1987–88 Football League

1987–88 Football League

The (/wiki/1987inassociationfootball)–(/wiki/1988inassociationfootball) season was the 89th completed season of The Football League.

Final league tables and results

1987–88 Football League

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, with home and away statistics separated.

First Division

1987–88 Football League

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.

Final table

<table><thead><tr><th>Pos</th><th>Team</th><th>Pld</th><th>W</th><th>D</th><th>L</th><th>GF</th><th>GA</th><th>GD</th><th>Pts</th><th>Qualification or relegation</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Liverpool (C)</td><td>40</td><td>26</td><td>12</td><td>2</td><td>87</td><td>24</td><td>+63</td><td>90</td><td>Qualified for the Football League Centenary Trophy and disqualified from the European Cup</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Manchester United</td><td>40</td><td>23</td><td>12</td><td>5</td><td>71</td><td>38</td><td>+33</td><td>81</td><td>Qualified for the Football League Centenary Trophy and disqualified from UEFA Cup</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Nottingham Forest</td><td>40</td><td>20</td><td>13</td><td>7</td><td>67</td><td>39</td><td>+28</td><td>73</td><td>Qualified for the Football League Centenary Trophy</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Everton</td><td>40</td><td>19</td><td>13</td><td>8</td><td>53</td><td>27</td><td>+26</td><td>70</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Queens Park Rangers</td><td>40</td><td>19</td><td>10</td><td>11</td><td>48</td><td>38</td><td>+10</td><td>67</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Arsenal</td><td>40</td><td>18</td><td>12</td><td>10</td><td>58</td><td>39</td><td>+19</td><td>66</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Wimbledon</td><td>40</td><td>14</td><td>15</td><td>11</td><td>58</td><td>47</td><td>+11</td><td>57</td><td>Qualified for the Football League Centenary Trophy and disqualified from the European Cup Winners' Cup</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Newcastle United</td><td>40</td><td>14</td><td>14</td><td>12</td><td>55</td><td>53</td><td>+2</td><td>56</td><td>Qualified for the Football League Centenary Trophy</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Luton Town</td><td>40</td><td>14</td><td>11</td><td>15</td><td>57</td><td>58</td><td>−1</td><td>53</td><td>Disqualified from the UEFA Cup</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Coventry City</td><td>40</td><td>13</td><td>14</td><td>13</td><td>46</td><td>53</td><td>−7</td><td>53</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>Sheffield Wednesday</td><td>40</td><td>15</td><td>8</td><td>17</td><td>52</td><td>66</td><td>−14</td><td>53</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>Southampton</td><td>40</td><td>12</td><td>14</td><td>14</td><td>49</td><td>53</td><td>−4</td><td>50</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>Tottenham Hotspur</td><td>40</td><td>12</td><td>11</td><td>17</td><td>38</td><td>48</td><td>−10</td><td>47</td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>Norwich City</td><td>40</td><td>12</td><td>9</td><td>19</td><td>40</td><td>52</td><td>−12</td><td>45</td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>Derby County</td><td>40</td><td>10</td><td>13</td><td>17</td><td>35</td><td>45</td><td>−10</td><td>43</td></tr><tr><td>16</td><td>West Ham United</td><td>40</td><td>9</td><td>15</td><td>16</td><td>40</td><td>52</td><td>−12</td><td>42</td></tr><tr><td>17</td><td>Charlton Athletic</td><td>40</td><td>9</td><td>15</td><td>16</td><td>38</td><td>52</td><td>−14</td><td>42</td></tr><tr><td>18</td><td>Chelsea (R)</td><td>40</td><td>9</td><td>15</td><td>16</td><td>50</td><td>68</td><td>−18</td><td>42</td><td>Qualified for Second Division play-offs</td></tr><tr><td>19</td><td>Portsmouth (R)</td><td>40</td><td>7</td><td>14</td><td>19</td><td>36</td><td>66</td><td>−30</td><td>35</td><td>Relegated to Second Division</td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td>Watford (R)</td><td>40</td><td>7</td><td>11</td><td>22</td><td>27</td><td>51</td><td>−24</td><td>32</td></tr><tr><td>21</td><td>Oxford United (R)</td><td>40</td><td>6</td><td>13</td><td>21</td><td>44</td><td>80</td><td>−36</td><td>31</td></tr></tbody></table>

