Misplaced Pages

Colchester United

1967–68 season
Chairman	Harold Moore (until January) Arthur Neville (from January)
Manager	Neil Franklin
Stadium	Layer Road
Third Division	22nd (relegated)
FA Cup	3rd round (eliminated by West Bromwich Albion)
League Cup	1st round (eliminated by Brighton & Hove Albion)
Top goalscorer	League: Reg Stratton (9) All: Reg Stratton (11)
Highest home attendance	15,981 v West Bromwich Albion, 27 January 1968
Lowest home attendance	2,483 v Peterborough United, 11 May 1968
Average home league attendance	4,591
Biggest win	2–0 v Bristol Rovers, 23 December 1967 v Chelmsford City, 6 January 1968
Biggest defeat	0–5 v Barrow, 13 November 1967
Home colours
← 1966–671968–69 →

The 1967–68 season was Colchester United's 26th season in their history and their second successive season in the third tier of English football, the Third Division. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Colchester were relegated to the Fourth Division after a two–year stay in the Third Division. They succumbed following 15 defeats in 22 games, recording just one win during this time. Manager Neil Franklin was sacked two days after the season ending 5–1 home defeat by Peterborough United. They fared better in the FA Cup, earning a third round replay against First Division West Bromwich Albion where they were defeated 4–0, but exited the League Cup in the first round, beaten by Brighton & Hove Albion by the same scoreline.

Season overview

Colchester's league and FA Cup form contrasted during the 1967–68 season. A trip to Torquay United in the first round of the Cup saw the U's earn a replay at home, where they won 2–1. Essex rivals Chelmsford City were beaten 2–0 in the second round, a joint–best result for the campaign for Colchester. Layer Road then played host to First Division West Bromwich Albion in front of a crowd just short of 16,000. With the score at 1–1, both goalscorer Reg Stratton and John Mansfield had goals ruled out for infringements late on as the tie went to a replay. The U's lost 4–0 at The Hawthorns to the eventual Cup winners.

With the attention on Colchester's cup run, their league form had dropped significantly. After challenging for the promotion positions, Colchester lost 15 of their remaining 22 games after Boxing Day, winning just once. A new all-time record low attendance of 2,483 watched the final day 5–1 defeat by Peterborough United at Layer Road.

With Colchester relegated, and their third relegation in eight seasons, manager Neil Franklin was sacked two days after the season-ending defeat to Peterborough.

Players

As of match played 11 May 1968.

Name	Position	Nationality	Place of birth	Date of birth	Apps	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Ernie Adams	GK		Hackney	(1948-01-17)17 January 1948 (aged 19)	0	0	Arsenal	1 July 1967	Free transfer
Alan Buck	GK		Colchester	(1946-08-25)25 August 1946 (aged 20)	37	0	Amateur	July 1963	Free transfer
Defenders
Alan Dennis	CB		Colchester	(1951-02-22)22 February 1951 (aged 16)	0	0	Apprentice	April 1967	Free transfer
Duncan Forbes	CB		Edinburgh	(1941-06-19)19 June 1941 (aged 25)	236	2	Musselburgh Athletic	4 September 1961	Nominal
Brian Hall	LB		Burbage	(1939-03-09)9 March 1939 (aged 28)	108	14	Mansfield Town	March 1965	Free transfer
Mick Loughton	CB		Colchester	(1942-12-08)8 December 1942 (aged 24)	102	2	Amateur	August 1961	Free transfer
Dennis Mochan	FB		Falkirk	(1935-12-12)12 December 1935 (aged 31)	35	0	Nottingham Forest	24 September 1966	Free transfer
Bob Walker	CB		Wallsend	(1942-07-23)23 July 1942 (aged 24)	0	0	Bournemouth	7 October 1967	Free transfer
Midfielders
Bobby Blackwood	MF		Edinburgh	(1934-08-20)20 August 1934 (aged 32)	67	5	Ipswich Town	1 June 1965	Free transfer
David Buck	WH		Colchester	(1946-08-25)25 August 1946 (aged 18)	1	0	Apprentice	16 October 1965	Free transfer
Roger Joslyn	MF		Colchester	(1950-05-07)7 May 1950 (aged 17)	0	0	Apprentice	23 December 1967	Free transfer
John Mansfield	MF		Colchester	(1946-09-13)13 September 1946 (aged 20)	16	3	Apprentice	August 1964	Free transfer
Derek Trevis	MF		Birmingham	(1942-09-09)9 September 1942 (aged 24)	155	11	Aston Villa	7 March 1964	Free transfer
Forwards
Peter Barlow	FW		Portsmouth	(1950-01-09)9 January 1950 (aged 17)	4	0	Apprentice	September 1965	Free transfer
Peter Bullock	FW		Stoke-on-Trent	(1941-11-17)17 November 1941 (aged 25)	79	26	Southend United	30 October 1965	Nominal
Ken Hodgson	FW		Newcastle upon Tyne	(1942-01-19)19 January 1942 (aged 25)	47	16	Bournemouth	20 August 1966	£4,000
Johnny Martin	WG		Ashington	(1946-12-04)4 December 1946 (aged 20)	49	8	Aston Villa	20 August 1966	Free transfer
Jim Oliver	FW		Falkirk	(1941-12-03)3 December 1941 (aged 25)	0	0	Brighton & Hove Albion	January 1968	£2,000
Terry Price	WG		Colchester	(1945-10-11)11 October 1945 (aged 21)	0	0	Orient	16 September 1967	£2,000
Alan Shires	WG		Leigh-on-Sea	(1948-06-29)29 June 1948 (aged 18)	17	2	Southend United	27 August 1966	Free transfer
Reg Stratton	FW		Kingsley	(1939-07-10)10 July 1939 (aged 27)	88	45	Fulham	28 May 1965	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.
1 July 1967	GK		Ernie Adams	Arsenal	Free transfer
23 December 1967	MF		Roger Joslyn	Apprentice	Free transfer
9 September 1967	FB		John Fowler	Free agent	Free transfer
16 September 1967	FW		Tommy McKechnie	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	Free transfer
16 September 1967	WG		Terry Price	Orient	£2,000
7 October 1967	CB		Bob Walker	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	Free transfer
January 1968	FW		Jim Oliver	Brighton & Hove Albion	£2,000

