# 1986–87 Newport County A.F.C. season

The 1986–87 season was Newport County's seventh consecutive season in the Third Division, their 40th in the third tier and 59th overall in the Football League. They finished the season in 24th place and were relegated to the Fourth Division for the 1987–88 season.
Caretaker manager John Relish surprisingly wasn't chosen to continue as manager despite saving the club from relegation the previous year, and Jimmy Mullen was instead brought in as player-manager. The club started the season okay, albeit somewhat inconsistently, and occupied mid-table until the start of November. Things went horribly wrong after that however, and the club ensured a second successive season spending three months without a win. A 1–0 win over Doncaster on Valentine's Day saw a temporary improvement in form, but a 5–2 thumping at the hands of Notts County cost Mullen his job, with John Lewis stepping up to the manager's job for the rest of the season. The club picked up enough points here and there to maintain an outside chance of survival until the final weeks of the season, but a dismal return of just one point from the last six games saw them finish rock-bottom.

## Season review
### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 9 May 1987. Source:

### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | L | D | W | W | W | L | L | D | L | D | D | D | W | L | L | D | L | D | L | L | L | D | L | L | W | D | D | L | D | L | W | L | L | L | L | W | D | L | W | L | L | L | D | L | L |
| Position | 19 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 23 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 |

## Fixtures and results
### Third Division

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| 23 Aug 1986 | Gillingham | H | 1–2 | Lewis | 2,533 |
| 30 Aug 1986 | Bournemouth | A | 1–2 | Carter | 2,799 |
| 6 Sep 1986 | Swindon Town | H | 2–2 | Berry, Mardenborough | 3,796 |
| 13 Sep 1986 | Wigan Athletic | A | 2–1 | Lewis, Berry | 2,004 |
| 16 Sep 1986 | Darlington | A | 3–1 | Staniforth, Carter, Berry | 1,805 |
| 20 Sep 1986 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 3–2 | Carter, Lewis, Vinter | 2,382 |
| 27 Sep 1986 | Bury | A | 3–4 | Mardenborough, Carter, Vinter | 2,136 |
| 4 Oct 1986 | Brentford | A | 0–2 | | 3,231 |
| 11 Oct 1986 | Chester City | H | 2–2 | Carter, Gibbins | 2,119 |
| 25 Oct 1986 | Chesterfield | A | 2–3 | Carter, Vinter | 1,895 |
| 28 Oct 1986 | Carlisle United | H | 1–1 | Gibbins | 1,540 |
| 1 Nov 1986 | Notts County | H | 1–1 | Mardenborough | 1,960 |
| 4 Nov 1986 | York City | H | 1–1 | Vinter | 2,079 |
| 8 Nov 1986 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–0 | Millett | 4,530 |
| 22 Nov 1986 | Middlesbrough | H | 0–1 | | 2,788 |
| 25 Nov 1986 | Mansfield Town | A | 0–1 | | 2,319 |
| 29 Nov 1986 | Blackpool | A | 1–1 | Mardenborough | 3,281 |
| 2 Dec 1986 | Bristol City | H | 0–1 | | 3,205 |
| 14 Dec 1986 | Bristol Rovers | A | 2–2 | Gibbins 2 | 2,660 |
| 20 Dec 1986 | Rotherham United | H | 1–2 | OG | 1,760 |
| 26 Dec 1986 | Walsall | A | 0–2 | | 6,855 |
| 27 Dec 1986 | Port Vale | H | 0–2 | | 2,103 |
| 1 Jan 1987 | Fulham | H | 0–0 | | 2,388 |
| 3 Jan 1987 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–2 | | 9,585 |
| 25 Jan 1987 | Swindon Town | A | 0–3 | | 6,620 |
| 14 Feb 1987 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 1–0 | Gibbins | 1,837 |
| 17 Feb 1987 | Gillingham | A | 1–1 | Gibbins | 3,542 |
| 21 Feb 1987 | Bury | H | 2–2 | Gibbins 2 | 1,914 |
| 24 Feb 1987 | Bournemouth | H | 0–1 | | 2,143 |
| 28 Feb 1987 | Carlisle United | A | 2–2 | Gilligan, Vinter | 2,192 |
| 3 Mar 1987 | Notts County | A | 2–5 | Staniforth, Vinter | 3,814 |
| 8 Mar 1987 | Chesterfield | H | 1–0 | Carter | 1,567 |
| 14 Mar 1987 | Bristol City | A | 0–4 | | 9,137 |
| 17 Mar 1987 | Mansfield Town | H | 0–3 | | 1,383 |
| 21 Mar 1987 | Chester City | A | 0–2 | | 2,561 |
| 31 Mar 1987 | Wigan Athletic | H | 1–2 | Balley | 1,428 |
| 4 Apr 1987 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2–1 | Taylor, Thackeray | 1,193 |
| 7 Apr 1987 | Brentford | H | 2–2 | Giles, Staniforth | 1,596 |
| 11 Apr 1987 | York City | A | 0–3 | | 2,202 |
| 14 Apr 1987 | Darlington | H | 3–0 | Lewis, Thackeray, Taylor | 1,315 |
| 18 Apr 1987 | Fulham | A | 0–2 | | 4,234 |
| 20 Apr 1987 | Walsall | H | 2–4 | Taylor, Thackeray | 2,003 |
| 25 Apr 1987 | Rotherham United | A | 1–3 | Compton | 2,555 |
| 2 May 1987 | Blackpool | H | 1–1 | Staniforth | 1,247 |
| 4 May 1987 | Port Vale | A | 1–6 | Compton | 2,733 |
| 9 May 1987 | Bristol Rovers | H | 0–1 | | 3,165 |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| 1 | 15 Nov 1986 | Bromsgrove Rovers | A | 1–0 | Vinter | 3,440 |
| 2 | 6 Dec 1986 | Fulham | A | 0–2 | | 4,052 |

