The 1982–83 season was the 103rd season of competitive football in England.

Diary of the season

11 August 1982: Tottenham Hotspur pay Bristol Rovers £105,000 for defender Gary Mabbutt, who turns 21 later this month.

19 August 1982: Newcastle United pay Southampton £100,000 for Kevin Keegan.

21 August 1982: Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 in the Charity Shield at Wembley with a goal from Ian Rush.

24 August 1982: The Shankly Gates are unveiled at Anfield, honouring former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly almost a year after his death.

25 August 1982: Arsenal sign 22-year-old striker Lee Chapman from Stoke City for £500,000.

26 August 1982: Bob Paisley announces that this season as Liverpool manager, his ninth in charge, will be his last.

28 August 1982: The first games of the First Division season are played. Manchester United achieve the biggest win of the opening day of the season beating Birmingham City 3–0. Peter Shilton exits Nottingham Forest in a £325,000 move to Southampton.Manchester United FC News – United Mad. Manchesterunited-mad.co.uk (1982-08-28). Retrieved on 2011-03-23. In the Second Division, Kevin Keegan scores on his Newcastle debut in a 1–0 home win over QPR.

4 September 1982: Manchester City's victory over Watford ensures the Maine Road side are top of the table and the only First Division side with a 100% record after three games. Their win comes despite having outfield player Bobby McDonald as goalkeeper after Joe Corrigan is rendered unavailable after just three minutes. Paul Walsh scores his first three goals for Luton Town against Notts County as the Hatters win 5–3. Bob Latchford scores three of Swansea City's four without reply against Norwich City, Southampton's Justin Fashanu, on loan from Nottingham Forest, scores the winning goal in a 1–0 victory Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion beat Manchester United and a Liverpool win 2–0 at Arsenal.

9 September 1982: Peter Beardsley, a 21-year-old former Carlisle United playing for Vancouver Whitecaps in Canada, signs for Manchester United in a £325,000 deal.

11 September 1982: Watford, in the First Division for the first time, go top of the league on goal difference (level with Manchester United and Manchester City) by beating West Bromwich Albion 3–0 in their fifth league game of the season. Ron Atkinson's side beat Ipswich Town 3–1 at Old Trafford. A six-goal thriller at Anfield sees Liverpool draw 3–3 with Luton Town. Aston Villa beat Nottingham Forest 4–1 at Villa Park. Stoke City beat Swansea City 4–1 at the Victoria Ground. West Ham United beat Birmingham City 5–0 at Upton Park. In the Second Division, Steve Lynex and Gary Lineker score hat-tricks in Leicester City's 6–0 home win over Carlisle United. A Yorkshire derby at Hillsborough sees Leeds United beat Sheffield Wednesday 3–2.

18 September 1982: Manchester United go top of the First Division with a 1–0 win over Southampton at The Dell. Liverpool go second with a 3–0 win over Swansea City at the Vetch Field. Stoke City go fourth by beating Ipswich Town 3–2 at Portman Road.

22 September 1982: England draw 2–2 with Denmark in Copenhagen in their opening 1984 European Championship qualifier, their first game under the management of Bobby Robson.

25 September 1982: Watford beat Sunderland 8–0 at Vicarage Road, with Luther Blissett scoring four goals and Ross Jenkins and Nigel Callaghan both scoring twice. Liverpool go top of the First Division with a 5–0 home win over Southampton after Manchester United are held to a goalless draw at home to Arsenal. Luton Town are the First Division's top scorers so far with 20 goals from their first seven games after drawing 4-4 at Stoke. Coventry City win 4–2 at home to Everton. There are 4–1 wins at home for Tottenham Hotspur against Nottingham Forest and West Ham United against Manchester City. In all, today's 11 First Division fixtures have produced a total of 50 goals.

30 September 1982: The month ends with defending champions Liverpool top of the First Division, with Manchester United in second place. Watford occupy third place, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur complete the top five, and Southampton, Birmingham City and Norwich City occupy the bottom three places. In the Second Division, surprise promotion contenders Grimsby Town head the race for a place in the First Division, joined by Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield Wednesday in the top three.Queens Park Rangers FC News. Qpr Mad (1982-09-28). Retrieved on 2011-03-23.

2 October 1982: Liverpool's unbeaten start to the season ends when they are beaten 1–0 by Ipswich Town at Portman Road. However, Bob Paisley's men are still top of the First Division on goal difference after Manchester United are held to a 1–1 draw by Luton Town at Kenilworth Road.

6 October 1982: Nottingham Forest smash six past West Bromwich Albion in the League Cup.

9 October 1982: Manchester United go top of the First Division with a 1–0 home win over Stoke City, while Liverpool crash down to fifth place with a 3–1 defeat away to West Ham, who go second.

13 October 1982: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge scores twice as West Germany beat England 2–1 in a friendly at Wembley.

16 October 1982: Manchester United stay top of the First Division after a goalless draw with Liverpool at Anfield. West Ham squander the chance to go top by losing 3–0 at Southampton.

23 October 1982: First Division leaders Manchester United draw 2–2 in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford. West Ham miss another chance to go top of the league when they lose 3–1 to Brighton at the Goldstone Ground. West Bromwich Albion go second with a 1–0 home win over Luton Town. Fulham go top of the Second Division and look well-placed for a second successive promotion after winning 3–1 at home to Burnley.

