1958–59 Colchester United F.C. season

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Colchester United
1958–59 season
ChairmanBill Allen[1]
ManagerBenny Fenton
StadiumLayer Road
Third Division5th
FA Cup4th round
(eliminated by
Arsenal)
Top goalscorerLeague:
Neil Langman (20)
All:
Neil Langman (27)
Highest home attendance16,000
v Arsenal, 24 January 1959[2]
Lowest home attendance4,406
v Notts County, 23 February 1959[3]
Average home league attendance8,357[4]
Biggest win8–2
v Stockport County, 4 October 1958;
7–1
v Yeovil Town, 11 December 1958
Biggest defeat0–4
v Arsenal, 28 January 1959;
0–4
v Brentford, 21 March 1959

The 1958–59 season was Colchester United's 17th season in their history and their ninth season in the third tier of English football, the newly formed national Third Division. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup. Colchester reached the fourth round of the FA Cup, beating Bath City, Yeovil Town and Chesterfield on their way to meeting Arsenal. Drawn at home, Colchester held Arsenal to a 2–2 Layer Road draw, but were defeated 4–0 at Highbury in the replay. Colchester finished fifth in the Third Division, nine points shy of promotion.

Season overview[]

In the new national Third Division, Colchester excelled against their northern counterparts, winning 21 games, more than half of which were clubs previously in the Third Division North. Colchester finished the season in fifth position, just nine points away from Hull City in second place, and ten behind champions Plymouth Argyle. They also earned a club record win when they beat Stockport County 8–2 on 4 October, and a club record away win when they beat Yeovil Town 7–1.

The club's main highlight during the campaign was their FA Cup run, their first venture outside of the first round in six seasons. Colchester defeated old Southern League rivals Bath City and Yeovil Town in the first and second rounds, before seeing off Chesterfield to set up a fourth round tie with Arsenal. For the first time local police set a limit on crowd numbers at Layer Road for the Arsenal game with 16,000 witnessing the 2–2 draw. 62,686 people watched the replay at Highbury in thick fog as the Gunners ran out 4–0 winners.

Both big-money signings from last season, Neil Langman and John Evans, helped repay their transfer fees by scoring 27 and 16 goals respectively. Meanwhile, the proceeds from the Arsenal fixture meant that floodlighting could be installed at Layer Road for the first time.[5]

Players[]

