Colchester United F.C.
| File:Colchester badge.gif | |||
| Full name | Colchester United Football Club Limited | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The U's | ||
| Founded | 1937 | ||
| Ground | Layer Road Colchester | ||
| Capacity | 6,340 | ||
| Owner |  Robbie Cowling | ||
| Manager |  Geraint Williams | ||
| League | The Championship | ||
| 2006–07 | Championship, 10th | ||
|
| |||
Colchester United Football Club is an English football team who play in the Championship. The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town F.C. who had previously used the ground from 1910.
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, albeit with 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.
Colchester Town F.C.
Colchester Town F.C., nicknamed 'The Oystermen', were the 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. Soon after Town folded, Colchester United was set up. They were promoted to the Football League in 1950, but lost their league status for two seasons until 1992, when they won a non-league double by collecting the Conference title and the Football Trophy.
     Town's original colours
|
Stadium
Colchester United formed and took over Layer Road, which has been their home since the formation of the club. The ground has a capacity of 6,340, though in the past it was much higher. The record attendance at Layer Road is 19,072 for an FA Cup fixture against Reading in November 1948, a match that was actually abandoned due to fog. The record league attendance is 18,559 for a game against Ipswich in 1957.[1]
In 2000 Colchester announced plans to move to a new 10,000 capacity all-seater community stadium at Cuckoo Farm. It was given the go-ahead by Colchester Borough Council on November 13, 2006, and is expected to be opened at the start of the 2008–09 season. The construction of the stadium is funded by the council. On June 4 2007, Barr Ltd. began to set up their cabins on site and work is now underway on the stadium site.
Rivalries
Colchester United's primary rivals are their geographically closest league opponents Ipswich Town<---(SCUM), 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 8 wins, 3 losses with 4 draws "[3]".. By finishing above both Ipswich & Norwich in the 2006-07 season Colchester United took the "Pride of Anglia" title for the first time.
Colchester also have a rivalry with fellow Essex side Southend United, with a competitive head-to-head record of 28 wins to Southend, 22 wins for Colchester and 16 draws "[2]"..
League Two side Wycombe Wanderers can also be considered rivals to Colchester United dating back to both clubs' latter years in the Conference"[1]".. 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 & Southend bigger rivals
Players
Current squad
- As of 7 February 2008.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Notable former players
Listed according to when they debuted for Colchester United (year in parentheses):
- Jamie Cureton (2005)
- Chris Iwelumo (2005)
- Neil Danns (2004)
- Greg Halford (2002)
- Bobby Bowry (2001)
- Lomana Tresor LuaLua (1998)
- David Gregory (1995)
- Mark Kinsella (1989)
- Tony English
- Tony Adcock
- Perry Groves
- Roy McDonough
- Micky Cook
- Ray Crawford
- Brian Hall
- Peter Wright
- Mike Masters (1992)
- Ernest Chapman (1909)
League Honours
Coca-Cola League One
- Runners-Up: 2005–06
Third Division
- Play-Off Winners: 1997–98
Fourth Division
- Runners-Up: 1961–62
- Champions: 1991–92
- Runners-Up: 1990–91
- Champions: 1938–39
- Runners-Up: 1949–50
Southern Football League - Midweek Section
- Runners-Up: 1937–38, 1938–39
Eastern Counties Football League
Colchester United Reserves
- Champions: 1938–39, 1956–57, 1958–59
- Runners-Up: 1951–52, 1954–55, 1985–86
Cup Honours
- Champions: 1991–92
- Champions: 1971
- Runners-Up: 1996–97
- Champions: 1939–40, 1946–47
Essex Senior League Challenge Cup
Colchester United 'A'
- Champions: 1974–75
- Runners-Up: 1981–82
Notes
- ^ Bernard Webber, The Way U's Were: A Personal History of Colchester United (Tempus, 2004), p. 180
External links
- Colchester United Official Homepage
- The U'sual / ColchesterUnited.com (formerly ColUOnline)
- Colchester United at the Football Club History Database
- Colchester United Reserves at the Football Club History Database
- Colchester United "A" at the Football Club History Database
- Colchester Utd Layer Road Stadium - Googlemaps
| History | |
|---|---|
| Home stadium |
|
| Players | |
| Rivalries | |
| Matches | |
| Teams | |
| Related articles | |
Template:Football League Championship teamlist Template:English football league system cells
| National teams | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League competitions |
| ||||||||||
| Cup competitions |
| ||||||||||
| Others | |||||||||||
| Lists | |||||||||||