1987–88 in Scottish football

91st competitive football season in Scotland

1987–88 in Scottish football

Premier Division champions
Celtic
Division One champions
Hamilton Academical
Division Two champions
Ayr United
Scottish Cup winners
Celtic
League Cup winners
Rangers
Junior Cup winners
Auchinleck Talbot
Teams in Europe
Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee United, Rangers, St Mirren
Scotland national team
UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying, Rous Cup
← 1986–87 1988–89 →

The 1987–88 season was the 91st season of competitive football in Scotland. ^[1]

Notable events

Billy McNeill's second spell back in charge of Celtic began in style as they finished the season by winning the double of the league title and Scottish Cup. The cup triumph was sealed with two late goals from Frank McAvennie, signed in early October from West Ham United, as they had trailed 1–0 to Dundee United.

Rangers, further strengthened with the signing of Englishmen Ray Wilkins and Mark Walters in midfield, had consolation for their failure to repeat title glory in the shape of a League Cup win. They could only finish third in the league, with Hearts finishing second – 10 points adrift of champions Celtic.

The Old Firm league fixture at Ibrox in October 1987, which ended in a 2–2 draw, saw three players red carded.^[2] Charges were later brought against four of the players (three from Rangers, one from Celtic) by the Procurator Fiscal.^[3] The resulting Court case ended up with Terry Butcher and Chris Woods being convicted of a breach of the peace. Graham Roberts was found Not proven, whilst Frank McAvennie was acquitted.^[4]

Rangers enjoyed the longest run in Europe out of all the Scottish clubs, reaching the European Cup quarter finals where they were edged out by Steaua Bucharest.

A reduction of the Premier Division from 12 clubs to 10 saw three clubs (Falkirk, Dunfirmline Athletic and Morton) relegated. The only promotion place went to Division One champions Hamilton Academical.

Scottish Premier Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Celtic (C)	44	31	10	3	79	23	+56	72	Qualification for the European Cup first round
2	Heart of Midlothian	44	23	16	5	74	32	+42	62	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3	Rangers	44	26	8	10	85	34	+51	60
4	Aberdeen	44	21	17	6	56	25	+31	59
5	Dundee United	44	16	15	13	54	47	+7	47	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
6	Hibernian	44	12	19	13	41	42	−1	43
7	Dundee	44	17	7	20	70	64	+6	41
8	Motherwell	44	13	10	21	37	56	−19	36
9	St Mirren	44	10	15	19	41	64	−23	35
10	Falkirk (R)	44	10	11	23	41	75	−34	31	Relegation to the 1988–89 Scottish First Division
11	Dunfermline Athletic (R)	44	8	10	26	41	84	−43	26
12	Morton (R)	44	3	10	31	27	100	−73	16

Source: Statto
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Champions: Celtic
Relegated: Falkirk, Dunfermline Athletic, Morton

Scottish League Division One

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Hamilton Academical (C, P)	44	22	12	10	67	39	+28	56	Promotion to the Premier Division
2	Meadowbank Thistle	44	20	12	12	71	37	+34	52
3	Clydebank	44	21	7	16	59	61	−2	49
4	Forfar Athletic	44	16	16	12	67	58	+9	48
5	Raith Rovers	44	19	7	18	81	76	+5	45
6	Airdrieonians	44	16	13	15	65	68	−3	45
7	Queen of the South	44	14	15	15	56	67	−11	43
8	Partick Thistle	44	16	9	19	60	64	−4	41
9	Clyde	44	16	6	22	73	75	−2	38
10	Kilmarnock	44	13	11	20	55	60	−5	37
11	East Fife (R)	44	13	10	21	61	76	−15	36	Relegation to the Second Division
12	Dumbarton (R)	44	12	12	20	51	70	−19	36	Relegation to the Second Division

Source: RSSSF^{[dead link]} and statto^[5]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Promoted: Hamilton Academical
Relegated: East Fife, Dumbarton

Scottish League Division Two

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion
1	Ayr United (C, P)	39	27	7	5	95	31	+64	61	Promotion to the First Division
2	St Johnstone (P)	39	26	9	4	75	23	+52	61	Promotion to the First Division
3	Queen's Park	39	21	9	9	64	44	+20	51
4	Brechin City	39	20	8	11	56	40	+16	48
5	Stirling Albion	39	18	10	11	60	51	+9	46
6	East Stirlingshire	39	15	13	11	52	48	+4	43
7	Alloa Athletic	39	16	8	15	50	46	+4	40
8	Montrose	39	12	11	16	45	51	−6	35
9	Arbroath	39	10	14	15	54	66	−12	34
10	Stenhousemuir	39	12	9	18	49	58	−9	33
11	Cowdenbeath	39	9	13	17	50	67	−17	31
12	Albion Rovers	39	10	11	18	45	75	−30	31
13	Berwick Rangers	39	6	4	29	33	78	−45	16
14	Stranraer	39	4	8	27	34	84	−50	16

Source: "1987-1988 Second Division - SPFL Archive". SPFL. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Promoted: Ayr United, St Johnstone

Other honours

Cup honours

Competition	Winner	Score	Runner-up
Scottish Cup 1987–88	Celtic	2–1	Dundee United
League Cup 1987–88	Rangers	3 – 3 (a.e.t.) (5 – 3 pen.)	Aberdeen
Youth Cup	Dunfermline Athletic	2–1	Dundee
Junior Cup	Auchinleck Talbot	1–0	Petershill

Non-league honours

Senior

Competition	Winner
Highland League 1987–88	Inverness Caledonian
East of Scotland League	Whitehill Welfare
South of Scotland League	Newton Stewart

Individual honours

Award	Winner	Club
Footballer of the Year	Paul McStay	Celtic
Players' Player of the Year	Paul McStay	Celtic
Young Player of the Year	John Collins	Hibernian

