1954–55 Colchester United F.C. season

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Colchester United
1954–55 season
ChairmanBill Allen[1]
ManagerJack Butler
(until 14 January)
Alf Miller & Claude Orrin
(January to March)
Benny Fenton
(from March)
StadiumLayer Road
Third Division South24th (re-elected)
FA Cup1st round
(eliminated by
Reading)
Top goalscorerLeague:
Ken Plant (13)
All:
Ken Plant (13)
Highest home attendance10,809
v Southend United, 8 April 1955[2]
Lowest home attendance3,517
v Torquay United, 31 March 1955[3]
Average home league attendance7,284[4]
Biggest win4–1
v Northampton Town, 4 September 1954
Biggest defeat1–6
v Northampton Town, 18 April 1955

The 1954–55 season was Colchester United's 13th season in their history and their fifth season in the Third Division South, the third tier of English football. Alongside competing in the Third Division South, the club also participated in the FA Cup. Following a replay, Colchester were knocked out of the FA Cup in the first round by Reading. Meanwhile, in the league, Colchester's poor run of form had Jack Butler allowed indefinite leave following a bout of ill health. After resigning in January 1955, Colchester appointed Benny Fenton as his replacement, and despite an upturn in form, a run of defeats at the end of the season meant Colchester needed to apply for re-election for the second successive season. Once more, all clubs applying for re-election were successful, with Colchester receiving 44 votes, behind Third Division North clubs Grimsby Town (49 votes) and Chester City (47 votes), but eleven votes ahead of division rivals Walsall.[5]

Season overview[]

Eight successive league defeats from October to December saw Colchester bottom of the league for Christmas Day, and the plight of the club had begun to have an effect on the health of manager Jack Butler. After falling ill in November, Butler was handed indefinite leave until by the club until the end of his contract in 1956. Suffering from a mental breakdown, Butler eventually resigned on 14 January 1955, while club secretary Claude Orrin was charged with finding a new manager.

During this transitional period, Orrin and Alf Miller took charge of the first-team, before appointing Benny Fenton as manager after attracting 48 applications for the vacancy. Despite a brief boost in on-field fortunes in March and early April, performances tailed off as Colchester picked up just one point in the final eight games of the campaign. The club finished bottom of the Football League and were again required to seek re-election, in which they were successful.[6]

Players[]

