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The 1987–88 season was Cardiff City F.C.'s 61st season in the Football League. They competed in the 24-team Division Four, then the fourth tier of English football, finishing second, winning promotion to Division Three.

Players

First team squad.^[1] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
--	GK	ENG	Scott Endersby
--	GK	ENG	Alan Judge
--	GK	ENG	Graham Moseley
--	GK	WAL	Jon Roberts
--	GK	SCO	George Wood
--	DF	WAL	Gareth Abraham
--	DF	WAL	Phil Bater
--	DF	WAL	Terry Boyle
--	DF	ENG	Mike Ford
--	DF	WAL	Jason Perry
--	DF	ENG	Nick Platnauer


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
--	MF	WAL	Jason Gummer
--	MF	ENG	Mark Kelly
--	MF	ENG	Steve Mardenborough
--	MF	ENG	Brian McDermott
--	MF	ENG	Paul Sanderson
--	MF	ENG	Paul Wheeler
--	MF	ENG	Paul Wimbleton
--	FW	ENG	Kevin Bartlett
--	FW	WAL	Alan Curtis
--	FW	ENG	Jimmy Gilligan
--	FW	WAL	Ian Walsh

League standings

Pos	Team	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

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

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	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A
Result	D	L	W	D	W	L	W	W	W	D	W	L	L	W	L	W	D	W	W	D	D	W	W	L	D	D	W	D	W	W	L	D	W	D	W	D	L	D	W	W	L	W	W	W	W	W
Position		19	13	16	10	15	10	7	2	4	1	4	9	6	10	7	8	5	2	2	4	4	3	4	4	5	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2

Source: ^[2]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Fixtures and results

Fourth Division

15 August 1987 (1987-08-15) 1	Cardiff City	1–1	Leyton Orient	Cardiff
15:00	Jimmy Gilligan 45'		45' Mark Smalley	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,357 Referee: R Hamer (Bristol)

22 August 1987 (1987-08-22) 2	Bolton Wanderers	1–0	Cardiff City	Bolton
15:00	Jeff Chandler 37'			Stadium: Burnden Park Attendance: 4,530 Referee: J Kirby (Sheffield)

29 August 1987 (1987-08-29) 3	Cardiff City	1–0	Swansea City	Cardiff
15:00	Jimmy Gilligan 53'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 6,010 Referee: John Carter (Christchurch, Dorset)

1 September 1987 (1987-09-01) 4	Cambridge United	0–0	Cardiff City	Cambridge
19:45				Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 2,079 Referee: John Key (Rotherham)

5 September 1987 (1987-09-05) 5	Cardiff City	3–2	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Cardiff
15:00	Brian McDermott 2' Kevin Bartlett 72' Terry Boyle 81'		35' Nigel Vaughan 54' Steve Bull	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,258 Referee: Darryl Reeves (Uxbridge)

12 September 1987 (1987-09-12) 6	Wrexham	3–0	Cardiff City	Wrexham
15:00	Steve Buxton 51' Geoff Hunter 59' Kevin Russell 88'			Stadium: The Racecourse Attendance: 2,212 Referee: E Parker (Preston)

15 September 1987 (1987-09-15) 7	Cardiff City	3–1	Darlington	Cardiff
19:45	Gareth Abraham 18' Kevin Bartlett 48' Kevin Bartlett 51'		54' Stephen Bell	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,201 Referee: Noel Butler (Surrey)

19 September 1987 (1987-09-19) 8	Cardiff City	4–2	Carlisle United	Cardiff
15:00	Jimmy Gilligan 29' Mike Ford 55' Terry Boyle 63' Jimmy Gilligan 78'		31' Brent Hetherington 40' Wes Saunders	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,659 Referee: Paul Durkin (Dorset)

25 September 1987 (1987-09-25) 9	Tranmere Rovers	0–1	Cardiff City	Birkenhead
19:30			47' Paul Wimbleton	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 2,543 Referee: Paul Danson (Leicester)

29 September 1987 (1987-09-29) 10	Cardiff City	0–0	Halifax Town	Cardiff
19:45				Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,666 Referee: Gerald Ashby (Worcester)

2 October 1987 (1987-10-02) 11	Stockport County	0–1	Cardiff City	Stockport
19:30			16' Kevin Bartlett	Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 2,332 Referee: T Simpson (Sowerby Bridge)

10 October 1987 (1987-10-10) 12	Cardiff City	0–1	Hereford United	Cardiff
15:00	Alan Curtis		69' (pen) Steve Spooner	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 4,420 Referee: Tony Ward (London)

