1956–57 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1956–57 season was Colchester United's 15th season in their history and their seventh season 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 in which the club were eliminated by Southend United in the first round in the first Essex derby in a cup competition. The season would be Colchester United's highest league finish for 50 years by ending their campaign in third position. It has only been bettered on three occasions; the 2005–06 season, 2006–07 season and the 2007–08 season.

Colchester United

1956–57 season
Chairman	Bill Allen[1]
Manager	Benny Fenton
Stadium	Layer Road
Third Division South	3rd
FA Cup	1st round (eliminated by Southend United)
Top goalscorer	League: Ken Plant (24) All: Ken Plant (24)
Highest home attendance	18,559 v Ipswich Town, 16 February 1957[2]
Lowest home attendance	5,899 v Northampton Town, 22 December 1956[3]
Average home league attendance	9,351[4]
Biggest win	6–0 v Shrewsbury Town, 29 September 1956
Biggest defeat	1–4 v Southend United, 17 November 1956; 1–4 v Swindon Town, 27 April 1957
Home colours

Season overview

The 1956–57 season proved to be Colchester United's best finish in their history, ending the season in third position in the third tier with a result that was not bettered until 2006. For the majority of the season, Colchester were favourites for promotion, during which time they went 20 league games unbeaten between December 1956 and Easter 1957.

Colchester and rivals Ipswich Town vied for the top spot for much of the season. Colchester were seven-points ahead of their third-placed rivals when the two sides met at Layer Road on 16 February 1957. A record crowd of 18,559 witnessed the 0–0 draw, with over 4,000 fans turned away and over 100 spectators witnessing the action from the roof of the Popular Side stand. Player-manager Benny Fenton missed a 21st-minute penalty during the match, which was saved by Ipswich goalkeeper Roy Bailey.

A 2–1 win over second-placed Torquay United, who trailed by four points as a result, improved Colchester's title credentials. However, the loss of influential players to injury including Bob Dale and Chic Milligan damaged Colchester's hopes. Three consecutive draws in late March and early April allowed Torquay to close the gap to just one point, with Ipswich five points adrift. Over Easter 1957, Colchester lost three consecutive away games at Millwall, Walsall and Swindon Town, but won their final game of the season 2–0 against Watford to put them back at the top of the table, but both Ipswich and Torquay's final matches were 24 hours later. Both sides won their final games, with Colchester slipping to third position in the table and Ipswich were promoted as champions, level on points with Torquay but with a better goal average, while they finished one point ahead of Colchester. Colchester played the entire season unbeaten at Layer Road.[5]

Players

As of match played 29 April 1957.[6]

Name	Position	Nationality	Place of birth	Date of birth	Apps	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Percy Ames	GK		Plymouth	13 December 1931 (aged 24)	45	0	Tottenham Hotspur	1 May 1955	Free transfer
John Wright	GK		Aldershot	13 August 1933 (aged 22)	4	0	Colchester Casuals	23 May 1952	Free transfer
Defenders
Brian Dobson	CB		Colchester	1 March 1934 (aged 22)	6	0	Amateur	January 1956	Free transfer
George Fisher	FB		Bermondsey	19 June 1925 (aged 30)	43	1	Fulham	1 September 1955	£1,000
John Fowler	FB		Leith	17 October 1933 (aged 22)	16	2	Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic	20 August 1955[lower-alpha 1]	Free transfer
Chic Milligan	CB		Ardrossan	26 July 1930 (aged 25)	0	0	Ardrossan Winton Rovers	18 August 1956[lower-alpha 1]	£1,000
Reg Stewart	CB		Sheffield	30 October 1925 (aged 30)	307	2	Sheffield Wednesday	20 August 1949[lower-alpha 1]	£1,000
Midfielders
Benny Fenton	WH		West Ham	10 October 1918 (aged 37)	44	4	Charlton Athletic	5 March 1955[lower-alpha 1]	£500
Trevor Harris	WH		Colchester	6 February 1936 (aged 20)	3	0	Amateur	July 1951	Free transfer
Bert Hill	WH		West Ham	8 March 1930 (aged 26)	60	2	Chelsea	September 1952	£300
Ron Hunt	WH		Colchester	26 September 1933 (aged 22)	34	0	Amateur	October 1951	Free transfer
Derek Parker	WH		Wivenhoe	23 June 1926 (aged 29)	0	0	West Ham United	March 1957	£2,500
Forwards
Les Barrell	WG		Colchester	30 August 1932 (aged 23)	0	0	Lexden Wanderers	Summer 1956	Free transfer
Russell Blake	WG		Colchester	24 July 1935 (aged 20)	5	0	Dedham Old Boys	8 September 1955[lower-alpha 1]	Free transfer
Bobby Hill	IF		Edinburgh	9 June 1938 (aged 17)	4	1	Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare	9 June 1955	Free transfer
Martyn King	CF		Birmingham	23 August 1937 (aged 18)	0	0	Amateur	Summer 1955	Free transfer
Kevin McCurley	CF		Consett	2 April 1926 (aged 30)	157	64	Liverpool	June 1951	£750
Sammy McLeod	IF		Glasgow	4 January 1934 (aged 22)	43	2	Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare	20 August 1955[lower-alpha 1]	Free transfer
Ken Plant	CF		Nuneaton	15 August 1925 (aged 30)	96	36	Bury	January 1954	Undisclosed
Eddie Smith	IF		Marylebone	23 March 1939 (aged 17)	0	0	Northampton Town	June 1956	Undisclosed
Tommy Williams	WG		Battersea	10 February 1935 (aged 21)	0	0	Carshalton Athletic	September 1956	Free transfer
Peter Wright	WG		Colchester	26 January 1934 (aged 22)	113	22	Amateur	November 1951	Free transfer

