List of Colchester United F.C. records and statistics

Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester, Essex. Formed in 1937, the club competed in the Southern Football League from their foundation until 1950,^[1] when they were elected to the Football League.^[2] The club spent eleven years in the Third Division South and Third Division following the league's reorganisation in 1958, with a best finish of third place in 1957, one point behind rivals Ipswich Town and Torquay United.^[3][4] Colchester suffered their first relegation in 1961 as they finished 23rd in the Third Division,^[5] but spent just one season in the Fourth Division as they were promoted in second position, behind Millwall by just one point.^[6] This trend of relegation followed by promotion continued over the next few decades, before the club were eventually relegated from the Football League to the Conference in 1990.^[7]

Player-manager Roy McDonough guided the club back to the Football League in 1992, winning the non-league double of the Conference title and the FA Trophy.^[8] The club then won promotion to the Second Division in 1998 with a 1–0 Third Division play-off Final win at Wembley against Torquay United.^[9] The club were again earned promotion in the 2005–06 season under the stewardship of Phil Parkinson, gaining the opportunity to play second tier football for the first time in their history. After two seasons in the Championship, Colchester were relegated back to League One, where they currently play.^[10]

This list encompasses all major honours won by Colchester United, the records set by the managers, the players, and the club. The player records section includes details of the club's leading goalscorers and those who have made most appearances in first-team competitions, alongside the record transfer fees paid and received by the club, and the fee progression. Attendance records at Colchester's Layer Road and Colchester Community Stadium are also included in the list.

Honours

Colchester United have won one major honour in the Football League, winning the Third Division play-off final in the 1997–98 season, when they defeated Torquay United 1–0 at Wembley after finishing fourth in the league, one point away from automatic promotion.^[11][12] They have achieved promotion on six other occasions, most recently in 2005–06, when they finished as runners-up in League One to Southend United, thus earning promotion to the Championship for the first time in their history.^[11]

Colchester United's honours and achievements include the following:^[11]

The Football League

• League One (level 3)
  • Promotion: 2005–06^{[lower-alpha 1]}
• Fourth Division / Third Division (level 4)
  • Promotion: 1961–62,^{[lower-alpha 2]} 1965–66,^{[lower-alpha 3]} 1973–74,^{[lower-alpha 4]} 1976–77,^{[lower-alpha 5]} 1997–98^{[lower-alpha 6]}

Football Conference

• Conference (level 5)
  • Champions: 1991–92

Southern Football League

• Southern League
  • Champions: 1938–39

Domestic cup competition

• Football League Trophy
  • Finalists: 1996–97
• FA Trophy
  • Winners: 1991–92
• Watney Cup
  • Winners: 1971–72

Player records

Appearances

• Youngest first-team debut: Lindsay Smith, 16 years 214 days (vs. Grimsby Town, Fourth Division, 20 April 1971)^[19]
• Oldest first-team debut: Bob Gregg, 41 years, 272 days (vs. Wisbech Town, Southern League, 3 November 1945)^[19]
• Oldest Football League first-team debut: Teddy Sheringham, 41 years, 131 days (vs. Sheffield United, Championship, 11 August 2007)^[19]

Most appearances

Competitive matches only.^{[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]}

#	Name	Years	League[lower-alpha 7]	FA Cup	League Cup	Other[lower-alpha 8]	Total
1	Cook, MickyMicky Cook	1969–1984	613	45	37	2	700
2	Walker, MikeMike Walker	1973–1983	451	36	34	0	524
3	English, TonyTony English	1985–1996	429	30	16	40	517
4	Leslie, SteveSteve Leslie	1971–1984	432	34	32	2	503
5	Izzet, KemalKemal Izzet	2001 2001–2013	421	20	15	16	473
6	Duguid, KarlKarl Duguid	1995–2008 2011–2014	415	24	14	16	471
7	Wright, PeterPeter Wright	1952–1964	427	17	8	0	451
8	Fowler, JohnJohn Fowler	1955–1966	415	20	7	0	442
9	Ames, PercyPercy Ames	1955–1965	397	18	7	0	422
10	Allinson, IanIan Allinson	1975–1983 1988–1989	347	30	26	3	409

Goalscorers

• Most goals (league): Martyn King, 131 (1959–1965)^[27]
• Most goals (all competitions): Tony Adcock, 149 (1981–1987, 1995–1998)^[28]
• Most goals in a season (league): Bobby Hunt, 37 (1961–62)^[27]
• Most goals in a season (all competitions): Arthur Pritchard, 44 (1938–38)^[29]
• Most goals in a league match scored: Chris Iwelumo (vs. Hull City, 2006), Bobby Hunt (vs. Doncaster Rovers, 1962 & vs. Bradford City, 1961), Martyn King (vs. Bradford City, 1961), 4 goals^[27]
• Top scorer with fewest goals in a season^[B]: Steve Foley, 7 (1975–76)^[29]
• Most hat-tricks: 5, Arthur Pritchard (18 September 1937 – 1 April 1939), Arthur Turner (9 November 1946 – 10 March 1949), Martyn King (26 September 1959 – 10 November 1962), Tony Adcock (21 January 1983 – 26 September 1995)^[30]

Overall scorers

Players shown in bold are current Colchester United players and statistics will be subject to change.

