1950–51 Colchester United F.C. season


The 1950–51 season was Colchester United's ninth season in their history and their first ever season in the Football League, competing in the Third Division South, the third tier of English football. Alongside competing in the Third Division South, the club also participated in the FA Cup. The club ended the league season in 16th-position, while they exited the FA Cup in the first round following a defeat to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic.

Season overview

Colchester's first-ever game in the Football League was against their old Southern League rivals Gillingham at Priestfield Stadium on 19 August 1950. A crowd of 19,542 witnessed the 0–0 draw between the sides. Five days later, Bob Curry scored the U's first-ever Football League goal during a 1–1 draw at Swindon Town, but it was not until 31 August that the Layer Road crowd were able to enjoy its first Football League goal for the home side. Arthur Turner, the season's top-scorer with 15 goals, struck five minutes into a 4–1 win in the return game with Swindon. Colchester remained unbeaten in their first seven games, a run that equalled a record for new clubs entering the Football League set by Aberdare Athletic in 1921–22.
After occupying second position in the Third Division South table, the U's suffered a slump in form, losing nine of the next ten games. They finished the season in 16th-position, averaging 10,571 through the Layer Road turnstiles. It would be the only season that Layer Road would host a five-figure season average.

Players

Transfers

In

Match details

Third Division South

Results round by round

League table

Matches

FA Cup

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

!colspan="14"|Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season

Goalscorers

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.
PositionNationalityPlayerDateOpponentGroundNotes
WHJimmy Elder19 August 1950GillinghamPriestfield Stadium
WHLen Jones19 August 1950GillinghamPriestfield Stadium
WGJohn Church19 August 1950GillinghamPriestfield Stadium
IFJohnny McKim19 August 1950GillinghamPriestfield Stadium
FBJohn Harrison30 September 1950Northampton TownCounty Ground
WHJoe Locherty30 September 1950Northampton TownCounty Ground
GKBarney Bircham17 February 1951Northampton TownLayer Road
FBBill Rochford17 February 1951Northampton TownLayer Road
FBTrevor Rowlands3 March 1951Southend UnitedLayer Road
FWDick Cullum26 March 1951Torquay UnitedPlainmoor

General

Books
Websites

Specific