1949–50 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United
1949–50 season
Chairman Bill Allen[1]
Manager Jimmy Allen
Stadium Layer Road
Southern League 2nd
Elected to The Football League
FA Cup 4th qualifying round
(eliminated by
Wealdstone)
Southern League Cup Winners
Top goalscorer League:
Vic Keeble (42)
All:
Vic Keeble (46)
Highest home attendance 14,718
v Chelmsford City, 17 September 1949[2]
Lowest home attendance 5,352
v Cheltenham Town, 23 March 1950[3]
Average home league attendance 8,639[4]
Biggest win 8–0
v Kidderminster Harriers, 19 November 1949
Biggest defeat 0–5
v Merthyr Tydfil, 26 April 1950;
1–6
v Gillingham, 29 April 1950
Football kit (white jersey with blue, vertical stripes; white shorts;; and blue socks with white, horizontal hoops).
Home colours
← 1948–49 1950–51 →

The 1949–50 season was Colchester United's eighth season in their history and their eighth and final season in the Southern League. Alongside competing in the Southern League, the club also participated in the FA Cup and Southern League Cup. The club finished as runner-up to Merthyr Tydfil in the league, but despite this Colchester were elected to The Football League at the end of the campaign with the expansion of the League from 88 to 92 clubs.[5] The club won the Southern League Cup 6–4 on aggregate, while they exited the FA Cup at the fourth qualifying round stage following a 1–0 defeat by Wealdstone.

Season overview

Layer Road suffered storm damage ahead of the 1949–50 season, and owing to a shortage of steel, re-construction work was not complete as the season commenced. Manager Jimmy Allen strengthened his defence with the signing of Reg Stewart from Sheffield Wednesday and Bill Layton from Bradford Park Avenue, and by Christmas 1949, Colchester had lost just three of their 28 games played, one of which was the 1–0 FA Cup fourth qualifying round defeat to Wealdstone. The game was one of the first FA Cup ties to be broadcast on television, but on this occasion it was the U's who were on the receiving end of a cup shock.

Colchester had topped the table all season until a fixture-congested April, which saw them held to home draws by Torquay United Reserves and Gravesend & Northfleet, while suffering 5–0 and 6–1 defeats at main title rivals Merthyr Tydfil and Gillingham in the space of three days. Between those defeats, the U's had recovered some pride with a 3–0 Southern League Cup final first-leg win over Bath City. Competing in their fourth match in just five days, a weary Colchester side allowed Bath to lead the second-leg 4–1, meaning the tie would go to extra time. Vic Keeble and Dennis Hillman scored in the added 30-minutes, helping Colchester lift the trophy for the second time.

With Gillingham having defeated Merthyr Tydfil during midweek, all Colchester needed to do in their final fixture was to win at Barry Town to secure the title. However, they were held to a goalless draw and Merthyr Tydfil took the title on goal average. Despite this, Vic Keeble had been the club's top scorer with 46 goals, a record which remains intact. Supplementing this were Fred Cutting's 24 goal haul and Bob Curry's 22, while fellow forward Arthur Turner had spent the majority of the season out injured with cartilage damage.

On 3 June 1950, only Everton and West Bromwich Albion opposed the expansion of the Football League from 88 to 92 clubs by expanding the Third Division North and South, instead preferring another regional league. Of the applications for Third Division South election, Gillingham polled 44 votes, Colchester 28, Worcester City 11, Chelmsford City 8, Peterborough United 5 and Merthyr Tydfil and Yeovil Town just one vote each. Colchester United were elected to the Football League with a Supporters Club membership of over 16,000 and an average gate of over 8,500.[6]

Players

As of match played 6 May 1950.[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
England GK Ken Whitehead
England GK George Wright
England DF Doug Beach
England DF Harry Bearryman
England DF George French
England DF Digger Kettle
England DF Bill Layton
England DF John Moore
England DF Ronnie Sales
England DF Reg Stewart
No. Position Player
England FW Bob Allen
England FW Bob Curry
England FW Fred Cutting
England FW Stan Foxall
Spain FW José Gallego
England FW Dennis Hillman
England FW Vic Keeble
England FW Denis Maffey
England FW Arthur Turner

Match details

Southern League

League table

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGAv1Pts2Notes
1Merthyr Tydfil463439143622.3171Southern League champions, no promotion
2Colchester United463196109512.1471Elected to the Football League
3Yeovil Town4629710104452.3165
4Chelmsford City4626911121641.8961
5Gillingham462391492611.5155Elected to the Football League

1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976–77 season.

2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.

