1971–72 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United
1971–72 season
Chairman Roy Chapman[1]
Manager Dick Graham
Stadium Layer Road
Fourth Division 11th
FA Cup 1st round
(eliminated by
Shrewsbury Town)
League Cup 3rd round
(eliminated by
Blackpool)
Watney Cup Winners
Top goalscorer League:
Brian Lewis (15)

All:
Brian Lewis (23)
Highest home attendance 9,807
v Southend United, 18 October 1971[2]
Lowest home attendance 3,390
v Workington, 7 April 1972[3]
Average home league attendance 5,695[4]
Biggest win 4–1
v Swindon Town, 8 September 1971
v Southend United, 28 January 1972
5–2
v Lincoln City, 15 October 1971
3–0
v Exeter City, 26 November 1971
Biggest defeat 0–4
v Blackpool, 5 October 1971
v Peterborough United, 1 April 1972
Football kit (blue jersey; blue shorts with white sides; and white socks).
Home colours

The 1971–72 season was Colchester United's 30th season in their history and their fourth successive season in the fourth tier of English football, the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup, as well as being entered into the pre-season Watney Cup.

Continuing with their cup success of the previous season, Dick Graham's high-scoring side were entered into the Watney Cup, a pre-season tournament held between the two highest scoring teams in each of the four divisions in the Football League who had not achieved promotion or entered European football. Colchester defeated West Bromwich Albion in their first ever penalty shoot-out following a 4–4 draw at The Hawthorns.

Colchester reached the third round of the League Cup, where they were knocked out by Blackpool, and were eliminated from the FA Cup in the first round by Shrewsbury Town. Meanwhile, the U's ended their league campaign in eleventh position, nine points away from promotion.

Season overview

Colchester's goalscoring exploits of the previous campaign enabled qualification for the 1971–72 pre-season Watney Cup competition, open to the two highest scoring teams from each division, exclusively for teams that had not achieved promotion or entered into European competition. Both Luton Town and Carlisle United were beaten at Layer Road ahead of the final, held against West Bromwich Albion at their Hawthorns stadium. The encounter registered four goals apiece, taking the fixture to a penalty shoot-out. Albion missed two penalties, while Colchester youngster Phil Bloss scored the decisive spot kick to win the competition.

Although early favourites for promotion, a club debt of over £21,000 meant that manager Dick Graham needed to inject youth into his ageing side, bringing apprentices Steve Leslie, Steve Foley, Lindsay Smith, Micky Cook and John McLaughlin to name but a few into the first-team picture during the season. All became regulars but youth alone was not sufficient for Colchester to maintain a promotion push as they finished the season in eleventh position, nine points adrift of promotion.

Meanwhile, Colchester experienced a brief run in the League Cup, defeating Brentford and Swindon Town at Layer Road in the first and second rounds respectively, but were heavily beaten at Blackpool in round three. An early exit in the FA Cup followed. After reaching the quarter-final stage last season, the U's were humbled 4–1 at home to Shrewsbury Town in the first round.[5]

