1975–76 Colchester United F.C. season


The 1975–76 season was Colchester United's 34th season in their history and their second consecutive season in third tier of English football, the Third Division. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.
With Jim Smith departing for Second Division Blackburn Rovers in the summer, his former Colchester United coach Bobby Roberts was appointed manager in his place. A succession of poor results spelt relegation for Colchester, while they exited both cup competitions in the first round.

Season overview

was prized away from Colchester by Second Division Blackburn Rovers over the summer. His coach Bobby Roberts was appointed manager but his early days in charge proved ominous for the remainder of the season. A winless first five games was only worsened by Smith returned to sign top scorer Bobby Svarc for £25,000 from the cash-strapped U's.
Colchester suffered defeat at the hands of non-League opposition in the FA Cup once again after being taken to a replay and then extra time by Dover. They were soundly beaten 4–1 at the end of extra time. They also lost out in the League Cup first round 4–3 on aggregate against Crystal Palace. Despite this, Colchester rallied for a mid-season resurgence of form to climb to twelfth position in the league table, but some crushing defeats including 6–1 at Chesterfield and 6–0 at Brighton & Hove Albion put the U's back in the relegation mire. Relegation was confirmed as Colchester finished 22nd position in the table, with Steve Leslie the club's top scorer with a record low of just six league goals.

Players

Transfers

In

Match details

Third Division

Results round by round

League table

Matches

League Cup

FA Cup

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

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

Goalscorers

Disciplinary record

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
MFPaul Dyer16 August 1975Preston North EndDeepdale
CBDerek Harrison16 August 1975Preston North EndDeepdale
FBJon O'Donnell16 August 1975Preston North EndDeepdale
FBJohnny Williams23 August 1975Mansfield TownLayer Road
FBStewart Bright8 November 1975Shrewsbury TownLayer Road
FWBobby Gough10 January 1976Crystal PalaceLayer Road
GKLen Bond24 January 1976Hereford UnitedLayer Road
FWBilly Telford24 January 1976Hereford UnitedLayer Road
FWColin Garwood14 February 1976Shrewsbury TownGay Meadow

General

Books
Websites

Specific