1971–72 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1971–72 season was Colchester United's 30th season in their history and their fourth successive season in the fourth tier of English football, the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup, as well as being entered into the pre-season Watney Cup.

Colchester United

1971–72 season
Chairman	Roy Chapman[1]
Manager	Dick Graham
Stadium	Layer Road
Fourth Division	11th
FA Cup	1st round (eliminated by Shrewsbury Town)
League Cup	3rd round (eliminated by Blackpool)
Watney Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: Brian Lewis (15) All: Brian Lewis (23)
Highest home attendance	9,807 v Southend United, 18 October 1971[2]
Lowest home attendance	3,390 v Workington, 7 April 1972[3]
Average home league attendance	5,695[4]
Biggest win	4–1 v Swindon Town, 8 September 1971 v Southend United, 28 January 1972 5–2 v Lincoln City, 15 October 1971 3–0 v Exeter City, 26 November 1971
Biggest defeat	0–4 v Blackpool, 5 October 1971 v Peterborough United, 1 April 1972
Home colours
← 1970–71 1972–73 →

Continuing with their cup success of the previous season, Dick Graham's high-scoring side were entered into the Watney Cup, a pre-season tournament held between the two highest scoring teams in each of the four divisions in the Football League who had not achieved promotion or entered European football. Colchester defeated West Bromwich Albion in their first ever penalty shoot-out following a 4–4 draw at The Hawthorns.

Colchester reached the third round of the League Cup, where they were knocked out by Blackpool, and were eliminated from the FA Cup in the first round by Shrewsbury Town. Meanwhile, the U's ended their league campaign in eleventh position, nine points away from promotion.

Season overview

Colchester's goalscoring exploits of the previous campaign enabled qualification for the 1971–72 pre-season Watney Cup competition, open to the two highest scoring teams from each division, exclusively for teams that had not achieved promotion or entered into European competition. Both Luton Town and Carlisle United were beaten at Layer Road ahead of the final, held against West Bromwich Albion at their Hawthorns stadium. The encounter registered four goals apiece, taking the fixture to a penalty shoot-out. Albion missed two penalties, while Colchester youngster Phil Bloss scored the decisive spot kick to win the competition.

Although early favourites for promotion, a club debt of over £21,000 meant that manager Dick Graham needed to inject youth into his ageing side, bringing apprentices Steve Leslie, Steve Foley, Lindsay Smith, Micky Cook and John McLaughlin to name but a few into the first-team picture during the season. All became regulars but youth alone was not sufficient for Colchester to maintain a promotion push as they finished the season in eleventh position, nine points adrift of promotion.

Meanwhile, Colchester experienced a brief run in the League Cup, defeating Brentford and Swindon Town at Layer Road in the first and second rounds respectively, but were heavily beaten at Blackpool in round three. An early exit in the FA Cup followed. After reaching the quarter-final stage last season, the U's were humbled 4–1 at home to Shrewsbury Town in the first round.^[5]

Players

As of match played 29 April 1972.^[6]

Name	Position	Nationality	Place of birth	Date of birth	Apps	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Barry Smith	GK		Colchester	(1953-03-03)3 March 1953 (aged 18)	0	0	Apprentice	July 1971	Free transfer
Defenders
Richard Bourne	CB		Colchester	(1954-12-09)9 December 1954 (aged 16)	0	0	Apprentice	3 April 1972[a]	Free transfer
Eric Burgess	FB		Edgware	(1944-10-27)27 October 1944 (aged 26)	10	1	Plymouth Argyle	December 1970	Free transfer
Micky Cook	FB		Enfield	(1951-04-09)9 April 1951 (aged 20)	61	0	Orient	1 March 1969	Free transfer
Brian Hall	LB		Burbage	(1939-03-09)9 March 1939 (aged 32)	305	31	Mansfield Town	March 1965	Free transfer
Bobby Howlett	CB		West Ham	(1948-12-12)12 December 1948 (aged 22)	18	0	Southend United	Summer 1968	Free transfer
John McLaughlin	FB		Edmonton	(1954-10-29)29 October 1954 (aged 16)	0	0	Apprentice	18 March 1972[a]	Free transfer
Lindsay Smith	CB		Enfield	(1954-09-18)18 September 1954 (aged 16)	1	0	Apprentice	20 April 1971[a]	Free transfer
Midfielders
Phil Bloss	MF		Colchester	(1953-01-16)16 January 1953 (aged 18)	1	1	Apprentice	January 1971	Free transfer
Steve Foley	MF		Clacton-on-Sea	(1953-06-21)21 June 1953 (aged 17)	0	0	Apprentice	July 1969	Free transfer
Steve Leslie	MF		Hornsey	(1952-09-04)4 September 1952 (aged 18)	2	0	Apprentice	20 April 1971[a]	Free transfer
Bobby Mills	MF		Edmonton	(1955-03-16)16 March 1955 (aged 16)	0	0	Apprentice	4 March 1972[a]	Free transfer
Tony Wingate	MF		Islington	(1955-03-21)21 March 1955 (aged 16)	0	0	Apprentice	18 March 1972[a]	Free transfer
Forwards
Brian Gibbs	FW		Gillingham	(1936-10-06)6 October 1936 (aged 34)	138	36	Gillingham	September 1968	£8,000
Mick Mahon	WG		Manchester	(1944-09-17)17 September 1944 (aged 26)	47	7	York City	May 1970	Free transfer
Dave Simmons	FW		Ryde	(1948-10-24)24 October 1948 (aged 22)	15	6	Aston Villa	26 December 1970[a]	£6,000

