Wikipedia

1958–59 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1958–59 season was Colchester United's 17th season in their history and their ninth season in the third tier of English football, the newly formed national Third Division. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup. Colchester reached the fourth round of the FA Cup, beating Bath City, Yeovil Town and Chesterfield on their way to meeting Arsenal. Drawn at home, Colchester held Arsenal to a 2–2 Layer Road draw, but were defeated 4–0 at Highbury in the replay. Colchester finished fifth in the Third Division, nine points shy of promotion.

Colchester United
1958–59 season
ChairmanBill Allen[1]
ManagerBenny Fenton
StadiumLayer Road
Third Division5th
FA Cup4th round
(eliminated by
Arsenal)
Top goalscorerLeague:
Neil Langman (20)
All:
Neil Langman (27)
Highest home attendance16,000
v Arsenal, 24 January 1959[2]
Lowest home attendance4,406
v Notts County, 23 February 1959[3]
Average home league attendance8,357[4]
Biggest win8–2
v Stockport County, 4 October 1958;
7–1
v Yeovil Town, 11 December 1958
Biggest defeat0–4
v Arsenal, 28 January 1959;
0–4
v Brentford, 21 March 1959

Season overview edit

In the new national Third Division, Colchester excelled against their northern counterparts, winning 21 games, more than half of which were clubs previously in the Third Division North. Colchester finished the season in fifth position, just nine points away from Hull City in second place, and ten behind champions Plymouth Argyle. They also earned a club record win when they beat Stockport County 8–2 on 4 October, and a club record away win when they beat Yeovil Town 7–1.

The club's main highlight during the campaign was their FA Cup run, their first venture outside of the first round in six seasons. Colchester defeated old Southern League rivals Bath City and Yeovil Town in the first and second rounds, before seeing off Chesterfield to set up a fourth round tie with Arsenal. For the first time local police set a limit on crowd numbers at Layer Road for the Arsenal game with 16,000 witnessing the 2–2 draw. 62,686 people watched the replay at Highbury in thick fog as the Gunners ran out 4–0 winners.

Both big-money signings from last season, Neil Langman and John Evans, helped repay their transfer fees by scoring 27 and 16 goals respectively. Meanwhile, the proceeds from the Arsenal fixture meant that floodlighting could be installed at Layer Road for the first time.[5]

