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Colchester United

1952–53 season
Chairman	Bill Allen
Manager	Jimmy Allen (until 2 May)
Stadium	Layer Road
Third Division South	22nd
FA Cup	3rd round (eliminated by Rotherham United)
Top goalscorer	League: Kevin McCurley (16) All: Kevin McCurley (19)
Highest home attendance	14,674 v Ipswich Town, 23 August 1952
Lowest home attendance	3,382 v Crystal Palace, 19 March 1953
Average home league attendance	8,002
Biggest win	6–1 v Walsall, 14 February 1953
Biggest defeat	0–4 v Southend United, 7 March 1953; 1–5 v Torquay United, 18 April 1953; 0–4 v Norwich City, 2 May 1953
Home colours
← 1951–521953–54 →

The 1952–53 season was Colchester United's eleventh season in their history and their third season in the Third Division South, the third tier of English football. Alongside competing in the Third Division South, the club also participated in the FA Cup. Colchester reached the third round of the FA Cup for the second season running, but were knocked out by Second Division side Rotherham United after a replay. The club struggled in the league, eventually finishing 22nd of 24 teams which would ultimately cost manager Jimmy Allen his job.

Season overview

The season began with a Layer Road crowd of 14,674 witnessing a 0–0 draw with local rivals Ipswich Town, and in the early stages of the campaign, the club remained mid-table. In the FA Cup, Colchester disposed of Weymouth in the first round following a replay, and then Llanelli in the second round, before once again facing Second Division Yorkshire opposition in Rotherham United. After drawing 2–2 at Millmoor and forcing a replay, Colchester lost the Layer Road replay 2–0.

In the latter stages of the season, a poor run of just one point from six games saw United slip from 13th-position to 22nd, just one place and two points above the re-election positions. Meanwhile, forward Kevin McCurley had justified manager Jimmy Allen's £750 outlay with a return of 19 goals. However, with Allen's style of play criticised by supporters and his unwillingness to reduce the playing staff as requested by the board saw Allen tender his resignation on 2 May 1953.

Players

As of match played 2 May 1953.

Name	Position	Nationality	Place of birth	Date of birth	Apps	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Frank Coombs	GK		East Ham	(1925-04-24)24 April 1925 (aged 27)	13	0	Southend United	8 March 1952	£450
George Wright	GK		Plymouth	(1919-10-10)10 October 1919 (aged 32)	131	0	Plymouth Argyle	May 1949	£1,000
John Wright	GK		Aldershot	(1933-08-13)13 August 1933 (aged 18)	0	0	Colchester Casuals	23 May 1952	Free transfer
Defenders
Roy Bicknell	CB		Doncaster	(1926-02-19)19 February 1926 (aged 26)	0	0	Gravesend & Northfleet	June 1952	£1,000
George French	FB		Colchester	(1926-11-10)10 November 1926 (aged 25)	0	0	West Ham United	February 1949	Free transfer
John Harrison	FB		Leicester	(1927-09-27)27 September 1927 (aged 24)	77	0	Aston Villa	30 September 1950	Nominal
Digger Kettle	FB		Colchester	(1922-06-03)3 June 1922 (aged 29)	168	1	Arclight Sports	September 1946	Free transfer
Phil Rookes	FB		Dulverton	(1919-04-23)23 April 1919 (aged 33)	28	0	Portsmouth	July 1951	£1,000
Trevor Rowlands	FB		Wattstown	(1922-02-02)2 February 1922 (aged 30)	41	2	Norwich City	20 July 1950	£1,000
Reg Stewart	CB		Sheffield	(1925-10-30)30 October 1925 (aged 26)	146	0	Sheffield Wednesday	20 August 1949	£1,000
Midfielders
Harry Bearryman	WH		Wandsworth	(1924-09-26)26 September 1924 (aged 27)	243	9	Chelsea	4 July 1947	Free transfer
Jimmy Elder	WH		Scone	(1928-03-05)5 March 1928 (aged 24)	93	7	Portsmouth	19 August 1950	£1,000
Trevor Harris	WH		Colchester	(1936-02-06)6 February 1936 (aged 16)	0	0	Amateur	July 1951	Free transfer
Bert Hill	WH		West Ham	(1930-03-08)8 March 1930 (aged 22)	0	0	Chelsea	September 1952	£300
Ron Hunt	WH		Colchester	(1933-09-26)26 September 1933 (aged 18)	3	0	Amateur	October 1951	Free transfer
Forwards
Peter Aitchison	WG		Harlow	(1931-09-19)19 September 1931 (aged 20)	9	2	Amateur	August 1950	Free transfer
Bert Barlow	IF		Kilnhurst	(1916-07-22)22 July 1916 (aged 35)	0	0	Leicester City	Summer 1952	<£1,000
John Church	WG		Lowestoft	(1919-09-17)17 September 1919 (aged 32)	83	13	Norwich City	19 August 1950	£1,000
Dick Cullum	FW		Colchester	(1931-01-28)28 January 1931 (aged 21)	0	0	Colchester Colts	28 March 1951	Free transfer
Stan Edwards	CF		Dawdon	(1926-10-17)17 October 1926 (aged 25)	0	0	Chelsea	6 September 1952	£750
Mike Grice	WG		Woking	(1931-11-03)3 November 1931 (aged 20)	0	0	Lowestoft Town	Summer 1952	£25
Kevin McCurley	CF		Consett	(1926-04-02)2 April 1926 (aged 26)	11	6	Liverpool	June 1951	£750
Johnny McKim	IF		Greenock	(1926-01-22)22 January 1926 (aged 26)	51	18	Chelsea	19 August 1950	£1,000
Augie Scott	IF		Sunderland	(1921-02-19)19 February 1921 (aged 31)	48	6	Southampton	18 August 1951	£2,000
Peter Wright	WG		Colchester	(1934-01-26)26 January 1934 (aged 18)	9	0	Amateur	November 1951	Free transfer

