1978–79 Colchester United F.C. season

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 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
Home colours

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 Cranstone	GK		Rochford		0	0	Tottenham Hotspur	Summer 1977	Free transfer
Bobby Hamilton	GK				0	0	Unknown	Summer 1977
Mike Walker	GK		Colwyn Bay	28 November 1945 (aged 32)	257	0	Watford	July 1973	£4,000
Defenders
Micky Cook	FB		Enfield	9 April 1951 (aged 27)	397	14	Orient	1 March 1969	Free transfer
Steve Dowman	CB		Ilford	15 April 1958 (aged 20)	94	19	Apprentice	24 August 1976[lower-alpha 1]	Free transfer
Mick Packer	FB		Willesden	20 April 1950 (aged 28)	219	13	Watford	July 1973	Free transfer
Steve Wignall	CB		Liverpool	17 September 1954 (aged 23)	38	2	Doncaster Rovers	September 1977	£5,000
Steve Wright	CB		Clacton-on-Sea	16 June 1959 (aged 18)	1	0	Woods Athletic	1 October 1977	Free transfer
Midfielders
Ray Bunkell	MF		Edmonton	18 September 1949 (aged 28)	137	9	Swindon Town	December 1973	Part exchange
Russell Cotton	MF		Wellington	4 April 1960 (aged 18)	2	0	Apprentice	26 October 1977	Free transfer
Paul Dyer	MF		Leicester	24 January 1953 (aged 25)	115	2	Notts County	Summer 1975	Undisclosed
Tony Evans	MF		Colchester	14 March 1960 (aged 18)	7	0	Apprentice	4 March 1978[lower-alpha 1]	Free transfer
Steve Foley	MF		Clacton-on-Sea	21 June 1953 (aged 24)	184	36	Apprentice	July 1969	Free transfer
Steve Leslie	MF		Hornsey	4 September 1952 (aged 25)	286	40	Apprentice	20 April 1971[lower-alpha 1]	Free transfer
Eddie Rowles	MF		Gosport	10 March 1951 (aged 27)	9	3	Darlington	26 December 1977[lower-alpha 1]	£15,000
Forwards
Ian Allinson	WG		Hitchin	1 October 1957 (aged 20)	104	14	Apprentice	Summer 1974	Free transfer
Bobby Gough	FW		Ladywood	20 July 1949 (aged 28)	125	41	Southport	January 1976	£7,000
Gary Harvey	FW		Colchester	19 November 1961 (aged 16)	0	0	Apprentice	March 1978	Free transfer
Bobby Hodge	WG		Exeter	30 April 1952 (aged 26)	0	0	Exeter City	September 1978	£15,000
Trevor Lee	FW		Lewisham	3 June 1954 (aged 23)	0	0	Millwall	November 1978	£15,000

1. 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		Pat Sharkey	Mansfield Town	£10,000	[7][lower-alpha 1]
September 1978	WG		Bobby Hodge	Exeter City	£15,000	[8]
November 1978	FW		Trevor Lee	Millwall	£15,000	[9]

• Total spending: ~ £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		Johnny Williams	Margate	Free transfer	[10]
31 March 1979	MF		Pat Sharkey	Peterborough United	£8,000	[7]

• Total incoming: ~ £8,000

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	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A
Result	D	L	D	D	L	W	W	D	L	W	W	D	L	D	D	W	L	W	D	L	L	D	L	D	L	W	W	D	W	L	D	W	D	L	W	W	W	W	D	L	W	D	D	W	D	W
Position	9	17	16	15	18	18	11	15	16	14	6	7	12	9	13	7	14	12	11	12	14	16	16	12	13	14	13	12	13	14	14	11	11	11	12	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	7

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

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
5	Swindon Town	46	25	7	14	74	52	+22	57
6	Carlisle United	46	15	22	9	53	42	+11	52
7	Colchester United	46	17	17	12	60	55	+5	51
8	Hull City	46	19	11	16	66	61	+5	49
9	Exeter City	46	17	15	14	61	56	+5	49

