1987–88 in Scottish football

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1987–88 in Scottish football
Flag of Scotland with football.png
Premier Division champions
Celtic
Division One champions
Hamilton Academical
Division Two champions
Ayr United
Scottish Cup winners
Celtic
League Cup winners
Rangers
Junior Cup winners
Auchinleck Talbot
Teams in Europe
Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee United, Rangers, St Mirren
Scotland national team
UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying, Rous Cup
← 1986–87 1988–89 →

The 1987–88 season was the 91st season of competitive football in Scotland. [1]

Notable events[]

Billy McNeill's second spell back in charge of Celtic began in style as they finished the season by winning the double of the league title and Scottish Cup. The cup triumph was sealed with two late goals from Frank McAvennie, signed in early October from West Ham United, as they had trailed 1–0 to Dundee United.

Rangers, further strengthened with the signing of Englishmen Ray Wilkins and Mark Walters in midfield, had consolation for their failure to repeat title glory in the shape of a League Cup win. They could only finish third in the league, with Hearts finishing second – 10 points adrift of champions Celtic.

The Old Firm league fixture at Ibrox in October 1987, which ended in a 2–2 draw, saw three players red carded.[2] Charges were later brought against four of the players (three from Rangers, one from Celtic) by the Procurator Fiscal.[3] The resulting Court case ended up with Terry Butcher and Chris Woods being convicted of a breach of the peace. Graham Roberts was found Not proven, whilst Frank McAvennie was acquitted.[4]

Rangers enjoyed the longest run in Europe out of all the Scottish clubs, reaching the European Cup quarter finals where they were edged out by Steaua Bucharest.

A reduction of the Premier Division from 12 clubs to 10 saw three clubs (Falkirk, Dunfirmline Athletic and Morton) relegated. The only promotion place went to Division One champions Hamilton Academical.

Scottish Premier Division[]

Main article: 1987–88 Scottish Premier Division
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Celtic (C) 44 31 10 3 79 23 +56 72 Qualification for the European Cup first round
2 Heart of Midlothian 44 23 16 5 74 32 +42 62 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3 Rangers 44 26 8 10 85 34 +51 60
4 Aberdeen 44 21 17 6 56 25 +31 59
5 Dundee United 44 16 15 13 54 47 +7 47 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
6 Hibernian 44 12 19 13 41 42 −1 43
7 Dundee 44 17 7 20 70 64 +6 41
8 Motherwell 44 13 10 21 37 56 −19 36
9 St Mirren 44 10 15 19 41 64 −23 35
10 Falkirk (R) 44 10 11 23 41 75 −34 31 Relegation to the 1988–89 Scottish First Division
11 Dunfermline Athletic (R) 44 8 10 26 41 84 −43 26
12 Morton (R) 44 3 10 31 27 100 −73 16
Source: Statto
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated

Champions: Celtic
Relegated: Falkirk, Dunfermline Athletic, Morton

Scottish League Division One[]

Main article: 1987–88 Scottish First Division
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Hamilton Academical (C, P) 44 22 12 10 67 39 +28 56 Promotion to Premier Division
2 Meadowbank Thistle 44 20 12 12 71 37 +34 52
3 Clydebank 44 21 7 16 59 61 −2 49
4 Forfar Athletic 44 16 16 12 67 58 +9 48
5 Raith Rovers 44 19 7 18 81 76 +5 45
6 Airdrieonians 44 16 13 15 65 68 −3 45
7 Queen of the South 44 14 15 15 56 67 −11 43
8 Partick Thistle 44 16 9 19 60 64 −4 41
9 Clyde 44 16 6 22 73 75 −2 38
10 Kilmarnock 44 13 11 20 55 60 −5 37
11 East Fife (R) 44 13 10 21 61 76 −15 36 Relegation to Second Division
12 Dumbarton (R) 44 12 12 20 51 70 −19 36
Source: RSSSF and statto[5]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Promoted: Hamilton Academical
Relegated: East Fife, Dumbarton

Scottish League Division Two[]

Main article: 1987–88 Scottish Second Division
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Ayr United 39 27 7 5 95 31 +64 61 Promotion to the 1988–89 First Division
2 St Johnstone 39 26 9 4 75 23 +52 61
3 Queen's Park 39 21 9 9 64 44 +20 51
4 Brechin City 39 20 8 11 56 40 +16 48
5 Stirling Albion 39 18 10 11 60 51 +9 46
6 East Stirlingshire 39 15 13 11 52 48 +4 43
7 Alloa Athletic 39 16 8 15 50 46 +4 40
8 Montrose 39 12 11 16 45 51 −6 35
9 Arbroath 39 10 14 15 54 66 −12 34
10 Stenhousemuir 39 12 9 18 49 58 −9 33
11 Cowdenbeath 39 9 13 17 50 67 −17 31
12 Albion Rovers 39 10 11 18 45 75 −30 31
13 Berwick Rangers 39 6 4 29 33 78 −45 16
14 Stranraer 39 4 8 27 34 84 −50 16
Source: "1987-1988 Second Division - SPFL Archive". SPFL. Retrieved 29 April 2021.

