1996–97 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1996–97 season was Colchester United's 55th season in their history and their fifth consecutive season in the fourth tier of English football, the Third Division. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Football League Trophy.

Colchester United

1996–97 season
Chairman	Gordon Parker[1]
Manager	Steve Wignall
Stadium	Layer Road
Third Division	8th
FA Cup	1st round (eliminated by Wycombe Wanderers)
League Cup	2nd round (eliminated by Huddersfield Town)
Football League Trophy	Runners-up
Top goalscorer	League: Tony Adcock (11) All: Tony Adcock (14)
Highest home attendance	5,956 v Northampton Town, 26 April 1997[2]
Lowest home attendance	1,842 v Scunthorpe United, 19 November 1996[3]
Average home league attendance	3,422[4]
Biggest win	7–1 v Lincoln City, 30 November 1996
Biggest defeat	0–3 v Carlisle United, 1 October 1996 v Darlington, 31 March 1997
Home colours

Following the play-off disappointment of last season, the U's looked to earn a play-off spot at the very least, but missed out by just one point, finishing in eighth.

Colchester reached the 1997 Football League Trophy Final, reaching Wembley for only the second time where they faced Carlisle United. The score remained 0–0 after extra time but Colchester were defeated 4–3 in a penalty shoot-out.

In the FA Cup, Colchester were eliminated by old foes Wycombe Wanderers in the first round, while Huddersfield Town defeated the U's at the second round stage.

Season overview

Layer Road's Clock End received a makeover during the off season, with a new covered and all seated stand in place.

In the League Cup, Colchester overturned a 3–2 first leg deficit against West Bromwich Albion into victory with a 3–1 win at The Hawthorns with Steve Whitton in goal for the entire second half following an injury to goalkeeper Garrett Caldwell. They were then defeated in the second round by Huddersfield Town.

Colchester made a first round FA Cup exit following defeat by old rivals Wycombe Wanderers.

In September, Mark Kinsella made a move to Charlton Athletic for £150,000.

Paul Buckle scored Colchester's first-ever golden goal in the Football League Trophy against Millwall following a first round win against Cambridge United. In the area quarter-final, the U's dispatched Brentford and then Northampton Town in the semi-final. Colchester then overturned a 2–0 deficit from the first leg of the area final with Peterborough United to win 3–0 after extra time to set up a Wembley final with Carlisle United.

In the final with 45,077 in attendance, neither side could find a breakthrough, and the tie went to extra time following a goalless 90 minutes. Another goalless 30 minutes followed and the match went to a penalty shoot-out. The U's took the lead in the shoot-out after Owen Archdeacon missed Carlisle's second effort, but consecutive misses from youth team product Karl Duguid and Peter Cawley meant that Steve Hayward's converted effort won the shoot-out for Carlisle 4–3.

In the league, six defeats in eight league matches saw Colchester slip to 13th in the table. Manager Steve Wignall said:

I won't be happy until I have guided this club to promotion. All I ask of the fans is trust me with your club.

Colchester ended the season in 8th position, one point shy of the play-off positions.[5]

Players

As of match played 3 May 1997.[6]

