffield UnitedH3–218,315McAughtrie 42', Painter 48', Henderson 68'
R429 January 1983LiverpoolA0–236,666

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
R2 1st Leg6 October 1982West Ham UnitedH1–118,079Thomas 70'
R2 2nd Leg26 October 1982West Ham UnitedA1–218,349Watson 62'

Friendlies

Squad statistics