1987–88 Football League

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Football League
Season1987–88
ChampionsLiverpool
RelegatedNewport County
New club in LeagueScarborough

The 1987–88 season was the 89th completed season of The Football League.

Final league tables and results[]

The tables and results below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website,[1] with home and away statistics separated.

First Division[]

Football League, First Division
Season1987–88
ChampionsLiverpool (17th English title)
RelegatedChelsea
Oxford United
Portsmouth
Watford
FA Cup winnersWimbledon (1st FA Cup title)
Matches played420
Goals scored1,049 (2.5 per match)
Top goalscorerJohn Aldridge (Liverpool), 26 [2]

Liverpool won the league title by nine points, and with only two defeats all season. Second in the league were Manchester United.

The automatically relegated sides were Watford, Oxford United and Portsmouth. Chelsea were subsequently relegated as well after losing to Middlesbrough in the playoff final.

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Liverpool 40 15 5 0 49 9 11 7 2 38 15 +63 90 Football League Champions[a]
2 Manchester United 40 14 5 1 41 17 9 7 4 30 21 +33 81
3 Nottingham Forest 40 11 7 2 40 17 9 6 5 27 22 +28 73
4 Everton 40 14 4 2 34 11 5 9 6 19 16 +26 70
5 Queens Park Rangers 40 12 4 4 30 14 7 6 7 18 24 +10 67
6 Arsenal 40 11 4 5 35 16 7 8 5 23 23 +19 66
7 Wimbledon 40 8 9 3 32 20 6 6 8 26 27 +11 57 FA Cup winners
8 Newcastle United 40 9 6 5 32 23 5 8 7 23 30 +2 56
9 Luton Town 40 11 6 3 40 21 3 5 12 17 37 −1 53 Football League Cup winners
10 Coventry City 40 6 8 6 23 25 7 6 7 23 28 −7 53
11 Sheffield Wednesday 40 10 2 8 27 30 5 6 9 25 36 −14 53
12 Southampton 40 6 8 6 27 26 6 6 8 22 27 −4 50
13 Tottenham Hotspur 40 9 5 6 26 23 3 6 11 12 25 −10 47
14 Norwich City 40 7 5 8 26 26 5 4 11 14 26 −12 45
15 Derby County 40 6 7 7 18 17 4 6 10 17 28 −10 43
16 West Ham United 40 6 9 5 23 21 3 6 11 17 31 −12 42
17 Charlton Athletic 40 7 7 6 23 21 2 8 10 15 31 −14 42
18 Chelsea 40 7 11 2 24 17 2 4 14 26 51 −18 42 Relegated via the Second Division play-offs[b]
19 Portsmouth 40 4 8 8 21 27 3 6 11 15 39 −30 35 Automatically relegated to the Second Division
20 Watford 40 4 5 11 15 24 3 6 11 12 27 −24 32
21 Oxford United 40 5 7 8 24 34 1 6 13 20 46 −36 31
Source:[citation needed]
Notes:
  1. ^ All English teams excluded from European competition as a result of the Heysel Stadium disaster
  2. ^ Chelsea lost in the final round of the play-offs and were thus relegated.

First Division results[]

