1986–87 Football League
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The
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...
87 season was the 88th completed season of
The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
. 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 The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...
was introduced for one club, replacing the annual application for
re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be a ...
to the League of the bottom four clubs and linking the League to the developing
National League System The National League System comprises the six levels of the English football league system immediately below the level of the English Football League. It comes under the jurisdiction of the Football Association. The National League System has a ...
pyramid.


Final league tables and results

The tables and results below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found a
The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
website. 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 A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...
. The first casualty of this new practice were Lincoln City.


First Division

The First Division championship went to Everton in their final season under the management of Howard Kendall before his departure to
Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...
. This remains Everton's last league title. His side overcame a spate of injuries to fight off competition from runners-up
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
and third-placed
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
. Fourth place went to George Graham's emerging young
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
side who also won the League Cup in his first season in charge. Fifth place went to newly-promoted
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...
, 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 The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
had it not been for the ongoing ban on English clubs in European competitions.
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
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 Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
enjoyed their highest league position by finishing seventh.
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
manager
Ron Atkinson Ronald Frederick Atkinson (born 18 March 1939) is an English former football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Ron", he was regarded as one of Britain's best-known football pundits in the 1990s and early 2000s. Nicknamed "The Tank" during his ...
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 Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
.
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
manager
Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...
took over, and results began to improve despite no immediate new signings being made, with United finally finishing 11th.
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
, who had come close to winning the title the previous season, slipped to 15th place in 1986–87.
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
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 Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
's
Billy McNeill William McNeill (2 March 1940 – 22 April 2019) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He had a long association with Celtic F.C., Celtic, spanning more than sixty years as a player, m ...
. 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 Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
and
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
. In the first season of the relegation/promotion play-offs, Charlton Athletic beat Second Division
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
to retain their top flight status. No European qualification took place due to
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
voting to ban English clubs from European competitions for a third season following the
Heysel disaster The Heysel Stadium disaster ( ; ; ) was a crowd disaster on 29 May 1985, when Juventus fans were escaping from an attack by Liverpool fans while they were pressed against a wall in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, before the start of ...
in 1985.


Final table


First Division results


Managerial changes


First Division maps


Second Division

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 Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...
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 Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
, 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 Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...
and Ipswich Town failed to progress beyond the semi-finals of the new playoffs, leaving
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
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 Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...
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.


Second Division play-offs

;Replay * Charlton Athletic remained in the First Division and
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
in the Second Division.


Second Division results


Second Division maps


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 Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
were promoted to the Second Division for the first time in their history thanks to the efforts of hard working manager
Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Portsmouth F.C., ...
. Runners-up spot went to Bruce Rioch's
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
, 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 Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...
's ground because the official receiver had locked them out of
Ayresome Park Ayresome Park was a football stadium in the Ayresome area of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Middlesbrough F.C. from its construction in time for the 1903–04 season, until the Riverside Stadium opened in 1995. It ...
. The relegation/promotion play-offs between the Third and Fourth Divisions saw
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
go down to the bottom division for the first time. Newport County,
Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
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 Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
would be playing Fourth Division football for the first time in their history.


Third Division play-offs

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. ;Replay


Third Division results


Third Division maps


Fourth Division

The stars of the Fourth Division during 1986-87 were Graham Carr's runaway champions
Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...
, 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. Also automatically promoted were Preston North End and Southend United. The fourth promotion place went to
Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...
by winning the promotion/relegation playoffs. Down at the bottom end of the division, an injury time winner for
Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...
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 A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...
champions
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...
.
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...
– 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.


Fourth Division play-offs

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.


Fourth Division results


Fourth Division maps


See also

*
1986–87 in English football The 1986–87 season was the 107th season of competitive football in England. Diary of the season 1 July 1986 – After one season at Everton, Gary Lineker departs to Barcelona of Spain in a £2.75 million deal, where he will play alongside ...


References

*Ian Laschke: ''Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79''. Macdonald and Jane's, London & Sydney, 1980. {{DEFAULTSORT:1986-87 Football League English Football League seasons