[3] Former Queens Park Rangers and England forward Gerry Francis, 36, is appointed player-manager of Third Division side Bristol Rovers as successor to Bobby Gould who moved to Wimbledon last month.

1 August 1987 – Everton defeat Coventry City 1–0 in the FA Charity Shield at Wembley Stadium, with Wayne Clarke scoring the only goal of the game.

7 August 1987 – Portsmouth midfielder Mick Kennedy is fined £5,000 for claiming in a national newspaper that he was "the hardest man in football and proud of my reputation".

11 August 1987 – Former Leeds United and England manager Don Revie, 60, announces that he is suffering from motor neurone disease, which was diagnosed in May this year.

12 August 1987 – Barclays Bank become the Football League's new sponsors in a three-year deal worth in the region of £5million, while Portsmouth prepare for their first top division campaign since the 1950s by paying Leeds United £285,000 for striker Ian Baird.

[9] Scarborough, new members after their promotion to the Fourth Division from the GM Vauxhall Conference, hold fallen giants Wolverhampton Wanderers to a 2–2 draw, but crowd trouble results in 56 arrests.

[12] 3 September 1987 – Ten months after being sacked by Manchester United, Ron Atkinson returns to football for a second spell as manager of West Bromwich Albion.

4 September 1987 – Arsenal striker Charlie Nicholas hands in a transfer request after manager George Graham dropped him in favour of Perry Groves as strike-partner to new signing Alan Smith.

[13] 9 September 1987 – 25 Liverpool fans are extradited to Belgium on manslaughter charges in connection to the Heysel Stadium disaster, in which 39 spectators (most of them Italian) were crushed to death at the 1985 European Cup Final.

[14] Oxford United's £400,000 bid for Derby County winger Nigel Callaghan is accepted, but the player turns down the chance to move – less than a year after he joined the East Midlands club for barely a third of that amount.

29 September 1987 – John Aldridge reaches the 10-goal mark in the league for Liverpool after just seven games, scoring a hat-trick in their 4–0 home win over Derby County.

[23] A Gary McKay goal gives Scotland a 1–0 win in Bulgaria, a result that allows the Republic of Ireland, managed by former 1966 World Cup winner Jack Charlton, to qualify for their first major tournament.

13 December 1987 – Nigel Clough scores a hat-trick in less than five minutes as Nottingham Forest beat Queens Park Rangers 4–0 in the First Division game at the City Ground.

[27] 16 December 1987 – Manchester United pay £900,000 for Norwich City central defender Steve Bruce, with his old club using £580,000 of the transfer to sign Robert Fleck from Rangers.

26 December 1987 – Boxing Day sees Nottingham Forest win 2–0 at Highbury to overtake Arsenal into second place, while in a London derby Wimbledon beat West Ham United 2–1, and David Pleat's tenure as Leicester City manager starts with defeat to AFC Bournemouth.

26 January 1988 – Aston Villa boost their Second Division promotion challenge with the £200,000 acquisition of highly rated Crewe Alexandra midfielder David Platt, 21.

[9] The Second Division promotion race sees Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers level at the top of the table, with Millwall, Middlesbrough and Bradford City occupying the play-off places.

13 March 1988 – Liverpool move closer to a unique second double by thrashing Manchester City 4–0 in the FA Cup quarter-final at Maine Road.

[9] Aston Villa remain top of the Second Division with a two-point margin over Blackburn Rovers, with the play-off places being occupied by Middlesbrough, Millwall and Bradford City.

[40] 2 April 1988 – Brian McClair scores a hat-trick in Manchester United's 4–1 home win over Derby County to bring his league tally for the season to 19 goals.

[42] Wimbledon end Luton Town's cup double hopes with a 2–1 win at White Hart Lane to reach the final for the first time.

[9] The promotion issues in the Second Division have yet to be confirmed, with just four points separating the top five clubs – Millwall, Aston Villa, Bradford City, Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers.

7 May 1988 – On the final full day of the First Division season, Charlton Athletic stay up with a 1–1 draw at Chelsea, a result that sends their opponents into the relegation play-offs.

[50] 20 May 1988 – Kevin Clarke, 30, is sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of being the ring leader of a notorious gang of Oxford United hooligans who were involved in running battles with rivals fans, often in busy shopping areas.

[58] 23 June 1988 – Eighteen Scarborough hooligans receive prison sentences of up to 12 months for their part in clashes with Wolverhampton Wanderers fans at the club's very first Football League game in August.

They finished nine points ahead of their nearest rivals Manchester United, who made impressive progress in their first full season under the management of Alex Ferguson.

Seventh-placed Wimbledon, in their second season in the First Division and their 11th in the league, beat Liverpool 1–0 in the FA Cup final to deny the Merseysiders a unique second double.

Oxford United's three-year stay in the First Division came to an end with relegation in bottom place, while Watford failed miserably in the aftermath of Graham Taylor's departure and went down after six years among the elite.

Liverpool striker John Aldridge was top scorer in the league and collected a championship medal in his first full season at the club, but missed the penalty in the FA Cup final that cost his side the chance of a unique second double.

Young midfielder David Platt had an excellent first season for Aston Villa, establishing himself as a competent goalscorer as well as gaining promotion to the First Division.