• Total spending: ~ £4,000

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	GK		Sandy Kennon	Lowestoft Town	Released
End of season	FB		David Raine	Burton Albion	Released
Summer 1967	FB		Ray Price	Chelmsford City	Released
July 1967	CF		Brian Westlake	Royal Daring Club de Bruxelles	£5,000
13 November 1967	FB		John Fowler	Free agent	Released
28 February 1968	MF		Dave Lamont	Eastern Gas	Released
22 April 1968	FW		Tommy McKechnie	Bury Town	Free transfer

• Total incoming: ~ £5,000

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

Match details

Third Division

Results round by round

League table

1. Peterborough deducted 19 points for making irregular payments to players

Matches

26 August 1967 (1967-08-26) 2	Bristol Rovers	1–1	Colchester United	Colchester
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Hall	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,989

4 September 1967 (1967-09-04) 3	Southport	2–3	Colchester United	Southport
	Spence Redrobe	Report Report	Hodgson Bullock	Stadium: Haig Avenue Attendance: 7,058

5 September 1967 (1967-09-05) 4	Colchester United	3–2	Barrow	Colchester
	Stratton 37' Bullock 39' Mochan 54'	Report	Knox 80' Edwards 86'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,609

9 September 1967 (1967-09-09) 5	Oxford United	3–1	Colchester United	Oxford
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Hall	Stadium: Manor Ground Attendance: 5,873

23 September 1967 (1967-09-23) 7	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	1–2	Colchester United	Bournemouth
	Pound 7'	Report	McKechnie 6', 70'	Stadium: Dean Court Attendance: 5,766

25 September 1967 (1967-09-25) 8	Colchester United	1–1	Southport	Colchester
	Bullock	Report Report	Andrews	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,873

29 September 1967 (1967-09-29) 9	Tranmere Rovers	4–2	Colchester United	Birkenhead
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Bullock McKechnie	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 7,133

2 October 1967 (1967-10-02) 10	Colchester United	2–1	Watford	Colchester
	McKechnie	Report	Garbett	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,420

14 October 1967 (1967-10-14) 12	Shrewsbury Town	4–0	Colchester United	Shrewsbury
	Unknown goalscorer	Report		Stadium: Gay Meadow Attendance: 4,162

21 October 1967 (1967-10-21) 13	Colchester United	2–1	Swindon Town	Colchester
	Blackwood 60' Price 77'	Report Report	Penman 43'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,907

24 October 1967 (1967-10-24) 14	Watford	1–1	Colchester United	Watford
	Garvey	Report	Bullock	Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 10,669

28 October 1967 (1967-10-28) 15	Reading	1–0	Colchester United	Reading
	Unknown goalscorer	Report		Stadium: Elm Park Attendance: 5,741

4 November 1967 (1967-11-04) 16	Colchester United	3–5	Torquay United	Colchester
	Shires Hodgson Stratton	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,249

11 November 1967 (1967-11-11) 17	Grimsby Town	1–2	Colchester United	Cleethorpes
	Moore 63'	Report	Barlow 61' Blackwood 77'	Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 3,667