1. ^ 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 1952	IF		Bert Barlow	Leicester City	<£1,000
Summer 1952	WG		Mike Grice	Lowestoft Town	£25
23 May 1952	GK		John Wright	Colchester Casuals	Free transfer
June 1952	CB		Roy Bicknell	Gravesend & Northfleet	£1,000
September 1952	WH		Bert Hill	Chelsea	£300
6 September 1952	CF		Stan Edwards	Chelsea	£750

• Total spending: ~ £3,075

1. 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	WG		Adam Davidson	Carnoustie Panmure	Released
End of season	CF		Arthur Turner	Headington United	Free transfer
Summer 1952	WH		John Moore	Staines Town	Free transfer
Summer 1952	FW		Jack McClelland	Stoke City	Undisclosed
14 March 1953	WH		Harry Wilkinson	Folkestone Town	Released
4 April 1953	WH		Len Jones	Ipswich Town	Released

1. ^ Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

Match details

Third Division South

Results round by round

League table

Matches

28 August 1952 (1952-08-28) 2	Colchester United	2–1	Reading	Colchester
	McKim	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 9,190

3 September 1952 (1952-09-03) 4	Reading	2–0	Colchester United	Reading
	Unknown goalscorer	Report		Stadium: Elm Park Attendance: 13,908

6 September 1952 (1952-09-06) 5	Colchester United	3–1	Swindon Town	Colchester
	Church McKim Edwards	Report Report	Betteridge	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 9,062

11 September 1952 (1952-09-11) 6	Colchester United	0–3	Bristol Rovers	Colchester
		Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 8,909

13 September 1952 (1952-09-13) 7	Queens Park Rangers	1–0	Colchester United	Shepherd's Bush
	Unknown goalscorer	Report		Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 13,837

15 September 1952 (1952-09-15) 8	Bristol Rovers	3–1	Colchester United	Bristol
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Elder pen.'	Stadium: Eastville Stadium Attendance: 17,336

20 September 1952 (1952-09-20) 9	Colchester United	1–0	Shrewsbury Town	Colchester
	Scott	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 7,779

23 September 1952 (1952-09-23) 10	Bristol City	3–2	Colchester United	Bristol
	Rogers 3', 14', 28'	Report	Barlow 13' McCurley 28' Elder	Stadium: Ashton Gate Stadium Attendance: 12,615

27 September 1952 (1952-09-27) 11	Walsall	0–3	Colchester United	Walsall
		Report	Grice 37' Church 42' McCurley	Stadium: Fellows Park Attendance: 7,736

4 October 1952 (1952-10-04) 12	Colchester United	1–1	Gillingham	Colchester
	Church	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 8,529

11 October 1952 (1952-10-11) 13	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	1–0	Colchester United	Bournemouth
	Unknown goalscorer	Report		Stadium: Dean Court Attendance: 11,679

18 October 1952 (1952-10-18) 14	Colchester United	3–3	Southend United	Colchester
	Church McKim McCurley	Report Report	Marsden Stubbs	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 10,589

25 October 1952 (1952-10-25) 15	Watford	2–0	Colchester United	Watford
	Bowie Cook	Report		Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 15,166

8 November 1952 (1952-11-08) 17	Newport County	0–1	Colchester United	Newport
		Report	McKim	Stadium: Somerton Park Attendance: 8,989