17 October 1987 (1987-10-17) 13	Peterborough United	4–3	Cardiff City	Peterborough
15:00	Mick Gooding 25' Les Lawrence 50' Noel Luke 56' Noel Luke 78'		14' Mike Ford 41' Mike Ford 55' Brian McDermott	Stadium: London Road Attendance: 3,473 Referee: Jim Borrett (Harleston)

20 October 1987 (1987-10-20) 14	Cardiff City	2–1	Torquay United	Cardiff
19:45	Mike Ford 60' Jimmy Gilligan 72'		38' Derek Dawkins	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,503 Referee: Peter Wright (Northwich)

24 October 1987 (1987-10-24) 15	Scunthorpe United	2–1	Cardiff City	Scunthorpe
15:00	Mike Ford 5' (og) Kevin Taylor 23'		81' Paul Sanderson	Stadium: Old Show Ground Attendance: 2,872 Referee: Paul Harrison (Rochdale)

31 October 1987 (1987-10-31) 16	Cardiff City	1–0	Rochdale	Cardiff
15:00	Jimmy Gilligan 90'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,046 Referee: Colin Downey (Hounslow)

4 November 1987 (1987-11-04) 17	Scarborough	1–1	Cardiff City	Scarborough, North Yorkshire
	Stewart Mell 42'		44' Paul Wimbleton	Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 2,599 Referee: D Scott (Burnley)

7 November 1987 (1987-11-07) 18	Cardiff City	3–2	Exeter City	Cardiff
15:00	Jimmy Gilligan 4' Jimmy Gilligan 83' Terry Boyle 77'		15' Darren Rowbotham 62' Paul Batty	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,474 Referee: Terry Holbrook (Walsall)

21 November 1987 (1987-11-21) 19	Newport County	1–2	Cardiff City	Newport
15:00	Paul Miller 57'		69' Paul Wimbleton 74' Nick Platnauer	Stadium: Somerton Park Attendance: 4,022 Referee: M James (Horsham)

28 November 1987 (1987-11-28) 20	Cardiff City	1–1	Hartlepool United	Cardiff
15:00	Brian McDermott 88'		14' Tony Barratt	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,232 Referee: K Miller (Harlow)

12 December 1987 (1987-12-12) 21	Crewe Alexandra	0–0	Cardiff City	Crewe
15:00				Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 2,010 Referee: Ken Lupton (Stockton)

19 December 1987 (1987-12-19) 22	Cardiff City	2–1	Burnley	Cardiff
15:00	Jimmy Gilligan 79' Jimmy Gilligan 81'		47' Steve Davis	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,401 Referee: John Moules (Kent)

26 December 1987 (1987-12-26) 23	Cardiff City	3–0	Tranmere Rovers	Cardiff
15:00	Jimmy Gilligan 24' Jimmy Gilligan 83' Paul Wimbleton 69'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 5,233 Referee: Ron Groves (Weston)

28 December 1987 (1987-12-28) 24	Colchester United	2–1	Cardiff City	Colchester
19:30	Dale Tempest 40' Tony English 75'		24' Mark Kelly	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,599 Referee: Philip Don (Middlesex)

1 January 1988 (1988-01-01) 25	Swansea City	2–2	Cardiff City	Swansea City
11:30	Joe Allon 60' Paul Raynor 87'		84' Mike Ford 90' Jimmy Gilligan	Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 10,360 Referee: Roger Milford (Bristol)

16 January 1988 (1988-01-16) 26	Carlisle United	0–0	Cardiff City	Carlisle
15:00				Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 2,344 Referee: Ian Hendrick (Preston)

30 January 1988 (1988-01-30) 27	Cardiff City	4–0	Cambridge United	Cardiff
15:00	Paul Wimbleton 4' (pen) Kevin Bartlett 30' Brian McDermott 40' Terry Boyle 66'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 4,012 Referee: Vic Callow (Solihull)

2 February 1988 (1988-02-02) 28	Darlington	0–0	Cardiff City	Darlington
15:00				Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 2,332 Referee: Colin Trussell (Liverpool)

6 February 1988 (1988-02-06) 29	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–4	Cardiff City	Wolverhampton
15:00	Steve Bull 72'		64' Jimmy Gilligan 82' Jimmy Gilligan 67' Paul Wimbleton 88' Paul Wimbleton	Stadium: Molineux Attendance: 9,072 Referee: F Roberts (Prestatyn)

13 February 1988 (1988-02-13) 30	Cardiff City	1–0	Colchester United	Cardiff
15:00	Mike Ford 49'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 5,458 Referee: David Hutchinson (Cambridge)

