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1970–71 Colchester United F.C. season

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Colchester United
1970–71 season
ChairmanBill Graver
(until March)
Roy Chapman
(from March)[1]
ManagerDick Graham
StadiumLayer Road
Fourth Division6th
FA CupQuarter-final
(eliminated by
Everton)
League Cup2nd round
(eliminated by
Birmingham City)
Top goalscorerLeague:
Ray Crawford (24)
All:
Ray Crawford (31)
Highest home attendance16,000
v Leeds United, 13 February 1971[2]
Lowest home attendance3,502
v Barrow, 26 April 1971[3]
Average home league attendance6,362[4]
Biggest win5–0
v Cambridge United, 19 August 1970
v Rochdale, 25 January 1971
Biggest defeat0–5
v Everton, 6 March 1971

The 1970–71 season was Colchester United's 29th season in their history and their third 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.

Colchester reached the FA Cup quarter-final, famously beating First Division Leeds United 3–2 at Layer Road in the fifth round. They had already defeated Ringmer, Cambridge United, Barnet and Rochdale along the way, before being defeated 5–0 by Everton at Goodison Park. Owing to their cup run, Colchester's league form stuttered, ending the campaign in sixth place, while they suffered a second round exit in the League Cup after being beaten by Birmingham City following a replay.

Season overview

During the summer of 1970, manager Dick Graham increased the average age of his Colchester squad by signing a number of ageing players, including ex-England international Ray Crawford, Brian Garvey, John Kurila, Mick Mahon and Brian Owen. During the season, both Owen and Roy Massey suffered serious or career ending injuries, forcing Graham into signing Brian Lewis and Dave Simmons.

The 1970–71 season is most notable for Colchester's famous FA Cup run. In the first round, the U's disposed of non-League Ringmer courtesy of a Ray Crawford hat-trick. They then completed a cup double over Cambridge United, beating them 5–0 in the first round of the League Cup and then 3–0 in the second round of the FA Cup. Colchester defeated further non-League opposition in the third round, winning against Barnet at Underhill Stadium. The U's trailed 3–1 with five minutes remaining of their fourth round tie with Rochdale before staging a late comeback to earn a 3–3 draw and a Layer Road replay, where they thrashed Rochdale 5–0. This earned them a home tie against First Division side Leeds United, a side top of the League and who boasted ten internationals in their side.[5]

Leeds United were at the time one of the best teams in the country. However, Dick Graham's side set out to frustrate Leeds by suppressing their usual wing play and playing direct football instead. Chairs and other obstacles were placed by the sidelines to produce an illusion of a narrow playing surface. Colchester found themselves 3–0 ahead after two goals from Ray Crawford and one from Dave Simmons. However, Leeds began to fight back, pulling back two goals with 17-minutes remaining, before Colchester goalkeeper Graham Smith produced a phenomenal save to deny Mick Jones with the score at 3–2. Colchester held on to record a famous victory and one of the most notable FA Cup giant-killings.[6]

With the U's in the quarter-finals, they were drawn against Everton at Goodison Park. Dick Graham's Grandad's Army finally succumbed to defeated by a 5–0 scoreline in front of a crowd of 53,028.

Colchester's cup run had a negative impact on their league form. With fixtures backing up, a run of 17 league games following their cup exit until the end of the season proved too much as they finished the campaign in sixth position, two points shy of promotion.[5]

