1958–59 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1958–59 season was Colchester United's 17th season in their history and their ninth season in the third tier of English football, the newly formed national Third Division. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup. Colchester reached the fourth round of the FA Cup, beating Bath City, Yeovil Town and Chesterfield on their way to meeting Arsenal. Drawn at home, Colchester held Arsenal to a 2–2 Layer Road draw, but were defeated 4–0 at Highbury in the replay. Colchester finished fifth in the Third Division, nine points shy of promotion.

Colchester United
1958–59 season
ChairmanBill Allen[1]
ManagerBenny Fenton
StadiumLayer Road
Third Division5th
FA Cup4th round
(eliminated by
Arsenal)
Top goalscorerLeague:
Neil Langman (20)
All:
Neil Langman (27)
Highest home attendance16,000
v Arsenal, 24 January 1959[2]
Lowest home attendance4,406
v Notts County, 23 February 1959[3]
Average home league attendance8,357[4]
Biggest win8–2
v Stockport County, 4 October 1958;
7–1
v Yeovil Town, 11 December 1958
Biggest defeat0–4
v Arsenal, 28 January 1959;
0–4
v Brentford, 21 March 1959

Season overview

In the new national Third Division, Colchester excelled against their northern counterparts, winning 21 games, more than half of which were clubs previously in the Third Division North. Colchester finished the season in fifth position, just nine points away from Hull City in second place, and ten behind champions Plymouth Argyle. They also earned a club record win when they beat Stockport County 8–2 on 4 October, and a club record away win when they beat Yeovil Town 7–1.

The club's main highlight during the campaign was their FA Cup run, their first venture outside of the first round in six seasons. Colchester defeated old Southern League rivals Bath City and Yeovil Town in the first and second rounds, before seeing off Chesterfield to set up a fourth round tie with Arsenal. For the first time local police set a limit on crowd numbers at Layer Road for the Arsenal game with 16,000 witnessing the 2–2 draw. 62,686 people watched the replay at Highbury in thick fog as the Gunners ran out 4–0 winners.

Both big-money signings from last season, Neil Langman and John Evans, helped repay their transfer fees by scoring 27 and 16 goals respectively. Meanwhile, the proceeds from the Arsenal fixture meant that floodlighting could be installed at Layer Road for the first time.[5]

Players
As of match played 4 May 1959.[6]
Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth Apps Goals Signed from Date signed Fee
Goalkeepers
Percy AmesGKPlymouth (1931-12-13)13 December 1931 (aged 26)1390 Tottenham Hotspur1 May 1955Free transfer
John WrightGKAldershot (1933-08-13)13 August 1933 (aged 24)40 Colchester Casuals23 May 1952Free transfer
Defenders
Brian DobsonCBColchester (1934-03-01)1 March 1934 (aged 24)230AmateurJanuary 1956Free transfer
George FisherFBBermondsey (1925-06-19)19 June 1925 (aged 32)1354 Fulham1 September 1955£1,000
John FowlerFBLeith (1933-10-17)17 October 1933 (aged 24)1063 Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic20 August 1955[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
John LaidlawFBAldershot (1936-07-05)5 July 1936 (aged 21)00 Easthouses Lily Miners WelfareJune 1957Free transfer
Alf MarshallFBDagenham (1933-05-21)21 May 1933 (aged 25)00 Dagenham14 October 1957£25
Chic MilliganCBArdrossan (1930-07-26)26 July 1930 (aged 27)621 Ardrossan Winton Rovers18 August 1956[lower-alpha 1]£1,000
John RoeFBBroxburn (1938-01-07)7 January 1938 (aged 20)00 West Calder UnitedJuly 1958Free transfer
Edgar RumneyFBAbberton (1936-09-15)15 September 1936 (aged 21)50 Colchester Casuals1 May 1957Free transfer
Midfielders
Cyril HammondWHWoolwich (1927-10-10)10 October 1927 (aged 30)00 Charlton AthleticJuly 1958Free transfer
Trevor HarrisWHColchester (1936-02-06)6 February 1936 (aged 22)100AmateurJuly 1951Free transfer
Ron HuntWHColchester (1933-09-26)26 September 1933 (aged 24)380AmateurOctober 1951Free transfer
Derek ParkerWHWivenhoe (1926-06-23)23 June 1926 (aged 31)361 West Ham UnitedMarch 1957£2,500
Forwards
Russell BlakeWGColchester (1935-07-24)24 July 1935 (aged 22)152 Dedham Old Boys8 September 1955[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
John EvansIFTilbury (1929-08-28)28 August 1929 (aged 28)247 Liverpool23 November 1957[lower-alpha 1]£4,000
Bobby HillIFEdinburgh (1938-06-09)9 June 1938 (aged 19)548 Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare9 June 1955Free transfer
Ian JohnstoneIFGalashiels (1939-03-02)2 March 1939 (aged 19)00 Ormiston Primrose18 April 1959[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Martyn KingCFBirmingham (1937-08-23)23 August 1937 (aged 20)31AmateurSummer 1955Free transfer
Neil LangmanCFBere Alston (1932-02-21)21 February 1932 (aged 26)238 Plymouth ArgyleNovember 1957£6,750
Kevin McCurleyCFConsett (1926-04-02)2 April 1926 (aged 32)21886 LiverpoolJune 1951£750
Sammy McLeodIFGlasgow (1934-01-04)4 January 1934 (aged 24)636 Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare20 August 1955[lower-alpha 1]Free transfer
Tony MillerIFChelmsford (1937-10-26)26 October 1937 (aged 20)00AmateurMay 1958Free transfer
Ken PlantCFNuneaton (1925-08-15)15 August 1925 (aged 32)18879 BuryJanuary 1954Undisclosed
Tommy WilliamsWGBattersea (1935-02-10)10 February 1935 (aged 23)528 Carshalton AthleticSeptember 1956Free transfer
Peter WrightWGColchester (1934-01-26)26 January 1934 (aged 24)20446AmateurNovember 1951Free transfer
  1. Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