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.
Summer 1956	WG		Les Barrell	Lexden Wanderers	Free transfer	[7]
June 1956	IF		Eddie Smith	Northampton Town	Undisclosed	[8]
18 August 1956	CB		Chic Milligan	Ardrossan Winton Rovers	£1,000	[9][lower-alpha 1]
September 1956	WG		Tommy Williams	Carshalton Athletic	Free transfer	[10]
March 1957	WH		Derek Parker	West Ham United	£2,500	[11]

• Total spending: ~ £3,500

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	GK		George Wright	Sudbury Town	Free transfer	[12]
End of season	IF		Alfred Noble	Leytonstone	Free transfer	[13]
Summer 1956	CB		Billy Hunt	Sudbury Town	Released	[14]
September 1956	FB		John Harrison	Free agent	Retired	[15]
16 February 1957	WH		Bob Dale	Free agent	Retired	[16][lower-alpha 1]
March 1957	FB		George French	Retired	Retired	[17]

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

Match details

Third Division South

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	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	A	H
Result	W	W	L	D	D	L	D	W	W	W	L	W	W	L	W	L	W	D	D	W	L	L	W	D	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	W	D	D	W	D	D	W	D	D	D	W	L	L	L	W
Position	4	4	10	7	11	14	15	12	9	4	8	2	1	3	3	3	4	3	3	3	4	5	4	4	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	3	3

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

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Ipswich Town	46	25	9	12	101	54	1.870	59	Division Champions, promoted
2	Torquay United	46	24	11	11	89	64	1.391	59
3	Colchester United	46	22	14	10	84	56	1.500	58
4	Southampton	46	22	10	14	76	52	1.462	54
5	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	46	19	14	13	88	62	1.419	52

Source:

Matches

18 August 1956 1	Colchester United	3–2	Southend United	Colchester
	P. Wright  14' McCurley  16' Barrell  36'	Report Report	Duthie  24' Stirling  71'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 11,454

22 August 1956 2	Crystal Palace	2–4	Colchester United	Selhurst
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Smith Plant	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 9,400

25 August 1956 3	Northampton Town	1–0	Colchester United	Northampton
	Unknown goalscorer	Report		Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 9,869

27 August 1956 4	Colchester United	3–3	Crystal Palace	Colchester
	Fenton  pen.' Bobby Hill Fowler	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,979

1 September 1956 5	Colchester United	1–1	Queens Park Rangers	Colchester
	Plant	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 8,179

5 September 1956 6	Southampton	2–1	Colchester United	Southampton
	Shields Walker	Report	Plant	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 11,783

8 September 1956 7	Plymouth Argyle	2–2	Colchester United	Plymouth
	Kearns Rowley	Report Report	Smith P. Wright	Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 9,702

10 September 1956 8	Colchester United	3–1	Southampton	Colchester
	Smith Plant McCurley	Report	Mulgrew	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 7,208

15 September 1956 9	Colchester United	3–2	Reading	Colchester
	Fenton  pen.' Dale Plant	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 8,908

19 September 1956 10	Exeter City	0–2	Colchester United	Exeter
		Report	Smith Plant	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 8,360