Home \ Away ARS CHA CHE COV DER EVE LIV LUT MUN NEW NWC NOT OXF POR QPR SHW SOU TOT WAT WHU WDN
Arsenal 4–0 3–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 1–2 2–1 1–2 1–1 2–0 0–2 2–0 6–0 0–0 3–1 0–1 2–1 0–1 1–0 3–0
Charlton Athletic 0–3 2–2 2–2 0–1 0–0 0–2 1–0 1–3 2–0 2–0 1–2 0–0 2–1 0–1 3–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 3–0 1–1
Chelsea 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–1 3–0 1–2 2–2 1–0 4–3 2–1 0–0 1–1 2–1 0–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–1
Coventry City 0–0 0–0 3–3 0–3 1–2 1–4 4–0 0–0 1–3 0–0 0–3 1–0 1–0 0–0 3–0 2–3 2–1 1–0 0–0 3–3
Derby County 0–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–2 2–1 1–2 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–2 2–2 2–0 1–2 1–1 1–0 0–1
Everton 1–2 1–1 4–1 1–2 3–0 1–0 2–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 2–1 2–0 4–0 1–0 0–0 2–0 3–1 2–2
Liverpool 2–0 3–2 2–1 4–0 4–0 2–0 1–1 3–3 4–0 0–0 5–0 2–0 4–0 4–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 4–0 0–0 2–1
Luton Town 1–1 1–0 3–0 0–1 1–0 2–1 0–1 1–1 4–0 1–2 1–1 7–4 4–1 2–1 2–2 2–2 2–0 2–1 2–2 2–0
Manchester United 0–0 0–0 3–1 1–0 4–1 2–1 1–1 3–0 2–2 2–1 2–2 3–1 4–1 2–1 4–1 0–2 1–0 2–0 3–1 2–1
Newcastle United 0–1 2–1 3–1 2–2 0–0 1–1 1–4 4–0 1–0 1–3 0–1 3–1 1–1 1–1 2–2 2–1 2–0 3–0 2–1 1–2
Norwich City 2–4 2–0 3–0 3–1 1–2 0–3 0–0 2–2 1–0 1–1 0–2 4–2 0–1 1–1 0–3 0–1 2–1 0–0 4–1 0–1
Nottingham Forest 0–1 2–2 3–2 4–1 2–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 0–2 2–0 5–3 5–0 4–0 3–0 3–3 3–0 1–0 0–0 0–0
Oxford United 0–0 2–1 4–4 1–0 0–0 1–1 0–3 2–5 0–2 1–3 3–0 0–2 4–2 2–0 0–3 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–2 2–5
Portsmouth 1–1 1–1 0–3 0–0 2–1 0–1 0–2 3–1 1–2 1–2 2–2 0–1 2–2 0–1 1–2 2–2 0–0 1–1 2–1 2–1
Queens Park Rangers 2–0 2–0 3–1 1–2 1–1 1–0 0–1 2–0 0–2 1–1 3–0 2–1 3–2 2–1 1–1 3–0 2–0 0–0 0–1 1–0
Sheffield Wednesday 3–3 2–0 3–0 0–3 2–1 1–0 1–5 0–2 2–4 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 3–1 2–1 0–3 2–3 2–1 1–0
Southampton 4–2 0–1 3–0 1–2 1–2 0–4 2–2 1–1 2–2 1–1 0–0 1–1 3–0 0–2 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–2
Tottenham Hotspur 1–2 0–1 1–0 2–2 0–0 2–1 0–2 2–1 1–1 3–1 1–3 1–1 3–0 0–1 1–1 2–0 2–1 2–1 2–1 0–3
Watford 2–0 2–1 0–3 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–4 0–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 0–0 3–0 0–0 0–1 1–3 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–0
West Ham United 0–1 1–1 4–1 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–0 3–2 1–1 1–1 0–3 0–1 2–1 0–1 1–0 1–2
Wimbledon 3–1 4–1 2–2 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 2–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–2 1–1 2–0 3–0 1–2 1–1
Source:[citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Managerial changes[]

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Watford England Graham Taylor Signed by Aston Villa 27 May 1987 Pre-season England Dave Bassett 18 June 1987
Everton England Howard Kendall Signed by Athletic Bilbao 18 June 1987 England Colin Harvey 18 June 1987
Wimbledon England Dave Bassett Signed by Watford 18 June 1987 England Bobby Gould 25 June 1987
Luton Town Scotland John Moore Resigned 20 June 1987 England Ray Harford 22 June 1987
Tottenham Hotspur England David Pleat 23 October 1987 7th England Terry Venables 28 November 1987
Norwich City England Ken Brown Sacked 9 November 1987 19th England Dave Stringer 9 November 1987
Watford England Dave Bassett 11 January 1988 21st England Steve Harrison 15 January 1988
Chelsea England John Hollins 6 March 1988 16th England Bobby Campbell 6 March 1988
Oxford United England Maurice Evans Resigned 18 March 1988 20th Republic of Ireland Mark Lawrenson 19 March 1988

First Division maps[]

1987–88 Football League is located in Greater London
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
Arsenal
Charlton Athletic
Chelsea
Tottenham
Queens Park Rangers
Watford
West Ham
Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1987–1988
1987–88 Football League is located in England
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
1987–88 Football League
Arsenal
Charlton
Chelsea
Coventry
Everton
Liverpool
Luton Town
Manchester United
Newcastle
Norwich City
Nottingham Forest
Oxford
Portsmouth
QPR
Sheffield Wednesday
Southampton
Tottenham
Watford
West Ham
Locations of the Football League First Division 1987–1988 teams

Second Division[]

Football League, Second Division
Season1987–88
ChampionsMillwall
PromotedAston Villa,
Middlesbrough
RelegatedHuddersfield Town,
Reading,
Sheffield United
Biggest home winManchester City – Huddersfield Town 10–1 (7 November 1987)
Highest scoringManchester City – Huddersfield Town 10–1 (7 November 1987)

Millwall lifted the Second Division championship trophy and gained promotion to the First Division for the first time in their history. Runners-up were Aston Villa, and Middlesbrough won promotion via play-offs.

