1986–87 Football League

88th season of the Football League May 2022 The Football League 1986–87 Everton Lincoln City 1985–86 1987–88 The 1986–87 season was the 88th completed season of The Football League. Play-offs to determine promotion places were introduced in 1987 so that more clubs remained eligible for promotion closer to the end of the season, and at the same time to aid in the reduction over two years of the number of clubs in the First Division from 22 to 20. At the same time, automatic promotion and relegation between the Fourth Division and the Football Conference was introduced for one club, replacing the annual application for re-election to the League of the bottom four clubs and linking the League to the developing National League System pyramid. 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.https://www.rsssf.org/engpaul/FLA/1986-87.html England 1986–87 2010-02-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20100127102628/http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1986-87.html 27 January 2010 RSSSF live As of this season, there were no more re-election procedures, but instead, the club finishing last in the Fourth Division was demoted to Conference. The first casualty of this new practice were Lincoln City. First Division First Division 1986–87 Everton9th English title Leicester CityManchester CityAston Villa Clive Allen(33 goals)https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engtops.html English League Leading Goalscorers RSSSF 2010-10-31 Nottingham Forest 6–0 Aston Villa(20 September 1986)Sheffield Wednesday 7–1 Queens Park Rangers(2 May 1987) Chelsea 2–6 Nottingham Forest(20 September 1986)Southampton 0–4 Arsenal(15 November 1986)Aston Villa 0–4 Arsenal(29 November 1986)Chelsea 0–4 Wimbledon(6 December 1986)Newcastle United 0–4 Everton(26 December 1986) Chelsea 2–6 Nottingham Forest(20 September 1986)West Ham United 5–3 Chelsea(11 October 1986)Liverpool 6–2 Norwich City(1 November 1986)Sheffield Wednesday 7–1 Queens Park Rangers(2 May 1987) 462 1215 7 matchesEverton 17 matchesArsenal 6 matchesNewcastle United 1985–86 1987–88 The First Division championship went to Everton in their final season under the management of Howard Kendall before his departure to Athletic Bilbao. This remains Everton's last league title. His side overcame a spate of injuries to fight off competition from runners-up Liverpool and third-placed Tottenham Hotspur. Fourth place went to George Graham's emerging young Arsenal side who also won the League Cup in his first season in charge. Fifth place went to newly-promoted Norwich City, whose manager Ken Brown built a strong squad on a limited budget to achieve a finish which would have been enough to qualify for the UEFA Cup had it not been for the ongoing ban on English clubs in European competitions. Wimbledon finished sixth in the First Division in only their tenth season as a Football League club. Dave Bassett's men had led the league for the first two weeks of September, but sixth place was still much higher than most punditsAugust 2023 had predicted at the start of the season. Luton Town enjoyed their highest league position by finishing seventh. Manchester United manager Ron Atkinson had been under pressure for months, after his side had finished fourth in the league in 1985–86, 12 points behind the champions, Liverpool. The Manchester United board had initially decided to stick with Atkinson as manager for the 1986–87 season, but finally sacked him in November with Manchester United fourth from bottom in the league and having suffered a League Cup exit to Southampton. Aberdeen manager Alex Ferguson took over, and results began to improve despite no immediate new signings being made, with Manchester United finally finishing 11th. West Ham United, who had come close to winning the title the previous season, slipped to 15th place in 1986–87. Aston Villa were relegated to the Second Division just five years after they won the European Cup. Chairman Doug Ellis had sensed from the start that 1986-87 would be a tough season for the club, so he axed manager Graham Turner in September and replaced him with Manchester City's Billy McNeill. But McNeill was unable to stop the rot and Villa went down in bottom place. McNeill was subsequently sacked and replaced by Watford's Graham Taylor. Villa were joined on the way down by Manchester City and Leicester City. In the first season of the relegation/promotion