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==Stadium==
==Stadium==
{{main|Layer Road|Colchester Community Stadium}}
{{main|Layer Road|Colchester Community Stadium}}
Colchester United formed in 1937 and took over [[Layer Road]] from the recently defunct Colchester Town. That remained their home until 2008. At its closure, the ground had a capacity of 6,340, though it had previously been much higher, with a record attendance of 19,072.
Colchester United formed in 1937 and took over [[Layer Road]] from the recently defunct Colchester Town. That remained their home until 2008. At its closure, the ground had a capacity of 340, though it had previously been much higher, with a record attendance of 19,072.


In 2000, Colchester announced plans to move to a new 10,000 capacity all-seater community stadium at Cuckoo Farm, which were given the go-ahead by Colchester Borough Council on November 13 2006. Construction of the stadium, funded by the club but owned by the local council, started in June 2007, and the stadium opened at the start of the [[2008-09 in English football|2008-09]] season. Colchester's biggest attendance at the stadium of 9,559 was set at a [[League One]] match against [[Leeds United]] on 4 April 2009.
In 2000, Colchester announced plans to move to a new 4-seater caravan at Cuckoo Farm, which were given the go-ahead by Colchester Borough Council on November 13 2006. Construction of the caravan, funded by the club but owned by the local council, started in June 2007, and the caravan opened at the start of the [[2008-09 in English football|2008-09]] season. Colchester's biggest attendance at the caravan of 3 was set at a [[League One]] match against [[Leeds United]] on 4 April 2009.


Although generally known as the ''Colchester Community stadium'', and sometimes as ''Cuckoo Farm'', it is officially called, under a ten year sponsorship deal, the ''Weston Homes Community Stadium''.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/colchester_united/7449295.stm Colchester reveal ground sponsors]</ref>
Although generally known as the ''Colchester Caravan stadium'', and sometimes as ''A hell-hole", it is officially called, under a ten year sponsorship deal, the ''Weston Homes Community Caravan".<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/colchester_united/7449295.stm Colchester reveal ground sponsors]</ref>


==Supporters==
==Supporters==

Revision as of 20:05, 28 December 2009

Colchester United
File:Colchester badge.png
Full nameColchester United Football Club
Nickname(s)The U's
Founded1937
GroundWeston Homes Community Stadium
Colchester
Capacity10,000
OwnerRobbie Cowling
ManagerAidy Boothroyd
LeagueLeague One
2008–09League One, 12th

Colchester United Football Club (Template:Pron-en) is an English football team based in the town of Colchester, Essex.

The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910. Colchester United play in the Weston Homes Community Stadium in the north of the town. Colchester United are perhaps most famous for beating Don Revie's Leeds United 3–2 in the 5th round of the FA Cup in 1971. Their highest ever league finish was achieved in 2006–07, when they ended the season in 10th place in the Championship while having the division's lowest attendance.

Colchester United Ladies are a very successful part of the club, having won promotion to the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division in 2006-07.

History

Colchester Town, nicknamed 'The Oystermen', were the original local side, established in 1867 and playing at Layer Road from 1909 until 1937, when they were dissolved. The stadium was originally owned by the army, who still have a strong presence in the town, until it was purchased by the club in 1919. Shortly before Town folded, Colchester United was set up. The owners had intended to run both teams, one professional and one amateur, under the same umbrella but the Essex County FA ruled that both teams could not be run under one set of rules, and so Town were wound down.

In the 1947/48 season Colchester, then in the Southern League, produced one of the most notable F.A. Cup runs by a non-league side, beating fellow-non-league side Banbury Spencer in the First Round before beating league clubs Wrexham, Huddersfield and Bradford Park Avenue. They finally fell to Blackpool in the fifth round.

United went from strength to strength, and they were elected to the Football League in 1950. They spent most of the 50s, 60s and 70s either in the third or fourth tiers before spending the 80s in the fourth tier. However the club got into financial problems towards the end of the 80s and lost their league status for two seasons from relegation in 1990 until 1992, when they won a non-league double by collecting the Conference title and the Football Trophy. They then finished around mid table in the fourth tier for the next 3 seasons before reaching the play-offs in 1995-96 but losing in the semis to Plymouth Argyle.

In the 1996-97 season Colchester were runners up in the Football League Trophy and just missed out on the play-offs by 1 point. But in 1997-98, they got themselves promoted by winning the play-offs to the third tier. They then consolidated their position in that division before achieving promotion in 2005–06 to the second tier of English football, the Championship, by finishing in second place in League One. They also had a good FA Cup run that season before losing in the 5th round to Chelsea despite taking the lead. After a slow start to the 2006-07 season, they soon entered the higher reaches of the division and there was even talk of a challenge for promotion to the Premier League, before they finished tenth in the final table, their highest ever placing. The following season Colchester finished bottom of the Championship with 38 points and were relegated back to League One. They went on to finish 12th in that league in 2008-09.

Stadium

Main articles: Layer Road and Colchester Community Stadium

Colchester United formed in 1937 and took over Layer Road from the recently defunct Colchester Town. That remained their home until 2008. At its closure, the ground had a capacity of 340, though it had previously been much higher, with a record attendance of 19,072.

In 2000, Colchester announced plans to move to a new 4-seater caravan at Cuckoo Farm, which were given the go-ahead by Colchester Borough Council on November 13 2006. Construction of the caravan, funded by the club but owned by the local council, started in June 2007, and the caravan opened at the start of the 2008-09 season. Colchester's biggest attendance at the caravan of 3 was set at a League One match against Leeds United on 4 April 2009.

