1987–88 Northampton Town F.C. season

Northampton Town
1987–88 season
ChairmanDerek Banks
ManagerGraham Carr
StadiumCounty Ground
Division Three6th
FA CupSecond round
Littlewoods CupSecond round
Sherpa Vans TrophyPreliminary round
Top goalscorerLeague: Tony Adcock
Paul Culpin
Trevor Morley (10)

All: Trevor Morley (16)
Highest home attendance7,934 vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Lowest home attendance3,076 vs Brentford
Average home league attendance5,514

The 1987–88 season was Northampton Town's 91st season in their history and the first season back in the Third Division after an eleven year absence, following promotion the previous season. Alongside competing in Division Three, the club also participated in the FA Cup, League Cup and Associate Members' Cup.

Players

As of match played 2 May 1988.[1]
Name Position Nat. Place of Birth Date of Birth (Age) Apps Goals Previous club Date signed Fee
Goalkeepers
Peter Gleasure GK England Luton (1960-10-08)8 October 1960 (aged 27) 277 0 Millwall March 1983
Alan Harris GK England Nuneaton (1969-04-13)13 April 1969 (aged 19) 0 0 Nuneaton Town Summer 1986 £15,000[2]
Defenders
David Logan LB England Middlesbrough (1963-12-05)5 December 1963 (aged 24) 46 1 Mansfield Town February 1987
Keith McPherson CB England Greenwich (1963-09-11)11 September 1963 (aged 24) 116 6 West Ham United 23 January 1986 £10,000[3]
Graham Reed RB England Doncaster (1961-06-24)24 June 1961 (aged 26) 127 2 Frickley Athletic Summer 1985 £6,000
Bradley Sandeman RB England Northampton (1970-02-24)24 February 1970 (aged 18) 2 0 Apprentice January 1988 N/A
Trevor Slack CB England Peterborough (1962-09-26)26 September 1962 (aged 25) 13 1 Grimsby Town 10 February 1988 Nominal Fee
Russ Wilcox CB England Hemsworth (1964-03-25)25 March 1964 (aged 24) 95 8 Frickley Athletic 30 June 1986 £15,000[4]
Paul Wilson LB England Bradford (1968-08-02)2 August 1968 (aged 19) 15 1 Norwich City 11 April 1988 £30,000
Midfielders
Warren Donald CM England Hillingdon (1964-10-07)7 October 1964 (aged 23) 141 11 West Ham United 4 October 1985 £11,000[5]
Dave Gilbert W England Lincoln (1963-06-22)22 June 1963 (aged 24) 102 19 Boston United Summer 1986
Eddie McGoldrick W England Islington (1965-04-30)30 April 1965 (aged 23) 101 8 Nuneaton Town Summer 1986 £15,000[6]
Martin Singleton (c) CM England Banbury (1963-08-02)2 August 1963 (aged 24) 31 3 West Bromwich Albion 7 November 1987 £57,500
Forwards
Tony Adcock FW England Bethnal Green (1963-03-27)27 March 1963 (aged 25) 18 10 Manchester City 25 January 1988 £85,000 P/E
Paul Culpin FW England Kirby Muxloe (1962-02-08)8 February 1962 (aged 26) 24 10 Coventry City 10 October 1987 £50,000
Glen Donegal FW England Northampton (1969-06-20)20 June 1969 (aged 18) 13 2 Apprentice January 1987 N/A
David Longhurst FW England Northampton (1965-01-15)15 January 1965 (aged 23) 41 9 Halifax Town 3 July 1987 £40,000

