# 1987–88 Northampton Town F.C. season

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.
| Name | Position | Place of Birth | Date of Birth (Age) | Apps | Goals | Previous club | Date signed | Fee |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| Peter Gleasure | GK | Luton | (1960-10-08)8 October 1960 (aged 27) | 277 | 0 | Millwall | March 1983 | |
| Alan Harris | GK | Nuneaton | (1969-04-13)13 April 1969 (aged 19) | 0 | 0 | Nuneaton Town | Summer 1986 | £15,000 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| David Logan | LB | Middlesbrough | (1963-12-05)5 December 1963 (aged 24) | 46 | 1 | Mansfield Town | February 1987 | |
| Keith McPherson | CB | Greenwich | (1963-09-11)11 September 1963 (aged 24) | 116 | 6 | West Ham United | 23 January 1986 | £10,000 |
| Graham Reed | RB | Doncaster | (1961-06-24)24 June 1961 (aged 26) | 127 | 2 | Frickley Athletic | Summer 1985 | £6,000 |
| Bradley Sandeman | RB | Northampton | (1970-02-24)24 February 1970 (aged 18) | 2 | 0 | Apprentice | January 1988 | N/A |
| Trevor Slack | CB | Peterborough | (1962-09-26)26 September 1962 (aged 25) | 13 | 1 | Grimsby Town | 10 February 1988 | Nominal Fee |
| Russ Wilcox | CB | Hemsworth | (1964-03-25)25 March 1964 (aged 24) | 95 | 8 | Frickley Athletic | 30 June 1986 | £15,000 |
| Paul Wilson | LB | Bradford | (1968-08-02)2 August 1968 (aged 19) | 15 | 1 | Norwich City | 11 April 1988 | £30,000 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Warren Donald | CM | Hillingdon | (1964-10-07)7 October 1964 (aged 23) | 141 | 11 | West Ham United | 4 October 1985 | £11,000 |
| Dave Gilbert | W | Lincoln | (1963-06-22)22 June 1963 (aged 24) | 102 | 19 | Boston United | Summer 1986 | |
| Eddie McGoldrick | W | Islington | (1965-04-30)30 April 1965 (aged 23) | 101 | 8 | Nuneaton Town | Summer 1986 | £15,000 |
| Martin Singleton (c) | CM | Banbury | (1963-08-02)2 August 1963 (aged 24) | 31 | 3 | West Bromwich Albion | 7 November 1987 | £57,500 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| Tony Adcock | FW | Bethnal Green | (1963-03-27)27 March 1963 (aged 25) | 18 | 10 | Manchester City | 25 January 1988 | £85,000 P/E |
| Paul Culpin | FW | Kirby Muxloe | (1962-02-08)8 February 1962 (aged 26) | 24 | 10 | Coventry City | 10 October 1987 | £50,000 |
| Glen Donegal | FW | Northampton | (1969-06-20)20 June 1969 (aged 18) | 13 | 2 | Apprentice | January 1987 | N/A |
| David Longhurst | FW | 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 | Teamvte | 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 | Promotion to the Second Division |
| 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 | Qualification for the Third Division play-offs |
| 5 | Bristol City | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 77 | 62 | +15 | 75 | Qualification for the Third Division play-offs |
| 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 | Relegation to the Fourth Division |
| 24 | Doncaster Rovers (R) | 46 | 8 | 9 | 29 | 40 | 84 | −44 | 33 | Relegation to the Fourth Division |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 7 April 2020. Source:

#### League position by match

| 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 | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A |
| Result | W | L | D | W | W | L | D | W | W | D | W | D | W | L | W | D | D | D | W | L | L | D | D | D | D | L | W | W | L | D | W | D | W | D | W | W | D | D | D | W | W | W | L | D | D | L |
| Position | 1 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 |

#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss

### Sherpa Vans Trophy

Group 1 :
| Team v t e | 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 |

### Appearances and goals

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

### Loans in

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

### Transfers out

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