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Colchester United

1975–76 season
Chairman	Jack Rippingale
Manager	Bobby Roberts
Stadium	Layer Road
Third Division	22nd (relegated)
FA Cup	1st round (eliminated by Dover)
League Cup	1st round (eliminated by Crystal Palace)
Top goalscorer	League: Steve Leslie (6) All: Steve Leslie (7)
Highest home attendance	6,240 v Crystal Palace, 10 January 1976
Lowest home attendance	2,245 v Chesterfield, 7 February 1976
Average home league attendance	3,385
Biggest win	3–1 v Crystal Palace, 25 August 1975 2–0 v Brighton & Hove Albion, 20 September 1975 v Walsall, 11 October 1975 v Aldershot, 16 March 1976
Biggest defeat	0–6 v Brighton & Hove Albion, 17 January 1976
Home colours
← 1974–751976–77 →

The 1975–76 season was Colchester United's 34th season in their history and their second consecutive season in 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.

With Jim Smith departing for Second Division Blackburn Rovers in the summer, his former Colchester United coach Bobby Roberts was appointed manager in his place. A succession of poor results spelt relegation for Colchester, while they exited both cup competitions in the first round.

Season overview

Jim Smith was prized away from Colchester by Second Division Blackburn Rovers over the summer. His coach Bobby Roberts was appointed manager but his early days in charge proved ominous for the remainder of the season. A winless first five games was only worsened by Smith returned to sign top scorer Bobby Svarc for £25,000 from the cash-strapped U's.

Colchester suffered defeat at the hands of non-League opposition in the FA Cup once again after being taken to a replay and then extra time by Dover. They were soundly beaten 4–1 at the end of extra time. They also lost out in the League Cup first round 4–3 on aggregate against Crystal Palace. Despite this, Colchester rallied for a mid-season resurgence of form to climb to twelfth position in the league table, but some crushing defeats including 6–1 at Chesterfield and 6–0 at Brighton & Hove Albion put the U's back in the relegation mire. Relegation was confirmed as Colchester finished 22nd position in the table, with Steve Leslie the club's top scorer with a record low of just six league goals.

Players

As of match played 26 April 1976.

Name	Position	Nationality	Place of birth	Date of birth	Apps	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Lee Smelt	GK		Edmonton	(1958-03-13)13 March 1958 (aged 17)	0	0	Bishop's Stortford	Summer 1975	Free transfer
Mike Walker	GK		Colwyn Bay	(1945-11-28)28 November 1945 (aged 29)	102	0	Watford	July 1973	£4,000
Defenders
Stewart Bright	FB		Colchester	(1957-10-13)13 October 1957 (aged 17)	0	0	Apprentice	Summer 1974	Free transfer
Micky Cook	FB		Enfield	(1951-04-09)9 April 1951 (aged 24)	246	9	Orient	1 March 1969	Free transfer
Barry Dominey	CB		Edmonton	(1955-10-21)21 October 1955 (aged 19)	35	3	Enfield WMC	September 1973	Free transfer
Derek Harrison	CB		Littlethorpe	(1950-02-09)9 February 1950 (aged 25)	0	0	Torquay United	Summer 1975	Free transfer
Mick Packer	FB		Willesden	(1950-04-20)20 April 1950 (aged 25)	72	1	Watford	July 1973	Free transfer
Lindsay Smith	CB		Enfield	(1954-09-18)18 September 1954 (aged 20)	138	6	Apprentice	20 April 1971	Free transfer
Johnny Williams	FB		Tottenham	(1947-03-26)26 March 1947 (aged 28)	0	0	Watford	June 1976	Undisclosed
Midfielders
Ray Bunkell	MF		Edmonton	(1949-09-18)18 September 1949 (aged 25)	40	1	Swindon Town	December 1973	Part exchange
Paul Dyer	MF		Leicester	(1953-01-24)24 January 1953 (aged 22)	0	0	Notts County	Summer 1975	Undisclosed
Steve Foley	MF		Clacton-on-Sea	(1953-06-21)21 June 1953 (aged 21)	109	24	Apprentice	July 1969	Free transfer
Steve Leslie	MF		Hornsey	(1952-09-04)4 September 1952 (aged 22)	146	27	Apprentice	20 April 1971	Free transfer
Forwards
Ian Allinson	WG		Hitchin	(1957-10-01)1 October 1957 (aged 17)	1	0	Apprentice	Summer 1974	Free transfer
Terry Anderson	WG		Woking	(1944-03-11)11 March 1944 (aged 31)	4	0	Baltimore Comets	23 August 1975	Free transfer
John Froggatt	FW		Stanton Hill	(1945-12-13)13 December 1945 (aged 29)	54	18	Boston United	Summer 1974	£6,000
Colin Garwood	FW		Heacham	(1949-06-29)29 June 1949 (aged 25)	0	0	Huddersfield Town	February 1976	£4,000
Bobby Gough	FW		Ladywood	(1949-07-20)20 July 1949 (aged 25)	0	0	Southport	January 1976	£7,000