Transfers

In
Date Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref.
May 1958 IF Tony Miller Amateur Free transfer [7]
July 1958 WH Cyril Hammond Charlton Athletic Free transfer [8]
July 1958 FB John Roe West Calder United Free transfer [9]
18 April 1959 IF Ian Johnstone Ormiston Primrose Free transfer [10][lower-alpha 1]
  1. Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

Out
Date Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.
End of season WH Benny Fenton Colchester United Retired from playing, remained as manager [11]
July 1958 WH Bert Hill Dartford Free transfer [12]
26 December 1958 IF Hamish McNeill Cambridge City Nominal [13]

Match details

Third Division
Main article: 1958–59 Football League

Results round by round
Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundHHAAHHAHAAHHAHAAHHAAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHHAHAA
ResultLWLWWWDWDDLWDDLWLLWWDDWDWWLDDWWLWLWLLLLLWWWWLW
Position179191383765787577369865856334444333444669101097685
Source: 11v11.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
3 Brentford 46 21 15 10 76 49 1.551 57
4 Norwich City 46 22 13 11 89 62 1.435 57
5 Colchester United 46 21 10 15 71 67 1.060 52
6 Reading 46 21 8 17 78 63 1.238 50
7 Tranmere Rovers 46 21 8 17 82 67 1.224 50
Source:

