1979–80 Colchester United F.C. season
# 1979–80 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1979–80 season was Colchester United's 38th season in their history and third 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.

An excellent season in the league took Colchester to their highest finish since the 1956–57 season with fifth position, having occupied the top four spots for the majority of the campaign. Colchester exited the FA Cup in round three to Reading, while they fell to defeat after a penalty shoot-out to First Division side Aston Villa.

## Season overview

With a very much unchanged squad from the previous campaign, Colchester faced First Division opposition in the League Cup second round after beating Watford over two legs in the first round. Rekindling memories of the Quarter-final tie five years prior, the U's were drawn at home to Aston Villa, who won 2–0 at Layer Road. However, in the away fixture at Villa Park, Colchester earned a 2–0 victory to take the tie to extra time and penalties. The penalty takers were successful enough that it was necessary for the goalkeepers to take their turns. Mike Walker stepped up to take his penalty for Colchester and missed, meaning the U's bowed out 9–8.

Keeping track with the league leaders for much of the season – and even being level on points with first-placed Sheffield United at one stage – Colchester had ten away wins to their name before successive defeats to Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers and Reading in February and March 1980. Injuries to Steve Foley and Bobby Gough contributed to the U's downturn in form, and having occupied a top four spot for much of the season, Colchester had to be content with a fifth-place finish, six points short of the promotion places. It was the closest United had come to Second Division football since the 1956–57 season, but attendances weren't reflective of on-field performance, with a league average gate of 3,818, the third-lowest in the division ahead of Wimbledon and Chester.

## Players

    As of match played 2 May 1980.

| 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 33) | 312 | 0 | Watford | July 1973 | £4,000 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Micky Cook | FB | Enfield | (1951-04-09)9 April 1951 (aged 28) | 451 | 15 | Orient | 1 March 1969 | Free transfer |
| Leo Cusenza | FB | Edmonton | (1963-02-20)20 February 1963 (aged 16) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | Summer 1979 | Free transfer |
| Steve Dowman | CB | Ilford | (1958-04-15)15 April 1958 (aged 21) | 141 | 24 | Apprentice | 24 August 1976 | Free transfer |
| Mick Packer | FB | Willesden | (1950-04-20)20 April 1950 (aged 29) | 268 | 14 | Watford | July 1973 | Free transfer |
| Steve Wignall | CB | Liverpool | (1954-09-17)17 September 1954 (aged 24) | 89 | 6 | Doncaster Rovers | September 1977 | £5,000 |
| Steve Wright | CB | Clacton-on-Sea | (1959-06-16)16 June 1959 (aged 19) | 43 | 1 | Woods Athletic | 1 October 1977 | Free transfer |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Russell Cotton | MF | Wellington | (1960-04-04)4 April 1960 (aged 19) | 3 | 0 | Apprentice | 26 October 1977 | Free transfer |
| Tony Evans | MF | Colchester | (1960-03-14)14 March 1960 (aged 19) | 16 | 2 | Apprentice | 4 March 1978 | Free transfer |
| Steve Foley | MF | Clacton-on-Sea | (1953-06-21)21 June 1953 (aged 25) | 226 | 43 | Apprentice | July 1969 | Free transfer |
| Steve Leslie | MF | Hornsey | (1952-09-04)4 September 1952 (aged 26) | 290 | 40 | Apprentice | 20 April 1971 | Free transfer |
| Eddie Rowles | MF | Gosport | (1951-03-10)10 March 1951 (aged 28) | 32 | 8 | Darlington | 26 December 1977 | £15,000 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| Ian Allinson | WG | Hitchin | (1957-10-01)1 October 1957 (aged 21) | 159 | 19 | Apprentice | Summer 1974 | Free transfer |
| Bobby Gough | FW | Ladywood | (1949-07-20)20 July 1949 (aged 29) | 175 | 63 | Southport | January 1976 | £7,000 |
| Gary Harvey | FW | Colchester | (1961-11-19)19 November 1961 (aged 17) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | March 1978 | Free transfer |
| Bobby Hodge | WG | Exeter | (1952-04-30)30 April 1952 (aged 27) | 38 | 4 | Exeter City | September 1978 | £15,000 |
| Trevor Lee | FW | Lewisham | (1954-06-03)3 June 1954 (aged 24) | 32 | 12 | Millwall | November 1978 | £15,000 |

* 1 2 3 4 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 1979 | FB | | Leo Cusenza | Apprentice | Free transfer | |

* Total spending: ~ £0

### Out

| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | To | Fee | Ref. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 31 August 1979 | MF | | Ray Bunkell | Colchester United reserve team manager | Free transfer | |
| 26 December 1979 | MF | | Paul Dyer | Gravesend & Northfleet | Released | |

* Total incoming: ~ £0
* 1 2 Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

## 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 | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H |
| Result | W | W | L | L | L | D | W | W | D | W | D | W | W | W | W | L | D | D | L | W | W | D | L | D | D | D | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | L | L | L | W | L | D | D | W | L | D | W | L | W |
| Position | 4 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |

**League table**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 21 | 16 | 9 | 81 | 47 | +34 | 58 | Promoted |
| 4 | Chesterfield | 46 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 71 | 46 | +25 | 57 | |
| 5 | Colchester United | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 64 | 56 | +8 | 52 | |
| 6 | Carlisle United | 46 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 66 | 56 | +10 | 48 | |
| 7 | Reading | 46 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 66 | 65 | +1 | 48 | |

## Squad statistics

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Third Division | Third Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | WAL | Mike Walker | 54 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Micky Cook | 50 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Steve Dowman | 45 | 2 | 37 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Mick Packer | 49 | 4 | 43 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Steve Wignall | 46 | 3 | 40 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Steve Wright | 33 | 1 | 23+3 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Russell Cotton | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Tony Evans | 6 | 0 | 2+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Steve Foley | 50 | 8 | 42 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Steve Leslie | 54 | 1 | 46 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Eddie Rowles | 39 | 10 | 26+8 | 8 | 2+1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Ian Allinson | 46 | 4 | 37+1 | 2 | 3+1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Bobby Gough | 39 | 12 | 31+1 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| | FW | ENG | Gary Harvey | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Bobby Hodge | 44 | 6 | 34+3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Trevor Lee | 51 | 18 | 43 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||||
| | MF | ENG | Ray Bunkell | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Paul Dyer | 4 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Name | Third Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | FW | Trevor Lee | 17 | 0 | 1 | 18 |
| 2 | FW | Bobby Gough | 10 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| 3 | MF | Eddie Rowles | 8 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 4 | MF | Steve Foley | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | WG | Bobby Hodge | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 6 | WG | Ian Allinson | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | FB | Mick Packer | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | CB | Steve Wignall | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | CB | Steve Dowman | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | FW | Gary Harvey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | MF | Steve Leslie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | CB | Steve Wright | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Own goals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | TOTALS | 64 | 3 | 5 | 72 |

### Disciplinary record

| Position | Name | Third Division | Third Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| FW | Bobby Gough | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| CB | Steve Dowman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| FB | Micky Cook | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| CB | Steve Wignall | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | TOTALS | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.

| Place | Nationality | Player | Third Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | | Mike Walker | 12 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| | | TOTALS | 12 | 2 | 2 | 16 |

### Player debuts

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

| Position | Nationality | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| FW | | Gary Harvey | 19 April 1980 | Millwall | Layer Road | |
