1958–59 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United
1958–59 season
Chairman	William Allen^[1]
Manager	Benny Fenton
Third Division	5th
FA Cup	4th Round
Top goalscorer	League: Neil Langman (19) All: Neil Langman (26)
Highest home attendance	10,038 (Plymouth Argyle)
Lowest home attendance	4,406 (Notts County)
Average home league attendance	7,778
← 1957–58 1959–60 →

The 1958–59 season was Colchester United's first season in the newly formed Football League Third Division and their ninth consecutive season in the third tier.

Season Review

A very good fifth placed finish in 1958-59, nine points behind second-placed Hull, included a club record 8-2 win over Stockport on 4 October 1958. The highlight of the season, however, was another FA Cup run. Early round victories over Bath, Yeovil and Chesterfield brought the mighty Arsenal to Layer Road in the Fourth Round. The replay win at Yeovil by 7-1 remains a club record away win.

For the first time the Police set a limit on crowd numbers at Layer Road - 16,000 witnessed a 2-2 draw and in the return 62,686 saw The Gunners run out 4-0 winners on a frost-bound pitch obscured by thick fog. Neil Langman and John Evans repaid their transfer fees with 27 and 16 goals respectively.

Neil Langman and John Evans repaid their transfer fees with 27 and 16 goals respectively. What's more, the proceeds from the Arsenal ties paved the way for floodlights to be installed at Layer Road.^[2]

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Position	Player
––	GK	Percy Ames
––	GK	John Wright
––	DF	Brian Dobson
––	DF	George Fisher
––	DF	John Fowler
––	DF	Cyril Hammond
––	DF	Trevor Harris
––	DF	Ron Hunt
––	DF	Alf Marshall
––	DF	Chic Milligan
––	DF	Derek Parker

No.	Position	Player
––	DF	Edgar Rumney
––	MF	Russell Blake
––	MF	Tommy Williams
––	MF	Peter Wright
––	FW	John Evans
––	FW	Bobby Hill
––	FW	Ian Johnstone
––	FW	Martyn King
––	FW	Neil Langman
––	FW	Kevin McCurley
––	FW	Sammy McLeod

Player Info

Pos.	Name	Place of Birth	Date of Birth	Previous Club	Date Joined	Fee
GK	Percy Ames	Bedford	13 December 1931	Tottenham Hotspur	20 August 1955	Free
GK	John Wright	Aldershot	13 August 1933	Youth Team	1 August 1954	Free
DF	Brian Dobson	Colchester	1 March 1934	Youth Team	1 August 1955	Free
DF	George Fisher	Bermondsey	19 June 1925	Fulham	1 September 1955	Free
DF	John Fowler	Leith	17 October 1933	Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic	20 August 1955	Free
DF	Cyril Hammond	Woolwich	10 February 1927	Charlton Athletic	23 August 1958	Free
DF	Trevor Harris	Colchester	6 February 1936	Youth Team	1 August 1954	Free
DF	Ron Hunt	Colchester	26 September 1933	Youth Team	1 August 1951	Free
DF	Alf Marshall	Dagenham	21 May 1933	Dagenham	8 October 1958	£25
DF	Chic Milligan	Ardrossan	26 July 1930	Ardrossan Winton Rovers	18 August 1956	Free
DF	Derek Parker	Wivenhoe	23 June 1926	West Ham United	13 April 1957	£2,500
DF	Edgar Rumney	Abberton	15 September 1936	Youth Team	1 August 1957	Free
MF	Russell Blake	Colchester	24 July 1935	Youth Team	1 August 1955	Free
MF	Tommy Williams	Battersea	10 February 1935	Carshalton Athletic	24 November 1956	Free
MF	Peter Wright	Colchester	26 January 1934	Youth Team	1 August 1951	Free
FW	John Evans	Tilbury	28 August 1929	Liverpool	23 November 1957	£4,000
FW	Bobby Hill	Edinburgh	9 June 1938	Easthouses Lily	2 April 1956	Free
FW	Ian Johnstone	Galashiels	2 March 1939	Ormiston Primrose	18 April 1959	Free
FW	Martyn King	Birmingham	23 August 1937	Pegasus	27 August 1956	Free
FW	Neil Langman	Bere Alston	12 February 1932	Plymouth Argyle	23 November 1957	£6,750
FW	Kevin McCurley	Consett	2 April 1926	Liverpool	22 March 1952	£750
FW	Sammy McLeod	Glasgow	4 January 1934	Easthouses Lily	20 August 1955	Free