29 November 1952 (1952-11-29) 18	Colchester United	4–1	Torquay United	Colchester
	Barlow Church McKim	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,846

13 December 1952 (1952-12-13) 19	Colchester United	3–1	Leyton Orient	Colchester
	McKim McCurley	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,622

20 December 1952 (1952-12-20) 20	Ipswich Town	2–2	Colchester United	Ipswich
	Elsworthy Jones	Report Report	McKim McCurley	Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 12,572 Referee: W. Clapton

26 December 1952 (1952-12-26) 21	Norwich City	3–0	Colchester United	Norwich
	Unknown goalscorer	Report		Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 19,859

3 January 1953 (1953-01-03) 22	Colchester United	1–2	Aldershot	Colchester
	McCurley	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 7,438

17 January 1953 (1953-01-17) 23	Swindon Town	0–1	Colchester United	Swindon
		Report Report	McKim	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 8,545

21 January 1953 (1953-01-21) 24	Exeter City	2–0	Colchester United	Exeter
	Unknown goalscorer	Report		Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,951

24 January 1953 (1953-01-24) 25	Colchester United	1–1	Queens Park Rangers	Colchester
	Rowlands	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 9,150

31 January 1953 (1953-01-31) 26	Colchester United	3–1	Exeter City	Colchester
	Barlow Elder pen.' Rowlands	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,643

7 February 1953 (1953-02-07) 27	Shrewsbury Town	3–0	Colchester United	Shrewsbury
	Unknown goalscorer	Report		Stadium: Gay Meadow Attendance: 7,624

14 February 1953 (1953-02-14) 28	Colchester United	6–1	Walsall	Colchester
	McKim McCurley	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,102

21 February 1953 (1953-02-21) 29	Gillingham	1–1	Colchester United	Gillingham
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	McCurley	Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 11,299

28 February 1953 (1953-02-28) 30	Colchester United	1–1	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	Colchester
	McCurley	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 7,858

7 March 1953 (1953-03-07) 31	Southend United	4–0	Colchester United	Southend-on-Sea
	Bainbridge Grant Thompson	Report Report		Stadium: Southend Stadium Attendance: 10,250

14 March 1953 (1953-03-14) 32	Colchester United	1–1	Watford	Colchester
	McCurley	Report	Meadows	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,667

19 March 1953 (1953-03-19) 33	Colchester United	3–0	Crystal Palace	Colchester
	McKim McCurley	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,382

28 March 1953 (1953-03-28) 35	Colchester United	3–3	Newport County	Colchester
	Elder pen.' Church McCurley McKim	Report	Graham Beattie	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,200

3 April 1953 (1953-04-03) 36	Colchester United	0–1	Coventry City	Colchester
		Report Report	Brown	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 10,618

4 April 1953 (1953-04-04) 37	Crystal Palace	3–1	Colchester United	Selhurst
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Church	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 12,099

6 April 1953 (1953-04-06) 38	Coventry City	2–2	Colchester United	Coventry
	Simpson 55' Mason 90+4'	Report	Bearryman 40' Edwards 49'	Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 11,284

11 April 1953 (1953-04-11) 39	Colchester United	3–1	Bristol City	Colchester
	Barlow Edwards	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 7,519

16 April 1953 (1953-04-16) 40	Northampton Town	2–0	Colchester United	Northampton
	Unknown goalscorer	Report		Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 7,982

18 April 1953 (1953-04-18) 41	Torquay United	5–1	Colchester United	Torquay
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Barlow	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 7,269

25 April 1953 (1953-04-25) 43	Colchester United	1–2	Northampton Town	Colchester
	Barlow	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 8,122

27 April 1953 (1953-04-27) 44	Millwall	3–1	Colchester United	New Cross
	Stobbart 5' Anslow 50' Short 85'	Report	P. Wright 12'	Stadium: The Den Attendance: 7,970

30 April 1953 (1953-04-30) 45	Leyton Orient	5–3	Colchester United	Leyton
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Scott P. Wright Edwards	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 2,553

2 May 1953 (1953-05-02) 46	Colchester United	0–4	Norwich City	Colchester
		Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 10,029

FA Cup

22 November 1952 (1952-11-22) 1st round	Weymouth	1–1	Colchester United	Weymouth
	Rowell	Report	McKim	Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 8,500

27 November 1952 (1952-11-27) 1st round replay	Colchester United	4–0	Weymouth	Colchester
	Targett 33' (o.g.) McKim 39' Edwards 84', 87'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,314

6 December 1952 (1952-12-06) 2nd round	Colchester United	3–2	Llanelli	Colchester
	Barlow 13' Church 35' McCurley 84'	Report	Morris 30', 60'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 9,693