Source: rsssf.com

Matches

19 August 1978 1	Colchester United	2–2	Swansea City	Colchester
	Foley  28' Rowles  75'	Report	James  55', 61'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,918 Referee: Ron Challis

21 August 1978 2	Brentford	1–0	Colchester United	Brentford
	Kruse  15'	Report		Stadium: Griffin Park Attendance: 6,800 Referee: T Spencer

26 August 1978 3	Sheffield Wednesday	0–0	Colchester United	Sheffield
		Report		Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 10,685 Referee: D Owen

2 September 1978 4	Colchester United	0–0	Rotherham United	Colchester
		Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,448 Referee: John Homewood

8 September 1978 5	Carlisle United	4–0	Colchester United	Carlisle
	McCartney  5' (pen.) Bonnyman  12' Hamilton  32' Tait  44'	Report		Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 4,430 Referee: R Chadwick

12 September 1978 6	Colchester United	2–1	Chester	Colchester
	Gough  63' Cook  85'	Report	Phillips  62'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,311 Referee: Alf Grey

15 September 1978 7	Colchester United	1–0	Shrewsbury Town	Colchester
	Foley  67'	Report	Chapman  82'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,788 Referee: T Cox

23 September 1978 8	Walsall	2–2	Colchester United	Walsall
	King  22' Buckley  73'	Report	Gough  51' Foley  53'	Stadium: Fellows Park Attendance: 4,052 Referee: E Read

27 September 1978 9	Exeter City	2–1	Colchester United	Exeter
	Kellow  5' (pen.) Bowker  75'	Report	Gough  24'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,421

30 September 1978 10	Colchester United	3–1	Blackpool	Colchester
	Rowles  48' Gough  78', 89'	Report	Hockaday  87'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,007 Referee: K Salmon

6 October 1978 11	Colchester United	3–2	Swindon Town	Colchester
	Rowles  53' Evans  77' Gough  89'	Report	Gilchrist  14' Bates  43'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,324 Referee: C Maskell

13 October 1978 12	Lincoln City	0–0	Colchester United	Lincoln
		Report		Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 3,541 Referee: P Scott

18 October 1978 13	Chesterfield	2–1	Colchester United	Chesterfield
	Burton  48' Walker  68'	Report	Dyer  54'	Stadium: Saltergate Attendance: 4,394 Referee: B Hill

20 October 1978 14	Colchester United	1–1	Southend United	Colchester
	Evans  70'	Report	Laverick  41'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,881 Referee: A Glasson

28 October 1978 15	Mansfield Town	1–1	Colchester United	Mansfield
	Moss  82'	Report	Wignall  48'	Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 4,515 Referee: R Perkin

3 November 1978 16	Colchester United	2–1	Plymouth Argyle	Colchester
	Bunkell  75' Gough  90'	Report	Binney  45'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,564 Referee: J Martin

11 November 1978 17	Rotherham United	1–0	Colchester United	Rotherham
	Finney  40' Dawson  90'	Report	Packer  90'	Stadium: Millmoor Attendance: 3,777 Referee: E Morrisey

18 November 1978 18	Colchester United	1–0	Sheffield Wednesday	Colchester
	Wignall  83'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,346 Referee: Alan Gunn

9 December 1978 19	Colchester United	0–0	Bury	Colchester
		Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,732 Referee: D Reeves

23 December 1978 20	Colchester United	0–1	Watford	Colchester
		Report	Jenkins  43'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,424 Referee: Alf Grey

26 December 1978 21	Oxford United	2–0	Colchester United	Oxford
	Foley  75' Graydon  80' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Manor Ground Attendance: 4,892 Referee: Tom Bune

17 January 1979 22	Chester	2–2	Colchester United	Chester
	Henderson  24' Phillips  75'	Report	Foley  32', 65'	Stadium: Sealand Road Attendance: 2,339 Referee: K Butcher

19 January 1979 23	Shrewsbury Town	2–0	Colchester United	Shrewsbury
	Biggins  22' Chapman  59'	Report		Stadium: Gay Meadow Attendance: 2,119 Referee: D Shaw

2 February 1979 24	Colchester United	2–2	Exeter City	Colchester
	Roberts  39' (o.g.) Allinson  50' (pen.)	Report	Neville  64', 65'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,767 Referee: B Hill