Matches
23 August 1958 (1958-08-23) 1 Colchester United 1–3 Bury Colchester
Langman Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,394
25 August 1958 (1958-08-25) 2 Colchester United 2–1 Norwich City Colchester
Blake Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,379
30 August 1958 (1958-08-30) 3 Queens Park Rangers 4–2 Colchester United Shepherd's Bush
Unknown goalscorer Report Langman Stadium: Loftus Road
Attendance: 9,733
3 September 1958 (1958-09-03) 4 Norwich City 1–2 Colchester United Norwich
Unknown goalscorer Report Evans
Langman 		Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 25,132
6 September 1958 (1958-09-06) 5 Colchester United 2–1 Rochdale Colchester
Langman
McLeod 		Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,141
8 September 1958 (1958-09-08) 6 Colchester United 1–0 Accrington Stanley Colchester
Langman Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,380
17 September 1958 (1958-09-17) 7 Accrington Stanley 1–1 Colchester United Accrington
Unknown goalscorer Report Own goal  o.g.' Stadium: Peel Park
Attendance: 8,350
20 September 1958 (1958-09-20) 8 Colchester United 2–0 Plymouth Argyle Colchester
Evans  pen.' Report
Report		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 10,038
24 September 1958 (1958-09-24) 9 Southend United 1–1 Colchester United Southend-on-Sea
Punton Report
Report		 Langman Stadium: Roots Hall
Attendance: 11,471
27 September 1958 (1958-09-27) 10 Tranmere Rovers 3–3 Colchester United Birkenhead
Unknown goalscorer Report Own goal  o.g.'
McLeod 		Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 14,000
29 September 1958 (1958-09-29) 11 Colchester United 0–1 Southend United Colchester
Report
Report		 Thomson Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 6,833
4 October 1958 (1958-10-04) 12 Colchester United 8–2 Stockport County Colchester
Evans
Langman
McLeod 		Report Murray
Clarke 		Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,298
8 October 1958 (1958-10-08) 13 Reading 0–0 Colchester United Reading
Report Stadium: Elm Park
Attendance: 17,401
11 October 1958 (1958-10-11) 14 Colchester United 1–1 Wrexham Colchester
Evans Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,204
16 October 1958 (1958-10-16) 15 Doncaster Rovers 2–1 Colchester United Doncaster
Unknown goalscorer Report Blake Stadium: Belle Vue
Attendance: 2,786
18 October 1958 (1958-10-18) 16 Bradford City 1–3 Colchester United Bradford
Unknown goalscorer Report Plant
Langman 		Stadium: Valley Parade
Attendance: 12,307
25 October 1958 (1958-10-25) 17 Colchester United 1–3 Hull City Colchester
McCurley Report Bradbury
Smith
Coates 		Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,277
1 November 1958 (1958-11-01) 18 Brentford 2–1 Colchester United Brentford
Towers
Heath 		Report Langman Stadium: Griffin Park
Attendance: 11,930
8 November 1958 (1958-11-08) 19 Colchester United 1–0 Swindon Town Colchester
Plant Report
Report		 Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,001
22 November 1958 (1958-11-22) 20 Colchester United 3–2 Newport County Colchester
Langman
P. Wright
Blake 		Report McPherson
Graham 		Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,271
29 November 1958 (1958-11-29) 21 Chesterfield 2–2 Colchester United Chesterfield
Unknown goalscorer Report P. Wright Stadium: Saltergate
Attendance: 7,140
20 December 1958 (1958-12-20) 22 Bury 0–0 Colchester United Bury
Report Stadium: Gigg Lane
Attendance: 11,615
26 December 1958 (1958-12-26) 23 Colchester United 3–1 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic Colchester
Langman
McLeod
Williams 		Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,182
27 December 1958 (1958-12-27) 24 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 1–1 Colchester United Bournemouth
Unknown goalscorer Report Williams Stadium: Dean Court
Attendance: 12,404
3 January 1959 (1959-01-03) 25 Colchester United 3–0 Queens Park Rangers Colchester
Fisher
Evans
Langman 		Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,719
31 January 1959 (1959-01-31) 26 Colchester United 1–0 Doncaster Rovers Colchester
Langman Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,658
2 February 1959 (1959-02-02) 27 Mansfield Town 3–2 Colchester United Mansfield
Unknown goalscorer Report Hill
McCurley 		Stadium: Field Mill
Attendance: 5,155
7 February 1959 (1959-02-07) 28 Plymouth Argyle 1–1 Colchester United Plymouth
Williams Report
Report		 Evans Stadium: Home Park
Attendance: 22,686
14 February 1959 (1959-02-14) 29 Colchester United 1–1 Tranmere Rovers Colchester
Own goal  o.g.' Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,160
21 February 1959 (1959-02-21) 30 Stockport County 0–1 Colchester United Stockport
Report Williams Stadium: Edgeley Park
Attendance: 5,734
23 February 1959 (1959-02-23) 31 Colchester United 4–1 Notts County Colchester
McCurley
Langman
P. Wright 		Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 4,406
28 February 1959 (1959-02-28) 32 Wrexham 2–0 Colchester United Wrexham
Unknown goalscorer Report Stadium: Racecourse Ground
Attendance: 8,635
7 March 1959 (1959-03-07) 33 Colchester United 3–2 Bradford City Colchester
McCurley
Langman
Williams 		Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 7,139
14 March 1959 (1959-03-14) 34 Hull City 3–0 Colchester United Kingston upon Hull
Davidson
Smith 		Report Stadium: Boothferry Park
Attendance: 16,668
16 March 1959 (1959-03-16) 35 Rochdale 0–1 Colchester United Rochdale
Report Langman Stadium: Spotland Stadium
Attendance: 3,510
21 March 1959 (1959-03-21) 36 Colchester United 0–4 Brentford Colchester
Report Francis
McLeod
Towers 		Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,775
27 March 1959 (1959-03-27) 37 Colchester United 1–3 Southampton Colchester
McCurley Report Paine
Hoskins
Reeves 		Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 8,943
28 March 1959 (1959-03-28) 38 Swindon Town 2–0 Colchester United Swindon
D'Arcy
Marshall 		Report
Report		 Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 8,876
30 March 1959 (1959-03-30) 39 Southampton 3–0 Colchester United Southampton
Mulgrew
Reeves
Page 		Report Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 8,502
4 April 1959 (1959-04-04) 40 Colchester United 1–3 Mansfield Town Colchester
Milligan  pen.' Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,901
18 April 1959 (1959-04-18) 41 Colchester United 1–0 Chesterfield Colchester
Langman Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,433
20 April 1959 (1959-04-20) 42 Colchester United 3–1 Reading Colchester
Evans  pen.'
McLeod 		Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,590
25 April 1959 (1959-04-25) 43 Notts County 0–1 Colchester United Nottingham
Report Evans Stadium: Meadow Lane
Attendance: 4,733
27 April 1959 (1959-04-27) 44 Colchester United 3–1 Halifax Town Colchester
Evans  pen.'
Blake
Williams 		Report Unknown goalscorer Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 5,769
30 April 1959 (1959-04-30) 45 Halifax Town 4–1 Colchester United Halifax
Unknown goalscorer Report Evans Stadium: The Shay
Attendance: 5,458
4 May 1959 (1959-05-04) 46 Newport County 0–1 Colchester United Newport
Report P. Wright Stadium: Somerton Park
Attendance: 4,702

