2005–06 Colchester United F.C. season explained

Club:Colchester United
Season:2005–06
Chairman:Peter Heard[1]
Manager:Phil Parkinson
Stadium:Layer Road
League:League One
League Result:2nd (promoted)
Cup1:FA Cup
Cup1 Result:5th round
(eliminated by
Chelsea)
Cup2:League Cup
Cup2 Result:1st round
(eliminated by
Cardiff City)
Cup3:Football League Trophy
Cup3 Result:Area final (southern section)
(eliminated by
Swansea City)
League Topscorer:
Chris Iwelumo (17)
Season Topscorer:
Chris Iwelumo (19)
Highest Attendance:5,933
v Derby County, 28 January 2006[2]
Lowest Attendance:1,719
v Northampton Town, 23 November 2005[3]
Average Attendance:3,843[4]
Largest Win:9–1
v Leamington, 5 November 2005
Largest Loss:0–3
v Southend United, 4 March 2006
Pattern Name1:Home
Pattern La1:_shouldersonwhite
Pattern B1:_stripesonwhite2
Pattern Ra1:_shouldersonwhite
Pattern Sh1:_sides_on_white
Pattern So1:_color_2_stripes_blue
Leftarm1:0000FF
Body1:0000FF
Rightarm1:0000FF
Shorts1:0000FF
Socks1:FFFFFF
Prevseason:2004–05
Nextseason:2006–07

The 2005–06 season was Colchester United's 64th season in their history and their eighth successive season in the third tier of English football, League One. Alongside competing in League One, the club also participated in the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Football League Trophy.

The season was hugely successful for the U's as they achieved their first-ever promotion to the second tier of English football by finishing second in League One. They finished runners-up to Essex derby rivals Southend United by three points. Southend were successful in beating Colchester home and away across the season.

Colchester had another long set of cup runs, reaching the fifth round of the FA Cup where they were defeated 3–1 by Premier League champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. They had beaten Leamington, Shrewsbury Town, Sheffield United and Derby County en route to the tie with Chelsea. They also embarked on a Football League Trophy run, once more reaching the area final but lost 3–1 on aggregate to eventual winners Swansea City.

Season overview

Colchester started the new season poorly. At the end of August after six games, they found themselves in the relegation zone with one win and two draws. Phil Parkinson had made a number of changes to his playing staff over the summer with numerous outgoings. He had signed Chris Iwelumo from Alemannia Aachen on a permanent basis and brought in Mark Yeates on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. It wasn't until Jamie Cureton arrived on loan from Swindon Town that the U's had an upturn in form as they earned five consecutive wins and went eight matches unbeaten.

By Christmas, Colchester were in the top four but their unbeaten run was ended by Swindon on Boxing Day. They recovered from this setback to embark on another winning streak, earning seven wins on the bounce, ten matches including cup ties and sat top of the table by the end of January. Their form fell away in mid February and through March into April when they picked up just one win in 10 games, dropping from the automatic promotion places to the play-off spots.

Meanwhile, in the FA Cup, Colchester had progressed to the fifth round to set up a tie with Premier League champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The club equalled a 44-year-old record by beating Leamington 9–1 in the first round, and then saw off the challenge of Shrewsbury Town, and then Championship sides Sheffield United and Derby County.

José Mourinho's Chelsea side had been assembled for around £225m, while Colchester United's squad had a value of approximately £150,000. More than 6,000 U's fans travelled to the game and were given an early treat when the underdogs took the lead through a Ricardo Carvalho own goal in the 28th minute. Paulo Ferreira equalised ten minutes later as the sides went into half time with the score level. At half time, Mourinho made two changes, introducing star players Frank Lampard and Joe Cole. He then sent on Hernán Crespo with the score still level up until the 79th minute when Cole struck to give Chelsea the lead. He added a second in the final minute of the game to hand the hosts a 3–1 victory.

The U's again reached the area final of the Football League Trophy, but lost over two legs to eventual winners Swansea City.

In the closing stages of the season, Colchester returned to winning ways and to the automatic promotion places with four games remaining. Wins against AFC Bournemouth and Rotherham United meant United only had to secure a draw in their final game of the season at Yeovil Town. The U's nervously held on to a 0–0 draw to gain promotion to the Championship, finishing the campaign behind leaders and rivals Southend United. Southend had beaten Colchester twice over the course of the season as they finished three points shy of the title.[5]

Players

[6] [7] [8]

