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1987–88 Dundee United F.C. season
| Field | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| club | Dundee United | |
| season | 1987–88 | |
| manager | Jim McLean | |
| chairman | George Fox | |
| stadium | Tannadice Park | |
| league | Scottish Premier Division | |
| league result | 5th | |
| cup1 | Scottish Cup | cup1 result = Runners-up |
| cup2 | Scottish League Cup | cup2 result = Quarter-finals |
| cup3 | UEFA Cup | cup3 result = Second round |
| league topscorer | Iain Ferguson (11) | |
| season topscorer | Iain Ferguson (16) | |
| highest attendance | 20,846 vs Rangers (27 February) | |
| lowest attendance | 5,703 vs Motherwell (12 December) | |
| prevseason | 1986–87 | |
| nextseason | 1988–89 |
The 1987–88 season was the 79th year of football played by Dundee United, and covers the period from 1 July 1987 to 30 June 1988. United finished in fifth place, securing UEFA Cup Winners' Cup football for the following season, despite their Scottish Cup final defeat to Celtic (Celtic qualified for European competition as league winners).
Match results
Dundee United played a total of 60 competitive matches during the 1987–88 season. The team finished fifth in the Scottish Premier Division.
In the cup competitions, United lost in the final of the Scottish Cup to Celtic and lost in the Skol Cup quarter-finals to rivals Dundee. Czechoslovak side Vítkovice ensured United wouldn't repeat last season's UEFA Cup run, beating them in the second round.
Legend
| Win | Draw | Loss |
|---|
All results are written with Dundee United's score first.
Premier Division
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 August 1987 | Rangers | A | 1–1 | 39,120 | Beaumont |
| 12 August 1987 | Motherwell | H | 1–1 | 6,633 | Redford |
| 15 August 1987 | Morton | H | 3–1 | 6,641 | McInally, Redford, Sturrock |
| 22 August 1987 | Hearts | A | 1–4 | 14,548 | Ferguson |
| 29 August 1987 | Aberdeen | A | 1–1 | 16,000 | Redford |
| 5 September 1987 | Celtic | H | 0–0 | 16,192 | |
| 12 September 1987 | Hibernian | H | 1–2 | 7,920 | Hegarty |
| 19 September 1987 | St Mirren | A | 0–2 | 3,807 | |
| 26 September 1987 | Falkirk | H | 3–0 | 6,240 | G McLeod, Sturrock (2) |
| 3 October 1987 | Dundee | A | 1–1 | 11,497 | Ferguson |
| 6 October 1987 | Dunfermline | A | 0–0 | 7,558 | |
| 10 October 1987 | Rangers | H | 1–0 | 18,214 | Ferguson |
| 17 October 1987 | Aberdeen | H | 0–0 | 11,281 | |
| 24 October 1987 | Celtic | A | 2–1 | 31,032 | Ferguson, Clark |
| 28 October 1987 | Hibernian | A | 1–0 | 9,250 | McKinlay |
| 31 October 1987 | St Mirren | H | 2–3 | 7,607 | Ferguson, Paatelainen |
| 7 November 1987 | Motherwell | A | 1–2 | 2,927 | Ferguson |
| 14 November 1987 | Dunfermline | H | 1–0 | 8,699 | Paatelainen |
| 18 November 1987 | Hearts | H | 0–3 | 14,258 | |
| 21 November 1987 | Morton | A | 1–0 | 3,000 | Ferguson |
| 24 November 1987 | Falkirk | A | 1–4 | 4,000 | G McLeod |
| 28 November 1987 | Dundee | H | 1–3 | 13,625 | Clark |
| 5 December 1987 | Rangers | A | 0–1 | 41,159 | |
| 12 December 1987 | Motherwell | H | 3–1 | 5,703 | G McLeod, Paatelainen, Ferguson |
| 16 December 1987 | Hibernian | H | 1–2 | 6,095 | Ferguson |
| 19 December 1987 | St Mirren | A | 1–2 | 3,517 | McPhee |
| 26 December 1987 | Celtic | H | 1–0 | 18,458 | French |
| 2 January 1988 | Aberdeen | A | 0–0 | 21,500 | |
| 9 January 1988 | Falkirk | H | 0–0 | 6,617 | |
| 16 January 1988 | Dundee | A | 2–0 | 13,651 | Bannon, Paatelainen |
| 3 February 1988 | Hearts | A | 1–1 | 13,710 | Redford |
| 6 February 1988 | Morton | H | 2–0 | 6,566 | Redford (2) |
| 13 February 1988 | Dunfermline | A | 3–0 | 7,159 | Gallacher (3) |
| 27 February 1988 | Rangers | H | 1–1 | 20,846 | Paatelainen |
| 5 March 1988 | Hibernian | A | 0–0 | 8,401 | |
| 19 March 1988 | Aberdeen | H | 0–2 | 10,403 | |
| 26 March 1988 | Celtic | A | 0–0 | 34,933 | |
| 30 March 1988 | St Mirren | H | 5–1 | 6,294 | Bowman, Ferguson, French, Irvine (2) |
| 2 April 1988 | Dundee | H | 1–0 | 13,874 | French |
| 16 April 1988 | Motherwell | A | 2–4 | 3,822 | Clark, J McLeod |
| 23 April 1988 | Dunfermline | H | 2–2 | 8,263 | McInally, Ferguson |
| 30 April 1988 | Morton | A | 4–0 | 2,000 | Paatelainen (4) |
| 4 May 1988 | Falkirk | A | 2–1 | 4,500 | Welsh, Gallacher |
| 7 May 1988 | Hearts | H | 0–0 | 9,820 |
Scottish Cup
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 January 1988 | Arbroath | A | 7–0 | 5,905 | Malpas, Bannon, Irvine (2), Paatelainen |
| French, Redford | |||||
| 20 February 1988 | Airdrieonians | A | 2–0 | 6,727 | Hegarty, Bannon |
| 12 March 1988 | Dundee | A | 0–0 | 19,355 | |
| 15 March 1988 | Dundee | H | 2–2 | 17,055 | Bannon (2) |
| 28 March 1988 | Dundee | A | 3–0 | 19,152 | Redford, Ferguson, McLeod |
| 9 April 1988 | Aberdeen | N | 0–0 | 20,488 | |
| 13 April 1988 | Aberdeen | N | 1–1 | 17,288 | Paatelainen |
| 20 April 1988 | Aberdeen | N | 1–0 | 19,048 | Ferguson |
| 14 May 1988 | Celtic | N | 1–2 | 74,000 | Gallacher |
