Colchester United F.C.

Colchester United

Full name	Colchester United Football Club
Nickname(s)	The U's
Founded	1937
Ground	Colchester Community Stadium Colchester (Capacity: 10,084)
Owner	Robbie Cowling
Manager	John Ward
League	League One
2009–10	League One, 8th
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910.

Colchester United are perhaps most famous for beating Don Revie's Leeds United 3–2 in the 5th round of the FA Cup in 1971. Their highest ever league finish was achieved in 2006–07, when they ended the season in 10th place in the Championship, above East Anglian rivals Ipswich Town, Norwich City and Southend United while having the division's lowest attendance.

Colchester United Ladies are a very successful part of the club, having won promotion to the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division in 2006–07.

History

Colchester Town, nicknamed 'The Oystermen', were the original local side, established in 1867 and playing at Layer Road from 1909 until 1937, when they were dissolved. The stadium was originally owned by the army, who still have a strong presence in the town, until it was purchased by the club in 1919. Shortly before Town folded, Colchester United was set up. The owners had intended to run both teams, one professional and one amateur, under the same umbrella but the Essex County FA ruled that both teams could not be run under one set of rules, and so Town were wound down.

In the 1947-48 season Colchester, then in the Southern League, produced one of the most notable F.A. Cup runs by a non-league side, beating fellow-non-league side Banbury Spencer in the First Round before beating league clubs Wrexham, Huddersfield and Bradford Park Avenue. They finally fell to Blackpool in the fifth round.

United went from strength to strength, and they were elected to the Football League in 1950. They spent most of the 50s, 60s and 70s either in the third or fourth tiers before spending the 80s in the fourth tier. However the club got into financial problems towards the end of the 80s and lost their league status for two seasons from relegation in 1990 until 1992, when they won a non-league double by collecting the Conference title and the Football Trophy. They then finished around mid table in the fourth tier for the next 3 seasons before reaching the play-offs in 1995–96 but losing in the semis to Plymouth Argyle.

In the 1996–97 season Colchester were runners up in the Football League Trophy and just missed out on the play-offs by 1 point. But in 1997–98, they got themselves promoted by winning the play-offs to the third tier. They then consolidated their position in that division before achieving promotion in 2005–06 to the second tier of English football, the Championship, by finishing in second place in League One, just behind local rivals Southend United. They also had a good FA Cup run that season before losing in the 5th round to Chelsea despite taking the lead. After a slow start to the 2006–07 season, they soon entered the higher reaches of the division and there was even talk of a challenge for promotion to the Premier League, before they finished tenth in the final table, their highest ever placing. The following season Colchester finished bottom of the Championship with 38 points and were relegated back to League One. After a poor start to the season, they went on to finish 12th in that league in 2008–09.

Stadium

Colchester United formed in 1937 and took over Layer Road from the recently defunct Colchester Town. That remained their home until 2008. At its closure, the ground had a capacity of 6,340, though it had previously been much higher, with a record attendance of 19,072.

In 2000, Colchester announced plans to move to a new 10,000 capacity all-seater community stadium at Cuckoo Farm, which were given the go-ahead by Colchester Borough Council on November 13 2006. Construction of the stadium, funded by the club but owned by the local council, started in June 2007, and the stadium opened at the start of the 2008–09 season. Colchester's biggest attendance at the stadium of 10,064 was set at a League One match against Norwich City on 16 January 2010.

Although generally known as the Colchester Community stadium, and sometimes as Cuckoo Farm, it is officially called, under a ten year sponsorship deal, the Weston Homes Community Stadium.^[1]

Supporters

Notable persons known to be Colchester United fans include Steve Lamacq,^[2], England opening batsman Alastair Cook and the bands Absent Kid^[3] and Special Duties.^[4]

Rivalries

Colchester's main rivalry is with fellow Essex side Southend United, with whom they contest the Essex derby. The competitive head-to-head record is 29 wins to Southend, 25 wins for Colchester and 17 draws.^[5]

Colchester United also have a rivalry with Ipswich Town, their geographically closest league opponents, whom they met for the first time in a league fixture for almost half a century in the 2006–07 season. A 1–0 win at home, followed by a 3–2 defeat away for Colchester saw Ipswich take their overall competitive record against Colchester to 10 wins, 4 losses with 4 draws.^[6] In the 2009/10 season a rivalry with Norwich City flared up after Colchester manager Paul Lambert first led the U's to a 7-1 victory at Norwich, and then ten days later defected to the canaries. By finishing above both Ipswich & Norwich in the 2006–07 season, Colchester United took the "Pride of Anglia" title for the first time.

