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List of Colchester United F.C. managers

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Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester, Essex. Formed in 1937 from the remnants of the former Colchester Town football club, United competed in the Southern Football League from their foundation until 1950, when they were elected to the Football League.[1]

Ted Davis, a former Huddersfield Town goalkeeper and Bath City manager was appointed by Colchester United's board of directors to take charge of team affairs in 1937. Davis' Huddersfield contacts allowed the newly-formed club's players to be kitted in the same blue and white strip as his former team. In the 1939–40 season, after only three Southern League games, the Second World War was declared and the club closed down until 1945.

Former Colchester Town player Syd Fieldus along with a couple of the directors kept Colchester United alive but dormant during the war years. Fieldus was appointed secretary-manager for 1945–46. He liaised with Major Dai Rees and forged a strong relationship with the Garrison. Since United had only four contracted players, the team was complemented by a number servicemen. Fieldus urged the board to appoint a full-time manager for the 1946–47 season and Ted Fenton, formerly of West Ham United was hired. Fenton had turned out for Colchester Town in the early 1930s as a teenager. Following a successful FA Cup run in 1947–48, he rejoined West Ham as assistant manager in the summer of 1948.

Ex-England international centre-half Jimmy Allen took over in 1948 and led Colchester to Football League election in the summer of 1950.[2]

Allen resigned on 2 May 1953 and Jack Butler, a former Arsenal player, was appointed his replacement. Butler had been coaching in Belgium and had been in charge of the Belgium national team between 1935 and 1940, leading them to the 1938 FIFA World Cup Finals. He resigned in January 1955 and the board chose Benny Fenton to be player-manager. He spent eight years with the club, suffering relegation for the first time in the clubs history in 1961, only to return to the Third Division at the first attempt. Fenton left to take over at Orient in November 1963.

Fenton's replacement was former Stoke City and England centre-half Neil Franklin. His spell in charge saw Colchester bounce between the Third and Fourth Divisions, and he was sacked following his second relegation to Division Four.

Colchester's new manager was Dick Graham, who adopted a policy of employing older, more experienced players.[3] Graham led his U's side to arguable their most famous victory; a 3–2 FA Cup win against First Division Leeds United in the fifth round in 1971.

When Colchester United held its annual general meeting in September 1972, Graham was so incensed of the questioning of his team and tactics by a shareholder that he tendered his resignation. A month later, Jim Smith was appointed manager, who had led Boston United to the Northern Premier League title. Smith later left to join Second Division side Blackburn Rovers in the summer of 1975. His coach Bobby Roberts was appointed manager.

Under Roberts' stewardship, Colchester were relegated from the Third Division in his first season in charge, but made another immediate return the following season. Following another relegation in 1981, and a drop in form in the Fourth Division, Roberts was asked to resign in April 1982. He refused and was sacked a month later.

Former Ipswich Town centre-half Allan Hunter accepted a player-manager role and introduced former Ipswich coach Cyril Lea as his assistant for 1982–83. On the back of having to give up his own playing career through injury and Colchester player John Lyons' suicide, Hunter resigned in January 1983. Lea took over until the end of the campaign. Four months after becoming caretaker, Lea was appointed full-time. After failing to achieve promotion from the Fourth Division in 1986, Lea was then sacked.

Former Colchester goalkeeper Mike Walker, then coach of the U's reserves, took over as caretaker and went unbeaten in the remaining eight matches of the season. He was appointed full-time, but was sacked in November 1987 by chairman Jonathan Crisp with the club top of Division Four. Crisp claimed Walker had resigned, but an alleged personal matter between the pair was said to have been the spark. Roger Brown took over the team, but his tenure lasted less than a year as he was sacked after Leyton Orient beat Brown's team 8–0.