Managerial changes

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

Second Division

1987–88 Football League

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	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Relegation
1	Millwall (C, P)	44	25	7	12	72	52	+20	82	Promotion to the First Division
2	Aston Villa (P)	44	22	12	10	68	41	+27	78
3	Middlesbrough (O, P)	44	22	12	10	63	36	+27	78	Qualification for the Second Division play-offs
4	Bradford City	44	22	11	11	74	54	+20	77
5	Blackburn Rovers	44	21	14	9	68	52	+16	77
6	Crystal Palace	44	22	9	13	86	59	+27	75
7	Leeds United	44	19	12	13	61	51	+10	69
8	Ipswich Town	44	19	9	16	61	52	+9	66
9	Manchester City	44	19	8	17	80	60	+20	65
10	Oldham Athletic	44	18	11	15	72	64	+8	65
11	Stoke City	44	17	11	16	50	57	−7	62
12	Swindon Town	44	16	11	17	73	60	+13	59
13	Leicester City	44	16	11	17	62	61	+1	59
14	Barnsley	44	15	12	17	61	62	−1	57
15	Hull City	44	14	15	15	54	60	−6	57
16	Plymouth Argyle	44	16	8	20	65	67	−2	56
17	Bournemouth	44	13	10	21	56	68	−12	49
18	Shrewsbury Town	44	11	16	17	42	54	−12	49
19	Birmingham City	44	11	15	18	41	66	−25	48
20	West Bromwich Albion	44	12	11	21	50	69	−19	47
21	Sheffield United (R)	44	13	7	24	45	74	−29	46	Qualification for the Third Division play-offs
22	Reading (R)	44	10	12	22	44	70	−26	42	Relegation to the Third Division
23	Huddersfield Town (R)	44	6	10	28	41	100	−59	28

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.

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

Third Division

1987–88 Football League

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.

<table><thead><tr><th>Pos</th><th>Team</th><th>Pld</th><th>W</th><th>D</th><th>L</th><th>GF</th><th>GA</th><th>GD</th><th>Pts</th><th>Relegation</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Sunderland (C, P)</td><td>46</td><td>27</td><td>12</td><td>7</td><td>92</td><td>48</td><td>+44</td><td>93</td><td>Promotion to the Second Division</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Brighton & Hove Albion (P)</td><td>46</td><td>23</td><td>15</td><td>8</td><td>69</td><td>47</td><td>+22</td><td>84</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Walsall (O, P)</td><td>46</td><td>23</td><td>13</td><td>10</td><td>68</td><td>50</td><td>+18</td><td>82</td><td>Qualification for the Third Division play-offs</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Notts County</td><td>46</td><td>23</td><td>12</td><td>11</td><td>82</td><td>49</td><td>+33</td><td>81</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Bristol City</td><td>46</td><td>21</td><td>12</td><td>13</td><td>77</td><td>62</td><td>+15</td><td>75</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Northampton Town</td><td>46</td><td>18</td><td>19</td><td>9</td><td>70</td><td>51</td><td>+19</td><td>73</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Wigan Athletic</td><td>46</td><td>20</td><td>12</td><td>14</td><td>70</td><td>61</td><td>+9</td><td>72</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Bristol Rovers</td><td>46</td><td>18</td><td>12</td><td>16</td><td>68</td><td>56</td><td>+12</td><td>66</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Fulham</td><td>46</td><td>19</td><td>9</td><td>18</td><td>69</td><td>60</td><td>+9</td><td>66</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Blackpool</td><td>46</td><td>17</td><td>14</td><td>15</td><td>71</td><td>62</td><td>+9</td><td>65</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>Port Vale</td><td>46</td><td>18</td><td>11</td><td>17</td><td>58</td><td>56</td><td>+2</td><td>65</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>Brentford</td><td>46</td><td>16</td><td>14</td><td>16</td><td>53</td><td>59</td><td>−6</td><td>62</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>Gillingham</td><td>46</td><td>14</td><td>17</td><td>15</td><td>77</td><td>61</td><td>+16</td><td>59</td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>Bury</td><td>46</td><td>15</td><td>14</td><td>17</td><td>58</td><td>57</td><td>+1</td><td>59</td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>Chester City</td><td>46</td><td>14</td><td>16</td><td>16</td><td>51</td><td>62</td><td>−11</td><td>58</td></tr><tr><td>16</td><td>Preston North End</td><td>46</td><td>15</td><td>13</td><td>18</td><td>48</td><td>59</td><td>−11</td><td>58</td></tr><tr><td>17</td><td>Southend United</td><td>46</td><td>14</td><td>13</td><td>19</td><td>65</td><td>83</td><td>−18</td><td>55</td></tr><tr><td>18</td><td>Chesterfield</td><td>46</td><td>15</td><td>10</td><td>21</td><td>41</td><td>70</td><td>−29</td><td>55</td></tr><tr><td>19</td><td>Mansfield Town</td><td>46</td><td>14</td><td>12</td><td>20</td><td>48</td><td>59</td><td>−11</td><td>54</td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td>Aldershot</td><td>46</td><td>15</td><td>8</td><td>23</td><td>64</td><td>74</td><td>−10</td><td>53</td></tr><tr><td>21</td><td>Rotherham United (R)</td><td>46</td><td>12</td><td>16</td><td>18</td><td>50</td><td>66</td><td>−16</td><td>52</td><td>Qualification for the Fourth Division play-offs</td></tr><tr><td>22</td><td>Grimsby Town (R)</td><td>46</td><td>12</td><td>14</td><td>20</td><td>48</td><td>58</td><td>−10</td><td>50</td><td>Relegation to the Fourth Division</td></tr><tr><td>23</td><td>York City (R)</td><td>46</td><td>8</td><td>9</td><td>29</td><td>48</td><td>91</td><td>−43</td><td>33</td></tr><tr><td>24</td><td>Doncaster Rovers (R)</td><td>46</td><td>8</td><td>9</td><td>29</td><td>40</td><td>84</td><td>−44</td><td>33</td></tr></tbody></table>

