1987–88 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season

The 1987–1988 season was the 109th season in Bolton Wanderers F.C.'s existence, and their first season in the Fourth Division following relegation from the Third Division. Until the 2020-21 season, it was the only season that the club had spent in the bottom tier of English football.

Bolton Wanderers
1987–88 season
ChairmanBarry Chaytow
ManagerPhil Neal
StadiumBurnden Park
Fourth Division3rd
FA CupThird round
Littlewoods CupFirst round
Associate Members CupNorthern Section first round
Top goalscorerLeague: John Thomas (22)
All: John Thomas (28)
Highest home attendance9,921 (vs. Burnley,
4 April 1988)
Lowest home attendance3,375 (vs. Preston North End,
13 October 1987)

This article covers the period from 1 July 1987 to 30 June 1988.[1]

Bolton retained the previous season's kit, manufactured by Umbro and sponsored by Normid.

Results

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Division Four

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Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance
15 August 1987 Crewe Alexandra H 1–1 Henshaw 4,792
22 August 1987 Cardiff City H 1–0 Chandler 4,530
29 August 1987 Scarborough A 0–4 4,462
31 August 1987 Peterborough United H 2–0 Thomas (pen), Thompson 3,746
5 September 1987 Hereford United A 3–0 Thomas (2), Morgan 2,541
12 September 1987 Halifax Town H 2–0 Henshaw, Shaw (og) 4,445
15 September 1987 Scunthorpe United A 1–1 Morgan 2,501
19 September 1987 Torquay United A 1–2 Savage 2,211
26 September 1987 Hartlepool United H 1–2 Came 4,398
3 October 1987 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 1–0 Thomas (pen) 3,833
10 October 1987 Darlington A 0–1 1,763
17 October 1987 Carlisle United H 5–0 Brookman (2), Darby, S.Elliott, Wright (og) 4,184
20 October 1987 Exeter City H 1–0 Came 4,165
24 October 1987 Rochdale A 2–2 Thomas (2) (1pen) 4,294
31 October 1987 Swansea City H 1–1 Thompson 4,607
3 November 1987 Newport County A 1–0 S. Elliott 1,566
7 November 1987 Leyton Orient H 1–0 Thomas 5,189
21 November 1987 Burnley A 1– 2 Thomas 7,489
28 November 1987 Cambridge United H 2–2 Thomas (2) 4,294
11 December 1987 Colchester United A 0–3 1,725
15 December 1987 Tranmere Rovers A 0–2 3,064
19 December 1987 Wrexham H 2–0 Thomas 4,703
26 December 1987 Hartlepool United A 0–0 4,102
28 December 1987 Stockport County H 2–1 Storer, Morgan 6,607
1 January 1988 Scarborough H 3–1 Came, Thomas, Thompson 6,295
12 January 1988 Halifax Town A 0–0 2,689
16 January 1988 Torquay United H 1–2 Came 5,996
30 January 1988 Peterborough United H 4–0 Thomas (3) (2pens), Brookman 3,485
6 February 1988 Hereford United H 1–0 Savage 4,559
12 February 1988 Stockport County H 2–1 Brookman, Morgan 4,814
20 February 1988 Crewe Alexandra A 1–2 Morgan 4,305
27 February 1988 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0–4 12,430
1 March 1988 Tranmere Rovers H 2–0 Thompson, Thomas 3,979
5 March 1988 Carlisle United A 2–0 Thomas (pen), Brookman 2,796
11 March 1988 Darlington H 1–1 Brookman 4,948
18 March 1988 Swansea City A 0–1 3,980
26 March 1988 Rochdale H 0–0 4,875
2 April 1988 Leyton Orient A 2–1 Darby, May 4,537
4 April 1988 Burnley H 2–1 May, Thompson 9,921
9 April 1988 Exeter City A 1–1 Thomas 1,962
15 April 1988 Cardiff City A 0–1 6,703
19 April 1988 Scunthorpe United H 0–0 6,669
23 April 1988 Newport County H 6–0 Thomas (3) (1pen), Morgan, Winstanley, Thompson 4,357
29 April 1988 Cambridge United A 2–2 Thomas, Savage 2,063
2 May 1988 Colchester United H 4–0 Thomas, Savage, Came, Chandler 5,540
7 May 1988 Wrexham A 1–0 Savage 5,977

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 27 9 10 82 43 +39 90 Champions - automatically promoted to Third Division
2 Cardiff City 46 24 13 9 66 41 +25 85 Automatically promoted to Third Division; Welsh Cup Winners - qualified for Cup Winners' Cup
3 Bolton Wanderers 46 22 12 12 66 42 +24 78 Automatically promoted to Third Division
4 Scunthorpe United 46 20 17 9 76 51 +25 77 Participated in Fourth Division play-offs
5 Torquay United 46 21 14 11 66 41 +25 77
Source: [citation needed]

FA Cup

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Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance
14 November 1987 Round 1 Burnley A 1–0 Thomas 10,461
5 December 1987 Round 2 Wrexham A 2–1 Thomas 4,703
4 January 1988 Round 3 Barnsley A 1–3 Stevens 9,667

Littlewoods Cup

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Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance
18 August 1987 Round 1 First Leg Wigan Athletic A 3–2 Morgan, Chandler 4,115
25 August 1987 Round 1 Second Leg Wigan Athletic H 1 – 3
4 – 5 (agg)
Thomas 5,847

Associate Members Cup

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Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance
13 October 1987 Group Stage Game One Preston North End H 0–0 3,375
24 November 1987 Group Stage Game Two Stockport County A 3–1 Thomas (2), Brookman 2,123
19 January 1988 Northern Section Round 1 Bury A 0–1 3,796

Top scorers

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P Player Position FL FAC LC AMC Total
1 John Thomas Striker 22 3 1 2 28
2 Trevor Morgan Striker 06 0 1 0 07
3= Steve Thompson Midfielder 06 0 0 0 06
3= Nicky Brookman Striker 05 0 0 1 06
5= Mark Came Defender 05 0 0 0 05
5= Robbie Savage Midfielder 05 0 0 0 05

References

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  1. ^ "Bolton Wanderers 1987–88". bwfcstats.com. Retrieved 7 January 2010.