Former Rangers manager Jock Wallace was tasked with keeping Colchester in the Football League as they finished in 22nd position in 1989, eight points clear of relegation to the Conference. Ill health meant that Wallace had to step down from his role the following season, and former Ipswich and England defender Mick Mills was made the new manager in January 1990. A poor run of form towards the end of the season condemned Colchester to relegation out of the Football League for the first time in 40 years.[4]

Ian Atkins was appointed as the new manager and charged to make an immediate return to the Football League. The U's were playing as a fully professional team, yet finished runners-up to Barnet. Atkins joined Birmingham City as coach at the end of the season and new chairman James Bowdidge appointed Roy McDonough as player-manager. McDonough, who had been Atkins' assistant, led Colchester back to the League football at his first and the club's second attempt, winning the FA Trophy in the process to complete a non-league double.

Following a disappointing 1993–94 season, McDonough was sacked and former Ipswich full-back George Burley was appointed his replacement in July 1994. Burley was later tapped up by Ipswich, who had been refused permission to speak to him and he walked out on fifth-placed Colchester.

Steve Wignall was named as new Colchester manager in January 1995. Under Wignall's management, the U's finished as runners-up in the 1997 Football League Trophy Final and won promotion via the 1998 Football League Third Division play-off final. Wignall quit in 1999 citing that he had taken his team as far as he could and was frustrated at the role agents were playing in transfer deals he was trying to set up.

Steve Whitton, Wignall's assistant, became caretaker before Mick Wadsworth, former Scarborough manager, was appointed, keeping Whitton on as assistant.[5] Wadsworth later resigned, citing travelling distance to work as his main reason for leaving. Whitton was promoted to become manager in August 1999. After losing to Conference side Chester in the FA Cup at Layer Road and a run of seven games without a win he left by mutual consent in January 2003. Assistant Geraint Williams took caretaker charge, before Reading's player-coach Phil Parkinson as appointed as United's new boss. Under Parkinson, the U's reached the 5th round of the FA Cup and later achieved promotion to the Championship. Parkinson, however, resigned on 13 June 2006 to take over at Hull City.

Geraint Williams was charged with the daunting task of leading United in their first season in the Championship. The 10th-placed finish they achieved in the 2006–07 season was the highest in the club's history making them 30th in the entire Football League. Colchester were relegated back to League One in 2008, and following a poor run, United were in the bottom four with a record of 1 League win from 6, as Williams was relieved of his duties. Assistant manager Kit Symons took charge for four games, but on 10 October 2008 former Wycombe manager Paul Lambert was unveiled as Colchester's new manager. He quickly inspired The U's to record their first home victory in a thumping 5–0 win over Carlisle 15 days later. On the first day of the 2009–10 season, United walloped Norwich in a truly sensational 7–1 thrashing at Carrow Road. Norwich approached the Colchester chairman over taking Lambert as their new manager following their sacking of Bryan Gunn. Former Watford boss Aidy Boothroyd was unveiled as successor to Lambert on 3 September 2009.[6]

In the summer of 2010, Boothroyd joined Coventry City as their new manager on a three-year deal after he led the U's to eighth place in League One.[7] Colchester promoted John Ward to be new manager following the departure of Boothroyd, having been his assistant.[8][9] After two mid-table finishes Ward was sacked after a poor start to the 2012–13 Season, being replaced by his assistant Joe Dunne. Joe Dunne was replaced in 2014 by Tony Humes.

Managers

Statistics are correct as of 25 February 2023.

All first team matches are counted, except wartime matches.

