1986–87 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United

1986–87 season
Chairman	Jonathan Crisp[1]
Manager	Mike Walker
Fourth Division	5th
FA Cup	2nd Round
Milk Cup	1st Round
Sherpa Van Trophy	1st Round (Southern section)
Top goalscorer	League: Tony Adcock (11) All: Tony Adcock Tommy English (12)
Highest home attendance	4,741 (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Lowest home attendance	1,633 (Exeter City)
Average home league attendance	2,740
Home colours
← 1985–86 1987–88 →

The 1986–87 season was Colchester United's sixth consecutive season in the Football League Fourth Division.

Season Review

Colchester were the bookies favourites for 1986/7 despite selling Perry Groves to Arsenal for £75,000. Maurice Cadman handed over the Chair to Jonathan Crisp and Mike Walker was appointed full-time becoming Colchester's fourth manager of the 1980s.

For the first time promotion play-offs were introduced and seven successive away defeats from December ensured The U's would have to try via this route having finished fifth. The damage was done in a rain-sodden first leg at Layer Road as a near capacity 4,829 saw Wolves escape with a 2-0 win. The scoreless return at Molineux meant yet another season in the basement division.^[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 Alec Chamberlain –– DF Terry Baker –– DF Keith Day –– DF Tony English –– DF Stephen Grenfell –– DF Rudi Hedman –– DF Paul Hinshelwood –– MF Nicky Chatterton

No. Position Player –– MF Andy Farrell –– MF Sean Norman –– MF Mark Radford –– MF John Reeves –– MF Winston White –– MF Richard Wilkins –– FW Tony Adcock –– FW Simon Lowe

Player Info

Pos.	Name	Place of Birth	Date of Birth	Previous Club	Date Joined	Fee
GK	Alec Chamberlain	March	20 June 1964	Ipswich Town	3 January 1983	Free
DF	Terry Baker	Rochford	13 November 1965	Billericay Town	11 January 1986	Free
DF	Keith Day	Grays	29 November 1962	Aveley	25 August 1984	Free
DF	Tony English	Luton	19 October 1966	Coventry City	1 January 1985	Free
DF	Stephen Grenfell	Enfield	27 October 1966	Tottenham Hotspur	28 November 1986	£15,000
DF	Rudi Hedman	Lambeth	16 November 1964	Youth Team	1 August 1983	Free
DF	Paul Hinshelwood	Bristol	14 August 1956	Millwall	12 September 1986	Free
MF	Nicky Chatterton	South Norwood	18 May 1954	Millwall	12 September 1986	Free
MF	Andy Farrell	Colchester	7 October 1965	Youth Team	1 August 1983	Free
MF	Sean Norman	Lowestoft	27 November 1966	Lowestoft Town	23 August 1986	Free
MF	Mark Radford	Leicester	20 December 1968	Youth Team	1 August 1986	Free
MF	John Reeves	Hackney	8 July 1963	Fulham	17 August 1985	Free
MF	Winston White	Leicester	26 October 1958	Bury	3 April 1987	Free
MF	Richard Wilkins	Lambeth	28 May 1965	Haverhill Rovers	17 November 1986	Free
FW	Tony Adcock	Bethnal Green	27 March 1963	Youth Team	1 August 1980	Free
FW	Simon Lowe	Westminster	26 December 1963	Hartlepool United	10 January 1987	£5,000

Transfers

Transfers In

Date	Pos.	Player Name	Previous Club	Transfer Fee	Notes
1 August 1986	DF	Scott Young	Youth Team	Free
1 August 1986	MF	Mark Radford	Youth Team	Free
23 August 1986	MF	Sean Norman	Lowestoft Town	Free
12 September 1986	DF	Paul Hinshelwood	Millwall Town	Free
12 September 1986	MF	Nicky Chatterton	Millwall	Free
17 November 1986	MF	Richard Wilkins	Haverhill Rovers	Free
28 November 1986	DF	Stephen Grenfell	Tottenham Hotspur	£15,000
10 January 1987	FW	Simon Lowe	Hartlepool United	£5,000
3 April 1987	MF	Winston White	Bury	Free

Transfers Out

Date	Pos.	Player Name	New Club	Transfer Fee	Notes
6 May 1986	MF	Roger Osborne	Sudbury Town	Free
6 May 1986	FW	Robin Turner	Retired	Free
29 August 1986	MF	Perry Groves	Arsenal	£70,000
7 November 1986	MF	Simon Burman	Weymouth	Free
7 November 1986	FW	Mick Ferguson	Wealdstone	Free
9 December 1986	DF	Scott Young	Wycombe Wanderers	£5,000
21 February 1987	DF	Kirk Game	Dartford	Free
10 April 1987	DF	Ian Phillips	Aldershot	Free
21 April 1987	FW	Tommy English	Wealdstone	Free

