1987–88 Football League

The 1987–1988 season was the 88th completed season of The Football League.

Contents

Overview

First Division

Liverpool won the league title with a comfortable nine-point margin and just two defeats all season. Their key players were two new signings — winger John Barnes and forward Peter Beardsley — who, along with John Aldridge, helped defy any doubts that people might have had as to whether Liverpool could challenge for honours after Ian Rush’s departure. Second in the league were Manchester United, rejuvenated under Alex Ferguson — who had bought some impressive new players including Brian McClair and Steve Bruce.

The first relegation places went to Watford and Oxford United, who both lost far too many games and picked up far too few points to have any realistic hope of avoiding relegation. Next to go down were Portsmouth, whose First Division comeback lasted just one season. Chelsea then became the first top division club in 90 years to lose their status after playoffs. They lost to Second Division Middlesbrough in the playoff final and surrendered their First Division place to the Teessiders.

Second Division

John Docherty’s impressive Millwall side 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, managed by Graham Taylor and boasting a squad of strong players like David Platt and Gordon Cowans. Middlesbrough won promotion for the second season running after negotiating the relegation/promotion playoffs at the expense of Chelsea.

Huddersfield Town, who had suffered a 10-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City in November, were the Second Division’s biggest flops during 1987-88 as they went down in bottom place. The Second/Third Division relegation/promotion playoffs once again saw a Second Division club suffer relegation, this time it was Sheffield United.

Third Division

Sunderland’s first season in the Third Division ended in glory as they lifted the championship and went back up to the Second Division. They were joined by runners-up Brighton & Hove Albion and playoff winners Walsall.

The Third Division relegation places were occupied by Rotherham United, Grimsby Town, York City and Doncaster Rovers.

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, one season after being rescued by new owner Jack Hayward and new manager Graham Turner. They completed an outstanding season by winning the Sherpa Van Trophy final at a packed Wembley against Burnley. Earlier the campaign had begun on a sour note, when Football League newcomers Scarborough hosted Wolves on the opening day in a match that was marred by crowd trouble.

Bolton Wanderers, another fallen giant, also ensured their Fourth Division tenure was short lived by winning automatic promotion. Swansea City were promoted via the playoffs just two years after almost going out of existence, while their South Wales neighbours Cardiff City were also promoted.

After having spent several seasons as the highest placed Welsh team, financially troubled Newport County were relegated for the second successive season. This time they lost their Football League status after 60 consecutive seasons in the Football League. Lincoln City won the Conference title to take their place. Less than a year later Newport were to go out of business before reforming.

Scunthorpe United left the Old Showground and moved into Glanford Park, thus becoming the first English club in more than 30 years to move to a new stadium.

Final league tables and results[1]

