Colchester United

1967–68 season
Chairman	Harold Moore (until January) Arthur Neville (from January)[1]
Manager	Neil Franklin
Stadium	Layer Road
Third Division	22nd (relegated)
FA Cup	3rd round (eliminated by West Bromwich Albion)
League Cup	1st round (eliminated by Brighton & Hove Albion)
Top goalscorer	League: Reg Stratton (9) All: Reg Stratton (11)
Highest home attendance	15,981 v West Bromwich Albion, 27 January 1968[2]
Lowest home attendance	2,483 v Peterborough United, 11 May 1968[3]
Average home league attendance	4,591[4]
Biggest win	2–0 v Bristol Rovers, 23 December 1967 v Chelmsford City, 6 January 1968
Biggest defeat	0–5 v Barrow, 13 November 1967
Home colours
← 1966–67 1968–69 →

The 1967–68 season was Colchester United's 26th season in their history and their second successive season in the 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.

Colchester were relegated to the Fourth Division after a two–year stay in the Third Division. They succumbed following 15 defeats in 22 games, recording just one win during this time. Manager Neil Franklin was sacked two days after the season ending 5–1 home defeat by Peterborough United. They fared better in the FA Cup, earning a third round replay against First Division West Bromwich Albion where they were defeated 4–0, but exited the League Cup in the first round, beaten by Brighton & Hove Albion by the same scoreline.

Colchester's league and FA Cup form contrasted during the 1967–68 season. A trip to Torquay United in the first round of the Cup saw the U's earn a replay at home, where they won 2–1. Essex rivals Chelmsford City were beaten 2–0 in the second round, a joint–best result for the campaign for Colchester. Layer Road then played host to First Division West Bromwich Albion in front of a crowd just short of 16,000. With the score at 1–1, both goalscorer Reg Stratton and John Mansfield had goals ruled out for infringements late on as the tie went to a replay. The U's lost 4–0 at The Hawthorns to the eventual Cup winners.

With the attention on Colchester's cup run, their league form had dropped significantly. After challenging for the promotion positions, Colchester lost 15 of their remaining 22 games after Boxing Day, winning just once. A new all-time record low attendance of 2,483 watched the final day 5–1 defeat by Peterborough United at Layer Road.

With Colchester relegated, and their third relegation in eight seasons, manager Neil Franklin was sacked two days after the season-ending defeat to Peterborough.^[5]

As of match played 11 May 1968.^[6]

Name	Position	Nationality	Place of birth	Date of birth	Apps	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Ernie Adams	GK		Hackney	(1948-01-17)17 January 1948 (aged 19)	0	0	Arsenal	1 July 1967	Free transfer
Alan Buck	GK		Colchester	(1946-08-25)25 August 1946 (aged 20)	37	0	Amateur	July 1963	Free transfer
Defenders
Alan Dennis	CB		Colchester	(1951-02-22)22 February 1951 (aged 16)	0	0	Apprentice	April 1967	Free transfer
Duncan Forbes	CB		Edinburgh	(1941-06-19)19 June 1941 (aged 25)	236	2	Musselburgh Athletic	4 September 1961	Nominal
Brian Hall	LB		Burbage	(1939-03-09)9 March 1939 (aged 28)	108	14	Mansfield Town	March 1965	Free transfer
Mick Loughton	CB		Colchester	(1942-12-08)8 December 1942 (aged 24)	102	2	Amateur	August 1961	Free transfer
Dennis Mochan	FB		Falkirk	(1935-12-12)12 December 1935 (aged 31)	35	0	Nottingham Forest	24 September 1966[a]	Free transfer
Bob Walker	CB		Wallsend	(1942-07-23)23 July 1942 (aged 24)	0	0	Bournemouth	7 October 1967[a]	Free transfer
Midfielders
Bobby Blackwood	MF		Edinburgh	(1934-08-20)20 August 1934 (aged 32)	67	5	Ipswich Town	1 June 1965	Free transfer
David Buck	WH		Colchester	(1946-08-25)25 August 1946 (aged 18)	1	0	Apprentice	16 October 1965[a]	Free transfer
Roger Joslyn	MF		Colchester	(1950-05-07)7 May 1950 (aged 17)	0	0	Apprentice	23 December 1967[a]	Free transfer
John Mansfield	MF		Colchester	(1946-09-13)13 September 1946 (aged 20)	16	3	Apprentice	August 1964	Free transfer
Derek Trevis	MF		Birmingham	(1942-09-09)9 September 1942 (aged 24)	155	11	Aston Villa	7 March 1964[a]	Free transfer
Forwards
Peter Barlow	FW		Portsmouth	(1950-01-09)9 January 1950 (aged 17)	4	0	Apprentice	September 1965	Free transfer
Peter Bullock	FW		Stoke-on-Trent	(1941-11-17)17 November 1941 (aged 25)	79	26	Southend United	30 October 1965[a]	Nominal
Ken Hodgson	FW		Newcastle upon Tyne	(1942-01-19)19 January 1942 (aged 25)	47	16	Bournemouth	20 August 1966[a]	£4,000
Johnny Martin	WG		Ashington	(1946-12-04)4 December 1946 (aged 20)	49	8	Aston Villa	20 August 1966[a]	Free transfer
Jim Oliver	FW		Falkirk	(1941-12-03)3 December 1941 (aged 25)	0	0	Brighton & Hove Albion	January 1968	£2,000
Terry Price	WG		Colchester	(1945-10-11)11 October 1945 (aged 21)	0	0	Orient	16 September 1967	£2,000
Alan Shires	WG		Leigh-on-Sea	(1948-06-29)29 June 1948 (aged 18)	17	2	Southend United	27 August 1966[a]	Free transfer
Reg Stratton	FW		Kingsley	(1939-07-10)10 July 1939 (aged 27)	88	45	Fulham	28 May 1965	Free transfer