10 January 1953 (1953-01-10) 3rd round	Rotherham United	2–2	Colchester United	Rotherham
14:15 GMT	Unknown goalscorer	Report Programme	McCurley	Stadium: Millmoor Attendance: 16,547

15 January 1953 (1953-01-15) 3rd round replay	Colchester United	0–2	Rotherham United	Colchester
		Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 8,991

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Third Division South		FA Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	ENG	Frank Coombs	18	0	18	0	0	0
	GK	ENG	George Wright	33	0	28	0	5	0
	DF	ENG	Roy Bicknell	8	0	6	0	2	0
	DF	ENG	George French	1	0	1	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	John Harrison	51	0	46	0	5	0
	DF	ENG	Phil Rookes	46	0	43	0	3	0
	DF	WAL	Trevor Rowlands	5	2	5	2	0	0
	DF	ENG	Reg Stewart	45	0	40	0	5	0
	MF	ENG	Harry Bearryman	50	1	45	1	5	0
	MF	SCO	Jimmy Elder	50	3	45	3	5	0
	MF	ENG	Bert Hill	1	0	1	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Peter Aitchison	3	0	3	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Bert Barlow	33	7	28	6	5	1
	FW	ENG	John Church	39	9	34	8	5	1
	FW	ENG	Stan Edwards	19	7	16	5	3	2
	FW	ENG	Mike Grice	13	1	13	1	0	0
	FW	ENG	Kevin McCurley	47	19	42	16	5	3
	FW	SCO	Johnny McKim	33	15	28	13	5	2
	FW	ENG	Augie Scott	40	2	38	2	2	0
	FW	ENG	Peter Wright	12	2	12	2	0	0
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
	MF	ENG	Len Jones	13	0	13	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Harry Wilkinson	1	0	1	0	0	0

Goalscorers

Place	Nationality	Position	Name	Third Division South	FA Cup	Total
1		CF	Kevin McCurley	16	3	19
2		IF	Johnny McKim	13	2	15
3		WG	John Church	8	1	9
4		IF	Bert Barlow	6	1	7
		CF	Stan Edwards	5	2	7
6		WH	Jimmy Elder	3	0	3
7		FB	Trevor Rowlands	2	0	2
		IF	Augie Scott	2	0	2
		WG	Peter Wright	2	0	2
10		WH	Harry Bearryman	1	0	1
		WG	Mike Grice	1	0	1
			Own goals	0	1	1
			TOTALS	60	9	69

Disciplinary record

Nationality	Position	Name	Third Division South		FA Cup		Total
	IF	Johnny McKim	0	1	0	0	0	1
		TOTALS	0	1	0	0	0	1

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.

Place	Nationality	Player	Third Division South	FA Cup	Total
1		George Wright	6	1	7
2		Frank Coombs	4	0	4
		TOTALS	10	1	11

Player debuts

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

Position	Nationality	Player	Date	Opponent	Ground	Notes
CF		Stan Edwards	6 September 1952	Swindon Town	Layer Road
WG		Mike Grice	11 September 1952	Bristol Rovers	Layer Road
IF		Bert Barlow	13 September 1952	Queens Park Rangers	Loftus Road
CB		Roy Bicknell	4 October 1952	Gillingham	Layer Road
FB		George French	4 October 1952	Gillingham	Layer Road
WH		Harry Wilkinson	14 March 1953	Watford	Layer Road
WH		Bert Hill	11 April 1953	Bristol City	Layer Road

See also

• List of Colchester United F.C. seasons

References

General

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.

Websites

• "Colchester United football club match record: 1953". 11v11.com. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
• "Statistics 1952/53". The Millwall History Files. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
• "1950/51 to 1959/60" (PDF). Watford Football Club archive 1881–2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
• "Season 1952–1953". Weymouth FC. Retrieved 24 March 2016.

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 0–0 Ipswich Town". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
3. "Colchester Utd 3–0 Crystal Palace". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
4. "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
5. Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1950s and 1960s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
6. ^ "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
7. "Bert Barlow". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
8. "Mike Grice". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
9. "John Wright". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
10. "Roy Bicknell". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
11. "Bert Hill". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
12. "Stan Edwards". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
13. "Adam Davidson". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
14. "Arthur Turner". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
15. "John Moore". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
16. "JOHNNY McCLELLAND". Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
17. Matthews, Tont (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City Football Club 1868 to 1994. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
18. "Harry Wilkinson". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
19. "Len Jones". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
20. ^ "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
21. "Discipline". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
22. "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
23. "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2016.

• Colchester United F.C. seasons
• English football clubs 1952–53 season