1971–72 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United
1971–72 season
Chairman	Roy Chapman
Manager	Dick Graham
Fourth Division	11th
FA Cup	1st Round
League Cup	3rd Round
Watney Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: ; Brian Lewis (15); All: ; Brian Lewis (23)
Highest home attendance	9,807 (Southend United)
Lowest home attendance	3,390 (Workington)
Average home league attendance	5,395
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1970–71 1972–73 →

The 1971–72 season was Colchester United's fourth consecutive season in the Football League Fourth Division. They won the Watney Cup and finished 11th in the league.

Season Review

The U's goalscoring prowess of the 1970–71 season did qualify them for the 1971–72 pre-season Watney Cup. The competition was open to the two highest scoring teams from each division that had not won promotion. U's saw off Luton and Carlisle at Layer Road to reach the final against West Bromwich Albion, at The Hawthorns. A thrilling encounter saw the tie level at 4-4 after extra time leading to Colchester's first-ever penalty shoot-out. Albion missed two and U's one leaving youngster Phil Bloss to slam hone the decisive winning spot-kick.

After the exploits of the previous season's cup run and now Watney Cup success, United were firm favourites for promotion. But with an ageing side and a club debt amounting to over £21,000 (£400,000 today based on average earnings index) and with the floodlighting requiring urgent maintenance work, manager Dick Graham turned full circle and introduced youth to United's side. Steve Leslie, Steve Foley, Lindsay Smith, Micky Cook and John McLaughlin were just some who came in during the rapid break up of Granddad's Army. All would become regulars in United's side but youth alone was not sufficient for United to maintain a serious promotion bid and they finished 1971–72 in eleventh place, nine points adrift of promotion.^[2]

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
––	GK	ENG	Barry Smith
––	DF	ENG	Richard Bourne
––	DF	ENG	Eric Burgess
––	DF	ENG	Micky Cook
––	DF	ENG	Brian Hall
––	DF	ENG	John McLaughlin
––	DF	ENG	Dave Simmons


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
––	DF	ENG	Lindsay Smith
––	MF	ENG	Phil Bloss
––	MF	ENG	Steve Foley
––	MF	ENG	Steve Leslie
––	MF	ENG	Mick Mahon
––	MF	ENG	Bobby Mills
––	FW	ENG	Brian Gibbs

Player Info

Pos.	Name	Place of Birth	Date of Birth	Previous Club	Date Joined	Fee
GK	Barry Smith	Colchester	3 March 1953	Youth Team	1 August 1971	Free
DF	Richard Bourne	Colchester	9 December 1954	Youth Team	1 August 1971	Free
DF	Eric Burgess	Edgware	27 October 1944	Plymouth Argyle	20 February 1971	Free
DF	Micky Cook	Enfield	9 April 1951	Leyton Orient	6 October 1969	Free
DF	Brian Hall	Burbage	9 March 1939	Mansfield Town	6 March 1965	Free
DF	John McLaughlin	Edmonton	29 October 1954	Youth Team	1 August 1971	Free
DF	Dave Simmons	Ryde	24 October 1948	Aston Villa	26 December 1970	£6,000
DF	Lindsay Smith	Enfield	18 September 1954	Youth Team	1 August 1970	Free
MF	Phil Bloss	Colchester	16 January 1953	Youth Team	1 August 1970	Free
MF	Steve Foley	Clacton-on-Sea	21 June 1953	Youth Team	1 August 1971	Free
MF	Steve Leslie	Hornsey	4 September 1952	Youth Team	1 August 1970	Free
MF	Mick Mahon	Manchester	17 September 1944	York City	15 August 1970	Free
MF	Bobby Mills	Edmonton	16 March 1955	Youth Team	1 August 1971	Free
FW	Brian Gibbs	Gillingham	6 October 1936	Gillingham	14 September 1968	£6,000

Transfers

Transfers In

Date	Pos.	Player Name	Previous Club	Transfer Fee	Notes
1 August 1971	GK	Barry Smith	Youth Team	Free
1 August 1971	DF	Richard Bourne	Youth Team	Free
1 August 1971	DF	John McLaughlin	Youth Team	Free
1 August 1971	MF	Steve Foley	Youth Team	Free
1 August 1971	MF	Bobby Mills	Youth Team	Free
1 August 1971	MF	Tony Wingate	Youth Team	Free

Transfers Out

Date	Pos.	Player Name	New Club	Transfer Fee	Notes
31 July 1971	FW	Ray Crawford	Durban City	Free
5 October 1971	MF	Brian Owen	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Free	Player-coach
13 November 1971	GK	Graham Smith	West Bromwich Albion	Free
20 November 1971	DF	John Kurila	Lincoln City	Free
12 February 1972	DF	John Gilchrist	Tonbridge	Free	Player-manager
26 February 1972	MF	Ken Jones	Margate	Free
18 March 1972	MF	Tony Wingate	Barnet	Free
31 March 1972	DF	Bobby Cram	Retired	Free
3 April 1972	MF	Brian Lewis	Portsmouth	£9,000
24 April 1972	DF	Brian Garvey	Bedford Town	Free	Player-manager