30 October 1982: Liverpool go top of the First Division after they beat Brighton 3–1 at Anfield, while West Ham go second with a 3–1 home win over Manchester United. The top three are all level on 22 points after 12 games. West Bromwich Albion miss the chance to go top after they crash 6–1 at Ipswich.

6 November 1982: In the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, Liverpool beat Everton 5–0 with four goals from Ian Rush and a further goal from Mark Lawrenson to maintain their lead of the First Division. West Ham's title hopes take a hit when they lose 5–2 at Stoke, as do Manchester United's with a 1–0 defeat at Brighton. Manchester City take advantage to go second with a 2–0 win over Southampton at Maine Road. Ipswich Town, runners-up in the league for the last two seasons, are now fourth from bottom after a 2–1 defeat at Nottingham Forest.

10 November 1982: Colchester United striker John Lyons, 26, dies at his home in Essex; he is believed to have committed suicide.Colchester United . Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-03-23.

13 November 1982: The Ballon d'Or award winner for 1977, Allan Simonsen, scores on his début for Charlton Athletic, who are beaten 3–2 by Middlesbrough in the Second Division. In the First Division, Liverpool maintain a three-point lead at the top by beating Coventry City 4–0 at Anfield. West Ham go second with a 1–0 home win over bottom-of-the-table Norwich City. Manchester United maintain their title push with a 1–0 home win over Tottenham, as do Watford by beating Stoke City by the same scoreline at Vicarage Road. There are six goals in a thrilling clash at The Hawthorns, where West Bromwich Albion draw 3–3 with Swansea City.

17 November 1982: England beat Greece 3–0 in Salonika in a European Championship qualifier.

20 November 1982: The FA Cup first round ties produce giant-killing victories against Football League opposition for non-league sides Altrincham, Boston United, North Shields, Bishop's Stortford and Slough Town. Liverpool are now four points ahead at the top of First Division with a 2–1 win over Notts County at Meadow Lane. Watford go second with a 4–1 win at home to Brighton. Manchester United's title hopes are hit by a 2–1 away defeat to Aston Villa. Manchester City's hopes are hit by a goalless draw at home to struggling Birmingham City.

25 November 1982: Derby County are fined £10,000 and "warned as to their future conduct" by the Football League over breaches of two regulations relating to illicit negotiations with Roy McFarland, who resigns his post as player-manager at Bradford City to return to the club for a second spell as a player.

27 November 1982: The First Division title race sees Liverpool maintain their four-point lead over Watford, as Bob Paisley's team triumph 3–0 at home to Tottenham and Graham Taylor's side beat Arsenal 4–2 at Highbury.

30 November 1982: Liverpool remain top of the First Division as November draws to a close, four points ahead of second-placed Watford. Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and West Ham United complete the top five, while the bottom three clubs remain unchanged from the end of last month. Queens Park Rangers, Fulham and Sheffield Wednesday head the Second Division promotion race.Queens Park Rangers FC News. Qpr Mad (1982-11-27). Retrieved on 2011-03-23.

4 December 1982: Leaders Liverpool suffer a shock 1–0 defeat to Norwich City at Carrow Road. Manchester United go second with a 1–0 at Watford. Aston Villa go third with a 1–0 home win over West Ham. Nottingham Forest's title hopes are hit by a 3–2 defeat to local rivals Notts County at Meadow Lane. Down in the Second Division, Middlesbrough find themselves fifth from bottom and in real danger of a second consecutive relegation after they lose 4–0 at Wolves.

6 December 1982: Mike Bailey is sacked from his job as manager at Brighton & Hove Albion, reportedly because Albion's supporters deemed the team "too boring". Coach Jimmy Melia takes over. Millwall, bottom of the Third Division, appoint former Arsenal and Manchester United midfielder George Graham, 38, as their new manager.

11 December 1982: There is a major upset in the FA Cup second round as Third Division Wrexham lose 2–1 to non-league Worcester City. The gap between Liverpool and Manchester United at the top of the First Division remains three points wide after Bob Paisley guides his team to a 3–1 home win over Watford, and Ron Atkinson watches his side put four without reply past Notts County at Old Trafford. Nottingham Forest revive their title challenge with a 2–1 home win over Swansea City.

12 December 1982: Aston Villa lose the Intercontinental Cup final 2–0 to Uruguayan side Penarol in Tokyo.

15 December 1982: England beat Luxembourg 9–0 at Wembley in the European Championship qualifiers. Luther Blissett scores a hat-trick on his England debut and becomes the nation's first black goalscorer. Débutant Mark Chamberlain is also on the scoresheet.Black Players by Match . Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-23.

18 December 1982: Liverpool extend their lead of the First Division to five points with a 4–2 away win over Aston Villa, while Manchester United can only manage a goalless away draw with Swansea City. In the Second Division promotion race, Wolves beat leaders QPR 4–0 at the Molineux to cut the gap between first and second place to three points. Wolves have a game in hand over the leaders and now have a superior goal difference.

22 December 1982: Everton sign 26-year-old midfielder Peter Reid from Bolton Wanderers in a £60,000 deal.

26 December 1982: With the 26th being on a Sunday for the last time until 1993, there are just two fixtures in the whole Football League. In the Second Division, promotion challengers Oldham Athletic and Leeds United draw 2–2 at Boundary Park. In the Third Division, there is a London derby at The Den, where Millwall lose 1–0 at home to Orient in a relegation crunch match.