Huddersfield Town and Sheffield United were relegated.

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Millwall 44 15 3 4 45 23 10 4 8 27 29 +20 82 Champions - automatically promoted to First Division
2 Aston Villa 44 9 7 6 31 21 13 5 4 37 20 +27 78 Runners-up - automatically promoted to First Division
3 Middlesbrough 44 15 4 3 44 16 7 8 7 19 20 +27 78 Promoted via the Second Division play-offs[a]
4 Bradford City 44 14 3 5 49 26 8 8 6 25 28 +20 77 Participated in Second Division play-offs
5 Blackburn Rovers 44 12 8 2 38 22 9 6 7 30 30 +16 77
6 Crystal Palace 44 16 3 3 50 21 6 6 10 36 38 +27 75
7 Leeds United 44 14 4 4 37 18 5 8 9 24 33 +10 69
8 Ipswich Town 44 14 3 5 38 17 5 6 11 23 35 +9 66
9 Manchester City 44 11 4 7 50 28 8 4 10 30 32 +20 65
10 Oldham Athletic 44 13 4 5 43 27 5 7 10 29 37 +8 65
11 Stoke City 44 12 6 4 34 22 5 5 12 16 35 −7 62
12 Swindon Town 44 10 7 5 43 25 6 4 12 30 35 +13 59
13 Leicester City 44 12 5 5 35 20 4 6 12 27 41 +1 59
14 Barnsley 44 11 4 7 42 32 4 8 10 19 30 −1 57
15 Hull City 44 10 8 4 32 22 4 7 11 22 38 −6 57
16 Plymouth Argyle 44 12 4 6 44 26 4 4 14 21 41 −2 56
17 Bournemouth 44 7 7 8 36 30 6 3 13 20 38 −12 49
18 Shrewsbury Town 44 7 8 7 23 22 4 8 10 19 32 −12 49
19 Birmingham City 44 7 9 6 20 24 4 6 12 21 42 −25 48
20 West Bromwich Albion 44 8 7 7 29 26 4 4 14 21 43 −19 47
21 Sheffield United 44 8 6 8 27 28 5 1 16 18 46 −29 46 Relegated via the Third Division play-offs[b]
22 Reading 44 5 7 10 20 25 5 5 12 24 45 −26 42 Automatically relegated to the Third Division
23 Huddersfield Town 44 4 6 12 20 38 2 4 16 21 62 −59 28
Source:[citation needed]
Notes:
  1. ^ Middlesbrough won the play-offs and were thus promoted.
  2. ^ Sheffield United lost in the first round of the play-offs and were thus relegated.

Second Division play-offs[]

The team fourth from bottom of the First Division played off for one place in that division with the teams finishing third, fourth and fifth in the Second Division. In the semi-final, Chelsea of the First Division beat fifth-placed Blackburn Rovers 6–1 on aggregate, and third-placed Middlesbrough beat Bradford City 3–2 on aggregate. The final was also played over two legs. Playing at their Ayresome Park ground in front of a crowd of 25,531, Middlesbrough duly won the first leg 2–0 with goals from Bernie Slaven and Trevor Senior. In the second leg at Stamford Bridge, which was marred by violence perpetrated by some of the 40,550 spectators, Chelsea's Gordon Durie scored the only goal. Thus Middlesbrough won 2–1 on aggregate and were promoted to the First Division for 1988–89, while Chelsea were relegated to the Second.[3][4][5]

Semi-finals
1st leg – 15 May; 2nd leg – 18 May 1988 		Final
1st leg – 25 May; 2nd leg – 28 May 1988
          
Blackburn Rovers 0 1 1
Chelsea (Div 1) 2 4 6
Chelsea (Div 1) 0 1 1
Middlesbrough 2 0 2
Bradford City 2 0 2
Middlesbrough 1 2 3

Source:[6]

Second Division results[]