13 November 1967 (1967-11-13) 18	Barrow	5–0	Colchester United	Barrow-in-Furness
	Unknown goalscorer	Report		Stadium: Holker Street Attendance: 5,685

18 November 1967 (1967-11-18) 19	Colchester United	2–2	Gillingham	Colchester
	Stratton	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,190

25 November 1967 (1967-11-25) 20	Walsall	1–1	Colchester United	Walsall
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Forbes	Stadium: Fellows Park Attendance: 10,001

2 December 1967 (1967-12-02) 21	Colchester United	2–1	Northampton Town	Colchester
	Trevis Price	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,505

16 December 1967 (1967-12-16) 22	Oldham Athletic	2–1	Colchester United	Oldham
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Barlow	Stadium: Boundary Park Attendance: 4,177

23 December 1967 (1967-12-23) 23	Colchester United	2–0	Bristol Rovers	Colchester
	Barlow Stratton	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,324

26 December 1967 (1967-12-26) 24	Mansfield Town	2–1	Colchester United	Mansfield
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Stratton	Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 6,679

30 December 1967 (1967-12-30) 25	Colchester United	1–2	Mansfield Town	Colchester
	Stratton	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,180

20 January 1968 (1968-01-20) 26	Bury	2–0	Colchester United	Bury
	Unknown goalscorer	Report		Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 7,000

3 February 1968 (1968-02-03) 27	Colchester United	0–1	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	Colchester
		Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,075

10 February 1968 (1968-02-10) 28	Colchester United	1–2	Tranmere Rovers	Colchester
	Martin	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,739

17 February 1968 (1968-02-17) 29	Peterborough United	3–1	Colchester United	Peterborough
	Thompson Hall	Report Report	Loughton	Stadium: London Road Stadium Attendance: 5,066

26 February 1968 (1968-02-26) 31	Colchester United	1–0	Scunthorpe United	Colchester
	Barlow	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,979

2 March 1968 (1968-03-02) 32	Colchester United	0–3	Shrewsbury Town	Colchester
		Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,877

9 March 1968 (1968-03-09) 33	Scunthorpe United	5–1	Colchester United	Scunthorpe
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Mochan	Stadium: Old Showground Attendance: 3,003

16 March 1968 (1968-03-16) 34	Swindon Town	1–1	Colchester United	Swindon
	Rogers 34'	Report Report	Martin 40'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 13,515

23 March 1968 (1968-03-23) 35	Colchester United	2–5	Reading	Colchester
	Bullock	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,136

25 March 1968 (1968-03-25) 36	Colchester United	1–2	Oxford United	Colchester
	Stratton	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,516

30 March 1968 (1968-03-30) 37	Torquay United	3–0	Colchester United	Torquay
	Unknown goalscorer	Report		Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 9,801

6 April 1968 (1968-04-06) 38	Colchester United	1–3	Grimsby Town	Colchester
	Blackwood	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,231

12 April 1968 (1968-04-12) 39	Colchester United	1–1	Stockport County	Colchester
	Loughton	Report	Atkins	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,059

13 April 1968 (1968-04-13) 40	Gillingham	1–0	Colchester United	Gillingham
	Unknown goalscorer	Report		Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 5,734

15 April 1968 (1968-04-15) 41	Stockport County	1–0	Colchester United	Stockport
	Atkins	Report		Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 7,149

20 April 1968 (1968-04-20) 42	Colchester United	2–2	Walsall	Colchester
	Loughton	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,764

22 April 1968 (1968-04-22) 43	Orient	1–1	Colchester United	Leyton
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Stratton	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 6,125

27 April 1968 (1968-04-27) 44	Northampton Town	2–2	Colchester United	Northampton
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Loughton Price	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,859

4 May 1968 (1968-05-04) 45	Colchester United	1–1	Orient	Colchester
	Martin	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,124

11 May 1968 (1968-05-11) 46	Colchester United	1–5	Peterborough United	Colchester
	Trevis	Report	Thompson Conmy Hall Garwood	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,483

League Cup

23 August 1967 (1967-08-23) 1st round	Brighton & Hove Albion	4–0	Colchester United	Hove
	Flood Livesey Napier	Report		Stadium: Goldstone Ground Attendance: 10,745

FA Cup

12 December 1967 (1967-12-12) 1st round	Torquay United	1–1	Colchester United	Torquay
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Barlow	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 6,655

18 December 1967 (1967-12-18) 1st round replay	Colchester United	2–1	Torquay United	Colchester
	Trevis	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 7,079

6 January 1968 (1968-01-06) 2nd round	Chelmsford City	0–2	Colchester United	Chelmsford
		Report	Stratton McKechnie	Stadium: New Writtle Street Attendance: 16,400