Name	Position	Nationality	Place of birth	Date of birth	Apps	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Garrett Caldwell	GK		Princeton	6 November 1973 (aged 22)	1	0	Princeton Tigers	25 September 1995	Free transfer
Carl Emberson	GK		Epsom	13 July 1973 (aged 22)	84	0	Millwall	6 July 1994	£25,000
Defenders
Simon Betts	FB		Middlesbrough	3 March 1973 (aged 23)	158	10	Scarborough	11 December 1992	Free transfer
Peter Cawley	CB		Walton-on-Thames	15 September 1965 (aged 30)	147	8	Barnet	30 October 1992[lower-alpha 1]	Free transfer
Joe Dunne	FB		Dublin	25 May 1973 (aged 23)	5	1	Gillingham	27 March 1996	Free transfer
Paul Gibbs	FB		Gorleston	26 October 1972 (aged 23)	37	3	Diss Town	6 March 1995	Undisclosed
David Greene	CB		Luton	26 October 1973 (aged 22)	16	1	Luton Town	21 June 1996	£30,000
Nicky Haydon	DF/MF		Barking	10 August 1978 (aged 17)	0	0	Youth team	1 August 1995	Free transfer
Tony McCarthy	CB		Dublin	9 November 1969 (aged 26)	63	1	Millwall	17 March 1995	Free transfer
Andy Partner	CB		Colchester	21 October 1974 (aged 21)	5	0	Apprentice	16 December 1991[lower-alpha 2]	Free transfer
Scott Stamps	FB		Edgbaston	20 March 1975 (aged 21)	0	0	Torquay United	26 March 1997	£15,000
Midfielders
Paul Buckle	MF		Hatfield	16 December 1970 (aged 25)	0	0	Wycombe Wanderers	28 November 1996	Free transfer
Ernie Cooksey	MF		Bishop's Stortford	11 June 1980 (aged 15)	0	0	Youth team	Summer 1996	Free transfer
Karl Duguid	MF		Letchworth	21 March 1978 (aged 18)	17	1	Youth team	9 December 1995[lower-alpha 2]	Free transfer
Steve Forbes	MF		Stoke Newington	24 December 1975 (aged 20)	0	0	Millwall	14 March 1997	Free transfer
Chris Fry	MF/WG		Cardiff	23 October 1969 (aged 26)	100	10	Hereford United	24 October 1993	Nominal
David Gregory	MF		Sudbury	23 January 1970 (aged 26)	10	0	Peterborough United	8 December 1995	Free transfer
Adam Locke	MF/FB		Croydon	20 August 1970 (aged 25)	64	4	Southend United	23 September 1994	Free transfer
Richard Wilkins	MF/DF		Lambeth	28 May 1965 (aged 31)	180	31	Hereford United	3 July 1996	£17,500
Forwards
Paul Abrahams	FW/WG		Colchester	31 October 1973 (aged 22)	83	15	Brentford	23 October 1996	£20,000
Tony Adcock	FW		Bethnal Green	27 March 1963 (aged 33)	267	129	Luton Town	3 August 1995	Free transfer
Tony Lock	FW		Harlow	3 September 1976 (aged 19)	3	1	Apprentice	28 January 1995[lower-alpha 2]	Free transfer
Mark Sale	FW		Burton upon Trent	27 February 1972 (aged 24)	0	0	Mansfield Town	10 March 1997	£23,500
Steve Whitton	FW		East Ham	4 December 1960 (aged 35)	68	17	Ipswich Town	24 March 1994	£10,000

1. Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game in his second spell for the club
2. 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 1996	MF		Ernie Cooksey	Youth team	Free transfer	[7][8]
21 June 1996	CB		David Green	Luton Town	£30,000	[9][10]
3 July 1996	MF/DF		Richard Wilkins	Hereford United	£17,500	[11][12]
5 August 1996	FB		David Barnes	Watford	Free transfer	[13][14]
11 October 1996	WG		Tony Kelly	Millwall	Trial	[15][16]
23 October 1996	FW/WG		Paul Abrahams	Brentford	£20,000	[17][18]
28 November 1996	MF		Paul Buckle	Wycombe Wanderers	Free transfer	[19][20]
17 February 1997	MF		Geoff Pitcher	Kingstonian	Trial	[21][22]
10 March 1997	FW		Mark Sale	Mansfield Town	£23,500	[23][24]
14 March 1997	MF		Steve Forbes	Millwall	Free transfer	[25][26]
26 March 1997	FB		Scott Stamps	Torquay United	£15,000	[27][28]

• Total spending: ~ £106,000

Out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
End of season	MF		Tony Cook	Berkhamsted Town	Undisclosed	[29]
Summer 1996	CB		Ben Lewis	Southend United	Released	[30][31]
31 May 1996	MF		Steve Ball	Sudbury Town	Free transfer	[32][33]
31 May 1996	CB		Gus Caesar	Dagenham & Redbridge	Released	[34][35]
31 May 1996	DF/MF		Tony English	Sudbury Town	Free transfer	[36][37]
30 July 1996	MF		Tony Dennis	Lincoln City	Released	[38][39]
September 1996	FB		Jean Dalli	Dover Athletic	Free transfer	[40][41]
20 September 1996	MF		Mark Kinsella	Charlton Athletic	£150,000	[42][43]
19 October 1996	WG		Tony Kelly	St Albans City	End of trial	[15][16]
13 February 1997	FW		Robbie Reinelt	Brighton & Hove Albion	£15,000	[44][45]
1 March 1997	FB		David Barnes	Free agent	Retired	[13][14]
14 March 1997	MF		Geoff Pitcher	Kingstonian	End of trial	[21][22][lower-alpha 1]

