Football League Fourth Division 1987/88
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes |
| 1st | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 27 | 9 | 10 | 82 | 43 | +39 | 90 | ▲Champions |
| 2nd | Cardiff City | 46 | 24 | 13 | 9 | 66 | 41 | +25 | 85 | ▲Runners Up |
| 3rd | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 66 | 42 | +24 | 78 | ▲Promoted |
| 4th | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 20 | 17 | 9 | 76 | 51 | +25 | 77 | ♦Playoffs |
| 5th | Torquay United | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 66 | 41 | +25 | 77 | ♦Playoffs |
| 6th | Swansea City | 46 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 62 | 56 | +6 | 70 | ♦▲PO Winners |
| 7th | Peterborough United | 46 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 52 | 53 | -1 | 70 | - |
| 8th | Leyton Orient | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 85 | 63 | +22 | 69 | - |
| 9th | Colchester United | 46 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 47 | 51 | -4 | 67 | - |
| 10th | Burnley | 46 | 20 | 7 | 19 | 57 | 62 | -5 | 67 | - |
| 11th | Wrexham | 46 | 20 | 6 | 20 | 69 | 58 | +11 | 66 | - |
| 12th | Scarborough | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 56 | 48 | +8 | 65 | - |
| 13th | Darlington | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 71 | 69 | +2 | 65 | - |
| 14th | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 61 | 53 | +8 | 64* | - |
| 15th | Cambridge United | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 50 | 52 | -2 | 61 | - |
| 16th | Hartlepool United | 46 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 50 | 57 | -7 | 59 | - |
| 17th | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 57 | 53 | +4 | 58 | - |
| 18th | Halifax Town | 46 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 54 | 59 | -5 | 55* | - |
| 19th | Hereford United | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 41 | 59 | -18 | 54 | - |
| 20th | Stockport County | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 44 | 58 | -14 | 51 | - |
| 21st | Rochdale | 46 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 47 | 76 | -29 | 48 | - |
| 22nd | Exeter City | 46 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 53 | 68 | -15 | 46 | - |
| 23rd | Carlisle United | 46 | 12 | 8 | 26 | 57 | 86 | -29 | 44 | - |
| 24th | Newport County | 46 | 6 | 7 | 33 | 35 | 105 | -70 | 25 | ▼Relegated |
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Football League Third Division/Fourth Division - The Playoffs |
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Semi Finals 1st Leg |
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| Date | Home | Score | Away |
| Sun May 15 | Swansea City | 1-0 | Rotherham United |
| Sun May 15 | Torquay United | 2-1 | Scunthorpe United |
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Semi Finals 2nd Leg |
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| Wed May 18 | Rotherham United | 1-1 | Swansea City |
| Swansea City Won 2-1 on aggregate | |||
| Wed May 18 | Scunthorpe United | 1-1 | Torquay United |
| Torquay United Won 3-2 on aggregate | |||
| Final 1st Leg | |||
| Wed May 25 | Swansea City | 2-1 | Torquay United |
| Final 2nd Leg | |||
| Sat May 28 | Torquay United | 3-3 | Swansea City |
| Swansea City Won 5-4 on aggregate | |||
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End of Season Notes |
| ♦ Tranmere Rovers had 2 Points Deducted for calling off a scheduled Home Game with Bolton Wanderers in September after a dispute over the number of Police needed to be on duty at the match |
| ♦ Halifax Town had 1 Point Deducted for fielding an unregistered player |
| ▼Grimsby Town were Relegated from the Third Division |
| ▼York City were Relegated from the Third Division |
| ▼Doncaster Rovers were Relegated from the Third Division |
| ▲Wolverhampton Wanderers were Promoted to the Third Division |
| ▲Cardiff City were Promoted to the Third Division |
| ▲Bolton Wanderers were Promoted to the Third Division |
| ♦ Rotherham United (Third Division) Qualified for the Playoffs |
| ♦ Scunthorpe United Qualified for the Playoffs |
| ♦ Torquay United Qualified for the Playoffs |
| ♦ Swansea City Qualified for the Playoffs |
| ▼Rotherham United were Relegated from the Third Division after the conclusion of the Third Division/Fourth Division Playoffs |
| ▲Swansea City were Promoted to the Third Division via the Playoffs |
| ▼Newport County were automatically Relegated to the Conference after finishing bottom of the Football League |
| ▲Lincoln City were Promoted from the Football Conference |