22 September 1956 11	Newport County	1–0	Colchester United	Newport
	Sheppeard	Report		Stadium: Somerton Park Attendance: 12,426

24 September 1956 12	Colchester United	4–0	Exeter City	Colchester
	Fenton Plant McCurley	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,754

29 September 1956 13	Colchester United	6–0	Shrewsbury Town	Colchester
	Fisher Plant McCurley	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 9,784

6 October 1956 14	Ipswich Town	3–1	Colchester United	Ipswich
	Phillips  42', 47', 54'	Report Report	Plant  86'	Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 20,431 Referee: J. Barradell

13 October 1956 15	Colchester United	3–0	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	Colchester
	Smith Plant McCurley	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 9,363

20 October 1956 16	Torquay United	4–2	Colchester United	Torquay
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Dale Bobby Hill	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 8,753

27 October 1956 17	Colchester United	2–1	Millwall	Colchester
	McCurley P. Wright	Report	Shepherd	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 9,548

3 November 1956 18	Brighton & Hove Albion	0–0	Colchester United	Hove
		Report		Stadium: Goldstone Ground Attendance: 13,601

10 November 1956 19	Colchester United	0–0	Gillingham	Colchester
		Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 8,891

24 November 1956 20	Colchester United	1–0	Brentford	Colchester
	Bobby Hill	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 7,290

1 December 1956 21	Aldershot	2–1	Colchester United	Aldershot
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Bobby Hill	Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 4,416

15 December 1956 22	Southend United	3–2	Colchester United	Southend-on-Sea
	Barker  31' McGuigan  37' Thomson  65'	Report Report	Milligan  46' Plant  76'	Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 8,100

22 December 1956 23	Colchester United	5–1	Northampton Town	Colchester
	Smith P. Wright McLeod	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,899

25 December 1956 24	Colchester United	1–1	Norwich City	Colchester
	Plant	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 6,376

26 December 1956 25	Norwich City	1–2	Colchester United	Norwich
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	King Williams	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 8,462

29 December 1956 26	Queens Park Rangers	1–1	Colchester United	Shepherd's Bush
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Fisher  pen.'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 8,760

5 January 1957 27	Colchester United	3–2	Coventry City	Colchester
	Bobby Hill Plant P. Wright	Report	McPherson Rogers	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 7,302

12 January 1957 28	Colchester United	2–1	Plymouth Argyle	Colchester
	Plant Williams	Report Report	Rowley	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 7,732

19 January 1957 29	Reading	0–3	Colchester United	Reading
		Report	Smith	Stadium: Elm Park Attendance: 9,502

26 January 1957 30	Coventry City	2–4	Colchester United	Coventry
	Boxley  pen.' Simpson	Report	Fenton Smith Plant P. Wright	Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 14,834

2 February 1957 31	Colchester United	1–0	Newport County	Colchester
	Bobby Hill	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 9,705

9 February 1957 32	Shrewsbury Town	1–3	Colchester United	Shrewsbury
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Plant Williams	Stadium: Gay Meadow Attendance: 11,151

16 February 1957 33	Colchester United	0–0	Ipswich Town	Colchester
		Report Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 18,559 Referee: J. Barradell

23 February 1957 34	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	1–1	Colchester United	Bournemouth
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Fenton	Stadium: Dean Court Attendance: 21,239

2 March 1957 35	Colchester United	2–1	Torquay United	Colchester
	Plant	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 12,555

9 March 1957 36	Watford	0–0	Colchester United	Watford
		Report		Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 10,434

16 March 1957 37	Colchester United	0–0	Brighton & Hove Albion	Colchester
		Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 10,459

23 March 1957 38	Gillingham	1–2	Colchester United	Gillingham
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Own goal  o.g.' Plant	Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 9,981

30 March 1957 39	Colchester United	1–1	Swindon Town	Colchester
	P. Wright	Report Report	Richards	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 9,275

6 April 1957 40	Brentford	1–1	Colchester United	Brentford
	Taylor	Report	Fenton	Stadium: Griffin Park Attendance: 12,869

13 April 1957 41	Colchester United	1–1	Aldershot	Colchester
	Fenton  pen.'	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 8,975

19 April 1957 42	Colchester United	2–1	Walsall	Colchester
	Fenton  pen.' Bobby Hill	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 12,770

20 April 1957 43	Millwall	3–1	Colchester United	New Cross
	Pacey Summersby	Report	Plant	Stadium: The Den Attendance: 14,273