League One side Wycombe Wanderers are also fierce rivals to Colchester United, dating back to both clubs' latter years in the Conference.^[7] Whilst not a local derby, the rivalry goes back to the 1985–86 season, when Wycombe defeated Colchester 2–0 in an FA Cup tie marred by crowd trouble at Loakes Park.

Colchester and Wycombe were also involved in a race for the Conference title throughout the 1991–92 season, during which Colchester defeated Wycombe 2–1 at Adams Park with an injury-time wind-assisted winner from their goalkeeper, Scott Barrett.

Another controversial meeting was during the 1998–99 season. Relegation-threatened Wycombe were leading Colchester 2–1 at Adams Park until the sixth minute of stoppage time, when Colchester were awarded, and converted, an equalising penalty. However, due to lack of recent games between the two sides, Colchester United fans consider Ipswich and Southend bigger rivals.

Records

Colchester's record wins were 9–1 against Bradford City in 1961 and Leamington F.C. in 2005. Their record defeat was 0–8 against Leyton Orient in 1988. Their record attendance at Layer Road was 19,072 against Reading. Their record attendance at the Community Stadium was 10,064 against Norwich.

Players

As of 24 August 2010^[8]

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Ben Williams 3 MF Lee Beevers 4 DF Magnus Okuonghae 5 DF Pat Baldwin 6 DF Paul Reid (vice-captain) 7 FW Ashley Vincent 8 MF John-Joe O'Toole 10 MF Kemal Izzet (captain) 11 MF Simon Hackney 12 GK Mark Cousins 14 MF Andrew Bond 15 FW Kayode Odejayi 16 FW Ian Henderson 17 MF David Perkins 18 FW Steven Gillespie

No. Position Player 19 FW Dave Mooney (on loan from Reading) 20 DF Brian Wilson 21 MF Medy Elito 22 MF Anthony Wordsworth 23 DF Marc Tierney 24 MF Ben Coker 25 DF John White 26 MF Lloyd James 28 DF Matt Heath 30 DF Morten Knudsen 32 MF Sam Corcoran 34 DF Thomas Bender 35 GK Carl Pentney 39 FW Michael Rafter

Under 18's

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player GK Shaun Phillips DF Trevor Ajim DF Connor Cranmer DF Jack Folan DF Bradley Hamilton DF Sean O'Sullivan DF Matthew Redgrave

No. Position Player MF Ryan Melaugh MF Tosin Olufemi MF Jordan Sanderson MF Mason Stewart FW Craig Arnott FW Ross Gilfedder FW Freddie Ladapo

Club officials

Board and Directors

• Chairman – Robbie Cowling
• Vice Chairman – Richard Cowling
• Directors – John Cowling, Peter Powell, Gary White
• Associate Directors – John Worsp, Terry Sutton
• Life President – P.J. Heard

Management Team

• Manager – John Ward
• Assistant Manager – Joe Dunne
• Sports Scientist – David Carolan
• First Team Physio – Tony Flynn
• Head of Youth – Tony Humes
• Early Years Development Manager – Dmitri Halajko
• Development Coach – Richard Hall
• Goalkeeper Coach – Ademola Bankole
• Performance Anaylst – Jonathan Duckett
• Club Doctor – Dr. Stuart Rudge

Notable former players

The following players have been inducted into Colchester United's Hall of Fame for being one of "...those who have made a difference to the club's history."^[9] The whole of the team that beat Leeds United in 1971 are included^[10], and in addition, Peter Wright was awarded the title of "U's Player of the Century". ^[11]