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.
July 1971	CB		Barry Smith	Apprentice	Free transfer	[7]
4 March 1972	MF		Bobby Mills	Apprentice	Free transfer	[8][a]
18 March 1972	FB		John McLaughlin	Apprentice	Free transfer	[9][a]
18 March 1972	MF		Tony Wingate	Apprentice	Free transfer	[10][a]
3 April 1972	CB		Richard Bourne	Apprentice	Free transfer	[11][a]

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	CB		Trevor Painter	Wealdstone	Released	[12]
End of season	WG		Ray Whittaker	King's Lynn	Released	[13]
Summer 1971	WG		Micky Brown	Wealdstone	Released	[14]
31 May 1971	DF		Adrian Webster	Hillingdon Borough	Released	[15]
July 1971	GK		Brian Sherratt	Oxford City	Released	[16]
31 July 1971	FW		Ray Crawford	Durban City	Released	[17][a]
13 November 1971	GK		Graham Smith	West Bromwich Albion	£11,000	[18]
December 1971	CB		John Kurila	Lincoln City	Free transfer	[19]
January 1972	CB		Alan Dennis	Dover	Free transfer	[20]
January 1972	WG		Brian Owen	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Player-coach	[21]
March 1972	FB		John Gilchrist	Tonbridge	Player-coach	[22]
March 1972	MF		Ken Jones	Margate	Released	[23]
31 March 1972	FB		Bobby Cram	Royal Canada	Free transfer	[24][a]
3 April 1972	MF		Brian Lewis	Portsmouth	£8,500	[25][a]
24 April 1972	CB		Brian Garvey	Bedford Town	Player-manager	[26][a]

• Total incoming: ~ £19,500

1. Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

Loans in

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	End date	Ref.
26 November 1971	FB		Charlie Woods	Watford	18 December 1972	[27][a]
March 1972	MF		David Burnside	Bristol City	29 April 1972	[28][a]

1. Loan start and end dates refer to the date of the player's first and final games for the club

Match details

Fourth Division

Main article: 1971–72 Football League

Results round by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	H	A
Result	L	W	L	L	W	L	W	D	L	W	W	W	W	L	D	D	D	W	D	L	D	W	D	L	D	W	L	D	W	L	W	W	L	L	L	W	W	L	L	W	W	D	L	W	L	W
Position	20	6	20	22	14	22	15	17	18	16	14	9	7	10	8	12	12	8	9	12	10	9	9	11	11	10	12	13	10	11	10	8	9	12	12	11	10	10	10	9	9	8	8	8	9	11

Source: 11v11.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
9	Bury	46	19	12	15	73	59	1.237	50
10	Cambridge United	46	17	14	15	62	60	1.033	48
11	Colchester United	46	19	10	17	70	69	1.014	48
12	Doncaster Rovers	46	16	14	16	56	63	0.889	46
13	Gillingham	46	16	13	17	61	67	0.910	45

Source: rsssf.com

Matches

Lincoln City v Colchester United

14 August 1971 (1971-08-14) 1	Lincoln City	2–0	Colchester United	Lincoln
	Hubbard 51' Smith 63'	Report		Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 6,607 Referee: H Powell

