1972–73 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United
1972–73 season
Chairman Roy Chapman[1]
Manager Dick Graham
(until 8 September)
Dennis Mochan
(from 8 September to 1 October)
Jim Smith
(from 1 October)
Stadium Layer Road
Fourth Division 22nd (re-elected)
FA Cup 2nd round
(eliminated by
Bournemouth)
League Cup 1st round
(eliminated by
Gillingham)
Top goalscorer League:
Mick Mahon (12)

All:
Mick Mahon (12)
Highest home attendance 7,419
v Bournemouth, 11 December 1972[2]
Lowest home attendance 2,437
v Peterborough United, 9 April 1973[3]
Average home league attendance 3,440[4]
Biggest win 6–0
v Bognor Regis Town, 18 November 1972
Biggest defeat 0–4
v Chester, 30 August 1972
v Barnsley, 16 September 1972
v Northampton Town, 26 December 1972
v Bury, 23 April 1973
Football kit (white jersey; white shorts; and white socks).
Home colours

The 1972–73 season was Colchester United's 31st season in their history and their fifth successive season in the fourth tier of English football, the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Manager Dick Graham resigned early in the new season, following two and four defeats wins in the opening six games of the campaign. Jim Smith was appointed his successor in early October, but his first win didn't arrive until mid-November. Colchester endured a very poor season, and were required to seek re-election after finishing 22nd in the league table.

Colchester suffered an early exit in the cup competitions as they were defeated in the first round of the League Cup by Gillingham, and the second round of the FA Cup by Bournemouth.

Season overview

Colchester United held it's annual general meeting in September 1972. Following questioning of his tactics by a shareholder, an incensed Dick Graham tendered his resignation as manager. The club had achieved two wins in the first six games of the season, but the other four matches ended in defeat. Dennis Mochan was appointed caretaker manager until a permanent replacement could be found. He took charge of five games, but was unable to improve Colchester's fortunes, with two draws and three defeats in his five games at the helm. An unknown Jim Smith, then-manager of Northern Premier League side Boston United who had just led the team to the title, was appointed Graham's replacement. With Colchester bottom of the Football League after 13 matches with six points, Smith's influence gave United an initial boost, earning the Manager of the Month award for lifting the club off the bottom of the table.

One of Smith's early pieces of business was signing his former Boston forward Bobby Svarc for £6,000 just before Christmas. However, his goalscoring influence did not immediately show, returning eight goals in 20 league outings. Fortunes did not improve for the U's as they finished the season in 22nd position and were required to seek re-election from the Football League. Colchester earned a maximum of 48 votes from their fellow League clubs to retain Football League status for another season.[5]

Players

As of match played 30 April 1973.[6]
Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth Apps Goals Signed from Date signed Fee
Goalkeepers
John McInallyGKScotlandGatehouse of Fleet26 September 1951 (aged 20)00England Lincoln City25 November 1972[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Defenders
Richard BourneCBEnglandColchester9 December 1954 (aged 17)20Apprentice3 April 1972[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Micky CookFBEnglandEnfield9 April 1951 (aged 21)1011England Orient1 March 1969Free transfer
Ray HarfordCBEnglandHalifax1 June 1945 (aged 27)00England Port Vale3 February 1973[lower-alpha 1]£1,750
John McLaughlinFBEnglandEdmonton29 October 1954 (aged 17)90Apprentice18 March 1972[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Stuart MorganCBWalesSwansea23 September 1949 (aged 22)00England ReadingAugust 1972Free transfer
Lindsay SmithCBEnglandEnfield18 September 1954 (aged 17)193Apprentice20 April 1971[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Midfielders
Phil BlossMFEnglandColchester16 January 1953 (aged 19)232ApprenticeJanuary 1971Free transfer
Stan BrownMFEnglandLewes15 September 1941 (aged 30)00England FulhamDecember 1972Free transfer
Steve FoleyMFEnglandClacton-on-Sea21 June 1953 (aged 18)174ApprenticeJuly 1969Free transfer
Steve LeslieMFEnglandHornsey4 September 1952 (aged 19)4713Apprentice20 April 1971[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Bobby MillsMFEnglandEdmonton16 March 1955 (aged 17)30Apprentice4 March 1972[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Bobby RobertsMFScotlandEdinburgh2 September 1940 (aged 31)00England Coventry City1 March 1973Free transfer
Phil ThomasMFEnglandSherborne14 December 1952 (aged 19)00England BournemouthSummer 1972Free transfer
Tony WingateMFEnglandIslington21 March 1955 (aged 17)10Apprentice18 March 1972[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Forwards
Mick MahonWGEnglandManchester17 September 1944 (aged 27)9619England York CityMay 1970Free transfer
Bobby SvarcFWEnglandLeicester8 February 1946 (aged 26)00England Boston UnitedDecember 1972£6,000
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