Home \ Away AST BAR BIR BLB BOU BRA CRY HUD HUL IPS LEE LEI MCI MID MIL OLD PLY REA SHU SHR STK SWI WBA
Aston Villa 0–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 4–1 1–1 5–0 1–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 0–1 1–2 1–2 5–2 2–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 2–1 0–0
Barnsley 1–3 2–2 0–1 2–1 3–0 2–1 1–0 1–3 2–3 1–1 1–1 3–1 0–3 4–1 1–1 2–1 5–2 1–2 2–1 5–2 0–1 3–1
Birmingham City 1–2 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 0–6 2–0 1–1 1–0 0–0 2–2 0–3 0–0 1–0 1–3 0–1 2–2 1–0 0–0 2–0 1–1 0–1
Blackburn Rovers 3–2 0–1 2–0 3–1 1–1 2–0 2–2 2–1 1–0 1–1 3–3 2–1 0–2 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 4–1 2–2 2–0 0–0 3–1
Bournemouth 1–2 1–2 4–2 1–1 2–0 2–3 0–2 6–2 1–1 0–0 2–3 0–2 0–0 1–2 2–2 2–2 3–0 1–2 2–0 0–0 2–0 3–2
Bradford City 2–4 1–1 4–0 2–1 2–0 2–0 0–1 2–0 2–3 0–0 4–1 2–4 2–0 3–1 5–3 3–1 3–0 2–0 1–1 1–4 2–0 4–1
Crystal Palace 1–1 3–2 3–0 2–0 3–0 1–1 2–1 2–2 1–2 3–0 2–1 2–0 3–1 1–0 3–1 5–1 2–3 2–1 1–2 2–0 2–1 4–1
Huddersfield Town 0–1 2–2 2–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 2–2 0–2 1–2 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–4 2–1 2–2 2–1 0–2 0–2 0–0 0–3 0–3 1–3
Hull City 2–1 1–2 2–0 2–2 2–1 0–0 2–1 4–0 1–0 3–1 2–2 3–1 0–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–4 1–0
Ipswich Town 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–2 1–2 4–0 2–3 3–0 2–0 1–0 0–2 3–0 4–0 1–1 2–0 1–2 2–1 1–0 2–0 2–0 3–2 1–1
Leeds United 1–3 0–2 4–1 2–2 3–2 2–0 1–0 3–0 0–2 1–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 1–2 1–1 1–0 0–0 5–0 2–1 0–0 4–2 1–0
Leicester City 0–2 0–0 2–0 1–2 0–1 0–2 4–4 3–0 2–1 1–1 3–2 1–0 0–0 1–0 4–1 4–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 3–2 3–0
Manchester City 0–2 1–1 3–0 1–2 2–0 2–2 1–3 10–1 2–0 2–0 1–2 4–2 1–1 4–0 1–2 2–1 2–0 2–3 1–3 3–0 1–1 4–2
Middlesbrough 2–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 3–0 1–2 2–1 2–0 1–0 3–1 2–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–0 3–1 0–0 6–0 4–0 2–0 2–3 2–1
Millwall 2–1 3–1 3–1 1–4 1–2 0–1 1–1 4–1 2–0 2–1 3–1 1–0 0–1 2–1 1–1 3–2 3–0 3–1 4–1 2–0 2–2 2–0
Oldham Athletic 0–1 1–0 1–2 4–2 2–0 0–2 1–0 3–2 1–2 3–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 3–1 0–0 0–1 4–2 3–2 2–2 5–1 4–3 2–1
Plymouth Argyle 1–3 0–0 1–1 3–0 1–2 2–1 1–3 6–1 3–1 0–0 6–3 4–0 3–2 0–1 1–2 1–0 1–3 1–0 2–0 3–0 1–0 3–3
Reading 0–2 2–1 1–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 2–3 3–2 0–0 1–1 0–1 1–2 0–2 0–0 2–3 3–0 0–1 2–1 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–2
Sheffield United 1–1 1–0 0–2 3–1 0–1 1–2 1–1 2–2 2–1 4–1 2–2 2–1 1–2 0–2 1–2 0–5 1–0 4–1 0–1 0–0 1–0 0–0
Shrewsbury Town 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–2 2–1 2–2 2–0 3–1 2–2 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 2–3 2–1 0–1 2–0 0–3 2–1 0–1
Stoke City 0–0 3–1 3–1 2–1 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–2 2–1 2–1 1–3 1–0 1–2 2–2 1–0 4–2 1–0 1–1 1–0 3–0
Swindon Town 0–0 3–0 0–2 1–2 4–2 2–2 2–2 4–1 0–0 4–2 1–2 3–2 3–4 1–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 4–0 2–0 1–1 3–0 2–0
West Bromwich Albion 0–2 2–2 3–1 0–1 3–0 0–1 1–0 3–2 1–1 2–2 1–4 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–4 0–0 1–0 0–1 4–0 2–1 2–0 1–2
Source:[citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Third Division[]

