1986–87 Football League

The 1986–87 season was the 88th completed season of The Football League.

The Football League
Season1986–87
ChampionsEverton
RelegatedLincoln City

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.[1]

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
Season1986–87
ChampionsEverton
9th English title
RelegatedLeicester City
Manchester City
Aston Villa
Matches played462
Goals scored1,215 (2.63 per match)
Top goalscorerClive Allen
(33 goals)[2]
Biggest home winNottingham Forest 6–0 Aston Villa
(20 September 1986)
Sheffield Wednesday 7–1 Queens Park Rangers
(2 May 1987)
Biggest away winChelsea 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)
Highest scoringChelsea 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)
Longest winning run7 matches
Everton
Longest unbeaten run17 matches
Arsenal
Longest losing run6 matches
Newcastle United

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 pundits 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 United board had initially decided to stick with Atkinson as manager for the 1986–87 season, but finally sacked him in November with 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 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

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Everton (C) 42 26 8 8 76 31 +45 86 Disqualified from the European Cup
2 Liverpool 42 23 8 11 72 42 +30 77 Disqualified from the UEFA Cup
3 Tottenham Hotspur 42 21 8 13 68 43 +25 71
4 Arsenal[lower-alpha 1] 42 20 10 12 58 35 +23 70
5 Norwich City 42 17 17 8 53 51 +2 68
6 Wimbledon 42 19 9 14 57 50 +7 66
7 Luton Town 42 18 12 12 47 45 +2 66
8 Nottingham Forest 42 18 11 13 64 51 +13 65
9 Watford 42 18 9 15 67 54 +13 63
10 Coventry City[lower-alpha 2] 42 17 12 13 50 45 +5 63 Disqualified from the European Cup Winners' Cup
11 Manchester United 42 14 14 14 52 45 +7 56
12 Southampton 42 14 10 18 69 68 +1 52
13 Sheffield Wednesday 42 13 13 16 58 59 −1 52
14 Chelsea 42 13 13 16 53 64 −11 52
15 West Ham United 42 14 10 18 52 67 −15 52
16 Queens Park Rangers 42 13 11 18 48 64 −16 50
17 Newcastle United 42 12 11 19 47 65 −18 47
18 Oxford United 42 11 13 18 44 69 −25 46
19 Charlton Athletic (O) 42 11 11 20 45 55 −10 44 Qualification for the Second Division play-offs
20 Leicester City (R) 42 11 9 22 54 76 −22 42 Relegation to the Second Division
21 Manchester City (R) 42 8 15 19 36 57 −21 39
22 Aston Villa (R) 42 8 12 22 45 79 −34 36
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Arsenal would have qualified as League Cup winners.
  2. Coventry City would have qualified as FA Cup winners.

First Division results
Home \ Away 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
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
Arsenal England Steve Burtenshaw End of caretaker spell 14 May 1986 Pre-season Scotland George Graham 14 May 1986
Tottenham Hotspur Wales Peter Shreeves Sacked 15 May 1986 England David Pleat 16 May 1986
Luton Town England David Pleat Signed by Tottenham Hotspur 16 May 1986 Scotland John Moore 16 May 1986
Leicester City England Gordon Milne Became general manager 3 June 1986 Northern Ireland Bryan Hamilton 3 June 1986
Aston Villa England Graham Turner Sacked 16 September 1986 21st Scotland Billy McNeill 22 September 1986
Manchester City Scotland Billy McNeill Signed by Aston Villa 22 September 1986 15th Scotland Jimmy Frizzell 22 September 1986
Manchester United England Ron Atkinson Sacked 6 November 1986 19th Scotland Alex Ferguson 7 November 1986
Aston Villa Scotland Billy McNeill 6 May 1987 22nd Scotland Ron Wylie (caretaker) 6 May 1987

First Division maps
Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1986–1987
Locations of the Football League First Division 1986–1987 teams

Second Division
Second Division
Season1986–87
ChampionsDerby County
PromotedDerby County
Portsmouth
RelegatedSunderland
Grimsby Town
Brighton & Hove Albion
Matches played462
Goals scored1,131 (2.45 per match)
Top goalscorerMicky Quinn
(22 goals)[2]