play-offs, Charlton Athletic beat Second Division Leeds United to retain their top flight status. No European qualification took place due to UEFA voting to ban English clubs from European competitions for a third season following the Heysel disaster in 1985. Final table main WDL First Division World Football EVE, LIV, TOT, ARS, NOR, WIM, LUT, NFO, WAT, COV, MUN, SOU, SHW, CHE, WHU, QPR, NEW, OXF, CHA, LEI, MCI, AVL EXEC EXUC EXUC EXUC EXCWC RPO REL REL REL complete 20 10 12 58 35 8 12 22 45 79 11 11 20 45 55 13 13 16 53 64 17 12 13 50 45 26 8 8 76 31 11 9 22 54 76 23 8 11 72 42 18 12 12 47 45 8 15 19 36 57 14 14 14 52 45 12 11 19 47 65 17 17 8 53 51 18 11 13 64 51 11 13 18 44 69 13 11 18 48 64 13 13 16 58 59 14 10 18 69 68 21 8 13 68 43 18 9 15 67 54 14 10 18 52 67 19 9 14 57 50 C O R R R Arsenal Aston Villa Charlton Athletic Chelsea Coventry City Everton Leicester City Liverpool Luton Town Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Norwich City Nottingham Forest Oxford United Queens Park Rangers Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Tottenham Hotspur Watford West Ham United Wimbledon 5 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored QR white Disqualified from the European Cup white Disqualified from the UEFA Cup white Disqualified from the European Cup Winners' Cup red2 Qualification for the Second Division play-offs red1 Relegation to the Second Division Arsenal would have qualified as League Cup winners. Coventry City would have qualified as FA Cup winners. Results main FBR grey ARS AST CHA CHE COV EVE LEI LIV LUT MCI MUN NEW NWC NOT OXF QPR SHW SOU TOT WAT WHU WDN Arsenal 2–1 2–1 3–1 0–0 0–1 4–1 0–1 3–0 3–0 1–0 0–1 1–2 0–0 0–0 3–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 3–1 0–0 3–1 Aston Villa 0–4 2–0 0–0 1–0 0–1 2–0 2–2 2–1 0–0 3–3 2–0 1–4 0–0 1–2 0–1 1–2 3–1 0–3 1–1 4–0 0–0 Charlton Athletic 0–2 3–0 0–0 1–1 3–2 2–0 0–0 0–1 5–0 0–0 1–1 1–2 0–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–3 0–2 4–3 2–1 0–1 Chelsea 1–0 4–1 0–1 0–0 1–2 3–1 3–3 1–3 2–1 1–1 1–3 0–0 2–6 4–0 3–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 0–0 1–0 0–4 Coventry City 2–1 0–1 2–1 3–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 2–2 1–1 3–0 2–1 1–0 3–0 4–1 1–0 1–1 4–3 1–0 1–3 1–0 Everton 0–1 3–0 2–1 2–2 3–1 5–1 0–0 3–1 0–0 3–1 3–0 4–0 2–0 3–1 0–0 2–0 3–0 1–0 3–2 4–0 3–0 Leicester City 1–1 1–1 1–0 2–2 1–1 0–2 2–1 1–1 4–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 3–1 2–0 4–1 6–1 2–3 1–2 1–2 2–0 3–1 Liverpool 2–1 3–3 2–0 3–0 2–0 3–1 4–3 2–0 0–0 0–1 2–0 6–2 3–0 4–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 1–2 Luton Town 0–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 4–1 1–0 2–1 0–0 0–0 4–2 2–3 1–0 0–0 2–1 3–1 0–2 2–1 0–0 Manchester City 3–0 3–1 2–1 1–2 0–1 1–3 1–2 0–1 1–1 1–1 0–0 2–2 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 2–4 1–1 1–2 3–1 3–1 Manchester United 2–0 3–1 0–1 0–1 1–1 0–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 2–0 4–1 0–1 2–0 3–2 1–0 3–1 5–1 3–3 3–1 2–3 0–1 Newcastle United 1–2 2–1 0–3 1–0 1–2 0–4 2–0 0–2 2–2 3–1 2–1 4–1 3–2 0–0 0–2 2–3 2–0 1–1 2–2 4–0 1–0 Norwich City 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–1 0–1 2–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 0–0 2–0 2–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 4–3 2–1 1–3 1–1 0–0 Nottingham Forest 1–0 6–0 4–0 0–1 0–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 2–2 2–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 3–2 0–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 3–2 Oxford United 0–0 2–2 3–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–0 1–3 4–2 0–0 2–0 1–1 0–1 2–1 0–1 2–1 3–1 2–4 1–3 0–0 3–1 Queens Park Rangers 1–4 1–0 0–0 1–1 3–1 0–1 0–1 1–3 2–2 1–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 3–1 1–1 2–2 2–1 2–0 3–2 2–3 2–1 Sheffield Wednesday 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–0 2–2 2–2 2–2 0–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 2–0 1–1 2–3 6–1 7–1 3–1 0–1 0–1 2–2 0–2 Southampton 0–4 5–0 2–2 1–2 2–0 0–2 4–0 2–1 3–0 1–1 1–1 4–1 1–2 1–3 3–0 5–1 1–1 2–0 3–1 1–0 2–2 Tottenham Hotspur 1–2 3–0 1–0 1–3 1–0 2–0 5–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 4–0 1–1 3–0 2–3 3–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 2–1 4–0 1–2 Watford 2–0 4–2 4–1 3–1 2–3 2–1 5–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 3–0 0–3 0–1 1–1 1–0 2–2 0–1 West Ham United 3–1 1–1 1–3 5–3 1–0 1–0 4–1 2–5 2–0 2–0 0–0 1–1 0–2 1–2 