• Total incoming: ~ £165,000

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

Loans in

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	End date	Ref.
8 November 1996	FW		John Taylor	Luton Town	26 December 1996	[46][47]
3 February 1997	GK		John Vaughan	Lincoln City	28 February 1997	[48][49]

Loans out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	End date	Ref.
4 October 1996	FW		Tony Lock	Chelmsford City	4 November 1996	[50][51]

Match details

Third Division

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	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A
Result	L	D	D	D	L	W	D	D	D	L	D	W	W	L	L	W	D	W	D	W	W	D	D	D	D	D	W	D	W	W	W	W	D	L	L	L	W	W	L	L	L	L	W	W	D	W
Position	24	22	20	21	22	17	17	16	19	22	18	17	13	16	20	16	16	13	12	10	7	8	8	8	9	11	7	8	7	7	6	6	6	6	7	8	8	6	7	10	12	12	8	7	9	8

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

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
6	Chester City	46	18	16	12	55	43	+12	70	Participated in play-offs
7	Cardiff City	46	20	9	17	57	55	+2	69
8	Colchester United	46	17	17	12	62	51	+11	68
9	Lincoln City	46	18	12	16	70	69	+1	66
10	Cambridge United	46	18	11	17	53	59	−6	65

Source:
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

Matches

17 August 1996 1	Colchester United	0–2	Hartlepool United	Colchester
15:00 BST	McCarthy  40'	Report	Allon  52' McAuley  60'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,942 Referee: P Robinson

24 August 1996 2	Rochdale	0–0	Colchester United	Rochdale
		Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1,816 Referee: D Laws

27 August 1996 3	Darlington	1–1	Colchester United	Darlington
	Atkinson  1' (pen.)	Report	Locke  44'	Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 2,906 Referee: Roger Furnandiz

31 August 1996 4	Colchester United	1–1	Hereford United	Colchester
	Reinelt  79'	Report	Smith  63'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,723 Referee: M Fletcher

7 September 1996 5	Fulham	3–1	Colchester United	Fulham
	Conroy  5', 51' Morgan  79'	Report	Whitton  66'	Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 5,189 Referee: Andy D'Urso

10 September 1996 6	Colchester United	2–0	Brighton & Hove Albion	Colchester
19:45 BST	Kinsella  24' Reinelt  53'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,540 Referee: Barry Knight

14 September 1996 7	Colchester United	1–1	Hull City	Colchester
15:00 BST	Kinsella  50'	Report	Gordon  52'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,073 Referee: Rob Styles

21 September 1996 8	Leyton Orient	1–1	Colchester United	Leyton
	Channing  69'	Report	Fry  52' Cawley  51'	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 5,254 Referee: Mark Halsey

28 September 1996 9	Colchester United	2–2	Doncaster Rovers	Colchester
15:00 BST	Cawley  26' Adcock  40'	Report	Colcombe  29' Schofield  39' (pen.)	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,672 Referee: Paul Taylor

1 October 1996 10	Carlisle United	3–0	Colchester United	Carlisle
	Currie  43' Reeves  57' Archdeacon  58'	Report		Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 4,089 Referee: Terry Heilbron

4 October 1996 11	Swansea City	1–1	Colchester United	Swansea
	Torpey  38'	Report	Greene  4'	Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 2,531 Referee: Fraser Stretton

12 October 1996 12	Colchester United	3–1	Wigan Athletic	Colchester
15:00 BST	Adcock  69' Gregory  76' Duguid  80'	Report	Sharp  41' Kilford	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,700 Referee: C Finch

15 October 1996 13	Colchester United	1–0	Barnet	Colchester
19:45 BST	Fry  81'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,732 Referee: R Poulain

19 October 1996 14	Northampton Town	2–1	Colchester United	Northampton
	Parrish  45' Grayson  55'	Report	Fry  41'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,119 Referee: Steve Baines

26 October 1996 15	Lincoln City	3–2	Colchester United	Lincoln
	Ainsworth  32' Martin  59' Greene  62' (o.g.) Bos  75'	Report	Betts  26' (pen.) Duguid  43' (pen.) Whitton  67'	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 2,768 Referee: A Butler

29 October 1996 16	Colchester United	1–0	Exeter City	Colchester
19:45 GMT	Myers  61' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,384 Referee: G Pooley

