1954–55 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United

1954–55 season
Chairman	William Allen[1]
Manager	Jack Butler Until 31 January Benny Fenton From 1 February
Third Division South	24th
FA Cup	1st Round
Top goalscorer	League: Ken Plant (13) All: Ken Plant (13)
Highest home attendance	10,809 (Southend United)
Lowest home attendance	3,517 (Torquay United)
Average home league attendance	7,537
Home colours
← 1953–54 1955–56 →

The 1954–55 season was Colchester United's fifth consecutive season in the Football League Third Division South. They finished 24th and bottom of the football league and successfully re-applied to the league.

Season Review

Manager Jack Butler's squad for the new season numbered 28, 16 of whom were full-time professionals and the remainder involved in National Service or were part-timers. The Supporters Club had dwindled to just 5,065 members and attendances continued to plummet.

Another dreadful run of eight consecutive defeats saw United locked at the bottom of the League on Christmas Day 1954. However, a four-game turn about in form saw United rise out of the re-election places, but the U's plight was having a drastic effect on Butler's health. After falling ill in November he was given indefinite leave until the end of his contract in 1956. Suffering from a nervous breakdown Butler resigned in January 1955 with club secretary Claude Orrin heading a selection committee whilst a new manager was sought.

Despite United's poor recent form they were a sought-after proposition attracting 48 applications. The Board chose Benny Fenton to be player-manager, but the damage for the season was already done. The initial boost of Fenton's appointment tailed off and United picked up just one point from their last eight games.

Once again Colchester had to go to The Football League to retain their status, accompanied by Walsall for the second successive season. Both were successful and the manager announced that The U's needed a massive clear out.^[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 John Wright –– DF Bob Dale –– DF Jimmy Elder –– DF Benny Fenton –– DF Trevor Harris –– DF John Harrison –– DF Bertie Hill –– DF Ron Hunt –– DF Fred Lewis

No. Position Player –– DF Reg Stewart –– MF Cliff Birch –– MF Mike Grice –– MF Peter Wright –– FW Paddy Leonard –– FW Kevin McCurley –– FW Johnny McKim –– FW Ken Plant

Player Info

Pos.	Name	Place of Birth	Date of Birth	Previous Club	Date Joined	Fee
GK	John Wright	Aldershot	13 August 1933	Youth Team	1 August 1954	Free
DF	Bob Dale	Irlam	31 October 1931	Bury	2 January 1954	Free
DF	Jimmy Elder	Scone	5 March 1928	Portsmouth	19 August 1950	£1,000
DF	Benny Fenton	West Ham	28 October 1918	Charlton Athletic	1 February 1955	Free
DF	Trevor Harris	Colchester	6 February 1936	Youth Team	1 August 1954	Free
DF	John Harrison	Leicester	27 September 1927	Aston Villa	30 September 1950	Undisclosed
DF	Bertie Hill	West Ham	8 March 1930	Chelsea	11 April 1953	Free
DF	Ron Hunt	Colchester	26 September 1933	Youth Team	1 August 1951	Free
DF	Fred Lewis	Broughton Gifford	26 July 1923	Chelsea	20 August 1953	Free
DF	Reg Stewart	Sheffield	30 October 1925	Sheffield Wednesday	20 August 1949	£1,000
MF	Cliff Birch	Crumlin	1 September 1928	Newport County	21 August 1954	Free
MF	Mike Grice	Woking	3 November 1931	Lowestoft Town	11 September 1952	£50
MF	Peter Wright	Colchester	26 January 1934	Youth Team	1 August 1951	Free
FW	Paddy Leonard	Dublin	25 July 1929	Bristol Rovers	21 August 1954	Free
FW	Kevin McCurley	Consett	2 April 1926	Liverpool	22 March 1952	£750
FW	Johnny McKim	Greenock	22 January 1926	Chelsea	19 August 1950	£1,000
FW	Ken Plant	Nuneaton	15 August 1925	Bury	6 February 1954	Free

Transfers

Transfers In

Date	Pos.	Player Name	Previous Club	Transfer Fee	Notes
1 August 1954	GK	John Wright	Youth Team	Free
1 August 1954	DF	Trevor Harris	Youth Team	Free
21 August 1954	GK	Jimmy Kirk	Bury	Free
21 August 1954	DF	Frank McCourt	Manchester City	Free
21 August 1954	MF	Cliff Birch	Newport County	Free
21 August 1955	FW	Paddy Leonard	Bristol Rovers	Free
16 October 1954	DF	Ron George	Crystal Palace	Free
1 February 1955	DF	Benny Fenton	Charlton Athletic	Free	Player-manager
9 April 1955	DF	Austin Dunne	Limerick	Free

Transfers Out

Date	Pos.	Player Name	New Club	Transfer Fee	Notes
1 May 1954	DF	Harry Bearryman	Metropolitan Police	Free
6 November 1954	MF	Peter Aitchison	Sittingbourne	Free
5 February 1955	DF	Ron George	Sudbury Town	Free
19 February 1955	DF	Digger Kettle	Sudbury Town	Free
19 February 1955	DF	Frank McCourt	Poole Town	Free
9 April 1955	DF	Austin Dunne	Tonbridge Angels	Free
11 April 1955	GK	George Wright	Retired	Free
28 April 1955	GK	Jimmy Kirk	Torquay United	Free

