1958–59 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United
1958–59 season
Chairman Bill Allen[1]
Manager Benny Fenton
Stadium Layer Road
Third Division 5th
FA Cup 4th round
(eliminated by
Arsenal)
Top goalscorer League:
Neil Langman (20)
All:
Neil Langman (27)
Highest home attendance 16,000
v Arsenal, 24 January 1959[2]
Lowest home attendance 4,406
v Notts County, 23 February 1959[3]
Average home league attendance 8,357[4]
Biggest win 8–2
v Stockport County, 4 October 1958;
7–1
v Yeovil Town, 11 December 1958
Biggest defeat 0–4
v Arsenal, 28 January 1959;
0–4
v Brentford, 21 March 1959
Football kit (white jersey with blue, vertical stripes; white shorts;; and blue socks with white, horizontal hoops).
Home colours

The 1958–59 season was Colchester United's 17th season in their history and their ninth season in the third tier of English football, the newly formed national Third Division. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup. Colchester reached the fourth round of the FA Cup, beating Bath City, Yeovil Town and Chesterfield on their way to meeting Arsenal. Drawn at home, Colchester held Arsenal to a 2–2 Layer Road draw, but were defeated 4–0 at Highbury in the replay. Colchester finished fifth in the Third Division, nine points shy of promotion.

Season overview

In the new national Third Division, Colchester excelled against their northern counterparts, winning 21 games, more than half of which were clubs previously in the Third Division North. Colchester finished the season in fifth position, just nine points away from Hull City in second place, and ten behind champions Plymouth Argyle. They also earned a club record win when they beat Stockport County 8–2 on 4 October, and a club record away win when they beat Yeovil Town 7–1.

The club's main highlight during the campaign was their FA Cup run, their first venture outside of the first round in six seasons. Colchester defeated old Southern League rivals Bath City and Yeovil Town in the first and second rounds, before seeing off Chesterfield to set up a fourth round tie with Arsenal. For the first time local police set a limit on crowd numbers at Layer Road for the Arsenal game with 16,000 witnessing the 2–2 draw. 62,686 people watched the replay at Highbury in thick fog as the Gunners ran out 4–0 winners.

Both big-money signings from last season, Neil Langman and John Evans, helped repay their transfer fees by scoring 27 and 16 goals respectively. Meanwhile, the proceeds from the Arsenal fixture meant that floodlighting could be installed at Layer Road for the first time.[5]

Players

As of match played 4 May 1959.[6]
Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth Apps Goals Signed from Date signed Fee
Goalkeepers
Percy AmesGKEnglandPlymouth13 December 1931 (aged 26)1390England Tottenham Hotspur1 May 1955Free transfer
John WrightGKEnglandAldershot13 August 1933 (aged 24)40England Colchester Casuals23 May 1952Free transfer
Defenders
Brian DobsonCBEnglandColchester1 March 1934 (aged 24)230AmateurJanuary 1956Free transfer
George FisherFBEnglandBermondsey19 June 1925 (aged 32)1354England Fulham1 September 1955£1,000
John FowlerFBScotlandLeith17 October 1933 (aged 24)1063Scotland Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic20 August 1955[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
John LaidlawFBEnglandAldershot5 July 1936 (aged 21)00Scotland Easthouses Lily Miners WelfareJune 1957Free transfer
Alf MarshallFBEnglandDagenham21 May 1933 (aged 25)00England Dagenham14 October 1957£25
Chic MilliganCBScotlandArdrossan26 July 1930 (aged 27)621Scotland Ardrossan Winton Rovers18 August 1956[lower-alpha 1]£1,000
John RoeFBScotlandBroxburn7 January 1938 (aged 20)00Scotland West Calder UnitedJuly 1958Free transfer
Edgar RumneyFBEnglandAbberton15 September 1936 (aged 21)50England Colchester Casuals1 May 1957Free transfer
Midfielders
Cyril HammondWHEnglandWoolwich10 October 1927 (aged 30)00England Charlton AthleticJuly 1958Free transfer
Trevor HarrisWHEnglandColchester6 February 1936 (aged 22)100AmateurJuly 1951Free transfer
Ron HuntWHEnglandColchester26 September 1933 (aged 24)380AmateurOctober 1951Free transfer
Derek ParkerWHEnglandWivenhoe23 June 1926 (aged 31)361England West Ham UnitedMarch 1957£2,500
Forwards
Russell BlakeWGEnglandColchester24 July 1935 (aged 22)152England Dedham Old Boys8 September 1955[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
John EvansIFEnglandTilbury28 August 1929 (aged 28)247England Liverpool23 November 1957[lower-alpha 1]£4,000
Bobby HillIFScotlandEdinburgh9 June 1938 (aged 19)548Scotland Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare9 June 1955Free transfer
Ian JohnstoneIFScotlandGalashiels2 March 1939 (aged 19)00Scotland Ormiston Primrose18 April 1959[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Martyn KingCFEnglandBirmingham23 August 1937 (aged 20)31AmateurSummer 1955Free transfer
Neil LangmanCFEnglandBere Alston21 February 1932 (aged 26)238England Plymouth ArgyleNovember 1957£6,750
Kevin McCurleyCFEnglandConsett2 April 1926 (aged 32)21886England LiverpoolJune 1951£750
Sammy McLeodIFScotlandGlasgow4 January 1934 (aged 24)636Scotland Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare20 August 1955[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Tony MillerIFEnglandChelmsford26 October 1937 (aged 20)00AmateurMay 1958Free transfer
Ken PlantCFEnglandNuneaton15 August 1925 (aged 32)18879England BuryJanuary 1954Undisclosed
Tommy WilliamsWGEnglandBattersea10 February 1935 (aged 23)528England Carshalton AthleticSeptember 1956Free transfer
Peter WrightWGEnglandColchester26 January 1934 (aged 24)20446AmateurNovember 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.
May 1958 IF England Tony Miller Amateur Free transfer [7]
July 1958 WH England Cyril Hammond England Charlton Athletic Free transfer [8]
July 1958 FB Scotland John Roe Scotland West Calder United Free transfer [9]
18 April 1959 IF Scotland Ian Johnstone Scotland Ormiston Primrose Free transfer [10][lower-alpha 1]
  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 WH England Benny Fenton England Colchester United Retired from playing, remained as manager [11]
July 1958 WH England Bert Hill England Dartford Free transfer [12]
26 December 1958 IF Scotland Hamish McNeill England Cambridge City Nominal [13]