As of match played 4 May 1955.[7]
Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth Apps Goals Signed from Date signed Fee
Goalkeepers
George Wright GK England Plymouth (1919-10-10)10 October 1919 (aged 34) 205 0 England Plymouth Argyle May 1949 £1,000
John Wright GK England Aldershot (1933-08-13)13 August 1933 (aged 20) 0 0 England Colchester Casuals 23 May 1952 Free transfer
Defenders
Roy Bicknell CB England Doncaster (1926-02-19)19 February 1926 (aged 28) 29 0 England Gravesend & Northfleet June 1952 £1,000
George French FB England Colchester (1926-11-10)10 November 1926 (aged 27) 3 0 England West Ham United February 1949 Free transfer
John Harrison FB England Leicester (1927-09-27)27 September 1927 (aged 26) 170 0 England Aston Villa 30 September 1950[a] Nominal
Billy Hunt CB England Colchester (1934-11-25)25 November 1934 (aged 19) 0 0 Amateur August 1953 Free transfer
Digger Kettle FB England Colchester (1922-06-03)3 June 1922 (aged 31) 172 1 England Arclight Sports September 1946 Free transfer
Fred Lewis FB England Broughton Gifford (1923-07-26)26 July 1923 (aged 30) 48 0 England Chelsea Summer 1953 Free transfer
Reg Stewart CB England Sheffield (1925-10-30)30 October 1925 (aged 28) 218 0 England Sheffield Wednesday 20 August 1949[a] £1,000
Midfielders
Bob Dale WH England Irlam (1931-10-31)31 October 1931 (aged 22) 21 4 England Bury 24 December 1953 £1,500
Austin Dunne WH Republic of Ireland Limerick (1934-07-31)31 July 1934 (aged 19) 0 0 Republic of Ireland Limerick October 1953 Free transfer
Jimmy Elder WH Scotland Scone (1928-03-05)5 March 1928 (aged 26) 182 14 England Portsmouth 19 August 1950[a] £1,000
Benny Fenton WH England West Ham (1918-10-10)10 October 1918 (aged 35) 0 0 England Charlton Athletic 5 March 1955[a] £500
Trevor Harris WH England Colchester (1936-02-06)6 February 1936 (aged 18) 0 0 Amateur July 1951 Free transfer
Bert Hill WH England West Ham (1930-03-08)8 March 1930 (aged 24) 17 1 England Chelsea September 1952 £300
Ron Hunt WH England Colchester (1933-09-26)26 September 1933 (aged 20) 5 0 Amateur October 1951 Free transfer
Forwards
Cliff Birch WG Wales Newport (1928-09-01)1 September 1928 (aged 25) 0 0 Wales Newport County June 1954 £1,000
Mike Grice WG England Woking (1931-11-03)3 November 1931 (aged 22) 31 3 England Lowestoft Town Summer 1952 £25
Paddy Leonard IF Republic of Ireland Dublin (1929-07-25)25 July 1929 (aged 24) 0 0 England Bristol Rovers July 1954 Free transfer
Kevin McCurley CF England Consett (1926-04-02)2 April 1926 (aged 28) 92 34 England Liverpool June 1951 £750
Johnny McKim IF Scotland Greenock (1926-01-22)22 January 1926 (aged 28) 103 39 England Chelsea 19 August 1950[a] £1,000
Ken Plant CF England Nuneaton (1925-08-15)15 August 1925 (aged 28) 17 6 England Bury January 1954 Undisclosed
Peter Wright WG England Colchester (1934-01-26)26 January 1934 (aged 20) 44 4 Amateur November 1951 Free transfer
  1. ^ a b c d e 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 1954 GK Scotland Jimmy Kirk England Bury Free transfer [8]
Summer 1954 FB England Ron George England Crystal Palace Free transfer [9]
June 1954 WH Northern Ireland Frank McCourt England Manchester City Nominal [10]
June 1954 WG Wales Cliff Birch Wales Newport County £1,000 [11]
July 1954 IF Republic of Ireland Paddy Leonard England Bristol Rovers Free transfer [12]
5 March 1955 WH England Benny Fenton England Charlton Athletic £500 [13][a]
  • Total spending: Decrease ~ £1,500
  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.
Summer 1954 GK England Frank Coombs England Gravesend & Northfleet Released [14]
Summer 1954 WH England Doug Keene England Dartford Released [15]
Summer 1954 WG England John Church England Crittall Athletic Released [16]
31 May 1954 WH England Harry Bearryman England Metropolitan Police Free transfer [17]
6 November 1954 WG England Peter Aitchison England Sittingbourne Free transfer [18][a]
5 February 1955 FB England Ron George England Sudbury Town Free transfer [9][a]
19 February 1955 WH Northern Ireland Frank McCourt England Poole Town Released [10][a]
28 April 1955 GK Scotland Jimmy Kirk England Torquay United Free transfer [8][a]
  1. ^ a b c d Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

Match details[]

Third Division South[]

Main article: 1954–55 Football League

Results round by round[]

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundHAAHHHAAHHAAHHAHAHAAHAAHHAHAHAAHAHAHHHAAHAAHHA
ResultDDDLWLLLDWLWWLLLLLLLLDDDWWLLWDDWDDLLDWLLLLLDLL
Position14131519111619202018221914181921232323232323232323212223232322212122232323222323232324242424
Source: 11v11.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

League table[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Promotion or relegation
20 Crystal Palace 46 11 16 19 52 80 0.650 38
21 Swindon Town 46 11 15 20 46 64 0.719 37
22 Exeter City 46 11 15 20 47 73 0.644 37
23 Walsall 46 10 14 22 75 86 0.872 34 Re-elected
24 Colchester United 46 9 13 24 53 91 0.582 31
Source: rsssf.com

Matches[]