The tables 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
Season 1987–88
Champions Liverpool (17th English title)
Relegated Chelsea,
Oxford United,
Portsmouth,
Watford
FA Cup winners Wimbledon (1st FA Cup title)
European Cup 1988–89 No qualifications [2] [notes 1]
European Cup Winners' Cup 1988–89 No qualifications[notes 1]
UEFA Cup 1988–89 No qualifications[notes 1]
Matches played 420
Goals scored 1049 (2.5 per match)
Top goalscorer John Aldridge (Liverpool), 26 [3]
Biggest home win Arsenal – Portsmouth 6–0 (29 Aug 1987)
Biggest away win Sheffield Wednesday – Liverpool 1–5 (7 May 1988);
Southampton – Everton 0–4 (3 Oct 1987)
Highest scoring Luton Town – Oxford United 7–4 (6 Feb 1988)
Longest winning run Arsenal (10 games)
Longest unbeaten run Liverpool (29 games)
Longest losing run Derby County (8 games)
Highest attendance ?
Lowest attendance ?
Average attendance ?
Locations of the Football League First Division 1987–1988 teams
Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1987–1988
Pos Team Pld W D L F A W D L F A F A GD Pts Notes
1 Liverpool 40 15 5 0 49 9 11 7 2 38 15 87 24 + 63 90 Excluded from
the European Cup 1988–89 [notes 1]
2 Manchester United 40 14 5 1 41 17 9 7 4 30 21 71 38 + 33 81 Excluded from
the UEFA Cup 1988–89 [notes 1]
3 Nottingham Forest 40 11 7 2 40 17 9 6 5 27 22 67 39 + 28 73 Excluded from
the UEFA Cup 1988–89 [notes 1]
4 Everton 40 14 4 2 34 11 5 9 6 19 16 53 27 + 26 70 Excluded from
the UEFA Cup 1988–89 [notes 1]
5 Queens Park Rangers 40 12 4 4 30 14 7 6 7 18 24 48 38 + 10 67
6 Arsenal 40 11 4 5 35 16 7 8 5 23 23 58 39 + 19 66
7 Wimbledon 40 8 9 3 32 20 6 6 8 26 27 58 47 + 11 57 Excluded from
the 1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup [notes 1]
8 Newcastle United 40 9 6 5 32 23 5 8 7 23 30 55 53 + 2 56
9 Luton Town 40 11 6 3 40 21 3 5 12 17 37 57 58 – 1 53 Excluded from
the UEFA Cup 1988–89 [notes 1] [notes 2]
10 Coventry City 40 6 8 6 23 25 7 6 7 23 28 46 53 – 7 53
11 Sheffield Wednesday 40 10 2 8 27 30 5 6 9 25 36 52 66 – 14 53
12 Southampton 40 6 8 6 27 26 6 6 8 22 27 49 53 – 4 50
13 Tottenham Hotspur 40 9 5 6 26 23 3 6 11 12 25 38 48 – 10 47
14 Norwich City 40 7 5 8 26 26 5 4 11 14 26 40 52 – 12 45
15 Derby County 40 6 7 7 18 17 4 6 10 17 28 35 45 – 10 43
16 West Ham United 40 6 9 5 23 21 3 6 11 17 31 40 52 – 12 42
17 Charlton Athletic 40 7 7 6 23 21 2 8 10 15 31 38 52 – 14 42
18 Chelsea 40 7 11 2 24 17 2 4 14 26 51 50 68 – 18 42 [notes 3]
19 Portsmouth 40 4 8 8 21 27 3 6 11 15 39 36 66 – 30 35
20 Watford 40 4 5 11 15 24 3 6 11 12 27 27 51 – 24 32
21 Oxford United 40 5 7 8 24 34 1 6 13 20 46 44 80 – 36 31
  1. ^ English teams were banned by UEFA from its competitions from the season 1985–86 on until the season 1990–91 because of the Heysel Disaster in 1985, involving Liverpool fans.
  2. ^ Luton Town were 1988 League Cup winners and should have qualified for the UEFA Cup.
  3. ^ Chelsea lost in the final round of the play-offs and were thus relegated.
Key
League Champions, excluded from the European Cup
FA Cup winners, but excluded from the Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup spot, but excluded
League Cup winners, excluded from UEFA Cup
Participated in play-offs
Relegated

First Division Results

Home \ Away1 ARS CHA CHE COV DER EVE LIV LUT MNU NEW NOR NOT OXF POR QPR SHW SOT 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:
1The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second Division play-offs

Main article: Football League Championship Playoffs#1988

Both the semifinals and the finals were decided over two legs
The full results can be found in the main article (see link above).

  Semi-finals
1st leg – May 15th; 2nd leg – May 18th, 1988		 Finals
1st leg – May 25th; 2nd leg – May 28th, 1988
                         
  5th  Blackburn Rovers 0 1 1  
18th  Chelsea (Div 1) 2 4 6  
  18th  Chelsea (Div 1) 0 1 1
  3rd  Middlesbrough 2 0 2
3rd  Middlesbrough 1 2 3
  4th  Bradford City 2 0 2  