Promoted: Ayr United, St Johnstone

Other honours[]

Cup honours[]

Competition Winner Score Runner-up
Scottish Cup 1987–88 Celtic 2–1 Dundee United
League Cup 1987–88 Rangers 3 – 3 (a.e.t.)
(5 – 3 pen.) 		Aberdeen
Youth Cup Dunfermline Athletic 2–1 Dundee
Junior Cup Auchinleck Talbot 1–0 Petershill

Non-league honours[]

Senior[]

Competition Winner
Highland League 1987–88 Inverness Caledonian
East of Scotland League Whitehill Welfare
South of Scotland League Newton Stewart

Individual honours[]

Award Winner Club
Footballer of the Year Scotland Paul McStay Celtic
Players' Player of the Year Scotland Paul McStay Celtic
Young Player of the Year Scotland John Collins Hibernian

Scottish clubs in Europe[]

Results for Scotland's participants in European competition for the 1987–88 season

Rangers[]

Date Venue Opponents Score Competition Rangers scorer(s)
European Cup
16 September 1987 Olympic Stadium, Kiev (A) Dynamo Kyiv 0–1 EC1
30 September 1987 Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (H) Dynamo Kyiv 2–0 EC1 Mark Falco, Ally McCoist
21 October 1987 Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (H) Górnik Zabrze 3–1 EC2 Ally McCoist, Ian Durrant, Mark Falco
4 November 1987 Ernest Pohl Stadium, Zabrze (A) Górnik Zabrze 1–1 EC2 Ally McCoist (pen.)
2 March 1988 Steaua Stadium, Bucharest (A) Steaua Bucharest 0–2 ECQF
16 March 1988 Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (H) Steaua Bucharest 2–1 ECQF Richard Gough, Ally McCoist (pen.)

St Mirren[]

Date Venue Opponents Score Competition St Mirren scorer(s)
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
16 September 1987 Love Street, Paisley (H) Tromsø IL 1–0 CWC1 Kenny McDowall
29 September 1987 Alfheim Stadium, Tromsø (A) Tromsø IL 0–0 CWC1
21 October 1987 Achter de Kazerne, Mechelen (A) KV Mechelen 0–0 CWC2
4 November 1987 Love Street, Paisley (H) KV Mechelen 0–2 CWC2

Aberdeen[]

Date Venue Opponents Score Competition Aberdeen Scorer(s)
UEFA Cup
15 September 1987 Dalymount Park, Dublin (A) Bohemians 0–0 UC1
30 September 1987 Pittodrie, Aberdeen (H) Bohemians 1–0 UC1 Jim Bett (pen.)
21 October 1987 Pittodrie, Aberdeen (H) Feyenoord Rotterdam 2–1 UC2 Willie Falconer, Willie Miller
4 November 1987 Feijenoord Stadion, Rotterdam (A) Feyenoord Rotterdam 0–1 UC2

Celtic[]

Date Venue Opponents Score Competition Celtic scorer(s)
UEFA Cup
15 September 1987 Celtic Park, Glasgow (H) Borussia Dortmund 2–1 UC1 Andy Walker, Derek Whyte
30 September 1987 Westfalenstadion, Dortmund (A) Borussia Dortmund 0–2 UC1

Dundee United[]

Date Venue Opponents Score Competition Dundee United scorer(s)
UEFA Cup
16 September 1987 The Showgrounds Coleraine (A) Coleraine 1–0 UC1 Paul Sturrock
30 September 1987 Tannadice, Dundee (H) Coleraine 3–1 UC1 Kevin Gallacher, Paul Sturrock, John Clark
21 October 1987 Tannadice, Dundee (H) FC Vítkovice 1–2 UC2 Iain Ferguson
4 November 1987 Bazaly, Ostrava (A)[6] FC Vítkovice 1–1 UC2 own goal

Scotland national team[]

Main article: Scotland national football team 1980–99 results
Date Venue Opponents Score[7] Competition Scotland scorer(s)
9 September 1987 Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)  Hungary 2–0 Friendly Ally McCoist (2)
14 October 1987 Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)  Belgium 2–0 ECQG7 Ally McCoist, Paul McStay
11 November 1987 Vasil Levski, Sofia (A)  Bulgaria 1–0 ECQG7 Gary Mackay
2 December 1987 Stade de la Frontière, Esch (A)  Luxembourg 0–0 ECQG7
17 February 1988 Malaz Stadium, Riyadh (A)  Saudi Arabia 2–2 Friendly Maurice Johnston, John Collins
22 March 1988 Ta'Qali Stadium, Valletta (A)  Malta 1–1 Friendly Graeme Sharp
27 April 1988 Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid (A)  Spain 0–0 Friendly
17 May 1988 Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)  Colombia 0–0 Rous Cup
21 May 1988 Wembley Stadium, London (A)  England 0–1 Rous Cup

Key:

  • (H) = Home match
  • (A) = Away match
  • ECQG7 = European Championship qualifying – Group 7

See also[]

1987–88 Aberdeen F.C. season
1987–88 Dundee United F.C. season
1987–88 Rangers F.C. season

Notes and references[]

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ Reynolds, Jim (19 October 1987). "Three off but it could have been more". The Herald. Glasgow. p. 11. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  3. ^ McCallum, Andrew (13 April 1988). "Old Firm fans' hatred had "never been worse"". The Herald. Glasgow. p. 1. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  4. ^ McCallum, Andrew (16 April 1988). "Rangers players to appeal after fines". The Herald. Glasgow. p. 1. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  5. ^ "Scottish Division One 1987-1988 Season Summary". statto.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  6. ^ "Match programme". Archived from the original on 18 December 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  7. ^ Scotland's score is shown first.
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