Last updated 2 June 2011

	Name	Years	League	FA Cup	League Cup	Other[A]	Total[31]
1	Adcock, TonyTony Adcock	1981–1987 1995–1998	126	4	7	12	149
2	King, MartynMartyn King	1956–1964	132	1	6	1	140
3	Curry, BobBob Curry	1946–1951	81	10	0	14	105
4	Turner, ArthurArthur Turner	1946–1952	89	3	0	6	98
5	McCurley, KevinKevin McCurley	1952–1960	91	6	0	0	97
6	Wright, PeterPeter Wright	1952–1964	89	2	4	0	95
7	Allinson, IanIan Allinson	1975–1983 1988–1989	79	6	6	3	94
8	Hunt, BobbyBobby Hunt	1960–1964	82	5	3	0	90
=9	Keeble, VicVic Keeble	1947–1952	78	1	0	5	84
=9	Plant, KenKen Plant	1954–1958 1988-1989	79	2	0	3	84

Award winners

PFA Team of the Year

The following players have been included in the PFA Team of the Year while playing for Colchester United:^[32][33]

• Steve Dowman, 1977
• Lindsay Smith, 1977
• Roger Osborne, 1982
• Tony Adcock, 1985
• Mark Kinsella, 1996
• Neil Danns, 2006
• Greg Halford, 2006

Player of the Year and Seasonal Awards

The following players have been awarded the official Colchester United Player of the Year. Also included are seasonal top goalscorers and most overall appearances since the Player of the Year award's inception in 1965:

Season	Player of the Year[34]	Top Goalscorer	Most Appearances
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
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	Neale 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
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
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
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
2010–11	David Perkins	Dave Mooney 14	Kayode Odejayi 50
2011–12	Kayode Odejayi	Anthony Wordsworth 13	Brian Wilson 50

Internationals

• Most capped player (whilst at club): 7 Chris Coyne, (Australia)^[27]
• Most capped player (whole career): 56 Craig Forrest, (Canada)^[27]

Transfers

Highest transfer fees paid

	Player	From	Fee[35]	Date
1	Steven Gillespie	Cheltenham Town	£400,000	July 2008
2	Chris Coyne	Luton Town	£350,000	January 2008
3	Clive Platt	MK Dons	£300,000	July 2007
=4	Dean Hammond	Brighton & Hove Albion	£250,000	January 2008
=4	Mark Yeates	Tottenham Hotspur	£250,000	July 2007
6	Joël Thomas	Hamilton Academical	£125,000	July 2009
=7	Simon Hackney	Carlisle United	£100,000	January 2009
=7	Philip Ifil	Tottenham Hotspur	£100,000	January 2008
=7	Matt Lockwood	Nottingham Forest	£100,000	June 2008
=7	Marc Tierney	Shrewsbury Town	£100,000	January 2009

Progression of record fee paid

Date	Player	Bought from	Fee[35]
August 1937	Alec Cheyne	Chelsea	£3,000
November 1957	John Evans	Liverpool	£4,000
November 1957	Neil Langman	Plymouth Argyle	£6,750
August 1973	Paul Aimson	Bournemouth	£8,000
December 1977	Eddie Rowles	Darlington	£15,000
October 1980	Kevin Bremner	Keith	£25,000
August 1987	Dale Tempest	Lokeren	£40,000
March 1998	Neil Gregory	Ipswich Town	£50,000
July 2007	Mark Yeates	Tottenham Hotspur	£250,000
July 2007	Clive Platt	MK Dons	£300,000
January 2008	Chris Coyne	Luton Town	£350,000
July 2008	Steven Gillespie	Cheltenham Town	£400,000

Highest transfer fees received

	Player	From	Fee[36]	Date
1	Greg Halford	Reading	£2,500,000	January 2007
2	Lomana LuaLua	Newcastle United	£2,250,000	September 2000
=3	Jamie Cureton	Norwich City	£750,000	June 2007
=3	Craig Fagan	Hull City	£750,000	February 2005
5	Kevin Lisbie	Ipswich Town	£600,000	July 2008
=6	Neil Danns	Birmingham City	£500,000	June 2006
=6	George Elokobi	Wolverhampton Wanderers	£500,000	January 2008
=8	Wayne Brown	Hull City	£450,000	July 2007
=8	Mark Yeates	Middlesbrough	£450,000	July 2009
10	Dean Hammond	Southampton	£400,000	August 2009