0–1 1–1 0–2 3–1 2–1 1–0 2–3 Wimbledon 1–2 3–2 2–0 2–1 2–1 1–2 1–0 1–3 0–1 0–0 1–0 3–1 2–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 3–0 2–2 2–2 2–1 0–1 complete Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment Arsenal ENG Steve Burtenshaw End of caretaker spell 14 May 1986 Pre-season SCO George Graham 14 May 1986 Tottenham Hotspur WAL Peter Shreeves Sacked 15 May 1986 ENG David Pleat 16 May 1986 Luton Town ENG David Pleat Signed by Tottenham Hotspur 16 May 1986 SCO John Moore 16 May 1986 Leicester City ENG Gordon Milne Became general manager 3 June 1986 NIR Bryan Hamilton 3 June 1986 Aston Villa ENG Graham Turner Sacked 16 September 1986 21st SCO Billy McNeill 22 September 1986 Manchester City SCO Billy McNeill Signed by Aston Villa 22 September 1986 15th SCO Jimmy Frizzell 22 September 1986 Manchester United ENG Ron Atkinson Sacked 6 November 1986 19th SCO Alex Ferguson 7 November 1986 Aston Villa SCO Billy McNeill 6 May 1987 22nd SCO Ron Wylie (caretaker) 6 May 1987 First Division maps Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1986–1987 Greater London 51.558 -0.103 right Greater London 51.486 0.036 right Greater London 51.482 -0.191 right Greater London 51.603 -0.066 right Greater London 51.509 -0.232 right Greater London 51.650 -0.401 right Greater London 51.532 0.039 right Greater London 51.43 -0.19 right Arsenal Charlton Athletic Chelsea Tottenham Queens Park Rangers Watford West Ham Wimbledon England none 400 Locations of the Football League First Division 1986–1987 teams England 51.56 -0.10 right England 52.54 -1.87 right England 51.47 0.07 right England 51.50 -0.19 right England 52.41 -1.51 right England 53.47 -2.97 right England 52.62 -1.14 right England 53.53 -2.99 right England 51.9 -0.433 right England 53.47 -2.18 right England 53.47 -2.30 right England 54.98 -1.62 right England 52.63 1.30 right England 53.01 -1.137 right England 51.72 -1.21 right England 51.54 -0.26 right England 53.41 -1.50 right England 50.91 -1.39 right England 51.63 -0.063 right England 51.65 -0.40 right England 51.54 0.040 right England 51.43 -0.19 right Arsenal Aston Villa Charlton Chelsea Coventry Everton Leicester City Liverpool Luton Town Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle Norwich City Nottingham Forest Oxford QPR Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Tottenham Watford West Ham Wimbledon Second Division Second Division 1986–87 Derby County Derby CountyPortsmouth SunderlandGrimsby TownBrighton & Hove Albion Micky Quinn(22 goals) 462 1131 1985–86 1987–88 There were just two guaranteed promotion places in the Second Division this season due to the introduction of the playoffs and the phased reorganization of the league. Derby County finished top of the Second Division to clinch a second successive promotion and reclaim the First Division place they had last held in 1980. Portsmouth, absent from the First Division for nearly 30 years and who had missed promotion by a single place in the previous two seasons, finally achieved promotion by finishing second. Oldham Athletic and Ipswich Town failed to progress beyond the semi-finals of the new playoffs, leaving Leeds United to take on Charlton Athletic in a two-legged contest for a First Division place. Charlton won the replay to keep their First Division status and condemn Leeds to a sixth successive season in the Second Division. Financially troubled Grimsby Town were relegated, along with Brighton & Hove Albion. Sunderland's second relegation in three seasons condemned them to Third Division football for the first time in their history as they went down after losing in the playoffs. main WDL Second Division DER, POR, OLD, LEE, IPS, CRY, PLY, STK, SHU, BRA, BAR, BLA, REA, HUL, WBA, MIL, HUD, SHR, BIR, SUN, GRI, BHA PRO PRO PPO PPO PPO RPO REL REL complete 14 13 15 49 52 11 17 14 47 59 15 10 17 45 55 15 10 17 62 62 9 12 21 37 54 19 5 18 51 53 25 9 8 64 38 10 14 18 39 59 13 12 17 54 61 13 14 15 41 55 17 13 12 59 43 19 11 12 58 44 14 9 19 39 45 22 9 11 65 44 16 13 13 62 57 23 9 10 53 28 14 11 17 52 59 15 13 14 50 49 15 6 21 41 53 16 10 16 63 53 12 12 18 49 59 13 12 17 51 49 C, P P R R R Barnsley Birmingham City Blackburn Rovers Bradford City Brighton & Hove Albion Crystal Palace Derby County Grimsby Town Huddersfield Town Hull City Ipswich Town Leeds United Millwall Oldham Athletic Plymouth Argyle Portsmouth Reading Sheffield United Shrewsbury Town Stoke City Sunderland West Bromwich Albion 5 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored QR green1 Promotion to the First Division yellow1 Qualification for the Second Division play-offs red2 Qualification for the Third Division play-offs red1 Relegation to the Third Division Second Division play-offs Semi-finals1st leg –14 May; 2nd leg –17 May 1987 Finals1st leg –23 May; 2nd leg –25 May 1987 30px 200px 19th Charlton Athletic (Div 1) 0 2 2 5th Ipswich Town 0 1 1 3rd Oldham Athletic 0 2 2 4th Leeds United Leeds United won on away goals. 