2001–02 Colchester United F.C. season
# 2001–02 Colchester United F.C. season

The 2001–02 season was Colchester United's 60th season in their history and their fourth successive season in the third tier of English football, the Second Division. Alongside competing in the Second Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Football League Trophy.

Steve Whitton led the U's to a 15th placed league finish. They were knocked out of the FA Cup by York City in the first round. In the League Cup, Colchester defeated First Division Portsmouth at Fratton Park, before falling to defeat to Barnsley in the second round. They also reached the second round of the Football League Trophy, beating Swindon Town in the first round but they were eliminated by Reading in the second round.

## Season overview

Colchester leapt to the top of the Second Division table by the end of August, having beaten Chesterfield 6–3 in the opening game of the season, and also knocked out First Division Portsmouth out of the League Cup at Fratton Park. However, they failed to capitalise on this despite manager Steve Whitton equalling the club's record transfer fee of £50,000 for Northern Ireland international Adrian Coote from Norwich City. They finished 15th, a steady year-on-year improvement after recording 18th and then 17th-place finishes in the previous campaigns respectively.

After beating Portsmouth in the first round of the League Cup, Barnsley proved too much for the U's in the second round. York City eliminated Colchester from the FA Cup in the first round, and Reading defeated the U's in the second round of the Football League Trophy following a first round win over Swindon Town.

## Players

    As of match played 20 April 2002.

| No. | Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||||
| 1 | Simon Brown | GK | Chelmsford | (1976-12-03)3 December 1976 (aged 24) | 64 | 0 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 July 1999 | Free transfer |
| 13 | Glenn Williamson | GK | Enfield Town | (1982-12-22)22 December 1982 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Youth team | 1 August 1999 | Free transfer |
| Defenders |||||||||||
| 2 | Joe Dunne | FB | Dublin | (1973-05-25)25 May 1973 (aged 28) | 178 | 5 | Dover Athletic | 7 December 1999 | Nominal |
| 3 | Joe Keith | FB | Plaistow | (1978-10-01)1 October 1978 (aged 22) | 79 | 5 | West Ham United | 24 May 1999 | Free transfer |
| 5 | Ross Johnson | CB | Brighton | (1976-01-02)2 January 1976 (aged 25) | 36 | 0 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 14 February 2000 | Free transfer |
| 6 | Con Blatsis | CB | Melbourne | (1977-07-06)6 July 1977 (aged 23) | 0 | 0 | Lillestrøm | 15 March 2002 | Non-contract |
| 12 | Scott Fitzgerald | CB | Westminster | (1969-08-13)13 August 1969 (aged 31) | 32 | 0 | Millwall | 19 October 2000 | Free transfer |
| 18 | Anthony Allman | DF/MF | Sidcup | (1980-12-14)14 December 1980 (aged 20) | 0 | 0 | Charlton Athletic | 27 July 2001 | Free transfer |
| 19 | Alan White | CB | Darlington | (1975-03-22)22 March 1975 (aged 26) | 42 | 0 | Luton Town | 16 July 2000 | Free transfer |
| 26 | David Hadrava | FB | Ilford | (1983-02-26)26 February 1983 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Youth team | 1 August 2001 | Free transfer |
| Midfielders |||||||||||
| 4 | Gavin Johnson | MF | Eye | (1970-10-10)10 October 1970 (aged 30) | 69 | 2 | Dunfermline Athletic | 14 November 1999 | Free transfer |
| 7 | Karl Duguid | MF | Letchworth | (1978-03-21)21 March 1978 (aged 23) | 194 | 29 | Youth team | 9 December 1995 | Free transfer |
| 8 | David Gregory | MF | Sudbury | (1970-01-23)23 January 1970 (aged 31) | 240 | 28 | Peterborough United | 8 December 1995 | Free transfer |
| 10 | Kemal Izzet | MF | Whitechapel | (1980-09-29)29 September 1980 (aged 20) | 6 | 1 | Charlton Athletic | 13 April 2001 | Free transfer |
| 14 | Chris Keeble | MF | Colchester | (1978-09-17)17 September 1978 (aged 22) | 25 | 2 | Ipswich Town | 23 March 2000 | Free transfer |
| 15 | Thomas Pinault | MF | Grasse | (1981-12-04)4 December 1981 (aged 19) | 10 | 1 | AS Cannes | 1 July 1999 | Free transfer |
| 17 | Bobby Bowry | MF | Hampstead | (1971-05-19)19 May 1971 (aged 30) | 0 | 0 | Millwall | 25 July 2001 | Free transfer |
| 20 | Mick Stockwell | MF | Chelmsford | (1965-02-14)14 February 1965 (aged 36) | 52 | 11 | Ipswich Town | 23 July 2000 | Free transfer |
| 23 | Matt Hearn | MF | Barking | (1984-01-17)17 January 1984 (aged 17) | 0 | 0 | Youth team | 1 July 2000 | Free transfer |
| 25 | Marc Canham | MF | Wegberg | (1982-09-11)11 September 1982 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Youth team | 1 August 2001 | Free transfer |
| Forwards |||||||||||
| 9 | Scott McGleish | FW | Chipping Barnet | (1974-02-10)10 February 1974 (aged 27) | 38 | 11 | Barnet | 12 January 2001 | £15,000 |
| 16 | Dean Morgan | FW | Edmonton | (1983-10-03)3 October 1983 (aged 17) | 4 | 0 | Youth team | 1 August 2000 | Free transfer |
| 21 | Kevin Rapley | FW | Reading | (1977-09-21)21 September 1977 (aged 23) | 0 | 0 | Notts County | 1 August 2001 | Free transfer |
| 22 | Triston Chambers | FW | Enfield Town | (1982-12-25)25 December 1982 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Youth team | 20 August 2001 | Free transfer |
| 23 | Lloyd Opara | FW | Enfield Town | (1984-01-06)6 January 1984 (aged 17) | 0 | 0 | Youth team | 20 August 2001 | Free transfer |
| 27 | Ben Cranfield | FW | Ipswich | (1984-03-01)1 March 1984 (aged 17) | 0 | 0 | Youth team | 1 August 2001 | Free transfer |
| 28 | Adrian Coote | FW | Great Yarmouth | (1978-09-30)30 September 1978 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | Norwich City | 21 December 2001 | £50,000 |

