1975–76 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United
1975–76 season
Chairman Jack Rippingale[1]
Manager Scotland Bobby Roberts
(From 20 June 1975)
Third Division 22nd (Relegated)
FA Cup 1st Round
League Cup 1st Round
Top goalscorer League:
Steve Leslie (6)

All:
Steve Leslie (7)
Highest home attendance 6,240 (Crystal Palace)
Lowest home attendance 2,245 (Chesterfield)
Average home league attendance 3,348
Football kit (white jersey with blue, vertical stripes; blue shorts; and white socks).
Home colours

The 1975–76 season was Colchester United's second consecutive season in the Football League Third Division. The season ended in relegation back to the Football League Fourth Division.

Season Review

The League Cup run of the 1974–75 season had brought recognition - only it was for U's manager Jim Smith who left to join Second Division Blackburn in the summer of 1975. His coach Bobby Roberts was appointed manager. His early days were disastrous. Not only did United not win any of their first five games, but Smith returned with £25,000 to prise away Bobby Svarc from cash-strapped U's.

Roberts' side rallied mid-season to climb to twelfth place but some crushing defeats including 6-1 at Chesterfield and 6-0 at Brighton put Colchester back into the relegation mire. The U's also suffered the ignominy of a second successive defeat to a non-League side when they were demolished 4-1 at Dover Athletic in an FA Cup replay. Inevitably United were relegated with Steve Leslie being leading scoring with a record lowest total of just six League goals.[2]

Squad

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

No. Position Player
–– Wales GK Mike Walker
–– England DF Stewart Bright
–– England DF Micky Cook
–– England DF Barry Dominey
–– England DF Mick Packer
–– England DF Lindsay Smith
–– England DF Johnny Williams
–– England MF Ian Allinson
No. Position Player
–– England MF Ray Bunkell
–– England MF Paul Dyer
–– England MF Steve Foley
–– England MF Steve Leslie
–– England FW John Froggatt
–– England FW Colin Garwood
–– England FW Bobby Gough

Player Info

Pos. Name Place of Birth Date of Birth Previous Club Date Joined Fee
GK Wales Mike Walker Wales Colwyn Bay 28 November 1945 England Watford 25 August 1973 £4,000
DF England Stewart Bright England Colchester 13 October 1957 England Youth Team 1 August 1975 Free
DF England Micky Cook England Enfield 9 April 1951 England Leyton Orient 6 October 1969 Free
DF England Barry Dominey England Edmonton 21 October 1955 England Enfield 16 April 1974 Free
DF England Mick Packer England Willesden 20 April 1950 England Watford 25 August 1973 Free
DF England Lindsay Smith England Enfield 18 September 1954 England Youth Team 1 August 1970 Free
DF England Johnny Williams England Tottenham 26 March 1947 England Watford 23 August 1975 Free
MF England Ian Allinson England Hitchin 1 October 1957 England Youth Team 1 August 1974 Free
MF England Ray Bunkell England Edmonton 18 September 1949 England Swindon Town 8 December 1973 £5,000
MF England Paul Dyer England Leicester 24 January 1953 England Notts County 16 August 1975 Free
MF England Steve Foley England Clacton-on-Sea 21 June 1953 England Youth Team 1 August 1971 Free
MF England Steve Leslie England Hornsey 4 September 1952 England Youth Team 1 August 1970 Free
FW England John Froggatt England Stanton Hill 13 December 1945 England Boston United 17 August 1974 £6,000
FW England Colin Garwood England Heacham 29 June 1949 England Huddersfield Town 14 February 1976 Free
FW England Bobby Gough England Ladywood 20 July 1949 England Southport 10 January 1976 £7,000

Transfers

Transfers In

Date Pos. Player Name Previous Club Transfer Fee Notes
1 August 1975 DF England Stewart Bright England Youth Team Free
16 August 1975 DF England Derek Harrison England Torquay United Free
16 August 1975 MF England Paul Dyer England Notts County Free
23 August 1975 DF England Johnny Williams England Watford Free
23 August 1975 MF England Terry Anderson England Norwich City Free
10 January 1976 FW England Bobby Gough England Southport £7,000
14 February 1976 FW England Colin Garwood England Huddersfield Town Free

Transfers Out

Date Pos. Player Name New Club Transfer Fee Notes
2 May 1975 DF England Ray Harford European Union Retired Free
2 May 1975 MF Scotland Jimmy Lindsay England Hereford United £15,000
2 May 1975 MF England Colwyn Rowe England Chelmsford City Free
18 August 1975 MF Scotland Bobby Roberts European Union Retired Free Became manager
27 September 1975 FW England Bobby Svarc England Blackburn Rovers £20,000
13 December 1975 MF England Phil Thomas European Union Retired Free
17 January 1976 MF England Terry Anderson United States Baltimore Comets Free
7 February 1976 DF England Derek Harrison England Salisbury City Free

Loans In

Date Pos. Player Name Parent Club Date Returned Notes
16 August 1975 DF England Jon O'Donnell England Cambridge United 16 August 1975
24 January 1976 GK England Len Bond England Bristol City 14 February 1976
24 January 1976 FW England Billy Telford England Peterborough United 7 February 1976

Results

Third Division Results Summary

Pos Club Pld W D L GF GA Av Pts
21Aldershot (R) 4613132059750.78739
22Colchester United (R) 4612142041650.63138
23Southend United (R) 4612132165750.86737