Year Inducted	Pos.	Player Name	Years with Club	Apps.	Goals	Notes
2007	DF	Micky Cook	1969-1984	700	24	Club record appearance holder
2007	DF	Tony English	1985-1996	515	58
2007	DF	Brian Hall	1965-1972	364	36
2007	MF	Mark Kinsella	1989-1996	281	42
2007	FW	Peter Wright	1951-1964	452	95	Voted 'Player of the Century' in 2000
2008	FW	Tony Adcock	1981-1987 1995-1998	386	149	Club record goalscorer
2008	FW	Bobby Hunt	1960-1964	162	90
2008	FW	Vic Keeble	1947-1952	129	84
2008	FW	Martyn King	1956-1964	230	140	Club record league goalscorer
2008	DF	Reg Stewart	1949-1957	317	2
2009	DF	Bobby Cram	1970-1972	116	4	Member of the team that beat Leeds in 1971
2009	FW	Ray Crawford	1970-1971	56	31	Member of the team that beat Leeds in 1971
2009	DF	Brian Garvey	1970-1972	93	2	Member of the team that beat Leeds in 1971
2009	FW	Brian Gibbs	1968-1972	179	41	Member of the team that beat Leeds in 1971
2009	DF	John Gilchrist	1970-1972	56	2	Member of the team that beat Leeds in 1971
2009	DF	John Kurila	1970-1971	65	4	Member of the team that beat Leeds in 1971
2009	MF	Brian Lewis	1970-1972	59	26	Member of the team that beat Leeds in 1971
2009	FW	Mick Mahon	1970-1973	158	33	Member of the team that beat Leeds in 1971
2009	FW	Dave Simmons	1970-1973	71	19	Member of the team that beat Leeds in 1971
2009	GK	Graham Smith	1969-1971	115	0	Member of the team that beat Leeds in 1971
2010	GK	Percy Ames	1955-1965	422	0
2010	DF	Mick Packer	1973-1983	393	22
2010	GK	Mike Walker	1973-1983	524	0
Year Inducted	-	Manager Name	Years with Club	-	-	Notes
2007		Dick Graham	1968-1972			Manager of the team that beat Leeds in 1971

Managers

The below list indicates Colchester United managers since 1937 (source: Soccerbase from 1946; Davis and Fieldus from Colchester site).^[12][13]

Honours, Awards & Statistics

Honours

• Football League 1
  • Runners up 2005–2006
• Football Conference
  • Champions 1991–92
• Watney Cup
  • Champions 1971
• Southern Football League
  • Champions 1938–39
  • League Cup winners 1939–40, 1946–47
• Eastern Counties Football League
  • Champions 1938–39, 1956–57, 1958–59 (Colchester United Reserves)
• Essex Senior League Challenge Cup
  • Winners 1974–75 (Colchester United 'A' )
• Football Association Challenge Trophy
  • Winners 1991–92
• Essex Senior Cup
  • Winners 2009–10