Competitions

Barclays League Division Three

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Relegation
1 Sunderland (C, P) 46 27 12 7 92 48 +44 93 Promotion to the Second Division
2 Brighton & Hove Albion (P) 46 23 15 8 69 47 +22 84
3 Walsall (O, P) 46 23 13 10 68 50 +18 82 Qualification for the Third Division play-offs
4 Notts County 46 23 12 11 82 49 +33 81
5 Bristol City 46 21 12 13 77 62 +15 75
6 Northampton Town 46 18 19 9 70 51 +19 73
7 Wigan Athletic 46 20 12 14 70 61 +9 72
8 Bristol Rovers 46 18 12 16 68 56 +12 66
9 Fulham 46 19 9 18 69 60 +9 66
10 Blackpool 46 17 14 15 71 62 +9 65
11 Port Vale 46 18 11 17 58 56 +2 65
12 Brentford 46 16 14 16 53 59 −6 62
13 Gillingham 46 14 17 15 77 61 +16 59
14 Bury 46 15 14 17 58 57 +1 59
15 Chester City 46 14 16 16 51 62 −11 58
16 Preston North End 46 15 13 18 48 59 −11 58
17 Southend United 46 14 13 19 65 83 −18 55
18 Chesterfield 46 15 10 21 41 70 −29 55
19 Mansfield Town 46 14 12 20 48 59 −11 54
20 Aldershot 46 15 8 23 64 74 −10 53
21 Rotherham United (R) 46 12 16 18 50 66 −16 52 Qualification for the Fourth Division play-offs
22 Grimsby Town (R) 46 12 14 20 48 58 −10 50 Relegation to the Fourth Division
23 York City (R) 46 8 9 29 48 91 −43 33
24 Doncaster Rovers (R) 46 8 9 29 40 84 −44 33
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
46 18 19 9 70 51  +19 73 12 8 3 36 18  +18 6 11 6 34 33  +1

Last updated: 7 April 2020.
Source: [citation needed]

League position by match

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundAAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHHHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHA
ResultWLDWWLDWWDWDWLWDDDWLLDDDDLWWLDWDWDWWDDDWWWLDDL
Position1151211288613111533343466888876665666655555546556
Source: Rothmans Football Yearbook 1986-87
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss

15 August 1987 (1987-08-15) 1 Chester City 0–5 Northampton Town Chester
15:00 BST T.Morley
P.Chard
R.Wilcox
D.Longhurst
D.Gilbert
Stadium: Sealand Road
Attendance: 3,453
29 August 1987 (1987-08-29) 2 Walsall 1–0 Northampton Town Walsall
15:00 BST P.Jones Stadium: Spotland Stadium
Attendance: 5,993
31 August 1987 (1987-08-31) 3 Northampton Town 1–1 Brighton & Hove Albion Northampton
15:00 BST T.Morley G.Armstrong Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 7,934
Referee: Keith Miller
5 September 1987 (1987-09-05) 4 Doncaster Rovers 0–2 Northampton Town Doncaster
15:00 BST T.Morley
D.Longhurst
Stadium: Belle Vue
Attendance: 1,869
9 September 1987 (1987-09-09) 5 Northampton Town 2–1 Brentford Northampton
19:30 BST D.Gilbert
D.Longhurst
R.Cooke pen.' Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 5,748
12 September 1987 (1987-09-12) 6 Northampton Town 0–1 Notts County Northampton
15:00 BST G.Lund Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 6,023
Referee: Jim Borrett
15 September 1987 (1987-09-15) 7 Preston North End 0–0 Northampton Town Preston
19:30 BST Stadium: Deepdale
Attendance: 5,179
19 September 1987 (1987-09-19) 8 Bristol Rovers 0–2 Northampton Town Bath
15:00 BST T.Morley
P.Chard
Stadium: Twerton Park
Attendance: 3,668
26 September 1987 (1987-09-26) 9 Northampton Town 1–0 Port Vale Northampton
15:00 BST P.Chard Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 5,072
Referee: Colin Downey
29 September 1987 (1987-09-29) 10 Southend United 1–1 Northampton Town Southend-on-Sea
15:00 BST D.Hall T.Morley Stadium: Roots Hall
Attendance: 3,506
3 October 1987 (1987-10-03) 11 Northampton Town 3–0 Bristol City Northampton
15:00 BST P.Chard
P.Bunce
Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 6,234
Referee: Kelvin Morton
11 October 1987 (1987-10-11) 12 Rotherham United 2–2 Northampton Town Rotherham
15:00 BST C.Airey
T.Grealish
P.Culpin
T.Morley
Stadium: Millmoor
Attendance: 5,173
17 October 1987 (1987-10-17) 13 Northampton Town 4–0 Chesterfield Northampton
15:00 BST T.Morley
P.Culpin
I.Benjamin
Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 5,073
20 October 1987 (1987-10-20) 14 Mansfield 3–1 Northampton Town Mansfield
19:30 BST S.Charles pen.'
D.Hodges
S.Coleman
P.Culpin Stadium: Field Mill
Attendance: 3,646
24 October 1987 (1987-10-24) 15 Northampton Town 2–1 Grimsby Town Northampton
19:30 BST D.Gilbert pen.'
P.Culpin
P.Turner Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 5,388
Referee: Kevin Cooper
4 November 1987 (1987-11-04) 17 Northampton Town 0–0 York City Northampton
19:30 GMT Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 4,950
Referee: Danny Vickers
7 November 1987 (1987-11-07) 18 Fulham 0–0 Northampton Town Fulham
15:00 GMT Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 6,733
21 November 1987 (1987-11-21) 19 Northampton Town 2–1 Gillingham Northampton
15:00 GMT T.Morley
R.Wilcox
S.Lovell Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 5,151
Referee: Stephen Lodge
28 November 1987 (1987-11-28) 20 Blackpool 3–1 Northampton Town Blackpool
15:00 GMT T.Cunningham
K.Walwyn
S.Morgan
D.Longhurst Stadium: Bloomfield Road
Attendance: 3,593
12 December 1987 (1987-12-12) 21 Northampton Town 0–2 Sunderland Northampton
15:00 GMT P.Lemon
M.Gabbiadini
Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 7,279
Referee: David Axcell
19 December 1987 (1987-12-19) 22 Wigan Athletic 2–2 Northampton Town Wigan
15:00 GMT D.Thompson
A.Pilling
W.Donald
M.Singleton
Stadium: Springfield Park
Attendance: 2,692
26 December 1987 (1987-12-26) 23 Port Vale 1–1 Northampton Town Burslem
15:00 GMT G.Hamson pen.' M.Singleton Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 4,446
28 December 1987 (1987-12-28) 24 Northampton Town 0–0 Bury Northampton
15:00 GMT Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 6,067
Referee: Dennis Hedges
1 January 1988 (1988-01-01) 25 Northampton Town 2–2 Walsall Northampton
15:00 GMT P.Chard
G.Donegal
P.Jones
N.Cross
Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 6,034
Referee: David Elleray
2 January 1988 (1988-01-02) 26 Notts County 3–1 Northampton Town Nottingham
15:00 GMT G.Lund
A.Thorpe
T.Morley
K.McPherson Red card
Stadium: Meadow Lane
Attendance: 8,153
9 January 1988 (1988-01-09) 27 Brentford 0–1 Northampton Town Brentford
15:00 GMT P.Chard Stadium: Griffin Park
Attendance: 6,025
16 January 1988 (1988-01-16) 28 Northampton Town 2–1 Bristol Rovers Northampton
15:00 GMT D.Gilbert
W.Donald
I.Alexander Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 4,473
27 January 1988 (1988-01-27) 29 Northampton Town 0–1 Preston North End Northampton
19:30 GMT N.Jemson Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 5,052
30 January 1988 (1988-01-30) 30 Northampton Town 1–1 Wigan Athletic Northampton
15:00 GMT T.Adcock A.Pilling Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 4,825
6 February 1988 (1988-02-06) 31 Northampton Town 1–0 Doncaster Rovers Northampton
15:00 GMT T.Adcock Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 4,381
13 February 1988 (1988-02-13) 32 Bury 0–0 Northampton Town Bury
15:00 GMT Stadium: Gigg Lane
Attendance: 2,172
20 February 1988 (1988-02-20) 33 Northampton Town 2–0 Chester City Northampton
15:00 GMT T.Adcock
T.Slack
Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 4,285
27 February 1988 (1988-02-27) 34 Bristol City 2–2 Northampton Town Bristol
15:00 GMT A.Walsh
G.Reed o.g.'
T.Adcock
P.Chard
Stadium: Ashton Gate
Attendance: 8,578
5 March 1988 (1988-03-05) 36 Chesterfield 0–2 Northampton Town Chesterfield
15:00 GMT E.McGoldrick
D.Gilbert
Stadium: Saltergate
Attendance: 2,400
11 March 1988 (1988-03-11) 37 Northampton Town 0–0 Rotherham United Northampton
19:30 GMT Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 5,432
19 March 1988 (1988-03-19) 38 Northampton Town 1–1 Aldershot Northampton
19:30 GMT T.Adcock S.Berry Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 4,322
2 April 1988 (1988-04-02) 40 Northampton Town 3–2 Fulham Northampton
15:00 BST T.Adcock
J.Stannard o.g.'
P.Culpin
J.Skinner
G.Barnett
Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 6,211
4 April 1988 (1988-04-04) 41 Gillingham 1–2 Northampton Town Gillingham
15:00 BST S.Lovell P.Culpin
T.Adcock
Stadium: Priestfield
Attendance: 4,131
10 April 1988 (1988-04-10) 42 Northampton Town 2–0 Mansfield Town Northampton
15:00 BST R.Wilcox
T.Kenworthy o.g.'
Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 6,917
15 April 1988 (1988-04-15) 43 Brighton & Hove Albion 3–0 Northampton Town Hove
19:30 BST A.Owers
S.Gatting
G.Nelson
Stadium: Goldstone Ground
Attendance: 14,455
23 April 1988 (1988-04-23) 44 York City 2–2 Northampton Town York
19:30 BST G.Howlett P.Culpin
P.Wilson
Stadium: Bootham Crescent
Attendance: 2,048
2 May 1988 (1988-05-02) 46 Sunderland 3–1 Northampton Town Sunderland
15:00 BST J.MacPhail pen.'
G.Armstrong 48'
E.Gates 75'
T.Adcock 37' Stadium: Roker Park
Attendance: 29,454
Referee: James McAulay

