| Club: | Bradford City |
| Season: | 1987–88 |
| Manager: | Terry Dolan |
| Chairman: | Stafford Heginbotham |
| League: | Football League Division Two |
| League Result: | 4th[1] |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Fifth Round |
| Cup2: | Littlewoods Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Quarter-finals |
| Cup3: | Simod Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | Quarter-finals |
| League Topscorer: | Ron Futcher (14) |
| Season Topscorer: | Ron Futcher (19) |
| Highest Attendance: | 16,017 (v Ipswich Town, 7 May 1988) 16,017 (v Middlesbrough, play-offs, 15 May 1988) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 8,658 (v Millwall, 5 September 1987) 6,408 (v Fulham, Littlewoods Cup, 10 November 2007) |
The 1987–88 season was the 85th season in Bradford City A.F.C.'s history, and their 73rd in The Football League. They finished fourth in the Football League Second Division, having been six points clear at the top of the table at one point. City went into the play-offs and lost over two legs to a Middlesbrough side who City had beaten twice during the league campaign. Having won the first leg 2–1, Middlesbrough went ahead in the second game and after extra time finished 2–0 winners.
The club also reached the fifth round of the FA Cup, the quarter-finals of the League Cup, where they were defeated by eventual winners Luton Town and the semi-finals of the Simod Cup, where they were also knocked by the eventual winners, Reading.
Captain Stuart McCall and forward John Hendrie left at the end of the season. McCall went to an Everton side managed by Colin Harvey and Hendrie to Newcastle United.
Source[2]
| Win | Draw | Loss |
See main article: 1987–88 Football League.
| 1 | 15 August 1987 | Swindon Town | Home | 2–0 | 10,553 | Futcher, McCall | ||
| 2 | 18 August 1987 | Oldham Athletic | Away | 2–0 | 8,087 | Abbott (pen), Hendrie | ||
| 3 | 22 August 1987 | Bournemouth | Away | 0–2 | 7,025 | |||
| 4 | 29 August 1987 | Leeds United | Home | 0–0 | 11,428 | |||
| 5 | 5 September 1987 | Millwall | Home | 3–1 | 8,658 | Futcher (2, 1 pen), Palin | ||
| 6 | 12 September 1987 | Stoke City | Away | 2–1 | 9,571 | Ellis, Futcher | ||
| 7 | 16 September 1987 | Plymouth Argyle | Home | 3–1 | 11,009 | Abbott (3, 2 pens) | ||
| 8 | 19 September 1987 | Blackburn Rovers | Home | 2–1 | 12,068 | Hendrie, Mitchell | ||
| 9 | 26 September 1987 | Shrewsbury Town | Away | 2–2 | 4,247 | Futcher, Ormondroyd | ||
| 10 | 29 September 1987 | Huddersfield Town | Away | 2–1 | 11,671 | McCall, Mitchell | ||
| 11 | 3 October 1987 | Middlesbrough | Home | 2–0 | 14,222 | Leonard, Palin | ||
| 12 | 10 October 1987 | West Bromwich Albion | Away | 1–0 | 12,241 | McCall | ||
| 13 | 17 October 1987 | Birmingham City | Home | 4–0 | 12,256 | Leonard (2), McCall, Palin | ||
| 14 | 21 October 1987 | Manchester City | Home | 2–4 | 14,819 | Evans, Mitchell | ||
| 15 | 24 October 1987 | Reading | Away | 1–1 | 5,920 | Hendrie | ||
| 16 | 31 October 1987 | Crystal Palace | Home | 2–0 | 13,021 | Leonard, McCall | ||
| 17 | 3 November 1987 | Hull City | Away | 0–0 | 14,443 | |||
| 18 | 7 November 1987 | Barnsley | Away | 0–3 | 11,569 | |||
| 19 | 14 November 1987 | Sheffield United | Home | 2–0 | 13,694 | Futcher, Mitchell | ||
| 20 | 21 November 1987 | Leicester City | Away | 2–0 | 11,543 | Futcher, Hendrie | ||
| 21 | 28 November 1987 | Aston Villa | Home | 2–4 | 15,006 | Futcher (2, 2 pens) | ||
| 22 | 5 December 1987 | Ipswich Town | Away | 0–4 | 13,707 | |||
| 23 | 12 December 1987 | Bournemouth | Home | 2–0 | 10,763 | Leonard (2) | ||
| 24 | 20 December 1987 | Plymouth Argyle | Away | 1–2 | 11,350 | McCall | ||
| 25 | 26 December 1987 | Shrewsbury Town | Home | 1–1 | 12,474 | Ellis | ||
| 26 | 28 December 1987 | Blackburn Rovers | Away | 1–1 | 14,124 | Mitchell | ||
| 27 | 1 January 1988 | Leeds United | Away | 0–2 | 36,004 | |||
| 28 | 2 January 1988 | Stoke City | Home | 1–4 | 12,223 | Ormondroyd | ||
| 29 | 6 February 1988 | Millwall | Away | 1–0 | 8,201 | Ormondroyd | ||
| 30 | 13 February 1988 | Oldham Athletic | Home | 5–3 | 13,862 | Hendrie (3), Kennedy, McCall | ||
| 31 | 27 February 1988 | Middlesbrough | Away | 2–1 | 21,079 | Ormondroyd (2) | ||
| 32 | 1 March 1988 | Huddersfield Town | Home | 0–1 | 12,782 | |||
| 33 | 5 March 1988 | Birmingham City | Away | 1–1 | 8,101 | Hendrie | ||
| 34 | 12 March 1988 | West Bromwich Albion | Home | 4–1 | 12,502 | Hendrie, Leonard (2), Sinnott | ||
| 35 | 19 March 1988 | Crystal Palace | Away | 1–1 | 9,801 | Ormondroyd | ||