Second Division

Football League, Second Division
Season 1987–88
Champions Millwall (1st title)
Promoted Aston Villa,
Middlesbrough
Relegated Huddersfield Town,
Reading,
Sheffield United
Matches played 506
Goals scored 1389 (2.75 per match)
Top goalscorer David Currie (Barnsley), 28 [3]
Biggest home win ?
Biggest away win ?
Highest scoring ?
Longest winning run ?
Longest unbeaten run ?
Longest losing run ?
Highest attendance ?
Lowest attendance ?
Average attendance ?
Locations of the Football League Second Division 1987–1988 teams
Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1987–1988
Pos Team Pld W D L F A W D L F A F A GD Pts Notes
1 Millwall 44 15 3 4 45 23 10 4 8 27 29 72 52 + 20 82
2 Aston Villa 44 9 7 6 31 21 13 5 4 37 20 68 41 + 27 78
3 Middlesbrough 44 15 4 3 44 16 7 8 7 19 20 63 36 + 27 78 [notes2 1]
4 Bradford City 44 14 3 5 49 26 8 8 6 25 28 74 54 + 20 77
5 Blackburn Rovers 44 12 8 2 38 22 9 6 7 30 30 68 52 + 16 77
6 Crystal Palace 44 16 3 3 50 21 6 6 10 36 38 86 59 + 27 75
7 Leeds United 44 14 4 4 37 18 5 8 9 24 33 61 51 + 10 69
8 Ipswich Town 44 14 3 5 38 17 5 6 11 23 35 61 52 + 9 66
9 Manchester City 44 11 4 7 50 28 8 4 10 30 32 80 60 + 20 65
10 Oldham Athletic 44 13 4 5 43 27 5 7 10 29 37 72 64 + 8 65
11 Stoke City 44 12 6 4 34 22 5 5 12 16 35 50 57 – 7 62
12 Swindon Town 44 10 7 5 43 25 6 4 12 30 35 73 60 + 13 59
13 Leicester City 44 12 5 5 35 20 4 6 12 27 41 62 61 + 1 59
14 Barnsley 44 11 4 7 42 32 4 8 10 19 30 61 62 – 1 57
15 Hull City 44 10 8 4 32 22 4 7 11 22 38 54 60 – 6 57
16 Plymouth Argyle 44 12 4 6 44 26 4 4 14 21 41 65 67 – 2 56
17 Bournemouth 44 7 7 8 36 30 6 3 13 20 38 56 68 – 12 49
18 Shrewsbury Town 44 7 8 7 23 22 4 8 10 19 32 42 54 – 12 49
19 Birmingham City 44 7 9 6 20 24 4 6 12 21 42 41 66 – 25 48
20 West Bromwich Albion 44 8 7 7 29 26 4 4 14 21 43 50 69 – 19 47
21 Sheffield United 44 8 6 8 27 28 5 1 16 18 46 45 74 – 29 46 [notes2 2]
22 Reading 44 5 7 10 20 25 5 5 12 24 45 44 70 – 26 42
23 Huddersfield Town 44 4 6 12 20 38 2 4 16 21 62 41 100 – 59 28
  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.
Key
Division Champions, promoted
Promoted
Participated in play-offs
Promoted through play-offs
Relegated

Second Division Results

Home \ Away1 AST BAR BIR BLB BOU BRA CPA HUD HUL IPS LEE LEI MNC MID MIL OLD PLY REA SHE SHR STO 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:
1The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Third Division Play-offs

Main article: Football League One Playoffs#1988

Both the semifinals and the finals were decided over two legs
The full results can be found in the main article (see link above).

  Semi-finals
1st leg – May15th; 2nd leg – May 18th, 1988		 Finals
1st leg – May 25th; 2nd leg – May 28th, 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
May 30, 1988
 Walsall 4 – 0 Bristol City Fellows Park, Walsall
Attendance: 13,007
Report/Soccerbase [1]