Third Division play-offs

	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

Fourth Division

1987–88 Football League

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.

<table><thead><tr><th>Pos</th><th>Team</th><th>Pld</th><th>W</th><th>D</th><th>L</th><th>GF</th><th>GA</th><th>GD</th><th>Pts</th><th>Promotion or relegation</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Wolverhampton Wanderers (C, P)</td><td>46</td><td>27</td><td>9</td><td>10</td><td>82</td><td>43</td><td>+39</td><td>90</td><td>Promotion to the Third Division</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Cardiff City (P)</td><td>46</td><td>24</td><td>13</td><td>9</td><td>66</td><td>41</td><td>+25</td><td>85</td><td>Cup Winners' Cup first round and promotion to the Third Division</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Bolton Wanderers (P)</td><td>46</td><td>22</td><td>12</td><td>12</td><td>66</td><td>42</td><td>+24</td><td>78</td><td>Promotion to the Third Division</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Scunthorpe United</td><td>46</td><td>20</td><td>17</td><td>9</td><td>76</td><td>51</td><td>+25</td><td>77</td><td>Qualification for the Fourth Division play-offs</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Torquay United</td><td>46</td><td>21</td><td>14</td><td>11</td><td>66</td><td>41</td><td>+25</td><td>77</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Swansea City (O, P)</td><td>46</td><td>20</td><td>10</td><td>16</td><td>62</td><td>56</td><td>+6</td><td>70</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Peterborough United</td><td>46</td><td>20</td><td>10</td><td>16</td><td>52</td><td>53</td><td>−1</td><td>70</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Leyton Orient</td><td>46</td><td>19</td><td>12</td><td>15</td><td>85</td><td>63</td><td>+22</td><td>69</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Colchester United</td><td>46</td><td>19</td><td>10</td><td>17</td><td>47</td><td>51</td><td>−4</td><td>67</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Burnley</td><td>46</td><td>20</td><td>7</td><td>19</td><td>57</td><td>62</td><td>−5</td><td>67</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>Wrexham</td><td>46</td><td>20</td><td>6</td><td>20</td><td>69</td><td>58</td><td>+11</td><td>66</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>Scarborough</td><td>46</td><td>17</td><td>14</td><td>15</td><td>56</td><td>48</td><td>+8</td><td>65</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>Darlington</td><td>46</td><td>18</td><td>11</td><td>17</td><td>71</td><td>69</td><td>+2</td><td>65</td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>Tranmere Rovers</td><td>46</td><td>19</td><td>9</td><td>18</td><td>61</td><td>53</td><td>+8</td><td>64</td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>Cambridge United</td><td>46</td><td>16</td><td>13</td><td>17</td><td>50</td><td>52</td><td>−2</td><td>61</td></tr><tr><td>16</td><td>Hartlepool United</td><td>46</td><td>15</td><td>14</td><td>17</td><td>50</td><td>57</td><td>−7</td><td>59</td></tr><tr><td>17</td><td>Crewe Alexandra</td><td>46</td><td>13</td><td>19</td><td>14</td><td>57</td><td>53</td><td>+4</td><td>58</td></tr><tr><td>18</td><td>Halifax Town</td><td>46</td><td>14</td><td>14</td><td>18</td><td>54</td><td>59</td><td>−5</td><td>55</td></tr><tr><td>19</td><td>Hereford United</td><td>46</td><td>14</td><td>12</td><td>20</td><td>41</td><td>59</td><td>−18</td><td>54</td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td>Stockport County</td><td>46</td><td>12</td><td>15</td><td>19</td><td>44</td><td>58</td><td>−14</td><td>51</td></tr><tr><td>21</td><td>Rochdale</td><td>46</td><td>11</td><td>15</td><td>20</td><td>47</td><td>76</td><td>−29</td><td>48</td></tr><tr><td>22</td><td>Exeter City</td><td>46</td><td>11</td><td>13</td><td>22</td><td>53</td><td>68</td><td>−15</td><td>46</td></tr><tr><td>23</td><td>Carlisle United</td><td>46</td><td>12</td><td>8</td><td>26</td><td>57</td><td>86</td><td>−29</td><td>44</td></tr><tr><td>24</td><td>Newport County (R)</td><td>46</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>33</td><td>35</td><td>105</td><td>−70</td><td>25</td><td>Relegation to the Football Conference</td></tr></tbody></table>