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1 July 1967	GK		Ernie Adams	Arsenal	Free transfer	[7]
23 December 1967	MF		Roger Joslyn	Apprentice	Free transfer	[8][a]
9 September 1967	FB		John Fowler	Free agent	Free transfer	[9]
16 September 1967	FW		Tommy McKechnie	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	Free transfer	[10][a]
16 September 1967	WG		Terry Price	Orient	£2,000	[11]
7 October 1967	CB		Bob Walker	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	Free transfer	[12][a]
January 1968	FW		Jim Oliver	Brighton & Hove Albion	£2,000	[13]

• Total spending: ~ £4,000

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
End of season	GK		Sandy Kennon	Lowestoft Town	Released	[14]
End of season	FB		David Raine	Burton Albion	Released	[15]
Summer 1967	FB		Ray Price	Chelmsford City	Released	[16]
July 1967	CF		Brian Westlake	Royal Daring Club de Bruxelles	£5,000	[17]
13 November 1967	FB		John Fowler	Free agent	Released	[9]
28 February 1968	MF		Dave Lamont	Eastern Gas	Released	[18][a]
22 April 1968	FW		Tommy McKechnie	Bury Town	Free transfer	[10][a]

• Total incoming: ~ £5,000

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Promotion or relegation
20	Mansfield Town	46	12	13	21	51	67	0.761	37
21	Grimsby Town (R)	46	14	9	23	52	69	0.754	37	Relegation to 1968–69 Fourth Division
22	Colchester United (R)	46	9	15	22	50	87	0.575	33
23	Scunthorpe United (R)	46	10	12	24	56	87	0.644	32
24	Peterborough United (R)	46	20	10	16	79	67	1.179	31[a]

^[6][19]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Third Division		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	ENG	Ernie Adams	50	0	44	0	5	0	1	0
	GK	ENG	Alan Buck	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	SCO	Duncan Forbes	52	1	46	1	5	0	1	0
	DF	ENG	Brian Hall	46	2	41	2	5	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	Mick Loughton	31	5	28+1	5	1	0	1	0
	DF	SCO	Dennis Mochan	46	2	40	2	5	0	1	0
	DF	ENG	Bob Walker	19	0	13+4	0	0+2	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Bobby Blackwood	50	3	43+1	3	5	0	1	0
	MF	ENG	Roger Joslyn	12	0	10+2	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	John Mansfield	21	0	13+2	0	5	0	1	0
	MF	ENG	Derek Trevis	51	4	45	2	5	2	1	0
	FW	ENG	Peter Barlow	18	5	14+2	4	2	1	0	0
	FW	ENG	Peter Bullock	23	7	20	7	1+1	0	1	0
	FW	ENG	Ken Hodgson	13	3	11+1	3	0	0	1	0
	FW	ENG	Johnny Martin	31	3	25	3	5	0	1	0
	FW	SCO	Jim Oliver	15	0	14+1	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Terry Price	39	3	35	3	4	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Alan Shires	8	1	8	1	0	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Reg Stratton	33	11	29	9	3	2	1	0
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
	DF	SCO	John Fowler	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Dave Lamont	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	SCO	Tommy McKechnie	27	6	22+1	5	4	1	0	0

^[19]

Place	Nationality	Position	Name	Third Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1		FW	Reg Stratton	9	2	0	11
2		FW	Peter Bullock	7	0	0	7
3		FW	Tommy McKechnie	5	1	0	6
4		FW	Peter Barlow	4	1	0	5
		CB	Mick Loughton	5	0	0	5
6		MF	Derek Trevis	2	2	0	4
7		MF	Bobby Blackwood	3	0	0	3
		FW	Ken Hodgson	3	0	0	3
		WG	Johnny Martin	3	0	0	3
		WG	Terry Price	3	0	0	3
11		LB	Brian Hall	2	0	0	2
		FB	Dennis Mochan	2	0	0	2
13		CB	Duncan Forbes	1	0	0	1
		WG	Alan Shires	1	0	0	1
			Own goals	0	0	0	0
			TOTALS	50	6	0	56

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.^[20]

Place	Nationality	Player	Third Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1		Ernie Adams	6	1	0	7
		TOTALS	6	1	0	7

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.^[21]

Position	Nationality	Player	Date	Opponent	Ground	Notes
GK		Ernie Adams	19 August 1967	Oldham Athletic	Layer Road
FB		John Fowler	9 September 1967	Oxford United	Manor Ground	[22][a]
FW		Tommy McKechnie	16 September 1967	Bury	Layer Road
WG		Terry Price	16 September 1967	Bury	Layer Road
CB		Bob Walker	7 October 1967	Brighton & Hove Albion	Layer Road
MF		Dave Lamont	4 November 1967	Torquay United	Layer Road
MF		Roger Joslyn	23 December 1967	Bristol Rovers	Layer Road
FW		Jim Oliver	24 February 1968	Brighton & Hove Albion	Goldstone Ground

• List of Colchester United F.C. seasons

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.

Websites

• "Colchester United football club match record: 1967". 11v11.com. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
• "1960/61 to 1969/70" (PDF). Watford Football Club archive. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
• "First team 1967–68 – Football League: Division Three". Go Go Go County. Retrieved 28 January 2017.