Seasons, Player Awards and Statistics

Season	Player of the Year	Top Goalscorer	Most Appearances	Other
1964-65	Percy Ames	Billy Stark 14	Duncan Forbes 51
1965-66	Brian Hall	Reg Stratton 21	Brian Hall 50
1966-67	Duncan Forbes	Reg Stratton 24	Duncan Forbes 50
1967-68	Derek Trevis	Reg Stratton 11	Duncan Forbes 52
1968-69	Brian Hall	Danny Light 14	Brian Hall 50
1969-70	Ken Jones	Ken Jones 16	Brian Hall 49
1970-71	Ray Crawford	Ray Crawford 31	Brian Gibbs 56	Watney Cup Winners
1971-72	Micky Cook	Brian Lewis 22	Mick Mahon 49
1972-73	Mick Mahon	Mick Mahon 12	Mick Mahon 48
1973-74	Ray Harford	Bobby Svarc 26	Ray Harford 48
1974-75	John Froggatt	Bobby Svarc 25	Micky Cook 54
1975-76	Lindsay Smith	Steve Leslie 7	Mick Packer 48
1976-77	Steve Dowman	Colin Garwood 24	Micky Cook 55
1977-78	Steve Leslie	Bobby Gough 17	Mike Walker 55
1978-79	Steve Wignall	Bobby Gough 22	Mike Walker 55
1979-80	Mike Walker	Trevor Lee 18	Steve Leslie 54
1980-81	Mike Walker	Kevin Bremner 10	Mike Walker 52
1981-82	Kevin Bremner	Ian Allinson 26	Kevin Bremner 56
1982-83	Mike Walker	Ian Allinson 26	Ian Allinson 54
1983-84	Steve Wignall	Tony Adcock 33	Alec Chamberlain 56
1984-85	Alec Chamberlain	Tony Adcock 28	Alec Chamberlain 54
1985-86	Roger Osborne	Tony Adcock 16	Alec Chamberlain 51
1986-87	Rudi Hedman	Tony Adcock 12	Alec Chamberlain 54
1987-88	Colin Hill	Dale Tempest 14	Richard Wilkins 54
1988-89	Colin Hill	Mario Walsh 15	Colin Hill 52
1989-90	Neal Marmon	Trevor Morgan 12	Scott Daniels 52
1990-91	Scott Barrett	Mario Walsh 18	Scott Barrett 51
1991-92	Nicky Smith	Roy McDonough 29	Scott Barrett 56	Conference & FA Trophy Winners
1992-93	Paul Roberts	Gary Bennett 10	Paul Roberts 50
1993-94	Mark Kinsella	Steve Brown 13	Tony English 49
1994-95	Steve Whitton	Steve Whitton 13	Mark Kinsella 50
1995-96	Mark Kinsella	Tony Adcock 17	Simon Betts 52
1996-97	Chris Fry	Tony Adcock 14	David Greene 55	Division Three Playoff Winners
1997-98	Richard Wilkins	Mark Sale 8	Carl Emberson 53
1998-99	David Greene	David Gregory 14	David Gregory 48
1999-00	David Greene	Steve McGavin 16	David Gregory 49
2000-01	Mick Stockwell	Mick Stockwell 11	Mick Stockwell 52
2001-02	Karl Duguid	Scott McGleish 16	Scott McGleish 52
2002-03	Simon Brown	Joe Keith 9	Kemal Izzet 48
2003-04	Alan White	Scott McGleish 17	Sam Stockley 58
2004-05	Pat Baldwin	Craig Fagan 14	Kevin Watson 53
2005-06	Wayne Brown	Chris Iwelumo 19	Greg Halford 55	League One Runners Up; PFA Team of the Year: Greg Halford, Neil Danns
2006-07	Jamie Cureton	Jamie Cureton 24	Wayne Brown 48
2007-08	Johnnie Jackson	Kevin Lisbie 17	Johnnie Jackson 48
2008-09	Dean Hammond	Mark Yeates 13	Mark Yeates 50
2009-10	Ben Williams	Kevin Lisbie 13	Magnus Okuonghae 49	Essex Senior Cup Winners
2010-11*	TBC	TBC	TBC

* Season in progress.

Player records

• Highest fee paid: Steven Gillespie, £400,000 in 2008 from Cheltenham Town
• Highest fee received: Greg Halford, £2,500,000 in 2007 to Reading
• Most appearances (all competitions): Micky Cook, 700 (1969-1984)
• Most appearances (league): Micky Cook, 613 (1969-1984)
• Most league goals: Martyn King, 131 (1959-1965)
• Most league goals by one player in a season: Bobby Hunt, 37 (1961/62)
• Most league goals by one player in a game: Chris Iwelumo, 4 (vs. Hull City, 2006), Bobby Hunt, 4 (vs. Doncaster Rovers, 1962 & vs. Bradford City, 1961), Martyn King, 4 (vs. Bradford City, 1961)
• Youngest league player: Lindsay Smith, 16 years 214 days (vs. Grimsby Town, 1971)
• Most capped player (whilst at the club): Chris Coyne, 7 (Australia)
• Most capped player (whole career): Craig Forrest, 56 (Canada)

Club records

• Record attendance: Layer Road, 19,042 (vs. Reading, 1948- abandoned due to fog), Weston Homes Community Stadium, 10,064 (vs. Norwich City, 2010)
• Record league victory: 9-1 (vs. Bradford City, 1961)
• Record cup victory: 9-1 (vs. Leamington, 2005)
• Record league defeat: 0-8 (vs. Leyton Orient, 1989)
• Record cup defeat: 0-7 (vs. Preston North End, 2010)
• Most points in a season (2 for a win): 60, 1973/74
• Most points in a season (3 for a win): 81, 1982/83

References

External links

• Official website
• Colchester United Community Sports Trust
• Colchester United at the Football Club History Database
• Colchester United Reserves at the Football Club History Database
• Colchester United "A" at the Football Club History Database