Results

Third Division South Results Summary

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 South Results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
21/08/1954	Swindon Town	H	0-0	9,767
25/08/1954	Exeter City	A	2-2	11,500	Grice, Leonard
28/08/1954	Crystal Palace	A	0-0	14,348
02/09/1954	Exeter City	H	1-2	7,963	Plant
04/09/1954	Northampton Town	H	4-1	7,467	Birch, Plant (3)
09/09/1954	Bristol City	H	0-2	8,522
11/09/1954	Watford	A	0-2	13,794
14/09/1954	Bristol City	A	0-4	18,455
18/09/1954	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	H	3-3	7,801	Dale, Grice, Plant
23/09/1954	Norwich City	H	1-0	8,506	Dale
25/09/1954	Queens Park Rangers	A	1-4	11,738	Birch
29/09/1954	Norwich City	A	2-0	15,672	Dale, Plant
02/10/1954	Newport County	H	1-0	8,691	McKim
09/10/1954	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	2-4	9,334	McKim, Plant (pen.)
16/10/1954	Brentford	A	2-3	10,200	Grice, McKim
23/10/1954	Coventry City	H	0-1	8,124
30/10/1954	Walsall	A	1-3	11,117	McKim
06/11/1954	Millwall	H	0-2	7,551
13/11/1954	Leyton Orient	A	0-2	16,782
27/11/1954	Reading	A	0-4	6,512
05/12/1954	Shrewsbury Town	H	2-4	5,168	Plant, P.Wright
18/12/1954	Swindon Town	A	1-1	5,254	Plant
25/12/1954	Aldershot	A	2-2	5,123	McKim, P.Wright
27/12/1954	Aldershot	H	1-1	7,967	P.Wright
01/01/1955	Crystal Palace	H	2-0	5,806	Plant, P.Wright
08/01/1955	Southampton	A	1-0	12,449	Grice
22/01/1955	Watford	H	1-3	6,700	Grice
05/02/1955	Bournemouth & Boscome Athletic	A	0-2	7,417
12/02/1955	Queens Park Rangers	H	1-0	4,903	Leonard
19/02/1955	Newport County	A	0-0	5,000
26/02/1955	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	1-1	11,074	Dale
05/03/1955	Brentford	H	3-2	8,251	Elder (pen.), Leonard, Plant
12/03/1955	Coventry City	A	0-0	10,058
19/03/1955	Walsall	H	2-2	7,361	Grice, P.Wright
26/03/1955	Millwall	A	2-5	8,349	Leonard, P.Wright
31/03/1955	Torquay United	H	0-2	3,517
02/04/1955	Leyton Orient	H	2-2	9,448	Fenton, Plant
08/04/1955	Southend United	H	2-0	10,809	Fenton, Stewart
09/04/1955	Gillingham	A	1-2	11,002	Elder (pen.)
11/04/1955	Southend United	A	2-4	14,000	Leonard, McKim
16/04/1955	Reading	H	0-2	8,000
18/04/1955	Northampton Town	A	1-6	3,198	McKim
23/04/1955	Shrewsbury Town	A	0-2	6,735
28/04/1955	Gillingham	H	2-2	5,300	P.Wright (2)
30/04/1955	Southampton	H	3-5	6,386	McCurley, Plant, P.Wright
04/05/1955	Torquay United	A	1-2	2,907	Birch

Source: 1954-55 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

FA Cup

Main article: 1954–55 FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
20/11/1954	R1	Reading	A	3-3	12,800	Birch, Grice, McKim
25/11/1954	R1 (R)	Reading	H	1-2	4,636	Elder (pen.)

Source: 1954-55 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

Squad statistics

^[3]

No.	Nat.	Pos.	Name	Total		Third Division South		FA Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
––	GK		Jimmy Kirk	32	0	32	0	0	0
––	GK		George Wright	14	0	12	0	2	0
––	GK		John Wright	2	0	2	0	0	0
––	DF		Bob Dale	34	4	34	4	0	0
––	DF		Austin Dunne	1	0	1	0	0	0
––	DF		Jimmy Elder	30	3	28	2	2	1
––	DF		Benny Fenton	11	2	11	2	0	0
––	DF		Ron George	8	0	6	0	2	0
––	DF		Trevor Harris	1	0	1	0	0	0
––	DF		John Harrison	35	0	35	0	0	0
––	DF		Bertie Hill	21	0	19	0	2	0
––	DF		Ron Hunt	26	0	26	0	0	0
––	DF		Digger Kettle	2	0	2	0	0	0
––	DF		Fred Lewis	41	0	39	0	2	0
––	DF		Frank McCourt	12	0	12	0	0	0
––	DF		Reg Stewart	47	1	45	1	2	0
––	MF		Peter Aitchison	6	0	6	0	0	0
––	MF		Cliff Birch	14	4	12	3	2	1
––	MF		Mike Grice	40	7	38	6	2	1
––	MF		Peter Wright	23	9	23	9	0	0
––	FW		Paddy Leonard	34	5	34	5	0	0
––	FW		Kevin McCurley	18	1	16	1	2	0
––	FW		Johnny McKim	34	8	32	7	2	1
––	FW		Ken Plant	42	13	40	13	2	0

Scorers

^[4]

All Scorer Goals Ken Plant 13 Peter Wright 9 Johnny McKim 8 Mike Grice 7 Paddy Leonard 5 Cliff Birch 4 Bob Dale Jimmy Elder 3 Benny Fenton 2 Kevin McCurley 1 Reg Stewart

League Scorer Goals Ken Plant 13 Peter Wright 9 Johnny McKim 7 Mike Grice 6 Paddy Leonard 5 Bob Dale 4 Cliff Birch 3 Jimmy Elder 2 Benny Fenton Kevin McCurley 1 Reg Stewart

FA Cup Scorer Goals Cliff Birch 1 Jimmy Elder Mike Grice Johnny McKim

References

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. ↑ "The U's History: The 50s". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 22 May 2011. 
3. ↑ "1954–55 Season Appearance Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2011. 
4. ↑ "1954–55 Season Goalscorers Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2011. 

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