List of Colchester United F.C. records and statistics
Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester , Essex . Formed in 1937, the club competed in the Southern Football League from their foundation until 1950,[ 1] when they were elected to the Football League .[ 2] The club spent eleven years in the Third Division South and Third Division following the league's reorganisation in 1958, with a best finish of third place in 1957 , one point behind rivals Ipswich Town and Torquay United .[ 3] [ 4] Colchester suffered their first relegation in 1961 as they finished 23rd in the Third Division,[ 5] but spent just one season in the Fourth Division as they were promoted in second position, behind Millwall by just one point.[ 6] This trend of relegation followed by promotion continued over the next few decades, before the club were eventually relegated from the Football League to the Conference in 1990.[ 7]
Player-manager Roy McDonough guided the club back to the Football League in 1992, winning the non-league double of the Conference title and the FA Trophy .[ 8] The club then won promotion to the Second Division in 1998 with a 1–0 Third Division play-off final win at Wembley against Torquay United.[ 9] The club were again earned promotion in the 2005–06 season under the stewardship of Phil Parkinson , gaining the opportunity to play second-tier football for the first time in their history. After two seasons in the Championship , Colchester were relegated back to League One , where they currently play.[ 8]
This list encompasses all major honours won by Colchester United, the records set by the managers, the players, and the club. The player records section includes details of the club's leading goalscorers and those who have made most appearances in first-team competitions, alongside the record transfer fees paid and received by the club, and the fee progression. Attendance records at Colchester's Layer Road and Colchester Community Stadium are also included in the list.
Honours
Colchester United have won one major honour in the Football League , winning the Third Division play-off final in the 1997–98 season , when they defeated Torquay United 1–0 at Wembley after finishing fourth in the league, one point away from automatic promotion .[ 10] [ 11] They have achieved promotion on six other occasions, most recently in 2005–06 , when they finished as runners-up in League One to Southend United , thus earning promotion to the Championship for the first time in their history.[ 10]
Colchester United's honours and achievements include the following:[ 10]
The Football League
Football Conference
Southern Football League
Domestic cup competition
Player records
Appearances
Youngest first-team debut: Lindsay Smith , 16 years 214 days (vs. Grimsby Town , Fourth Division , 20 April 1971)[ 18]
Oldest first-team debut: Bob Gregg , 41 years, 272 days (vs. Wisbech Town , Southern League , 3 November 1945)[ 18]
Oldest Football League first-team debut: Teddy Sheringham , 41 years, 131 days (vs. Sheffield United , Championship , 11 August 2007)[ 18]
Most appearances
Competitive matches only. [ 19] [ 20] [ 21] [ 22] [ 23] [ 24] [ 25]
Goalscorers
Most goals (league): Martyn King , 131 (1959–1965)[ 26]
Most goals (all competitions): Tony Adcock , 149 (1981–1987, 1995–1998)[ 27]
Most goals in a season (league): Bobby Hunt , 37 (1961–62 )[ 26]
Most goals in a season (all competitions): Arthur Pritchard , 44 (1938–38 )[ 28]
Most goals in a league match scored: Chris Iwelumo (vs. Hull City , 2006), Bobby Hunt (vs. Doncaster Rovers , 1962 & vs. Bradford City , 1961), Martyn King (vs. Bradford City , 1961), 4 goals[ 26]
Top scorer with fewest goals in a season[B] : Steve Foley , 7 (1975–76 )[ 28]
Most hat-tricks: 5 , Arthur Pritchard (18 September 1937 – 1 April 1939), Arthur Turner (9 November 1946 – 10 March 1949), Martyn King (26 September 1959 – 10 November 1962), Tony Adcock (21 January 1983 – 26 September 1995)[ 29]
Overall scorers
Players shown in bold are current Colchester United players and statistics will be subject to change.