1 1 2 19th Charlton Athletic (Div 1) 1 0 1 4th Leeds United 0 1 1 Replay 29 May 1987 Leeds United 1–2 y Report/Soccerbase Charlton Athletic (Div 1) St. Andrew's, Birmingham 18,000 Charlton Athletic remained in the First Division and Leeds United in the Second Division. Second Division results main FBR grey BAR BIR BLB BRA B&HA CRY DER GRI HUD HUL IPS LEE MIL OLD PLY POR REA SHU SHR STK SUN WBA Barnsley 2–2 1–1 2–0 3–1 2–3 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 2–0 2–2 2–1 0–2 1–0 2–2 Birmingham City 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–0 4–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 2–2 2–1 1–1 1–3 3–2 0–1 1–1 2–1 0–2 0–0 2–0 0–1 Blackburn Rovers 4–2 1–0 2–1 1–1 0–2 3–1 2–2 1–2 0–2 0–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–0 0–0 0–2 2–1 2–1 6–1 0–1 Bradford City 0–0 0–0 2–0 2–0 1–2 0–1 4–2 4–3 2–0 3–4 2–0 4–0 0–3 2–2 1–0 3–0 1–1 0–0 1–4 3–2 1–3 Brighton & Hove Albion 1–1 2–0 0–2 2–2 2–0 0–1 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–2 0–1 0–1 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–1 2–0 3–0 1–0 0–3 2–0 Crystal Palace 0–1 6–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 0–3 1–0 5–1 3–3 1–0 2–1 2–1 0–0 1–0 1–3 1–2 2–3 1–0 2–0 1–1 Derby County 3–2 2–2 3–2 1–0 4–1 1–0 4–0 2–0 1–1 2–1 2–1 1–1 0–1 4–2 0–0 3–0 2–0 3–1 0–0 3–2 1–1 Grimsby Town 0–1 0–1 1–0 0–0 1–2 0–1 0–1 0–1 2–2 1–1 0–0 1–0 2–2 1–1 0–2 3–2 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 3–1 Huddersfield Town 2–2 2–2 1–2 5–2 2–1 1–2 2–0 0–0 1–3 1–2 1–1 3–0 5–4 1–2 2–0 2–0 1–1 2–1 2–2 0–2 2–1 Hull City 3–4 3–2 0–0 2–1 1–0 3–0 1–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 0–0 2–1 1–0 0–3 0–2 0–2 0–0 3–0 0–4 1–0 2–0 Ipswich Town 1–0 3–0 3–1 1–0 1–0 3–0 0–2 1–1 3–0 0–0 2–0 0–0 0–1 3–0 0–1 1–1 2–2 1–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 Leeds United 2–2 4–0 0–0 1–0 3–1 3–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 3–0 3–2 2–0 0–2 4–0 3–1 3–2 0–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 3–2 Millwall 1–0 0–2 2–2 1–2 3–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 4–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–0 3–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 4–0 1–1 1–1 0–1 Oldham Athletic 2–0 2–2 3–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–4 1–1 2–0 0–0 2–1 0–1 2–1 2–1 0–0 4–0 3–1 3–0 2–0 1–1 2–1 Plymouth Argyle 2–0 0–0 1–1 3–2 2–2 3–1 1–1 5–0 1–1 4–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 3–2 2–3 1–0 1–0 3–2 1–3 2–4 1–0 Portsmouth 2–1 2–0 1–0 2–1 1–0 2–0 3–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 3–0 0–1 1–0 1–2 3–0 3–0 3–1 2–1 Reading 0–0 2–2 4–0 0–1 2–1 1–0 2–0 2–3 3–2 1–0 1–4 2–1 0–1 2–3 2–0 2–2 2–0 3–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 Sheffield United 1–0 1–1 4–1 2–2 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–2 0–0 4–2 0–0 0–0 2–1 2–0 2–1 1–0 3–3 1–1 3–1 2–1 1–1 Shrewsbury Town 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 0–0 0–1 4–1 1–2 3–0 2–1 0–2 1–2 2–0 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 4–1 0–1 1–0 Stoke City 1–2 0–2 1–0 2–3 1–1 3–1 0–2 5–1 2–0 1–1 0–0 7–2 2–0 0–2 1–0 1–1 3–0 5–2 1–0 3–0 1–1 Sunderland 2–3 2–0 3–0 2–3 1–1 1–0 1–2 0–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 2–1 0–0 1–1 1–2 1–1 2–0 0–3 West Bromwich Albion 0–1 3–2 0–1 2–2 0–0 1–2 2–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 3–4 3–0 0–1 2–0 0–0 1–0 1–2 1–0 1–2 4–1 2–2 complete Second Division maps Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1986–1987 Greater London 51.398 -0.085 right Greater London 51.481 -0.048 right Crystal Palace Millwall England none 400 Locations of the Football League Second Division 1986–1987 teams England 53.55 -1.48 right England 52.48 -1.89 right England 53.82 -1.73 right England 50.83 -0.15 right England 53.75 -2.48 right England 51.40 -0.085 right England 52.92 -1.476 right England 53.56 -0.068 right England 53.64 -1.78 right England 53.74 -0.33 