Sunderland won the Third Division and went back up to the Second Division. They were joined by runners-up Brighton & Hove Albion and playoff winners Walsall. The automatic relegation places were occupied by Grimsby Town, York City and Doncaster Rovers, with Rotherham United relegated after play-offs.[7]

Football League, Third Division
Season1987–88
ChampionsSunderland
PromotedBrighton and Hove Albion,
Walsall
RelegatedRotherham United,
Grimsby Town,
York City,
Doncaster Rovers
Matches played552
Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Sunderland 46 14 7 2 51 22 13 5 5 41 26 +44 93 Champions - promoted to Second Division
2 Brighton & Hove Albion 46 15 7 1 37 16 8 8 7 32 31 +22 84 Runners-up - promoted to Second Division
3 Walsall 46 15 6 2 39 22 8 7 8 29 28 +18 82 Promoted via the Third Division play-offs
4 Notts County 46 14 4 5 53 24 9 8 6 29 25 +33 81 Participated in Third Division play-offs
5 Bristol City 46 14 6 3 51 30 7 6 10 26 32 +15 75
6 Northampton Town 46 12 8 3 36 18 6 11 6 34 33 +19 73
7 Wigan Athletic 46 11 8 4 36 23 9 4 10 34 38 +9 72
8 Bristol Rovers 46 14 5 4 43 19 4 7 12 25 37 +12 66
9 Fulham 46 10 5 8 36 24 9 4 10 33 36 +9 66
10 Blackpool 46 13 4 6 45 27 4 10 9 26 35 +9 65
11 Port Vale 46 12 8 3 36 19 6 3 14 22 37 +2 65
12 Brentford 46 9 8 6 27 23 7 6 10 26 36 −6 62
13 Gillingham 46 8 9 6 45 21 6 8 9 32 40 +16 59
14 Bury 46 9 7 7 33 26 6 7 10 25 31 +1 59
15 Chester City 46 9 8 6 29 30 5 8 10 22 32 −11 58
16 Preston North End 46 10 6 7 30 23 5 7 11 18 36 −11 58
17 Southend United 46 10 6 7 42 33 4 7 12 23 50 −18 55
18 Chesterfield 46 10 5 8 25 28 5 5 13 16 42 −29 55
19 Mansfield Town 46 10 6 7 25 21 4 6 13 23 38 −11 54
20 Aldershot 46 12 3 8 45 32 3 5 15 19 42 −10 53
21 Rotherham United 46 8 8 7 28 25 4 8 11 22 41 −16 52 Relegated via the Fourth Division play-offs
22 Grimsby Town 46 6 7 10 25 29 6 7 10 23 29 −10 50 Automatically relegated to the Fourth Division
23 York City 46 4 7 12 27 45 4 2 17 21 46 −43 33
24 Doncaster Rovers 46 6 5 12 25 36 2 4 17 15 48 −44 33
Source: [7]

Third Division play-offs[]

Main article: Football League One play-offs § 1988
Semi-finals
1st leg – 15 May; 2nd leg – 18 May 1988 		Final
1st leg – 25 May; 2nd leg – 28 May 1988
          
21st Sheffield United (Div 2) 0 1 1
5th Bristol City 1 1 2
3rd Walsall 3 0 3
5th Bristol City 1 2 3
3rd Walsall 3 1 4
4th Notts County 1 1 2
Replay
Walsall4–0Bristol City
Report/Soccerbase [1]
Fellows Park, Walsall
Attendance: 13,007

Third Division results[]