2 November 1996 17	Colchester United	1–1	Cardiff City	Colchester
15:00 GMT	Duguid  18'	Report	White  57' (pen.)	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,226 Referee: Rob Harris

9 November 1996 18	Torquay United	0–2	Colchester United	Torquay
		Report	Reinelt  62' Abrahams  90'	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 2,251 Referee: M Pierce

19 November 1996 19	Colchester United	1–1	Scunthorpe United	Colchester
19:45 GMT	Sertori  71' (o.g.)	Report	Clarkson  59'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 1,842 Referee: Clive Wilkes

22 November 1996 20	Chester City	1–2	Colchester United	Chester
	Whelan  53'	Report	Taylor  7', 19'	Stadium: Deva Stadium Attendance: 2,028 Referee: Graham Laws

30 November 1996 21	Colchester United	7–1	Lincoln City	Colchester
15:00 GMT	Abrahams  19' Taylor  42' (pen.), 45' (pen.) Whitton  61' Adcock  83' Fry  86', 90'	Report	Martin  64'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,738 Referee: D Orr

3 December 1996 22	Scarborough	1–1	Colchester United	Scarborough
	Mitchell  52'	Report	Locke  24'	Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 1,605 Referee: Roger Furnandiz

14 December 1996 23	Mansfield Town	1–1	Colchester United	Mansfield
	Sale  90'	Report	Abrahams  73'	Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 1,653 Referee: Terry Heilbron

20 December 1996 24	Colchester United	2–2	Cambridge United	Colchester
19:45 GMT	Taylor  60' Adcock  90'	Report	Beall  39' Raynor  63'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,707 Referee: Neale Barry

26 December 1996 25	Brighton & Hove Albion	1–1	Colchester United	Hove
	Mundee  34' (pen.)	Report	Whitton  15'	Stadium: Goldstone Ground Attendance: 4,830 Referee: Alan Wiley

11 January 1997 26	Doncaster Rovers	0–0	Colchester United	Doncaster
		Report		Stadium: Belle Vue Attendance: 1,458 Referee: Uriah Rennie

14 January 1997 27	Colchester United	2–1	Fulham	Colchester
15:00 GMT	Abrahams  43' Fry  71' Greene  67'	Report	Morgan  65'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,820 Referee: M Bailey

18 January 1997 28	Colchester United	1–1	Carlisle United	Colchester
15:00 GMT	Adcock  4' (pen.) Reinelt  67'  70'	Report	Archdeacon  34'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,588 Referee: Paul Taylor

25 January 1997 29	Exeter City	0–3	Colchester United	Exeter
		Report	Abrahams  15' Locke  28', 55'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 2,666 Referee: J Brandwood

31 January 1997 30	Colchester United	2–0	Torquay United	Colchester
19:45 GMT	Adcock  44', 56'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,895 Referee: Steve Baines

4 February 1997 31	Colchester United	2–1	Leyton Orient	Colchester
	Wilkins  11', 75'	Report	Channing  33'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,689 Referee: Steve Bennett

8 February 1997 32	Cardiff City	1–2	Colchester United	Cardiff
	Haworth  90'	Report	Adcock  6' Whitton  20'	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 3,912 Referee: G Singh

14 February 1997 33	Colchester United	0–0	Chester City	Colchester
19:45 GMT		Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,855 Referee: J Kirkby

22 February 1997 34	Scunthorpe United	2–1	Colchester United	Scunthorpe
	D'Auria  50' Jones  61'	Report	Whitton  89'	Stadium: Glanford Park Attendance: 2,738 Referee: D Laws

28 February 1997 35	Colchester United	1–3	Scarborough	Colchester
19:45 GMT	Adcock  24'	Report	Williams  36', 70' Rigby  74'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,719 Referee: D Crick

7 March 1997 36	Cambridge United	1–0	Colchester United	Cambridge
	Wanless  6'	Report	Lock  38'	Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 3,485 Referee: Clive Wilkes

14 March 1997 37	Colchester United	2–1	Mansfield Town	Colchester
19:45 GMT	Greene  37' Adcock  42'	Report	Dunne  82' (o.g.) Doolan  46' Harper  83'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,064 Referee: Andy D'Urso

21 March 1997 38	Colchester United	1–0	Rochdale	Colchester
19:45 GMT	Abrahams  59'	Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,211 Referee: Alan Wiley