1. ^ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club
2. Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game in his second spell for the club

Transfers

In

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
Summer 1975	GK		Lee Smelt	Bishop's Stortford	Free transfer
Summer 1975	CB		Derek Harrison	Torquay United	Free transfer
Summer 1975	MF		Paul Dyer	Notts County	Undisclosed
June 1975	FB		Johnny Williams	Watford	Undisclosed
23 August 1975	WG		Terry Anderson	Baltimore Comets	Free transfer
January 1976	FW		Bobby Gough	Southport	£7,000
February 1976	FW		Colin Garwood	Huddersfield Town	£4,000

• Total spending: ~ £11,000

1. Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game in his second spell for the club

Out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
End of season	CB		Ray Harford	Romford	Player-coach
Summer 1975	MF		Jimmy Lindsay	Hereford United	£13,000
18 August 1975	MF		Bobby Roberts	Colchester United	Manager
October 1975	FW		Bobby Svarc	Blackburn Rovers	£25,000
January 1976	MF		Phil Thomas	Free agent	Retired

• Total incoming: ~ £38,000

Loans in

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	End date	Ref.
16 August 1975	FB		Jon O'Donnell	Cambridge United	16 August 1975
January 1976	FW		Billy Telford	Peterborough United	7 February 1976
24 January 1976	GK		Len Bond	Bristol City	14 February 1976
February 1976	FW		Colin Garwood	Huddersfield Town	February 1976

1. ^ Loan start and end dates refer to the date of the player's first and final games for the club
2. Loan end date refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

Match details

Third Division

Results round by round

League table

Matches

16 August 1975 (1975-08-16) 1	Preston North End	2–1	Colchester United	Preston
	Treacy 68', 70'	Report	Svarc 16'	Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 8,324 Referee: R Lee

23 August 1975 (1975-08-23) 2	Colchester United	0–2	Mansfield Town	Colchester
		Report	Bird 40' Clarke 42'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,333 Referee: B James

30 August 1975 (1975-08-30) 3	Crystal Palace	3–2	Colchester United	Selhurst
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Svarc 15' Bunkell 16'	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 13,713 Referee: R Kirkpatrick

6 September 1975 (1975-09-06) 4	Colchester United	0–1	Halifax Town	Colchester
		Report	McHale 46' (pen.)	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,819

20 September 1975 (1975-09-20) 6	Colchester United	2–0	Brighton & Hove Albion	Colchester
	Froggatt 49' Svarc 90'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,176 Referee: E Read

24 September 1975 (1975-09-24) 7	Chester	1–0	Colchester United	Chester
	Owen 5'	Report		Stadium: Sealand Road Attendance: 3,954 Referee: G Flint

27 September 1975 (1975-09-27) 8	Swindon Town	0–1	Colchester United	Swindon
		Report	Packer 82'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,750 Referee: A Lees

11 October 1975 (1975-10-11) 10	Colchester United	2–0	Walsall	Colchester
	Froggatt 8' Dominey 56'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,980 Referee: L Burden

18 October 1975 (1975-10-18) 11	Aldershot	2–2	Colchester United	Aldershot
	Howarth 7' Bell 22'	Report	Foley 23', 60'	Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 3,586 Referee: D Reeves