As of match played 4 May 1959.[6]
Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth Apps Goals Signed from Date signed Fee
Goalkeepers
Percy Ames GK England Plymouth (1931-12-13)13 December 1931 (aged 26) 139 0 England Tottenham Hotspur 1 May 1955 Free transfer
John Wright GK England Aldershot (1933-08-13)13 August 1933 (aged 24) 4 0 England Colchester Casuals 23 May 1952 Free transfer
Defenders
Brian Dobson CB England Colchester (1934-03-01)1 March 1934 (aged 24) 23 0 Amateur January 1956 Free transfer
George Fisher FB England Bermondsey (1925-06-19)19 June 1925 (aged 32) 135 4 England Fulham 1 September 1955 £1,000
John Fowler FB Scotland Leith (1933-10-17)17 October 1933 (aged 24) 106 3 Scotland Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic 20 August 1955[a] Free transfer
John Laidlaw FB England Aldershot (1936-07-05)5 July 1936 (aged 21) 0 0 Scotland Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare June 1957 Free transfer
Alf Marshall FB England Dagenham (1933-05-21)21 May 1933 (aged 25) 0 0 England Dagenham 14 October 1957 £25
Chic Milligan CB Scotland Ardrossan (1930-07-26)26 July 1930 (aged 27) 62 1 Scotland Ardrossan Winton Rovers 18 August 1956[a] £1,000
John Roe FB Scotland Broxburn (1938-01-07)7 January 1938 (aged 20) 0 0 Scotland West Calder United July 1958 Free transfer
Edgar Rumney FB England Abberton (1936-09-15)15 September 1936 (aged 21) 5 0 England Colchester Casuals 1 May 1957 Free transfer
Midfielders
Cyril Hammond WH England Woolwich (1927-10-10)10 October 1927 (aged 30) 0 0 England Charlton Athletic July 1958 Free transfer
Trevor Harris WH England Colchester (1936-02-06)6 February 1936 (aged 22) 10 0 Amateur July 1951 Free transfer
Ron Hunt WH England Colchester (1933-09-26)26 September 1933 (aged 24) 38 0 Amateur October 1951 Free transfer
Derek Parker WH England Wivenhoe (1926-06-23)23 June 1926 (aged 31) 36 1 England West Ham United March 1957 £2,500
Forwards
Russell Blake WG England Colchester (1935-07-24)24 July 1935 (aged 22) 15 2 England Dedham Old Boys 8 September 1955[a] Free transfer
John Evans IF England Tilbury (1929-08-28)28 August 1929 (aged 28) 24 7 England Liverpool 23 November 1957[a] £4,000
Bobby Hill IF Scotland Edinburgh (1938-06-09)9 June 1938 (aged 19) 54 8 Scotland Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare 9 June 1955 Free transfer
Ian Johnstone IF Scotland Galashiels (1939-03-02)2 March 1939 (aged 19) 0 0 Scotland Ormiston Primrose 18 April 1959[a] Free transfer
Martyn King CF England Birmingham (1937-08-23)23 August 1937 (aged 20) 3 1 Amateur Summer 1955 Free transfer
Neil Langman CF England Bere Alston (1932-02-21)21 February 1932 (aged 26) 23 8 England Plymouth Argyle November 1957 £6,750
Kevin McCurley CF England Consett (1926-04-02)2 April 1926 (aged 32) 218 86 England Liverpool June 1951 £750
Sammy McLeod IF Scotland Glasgow (1934-01-04)4 January 1934 (aged 24) 63 6 Scotland Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare 20 August 1955[a] Free transfer
Tony Miller IF England Chelmsford (1937-10-26)26 October 1937 (aged 20) 0 0 Amateur May 1958 Free transfer
Ken Plant CF England Nuneaton (1925-08-15)15 August 1925 (aged 32) 188 79 England Bury January 1954 Undisclosed
Tommy Williams WG England Battersea (1935-02-10)10 February 1935 (aged 23) 52 8 England Carshalton Athletic September 1956 Free transfer
Peter Wright WG England Colchester (1934-01-26)26 January 1934 (aged 24) 204 46 Amateur November 1951 Free transfer
  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f 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.
May 1958 IF England Tony Miller Amateur Free transfer [7]
July 1958 WH England Cyril Hammond England Charlton Athletic Free transfer [8]
July 1958 FB Scotland John Roe Scotland West Calder United Free transfer [9]
18 April 1959 IF Scotland Ian Johnstone Scotland Ormiston Primrose Free transfer [10][a]
  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 WH England Benny Fenton England Colchester United Retired from playing, remained as manager [11]
July 1958 WH England Bert Hill England Dartford Free transfer [12]
26 December 1958 IF Scotland Hamish McNeill England Cambridge City Nominal [13]

Match details[]

Third Division[]

Main article: 1958–59 Football League

Results round by round[]

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundHHAAHHAHAAHHAHAAHHAAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHHAHAA
ResultLWLWWWDWDDLWDDLWLLWWDDWDWWLDDWWLWLWLLLLLWWWWLW
Position179191383765787577369865856334444333444669101097685
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
3 Brentford 46 21 15 10 76 49 1.551 57
4 Norwich City 46 22 13 11 89 62 1.435 57
5 Colchester United 46 21 10 15 71 67 1.060 52
6 Reading 46 21 8 17 78 63 1.238 50
7 Tranmere Rovers 46 21 8 17 82 67 1.224 50
Source:[citation needed]

Matches[]

