1977–78 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United
1977–78 season
Chairman	Jack Rippingale
Manager	Bobby Roberts
Stadium	Layer Road
Third Division	8th
FA Cup	2nd round; (eliminated by; Watford)
League Cup	3rd round; (eliminated by; Leeds United)
Top goalscorer	League: ; Bobby Gough (13); All: ; Bobby Gough (17)
Highest home attendance	6,447; v Gillingham, 13 January 1978
Lowest home attendance	2,554; v Rotherham United, 3 May 1978
Average home league attendance	4,566
Biggest win	4–0; v Blackburn Rovers, 7 September 1977; v Portsmouth, 7 March 1978
Biggest defeat	0–4; v Leeds United, 26 October 1977; v Preston North End, 28 February 1978
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1976–77 1978–79 →

The 1977–78 season was Colchester United's 36th season in their history and first season back in third tier of English football, the Third Division following promotion the previous season. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Colchester made steady progress under Bobby Roberts ending the campaign in a strong eighth in the league table. They were eliminated in the League Cup by Leeds United in the third round, while they could not capitalise on last seasons FA Cup success, exiting the competition in the second round to Watford.

Season overview

A strong start to the season saw Colchester reach the top of the Third Division table following four wins in the first five games. A slump in form ended their promotion hopes following one win in ten games after January and the sale of Colin Garwood to Portsmouth for £25,000. They ended the season in eighth position, eight points behind promoted Preston North End.

In the cups, a League Cup run saw the U's thrash former manager Jim Smith's Second Division Blackburn Rovers 4–0 in a second round replay before facing old cup adversaries Leeds United in the third round. Colchester were humbled 4–0 at Elland Road. In the FA Cup, Bournemouth were seen off after two replays, but Colchester succumbed to Watford in the second round.^[5]

Players

As of match played 3 May 1978.^[6]

Name	Position	Place of birth	Date of birth	Apps	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Ian Cranstone	GK	Rochford		0	0	Tottenham Hotspur	Summer 1977	Free transfer
Bobby Hamilton	GK			0	0	Unknown	Summer 1977
Mike Walker	GK	Colwyn Bay	(1945-11-28)28 November 1945 (aged 31)	202	0	Watford	July 1973	£4,000
Defenders
Micky Cook	FB	Enfield	(1951-04-09)9 April 1951 (aged 26)	344	13	Orient	1 March 1969	Free transfer
Steve Dowman	CB	Ilford	(1958-04-15)15 April 1958 (aged 19)	42	12	Apprentice	24 August 1976^[a]	Free transfer
Mick Packer	FB	Willesden	(1950-04-20)20 April 1950 (aged 27)	167	11	Watford	July 1973	Free transfer
Steve Wignall	CB	Liverpool	(1954-09-17)17 September 1954 (aged 22)	0	0	Doncaster Rovers	September 1977	£5,000
Johnny Williams	FB	Tottenham	(1947-03-26)26 March 1947 (aged 30)	91	0	Watford	June 1976	Undisclosed
Steve Wright	CB	Clacton-on-Sea	(1959-06-16)16 June 1959 (aged 17)	0	0	Woods Athletic	1 October 1977	Free transfer
Midfielders
Ray Bunkell	MF	Edmonton	(1949-09-18)18 September 1949 (aged 27)	109	8	Swindon Town	December 1973	Part exchange
Russell Cotton	MF	Wellington	(1960-04-04)4 April 1960 (aged 17)	0	0	Apprentice	26 October 1977	Free transfer
Paul Dyer	MF	Leicester	(1953-01-24)24 January 1953 (aged 24)	83	2	Notts County	Summer 1975	Undisclosed
Tony Evans	MF	Colchester	(1960-03-14)14 March 1960 (aged 17)	0	0	Apprentice	4 March 1978^[a]	Free transfer
Steve Foley	MF	Clacton-on-Sea	(1953-06-21)21 June 1953 (aged 23)	149	29	Apprentice	July 1969	Free transfer
Steve Leslie	MF	Hornsey	(1952-09-04)4 September 1952 (aged 24)	237	37	Apprentice	20 April 1971^[a]	Free transfer
Eddie Rowles	MF	Gosport	(1951-03-10)10 March 1951 (aged 26)	0	0	Darlington	26 December 1977^[a]	£15,000
Forwards
Ian Allinson	WG	Hitchin	(1957-10-01)1 October 1957 (aged 19)	50	7	Apprentice	Summer 1974	Free transfer
Bobby Gough	FW	Ladywood	(1949-07-20)20 July 1949 (aged 27)	74	24	Southport	January 1976	£7,000
Gary Harvey	FW	Colchester	(1961-11-19)19 November 1961 (aged 15)	0	0	Apprentice	March 1978	Free transfer

