1956–57 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United
1956–57 season
Chairman Bill Allen[1]
Manager Benny Fenton
Stadium Layer Road
Third Division South 3rd
FA Cup 1st round
(eliminated by
Southend United)
Top goalscorer League:
Ken Plant (24)
All:
Ken Plant (24)
Highest home attendance 18,559
v Ipswich Town, 16 February 1957[2]
Lowest home attendance 5,899
v Northampton Town, 22 December 1956[3]
Average home league attendance 9,351[4]
Biggest win 6–0
v Shrewsbury Town, 29 September 1956
Biggest defeat 1–4
v Southend United, 17 November 1956;
1–4
v Swindon Town, 27 April 1957
Football kit (white jersey with blue, vertical stripes; white shorts;; and blue socks with white, horizontal hoops).
Home colours

The 1956–57 season was Colchester United's 15th season in their history and their seventh season in the Third Division South, the third tier of English football. Alongside competing in the Third Division South, the club also participated in the FA Cup in which the club were eliminated by Southend United in the first round in the first Essex derby in a cup competition. The season would be Colchester United's highest league finish for 50 years by ending their campaign in third position. It has only been bettered on three occasions; the 2005–06 season, 2006–07 season and the 2007–08 season.

Season overview

The 1956–57 season proved to be Colchester United's best finish in their history, ending the season in third position in the third tier with a result that was not bettered until 2006. For the majority of the season, Colchester were favourites for promotion, during which time they went 20 league games unbeaten between December 1956 and Easter 1957.

Colchester and rivals Ipswich Town vied for the top spot for much of the season. Colchester were seven-points ahead of their third-placed rivals when the two sides met at Layer Road on 16 February 1957. A record crowd of 18,559 witnessed the 0–0 draw, with over 4,000 fans turned away and over 100 spectators witnessing the action from the roof of the Popular Side stand. Player-manager Benny Fenton missed a 21st-minute penalty during the match, which was saved by Ipswich goalkeeper Roy Bailey.

A 2–1 win over second-placed Torquay United, who trailed by four points as a result, improved Colchester's title credentials. However, the loss of influential players to injury including Bob Dale and Chic Milligan damaged Colchester's hopes. Three consecutive draws in late March and early April allowed Torquay to close the gap to just one point, with Ipswich five points adrift. Over Easter 1957, Colchester lost three consecutive away games at Millwall, Walsall and Swindon Town, but won their final game of the season 2–0 against Watford to put them back at the top of the table, but both Ipswich and Torquay's final matches were 24 hours later. Both sides won their final games, with Colchester slipping to third position in the table and Ipswich were promoted as champions, level on points with Torquay but with a better goal average, while they finished one point ahead of Colchester. Colchester played the entire season unbeaten at Layer Road.[5]

Players

As of match played 29 April 1957.[6]
Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth Apps Goals Signed from Date signed Fee
Goalkeepers
Percy AmesGKEnglandPlymouth13 December 1931 (aged 24)450England Tottenham Hotspur1 May 1955Free transfer
John WrightGKEnglandAldershot13 August 1933 (aged 22)40England Colchester Casuals23 May 1952Free transfer
Defenders
Brian DobsonCBEnglandColchester1 March 1934 (aged 22)60AmateurJanuary 1956Free transfer
George FisherFBEnglandBermondsey19 June 1925 (aged 30)431England Fulham1 September 1955£1,000
John FowlerFBScotlandLeith17 October 1933 (aged 22)162Scotland Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic20 August 1955[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Chic MilliganCBScotlandArdrossan26 July 1930 (aged 25)00Scotland Ardrossan Winton Rovers18 August 1956[lower-alpha 1]£1,000
Reg StewartCBEnglandSheffield30 October 1925 (aged 30)3072England Sheffield Wednesday20 August 1949[lower-alpha 1]£1,000
Midfielders
Benny FentonWHEnglandWest Ham10 October 1918 (aged 37)444England Charlton Athletic5 March 1955[lower-alpha 1]£500
Trevor HarrisWHEnglandColchester6 February 1936 (aged 20)30AmateurJuly 1951Free transfer
Bert HillWHEnglandWest Ham8 March 1930 (aged 26)602England ChelseaSeptember 1952£300
Ron HuntWHEnglandColchester26 September 1933 (aged 22)340AmateurOctober 1951Free transfer
Derek ParkerWHEnglandWivenhoe23 June 1926 (aged 29)00England West Ham UnitedMarch 1957£2,500
Forwards
Les BarrellWGEnglandColchester30 August 1932 (aged 23)00England Lexden WanderersSummer 1956Free transfer
Russell BlakeWGEnglandColchester24 July 1935 (aged 20)50England Dedham Old Boys8 September 1955[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Bobby HillIFScotlandEdinburgh9 June 1938 (aged 17)41Scotland Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare9 June 1955Free transfer
Martyn KingCFEnglandBirmingham23 August 1937 (aged 18)00AmateurSummer 1955Free transfer
Kevin McCurleyCFEnglandConsett2 April 1926 (aged 30)15764England LiverpoolJune 1951£750
Sammy McLeodIFScotlandGlasgow4 January 1934 (aged 22)432Scotland Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare20 August 1955[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Ken PlantCFEnglandNuneaton15 August 1925 (aged 30)9636England BuryJanuary 1954Undisclosed
Eddie SmithIFEnglandMarylebone23 March 1939 (aged 17)00England Northampton TownJune 1956Undisclosed
Tommy WilliamsWGEnglandBattersea10 February 1935 (aged 21)00England Carshalton AthleticSeptember 1956Free transfer
Peter WrightWGEnglandColchester26 January 1934 (aged 22)11322AmateurNovember 1951Free transfer
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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.
Summer 1956 WG England Les Barrell England Lexden Wanderers Free transfer [7]
June 1956 IF England Eddie Smith England Northampton Town Undisclosed [8]
18 August 1956 CB Scotland Chic Milligan Scotland Ardrossan Winton Rovers £1,000 [9][lower-alpha 1]
September 1956 WG England Tommy Williams England Carshalton Athletic Free transfer [10]
March 1957 WH England Derek Parker England West Ham United £2,500 [11]
  • Total spending: Decrease ~ £3,500
  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 GK England George Wright England Sudbury Town Free transfer [12]
End of season IF England Alfred Noble England Leytonstone Free transfer [13]
Summer 1956 CB England Billy Hunt England Sudbury Town Released [14]
September 1956 FB England John Harrison Free agent Retired [15]
16 February 1957 WH England Bob Dale Free agent Retired [16][lower-alpha 1]
March 1957 FB England George French Retired Retired [17]
  1. ↑ Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