FA Cup

14 November 1987 (1987-11-14) First round Northampton Town 2–1 Newport County Northampton
15:00 GMT T.Morley
P.Chard
D.Holtham Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 4,581
Referee: Terry Holbrook
5 December 1987 (1987-12-05) Second round Northampton Town 1–2 Brighton & Hove Albion Northampton
15:00 GMT T.Morley K.Bremner
G.Nelson
Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 6,444
Referee: Vic Callow

Littlewoods Cup

17 August 1987 (1987-08-17) First round 1st leg Port Vale 0–1 Northampton Town Burslem
19:30 BST Red card
Red card
D.Longhurst
P.Chard Red card
S.Senior Red card
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 3,398
2 September 1987 (1987-09-02) First round 2nd leg Northampton Town 4–0 Port Vale Northampton
19:30 BST K.McPherson
T.Morley
Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 4,748
Referee: Terry Holbrook
22 September 1987 (1987-09-22) Second round 1st leg Ipswich Town 1–1 Northampton Town Ipswich
19:30 BST R.Zondervan D.Gilbert Stadium: Portman Road
Attendance: 5,645
7 October 1987 (1987-10-07) Second round 2nd leg Northampton Town 2–4 (a.e.t.) Ipswich Town Northampton
19:30 BST T.Morley
G.Donegal
G.Harbey
M.d'Avray
D.Lowe
Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 8,316
Referee: Howard King

Sherpa Vans Trophy

Group 1
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Brentford 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
Notts County 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
Northampton Town 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3
Source: [citation needed]
13 October 1987 (1987-10-13) Prelim round (s) Notts County 1–0 Northampton Town Nottingham
19:30 GMT C.Withe Stadium: Meadow Lane
Attendance: 2,351
28 October 1987 (1987-10-28) Prelim round (s) Northampton Town 1–0 Brentford Northampton
19:30 GMT D.Longhurst Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 3,076