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

Transfers

In

Date	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
Summer 1977	GK	Ian Cranstone	Tottenham Hotspur	Free transfer	^[7]
Summer 1977	GK	Bobby Hamilton	Unknown	Unknown	^[8]
September 1977	CB	Steve Wignall	Doncaster Rovers	£5,000	^[9]
1 October 1977	CB	Steve Wright	Woods Athletic	Free transfer	^[10]^[a]
26 October 1977	MF	Russell Cotton	Apprentice	Free transfer	^[11]^[a]
26 December 1977	MF	Eddie Rowles	Darlington	£15,000	^[12]^[b]
March 1978	FW	Gary Harvey	Apprentice	Free transfer	^[13]
4 March 1978	MF	Tony Evans	Apprentice	Free transfer	^[14]^[b]

Total spending: ~ £20,000

^ ^a ^b Date of signing refers to the date of the player signing his first professional contract
^ ^a ^b Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

Out

Date	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
October 1977	CB	Lindsay Smith	Cambridge United	£12,000	^[15]
February 1978	FW	John Froggatt	Port Vale	£10,000	^[16]
4 March 1978	FW	Colin Garwood	Portsmouth	£25,000	^[17]

Total incoming: ~ £52,000

Loans out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	End date	Ref.
Summer 1977	CB		Lindsay Smith	Charlton Athletic	October 1977	^[15]
October 1977	CB		Lindsay Smith	Millwall	October 1977	^[15]

Match details

Third Division

Results round by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H
Result	W	W	W	L	W	D	L	D	L	W	D	D	D	L	W	L	W	L	W	W	D	D	L	D	W	D	L	D	D	D	L	L	W	L	L	W	W	D	L	W	D	D	D	W	D	D
Position	4	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	4	3	3	3	2	10	1	8	4	8	7	4	7	7	8	8	7	5	8	8	7	7	9	13	10	11	11	10	9	9	12	11	12	11	11	9	9	8

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

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
6	Walsall	46	18	17	11	61	50	+11	53
7	Gillingham	46	15	20	11	67	60	+7	50
8	Colchester United	46	15	18	13	55	44	+11	48
9	Chesterfield	46	17	14	15	58	49	+9	48
10	Swindon Town	46	16	16	14	67	60	+7	48

Source: rsssf.com

Matches

20 August 1977 (1977-08-20) 1	Gillingham	1–3	Colchester United	Gillingham
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Foley 22' Packer 50' Gough 75'	Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 3,450 Referee: K Salmon

23 August 1977 (1977-08-23) 2	Colchester United	3–0	Bradford City	Colchester
	Froggatt 26' Gough 38' Leslie 77'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,371 Referee: Ron Challis

27 August 1977 (1977-08-27) 3	Colchester United	2–0	Chester	Colchester
	Gough 81', 85'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,169 Referee: Alan Gunn

2 September 1977 (1977-09-02) 4	Tranmere Rovers	1–0	Colchester United	Birkenhead
	Moore 82'	Report		Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 3,263 Referee: R Chadwick

9 September 1977 (1977-09-09) 5	Colchester United	3–1	Plymouth Argyle	Colchester
	Williams 48' Gough 73' Dowman 83'	Report	Hall 58'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,719 Referee: Colin Downey

13 September 1977 (1977-09-13) 6	Portsmouth	0–0	Colchester United	Portsmouth
		Report		Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 11,757 Referee: Malcolm Sinclair

17 September 1977 (1977-09-17) 7	Rotherham United	1–0	Colchester United	Rotherham
	Womble 71'	Report		Stadium: Millmoor Attendance: 4,906 Referee: N Glover

24 September 1977 (1977-09-24) 8	Colchester United	0–0	Preston North End	Colchester
		Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,978 Referee: Tom Bune

27 September 1977 (1977-09-27) 9	Colchester United	2–3	Port Vale	Colchester
	Gough 17' Garwood 90'	Report	Beech 10' Beamish 55', 85'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,820 Referee: M Taylor

1 October 1977 (1977-10-01) 10	Carlisle United	1–3	Colchester United	Carlisle
	McVitie 86'	Report	Garwood 37', 85' Gough 83'	Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 4,611 Referee: K Redfearn