Colchester United v Hartlepool

20 August 1971 (1971-08-20) 2	Colchester United	1–0	Hartlepool	Colchester
	Ashurst 74' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,634 Referee: H Robinson

Bury v Colchester United

28 August 1971 (1971-08-28) 3	Bury	3–0	Colchester United	Bury
	Jones 11', 13' White 70'	Report		Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 2,557 Referee: Peter Willis

Newport County v Colchester United

31 August 1971 (1971-08-31) 4	Newport County	2–1	Colchester United	Newport
	Sprague 3' Brown 88'	Report	Lewis 33'	Stadium: Somerton Park Attendance: 4,168 Referee: T Bosi

Colchester United v Southport

3 September 1971 (1971-09-03) 5	Colchester United	1–0	Southport	Colchester
	Mahon 57'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,439

Darlington v Colchester United

11 September 1971 (1971-09-11) 6	Darlington	2–0	Colchester United	Darlington
	Harding 83' Gauden 84'	Report		Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 2,683 Referee: H Hackney

Colchester United v Crewe Alexandra

17 September 1971 (1971-09-17) 7	Colchester United	4–2	Crewe Alexandra	Colchester
	Burgess 22' Lewis 59' Mahon 67' Leslie 77'	Report	East 21' Morrissey 52'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,133 Referee: P Reeves

Northampton Town v Colchester United

25 September 1971 (1971-09-25) 8	Northampton Town	1–1	Colchester United	Northampton
	Hawkins 67'	Report	Hall 75'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,800 Referee: J Whalley

Scunthorpe United v Colchester United

28 September 1971 (1971-09-28) 9	Scunthorpe United	2–0	Colchester United	Scunthorpe
	Fletcher 7' Davidson 17'	Report		Stadium: Old Showground Attendance: 5,111 Referee: T Farley

Colchester United v Chester

1 October 1971 (1971-10-01) 10	Colchester United	1–0	Chester	Colchester
	Leslie 9'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,048 Referee: M Kerkhoff

Aldershot v Colchester United

9 October 1971 (1971-10-09) 11	Aldershot	0–2	Colchester United	Aldershot
		Report	Lewis 22' Leslie 24'	Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 5,285 Referee: L Hayes

Colchester United v Lincoln City

15 October 1971 (1971-10-15) 12	Colchester United	5–2	Lincoln City	Colchester
	Lewis 2', 71', 74' Bloss 45' Hall 86'	Report	Freeman 20', 24'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,834 Referee: J Orpin

Colchester United v Southend United

18 October 1971 (1971-10-18) 13	Colchester United	1–0	Southend United	Colchester
	Leslie 78'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 9,807 Referee: John Homewood

Cambridge United v Colchester United

23 October 1971 (1971-10-23) 14	Cambridge United	4–2	Colchester United	Cambridge
	Foote 45' Lill 50' Harris 73', 87'	Report	Jones 61' Thompson 67' (o.g.)	Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 7,230

Colchester United v Gillingham

29 October 1971 (1971-10-29) 15	Colchester United	2–2	Gillingham	Colchester
	Lewis 63' Kurila 90'	Report	Yeo 31' Peach 58' (pen.)	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,622 Referee: Tommy Dawes

Barrow v Colchester United

6 November 1971 (1971-11-06) 16	Barrow	2–2	Colchester United	Barrow-in-Furness
	Patrick 19' Irvine 39'	Report	Gibbs 35' Kurila 78'	Stadium: Holker Street Attendance: 1,954

Colchester United v Brentford

13 November 1971 (1971-11-13) 17	Colchester United	1–1	Brentford	Colchester
	Jones 14'	Report	O'Mara 26'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,698 Referee: J Bent

Colchester United v Exeter City

26 November 1971 (1971-11-26) 18	Colchester United	3–0	Exeter City	Colchester
	Foley 20', 25' Lewis 75'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,116

Stockport County v Colchester United

3 December 1971 (1971-12-03) 19	Stockport County	2–2	Colchester United	Stockport
	Lawther 60' (pen.) Garvey 75' (o.g.)	Report	Mahon 20', 73'	Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 2,043 Referee: Peter Willis

Southport v Colchester United

18 December 1971 (1971-12-18) 20	Southport	3–0	Colchester United	Southport
	Redrobe 16' Peat 43' Sibbald 62' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Haig Avenue Attendance: 2,657 Referee: D Civil

Colchester United v Peterborough United

27 December 1971 (1971-12-27) 21	Colchester United	1–1	Peterborough United	Colchester
	Leslie 84'	Report	Hall 59'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 7,750 Referee: H Robinson

