Following Ian Atkins decision to return to Birmingham City in a coaching capacity, new chairman James Bowdidge appointed Roy McDonough in a player-manager role. Having been Atkins' assistant, McDonough promised to abandon Atkins' sweeper system and to instead promote a more attacking formula. McDonough himself equalled a club record by scoring four goals in a game at Slough Town in August. On 28 September 1991, in Colchester's top-of-the-table clash against rivals Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park, Scott Barrett became the first Colchester goalkeeper to score from open play. His long upfield goal kick in the 90th minute of the game bounced over Wycombe goalkeeper Paul Hyde and sealed what would prove to be a vital 2–1 win. In November, the U's became the first team to be knocked out of the FA Cup without conceding a goal. After seeing off Burton Albion 5–0 in the fourth qualifying round, they twice drew 0–0 with Exeter City in the first round and following replay, only to lose on penalties. As 1992 dawned, Colchester found themselves seven points ahead of nearest rivals Wycombe in the league, but 16 home wins in succession failed to shake off their Buckinghamshire counterparts. A poor 4–1 defeat at Welling United and a lackadaisical 4–4 draw at Macclesfield Town threatened to derail the U's attempts to reach the Football League. Meanwhile, Colchester were focused on their FA Trophy cup run. Kingstonian and Merthyr Tydfil were dispatched in replays following a 2–2 and 0–0 draw respectively. The U's then saw off Morecambe and Telford United convincingly, and then a 4–1 aggregate win over Macclesfield in the semi-final. They progressed to the Wembley final, with the tie to be played after the final fixture of the Conference season. Going into the last game of the season, it was evident McDonough had delivered on his promise of attacking football. The U's found themselves level on points with Wycombe, but crucially carried an eight-goal advantage. United beat already relegatedBarrow 5–0 at Layer Road with a Mike Mastershat-trick sealing the Conference championship. McDonough had scored 29 goals, with 26 for Steve McGavin and 18 for Gary Bennett, with a total of 98 league goals achieved. A week after the promotion celebrations at Layer Road, a crowd of 32,254 witnessed Colchester United in their first-ever Wembley appearance. A famous non-League double was achieved as they gained revenge over Witton Albion, who had dumped the U's out of the competition last campaign. Colchester won 3–1 courtesy of goals from Mike Masters, Steve McGavin and Nicky Smith. Thousands of fans packed Colchester High Street a few days later as the U's team paraded their trophies around the town.
Players
Transfers
In
Total spending: ~ £750
Out
Total incoming: ~ £15,000
Loans in
Loans out
Match details
Conference
League table
Results round by round
Matches
Bob Lord Trophy
FA Cup
FA Trophy
Squad statistics
Appearances and goals
!colspan="14"|Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