Third Division

Football League, Third Division
Season 1987–88
Champions Sunderland (1st title)
Promoted Brighton & Hove Albion,
Walsall
Relegated Doncaster Rovers,
Grimsby Town,
Rotherham United,
York City
Matches played 552
Goals scored 1485 (2.69 per match)
Top goalscorer David Crown (Southend United), 26 [3]
Biggest home win ?
Biggest away win ?
Highest scoring ?
Longest winning run ?
Longest unbeaten run ?
Longest losing run ?
Highest attendance ?
Lowest attendance ?
Average attendance ?
Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1987–1988
Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1987–1988
Pos Team Pld W D L F A W D L F A F A GD Pts Notes
1 Sunderland 46 14 7 2 51 22 13 5 5 41 26 92 48 + 44 93
2 Brighton & Hove Albion 46 15 7 1 37 16 8 8 7 32 31 69 47 + 22 84
3 Walsall 46 15 6 2 39 22 8 7 8 29 28 68 50 + 18 82 [notes4 1]
4 Notts County 46 14 4 5 53 24 9 8 6 29 25 82 49 + 33 81
5 Bristol City 46 14 6 3 51 30 7 6 10 26 32 77 62 + 15 75
6 Northampton Town 46 12 8 3 36 18 6 11 6 34 33 70 51 + 19 73
7 Wigan Athletic 46 11 8 4 36 23 9 4 10 34 38 70 61 + 9 72
8 Bristol Rovers 46 14 5 4 43 19 4 7 12 25 37 68 56 + 12 66
9 Fulham 46 10 5 8 36 24 9 4 10 33 36 69 60 + 9 66
10 Blackpool 46 13 4 6 45 27 4 10 9 26 35 71 62 + 9 65
11 Port Vale 46 12 8 3 36 19 6 3 14 22 37 58 56 + 2 65
12 Brentford 46 9 8 6 27 23 7 6 10 26 36 53 59 – 6 62
13 Gillingham 46 8 9 6 45 21 6 8 9 32 40 77 61 + 16 59
14 Bury 46 9 7 7 33 26 6 7 10 25 31 58 57 + 1 59
15 Chester City 46 9 8 6 29 30 5 8 10 22 32 51 62 – 11 58
16 Preston North End 46 10 6 7 30 23 5 7 11 18 36 48 59 – 11 58
17 Southend United 46 10 6 7 42 33 4 7 12 23 50 65 83 – 18 55
18 Chesterfield 46 10 5 8 25 28 5 5 13 16 42 41 70 – 29 55
19 Mansfield Town 46 10 6 7 25 21 4 6 13 23 38 48 59 – 11 54
20 Aldershot 46 12 3 8 45 32 3 5 15 19 42 64 74 – 10 53
21 Rotherham United 46 8 8 7 28 25 4 8 11 22 41 50 66 – 16 52 [notes4 2]
22 Grimsby Town 46 6 7 10 25 29 6 7 10 23 29 48 58 – 10 50
23 York City 46 4 7 12 27 45 4 2 17 21 46 48 91 – 43 33
24 Doncaster Rovers 46 6 5 12 25 36 2 4 17 15 48 40 84 – 44 33
  1. ^ Walsall won the play-offs and were thus promoted.
  2. ^ Rotherham United lost in the first round of the play-offs and were thus relegated.
Key
Division Champions, promoted
Promoted
Participated in play-offs
Promoted through play-offs
Relegated

Fourth Division Play-offs

Main article: Football League Two Playoffs#1988

Both the semifinals and the finals were decided over two legs
The full results can be found in the main article (see link above).

  Semi-finals
1st leg – May15th; 2nd leg – May 18th, 1988		 Finals
1st leg – May 25th; 2nd leg – May 28th, 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