25 October 1975 (1975-10-25) 13	Colchester United	1–0	Port Vale	Colchester
	Foley 17'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,053 Referee: A Turvey

1 November 1975 (1975-11-01) 14	Millwall	1–1	Colchester United	New Cross
	Hill 34'	Report	Smith 63'	Stadium: The Den Attendance: 7,492 Referee: A Robinson

5 November 1975 (1975-11-05) 15	Chesterfield	6–1	Colchester United	Chesterfield
	Darling 36', 78' Moss 42' Shanahan 45', 87', 90'	Report	Smith 43'	Stadium: Saltergate Attendance: 2,906 Referee: Joe Worrall

8 November 1975 (1975-11-08) 16	Colchester United	1–1	Shrewsbury Town	Colchester
	Smith 54'	Report	Bates 5'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,088 Referee: Ray Tinkler

15 November 1975 (1975-11-15) 17	Cardiff City	2–0	Colchester United	Cardiff
	Evans 2' Alston 83'	Report		Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 6,781 Referee: T Bosi

29 November 1975 (1975-11-29) 18	Gillingham	0–1	Colchester United	Gillingham
		Report	Foley 84'	Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 5,402 Referee: D Civil

6 December 1975 (1975-12-06) 19	Colchester United	2–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Colchester
	Smith 69' Cook 71'	Report	Potts 51'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,534 Referee: K Salmon

13 December 1975 (1975-12-13) 20	Wrexham	1–1	Colchester United	Wrexham
	Lee 80'	Report	Froggatt 80'	Stadium: Racecourse Ground Attendance: 2,143 Referee: I Smith

20 December 1975 (1975-12-20) 21	Colchester United	0–2	Wrexham	Colchester
		Report	Lee 36' Lyons 43'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,608 Referee: J Roost

26 December 1975 (1975-12-26) 22	Southend United	2–0	Colchester United	Southend-on-Sea
	Brace 40', 49'	Report		Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 6,167 Referee: Tom Bune

27 December 1975 (1975-12-27) 23	Colchester United	1–0	Grimsby Town	Colchester
	Foley 62'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,136 Referee: M Taylor

10 January 1976 (1976-01-10) 24	Colchester United	0–3	Crystal Palace	Colchester
		Report	Taylor 7' (pen.) Swindlehurst 26' Whittle 69'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,240 Referee: D Biddle

14 January 1976 (1976-01-14) 25	Peterborough United	3–1	Colchester United	Peterborough
	Gregory 5' Turner 58' Hughes 81'	Report	Packer 88'	Stadium: London Road Stadium Attendance: 7,453 Referee: Alf Grey

17 January 1976 (1976-01-17) 26	Brighton & Hove Albion	6–0	Colchester United	Hove
	Mellor 16' Rollings 37' Binney 45', 64' Fell 66', 75'	Report		Stadium: Goldstone Ground Attendance: 16,302 Referee: T Reynolds

24 January 1976 (1976-01-24) 27	Colchester United	1–4	Hereford United	Colchester
	Telford 3'	Report	McNeil 2', 38' Dominey 27' (o.g.) Davey 87'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,626 Referee: D Richardson

31 January 1976 (1976-01-31) 28	Rotherham United	2–0	Colchester United	Rotherham
	Spencer 30' Leng 89'	Report		Stadium: Millmoor Attendance: 3,943 Referee: E Garner

7 February 1976 (1976-02-07) 29	Colchester United	2–3	Chesterfield	Colchester
	Bunkell 64' (pen.) Leslie 66'	Report	Cammack 20' Fern 27' Darling 57'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,245 Referee: R Crabb

14 February 1976 (1976-02-14) 30	Shrewsbury Town	1–0	Colchester United	Shrewsbury
	Kearney 82'	Report		Stadium: Gay Meadow Attendance: 4,485 Referee: T Spencer

21 February 1976 (1976-02-21) 31	Colchester United	3–2	Cardiff City	Colchester
	Froggatt 60' Garwood 64', 80'	Report	Dwyer 18' Anderson 86' (pen.)	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,248 Referee: B Martin

24 February 1976 (1976-02-24) 32	Colchester United	1–0	Chester	Colchester
	Gough 54'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,534 Referee: E Read