Transfers

In

Date Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref.
Summer 1972 GK Republic of Ireland Des Kelly England Norwich City Free transfer [7]
Summer 1972 CB England Martin Binks England Orient Free transfer [8]
Summer 1972 FB England Steve Wooldridge England Crystal Palace Free transfer [9]
Summer 1972 MF England Phil Thomas England Bournemouth Free transfer [10]
May 1972 FW England Bobby Moss England Orient Free transfer [11]
July 1972 CB England Bobby Noble England Barrow £1,000 [12]
August 1972 CB Wales Stuart Morgan England Reading Free transfer [13]
26 August 1972 CB England John South England Orient Trial [14][lower-alpha 1]
October 1972 MF England Jim Smith England Boston United Player-manager [15]
25 November 1972 GK Scotland John McInally England Lincoln City Free transfer [16][lower-alpha 1]
December 1972 MF England Stan Brown England Fulham Free transfer [17]
December 1972 FW England Bobby Svarc England Boston United £6,000 [18]
3 February 1973 CB England Ray Harford England Port Vale £1,750 [19]
March 1973 MF Scotland Bobby Roberts England Coventry City (Youth team coach) Free transfer [20]
  1. 1 2 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

Out

Date Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.
End of season FW England Brian Gibbs England Bletchley Town Player-manager [21]
Summer 1972 CB England Bobby Howlett England Bowers United Released [22]
29 April 1972 FB England Eric Burgess England Wealdstone Released [23][lower-alpha 1]
9 October 1972 CB England John South England Orient End of trial [14][lower-alpha 1]
December 1972 FB England Steve Wooldridge England Folkestone Free transfer [9]
29 December 1972 FB England Brian Hall England Chelmsford City Released [24]
January 1973 CB England Martin Binks England Cambridge United Free transfer [8]
February 1973 GK Republic of Ireland Des Kelly England Lowestoft Town Released [7]
February 1973 FW England Bobby Moss England Dover Athletic Free transfer [11]
17 February 1973 GK England Barry Smith England Walsall Released [25][lower-alpha 1]
March 1973 CB England Bobby Noble England Southport £2,000 [12]
March 1973 FW England Dave Simmons England Cambridge United £3,000 [26]
6 April 1973 MF England Jim Smith England Colchester United Manager [15][lower-alpha 1]
  1. 1 2 3 4 Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

Loans in

Date Position Nationality Name From End date Ref.
10 November 1972 GK Scotland John McInally England Lincoln City 10 November 1972 [16][lower-alpha 1]
4 January 1973 CB England Ray Harford England Port Vale 27 January 1973 [19][lower-alpha 1]

Loans out

Date Position Nationality Name To End date Ref.
November 1972 FB England Steve Wooldridge England Folkestone December 1972 [9]
November 1972 FW England Bobby Moss England Folkestone December 1972 [11]
  1. 1 2 Loan start and end dates refer to the date of the player's first and final games for the club

Match details

Fourth Division

Fourth Division results round by round

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
Ground
Result
Position

Last updated: 22 June 2017.
Source:
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

  Win   Draw   Loss

League table

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGAv1Pts2Promotion, qualification or relegation
20Hartlepool4612171734490.69441
21Crewe Alexandra469181938610.62336Re-elected to Fourth Division
22Colchester United4610112548760.63231
23Northampton Town4610112540730.54831
24Darlington467152442850.49429

Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Number of goals scored

(C) Champion; (P) Promoted; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (R) Relegated.

Notes:

1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976–77 season.

2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.

Matches

League Cup

FA Cup

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

[6][27]

No. Pos Nat Player TotalFourth Division FA Cup League Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK Scotland John McInally 29 0 27 0 2 0 0 0
DF England Richard Bourne 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
DF England Micky Cook 45 0 43 0 2 0 0 0
DF England Ray Harford 21 1 21 1 0 0 0 0
DF England John McLaughlin 44 2 40 2 3 0 1 0
DF Wales Stuart Morgan 36 2 30+2 1 3 1 1 0
DF England Lindsay Smith 35 1 26+5 1 3 0 1 0
MF England Phil Bloss 16 0 12+2 0 0+2 0 0 0
MF England Stan Brown 23 0 23 0 0 0 0 0
MF England Steve Foley 40 9 36 8 3 1 1 0
MF England Steve Leslie 33 3 27+3 3 2 0 1 0
MF England Bobby Mills 5 0 3+2 0 0 0 0 0
MF Scotland Bobby Roberts 2 0 0+2 0 0 0 0 0
MF England Phil Thomas 35 2 32+1 2 1 0 1 0
FW England Mick Mahon 48 12 44 12 3 0 1 0
FW England Bobby Svarc 20 8 20 8 0 0 0 0
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
GK England Barry Smith 19 0 18 0 0 0 1 0
GK Republic of Ireland Des Kelly 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
DF England Martin Binks 10 0 10 0 0 0 0 0
DF England Brian Hall 18 1 14+1 0 3 1 0 0
DF England Bobby Noble 31 0 25+2 0 3 0 1 0
DF England John South 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0
DF England Steve Wooldridge 4 0 3 0 0 0 1 0
MF England Jim Smith 9 0 7+1 0 1 0 0 0
FW England Bobby Moss 19 3 16+2 3 0 0 1 0
FW England Dave Simmons 28 9 22+2 6 3 3 0+1 0