23 August 1958 (1958-08-23) 1 Colchester United 1–3 Bury Colchester
Langman Goal Report Unknown goalscorer GoalGoalGoal Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,394
25 August 1958 (1958-08-25) 2 Colchester United 2–1 Norwich City Colchester
Blake GoalGoal Report Unknown goalscorer Goal Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,379
30 August 1958 (1958-08-30) 3 Queens Park Rangers 4–2 Colchester United Shepherd's Bush
Unknown goalscorer GoalGoalGoalGoal Report Langman GoalGoal Stadium: Loftus Road
Attendance: 9,733
3 September 1958 (1958-09-03) 4 Norwich City 1–2 Colchester United Norwich
Unknown goalscorer Goal Report Evans Goal
Langman Goal		 Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 25,132
6 September 1958 (1958-09-06) 5 Colchester United 2–1 Rochdale Colchester
Langman Goal
McLeod Goal		 Report Unknown goalscorer Goal Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,141
8 September 1958 (1958-09-08) 6 Colchester United 1–0 Accrington Stanley Colchester
Langman Goal Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,380
17 September 1958 (1958-09-17) 7 Accrington Stanley 1–1 Colchester United Accrington
Unknown goalscorer Goal Report Own goal Goal o.g.' Stadium: Peel Park
Attendance: 8,350
20 September 1958 (1958-09-20) 8 Colchester United 2–0 Plymouth Argyle Colchester
Evans GoalGoal pen.' Report
Report		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 10,038
24 September 1958 (1958-09-24) 9 Southend United 1–1 Colchester United Southend-on-Sea
Punton Goal Report
Report		 Langman Goal Stadium: Roots Hall
Attendance: 11,471
27 September 1958 (1958-09-27) 10 Tranmere Rovers 3–3 Colchester United Birkenhead
Unknown goalscorer GoalGoalGoal Report Own goal Goal o.g.'
McLeod GoalGoal		 Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 14,000
29 September 1958 (1958-09-29) 11 Colchester United 0–1 Southend United Colchester
Report
Report		 Thomson Goal Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 6,833
4 October 1958 (1958-10-04) 12 Colchester United 8–2 Stockport County Colchester
Evans GoalGoalGoal
Langman GoalGoal
McLeod GoalGoalGoal		 Report Murray Goal
Clarke Goal		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,298
8 October 1958 (1958-10-08) 13 Reading 0–0 Colchester United Reading
Report Stadium: Elm Park
Attendance: 17,401
11 October 1958 (1958-10-11) 14 Colchester United 1–1 Wrexham Colchester
Evans Goal Report Unknown goalscorer Goal Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,204
16 October 1958 (1958-10-16) 15 Doncaster Rovers 2–1 Colchester United Doncaster
Unknown goalscorer GoalGoal Report Blake Goal Stadium: Belle Vue
Attendance: 2,786
18 October 1958 (1958-10-18) 16 Bradford City 1–3 Colchester United Bradford
Unknown goalscorer Goal Report Plant GoalGoal
Langman Goal		 Stadium: Valley Parade
Attendance: 12,307
25 October 1958 (1958-10-25) 17 Colchester United 1–3 Hull City Colchester
McCurley Goal Report Bradbury Goal
Smith Goal
Coates Goal		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,277
1 November 1958 (1958-11-01) 18 Brentford 2–1 Colchester United Brentford
Towers Goal
Heath Goal		 Report Langman Goal Stadium: Griffin Park
Attendance: 11,930
8 November 1958 (1958-11-08) 19 Colchester United 1–0 Swindon Town Colchester
Plant Goal Report
Report		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,001
22 November 1958 (1958-11-22) 20 Colchester United 3–2 Newport County Colchester
Langman Goal
P. Wright Goal
Blake Goal		 Report McPherson Goal
Graham Goal		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,271
29 November 1958 (1958-11-29) 21 Chesterfield 2–2 Colchester United Chesterfield
Unknown goalscorer GoalGoal Report P. Wright GoalGoal Stadium: Saltergate
Attendance: 7,140
20 December 1958 (1958-12-20) 22 Bury 0–0 Colchester United Bury
Report Stadium: Gigg Lane
Attendance: 11,615
26 December 1958 (1958-12-26) 23 Colchester United 3–1 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic Colchester
Langman Goal
McLeod Goal