21 August 1954 (1954-08-21) 1 Colchester United 0–0 Swindon Town Colchester
Report
Report		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,767
25 August 1954 (1954-08-25) 2 Exeter City 2–2 Colchester United Exeter
Houghton 1'
Ellaway 25'		 Report Leonard 16'
Grice 33'		 Stadium: St James Park
Attendance: 9,320
28 August 1954 (1954-08-28) 3 Crystal Palace 0–0 Colchester United Selhurst
Report Stadium: Selhurst Park
Attendance: 14,348
2 September 1954 (1954-09-02) 4 Colchester United 1–2 Exeter City Colchester
Plant Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,963
4 September 1954 (1954-09-04) 5 Colchester United 4–1 Northampton Town Colchester
Birch
Plant 		Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,467
9 September 1954 (1954-09-09) 6 Colchester United 0–2 Bristol City Colchester
Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,522
11 September 1954 (1954-09-11) 7 Watford 2–0 Colchester United Watford
Bowie
Cook 		Report Stadium: Vicarage Road
Attendance: 13,794
14 September 1954 (1954-09-14) 8 Bristol City 4–0 Colchester United Bristol
Unknown goalscorer Report Stadium: Ashton Gate Stadium
Attendance: 18,455
18 September 1954 (1954-09-18) 9 Colchester United 3–3 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic Colchester
Dale
Plant
Grice 		Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,801
23 September 1954 (1954-09-23) 10 Colchester United 1–0 Norwich City Colchester
Dale Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,506
25 September 1954 (1954-09-25) 11 Queens Park Rangers 4–1 Colchester United Shepherd's Bush
Unknown goalscorer Report Birch Stadium: Loftus Road
Attendance: 11,738
29 September 1954 (1954-09-29) 12 Norwich City 0–2 Colchester United Norwich
Report Dale
Plant 		Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 15,672
2 October 1954 (1954-10-02) 13 Colchester United 1–0 Newport County Colchester
McKim Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,691
9 October 1954 (1954-10-09) 14 Colchester United 2–4 Brighton & Hove Albion Colchester
McKim
Plant pen.'		 Report Foreman
Gordon
Mundy 		Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,334
16 October 1954 (1954-10-16) 15 Brentford 3–2 Colchester United Brentford
Robertson
Stobbart
Rainford 		Report McKim
Grice 		Stadium: Griffin Park
Attendance: 10,218
23 October 1954 (1954-10-23) 16 Colchester United 0–1 Coventry City Colchester
Report Capel Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,124
30 October 1954 (1954-10-30) 17 Walsall 3–1 Colchester United Walsall
Unknown goalscorer Report McKim Stadium: Fellows Park
Attendance: 11,117
6 November 1954 (1954-11-06) 18 Colchester United 0–2 Millwall Colchester
Report Prior
Pacey 		Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,551
13 November 1954 (1954-11-13) 19 Leyton Orient 2–0 Colchester United Leyton
Unknown goalscorer Report Stadium: Brisbane Road
Attendance: 16,782
27 November 1954 (1954-11-27) 20 Reading 4–0 Colchester United Reading
Unknown goalscorer Report Stadium: Elm Park
Attendance: 6,512
4 December 1954 (1954-12-04) 21 Colchester United 2–4 Shrewsbury Town Colchester
Plant
P. Wright 		Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,168
18 December 1954 (1954-12-18) 22 Swindon Town 1–1 Colchester United Swindon
McClelland Report
Report		 Plant Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 5,254
25 December 1954 (1954-12-25) 23 Aldershot 2–2 Colchester United Aldershot
Unknown goalscorer Report McKim
P. Wright 		Stadium: Recreation Ground
Attendance: 5,123
27 December 1954 (1954-12-27) 24 Colchester United 1–1 Aldershot Colchester
