| Club: | Colchester United |
| Season: | 1984–85 |
| Chairman: | Maurice Cadman[1] |
| Manager: | Cyril Lea |
| Stadium: | Layer Road |
| League: | Fourth Division |
| League Result: | 7th |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | 2nd round (eliminated by Gillingham) |
| Cup2: | League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | 1st round (eliminated by Gillingham) |
| Cup3: | Associate Members' Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | 2nd round (southern section) (eliminated by Walsall |
| League Topscorer: | Tony Adcock (24) |
| Season Topscorer: | Tony Adcock (28) |
| Highest Attendance: | 4,487 v Gillingham, 8 December 1984[2] |
| Lowest Attendance: | 1,641 v Aldershot, 22 September 1984[3] |
| Average Attendance: | 2,225[4] |
| Largest Win: | 5–1 v Exeter City, 23 March 1985 |
| Largest Loss: | 0–5 v Gillingham, 8 December 1984 |
| Pattern Name1: | Home |
| Pattern La1: | _shoulder_stripes_white_stripes |
| Pattern B1: | _thinwhitestripes2 |
| Pattern Ra1: | _shoulder_stripes_white_stripes |
| Leftarm1: | 0000FF |
| Body1: | 0000FF |
| Rightarm1: | 0000FF |
| Shorts1: | FFFFFF |
| Socks1: | FFFFFF |
| Prevseason: | 1983–84 |
| Nextseason: | 1985–86 |
The 1984–85 season was Colchester United's 43rd season in their history and fourth consecutive season in fourth tier of English football, the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Associate Members' Cup.
Once again, Colchester finished high in the Fourth Division table, but ten points off promotion. Remarkably, the U's were paired against Gillingham in all three cup competitions they participated in, but only succeeded in beating them once, failing to defeat them in the first round of the League Cup and second round of the FA Cup, but won over two legs in the Associate Members' Cup.
Despite chairman Maurice Cadman announcing the removal of win bonuses for the season, only three of the eight out-of-contract players chose to move on despite the new scheme. Steve Wignall however decided to leave for Brentford.
Colchester were paired with Gillingham in the first round of the League Cup, where they were beaten 5–2 over two legs. The U's were then drawn against them in the second round of the FA Cup after seeing off Southend United in the Essex derby following a replay. Again, Gillingham won, on this occasion scoring five in a single match and inflicting the heaviest ever home defeat on Colchester.
In-form forward Tony Adcock continued his scoring form, with 28 goals to his name by January. However, with Liverpool rumoured to be interested in signing him and Bobby Hunt's 38-goal record in sight, he suffered a serious knee injury which ruled him out for almost the remainder of the season.
Once more Colchester fell just short of promotion in seventh place, but ten points adrift of automatic promotion in fourth position. The club equalled its record away win with a 5–1 victory at Exeter City on 23 March.
Meanwhile, Maurice Cadman found a new buyer for the club, with Jonathan Crisp paying the £150,000 asking price. He promised Second Division football within five years, but in light of the Bradford City stadium fire on 11 May, a move away from the timber-constructed Layer Road stands meant fabricating a move away or redevelopment of the stadium was of utmost importance.[5]
| Name | Position | Nationality | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | |||||||||||
| Alec Chamberlain | GK | March | June 1, 1984 | 60 | 0 | Ipswich Town | Summer 1982 | Undisclosed | |||
| Defenders | |||||||||||
| Keith Day | CB | Grays | June 1, 1984 | 0 | 0 | Aveley | Summer 1984 | Undisclosed | |||
| Tony English | DF/MF | Luton | June 1, 1984 | 0 | 0 | Coventry City | 24 December 1984 | Free transfer | |||
| Rudi Hedman | CB | Lambeth | June 1, 1984 | 4 | 0 | Apprentice | February 1984 | Free transfer | |||
| Stewart Houston | CB | Dunoon | June 1, 1984 | 51 | 5 | Sheffield United | Summer 1983 | Undisclosed | |||
| Ian Phillips | FB | Cumnock | June 1, 1984 | 48 | 5 | Northampton Town | September 1983 | £5,000 | |||
| Midfielders | |||||||||||
| Andy Farrell | MF/FB | Colchester | June 1, 1984 | 21 | 0 | Apprentice | Summer 1982 | Free transfer | |||
| Jeff Hull | MF | Rochford | June 1, 1984 | 66 | 5 | Basildon United | 17 December 1982 | Undisclosed | |||
| Roger Osborne | MF | Otley | June 1, 1984 | 157 | 8 | Ipswich Town | February 1981 | £25,000 | |||
| Noel Parkinson | MF | Kingston upon Hull | June 1, 1984 | 0 | 0 | Scunthorpe United | August 1984 | Undisclosed | |||
| Forwards | |||||||||||
| Tony Adcock | FW | Bethnal Green | June 1, 1984 | 136 | 56 | Apprentice | 31 March 1981 | Free transfer | |||
| Keith Bowen | FW | Northampton | June 1, 1984 | 68 | 22 | Brentford | 25 March 1983 | £10,000 | |||
| Simon Burman | WG/MF | Ipswich | June 1, 1984 | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | 15 February 1985 | Free transfer | |||
| Perry Groves | WG | Bow | June 1, 1984 | 81 | 5 | Cornard Dynamos | Summer 1981 | Free transfer | |||
| Liburd Henry | FW |  | Roseau | June 1, 1984 | 0 | 0 | Unknown | Summer 1984 | Free transfer | ||
| Russell Irving | FW | Wallsend | June 1, 1984 | 0 | 0 | Ipswich Town | Summer 1984 | Undisclosed | |||
| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Fee | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer 1984 | CB | Keith Day | Aveley | Undisclosed | [7] | ||
| Summer 1984 | FW | | Liburd Henry | Unknown | Free transfer | [8] | |
| Summer 1984 | FW | Russell Irving | Ipswich Town | Undisclosed | [9] | ||
| August 1984 | FB | Daryl Godbold | Norwich City | Undisclosed | [10] | ||