Although generally known as the Colchester Caravan stadium, and sometimes as A hell-hole", it is officially called, under a ten year sponsorship deal, the Weston Homes Community Caravan".[1]

Supporters

Notable persons known to be Colchester United fans include Steve Lamacq,[2] Bob Russell MP[3], England opening batsman Alastair Cook and the bands Absent Kid[4] and Special Duties.[5]

Rivalries

Colchester's main rivalry is with fellow Essex side Southend United, with whom they contest the Essex derby. The competitive head-to-head record is 29 wins to Southend, 23 wins for Colchester and 17 draws.[6]

Colchester United also have a rivalry with Ipswich Town, their geographically closest league opponents, whom they met for the first time in a league fixture for almost half a century in the 2006–07 season. A 1-0 win at home, followed by a 3–2 defeat away for Colchester saw Ipswich take their overall competitive record against Colchester to 10 wins, 4 losses with 4 draws.[7] By finishing above both Ipswich & Norwich in the 2006-07 season, Colchester United took the "Pride of Anglia" title for the first time.

League One side Wycombe Wanderers are also fierce rivals to Colchester United, dating back to both clubs' latter years in the Conference.[8] Whilst not a local derby, the rivalry goes back to the 1985–86 season, when Wycombe defeated Colchester 2–0 in an FA Cup tie marred by crowd trouble at Loakes Park.

Colchester and Wycombe were also involved in a race for the Conference title throughout the 1991–92 season, during which Colchester defeated Wycombe 2–1 at Adams Park with an injury-time wind-assisted winner from their goalkeeper, Scott Barrett.

Another controversial meeting was during the 1998–99 season. Relegation-threatened Wycombe were leading Colchester 2–1 at Adams Park until the ninth minute of stoppage time, when Colchester were awarded, and converted, an equalising penalty. However, due to lack of recent games between the two sides, Colchester United fans consider Ipswich and Southend bigger rivals.

Records

Colchester's record wins were 9-1 against Bradford City in 1961 and Leamington F.C. in 2005. Their record defeat was 0-8 against Leyton Orient in 1988. Their record attendance at Layer Road was 19072 against Reading

Players

As of 20 November 2009.[9]

Current 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
1 GK England ENG Ben Williams
2 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Alan Maybury
3 DF Wales WAL Lee Beevers
4 DF Nigeria NGA Magnus Okuonghae
6 DF England ENG Paul Reid
7 MF England ENG Ashley Vincent
8 MF Ireland EIR John-Joe O'Toole (on loan from Watford)
9 FW England ENG Clive Platt
10 MF England ENG Kemal Izzet
11 MF England ENG Simon Hackney
12 GK England ENG Mark Cousins
14 MF England ENG David Fox
15 FW Nigeria NGA Kayode Odejayi (on loan from Barnsley)
18 FW England ENG Steven Gillespie
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 FW France FRA Joël Thomas
20 FW Jamaica JAM Kevin Lisbie (on loan from Ipswich Town)
21 DF England ENG Danny Batth (on loan from Wolves)
22 MF England ENG Anthony Wordsworth
23 DF England ENG Marc Tierney
25 DF England ENG John White
27 DF England ENG Matthew Lockwood
28 DF England ENG Matt Heath
29 FW England ENG Scott Vernon
30 FW England ENG Jamie Guy
31 DF England ENG Phil Ifil
34 DF Wales WAL Thomas Bender
39 MF England ENG Medy Elito

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
5 DF England ENG Pat Baldwin (on loan to Bristol Rovers)
17 MF England ENG David Perkins (on loan to Chesterfield)
33 FW England ENG Russell Malton (on loan to Heybridge)
32 MF England ENG Sam Corcoran (on loan to Wealdstone)

Club officials

Board and Directors

  • Chairman - Robbie Cowling
  • Vice Chairman - Richard Cowling
  • Directors - John Cowling, Peter Powell, Gary White
  • Associate Directors - John Worsp, Terry Sutton
  • Chief Executive - Steve Bradshaw
  • Life President - P.J. Heard

Management Team

Notable former players

The following players have been inducted into Colchester United's Hall of Fame for being one of "...those who have made a difference to the club's history."[10] In addition, Peter Wright was awarded the title of "U's Player of the Century". [11]

Also included is former manager, Dick Graham.[16]

Managers

Honours

References

  1. ^ Colchester reveal ground sponsors
  2. ^ Lamacq, Steve (30th January, 1999). "Football Fan's Eye View: Colchester United - A swift and defiant single-finger salute". The Independent. United Kingdom: Independent News and Media Limited. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "MP is match ball sponsor". Colchester Liberal Democrats. Colchester, UK: Prater Raines Ltd. 22nd February, 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "The Golden Ticket (with program of events for Colchester United v Stoke City match)". Colchester, UK: Colchester United (official website). 24th April, 2008. 1:30 - 2pm Absent Kid perform on pitch {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Colchester United and Punk Bands unite for Emily". London, UK: Teenage Cancer Trust. 6th December, 2006. Steve Green of Special Duties said: Hearing <the song> played every game at Layer Road still fills me with pride. It was even played at the old Wembley for our Play-Off Final against Torquay. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ All time results between Colchester United and Southend United Soccerbase
  7. ^ All time results between Ipswich Town and Colchester United Soccerbase
  8. ^ Football Rivalries: The Complete Results Bluebird to the Bone
  9. ^ "Profiles". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  10. ^ "Hall of Fame - Rules and Info". www.cu-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  11. ^ "Former Players Dinner Announced". www.cu-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  12. ^ a b "2006/7 Fans' Inductees". www.cu-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  13. ^ a b c "2006/7 Committee Inductees". www.cu-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  14. ^ a b c d e "2007/8 Committee Inductees". Retrieved 2008-08-08. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |= ignored (help)
  15. ^ "Leeds Cup Team Remembered". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  16. ^ "2007/8 Special Inductee". www.cu-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-08-08.

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