29 March 1997 39	Hartlepool United	1–0	Colchester United	Hartlepool
	Beech  78'	Report	McCarthy  36'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 2,725 Referee: Anthony Leake

31 March 1997 40	Colchester United	0–3	Darlington	Colchester
15:00 BST		Report	Naylor  2', 13', 73' (pen.)	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,604 Referee: G Pooley

5 April 1997 41	Hereford United	1–0	Colchester United	Hereford
	McGorry  45'	Report		Stadium: Edgar Street Attendance: 2,535 Referee: Rob Styles

8 April 1997 42	Wigan Athletic	1–0	Colchester United	Wigan
	McGibbon  45'	Report		Stadium: Springfield Park Attendance: 4,571 Referee: K Lynch

11 April 1997 43	Colchester United	3–1	Swansea City	Colchester
19:45 BST	Whitton  22' Sale  56' Abrahams  66'	Report	Mølby  58'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,162 Referee: Roger Furnandiz

15 April 1997 44	Hull City	1–2	Colchester United	Kingston upon Hull
	Darby  19'  36'  49'	Report	Adcock  22' Sale  27'	Stadium: Boothferry Park Attendance: 2,035 Referee: R Pearson

26 April 1997 45	Colchester United	0–0	Northampton Town	Colchester
15:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,956 Referee: Paul Rejer

3 May 1997 46	Barnet	2–4	Colchester United	Chipping Barnet
	Campbell  6' Hodges  58'	Report	Lock  14' Sale  35' Forbes  56' Haydon  86'	Stadium: Underhill Stadium Attendance: 1,909 Referee: Rob Harris

League Cup

20 August 1996 1st round 1st leg	Colchester United	2–3	West Bromwich Albion	Colchester
19:45 BST	Kinsella  1' Fry  76'	Report	Hunt  22' Hamilton  71' Donovan  85'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,521 Referee: D Orr

3 September 1996 1st round 2nd leg	West Bromwich Albion	1–3	Colchester United	West Bromwich
	Groves  83'	Report	Reinelt  22', 49' Dunne  53'	Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 9,809
Note: Colchester win 5–4 on aggregate

17 September 1996 2nd round 1st leg	Huddersfield Town	1–1	Colchester United	Huddersfield
	Cowan  45'	Report	Adcock  46'	Stadium: Kirklees Stadium Attendance: 5,112 Referee: Steve Baines

24 September 1996 2nd round 2nd leg	Colchester United	0–2 (a.e.t.)	Huddersfield Town	Colchester
19:45 BST		Report	Stewart  98' Collins  110'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,095 Referee: M Pierce
Note: Huddersfield win 3–1 on aggregate

FA Cup

16 November 1996 1st round	Colchester United	1–2	Wycombe Wanderers	Colchester
15:00 GMT	Wilkins  69'	Report	de Souza  43' Williams  65'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,378 Referee: Jeff Winter

Football League Trophy

10 December 1996 1st round (southern section)	Cambridge United	0–1	Colchester United	Cambridge
		Report	Whitton  89'	Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 1,108 Referee: Scott Mathieson

7 January 1997 2nd round (southern section)	Millwall	2–3 (a.e.t.)	Colchester United	Bermondsey
	Crawford  10' Savage  76'	Report	Adcock  53', 88' Buckle  93'	Stadium: The Den Attendance: 2,795 Referee: Rob Harris

28 January 1997 Quarter-final (southern section)	Brentford	0–1	Colchester United	Brentford
		Report	Abrahams  35'	Stadium: Griffin Park Attendance: 2,253 Referee: K Leach

18 February 1997 Semi-final (southern section)	Colchester United	2–1	Northampton Town	Colchester
19:45 GMT	Greene  66' Buckle  75' Vaughan  22'	Report	Martin  67'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,978 Referee: Neale Barry

11 March 1997 Southern section final 1st leg	Peterborough United	2–0	Colchester United	Peterborough
	Otto  14' Charlery  35'	Report		Stadium: London Road Stadium Attendance: 4,556 Referee: William Burns

18 March 1997 Southern section final 2nd leg	Colchester United	3–0 (a.e.t.)	Peterborough United	Colchester
19:45 GMT	Fry  38' Buckle  80' Abrahams  100'	Report	Charlery	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Uriah Rennie
Note: Colchester win 3–2 on aggregate

