1975–76 Colchester United F.C. season
# 1975–76 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1975–76 season was Colchester United's 34th season in their history and their second consecutive 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.

With Jim Smith departing for Second Division Blackburn Rovers in the summer, his former Colchester United coach Bobby Roberts was appointed manager in his place. A succession of poor results spelt relegation for Colchester, while they exited both cup competitions in the first round.

## Season overview

Jim Smith was prized away from Colchester by Second Division Blackburn Rovers over the summer. His coach Bobby Roberts was appointed manager but his early days in charge proved ominous for the remainder of the season. A winless first five games was only worsened by Smith returned to sign top scorer Bobby Svarc for £25,000 from the cash-strapped U's.

Colchester suffered defeat at the hands of non-League opposition in the FA Cup once again after being taken to a replay and then extra time by Dover. They were soundly beaten 4–1 at the end of extra time. They also lost out in the League Cup first round 4–3 on aggregate against Crystal Palace. Despite this, Colchester rallied for a mid-season resurgence of form to climb to twelfth position in the league table, but some crushing defeats including 6–1 at Chesterfield and 6–0 at Brighton & Hove Albion put the U's back in the relegation mire. Relegation was confirmed as Colchester finished 22nd position in the table, with Steve Leslie the club's top scorer with a record low of just six league goals.

## Players

    As of match played 26 April 1976.

| Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| Lee Smelt | GK | Edmonton | (1958-03-13)13 March 1958 (aged 17) | 0 | 0 | Bishop's Stortford | Summer 1975 | Free transfer |
| Mike Walker | GK | Colwyn Bay | (1945-11-28)28 November 1945 (aged 29) | 102 | 0 | Watford | July 1973 | £4,000 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Stewart Bright | FB | Colchester | (1957-10-13)13 October 1957 (aged 17) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | Summer 1974 | Free transfer |
| Micky Cook | FB | Enfield | (1951-04-09)9 April 1951 (aged 24) | 246 | 9 | Orient | 1 March 1969 | Free transfer |
| Barry Dominey | CB | Edmonton | (1955-10-21)21 October 1955 (aged 19) | 35 | 3 | Enfield WMC | September 1973 | Free transfer |
| Derek Harrison | CB | Littlethorpe | (1950-02-09)9 February 1950 (aged 25) | 0 | 0 | Torquay United | Summer 1975 | Free transfer |
| Mick Packer | FB | Willesden | (1950-04-20)20 April 1950 (aged 25) | 72 | 1 | Watford | July 1973 | Free transfer |
| Lindsay Smith | CB | Enfield | (1954-09-18)18 September 1954 (aged 20) | 138 | 6 | Apprentice | 20 April 1971 | Free transfer |
| Johnny Williams | FB | Tottenham | (1947-03-26)26 March 1947 (aged 28) | 0 | 0 | Watford | June 1976 | Undisclosed |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Ray Bunkell | MF | Edmonton | (1949-09-18)18 September 1949 (aged 25) | 40 | 1 | Swindon Town | December 1973 | Part exchange |
| Paul Dyer | MF | Leicester | (1953-01-24)24 January 1953 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | Notts County | Summer 1975 | Undisclosed |
| Steve Foley | MF | Clacton-on-Sea | (1953-06-21)21 June 1953 (aged 21) | 109 | 24 | Apprentice | July 1969 | Free transfer |
| Steve Leslie | MF | Hornsey | (1952-09-04)4 September 1952 (aged 22) | 146 | 27 | Apprentice | 20 April 1971 | Free transfer |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| Ian Allinson | WG | Hitchin | (1957-10-01)1 October 1957 (aged 17) | 1 | 0 | Apprentice | Summer 1974 | Free transfer |
| Terry Anderson | WG | Woking | (1944-03-11)11 March 1944 (aged 31) | 4 | 0 | Baltimore Comets | 23 August 1975 | Free transfer |
| John Froggatt | FW | Stanton Hill | (1945-12-13)13 December 1945 (aged 29) | 54 | 18 | Boston United | Summer 1974 | £6,000 |
| Colin Garwood | FW | Heacham | (1949-06-29)29 June 1949 (aged 25) | 0 | 0 | Huddersfield Town | February 1976 | £4,000 |
| Bobby Gough | FW | Ladywood | (1949-07-20)20 July 1949 (aged 25) | 0 | 0 | Southport | January 1976 | £7,000 |

* 1 2 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club
* ↑ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game in his second spell for the club