Home \ Away ALD BLP BRE B&HA BRC BRR BRY CHE CHF DON FUL GIL GRI MAN NOR NTC PTV PNE ROT STD SUN WAL WIG YOR
Aldershot 0–0 4–1 1–4 2–1 3–0 0–2 4–1 2–0 2–1 0–3 6–0 3–2 3–0 4–4 0–2 3–0 0–0 1–3 0–1 3–2 1–1 3–2 1–2
Blackpool 3–2 0–1 1–3 4–2 2–1 5–1 0–1 1–0 4–2 2–1 3–3 3–0 2–0 3–1 1–1 1–2 3–0 3–0 1–1 0–2 1–2 0–0 2–1
Brentford 3–0 2–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–3 1–1 2–0 1–1 3–1 2–2 0–2 2–2 0–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 0–1 0–0 2–1 1–2
Brighton & Hove Albion 1–1 1–3 2–1 3–2 2–1 2–1 1–0 2–2 2–0 2–0 2–0 0–0 3–1 3–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 0–0 3–1 2–1 1–0 1–0
Bristol City 2–0 2–1 2–3 5–2 3–3 3–2 2–2 2–1 1–0 4–0 3–3 1–1 1–2 2–2 2–1 1–0 3–1 2–0 3–2 0–1 0–0 4–1 3–2
Bristol Rovers 3–1 2–0 0–0 1–2 1–0 0–0 2–2 2–0 4–0 3–1 2–0 4–2 2–1 0–2 1–1 1–0 1–2 3–1 0–0 4–0 3–0 2–3 2–1
Bury 1–0 3–1 2–2 2–1 1–1 4–1 0–1 2–0 2–1 1–1 2–1 0–2 1–0 0–0 0–1 0–1 4–0 2–2 2–2 2–3 2–2 0–2 0–1
Chester City 4–1 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–0 0–3 4–4 1–1 1–1 1–2 3–1 1–0 0–2 0–5 1–2 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–2 1–1 1–0 1–0
Chesterfield 1–0 1–1 2–1 0–0 1–4 0–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–4 0–3 0–2 1–3 0–0 3–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 2–1
Doncaster Rovers 0–0 2–1 0–1 0–2 1–2 0–1 1–2 2–2 2–2 4–2 1–0 0–2 0–1 1–1 3–2 0–1 0–2 0–4 3–4 2–0
Fulham 1–2 3–1 2–2 1–2 0–0 3–1 0–1 1–0 1–3 4–0 0–2 5–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–2 0–1 3–1 3–1 0–2 2–0 3–2 3–1
Gillingham 2–1 0–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 3–0 3–3 0–1 10–0 3–1 2–2 1–1 0–0 1–2 3–1 0–0 4–0 0–2 0–0 0–1 0–1 3–1
Grimsby Town 1–1 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–4 0–0 2–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 0–2 2–0 2–3 2–2 0–0 3–1 0–1 2–1 1–3 0–1 0–2 0–2 5–1
Mansfield Town 1–0 0–0 2–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 0–2 2–2 1–0 3–1 4–0 0–0 1–0 0–4 1–3 0–1 2–1
Northampton Town 1–1 3–3 2–1 1–1 3–0 2–1 0–0 2–0 4–0 1–0 3–2 2–1 2–1 2–0 0–1 1–0 0–1 0–0 4–0 0–2 2–2 1–1 0–0
Notts County 2–1 2–3 3–0 1–2 0–1 1–1 3–0 1–0 2–0 5–1 0–1 0–0 3–1 1–2 4–2 4–0 6–2 2–1 3–1 4–4 3–0
Port Vale 4–2 0–0 1–0 2–0 1–1 2–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 5–0 0–0 0–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–3 3–2 0–0 4–1 0–1 2–1 2–1
Preston North End 0–2 2–1 1–2 3–0 2–0 3–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–3 1–0 0–0 1–2 3–2 0–0 1–1 2–2 1–0 3–0
Rotherham United 1–0 0–1 2–0 1–0 4–1 1–1 0–1 5–2 0–2 1–2 0–0 2–2 1–1 1–0 2–2 1–1 1–4 0–1 1–1 0–1
Southend United 0–1 4–0 2–3 2–1 2–0 4–2 1–0 2–2 3–0 4–1 0–2 1–3 2–1 1–1 1–2 3–3 1–2 1–1 1–4 1–1 3–2 3–1
Sunderland 3–1 2–2 2–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 3–2 3–1 2–0 2–1 1–1 4–1 3–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 3–0 7–0 1–1 4–1 4–2
Walsall 2–0 3–2 4–2 1–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–0 0–0 2–1 0–1 0–0 3–2 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 5–2 2–1 2–2 1–2 2–1
Wigan Athletic 4–0 0–0 1–1 3–3 1–1 1–0 0–2 1–0 1–2 2–1 1–3 1–1 0–1 2–1 2–2 2–1 2–0 3–0 1–0 2–2 3–1 1–1
York City 2–2 1–3 1–1 0–2 0–1 0–4 1–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–3 0–2 0–2 2–2 2–2 3–5 2–3 1–1 1–2 0–3 2–1 1–3 3–1
Source:[citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Fourth Division[]

Wolves ended their two-year tenure in the Fourth Division by finishing top of the table and winning promotion to the Third Division. They also won the Sherpa Van Trophy final by defeating Burnley at Wembley.

Bolton Wanderers, Cardiff City and Swansea City were also promoted.

Newport County were relegated for the second successive season. They were replaced in the Football League by Lincoln City.

