# 1987–88 Newcastle United F.C. season

During the 1987–88 season, Newcastle United participated in the Football League First Division. Following the sale of star player Peter Beardsley to Liverpool for a club record fee of £1.9 million, manager Willie McFaul recruited the Brazilian international Mirandinha. With the Brazilian joining Paul Goddard and Paul Gascoigne, the team made a mediocre start to the season. Midfielder Glyn Hodges arrived from Wimbledon but only managed seven games in his 86-day stay, before heading back south. McFaul signed young Irishman Michael O'Neill in the winter; hailed as a new George Best by some, the 18-year-old went on a run of 12 goals in 19 games that saw Newcastle finish 8th, their highest finish since being promoted back to the top flight.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 6 | Arsenal | 40 | 18 | 12 | 10 | 58 | 39 | +19 | 66 | |
| 7 | Wimbledon | 40 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 58 | 47 | +11 | 57 | Disqualified from European Cup Winners' Cup |
| 8 | Newcastle United | 40 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 56 | |
| 9 | Luton Town | 40 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 57 | 58 | −1 | 53 | Disqualified from UEFA Cup |
| 10 | Coventry City | 40 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 46 | 53 | −7 | 53 | |
* ↑ Wimbledon would have qualified as FA Cup winners.
* ↑ Luton Town would have qualified as League Cup winners.

## Kit

English company Umbro remained Newcastle United's kit manufacturers for the eighth consecutive season, and introduced a new kit for the season. Greenall's Beers remained kit sponsors, although the "Beers" was dropped from the kit sponsorship.

## Appearances, goals and cards

    (Substitute appearances in brackets)
| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Simod Cup | Simod Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Gary Kelly | 37 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
| GK | Martin Thomas | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| GK | Tommy Wright | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | John Anderson | 33 (2) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 (2) | 1 |
| DF | John Bailey | 3 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (1) | 0 |
| DF | Peter Jackson | 28 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 2 |
| DF | Neil McDonald | 40 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 5 |
| DF | Glenn Roeder | 37 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 1 |
| DF | Kevin Scott | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| DF | Kenny Wharton | 28 (3) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 33 (4) | 2 |
| MF | Ian Bogie | 3 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 (4) | 1 |
| MF | John Cornwell | 20 (4) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 (4) | 1 |
| MF | Albert Craig | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 (3) | 0 |
| MF | Paul Gascoigne | 34 (1) | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 42 (1) | 11 |
| MF | Glyn Hodges | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| MF | David McCreery | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 1 |
| MF | Michael O'Neill | 19 (2) | 12 | 2 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 22 (4) | 13 |
| MF | Paul Stephenson | 5 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 (3) | 0 |
| MF | Andy Thomas | 1 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (3) | 0 |
| MF | Brian Tinnion | 15 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 (1) | 1 |
| FW | Paul Goddard | 35 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 10 |
| FW | Darren Jackson | 24 (7) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 (7) | 4 |
| FW | Anth Lormor | 3 (2) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (2) | 2 |
| FW | Mirandinha | 25 (1) | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 31 (1) | 13 |

## Coaching staff

| Position | Staff |
| Manager | Willie McFaul |
| Assistant Manager | Colin Suggett |
| First Team coach | John Pickering |
Source:

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Player | From | Fee |
| July 1987 | Glyn Hodges | Wimbledon | £300,000 |
| August 1987 | Mirandinha | Palmeiras | £575,000 |
| October 1987 | Michael O'Neill | Coleraine | £100,000 |
| March 1988 | Tommy Wright | Linfield | £30,000 |

### Out

| Date | Player | To | Fee |
| July 1987 | Joe Allon | Swansea | Free |
| September 1987 | Glyn Hodges | Watford | £300,000 |
Total spending: £30,000