Matches

FA Cup

Main article: 1949–50 FA Cup

Southern League Cup

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

[7][8]

No. Pos Nat Player TotalSouthern League Southern League
Cup 		FA Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England George Wright 52 0 46 0 5 0 1 0
DF England Doug Beach 35 0 30 0 4 0 1 0
DF England Harry Bearryman 52 4 46 3 5 1 1 0
DF England Digger Kettle 44 0 39 0 4 0 1 0
DF England Bill Layton 43 7 37 7 5 0 1 0
DF England John Moore 13 0 13 0 0 0 0 0
DF England Ronnie Sales 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
DF England Reg Stewart 51 0 45 0 5 0 1 0
FW England Bob Allen 17 3 16 3 1 0 0 0
FW England Bob Curry 42 22 37 20 4 2 1 0
FW England Fred Cutting 52 24 46 21 5 3 1 0
FW England Stan Foxall 51 5 45 5 5 0 1 0
FW Spain José Gallego 8 1 8 1 0 0 0 0
FW England Dennis Hillman 41 6 35 4 5 2 1 0
FW England Vic Keeble 51 46 45 42 5 4 1 0
FW England Denis Maffey 6 0 5 0 1 0 0 0
FW England Arthur Turner 6 0 5 0 1 0 0 0
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
DF Wales Bill Bower 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
FW England Len Cater 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0
FW John Sharpe 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

Goalscorers

[8]

Place Nation Position Name Southern League Southern League Cup FA Cup Total
1 England FW Vic Keeble 42 4 0 46
2 England FW Fred Cutting 21 3 0 24
3 England FW Bob Curry 20 2 0 22
4 England DF Bill Layton 7 0 0 7
5 England FW Dennis Hillman 4 2 0 6
6 England FW Stan Foxall 5 0 0 5
7 England DF Harry Bearryman 3 1 0 4
8 England FW Bob Allen 3 0 0 3
9 Spain FW José Gallego 1 0 0 1
Own goals 3 0 0 3
TOTALS 109 12 0 121

Disciplinary record

[9]

Nationality Position Player Southern League Southern League Cup FA Cup Total
Red card Red card Red card Red card
TOTALS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Captains

Number of games played as team captain.[10]

Place Nation Position Player Southern League Southern League Cup FA Cup Total
Not recorded
 46 5 1 52

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[11]

Position Player Date Opponent Ground Notes
DF England Bill Layton 20 August 1949 Weymouth Layer Road
DF England Reg Stewart 20 August 1949 Weymouth Layer Road
FW Spain José Gallego 20 August 1949 Weymouth Layer Road
DF England John Moore 8 September 1949 Chingford Town Newgate Street
DF England Doug Beach 8 October 1949 Chelmsford City Layer Road [lower-alpha 1]
DF England Ronnie Sales 20 October 1949 Lovell's Athletic Rexville
FW John Sharpe 22 October 1949 Yeovil Town Layer Road
  1. ↑ Second debut for the club.

Transfers and contracts

In

Date Pos Player From Fee Ref
1 July 1949 FW Spain José Gallego England Southampton Free transfer [12]
20 August 1949 DF England Bill Layton England Bradford Park Avenue £800 [13]
20 August 1949 DF England Reg Stewart England Sheffield Wednesday £1,000 [14]
8 September 1949 DF England John Moore England Brentford £1,000 [15]
8 October 1949 DF England Doug Beach England Southend United Free transfer [16]
20 October 1949 DF England Ronnie Sales England Leyton Orient Free transfer [17]
22 October 1949 FW John Sharpe England Southampton Free transfer [18]

Out

Date Pos Player To Fee Ref
7 May 1949 DF England Frank Stamper England Hartlepools United Undisclosed [19]
31 May 1949 GK England Harry Wright England Guildford City Coach [20]
31 May 1949 DF England Alf Miller England Colchester United Coaching staff [21]
31 May 1949 DF England Wally Nunn England Guildford City Free transfer [22]
31 May 1949 FW Scotland Andy Brown England Kidderminster Harriers Free transfer [23]
31 May 1949 FW England Norman George Free agent Released [24]
31 May 1949 FW England Ray Townrow England Clacton Town Free transfer [25]
10 September 1949 FW England Len Cater England Clacton Town Free transfer [26]
1 October 1949 DF Wales Bill Bower England Sudbury Town Free transfer [27]
22 October 1949 FW John Sharpe Free agent Released [18]

See also

References

General

Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3. 

Specific

  1. ↑ Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 278. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.
  2. ↑ "Colchester Utd 4–1 Chelmsford City". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Colchester Utd 2–2 Cheltenham Town". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  5. ↑ Willis, Tom. "Promotion to/Relegation from the Football League by year". Thepyramid.info. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  6. ↑ Hudson, Matt (11 August 2013). "The 1930s and 1940s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  7. 1 2 "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Discipline". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  10. ↑ "All matches". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  12. ↑ "Jose Gallego". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "Bill Layton". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "Reg Stewart". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  15. ↑ "John Moore". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  16. ↑ "Doug Beach". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  17. ↑ "Ronnie Sales". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  18. 1 2 "John Sharpe". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  19. ↑ "Frank Stamper". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  20. ↑ "Harry Wright". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  21. ↑ "Alf Miller". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  22. ↑ "Wally Nunn". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  23. ↑ "Andy Brown". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  24. ↑ "Norman George". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  25. ↑ "Ray Townrow". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  26. ↑ "Len Cater". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  27. ↑ "Bill Bower". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
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