Football League, Fourth Division
Season1987–88
ChampionsWolverhampton Wanderers
PromotedCardiff City,
Bolton Wanderers,
Swansea City
RelegatedNewport County
New team in LeagueScarborough
Matches played552
Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 15 3 5 47 19 12 6 5 35 24 +39 90 Champions - automatically promoted to Third Division
2 Cardiff City 46 15 6 2 39 14 9 7 7 27 27 +25 85 Automatically promoted to Third Division; Welsh Cup Winners - qualified for Cup Winners' Cup
3 Bolton Wanderers 46 15 6 2 42 12 7 6 10 24 30 +24 78 Automatically promoted to Third Division
4 Scunthorpe United 46 14 5 4 42 20 6 12 5 34 31 +25 77 Participated in Fourth Division play-offs
5 Torquay United 46 10 7 6 34 16 11 7 5 32 25 +25 77
6 Swansea City 46 9 7 7 35 28 11 3 9 27 28 +6 70 Promoted via the Fourth Division play-offs[a]
7 Peterborough United 46 10 5 8 28 26 10 5 8 24 27 −1 70
8 Leyton Orient 46 13 4 6 55 27 6 8 9 30 36 +22 69
9 Colchester United 46 10 5 8 23 22 9 5 9 24 29 −4 67
10 Burnley 46 12 5 6 31 22 8 2 13 26 40 −5 67
11 Wrexham 46 13 3 7 46 26 7 3 13 23 32 +11 66
12 Scarborough[b] 46 12 8 3 38 19 5 6 12 18 29 +8 65
13 Darlington 46 13 6 4 39 25 5 5 13 32 44 +2 65
14 Tranmere Rovers 46 14 2 7 43 20 5 7 11 18 33 +8 64[c]
15 Cambridge United 46 10 6 7 32 24 6 7 10 18 28 −2 61
16 Hartlepool United 46 9 7 7 25 25 6 7 10 25 32 −7 59
17 Crewe Alexandra 46 7 11 5 25 19 6 8 9 32 34 +4 58
18 Halifax Town 46 11 7 5 37 25 3 7 13 17 34 −5 55[d]
19 Hereford United 46 8 7 8 25 27 6 5 12 16 32 −18 54
20 Stockport County 46 7 7 9 26 26 5 8 10 18 32 −14 51
21 Rochdale 46 5 9 9 28 34 6 6 11 19 42 −29 48
22 Exeter City 46 8 6 9 33 29 3 7 13 20 39 −15 46
23 Carlisle United 46 9 5 9 38 33 3 3 17 19 53 −29 44
24 Newport County 46 4 5 14 19 36 2 2 19 16 69 −70 25 Automatically relegated to the Football Conference
Source:[citation needed]
Notes:
  1. ^ Swansea City won the play-offs and were thus promoted.
  2. ^ Newly promoted from the Football Conference
  3. ^ Tranmere Rovers were deducted two points.
  4. ^ Halifax Town were deducted one point.

Fourth Division play-offs[]

Main article: Football League Two play-offs § 1988
Semi-finals
1st leg – 15 May; 2nd leg – 18 May 1988 		Finals
1st leg – 25 May; 2nd leg – 28 May 1988
          
21st Rotherham United (Div 3) 0 1 1
6th Swansea City 1 1 2
6th Swansea City 2 3 5
5th Torquay United 1 3 4
4th Scunthorpe United 1 1 2
5th Torquay United 2 1 3

Fourth Division results[]