20 February 1988 (1988-02-20) 31	Leyton Orient	4–1	Cardiff City	London
15:00	Kevin Hales 40' (pen) Steve Castle 51' Terry Howard 84' Ian Juryeff 87'		15' Kevin Bartlett	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 3,523 Referee: M Bailey (Impington)

27 February 1988 (1988-02-27) 32	Cardiff City	0–0	Stockport County	Cardiff
15:00				Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 4,008 Referee: Jim Rushton (Stoke)

1 March 1988 (1988-03-01) 33	Halifax Town	0–1	Cardiff City	Halifax
19:30			73' Kevin Bartlett	Stadium: The Shay Attendance: 1,128 Referee: Kevin Breen (Liverpool)

4 March 1988 (1988-03-04) 34	Cardiff City	0–0	Peterborough United	Cardiff
19:45				Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 4,172 Referee: Lester Shapter (Paignton)

13 March 1988 (1988-03-13) 35	Hereford United	1–2	Cardiff City	Hereford
12:00	Phil Stant 2'		3' Jimmy Gilligan 82' Kevin Bartlett	Stadium: Edgar Street Attendance: 3,210 Referee: Paul Vanes (West Midlands)

16 March 1988 (1988-03-16) 36	Cardiff City	1–1	Wrexham	Cardiff
19:45	Jimmy Gilligan 69'		27' Roger Preece	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 4,083 Referee: Gerald Ashby (Worcester)

26 March 1988 (1988-03-26) 37	Cardiff City	0–1	Scunthorpe United	Cardiff
15:00			80' David Shearer	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 4,527 Referee: Martin Bodenham (East Looe)

29 March 1988 (1988-03-29) 38	Rochdale	2–2	Cardiff City	Rochdale
	Carl Harris 42' Lyndon Simmonds 70' (pen)		57' Kevin Bartlett 78' (og) John Bramhall	Stadium: Spotland Attendance: 1,435 Referee: Howard Taylor

2 April 1988 (1988-04-02) 39	Exeter City	0–2	Cardiff City	Exeter
15:00			30' Kevin Bartlett 41' Kevin Bartlett	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 2,649 Referee: Mike Reed (Birmingham)

4 April 1988 (1988-04-04) 40	Cardiff City	4–0	Newport County	Cardiff
11:30	Nigel Stevenson 37' Paul Wimbleton 66' Brian McDermott 71' Mike Ford 76'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 6,536 Referee: Vic Callow (Solihull)

9 April 1988 (1988-04-09) 41	Torquay United	2–0	Cardiff City	Torquay
15:00	Lee Sharpe 30' (pen) Jim McNichol 37'			Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 3,082 Referee: R Hamer (Bristol)

15 April 1988 (1988-04-15) 42	Cardiff City	1–0	Bolton Wanderers	Cardiff
19:45	Jimmy Gilligan 74'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 6,705 Referee: John Martin (Alton, Hampshire)

23 April 1988 (1988-04-23) 43	Cardiff City	2–0	Scarborough	Cardiff
15:00	Alan Curtis 10' Brian McDermott 50' (pen)			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 5,751 Referee: Jim Ashworth (Luffenham)

30 April 1988 (1988-04-30) 44	Hartlepool United	0–1	Cardiff City	Hartlepool
15:00			30' Jimmy Gilligan	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 1,097 Referee: Howard Taylor (Oadby, Leicestershire)

2 May 1988 (1988-05-02) 45	Cardiff City	2–0	Crewe Alexandra	Cardiff
15:00	Kevin Bartlett 13' Brian McDermott 45'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 10,125 Referee: Danny Vickers (Essex)

7 May 1988 (1988-05-07) 46	Burnley	1–2	Cardiff City	Burnley
15:00	George Oghani 84'		72' Alan Curtis 89' Jimmy Gilligan	Stadium: Turf Moor Attendance: 8,525 Referee: John Ireland

Source^[2]^[3]

Littlewoods Challenge Cup (League Cup)

18 August 1987 (1987-08-18) Round 1 (First Leg)	Newport County	2–1	Cardiff City	Cardiff
19:30	Paul Evans 40', 74'		56' Alan Curtis	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,383 Referee: Ray Lewis (Great Bookham, Surrey)
Note: Newport conceded home advantage and game was played at Ninian Park.