10 February 1979 25	Blackpool	2–1	Colchester United	Blackpool
	Spence  21', 86'	Report	Allinson  54'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 3,446 Referee: D Owen

23 February 1979 26	Colchester United	2–0	Lincoln City	Colchester
	Lee  60' Hodge  80'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,861 Referee: Colin Downey

27 February 1979 27	Colchester United	2–0	Walsall	Colchester
	Hodge  15' Wignall  74'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,135 Referee: T Cox

2 March 1979 28	Southend United	1–1	Colchester United	Southend-on-Sea
	Parker  63'	Report	Lee  75'	Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 6,957 Referee: Alan Gunn

9 March 1979 29	Colchester United	1–0	Mansfield Town	Colchester
	Gough  18'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,866 Referee: Malcolm Sinclair

13 March 1979 30	Hull City	1–0	Colchester United	Kingston upon Hull
	Stewart  87'	Report		Stadium: Boothferry Park Attendance: 4,201 Referee: Pat Partridge

17 March 1979 31	Plymouth Argyle	1–1	Colchester United	Plymouth
	Binney  82'	Report	Dyer  2'	Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 5,342 Referee: E Hughes

20 March 1979 32	Swindon Town	1–2	Colchester United	Swindon
	Rowland  57'	Report	Lee  63', 77'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,678 Referee: A Hamil

24 March 1979 33	Colchester United	1–1	Brentford	Colchester
	Hodge  73' (pen.)	Report	Shrubb  66'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,528 Referee: J Bray

27 March 1979 34	Swansea City	4–1	Colchester United	Swansea
	Waddle  8' (48) James  83' Attley  90'	Report	Lee  90'	Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 11,645 Referee: W Brombroff

31 March 1979 35	Peterborough United	1–2	Colchester United	Peterborough
	Robson  82'	Report	Gough  42' Allinson  52'	Stadium: London Road Stadium Attendance: 3,559 Referee: M Peck

2 April 1979 36	Colchester United	2–1	Carlisle United	Colchester
	Lee  85' Wignall  87'	Report	Lumby  30'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,608 Referee: C White

6 April 1979 37	Colchester United	1–0	Tranmere Rovers	Colchester
	Lee  18'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,578 Referee: David Hutchinson

13 April 1979 38	Watford	0–3	Colchester United	Watford
15:00 BST		Report	Lee  43', 57' Gough  84'	Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 17,903 Referee: Ron Challis

14 April 1979 39	Colchester United	1–1	Oxford United	Colchester
	Gough  16'	Report	Taylor  76'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,892 Referee: C Maskell

16 April 1979 40	Gillingham	3–0	Colchester United	Gillingham
	Price  17' Westwood  64' Funnell  75'	Report		Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 12,030 Referee: A Robinson

21 April 1979 41	Colchester United	2–1	Hull City	Colchester
	Rowles  74' Gough  84'	Report	Edwards  56'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,762 Referee: Rob Lewis

24 April 1979 42	Colchester United	0–0	Chesterfield	Colchester
		Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,762 Referee: D Reeves

28 April 1979 43	Bury	2–2	Colchester United	Bury
	Hilton  23' Wilson  46'	Report	Gough  6' Wright  75'	Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 2,905 Referee: B Martin

4 May 1979 44	Colchester United	4–2	Peterborough United	Colchester
	Foley  11' Allinson  61' Dowman  77', 87'	Report	Guy  36' Cooke  38'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,662 Referee: A Glasson

7 May 1979 45	Colchester United	2–2	Gillingham	Colchester
	Allinson  54' Gough  78'	Report	Armstrong  9' Westwood  53'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,317 Referee: John Homewood

9 May 1979 46	Tranmere Rovers	1–5	Colchester United	Birkenhead
	Peplow  71'	Report	Gough  20', 80' Packer  46' Lee  66', 74'	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 1,016 Referee: D Clarke

League Cup

12 August 1978 1st round 1st leg	Colchester United	2–3	Charlton Athletic	Colchester
	Rowles  30' Dowman  90'	Report	Hales  8' Brisley  78' Robinson  82'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,016 Referee: R Toseland