### Football League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Aggregate |
| 1–1 | 27 Aug 1986 | Exeter City | A | 0–0 | | 1,545 | |
| 1–2 | 2 Sep 1986 | Exeter City | H | 1–0 | Gibbins | 1,620 | 1–0 |
| 2–1 | 24 Sep 1986 | Everton | A | 0–4 | | 11,959 | |
| 2–2 | 7 Oct 1986 | Everton | H | 1–5 | Carter | 7,172 | 1–9 |

### Welsh Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Notes |
| 3 | 11 Nov 1986 | Swansea City | A | 3–1 | P.Jones, Millett, OG | 4,756 | |
| 4 | 10 Feb 1987 | Shrewsbury Town | A | 1–0 | Vintner | 634 | |
| 5 | 11 Mar 1987 | Aberystwyth Town | A | 3–3 | Gibbins, Vintner, Millett | 3,000 | |
| 5r | 24 Mar 1987 | Aberystwyth Town | H | 3–0 | Gibbins, Vintner, Compton | 1,420 | |
| SF-1 | 16 Apr 1987 | Wrexham | H | 2–1 | Thackeray, Taylor | 2,109 | |
| SF-2 | 22 Apr 1987 | Wrexham | A | 2–2 | Thackeray, Gibbins | 1,989 | 4–3 aggregate |
| F | 17 May 1987 | Merthyr Tydfil | N | 2–2 | Thackeray 2 | 7,150 | At Ninian Park |
| Fr | 21 May 1987 | Merthyr Tydfil | N | 0–1 | | 6,010 | At Ninian Park |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes |
| 1 | Bournemouth | 46 | 29 | 10 | 7 | 76 | 40 | +36 | 97 | Champions, promoted |
| 2 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 28 | 10 | 8 | 67 | 30 | +37 | 94 | Promoted |
| 3 | Swindon Town | 46 | 25 | 12 | 9 | 77 | 47 | +30 | 87 | Play-off winners, promoted |
| 4 | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 25 | 10 | 11 | 83 | 60 | +23 | 85 | Play-offs |
| 5 | Gillingham | 46 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 65 | 48 | +17 | 78 | Play-offs |
| 6 | Bristol City | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 63 | 36 | +27 | 77 | |
| 7 | Notts County | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 77 | 56 | +21 | 76 | |
| 8 | Walsall | 46 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 80 | 67 | +13 | 75 | |
| 9 | Blackpool | 46 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 74 | 59 | +15 | 64 | |
| 10 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 52 | 55 | –3 | 61 | |
| 11 | Brentford | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 64 | 66 | –2 | 60 | |
| 12 | Port Vale | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 76 | 70 | +6 | 57 | |
| 13 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 56 | 62 | –6 | 57 | |
| 14 | Rotherham United | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 48 | 57 | –9 | 57 | |
| 15 | Chester City | 46 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 61 | 59 | +2 | 56 | |
| 16 | Bury | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 54 | 60 | –6 | 55 | |
| 17 | Chesterfield | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 56 | 69 | –13 | 54 | |
| 18 | Fulham | 46 | 12 | 17 | 17 | 59 | 77 | –18 | 53 | |
| 19 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 49 | 75 | –26 | 51 | |
| 20 | York City | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 55 | 79 | –24 | 49 | |
| 21 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 10 | 15 | 21 | 46 | 58 | –12 | 45 | Lost play-offs, relegated |
| 22 | Carlisle United | 46 | 10 | 8 | 28 | 39 | 78 | –39 | 38 | Relegated |
| 23 | Darlington | 46 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 45 | 77 | –32 | 37 | Relegated |
| 24 | Newport County | 46 | 8 | 13 | 25 | 49 | 86 | –37 | 37 | Relegated |
* Division Champions
* Promoted
* Into play-offs
* Relegated