FA Cup
Main article: 1958–59 FA Cup
15 November 1958 (1958-11-15) 1st round Colchester United 1–0 Bath City Colchester
Plant  14'
Langman  84'		 Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 10,636
15 November 1958 (1958-11-15) 2nd round Colchester United 1–1 Yeovil Town Colchester
Plant Report Earl Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 10,890
11 December 1958 (1958-12-11) 2nd round replay Yeovil Town 1–7 Colchester United Yeovil
Dennis Report Langman
McLeod
Williams 		Stadium: Huish Athletic Ground
Attendance: 10,000
10 January 1959 (1959-01-10) 3rd round Colchester United 2–0 Chesterfield Colchester
Evans  8'
Langman  54'		 Report Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 9,723
24 January 1959 (1959-01-24) 4th round Colchester United 2–2 Arsenal Colchester
Langman  80'
Evans  82'		 Report Groves  75', 76' Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 16,000
28 January 1959 (1959-01-28) 4th round replay Arsenal 4–0 Colchester United Highbury
19:30 GMT Evans  pen.'
Herd
Julians 		Report
Programme		 Stadium: Arsenal Stadium
Attendance: 62,686

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

[6][14]

No. Pos Nat Player TotalThird DivisionFA Cup
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK Percy Ames 52046060
DF George Fisher 34128160
DF John Fowler 48042060
DF Alf Marshall 24024000
DF Chic Milligan 50144160
MF Cyril Hammond 37033040
MF Trevor Harris 101000
MF Ron Hunt 21019020
MF Derek Parker 44038060
FW Russell Blake 29524550
FW John Evans 3116271442
FW Bobby Hill 818100
FW Ian Johnstone 101000
FW Martyn King 303000
FW Neil Langman 5027442067
FW Kevin McCurley 757500
FW Sammy McLeod 441038862
FW Ken Plant 957322
FW Tommy Williams 30629511
FW Peter Wright 49543560

Goalscorers

[14]

Place Nationality Position Name Third Division FA Cup Total
1 CF Neil Langman 20 7 27
2 IF John Evans 14 2 16
3 IF Sammy McLeod 8 2 10
4 WG Tommy Williams 5 1 6
5 WG Russell Blake 5 0 5
CF Kevin McCurley 5 0 5
CF Ken Plant 3 2 5
WG Peter Wright 5 0 5
9 FB George Fisher 1 0 1
IF Bobby Hill 1 0 1
CB Chic Milligan 1 0 1
Own goals 3 0 3
TOTALS 71 14 85

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[15]

Place Nationality Player Third Division FA Cup Total
1 Percy Ames 12 2 14
TOTALS 12 2 14

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[16]

Position Nationality Player Date Opponent Ground Notes
WH Cyril Hammond 23 August 1958 Bury Layer Road
FB Alf Marshall 8 October 1958 Reading Elm Park
IF Ian Johnstone 18 April 1959 Chesterfield Layer Road

    See also

    References

    General

    Books

    • Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.
    • Ambrosen, Tony (1993). Amber in the Blood: A History Of Newport County. Uxbridge: Yore Publications. ISBN 978-1-874427-40-7.
    • White, Eric (1989). 100 Years of Brentford. Redditch: Oldfield Press. ISBN 0951526200.

    Websites

    Specific
    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. "Colchester Utd 2–2 Arsenal". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
    3. "Colchester Utd 4–1 Notts County". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
    4. "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
    5. Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1950s and 1960s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
    6. "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
    7. "Tony Miller". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
    8. "Cyril Hammond". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
    9. "John Roe". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
    10. "Ian Johnstone". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
    11. "Benny Fenton". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
    12. "Bert Hill". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
    13. "Hamish McNeill". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
    14. "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
    15. "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
    16. "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
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