Players

As of match played 7 May 1971.[7]
Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth Apps Goals Signed from Date signed Fee
Goalkeepers
Brian Sherratt GK England Stoke-on-Trent (1944-03-29)29 March 1944 (aged 26) 0 0 England Gainsborough Trinity August 1970 Free transfer
Graham Smith GK England Liverpool (1947-11-02)2 November 1947 (aged 22) 46 0 England Notts County Summer 1969 Free transfer
Defenders
Eric Burgess FB England Edgware (1944-10-27)27 October 1944 (aged 25) 0 0 England Plymouth Argyle December 1970 Free transfer
Micky Cook FB England Enfield (1951-04-09)9 April 1951 (aged 19) 21 0 England Orient 1 March 1969 Free transfer
Bobby Cram FB England Hetton-le-Hole (1939-11-19)19 November 1939 (aged 30) 21 0 Canada Vancouver Royals 17 January 1970[a] Free transfer
Alan Dennis CB England Colchester (1951-02-22)22 February 1951 (aged 19) 3 0 Apprentice April 1967 Free transfer
Brian Garvey CB England Kingston upon Hull (1937-07-03)3 July 1937 (aged 32) 0 0 England Watford June 1970 Free transfer
John Gilchrist FB Scotland Wishaw (1939-09-05)5 September 1939 (aged 30) 0 0 England Fulham 15 August 1970[a] Free transfer
Brian Hall LB England Burbage (1939-03-09)9 March 1939 (aged 31) 253 26 England Mansfield Town March 1965 Free transfer
Bobby Howlett CB England West Ham (1948-12-12)12 December 1948 (aged 21) 18 0 England Southend United Summer 1968 Free transfer
John Kurila CB Scotland Glasgow (1941-04-10)10 April 1941 (aged 29) 0 0 England Southend United Summer 1970 Free transfer
Trevor Painter CB England Norwich (1949-07-02)2 July 1949 (aged 20) 0 0 England Norwich City 30 April 1970 Free transfer
Lindsay Smith CB England Enfield (1954-09-18)18 September 1954 (aged 15) 0 0 Apprentice 20 April 1971[a] Free transfer
Adrian Webster DF/MF England Colchester (1951-11-06)6 November 1951 (aged 18) 0 0 Apprentice July 1968 Free transfer
Midfielders
Phil Bloss MF England Colchester (1953-01-16)16 January 1953 (aged 17) 0 0 Apprentice January 1971 Free transfer
Ken Jones MF England Keighley (1941-02-09)9 February 1941 (aged 29) 28 16 England Millwall November 1969 £5,000
Steve Leslie MF England Hornsey (1952-09-04)4 September 1952 (aged 17) 0 0 Apprentice 20 April 1971[a] Free transfer
Brian Lewis MF England Woking (1943-01-26)26 January 1943 (aged 27) 0 0 England Oxford United 26 December 1970[a] £5,000
Forwards
Micky Brown WG England Farnham Common (1944-04-11)11 April 1944 (aged 26) 58 12 England Luton Town 26 October 1968[a] £3,000
Ray Crawford FW England Portsmouth (1936-07-13)13 July 1936 (aged 33) 0 0 England Kettering Town 15 August 1970[a] £3,000
Brian Gibbs FW England Gillingham (1936-10-06)6 October 1936 (aged 33) 83 25 England Gillingham September 1968 £8,000
Mick Mahon WG England Manchester (1944-09-17)17 September 1944 (aged 25) 0 0 England York City May 1970 Free transfer
Brian Owen WG England Harefield (1944-11-01)1 November 1944 (aged 25) 0 0 England Watford May 1970 Free transfer
Dave Simmons FW England Ryde (1948-10-24)24 October 1948 (aged 21) 0 0 England Aston Villa 26 December 1970[a] £6,000
Ray Whittaker WG England Bow (1945-01-15)15 January 1945 (aged 25) 41 7 England Luton Town 9 August 1969[a] Free transfer
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 1970 DF Scotland John Kurila England Southend United Free transfer [8]
30 April 1970 DF England Trevor Painter England Norwich City Free transfer [9]
May 1970 FW England Brian Owen England Watford Free transfer [10]
May 1970 FW England Mick Mahon England York City Free transfer [11]
June 1970 DF England Brian Garvey England Watford Free transfer [12]
August 1970 GK England Brian Sherratt England Gainsborough Trinity Free transfer [13]
15 August 1970 DF Scotland John Gilchrist England Fulham Free transfer [14][a]
15 August 1970 FW England Ray Crawford England Kettering Town £3,000 [15][a]
December 1970 DF England Eric Burgess England Plymouth Argyle Free transfer [16]
26 December 1970 DF England Dave Simmons England Aston Villa £6,000 [17][a]
26 December 1970 MF England Brian Lewis England Oxford United £5,000 [18][a]
January 1971 MF England Phil Bloss Apprentice Free transfer [19]
20 April 1971 DF England Lindsay Smith Apprentice Free transfer [20][a]
20 April 1971 MF England Steve Leslie Apprentice Free transfer [21][a]
  • Total spending: Decrease ~ £14,000
  1. ^ a b c d e f 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 DF England Bert Howe England Romford Free transfer [22]
End of season DF England Brian Wood England Workington Released [23]
Summer 1970 GK England Ron Willis South Africa Arcadia Shepherds Free transfer [24]
28 April 1970 FW England Terry Dyson England Guildford City Free transfer [25][a]
28 April 1970 FW England Danny Light England Guildford City Released [26][a]
May 1970 DF England Dave Bickles England Romford Free transfer [27]
September 1970 FW Scotland Jim Oliver England King's Lynn Free transfer [28]
October 1970 MF England Roger Joslyn England Aldershot £8,000 [29]
March 1971 FW England Roy Massey Free agent Retired [30]
  • Total incoming: Increase ~ £8,000
  1. ^ a b Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

