1987–88 Middlesbrough F.C. season

Leeds United)
Lowest home attendance	Home: 9,344 (vs Swindon Town); Away: 5,603 (vs Shrewsbury Town)
	← 1986–87 1988–89 →

During the 1987–88 season,

previous season. They were promoted to the First Division

at the end of the season having finished third in the league and winning the play-offs.

Team kit and sponsors

During the 1987–88 season, Middlesbrough moved to a striped white top half on their home kit with the kits made by Skill and sponsored by Dickens.[1]

League table

Pos	Team v t e	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	Promotion to the First Division
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

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

League Results

Football League First Division

15 August 1987 1	Middlesbrough	1–1	Millwall	Middlesbrough
	Stephens			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 11,471

22 August 1987 2	Stoke City	2–0	Middlesbrough	Stoke-on-Trent
				Stadium: Victoria Ground Attendance: 9,345

29 August 1987 3	Oldham Athletic	Middlesbrough
	Slaven			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 10,551

17 September 1988 4	Crystal Palace	3–1	Middlesbrough	London
			Slaven	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 6,671

5 September 1987 5	Middlesbrough	2–3	Swindon Town	Middlesbrough
	Stephens Slaven			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 9,344

8 September 1987 6	Aston Villa	0–1	Middlesbrough	Birmingham
			Kerr	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 12,665

15 September 1987 7	Bournemouth	Middlesbrough
	Hamilton , Slaven			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 9,660

19 September 1987 8	Middlesbrough	2–0	Leeds United	Middlesbrough
	Kerr Pallister			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 12,051

26 September 1987 9	Blackburn Rovers	0–2	Middlesbrough	Blackburn
			Kerr Kernaghan	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 6,879

29 September 1987 10	Middlesbrough	0–0	Reading	Middlesbrough
				Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 19,788

3 October 1987 11	Bradford City	2–0	Middlesbrough	Bradford
				Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 14,114

Huddersfield Town v Middlesbrough

10 October 1987 12	Huddersfield Town	1–4	Middlesbrough	Huddersfield
			Slaven , , Laws	Stadium: Leeds Road Attendance: 6,169

Middlesbrough v West Brom

17 October 1987 13	Middlesbrough	2–1	West Brom	Middlesbrough
	Cooper Slaven			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 10,684

20 October 1987 14	Middlesbrough	3–1	Ipswich Town	Middlesbrough
	Kernaghan Pallister Slaven			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 10,491

24 October 1987 15	Birmingham City	0–0	Middlesbrough	Birmingham
				Stadium: St Andrew's Attendance: 7,404

31 October 1987 16	Middlesbrough	4–0	Shrewsbury Town	Middlesbrough
	Kernaghan Slaven , ,			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 10,183

4 November 1987 17	Manchester City	1–1	Middlesbrough	Manchester
			Glover	Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 18,434

26 December 1988 18	Sheffield United	0–2	Middlesbrough	Sheffield
			Ripley Slaven	Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 11,278

14 November 1987 19	Hull City	Middlesbrough
	Ripley			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 15,709

2 January 1989 20	Plymouth Argyle	0–1	Middlesbrough	Plymouth
			Hamilton	Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 9,428

28 November 1987 21	Middlesbrough	2–0	Barnsley	Middlesbrough
	Kernaghan Slaven			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 12,732

5 December 1987 22	Leicester City	0–0	Middlesbrough	Leicester
				Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 9,411

12 December 1987 23	Middlesbrough	2–0	Stoke City	Middlesbrough
	Hamilton Slaven			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 12,289

19 December 1987 24	Bournemouth	0–0	Middlesbrough	Bournemouth
				Stadium: Dean Court Attendance: 6,792

Middlesbrough v Blackburn Rovers

26 December 1987 25	Middlesbrough	1–1	Blackburn Rovers	Middlesbrough
	Slaven			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 23,536

28 December 1987 26	Leeds United	2–0	Middlesbrough	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 34,186

1 January 1988 27	Oldham Athletic	3–1	Middlesbrough	Oldham
			Kerr	Stadium: Boundary Park Attendance: 8,181

Millwall v Middlesbrough

16 January 1988 28	Millwall	2–1	Middlesbrough	London
			Slaven	Stadium: The Den Attendance: 8,617

23 January 1988 29	Middlesbrough	2–1	Crystal Palace	Middlesbrough
	Mowbray Glover (p)			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 12,597

6 February 1988 30	Swindon Town	1–1	Middlesbrough	Swindon
			Mowbray	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 9,941

14 February 1988 31	Middlesbrough	2–1	Aston Villa	Middlesbrough
	Mowbray Kernaghan		Daley	Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 16,957

20 February 1988 32	Reading	0–0	Middlesbrough	Reading
				Stadium: Elm Park Attendance: 6,706

27 February 1988	Bradford City	Middlesbrough
	Cooper			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 21,079

5 March 1988 34	West Bromwich Albion	0–0	Middlesbrough	West Bromwich
				Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 8,316

12 March 1988 35	Huddersfield Town	Middlesbrough
	Kerr Glover (p)			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 13,866

19 March 1988 36	Shrewsbury Town	0–1	Middlesbrough	Shrewsbury
			Glover (p)	Stadium: Gay Meadow Attendance: 5,603

26 March 1988 37	Middlesbrough	1–1	Birmingham City	Middlesbrough
	Pallister			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 15,465

2 April 1988 38	Middlesbrough	6–0	Sheffield United	Middlesbrough
	Ripley , , Senior , Slaven			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 17,340

