1976–77 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United
1976–77 season
ChairmanJack Rippingale[1]
ManagerBobby Roberts
StadiumLayer Road
Fourth Division3rd (promoted)
FA Cup4th round
(eliminated by
Derby County)
League Cup1st round
(eliminated by
Millwall)
Top goalscorerLeague:
Bobby Gough (17)
All:
Colin Garwood (24)
Highest home attendance14,030
v Derby County, 29 January 1977[2]
Lowest home attendance2,489
v Halifax Town, 24 August 1976[3]
Average home league attendance4,944[4]
Biggest win5–0
v Newport County, 1 January 1977
Biggest defeat0–2
v Cambridge United, 21 August 1976
v Scunthorpe United, 23 October 1976
v Darlington, 7 May 1977

The 1976–77 season was Colchester United's 35th season in their history and first season back in fourth tier of English football, the Fourth Division following relegation the previous season. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Colchester bounced back to the Third Division at the first attempt under Bobby Roberts with a largely unchanged team from the previous season. He led them to a third-place finish in the league, while in the FA Cup, Colchester took First Division Derby County to a replay in the fourth round. In the League Cup, it took Second Division Millwall three attempts to dispatch the U's in a replay following the initial two legs.

Season overview

Colchester made an instant return to the Third Division after the board kept the faith in manager Bobby Roberts. The season began strongly with twelve successive home victories. Despite a first round League Cup defeat to Millwall, an impressive FA Cup run saw the U's lose out in the fourth round to First Division Derby County in a replay at the Baseball Ground. Over 14,000 fans had seen Colin Garwood equalise in the seventh minute of injury time in the first match at Layer Road.

A settled side aided Colchester's progress across the season. Eight players played over 40 of the 46 league games. The two favoured forwards of Bobby Gough and Colin Garwood registered 17 and 16 goals respectively, while centre-half Steve Dowman scored twelve goals in his debut season. Colchester were promoted in third position behind only Cambridge United and Exeter City.[5]

Players

As of match played 14 May 1977.[6]
Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth Apps Goals Signed from Date signed Fee
Goalkeepers
Mike Walker GK Wales Colwyn Bay (1945-11-28)28 November 1945 (aged 30) 149 0 England Watford July 1973 £4,000
Defenders
Micky Cook FB England Enfield (1951-04-09)9 April 1951 (aged 25) 289 10 England Orient 1 March 1969 Free transfer
Steve Dowman CB England Ilford (1958-04-15)15 April 1958 (aged 18) 0 0 Apprentice 24 August 1976[a] Free transfer
Mick Packer FB England Willesden (1950-04-20)20 April 1950 (aged 26) 120 4 England Watford July 1973 Free transfer
Lindsay Smith CB England Enfield (1954-09-18)18 September 1954 (aged 21) 183 12 Apprentice 20 April 1971[a] Free transfer
Johnny Williams FB England Tottenham (1947-03-26)26 March 1947 (aged 29) 39 0 England Watford June 1976 Undisclosed
Midfielders
Ray Bunkell MF England Edmonton (1949-09-18)18 September 1949 (aged 26) 85 5 England Swindon Town December 1973 Part exchange
Paul Dyer MF England Leicester (1953-01-24)24 January 1953 (aged 23) 40 2 England Notts County Summer 1975 Undisclosed
Steve Foley MF England Clacton-on-Sea (1953-06-21)21 June 1953 (aged 22) 139 29 Apprentice July 1969 Free transfer
Steve Leslie MF England Hornsey (1952-09-04)4 September 1952 (aged 23) 187 34 Apprentice 20 April 1971[a] Free transfer
Forwards
Ian Allinson WG England Hitchin (1957-10-01)1 October 1957 (aged 18) 6 0 Apprentice Summer 1974 Free transfer
John Froggatt FW England Stanton Hill (1945-12-13)13 December 1945 (aged 30) 98 23 England Boston United Summer 1974 £6,000
Colin Garwood FW England Heacham (1949-06-29)29 June 1949 (aged 26) 15 2 England Huddersfield Town February 1976 £4,000
Bobby Gough FW England Ladywood (1949-07-20)20 July 1949 (aged 26) 22 5 England Southport January 1976 £7,000
  1. ^ a b c Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