P. Wright Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,967
1 January 1955 (1955-01-01) 25 Colchester United 2–0 Crystal Palace Colchester
Plant
P. Wright 		Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,806
8 January 1955 (1955-01-08) 26 Southampton 0–1 Colchester United Southampton
Report Grice Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 12,449
22 January 1955 (1955-01-22) 27 Colchester United 1–3 Watford Colchester
Grice Report Adams
Cook
Paton 		Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 4,729
5 February 1955 (1955-02-05) 28 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 2–0 Colchester United Bournemouth
Unknown goalscorer Report Stadium: Dean Court
Attendance: 7,417
12 February 1955 (1955-02-12) 29 Colchester United 1–0 Queens Park Rangers Colchester
Leonard Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 4,903
19 February 1955 (1955-02-19) 30 Newport County 0–0 Colchester United Newport
Report Stadium: Somerton Park
Attendance: 5,612
26 February 1955 (1955-02-26) 31 Brighton & Hove Albion 1–1 Colchester United Hove
Moore Report Dale Stadium: Goldstone Ground
Attendance: 11,074
5 March 1955 (1955-03-05) 32 Colchester United 3–2 Brentford Colchester
Elder pen.'
Plant
Leonard 		Report Francis
Dudley 		Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,251
12 March 1955 (1955-03-12) 33 Coventry City 0–0 Colchester United Coventry
Report Stadium: Highfield Road
Attendance: 10,058
19 March 1955 (1955-03-19) 34 Colchester United 2–2 Walsall Colchester
Grice
P. Wright 		Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,361
26 March 1955 (1955-03-26) 35 Millwall 5–2 Colchester United New Cross
Summers
Pacey
Hazlett
Short 		Report Leonard
P. Wright 		Stadium: The Den
Attendance: 8,349
31 March 1955 (1955-03-31) 36 Colchester United 0–2 Torquay United Colchester
Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 3,517
2 April 1955 (1955-04-02) 37 Colchester United 2–2 Leyton Orient Colchester
Fenton 39'
Plant 58'		 Report Rees 6', 75' Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,448
8 April 1955 (1955-04-08) 38 Colchester United 2–0 Southend United Colchester
Fenton 18'
Stewart 23'		 Report
Report		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 10,809
9 April 1955 (1955-04-09) 39 Gillingham 2–1 Colchester United Gillingham
Unknown goalscorer Report Elder pen.' Stadium: Priestfield Stadium
Attendance: 11,002
11 April 1955 (1955-04-11) 40 Southend United 4–2 Colchester United Southend-on-Sea
Grant
Hollis 		Report
Report		 McKim
Leonard 		Stadium: Roots Hall
Attendance: 8,478
16 April 1955 (1955-04-16) 41 Colchester United 0–2 Reading Colchester
Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,046
18 April 1955 (1955-04-18) 42 Northampton Town 6–1 Colchester United Northampton
Unknown goalscorer
Elder o.g.'
Harrison o.g.'		 Report McKim Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 3,198
23 April 1955 (1955-04-23) 43 Shrewsbury Town 2–0 Colchester United Shrewsbury
Unknown goalscorer Report Stadium: Gay Meadow
Attendance: 6,735
28 April 1955 (1955-04-28) 44 Colchester United 2–2 Gillingham Colchester
P. Wright Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,070
30 April 1955 (1955-04-30) 45 Colchester United 3–5 Southampton Colchester
Plant
McCurley
P. Wright 		Report Brown
Hoskins
Mulgrew
Day
Walker 		Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 6,386
4 May 1955 (1955-05-04) 46 Torquay United 2–1 Colchester United Torquay
Unknown goalscorer Report Birch Stadium: Plainmoor
Attendance: 2,907