No.NamePositionNationalityPlace of birthDate of birthAppsGoalsSigned fromDate signedFee
Goalkeepers
1Aidan DavisonGK SedgefieldJune 1, 2005390 Grimsby Town5 July 2004Free transfer
13Dean GerkenGKSouthend-on-SeaJune 1, 2005170Youth team1 August 2002Free transfer
23Mark CousinsGKChelmsfordJune 1, 200500Youth team1 August 2004Free transfer
Defenders
2Greg HalfordFB/MFChelmsfordJune 1, 20057813Youth team1 August 2002Free transfer
3Stephen HuntFBSouthamptonJune 1, 2005251 Southampton5 July 2004Free transfer
5Wayne BrownCBBarkingJune 1, 2005661 Watford8 July 2004Free transfer
12Pat BaldwinCBCity of LondonJune 1, 2005750 Chelsea16 August 2002Free transfer
16George ElokobiFB/CBMamfeJune 1, 200500 Dulwich Hamlet1 August 2004Free transfer
18Liam ChilversCBChelmsfordJune 1, 2005991 Arsenal10 June 2004Free transfer
17John WhiteFBColchesterJune 1, 2005240Youth team1 July 2003Free transfer
19Garry RichardsCBRomfordJune 1, 200500Youth team1 July 2004Free transfer
25Sam StockleyFBTivertonJune 1, 20051372 Oxford United31 October 2002Free transfer
30Matthew PaineDFSidcupJune 1, 200500Youth team18 December 2005Free transfer
Midfielders
4Neil DannsMF LiverpoolJune 1, 20053612 Blackburn Rovers23 December 2004Nominal
6Kevin WatsonMFHackneyJune 1, 2005532 Reading5 July 2004Free transfer
7Karl DuguidMFLetchworthJune 1, 200530839Youth team9 December 1995Free transfer
10Kemal IzzetMFWhitechapelJune 1, 200515918 Charlton Athletic13 April 2001Free transfer
21Robbie KingMFChelmsfordJune 1, 200500Youth team1 July 2004Free transfer
22Russell PondMFLeytonstoneJune 1, 200500Youth team1 July 2005Free transfer
28Richard GarciaMFPerthJune 1, 2005306 West Ham United3 September 2004Nominal
Forwards
8Gareth WilliamsFWCardiffJune 1, 20054913 Crystal Palace31 August 2004Part-exchange
9Marino KeithFWPeterheadJune 1, 2005124 Plymouth Argyle1 March 2005Free transfer
11Chris IwelumoFWCoatbridgeJune 1, 200500 Alemannia Aachen6 July 2005Free transfer
15Jamie GuyFWBarkingJune 1, 200520Youth team1 July 2004Free transfer
26Tony ThorpeFWLeicesterJune 1, 200500 Swindon Town11 January 2006Free transfer
27Craig HughesFWCanterburyJune 1, 200500Youth team24 January 2006Free transfer

Transfers

In

DatePositionNationalityNameFromFeeRef.
1 July 2005MFRussell PondYouth teamFree transfer
6 July 2005FWChris Iwelumo Alemannia AachenFree transfer[9]
1 August 2005MFDean Howell Halifax TownFree transfer[10]
18 December 2005DFMatthew PaineYouth teamFree transfer[11]
11 January 2006FWTony Thorpe Swindon TownFree transfer[12]
24 January 2006FWCraig HughesYouth teamFree transfer[13]

Out

DatePositionNationalityNameToFeeRef.
6 June 2005MFGavin Johnson Boston UnitedReleased[14]
24 June 2005FBJoe Keith Leyton OrientReleased[15]
30 June 2005MFBen Bowditch BarnetReleased[16]
30 June 2005MF/FWLiam Coleman Torquay UnitedReleased[17]
30 June 2005MFCraig Johnston Heybridge SwiftsUndisclosed[18]
30 June 2005FWTristan ToneyFree agentReleased[19]
18 July 2005MFBobby Bowry Gravesend & NorthfleetReleased[20]
8 August 2005FWJamie Cade Crawley TownReleased[21]
17 February 2006MFDean Howell Halifax TownReleased

Loans in

DatePositionNationalityNameFromEnd dateRef.
5 August 2005WGMark Yeates Tottenham Hotspur7 May 2006[22]
21 October 2005FWJamie Cureton Swindon Town3 January 2006[23]
17 March 2006FWScott Vernon Blackpool7 May 2006[24]
22 March 2006FWBilly Clarke Ipswich Town7 May 2006[25]
23 March 2006WGJamal Campbell-Ryce Rotherham United7 May 2006[26]

Loans out

DatePositionNationalityNameToEnd dateRef.
October 2005MFRobbie King Staines TownOctober 2005[27] [28]
6 October 2005FWJamie Guy Gravesend & Northfleet6 November 2005[29] [30]
24 October 2005FWJamie Guy Staines Town24 November 2005
9 February 2006FWJamie Guy Cambridge United30 April 2006
19 February 2006MFRobbie King Hereford UnitedEnd of season
17 March 2006FBSam Stockley Blackpool7 May 2006[31]
17 March 2006FWGareth Williams Blackpool7 May 2006[32]

Match details

League One

See main article: 2005–06 Football League.

Matches

Football League Cup

See main article: 2005–06 Football League Cup.

FA Cup

See main article: 2005–06 FA Cup.

Football League Trophy

See main article: 2005–06 Football League Trophy.