Last updated 2 June 2011
Award winners
PFA Team of the Year
The following players have been included in the PFA Team of the Year while playing for Colchester United:[ 31] [ 32]
Player of the Year and Seasonal Awards
The following players have been awarded the official Colchester United Player of the Year. Also included are seasonal top goalscorers and most overall appearances since the Player of the Year award's inception in 1965:
Internationals
Transfers
Highest transfer fees paid
Player
From
Fee[ 34]
Date
1
Steven Gillespie
Cheltenham Town
£400,000
July 2008
2
Chris Coyne
Luton Town
£350,000
January 2008
3
Clive Platt
MK Dons
£300,000
July 2007
=4
Dean Hammond
Brighton & Hove Albion
£250,000
January 2008
=4
Mark Yeates
Tottenham Hotspur
£250,000
July 2007
6
Joël Thomas
Hamilton Academical
£125,000
July 2009
=7
Simon Hackney
Carlisle United
£100,000
January 2009
=7
Philip Ifil
Tottenham Hotspur
£100,000
January 2008
=7
Matt Lockwood
Nottingham Forest
£100,000
June 2008
=7
Marc Tierney
Shrewsbury Town
£100,000
January 2009
Progression of record fee paid
Date
Player
Bought from
Fee[ 34]
August 1937
Alec Cheyne
Chelsea
£3,000
November 1957
John Evans
Liverpool
£4,000
November 1957
Neil Langman
Plymouth Argyle
£6,750
August 1973
Paul Aimson
Bournemouth
£8,000
December 1977
Eddie Rowles
Darlington
£15,000
October 1980
Kevin Bremner
Keith
£25,000
August 1987
Dale Tempest
Lokeren
£40,000
March 1998
Neil Gregory
Ipswich Town
£50,000
July 2007
Mark Yeates
Tottenham Hotspur
£250,000
July 2007
Clive Platt
MK Dons
£300,000
January 2008
Chris Coyne
Luton Town
£350,000
July 2008
Steven Gillespie
Cheltenham Town
£400,000
Highest transfer fees received
Player
From
Fee[ 35]
Date
1
Greg Halford
Reading
£2,500,000
January 2007
2
Lomana LuaLua
Newcastle United
£2,250,000
September 2000
=3
Jamie Cureton
Norwich City
£750,000
June 2007
=3
Craig Fagan
Hull City
£750,000
February 2005
5
Kevin Lisbie
Ipswich Town
£600,000
July 2008
=6
Neil Danns
Birmingham City
£500,000
June 2006
=6
George Elokobi
Wolverhampton Wanderers
£500,000
January 2008
=8
Wayne Brown
Hull City
£450,000
July 2007
=8
Mark Yeates
Middlesbrough
£450,000
July 2009
10
Dean Hammond
Southampton
£400,000
August 2009
Progression of record fee received
Date
Player
Bought from
Fee[ 35]
October 1937
Reg Smith
Wolverhampton Wanderers
£500
January 1952
Vic Keeble
Newcastle United
£15,000
February 1964
Bob Hunt
Northampton Town
£20,000
November 1973
John McLaughlin
Swindon Town
£25,000
April 1980
Steve Dowman
Wrexham
£75,000
January 1981
Trevor Lee
Gillingham
£90,000
December 1988
Rudi Hedman
Crystal Palace
£100,000
February 1989
Paul McGee
Wimbledon
£150,000
September 1996
Mark Kinsella
Charlton Athletic
£300,000
September 2000
Lomana LuaLua
Newcastle United
£2,250,000
January 2007
Greg Halford
Reading
£2,500,000
Managers
The following list indicates Colchester United managers since 1937:[ 36] [ 37]
Years with Club
Name
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Win %
Notes
1937–1939
Ted Davis
128
80
17
31
327
155
+172
62.5%