Players

As of match played 29 April 1972.[6]
Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth Apps Goals Signed from Date signed Fee
Goalkeepers
Barry SmithGKEnglandColchester3 March 1953 (aged 18)00ApprenticeJuly 1971Free transfer
Defenders
Richard BourneCBEnglandColchester9 December 1954 (aged 16)00Apprentice3 April 1972[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Eric BurgessFBEnglandEdgware27 October 1944 (aged 26)101England Plymouth ArgyleDecember 1970Free transfer
Micky CookFBEnglandEnfield9 April 1951 (aged 20)610England Orient1 March 1969Free transfer
Brian HallLBEnglandBurbage9 March 1939 (aged 32)30531England Mansfield TownMarch 1965Free transfer
Bobby HowlettCBEnglandWest Ham12 December 1948 (aged 22)180England Southend UnitedSummer 1968Free transfer
John McLaughlinFBEnglandEdmonton29 October 1954 (aged 16)00Apprentice18 March 1972[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Lindsay SmithCBEnglandEnfield18 September 1954 (aged 16)10Apprentice20 April 1971[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Midfielders
Phil BlossMFEnglandColchester16 January 1953 (aged 18)11ApprenticeJanuary 1971Free transfer
Steve FoleyMFEnglandClacton-on-Sea21 June 1953 (aged 17)00ApprenticeJuly 1969Free transfer
Steve LeslieMFEnglandHornsey4 September 1952 (aged 18)20Apprentice20 April 1971[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Bobby MillsMFEnglandEdmonton16 March 1955 (aged 16)00Apprentice4 March 1972[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Tony WingateMFEnglandIslington21 March 1955 (aged 16)00Apprentice18 March 1972[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Forwards
Brian GibbsFWEnglandGillingham6 October 1936 (aged 34)13836England GillinghamSeptember 1968£8,000
Mick MahonWGEnglandManchester17 September 1944 (aged 26)477England York CityMay 1970Free transfer
Dave SimmonsFWEnglandRyde24 October 1948 (aged 22)156England Aston Villa26 December 1970[lower-alpha 1]£6,000
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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.
July 1971 CB England Barry Smith Apprentice Free transfer [7]
4 March 1972 MF England Bobby Mills Apprentice Free transfer [8][lower-alpha 1]
18 March 1972 FB England John McLaughlin Apprentice Free transfer [9][lower-alpha 1]
18 March 1972 MF England Tony Wingate Apprentice Free transfer [10][lower-alpha 1]
3 April 1972 CB England Richard Bourne Apprentice Free transfer [11][lower-alpha 1]
  1. 1 2 3 4 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 Trevor Painter England Wealdstone Released [12]
End of season WG England Ray Whittaker England King's Lynn Released [13]
Summer 1971 WG England Micky Brown England Wealdstone Released [14]
31 May 1971 DF England Adrian Webster England Hillingdon Borough Released [15]
July 1971 GK England Brian Sherratt England Oxford City Released [16]
31 July 1971 FW England Ray Crawford South Africa Durban City Released [17][lower-alpha 1]
13 November 1971 GK England Graham Smith England West Bromwich Albion £11,000 [18]
December 1971 CB Scotland John Kurila England Lincoln City Free transfer [19]
January 1972 CB England Alan Dennis England Dover Free transfer [20]
January 1972 WG England Brian Owen England Wolverhampton Wanderers Player-coach [21]
March 1972 FB Scotland John Gilchrist England Tonbridge Player-coach [22]
March 1972 MF England Ken Jones England Margate Released [23]
31 March 1972 FB England Bobby Cram Canada Royal Canada Free transfer [24][lower-alpha 1]
3 April 1972 MF England Brian Lewis England Portsmouth £8,500 [25][lower-alpha 1]
24 April 1972 CB England Brian Garvey England Bedford Town Player-manager [26][lower-alpha 1]
  • Total incoming: Increase ~ £19,500
  1. 1 2 3 4 Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

Loans in

Date Position Nationality Name From End date Ref.
26 November 1971 FB England Charlie Woods England Watford 18 December 1972 [27][lower-alpha 1]
March 1972 MF England David Burnside England Bristol City 29 April 1972 [28][lower-alpha 1]
  1. 1 2 Loan start and end dates refer to the date of the player's first and final games for the club

Match details

Fourth Division

Fourth Division results round by round

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundAHAAHAHAAHAHHAHAHHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAAHHAAHHAHHHA
ResultLWLLWLWDLWWWWLDDDWDLDWDLDWLDWLWWLLLWWLLWWDLWLW
Position2062022142215171816149710812128912109911111012131011108912121110101099888911

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

League table

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGAv1Pts2Promotion, qualification or relegation
9Bury4619121573591.23750
10Cambridge United4617101562601.03348
11Colchester United4619101770691.01448
12Doncaster Rovers4616141656630.88946
13Gillingham4616131761670.91045

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

Watney Cup

League Cup

FA Cup

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

[6][29]

