1977–78 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United
1977–78 season
Chairman	Jack Rippingale
Manager	Bobby Roberts
Third Division	8th
FA Cup	2nd Round
League Cup	3rd Round
Top goalscorer	League: ; Bobby Gough (13); All: ; Bobby Gough (17)
Highest home attendance	6,447 (Gillingham)
Lowest home attendance	2,554 (Rotherham United)
Average home league attendance	4,568
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1976–77 1978–79 →

The 1977–78 season was Colchester United's first season back in the Football League Third Division after a one-year absence playing in the Football League Fourth Division.

Season Review

Colchester soared to the top of the Third Division table with four straight wins at the start of the season.

Embarking on a League Cup run that saw United thump Jim Smith's Second Division Blackburn 4-0 in a Second Round replay before facing up to Leeds at Elland Road in the next round. Leeds were not going to be embarrassed twice and gained some revenge with a 4-0 win.

When the U's visited leaders Wrexham on 19 November 1977, it was the first time that United had one of their League fixtures featured on the prestigious Saturday night TV slot. One win in ten after January and the sale of Colin Garwood to Portsmouth for £25,000 spelt the end of United's promotion aspirations. Colchester finished in eighth place and eight points behind third-placed Preston.^[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	WAL	Mike Walker
––	DF	ENG	Micky Cook
––	DF	ENG	Steve Dowman
––	DF	ENG	Mick Packer
––	DF	ENG	Steve Wignall
––	DF	ENG	Johnny Williams
––	DF	ENG	Steve Wright
––	MF	ENG	Ian Allinson


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
––	MF	ENG	Ray Bunkell
––	MF	ENG	Russell Cotton
––	MF	ENG	Paul Dyer
––	MF	ENG	Tony Evans
––	MF	ENG	Steve Foley
––	MF	ENG	Steve Leslie
––	MF	ENG	Eddie Rowles
––	FW	ENG	Bobby Gough

Player Info

Pos.	Name	Place of Birth	Date of Birth	Previous Club	Date Joined	Fee
GK	Mike Walker	Colwyn Bay	28 November 1945	Watford	25 August 1973	£4,000
DF	Micky Cook	Enfield	9 April 1951	Leyton Orient	6 October 1969	Free
DF	Steve Dowman	Manor Park	15 April 1958	Youth Team	1 August 1976	Free
DF	Mick Packer	Willesden	20 April 1950	Watford	25 August 1973	Free
DF	Steve Wignall	Liverpool	17 September 1954	Doncaster Rovers	13 September 1977	£5,000
DF	Johnny Williams	Tottenham	26 March 1947	Watford	23 August 1975	Free
DF	Steve Wright	Clacton-on-Sea	16 June 1959	Youth Team	1 August 1977	Free
MF	Ian Allinson	Hitchin	1 October 1957	Youth Team	1 August 1974	Free
MF	Ray Bunkell	Edmonton	18 September 1949	Swindon Town	8 December 1973	£5,000
MF	Russell Cotton	Wellington	4 April 1960	Youth Team	1 August 1977	Free
MF	Paul Dyer	Leicester	24 January 1953	Notts County	16 August 1975	Free
MF	Tony Evans	Colchester	14 March 1960	Youth Team	1 August 1977	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	Eddie Rowles	Gosport	10 March 1951	Darlington	26 December 1977	£15,000
FW	Bobby Gough	Ladywood	20 July 1949	Southport	10 January 1976	£7,000

Transfers

Transfers In

Date	Pos.	Player Name	Previous Club	Transfer Fee	Notes
1 August 1977	DF	Steve Wright	Youth Team	Free
1 August 1977	MF	Russell Cotton	Youth Team	Free
1 August 1977	MF	Tony Evans	Youth Team	Free
13 September 1977	DF	Steve Wignall	Doncaster Rovers	£5,000
26 December 1977	MF	Eddie Rowles	Darlington	£15,000

Transfers Out

Date	Pos.	Player Name	New Club	Transfer Fee	Notes
14 May 1977	DF	Lindsay Smith	Cambridge United	£12,000
21 January 1978	FW	John Froggatt	Port Vale	£10,000
4 March 1978	FW	Colin Garwood	Portsmouth	£25,000