Players edit

As of match played 4 May 1959.[6]
Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth Apps Goals Signed from Date signed Fee
Goalkeepers
Percy Ames GK   Plymouth (1931-12-13)13 December 1931 (aged 26) 139 0   Tottenham Hotspur 1 May 1955 Free transfer
John Wright GK   Aldershot (1933-08-13)13 August 1933 (aged 24) 4 0   Colchester Casuals 23 May 1952 Free transfer
Defenders
Brian Dobson CB   Colchester (1934-03-01)1 March 1934 (aged 24) 23 0 Amateur January 1956 Free transfer
George Fisher FB   Bermondsey (1925-06-19)19 June 1925 (aged 32) 135 4   Fulham 1 September 1955 £1,000
John Fowler FB   Leith (1933-10-17)17 October 1933 (aged 24) 106 3   Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic 20 August 1955[a] Free transfer
John Laidlaw FB   Aldershot (1936-07-05)5 July 1936 (aged 21) 0 0   Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare June 1957 Free transfer
Alf Marshall FB   Dagenham (1933-05-21)21 May 1933 (aged 25) 0 0   Dagenham 14 October 1957 £25
Chic Milligan CB   Ardrossan (1930-07-26)26 July 1930 (aged 27) 62 1   Ardrossan Winton Rovers 18 August 1956[a] £1,000
John Roe FB   Broxburn (1938-01-07)7 January 1938 (aged 20) 0 0   West Calder United July 1958 Free transfer
Edgar Rumney FB   Abberton (1936-09-15)15 September 1936 (aged 21) 5 0   Colchester Casuals 1 May 1957 Free transfer
Midfielders
Cyril Hammond WH   Woolwich (1927-10-10)10 October 1927 (aged 30) 0 0   Charlton Athletic July 1958 Free transfer
Trevor Harris WH   Colchester (1936-02-06)6 February 1936 (aged 22) 10 0 Amateur July 1951 Free transfer
Ron Hunt WH   Colchester (1933-09-26)26 September 1933 (aged 24) 38 0 Amateur October 1951 Free transfer
Derek Parker WH   Wivenhoe (1926-06-23)23 June 1926 (aged 31) 36 1   West Ham United March 1957 £2,500
Forwards
Russell Blake WG   Colchester (1935-07-24)24 July 1935 (aged 22) 15 2   Dedham Old Boys 8 September 1955[a] Free transfer
John Evans IF   Tilbury (1929-08-28)28 August 1929 (aged 28) 24 7   Liverpool 23 November 1957[a] £4,000
Bobby Hill IF   Edinburgh (1938-06-09)9 June 1938 (aged 19) 54 8   Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare 9 June 1955 Free transfer
Ian Johnstone IF   Galashiels (1939-03-02)2 March 1939 (aged 19) 0 0   Ormiston Primrose 18 April 1959[a] Free transfer
Martyn King CF   Birmingham (1937-08-23)23 August 1937 (aged 20) 3 1 Amateur Summer 1955 Free transfer
Neil Langman CF   Bere Alston (1932-02-21)21 February 1932 (aged 26) 23 8   Plymouth Argyle November 1957 £6,750
Kevin McCurley CF   Consett (1926-04-02)2 April 1926 (aged 32) 218 86   Liverpool June 1951 £750
Sammy McLeod IF   Glasgow (1934-01-04)4 January 1934 (aged 24) 63 6   Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare 20 August 1955[a] Free transfer
Tony Miller IF   Chelmsford (1937-10-26)26 October 1937 (aged 20) 0 0 Amateur May 1958 Free transfer
Ken Plant CF   Nuneaton (1925-08-15)15 August 1925 (aged 32) 188 79   Bury January 1954 Undisclosed
Tommy Williams WG   Battersea (1935-02-10)10 February 1935 (aged 23) 52 8   Carshalton Athletic September 1956 Free transfer
Peter Wright WG   Colchester (1934-01-26)26 January 1934 (aged 24) 204 46 Amateur November 1951 Free transfer
  1. ^ a b c d e f Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

Transfers edit

In edit

Date Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref.
May 1958 IF   Tony Miller Amateur Free transfer [7]
July 1958 WH   Cyril Hammond   Charlton Athletic Free transfer [8]
July 1958 FB   John Roe   West Calder United Free transfer [9]
18 April 1959 IF   Ian Johnstone   Ormiston Primrose Free transfer [10][a]
  1. ^ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

Out edit

Date Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.
End of season WH   Benny Fenton   Colchester United Retired from playing, remained as manager [11]
July 1958 WH   Bert Hill   Dartford Free transfer [12]
26 December 1958 IF   Hamish McNeill   Cambridge City Nominal [13]

Match details edit

Third Division edit

Main article: 1958–59 Football League

Results round by round edit

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundHHAAHHAHAAHHAHAAHHAAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHHAHAA
ResultLWLWWWDWDDLWDDLWLLWWDDWDWWLDDWWLWLWLLLLLWWWWLW
Position179191383765787577369865856334444333444669101097685
Source: 11v11.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

League table edit

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
3 Brentford 46 21 15 10 76 49 1.551 57
4 Norwich City 46 22 13 11 89 62 1.435 57
5 Colchester United 46 21 10 15 71 67 1.060 52
6 Reading 46 21 8 17 78 63 1.238 50
7 Tranmere Rovers 46 21 8 17 82 67 1.224 50
Source: [citation needed]