Appearances and goals

Pos Player Division Three FA Cup League Cup League Trophy Total
Starts Sub Goals Starts Sub Goals Starts Sub Goals Starts Sub Goals Starts Sub Goals
GK Peter Gleasure 46 2 4 2 54
GK Alan Harris
DF Lee Carter 1 1
DF David Logan 24 2 1 3 1 28 3
DF Keith McPherson 32 2 4 1 2 40 1
DF Graham Reed 27 4 2 4 2 35 4
DF Bradley Sandeman 2 2
DF Trevor Slack 13 1 13 1
DF Russ Wilcox 46 4 2 4 2 54 4
DF Paul Wilson 15 1 15 1
MF Warren Donald 39 1 2 2 2 2 45 1 2
MF Dave Gilbert 41 6 2 4 1 2 49 7
MF Eddie McGoldrick 40 6 2 1 1 3 2 46 7 2
MF Martin Singleton 28 1 3 2 30 1 3
FW Tony Adcock 18 10 18 10
FW Paul Culpin 18 2 10 1 1 2 21 3 10
FW Glen Donegal 2 8 1 1 1 2 9 2
FW David Longhurst 33 2 7 2 3 1 1 1 39 2 9
Players who left before end of season:
DF Chris O'Donnell 1 1
DF Steve Senior 1 3 2 3 3
DF Chris Scott 1 1
DF Brett Williams 3 1 3 1
MF Paul Bunce 5 5 1 1 1 6 6 1
MF Phil Chard 33 1 8 2 1 3 1 39 1 9
MF Aidy Mann 1 1
FW Ian Benjamin 13 1 1 4 1 18 1 1
FW Trevor Morley 27 10 2 2 4 4 2 35 16

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee
June 1987 RB England Steve Senior England York City
July 1987 CB England Chris Scott England Blyth Spartans
3 July 1987 FW England David Longhurst England Halifax Town £40,000
10 October 1987 FW England Paul Culpin England Coventry City £50,000
7 November 1987 CM England Martin Singleton England West Bromwich Albion £57,500
25 January 1988 FW England Tony Adcock England Manchester City £85,000 P/E
10 February 1988 CB England Trevor Slack England Grimsby Town Nominal Fee
11 April 1988 LB England Paul Wilson England Norwich City £15,000

Loans in

Date from Position Nationality Name From Date until
January 1988 LB England Brett Williams England Nottingham Forest January 1988
January 1987 RB England Chris O'Donnell England Ipswich Town February 1987
February 1988 LB England Paul Wilson England Norwich City 11 April 1988

Transfers out

Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee
Summer 1987 CB England Bobby Coy Free Agent Released
Summer 1987 CM England Richard Hill England Watford £265,000
October 1987 FW England Ian Benjamin England Cambridge United £25,000
October 1987 RB England Steve Senior England Wigan Athletic
November 1987 W England Aidy Mann Wales Newport County
25 January 1988 FW England Trevor Morley England Manchester City £175,000 P/E
March 1988 U England Phil Chard England Wolverhampton Wanderers £45,000
March 1988 CB England Chris Scott England Lincoln City

References

  1. ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. Harpenden: Queen Anne Press. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  2. ^ Joint buy with Eddie McGoldrick
  3. ^ "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics - Keith McPherson". www.westhamstats.info. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  4. ^ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2002). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2002/2003. Harpenden: Queen Anne Press. p. 438. ISBN 978-1-85291-648-0.
  5. ^ "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics - Warren Donald". www.westhamstats.info. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  6. ^ Joint buy with Alan Harris

Books

  • Grande, Frank (1997). Northampton Town F.C.: The Official Centenary History. London: Yore Publications. ISBN 978-1874427674.