Loans In

Date	Pos.	Player Name	Parent Club	Date Returned	Notes
3 October 1986	MF	Keith Gorman	Ipswich Town	3 October 1986
31 October 1986	DF	Stephen Grenfell	Tottenham Hotspur	25 November 1986
20 December 1986	FW	Simon Lowe	Hartlepool United	3 January 1987

Results

Fourth Division Results Summary

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
4	Wolverhampton Wanderers (PO)	46	24	7	15	69	50	+19	79
5	Colchester United (PO)	46	21	7	18	64	56	+8	70
6	Aldershot (PO) (P)	46	20	10	16	64	57	+7	70

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

Fourth Division Results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
23/08/1986	Lincoln City	A	1-3	2,303	Adcock
29/08/1986	Exeter City	H	1-1	1,633	Tony English
05/09/1986	Tranmere Rovers	A	4-3	1,281	Reeves, Adcock, Tommy English (2)
12/09/1986	Torquay United	H	3-0	2,476	Tony English (3)
16/09/1986	Hartlepool United	H	2-1	2,326	Adcock (2)
20/09/1986	Rochdale	A	0-1	1,240
27/09/1986	Peterborough United	H	1-3	2,343	Day
01/10/1986	Hereford United	A	3-2	2,144	Burman, Hedman, Ferguson
03/10/1986	Wrexham	H	2-1	2,633	Ferguson, Williams (o.g.)
10/10/1986	Southend United	A	1-1	4,004	Hedman
17/10/1986	Cardiff City	H	3-1	3,160	Reeves, Tony English, Burman
21/10/1986	Crewe Alexandra	A	1-1	1,812	Tommy English
24/10/1986	Stockport County	A	1-1	1,278	Tommy English
31/10/1986	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	3-0	4,741	Ferguson, Streete (o.g.), Tony English
04/11/1986	Burnley	A	1-2	1,692	Ferguson
07/11/1986	Leyton Orient	H	0-0	3,924
21/11/1986	Scunthorpe United	A	2-5	1,725	Hedman, Grenfell
28/11/1986	Halifax Town	H	3-1	2,567	Farrell, Adcock, Phillips
13/12/1986	Preston North End	H	0-2	2,240
20/12/1986	Swansea City	A	2-1	4,515	Tommy English, Farrell
26/12/1986	Cambridge United	H	1-2	3,376	Lowe
27/12/1986	Aldershot	A	0-1	2,594
01/01/1987	Northampton Town	A	2-3	8,215	Adcock (2)
03/01/1987	Scunthorpe United	H	1-0	2,100	Adcock
10/01/1987	Lincoln City	H	2-0	1,768	Farrell (2)
17/01/1987	Exeter City	A	0-2	2,553
23/01/1987	Tranmere Rovers	H	1-1	2,167	Norman
31/01/1987	Torquay United	A	1-3	1,034	Adcock
06/02/1987	Hartlepool United	A	0-1	1,235
13/02/1987	Rochdale	H	2-0	2,020	Tommy English, Wilkins
21/02/1987	Peterborough United	A	0-2	3,474
27/02/1987	Hereford United	H	2-0	1,999	Tommy English (pen.), Phillips
03/03/1987	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	0-2	5,715
06/03/1987	Stockport County	H	5-1	2,001	Lowe (3), Tommy English, Day
14/03/1987	Cardiff City	A	2-0	2,222	Lowe (2)
17/03/1987	Crewe Alexandra	H	2-1	2,249	Day, Lowe
20/03/1987	Southend United	H	1-2	3,357	White
28/03/1987	Wrexham	A	1-0	1,320	Tommy English
03/04/1987	Leyton Orient	A	0-1	3,105
10/04/1987	Burnley	H	1-0	2,635	Adcock
17/04/1987	Northampton Town	H	3-1	3,676	Wilkins, Chatterton (pen.), Hedman
21/04/1987	Cambridge United	A	1-0	2,946	Tony English
24/04/1987	Swansea City	H	2-1	3,323	Hinshelwood, Adcock
29/04/1987	Halifax Town	A	0-0	911
04/05/1987	Aldershot	H	0-1	4,310
09/05/1987	Preston North End	A	0-1	8,757

Source: 1986-87 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

Play-Offs

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
14/05/1987	SF (L1)	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	0-2	4,829
17/05/1987	SF (L2)	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	0-0	16,330