* ↑ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game in his second spell for the club
* ↑ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

## Transfers

### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 25 July 2001 | MF | Bobby Bowry | Millwall | Free transfer |
| 27 July 2001 | DF/MF | Anthony Allman | Charlton Athletic | Free transfer |
| 1 August 2001 | MF | Marc Canham | Youth team | Free transfer |
| 1 August 2001 | FW | Ben Cranfield | Youth team | Free transfer |
| 1 August 2001 | FB | David Hadrava | Youth team | Free transfer |
| 1 August 2001 | FW | Lloyd Opara | Youth team | Free transfer |
| 1 August 2001 | FW | Kevin Rapley | Notts County | Free transfer |
| 20 August 2001 | FW | Triston Chambers | Youth team | Free transfer |
| 18 September 2001 | CB | Olly Blackwell | Youth team | Free transfer |
| 21 December 2001 | FW | Adrian Coote | Norwich City | £50,000 |
| 15 February 2002 | FW | Patrice Tano | Telstar | Non-contract |
| 15 March 2002 | CB | Con Blatsis | Lillestrøm | Non-contract |

* Total spending: ~ £50,000

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 31 May 2001 | MF | Sam Okafor | Sittingbourne | Released |
| 1 July 2001 | FW | Steve McGavin | Dagenham & Redbridge | Released |
| 4 July 2001 | MF/DF | Aaron Skelton | Luton Town | Free transfer |
| 1 August 2001 | MF | Andy Arnott | Stevenage Borough | Free transfer |
| 8 August 2001 | FW | Keith Scott | Dover Athletic | Free transfer |
| 31 January 2002 | CB | Simon Clark | Woodlands Wellington | Released |
| 4 March 2002 | FW | Patrice Tano | Falkirk | Free transfer |
| 18 March 2002 | CB | Olly Blackwell | Billericay Town | Undisclosed |
| 28 March 2002 | GK | Andy Woodman | Oxford United | Free transfer |

* Total incoming: ~ £0

### Loans in

| Date | Position | Name | From | End date |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 14 December 2001 | FW | Graham Barrett | Arsenal | 21 April 2002 |
| 18 January 2002 | FB | John Halls | Arsenal | 18 February 2002 |
| 27 March 2002 | FW | Charlie MacDonald | Charlton Athletic | 21 April 2002 |
| 28 March 2002 | GK | Richard Knight | Oxford United | 21 April 2002 |

### Loans out

| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | To | End date | Ref. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 18 January 2002 | GK | | Andy Woodman | Oxford United | 18 March 2002 | |
| 15 February 2002 | MF | | Matt Hearn | Southend United | 15 March 2002 | |

## Match details

### Second Division

**League table**

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 13 | Swindon Town | 46 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 46 | 56 | −10 | 59 |
| 14 | Port Vale | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 51 | 62 | −11 | 58 |
| 15 | Colchester United | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 65 | 76 | −11 | 57 |
| 16 | Blackpool | 46 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 66 | 69 | −3 | 56 |
| 17 | Peterborough United | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 64 | 59 | +5 | 55 |