Matches edit

23 August 1958 (1958-08-23) 1 Colchester United 1–3 Bury Colchester
Langman   Report Unknown goalscorer     Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,394
25 August 1958 (1958-08-25) 2 Colchester United 2–1 Norwich City Colchester
Blake    Report Unknown goalscorer   Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,379
30 August 1958 (1958-08-30) 3 Queens Park Rangers 4–2 Colchester United Shepherd's Bush
Unknown goalscorer      Report Langman    Stadium: Loftus Road
Attendance: 9,733
3 September 1958 (1958-09-03) 4 Norwich City 1–2 Colchester United Norwich
Unknown goalscorer   Report Evans  
Langman  		 Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 25,132
6 September 1958 (1958-09-06) 5 Colchester United 2–1 Rochdale Colchester
Langman  
McLeod  		 Report Unknown goalscorer   Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,141
8 September 1958 (1958-09-08) 6 Colchester United 1–0 Accrington Stanley Colchester
Langman   Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,380
17 September 1958 (1958-09-17) 7 Accrington Stanley 1–1 Colchester United Accrington
Unknown goalscorer   Report Own goal   o.g.' Stadium: Peel Park
Attendance: 8,350
20 September 1958 (1958-09-20) 8 Colchester United 2–0 Plymouth Argyle Colchester
Evans    pen.' Report
Report		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 10,038
24 September 1958 (1958-09-24) 9 Southend United 1–1 Colchester United Southend-on-Sea
Punton   Report
Report		 Langman   Stadium: Roots Hall
Attendance: 11,471
27 September 1958 (1958-09-27) 10 Tranmere Rovers 3–3 Colchester United Birkenhead
Unknown goalscorer     Report Own goal   o.g.'
McLeod   		 Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 14,000
29 September 1958 (1958-09-29) 11 Colchester United 0–1 Southend United Colchester
Report
Report		 Thomson   Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 6,833
4 October 1958 (1958-10-04) 12 Colchester United 8–2 Stockport County Colchester
Evans    
Langman   
McLeod    		 Report Murray  
Clarke  		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,298
8 October 1958 (1958-10-08) 13 Reading 0–0 Colchester United Reading
Report Stadium: Elm Park
Attendance: 17,401
11 October 1958 (1958-10-11) 14 Colchester United 1–1 Wrexham Colchester
Evans   Report Unknown goalscorer   Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,204
16 October 1958 (1958-10-16) 15 Doncaster Rovers 2–1 Colchester United Doncaster
Unknown goalscorer    Report Blake   Stadium: Belle Vue
Attendance: 2,786
18 October 1958 (1958-10-18) 16 Bradford City 1–3 Colchester United Bradford
Unknown goalscorer   Report Plant   
Langman  		 Stadium: Valley Parade
Attendance: 12,307
25 October 1958 (1958-10-25) 17 Colchester United 1–3 Hull City Colchester
McCurley   Report Bradbury  
Smith  
Coates  		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,277
1 November 1958 (1958-11-01) 18 Brentford 2–1 Colchester United Brentford
Towers  
Heath  		 Report Langman   Stadium: Griffin Park
Attendance: 11,930
8 November 1958 (1958-11-08) 19 Colchester United 1–0 Swindon Town Colchester
Plant   Report
Report		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,001
22 November 1958 (1958-11-22) 20 Colchester United 3–2 Newport County Colchester
Langman  
P. Wright  
Blake  		 Report McPherson  
Graham  		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,271
29 November 1958 (1958-11-29) 21 Chesterfield 2–2 Colchester United Chesterfield
Unknown goalscorer    Report P. Wright    Stadium: Saltergate
Attendance: 7,140
20 December 1958 (1958-12-20) 22 Bury 0–0 Colchester United Bury
Report Stadium: Gigg Lane
Attendance: 11,615
26 December 1958 (1958-12-26) 23 Colchester United 3–1 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic Colchester
Langman  
McLeod  