Transfers

Transfers In

Date	Pos.	Player Name	Previous Club	Transfer Fee	Notes
23 August 1958	DF	Cyril Hammond	Charlton Athletic	Free
8 October 1958	DF	Alf Marshall	Dagenham	£25
18 April 1959	FW	Ian Johnstone	Ormiston Primrose	Free

Transfers Out

Date	Pos.	Player Name	New Club	Transfer Fee	Notes
1 May 1958	DF	Benny Fenton	Retired	Free	Retired from playing but continued as manager
6 December 1958	FW	Ken Plant	Nuneaton Borough	Free

Results

Third Division Results Summary

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Av	Pts
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

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GAv = Goal average; Pts = Points

Third Division Results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
23/08/1958	Bury	H	1-3	9,394	Langman
25/08/1958	Norwich City	H	2-1	9,379	Blake (2)
30/08/1958	Queens Park Rangers	A	2-4	9,733	Langman (2)
03/09/1958	Norwich City	A	2-1	25,132	Evans, Langman
06/09/1958	Rochdale	H	2-1	8,141	Langman, McLeod
08/09/1958	Accrington Stanley	H	1-0	7,380	Langman
17/09/1958	Accrington Stanley	A	1-1	8,350	O.G.
20/09/1958	Plymouth Argyle	H	2-0	10,038	Evans (2) (pen.)
24/09/1958	Southend United	A	1-1	12,000	Langman
27/09/1958	Tranmere Rovers	A	3-3	14,000	O.G., McLeod (2)
29/09/1958	Southend United	H	0-1	6,833
04/10/1958	Stockport County	H	8-2	8,298	Evans (3), King, Langman, McLeod (3)
08/10/1958	Reading	A	0-0	17,401
11/10/1958	Wrexham	H	1-1	9,204	Evans
16/10/1958	Doncaster Rovers	A	1-2	2,786	Blake
18/10/1958	Bradford City	A	3-1	12,307	Langman, Plant (2)
25/10/1958	Hull City	H	1-3	9,277	McCurley
01/11/1958	Brentford	A	1-2	11,930	Langman
08/11/1958	Swindon Town	H	1-0	8,001	Plant
22/11/1958	Newport County	H	3-2	7,271	Blake, Langman, P.Wright
29/11/1958	Chesterfield	A	2-2	7,140	P.Wright (2)
20/12/1958	Bury	A	0-0	11,615
26/12/1958	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	H	3-1	9,182	Langman, McLeod, Williams
27/12/1958	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	A	1-1	12,404	Williams
03/01/1959	Queens Park Rangers	H	3-0	8,719	Evans, Fisher, Langman
31/01/1959	Doncaster Rovers	H	1-0	8,658	Langman
02/02/1959	Mansfield Town	A	2-3	5,155	Hill, McCurley
07/02/1959	Plymouth Argyle	A	1-1	22,686	Evans
14/02/1959	Tranmere Rovers	H	1-1	7,160	O.G.
21/02/1959	Stockport County	A	1-0	5,734	Williams
23/02/1959	Notts County	H	4-1	4,406	Langman (2), McCurley, P.Wright
28/02/1959	Wrexham	A	0-2	8,635
07/03/1959	Bradford City	H	3-2	7,139	Langman, McCurley, Williams
14/03/1959	Hull City	A	0-3	16,668
16/03/1959	Rochdale	A	1-0	3,510	Langman
21/03/1959	Brentford	H	0-4	8,775
27/03/1959	Southampton	H	1-3	8,943	McCurley
28/03/1959	Swindon Town	A	0-2	8,876
30/03/1959	Southampton	A	0-3	8,502
04/04/1959	Mansfield Town	H	1-3	5,901	Milligan (pen.)
18/04/1959	Chesterfield	H	1-0	5,433	Langman
20/04/1959	Reading	H	3-1	5,590	Evans (2) (pen.), McLeod
25/04/1959	Notts County	A	1-0	4,733	Evans
27/04/1959	Halifax Town	H	3-1	5,769	Blake, Evans, Williams
30/04/1959	Halifax Town	A	1-4	5,458	Evans
04/05/1959	Newport County	A	1-0	4,702	P.Wright

