1987–88 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season
# 1987–88 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season

The 1987–1988 season was the 109th season in Bolton Wanderers F.C.'s existence, and their first season in the Fourth Division following relegation from the Third Division. Until the 2020-21 season, it was the only season that the club had spent in the bottom tier of English football.

This article covers the period from 1 July 1987 to 30 June 1988.

## Kit

Bolton retained the previous season's kit, manufactured by Umbro and sponsored by Normid.

## Results

### Division Four

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 15 August 1987 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 1–1 | Henshaw | 4,792 |
| 22 August 1987 | Cardiff City | H | 1–0 | Chandler | 4,530 |
| 29 August 1987 | Scarborough | A | 0–4 | | 4,462 |
| 31 August 1987 | Peterborough United | H | 2–0 | Thomas (pen), Thompson | 3,746 |
| 5 September 1987 | Hereford United | A | 3–0 | Thomas (2), Morgan | 2,541 |
| 12 September 1987 | Halifax Town | H | 2–0 | Henshaw, Shaw (og) | 4,445 |
| 15 September 1987 | Scunthorpe United | A | 1–1 | Morgan | 2,501 |
| 19 September 1987 | Torquay United | A | 1–2 | Savage | 2,211 |
| 26 September 1987 | Hartlepool United | H | 1–2 | Came | 4,398 |
| 3 October 1987 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | Thomas (pen) | 3,833 |
| 10 October 1987 | Darlington | A | 0–1 | | 1,763 |
| 17 October 1987 | Carlisle United | H | 5–0 | Brookman (2), Darby, S.Elliott, Wright (og) | 4,184 |
| 20 October 1987 | Exeter City | H | 1–0 | Came | 4,165 |
| 24 October 1987 | Rochdale | A | 2–2 | Thomas (2) (1pen) | 4,294 |
| 31 October 1987 | Swansea City | H | 1–1 | Thompson | 4,607 |
| 3 November 1987 | Newport County | A | 1–0 | S. Elliott | 1,566 |
| 7 November 1987 | Leyton Orient | H | 1–0 | Thomas | 5,189 |
| 21 November 1987 | Burnley | A | 1– 2 | Thomas | 7,489 |
| 28 November 1987 | Cambridge United | H | 2–2 | Thomas (2) | 4,294 |
| 11 December 1987 | Colchester United | A | 0–3 | | 1,725 |
| 15 December 1987 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 0–2 | | 3,064 |
| 19 December 1987 | Wrexham | H | 2–0 | Thomas | 4,703 |
| 26 December 1987 | Hartlepool United | A | 0–0 | | 4,102 |
| 28 December 1987 | Stockport County | H | 2–1 | Storer, Morgan | 6,607 |
| 1 January 1988 | Scarborough | H | 3–1 | Came, Thomas, Thompson | 6,295 |
| 12 January 1988 | Halifax Town | A | 0–0 | | 2,689 |
| 16 January 1988 | Torquay United | H | 1–2 | Came | 5,996 |
| 30 January 1988 | Peterborough United | H | 4–0 | Thomas (3) (2pens), Brookman | 3,485 |
| 6 February 1988 | Hereford United | H | 1–0 | Savage | 4,559 |
| 12 February 1988 | Stockport County | H | 2–1 | Brookman, Morgan | 4,814 |
| 20 February 1988 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 1–2 | Morgan | 4,305 |
| 27 February 1988 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–4 | | 12,430 |
| 1 March 1988 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–0 | Thompson, Thomas | 3,979 |
| 5 March 1988 | Carlisle United | A | 2–0 | Thomas (pen), Brookman | 2,796 |
| 11 March 1988 | Darlington | H | 1–1 | Brookman | 4,948 |
| 18 March 1988 | Swansea City | A | 0–1 | | 3,980 |
| 26 March 1988 | Rochdale | H | 0–0 | | 4,875 |
| 2 April 1988 | Leyton Orient | A | 2–1 | Darby, May | 4,537 |
| 4 April 1988 | Burnley | H | 2–1 | May, Thompson | 9,921 |
| 9 April 1988 | Exeter City | A | 1–1 | Thomas | 1,962 |
| 15 April 1988 | Cardiff City | A | 0–1 | | 6,703 |
| 19 April 1988 | Scunthorpe United | H | 0–0 | | 6,669 |
| 23 April 1988 | Newport County | H | 6–0 | Thomas (3) (1pen), Morgan, Winstanley, Thompson | 4,357 |
| 29 April 1988 | Cambridge United | A | 2–2 | Thomas, Savage | 2,063 |
| 2 May 1988 | Colchester United | H | 4–0 | Thomas, Savage, Came, Chandler | 5,540 |
| 7 May 1988 | Wrexham | A | 1–0 | Savage | 5,977 |
| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 27 | 9 | 10 | 82 | 43 | +39 | 90 | Champions - automatically promoted to Third Division |
| 2 | Cardiff City | 46 | 24 | 13 | 9 | 66 | 41 | +25 | 85 | Automatically promoted to Third Division; Welsh Cup Winners - qualified for Cup Winners' Cup |
| 3 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 66 | 42 | +24 | 78 | Automatically promoted to Third Division |
| 4 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 20 | 17 | 9 | 76 | 51 | +25 | 77 | Participated in Fourth Division play-offs |
| 5 | Torquay United | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 66 | 41 | +25 | 77 | Participated in Fourth Division play-offs |

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 14 November 1987 | Round 1 | Burnley | A | 1–0 | Thomas | 10,461 |
| 5 December 1987 | Round 2 | Wrexham | A | 2–1 | Thomas | 4,703 |
| 4 January 1988 | Round 3 | Barnsley | A | 1–3 | Stevens | 9,667 |

### Littlewoods Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 18 August 1987 | Round 1 First Leg | Wigan Athletic | A | 3–2 | Morgan, Chandler | 4,115 |
| 25 August 1987 | Round 1 Second Leg | Wigan Athletic | H | 1 – 3 4 – 5 (agg) | Thomas | 5,847 |

### Associate Members Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 13 October 1987 | Group Stage Game One | Preston North End | H | 0–0 | | 3,375 |
| 24 November 1987 | Group Stage Game Two | Stockport County | A | 3–1 | Thomas (2), Brookman | 2,123 |
| 19 January 1988 | Northern Section Round 1 | Bury | A | 0–1 | | 3,796 |

## Top scorers

| P | Player | Position | FL | FAC | LC | AMC | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | John Thomas | Striker | 22 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 28 |
| 2 | Trevor Morgan | Striker | 06 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 07 |
| 3= | Steve Thompson | Midfielder | 06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 06 |
| 3= | Nicky Brookman | Striker | 05 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 06 |
| 5= | Mark Came | Defender | 05 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 05 |
| 5= | Robbie Savage | Midfielder | 05 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 05 |