5 October 1977 (1977-10-05) 11	Chesterfield	0–0	Colchester United	Chesterfield
		Report		Stadium: Saltergate Attendance: 4,575 Referee: David Webb

8 October 1977 (1977-10-08) 12	Colchester United	0–0	Colchester United	Colchester
		Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,586 Referee: C White

14 October 1977 (1977-10-14) 13	Colchester United	1–1	Oxford United	Colchester
	Foley 29'	Report	Foley 51'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,893 Referee: Alf Grey

22 October 1977 (1977-10-22) 14	Cambridge United	2–0	Colchester United	Cambridge
	Spriggs 43', 45'	Report	Leslie	Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 5,423 Referee: J Sewell

28 October 1977 (1977-10-28) 15	Colchester United	3–0	Peterborough United	Colchester
	Allinson 38' Packer 40' Gough 65'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,827 Referee: B Daniels

5 November 1977 (1977-11-05) 16	Walsall	4–2	Colchester United	Walsall
	Serella 17' Dennehy 55' Buckley 56', 80'	Report	Allinson 51' Garwood 87'	Stadium: Fellows Park Attendance: 4,231 Referee: Clive Thomas

11 November 1977 (1977-11-11) 17	Colchester United	2–0	Swindon Town	Colchester
	Garwood 35' Bunkell 60'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,688 Referee: D Reeves

19 November 1977 (1977-11-19) 18	Wrexham	2–1	Colchester United	Wrexham
	Shinton 7' Whittle 9'	Report	Wignall 30'	Stadium: Racecourse Ground Attendance: 9,198 Referee: G Owen

3 December 1977 (1977-12-03) 19	Sheffield Wednesday	1–2	Colchester United	Sheffield
	Wylde 63'	Report	Cook 26' Garwood 53'	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Joe Worrall

9 December 1977 (1977-12-09) 20	Colchester United	3–1	Exeter City	Colchester
	Dowman 13' Gough 63' Garwood 66'	Report	Holman 61'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,267 Referee: C Maskell

26 December 1977 (1977-12-26) 21	Colchester United	1–1	Lincoln City	Colchester
	Froggatt 18'	Report	Graham 69'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,840 Referee: B Hill

27 December 1977 (1977-12-27) 22	Bury	1–1	Colchester United	Bury
	Tucker 53'	Report	Foley 79'	Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 5,409 Referee: R Bridges

31 December 1977 (1977-12-31) 23	Shrewsbury Town	1–0	Colchester United	Shrewsbury
	Irvine 74'	Report		Stadium: Gay Meadow Attendance: 4,336 Referee: N Ashley

2 January 1978 (1978-01-02) 24	Colchester United	1–1	Walsall	Colchester
	Gough 67'	Report	Buckley 38'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,039 Referee: T Cox

7 January 1978 (1978-01-07) 25	Bradford City	1–2	Colchester United	Bradford
	Wright 20'	Report	Gough 3' Dowman 13'	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 3,266 Referee: P Richardson

13 January 1978 (1978-01-13) 26	Colchester United	1–1	Gillingham	Colchester
	Gough 39'	Report	Walker 82'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,447 Referee: A Turvey

21 January 1978 (1978-01-21) 27	Chester	2–1	Colchester United	Chester
	Crossley 45' (pen.) I. Edwards 58'	Report	Rowles 28'	Stadium: Sealand Road Attendance: 2,855 Referee: D Richardson

27 January 1978 (1978-01-27) 28	Colchester United	0–0	Tranmere Rovers	Colchester
		Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,465 Referee: A Robinson

4 February 1978 (1978-02-04) 29	Plymouth Argyle	1–1	Colchester United	Plymouth
	Taylor 5'	Report	Rowles 28'	Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 4,639 Referee: W Gow

25 February 1978 (1978-02-25) 30	Colchester United	2–2	Carlisle United	Colchester
	Garwood 3' Dowman 7'	Report	Rafferty 51' Lathan 89'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,867 Referee: Rob Lewis

28 February 1978 (1978-02-28) 31	Preston North End	4–0	Colchester United	Preston
	Bruce 60' (pen.), 75', 78' (pen.), 85' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 9,225 Referee: Peter Willis

4 March 1978 (1978-03-04) 32	Hereford United	1–0	Colchester United	Hereford
	Barton 44' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Edgar Street Attendance: 3,831 Referee: A McDonald

