1971–72 Colchester United F.C. season
# 1971–72 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1971–72 season was Colchester United's 30th season in their history and their fourth successive season in the fourth tier of English football, the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup, as well as being entered into the pre-season Watney Cup.

Continuing with their cup success of the previous season, Dick Graham's high-scoring side were entered into the Watney Cup, a pre-season tournament held between the two highest scoring teams in each of the four divisions in the Football League who had not achieved promotion or entered European football. Colchester defeated West Bromwich Albion in their first ever penalty shoot-out following a 4–4 draw at The Hawthorns.

Colchester reached the third round of the League Cup, where they were knocked out by Blackpool, and were eliminated from the FA Cup in the first round by Shrewsbury Town. Meanwhile, the U's ended their league campaign in eleventh position, nine points away from promotion.

## Season overview

Colchester's goalscoring exploits of the previous campaign enabled qualification for the 1971–72 pre-season Watney Cup competition, open to the two highest scoring teams from each division, exclusively for teams that had not achieved promotion or entered into European competition. Both Luton Town and Carlisle United were beaten at Layer Road ahead of the final, held against West Bromwich Albion at their Hawthorns stadium. The encounter registered four goals apiece, taking the fixture to a penalty shoot-out. Albion missed two penalties, while Colchester youngster Phil Bloss scored the decisive spot kick to win the competition.

Although early favourites for promotion, a club debt of over £21,000 meant that manager Dick Graham needed to inject youth into his ageing side, bringing apprentices Steve Leslie, Steve Foley, Lindsay Smith, Micky Cook and John McLaughlin to name but a few into the first-team picture during the season. All became regulars but youth alone was not sufficient for Colchester to maintain a promotion push as they finished the season in eleventh position, nine points adrift of promotion.

Meanwhile, Colchester experienced a brief run in the League Cup, defeating Brentford and Swindon Town at Layer Road in the first and second rounds respectively, but were heavily beaten at Blackpool in round three. An early exit in the FA Cup followed. After reaching the quarter-final stage last season, the U's were humbled 4–1 at home to Shrewsbury Town in the first round.

## Players

    As of match played 29 April 1972.

| Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| Barry Smith | GK | Colchester | (1953-03-03)3 March 1953 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | July 1971 | Free transfer |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Richard Bourne | CB | Colchester | (1954-12-09)9 December 1954 (aged 16) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | 3 April 1972 | Free transfer |
| Eric Burgess | FB | Edgware | (1944-10-27)27 October 1944 (aged 26) | 10 | 1 | Plymouth Argyle | December 1970 | Free transfer |
| Micky Cook | FB | Enfield | (1951-04-09)9 April 1951 (aged 20) | 61 | 0 | Orient | 1 March 1969 | Free transfer |
| Brian Hall | LB | Burbage | (1939-03-09)9 March 1939 (aged 32) | 305 | 31 | Mansfield Town | March 1965 | Free transfer |
| Bobby Howlett | CB | West Ham | (1948-12-12)12 December 1948 (aged 22) | 18 | 0 | Southend United | Summer 1968 | Free transfer |
| John McLaughlin | FB | Edmonton | (1954-10-29)29 October 1954 (aged 16) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | 18 March 1972 | Free transfer |
| Lindsay Smith | CB | Enfield | (1954-09-18)18 September 1954 (aged 16) | 1 | 0 | Apprentice | 20 April 1971 | Free transfer |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Phil Bloss | MF | Colchester | (1953-01-16)16 January 1953 (aged 18) | 1 | 1 | Apprentice | January 1971 | Free transfer |
| Steve Foley | MF | Clacton-on-Sea | (1953-06-21)21 June 1953 (aged 17) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | July 1969 | Free transfer |
| Steve Leslie | MF | Hornsey | (1952-09-04)4 September 1952 (aged 18) | 2 | 0 | Apprentice | 20 April 1971 | Free transfer |
| Bobby Mills | MF | Edmonton | (1955-03-16)16 March 1955 (aged 16) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | 4 March 1972 | Free transfer |
| Tony Wingate | MF | Islington | (1955-03-21)21 March 1955 (aged 16) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | 18 March 1972 | Free transfer |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| Brian Gibbs | FW | Gillingham | (1936-10-06)6 October 1936 (aged 34) | 138 | 36 | Gillingham | September 1968 | £8,000 |
| Mick Mahon | WG | Manchester | (1944-09-17)17 September 1944 (aged 26) | 47 | 7 | York City | May 1970 | Free transfer |
| Dave Simmons | FW | Ryde | (1948-10-24)24 October 1948 (aged 22) | 15 | 6 | Aston Villa | 26 December 1970 | £6,000 |

* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

## Transfers

### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| July 1971 | CB | Barry Smith | Apprentice | Free transfer |
| 4 March 1972 | MF | Bobby Mills | Apprentice | Free transfer |
| 18 March 1972 | FB | John McLaughlin | Apprentice | Free transfer |
| 18 March 1972 | MF | Tony Wingate | Apprentice | Free transfer |
| 3 April 1972 | CB | Richard Bourne | Apprentice | Free transfer |

* 1 2 3 4 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| End of season | CB | Trevor Painter | Wealdstone | Released |
| End of season | WG | Ray Whittaker | King's Lynn | Released |
| Summer 1971 | WG | Micky Brown | Wealdstone | Released |
| 31 May 1971 | DF | Adrian Webster | Hillingdon Borough | Released |
| July 1971 | GK | Brian Sherratt | Oxford City | Released |
| 31 July 1971 | FW | Ray Crawford | Durban City | Released |
| 13 November 1971 | GK | Graham Smith | West Bromwich Albion | £11,000 |
| December 1971 | CB | John Kurila | Lincoln City | Free transfer |
| January 1972 | CB | Alan Dennis | Dover | Free transfer |
| January 1972 | WG | Brian Owen | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Player-coach |
| March 1972 | FB | John Gilchrist | Tonbridge | Player-coach |
| March 1972 | MF | Ken Jones | Margate | Released |
| 31 March 1972 | FB | Bobby Cram | Royal Canada | Free transfer |
| 3 April 1972 | MF | Brian Lewis | Portsmouth | £8,500 |
| 24 April 1972 | CB | Brian Garvey | Bedford Town | Player-manager |

* Total incoming: ~ £19,500
* 1 2 3 4 Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

### Loans in

| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | From | End date | Ref. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 26 November 1971 | FB | | Charlie Woods | Watford | 18 December 1972 | |
| March 1972 | MF | | David Burnside | Bristol City | 29 April 1972 | |

* 1 2 Loan start and end dates refer to the date of the player's first and final games for the club

## Match details

### Fourth 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 | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | H | A |
| Result | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | D | L | W | W | W | W | L | D | D | D | W | D | L | D | W | D | L | D | W | L | D | W | L | W | W | L | L | L | W | W | L | L | W | W | D | L | W | L | W |
| Position | 20 | 6 | 20 | 22 | 14 | 22 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 |

**League table**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Derby County (C) | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 69 | 33 | 2.091 | 58 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Leeds United | 42 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 73 | 31 | 2.355 | 57 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 3 | Liverpool | 42 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 64 | 30 | 2.133 | 57 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Manchester City | 42 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 77 | 45 | 1.711 | 57 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Arsenal | 42 | 22 | 8 | 12 | 58 | 40 | 1.450 | 52 | |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 63 | 42 | 1.500 | 51 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 7 | Chelsea | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 58 | 49 | 1.184 | 48 | |
| 8 | Manchester United | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 69 | 61 | 1.131 | 48 | |
| 9 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 65 | 57 | 1.140 | 47 | Qualification for the Watney Cup |
| 10 | Sheffield United | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 61 | 60 | 1.017 | 46 | Qualification for the Watney Cup |
| 11 | Newcastle United | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 49 | 52 | 0.942 | 41 | |
| 12 | Leicester City | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 41 | 46 | 0.891 | 39 | |
| 13 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 39 | 53 | 0.736 | 38 | |
| 14 | West Ham United | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 47 | 51 | 0.922 | 36 | |
| 15 | Everton | 42 | 9 | 18 | 15 | 37 | 48 | 0.771 | 36 | |
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 42 | 54 | 0.778 | 35 | |
| 17 | Stoke City | 42 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 39 | 56 | 0.696 | 35 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 18 | Coventry City | 42 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 44 | 67 | 0.657 | 33 | |
| 19 | Southampton | 42 | 12 | 7 | 23 | 52 | 80 | 0.650 | 31 | |
| 20 | Crystal Palace | 42 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 39 | 65 | 0.600 | 29 | |
| 21 | Nottingham Forest (R) | 42 | 8 | 9 | 25 | 47 | 81 | 0.580 | 25 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Huddersfield Town (R) | 42 | 6 | 13 | 23 | 27 | 59 | 0.458 | 25 | Relegation to the Second Division |