20 April 1997 Final	Colchester United	0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)	Carlisle United	Wembley
13:30 BST		Report Report		Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 45,077 Referee: J Kirkby
	Penalties
	Conway Archdeacon Walling Aspinall Hayward		Wilkins Adcock Greene Duguid Cawley

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

[6][52]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Third Division		FA Cup		League Cup		Football League Trophy
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK		Garrett Caldwell	7	0	5	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
	GK		Carl Emberson	45	0	36	0	1	0	2	0	6	0
	DF		Simon Betts	14	1	10	1	0	0	4	0	0	0
	DF		Peter Cawley	37	1	28	1	1	0	4	0	3+1	0
	DF		Joe Dunne	42	1	23+12	0	1	0	3	1	2+1	0
	DF		Paul Gibbs	27	0	18+2	0	1	0	0	0	5+1	0
	DF		David Greene	55	3	44	2	1	0	4	0	6	1
	DF		Nicky Haydon	1	1	0+1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
	DF		Tony McCarthy	43	0	34+1	0	0	0	3	0	5	0
	DF		Scott Stamps	8	0	7+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	MF		Paul Buckle	29	3	24	0	0	0	0	0	5	3
	MF		Karl Duguid	25	3	10+10	3	0+1	0	0+2	0	1+1	0
	MF		Steve Forbes	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
	MF		Chris Fry	54	8	31+11	6	1	0	2+2	1	6+1	1
	MF		David Gregory	48	1	32+6	1	1	0	1+1	0	7	0
	MF		Adam Locke	44	4	22+10	4	1	0	3+1	0	4+3	0
	MF		Richard Wilkins	50	3	40	2	1	1	3	0	6	0
	FW		Paul Abrahams	36	9	27+2	7	1	0	0	0	5+1	2
	FW		Tony Adcock	47	14	26+10	11	0+1	0	3+1	1	6	2
	FW		Tony Lock	7	1	1+5	1	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
	FW		Mark Sale	13	3	10	3	0	0	0	0	2+1	0
	FW		Steve Whitton	47	7	36+3	6	0	0	2+1	0	5	1
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
	GK		John Vaughan	6	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	DF		David Barnes	13	0	11	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
	MF		Mark Kinsella	10	3	7	2	0	0	3	1	0	0
	MF		Geoff Pitcher	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW		Tony Kelly	3	0	2+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW		Robbie Reinelt	26	5	8+13	3	1	0	4	2	0	0
	FW		John Taylor	9	5	8	5	0	0	0	0	1	0

Goalscorers

[52]

Place	Nationality	Position	Name	Third Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Football League Trophy	Total
1		FW	Tony Adcock	11	0	1	2	14
2		FW/WG	Paul Abrahams	7	0	0	2	9
3		MF/WG	Chris Fry	6	0	1	1	8
4		FW	Steve Whitton	6	0	0	1	7
5		FW	Robbie Reinelt	3	0	2	0	5
		FW	John Taylor	5	0	0	0	5
7		MF/FB	Adam Locke	4	0	0	0	4
8		MF	Paul Buckle	0	0	0	3	3
		MF	Karl Duguid	3	0	0	0	3
		CB	David Greene	2	0	0	1	3
		MF	Mark Kinsella	2	0	1	0	3
		FW	Mark Sale	3	0	0	0	3
		MF/DF	Richard Wilkins	2	1	0	0	3
14		FB	Simon Betts	1	0	0	0	1
		CB	Peter Cawley	1	0	0	0	1
		FB	Joe Dunne	0	0	1	0	1
		MF	Steve Forbes	1	0	0	0	1
		MF	David Gregory	1	0	0	0	1
		DF/MF	Nicky Haydon	1	0	0	0	1
		FW	Tony Lock	1	0	0	0	1
			Own goals	2	0	0	0	2
			TOTALS	62	1	6	10	79

Disciplinary record

[53]

Nationality	Position	Name	Third Division		FA Cup		League Cup		Football League Trophy		Total
	CB	David Greene	6	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	7	1
	CB	Tony McCarthy	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	2
	CB	Peter Cawley	4	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	1
	FW	Robbie Reinelt	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
	FW	Steve Whitton	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1
	MF	Paul Buckle	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	FB	David Barnes	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0
	MF/WG	Chris Fry	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0
	FB	Paul Gibbs	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	FW	Tony Lock	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
	GK	John Vaughan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
	FW/WG	Paul Abrahams	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	FW	Tony Adcock	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	GK	Carl Emberson	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	MF	David Gregory	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	MF/FB	Adam Locke	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	MF/DF	Richard Wilkins	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	FB	Simon Betts	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	FB	Joe Dunne	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	DF/MF	Nicky Haydon	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		TOTALS	50	7	0	0	4	0	0	1	54	8