Colchester United's first ever manager
1945–1946
Syd Fieldus
30
10
7
13
49
69
-20
33.3%
1946–1948
Ted Fenton
88
48
17
23
214
135
+79
54.5%
1948–1953
Jimmy Allen
249
108
59
82
433
380
+53
43.4%
1953–1955
Jack Butler
77
16
19
42
85
138
-53
20.8%
1955–1963
Benny Fenton
427
166
107
154
736
733
+3
38.9%
1963–1968
Neil Franklin
234
72
62
100
313
383
-70
30.8%
1968–1972
Dick Graham
216
93
51
72
322
288
+34
43.1%
1972
Dennis Mochan
5
0
2
3
2
8
-6
0.0%
Caretaker manager
1972–1975
Jim Smith
140
55
36
49
198
167
+31
39.3%
1975–1982
Bobby Roberts
375
143
108
124
504
451
+53
38.1%
1982–1983
Allan Hunter
36
17
7
12
51
39
+12
47.2%
1983–1986
Cyril Lea
173
71
46
56
294
243
+51
41.0%
1986–1987
Mike Walker
83
37
16
30
120
102
+18
44.6%
1987–1988
Roger Brown
48
16
12
20
46
68
-22
33.3%
1988–1989 1989–1990
Steve Foley
21
7
5
9
33
34
-1
33.3%
Caretaker manager
1989
Jock Wallace
52
12
16
24
63
87
-24
23.1%
1990
Mick Mills
25
8
3
14
27
37
-10
32.0%
1990–1991
Ian Atkins
51
30
11
10
80
46
+34
58.8%
1991–1994
Roy McDonough
155
69
33
53
271
226
+45
44.5%
1994
George Burley
26
12
6
8
41
38
+3
46.2%
1994–1995
Dale Roberts
5
1
1
3
5
7
-2
20.0%
Caretaker manager
1995–1999
Steve Wignall
218
81
64
73
289
283
+6
37.2%
1999
Mick Wadsworth
24
7
7
10
28
41
-13
29.2%
1999–2003
Steve Whitton
181
52
45
84
224
290
-66
28.7%
Includes time as caretaker
2003–2006
Phil Parkinson
187
80
52
55
256
203
+53
42.8%
2006–2008
Geraint Williams
109
33
30
46
150
165
-15
30.3%
Includes time as caretaker
2008
Kit Symons
5
2
0
3
8
9
-1
40.0%
Caretaker manager
2008–2009
Paul Lambert
42
19
7
16
55
43
+12
45.2%
2009–2010
Aidy Boothroyd
44
19
12
13
56
52
+4
43.2%
2010–2012
John Ward
102
33
35
34
134
148
–14
32.4%
2009, 2012-2014
Joe Dunne
49
17
11
21
85
106
−21
34.6%
Includes time as caretaker
2014-2015
Tony Humes
67
22
15
30
101
126
−25
32.8%
2015
Richard Hall
1
0
0
1
1
5
−4
0.0%
Caretaker manager
2015, 2021, 2022
Wayne Brown
46
14
12
20
50
63
-13
30.4%
Includes time as caretaker
2015-2016
Kevin Keen
24
5
7
12
21
40
−19
20.8%
2016
David Wright
1
0
1
0
2
2
0
0.0%
Caretaker manager
2016, 2020-2021, 2022
Steve Ball
36
8
13
15
41
49
-8
22.2%
Includes time as caretaker
2016-2020
John McGreal
202
76
55
71
289
264
25
37.6%
2021-2022
Hayden Mullins
40
11
11
18
36
50
-14
27.5%
Includes time as caretaker
2022-2023
Matt Bloomfield
28
9
6
13
28
31
−3
32.1%
2023
Ross Embleton
2
0
0
2
0
3
−3
0.0%
Caretaker manager
2023
Ben Garner
24
6
6
12
31
36
−5
25.0%
2023-2024
Matthew Etherington
15
5
1
9
18
29
-11
33.3%
Includes time as caretaker
2024-
Danny Cowley
Team records
Matches
Record wins
Record defeats
Colchester United 0–5 Luton Town , Division Two , 21 April 2003[ 43] [ 48]
Colchester United 0–5 Norwich City , League One , 16 January 2010[ 43] [ 49]
Colchester United 1–6 Stevenage F.C , League One , 26 December 2011[ 43] [ 50]
Sequences
Full league sequence
Longest winning streak: 7 matches [ 43]
29 November 1968 – 1 February 1969
31 December 2005 – 7 February 2006
Longest drawing streak: 6 matches , 21 March 1977 – 11 April 1977[ 43]
Longest losing streak: 9 matches [ 43]