28 February 1976 (1976-02-28) 33	Port Vale	3–2	Colchester United	Burslem
	Cullerton 8' Brownbill 75' Bailey 90'	Report	Dyer 20', 63'	Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 2,803 Referee: C Seel

13 March 1976 (1976-03-13) 34	Walsall	1–1	Colchester United	Walsall
	Andrews 3'	Report	Leslie 64'	Stadium: Fellows Park Attendance: 5,371 Referee: K Styles

16 March 1976 (1976-03-16) 35	Colchester United	2–0	Aldershot	Colchester
	Gough 32' Leslie 70'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,040 Referee: P Reeves

20 March 1976 (1976-03-20) 36	Colchester United	2–2	Gillingham	Colchester
	Bunkell 62' Leslie 65'	Report	Richardson 74' (pen.) Durrell 84'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,981 Referee: C White

23 March 1976 (1976-03-23) 37	Colchester United	0–1	Millwall	Colchester
		Report	Brisley 27'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,573 Referee: A Robinson

27 March 1976 (1976-03-27) 38	Sheffield Wednesday	1–0	Colchester United	Sheffield
	Henson 72'	Report		Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 6,905 Referee: R Perkin

3 April 1976 (1976-04-03) 39	Colchester United	1–1	Preston North End	Colchester
	Leslie 34'	Report	Elwiss 17' Williams  37'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,657 Referee: M Taylor

6 April 1976 (1976-04-06) 40	Colchester United	1–2	Swindon Town	Colchester
	Leslie 23'	Report	Anderson 17' (pen.) Syrett 26'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,694 Referee: B James

12 April 1976 (1976-04-12) 41	Bury	0–0	Colchester United	Bury
		Report	Froggatt  65'	Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 4,505 Referee: J Yates

16 April 1976 (1976-04-16) 42	Colchester United	1–1	Peterborough United	Colchester
	Bunkell 2' Foley  70'	Report	Leslie 48' (o.g.) Hughes  70'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,687 Referee: Rob Lewis

17 April 1976 (1976-04-17) 43	Colchester United	2–1	Southend United	Colchester
	Gough 60' Froggatt 69'	Report	Moody 44' (pen.)	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,260 Referee: A Glasson

19 April 1976 (1976-04-19) 44	Grimsby Town	0–1	Colchester United	Cleethorpes
		Report	Gough 18'	Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 4,862 Referee: G Nolan

26 April 1976 (1976-04-26) 46	Halifax Town	1–1	Colchester United	Halifax
	Smith 74' (o.g.)	Report	Gough 25'	Stadium: The Shay Attendance: 856 Referee: A Hamil

League Cup

18 August 1975 (1975-08-18) 1st round 1st leg	Crystal Palace	3–0	Colchester United	Selhurst
	Swindlehurst 2' Kemp 26', 49'	Report		Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 10,006 Referee: R Robinson

25 August 1975 (1975-08-25) 1st round 2nd leg	Colchester United	3–1	Crystal Palace	Colchester
	Svarc 40', 68' Smith 66'	Report	Chatterton 16'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,912 Referee: R Robinson
Note: Colchester lost 4–3 on aggregate

FA Cup

22 November 1975 (1975-11-22) 1st round	Colchester United	3–3	Dover	Colchester
	Leslie 24' Dominey 40' Smith 75'	Report	Coupland 16' Waite 45' Rogers 82'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,705 Referee: B James

26 November 1975 (1975-11-26) 1st round replay	Dover	4–1 (a.e.t.)	Colchester United	River
	Hamshire 52' Coxhill 102' (pen.) Coupland 108', 120'	Report	Packer 60' (pen.)	Stadium: Crabble Athletic Ground Attendance: 3,779 Referee: B James