right England 52.06 1.14 right England 53.78 -1.57 right England 51.48 -0.048 right England 53.54 -2.12 right England 50.39 -4.15 right England 50.80 -1.06 right England 51.41 -0.97 right England 53.37 -1.47 right England 52.71 -2.75 right England 53.00 -2.18 right England 54.91 -1.39 right England 52.52 -1.97 right Barnsley Birmingham Bradford City Brighton & Hove Albion Blackburn Rovers Crystal Palace Derby County Grimsby Town Huddersfield Hull Ipswich Town Leeds U. Millwall Oldham Plymouth Argyle Portsmouth Reading Sheffield United Shrewsbury Stoke Sunderland West Bromwich Albion Third Division The three promotion places in this division were gained by three clubs who were among the least fancied promotion contenders at the start of the season. Champions Bournemouth were promoted to the Second Division for the first time in their history thanks to the efforts of hard working manager Harry Redknapp. Runners-up spot went to Bruce Rioch's Middlesbrough, who had begun the season on the verge of extinction and had been forced to play their first home game of the season at Hartlepool's ground because the official receiver had locked them out of Ayresome Park. The relegation/promotion play-offs between the Third and Fourth Divisions saw Bolton Wanderers go down to the bottom division for the first time. Newport County, Darlington and Carlisle United went down automatically. The Fourth Division would be familiar territory for Newport and Darlington, but Carlisle had not played in the Fourth Division for nearly a quarter of a century and just three years earlier had been in the race for a First Division place. Defeat in the playoffs meant that Bolton Wanderers would be playing Fourth Division football for the first time in their history. Football LeagueThird Division 1986–87 Bournemouth (1st title) Promoted MiddlesbroughSwindon Town Relegated Bolton WanderersCarlisle UnitedDarlingtonNewport County Andy Jones (Port Vale), 29 552 1471 1985–86 1987–88 main WDL Third Division PR 5 BOU Bournemouth MID Middlesbrough SWI Swindon Town WIG Wigan Athletic GIL Gillingham BRC Bristol City NTC Notts County WAL Walsall BLP Blackpool MAN Mansfield Town BRE Brentford PTV Port Vale DON Doncaster Rovers ROT Rotherham United CHE Chester City BRY Bury CHF Chesterfield FUL Fulham BRR Bristol Rovers YOR York City BOL Bolton Wanderers CRL Carlisle United DAR Darlington NPC Newport County 29 10 7 76 40 28 10 8 67 30 25 12 9 77 47 25 10 11 83 60 23 9 14 65 48 21 14 11 63 36 21 13 12 77 56 22 9 15 80 67 16 16 14 74 59 15 16 15 52 55 15 15 16 64 66 15 12 19 76 70 14 15 17 56 62 15 12 19 48 57 13 17 16 61 59 14 13 19 54 60 13 15 18 56 69 12 17 17 59 77 13 12 21 49 75 12 13 21 55 79 10 15 21 46 58 10 8 28 39 78 7 16 23 45 77 8 13 25 49 86 CP P OP R R R R green1 Promotion to the Second Division PRO PRO yellow1 Qualification for the Third Division play-offs PPO PPO PPO red2 Qualification for the Fourth Division play-offs RPO red1 Relegation to the Fourth Division REL REL REL complete https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-three/1987/ 11v11 AFS Enterprises 27 March 2021 League Division Three end of season table for 1986–87 season 30 March 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210330111007/https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-three/1987/ live Third Division play-offs Football League One play-offs#1987 Both the semifinals and the finals were decided over two legs.The full results can be found at: Football League Division Three play-offs 1987. Semi-finals1st leg –14 May; 2nd leg –17 May 1987 Finals1st leg –22 May; 2nd leg –25 May 1987 30px 200px 20th Sunderland (Div 2) 2 4 6 5th Gillingham After the second leg and an extra time the aggregate was 6–6, but Gillingham had scored 3 times at Sunderland, versusSunderland 2 times at Gillingham, and thus Gillingham progressed to finals on away goals. 3 3 6 3rd Swindon Town 3 0 3 4th Wigan Athletic 2 0 2 3rd Swindon Town Swindon won the replay 2–0, and were thus promoted to Division 2. 