7 March 1978 (1978-03-07) 33	Colchester United	4–0	Portsmouth	Colchester
	Foley 17' Rowles 28' Taylor 55' (o.g.) Allinson 67'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,570

11 March 1978 (1978-03-11) 34	Oxford United	3–0	Colchester United	Oxford
	Curran 47', 71' Jeffrey 86'	Report		Stadium: Manor Ground Attendance: 4,060 Referee: K Baker

14 March 1978 (1978-03-14) 35	Peterborough United	1–0	Colchester United	Peterborough
	Camp 83'	Report		Stadium: London Road Stadium Attendance: 4,468 Referee: R Perkin

17 March 1978 (1978-03-17) 36	Colchester United	2–1	Cambridge United	Colchester
	Allinson 24' Wignall 80'	Report	Streete 51' Finney	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,260 Referee: D Lloyd

25 March 1978 (1978-03-25) 37	Colchester United	1–0	Bury	Colchester
	Allinson 77'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,661 Referee: David Hutchinson

27 March 1978 (1978-03-27) 38	Lincoln City	0–0	Colchester United	Lincoln
		Report		Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 4,709 Referee: P Reeves

1 April 1978 (1978-04-01) 39	Colchester United	1–2	Shrewsbury Town	Colchester
	Leslie 54'	Report	Loughnane 38' Biggins 52'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,910

4 April 1978 (1978-04-04) 40	Colchester United	2–0	Chesterfield	Colchester
	Gough 60' Leslie 64'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,303 Referee: J Bent

8 April 1978 (1978-04-08) 41	Swindon Town	0–0	Colchester United	Swindon
		Report		Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,596 Referee: Clive White

15 April 1978 (1978-04-15) 42	Colchester United	1–1	Wrexham	Colchester
	Foley 12'	Report	Thomas 13'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,385 Referee: T Spencer

22 April 1978 (1978-04-22) 43	Exeter City	0–0	Colchester United	Exeter
		Report		Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,853 Referee: L Burden

24 April 1978 (1978-04-24) 44	Port Vale	0–3	Colchester United	Burslem
		Report	Allinson 37' Foley 54', 60'	Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,684 Referee: T Morris

29 April 1978 (1978-04-29) 45	Colchester United	1–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Colchester
	Dowman 3'	Report	Rushbury 69'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,337 Referee: John Homewood

3 May 1978 (1978-05-03) 46	Colchester United	0–0	Rotherham United	Colchester
		Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,554 Referee: H Robinson

League Cup

13 August 1977 (1977-08-13) 1st round 1st leg	Aldershot	1–1	Colchester United	Aldershot
	Crosby 25'	Report	Gough 15'	Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 2,574 Referee: J Bent

16 August 1977 (1977-08-16) 1st round 2nd leg	Colchester United	4–1	Aldershot	Colchester
	Howitt 35' (o.g.) Dowman 41' Froggatt 62', 69'	Report	Needham 11'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,360
Note: Colchester won 5–2 on aggregate

31 August 1977 (1977-08-31) 2nd round	Blackburn Rovers	1–1	Colchester United	Blackburn
	Metcalfe 8'	Report	Garwood 38'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 6,193 Referee: G Flint

7 September 1977 (1977-09-07) 2nd round replay	Colchester United	4–0	Blackburn Rovers	Colchester
	Gough 22', 76' Allinson 50' Garwood 83'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,843 Referee: John Homewood

26 October 1977 (1977-10-26) 3rd round	Leeds United	4–0	Colchester United	Leeds
	Jordan 12' Graham 21' Lorimer 53' Hankin 83'	Report		Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 17,713 Referee: J Butcher

FA Cup

26 November 1977 (1977-11-26) 1st round	Colchester United	1–1	Bournemouth	Colchester
	Gough 83'	Report	Howarth 29'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,465 Referee: Clive White

29 November 1977 (1977-11-29) 1st round replay	Bournemouth	0–0	Colchester United	Bournemouth
		Report		Stadium: Dean Court Attendance: 3,838

5 December 1977 (1977-12-05) 1st round 2nd replay	Colchester United	4–1	Bournemouth	Watford
	Dowman 26' Garwood 32', 39', 89'	Report	Barton 8'	Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 2,230 Referee: Ron Challis

17 December 1977 (1977-12-17) 2nd round	Watford	2–0	Colchester United	Watford
	Jenkins 31' Mercer 59'	Report		Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 11,907 Referee: Tom Bune

