The 1987–88 season was Manchester United's 86th season in the Football League, and their 13th consecutive season in the top division of

English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...

. The season was a relative success, with the club finishing second in the league, but they did not play in the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

the following season due to the ban on English clubs in Europe after the

Heysel Stadium disaster The Heysel Stadium disaster ( it, Strage dell'Heysel ; german: link=no, Katastrophe von Heysel ; french: Drame du Heysel ; nl, Heizeldrama ) was a crowd disaster that occurred on 29 May 1985 when mostly Juventus fans escaping from a breach by L ...

. They finished nine points behind champions Liverpool, who lost just twice all season and for much of the campaign looked uncatchable. Perhaps the most memorable game of the season was in the league at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...

just before Liverpool's title was confirmed, when United were 3–1 down at half time but fought back to hold the hosts to a 3–3 draw, denying them two points and delaying their bid to seal the title. United lost just five times in the league in 40 games, and lost only once at Old Trafford, but a few disappointing draws against relatively unfancied sides including Charlton and Luton led to crucial points being dropped and prevented them from mounting a serious threat to Liverpool. It was Alex Ferguson's first full season as United manager, and it was the first season at the club for new signings

Brian McClair Brian John McClair (born 8 December 1963) is a Scottish football coach and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a forward from 1980 to 1998, notable for his near 11-year spell at Manchester United where he won 14 trophies includ ...

(who finished the season as one of the First Division's top scorers with 24 goals) and

Viv Anderson Vivian Alexander Anderson, MBE (born 29 July 1956) is an English former professional footballer and coach. He won five senior trophies including the 1977–78 Football League title, and both the 1978–79 European Cup and the 1979–80 Euro ...

. December also saw the arrival of defender Steve Bruce from Norwich City for £900,000, after an approach for Rangers and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

defender

Terry Butcher Terry Ian Butcher (born 28 December 1958) is an English football manager and former player. He works as an academy coach for Ipswich Town. During his playing career as a defender, Butcher captained the England national team, winning 77 caps ...

collapsed when the player suffered a broken leg. After the season's end, Ferguson brought

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...

back to Old Trafford from

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

in a £1.8 million deal that made him United's record signing. He also replaced Chris Turner in goal by paying £500,000 for

Jim Leighton James Leighton (born 24 July 1958) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Leighton started his career with Aberdeen, where he won seven domestic trophies and the 1982–83 European Cup Winners' Cup under the m ...

, who played under Ferguson at

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

. He also attempted to sign Paul Gascoigne from Newcastle United, and a deal was agreed, but while Ferguson was on holiday, Gascoigne agreed to join

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

in the first £2 million fee to be paid by a British club. It was the last season at United for long-serving defender Kevin Moran, who was transferred to

Sporting Gijon Sporting may refer to: *Sport, recreational games and play *Sporting (neighborhood), in Alexandria, Egypt Sports clubs *AC Sporting, a football club from Beirut, Lebanon *Alexandria Sporting Club, a sports club from Alexandria, Egypt *Real Sportin ...

after losing his place in the team to Steve Bruce.

Remi Moses Remi Mark Moses (born 14 November 1960) is an English former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He broke into the first team at West Bromwich Albion under the management of Ron Atkinson in the late 1970s, when Albion were enjoying ...

played his last game for the club before ongoing injury problems forced his retirement from playing, when still in his twenties.

Pre-season and friendlies

Football League Centenary Tournament

First Division

FA Cup

League Cup

Events of the season

Manchester United began the 1987–88 season (the first full season under the management of Alex Ferguson) with new signings in the shape of defender

and striker

, while

Frank Stapleton Francis Anthony Stapleton (born 10 July 1956) is an Irish former professional football player and manager. He is best remembered for his time at Arsenal, Manchester United and as a pivotal player for the Republic of Ireland national team. H ...

and Terry Gibson were both on their way out of Old Trafford. The First Division season began with Manchester United drawing 2–2 at Southampton, with

Norman Whiteside Norman Whiteside (born 7 May 1965) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and striker. Whiteside began his career at Manchester United, signing professional forms in 1982 at the age of 17 and quickly be ...

scores both of United's goals, with Southampton's Danny Wallace scoring both of the home side's goals.