0 2 2 5th Gillingham 1 1 2 Replay 29 May 1987 Swindon Town 2 –0 Report/Soccerbase Gillingham Selhurst Park, South Norwood, London 18,491 Third Division results main FBR grey BLP BOL BOU BRE BRC BRR BRY CRL CHE CHF DAR DON FUL GIL MAN MID NPC NTC PTV ROT SWI WAL WIG YOR Blackpool 1-1 1-3 2-0 1-0 6-1 1-1 1-2 1-0 0-0 2-1 1-1 1-0 0-1 1-2 0-1 1-1 3-1 2-0 1-0 1-1 1-1 5-1 2-1 Bolton Wanderers 1-0 0-1 0-2 0-0 2-2 2-3 2-0 1-1 1-2 4-3 0-1 3-2 3-0 0-1 0-1 0-1 1-1 3-0 0-0 1-2 1-0 1-2 3-1 Bournemouth 1-1 2-1 1-1 2-0 2-0 1-0 2-1 2-0 2-0 1-0 3-2 3-2 0-2 4-1 3-1 2-1 3-0 0-0 2-0 1-0 1-0 3-1 3-0 Brentford 1-1 1-2 1-1 1-1 1-2 0-2 3-1 3-1 2-2 5-3 1-1 3-3 3-2 3-1 0-1 2-0 1-0 0-2 2-0 1-1 0-1 2-3 3-1 Bristol City 3-1 4-1 2-0 0-2 0-1 2-2 3-0 1-0 1-0 1-1 5-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 2-2 4-0 3-1 1-0 0-1 1-1 2-1 2-1 3-0 Bristol Rovers 2-2 1-0 0-3 0-1 0-0 1-1 4-0 3-2 3-2 2-1 2-3 0-0 0-1 0-0 1-2 2-2 0-0 0-0 0-2 3-4 0-3 1-0 1-0 Bury 4-1 0-0 0-1 1-1 1-2 1-0 0-0 1-1 1-1 2-0 2-0 2-1 1-0 1-1 0-3 4-3 0-2 2-2 0-2 1-2 4-0 1-3 1-0 Carlisle United 3-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-2 2-0 2-1 0-2 3-0 1-0 1-0 1-3 2-4 1-2 0-1 2-2 0-2 2-0 3-5 0-3 0-3 0-2 2-2 Chester City 1-4 0-0 2-2 1-1 0-3 3-1 0-1 2-2 1-1 6-0 1-0 2-2 1-1 1-1 1-2 2-0 1-2 1-2 1-0 2-0 0-0 1-2 2-1 Chesterfield 1-1 0-0 1-1 1-2 0-3 1-1 1-1 3-2 0-1 1-0 4-1 3-1 1-0 0-1 2-1 3-2 1-2 2-4 2-1 1-3 3-2 4-3 1-0 Darlington 1-1 0-1 0-3 1-1 0-0 1-1 4-1 0-1 1-0 1-1 2-2 0-1 1-1 2-1 0-1 1-3 2-1 3-2 1-1 0-0 1-3 1-0 2-2 Doncaster Rovers 2-2 3-0 0-3 2-0 1-0 2-0 0-0 2-0 1-1 1-1 0-0 2-1 2-0 1-0 0-2 0-1 1-2 2-1 3-0 2-2 1-1 1-1 3-1 Fulham 0-1 4-2 1-3 1-3 0-3 2-2 2-1 3-0 0-5 3-1 3-1 0-0 2-2 1-1 2-2 2-0 3-1 0-6 1-1 0-2 2-2 2-2 1-0 Gillingham 2-1 1-0 2-1 2-0 1-1 4-1 1-0 1-0 1-2 3-0 4-1 2-1 4-1 2-0 0-0 1-1 3-1 0-0 1-0 1-0 4-0 0-0 2-0 Mansfield Town 1-1 2-2 1-1 1-0 2-0 5-0 1-3 2-0 2-3 1-1 1-0 2-1 1-1 1-0 1-1 1-0 1-2 0-1 0-0 0-0 2-0 1-5 1-1 Middlesbrough 1-3 0-0 4-0 2-0 1-0 1-0 3-1 1-0 1-2 2-0 1-1 1-0 3-0 3-0 1-0 2-0 2-0 2-2 0-0 1-0 3-1 0-0 3-1 Newport County 1-1 2-1 0-1 2-2 0-1 0-1 2-2 1-1 2-2 1-0 3-0 3-2 0-0 1-2 0-3 0-1 1-1 0-2 1-2 2-2 2-4 1-2 1-1 Notts County 3-2 0-0 1-1 1-1 2-0 3-0 1-2 2-1 1-1 2-1 2-2 3-1 2-3 3-1 0-0 1-0 5-2 4-1 5-0 2-3 2-1 2-0 5-1 Port Vale 1-6 1-1 1-2 4-1 0-0 4-1 2-0 0-1 2-1 2-2 1-2 4-2 0-1 1-2 3-2 0-0 6-1 1-1 1-1 3-4 4-1 0-1 2-3 Rotherham United 1-0 1-0 4-2 2-3 2-0 0-1 2-1 2-1 3-0 0-1 0-0 2-0 0-0 0-1 2-2 1-4 3-1 1-1 1-1 1-2 1-0 0-2 0-0 Swindon Town 2-6 2-0 1-1 2-0 1-2 1-2 1-0 2-0 1-1 2-1 1-0 1-1 2-0 1-1 3-0 1-0 3-0 1-2 1-0 2-0 0-0 3-1 3-1 Walsall 2-1 3-3 2-0 5-2 1-1 0-3 3-1 3-0 2-1 2-0 4-2 1-3 1-1 1-0 2-0 1-0 2-0 1-1 5-2 4-1 1-0 2-3 3-2 Wigan Athletic 4-1 2-1 0-2 1-1 3-1 4-3 1-0 2-0 2-2 1-1 1-1 1-1 2-0 3-1 3-0 0-2 1-2 1-0 2-1 2-1 3-2 5-1 3-2 York City 1-1 2-1 2-0 2-1 1-1 1-0 1-0 2-0 1-1 1-1 3-1 1-1 1-1 2-1 1-3 3-1 3-0 1-1 1-4 2-1 0-3 1-5 1-1 complete Soccerbase Third Division maps Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1986–1987 Greater London 51.486 -0.31 right Greater London 51.475 -0.222 right Brentford Fulham England none 400 Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1986–1987 England 53.81 -3.05 right England 53.59 -2.56 right England 50.73 -1.84 right England 51.486 -0.32 right England 51.42 -2.59 right England 51.47 -2.53 right England 53.58 -2.295 right England 54.90 -2.91 right England 53.19 -2.89 right England 53.24 -1.43 right England 54.53 -1.55 right England 53.52 -1.133 right England 51.45 -0.24 right England 51.38 0.55 right England 53.14 -1.20 right England 54.57 -1.23 right England 51.59 -3.00 right England 52.94 -1.137 right England 53.06 -2.21 right England 53.43 -1.36 right England 51.56 -1.77 right England 52.58 -1.98 right England 53.55 -2.65 right England 53.96 -1.08 right Blackpool Bolton Bournemouth Brentford Bristol City Bristol Rovers Bury Carlisle United Chester Chesterfield Darlington Doncaster Fulham Gillingham Mansfield Town Middlesbrough Newport County Notts County Port Vale Rotherham Swindon Walsall Wigan Athletic York City Fourth Division The stars of the Fourth Division during 1986-87 were Graham Carr's runaway champions Northampton Town, with young midfielder Eddie McGoldrick being the key player in his side's season of success. Northampton were confirmed as promoted with nine matches (19.6% of all matches) remaining, the earliest promotion in Football League history to date.https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/may/29/points-tallies-leverkusen-chelsea-knowledge The Guardian The Knowledge: Is Bayer Leverkusen's 40-point increase between seasons a record? 