Fourth place went to George Graham's emerging young Arsenal side who also won the League Cup in his first season in charge.
Fifth place went to newly-promoted Norwich City, whose manager Ken Brown built a strong squad on a limited budget to achieve a finish which would have been enough to qualify for the UEFA Cup had it not been for the ongoing ban on English clubs in European competitions.
Manchester United manager Ron Atkinson had been under pressure for months, after his side had finished fourth in the league in 1985–86, 12 points behind the champions, Liverpool.
Aberdeen manager Alex Ferguson took over, and results began to improve despite no immediate new signings being made, with United finally finishing 11th.
Chairman Doug Ellis had sensed from the start that 1986-87 would be a tough season for the club, so he axed manager Graham Turner in September and replaced him with Manchester City's Billy McNeill.
In the first season of the relegation/promotion play-offs, Charlton Athletic beat Second Division Leeds United to retain their top flight status.
Champions Bournemouth were promoted to the Second Division for the first time in their history thanks to the efforts of hard working manager Harry Redknapp.
Both the semifinals and the finals were decided over two legs, and only the aggregates are given in the schemata below.The full results can be found at: Football League Division Four play-offs 1987.
The stars of the Fourth Division during 1986-87 were Graham Carr's runaway champions Northampton Town, with young midfielder Eddie McGoldrick being the key player in his side's season of success.
Down at the bottom end of the division, an injury time winner for Torquay United kept them in the Football League after a police dog had bitten one of their players.