Williams Goal		 Report Unknown goalscorer GoalGoal Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,182
27 December 1958 (1958-12-27) 24 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 1–1 Colchester United Bournemouth
Unknown goalscorer Goal Report Williams Goal Stadium: Dean Court
Attendance: 12,404
3 January 1959 (1959-01-03) 25 Colchester United 3–0 Queens Park Rangers Colchester
Fisher Goal
Evans Goal
Langman Goal		 Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,719
31 January 1959 (1959-01-31) 26 Colchester United 1–0 Doncaster Rovers Colchester
Langman Goal Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,658
2 February 1959 (1959-02-02) 27 Mansfield Town 3–2 Colchester United Mansfield
Unknown goalscorer GoalGoal Report Hill Goal
McCurley Goal		 Stadium: Field Mill
Attendance: 5,155
7 February 1959 (1959-02-07) 28 Plymouth Argyle 1–1 Colchester United Plymouth
Williams Goal Report
Report		 Evans Goal Stadium: Home Park
Attendance: 22,686
14 February 1959 (1959-02-14) 29 Colchester United 1–1 Tranmere Rovers Colchester
Own goal Goal o.g.' Report Unknown goalscorer Goal Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,160
21 February 1959 (1959-02-21) 30 Stockport County 0–1 Colchester United Stockport
Report Williams Goal Stadium: Edgeley Park
Attendance: 5,734
23 February 1959 (1959-02-23) 31 Colchester United 4–1 Notts County Colchester
McCurley Goal
Langman GoalGoal
P. Wright Goal		 Report Unknown goalscorer Goal Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 4,406
28 February 1959 (1959-02-28) 32 Wrexham 2–0 Colchester United Wrexham
Unknown goalscorer GoalGoal Report Stadium: Racecourse Ground
Attendance: 8,635
7 March 1959 (1959-03-07) 33 Colchester United 3–2 Bradford City Colchester
McCurley Goal
Langman Goal
Williams Goal		 Report Unknown goalscorer GoalGoal Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,139
14 March 1959 (1959-03-14) 34 Hull City 3–0 Colchester United Kingston upon Hull
Davidson Goal
Smith GoalGoal		 Report Stadium: Boothferry Park
Attendance: 16,668
16 March 1959 (1959-03-16) 35 Rochdale 0–1 Colchester United Rochdale
Report Langman Goal Stadium: Spotland Stadium
Attendance: 3,510
21 March 1959 (1959-03-21) 36 Colchester United 0–4 Brentford Colchester
Report Francis GoalGoal
McLeod Goal
Towers Goal		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,775
27 March 1959 (1959-03-27) 37 Colchester United 1–3 Southampton Colchester
McCurley Goal Report Paine Goal
Hoskins Goal
Reeves Goal		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,943
28 March 1959 (1959-03-28) 38 Swindon Town 2–0 Colchester United Swindon
D'Arcy Goal
Marshall Goal		 Report
Report		 Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 8,876
30 March 1959 (1959-03-30) 39 Southampton 3–0 Colchester United Southampton
Mulgrew Goal
Reeves Goal
Page Goal		 Report Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 8,502
4 April 1959 (1959-04-04) 40 Colchester United 1–3 Mansfield Town Colchester
Milligan Goal pen.' Report Unknown goalscorer GoalGoalGoal Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,901
18 April 1959 (1959-04-18) 41 Colchester United 1–0 Chesterfield Colchester
Langman Goal Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,433
20 April 1959 (1959-04-20) 42 Colchester United 3–1 Reading Colchester
Evans Goal pen.'Goal
McLeod Goal		 Report Unknown goalscorer Goal Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,590
25 April 1959 (1959-04-25) 43 Notts County 0–1 Colchester United Nottingham
Report Evans Goal Stadium: Meadow Lane
Attendance: 4,733
27 April 1959 (1959-04-27) 44 Colchester United 3–1 Halifax Town Colchester
Evans Goal pen.'
Blake Goal
Williams Goal		 Report Unknown goalscorer Goal Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,769
30 April 1959 (1959-04-30) 45 Halifax Town 4–1 Colchester United Halifax
Unknown goalscorer GoalGoalGoalGoal Report Evans Goal Stadium: The Shay
Attendance: 5,458
4 May 1959 (1959-05-04) 46 Newport County 0–1 Colchester United Newport
Report P. Wright Goal Stadium: Somerton Park
Attendance: 4,702