Results

Third Division Results Summary

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
7	Gillingham	46	15	20	11	67	60	+7	48
8	Colchester United	46	15	18	13	55	44	+11	48
9	Chesterfield	46	17	14	15	58	49	+9	48

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

Third Division Results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
20/08/1977	Gillingham	A	3-1	3,450	Foley, Packer, Gough
23/08/1977	Bradford City	H	3-0	4,371	Froggatt, Gough, Leslie
27/08/1977	Chester City	H	2-0	4,169	Gough (2)
02/09/1977	Tranmere Rovers	A	0-1	3,263
09/09/1977	Plymouth Argyle	H	3-1	5,719	Williams, Gough, Dowman
13/09/1977	Portsmouth	A	0-0	11,757
17/09/1977	Rotherham United	A	0-1	4,906
24/09/1977	Preston North End	H	0-0	4,978
27/09/1977	Port Vale	H	2-3	4,820	Gough, Garwood
01/10/1977	Carlisle United	A	3-1	4,611	Garwood (2), Gough
05/10/1977	Chesterfield	A	0-0	4,575
08/10/1977	Hereford United	H	0-0	4,586
14/10/1977	Oxford United	H	1-1	4,893	Foley
22/10/1977	Cambridge United	A	0-2	5,423
28/10/1977	Peterborough United	H	3-0	4,827	Allinson, Packer, Gough
05/11/1977	Walsall	A	2-4	4,231	Allinson, Garwood
11/11/1977	Swindon Town	H	2-0	4,788	Garwood, Bunkell
19/11/1977	Wrexham	A	1-2	9,198	Wignall
03/12/1977	Sheffield Wednesday	A	2-1	9,000	Cook, Garwood
09/12/1977	Exeter City	H	3-1	4,267	Dowman, Gough, Garwood
26/12/1977	Lincoln City	H	1-1	5,840	Froggatt
27/12/1977	Bury	A	1-1	5,409	Foley
31/12/1977	Shrewsbury Town	A	0-1	4,336
02/01/1978	Walsall	H	1-1	6,039	Gough
07/01/1978	Bradford City	A	2-1	3,266	Gough, Dowman
13/01/1978	Gillingham	H	1-1	6,447	Gough
21/01/1978	Chester City	A	1-2	2,855	Rowles
27/01/1978	Tranmere Rovers	H	0-0	4,465
04/02/1978	Plymouth Argyle	A	1-1	4,639	Rowles
25/02/1978	Carlisle United	H	2-2	3,867	Garwood, Dowman
28/02/1978	Preston North End	A	0-4	9,225
04/03/1978	Hereford United	A	0-1	3,831
07/03/1978	Portsmouth	H	4-0	3,570	Foley, Rowles, Taylor (o.g.), Allinson
11/03/1978	Oxford United	A	0-3	4,060
14/03/1978	Peterborough United	A	0-1	4,468
17/03/1978	Cambridge United	H	2-1	5,260	Allinson, Wignall
25/03/1978	Bury	H	1-0	3,661	Allinson
27/03/1978	Lincoln City	A	0-0	4,709
01/04/1978	Shrewsbury Town	H	1-2	2,910	Leslie
04/04/1978	Chesterfield	H	2-0	3,303	Gough, Leslie
08/04/1978	Swindon Town	A	0-0	4,596
15/04/1978	Wrexham	H	1-1	5,385	Foley
22/04/1978	Exeter City	A	0-0	3,853
24/04/1978	Port Vale	A	3-0	3,684	Allinson, Foley (2)
29/04/1978	Sheffield Wednesday	H	1-1	4,337	Dowman
03/05/1978	Rotherham United	H	0-0	2,554

Source: 1977-78 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

League Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
13/08/1977	R1 (L1)	Aldershot	A	1-1	2,574	Gough
16/08/1977	R1 (L2)	Aldershot	H	4-1	3,360	Howitt (o.g.), Dowman, Froggatt (2)
31/08/1977	R2	Blackburn Rovers	A	1-1	6,193	Garwood
07/09/1977	R2 (R)	Blackburn Rovers	H	4-0	5,843	Gough (2), Allinson, Garwood
26/10/1977	R3	Leeds United	A	0-4	17,713

