1967–68 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United

1967–68 season
Chairman	Harold Moore (until January 1968) Arthur Neville (from January 1968)[1]
Manager	Neil Franklin (Until 13 May 1968)
Third Division	22nd (Relegated)
FA Cup	3rd Round
League Cup	1st Round
Top goalscorer	League: Reg Stratton (9) All: Reg Stratton (11)
Highest home attendance	6,420 (Watford)
Lowest home attendance	2,483 (Peterborough United)
Average home league attendance	4,042
Home colours
← 1966–67 1968–69 →

The 1967–68 season was Colchester United's second consecutive season in the Football League Third Division. The season ended in relegation back to the Football League Fourth Division.

Season Review

In a fantastic season for FA Cup football, Colchester were dreadful in the League. A difficult trip to Torquay earned United a First Round replay at Layer Road which they won 2-1 to set up a mouth-watering local derby at Chelmsford. New Writtle Street was packed with 16,400 as United despatched the Southern Leaguers by 2-0. Once again Layer Road hosted a top flight side as West Bromwich Albion visited in the Third Round. An all ticket crowd of just under 16,000 saw United take an early lead through Reg Stratton only for the Baggies to equalise with a questionable penalty. Both Stratton and John Mansfield, in the last minute, had the ball in the Albion net but both were dubiously ruled out. United sank by 4-0 at The Hawthorns in the replay watched by 40,008.

With all the attention on the FA Cup, U's League form had dipped. From being within a striking distance of a promotion place, Colchester lost 15 of their remaining 22 games after Boxing Day 1967 winning just once. Crowds plummeted to an average of 3,993 with a new all-time low of 2,483 watching the final day 5-1 Layer Road annihilation by Peterborough.

Colchester's third relegation in eight seasons was too much and Neil Franklin was sacked just two days after the curtain fell on the forgettable campaign.^[2]

Squad

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

No. Position Player –– GK Ernie Adams –– GK Alan Buck –– DF Duncan Forbes –– DF John Fowler –– DF Brian Hall –– DF Mick Loughton –– DF Dennis Mochan –– MF Bobby Blackwood

No. Position Player –– MF Roger Joslyn –– MF John Mansfield –– MF Johnny Martin –– MF Terry Price –– MF Derek Trevis –– FW Peter Barlow –– FW Ken Hodgson –– FW Jim Oliver

Player Info

Pos.	Name	Place of Birth	Date of Birth	Previous Club	Date Joined	Fee
GK	Ernie Adams	Hackney	17 January 1948	Arsenal	19 August 1967	Free
GK	Alan Buck	Colchester	25 August 1946	Youth Team	1 August 1964	Free
DF	Duncan Forbes	Edinburgh	19 June 1941	Musselburgh Athletic	14 April 1962	Free
DF	John Fowler	Leith	17 October 1933	Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic	20 August 1955	Free
DF	Brian Hall	Burbage	9 March 1939	Mansfield Town	6 March 1965	Free
DF	Mick Loughton	Colchester	8 December 1942	Youth Team	1 August 1964	Free
DF	Dennis Mochan	Falkirk	12 December 1935	Nottingham Forest	24 September 1966	Free
MF	Bobby Blackwood	Edinburgh	20 August 1934	Ipswich Town	1 September 1965	Free
MF	Roger Joslyn	Colchester	7 May 1950	Youth Team	1 August 1967	Free
MF	John Mansfield	Colchester	13 September 1946	Youth Team	1 August 1964	Free
MF	Johnny Martin	Ashington	4 December 1946	Aston Villa	20 August 1966	Free
MF	Terry Price	Colchester	11 October 1945	Leyton Orient	16 September 1967	Free
MF	Derek Trevis	Birmingham	9 September 1942	Aston Villa	7 March 1964	Free
FW	Peter Barlow	Portsmouth	9 January 1950	Youth Team	1 August 1966	Free
FW	Ken Hodgson	Newcastle upon Tyne	19 January 1942	Bournemouth	20 August 1966	£4,000
FW	Jim Oliver	Falkirk	3 December 1941	Brighton & Hove Albion	24 February 1968	£2,000