FA Cup[]

Main article: 1958–59 FA Cup
15 November 1958 (1958-11-15) 1st round Colchester United 1–0 Bath City Colchester
Plant Goal 14'
Langman Goal 84'		 Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 10,636
15 November 1958 (1958-11-15) 2nd round Colchester United 1–1 Yeovil Town Colchester
Plant Goal Report Earl Goal Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 10,890
11 December 1958 (1958-12-11) 2nd round replay Yeovil Town 1–7 Colchester United Yeovil
Dennis Goal Report Langman GoalGoalGoalGoal
McLeod GoalGoal
Williams Goal		 Stadium: Huish Athletic Ground
Attendance: 10,000
10 January 1959 (1959-01-10) 3rd round Colchester United 2–0 Chesterfield Colchester
Evans Goal 8'
Langman Goal 54'		 Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,723
24 January 1959 (1959-01-24) 4th round Colchester United 2–2 Arsenal Colchester
Langman Goal 80'
Evans Goal 82'		 Report Groves Goal 75', 76' Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 16,000
28 January 1959 (1959-01-28) 4th round replay Arsenal 4–0 Colchester United Highbury
19:30 GMT Evans Goal pen.'
Herd GoalGoal
Julians Goal		 Report
Programme		 Stadium: Arsenal Stadium
Attendance: 62,686

Squad statistics[]

Appearances and goals[]

[6][14]

No. Pos Nat Player Total Third Division FA Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England Percy Ames 52 0 46 0 6 0
DF England George Fisher 34 1 28 1 6 0
DF Scotland John Fowler 48 0 42 0 6 0
DF England Alf Marshall 24 0 24 0 0 0
DF Scotland Chic Milligan 50 1 44 1 6 0
MF England Cyril Hammond 37 0 33 0 4 0
MF England Trevor Harris 1 0 1 0 0 0
MF England Ron Hunt 21 0 19 0 2 0
MF England Derek Parker 44 0 38 0 6 0
FW England Russell Blake 29 5 24 5 5 0
FW England John Evans 31 16 27 14 4 2
FW Scotland Bobby Hill 8 1 8 1 0 0
FW Scotland Ian Johnstone 1 0 1 0 0 0
FW England Martyn King 3 0 3 0 0 0
FW England Neil Langman 50 27 44 20 6 7
FW England Kevin McCurley 7 5 7 5 0 0
FW Scotland Sammy McLeod 44 10 38 8 6 2
FW England Ken Plant 9 5 7 3 2 2
FW England Tommy Williams 30 6 29 5 1 1
FW England Peter Wright 49 5 43 5 6 0

Goalscorers[]

[14]

Place Nationality Position Name Third Division FA Cup Total
1 England CF Neil Langman 20 7 27
2 England IF John Evans 14 2 16
3 Scotland IF Sammy McLeod 8 2 10
4 England WG Tommy Williams 5 1 6
5 England WG Russell Blake 5 0 5
England CF Kevin McCurley 5 0 5
England CF Ken Plant 3 2 5
England WG Peter Wright 5 0 5
9 England FB George Fisher 1 0 1
Scotland IF Bobby Hill 1 0 1
Scotland CB Chic Milligan 1 0 1
Own goals 3 0 3
TOTALS 71 14 85

Clean sheets[]

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[15]

Place Nationality Player Third Division FA Cup Total
1 England Percy Ames 12 2 14
TOTALS 12 2 14

Player debuts[]

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[16]

Position Nationality Player Date Opponent Ground Notes
WH England Cyril Hammond 23 August 1958 Bury Layer Road
FB England Alf Marshall 8 October 1958 Reading Elm Park
IF Scotland Ian Johnstone 18 April 1959 Chesterfield 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 2–2 Arsenal". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Colchester Utd 4–1 Notts County". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  5. ^ Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1950s and 1960s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  7. ^ "Tony Miller". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Cyril Hammond". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  9. ^ "John Roe". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  10. ^ "Ian Johnstone". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  11. ^ "Benny Fenton". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  12. ^ "Bert Hill". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  13. ^ "Hamish McNeill". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  15. ^ "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  16. ^ "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
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