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

^[6]^[18]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Third Division		FA Cup		League Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	WAL	Mike Walker	55	0	46	0	4	0	5	0
	DF	ENG	Micky Cook	53	1	44	1	4	0	5	0
	DF	ENG	Steve Dowman	52	7	43	5	4	1	5	1
	DF	ENG	Mick Packer	52	2	44	2	3	0	5	0
	DF	ENG	Steve Wignall	38	2	32+2	2	4	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	Johnny Williams	35	1	26+1	1	3	0	5	0
	DF	ENG	Steve Wright	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Ray Bunkell	28	1	24	1	1	0	3	0
	MF	ENG	Russell Cotton	2	0	1+1	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Paul Dyer	32	0	21+9	0	0+1	0	1	0
	MF	ENG	Tony Evans	7	0	5+2	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Steve Foley	35	7	29+3	7	1	0	2	0
	MF	ENG	Steve Leslie	49	3	41	3	4	0	4	0
	MF	ENG	Eddie Rowles	9	3	9	3	0	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Ian Allinson	54	7	45	6	4	0	5	1
	FW	ENG	Bobby Gough	51	17	42	13	4	1	5	3
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
	FW	ENG	John Froggatt	34	4	25	2	4	0	5	2
	FW	ENG	Colin Garwood	39	13	28+2	8	4	3	5	2

Goalscorers

^[18]

Place	Position	Name	Third Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW	Bobby Gough	13	1	3	17
2	FW	Colin Garwood	8	3	2	13
3	WG	Ian Allinson	6	0	1	7
	CB	Steve Dowman	5	1	1	7
	MF	Steve Foley	7	0	0	7
6	FW	John Froggatt	2	0	2	4
7	MF	Steve Leslie	3	0	0	3
7	MF	Eddie Rowles	3	0	0	3
9	FB	Mick Packer	2	0	0	2
9	CB	Steve Wignall	2	0	0	2
11	MF	Ray Bunkell	1	0	0	1
	FB	Micky Cook	1	0	0	1
	FB	Johnny Williams	1	0	0	1
		Own goals	1	0	1	2
		TOTALS	55	5	10	70

Disciplinary record

^[19]

Nationality	Position	Name	Third Division		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
Nationality	Position	Name
	MF	Steve Leslie	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1
	WG	Ian Allinson	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	FW	Colin Garwood	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	FW	Bobby Gough	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		TOTALS	4	1	0	0	0	0	4	1

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.^[20]

Place	Nationality	Player	Third Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1		Mike Walker	17	1	1	19
		TOTALS	17	1	1	19

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.^[21]

Position	Player	Date	Opponent	Ground
CB	Steve Wignall	13 September 1977	Portsmouth	Fratton Park
MF	Eddie Rowles	27 December 1977	Bury	Gigg Lane
MF	Tony Evans	4 March 1978	Hereford United	Edgar Street
CB	Steve Wright	8 April 1978	Swindon Town	County Ground
MF	Russell Cotton	24 April 1978	Port Vale	Vale Park

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: 1978". 11v11.com. Retrieved 24 April 2018.

Specific

^ 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.
^ "Colchester Utd 1–1 Gillingham". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
^ "Colchester Utd 0–0 Rotherham United". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
^ "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
^ Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1970s and 1980s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
^ "ian cranstone – fact file". mehstg.com. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
^ Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 239. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.
^ "Steve Wignall". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
^ "Steve Wright". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
^ "Russell Cotton". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
^ "Eddie Rowles". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
^ "Gary Harvey". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
^ "Tony Evans". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Lindsay Smith". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
^ "John Froggatt". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
^ "Colin Garwood". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
^ "Discipline". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
^ "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
^ "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2018.

[DG-7] Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

[pro-12] Date of signing refers to the date of the player signing his first professional contract

[DG-15] Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

[WWCU-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 1–1 Gillingham". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.

[3] "Colchester Utd 0–0 Rotherham United". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.

[4] "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2018.

[5] Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1970s and 1980s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 25 April 2018.

[apps-6] "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2018.

[8] "ian cranstone – fact file". mehstg.com. Retrieved 21 February 2018.

[9] Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 239. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.

[10] "Steve Wignall". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.

[11] "Steve Wright". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.

[13] "Russell Cotton". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.

[14] "Eddie Rowles". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.

[16] "Gary Harvey". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2018.

[17] "Tony Evans". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.

[Smith-18] "Lindsay Smith". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.

[19] "John Froggatt". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.

[20] "Colin Garwood". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.

[goals-21] "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2018.

[22] "Discipline". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2018.

[23] "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2018.

[24] "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2018.

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