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	WAL	Mike Walker	47	0	43	0	2	0	2	0
	DF	ENG	Stewart Bright	20	0	18+2	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	Micky Cook	43	1	39	1	2	0	2	0
	DF	ENG	Barry Dominey	42	2	32+6	1	2	1	2	0
	DF	ENG	Derek Harrison	8	0	5+2	0	1	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	Mick Packer	46	3	44	2	2	1	0	0
	DF	ENG	Lindsay Smith	45	6	39+2	4	2	1	2	1
	DF	ENG	Johnny Williams	39	0	36	0	2	0	1	0
	MF	ENG	Ray Bunkell	45	4	40+1	4	2	0	2	0
	MF	ENG	Paul Dyer	40	2	34+2	2	2	0	2	0
	MF	ENG	Steve Foley	30	5	26+3	5	1	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Steve Leslie	41	7	36+3	6	2	1	0	0
	FW	ENG	Ian Allinson	5	0	3+2	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Terry Anderson	18	0	13+3	0	1+1	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	John Froggatt	44	5	41	5	1	0	2	0
	FW	ENG	Colin Garwood	15	2	15	2	0	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Bobby Gough	22	5	22	5	0	0	0	0
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
	GK	ENG	Len Bond	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	Jon O'Donnell	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Bobby Roberts	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	MF	ENG	Phil Thomas	10	0	7+1	0	0	0	2	0
	FW	ENG	Bobby Svarc	10	5	8	3	0	0	2	2
	FW	ENG	Billy Telford	2	1	1+1	1	0	0	0	0

Goalscorers

Place	Nationality	Position	Name	Third Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1		MF	Steve Leslie	6	1	0	7
2		CB	Lindsay Smith	4	1	1	6
3		MF	Steve Foley	5	0	0	5
		FW	John Froggatt	5	0	0	5
		FW	Bobby Gough	5	0	0	5
		FW	Bobby Svarc	3	0	2	5
7		MF	Ray Bunkell	4	0	0	4
8		FB	Mick Packer	2	1	0	3
9		CB	Barry Dominey	1	1	0	2
		MF	Paul Dyer	2	0	0	2
		FW	Colin Garwood	2	0	0	2
12		FB	Micky Cook	1	0	0	1
		FW	Billy Telford	1	0	0	1
			Own goals	0	0	0	0
			TOTALS	41	4	3	48

Disciplinary record

Nationality	Position	Name	Third Division		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
	MF	Steve Foley	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
	FW	John Froggatt	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
	FB	Micky Cook	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	FB	Johnny Williams	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		TOTALS	2	2	0	0	0	0	2	2

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.

Place	Nationality	Player	Third Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1		Mike Walker	14	0	0	14
		TOTALS	14	0	0	14

Player debuts

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

Position	Nationality	Player	Date	Opponent	Ground	Notes
MF		Paul Dyer	16 August 1975	Preston North End	Deepdale
CB		Derek Harrison	16 August 1975	Preston North End	Deepdale
FB		Jon O'Donnell	16 August 1975	Preston North End	Deepdale
FB		Johnny Williams	23 August 1975	Mansfield Town	Layer Road
FB		Stewart Bright	8 November 1975	Shrewsbury Town	Layer Road
FW		Bobby Gough	10 January 1976	Crystal Palace	Layer Road
GK		Len Bond	24 January 1976	Hereford United	Layer Road
FW		Billy Telford	24 January 1976	Hereford United	Layer Road
FW		Colin Garwood	14 February 1976	Shrewsbury Town	Gay Meadow

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: 1976". 11v11.com. Retrieved 24 April 2018.

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 0–3 Crystal Palace". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
3. "Colchester Utd 2–3 Chesterfield". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
4. "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
5. Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1970s and 1980s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
6. ^ "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
7. "Lee Smelt". Margate Football Club History. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
8. "Derek Harrison". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
9. "Paul Dyer". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
10. "Johnny Williams". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
11. "Terry Anderson". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
12. "Bobby Gough (Forward)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
13. ^ "Colin Garwood". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
14. "Ray Harford". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
15. "Jimmy Lindsay (Midfielder)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
16. "Bobby Roberts". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
17. "Bobby Svarc". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
18. "Phil Thomas". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
19. "Jon O'Donnell". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
20. "Billy Telford". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
21. "Len Bond (Goalkeeper)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
22. ^ "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
23. "Discipline". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
24. "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
25. "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2018.

• Colchester United F.C. seasons
• English football clubs 1975–76 season