Source: 1977-78 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
26/11/1977	R1	Bournemouth	H	1-1	4,465	Gough
29/11/1977	R1 (R)	Bournemouth	A	0-0	3,838
05/12/1977	R1 (2R)	Bournemouth	N	4-1	2,230	Dowman, Garwood (3)
17/12/1977	R2	Watford	A	0-2	11,907

Source: 1977-78 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

Squad statistics

^[3]

No.	Nat.	Pos.	Name	Total		Division Three		FA Cup		League Cup
No.	Nat.	Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
––	GK	WAL	Mike Walker	55	0	46	0	4	0	5	0
––	DF	ENG	Micky Cook	53	1	44	1	4	0	5	0
––	DF	ENG	Steve Dowman	52	7	43	5	4	1	5	1
––	DF	ENG	Mick Packer	52	2	44	2	3	0	5	0
––	DF	ENG	Steve Wignall	38	2	34	2	4	0	0	0
––	DF	ENG	Johnny Williams	35	1	27	1	3	0	5	0
––	DF	ENG	Steve Wright	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF	ENG	Ian Allinson	54	7	45	6	4	0	5	1
––	MF	ENG	Ray Bunkell	28	1	24	1	1	0	3	0
––	MF	ENG	Russell Cotton	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF	ENG	Paul Dyer	32	0	30	0	1	0	1	0
––	MF	ENG	Tony Evans	7	0	7	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF	ENG	Steve Foley	35	7	32	7	1	0	2	0
––	MF	ENG	Steve Leslie	49	3	41	3	4	0	4	0
––	MF	ENG	Eddie Rowles	9	3	9	3	0	0	0	0
––	FW	ENG	John Froggatt	34	4	25	2	4	0	5	2
––	FW	ENG	Colin Garwood	39	13	30	8	4	3	5	2
––	FW	ENG	Bobby Gough	51	17	42	13	4	1	5	3

Scorers

^[4]

All

Scorer	Goals
Bobby Gough	17
Colin Garwood	13
Ian Allinson	7
Steve Dowman
Steve Foley
John Froggatt	4
Steve Leslie	3
Eddie Rowles	3
Mick Packer	2
Steve Wignall	2
Ray Bunkell	1
Micky Cook
Johnny Williams
Own goal	2

League

Scorer	Goals
Bobby Gough	13
Colin Garwood	8
Steve Foley	7
Ian Allinson	6
Steve Dowman	5
Steve Leslie	3
Eddie Rowles	3
John Froggatt	2
Mick Packer
Steve Wignall
Ray Bunkell	1
Micky Cook
Johnny Williams
Own goal	1

FA Cup

Scorer	Goals
Colin Garwood	3
Steve Dowman	1
Bobby Gough	1

League Cup

Scorer	Goals
Bobby Gough	3
John Froggatt	2
Colin Garwood	2
Ian Allinson	1
Steve Dowman	1
Own goal	1

Most Frequent Starting XI

This section shows players in a 5-3-2 formation with the most league starts during the season.

Pos.	Name	Apps.	Goals
GK	Mike Walker	46	0
DF	Micky Cook	44	1
DF	Mick Packer	44	2
DF	Steve Dowman	43	5
DF	Steve Wignall	32	2
DF	Johnny Williams	26	1
MF	Ian Allinson	45	6
MF	Steve Leslie	41	3
MF	Steve Foley	29	7
FW	Bobby Gough	42	13
FW	Colin Garwood	28	8

Walker

Cook

Packer

Dowman

Wignall

Williams

Allinson

Leslie

Foley

Gough

Garwood

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 10 April 2011.
^ "1977–78 Season Appearance Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
^ "1977–78 Season Goalscorers Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 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 10 April 2011.

[3] "1977–78 Season Appearance Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2011.

[4] "1977–78 Season Goalscorers Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 April 2011.

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[2]

[3]

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