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(Redirected from 1987-88 Football League First Division) 89th season of the Football League

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Football league season

The Football League
Season	1987–88
Champions	Liverpool
Relegated	Newport County
New club in League	Scarborough
← 1986–87 1988–89 →

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, with home and away statistics separated.

First Division

Football league season

First Division
Season	1987–88
Champions	Liverpool 17th English title
Relegated	Chelsea Portsmouth Watford Oxford United
Matches played	420
Goals scored	1,049 (2.5 per match)
Top goalscorer	John Aldridge (26 goals)
← 1986–87 1988–89 →

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

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

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

Wimbledon would have qualified as FA Cup winners.
Luton Town would have qualified as League Cup winners.

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:
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	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	Resigned	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

First Division maps

Arsenal Charlton Athletic Chelsea Tottenham Queens Park Rangers Watford West Ham Wimbledon class=notpageimage| Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1987–1988

Arsenal Charlton Chelsea Coventry Derby County Everton Liverpool Luton Town Manchester United Newcastle Norwich City Nottingham Forest Oxford Portsmouth QPR Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Tottenham Watford West Ham Wimbledon class=notpageimage| Locations of the Football League First Division 1987–1988 teams

Second Division

Football league season

Second Division
Season	1987–88
Champions	Millwall
Promoted	Millwall Aston Villa Middlesbrough
Relegated	Sheffield United Reading Huddersfield Town
Matches played	506
Goals scored	1,389 (2.75 per match)
Biggest home win	Manchester City 10–1 Huddersfield Town (7 November 1987)
Biggest away win	Sheffield United 0–5 Oldham Athletic (2 January 1988)
Highest scoring	Manchester City 10–1 Huddersfield Town (7 November 1987)
← 1986–87 1988–89 →

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	Promotion to the First Division
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	Relegation to the Third Division

Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) 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.

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

Source:

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:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Third Division

Football league season

Third Division
Season	1987–88
Champions	Sunderland
Promoted	Sunderland Brighton & Hove Albion Walsall
Relegated	Rotherham United Grimsby Town York City Doncaster Rovers
Matches played	552
← 1986–87 1988–89 →

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.

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

Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

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

Replay

30 May 1988

Walsall	4–0	Bristol City
	Report/Soccerbase

Fellows Park, WalsallAttendance: 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		0–1	1–0	1–4	0–3	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	0–0	3–2	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	1–0		2–2	4–2	1–0	0–2	0–2	0–1	1–1	3–2	2–2	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	8–1	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	0–1	2–0	0–2	2–2	1–0		3–1	2–2	4–0	0–0	0–1	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	2–0	5–1	0–1	0–0	1–1	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	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	0–1	3–0
Rotherham United	1–0	0–1	2–0	1–0	4–1	1–1	0–1	5–2	1–1	1–0	0–2	1–2	0–0	2–1	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	0–0	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	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	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:
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 season

Football League, Fourth Division
Season	1987–88
Champions	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Promoted	Cardiff City, Bolton Wanderers, Swansea City
Relegated	Newport County
New team in League	Scarborough
Matches played	552
← 1986–87 1988–89 →

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	Participated in Fourth Division play-offs
6	Swansea City	46	9	7	7	35	28	11	3	9	27	28	+6	70	Promoted via the Fourth Division play-offs
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	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
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
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:
Notes:

Swansea City won the play-offs and were thus promoted.
Newly promoted from the Football Conference
Tranmere Rovers were deducted two points.
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		2–1	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	2–1		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	4–0	0–1	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–0	1–1	0–3	1–0
Cambridge United	2–2	2–0		0–0	1–2	0–1	4–1	1–0	2–1	2–1	1–1	0–1	2–0	4–0	1–3	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	3–3	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	0–0	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	3–1	2–2	0–1	0–0	0–2	2–0
Darlington	1–0	4–2	0–1	0–0	2–1	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	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	1–0	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	2–1	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	0–1	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	2–0	0–2	0–1	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–0	1–0	0–2	1–2	5–1	0–1	1–1	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	1–1	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	1–0
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	3–0	4–2

Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Goalscorers

The top goalscorers in each division were:

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

Attendances

#	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

References

"England 1987–88". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
"English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
English teams were banned by UEFA from its competitions from season 1985–86 until 1990–91 because of the Heysel Disaster.
English teams were banned by UEFA from its competitions from season 1985–86 until 1990–91 because of the Heysel Disaster.
English teams were banned by UEFA from its competitions from season 1985–86 until 1990–91 because of the Heysel Disaster.
Felton, Paul. "Season 1987–88". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Archived from the original on 2 May 2001. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
"Chelsea Football Club Match Results Season 1987–1988". bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
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.
"English Division One–Two (old) Play-Offs 1987–1988". Statto. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
Edward Ackers. "Season 1987-88". English Football League Tables. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
^ James M Ross (15 July 2011). "Football League Div 1 & 2 Leading Goalscorers 1947-92". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
^ James M Ross (15 July 2011). "Football League Div 3 & 4 Leading Goalscorers 1947-92". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
https://www.worldfootball.net/attendance/eng-premier-league-1987-1988/1/

v t e English Football League seasons
First tier	1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92
Second tier	1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