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[54]

Place	Nationality	Player	Third Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Football League Trophy	Total
1		Carl Emberson	8	0	0	4	12
2		Garrett Caldwell	2	0	0	0	2
3		John Vaughan	1	0	0	0	1
		TOTALS	11	0	0	4	15

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[55]

Position	Nationality	Player	Date	Opponent	Ground	Notes
FB		David Barnes	17 August 1996	Hartlepool United	Layer Road
CB		David Greene	17 August 1996	Hartlepool United	Layer Road	[56][lower-alpha 1]
MF/DF		Richard Wilkins	27 August 1996	Darlington	Feethams	[57][lower-alpha 1]
WG		Tony Kelly	12 October 1996	Wigan Athletic	Layer Road
FW/WG		Paul Abrahams	26 October 1996	Lincoln City	Sincil Bank	[58][lower-alpha 1]
FW		John Taylor	9 November 1996	Torquay United	Plainmoor	[59][lower-alpha 1]
MF		Paul Buckle	14 December 1996	Mansfield Town	Field Mill
GK		John Vaughan	4 February 1997	Leyton Orient	Layer Road
FW		Mark Sale	11 March 1997	Peterborough United	London Road Stadium
MF		Geoff Pitcher	14 March 1997	Mansfield Town	Layer Road
FB		Scott Stamps	29 March 1997	Hartlepool United	Victoria Park
MF		Steve Forbes	3 May 1997	Barnet	Underhill Stadium
DF/MF		Nicky Haydon	3 May 1997	Barnet	Underhill Stadium

1. Second debut for the club

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.

Websites

• "Colchester United football club match record: 1997". 11v11.com. Retrieved 30 August 2018.

Specific

1. Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 279. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.
2. "Colchester Utd 0–0 Northampton Town". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
3. "Colchester Utd 1–1 Scunthorpe United". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
4. "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
5. Hudson, Matt (11 August 2013). "The 1990s and 2000s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
6. "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
7. "Ernie Loses Battle With Cancer". Colchester United FC. 3 July 2008. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
8. Ernie Cooksey at Soccerbase
9. "David Greene". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
10. David Greene at Soccerbase
11. "Richard Wilkins (Defender / Midfielder)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
12. Richard Wilkins at Soccerbase
13. "David Barnes". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
14. David Barnes at Soccerbase
15. "Tony Kelly". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
16. Tony Kelly at Soccerbase
17. "Paul Abrahams". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
18. Paul Abrahams at Soccerbase
19. "Paul Buckle". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
20. Paul Buckle at Soccerbase
21. "Geoff Pitcher". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
22. Geoff Pitcher at Soccerbase
23. "Mark Sale". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
24. Mark Sale at Soccerbase
25. "Steve Forbes". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
26. Steve Forbes at Soccerbase
27. "Scott Stamps". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
28. Scott Stamps at Soccerbase
29. "Tony Cook". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
30. "Ben Lewis". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
31. Ben Lewis at Soccerbase
32. "Steve Ball". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
33. Steve Ball at Soccerbase
34. "Gus Caesar". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
35. Gus Caesar at Soccerbase
36. "Tony English". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
37. Tony English at Soccerbase
38. "Tony Dennis". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
39. Tony Dennis at Soccerbase
40. "Jean Dalli". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
41. Jean Dalli at Soccerbase
42. "Mark Kinsella". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
43. Mark Kinsella at Soccerbase
44. "Robbie Reinelt". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
45. Robbie Reinelt at Soccerbase
46. "John Taylor". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
47. John Taylor at Soccerbase
48. "John Vaughan (Goalkeeper)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
49. John Vaughan at Soccerbase
50. "Tony Lock". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
51. Tony Lock at Soccerbase
52. "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
53. "Discipline". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
54. "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
55. "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
56. "Colchester Utd 0–2 Hartlepool United". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
57. "Darlington 1–1 Colchester Utd". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
58. "Lincoln City 3–2 Colchester Utd". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
59. "Torquay United 0–2 Colchester Utd". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2018.