Williams  		 Report Unknown goalscorer    Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,182
27 December 1958 (1958-12-27) 24 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 1–1 Colchester United Bournemouth
Unknown goalscorer   Report Williams   Stadium: Dean Court
Attendance: 12,404
3 January 1959 (1959-01-03) 25 Colchester United 3–0 Queens Park Rangers Colchester
Fisher  
Evans  
Langman  		 Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,719
31 January 1959 (1959-01-31) 26 Colchester United 1–0 Doncaster Rovers Colchester
Langman   Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,658
2 February 1959 (1959-02-02) 27 Mansfield Town 3–2 Colchester United Mansfield
Unknown goalscorer    Report Hill  
McCurley  		 Stadium: Field Mill
Attendance: 5,155
7 February 1959 (1959-02-07) 28 Plymouth Argyle 1–1 Colchester United Plymouth
Williams   Report
Report		 Evans   Stadium: Home Park
Attendance: 22,686
14 February 1959 (1959-02-14) 29 Colchester United 1–1 Tranmere Rovers Colchester
Own goal   o.g.' Report Unknown goalscorer   Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,160
21 February 1959 (1959-02-21) 30 Stockport County 0–1 Colchester United Stockport
Report Williams   Stadium: Edgeley Park
Attendance: 5,734
23 February 1959 (1959-02-23) 31 Colchester United 4–1 Notts County Colchester
McCurley  
Langman   
P. Wright  		 Report Unknown goalscorer   Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 4,406
28 February 1959 (1959-02-28) 32 Wrexham 2–0 Colchester United Wrexham
Unknown goalscorer    Report Stadium: Racecourse Ground
Attendance: 8,635
7 March 1959 (1959-03-07) 33 Colchester United 3–2 Bradford City Colchester
McCurley  
Langman  
Williams  		 Report Unknown goalscorer    Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,139
14 March 1959 (1959-03-14) 34 Hull City 3–0 Colchester United Kingston upon Hull
Davidson  
Smith   		 Report Stadium: Boothferry Park
Attendance: 16,668
16 March 1959 (1959-03-16) 35 Rochdale 0–1 Colchester United Rochdale
Report Langman   Stadium: Spotland Stadium
Attendance: 3,510
21 March 1959 (1959-03-21) 36 Colchester United 0–4 Brentford Colchester
Report Francis   
McLeod  
Towers  		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,775
27 March 1959 (1959-03-27) 37 Colchester United 1–3 Southampton Colchester
McCurley   Report Paine  
Hoskins  
Reeves  		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,943
28 March 1959 (1959-03-28) 38 Swindon Town 2–0 Colchester United Swindon
D'Arcy  
Marshall  		 Report
Report		 Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 8,876
30 March 1959 (1959-03-30) 39 Southampton 3–0 Colchester United Southampton
Mulgrew  
Reeves  
Page  		 Report Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 8,502
4 April 1959 (1959-04-04) 40 Colchester United 1–3 Mansfield Town Colchester
Milligan   pen.' Report Unknown goalscorer     Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,901
18 April 1959 (1959-04-18) 41 Colchester United 1–0 Chesterfield Colchester
Langman   Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,433
20 April 1959 (1959-04-20) 42 Colchester United 3–1 Reading Colchester
Evans   pen.' 
McLeod  		 Report Unknown goalscorer   Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,590
25 April 1959 (1959-04-25) 43 Notts County 0–1 Colchester United Nottingham
Report Evans   Stadium: Meadow Lane
Attendance: 4,733
27 April 1959 (1959-04-27) 44 Colchester United 3–1 Halifax Town Colchester
Evans   pen.'
Blake  
Williams  		 Report Unknown goalscorer   Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,769
30 April 1959 (1959-04-30) 45 Halifax Town 4–1 Colchester United Halifax
Unknown goalscorer      Report Evans   Stadium: The Shay
Attendance: 5,458
4 May 1959 (1959-05-04) 46 Newport County 0–1 Colchester United Newport
Report P. Wright   Stadium: Somerton Park
Attendance: 4,702