29 May 2024 31 May 2024 Also automatically promoted were Preston North End and Southend United. The fourth promotion place went to Aldershot by winning the promotion/relegation playoffs. Down at the bottom end of the division, an injury time winner for Torquay United kept them in the Football League after a police dog had bitten one of their players. The introduction of automatic relegation to the Conference saw Lincoln City lose their league status in favour of Conference champions Scarborough. Burnley – league champions 27 years earlier – plummeted to new depths. They finished third from bottom in the league and only a win on the last day of the season prevented them from going down to the Conference. Football LeagueFourth Division 1986–87 Northampton Town (1st title) Promoted AldershotPreston North EndSouthend United Relegated Lincoln City New club in the league Richard Hill (Northampton Town), 29 552 1456 1985–86 1987–88 main WDL Fourth Division PR 5 NOR Northampton Town PNE Preston North End STD Southend United WOL Wolverhampton Wanderers COL Colchester United ALD Aldershot LEY Orient SCU Scunthorpe United WRE Wrexham PET Peterborough United CAM Cambridge United SWA Swansea City CAR Cardiff City EXE Exeter City HAL Halifax Town HER Hereford United CRE Crewe Alexandra HAR Hartlepool United STP Stockport County TRA Tranmere Rovers ROC Rochdale BUR Burnley TOR Torquay United LIN Lincoln City 30 9 7 103 53 26 12 8 72 47 25 5 16 68 55 24 7 15 69 50 21 7 18 64 56 20 10 16 64 57 20 9 17 64 61 18 12 16 73 57 15 20 11 70 51 17 14 15 57 50 17 11 18 60 62 17 11 18 56 61 15 16 15 48 50 11 23 12 53 49 15 10 21 59 74 14 11 21 60 61 13 14 19 70 72 11 18 17 44 65 13 12 21 40 69 11 17 18 54 72 11 17 18 54 73 12 13 21 53 74 10 18 18 56 72 12 12 22 45 65 CP P P OP R green1 Promotion to the Third Division PRO PRO PRO yellow1 Qualification for the Fourth Division play-offs PPO PPO PPO red1 Relegation to the Football Conference REL complete Fourth Division play-offs Football League Two play-offs#1987 Both the semifinals and the finals were decided over two legs, and only the aggregates are given in the schemata below.The full results can be found at: Football League Division Four play-offs 1987. Semi-finals1st leg –14 May; 2nd leg –17 May 1987 Finals1st leg –23 May; 2nd leg –25 May 1987 30px 200px 21st Bolton Wanderers (Div 3) 0 2 2 6th Aldershot 1 2 3 4th Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 0 2 5th Colchester United 0 0 0 6th Aldershot 2 1 3 4th Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 0 0 Fourth Division results main FBR grey ALD BUR CAM CAR COL CRE EXE HAL HAR HER LEY LIN NOR PET PNE ROC SCU STD STP SWA TOR TRA WOL WRE Aldershot 2-0 4-1 1-2 1-0 1-0 2-1 4-1 1-1 1-0 1-2 4-0 3-3 1-1 0-0 2-1 2-1 0-1 3-0 4-1 1-1 0-2 1-2 1-0 Burnley 0-1 0-2 1-3 2-1 4-0 0-0 3-0 1-1 0-6 2-1 3-1 2-1 0-0 1-4 0-3 1-0 2-1 2-0 1-1 2-2 2-2 2-5 0-0 Cambridge United 0-3 3-1 2-1 0-1 0-3 2-2 1-0 3-0 2-1 2-0 1-1 2-3 1-1 2-0 3-0 1-0 1-2 5-0 1-0 3-3 1-1 0-0 1-0 Cardiff City 2-0 1-0 3-0 0-2 1-1 0-0 0-0 4-1 4-0 1-1 1-1 1-1 0-1 1-1 0-0 1-1 0-2 1-1 0-0 3-1 0-2 0-2 0-0 Colchester United 0-1 1-0 1-2 3-1 2-1 1-1 3-1 2-1 2-0 0-0 2-0 3-1 1-3 0-2 2-0 1-0 1-2 5-1 2-1 3-0 1-1 3-0 2-1 Crewe Alexandra 1-3 1-0 0-0 1-2 1-1 2-2 2-2 1-0 1-2 3-2 1-2 0-5 1-3 2-2 5-1 2-2 2-1 5-0 1-1 1-0 3-2 1-1 1-1 Exeter City 4-0 3-0 1-1 0-0 2-0 1-0 2-2 2-0 1-0 1-0 2-0 1-1 1-1 1-2 1-1 0-0 0-0 4-0 2-2 2-2 1-0 1-3 4-2 Halifax Town 1-0 2-2 1-0 1-1 0-0 0-3 2-0 1-0 2-1 4-0 1-2 3-6 1-0 1-3 3-1 1-1 0-1 0-2 1-0 2-4 0-0 3-4 2-1 Hartlepool United 1-1 2-2 2-2 1-1 0-0 0-5 1-0 0-0 0-0 1-3 2-1 3-3 1-2 2-2 1-1 0-2 1-0 1-0 1-1 2-1 1-1 0-1 0-1 Hereford United 1-0 2-0 2-3 0-2 2-3 2-0 1-1 1-0 4-0 1-1 0-0 3-2 2-0 2-3 0-1 2-2 0-1 1-2 2-0 2-2 1-0 2-0 0-0 Leyton Orient 1-3 2-0 3-0 2-0 1-0 1-1 2-0 1-3 2-0 2-0 2-1 0-1 1-0 1-2 3-0 3-1 1-0 1-0 1-4 3-2 2-2 3-1 2-4 Lincoln City 0-2 2-1 0-3 0-1 3-1 2-1 1-1 0-0 1-4 0-0 2-0 3-1 1-2 1-1 1-1 1-2 1-3 0-0 4-0 1-1 3-1 3-0 0-1 Northampton Town 4-2 4-2 3-0 4-1 3-2 2-1 4-0 1-0 1-1 3-2 2-0 3-1 2-1 3-1 5-0 1-0 2-1 2-1 0-1 1-0 2-0 2-1 2-2 Peterborough United 1-1 1-1 2-1 1-2 2-0 1-2 2-2 2-0 3-1 2-1 0-1 0-1 0-1 2-1 1-1 1-1 2-0 0-0 1-1 2-1 2-1 0-1 1-0 Preston North End 1-2 2-1 1-0 0-1 1-0 2-1 2-1 3-2 0-0 2-1 1-0 3-0 1-0 0-0 2-4 2-1 2-0 3-0 2-1 1-1 2-0 2-2 1-0 Rochdale 3-1 0-2 2-0 0-0 1-0 1-1 0-0 5-3 0-2 2-0 0-0 1-1 1-2 3-2 0-2 1-1 1-2 2-1 2-0 3-3 0-1 0-3 3-3 Scunthorpe United 2-0 2-1 1-1 1-3 5-2 2-1 3-1 2-1 1-2 3-1 0-2 2-1 2-2 2-0 4-0 2-0 3-0 1-2 3-2 2-0 6-0 0-2 3-3 Southend United 2-0 2-1 3-1 2-0 1-1 3-1 2-1 2-3 1-1 2-0 2-1 1-0 0-4 2-2 1-2 5-3 3-1 0-0 1-2 4-0 3-0 1-0 0-3 Stockport County 0-0 0-1 3-2 2-0 1-1 2-1 0-0 2-0 0-2 1-2 2-2 1-0 0-3 3-1 1-3 1-1 1-0 0-2 3-1 0-0 0-2 0-2 2-1 Swansea City 2-1 2-2 2-0 2-0 1-2 1-1 1-0 0-2 1-0 1-3 4-1 2-0 2-1 0-1 1-1 1-0 1-2 1-0 3-0 0-1 