| 36 | 30 March 1988 | Swindon Town | Away | 2–2 | 8,203 | Futcher, Leonard | [3] | |
| 37 | 2 April 1988 | Barnsley | Home | 1–1 | 15,098 | Hendrie | ||
| 38 | 4 April 1988 | Sheffield United | Away | 2–1 | 13,888 | Hendrie, Ormondroyd | ||
| 39 | 9 April 1988 | Hull City | Home | 2–0 | 13,659 | Futcher (pen), Ormondroyd | ||
| 40 | 20 April 1988 | Reading | Home | 3–0 | 13,608 | Futcher, Hendrie, McCall | ||
| 41 | 23 April 1988 | Manchester City | Away | 2–2 | 20,335 | Futcher (pen), Leonard | ||
| 42 | 30 April 1988 | Leicester City | Home | 4–1 | 14,393 | Futcher (pen), Hendrie, Mitchell, Ormondroyd | ||
| 43 | 2 May 1988 | Aston Villa | Away | 0–1 | 36,423 | |||
| 44 | 7 May 1988 | Ipswich Town | Home | 2–3 | 16,017 | Abbott, McCall |
See also: 1988 Football League play-offs.
| SF (1) | 15 May 1988 | Middlesbrough | Home | 2–1 | 16,017 | Goddard, McCall | ||
| SF (2) | 18 May 1988 | Middlesbrough | Away | 0–2 (aet)[4] | 25,868 |
See main article: 1987–88 FA Cup.
| 3 | 9 January 1987 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Home | 2–1 | 13,334 | Ellis, Hendrie | ||
| 4 | 30 January 1987 | Oxford United | Home | 4–2 | 13,653 | Evans, Hendrie, Kennedy (pen), McCall | ||
| 5 | 20 February 1988 | Portsmouth | Away | 0–3 | 19,324 |
See main article: 1987–88 Football League Cup.
| 2 (1) | 22 September 1987 | Fulham | Away | 5–1 | 4,357 | Futcher (2), Mitchell, Oliver, Ormondroyd | ||
| 2 (2) | 7 October 1987 | Fulham | Home | 2–1 | 6,408 | Hendrie, McCall | ||
| 3 | 27 October 1987 | Charlton Athletic | Away | 1–0 | 3,629 | Abbott | ||
| 4 | 18 November 1987 | Reading | Away | 0–0 | 6,784 | |||
| 4R | 24 November 1987 | Reading | Home | 1–0 | 10,448 | Ormondroyd | ||
| 5 | 19 January 1988 | Luton Town | Away | 0–2 | 11,022 |
See main article: 1987–88 Full Members' Cup.
Source[5]
| 1 | 11 November 1987 | Aston Villa | Away | 5–0 | 4,357 | Futcher (2), Mitchell, Ormondroyd, O'Shaughnessy | ||
| 2 | 2 December 1987 | Newcastle United | Home | 2–1 | 8,866 | Futcher, Abbott | ||
| 3 | 25 January 1988 | Southampton | Home | 1–0 | 7,844 | McCall | ||
| SF | 10 February 1988 | Reading | Away | 1–2 (aet)[6] | 6,424 | Hendrie |
| Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | Littlewoods Cup | Simod Cup | Play-offs | Total | Discipline | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||||
| GK | Peter Litchfield | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| GK | Paul Tomlinson | 42 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 0 | |||
| DF | Dave Evans | 43 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 58 | 2 | |||
| DF | Karl Goddard | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 39 | 1 | |||
| DF | Brian Mitchell | 42 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 8 | |||
| DF | Gavin Oliver | 43 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 56 | 0 | |||
| DF | Lee Sinnott | 42 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 56 | 1 | |||
| DF |  Steve Staunton | 7 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 (1) | 0 | |||
| DF | Chris Withe | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | |||
| MF | Greg Abbott | 25 (7) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 (1) | 1 | 3 (1) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 35 (9) | 7 | |||
| MF | Mark Ellis | 16 (6) | 2 | 2 (1) | 1 | 3 (1) | 0 | 3 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 (9) | 3 | |||
| MF | John Hendrie | 43 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 57 | 17 | |||
| MF | Mick Kennedy[7] | 15 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 2 | |||
| MF | Stuart McCall[8] | 44 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 59 | 12 | |||
| MF | Steve O'Shaughnessy | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 (3) | 1 | |||
| MF | Leigh Palin | 18 (2) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 (1) | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 24 (4) | 3 | |||
| MF | Robbie Savage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| MF | Aidey Thorpe | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | |||
| FW | Ron Futcher | 25 (7) | 14 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 (1) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 35 (8) | 19 | |||
| FW | Mark Leonard | 16 (12) | 10 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 (3) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 19 (18) | 10 | |||
| FW | Ian Ormondroyd | 28 (9) | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3 (2) | 2 | 2 (1) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 37 (12) | 12 | |||