## Transfers

### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Summer 1975 | GK | Lee Smelt | Bishop's Stortford | Free transfer |
| Summer 1975 | CB | Derek Harrison | Torquay United | Free transfer |
| Summer 1975 | MF | Paul Dyer | Notts County | Undisclosed |
| June 1975 | FB | Johnny Williams | Watford | Undisclosed |
| 23 August 1975 | WG | Terry Anderson | Baltimore Comets | Free transfer |
| January 1976 | FW | Bobby Gough | Southport | £7,000 |
| February 1976 | FW | Colin Garwood | Huddersfield Town | £4,000 |

* Total spending: ~ £11,000
* ↑ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game in his second spell for the club

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| End of season | CB | Ray Harford | Romford | Player-coach |
| Summer 1975 | MF | Jimmy Lindsay | Hereford United | £13,000 |
| 18 August 1975 | MF | Bobby Roberts | Colchester United | Manager |
| October 1975 | FW | Bobby Svarc | Blackburn Rovers | £25,000 |
| January 1976 | MF | Phil Thomas | Free agent | Retired |

* Total incoming: ~ £38,000

### Loans in

| Date | Position | Name | From | End date |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 16 August 1975 | FB | Jon O'Donnell | Cambridge United | 16 August 1975 |
| January 1976 | FW | Billy Telford | Peterborough United | 7 February 1976 |
| 24 January 1976 | GK | Len Bond | Bristol City | 14 February 1976 |
| February 1976 | FW | Colin Garwood | Huddersfield Town | February 1976 |

* 1 2 Loan start and end dates refer to the date of the player's first and final games for the club
* ↑ Loan end date 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 | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | A |
| Result | L | L | L | L | D | W | L | W | D | W | D | D | W | D | L | D | L | W | W | D | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | W | L | D | W | D | L | L | D | L | D | D | W | W | D | D |
| Position | 15 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 24 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 19 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 22 | 22 |

**League table**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 20 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 48 | 59 | 0.814 | 40 | |
| 21 | Aldershot | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 59 | 75 | 0.787 | 39 | Relegated |
| 22 | Colchester United | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 41 | 65 | 0.631 | 38 | Relegated |
| 23 | Southend United | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 65 | 75 | 0.867 | 37 | Relegated |
| 24 | Halifax Town | 46 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 41 | 61 | 0.672 | 35 | Relegated |

## 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 | 47 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Stewart Bright | 20 | 0 | 18+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Micky Cook | 43 | 1 | 39 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Barry Dominey | 42 | 2 | 32+6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Derek Harrison | 8 | 0 | 5+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Mick Packer | 46 | 3 | 44 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Lindsay Smith | 45 | 6 | 39+2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| | DF | ENG | Johnny Williams | 39 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ray Bunkell | 45 | 4 | 40+1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Paul Dyer | 40 | 2 | 34+2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Steve Foley | 30 | 5 | 26+3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Steve Leslie | 41 | 7 | 36+3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Ian Allinson | 5 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Terry Anderson | 18 | 0 | 13+3 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | John Froggatt | 44 | 5 | 41 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Colin Garwood | 15 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Bobby Gough | 22 | 5 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||||
| | GK | ENG | Len Bond | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Jon O'Donnell | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Bobby Roberts | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Phil Thomas | 10 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Bobby Svarc | 10 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| | FW | ENG | Billy Telford | 2 | 1 | 1+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Name | Third Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | MF | Steve Leslie | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | CB | Lindsay Smith | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | MF | Steve Foley | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | FW | John Froggatt | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | FW | Bobby Gough | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | FW | Bobby Svarc | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 | MF | Ray Bunkell | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | FB | Mick Packer | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | CB | Barry Dominey | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | MF | Paul Dyer | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | FW | Colin Garwood | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | FB | Micky Cook | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | FW | Billy Telford | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Own goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 41 | 4 | 3 | 48 |

### Disciplinary record

| Position | Name | Third Division | Third Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| MF | Steve Foley | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| FW | John Froggatt | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| FB | Micky Cook | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FB | Johnny Williams | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | TOTALS | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.

| Place | Nationality | Player | Third Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | | Mike Walker | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| | | TOTALS | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### Player debuts

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

| Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| MF | Paul Dyer | 16 August 1975 | Preston North End | Deepdale |
| CB | Derek Harrison | 16 August 1975 | Preston North End | Deepdale |
| FB | Jon O'Donnell | 16 August 1975 | Preston North End | Deepdale |
| FB | Johnny Williams | 23 August 1975 | Mansfield Town | Layer Road |
| FB | Stewart Bright | 8 November 1975 | Shrewsbury Town | Layer Road |
| FW | Bobby Gough | 10 January 1976 | Crystal Palace | Layer Road |
| GK | Len Bond | 24 January 1976 | Hereford United | Layer Road |
| FW | Billy Telford | 24 January 1976 | Hereford United | Layer Road |
| FW | Colin Garwood | 14 February 1976 | Shrewsbury Town | Gay Meadow |