15 August 1978 1st round 2nd leg	Charlton Athletic	0–0	Colchester United	Charlton
		Report		Stadium: The Valley Attendance: 7,205
Note: Charlton won 3–2 on aggregate

FA Cup

25 November 1978 1st round	Colchester United	4–2	Oxford United	Colchester
	Gough  30', 74', 87' Foley  46'	Report	Foley  22' Seacole  53'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,170 Referee: C Maskell

16 December 1978 2nd round	Leatherhead	1–1	Colchester United	Leatherhead
15:00 GMT	Kelly  73'	Report	Gough  30'	Stadium: Fetcham Grove Attendance: 2,250 Referee: P Reeves

19 December 1978 2nd round replay	Colchester United	4–0	Leatherhead	Colchester
	Lee  40' Gough  67' Dowman  68', 71'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,920 Referee: P Reeves

9 January 1979 3rd round	Darlington	0–1	Colchester United	Darlington
		Report	Hodge  8'	Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 3,465 Referee: D Mills

30 January 1979 4th round	Newport County	0–0	Colchester United	Newport
		Report		Stadium: Somerton Park Attendance: 10,329 Referee: D Turner

5 February 1979 4th round replay	Colchester United	1–0	Newport County	Colchester
	Gough  26'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 7,025 Referee: D Turner

20 February 1979 5th round	Colchester United	0–1	Manchester United	Colchester
19:30 GMT		Report	Greenhoff  85'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 13,171 Referee: Ron Challis

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

[6][11]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Third Division		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK		MIke Walker	55	0	46	0	7	0	2	0
	DF		Micky Cook	54	1	46	1	7	0	1	0
	DF		Steve Dowman	47	5	37+1	2	7	2	2	1
	DF		Mick Packer	49	1	40+2	1	5	0	2	0
	DF		Steve Wignall	51	4	42	4	7	0	2	0
	DF		Steve Wright	42	1	33+2	1	6+1	0	0	0
	MF		Ray Bunkell	15	1	10+2	1	2	0	1	0
	MF		Russell Cotton	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
	MF		Paul Dyer	47	2	37+3	2	5	0	2	0
	MF		Tony Evans	9	2	8+1	2	0	0	0	0
	MF		Steve Foley	42	7	34	6	6	1	2	0
	MF		Steve Leslie	4	0	3	0	0	0	1	0
	MF		Eddie Rowles	23	5	19+2	4	0	0	2	1
	FW		Ian Allinson	55	5	45+1	5	7	0	2	0
	FW		Bobby Gough	50	22	42	16	6	6	2	0
	FW		Bobby Hodge	38	4	31	3	7	1	0	0
	FW		Trevor Lee	32	12	27	11	5	1	0	0
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
	MF		Pat Sharkey	8	0	5+1	0	0	0	1+1	0

Goalscorers

[11]

Place	Nationality	Position	Name	Third Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1		FW	Bobby Gough	16	6	0	22
2		FW	Trevor Lee	11	1	0	12
3		MF	Steve Foley	6	1	0	7
4		WG	Ian Allinson	5	0	0	5
		CB	Steve Dowman	2	2	1	5
		MF	Eddie Rowles	4	0	1	5
7		WG	Bobby Hodge	3	1	0	4
		CB	Steve Wignall	4	0	0	4
9		MF	Paul Dyer	2	0	0	2
		MF	Tony Evans	2	0	0	2
11		MF	Ray Bunkell	1	0	0	1
		FB	Micky Cook	1	0	0	1
		FB	Mick Packer	1	0	0	1
		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
	FB	Mick Packer	3	1	0	0	0	0	3	1
	MF	Paul Dyer	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	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		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		Pat Sharkey	12 August 1978	Charlton Athletic	Layer Road
WG		Bobby Hodge	27 September 1978	Exeter City	St James Park
FW		Trevor Lee	3 November 1978	Plymouth Argyle	Layer Road

See also

• List of Colchester United F.C. seasons

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. "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
7. "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. "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. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2018.