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.
Players
No. Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth Apps Goals Signed from Date signed Fee Goalkeepers1Aidan DavisonGK Sedgefield390 Grimsby Town5 July 2004Free transfer13Dean GerkenGKSouthend-on-Sea170Youth team1 August 2002Free transfer23Mark CousinsGKChelmsford00Youth team1 August 2004Free transfer Defenders2Greg HalfordFB/MFChelmsford7813Youth team1 August 2002Free transfer3Stephen HuntFBSouthampton251 Southampton5 July 2004Free transfer5Wayne BrownCBBarking661 Watford8 July 2004Free transfer12Pat BaldwinCBCity of London750 Chelsea16 August 2002Free transfer16George ElokobiFB/CBMamfe00 Dulwich Hamlet1 August 2004Free transfer18Liam ChilversCBChelmsford991 Arsenal10 June 2004Free transfer17John WhiteFBColchester240Youth team1 July 2003Free transfer19Garry RichardsCBRomford00Youth team1 July 2004Free transfer25Sam StockleyFBTiverton1372 Oxford United31 October 2002Free transfer30Matthew PaineDFSidcup00Youth team18 December 2005Free transfer Midfielders4Neil DannsMF Liverpool3612 Blackburn Rovers23 December 2004Nominal6Kevin WatsonMFHackney532 Reading5 July 2004Free transfer7Karl DuguidMFLetchworth30839Youth team9 December 1995Free transfer10Kemal IzzetMFWhitechapel15918 Charlton Athletic13 April 2001Free transfer21Robbie KingMFChelmsford00Youth team1 July 2004Free transfer22Russell PondMFLeytonstone00Youth team1 July 2005Free transfer28Richard GarciaMFPerth306 West Ham United3 September 2004Nominal Forwards8Gareth WilliamsFWCardiff4913 Crystal Palace31 August 2004Part-exchange9Marino KeithFWPeterhead124 Plymouth Argyle1 March 2005Free transfer11Chris IwelumoFWCoatbridge00 Alemannia Aachen6 July 2005Free transfer15Jamie GuyFWBarking20Youth team1 July 2004Free transfer26Tony ThorpeFWLeicester00 Swindon Town11 January 2006Free transfer27Craig HughesFWCanterbury00Youth team24 January 2006Free transfer
Transfers
In Date Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref.1 July 2005MFRussell PondYouth teamFree transfer6 July 2005FWChris Iwelumo Alemannia AachenFree transfer1 August 2005MFDean Howell Halifax TownFree transfer18 December 2005DFMatthew PaineYouth teamFree transfer11 January 2006FWTony Thorpe Swindon TownFree transfer24 January 2006FWCraig HughesYouth teamFree transfer Total spending: ~ £0
Out Date Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.6 June 2005MFGavin Johnson Boston UnitedReleased24 June 2005FBJoe Keith Leyton OrientReleased30 June 2005MFBen Bowditch BarnetReleased30 June 2005MF/FWLiam Coleman Torquay UnitedReleased30 June 2005MFCraig Johnston Heybridge SwiftsUndisclosed30 June 2005FWTristan ToneyFree agentReleased18 July 2005MFBobby Bowry Gravesend & NorthfleetReleased8 August 2005FWJamie Cade Crawley TownReleased17 February 2006MFDean Howell Halifax TownReleased Total incoming: ~ £0
Loans in Date Position Nationality Name From End date Ref.5 August 2005WGMark Yeates Tottenham Hotspur7 May 200621 October 2005FWJamie Cureton Swindon Town3 January 200617 March 2006FWScott Vernon Blackpool7 May 200622 March 2006FWBilly Clarke Ipswich Town7 May 200623 March 2006WGJamal Campbell-Ryce Rotherham United7 May 2006
Loans out Date Position Nationality Name To End date Ref.October 2005MFRobbie King Staines TownOctober 20056 October 2005FWJamie Guy Gravesend & Northfleet6 November 200524 October 2005FWJamie Guy Staines Town24 November 20059 February 2006FWJamie Guy Cambridge United30 April 200619 February 2006MFRobbie King Hereford UnitedEnd of season17 March 2006FBSam Stockley Blackpool7 May 200617 March 2006FWGareth Williams Blackpool7 May 2006
Match details
League One
League table
Results round by round
Matches
Football League Cup
FA Cup
Football League Trophy
Squad statistics Appearances and goals
!colspan="16"|Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
Goalscorers
Place Number Nationality Position Name League One FA Cup League Cup Football League Trophy Total111FWChris Iwelumo172001924MFNeil Danns85031632FB/MFGreg Halford7100828MFRichard Garcia51028524FWJamie Cureton43007614WGMark Yeates5100675CBWayne Brown2100388FWGareth Williams1100216FB/CBGeorge Elokobi1001218CBLiam Chilvers20002116MFKevin Watson010017MFKarl Duguid0001120FWScott Vernon1000125FBSam Stockley10001Own goals41005TOTALS58170782
Disciplinary record
Number Nationality Position Name League One FA Cup League Cup Football League Trophy Total14WGMark Yeates701000008018CBLiam Chilvers70100000804MFNeil Danns50100010705CBWayne Brown41000000412FB/MFGreg Halford501000006010MFKemal Izzet310000003119CBGarry Richards210000002125FBSam Stockley20100010401GKAidan Davison01000000016MFKevin Watson30000000307MFKarl Duguid300000003012CBPat Baldwin300000003016FB/CBGeorge Elokobi300000003011FWChris Iwelumo200000002017FBJohn White200000002020MFDean Howell100000001024WGJamal Campbell-Ryce100000001026FWTony Thorpe100000001028MFRichard Garcia100000001031FWBilly Clarke1000000010TOTALS564500020634
Clean sheets Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet. Place Number Nationality Player League One FA Cup League Cup Football League Trophy Total11Aidan Davison1600016213Dean Gerken30014TOTALS1900120
Player debuts Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match. Number Position Nationality Player Date Opponent Ground Notes11FWChris Iwelumo6 August 2005GillinghamPriestfield Stadium14FWMark Yeates6 August 2005GillinghamPriestfield Stadium20MFDean Howell9 August 2005Swansea CityLayer Road16FB/CBGeorge Elokobi24 August 2005Cardiff CityLayer Road19CBGarry Richards3 September 2005Bristol CityAshton Gate Stadium21MFRobbie King3 September 2005Bristol CityAshton Gate Stadium24FWJamie Cureton22 October 2005Tranmere RoversPrenton Park26FWTony Thorpe17 January 2006Bristol CityLayer Road20FWScott Vernon21 March 2006Doncaster RoversBelle Vue31FWBilly Clarke25 March 2006Scunthorpe UnitedGlanford Park24WGJamal Campbell-Ryce4 April 2006Nottingham ForestCity Ground
See also List of Colchester United F.C. seasons
References General Books
Websites
Specific