Home \ Away BOL BUR CAM CAR CRL COL CRE DAR EXE HAL HAR HER LEY NPC PET ROC SCA SCU STP SWA TOR TRA WOL WRE
Bolton Wanderers 2–2 1–0 5–0 4–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–2 1–0 1–0 6–0 2–0 0–0 3–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–2 2–0 1–0 2–0
Burnley 0–2 1–2 4–3 0–3 0–0 2–1 3–0 3–1 1–0 0–0 2–0 2–0 1–2 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 0–3 1–0
Cambridge United 2–2 2–0 0–0 1–2 4–1 1–0 2–1 2–1 1–1 0–1 2–0 4–0 1–2 1–0 3–3 2–0 0–3 1–0 1–1 1–1 0–1
Cardiff City 1–0 2–1 4–0 4–2 1–0 2–0 3–1 3–2 0–0 1–1 0–1 1–1 4–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 0–1 0–0 1–0 2–1 3–0 3–2 1–1
Carlisle United 0–2 3–4 2–1 0–0 4–0 0–1 0–0 1–1 1–3 3–1 1–2 3–1 0–2 2–0 4–0 3–1 2–0 0–1 3–3 3–2 0–1 0–4
Colchester United 3–0 0–1 2–1 1–0 1–4 2–1 0–2 2–1 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 4–1 1–0 1–3 0–3 2–0 2–1 0–1 0–0 0–1 1–2
Crewe Alexandra 2–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 4–1 0–0 3–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 0–0 3–3 2–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 2–2 2–2 0–1 0–2
Darlington 1–0 4–2 0–1 0–0 2–0 1–0 4–1 4–1 1–1 3–1 2–2 0–2 2–1 2–1 2–1 1–4 1–2 2–0 1–1 0–0 2–2 2–1
Exeter City 1–1 1–2 3–0 0–2 1–1 0–2 3–1 4–1 1–2 1–0 2–2 2–3 3–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–1 3–1 0–1 2–4 1–1
Halifax Town 0–0 2–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–2 2–2 2–0 3–1 2–1 1–0 3–1 0–0 1–2 2–2 2–2 2–0 3–1 2–3 2–1 2–1 2–0
Hartlepool United 0–0 2–1 2–1 0–1 0–0 3–1 2–1 2–5 3–1 2–1 1–2 2–2 0–0 0–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–3 0–2 0–0 1–2 0–0 1–0
Hereford United 0–3 2–1 1–0 1–2 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–1 4–2 0–3 4–2 0–1 0–0 1–1 2–3 0–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–2 0–2
Leyton Orient 1–2 4–1 0–2 4–1 4–1 0–0 1–1 4–3 2–3 4–1 0–2 4–0 4–1 2–0 8–0 3–1 1–1 1–1 3–0 0–2 3–1 0–2 2–1
Newport County 0–1 0–1 0–0 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–0 2–3 0–0 0–0 0–4 0–1 0–4 1–1 1–2 1–2 3–1 0–3 1–3 2–0
Peterborough United 0–4 5–0 4–3 1–0 2–0 0–4 1–2 2–1 1–0 0–1 1–2 1–2 3–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–0 0–1 0–2 2–1 1–1 1–0
Rochdale 2–2 2–1 2–2 1–2 1–4 2–2 1–3 0–0 0–0 0–2 3–1 1–3 3–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–3 1–1 0–0 0–1 1–2
Scarborough 4–0 1–0 0–0 1–1 3–1 3–1 2–0 0–1 3–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 3–1 3–1 1–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 2–0 1–2 2–0 2–2 0–2
Scunthorpe United 1–1 1–1 3–2 2–1 1–0 2–2 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 3–0 3–0 3–2 3–1 5–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 1–2 2–3 3–0 0–1 3–1
Stockport County 1–2 0–2 0–1 3–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 0–2 1–2 5–1 0–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 2–1 1–2 0–2 1–1
Swansea City 1–0 0–0 1–1 2–2 3–1 1–2 2–4 3–0 0–2 1–1 2–1 3–0 3–0 1–2 2–1 0–3 3–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–2 1–2 2–1
Torquay United 2–1 1–3 0–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 1–1 1–0 1–1 6–1 0–0 5–0 0–1 1–2 3–0 0–1 1–0 0–0 6–1
Tranmere Rovers 2–0 0–1 0–1 0–1 3–0 0–2 2–2 2–1 2–1 2–0 3–1 0–1 2–1 4–0 3–1 6–1 1–0 1–3 4–0 1–2 1–1 3–0
Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–0 3–0 3–0 1–4 3–1 2–0 2–2 5–3 3–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–1 0–1 2–0 0–0 4–1 1–1 2–0 1–2 3–0 0–2
Wrexham 0–1 1–3 3–0 3–0 4–0 0–1 2–1 0–1 3–0 2–2 2–1 0–0 2–2 4–1 3–1 2–3 1–0 2–1 2–1 1–2 2–3 4–2
Source:[citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Goalscorers[]

The top goalscorers in each division were:

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "England 1987–88". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  2. ^ "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  3. ^ Felton, Paul. "Season 1987–88". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Chelsea Football Club Match Results Season 1987–1988". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  5. ^ Barley, Sophie (3 August 2015). "'The Battle of Stamford Bridge': Violent scenes on a victorious day for Boro". The Gazette. Middlesbrough. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  6. ^ "English Division One–Two (old) Play-Offs 1987–1988". Statto. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Edward Ackers. "Season 1987-88". English Football League Tables. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b James M Ross (15 July 2011). "Football League Div 1 & 2 Leading Goalscorers 1947-92". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b James M Ross (15 July 2011). "Football League Div 3 & 4 Leading Goalscorers 1947-92". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
Retrieved from ""