Crewe Alexandra v Colchester United

1 January 1972 (1972-01-01) 22	Crewe Alexandra	2–4	Colchester United	Crewe
	Bradshaw 45' East 75'	Report	Leslie 24' Hall 51' Lewis 52' (pen.) Cook 76'	Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 1,992 Referee: E Jolly

Colchester United v Bury

8 January 1972 (1972-01-08) 23	Colchester United	0–0	Bury	Colchester
		Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,924

Doncaster Rovers v Colchester United

15 January 1972 (1972-01-15) 24	Doncaster Rovers	2–0	Colchester United	Doncaster
	Elwiss 36' Haselden 90'	Report		Stadium: Belle Vue Attendance: 3,247 Referee: J Goggins

Colchester United v Scunthorpe United

21 January 1972 (1972-01-21) 25	Colchester United	1–1	Scunthorpe United	Colchester
	Gibbs 9'	Report	Fletcher 4'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,867

Southend United v Colchester United

28 January 1972 (1972-01-28) 26	Southend United	1–4	Colchester United	Southend-on-Sea
	Taylor 30'	Report	Foley 22' Mahon 25' Leslie 68', 73'	Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 8,871 Referee: A Hart

Workington v Colchester United

5 February 1972 (1972-02-05) 27	Workington	1–0	Colchester United	Workington
	Ogilvie 55'	Report		Stadium: Borough Park Attendance: 2,170 Referee: P Baldwin

Colchester United v Cambridge United

12 February 1972 (1972-02-12) 28	Colchester United	1–1	Cambridge United	Colchester
14:45 GMT	Lewis 66'	Report	Lill 87'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,663 Referee: John Homewood

Gillingham v Colchester United

19 February 1972 (1972-02-19) 29	Gillingham	0–2	Colchester United	Gillingham
		Report	Leslie 46', 57'	Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 5,313 Referee: I Hunting

Colchester United v Barrow

26 February 1972 (1972-02-26) 30	Colchester United	0–1	Barrow	Colchester
		Report	Rowlands 80'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,618

Brentford v Colchester United

4 March 1972 (1972-03-04) 31	Brentford	0–2	Colchester United	Brentford
		Report	Mahon 48' Lewis 70'	Stadium: Griffin Park Attendance: 9,210 Referee: J Yates

Colchester United v Aldershot

11 March 1972 (1972-03-11) 32	Colchester United	1–0	Aldershot	Colchester
	Lewis 12'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,776 Referee: R Perkin

Colchester United v Doncaster Rovers

13 March 1972 (1972-03-13) 33	Colchester United	1–2	Doncaster Rovers	Colchester
	L Smith 68'	Report	Irvine 20' Elwiss 43'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,004 Referee: Malcolm Sinclair

Hartlepool v Colchester United

18 March 1972 (1972-03-18) 34	Hartlepool	3–2	Colchester United	Hartlepool
	Waddell 10' Smith 20' (pen.) Young 60'	Report	Mahon 43' Garvey 83'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 2,621

Grimsby Town v Colchester United

21 March 1972 (1972-03-21) 35	Grimsby Town	3–0	Colchester United	Cleethorpes
	Gauden 7' Brace 85' (pen.) Tees 87'	Report		Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 13,288 Referee: H Davey

Colchester United v Darlington

24 March 1972 (1972-03-24) 36	Colchester United	4–3	Darlington	Colchester
	Burgess 11' Leslie 42' Lewis 52' Simmons 68'	Report	Graham 33', 69' Barker 74'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,865 Referee: D Biddle

Colchester United v Northampton Town

31 March 1972 (1972-03-31) 37	Colchester United	2–0	Northampton Town	Colchester
	Simmons 16' Lewis 41' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,375

Peterborough United v Colchester United

1 April 1972 (1972-04-01) 38	Peterborough United	4–0	Colchester United	Peterborough
	Price 20' Hall 33' Turner 35' (pen.) Robson 70'	Report		Stadium: London Road Stadium Attendance: 4,367

Chester v Colchester United

3 April 1972 (1972-04-03) 39	Chester	2–1	Colchester United	Chester
	Moore 44', 87'	Report	Lewis 79' (pen.)	Stadium: Sealand Road Attendance: 3,317

Colchester United v Workington

7 April 1972 (1972-04-07) 40	Colchester United	1–0	Workington	Colchester
19:00 BST	Foley 57'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,390 Referee: R Toseland

