1952–53 Colchester United F.C. season explained

Club:Colchester United
Season:1952–53
Chairman:Bill Allen[1]
Manager:Jimmy Allen
(until 2 May)
Stadium:Layer Road
League:Third Division South
League Result:22nd
Cup1:FA Cup
Cup1 Result:3rd round
(eliminated by
Rotherham United)
League Topscorer:
Kevin McCurley (16)
Season Topscorer:
Kevin McCurley (19)
Highest Attendance:14,674
v Ipswich Town, 23 August 1952[2]
Lowest Attendance:3,382
v Crystal Palace, 19 March 1953[3]
Average Attendance:8,002[4]
Largest Win:6–1
v Walsall, 14 February 1953
Largest Loss:0–4
v Southend United, 7 March 1953;
1–5
v Torquay United, 18 April 1953;
0–4
v Norwich City, 2 May 1953
Pattern Name1:Home
Pattern La1:_white_stripes
Pattern B1:_whitestripes
Pattern Ra1:_white_stripes
Pattern So1:_3whitehoops
Leftarm1:0000FF
Body1:0000FF
Rightarm1:0000FF
Shorts1:FFFFFF
Socks1:0000FF
Alt1:Football kit (white jersey with blue, vertical stripes; white shorts;; and blue socks with white, horizontal hoops).
Prevseason:1951–52
Nextseason:1953–54

The 1952–53 season was Colchester United's eleventh season in their history and their third 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. Colchester reached the third round of the FA Cup for the second season running, but were knocked out by Second Division side Rotherham United after a replay. The club struggled in the league, eventually finishing 22nd of 24 teams which would ultimately cost manager Jimmy Allen his job.

Season overview

The season began with a Layer Road crowd of 14,674 witnessing a 0–0 draw with local rivals Ipswich Town, and in the early stages of the campaign, the club remained mid-table. In the FA Cup, Colchester disposed of Weymouth in the first round following a replay, and then Llanelli in the second round, before once again facing Second Division Yorkshire opposition in Rotherham United. After drawing 2–2 at Millmoor and forcing a replay, Colchester lost the Layer Road replay 2–0.

In the latter stages of the season, a poor run of just one point from six games saw United slip from 13th-position to 22nd, just one place and two points above the re-election positions. Meanwhile, forward Kevin McCurley had justified manager Jimmy Allen's £750 outlay with a return of 19 goals. However, with Allen's style of play criticised by supporters and his unwillingness to reduce the playing staff as requested by the board saw Allen tender his resignation on 2 May 1953.[5]

Players

[6]

NamePositionNationalityPlace of birthDate of birthAppsGoalsSigned fromDate signedFee
Goalkeepers
Frank CoombsGKEast HamJune 1, 1952130 Southend United8 March 1952£450
George WrightGKPlymouthJune 1, 19521310 Plymouth ArgyleMay 1949£1,000
John WrightGKAldershotJune 1, 195200 Colchester Casuals23 May 1952Free transfer
Defenders
Roy BicknellCBDoncasterJune 1, 195200 Gravesend & NorthfleetJune 1952£1,000
George FrenchFBColchesterJune 1, 195200 West Ham UnitedFebruary 1949Free transfer
John HarrisonFBLeicesterJune 1, 1952770 Aston Villa30 September 1950Nominal
Digger KettleFBColchesterJune 1, 19521681 Arclight SportsSeptember 1946Free transfer
Phil RookesFBDulvertonJune 1, 1952280 PortsmouthJuly 1951£1,000
Trevor RowlandsFBWattstownJune 1, 1952412 Norwich City20 July 1950£1,000
Reg StewartCBSheffieldJune 1, 19521460 Sheffield Wednesday20 August 1949£1,000
Midfielders
Harry BearrymanWHWandsworthJune 1, 19522439 Chelsea4 July 1947Free transfer
Jimmy ElderWHSconeJune 1, 1952937 Portsmouth19 August 1950£1,000
Trevor HarrisWHColchesterJune 1, 195200AmateurJuly 1951Free transfer
Bert HillWHWest HamJune 1, 195200 ChelseaSeptember 1952£300
Ron HuntWHColchesterJune 1, 195230AmateurOctober 1951Free transfer
Forwards
Peter AitchisonWGHarlowJune 1, 195292AmateurAugust 1950Free transfer
Bert BarlowIFKilnhurstJune 1, 195200 Leicester CitySummer 1952<£1,000
John ChurchWGLowestoftJune 1, 19528313 Norwich City19 August 1950£1,000
Dick CullumFWColchesterJune 1, 195200 Colchester Colts28 March 1951Free transfer
Stan EdwardsCFDawdonJune 1, 195200 Chelsea6 September 1952£750
Mike GriceWGWokingJune 1, 195200 Lowestoft TownSummer 1952£25
Kevin McCurleyCFConsettJune 1, 1952116 LiverpoolJune 1951£750
Johnny McKimIFGreenockJune 1, 19525118 Chelsea19 August 1950£1,000
Augie ScottIFSunderlandJune 1, 1952486 Southampton18 August 1951£2,000
Peter WrightWGColchesterJune 1, 195290AmateurNovember 1951Free transfer