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.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Derby County (C, P) 42 25 9 8 64 38 +26 84 Promotion to the First Division
2 Portsmouth (P) 42 23 9 10 53 28 +25 78
3 Oldham Athletic 42 22 9 11 65 44 +21 75 Qualification for the Second Division play-offs
4 Leeds United 42 19 11 12 58 44 +14 68
5 Ipswich Town 42 17 13 12 59 43 +16 64
6 Crystal Palace 42 19 5 18 51 53 −2 62
7 Plymouth Argyle 42 16 13 13 62 57 +5 61
8 Stoke City 42 16 10 16 63 53 +10 58
9 Sheffield United 42 15 13 14 50 49 +1 58
10 Bradford City 42 15 10 17 62 62 0 55
11 Barnsley 42 14 13 15 49 52 −3 55
12 Blackburn Rovers 42 15 10 17 45 55 −10 55
13 Reading 42 14 11 17 52 59 −7 53
14 Hull City 42 13 14 15 41 55 −14 53
15 West Bromwich Albion 42 13 12 17 51 49 +2 51
16 Millwall 42 14 9 19 39 45 −6 51
17 Huddersfield Town 42 13 12 17 54 61 −7 51
18 Shrewsbury Town 42 15 6 21 41 53 −12 51
19 Birmingham City 42 11 17 14 47 59 −12 50
20 Sunderland (R) 42 12 12 18 49 59 −10 48 Qualification for the Third Division play-offs
21 Grimsby Town (R) 42 10 14 18 39 59 −20 44 Relegation to the Third Division
22 Brighton & Hove Albion (R) 42 9 12 21 37 54 −17 39
Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Second Division play-offs
Semi-finals
1st leg –14 May; 2nd leg –17 May 1987 		Finals
1st leg –23 May; 2nd leg –25 May 1987
          
19th Charlton Athletic (Div 1) 0 2 2
5th Ipswich Town 0 1 1
19th Charlton Athletic (Div 1) 1 0 1
4th Leeds United 0 1 1
3rd Oldham Athletic 0 2 2
4th Leeds United [notes2 1] 1 1 2
  1. Leeds United won on away goals.
Replay
Leeds United1 –2 (a.e.t.)Charlton Athletic (Div 1)
Report/Soccerbase
Attendance: 18,000

Second Division results
Home \ Away 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
Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second Division maps
Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1986–1987
Locations of the Football League Second Division 1986–1987 teams

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 League, Third Division
Season1986–87
ChampionsBournemouth (1st title)
PromotedMiddlesbrough,
Swindon Town
RelegatedBolton Wanderers,
Carlisle United,
Darlington,
Newport County
Matches played552
Goals scored1,471 (2.66 per match)
Top goalscorerAndy Jones (Port Vale), 29[2]

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Bournemouth 46 19 3 1 44 14 10 7 6 32 26 +36 97 Division Champions, promoted
2 Middlesbrough 46 16 5 2 38 11 12 5 6 29 19 +37 94 Promoted
3 Swindon Town 46 14 5 4 37 19 11 7 5 40 28 +30 87 Promoted through play-offs[lower-alpha 1]
4 Wigan Athletic 46 15 5 3 47 26 10 5 8 36 34 +23 85 Participated in play-offs
5 Gillingham 46 16 5 2 42 14 7 4 12 23 34 +17 78
6 Bristol City 46 14 6 3 42 15 7 8 8 21 21 +27 77
7 Notts County 46 14 6 3 52 24 7 7 9 25 32 +21 76
8 Walsall 46 16 4 3 50 27 6 5 12 30 40 +13 75
9 Blackpool 46 11 7 5 35 20 5 9 9 39 39 +15 64
10 Mansfield Town 46 9 9 5 30 23 6 7 10 22 32 −3 61
11 Brentford 46 9 7 7 39 32 6 8 9 25 34 −2 60
12 Port Vale 46 8 6 9 43 36 7 6 10 33 34 +6 57
13 Doncaster Rovers 46 11 8 4 32 19 3 7 13 24 43 −6 57
14 Rotherham United 46 10 6 7 29 23 5 6 12 19 34 −9 57
15 Chester City 46 7 9 7 32 28 6 8 9 29 31 +2 56
16 Bury 46 9 7 7 30 26 5 6 12 24 34 −6 55
17 Chesterfield 46 11 5 7 36 33 2 10 11 20 36 −13 54
18 Fulham 46 8 8 7 35 41 4 9 10 24 36 −18 53
19 Bristol Rovers 46 7 8 8 26 29 6 4 13 23 46 −26 51
20 York City 46 11 8 4 34 29 1 5 17 21 50 −24 49
21 Bolton Wanderers 46 8 5 10 29 26 2 10 11 17 32 −12 45 Relegated in play-offs[lower-alpha 2]
22 Carlisle United 46 7 5 11 26 35 3 3 17 13 43 −39 38 Relegated
23 Darlington 46 6 10 7 25 28 1 6 16 20 49 −32 37
24 Newport County 46 4 9 10 26 34 4 4 15 23 52 −37 37
Source: [3]
Notes:
  1. Swindon Town were winners of the play-offs and were thus promoted.
  2. Bolton Wanderers lost in the first round of the play-offs and were thus relegated.