Loans out

Date Position Nationality Name To End date Ref.
April 1971 FW England Micky Brown England Romford End of season [31]

Match details

Fourth Division

Main article: 1970–71 Football League

Fourth Division results round by round

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Template:Fb rbr result

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  Win   Draw   Loss

Squad statistics

[32]

No. Nat. Pos. Name Total Division Four FA Cup League Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
–– GK England ENG Brian Sherratt 9 0 9 0 0 0 0 0
–– GK England ENG Graham Smith 47 0 37 0 7 0 3 0
–– DF England ENG Eric Burgess 10 1 10 1 0 0 0 0
–– DF England ENG Micky Cook 40 0 35 0 4 0 1 0
–– DF England ENG Bobby Cram 53 4 43 4 7 0 3 0
–– DF England ENG Alan Dennis 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
–– DF England ENG Brian Garvey 54 1 45 0 6 1 3 0
–– DF Scotland SCO John Gilchrist 37 2 28 1 6 1 3 0
–– DF England ENG Brian Hall 52 5 42 4 7 0 3 1
–– DF Scotland SCO John Kurila 54 2 44 2 7 0 3 0
–– DF England ENG Trevor Painter 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
–– DF England ENG Dave Simmons 15 6 10 3 5 3 0 0
–– DF England ENG Lindsay Smith 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
–– MF England ENG Phil Bloss 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
–– MF England ENG Ken Jones 37 9 32 4 2 1 3 4
–– MF England ENG Roger Joslyn 8 0 7 0 0 0 1 0
–– MF England ENG Steve Leslie 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
–– MF England ENG Brian Lewis 22 4 17 2 5 2 0 0
–– MF England ENG Mick Mahon 47 7 38 5 7 2 2 0
–– MF England ENG Brian Owen 9 4 6 2 1 0 2 2
–– MF England ENG Ray Whittaker 9 0 8 0 1 0 0 0
–– FW England ENG Ray Crawford 55 31 45 24 7 7 3 0
–– FW England ENG Brian Gibbs 56 11 46 11 7 0 3 0
–– FW England ENG Roy Massey 18 4 16 4 1 0 1 0

Scorers

Most Frequent Starting XI

This section shows players in a 5-3-2 formation with the most league starts during the season.

References

  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 3–2 Leeds United". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  3. ^ "Colchester Utd 4–1 Barrow". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  5. ^ a b Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1950s and 1960s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  6. ^ "The harder they fall". ESPN. 2 December 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  8. ^ "John Kurila". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Trevor Painter". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  10. ^ "Brian Owen". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Mick Mahon". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  12. ^ "Brian Garvey". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  13. ^ "Brian Sherratt". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  14. ^ "John Gilchrist". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  15. ^ "Ray Crawford". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  16. ^ "Eric Burgess". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  17. ^ "Dave Simmons". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  18. ^ "Brian Lewis". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  19. ^ "Phil Bloss". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  20. ^ "Lindsay Smith". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  21. ^ "Steve Leslie". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  22. ^ "Bert Howe". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  23. ^ "Brian Wood". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  24. ^ "Ron Willis". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  25. ^ "Terry Dyson". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  26. ^ "Danny Light". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  27. ^ "Dave Bickles". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  28. ^ "Jim Oliver". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  29. ^ "Roger Joslyn". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  30. ^ "Roy Massey". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  31. ^ "Micky Brown". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  32. ^ "1970–71 Season Appearance Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  33. ^ "1970–71 Season Goalscorers Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
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