Loans In

Date	Pos.	Player Name	Parent Club	Date Returned	Notes
26 November 1971	DF	Charlie Woods	Watford	18 December 1971
11 March 1972	MF	David Burnside	Bristol City	29 April 1972

Results

Fourth Division Results Summary

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Av	Pts
10	Cambridge United	46	17	14	15	62	60	1.033	48
11	Colchester United	46	19	10	17	70	69	1.014	48
12	Doncaster Rovers	46	16	14	16	56	63	0.889	46

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GAv = Goal average; Pts = Points

Fourth Division Results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
14/08/1971	Lincoln City	A	0-2	6,607
20/08/1971	Hartlepool United	H	1-0	5,634	Ashurst (o.g.)
28/08/1971	Bury	A	0-3	2,557
31/08/1971	Newport County	A	1-2	4,168	Lewis
02/09/1971	Southport	H	1-0	5,439	Mahon
11/09/1971	Darlington	A	0-2	2,683
17/09/1971	Crewe Alexandra	H	4-2	6,133	Burgess, Lewis, Mahon, Leslie
25/09/1971	Northampton Town	A	1-1	5,800	Hall
28/09/1971	Scunthorpe United	A	0-2	5,111
01/10/1971	Chester City	H	1-0	6,048	Leslie
09/10/1971	Aldershot	A	2-0	5,285	Lewis, Leslie
15/10/1971	Lincoln City	H	5-2	5,834	Lewis (3), Bloss, Hall
18/10/1971	Southend United	H	1-0	9,807	Leslie
23/10/1971	Cambridge United	A	2-4	7,230	Jones, Thompson (o.g.)
29/10/1971	Gillingham	H	2-2	6,622	Lewis, Kurila
06/11/1971	Barrow	A	2-2	1,954	Gibbs, Kurila
13/11/1971	Brentford	H	1-1	6,698	Jones
26/11/1971	Exeter City	H	3-0	5,116	Foley (2), Lewis
03/12/1971	Stockport County	A	2-2	2,043	Mahon (2)
18/12/1971	Southport	A	0-3	2,657
27/12/1971	Peterborough United	H	1-1	7,750	Leslie
01/01/1972	Crewe Alexandra	A	4-2	1,992	Leslie, Hall, Lewis (pen.), Cook
08/01/1972	Bury	H	0-0	4,924
15/01/1972	Doncaster Rovers	A	0-2	3,247
21/01/1972	Scunthorpe United	H	1-1	4,867	Gibbs
28/01/1972	Southend United	A	4-1	8,871	Foley, Mahon, Leslie (2)
05/02/1972	Workington	A	0-1	2,170
12/02/1972	Cambridge United	H	1-1	5,663	Lewis
19/02/1972	Gillingham	A	2-0	5,313	Leslie (2)
26/02/1972	Barrow	H	0-1	4,618
04/03/1972	Brentford	A	2-0	9,210	Mahon, Lewis
11/03/1972	Aldershot	H	1-0	3,776	Lewis
13/03/1972	Doncaster Rovers	H	1-2	5,004	L.Smith
18/03/1972	Hartlepool United	A	2-3	2,621	Mahon, Garvey
21/03/1972	Grimsby Town	A	0-3	13,288
24/03/1972	Darlington	H	4-3	3,865	Burgess, Leslie, Lewis, Simmons
31/03/1972	Northampton Town	H	2-0	5,375	Simmons, Lewis (pen.)
01/04/1972	Peterborough United	A	0-4	4,367
03/04/1972	Chester City	A	1-2	3,317	Lewis (pen.)
07/04/1972	Workington	H	1-0	3,390	Foley
10/04/1972	Reading	H	2-1	4,110	Gibbs, Leslie
15/04/1972	Exeter City	A	3-3	4,052	Gibbs (pen.), Burgess, Mahon
17/04/1972	Grimsby Town	H	0-1	5,086
21/04/1972	Stockport County	H	3-2	4,010	Burgess (2), Simmons
24/04/1972	Newport County	H	2-3	4,311	Burgess
29/04/1972	Reading	A	4-2	3,202	Leslie, L.Smith (2), Burgess

Source: 1971-72 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

Watney Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
31/07/1971	R1	Luton Town	H	1-0	8,186	Lewis (pen.)
04/08/1971	SF	Carlisle United	H	2-0	7,871	Gibbs, Lewis
07/08/1971	Final	West Bromwich Albion	A	4-4 4-2 on Pens	18,487	Mahon (2), Simmons, Lewis (pen.)

