DIVISION 3    1987/88
      For full league and cup results  click on by club required.
 

Leading goalscorer:
Steve Lovell 
(Gillingham)
 25  goals

Chesterfield didn't have a goal scored against them in the first four League matches of the season. That run didn't survive the fifth match - they lost 0-10 at Gillingham!

   P W D L F A Pts
    1 Sunderland 46 27 12 7 92 48 93 Promoted
    2 Brighton & Hove Albion 46 23 15 8 69 47 84 Promoted
    3 Walsall 46 23 13 10 68 50 82 Promoted
    4 Notts County 46 23 12 11 82 49 81 Play Off
    5 Bristol City 46 21 12 13 77 62 75 Play Off
    Season Results 6 Northampton Town 46 18 19 9 70 51 73
    7 Wigan Athletic 46 20 12 14 70 61 72
    8 Bristol Rovers 46 18 12 16 68 56 66
    9 Fulham 46 19 9 18 69 60 66
    10 Blackpool 46 17 14 15 71 62 65
    11 Port Vale 46 18 11 17 58 56 65
    12 Brentford 46 16 14 16 53 59 62
    Season Results 13 Gillingham 46 14 17 15 77 61 59
    14 Bury 46 15 14 17 58 57 59
    15 Chester City 46 14 16 16 51 62 58
    16 Preston North End 46 15 13 18 48 59 58
    17 Southend United 46 14 13 19 65 83 55
    Season Results 18 Chesterfield 46 15 10 21 41 70 55
    19 Mansfield Town 46 14 12 20 48 59 54
    20 Aldershot 46 15 8 23 64 74 53
    21 Rotherham United 46 12 16 18 50 66 52 Relegated
    22 Grimsby Town 46 12 14 20 48 58 50 Relegated
    23 York City 46 8 9 29 48 91 33 Relegated
    24 Doncaster Rovers 46 8 9 29 40 84 33 Relegated
   
     
Play Off Unlike current play-offs, in seasons 1986/87 and 1987/88 the four teams in each divisional play-off comprised 3 clubs from the lower division who were competing for promotion plus one from the higher division who were aiming to avoid relegation.
Divisions 2 & 3 Play Off Semi-Finals
Competing clubs - Sheffield United from Division 2 plus Bristol City, Notts County & Walsall from Division 3
1st Leg
Sun May 15 Bristol City 1 - 0 Sheffield United
Sun May 15 Notts County 1 - 3 Walsall
2nd Leg
Wed May 18 Sheffield United 1 - 1 Bristol City
Wed May 18 Walsall 1 - 1 Notts County
Aggregate scores
Bristol City 2 - 1 Sheffield United
Walsall 4 - 2 Notts County
Play Off Final  
1st Leg
Wed May 25 Bristol City 1 - 3 Walsall
2nd Leg
Sat May 28 Walsall 0 - 2 Bristol City
Aggregate score
Walsall 3 - 3 Bristol City
  (Walsall won a penalty shoot-out 4-2 for the right to stage the final replay at home)
Replay
Mon May 30 Walsall 4 - 0 Bristol City
Walsall promoted to Division 2, Sheffield United relegated to Division 3.
Divisions 3 & 4 Play Off Semi-Finals
Competing clubs - Rotherham United from Division 3 plus Scunthorpe, Swansea & Torquay from Division 4
1st Leg
Sun May 15 Swansea City 1 - 0 Rotherham United
Sun May 15 Torquay United 2 - 1 Scunthorpe United
2nd Leg
Wed May 18 Rotherham United 1 - 1 Swansea City
Wed May 18 Scunthorpe United 1 - 1 Torquay United
Aggregate scores
Swansea City 2 - 1 Rotherham United
Torquay United 3 - 2 Scunthorpe United
Play Off Final  
1st Leg
Wed May 25 Swansea City 2 - 1 Torquay United
2nd Leg
Sat May 28 Torquay United 3 - 3 Swansea City
Aggregate score
Swansea City 5 - 4 Torquay United
Swansea promoted to Division 3, Rotherham United relegated to Division 4.