Key
Highlight Description
Manager name Highlighted stint as caretaker manager
Name Nationality From To P W D L GF GA GD Win % Honours Ref
Ted Davis  England 14 July 1937 2 September 1939 128 80 17 31 327 155 172 62.5 1938–39 Southern League champions
1939–40 Southern League Cup winners 		[10]
Syd Fieldus  England 1 August 1945 31 July 1946 30 10 7 13 49 69 −20 33.3 [10]
Ted Fenton  England 1 August 1946 31 May 1948 88 48 17 23 214 135 79 54.5 [10][11]
Jimmy Allen  England 1 July 1948 1 April 1953 249 108 59 82 433 380 53 43.4 1949–50 Southern League runners-up
1949–50 Southern League Cup winners 		[10][12]
Jack Butler  England 1 June 1953 31 January 1955 77 16 19 42 85 138 −53 20.8 [10][13]
Benny Fenton  England 1 February 1955 31 October 1963 427 166 107 154 736 733 3 38.9 1961–62 Fourth Division runners-up [10][14]
Neil Franklin  England 1 November 1963 1 May 1968 234 72 62 100 313 383 −70 30.8 [10][15]
Dick Graham  England 1 July 1968 8 September 1972 216 93 51 72 322 288 34 43.1 1971 Watney Cup winners [10][16]
Dennis Mochan  Scotland 8 September 1972 1 October 1972 5 0 2 3 2 8 −6 0.0 [10]
Jim Smith  England 1 October 1972 20 June 1975 140 55 36 49 198 167 31 39.3 [10][17]
Bobby Roberts  Scotland 20 June 1975 3 May 1982 375 143 108 124 504 451 53 38.1 [10][18]
Allan Hunter  Northern Ireland 5 May 1982 18 January 1983 36 17 7 12 51 39 12 47.2 [10][19]
Cyril Lea  Wales 1 February 1983 10 April 1986 173 71 46 56 294 243 51 41.0 [10][20]
Mike Walker  Wales 10 April 1986 1 November 1987 83 37 16 30 120 102 18 44.6 [10][21]
Roger Brown  England 1 November 1987 1 October 1988 48 16 12 20 46 68 −22 33.3 [10][22]
Steve Foley  England 1 October 1988 12 December 1988 18 5 5 8 28 31 −3 27.7 [10]
Jock Wallace  Scotland 12 December 1988 20 December 1989 52 12 16 24 63 87 −24 23.1 [10][23]
Steve Foley  England 20 December 1989 2 January 1990 3 2 0 1 5 3 2 66.6 [10][24]
Mick Mills  England 3 January 1990 9 May 1990 25 8 3 14 27 37 −10 32.0 [10][25]
Ian Atkins  England 1 June 1990 30 June 1991 51 30 11 10 80 46 34 58.8 1990–91 Conference runners-up [10][26]
Roy McDonough  England 1 July 1991 15 May 1994 155 69 33 53 271 226 45 44.5 1991–92 Conference winners
1992 FA Trophy winners 		[10][27]
George Burley  Scotland 1 June 1994 26 December 1994 26 12 6 8 41 38 3 46.2 [10][28]
Dale Roberts  England 26 December 1994 12 January 1995 5 1 1 3 5 7 −2 20.0 [10]
Steve Wignall  England 12 January 1995 21 January 1999 218 81 64 73 289 283 6 37.2 1998 Third Division play-off winners
1997 League Trophy runners-up 		[10][29]
Steve Whitton[A]  England 21 January 1999 28 January 1999 1 0 1 0 3 3 0 0.0 [10][30]
Mick Wadsworth  England 28 January 1999 25 August 1999 24 7 7 10 28 41 −13 29.2 [10][31]
Steve Whitton  England 25 August 1999 29 January 2003 180 52 44 84 221 287 −66 28.8 [10][30]
Geraint Williams  Wales 29 January 2003 25 February 2003 5 2 3 0 4 4 0 40.0 [10][32]
Phil Parkinson  England 25 February 2003 14 June 2006 187 79 54 54 256 203 53 42.8 2006 League One runners-up [10][33]
Geraint Williams  Wales 28 July 2006 22 September 2008 104 31 27 46 146 161 −15 29.8 [10][32]
Kit Symons  Wales 22 September 2008 9 October 2008 5 2 0 3 8 9 −1 40.0 [10]
Paul Lambert  Scotland 9 October 2008 18 August 2009 42 19 7 16 55 43 12 45.2 [10][34]
Joe Dunne  Ireland 18 August 2009 1 September 2009 4 1 1 2 5 6 −1 25.0 [10][35]
Aidy Boothroyd  England 2 September 2009 20 May 2010 44 19 12 13 56 52 4 43.2 2009–10 Essex Senior Cup winners [10][36]
John Ward  England 31 May 2010 24 September 2012 111 33 39 39 139 169 −24 29.7 [10][37]
Joe Dunne  Ireland 27 September 2012 1 September 2014 45 16 10 19 80 100 −20 35.6 [10][35]
Tony Humes  England 1 September 2014 26 November 2015 67 22 15 30 101 126 −25 32.8 [10][38]
Richard Hall  England 26 November 2015 2 December 2015 1 0 0 1 1 5 −4 0.0 [10]
Wayne Brown  England 2 December 2015 21 December 2015 3 1 0 2 6 8 −2 33.3 [10]
Kevin Keen  England 21 December 2015 26 April 2016 24 5 7 12 21 40 −19 20.8 [10]
David Wright  England 26 April 2016 4 May 2016 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 0.0 [10]
Steve Ball  England 4 May 2016 8 May 2016 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0.0 [10]
John McGreal  England 8 May 2016 14 July 2020 202 76 55 71 289 264 25 37.6 [10][39]
Steve Ball  England 28 July 2020 23 February 2021 34 8 13 13 39 47 −8 23.5 [10][40]
Wayne Brown  England 24 February 2021 31 March 2021 9 1 3 5 5 14 −9 11.1 [10]
Hayden Mullins  England 31 March 2021 13 May 2021 8 3 3 2 8 8 0 37.5 [10]
Hayden Mullins  England 13 May 2021 19 January 2022 32 8 8 16 28 42 −14 25 [10]
Wayne Brown  England 19 January 2022 18 September 2022 20 8 5 7 25 23 2 40
Steve Ball  England 18 September 2022 30 September 2022 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 [10]
Matt Bloomfield  England 30 September 2022 21 February 2023 28 9 6 13 28 31 −3 32.1 [41]
Ross Embleton  England 21 February 2023 2 March 2023 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0