Match details

Third Division

Third Division results round by round

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundHHAAHHAHAAHHAHAAHHAAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHHAHAA
ResultLWLWWWDWDDLWDDLWLLWWDDWDWWLDDWWLWLWLLLLLWWWWLW
Position179191383765787577369865856334444333444669101097685

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

League table

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGAv1Pts2Promotion, qualification or relegation
3Brentford4621151076491.55157
4Norwich City4622131189621.43557
5Colchester United4621101571671.06052
6Reading462181778631.23850
7Tranmere Rovers462181782671.22450

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][14]

No. Pos Nat Player TotalThird DivisionFA Cup
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK England Percy Ames 52046060
DF England George Fisher 34128160
DF Scotland John Fowler 48042060
DF England Alf Marshall 24024000
DF Scotland Chic Milligan 50144160
MF England Cyril Hammond 37033040
MF England Trevor Harris 101000
MF England Ron Hunt 21019020
MF England Derek Parker 44038060
FW England Russell Blake 29524550
FW England John Evans 3116271442
FW Scotland Bobby Hill 818100
FW Scotland Ian Johnstone 101000
FW England Martyn King 303000
FW England Neil Langman 5027442067
FW England Kevin McCurley 757500
FW Scotland Sammy McLeod 441038862
FW England Ken Plant 957322
FW England Tommy Williams 30629511
FW England Peter Wright 49543560

Goalscorers

[14]

Place Nationality Position Name Third Division FA Cup Total
1 England CF Neil Langman 20 7 27
2 England IF John Evans 14 2 16
3 Scotland IF Sammy McLeod 8 2 10
4 England WG Tommy Williams 5 1 6
5 England WG Russell Blake 5 0 5
England CF Kevin McCurley 5 0 5
England CF Ken Plant 3 2 5
England WG Peter Wright 5 0 5
9 England FB George Fisher 1 0 1
Scotland IF Bobby Hill 1 0 1
Scotland CB Chic Milligan 1 0 1
Own goals 3 0 3
TOTALS 71 14 85

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[15]

Place Nationality Player Third Division FA Cup Total
1 England Percy Ames 12 2 14
TOTALS 12 2 14

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[16]

Position Nationality Player Date Opponent Ground Notes
WH England Cyril Hammond 23 August 1958 Bury Layer Road
FB England Alf Marshall 8 October 1958 Reading Elm Park
IF Scotland Ian Johnstone 18 April 1959 Chesterfield 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: 1959". 11v11.com. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
    • "1958–59". Arsenal First Team Line-Ups. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
    • "Season View". TigerBase. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
    • "First team 1958–59 – Football League Three". Go Go Go County. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
    • "Colchester United Club Profile". Ciderspace. 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 2–2 Arsenal". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
    3. ↑ "Colchester Utd 4–1 Notts County". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
    4. ↑ "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
    5. ↑ Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1950s and 1960s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
    6. 1 2 "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
    7. ↑ "Tony Miller". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
    8. ↑ "Cyril Hammond". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
    9. ↑ "John Roe". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
    10. ↑ "Ian Johnstone". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
    11. ↑ "Benny Fenton". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
    12. ↑ "Bert Hill". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
    13. ↑ "Hamish McNeill". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
    14. 1 2 "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
    15. ↑ "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    16. ↑ "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
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