Bryan Robson Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in ...

was sent off on 29 August as Manchester United beat Charlton Athletic 3–1 away in their fourth league game of the season, placing them fifth in the First Division. 18 September 1987: Manchester United also made a bid to sign

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

striker Andy Jones from

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

, but the player instead opted for Charlton Athletic in a £300,000 deal

The good progress which saw Manchester United climb to mid table from near the foot of the First Division following Alex Ferguson's appointment last season continued into this season as they soon established themselves as a top five force and the nearest serious challengers to traditional title favourites Liverpool. Alex Ferguson had long been known to be keen to secure the signing of

, who had to stay outside Britain until at least April 1988 to avoid taxation on money earned since his move from Manchester United to

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

in June 1986, was reported to be on the verge of signing a permanent contract with Bayern Munich of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

after a successful start to his loan spell at the

Olympiastadion Olympiastadion is the German, Finnish and Swedish word for Olympic Stadium and may refer to: * Stockholm Olympic Stadium, the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics (though mostly referred as simply ''Stockholms Stadion'') * Olympiastadion (Berlin), the ...

. His hopes of signing the Rangers and

defender

were dashed when Rangers manager

Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit. A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Ranger ...

offered him a lucrative contract to stay at Ibrox until at least 1993. On a tour of

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

in late November, winger

Clayton Blackmore Clayton Graham Blackmore (born 23 September 1964) is a Welsh former international footballer. He was a combative player known for his attacking free kicks and a utility player who excelled in defence, but could play equally well in midfield. Bl ...

was arrested on allegations of

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

but swiftly released from custody after no charges were brought against him. Alex Ferguson then made a £750,000 bid to bring Steve Bruce to Manchester United from Norwich City, but the offer was rejected. Ferguson had turned his attention back to Bruce following his failure to secure Terry Butcher, having originally been put off Bruce by Norwich's £1 million price tag. A second bid for Steve Bruce - reported to be in the region of £850,000 - was then made, but again rejected. The transfer was finally completed on 18 December at a cost of £900,000 transfer from Norwich City to Manchester United. Ferguson then looked to boost his attack with an offer for Luton Town striker

Mick Harford Michael Gordon Harford (born 12 February 1959) is an English football manager and former professional player. He is the chief recruitment officer at Luton Town, a club where he has spent a large portion of both his playing and non-playing caree ...

, but the player decided to remain at

Kenilworth Road Kenilworth Road is an association football stadium in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international matches, including the second ...

after manager

Ray Harford Raymond Thomas Harford (1 June 1945 – 9 August 2003) was an English footballer, better known for his successes as a coach and manager than as a player. He is considered to have been one of the top coaches of his generation. During his playin ...

offered him a four-year contract. On 10 January 1988, Manchester United's FA Cup quest began with a 2–1 over Ipswich Town in the third round at

Portman Road Portman Road is a football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C. since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one senior England friendly internation ...

. 10 days later, their hopes of Football League Cup glory were ended by a 2–0 defeat at Oxford United in the quarter-final. By the end of the month, however, they had progressed to the FA Cup fifth round with a 2–0 home win over Chelsea. The FA Cup dream ended, however, on 20 February, when they suffered a 2–1 defeat at Arsenal in the fifth round.

, the club's leading goalscorer, missed a late penalty that would have forced a replay.

, who had spent his whole seven-year playing career at Manchester United, handed in a transfer request near the end of March and spoke of his desire to play football in a foreign country. On 4 April, Manchester United pulled off a remarkable 3–3 draw with Liverpool at

in a First Division game which Liverpool had led 3–1 at half time. Manchester United trailed Liverpool, who have two games in hand, by 11 points as they still had five games left to play, so Liverpool inevitably clinched the title within three weeks of this game and United had to settle for second place. On 18 April, Ferguson agreed a deal for

Lee Sharpe Lee Stuart Sharpe (born 27 May 1971) is an English professional golfer, former professional footballer, sports television pundit and reality television personality. As a player was predominantly a left winger from 1988 to 2004, he notably play ...

, the 16-year-old

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

winger, for £200,000 - a record fee for a YTS player. After the end of the season, Ferguson brought Mark Hughes back to Manchester United for a club record fee of £1.8 million and also signed Aberdeen and Scotland goalkeeper

for £500,000. Newcastle United midfielder Paul Gascoigne had looked set to join Manchester United, but then spurned them for a national record £2 million move to Tottenham Hotspur.

Squad statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1987-88 Manchester United F.C. season Manchester United F.C. seasons Manchester United