Colchester United v Reading

10 April 1972 (1972-04-10) 41	Colchester United	2–1	Reading	Colchester
	Gibbs 30' Leslie 76'	Report	Habbin 3'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,110 Referee: Tommy Dawes

Exeter City v Colchester United

15 April 1972 (1972-04-15) 42	Exeter City	3–3	Colchester United	Exeter
	Binney 16' Rowan 58' Banks 71'	Report	Gibbs 30' (pen.) Burgess 63' Mahon 82'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 4,052 Referee: P Jones

Colchester United v Grimsby Town

17 April 1972 (1972-04-17) 43	Colchester United	0–1	Grimsby Town	Colchester
		Report	Chatterley 9'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,086 Referee: Jack Taylor

Colchester United v Stockport County

21 April 1972 (1972-04-21) 44	Colchester United	3–2	Stockport County	Colchester
	Burgess 63', 83' Simmons 87'	Report	Griffiths 33' McMillan 41'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,010 Referee: R Crabb

Colchester United v Newport County

24 April 1972 (1972-04-24) 45	Colchester United	2–3	Newport County	Colchester
	Burgess 38', 42'	Report	Brown 45' Hill 54' (pen.) Jones 72'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,311 Referee: Ron Challis

Reading v Colchester United

29 April 1972 (1972-04-29) 46	Reading	2–4	Colchester United	Reading
	Habbin 10' Harman 72'	Report	Leslie 21' L Smith 42', 65' Burgess 61'	Stadium: Elm Park Attendance: 3,202 Referee: W Castle

Watney Cup

Colchester United v Luton Town

31 July 1971 (1971-07-31) 1st round	Colchester United	1–0	Luton Town	Colchester
	Lewis 78' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 8,186 Referee: Norman Burtenshaw

Colchester United v Carlisle United

4 August 1971 (1971-08-04) Semi-final	Colchester United	2–0	Carlisle United	Colchester
	Gibbs 46' Lewis 52'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 7,871 Referee: Ray Tinkler

West Bromwich Albion v Colchester United

7 August 1971 (1971-08-07) Final	West Bromwich Albion	4–4 (2–4 p)	Colchester United	West Bromwich
	Cantello 16' Astle 30', 89' Hope 34'	Report	Mahon 8', 67' Simmons 32' Lewis 86' (pen.)	Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 18,487

League Cup

Main article: 1971–72 Football League Cup

Colchester United v Brentford

18 August 1971 (1971-08-18) 1st round	Colchester United	3–1	Brentford	Colchester
	Mahon 33' Lewis 53', 67' (pen.)	Report	Ross 87'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,125 Referee: K Baker

Colchester United v Swindon Town

8 September 1971 (1971-09-08) 2nd round	Colchester United	4–1	Swindon Town	Colchester
	Lewis 7', 52' (pen.), 70' Mahon 60'	Report Report	Horsfield	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 7,437 Referee: Ron Challis

Blackpool v Colchester United

5 October 1971 (1971-10-05) 3rd round	Blackpool	4–0	Colchester United	Blackpool
	Suddick 47' Green 63' Burns 68', 82'	Report		Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 11,042

FA Cup

Main article: 1971–72 FA Cup

Colchester United v Shrewsbury Town

20 November 1971 (1971-11-20) 1st round	Colchester United	1–4	Shrewsbury Town	Colchester
	Hall 41'	Report	Wood 10' Andrews 24', 67', 83'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,773 Referee: R Toseland