27 January 1968 (1968-01-27) 3rd round	Colchester United	1–1	West Bromwich Albion	Colchester
	Stratton	Report	Brown pen.'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 15,981

31 January 1968 (1968-01-31) 3rd round	West Bromwich Albion	4–0	Colchester United	West Bromwich
	Astle Clark Kaye	Report		Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 40,008

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Third Division		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	ENG	Ernie Adams	50	0	44	0	5	0	1	0
	GK	ENG	Alan Buck	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	SCO	Duncan Forbes	52	1	46	1	5	0	1	0
	DF	ENG	Brian Hall	46	2	41	2	5	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	Mick Loughton	31	5	28+1	5	1	0	1	0
	DF	SCO	Dennis Mochan	46	2	40	2	5	0	1	0
	DF	ENG	Bob Walker	19	0	13+4	0	0+2	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Bobby Blackwood	50	3	43+1	3	5	0	1	0
	MF	ENG	Roger Joslyn	12	0	10+2	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	John Mansfield	21	0	13+2	0	5	0	1	0
	MF	ENG	Derek Trevis	51	4	45	2	5	2	1	0
	FW	ENG	Peter Barlow	18	5	14+2	4	2	1	0	0
	FW	ENG	Peter Bullock	23	7	20	7	1+1	0	1	0
	FW	ENG	Ken Hodgson	13	3	11+1	3	0	0	1	0
	FW	ENG	Johnny Martin	31	3	25	3	5	0	1	0
	FW	SCO	Jim Oliver	15	0	14+1	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Terry Price	39	3	35	3	4	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Alan Shires	8	1	8	1	0	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Reg Stratton	33	11	29	9	3	2	1	0
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
	DF	SCO	John Fowler	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Dave Lamont	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	SCO	Tommy McKechnie	27	6	22+1	5	4	1	0	0

Goalscorers

Place	Nationality	Position	Name	Third Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1		FW	Reg Stratton	9	2	0	11
2		FW	Peter Bullock	7	0	0	7
3		FW	Tommy McKechnie	5	1	0	6
4		FW	Peter Barlow	4	1	0	5
		CB	Mick Loughton	5	0	0	5
6		MF	Derek Trevis	2	2	0	4
7		MF	Bobby Blackwood	3	0	0	3
		FW	Ken Hodgson	3	0	0	3
		WG	Johnny Martin	3	0	0	3
		WG	Terry Price	3	0	0	3
11		LB	Brian Hall	2	0	0	2
		FB	Dennis Mochan	2	0	0	2
13		CB	Duncan Forbes	1	0	0	1
		WG	Alan Shires	1	0	0	1
			Own goals	0	0	0	0
			TOTALS	50	6	0	56

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.

Place	Nationality	Player	Third Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1		Ernie Adams	6	1	0	7
		TOTALS	6	1	0	7

Player debuts

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

Position	Nationality	Player	Date	Opponent	Ground	Notes
GK		Ernie Adams	19 August 1967	Oldham Athletic	Layer Road
FB		John Fowler	9 September 1967	Oxford United	Manor Ground
FW		Tommy McKechnie	16 September 1967	Bury	Layer Road
WG		Terry Price	16 September 1967	Bury	Layer Road
CB		Bob Walker	7 October 1967	Brighton & Hove Albion	Layer Road
MF		Dave Lamont	4 November 1967	Torquay United	Layer Road
MF		Roger Joslyn	23 December 1967	Bristol Rovers	Layer Road
FW		Jim Oliver	24 February 1968	Brighton & Hove Albion	Goldstone Ground

1. Second debut for the club

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.

Websites

• "Colchester United football club match record: 1967". 11v11.com. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
• "1960/61 to 1969/70" (PDF). Watford Football Club archive. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
• "First team 1967–68 – Football League: Division Three". Go Go Go County. Retrieved 28 January 2017.

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 1–1 West Bromwich Albion". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
3. "Colchester Utd 1–5 Peterborough United". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
4. "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
5. Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1950s and 1960s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
6. ^ "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
7. "Ernie Adams". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
8. "Roger Joslyn". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
9. ^ "John Fowler". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
10. ^ "Tommy McKechnie". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
11. "Terry Price". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
12. "Bob Walker". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
13. "Jim Oliver". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
14. "Sandy Kennon". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
15. "David Raine". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
16. "Ray Price". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
17. "Brian Westlake". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
18. "Dave Lamont". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
19. ^ "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
20. "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
21. "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
22. "Oxford United 3–1 Colchester Utd". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2017.

• Colchester United F.C. seasons
• English football clubs 1967–68 season