4 April 1988 39	Hull
				Stadium: Boothferry Park Attendance: 10,758

9 April 1988 40	Middlesbrough	2–1	Manchester City	Middlesbrough
	Hamilton Ripley			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 19,443

23 April 1988 41	Ipswich Town	4–0	Middlesbrough	Ipswich
				Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 12,773

30 April 1988 42	Middlesbrough	3–1	Plymouth Argyle	Middlesbrough
	Kernaghan Hamilton Ripley			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 16,615

2 May 1988 43	Barnsley	0–3	Middlesbrough	Barnsley
			Ripley Slaven ,	Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 13,240

7 May 1988 44	Middlesbrough	1–2	Leicester City	Middlesbrough
	Slaven ,		McAllister Weir	Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 27,645

Play-offs

15 May 1988 Semi final 1st leg	Bradford City	2–1	Middlesbrough	Bradford
	Goddard 67' McCall		Senior 68'	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 16,017 Referee: David Scott

18 May 1988 Semi final 2nd leg	Bradford City	Middlesbrough
	Slaven 35' Hamilton 91'			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 25,868 Referee: Joe Worrall

Middlesbrough v Chelsea

25 May 1988 Final 1st leg	Middlesbrough	2–0	Chelsea	Middlesbrough
	Senior 30' Slaven 81'			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 25,531 Referee: Keith Hackett

15 May 1988 Final 2nd leg	Chelsea	1–0	Middlesbrough	London
	Durie 18'			Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 40,550 Referee: Brian Hill

Cup Results

League Cup

18 August 1987 1st Round 1st leg	Sunderland	1–0	Middlesbrough	Sunderland
				Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 15,770

25 August 1987 1st Round 2nd leg	Middlesbrough	2–0	Sunderland	Middlesbrough
	Mowbray Slaven			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 15,570

23 September 1987 2nd Round 1st leg	Middlesbrough	0–1	Aston Villa	Middlesbrough
			Aspinall	Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 11,424

7 October 1987 2nd Round 2nd leg	Aston Villa	1–0	Middlesbrough	Birmingham
	Birch			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 11,702

FA Cup

9 January 1988 3rd Round	Sutton United	1–1	Middlesbrough	Sutton
			Pallister	Stadium: Gander Green Lane Attendance: 5,600

12 January 1988 3rd Round Replay	Middlesbrough	1–0	Sutton United	Middlesbrough
	Kerr			Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 17,932

30 January 1988 4th Round	Everton	1–1	Middlesbrough	Liverpool
	Sharp		Kerr	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 36,564

3 February 1988 4th Round Replay	Middlesbrough	2–2	Everton	Middlesbrough
	Mowbray Kernaghan		Steven Watson	Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 25,235

30 January 1988 4th Round 2nd Replay	Everton	2–1	Middlesbrough	Liverpool
	Sharp Mowbray (og)		Ripley	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 32,222

Simod Cup

10 November 1987 1st Round	Ipswich Town	1–0	Middlesbrough	Ipswich
				Attendance: 6,108

Squad

Appearances and goals

Appearance and goalscoring records for all the players who were in the Middlesbrough F.C. first team squad during the 1987–88 season.^[2]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Division 2		FA Cup		League Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	ENG	Stephen Pears	55	0	47	0	4	0	4	0
	GK	ENG	Kevin Poole	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	Colin Cooper	55	2	46	2	5	0	4	0
	DF	ENG	Dean Glover	50	4	42	4	4	0	4	0
	DF	IRL	Alan Kernaghan	42	7	36	6	3	1	3	0
	DF	ENG	Tony Mowbray	57	5	48	3	5	1	4	1
	DF	ENG	Gary Pallister	57	3	48	3	5	0	4	0
	DF	ENG	Brian Laws	37	1	31	1	5	0	1	0
	DF	ENG	Gary Parkinson	51	0	42	0	5	0	4	0
	MF	ENG	Gary Gill	6	0	3	0	2	0	1	0
	MF	ENG	Gary Hamilton	54	7	45	7	5	0	4	0
	MF	ENG	Paul Kerr	57	7	48	5	5	2	4	0
	MF	ENG	Stuart Ripley	55	9	47	8	4	1	4	0
	MF	ENG	Mark Burke	18	0	16	0	2	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Paul Proudlock	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	IRL	Bernie Slaven	57	24	48	23	5	0	4	1
	MF	ENG	Trevor Senior	10	4	10	4	0	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Archie Stephens	14	2	11	2	0	0	3	0

Coaching staff

Manager: Bruce Rioch
Assistant manager: Colin Todd

Transfers

In

Date	Player	Previous club	Cost
August 1987	Kevin Poole	Aston Villa	Free
June 1987	Dean Glover	Aston Villa	£60,000
December 1987	Mark Burke	Aston Villa	£50,000
January 1988	Tony Cousins	Chelsea	Free
March 1988	Trevor Senior	Watford	£223,000

Out

Date	Player	Buying club	Cost
August 1987	Lee Turnbull	Aston Villa	£59,000
July 1987	Ronnie Coyle	Rochdale	Free
December 1987	Archie Stephens	Carlisle	Free

References and notes

^ "Middlesbrough". historicalkits.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
^ "All Middlesbrough football club players: 1988". Statto. Retrieved 4 April 2023.

Category:Middlesbrough F.C. seasons Middlesbrough

[1] "Middlesbrough". historicalkits.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2023.

[Stats-2] "All Middlesbrough football club players: 1988". Statto. Retrieved 4 April 2023.

[2]