1977–78 Colchester United F.C. season


The 1977–78 season was Colchester United's 36th season in their history and first season back in third tier of English football, the Third Division following promotion the previous season. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.
Colchester made steady progress under Bobby Roberts ending the campaign in a strong eighth in the league table. They were eliminated in the League Cup by Leeds United in the third round, while they could not capitalise on last seasons FA Cup success, exiting the competition in the second round to Watford.

Season overview

A strong start to the season saw Colchester reach the top of the Third Division table following four wins in the first five games. A slump in form ended their promotion hopes following one win in ten games after January and the sale of Colin Garwood to Portsmouth for £25,000. They ended the season in eighth position, eight points behind promoted Preston North End.
In the cups, a League Cup run saw the U's thrash former manager Jim Smith's Second Division Blackburn Rovers 4–0 in a second round replay before facing old cup adversaries Leeds United in the third round. Colchester were humbled 4–0 at Elland Road. In the FA Cup, Bournemouth were seen off after two replays, but Colchester succumbed to Watford in the second round.

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
CBSteve Wignall13 September 1977PortsmouthFratton Park
MFEddie Rowles27 December 1977BuryGigg Lane
MFTony Evans4 March 1978Hereford UnitedEdgar Street
CBSteve Wright8 April 1978Swindon TownCounty Ground
MFRussell Cotton24 April 1978Port ValeVale Park

General

Books
Websites

Specific