Progression of record fee received

Date	Player	Bought from	Fee[36]
October 1937	Reg Smith	Wolverhampton Wanderers	£500
January 1952	Vic Keeble	Newcastle United	£15,000
February 1964	Bob Hunt	Northampton Town	£20,000
November 1973	John McLaughlin	Swindon Town	£25,000
April 1980	Steve Dowman	Wrexham	£75,000
January 1981	Trevor Lee	Gillingham	£90,000
December 1988	Rudi Hedman	Crystal Palace	£100,000
February 1989	Paul McGee	Wimbledon	£150,000
September 1996	Mark Kinsella	Charlton Athletic	£300,000
September 2000	Lomana LuaLua	Newcastle United	£2,250,000
January 2007	Greg Halford	Reading	£2,500,000

Managers

The following list indicates Colchester United managers since 1937:^[37][38]

Years with Club	Name	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %	Notes
1937–1939	Ted Davis	128	80	17	31	327	155	+172	62.5%	Colchester United's first ever manager
1945–1946	Syd Fieldus	30	10	7	13	49	69	-20	33.3%
1946–1948	Ted Fenton	88	48	17	23	214	135	+79	54.5%
1948–1953	Jimmy Allen	249	108	59	82	433	380	+53	43.4%
1953–1955	Jack Butler	77	16	19	42	85	138	-53	20.8%
1955–1963	Benny Fenton	427	166	107	154	736	733	+3	38.9%
1963–1968	Neil Franklin	234	72	62	100	313	383	-70	30.8%
1968–1972	Dick Graham	216	93	51	72	322	288	+34	43.1%
1972	Dennis Mochan	5	0	2	3	2	8	-6	0.0%	Caretaker manager
1972–1975	Jim Smith	140	55	36	49	198	167	+31	39.3%
1975–1982	Bobby Roberts	375	143	108	124	504	451	+53	38.1%
1982–1983	Allan Hunter	36	17	7	12	51	39	+12	47.2%
1983–1986	Cyril Lea	173	71	46	56	294	243	+51	41.0%
1986–1987	Mike Walker	83	37	16	30	120	102	+18	44.6%
1987–1988	Roger Brown	48	16	12	20	46	68	-22	33.3%
1988–1989 1989–1990	Steve Foley	21	7	5	9	33	34	-1	33.3%	Caretaker manager
1989	Jock Wallace	52	12	16	24	63	87	-24	23.1%
1990	Mick Mills	25	8	3	14	27	37	-10	32.0%
1990–1991	Ian Atkins	51	30	11	10	80	46	+34	58.8%
1991–1994	Roy McDonough	155	69	33	53	271	226	+45	44.5%
1994	George Burley	26	12	6	8	41	38	+3	46.2%
1994–1995	Dale Roberts	5	1	1	3	5	7	-2	20.0%	Caretaker manager
1995–1999	Steve Wignall	218	81	64	73	289	283	+6	37.2%
1999	Mick Wadsworth	24	7	7	10	28	41	-13	29.2%
1999–2003	Steve Whitton	181	52	45	84	224	290	-66	28.7%	Includes time as caretaker
2003–2006	Phil Parkinson	187	80	52	55	256	203	+53	42.8%
2006–2008	Geraint Williams	109	33	30	46	150	165	-15	30.3%	Includes time as caretaker
2008	Kit Symons	5	2	0	3	8	9	-1	40.0%	Caretaker manager
2008–2009	Paul Lambert	42	19	7	16	55	43	+12	45.2%
2009–2010	Aidy Boothroyd	44	19	12	13	56	52	+4	43.2%
2010–2012	John Ward	102	33	35	34	134	148	–14	32.4%
2009 2012–	Joe Dunne	32	11	2	19	36	54	−18	34.4%	Includes time as caretaker

Team records

Matches

• First competitive match: Yeovil & Petters United 3–0 Colchester United, Southern League, 28 August 1937^[39]
• First FA Cup match: Colchester United 4–1 Ilford, FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round, 12 November 1938^[40]
• First Football League match: Gillingham 0–0 Colchester United, Third Division South, 19 August 1950^[41]
• First League Cup match: Colchester United 4–1 Newcastle United, League Cup 1st Round, 10 October 1960^[42]