* ↑ Leeds United qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as the 1971-72 FA Cup winners.
* ↑ Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the UEFA Cup as the 1971-72 UEFA Cup winners.
* ↑ Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield United qualified for the Watney Cup as the two teams with the most goals that hadn't already qualified for a European competition.

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 | Bury | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 73 | 59 | 1.237 | 50 |
| 10 | Cambridge United | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 62 | 60 | 1.033 | 48 |
| 11 | Colchester United | 46 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 70 | 69 | 1.014 | 48 |
| 12 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 56 | 63 | 0.889 | 46 |
| 13 | Gillingham | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 61 | 67 | 0.910 | 45 |

## Squad statistics

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Fourth Division | Fourth Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Watney Cup | Watney Cup |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | ENG | Barry Smith | 31 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Richard Bourne | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Eric Burgess | 47 | 8 | 41 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Micky Cook | 40 | 1 | 36+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Brian Hall | 41 | 4 | 36+2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | John McLaughlin | 9 | 0 | 8+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Lindsay Smith | 18 | 3 | 14+4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Phil Bloss | 22 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Steve Foley | 17 | 4 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Steve Leslie | 45 | 13 | 40+1 | 13 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Bobby Mills | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Tony Wingate | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Brian Gibbs | 40 | 5 | 30+3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Mick Mahon | 49 | 12 | 41+1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| | FW | ENG | Dave Simmons | 28 | 4 | 20+3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||||||
| | GK | ENG | Graham Smith | 22 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Bobby Cram | 42 | 0 | 35+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Brian Garvey | 39 | 1 | 31+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | John Gilchrist | 19 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | John Kurila | 11 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Charlie Woods | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | David Burnside | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ken Jones | 21 | 2 | 13+4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Brian Lewis | 37 | 23 | 30 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| | FW | ENG | Ray Crawford | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Brian Owen | 13 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Name | Fourth Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Watney Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | MF | Brian Lewis | 15 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 23 |
| 2 | MF | Steve Leslie | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 3 | WG | Mick Mahon | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| 4 | FB | Eric Burgess | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | FW | Brian Gibbs | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 6 | MF | Steve Foley | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | FB | Brian Hall | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | FW | Dave Simmons | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | CB | Lindsay Smith | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | MF | Ken Jones | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | CB | John Kurila | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | MF | Phil Bloss | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | FB | Micky Cook | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | CB | Brian Garvey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Own goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | | TOTALS | 70 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 85 |

### Disciplinary record

| Position | Name | Fourth Division | Fourth Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Watney Cup | Watney Cup | Total | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| FW | Brian Gibbs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FB | Micky Cook | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| CB | Brian Garvey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | Brian Lewis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FB | John Gilchrist | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Ken Jones | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| CB | John Kurila | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Steve Leslie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| WG | Mick Mahon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | TOTALS | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.

| Place | Player | Fourth Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Watney Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Barry Smith | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 1 | Graham Smith | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| | TOTALS | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 |

### Player debuts

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

| Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| GK | Barry Smith | 28 August 1971 | Bury | Gigg Lane |
| FB | Charlie Woods | 26 November 1971 | Exeter City | Layer Road |
| MF | Steve Foley | 26 November 1971 | Exeter City | Layer Road |
| MF | Bobby Mills | 4 March 1972 | Brentford | Griffin Park |
| MF | David Burnside | 11 March 1972 | Aldershot | Layer Road |
| FB | John McLaughlin | 18 March 1972 | Hartlepool | Victoria Park |
| MF | Tony Wingate | 18 March 1972 | Hartlepool | Victoria Park |
| CB | Richard Bourne | 3 April 1972 | Chester | Sealand Road |