No. Pos Nat Player TotalFourth DivisionFA CupLeague CupWatney Cup
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK England Barry Smith 310310000000
DF England Richard Bourne 201+10000000
DF England Eric Burgess 478418003030
DF England Micky Cook 40136+21101000
DF England Brian Hall 41436+23111+1000
DF England John McLaughlin 908+10000000
DF England Lindsay Smith 18314+43000000
MF England Phil Bloss 221191002010
MF England Steve Foley 174174000000
MF England Steve Leslie 451340+1130+101+100+10
MF England Bobby Mills 3030000000
MF England Tony Wingate 100+10000000
FW England Brian Gibbs 40530+34103031
FW England Mick Mahon 491241+18103232
FW England Dave Simmons 28420+33002031
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
GK England Graham Smith 220150103030
DF England Bobby Cram 42035+10102030
DF England Brian Garvey 39131+11102+1030
DF Scotland John Gilchrist 190130102030
DF Scotland John Kurila 11292101000
DF England Charlie Woods 3030000000
MF England David Burnside 130130000000
MF England Ken Jones 21213+4210101+10
MF England Brian Lewis 37233015103533
FW England Ray Crawford 1000000010
FW England Brian Owen 13070003030

Goalscorers

[29]

Place Nationality Position Name Fourth Division FA Cup League Cup Watney Cup Total
1 England MF Brian Lewis 15 0 5 3 23
2 England MF Steve Leslie 13 0 0 0 13
3 England WG Mick Mahon 8 0 2 2 12
4 England FB Eric Burgess 8 0 0 0 8
5 England FW Brian Gibbs 4 0 0 1 5
6 England MF Steve Foley 4 0 0 0 4
England FB Brian Hall 3 1 0 0 4
England FW Dave Simmons 3 0 0 1 4
9 England CB Lindsay Smith 3 0 0 0 3
10 England MF Ken Jones 2 0 0 0 2
Scotland CB John Kurila 2 0 0 0 2
12 England MF Phil Bloss 1 0 0 0 1
England FB Micky Cook 1 0 0 0 1
England CB Brian Garvey 1 0 0 0 1
Own goals 2 0 0 0 2
TOTALS 70 1 7 7 85

Disciplinary record

[30]

Nationality Position Name Fourth Division FA Cup League Cup Watney Cup Total
Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card
England FW Brian Gibbs 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
England FB Micky Cook 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
England CB Brian Garvey 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
England MF Brian Lewis 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Scotland FB John Gilchrist 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
England MF Ken Jones 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Scotland CB John Kurila 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
England MF Steve Leslie 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
England WG Mick Mahon 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
TOTALS 13 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 14 0

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[31]

Place Nationality Player Fourth Division FA Cup League Cup Watney Cup Total
1 England Barry Smith 7 0 0 0 7
England Graham Smith 5 0 0 2 7
TOTALS 12 0 0 2 14

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[32]

Position Nationality Player Date Opponent Ground Notes
GK England Barry Smith 28 August 1971 Bury Gigg Lane
FB England Charlie Woods 26 November 1971 Exeter City Layer Road
MF England Steve Foley 26 November 1971 Exeter City Layer Road
MF England Bobby Mills 4 March 1972 Brentford Griffin Park
MF England David Burnside 11 March 1972 Aldershot Layer Road
FB England John McLaughlin 18 March 1972 Hartlepool Victoria Park
MF England Tony Wingate 18 March 1972 Hartlepool Victoria Park
CB England Richard Bourne 3 April 1972 Chester Sealand 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

    • "Colchester United football club match record: 1972". 11v11.com. Retrieved 24 April 2018.

    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 1–0 Southend United". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    3. "Colchester Utd 1–0 Workington". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
    4. "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    5. Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1970s and 1980s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
    6. 1 2 "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
    7. "Barry Smith". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    8. "Bobby Mills". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    9. "John McLaughlin". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    10. "Tony Wingate". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    11. "Richard Bourne". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    12. "Trevor Painter". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    13. "Ray Whittaker". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    14. "Micky Brown". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    15. Falk, David (29 December 2012). "Catching up with NASL Sounder Adrian Webster". GoalWA. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    16. "Brian Sherratt". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    17. "Ray Crawford". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    18. "Graham Smith". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    19. "John Kurila". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    20. "Alan Dennis". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    21. "Brian Owen". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    22. "John Gilchrist". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    23. "Ken Jones". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    24. "Bobby Cram". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    25. "Brian Lewis". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    26. "Brian Garvey". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    27. "Charlie Woods". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    28. "David Burnside". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    29. 1 2 "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
    30. "Discipline". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
    31. "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    32. "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
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