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

[6] [33] |-!colspan="16"|Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season|}

Goalscorers

[33]

PlaceNumberNationalityPositionNameLeague OneFA CupLeague CupFootball League TrophyTotal
111FWChris Iwelumo1720019
24MFNeil Danns850316
32FB/MFGreg Halford71008
28MFRichard Garcia51028
524FWJamie Cureton43007
614WGMark Yeates51006
75CBWayne Brown21003
88FWGareth Williams11002
16FB/CBGeorge Elokobi10012
18CBLiam Chilvers20002
116MFKevin Watson01001
7MFKarl Duguid00011
20FWScott Vernon10001
25FBSam Stockley10001
Own goals41005
TOTALS58170782

Disciplinary record

[34]

NumberNationalityPositionNameLeague OneFA CupLeague CupFootball League TrophyTotal
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"
14WGMark Yeates7010000080
18CBLiam Chilvers7010000080
4MFNeil Danns5010001070
5CBWayne Brown4100000041
2FB/MFGreg Halford5010000060
10MFKemal Izzet3100000031
19CBGarry Richards2100000021
25FBSam Stockley2010001040
1GKAidan Davison0100000001
6MFKevin Watson3000000030
7MFKarl Duguid3000000030
12CBPat Baldwin3000000030
16FB/CBGeorge Elokobi3000000030
11FWChris Iwelumo2000000020
17FBJohn White2000000020
20MFDean Howell1000000010
24WGJamal Campbell-Ryce1000000010
26FWTony Thorpe1000000010
28MFRichard Garcia1000000010
31FWBilly Clarke1000000010
TOTALS564500020634

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[35]

PlaceNumberNationalityPlayerLeague OneFA CupLeague CupFootball League TrophyTotal
11Aidan Davison1600016
213Dean Gerken30014
TOTALS1900120

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[36]

NumberPositionNationalityPlayerDateOpponentGroundNotes
11FWChris Iwelumo6 August 2005GillinghamPriestfield Stadium
14FWMark Yeates6 August 2005GillinghamPriestfield Stadium
20MFDean Howell9 August 2005Swansea CityLayer Road
16FB/CBGeorge Elokobi24 August 2005Cardiff CityLayer Road
19CBGarry Richards3 September 2005Bristol CityAshton Gate Stadium
21MFRobbie King3 September 2005Bristol CityAshton Gate Stadium
24FWJamie Cureton22 October 2005Tranmere RoversPrenton Park
26FWTony Thorpe17 January 2006Bristol CityLayer Road
20FWScott Vernon21 March 2006Doncaster RoversBelle Vue
31FWBilly Clarke25 March 2006Scunthorpe UnitedGlanford Park
24WGJamal Campbell-Ryce4 April 2006Nottingham ForestCity Ground

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 . 279.
  2. Web site: Colchester Utd 3–1 Derby County . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  3. Web site: Colchester Utd 3–2 aet Northampton Town . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  4. Web site: Average Attendance Figures Per Season . Coludaybyday.co.uk . 2 December 2018 . 26 June 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150626124236/http://coludaybyday.co.uk/Statistics/Club%20Stats/LeagueAveragesAttendance.html . dead .
  5. Web site: The 1990s and 2000s . Hudson . Matt . 11 August 2013 . Colchester United FC . 2 December 2018 .
  6. Web site: Appearances . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  7. Web site: Colchester United . FootballSquads . 2 December 2018 .
  8. Web site: All Colchester United football club players: 2006 . 11v11.com . 2 December 2018 .
  9. Web site: Chris Iwelumo . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  10. Web site: Dean Howell . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  11. Web site: Matt Paine . 11v11.com . 2 December 2018 .
  12. Web site: Tony Thorpe . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  13. Web site: Craig Hughes . 11v11.com . 2 December 2018 .
  14. Web site: Gavin Johnson . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  15. Web site: Joe Keith . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  16. Web site: Ben Bowditch . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  17. Web site: Liam Coleman . 11v11.com . 2 December 2018 .
  18. Web site: Craig Johnston . 11v11.com . 2 December 2018 .
  19. Web site: Tristan Toney . 11v11.com . 2 December 2018 .
  20. Web site: Bobby Bowry . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  21. Web site: Jamie Cade . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  22. Web site: Mark Yeates . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  23. Web site: Jamie Cureton (Forward) . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  24. Web site: Scott Vernon . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  25. Web site: Billy Clarke . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  26. Web site: Jamal Campbell-Ryce . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  27. Web site: Robbie King . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  28. Web site: Robbie King . 11v11.com . 2 December 2018 .
  29. Web site: Jamie Guy . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  30. Web site: Jamie Guy . 11v11.com . 2 December 2018 .
  31. Web site: Sam Stockley . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  32. Web site: Gareth Williams . Coludata.co.uk . 2 December 2018 .
  33. Web site: Goals . Coludata.co.uk . 3 December 2018 .
  34. Web site: Discipline . Coludata.co.uk . 3 December 2018 .
  35. Web site: Clean sheets (1st team) . Coludata.co.uk . 3 December 2018 .
  36. Web site: Alltime- List of Debuts . Coludaybyday.co.uk . 3 December 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150626101319/http://coludaybyday.co.uk/Statistics/Player%20Stats/PlayersDebuts/Alldebut.html . 26 June 2015 . dead .

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