| August 1984 | MF | Noel Parkinson | Scunthorpe United | Undisclosed | [11] | ||
| August 1984 | MF | Stuart Youngman | Apprentice | Free transfer | [12] | ||
| 24 December 1984 | DF/MF | Tony English | Coventry City | Free transfer | [13] | ||
| 5 February 1985 | FW | Tommy English | Plymouth Argyle | Undisclosed | [14] | ||
| 15 February 1985 | WG/MF | Simon Burman | Apprentice | Free transfer | [15] |
| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | To | Fee | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of season | FB | Phil Coleman | Chelmsford City | Released | [16] | ||
| End of season | MF | Steve Leslie | Chelmsford City | Released | [17] | ||
| End of season | FW | Craig Oldfield | Bury Town | Released | [18] | ||
| Summer 1984 | CB | Tony Hadley | Southend United | Free transfer | [19] | ||
| Summer 1984 | FW | Les Mutrie | Hartlepool United | Released | [20] | ||
| August 1984 | CB | Steve Wignall | Brentford | Undisclosed | [21] | ||
| December 1984 | FW | John Taylor | Sudbury Town | Released | [22] | ||
| 21 December 1984 | FB | Daryl Godbold | Wroxham | Undisclosed | |||
| 5 February 1985 | FW | Tommy English |  Canberra City | Undisclosed | |||
| 23 April 1985 | MF | Stuart Youngman | Wroxham | Undisclosed | |||
| 23 April 1985 | FW | Dave Hubbick | Gravesend & Northfleet | Released | [23] |
See main article: 1984–85 Football League.
See main article: 1984–85 Football League Cup.
See main article: 1984–85 FA Cup.
See main article: 1984–85 Football League Trophy.
[6] [25] |-!colspan="16"|Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season|}
| Place | Nationality | Position | Name | Fourth Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FW | Tony Adcock | 24 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 28 | ||
| 2 | FW | Keith Bowen | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | ||
| 3 | WG | Perry Groves | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 4 | FW | Russell Irving | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 5 | MF | Noel Parkinson | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 6 | MF | Jeff Hull | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 7 | CB | Keith Day | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 8 | DF/MF | Tony English | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| CB | Stewart Houston | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 10 | CB | Rudi Hedman | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| MF | Roger Osborne | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 12 | FB | Daryl Godbold | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| FW | Dave Hubbick | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| FB | Ian Phillips | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| FW | Paul Shinners | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| Own goals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| TOTALS | 87 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 98 | ||||
| Nationality | Position | Name | Fourth Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Total | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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" | width=60 style="background: #FFEE99" | width=60 style="background: #FF8888" | width=60 style="background: #FFEE99" | width=60 style="background: #FF8888" | ||||||||||
| WG | Perry Groves | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| FB | Ian Phillips | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||||||||
| FW | Keith Bowen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||
| GK | Alec Chamberlain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||
| MF | Jeff Hull | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||
| MF | Noel Parkinson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||
| WG | Simon Burman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| CB | Keith Day | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| DF/MF | Tony English | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| MF/FB | Andy Farrell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| FB | Daryl Godbold | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| CB | Rudi Hedman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| FW | Paul Shinners | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| TOTALS | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | |||||||||
Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[27]
| Place | Nationality | Player | Fourth Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alec Chamberlain | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| TOTALS | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |||
Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[28]
| Position | Nationality | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB | Keith Day | 25 August 1984 | Southend United | Layer Road | ||
| FB | Daryl Godbold | 25 August 1984 | Southend United | Layer Road | ||
| FW | Russell Irving | 25 August 1984 | Southend United | Layer Road | ||
| MF | Noel Parkinson | 28 August 1984 | Gillingham | Priestfield Stadium | ||
| DF/MF | Tony English | 23 January 1985 | Gillingham | Priestfield Stadium | ||
| FW | Tommy English | 5 February 1985 | Gillingham | Layer Road | ||
| WG/MF | Simon Burman | 29 March 1985 | Tranmere Rovers | Layer Road | ||
| FW | Paul Shinners | 16 April 1985 | Torquay United | Plainmoor | ||
| MF | Stuart Youngman | 23 April 1985 | Aldershot | Recreation Ground | ||
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