Goalscorers

[27]

Place Nationality Position Name Fourth Division FA Cup League Cup Total
1 England WG Mick Mahon 12 0 0 12
2 England MF Steve Foley 8 1 0 9
England FW Dave Simmons 6 3 0 9
4 England FW Bobby Svarc 8 0 0 8
5 England MF Steve Leslie 3 0 0 3
England FW Bobby Moss 3 0 0 3
7 England FB John McLaughlin 2 0 0 2
Wales CB Stuart Morgan 1 1 0 2
England MF Phil Thomas 2 0 0 2
10 England FB Brian Hall 1 0 0 1
England CB Ray Harford 1 0 0 1
England CB Lindsay Smith 1 0 0 1
Own goals 1 0 0 1
TOTALS 48 6 0 54

Disciplinary record

[28]

Nationality Position Name Fourth Division FA Cup League Cup Total
YC Red card YC Red card YC Red card YC Red card
Wales CB Stuart Morgan 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 1
England CB Lindsay Smith 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
England FB Brian Hall 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
England CB Ray Harford 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
England CB Bobby Noble 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
TOTALS 6 1 1 0 0 0 7 1

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[29]

Place Nationality Player Fourth Division FA Cup League Cup Total
1 Scotland John McInally 6 1 0 7
2 England Barry Smith 2 0 0 2
2 Republic of Ireland Des Kelly 0 1 0 1
TOTALS 8 2 0 10

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[30]

Position Nationality Player Date Opponent Ground Notes
CB Wales Stuart Morgan 12 August 1972 Hereford United Layer Road
CB England Bobby Noble 12 August 1972 Hereford United Layer Road
FB England Steve Wooldridge 12 August 1972 Hereford United Layer Road
FW England Bobby Moss 12 August 1972 Hereford United Layer Road
MF England Phil Thomas 16 August 1972 Gillingham Priestfield Stadium
CB England Martin Binks 19 August 1972 Hartlepool Victoria Park
CB England John South 26 August 1972 Newport County Layer Road
GK Republic of Ireland Des Kelly 4 November 1972 Bradford City Valley Parade
GK Scotland John McInally 10 November 1972 Southport Layer Road
MF England Jim Smith 10 November 1972 Southport Layer Road
GK Scotland John McInally 25 November 1972 Reading Elm Park [31][lower-alpha 1]
MF England Stan Brown 29 December 1972 Hartlepool Layer Road
FW England Bobby Svarc 29 December 1972 Hartlepool Layer Road
CB England Ray Harford 6 January 1973 Newport County Somerton Park
CB England Ray Harford 3 February 1973 Aldershot Recreation Ground [32][lower-alpha 1]
MF Scotland Bobby Roberts 16 March 1973 Cambridge United Layer Road
  1. 1 2 Second debut for the club

See also

References

General

Books

Websites

Specific

  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 0–2 Bournemouth". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  3. "Colchester Utd 1–0 Peterborough United". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  4. "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  5. Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1950s and 1960s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  6. 1 2 "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Des Kelly". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Martin Binks". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 "Steve Wooldridge". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  10. "Phil Thomas". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 "Bobby Moss". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  12. 1 2 "Bobby Noble". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  13. "Stuart Morgan". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  14. 1 2 "John South". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  15. 1 2 "Jim Smith". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  16. 1 2 "John McInally". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  17. "Stan Brown". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  18. "Bobby Svarc". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  19. 1 2 "Ray Harford". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  20. "Bobby Roberts". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  21. "Brian Gibbs". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  22. "Bobby Howlett". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  23. "Eric Burgess". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  24. "Brian Hall". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  25. "Barry Smith". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  26. "Dave Simmons". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  27. 1 2 "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  28. "Discipline". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  29. "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  30. "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  31. "Reading 0–1 Colchester Utd". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  32. "Aldershot 2–0 Colchester Utd". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
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