1987–88 Wimbledon F.C. season

[additional citation(s) needed]

Wimbledon
1987–88 season
ChairmanSam Hammam
ManagerBobby Gould
StadiumPlough Lane
First Division7th
FA CupWinners
League CupFourth round
Full Members CupThird round
Top goalscorerLeague: John Fashanu (14)
All: John Fashanu (21)

During the 1987–88 English football season, Wimbledon F.C. competed in the Football League First Division. It was Wimbledon's second consecutive season in the top flight and eleventh consecutive season in the Football League. They ended the season as FA Cup winners and finished seventh in the league. It was their first season under the management of Bobby Gould, who had been appointed following the resignation of Dave Bassett at the end of the previous season.

Season summary

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Wimbledon continued to exceed expectations in the First Division, finishing in seventh in the final table, one place lower than their sixth place the previous season. However, Wimbledon's greatest success during the season, perhaps in their entire history, came in the FA Cup, defeating West Bromwich Albion (4–1, home), Mansfield Town (1-2, away), Newcastle United (1-3, away), Watford (2–1, home) and Luton Town (2-1, neutral) to reach their first ever FA Cup Final, against that season's champions Liverpool. Wimbledon took a lead in the 37th minute when Lawrie Sanchez scored a looping header from Dennis Wise's free kick on the left. Liverpool created many chances, with Peter Beardsley finding the net but his goal being disallowed, but failed to pull a goal back, with Dave Beasant saving a penalty from John Aldridge after Clive Goodyear was (incorrectly) adjudged to have fouled inside the box; Beasant was the first goalkeeper to ever save a penalty in an FA Cup final at Wembley. Wimbledon held on to win their first (and only) FA Cup. Due to the ban on English clubs competing in European competition as a result of the Heysel disaster, Wimbledon were denied the opportunity to compete in the Cup Winners' Cup.[1][additional citation(s) needed]

Wimbledon's kit was manufactured by Spall and sponsored by Truman.[2] Wimbledon's kit for the FA Cup final were sponsored by Danish brewery Carlsberg, who had signed a deal to sponsor Wimbledon's kits for the next season.[3]

First-team squad

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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 Dave Beasant (captain)
GK   ENG Simon Tracey
DF   ENG Kevin Bedford
DF   ENG Peter Cawley
DF   ENG Brian Gayle
DF   ENG Clive Goodyear
DF   ENG John Scales
DF   ENG Andy Thorn
DF   ENG Eric Young[4]
DF   IRL Terry Phelan[5]
MF   ENG Alan Cork
MF   ENG Wally Downes
MF   ENG Carlton Fairweather
MF   ENG John Gannon
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   ENG Ian Hazel
MF   WAL Vinnie Jones[6]
MF   ENG Paul Miller
MF   ENG Vaughan Ryan
MF   NIR Lawrie Sanchez[7]
MF   ENG Dennis Wise
FW   ENG Laurie Cunningham
FW   ENG John Fashanu
FW   ENG Paul Fishenden
FW   ENG Terry Gibson
DF   ENG Mick Smith
DF   ENG Andy Clement
FW   ENG Andy Sayer
MF   ENG Steve Galliers

Staff

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Transfers

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Results

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First Division

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October

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November

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  • 4 November: Wimbledon 1-1 Liverpool
  • 7 November: Wimbledon 2-0 Southampton
  • 14 November: Coventry 3-3 Wimbledon
  • 21 November: Wimbledon 2-1 Manchester United
  • 28 November: Chelsea 1-1 Wimbledon

December

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  • 5 December: Wimbledon 1-1 Nottingham Forest
  • 12 December: Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Wimbledon
  • 18 December: Wimbledon 1-0 Norwich City
  • 26 December: West Ham United 1-2 Wimbledon

January

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  • 2 January: Oxford United 2-5 Wimbledon

March

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  • 5 March: Wimbledon 2-0 Luton Town
  • 9 May: Manchester United 2-1 Wimbledon

Unknown date

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Pos Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
6 Arsenal 40 18 12 10 58 39 +19 66
7 Wimbledon 40 14 15 11 58 47 +11 57
8 Newcastle United 40 14 14 12 55 53 +2 56

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

FA Cup

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League Cup

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Full Members Cup

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References

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  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 December 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Wimbledon - Historical Football Kits".
  3. ^ "The FA Cup Finalists 1980-1989 - Historical Football Kits".
  4. ^ Young was born in Singapore, but qualified to represent any of the home nations as he held a British passport; he would make his international debut for Wales in 1990.
  5. ^ Phelan was born in Manchester, England, but qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland; he represented the U21 side during the season and made his full debut for Ireland in 1991.
  6. ^ Jones was born in Watford, England, but qualified to represent Wales through his maternal grandfather; he made his international debut for Wales in 1994.
  7. ^ Sanchez was born in Lambeth, England, but qualified to represent Northern Ireland through his mother and Ecuador through his father; he made his debut for Northern Ireland in 1989.