Transfers

In

Date Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref.
24 August 1976 CB England Steve Dowman Apprentice Free transfer [7][a]
  • Total spending: Decrease ~ £0
  1. ^ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

Out

Date Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.
End of season CB England Barry Dominey England Yeovil Town Released [8]
End of season CB England Derek Harrison England Salisbury City Released [9]
End of season WG England Terry Anderson Free agent Released [10]
August 1976 GK England Lee Smelt Margate Free transfer [11]
23 November 1976 FB England Stewart Bright Chelmsford City Free transfer [12]
  • Total incoming: Increase ~ £0

Loans in

Date Position Nationality Name From End date Ref.
19 February 1977 GK England Glenn Ellis England Ipswich Town 22 February 1977 [13][a]
  1. ^ Loan start and end dates refer to the date of the player's first and final games for the club

Match details

Fourth Division

Main article: 1976–77 Football League

Results round by round

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundAHAHAHAHAHAAHHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAAHAAHAAHAHAHHAHAAH
ResultLWLWLWDWDWLLWWWWWLWLWWWLWLWWLWWWLDDDDDDWWDWWLW
Position2471391481055691110563343443222532433232232333222343
Source: 11v11.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

League table

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Cambridge United 46 26 13 7 87 40 +47 65 Division Champions, promoted
2 Exeter City 46 25 12 9 70 46 +24 62 Promoted
3 Colchester United 46 25 9 12 77 43 +34 59
4 Bradford City 46 23 13 10 78 51 +27 59
5 Swansea City 46 25 8 13 92 68 +24 58
Source: [citation needed]