Third Division play-offs
Main article: 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-finals
1st leg –14 May; 2nd leg –17 May 1987 		Finals
1st leg –22 May; 2nd leg –25 May 1987
          
20th Sunderland (Div 2) 2 4 6
5th Gillingham [notes4 1] 3 3 6
3rd Swindon Town [notes4 2] 0 2 2
5th Gillingham 1 1 2
3rd Swindon Town 3 0 3
4th Wigan Athletic 2 0 2
Replay
Swindon Town2 –0Gillingham
Report/Soccerbase
Attendance: 18,491
  1. After the second leg and an extra time the aggregate was 6–6, but Gillingham had scored 3 times at Sunderland, versus
    Sunderland 2 times at Gillingham, and thus Gillingham progressed to finals on away goals.
  2. Swindon won the replay 2–0, and were thus promoted to Division 2.

Third Division results
Home \ Away 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
Source: Soccerbase
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Fourth Division play-offs
Main article: 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-finals
1st leg –14 May; 2nd leg –17 May 1987 		Finals
1st leg –23 May; 2nd leg –25 May 1987
          
21st Bolton Wanderers (Div 3) 0 2 2
6th Aldershot 1 2 3
6th Aldershot 2 1 3
4th Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 0 0
4th Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 0 2
5th Colchester United 0 0 0

Third Division maps
Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1986–1987
Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1986–1987

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. 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 League, Fourth Division
Season1986–87
ChampionsNorthampton Town (1st title)
PromotedAldershot,
Preston North End,
Southend United
RelegatedLincoln City
Matches played552
Goals scored1,456 (2.64 per match)
Top goalscorerRichard Hill (Northampton Town), 29[2]

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Northampton Town 46 20 2 1 56 20 10 7 6 47 33 +50 99 Division Champions, promoted
2 Preston North End 46 16 4 3 36 18 10 8 5 36 29 +25 90 Promoted
3 Southend United 46 14 4 5 43 27 11 1 11 25 28 +13 80
4 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 12 3 8 36 24 12 4 7 33 26 +19 79 Participated in play-offs
5 Colchester United 46 15 3 5 41 20 6 4 13 23 36 +8 70
6 Aldershot 46 13 5 5 40 22 7 5 11 24 35 +7 70 Promoted through play-offs[lower-alpha 1]
7 Leyton Orient 46 15 2 6 40 25 5 7 11 24 36 +3 69
8 Scunthorpe United 46 15 3 5 52 27 3 9 11 21 30 +16 66
9 Wrexham 46 8 13 2 38 24 7 7 9 32 27 +19 65
10 Peterborough United 46 10 7 6 29 21 7 7 9 28 29 +7 65
11 Cambridge United 46 12 6 5 37 23 5 5 13 23 39 −2 62
12 Swansea City 46 13 3 7 31 21 4 8 11 25 40 −5 62
13 Cardiff City 46 6 12 5 24 18 9 4 10 24 32 −2 61
14 Exeter City 46 11 10 2 37 17 0 13 10 16 32 +4 56
15 Halifax Town 46 10 5 8 32 32 5 5 13 27 42 −15 55
16 Hereford United 46 10 6 7 33 23 4 5 14 27 38 −1 53
17 Crewe Alexandra 46 8 9 6 38 35 5 5 13 32 37 −2 53
18 Hartlepool United 46 6 11 6 24 30 5 7 11 20 35 −21 51
19 Stockport County 46 9 6 8 25 27 4 6 13 15 42 −29 51
20 Tranmere Rovers 46 6 10 7 32 37 5 7 11 22 35 −18 50
21 Rochdale 46 8 8 7 31 30 3 9 11 23 43 −19 50
22 Burnley 46 9 7 7 31 35 3 6 14 22 39 −21 49
23 Torquay United 46 8 8 7 28 29 2 10 11 28 43 −16 48
24 Lincoln City 46 8 7 8 30 27 4 5 14 15 38 −20 48 Relegated to Conference
Source:
Notes:
  1. Aldershot were winners of the play-offs and were thus promoted.

Fourth Division results
Home \ Away 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
Source: Soccerbase
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Fourth Division maps
Locations of the Football League Fourth Division London teams 1986–1987
Locations of the Football League Fourth Division teams 1986–1987

See also

References
  1. "England 1986–87". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  2. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  3. "League Division Three end of season table for 1986–87 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  • Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane's, London & Sydney, 1980.
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