1978–79 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United
1978–79 season
Chairman Jack Rippingale[1]
Manager Bobby Roberts
Stadium Layer Road
Third Division 7th
FA Cup 5th round
(eliminated by
Manchester United)
League Cup 1st round
(eliminated by
Charlton Athletic)
Top goalscorer League:
Bobby Gough (16)
All:
Bobby Gough (22)
Highest home attendance 13,171
v Manchester United, 20 February 1979[2]
Lowest home attendance 2,311
v Chester, 12 September 1978[3]
Average home league attendance 3,921[4]
Biggest win 4–0
v Leatherhead, 19 December 1978
5–1
v Tranmere Rovers, 9 May 1979
Biggest defeat 0–4
v Carlisle United, 8 September 1978
Football kit (white jersey with blue, vertical stripes; blue shorts; and white socks).
Home colours

The 1978–79 season was Colchester United's 37th season in their history and second successive season in third tier of English football, the Third Division. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Colchester improved on their previous league campaign by one position, finishing in a strong seventh. The U's were eliminated in the League Cup by Charlton Athletic in the first round, but had greater success in the FA Cup. They saw off Oxford United, Leatherhead, Darlington and Newport County before facing Manchester United in the fifth round of the competition at Layer Road. Colchester held on until the 86th-minute before Jimmy Greenhoff broke the deadlock and denied the U's an Old Trafford replay.

Season overview

Bobby Roberts kept the faith in his squad for their second season in the Third Division, but an injury to Eddie Rowles forced him into the transfer market. Despite Colchester suffering financial difficulty, the club spent £15,000 on Millwall forward Trevor Lee, who became the first black player to represent Colchester's first team.

A strong season in the league saw the club finish one position higher than the previous campaign in seventh, narrowly falling short of the promotion places – nine points behind third-placed Swansea City. In the final game of the season, Colchester recorded their then highest-ever away league victory with a 5–1 win at Tranmere Rovers, less than a month after they had stunned champions-elect Watford 3–0 at Vicarage Road on Good Friday.

Colchester had a productive run in the FA Cup, where they disposed of Oxford United 4–2 with Bobby Gough netting a hat-trick. They defeated non-League Leatherhead 4–0 in a replay, and overcame difficult away ties at Darlington and Newport County. In the fifth road, the U's welcomed First Division Manchester United to Layer Road. After the fixture was called off from its original Saturday date, the crowd of 13,171 saw the U's come four minutes within an Old Trafford replay after Jimmy Greenhoff finally broke the deadlock after 86-minutes to send Colchester out.[5]

Players

As of match played 9 May 1979.[6]
Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth Apps Goals Signed from Date signed Fee
Goalkeepers
Ian CranstoneGKEnglandRochford00England Tottenham HotspurSummer 1977Free transfer
Bobby HamiltonGK00UnknownSummer 1977
Mike WalkerGKWalesColwyn Bay28 November 1945 (aged 32)2570England WatfordJuly 1973£4,000
Defenders
Micky CookFBEnglandEnfield9 April 1951 (aged 27)39714England Orient1 March 1969Free transfer
Steve DowmanCBEnglandIlford15 April 1958 (aged 20)9419Apprentice24 August 1976[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Mick PackerFBEnglandWillesden20 April 1950 (aged 28)21913England WatfordJuly 1973Free transfer
Steve WignallCBEnglandLiverpool17 September 1954 (aged 23)382England Doncaster RoversSeptember 1977£5,000
Steve WrightCBEnglandClacton-on-Sea16 June 1959 (aged 18)10England Woods Athletic1 October 1977Free transfer
Midfielders
Ray BunkellMFEnglandEdmonton18 September 1949 (aged 28)1379England Swindon TownDecember 1973Part exchange
Russell CottonMFEnglandWellington4 April 1960 (aged 18)20Apprentice26 October 1977Free transfer
Paul DyerMFEnglandLeicester24 January 1953 (aged 25)1152England Notts CountySummer 1975Undisclosed
Tony EvansMFEnglandColchester14 March 1960 (aged 18)70Apprentice4 March 1978[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Steve FoleyMFEnglandClacton-on-Sea21 June 1953 (aged 24)18436ApprenticeJuly 1969Free transfer
Steve LeslieMFEnglandHornsey4 September 1952 (aged 25)28640Apprentice20 April 1971[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Eddie RowlesMFEnglandGosport10 March 1951 (aged 27)93England Darlington26 December 1977[lower-alpha 1]£15,000
Forwards
Ian AllinsonWGEnglandHitchin1 October 1957 (aged 20)10414ApprenticeSummer 1974Free transfer
Bobby GoughFWEnglandLadywood20 July 1949 (aged 28)12541England SouthportJanuary 1976£7,000
Gary HarveyFWEnglandColchester19 November 1961 (aged 16)00ApprenticeMarch 1978Free transfer
Bobby HodgeWGEnglandExeter30 April 1952 (aged 26)00England Exeter CitySeptember 1978£15,000
Trevor LeeFWEnglandLewisham3 June 1954 (aged 23)00England MillwallNovember 1978£15,000
  1. 1 2 3 4 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.
12 August 1978 MF Northern Ireland Pat Sharkey England Mansfield Town £10,000 [7][lower-alpha 1]
September 1978 WG England Bobby Hodge England Exeter City £15,000 [8]
November 1978 FW England Trevor Lee England Millwall £15,000 [9]
  • Total spending: Decrease ~ £40,000
  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 FB England Johnny Williams England Margate Free transfer [10]
31 March 1979 MF Northern Ireland Pat Sharkey England Peterborough United £8,000 [7]
  • Total incoming: Increase ~ £8,000