FA Cup edit

Main article: 1958–59 FA Cup
15 November 1958 (1958-11-15) 1st round Colchester United 1–0 Bath City Colchester
Plant   14'
Langman   84'		 Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 10,636
15 November 1958 (1958-11-15) 2nd round Colchester United 1–1 Yeovil Town Colchester
Plant   Report Earl   Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 10,890
11 December 1958 (1958-12-11) 2nd round replay Yeovil Town 1–7 Colchester United Yeovil
Dennis   Report Langman     
McLeod   
Williams  		 Stadium: Huish Athletic Ground
Attendance: 10,000
10 January 1959 (1959-01-10) 3rd round Colchester United 2–0 Chesterfield Colchester
Evans   8'
Langman   54'		 Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,723
24 January 1959 (1959-01-24) 4th round Colchester United 2–2 Arsenal Colchester
Langman   80'
Evans   82'		 Report Groves   75', 76' Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 16,000
28 January 1959 (1959-01-28) 4th round replay Arsenal 4–0 Colchester United Highbury
19:30 GMT Evans   pen.'
Herd   
Julians  		 Report
Programme		 Stadium: Arsenal Stadium
Attendance: 62,686

Squad statistics edit

Appearances and goals edit

[6][14]

No. Pos Nat Player Total Third Division FA Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK   ENG Percy Ames 52 0 46 0 6 0
DF   ENG George Fisher 34 1 28 1 6 0
DF   SCO John Fowler 48 0 42 0 6 0
DF   ENG Alf Marshall 24 0 24 0 0 0
DF   SCO Chic Milligan 50 1 44 1 6 0
MF   ENG Cyril Hammond 37 0 33 0 4 0
MF   ENG Trevor Harris 1 0 1 0 0 0
MF   ENG Ron Hunt 21 0 19 0 2 0
MF   ENG Derek Parker 44 0 38 0 6 0
FW   ENG Russell Blake 29 5 24 5 5 0
FW   ENG John Evans 31 16 27 14 4 2
FW   SCO Bobby Hill 8 1 8 1 0 0
FW   SCO Ian Johnstone 1 0 1 0 0 0
FW   ENG Martyn King 3 0 3 0 0 0
FW   ENG Neil Langman 50 27 44 20 6 7
FW   ENG Kevin McCurley 7 5 7 5 0 0
FW   SCO Sammy McLeod 44 10 38 8 6 2
FW   ENG Ken Plant 9 5 7 3 2 2
FW   ENG Tommy Williams 30 6 29 5 1 1
FW   ENG Peter Wright 49 5 43 5 6 0

Goalscorers edit

[14]

Place Nationality Position Name Third Division FA Cup Total
1   CF Neil Langman 20 7 27
2   IF John Evans 14 2 16
3   IF Sammy McLeod 8 2 10
4   WG Tommy Williams 5 1 6
5   WG Russell Blake 5 0 5
  CF Kevin McCurley 5 0 5
  CF Ken Plant 3 2 5
  WG Peter Wright 5 0 5
9   FB George Fisher 1 0 1
  IF Bobby Hill 1 0 1
  CB Chic Milligan 1 0 1
Own goals 3 0 3
TOTALS 71 14 85

Clean sheets edit

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[15]

Place Nationality Player Third Division FA Cup Total
1   Percy Ames 12 2 14
TOTALS 12 2 14

Player debuts edit

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[16]

Position Nationality Player Date Opponent Ground Notes
WH   Cyril Hammond 23 August 1958 Bury Layer Road
FB   Alf Marshall 8 October 1958 Reading Elm Park
IF   Ian Johnstone 18 April 1959 Chesterfield Layer Road

See also edit

References edit

General edit

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.
  • Ambrosen, Tony (1993). Amber in the Blood: A History Of Newport County. Uxbridge: Yore Publications. ISBN 978-1-874427-40-7.
  • White, Eric (1989). 100 Years of Brentford. Redditch: Oldfield Press. ISBN 0951526200.

Websites

Specific edit

  1. ^ Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 278. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.
  2. ^ "Colchester Utd 2–2 Arsenal". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Colchester Utd 4–1 Notts County". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  5. ^ Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1950s and 1960s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  7. ^ "Tony Miller". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Cyril Hammond". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  9. ^ "John Roe". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  10. ^ "Ian Johnstone". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  11. ^ "Benny Fenton". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  12. ^ "Bert Hill". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  13. ^ "Hamish McNeill". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  14. ^ a b "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  15. ^ "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  16. ^ "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
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