FA Cup[]

Main article: 1954–55 FA Cup
20 November 1954 (1954-11-20) 1st round Reading 3–3 Colchester United Reading
Wheeler 36'
Uphill 40'
Hill o.g.'		 Report Birch 21'
Grice 28'
McKim 73'		 Stadium: Elm Park
Attendance: 12,800
25 November 1954 (1954-11-25) 1st round replay Colchester United 1–2 Reading Colchester
Elder pen.' Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 4,636

Squad statistics[]

Appearances and goals[]

[7][19]

No. Pos Nat Player Total Third Division
South		 FA Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England ENG George Wright 14 0 12 0 2 0
GK England ENG John Wright 2 0 2 0 0 0
DF England ENG John Harrison 35 0 35 0 0 0
DF England ENG Digger Kettle 2 0 2 0 0 0
DF England ENG Fred Lewis 41 0 39 0 2 0
DF England ENG Reg Stewart 47 1 45 1 2 0
MF England ENG Bob Dale 34 4 34 4 0 0
MF Republic of Ireland IRL Austin Dunne 1 0 1 0 0 0
MF Scotland SCO Jimmy Elder 30 3 28 2 2 1
MF England ENG Benny Fenton 11 2 11 2 0 0
MF England ENG Trevor Harris 1 0 1 0 0 0
MF England ENG Bert Hill 21 0 19 0 2 0
MF England ENG Ron Hunt 26 0 26 0 0 0
FW Wales WAL Cliff Birch 14 4 12 3 2 1
FW England ENG Mike Grice 40 7 38 6 2 1
FW Republic of Ireland IRL Paddy Leonard 34 5 34 5 0 0
FW England ENG Kevin McCurley 18 1 16 1 2 0
FW Scotland SCO Johnny McKim 34 8 32 7 2 1
FW England ENG Ken Plant 42 13 40 13 2 0
FW England ENG Peter Wright 23 9 23 9 0 0
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
GK Scotland SCO Jimmy Kirk 32 0 32 0 0 0
DF England ENG Ron George 8 0 6 0 2 0
MF Northern Ireland NIR Frank McCourt 12 0 12 0 0 0
FW England ENG Peter Aitchison 6 0 6 0 0 0

Goalscorers[]

[19]

Place Nationality Position Name Third Division South FA Cup Total
1 England CF Ken Plant 13 0 13
2 England WG Peter Wright 9 0 9
3 Scotland IF Johnny McKim 7 1 8
4 England WG Mike Grice 6 1 7
5 Republic of Ireland IF Paddy Leonard 5 0 5
6 Wales WG Cliff Birch 3 1 4
England WH Bob Dale 4 0 4
8 Scotland WH Jimmy Elder 2 1 3
9 England WH Benny Fenton 2 0 2
10 England CF Kevin McCurley 1 0 1
England CB Reg Stewart 1 0 1
Own goals 0 0 0
TOTALS 53 4 57

Clean sheets[]

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

Place Nationality Player Third Division South FA Cup Total
1 Scotland Jimmy Kirk 7 0 7
2 England George Wright 4 0 4
TOTALS 11 0 11

Player debuts[]

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

Position Nationality Player Date Opponent Ground Notes
GK Scotland Jimmy Kirk 21 August 1954 Swindon Town Layer Road
WH Northern Ireland Frank McCourt 21 August 1954 Swindon Town Layer Road
WG Wales Cliff Birch 21 August 1954 Swindon Town Layer Road
IF Republic of Ireland Paddy Leonard 21 August 1954 Swindon Town Layer Road
FB England Ron George 16 October 1954 Brentford Griffin Park
WH England Benny Fenton 5 March 1955 Brentford Layer Road
WH Republic of Ireland Austin Dunne 9 April 1955 Gillingham Priestfield
WH England Trevor Harris 18 April 1955 Northampton Town County Ground
GK England John Wright 30 April 1955 Southampton 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.
  • Ambrosen, Tony (1993). Amber in the Blood: A History Of Newport County. Uxbridge: Yore Publications. ISBN 978-1-874427-40-7.
  • White, Eric (1989). 100 Years of Brentford. Redditch: Oldfield Press. ISBN 0951526200.

Websites

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 2–0 Southend United". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Colchester Utd 0–2 Torquay United". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  5. ^ "A history of admission to the Football League". Nonleaguematters.co.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  6. ^ Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1950s and 1960s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  7. ^ a b "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Jimmy Kirk". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Ron George". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Frank McCourt". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  11. ^ "Cliff Birch". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  12. ^ "Paddy Leonard". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  13. ^ "Benny Fenton". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  14. ^ "Frank Coombs". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  15. ^ "Doug Keene". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  16. ^ "John Church". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  17. ^ "Harry Bearryman". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  18. ^ "Peter Aitchison". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  19. ^ a b "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  20. ^ "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  21. ^ "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
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