2-0 1-0 0-3 Torquay United 2-2 1-1 1-0 1-0 3-1 2-2 1-1 1-0 0-1 1-1 2-2 0-1 0-1 1-0 0-2 2-1 2-2 2-1 0-0 3-5 0-2 1-2 2-1 Tranmere Rovers 1-1 2-1 1-1 2-1 3-4 3-2 1-0 3-4 1-1 3-3 1-3 2-0 1-1 1-1 1-1 1-1 1-0 1-3 0-3 1-1 2-2 0-1 0-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 0-1 1-2 0-1 2-0 2-3 2-2 1-2 4-1 1-0 3-1 3-0 1-1 0-3 1-0 0-0 1-0 1-2 3-1 4-0 1-0 2-1 0-3 Wrexham 3-0 2-2 2-1 5-1 0-1 2-1 0-0 3-1 1-1 2-2 1-1 1-1 1-3 4-3 1-1 2-2 1-1 4-0 0-0 0-0 2-1 1-1 0-0 complete Soccerbase Fourth Division maps Greater London right 369 Locations of the Football League Fourth Division London teams 1986–1987 51.570 -0.058 Orient right England none 400 Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1986–1987 England 51.25 -0.75 right England 53.79 -2.25 right England 52.21 0.12 right England 51.47 -3.20 right England 51.89 0.90 right England 53.10 -2.44 right England 50.72 -3.53 right England 53.72 -1.86 right England 54.69 -1.21 right England 52.06 -2.72 right England 51.57 -0.01 right England 53.23 -0.54 right England 52.24 -0.90 right England 52.58 -0.25 right England 53.75 -2.7 right England 53.61 -2.16 right England 53.58 -0.65 right England 51.55 0.70 right England 53.41 -2.16 right England 51.62 -3.95 right England 50.48 -3.52 right England 53.37 -3.04 right England 52.59 -2.13 right England 53.03 -2.98 right Aldershot Burnley Cambridge Utd Cardiff City Colchester Crewe Alexandra Exeter City Halifax Town Hartlepool Hereford United Orient Lincoln City Northampton Town Peterborough Preston North End Rochdale Scunthorpe United Southend Stockport Swansea City Torquay Tranmere Wolverhampton Wanderers Wrexham Attendances Source:Historical attendances https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/eng/aveeng1987.htm 2026-09-06 www.european-football-statistics.co.uk Division One No. Club Average 1 Manchester United 40,594 2 Liverpool FC 36,286 3 Everton FC 32,935 4 Arsenal FC 29,022 5 Tottenham Hotspur FC 25,881 6 Newcastle United FC 24,792 7 Sheffield Wednesday FC 23,148 8 Manchester City FC 21,922 9 West Ham United FC 20,608 10 Nottingham Forest FC 19,086 11 Aston Villa FC 18,172 12 Chelsea FC 17,694 13 Norwich City FC 17,564 14 Coventry City FC 16,120 15 Watford FC 15,800 16 Southampton FC 14,950 17 Queens Park Rangers FC 11,754 18 Leicester City FC 11,697 19 Oxford United FC 10,357 20 Luton Town FC 10,256 21 Charlton Athletic FC 9,012 22 Wimbledon FC 7,811 Division Two No. Club Average 1 Leeds United FC 17,612 2 Derby County FC 15,539 3 Sunderland AFC 13,601 4 Portsmouth FC 13,404 5 Plymouth Argyle FC 12,387 6 Ipswich Town FC 12,123 7 Sheffield United FC 9,992 8 Stoke City FC 9,986 9 West Bromwich Albion FC 9,134 10 Brighton & Hove Albion FC 8,293 11 Bradford City AFC 8,246 12 Crystal Palace FC 7,583 13 Birmingham City FC 7,427 14 Oldham Athletic FC 6,884 15 Reading FC 6,883 16 Blackburn Rovers FC 6,773 17 Hull City FC 6,683 18 Huddersfield Town AFC 6,617 19 Barnsley FC 5,870 20 Grimsby Town FC 5,050 21 Millwall FC 4,304 22 Shrewsbury Town FC 4,097 Division Three No. Club Average 1 Middlesbrough FC 10,174 2 Bristol City FC 9,441 3 Swindon Town FC 7,709 4 AFC Bournemouth 6,611 5 Walsall FC 5,313 6 Gillingham FC 4,971 7 Bolton Wanderers FC 4,851 8 Notts County FC 4,729 9 Fulham FC 4,085 10 Brentford FC 3,918 11 Blackpool FC 3,866 12 York City FC 3,432 13 Wigan Athletic FC 3,398 14 Port Vale FC 3,312 15 Bristol Rovers FC 3,246 16 Mansfield Town FC 3,216 17 Rotherham United FC 2,983 18 Chester City FC 2,732 19 Carlisle United FC 2,644 20 Chesterfield FC 2,576 21 Bury FC 2,502 22 Doncaster Rovers FC 2,408 23 Newport County AFC 2,063 24 Darlington FC 2,037 Division Four No. Club Average 1 Preston North End FC 8,079 2 Northampton Town FC 6,316 3 Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 5,754 4 Swansea City AFC 5,169 5 Peterborough United FC 3,715 6 Southend United FC 3,686 7 Burnley FC 3,342 8 Leyton Orient FC 2,857 9 Cardiff City FC 2,826 10 Cambridge United FC 2,780 11 Colchester United FC 2,740 12 Exeter City FC 2,628 13 Hereford United FC 2,584 14 Wrexham AFC 2,521 15 Aldershot Town FC 2,359 16 Rochdale AFC 2,151 17 Tranmere Rovers 2,126 18 Scunthorpe United FC 2,126 19 Stockport County FC 2,113 20 Lincoln City FC 2,023 21 Crewe Alexandra FC 1,932 22 Torquay United FC 1,777 23 Hartlepool United FC 1,651 24 Halifax Town AFC 1,327 See also 1986–87 in English football References Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane's, London & Sydney, 1980. 1986–87 1–4