Matches

21 August 1976 (1976-08-21) 1 Cambridge United 2–0 Colchester United Cambridge
Biley 8', 38' Report Stadium: Abbey Stadium
Attendance: 3,056
Referee: John Homewood
24 August 1976 (1976-08-24) 2 Colchester United 3–0 Halifax Town Colchester
Allinson 74', 75'
Gough 89'		 Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 2,489
Referee: D Reeves
28 August 1976 (1976-08-28) 3 Rochdale 1–0 Colchester United Rochdale
Hanvey 65' Report Stadium: Spotland Stadium
Attendance: 1,440
Referee: T Mills
4 September 1976 (1976-09-04) 4 Colchester United 3–1 Exeter City Colchester
Froggatt 25'
Cook 54'
Garwood 59'		 Report Smith 30' (o.g.) Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 2,516
Referee: Colin Downey
11 September 1976 (1976-09-11) 5 Watford 2–1 Colchester United Watford
Garner 76'
Mayes 78'		 Report Dowman 65'
Packer Red card 72'		 Stadium: Vicarage Road
Attendance: 5,386
Referee: A Turvey
18 September 1976 (1976-09-18) 6 Colchester United 3–2 Crewe Alexandra Colchester
Froggatt 11'
Garwood 46'
Allinson 65'		 Report Abbott 2', 20' Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 2,519
Referee: Tom Bune
25 September 1976 (1976-09-25) 7 Bournemouth 0–0 Colchester United Bournemouth
Report Stadium: Dean Court
Attendance: 3,881
Referee: D Biddle
1 October 1976 (1976-10-01) 8 Colchester United 3–1 Workington Colchester
Garwood 10', 20'
Gough 82'		 Report Lowrey 70' Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 2,957
Referee: Alan Gunn
8 October 1976 (1976-10-08) 9 Southend United 0–0 Colchester United Southend-on-Sea
Report Stadium: Roots Hall
Attendance: 6,690
Referee: K Salmon
16 October 1976 (1976-10-16) 10 Colchester United 6–2 Hartlepool Colchester
Gough 2', 34'
Garwood 8', 17', 67'
Allinson 57'		 Report Bielby 12', 25' Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 3,180
Referee: R Robinson
23 October 1976 (1976-10-23) 11 Scunthorpe United 2–0 Colchester United Scunthorpe
Pilling 40'
Keeley 61'		 Report Stadium: Old Showground
Attendance: 3,157
Referee: R Horner
25 October 1976 (1976-10-25) 12 Doncaster Rovers 3–2 Colchester United Doncaster
Taylor 5'
Kitchen 20'
Laidlaw 80'		 Report Packer 26' (pen.)
Cook 28'		 Stadium: Belle Vue
Attendance: 3,856
Referee: T Morris
30 October 1976 (1976-10-30) 13 Colchester United 2–1 Brentford Colchester
Garwood 18'
Cook 24'		 Report Cross 19' Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 3,607
Referee: Ron Challis
1 November 1976 (1976-11-01) 14 Colchester United 4–0 Torquay United Colchester
Gough 15'
Garwood 25', 30'
Dowman 43'		 Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 3,102
Referee: M Taylor
12 November 1976 (1976-11-12) 15 Colchester United 1–0 Stockport County Colchester
Dowman 85' Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 3,948
Referee: B Daniels
27 November 1976 (1976-11-27) 16 Barnsley 0–1 Colchester United Barnsley
Report Garwood 8' Stadium: Oakwell
Attendance: 5,662
Referee: J Rice
4 December 1976 (1976-12-04) 17 Colchester United 4–0 Darlington Colchester
Gough 8'
Dowman 36', 75'
Smith 80'		 Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 2,951
Referee: P Reeves
18 December 1976 (1976-12-18) 18 Bradford City 1–0 Colchester United Bradford
Cooke 39' Report Stadium: Valley Parade
Attendance: 4,173
Referee: A Saunders
27 December 1976 (1976-12-27) 19 Colchester United 1–0 Aldershot Colchester
Smith 43' Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 6,007
Referee: C Maskell
28 December 1976 (1976-12-28) 20 Swansea City 2–1 Colchester United Swansea
May 77'
Charles 87'		 Report Bunkell 49' Stadium: Vetch Field
Attendance: 5,666
Referee: B James
1 January 1977 (1977-01-01) 21 Colchester United 5–0 Newport County Colchester
Gough 6', 63'
Smith 25'
Dowman 52'
Garwood 64'		 Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 4,614
Referee: Alf Grey
3 January 1977 (1977-01-03) 22 Brentford 1–4 Colchester United Brentford
McCulloch 25' Report Garwood 47'
Gough 67', 85'
Dowman 80'		 Stadium: Griffin Park
Attendance: 4,610
Referee: Tom Bune
18 January 1977 (1977-01-18) 23 Colchester United 4–1 Southport Colchester
Bunkell 18'
Garwood 48'
Packer 76' (pen.)
