1987–88 Aston Villa F.C. season

During the 1987–88 English football season, Aston Villa competed in the Football League Second Division and won promotion back to the top flight under manager, Graham Taylor, at their first attempt.

Aston Villa
1987–88 season
ChairmanEngland Doug Ellis
ManagerEngland Graham Taylor
StadiumVilla Park
Second Division2nd (promoted)
FA CupFourth round
League CupFourth round
Second City Derby
41--32--26

Diary of the season

3 Jul 1987 – Chelsea sign defender Tony Dorigo from Aston Villa for £475,000.[1]

31 Aug 1987 – Plymouth Argyle and Barnsley lead the way on goal difference, but fancied Aston Villa are fourth from bottom.[2]

31 Oct 1987 – Aston Villa now stand fourth, with Ipswich Town and Birmingham City close behind.[3]

19 Nov 1987 – Aston Villa boost their Second Division promotion quest with a £150,000 move for Crystal Palace midfielder Andy Gray.

30 Nov 1987 – Middlesbrough and Bradford City are level at the top of the Second Division on 43 points. Aston Villa, Hull City and Crystal Palace occupy the play-off places.[4]

31 Dec 1987 – Graeme Souness signs Aston Villa midfielder Mark Walters for Rangers for £550,000. Middlesbrough lead with a one-point margin over Bradford City. A four-point margin separates their nearest six challengers – Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Millwall, Hull City, Manchester City and Ipswich Town.[5]

11 Jan 1988 – Dave Bassett is sacked after just six months in charge of Watford, who are currently bottom of the First Division. He is succeeded by Aston Villa assistant manager Steve Harrison.

26 Jan 1988 – Aston Villa boost their Second Division promotion challenge with the £200,000 acquisition of highly rated Crewe Alexandra midfielder David Platt, 21.

31 Jan 1988 – Aston Villa have crept to the top of the Second Division, while Crystal Palace have risen to second place. Middlesbrough, Millwall and Blackburn Rovers occupy the play-off zone, while Bradford City have slid from second to sixth place in the space of a few weeks. Leicester City, relegated from the First Division last season, are now in the Second Division relegation play-off places.[6]

29 Feb 1988 – The Second Division promotion race sees Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers level at the top of the table, with Millwall, Middlesbrough and Bradford City occupying the play-off places.[7]

31 Mar 1988 – Aston Villa remain top of the Second Division with a two-point margin over Blackburn Rovers, with the play-off places being occupied by Middlesbrough, Millwall and Bradford City. Leeds United, Crystal Palace and Stoke City remain in strong contention for promotion as well.[8]

30 Apr 1988 – The promotion issues in the Second Division have yet to be confirmed, with just four points separating the top five clubs – Millwall, Aston Villa, Bradford City, Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers.[9]

26 May 1988 – Aston Villa prepare for their First Division comeback by signing Derek Mountfield from Everton for £425,000 and Chris Price from Blackburn Rovers for £150,000.

League table

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

References
  1. Tony Dorigo: Career statistics. soccerbase. Retrieved 8 June 2013
  2. Entertainment & Sports Agency Limited. "Aston Villa FC News – VillaMAD". Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  3. Aston Villa FC News – VillaMAD. Astonvilla-mad.co.uk (31 October 1987). Retrieved on 23 March 2011.
  4. Aston Villa FC News – VillaMAD. Astonvilla-mad.co.uk (28 November 1987). Retrieved on 23 March 2011.
  5. Aston Villa FC News – VillaMAD. Astonvilla-mad.co.uk (28 December 1987). Retrieved on 23 March 2011.
  6. Aston Villa FC News – VillaMAD. Astonvilla-mad.co.uk (23 January 1988). Retrieved on 23 March 2011.
  7. Aston Villa FC News – VillaMAD. Astonvilla-mad.co.uk (27 February 1988). Retrieved on 23 March 2011.
  8. Aston Villa FC News – VillaMAD. Astonvilla-mad.co.uk (26 March 1988). Retrieved 23 March 2011
  9. Aston Villa FC News – VillaMAD. Astonvilla-mad.co.uk (23 April 1988). Retrieved on 23 March 2011.



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