Scottish clubs in Europe

Results for Scotland's participants in European competition for the 1987–88 season

Rangers

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score	Competition	Rangers scorer(s)
European Cup
16 September 1987	Olympic Stadium, Kyiv (A)	Dynamo Kyiv	0–1	EC1
30 September 1987	Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (H)	Dynamo Kyiv	2–0	EC1	Mark Falco, Ally McCoist
21 October 1987	Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (H)	Górnik Zabrze	3–1	EC2	Ally McCoist, Ian Durrant, Mark Falco
4 November 1987	Ernest Pohl Stadium, Zabrze (A)	Górnik Zabrze	1–1	EC2	Ally McCoist (pen.)
2 March 1988	Steaua Stadium, Bucharest (A)	Steaua Bucharest	0–2	ECQF
16 March 1988	Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (H)	Steaua Bucharest	2–1	ECQF	Richard Gough, Ally McCoist (pen.)

St Mirren

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score	Competition	St Mirren scorer(s)
	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
16 September 1987	Love Street, Paisley (H)	Tromsø IL	1–0	CWC1	Kenny McDowall
29 September 1987	Alfheim Stadium, Tromsø (A)	Tromsø IL	0–0	CWC1
21 October 1987	Achter de Kazerne, Mechelen (A)	KV Mechelen	0–0	CWC2
4 November 1987	Love Street, Paisley (H)	KV Mechelen	0–2	CWC2

Aberdeen

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score	Competition	Aberdeen Scorer(s)
UEFA Cup
15 September 1987	Dalymount Park, Dublin (A)	Bohemians	0–0	UC1
30 September 1987	Pittodrie, Aberdeen (H)	Bohemians	1–0	UC1	Jim Bett (pen.)
21 October 1987	Pittodrie, Aberdeen (H)	Feyenoord Rotterdam	2–1	UC2	Willie Falconer, Willie Miller
4 November 1987	Feijenoord Stadion, Rotterdam (A)	Feyenoord Rotterdam	0–1	UC2

Celtic

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score	Competition	Celtic scorer(s)
UEFA Cup
15 September 1987	Celtic Park, Glasgow (H)	Borussia Dortmund	2–1	UC1	Andy Walker, Derek Whyte
30 September 1987	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund (A)	Borussia Dortmund	0–2	UC1

Dundee United

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score	Competition	Dundee United scorer(s)
UEFA Cup
16 September 1987	The Showgrounds Coleraine (A)	Coleraine	1–0	UC1	Paul Sturrock
30 September 1987	Tannadice, Dundee (H)	Coleraine	3–1	UC1	Kevin Gallacher, Paul Sturrock, John Clark
21 October 1987	Tannadice, Dundee (H)	FC Vítkovice	1–2	UC2	Iain Ferguson
4 November 1987	Bazaly, Ostrava (A)^[6]	FC Vítkovice	1–1	UC2	own goal

Scotland national team

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score^[7]	Competition	Scotland scorer(s)
9 September 1987	Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)	Hungary	2–0	Friendly	Ally McCoist (2)
14 October 1987	Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)	Belgium	2–0	ECQG7	Ally McCoist, Paul McStay
11 November 1987	Vasil Levski, Sofia (A)	Bulgaria	1–0	ECQG7	Gary Mackay
2 December 1987	Stade de la Frontière, Esch (A)	Luxembourg	0–0	ECQG7
17 February 1988	Malaz Stadium, Riyadh (A)	Saudi Arabia	2–2	Friendly	Maurice Johnston, John Collins
22 March 1988	Ta'Qali Stadium, Valletta (A)	Malta	1–1	Friendly	Graeme Sharp
27 April 1988	Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid (A)	Spain	0–0	Friendly
17 May 1988	Hampden Park, Glasgow (H)	Colombia	0–0	Rous Cup
21 May 1988	Wembley Stadium, London (A)	England	0–1	Rous Cup

Key:

(H) = Home match
(A) = Away match
ECQG7 = European Championship qualifying – Group 7

Notes and references

^ "1987/88 - the Scottish Football League". Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
^ Reynolds, Jim (19 October 1987). "Three off but it could have been more". The Herald. Glasgow. p. 11. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
^ McCallum, Andrew (13 April 1988). "Old Firm fans' hatred had "never been worse"". The Herald. Glasgow. p. 1. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
^ McCallum, Andrew (16 April 1988). "Rangers players to appeal after fines". The Herald. Glasgow. p. 1. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
^ "Scottish Division One 1987-1988 Season Summary". statto.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
^ "Match programme". Archived from the original on 18 December 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
^ Scotland's score is shown first.

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Seasons in Scottish football

v t e 1987–88 in Scottish football
« 1986–87 1988–89 »
Domestic leagues	Football League Premier Division First Division Second Division Highland League
Domestic cups	Scottish Cup Final League Cup Final Junior Cup Tennent's Sixes
European competitions	European Cup European Cup Winners' Cup UEFA Cup
Related to national team	Results Euro 1988 qualifying (Group 7) Rous Cup
Club seasons
Premier Division	Aberdeen Celtic Dundee Dundee United Dunfermline Athletic Falkirk Heart of Midlothian Hibernian Morton Motherwell Rangers St. Mirren
First Division	Airdrieonians Clyde Clydebank Dumbarton East Fife Forfar Athletic Hamilton Academical Kilmarnock Meadowbank Thistle Partick Thistle Queen of the South Raith Rovers
Second Division	Albion Rovers Alloa Athletic Arbroath Ayr United Brechin City Berwick Rangers Cowdenbeath East Stirlingshire Montrose Queen's Park St. Johnstone Stenhousemuir Stirling Albion Stranraer