Allinson 84'		 Report Dewsnip 88' Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,634
Referee: Rob Lewis
21 January 1977 (1977-01-21) 24 Colchester United 0–1 Cambridge United Colchester
Report Spriggs 24' Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,639
Referee: T Spencer
5 February 1977 (1977-02-05) 25 Colchester United 1–0 Rochdale Colchester
Dowman 27' Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 4,943
Referee: K Salmon
12 February 1977 (1977-02-12) 26 Exeter City 1–0 Colchester United Exeter
Hodge 6' Report Stadium: St James Park
Attendance: 6,132
Referee: Malcolm Sinclair
19 February 1977 (1977-02-19) 27 Colchester United 1–0 Watford Colchester
Packer 13' (pen.) Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,678
Referee: D Smith
22 February 1977 (1977-02-22) 28 Newport County 1–2 Colchester United Newport
Emanuel 49' Report Gough 44', 55' Stadium: Somerton Park
Attendance: 1,575
Referee: W Harvey
26 February 1977 (1977-02-26) 29 Crewe Alexandra 1–0 Colchester United Crewe
Smith 31' (o.g.) Report Stadium: Gresty Road
Attendance: 2,410
Referee: K Hacken
4 March 1977 (1977-03-04) 30 Colchester United 1–0 Bournemouth Colchester
Froggatt 14' Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 4,948
Referee: M Taylor
8 March 1977 (1977-03-08) 31 Halifax Town 1–2 Colchester United Halifax
Lawson 44' (pen.) Report Packer 35'
Leslie 88'		 Stadium: The Shay
Attendance: 2,097
Referee: N Glover
12 March 1977 (1977-03-12) 32 Workington 2–4 Colchester United Workington
Kavanagh 39'
Prudham 44'		 Report Froggatt 37'
Gough 53'
Dowman 53'
Dowman 66'
Packer 83' (pen.)		 Stadium: Borough Park
Attendance: 1,223
Referee: Bob Matthewson
19 March 1977 (1977-03-19) 33 Colchester United 0–1 Southend United Colchester
Report Morris 87' Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 6,637
Referee: I Hunting
21 March 1977 (1977-03-21) 34 Huddersfield Town 0–0 Colchester United Huddersfield
Report Stadium: Leeds Road
Attendance: 7,508
Referee: J Butcher
26 March 1977 (1977-03-26) 35 Hartlepool 2–2 Colchester United Hartlepool
Poskett 27' (pen.), 29' Report Allinson 44'
Dowman 52'		 Stadium: Victoria Park
Attendance: 1,822
Referee: A Porter
2 April 1977 (1977-04-02) 36 Colchester United 1–1 Scunthorpe United Colchester
Leslie 2' Report Lumby 34' Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 3,799
Referee: B James
5 April 1977 (1977-04-05) 37 Aldershot 1–1 Colchester United Aldershot
Bell 1' Report Gough 85' Stadium: Recreation Ground
Attendance: 2,586
Referee: C White
8 April 1977 (1977-04-08) 38 Colchester United 1–1 Swansea City Colchester
Dowman 83' Report Williams 58' (o.g.)
Lally Red card 70'		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,184
Referee: Rob Lewis
11 April 1977 (1977-04-11) 39 Torquay United 2–2 Colchester United Torquay
Rudge 5'
Lee 81'		 Report Dowman 24'
Gough 82'		 Stadium: Plainmoor
Attendance: 3,189
Referee: B Stevens
15 April 1977 (1977-04-15) 40 Colchester United 1–0 Doncaster Rovers Colchester
Gough 79' Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 4,668
Referee: D Smith
19 April 1977 (1977-04-19) 41 Colchester United 3–1 Huddersfield Town Colchester
Smith 9', 63'
Garwood 39'		 Report Dowman 3' (o.g.) Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,051
Referee: John Homewood
22 April 1977 (1977-04-22) 42 Stockport County 1–1 Colchester United Stockport
Daniels 40' Report Garwood 18' Stadium: Edgeley Park
Attendance: 2,826
Referee: D Richardson
29 April 1977 (1977-04-29) 43 Colchester United 1–0 Barnsley Colchester
Smith 83' Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,802
Referee: Tom Bune
3 May 1977 (1977-05-03) 44 Southport 1–3 Colchester United Southport
Walker 15' (o.g.) Report Froggatt 65', 78'
Gough 76'		 Stadium: Haig Avenue
Attendance: 867
Referee: C Newsome
7 May 1977 (1977-05-07) 45 Darlington 2–0 Colchester United Darlington
Rowles 21', 48' Report Stadium: Feethams
Attendance: 1,964
Referee: M Lowe
14 May 1977 (1977-05-14) 46 Colchester United 2–1 Bradford City Colchester
Ratcliffe 1' (o.g.)
Allinson 41'		 Report Watson 5' Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,912
Referee: Malcolm Sinclair