Football League, Fourth Division
Season 1987–88
Champions Wolverhampton Wanderers (1st title)
Promoted Bolton Wanderers,
Cardiff City,
Swansea City
Failed re-election Newport County
New club in the league Scarborough
Matches played 552
Goals scored 1404 (2.54 per match)
Top goalscorer Steve Bull (Wolverhampton Wanderers), 34 [3]
Biggest home win ?
Biggest away win ?
Highest scoring ?
Longest winning run ?
Longest unbeaten run ?
Longest losing run ?
Highest attendance ?
Lowest attendance ?
Average attendance ?
Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1987–1988
Locations of the Football League Fourth Division London teams 1987–1988
Pos Team Pld W D L F A W D L F A F A GD Pts Notes
1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 15 3 5 47 19 12 6 5 35 24 82 43 + 39 90
2 Cardiff City 46 15 6 2 39 14 9 7 7 27 27 66 41 + 25 85
3 Bolton Wanderers 46 15 6 2 42 12 7 6 10 24 30 66 42 + 24 78
4 Scunthorpe United 46 14 5 4 42 20 6 12 5 34 31 76 51 + 25 77
5 Torquay United 46 10 7 6 34 16 11 7 5 32 25 66 41 + 25 77
6 Swansea City 46 9 7 7 35 28 11 3 9 27 28 62 56 + 6 70 [notes5 1]
7 Peterborough United 46 10 5 8 28 26 10 5 8 24 27 52 53 – 1 70
8 Leyton Orient 46 13 4 6 55 27 6 8 9 30 36 85 63 + 22 69
9 Colchester United 46 10 5 8 23 22 9 5 9 24 29 47 51 – 4 67
10 Burnley 46 12 5 6 31 22 8 2 13 26 40 57 62 – 5 67
11 Wrexham 46 13 3 7 46 26 7 3 13 23 32 69 58 + 11 66
12 Scarborough 46 12 8 3 38 19 5 6 12 18 29 56 48 + 8 65
13 Darlington 46 13 6 4 39 25 5 5 13 32 44 71 69 + 2 65
14 Tranmere Rovers 46 14 2 7 43 20 5 7 11 18 33 61 53 + 8 64
15 Cambridge United 46 10 6 7 32 24 6 7 10 18 28 50 52 – 2 61
16 Hartlepool United 46 9 7 7 25 25 6 7 10 25 32 50 57 – 7 59
17 Crewe Alexandra 46 7 11 5 25 19 6 8 9 32 34 57 53 + 4 58
18 Halifax Town 46 11 7 5 37 25 3 7 13 17 34 54 59 – 5 55
19 Hereford United 46 8 7 8 25 27 6 5 12 16 32 41 59 – 18 54
20 Stockport County 46 7 7 9 26 26 5 8 10 18 32 44 58 – 14 51
21 Rochdale 46 5 9 9 28 34 6 6 11 19 42 47 76 – 29 48
22 Exeter City 46 8 6 9 33 29 3 7 13 20 39 53 68 – 15 46
23 Carlisle United 46 9 5 9 38 33 3 3 17 19 53 57 86 – 29 44
24 Newport County 46 4 5 14 19 36 2 2 19 16 69 35 105 – 70 25
  1. ^ Swansea City won the play-offs and were thus promoted.
Key
Division Champions, promoted
Promoted
Participated in play-offs
Promoted through play-offs
Welsh Cup winners, qualified for Cup Winners' Cup
New club in the league
Relegated to Conference

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "England 1987–88". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1987-88.html. Retrieved 2010-02-24. 
  2. ^ English teams were banned by UEFA from its competitions from the season 1985–86 on until the season 1990–91 because of the Heysel Disaster in 1985, involving Liverpool fans.
  3. ^ a b c d "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/engtops.html#1947-1. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
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 « 1986–87
1988–89 » 
FA competitions
FA Cup (Qualifying Rounds, Final) • Charity Shield • FA Trophy
Football League
Football League (First Division • Second Division • Third Division • Fourth Division) • League Cup (Final)
Lower leagues
Football Conference · Northern Premier League · Southern Football League · Isthmian League
Related to national team
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
1987–88 in European football (UEFA)
Domestic leagues
Albania · Austria · Belgium · Bulgaria · Cyprus · Czechoslovakia · Denmark '87 '88 · England · Estonia '87 '88 · Faroe Islands '87 '88 · Finland '87 '88 · France · East Germany · West Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland '87 '88 · Israel · Italy · Latvia '87 '88 · Lithuania '87 '88 · 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 '87 '88 · Switzerland · Turkey · Wales · Yugoslavia
League cups
England · France · Israel · Northern Ireland · Republic of Ireland · Scotland
UEFA competitions