    Match details

    Third Division

    Third Division results round by round

    Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
    GroundHAAHAHHAAHHAAHAHAHHHAAAHAHHAHAAAHAAHHAHAHHAHHA
    ResultDLDDLWWDLWWDLDDWLWDLLDLDLWWDWLDWDLWWWWDLWDDWDW
    Position9171615181811151614671291371412111214161612131413121314141111111299999888887

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

    League table

    PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts1Promotion, qualification or relegation
    5Swindon Town46257147452+2257
    6Carlisle United46152295342+1152
    7Colchester United461717126055+551
    8Hull City461911166661+549
    9Exeter City461715146156+549

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

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

    Notes:

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

    Matches

    League Cup

    FA Cup

    Squad statistics

    Appearances and goals

    [6][11]

    No. Pos Nat Player TotalThird DivisionFA CupLeague Cup
    AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
    GK Wales MIke Walker 5504607020
    DF England Micky Cook 5414617010
    DF England Steve Dowman 47537+127221
    DF England Mick Packer 49140+215020
    DF England Steve Wignall 5144247020
    DF England Steve Wright 42133+216+1000
    MF England Ray Bunkell 15110+212010
    MF England Russell Cotton 10100000
    MF England Paul Dyer 47237+325020
    MF England Tony Evans 928+120000
    MF England Steve Foley 4273466120
    MF England Steve Leslie 40300010
    MF England Eddie Rowles 23519+240021
    FW England Ian Allinson 55545+157020
    FW England Bobby Gough 502242166620
    FW England Bobby Hodge 3843137100
    FW England Trevor Lee 321227115100
    Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
    MF Northern Ireland Pat Sharkey 805+10001+10

    Goalscorers

    [11]

    Place Nationality Position Name Third Division FA Cup League Cup Total
    1 England FW Bobby Gough 16 6 0 22
    2 England FW Trevor Lee 11 1 0 12
    3 England MF Steve Foley 6 1 0 7
    4 England WG Ian Allinson 5 0 0 5
    England CB Steve Dowman 2 2 1 5
    England MF Eddie Rowles 4 0 1 5
    7 England WG Bobby Hodge 3 1 0 4
    England CB Steve Wignall 4 0 0 4
    9 England MF Paul Dyer 2 0 0 2
    England MF Tony Evans 2 0 0 2
    11 England MF Ray Bunkell 1 0 0 1
    England FB Micky Cook 1 0 0 1
    England FB Mick Packer 1 0 0 1
    England CB Steve Wright 1 0 0 1
    Own goals 1 0 0 1
    TOTALS 60 11 2 73

    Disciplinary record

    [12]

    Nationality Position Name Third 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 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 1
    England MF Paul Dyer 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
    England CB Steve Wignall 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
    TOTALS 5 1 0 0 0 0 5 1

    Clean sheets

    Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[13]

    Place Nationality Player Third Division FA Cup League Cup Total
    1 Wales Mike Walker 12 4 1 17
    TOTALS 12 4 1 17

    Player debuts

    Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[14]

    Position Nationality Player Date Opponent Ground Notes
    MF Northern Ireland Pat Sharkey 12 August 1978 Charlton Athletic Layer Road
    WG England Bobby Hodge 27 September 1978 Exeter City St James Park
    FW England Trevor Lee 3 November 1978 Plymouth Argyle 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

      • "Colchester United football club match record: 1979". 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 0–1 Manchester United". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
      3. ↑ "Colchester Utd 2–1 Chester City". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
      4. ↑ "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
      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 18 February 2018.
      7. 1 2 "Pat Sharkey". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
      8. ↑ "Bobby Hodge". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
      9. ↑ "Trevor Lee". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
      10. ↑ "Johnny Williams". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
      11. 1 2 "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
      12. ↑ "Discipline". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
      13. ↑ "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
      14. ↑ "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
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