Source: 1958-59 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

FA Cup

Main article: 1958–59 FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
15/11/1958	R1	Bath City	H	2-0	10,636	Plant, Langman
06/12/1958	R2	Yeovil Town	H	1-1	10,890	Plant
11/12/1958	R2 (R)	Yeovil Town	A	7-1	10,000	Langman (4), McLeod (2), Williams
10/01/1959	R3	Chesterfield	H	2-0	9,723	Evans, Langman
24/01/1959	R4	Arsenal	H	2-2	16,000	Langman, Evans
28/01/1959	R4 (R)	Arsenal	A	0-4	62,686

Source: 1958-59 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

Squad statistics

^[3]

No.	Nat.	Pos.	Name	Total		Third Division		FA Cup
No.	Nat.	Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
––	GK		Percy Ames	52	0	46	0	6	0
––	GK		John Wright	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	DF		Brian Dobson	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	DF		George Fisher	34	1	28	1	6	0
––	DF		John Fowler	48	0	42	0	6	0
––	DF		Cyril Hammond	37	0	33	0	4	0
––	DF		Trevor Harris	1	0	1	0	0	0
––	DF		Ron Hunt	21	0	19	0	2	0
––	DF		Alf Marshall	24	0	24	0	0	0
––	DF		Chic Milligan	50	1	44	1	6	0
––	DF		Derek Parker	44	0	38	0	6	0
––	DF		Edgar Rumney	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF		Russell Blake	29	5	24	5	5	0
––	MF		Tommy Williams	30	6	29	5	1	1
––	MF		Peter Wright	49	5	43	5	6	0
––	FW		John Evans	31	16	27	14	4	2
––	FW		Bobby Hill	8	1	8	1	0	0
––	FW		Ian Johnstone	1	0	1	0	0	0
––	FW		Martyn King	3	1	3	1	0	0
––	FW		Neil Langman	50	26	44	19	6	7
––	FW		Kevin McCurley	7	5	7	5	0	0
––	FW		Sammy McLeod	44	10	38	8	6	2
––	FW		Ken Plant	9	5	7	3	2	2

Scorers

^[4]

All

Scorer	Goals
Neil Langman	26
John Evans	16
Sammy McLeod	10
Tommy Williams	6
Russell Blake	5
Kevin McCurley
Ken Plant
Peter Wright
George Fisher	1
Bobby Hill
Martyn King
Chic Milligan
Own goal	3

League

Scorer	Goals
Neil Langman	19
John Evans	14
Sammy McLeod	8
Russell Blake	5
Kevin McCurley
Tommy Williams
Peter Wright
Ken Plant	3
George Fisher	1
Bobby Hill
Martyn King
Chic Milligan
Own goal	3

FA Cup

Scorer	Goals
Neil Langman	7
John Evans	2
Sammy McLeod
Ken Plant
Tommy Williams	1

References

↑ 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.
↑ "The U's History: The 50s". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
↑ "1958–59 Season Appearance Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
↑ "1958–59 Season Goalscorers Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2011.

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Related articles	Colchester Town F.C. Colchester United L.F.C. Peter Heard Up the U's

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