The 1985–86 season was Colchester United's 44th season in their history and fifth 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.
Colchester finished sixth in the league table come the end of the season, but were nine points distant of promoted Port Vale in fourth place. The U's were knocked out of the FA Cup by non-League opposition in Wycombe Wanderers in the first round, and exited the League Cup in the first round to Millwall. Despite a win against Southend United in the Associate Members' Cup, Colchester were defeated by Northampton Town who progressed from the group stages to the knockout phase of the competition.
Three weeks prior to the end of the season, manager Cyril Lea was sacked and replaced by former U's goalkeeper Mike Walker.
Season overview Following regulation changes in the wake of the Heysel Stadium disaster and the Bradford City stadium fire, Layer Road was facing £500,000 of safety improvements to bring the ground up to standards. With the club ailing financially, sections of the ground were closed, reducing capacity to 4,900.
Manager Cyril Lea continued a trend of recruiting former Ipswich Town by bringing in forwards Robin Turner and Trevor Whymark during the season.
In October, the club were top of the table, but after suffering six successive league defeats, four without scoring, the club slid down the table and crashed out of the FA Cup to non-League Wycombe Wanderers. They had already made an early exit to Millwall in the League Cup and would soon follow suit in the Associate Members' Cup.
Lea struggled to find a strike partner for Tony Adcock following a car crash that ended Keith Bowen's playing career. The side were otherwise free scoring, and despite a good record, Lea was sacked three weeks ahead of the end of the campaign and replaced by Reserve team coach Mike Walker. Walker, initially in a caretaker capacity, took the U's on an unbeaten run for their final eight games of the season, winning five. This left the club in sixth position in the table, nine points shy of promotion.
The season was notable for hat-tricks, with Perry Groves twice achieving the feat against Southend United and brothers Tommy and Tony English scoring hat-tricks within five days of one another. The brothers were also both sent off at Crewe Alexandra in April, a game which Colchester won 2–0.
Players
Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth Apps Goals Signed from Date signed Fee GoalkeepersAlec ChamberlainGKMarch1140 Ipswich TownSummer 1982Undisclosed DefendersTerry BakerCBRochford00 Billericay TownNovember 1985Free transferKeith DayCBGrays524 AveleySummer 1984UndisclosedTony EnglishDF/MFLuton253 Coventry City24 December 1984Free transferKirk GameCBRochford00 Southend UnitedAugust 1985Free transferRudi HedmanCBLambeth402ApprenticeFebruary 1984Free transferIan PhillipsFBCumnock936 Northampton TownSeptember 1983£5,000 MidfieldersAndy FarrellMF/FBColchester670ApprenticeSummer 1982Free transferJohn ReevesMFHackney00 FulhamAugust 1985Undisclosed ForwardsTony AdcockFWBethnal Green17184Apprentice31 March 1981Free transferSimon BurmanWG/MFIpswich90Apprentice15 February 1985Free transferTommy EnglishFWCirencester10 Canberra City8 November 1985UndisclosedMick FergusonFWNewcastle upon Tyne00 Brighton & Hove Albion31 March 1986UndisclosedPerry GrovesWGBow13317 Cornard DynamosSummer 1981Free transfer
Transfers
In Date Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref.August 1985CBKirk Game Southend UnitedFree transferAugust 1985MFJohn Reeves FulhamUndisclosedNovember 1985CBTerry Baker Billericay TownFree transfer8 November 1985FWTommy English Canberra CityUndisclosed23 November 1985FWTrevor Whymark Diss TownFree transfers20 December 1985FWRobin Turner Swansea CityUndisclosed31 March 1986FWMick Ferguson Brighton & Hove AlbionUndisclosed Total spending: ~ £0
Out Date Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.End of seasonFWLiburd Henry Rainham TownFree transfer26 October 1985FWKeith BowenFree agentRetired6 November 1985MFJeff HullFree agentRetired14 December 1985FWTrevor WhymarkFree agentReleased31 January 1986MFRussell Irving Stowmarket TownUndisclosed31 March 1986MFNoel ParkinsonFree agentRetired8 April 1986CBStewart HoustonFree agentRetired6 May 1986MFRoger Osborne Sudbury TownUndisclosed6 May 1986FWRobin Turner Bury TownReleased Total incoming: ~ £0
Loans in Date Position Nationality Name From End date Ref.November 1985FWRobin Turner Swansea City14 December 1985
Match details
Fourth Division
Results round by round
League table
Matches
League Cup
FA Cup
Associate Members' Cup
Squad statistics
Appearances and goals
!colspan="16"|Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
Goalscorers
Place Nationality Position Name Fourth Division FA Cup League Cup Football League Trophy Total1FWTony Adcock15001162WGPerry Groves12003153DF/MFTony English11000114FWTommy English10000105FWKeith Bowen503086FWMick Ferguson70007MFNoel Parkinson700078CBKeith Day500059MFJohn Reeves4000410CBTerry Baker20013CBRudi Hedman3000312FBIan Phillips2000213WG/MFSimon Burman10001MF/FBAndy Farrell10001MFRoger Osborne10001Own goals20002TOTALS8803596
Disciplinary record
Nationality Position Name Fourth Division FA Cup League Cup Football League Trophy TotalWGPerry Groves6100000061DF/MFTony English2100000021FWTommy English1100000011MFJohn Reeves4000000040CBKeith Day3000000030WG/MFSimon Burman3000000020MF/FBAndy Farrell2000000020MFNoel Parkinson2000000020FWTony Adcock1000000010FWKeith Bowen1000000010FWMick Ferguson1000000010CBRudi Hedman1000000010TOTALS263000000263
Clean sheets Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet. Place Nationality Player Fourth Division FA Cup League Cup Football League Trophy Total1Alec Chamberlain1000010TOTALS1000010
Player debuts Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match. Position Nationality Player Date Opponent Ground NotesMFJohn Reeves17 August 1985Stockport CountyLayer RoadCBKirk Game8 November 1985RochdaleLayer RoadFWTommy English9 November 1985RochdaleLayer RoadFWRobin Turner8 November 1985RochdaleLayer RoadFWTrevor Whymark23 November 1985Preston North EndDeepdaleFWRobin Turner20 December 1985WrexhamLayer RoadCBTerry Baker11 January 1986Torquay UnitedLayer RoadFWMick Ferguson31 March 1986Peterborough UnitedLondon Road Stadium
See also List of Colchester United F.C. seasons
References General Books
Websites
Specific