Match details

Third Division South

Third Division South results round by round

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundHAAHHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHHAAHHAAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAH
ResultWWLDDLDWWWLWWLWLWDDWLLWDWDWWWWWWDDWDDWDDDWLLLW
Position441071114151294821333433345443332111111111111111233

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

League table

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGAv1Pts2Promotion, qualification or relegation
1Ipswich Town (C, P)4625912101541.87059Promoted to Second Division
2Torquay United4624111189641.39159
3Colchester United4622141084561.50058
4Southampton4622101476521.46254
5Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic4619141388621.41952

Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Number of goals scored

(C) Champion; (P) Promoted; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (R) Relegated.

Notes:

1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976–77 season.

2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.

Matches

FA Cup

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

[6][18]

No. Pos Nat Player TotalThird Division
South		FA Cup
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK England Percy Ames 47046010
DF England George Fisher 46245210
DF Scotland John Fowler 44143110
DF Scotland Chic Milligan 35134110
DF England Reg Stewart 13013000
MF England Benny Fenton 39838810
MF England Bert Hill 15115100
MF England Derek Parker 606000
FW England Les Barrell 414100
FW England Russell Blake 202000
FW Scotland Bobby Hill 39738710
FW England Martyn King 313100
FW England Kevin McCurley 321031911
FW Scotland Sammy McLeod 424200
FW England Ken Plant 4724462410
FW England Eddie Smith 3613351310
FW England Tommy Williams 23323300
FW England Peter Wright 45844810
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
DF England John Harrison 303000
MF England Bob Dale 34233210

Goalscorers

[18]

Place Nationality Position Name Third Division South FA Cup Total
1 England CF Ken Plant 24 0 24
2 England IF Eddie Smith 13 0 13
3 England CF Kevin McCurley 9 1 10
4 England WH Benny Fenton 8 0 8
England WG Peter Wright 8 0 8
6 Scotland IF Bobby Hill 7 0 7
7 England WG Tommy Williams 3 0 3
8 England WH Bob Dale 2 0 2
England FB George Fisher 2 0 2
Scotland IF Sammy McLeod 2 0 2
11 Scotland FB John Fowler 1 0 1
England WH Bert Hill 1 0 1
Scotland CB Chic Milligan 1 0 1
England WG Les Barrell 1 0 1
England CF Martyn King 1 0 1
Own goals 1 0 1
TOTALS 83 1 84

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[19]

Place Nationality Player Third Division South FA Cup Total
1 England Percy Ames 13 0 13
TOTALS 13 0 13

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[20]

Position Nationality Player Date Opponent Ground Notes
CB Scotland Chic Milligan 18 August 1956 Southend United Layer Road
WG England Les Barrell 18 August 1956 Southend United Layer Road
IF England Eddie Smith 18 August 1956 Southend United Layer Road
CF England Martyn King 27 August 1956 Crystal Palace Layer Road
WG England Tommy Williams 24 November 1956 Brentford Layer Road
WH England Derek Parker 13 April 1957 Aldershot 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.
    • Ambrosen, Tony (1993). Amber in the Blood: A History Of Newport County. Uxbridge: Yore Publications. ISBN 978-1-874427-40-7.
    • White, Eric (1989). 100 Years of Brentford. Redditch: Oldfield Press. ISBN 0951526200.

    Websites

    • "Colchester United football club match record: 1957". 11v11.com. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
    • "Statistics 1956/57". The Millwall History Files. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
    • "1950/51 to 1959/60" (PDF). Watford Football Club archive 1881–2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.

    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 0–0 Ipswich Town". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
    3. ↑ "Colchester Utd 1–2 Millwall". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
    4. ↑ "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
    5. ↑ Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1950s and 1960s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
    6. 1 2 "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
    7. ↑ "Les Barrell". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
    8. ↑ "Eddie Smith". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
    9. ↑ "Chic Milligan". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
    10. ↑ "Tommy Williams". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
    11. ↑ "Derek Parker". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
    12. ↑ "George Wright". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
    13. ↑ "Alf Noble". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
    14. ↑ "Billy Hunt". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
    15. ↑ "John Harrison". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
    16. ↑ "Bob Dale". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
    17. ↑ "George French". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
    18. 1 2 "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
    19. ↑ "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    20. ↑ "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
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