Record wins

• Record league win: Colchester United 9–1 Bradford City, Fourth Division, 30 December 1961^[43][44]
• Record cup win: Colchester United 9–1 Leamington, FA Cup 1st Round, 5 November 2005^[44][45]
• Record home win: Colchester United 9–1 Bradford City, Fourth Division, 30 December 1961^[43][44]
• Record away win: Norwich City 1–7 Colchester United, League One, 8 August 2009^[44][46]

Record defeats

• Record league defeat: Leyton Orient 8–0 Colchester United, Fourth Division, 15 October 1988^[44][47]
• Record cup defeat: Preston North End 7–0 Colchester United, FA Cup 3rd Round, 2 January 2010^[44][48]
• Record home defeat:

Colchester United 0–5 Luton Town, Division Two, 21 April 2003^[44][49]

Colchester United 0–5 Norwich City, League One, 16 January 2010^[44][50]

Colchester United 1–6 Stevenage F.C, League One, 26 December 2011^[44][51]

• Record away defeat: Leyton Orient 8–0 Colchester United, Fourth Division, 15 October 1988^[44][47]

Sequences

Full league sequence

• Longest winning streak: 7 matches^[44]

29 November 1968 – 1 February 1969

31 December 2005 – 7 February 2006

• Longest drawing streak: 6 matches, 21 March 1977 – 11 April 1977^[44]
• Longest losing streak: 9 matches^[44]

21 November 2012 – 12 January 2013

31 October 2015 – 28 December 2015

• Longest clean sheet streak: 8 matches, 7 March 1992 – 22 April 1992^[44]
• Longest streak failing to score: 5 matches^[44]

7 April 1981 – 25 April 1981

21 April 2003 – 15 August 2003

11 February 2006 – 11 March 2006

• Longest streak without a win: 20 matches, 2 March 1968 – 31 August 1968^[44]
• Longest streak without a draw: 24 matches, 16 October 1976 – 19 March 1977^[44]
• Longest streak without a loss: 20 matches, 22 December 1956 – 19 April 1957^[44]
• Longest streak without a clean sheet: 38 matches, 1 September 2007 – 29 ^[44] March 2008
• Longest streak without failing to score: 26 matches, 30 April 1991 – 1 January 1992^[44]

Home league sequences

• Longest winning streak: 17 matches, 12 October 1991 – 15 August 1992^[44]
• Longest drawing streak: 5 matches^[44]

26 December 1977 – 25 February 1978

15 April 1978 – 2 September 1978

13 March 2012 – 14 April 2012

• Longest losing streak: 6 matches, 13 October 1989 – 16 December 1989^[44]
• Longest clean sheet streak: 9 matches, 1 January 1992 – 20 April 1992^[44]
• Longest streak failing to score: 4 matches, 14 March 2009 – 25 April 2009^[44]
• Longest streak without a win: 11 matches, 2 March 1968 – 31 August 1968^[44]
• Longest streak without a draw: 27 matches, 26 September 1989 – 3 November 1990^[44]
• Longest streak without a loss: 27 matches, 14 April 1956 – 2 September 1957^[44]
• Longest streak without a clean sheet: 23 matches, 9 April 2007 – 18 March 2008^[44]
• Longest streak without failing to score: 33 matches, 21 April 1984 – 18 October 1985^[44]

Away league sequences

• Longest winning streak: 5 matches^[44]

11 October 1981 – 28 November 1981

3 October 1987 – 6 November 1987

• Longest drawing streak: 5 matches, 21 March 1977 – 22 April 1977^[44]
• Longest losing streak: 12 matches, 12 March 1960 – 15 October 1960^[44]
• Longest clean sheet streak: 4 matches, 27 March 1978 – 24 April 1978^[44]
• Longest streak failing to score: 7 matches^[44]

28 February 1978 – 22 April 1978

12 March 1988 – 2 September 1988

22 November 2003 – 13 March 2004

• Longest streak without a win: 19 matches^[44]

13 September 1950 – 21 April 1951

26 December 1959 – 29 October 1960

• Longest streak without a draw: 17 matches, 21 February 1959 – 6 October 1959^[44]
• Longest streak without a loss: 11 matches, 24 August 1991 – 14 December 1991^[44]
• Longest streak without a clean sheet: 33 matches, 19 September 2007 – 12 January 2009^[44]
• Longest streak without failing to score: 16 matches, 18 August 1962 – 27 March 1963^[44]

Footnotes

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes goals and appearances (including those as a substitute) in the Football League Trophy or Associate Members Cup, FA Trophy, Conference League Cup, Southern League Cup and Watney Cup.

B. ^ Does not include football played during war years (1939–40 to 1945–46).

References