Notes

A. ^ : Steve Whitton was joint caretaker manager with Micky Cook for a single match in January 1999.
B. ^ : John McGreal was joint caretaker manager with Richard Hall in November 2015.

References

  1. ^ "Tables". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  2. ^ Hudson, Matt (11 August 2013). "The 1930s and 1940s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  3. ^ Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1950s and 1960s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  4. ^ Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1970s and 1980s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  5. ^ "The U's History: The 90s". cu-fc.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  6. ^ "The U's History: The 00s". cu-fc.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  7. ^ "Aidy Boothroyd named as Coventry City boss". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  8. ^ "John Ward named as Colchester United manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  9. ^ "Colchester United – Club Info – Who's Who". cu-fc.com. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av "Coludata Tables: Managerial Record". Coludata. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Ted Fenton's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  12. ^ "Jimmy Allen's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  13. ^ "Jack Butler's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  14. ^ "Benny Fenton's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  15. ^ "Neil Franklin's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  16. ^ "Dick Graham's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  17. ^ "Jim Smith's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  18. ^ "Bobby Roberts' managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  19. ^ "Allan Hunter's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  20. ^ "Cyril Lea's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  21. ^ "Mike Walker's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  22. ^ "Roger Brown's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  23. ^ "Jock Wallace's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  24. ^ "Steve Foley's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  25. ^ "Mick Mills' managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  26. ^ "Ian Atkins' managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  27. ^ "Roy McDonough's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  28. ^ "George Burley's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  29. ^ "Steve Wignall's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  30. ^ a b "Steve Whitton's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  31. ^ "Mick Wadsworth's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  32. ^ a b "Geraint Williams' managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  33. ^ "Phil Parkinson's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  34. ^ "Paul Lambert's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  35. ^ a b "Joe Dunne's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  36. ^ "Adrian Boothroyd's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  37. ^ "John Ward's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  38. ^ "Tony Humes' managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  39. ^ "John McGreal's managerial career". Soccerbase. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  40. ^ "Steve Ball". Soccerbase. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  41. ^ "Matt Bloomfield". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
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