Chairman Jonathan Crisp FA Cup 3rd Round | Fourth Division 9th Littlewoods Cup 1st Round | |
 | ||
Manager Mike Walker
(Until 1 November 1987)
Roger Brown
(From 1 November 1987) Sherpa Van Trophy 2nd Round (Southern section) | ||
The 1987–88 season was Colchester United's seventh consecutive season in the Football League Fourth Division.
Contents
Season Review
Prolific striker Tony Adcock decided it was time to move on and £80,000 saw him join Second Division Manchester City.
Manager Mike Walker recruited former U's boss Allan Hunter as his coach whilst Chairman Jonathan Crisp announced an ill-advised bombshell. In light of the worsening hooliganism countrywide he adopted a 100% members-only scheme, banning away fans. To deflect the furore Crisp leaked details of a proposed new stadium at Turner Rise and introduced developers Norcross Estates as shirt sponsors. Only 1,300 members attended the first fixture of the 1987–88 season, a drop of 1,400 on the previous average.
Walker broke the club's transfer record spending £40,000 on striker Dale Tempest while a new lowest crowd was set as 1,140 watched the 29 September 1987 win over Swansea. Having rebuilt his side winning seven out of eight games Walker was sensationally sacked by Crisp as United were joint top of the Fourth Division. Crisp claimed Walker had resigned, but an alleged personal matter between the pair was said to have been the spark. Walker was awarded Manager of the Month after he had been sacked. New manager Roger Brown took over a successful team and destroyed it. Recommended to Crisp by his 'advisors', Brown had been a factory manager and in charge at Poole Town. From top spot on New Years Day Brown's team won just five games to finish ninth - United's lowest position for 15 seasons.When hundreds of Wolves fans claimed membership and 'boosted' the Layer Road attendance to 2,413, Crisp scrapped his membership scheme declaring it had only been an experiment. The seeds of United's sad demise had been sown and the season's average was a paltry 1,769.
Crisp considered selling Layer Road and ground sharing with Ipswich whilst the Turner Rise stadium was built. Fortunately he was swayed by a group of ex-directors of the club. Crisp would have recouped his outlay, but when the stadium plans were delayed, over land ownership, United would have been totally homeless with no assets bar players.
Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Fourth Division Results Summary
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Fourth Division Results
Source: 1987-88 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk
League Cup
Source: 1987-88 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk
FA Cup
Source: 1987-88 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk
League Trophy
Southern Section
Source: 1987-89 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk
Most Frequent Starting XI
This section shows players in a 5-4-1 formation with the most league starts during the season.