Transfers

Transfers In

Date	Pos.	Player Name	Previous Club	Transfer Fee	Notes
1 August 1967	MF	Roger Joslyn	Youth Team	Free
1 August 1967	MF	Dave Lamont	Youth Team	Free
19 August 1967	GK	Ernie Adams	Arsenal	Free
16 September 1967	MF	Terry Price	Leyton Orient	Free
16 September 1967	FW	Tommy McKechnie	Bournemouth	Free
7 October 1967	DF	Bob Walker	Bournemouth	Free
24 February 1968	FW	Jim Oliver	Brighton & Hove Albion	£2,000

Transfers Out

Date	Pos.	Player Name	New Club	Transfer Fee	Notes
13 May 1967	FW	Brian Westlake	Royal Daring Club Molenbeek	£5,000
4 November 1967	MF	Dave Lamont	Released	Free
9 March 1968	DF	Bob Walker	Salisbury City	Free
13 April 1968	MF	Alan Shires	Chelmsford City	Free
22 April 1968	FW	Peter Bullock	Exeter City	Free
22 April 1968	FW	Tommy McKechnie	Bury Town	Free
22 April 1968	FW	Reg Stratton	Vancouver Royals	Free

Results

Third Division Results Summary

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Av	Pts
21	Grimsby Town (R)	46	14	9	23	52	69	0.754	37
22	Colchester United (R)	46	9	15	22	50	87	0.575	33
23	Scunthorpe United (R)	46	10	12	24	56	87	0.644	32

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GAv = Goal average; Pts = Points

Third Division Results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
19/08/1967	Oldham Athletic	H	0-0	3,989
26/08/1967	Bristol Rovers	A	1-1	8,260	Hall
04/09/1967	Southport	A	3-2	7,008	Bullock, Hodgson (2)
05/09/1967	Barrow	H	3-2	3,609	Bullock, Mochan, Stratton
09/09/1967	Oxford United	A	1-3	5,873	Hall
16/09/1967	Bury	H	0-0	4,331
23/09/1967	Bournemouth	A	2-1	5,766	McKechnie (2)
25/09/1967	Southport	H	1-1	5,873	Bullock
29/09/1967	Tranmere Rovers	A	2-4	7,133	Bullock, McKechnie
02/10/1967	Watford	H	2-1	6,420	McKechnie (2)
07/10/1967	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	0-0	5,075
14/10/1967	Shrewsbury	A	0-4	4,162
21/10/1967	Swindon Town	H	2-1	4,907	Blackwood, Price
24/10/1967	Watford	A	1-1	10,669	Bullock
28/10/1967	Reading	H	0-1	5,741
04/11/1967	Torquay United	H	3-5	3,249	Hodgson, Shires, Stratton
11/11/1967	Grimsby Town	H	2-1	3,667	Barlow, Blackwood
13/11/1967	Barrow	A	0-5	5,685
18/11/1967	Gillingham	H	2-2	4,190	Stratton (2)
25/11/1967	Walsall	A	1-1	10,001	Forbes
02/12/1967	Northampton Town	H	2-1	3,505	Price, Trevis
16/12/1967	Oldham Athletic	A	1-2	4,177	Barlow
23/12/1967	Bristol Rovers	H	2-0	4,324	Barlow, Stratton
26/12/1967	Mansfield Town	A	1-2	6,679	Stratton
30/12/1967	Mansfield Town	H	1-2	4,180	Stratton
20/01/1968	Bury	A	0-2	7,000
03/02/1968	Bournemouth	H	0-1	4,075
10/02/1968	Tranmere Rovers	H	1-2	3,739	Martin
17/02/1968	Peterborough United	A	1-3	5,066	Loughton
24/02/1968	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	0-0	6,512
26/02/1968	Scunthorpe United	H	1-0	3,979	Barlow
02/03/1968	Shrewsbury Town	H	0-3	3,877
09/03/1968	Scunthorpe United	A	1-5	3,003	Mochan
16/03/1968	Swindon Town	A	1-1	13,515	Martin
23/03/1968	Reading	H	2-5	3,136	Bullock (2)
25/03/1968	Oxford United	H	1-2	3,516	Stratton
30/03/1968	Torquay United	A	0-3	9,801
06/04/1968	Grimsby Town	H	1-3	3,231	Blackwood
12/04/1968	Stockport County	H	1-1	4,059	Loughton
13/04/1968	Gillingham	A	0-1	5,734
15/04/1968	Stockport County	A	0-1	7,149
20/04/1968	Walsall	H	2-2	2,764	Loughton (2)
22/04/1968	Leyton Orient	A	1-1	6,125	Stratton
27/04/1968	Northampton Town	A	2-2	6,859	Loughton, Price
04/05/1968	Leyton Orient	H	1-1	3,124	Martin
11/05/1968	Peterborough United	H	1-5	2,483	Trevis