25 August 1987 (1987-08-25) Round 1 (Second Leg)	Cardiff City	2–2 (3–4 agg.)	Newport County	Cardiff
19:45	Jimmy Gilligan 6' Paul Sanderson 37'		11' Robbie Taylor 48' Steve Tupling	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,550 Referee: Lester Shapter (Paignton)

FA Cup

14 November 1987 (1987-11-14) Round 1	Peterborough United	2–1	Cardiff City	Peterborough
15:00	Mick Gooding 17' Mick Gooding 56'		44' Kevin Bartlett	Stadium: London Road Attendance: 3,600 Referee: Vic Callow (Solihull)

Welsh Cup

18 November 1987 (1987-11-18) Round 3	Ebbw Vale	0–0	Cardiff City	Cardiff
19:45				Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 935 Referee: J Williams (Magor)
Note: Ebbw Vale conceded home advantage

5 December 1987 (1987-12-05) Round 3 (Replay)	Cardiff City	1–0	Ebbw Vale	Cardiff
15:00	Kevin Bartlett 4'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 975 Referee: J Williams (Magor)

9 January 1988 (1988-01-09) Round 4	Cardiff City	3–1	Port Talbot Town	Cardiff
15:00	Mike Ford 20', 44' Jimmy Gilligan 65'		87' D John	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 1,382 Referee: R Thomas (Ton Pentre)

24 February 1988 (1988-02-24) Round 5	Cardiff City	3–1	Merthyr Tydfil	Cardiff
19:45	Jimmy Gilligan 9' Paul Wimbleton 46' Paul Wimbleton 67'		87' Dai Webley	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 7,213 Referee: Roger Gifford (Llanbradach)

19 April 1988 (1988-04-19) Semi Final (First Leg)	Cardiff City	2–1	Caernarfon Town	Cardiff
19:45	Paul Wimbleton 15' (pen) Mark Kelly 42'		35' Damian Looker	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,750 Referee: W Burge (Tonypandy)

27 April 1988 (1988-04-27) Semi Final (Second Leg)	Caernarfon Town	0–1 (1–3 agg.)	Cardiff City	Caernarfon
19:30			78' (pen) Brian McDermott	Stadium: The Oval Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Ron Bridges (Deeside)

17 May 1988 (1988-05-17) Final	Wrexham	0–2	Cardiff City	Swansea
19:30			13' Alan Curtis 34' Jimmy Gilligan	Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 5,645 Referee: Roger Gifford (Llanbradach)

Sherpa Van Trophy

13 October 1987 (1987-10-13) Preliminary Round	Cardiff City	3–2	Wrexham	Cardiff
19:45	Paul Wheeler 35' Brian McDermott 52' Jimmy Gilligan 70'		43' Darren Wright 74' Shaun Cunnington	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 1,102 Referee: Paul Vanes (West Midlands)

24 November 1987 (1987-11-24) Preliminary Round	Walsall	3–1	Cardiff City	Walsall
19:30	David Kelly 10' Nicky Cross 60' Phil Hawker 66'		25' Jimmy Gilligan	Stadium: Fellows Park Attendance: 2,420

20 January 1988 (1988-01-20) Round 1	Notts County	2–0	Cardiff City	Nottingham
19:30	Paul Barnes 14' Ian McParland 85'			Stadium: Meadow Lane Attendance: 2,704 Referee: Tony Ward (London)

References

^ "All Cardiff City football club players: 1988". 11v11. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Cardiff City 1987-88 results". Cardiff City Forum. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
^ "Cardiff City football club match record: 1987". 11v11. Retrieved 14 January 2022.

Bibliography

Hayes, Dean (2006). The Who's Who of Cardiff City. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-462-0.
Crooks, John (1986). Cardiff City Chronology 1920-86. John Crooks. ISBN 0-9511984-0-8.
Shepherd, Richard (2002). The Definitive Cardiff City F.C. Tony Brown. ISBN 1-899-46817-X.
Crooks, John (1992). Cardiff City Football Club: Official History of the Bluebirds. Yore Publications. ISBN 0-9513321-8-X.
Rollin, Jack, ed. (1988). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1988-89. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0-356-15879-9.

Crooks, John (1988). Cardiff City Diary of a Double Season 1987-88. John Crooks. ISBN 0-9511984-2-4.

"Football Club History Database – Cardiff City". Archived from the original on 30 December 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2008.

Welsh Football Data Archive

[1] "All Cardiff City football club players: 1988". 11v11. Retrieved 14 January 2022.

[results-2] "Cardiff City 1987-88 results". Cardiff City Forum. Retrieved 14 January 2022.

[11v11results-3] "Cardiff City football club match record: 1987". 11v11. Retrieved 14 January 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]