Source: 1971-72 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

League Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
18/08/1971	R1	Brentford	H	3-1	6,125	Mahon, Lewis (2) (pen.)
08/09/1971	R2	Swindon Town	H	4-1	7,437	Lewis (3) (pen.), Mahon
05/10/1971	R3	Blackpool	A	0-4	11,042

Source: 1971-72 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
20/11/1971	R1	Shrewsbury Town	H	1-4	5,773	Hall

Source: 1971-72 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

Squad statistics

^[3]

No.	Nat.	Pos.	Name	Total		Division Four		FA Cup		League Cup		Watney Cup
No.	Nat.	Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
––	GK	ENG	Barry Smith	31	0	31	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	GK	ENG	Graham Smith	22	0	15	0	1	0	3	0	3	0
––	DF	ENG	Richard Bourne	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	DF	ENG	Eric Burgess	47	8	41	8	0	0	3	0	3	0
––	DF	ENG	Micky Cook	40	1	38	1	1	0	1	0	0	0
––	DF	ENG	Bobby Cram	42	0	36	0	1	0	2	0	3	0
––	DF	ENG	Brian Garvey	40	1	33	1	1	0	3	0	3	0
––	DF	SCO	John Gilchrist	19	0	13	0	1	0	2	0	3	0
––	DF	ENG	Brian Hall	41	4	38	3	1	1	2	0	0	0
––	DF	SCO	John Kurila	11	2	9	2	1	0	1	0	0	0
––	DF	ENG	John McLaughlin	9	0	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	DF	ENG	Dave Simmons	28	4	23	3	0	0	2	0	3	1
––	DF	ENG	Lindsay Smith	18	3	18	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	DF	ENG	Charlie Woods	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF	ENG	Phil Bloss	22	1	19	1	0	0	2	0	1	0
––	MF	ENG	David Burnside	13	0	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF	ENG	Steve Foley	17	4	17	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF	ENG	Ken Jones	21	2	17	2	1	0	1	0	2	0
––	MF	ENG	Steve Leslie	45	13	41	13	1	0	2	0	1	0
––	MF	ENG	Brian Lewis	37	23	30	15	1	0	3	5	3	3
––	MF	ENG	Mick Mahon	49	12	42	8	1	0	3	2	3	2
––	MF	ENG	Bobby Mills	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF	ENG	Brian Owen	13	0	7	0	0	0	3	0	3	0
––	MF	ENG	Tony Wingate	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	FW	ENG	Ray Crawford	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
––	FW	ENG	Brian Gibbs	40	5	33	4	1	0	3	0	3	1

Scorers

^[4]

All

Scorer	Goals
Brian Lewis	23
Steve Leslie	13
Mick Mahon	12
Eric Burgess	8
Brian Gibbs	5
Steve Foley	4
Brian Hall
Dave Simmons
Lindsay Smith	3
Ken Jones	2
John Kurila	2
Phil Bloss	1
Micky Cook
Brian Garvey
Own goal	2

League

Scorer	Goals
Brian Lewis	15
Steve Leslie	13
Eric Burgess	8
Mick Mahon	8
Steve Foley	4
Brian Gibbs	4
Brian Hall	3
Dave Simmons
Lindsay Smith
Ken Jones	2
John Kurila	2
Phil Bloss	1
Micky Cook
Brian Garvey
Own goal	2

FA Cup

Scorer	Goals
Brian Hall	1

League Cup

Scorer	Goals
Brian Lewis	5
Mick Mahon	2

Watney Cup

Scorer	Goals
Brian Lewis	3
Mick Mahon	2
Brian Gibbs	1
Dave Simmons	1

Most Frequent Starting XI

This section shows players in a 5-4-1 formation with the most league starts during the season.

Pos.	Name	Apps.	Goals
GK	Barry Smith	31	0
DF	Micky Cook	36	1
DF	Eric Burgess	41	8
DF	Brian Hall	36	3
DF	Bobby Cram	35	0
DF	Brian Garvey	31	1
MF	Mick Mahon	41	8
MF	Brian Lewis	30	15
MF	Phil Bloss	19	1
MF	Steve Leslie	40	13
FW	Brian Gibbs	30	4

B.Smith

Cook

Burgess

Hall

Cram

Garvey

Mahon

Lewis

Bloss

Leslie

Gibbs

References

^ 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.
^ "The U's History: The 70s". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
^ "1971–72 Season Appearance Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
^ "1971–72 Season Goalscorers Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2011.

[WWCU-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 70s". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 19 April 2011.

[3] "1971–72 Season Appearance Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2011.

[4] "1971–72 Season Goalscorers Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2011.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

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