Source: 1986-87 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

League Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
26/08/1986	R1 (L1)	Peterborough United	H	0-0	1,551
03/09/1986	R1 (L2)	Peterborough United	A	0-2	2,658

Source: 1986-87 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
15/11/1986	R1	Bishop's Stortford	A	1-1	2,413	Tommy English
18/11/1986	R1 (R)	Bishop's Stortford	H	2-0	3,516	Tommy English, Adcock
11/01/1988	R2	Aldershot	A	2-3	2,997	Tommy English, Grenfell

Source: 1986-87 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

League Trophy

Southern Section

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
25/11/1986	Group	Peterborough United	H	2-1	1,404	Hedman, Gage (o.g.)
09/12/1986	Group	Aldershot	A	2-4	993	Wilkins (2)
26/01/1987	R1	Gillingham	A	0-2	1,984

Source: 1986-87 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

Squad statistics

^[3]

No.	Nat.	Pos.	Name	Total		Division Four		FA Cup		League Cup		League Trophy
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
––	GK		Alec Chamberlain	54	0	46	0	3	0	2	0	3	0
––	DF		Terry Baker	22	0	19	0	2	0	0	0	1	0
––	DF		Keith Day	45	3	38	3	3	0	1	0	3	0
––	DF		Tony English	38	7	32	7	3	0	1	0	2	0
––	DF		Kirk Game	32	0	25	0	3	0	2	0	2	0
––	DF		Stephen Grenfell	29	2	23	1	3	1	0	0	3	0
––	DF		Rudi Hedman	52	5	44	4	3	0	2	0	3	1
––	DF		Paul Hinshelwood	47	1	41	1	3	0	0	0	3	0
––	DF		Ian Phillips	41	2	33	2	3	0	2	0	3	0
––	DF		Scott Young	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
––	MF		Simon Burman	14	2	12	2	0	0	2	0	0	0
––	MF		Nicky Chatterton	21	1	21	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF		Andy Farrell	36	4	28	4	3	0	2	0	3	0
––	MF		Keith Gorman	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF		Perry Groves	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF		Sean Norman	15	1	13	1	0	0	1	0	1	0
––	MF		Mark Radford	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
––	MF		John Reeves	20	2	17	2	1	0	2	0	0	0
––	MF		Winston White	14	1	14	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF		Richard Wilkins	28	4	23	2	2	0	0	0	3	2
––	FW		Tony Adcock	43	12	35	11	3	1	2	0	3	0
––	FW		Tommy English	30	12	24	9	3	3	1	0	2	0
––	FW		Mick Ferguson	19	4	16	4	1	0	2	0	0	0
––	FW		Simon Lowe	26	7	26	7	0	0	0	0	0	0

Scorers

^[4]

All Scorer Goals Tony Adcock 12 Tommy English Tony English 7 Simon Lowe Rudi Hedman 5 Andy Farrell 4 Mick Ferguson Richard Wilkins Keith Day 3 Simon Burman 2 Stephen Grenfell Ian Phillips John Reeves Nicky Chatterton 1 Paul Hinshelwood Sean Norman Winston White Own goal 3

League Scorer Goals Tony Adcock 11 Tommy English 9 Tony English 7 Simon Lowe Andy Farrell 4 Mick Ferguson Rudi Hedman Keith Day 3 Simon Burman 2 Ian Phillips John Reeves Richard Wilkins Nicky Chatterton 1 Stephen Grenfell Paul Hinshelwood Sean Norman Winston White Own goal 2

FA Cup Scorer Goals Tommy English 3 Tony Adcock 1 Stephen Grenfell

League Cup Scorer Goals

League Trophy Scorer Goals Richard Wilkins 2 Rudi Hedman 1 Own goal 1

Most Frequent Starting XI

This section shows players in a 5-3-2 formation with the most league starts during the season.

Pos. Name Apps. Goals GK Alec Chamberlain 46 0 DF Rudi Hedman 38 4 DF Paul Hinshelwood 41 1 DF Tony English 32 7 DF Keith Day 38 3 DF Ian Phillips 33 2 MF Richard Wilkins 22 2 MF Andy Farrell 24 4 MF Nicky Chatterton 20 1 FW Tony Adcock 33 11 FW Simon Lowe 25 7

Chamberlain Hedman Hinshelwood Tony English Day Phillips Wilkins Farrell Chatterton Adcock Lowe

References

1. Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 279. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.
2. "The U's History: The 80s". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
3. "1986–87 Season Appearance Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
4. "1986–87 Season Goalscorers Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2011.