21 November 2012 – 12 January 2013
31 October 2015 – 28 December 2015
Longest clean sheet streak: 8 matches , 7 March 1992 – 22 April 1992[ 43]
Longest streak failing to score: 5 matches [ 43]
7 April 1981 – 25 April 1981
21 April 2003 – 15 August 2003
11 February 2006 – 11 March 2006
Longest streak without a win: 20 matches , 2 March 1968 – 31 August 1968[ 43]
Longest streak without a draw: 24 matches , 16 October 1976 – 19 March 1977[ 43]
Longest streak without a loss: 20 matches , 22 December 1956 – 19 April 1957[ 43]
Longest streak without a clean sheet: 38 matches , 1 September 2007 – 29[ 43] March 2008
Longest streak without failing to score: 26 matches , 30 April 1991 – 1 January 1992[ 43]
Home league sequences
Longest winning streak: 17 matches , 12 October 1991 – 15 August 1992[ 43]
Longest drawing streak: 5 matches [ 43]
26 December 1977 – 25 February 1978
15 April 1978 – 2 September 1978
13 March 2012 – 14 April 2012
Longest losing streak: 6 matches , 13 October 1989 – 16 December 1989[ 43]
Longest clean sheet streak: 9 matches , 1 January 1992 – 20 April 1992[ 43]
Longest streak failing to score: 4 matches , 14 March 2009 – 25 April 2009[ 43]
Longest streak without a win: 11 matches , 2 March 1968 – 31 August 1968[ 43]
Longest streak without a draw: 27 matches , 26 September 1989 – 3 November 1990[ 43]
Longest streak without a loss: 27 matches , 14 April 1956 – 2 September 1957[ 43]
Longest streak without a clean sheet: 23 matches , 9 April 2007 – 18 March 2008[ 43]
Longest streak without failing to score: 33 matches , 21 April 1984 – 18 October 1985[ 43]
Away league sequences
Longest winning streak: 5 matches [ 43]
11 October 1981 – 28 November 1981
3 October 1987 – 6 November 1987
26 December 2022 – 11 February 2023 (Gillingham, Harrogate Town, Rochdale, Hartlepool, Grimsby)
Longest drawing streak: 5 matches , 21 March 1977 – 22 April 1977[ 43]
Longest losing streak: 12 matches , 12 March 1960 – 15 October 1960[ 43]
Longest clean sheet streak: 4 matches , 27 March 1978 – 24 April 1978[ 43]
Longest streak failing to score: 7 matches [ 43]
28 February 1978 – 22 April 1978
12 March 1988 – 2 September 1988
22 November 2003 – 13 March 2004
Longest streak without a win: 19 matches [ 43]
13 September 1950 – 21 April 1951
26 December 1959 – 29 October 1960
Longest streak without a draw: 17 matches , 21 February 1959 – 6 October 1959[ 43]
Longest streak without a loss: 11 matches , 24 August 1991 – 14 December 1991[ 43]
Longest streak without a clean sheet: 33 matches , 19 September 2007 – 12 January 2009[ 43]
Longest streak without failing to score: 16 matches , 18 August 1962 – 27 March 1963[ 43]
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes goals and appearances (including those as a substitute) in the Football League Trophy or Associate Members Cup, FA Trophy , Conference League Cup , Southern League Cup and Watney Cup .
B. ^ Does not include football played during war years (1939–40 to 1945–46).
References
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