Chairman Bill Allen Stadium Layer Road | Manager Neil Franklin Fourth Division 4th (promoted) | |
FA Cup 1st round
(eliminated by
Queens Park Rangers) League Cup 2nd round
(eliminated by
Middlesbrough) | ||
The 1965–66 season was Colchester United's 24th season in their history and their first back in the fourth tier of English football, the Fourth Division, following relegation the previous season. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.
Contents
- Season overview
- Players
- Fourth Division results round by round
- League table
- Captains
- Player debuts
- References
Colchester were immediately promoted back to the Third Division after ending the season in fourth position. Queens Park Rangers handed Colchester another early FA Cup exit following a replay, while Middlesbrough knocked the U's out of the League Cup in the second round.
Season overview
Neil Franklin brought in forward Reg Stratton to lead the line for the new season and he responded with 18 league goals and 21 in total. They won ten times on their travels, setting a new club record, while losing just three times at Layer Road. After leading the Fourth Division table across Easter, subsequent defeats to promotion rivals Darlington on two occasions and Torquay United saw Colchester drop to fourth position ahead of the final game of the season. A 2–1 defeat to Newport County left fans awaiting the result of Luton Town's game with Chester with Luton just one point behind and the game kicking off 15-minutes later than the U's fixture. The game finished 1–1 with Colchester, Luton, and Tranmere Rovers all tied on 56 points. Goal average would separate the sides, with Franklin's side pipping Tranmere to the final promotion spot by 0.08.
As the club did four years prior, the U's bounced back from the Fourth Division at the first attempt. The season was also notable as player replacements were allowed for the first time. Ray Price became Colchester's first substitute when he came on to replace the injured Ted Phillips after 85-minutes of their 2–0 home win over Rochdale on 18 September.
Players
As of match played 28 May 1966.Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Fourth Division results round by round
Last updated: 23 January 2017.
Source: [1]
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.
Win Draw Loss
League table
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champion; (P) Promoted; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976–77 season.
2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Captains
Number of games played as team captain.
Player debuts
Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.