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

Third Division Results

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
16/08/1975 Preston North End A 1-2 8,324 Svarc
23/08/1975 Mansfield Town H 0-2 3,333
30/08/1975 Crystal Palace A 2-3 13,713 Svarc, Bunkell
06/09/1975 Halifax Town H 0-1 2,819
13/09/1975 Hereford United A 0-0 5,577
20/09/1975 Brighton & Hove Albion H 2-0 3,176 Froggatt, Svarc
24/09/1975 Chester City A 0-1 3,954
27/09/1975 Swindon Town A 1-0 5,750 Packer
04/10/1975 Bury H 0-0 3,035
11/10/1975 Walsall H 2-0 2,980 Froggatt, Dominey
18/10/1975 Aldershot A 2-2 3,586 Foley (2)
21/10/1975 Rotherham United H 0-0 3,468
25/10/1975 Port Vale H 1-0 3,053 Foley
01/11/1975 Millwall A 1-1 7,492 Smith
05/11/1975 Chesterfield A 1-6 2,906 Smith
08/11/1975 Shrewsbury Town H 1-1 3,088 Smith
15/11/1975 Cardiff City A 0-2 6,781
29/11/1975 Gillingham A 1-0 5,402 Foley
06/12/1975 Sheffield Wednesday H 2-1 3,534 Smith, Cook
13/12/1975 Wrexham A 1-1 2,143 Froggatt
20/12/1975 Wrexham H 0-2 2,608
26/12/1975 Southend United A 0-2 6,167
27/12/1975 Grimsby Town H 1-0 3,136 Foley
10/01/1976 Crystal Palace H 0-3 6,240
14/01/1976 Peterborough United A 1-3 7,453 Packer
17/01/1976 Brighton & Hove Albion A 0-6 16,302
24/01/1976 Hereford United H 1-4 2,626 Telford
31/01/1976 Rotherham United A 0-2 3,943
07/02/1976 Chesterfield H 2-3 2,245 Bunkell (pen.), Leslie
14/02/1976 Shrewsbury Town A 0-1 4,485
21/02/1976 Cardiff City H 3-2 3,248 Froggatt, Garwood (2)
24/02/1976 Chester City H 1-0 3,534 Gough
28/02/1976 Port Vale A 2-3 2,803 Dyer
13/03/1976 Walsall A 1-1 5,371 Leslie
16/03/1976 Aldershot H 2-0 3,040 Gough, Leslie
20/03/1976 Gillingham H 2-2 3,981 Bunkell (pen.), Leslie
23/03/1976 Millwall H 0-1 4,573
27/03/1976 Sheffield Wednesday A 0-1 6,905
03/04/1976 Preston North End H 1-1 2,657 Leslie
06/04/1976 Swindon Town H 1-2 2,694 Leslie
12/04/1976 Bury A 0-0 4,505
16/04/1976 Peterborough United H 1-1 3,687 Bunkell
17/04/1976 Southend United H 2-1 4,260 Gough, Froggatt
19/04/1976 Grimsby Town A 1-0 4,862 Gough
24/04/1976 Mansfield Town A 0-0 7,407
26/04/1976 Halifax Town A 1-1 856 Gough

Source: 1975-76 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

League Cup

DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
18/08/1975 R1 (L1) Crystal Palace A 0-3 10,006
25/08/1975 R1 (L2) Crystal Palace H 3-1 3,912 Svarc, Smith

Source: 1975-76 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

FA Cup

Main article: 1975–76 FA Cup
DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
22/11/1975 R1 Dover Athletic H 3-3 3,705 Leslie, Dominey, Smith
24/11/1976 R1 (R) Dover Athletic A 1-4
(A.E.T.)
3,779 Packer (pen.)

Source: 1975-76 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

Squad statistics

[3]

No. Nat. Pos. Name Total Division Three FA Cup League Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
–– GK England Len Bond 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0
–– GK Wales Mike Walker 47 0 43 0 2 0 2 0
–– DF England Stewart Bright 20 0 20 0 0 0 0 0
–– DF England Micky Cook 43 1 39 1 2 0 2 0
–– DF England Barry Dominey 42 2 38 1 2 1 2 0
–– DF England Derek Harrison 8 0 7 0 1 0 0 0
–– DF England Jon O'Donnell 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
–– DF England Mick Packer 48 3 44 2 2 1 2 0
–– DF England Lindsay Smith 45 6 41 4 2 1 2 1
–– DF England Johnny Williams 39 0 36 0 2 0 1 0
–– MF England Ian Allinson 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 0
–– MF England Terry Anderson 18 0 16 0 2 0 0 0
–– MF England Ray Bunkell 45 4 41 4 2 0 2 0
–– MF England Paul Dyer 40 2 36 2 2 0 2 0
–– MF England Steve Foley 30 5 29 5 1 0 0 0
–– MF England Steve Leslie 41 7 39 6 2 1 0 0
–– MF Scotland Bobby Roberts 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
–– MF England Phil Thomas 10 0 8 0 0 0 2 0
–– FW England John Froggatt 44 5 41 5 1 0 2 0
–– FW England Colin Garwood 15 2 15 2 0 0 0 0
–– FW England Bobby Gough 22 5 22 5 0 0 0 0
–– FW England Bobby Svarc 10 5 8 3 0 0 2 2
–– FW England Billy Telford 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 0

Scorers

Most Frequent Starting XI

This section shows players in a 5-2-3 formation with the most league starts during the season.

Pos. Name Apps. Goals
GK Wales Mike Walker 44 0
DF England Micky Cook 46 4
DF England Mick Packer 35 5
DF England Steve Dowman 33 12
DF England Lindsay Smith 45 6
DF England Johnny Williams 43 0
MF England Ian Allinson 31 7
MF England Steve Leslie 40 2
FW England John Froggatt 43 6
FW England Bobby Gough 43 17
FW England Colin Garwood 40 16

References

  1. Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 278. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.
  2. "The U's History: The 70s". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  3. "1975–76 Season Appearance Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  4. "1975–76 Season Goalscorers Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
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