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

^[6][29]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Fourth Division		FA Cup		League Cup		Watney Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	ENG	Barry Smith	31	0	31	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	Richard Bourne	2	0	1+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	Eric Burgess	47	8	41	8	0	0	3	0	3	0
	DF	ENG	Micky Cook	40	1	36+2	1	1	0	1	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	Brian Hall	41	4	36+2	3	1	1	1+1	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	John McLaughlin	9	0	8+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	Lindsay Smith	18	3	14+4	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Phil Bloss	22	1	19	1	0	0	2	0	1	0
	MF	ENG	Steve Foley	17	4	17	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Steve Leslie	45	13	40+1	13	0+1	0	1+1	0	0+1	0
	MF	ENG	Bobby Mills	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Tony Wingate	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Brian Gibbs	40	5	30+3	4	1	0	3	0	3	1
	FW	ENG	Mick Mahon	49	12	41+1	8	1	0	3	2	3	2
	FW	ENG	Dave Simmons	28	4	20+3	3	0	0	2	0	3	1
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
	GK	ENG	Graham Smith	22	0	15	0	1	0	3	0	3	0
	DF	ENG	Bobby Cram	42	0	35+1	0	1	0	2	0	3	0
	DF	ENG	Brian Garvey	39	1	31+1	1	1	0	2+1	0	3	0
	DF	SCO	John Gilchrist	19	0	13	0	1	0	2	0	3	0
	DF	SCO	John Kurila	11	2	9	2	1	0	1	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	Charlie Woods	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	David Burnside	13	0	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Ken Jones	21	2	13+4	2	1	0	1	0	1+1	0
	MF	ENG	Brian Lewis	37	23	30	15	1	0	3	5	3	3
	FW	ENG	Ray Crawford	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	FW	ENG	Brian Owen	13	0	7	0	0	0	3	0	3	0

Goalscorers

^[29]

Place	Nationality	Position	Name	Fourth Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Watney Cup	Total
1		MF	Brian Lewis	15	0	5	3	23
2		MF	Steve Leslie	13	0	0	0	13
3		WG	Mick Mahon	8	0	2	2	12
4		FB	Eric Burgess	8	0	0	0	8
5		FW	Brian Gibbs	4	0	0	1	5
6		MF	Steve Foley	4	0	0	0	4
		FB	Brian Hall	3	1	0	0	4
		FW	Dave Simmons	3	0	0	1	4
9		CB	Lindsay Smith	3	0	0	0	3
10		MF	Ken Jones	2	0	0	0	2
		CB	John Kurila	2	0	0	0	2
12		MF	Phil Bloss	1	0	0	0	1
		FB	Micky Cook	1	0	0	0	1
		CB	Brian Garvey	1	0	0	0	1
			Own goals	2	0	0	0	2
			TOTALS	70	1	7	7	85

Disciplinary record

^[30]

Nationality	Position	Name	Fourth Division		FA Cup		League Cup		Watney Cup		Total
	FW	Brian Gibbs	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	FB	Micky Cook	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	CB	Brian Garvey	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	MF	Brian Lewis	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	FB	John Gilchrist	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	MF	Ken Jones	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	CB	John Kurila	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	MF	Steve Leslie	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	WG	Mick Mahon	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		TOTALS	13	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	14	0

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.^[31]

Place	Nationality	Player	Fourth Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Watney Cup	Total
1		Barry Smith	7	0	0	0	7
		Graham Smith	5	0	0	2	7
		TOTALS	12	0	0	2	14

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.^[32]

Position	Nationality	Player	Date	Opponent	Ground	Notes
GK		Barry Smith	28 August 1971	Bury	Gigg Lane
FB		Charlie Woods	26 November 1971	Exeter City	Layer Road
MF		Steve Foley	26 November 1971	Exeter City	Layer Road
MF		Bobby Mills	4 March 1972	Brentford	Griffin Park
MF		David Burnside	11 March 1972	Aldershot	Layer Road
FB		John McLaughlin	18 March 1972	Hartlepool	Victoria Park
MF		Tony Wingate	18 March 1972	Hartlepool	Victoria Park
CB		Richard Bourne	3 April 1972	Chester	Sealand Road

See also

• List of Colchester United F.C. seasons

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.

Websites

• "Colchester United football club match record: 1972". 11v11.com. Retrieved 24 April 2018.

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 1–0 Southend United". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
3. "Colchester Utd 1–0 Workington". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
4. "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
5. Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1970s and 1980s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
6. "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
7. "Barry Smith". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
8. "Bobby Mills". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
9. "John McLaughlin". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
10. "Tony Wingate". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
11. "Richard Bourne". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
12. "Trevor Painter". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
13. "Ray Whittaker". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
14. "Micky Brown". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
15. Falk, David (29 December 2012). "Catching up with NASL Sounder Adrian Webster". GoalWA. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
16. "Brian Sherratt". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
17. "Ray Crawford". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
18. "Graham Smith". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
19. "John Kurila". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
20. "Alan Dennis". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
21. "Brian Owen". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
22. "John Gilchrist". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
23. "Ken Jones". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
24. "Bobby Cram". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
25. "Brian Lewis". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
26. "Brian Garvey". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
27. "Charlie Woods". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
28. "David Burnside". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
29. "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
30. "Discipline". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
31. "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
32. "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2017.