Fourth Division play-offs

	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

Goalscorers

1987–88 Football League

• Division 1 - John Aldridge (26) • Division 2 - David Currie (28) • Division 3 - David Crown (26) • Division 4 - Steve Bull (34)

Attendances

First Division

#	Football club	Home games	Average attendance
1	Liverpool FC	20	39,683
2	Manchester United	20	39,105
3	Arsenal FC	20	29,903
4	Everton FC	20	27,782
5	Tottenham Hotspur	20	25,921
6	Newcastle United	20	21,038
7	Chelsea FC	20	20,427
8	West Ham United	20	19,822
9	Sheffield Wednesday	20	19,797
10	Nottingham Forest	20	19,273
11	Coventry City	20	17,508
12	Derby County	20	17,280
13	Portsmouth FC	20	15,909
14	Norwich City	20	15,763
15	Watford FC	20	14,536
16	Southampton FC	20	14,536
17	Queens Park Rangers	20	13,141
18	Charlton Athletic	20	8,681
19	Oxford United	20	8,388
20	Luton Town	20	8,157
21	Wimbledon FC	20	8,016

Second Division

#	Football club	Home games	Average attendance
1	Leeds United	23	20,272
2	Manchester City	23	19,472
3	Aston Villa	23	18,342
4	Middlesbrough FC	23	14,509
5	Bradford City	23	12,906
6	Ipswich Town	23	11,807
7	Plymouth Argyle	23	10,280
8	Sheffield United	23	10,207
9	Leicester City	23	10,157
10	West Bromwich Albion	23	10,107
11	Crystal Palace	23	9,746
12	Stoke City	23	9,607
13	Swindon Town	23	9,542
14	Blackburn Rovers	23	9,503
15	Birmingham City	23	8,579
16	Millwall	23	8,417
17	Hull City	23	8,135
18	AFC Bournemouth	23	7,873
19	Barnsley FC	23	7,683
20	Reading FC	23	6,945
21	Oldham Athletic	23	6,907
22	Huddersfield Town	23	6,841
23	Shrewsbury Town	23	4,945