Skol Cup
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 August 1987 | Partick Thistle | H | 2–0 | 6,075 | McPhee, Ferguson, Gallacher, Sturrock |
| 25 August 1987 | Raith Rovers | A | 2–1 | 6,500 | Sturrock, Malpas |
| 2 September 1987 | Dundee | A | 1–2 | 19,817 | Ferguson |
UEFA Cup
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 September 1987 | NIR Coleraine | A | 1–0 | 6,500 | Sturrock |
| 30 September 1987 | NIR Coleraine | H | 3–1 | 8,430 | Clark, Gallacher, Sturrock |
| 21 October 1987 | CZE Vítkovice | H | 1–2 | 8,938 | Ferguson |
| 4 November 1987 | CZE Vítkovice | A | 1–1 | 12,549 | Clark |
Player details
During the 1987–88 season, United used 31 different players comprising four nationalities. Maurice Malpas featured in all but one of United's 60 matches. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player. |}
Goalscorers
United had 19 players score with the team scoring 83 goals in total. The top goalscorer was Iain Ferguson, who finished the season with 16 goals.
| Name | League | Cups | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 5 | 16 | |
| 9 | 2 | 11 | |
| 6 | 2 | 8 | |
| 3 | 4 | 7 | |
| 3 | 3 | 6 | |
| 3 | 2 | 5 | |
| 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| ** | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 |
Discipline
During the 1987–88 season, two United players were sent off. Statistics for cautions are unavailable.
| Name | Dismissals |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 1 |
Team statistics
League table
Transfers
In
The club signed three players during the season with a total public cost of at least £200,000 (one figure unknown).
| Date | Player | From | Fee (£) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1987 | SCO | Forfar Athletic | Unknown | ||||||
| August 1987 | SCO | Liverpool | url=http://www.dirtyarab.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Player%20a-z/Irvine%20JA.htm | title=Player A to Z: Alan Irvine | publisher=Glenrothes Arabs | accessdate=6 February 2008}} | |||
| 30 October 1987 | FIN | Haka | url=http://www.dirtyarab.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Player%20a-z/Paatelainen%20M.htm | title=Player A to Z: Mixu Paatelainen | publisher=Glenrothes Arabs | accessdate=6 February 2008 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080828225305/http://www.dirtyarab.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Player%20a-z/Paatelainen%20M.htm | archivedate = 28 August 2008 | url-status=dead}} |
Out
Four players were sold by the club during the season with a public total of at least £80,000 (some figures unavailable).
| Date | Player | To | Fee | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 1987 | SCO | Dunfermline | url=http://www.dirtyarab.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Player%20a-z/Holt%20J.htm | title=Player A to Z: John Holt | publisher=Glenrothes Arabs | accessdate=6 February 2008 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20081015114526/http://www.dirtyarab.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Player%20a-z/Holt%20J.htm | archivedate = 15 October 2008 | url-status=dead}} |
| September 1987 | SCO | Dunfermline | url=http://www.dirtyarab.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Player%20a-z/Kirkwood%20B.htm | title=Player A to Z: Billy Kirkwood | publisher=Glenrothes Arabs | accessdate=6 February 2008 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080828225920/http://www.dirtyarab.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Player%20a-z/Kirkwood%20B.htm | archivedate = 28 August 2008 | url-status=dead}} |
| 11 February 1988 | SCO | Shrewsbury Town | £0,080,000 | ||||||
| February 1988 | SCO | Motherwell | url=http://www.dirtyarab.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Player%20a-z/Kinnaird%20P.htm | title=Player A to Z: Paul Kinnaird | publisher=Glenrothes Arabs | accessdate=6 February 2008}} |
Playing kit
| {{Football kit | pattern_la = _blackline | pattern_b = _vneckblack | pattern_ra = _blackline | leftarm = EE7700 | body = EE7700 | rightarm = EE7700 | shorts = 000000 | socks = EE7700 | title = Home | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| colours | {{Football kit | pattern_la = _blackline | pattern_b = _vneckblack | pattern_ra = _blackline | leftarm = FFFFFF | body = FFFFFF | rightarm = FFFFFF | shorts = 000000 | socks = FFFFFF | title = Away |
| colours |
The jerseys were sponsored by Belhaven Beers for the first time.
References
References
- "Match results 1987/1988". Arab Archive.
- (October 2010). "1987–88". Glenrothes Arabs.
- (October 2010). "1987–88". Glenrothes Arabs.
- "1987–88". Glenrothes Arabs.
- (October 2010). "Player A to Z: Alan Irvine". Glenrothes Arabs.
- "Player A to Z: Mixu Paatelainen". Glenrothes Arabs.
- "Player A to Z: John Holt". Glenrothes Arabs.
- "Player A to Z: Billy Kirkwood". Glenrothes Arabs.
- (October 2010). "Player A to Z: Paul Kinnaird". Glenrothes Arabs.
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