Transfers

In

DatePositionNationalityNameFromFeeRef.
Summer 1952IFBert Barlow Leicester City<£1,000[7]
Summer 1952WGMike Grice Lowestoft Town£25[8]
23 May 1952GKJohn Wright Colchester CasualsFree transfer[9]
June 1952CBRoy Bicknell Gravesend & Northfleet£1,000[10]
September 1952WHBert Hill Chelsea£300[11]
6 September 1952CFStan Edwards Chelsea£750[12]

Out

DatePositionNationalityNameToFeeRef.
End of seasonWGAdam Davidson Carnoustie PanmureReleased[13]
End of seasonCFArthur Turner Headington UnitedFree transfer[14]
Summer 1952WHJohn Moore Staines TownFree transfer[15]
Summer 1952FWJack McClelland Stoke CityUndisclosed[16] [17]
14 March 1953WHHarry Wilkinson Folkestone TownReleased[18]
4 April 1953WHLen Jones Ipswich TownReleased[19]

Match details

Third Division South

See main article: 1952–53 Football League.

Matches

FA Cup

See main article: 1952–53 FA Cup.

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

[6] [20] |-!colspan="14"|Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season|}

Goalscorers

[20]

PlaceNationalityPositionNameThird Division SouthFA CupTotal
1CFKevin McCurley16319
2IFJohnny McKim13215
3WGJohn Church819
4IFBert Barlow617
CFStan Edwards527
6WHJimmy Elder303
7FBTrevor Rowlands202
IFAugie Scott202
WGPeter Wright202
10WHHarry Bearryman101
WGMike Grice101
Own goals011
TOTALS60969

Disciplinary record

[21]

NationalityPositionNameThird Division SouthFA CupTotal
width=60 style="background: #FFEE99"width=60 style="background: #FF8888"width=60 style="background: #FFEE99"width=60 style="background: #FF8888"width=60 style="background: #FFEE99"width=60 style="background: #FF8888"
IFJohnny McKim010001
TOTALS010001

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[22]

PlaceNationalityPlayerThird Division SouthFA CupTotal
1George Wright617
2Frank Coombs404
TOTALS10111

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[23]

PositionNationalityPlayerDateOpponentGroundNotes
CFStan Edwards6 September 1952Swindon TownLayer Road
WGMike Grice11 September 1952Bristol RoversLayer Road
IFBert Barlow13 September 1952Queens Park RangersLoftus Road
CBRoy Bicknell4 October 1952GillinghamLayer Road
FBGeorge French4 October 1952GillinghamLayer Road
WHHarry Wilkinson14 March 1953WatfordLayer Road
WHBert Hill11 April 1953Bristol CityLayer Road

See also

References

General

Books

Websites

Specific

Notes and References

  1. Book: Whitehead . Jeff . Drury . Kevin . The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years . 2008 . Breedon Books . Derby . 978-1-85983-629-3 . 278.
  2. Web site: Colchester Utd 0–0 Ipswich Town . Coludata.co.uk . 10 February 2016 .
  3. Web site: Colchester Utd 3–0 Crystal Palace . Coludata.co.uk . 10 February 2016 .
  4. Web site: Average Attendance Figures Per Season . Coludaybyday.co.uk . 10 February 2016 .
  5. Web site: The 1950s and 1960s . Hudson . Matt . 11 July 2012 . Colchester United FC . 24 May 2011 .
  6. Web site: Appearances . Coludata.co.uk . 10 February 2016 .
  7. Web site: Bert Barlow . Coludata.co.uk . 22 February 2016 .
  8. Web site: Mike Grice . Coludata.co.uk . 22 February 2016 .
  9. Web site: John Wright . Coludata.co.uk . 2 March 2016 .
  10. Web site: Roy Bicknell . Coludata.co.uk . 22 February 2016 .
  11. Web site: Bert Hill . Coludata.co.uk . 22 February 2016 .
  12. Web site: Stan Edwards . Coludata.co.uk . 22 February 2016 .
  13. Web site: Adam Davidson . Coludata.co.uk . 22 February 2016 .
  14. Web site: Arthur Turner . Coludata.co.uk . 10 February 2016 .
  15. Web site: John Moore . Coludata.co.uk . 22 February 2016 .
  16. Web site: JOHNNY McCLELLAND . Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database . 10 February 2016 .
  17. Book: Matthews . Tont . The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City Football Club 1868 to 1994 . 1994 . Lion Press . 0-9524151-0-0 .
  18. Web site: Harry Wilkinson . Coludata.co.uk . 22 February 2016 .
  19. Web site: Len Jones . Coludata.co.uk . 22 February 2016 .
  20. Web site: Goals . Coludata.co.uk . 22 February 2016 .
  21. Web site: Discipline . Coludata.co.uk . 22 February 2016 .
  22. Web site: Clean sheets (1st team) . Coludata.co.uk . 22 June 2017 .
  23. Web site: Alltime- List of Debuts . Coludaybyday.co.uk . 22 February 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150626101319/http://coludaybyday.co.uk/Statistics/Player%20Stats/PlayersDebuts/Alldebut.html . 26 June 2015 .

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