English Football League seasons

First tier

1888–89
1889–90
1890–91
1891–92
1892–93
1893–94
1894–95
1895–96
1896–97
1897–98
1898–99
1899–1900
1900–01
1901–02
1902–03
1903–04
1904–05
1905–06
1906–07
1907–08
1908–09
1909–10
1910–11
1911–12
1912–13
1913–14
1914–15
1915–16
1916–17
1917–18
1918–19
1919–20
1920–21
1921–22
1922–23
1923–24
1924–25
1925–26
1926–27
1927–28
1928–29
1929–30
1930–31
1931–32
1932–33
1933–34
1934–35
1935–36
1936–37
1937–38
1938–39
1939–40
1940–41
1941–42
1942–43
1943–44
1944–45
1945–46
1946–47
1947–48
1948–49
1949–50
1950–51
1951–52
1952–53
1953–54
1954–55
1955–56
1956–57
1957–58
1958–59
1959–60
1960–61
1961–62
1962–63
1963–64
1964–65
1965–66
1966–67
1967–68
1968–69
1969–70
1970–71
1971–72
1972–73
1973–74
1974–75
1975–76
1976–77
1977–78
1978–79
1979–80
1980–81
1981–82
1982–83
1983–84
1984–85
1985–86
1986–87
1987–88
1988–89
1989–90
1990–91
1991–92

Second tier

1992–93
1993–94
1994–95
1995–96
1996–97
1997–98
1998–99
1999–2000
2000–01
2001–02
2002–03
2003–04
2004–05
2005–06
2006–07
2007–08
2008–09
2009–10
2010–11
2011–12
2012–13
2013–14
2014–15
2015–16
2016–17
2017–18
2018–19
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1987–88 in English football

« 1986–87 1988–89 »

National teams

Bobby Robson
Rous Cup
UEFA Euro 1988 (qualification – Group 4)

League
competitions

Levels 1–4	Football League (First Division, Second Division, Third Division, Fourth Division, play-offs)
Level 5	Football Conference
Levels 6–7	Isthmian League (Premier, One) Northern Premier League (Premier, One) Southern League (Premier, Midland, Southern)
Levels 8–9	Isthmian League (Two North, Two South) Combined Counties League (level 8 only) Eastern Counties League (level 8 only) Essex Senior League (level 8 only) Hellenic League (Premier, One) Kent League (level 8 only) Midland Football Combination (level 8 only) North West Counties League (One, Two) Northern Counties East League (Premier, One) Northern League (One, Two) South Midlands League (Premier, One) Spartan League (Premier, One) Sussex County League (One, Two) United Counties League (Premier, One) Wessex League (level 8 only) West Midlands (Regional) League (level 8 only) Western League (Premier, One)

Cup
competitions

FA cups	FA Cup (Qualifying rounds, Final) Charity Shield FA Trophy (Final)
Football League cups	League Cup (Final) Full Members' Cup (Final) Associate Members' Cup (Final) Football League Centenary Tournament

Club seasons
First Division	Arsenal Charlton Athletic Chelsea Coventry City Derby County Everton Liverpool Luton Town Manchester United Newcastle United Norwich City Nottingham Forest Oxford United Portsmouth Queens Park Rangers Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Tottenham Hotspur Watford West Ham United Wimbledon
Second Division	Aston Villa Barnsley Birmingham City Blackburn Rovers Bournemouth Bradford City Crystal Palace Huddersfield Town Hull City Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Manchester City Middlesbrough Millwall Oldham Athletic Plymouth Argyle Reading Sheffield United Shrewsbury Town Swindon Town Stoke City West Bromwich Albion
Third Division	Aldershot Blackpool Brentford Brighton & Hove Albion Bristol City Bristol Rovers Bury Chester City Chesterfield Doncaster Rovers Fulham Gillingham Grimsby Town Mansfield Town Northampton Town Port Vale Preston North End Notts County Rotherham United Southend United Sunderland Walsall Wigan Athletic York City
Fourth Division	Bolton Wanderers Burnley Cardiff City Cambridge United Carlisle United Colchester United Crewe Alexandra Darlington Exeter City Halifax Town Hartlepool United Hereford United Leyton Orient Newport County Peterborough United Rochdale Scarborough Scunthorpe United Southport Stockport County Swansea City Torquay United Tranmere Rovers Wolverhampton Wanderers Wrexham

v t e 1987–88 in European football (UEFA)
Domestic leagues	Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czechoslovakia Denmark '87 '88 England Faroe Islands '87 '88 Finland '87 '88 France East Germany West Germany Greece Hungary Iceland '87 '88 Israel Italy Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '87 '88 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania San Marino Scotland Soviet Union '87 '88 Spain Sweden '87 '88 Switzerland Turkey Yugoslavia
Domestic cups	Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czechoslovakia Denmark England Faroe Islands '87 '88 Finland '87 '88 France East Germany West Germany Greece Hungary Iceland '87 '88 Israel Italy Liechtenstein Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway '87 '88 Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania San Marino Scotland Soviet Union Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Wales Yugoslavia
League cups	England Israel Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland Scotland Soviet Union '87 '88
Supercups	West Germany
UEFA competitions	European Cup (Final) Cup Winners' Cup (Final) UEFA Cup (Final) Super Cup
Non-UEFA competitions	Intertoto Cup Balkans Cup

Categories:

Final league tables and results

First Division

Final table

First Division results

Managerial changes

First Division maps

Second Division

Second Division play-offs

Second Division results

Third Division

Third Division play-offs

Third Division results

Fourth Division

Fourth Division play-offs

Fourth Division results

Goalscorers

Attendances

See also

References