22 April 1957 44	Walsall	2–1	Colchester United	Walsall
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Smith	Stadium: Fellows Park Attendance: 9,400

27 April 1957 45	Swindon Town	4–1	Colchester United	Swindon
	Micklewright O'Mahoney	Report Report	Plant	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 9,551

29 April 1957 46	Colchester United	2–0	Watford	Colchester
	Bert Hill McCurley	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 9,226

FA Cup

17 November 1956 1st round	Colchester United	1–4	Southend United	Colchester
	McCurley	Report Report	Hollis McCrory	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 11,280

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

[6][18]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Third Division South		FA Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK		Percy Ames	47	0	46	0	1	0
	DF		George Fisher	46	2	45	2	1	0
	DF		John Fowler	44	1	43	1	1	0
	DF		Chic Milligan	35	1	34	1	1	0
	DF		Reg Stewart	13	0	13	0	0	0
	MF		Benny Fenton	39	8	38	8	1	0
	MF		Bert Hill	15	1	15	1	0	0
	MF		Derek Parker	6	0	6	0	0	0
	FW		Les Barrell	4	1	4	1	0	0
	FW		Russell Blake	2	0	2	0	0	0
	FW		Bobby Hill	39	7	38	7	1	0
	FW		Martyn King	3	1	3	1	0	0
	FW		Kevin McCurley	32	10	31	9	1	1
	FW		Sammy McLeod	4	2	4	2	0	0
	FW		Ken Plant	47	24	46	24	1	0
	FW		Eddie Smith	36	13	35	13	1	0
	FW		Tommy Williams	23	3	23	3	0	0
	FW		Peter Wright	45	8	44	8	1	0
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
	DF		John Harrison	3	0	3	0	0	0
	MF		Bob Dale	34	2	33	2	1	0

Goalscorers

[18]

Place	Nationality	Position	Name	Third Division South	FA Cup	Total
1		CF	Ken Plant	24	0	24
2		IF	Eddie Smith	13	0	13
3		CF	Kevin McCurley	9	1	10
4		WH	Benny Fenton	8	0	8
		WG	Peter Wright	8	0	8
6		IF	Bobby Hill	7	0	7
7		WG	Tommy Williams	3	0	3
8		WH	Bob Dale	2	0	2
		FB	George Fisher	2	0	2
		IF	Sammy McLeod	2	0	2
11		FB	John Fowler	1	0	1
		WH	Bert Hill	1	0	1
		CB	Chic Milligan	1	0	1
		WG	Les Barrell	1	0	1
		CF	Martyn King	1	0	1
			Own goals	1	0	1
			TOTALS	83	1	84

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[19]

Place	Nationality	Player	Third Division South	FA Cup	Total
1		Percy Ames	13	0	13
		TOTALS	13	0	13

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[20]

Position	Nationality	Player	Date	Opponent	Ground	Notes
CB		Chic Milligan	18 August 1956	Southend United	Layer Road
WG		Les Barrell	18 August 1956	Southend United	Layer Road
IF		Eddie Smith	18 August 1956	Southend United	Layer Road
CF		Martyn King	27 August 1956	Crystal Palace	Layer Road
WG		Tommy Williams	24 November 1956	Brentford	Layer Road
WH		Derek Parker	13 April 1957	Aldershot	Layer 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.
• Ambrosen, Tony (1993). Amber in the Blood: A History Of Newport County. Uxbridge: Yore Publications. ISBN 978-1-874427-40-7.
• White, Eric (1989). 100 Years of Brentford. Redditch: Oldfield Press. ISBN 0951526200.

Websites

• "Colchester United football club match record: 1957". 11v11.com. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
• "Statistics 1956/57". The Millwall History Files. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
• "1950/51 to 1959/60" (PDF). Watford Football Club archive 1881–2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.

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 0–0 Ipswich Town". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
3. "Colchester Utd 1–2 Millwall". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
4. "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
5. Hudson, Matt (11 July 2012). "The 1950s and 1960s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
6. "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
7. "Les Barrell". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
8. "Eddie Smith". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
9. "Chic Milligan". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
10. "Tommy Williams". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
11. "Derek Parker". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
12. "George Wright". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
13. "Alf Noble". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
14. "Billy Hunt". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
15. "John Harrison". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
16. "Bob Dale". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
17. "George French". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
18. "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
19. "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
20. "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2016.