**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 | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | W | D | W | L | W | L | W | L | L | L | W | L | W | D | L | L | W | D | L | D | W | D | W | L | W | D | L | L | L | L | D | W | D | D | D | L | L | L | W | D | L | W | L | W | D |
| Position | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 |

## Squad statistics

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Second Division | Second Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Football League Trophy |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Simon Brown | 21 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | IRL | Joe Dunne | 10 | 2 | 6+2 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Joe Keith | 47 | 5 | 33+8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Gavin Johnson | 24 | 1 | 19+1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Ross Johnson | 19 | 1 | 13+3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | AUS | Con Blatsis | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Karl Duguid | 45 | 5 | 36+5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | David Gregory | 19 | 0 | 15+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Scott McGleish | 52 | 16 | 44+2 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Kemal Izzet | 45 | 5 | 36+4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | IRL | Scott Fitzgerald | 42 | 0 | 36+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | FRA | Thomas Pinault | 48 | 0 | 37+5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | MSR | Dean Morgan | 34 | 0 | 1+29 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | SKN | Bobby Bowry | 41 | 1 | 27+9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Alan White | 35 | 3 | 28+5 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Mick Stockwell | 52 | 11 | 45+1 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1+1 | 1 |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Kevin Rapley | 40 | 9 | 26+9 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | ENG | Triston Chambers | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Lloyd Opara | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Marc Canham | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ENG | David Hadrava | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | NIR | Adrian Coote | 19 | 4 | 5+14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||||||
| 6 | DF | ENG | Simon Clark | 25 | 0 | 19+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | IRL | Graham Barrett | 20 | 4 | 19+1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | GK | ENG | Andy Woodman | 30 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | ENG | John Halls | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Charlie MacDonald | 4 | 1 | 2+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | GK | ENG | Richard Knight | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Number | Position | Name | Second Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 9 | FW | Scott McGleish | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 2 | 20 | MF | Mick Stockwell | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| 3 | 21 | FW | Kevin Rapley | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | 3 | FB | Joe Keith | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | 7 | MF | Karl Duguid | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | 10 | MF | Kemal Izzet | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 7 | 11 | FW | Graham Barrett | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | 28 | FW | Adrian Coote | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | 19 | CB | Alan White | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | 2 | FB | Joe Dunne | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | 4 | MF | Gavin Johnson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 5 | CB | Ross Johnson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 17 | MF | Bobby Bowry | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 30 | FW | Charlie MacDonald | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | | Own goals | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| | | | TOTALS | 65 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 72 |

### Disciplinary record

| Number | Position | Name | Second Division | Second Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Football League Trophy | Total | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 7 | MF | Karl Duguid | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 15 | MF | Thomas Pinault | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 19 | CB | Alan White | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Bobby Bowry | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Kemal Izzet | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Gavin Johnson | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 6 | CB | Simon Clark | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | Adrian Coote | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | FB | Joe Keith | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | David Gregory | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | Scott McGleish | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | FB | Joe Dunne | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | CB | Con Blatsis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | CB | Ross Johnson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | Graham Barrett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | CB | Scott Fitzgerald | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | Dean Morgan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | Kevin Rapley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | GK | Andy Woodman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 56 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 61 | 2 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.

| Place | Number | Player | Second Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | Simon Brown | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | 29 | Andy Woodman | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| | | TOTALS | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 |

### Player debuts

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

| Number | Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 17 | MF | Bobby Bowry | 11 August 2001 | Chesterfield | Saltergate |
| 21 | FW | Kevin Rapley | 11 August 2001 | Chesterfield | Saltergate |
| 23 | FW | Lloyd Opara | 13 October 2001 | Blackpool | Bloomfield Road |
| 26 | FB | David Hadrava | 30 October 2001 | Reading | Madejski Stadium |
| 11 | FW | Graham Barrett | 15 December 2001 | Peterborough United | Layer Road |
| 28 | FW | Adrian Coote | 22 December 2001 | Huddersfield Town | Layer Road |
| 30 | FB | John Halls | 19 January 2002 | Chestefield | Layer Road |
| 6 | CB | Con Blatsis | 16 March 2002 | Queens Park Rangers | Layer Road |
| 30 | FW | Charlie MacDonald | 30 March 2002 | Brighton & Hove Albion | Layer Road |
| 22 | FW | Triston Chambers | 6 April 2002 | Cardiff City | Layer Road |
| 25 | MF | Marc Canham | 6 April 2002 | Cardiff City | Layer Road |
| 31 | GK | Richard Knight | 13 April 2002 | Bury | Gigg Lane |