League Cup

Main article: 1976–77 Football League Cup
14 August 1976 (1976-08-14) 1st round 1st leg Millwall 2–1 Colchester United New Cross
Seasman 22'
Shanahan 38'		 Report Smith 2' Stadium: The Den
Attendance: 4,599
Referee: C Maskell
17 August 1976 (1976-08-17) 1st round 2nd leg Colchester United 2–1 Millwall Colchester
Gough 35'
Garwood 41'		 Report Evans 60' Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 3,155
Referee: B Daniels
Note: Colchester and Millwall drew 3–3 on aggregate
30 August 1976 (1976-08-30) 1st round replay Colchester United 4–4 (a.e.t.)
(2–4 p)		 Millwall Colchester
Garwood 62', 82', 118'
Bunkell 72' (pen.)		 Report Lee 34', 39'
Salvage 70' (pen.)
Fairbrother 119'		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 3,695
Referee: Alf Grey

FA Cup

Main article: 1976–77 FA Cup
20 November 1976 (1976-11-20) 1st round Cambridge United 1–1 Colchester United Cambridge
Fallon 89' Report Packer 72' (pen.) Stadium: Abbey Stadium
Attendance: 5,090
Referee: R Toseland
24 November 1976 (1976-11-24) 1st round replay Colchester United 2–0 Cambridge United Colchester
Garwood 3'
Leslie 16'		 Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 6,041
Referee: R Toseland
11 December 1976 (1976-12-11) 2nd round Colchester United A–A Brentford Colchester
Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,286
Referee: J Sewell
Note: Match abandoned after 62-minutes with the score at 0–0 due to a frozen pitch.
20 December 1976 (1976-12-20) 2nd round Colchester United 3–2 Brentford Colchester
Gough 6'
Froggatt 7'
Packer 88' (pen.)		 Report Rolph 49'
Fraser 74'		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 4,730
Referee: J Sewell
8 January 1977 (1977-01-08) 3rd round Kettering Town 2–3 Colchester United Kettering
Clayton 80'
Kellock 81'		 Report Froggatt 7'
Garwood 30', 60'		 Stadium: Rockingham Road
Attendance: 7,176
Referee: John Homewood
29 January 1977 (1977-01-29) 4th round Colchester United 1–1 Derby County Colchester
Garwood 90' Report Hales 23' Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 14,030
Referee: R Crabb
2 February 1977 (1977-02-02) 4th round replay Derby County 1–0 Colchester United Derby
James 44' Report Stadium: Baseball Ground
Attendance: 22,155
Referee: R Crabb

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

[6][14]

No. Pos Nat Player Total Fourth Division FA Cup League Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK Wales WAL Mike Walker 53 0 44 0 6 0 3 0
DF England ENG Micky Cook 55 3 46 3 6 0 3 0
DF England ENG Steve Dowman 42 12 33+3 12 6 0 0 0
DF England ENG Mick Packer 47 7 35+4 5 4+1 2 3 0
DF England ENG Lindsay Smith 54 7 45 6 6 0 3 1
DF England ENG Johnny Williams 52 0 43 0 6 0 3 0
MF England ENG Ray Bunkell 24 3 16+2 2 3 0 3 1
MF England ENG Paul Dyer 43 0 29+5 0 4+2 0 3 0
MF England ENG Steve Foley 10 0 10 0 0 0 0 0
MF England ENG Steve Leslie 50 3 40+1 2 6 1 3 0
FW England ENG Ian Allinson 44 7 31+9 7 1+1 0 0+2 0
FW England ENG John Froggatt 52 8 43 6 6 2 3 0
FW England ENG Colin Garwood 51 24 40+2 16 6 4 3 4
FW England ENG Bobby Gough 52 19 43 17 6 1 3 1
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
GK England ENG Glenn Ellis 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
DF England ENG Stewart Bright 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 0
DF England ENG Barry Dominey 3 0 1+2 0 0 0 0 0

Goalscorers

[14]

Place Nationality Position Name Fourth Division FA Cup League Cup Total
1 England FW Colin Garwood 16 4 4 24
2 England FW Bobby Gough 17 1 1 19
3 England CB Steve Dowman 12 0 0 12
4 England FW John Froggatt 6 2 0 8
5 England WG Ian Allinson 7 0 0 7
England FB Mick Packer 5 2 0 7
England CB Lindsay Smith 6 0 1 7
8 England MF Ray Bunkell 2 0 1 3
England FB Micky Cook 3 0 0 3
England MF Steve Leslie 2 1 0 3
Own goals 1 0 0 1
TOTALS 77 10 7 94

Disciplinary record

[15]

Nationality Position Name Fourth Division FA Cup League Cup Total
Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card
England FB Mick Packer 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 1
England FW John Froggatt 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
England FB Johnny Williams 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
TOTALS 4 1 0 0 0 0 4 1

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[16]

Place Nationality Player Fourth Division FA Cup League Cup Total
1 Wales Mike Walker 14 1 0 15
2 England Glenn Ellis 1 0 0 1
TOTALS 15 1 0 16

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[17]

Position Nationality Player Date Opponent Ground Notes
CB England Steve Dowman 24 August 1976 Halifax Town Layer Road
GK England Glenn Ellis 19 February 1977 Watford Layer Road

See also

References

General

Books

  • Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.

Websites

Specific

  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. ^ "Colchester Utd 1–1 Derby County". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Colchester Utd 3–0 Halifax Town". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  5. ^ Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1970s and 1980s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  7. ^ "Steve Dowman (Defender)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  8. ^ "Barry Dominey". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  9. ^ "Derek Harrison". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  10. ^ "Terry Anderson". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  11. ^ "Lee Smelt". Margate Football Club history. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  12. ^ "Stewart Bright". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  13. ^ "Glen Ellis (Goalkeeper)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  15. ^ "Discipline". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  16. ^ "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  17. ^ "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2018.

Strategi Solo vs Squad di Free Fire: Cara Menang Mudah!