Source: 1967-68 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

League Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
23/08/1967	R1	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	0-4	10,745

Source: 1967-68 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
12/12/1967	R1	Torquay United	A	1-1	6,655	Barlow
18/12/1967	R1 (R)	Torquay United	H	2-1	7,079	Trevis (2)
06/01/1968	R2	Chelmsford City	A	2-0	16,400	McKechnie, Stratton
27/01/1968	R3	West Bromwich Albion	H	1-1	15,981	Stratton
31/01/1968	R3 (R)	West Bromwich Albion	A	0-4	40,008

Source: 1967-68 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

Squad statistics

^[3]

No.	Nat.	Pos.	Name	Total		Third Division		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
––	GK		Ernie Adams	50	0	44	0	5	0	1	0
––	GK		Alan Buck	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
––	DF		Duncan Forbes	52	1	46	1	5	0	1	0
––	DF		John Fowler	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
––	DF		Brian Hall	46	2	41	2	5	0	0	0
––	DF		Mick Loughton	30	5	28	5	1	0	1	0
––	DF		Dennis Mochan	46	2	40	2	5	0	1	0
––	DF		Bob Walker	19	0	17	0	2	0	0	0
––	MF		Bobby Blackwood	50	3	44	3	5	0	1	0
––	MF		Roger Joslyn	12	0	12	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF		Dave Lamont	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF		John Mansfield	21	0	15	0	5	0	1	0
––	MF		Johnny Martin	31	3	25	3	5	0	1	0
––	MF		Terry Price	39	3	35	3	4	0	0	0
––	MF		Alan Shires	8	1	8	1	0	0	0	0
––	MF		Derek Trevis	51	4	45	2	5	2	1	0
––	FW		Peter Barlow	18	5	16	4	2	1	0	0
––	FW		Peter Bullock	23	7	20	7	2	0	1	0
––	FW		Ken Hodgson	13	3	12	3	0	0	1	0
––	FW		Tommy McKechnie	27	6	23	5	4	1	0	0
––	FW		Jim Oliver	15	0	15	0	0	0	0	0
––	FW		Reg Stratton	33	11	29	9	3	2	1	0

Scorers

^[4]

All Scorer Goals Reg Stratton 11 Peter Bullock 7 Tommy McKechnie 6 Peter Barlow 5 Mick Loughton Derek Trevis 4 Bobby Blackwood 3 Ken Hodgson Johnny Martin Terry Price Brian Hall 2 Dennis Mochan Duncan Forbes 1 Alan Shires

League Scorer Goals Reg Stratton 9 Peter Bullock 7 Mick Loughton 5 Tommy McKechnie Peter Barlow 4 Bobby Blackwood 3 Ken Hodgson Johnny Martin Terry Price Brian Hall 2 Dennis Mochan Derek Trevis Duncan Forbes 1 Alan Shires

FA Cup Scorer Goals Reg Stratton 2 Derek Trevis Peter Barlow 1 Tommy McKechnie

League Cup Scorer Goals

References

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. "The U's History: The 60s". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
3. "1967–68 Season Appearance Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
4. "1967–68 Season Goalscorers Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 28 April 2011.