2008–09 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United

2008–09 season
Chairman	Robbie Cowling
Manager	Geraint Williams (Until 22 September 2008) Kit Symons (Caretaker) (22 September to 8 October 2008) Paul Lambert (From 9 October 2008)
League One	12th
FA Cup	1st Round
League Cup	2nd Round
Football League Trophy	Semi-finals (Southern section)
Top goalscorer	League: Mark Yeates (12) All: Mark Yeates (13)
Highest home attendance	9,559 (Leeds United)
Lowest home attendance	3,179 (Stockport County)
Average home league attendance	5,084
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

The 2008–09 season was Colchester United's first season back in the third tier of English football after being relegated from the Football League Championship.

Season Review

Life at the new stadium began with the announcement of a sponsorship deal that would see it being named The Weston Homes Community Stadium. The first-ever match was a reduced capacity ramp-up event against Spanish side Athletic Bilbao on 4 August 2008. Scott Vernon had the honour of scoring U's first goal at their new home as 5,610 watched a 2-1 defeat.

Fans favourite Karl Duguid left in the summer to pursue Championship football with Plymouth and Kevin Lisbie joined neighbours Ipswich for a reported £650,000 fee. Short on firepower, manager Geraint Williams broke U's transfer record yet again, bringing in Cheltenham's Steven Gillespie for £400,000.

In order to iron out any teething problems, United were granted permission by The Football League to play their first two games away from home, and thus the first-ever League fixture came on 16 August against Huddersfield when a 0-0 draw was played out. Mark Yeates became the first U's scorer in a competitive match at WHCS when he bagged both goals in a 2-2 draw with Oldham on 30 August. United couldn't force a win at home and following a 3-0 home defeat to MK Dons that left United in the bottom four with a record of 1 League win from 6, Williams was relieved of his duties.

Assistant manager Kit Symons took charge for four games amid speculation that former U's manager Phil Parkinson, then number two at Charlton, or indeed Teddy Sheringham could be the new man in charge. On 10 October 2008 former Wycombe manager Paul Lambert was unveiled as Colchester's new manager. He quickly inspired The U's to record their first home victory in a thumping 5-0 win over Carlisle 15 days later.

On 18 November 2008 the Stadium was rewarded with its first-ever international match when a Henri Lansbury goal gave England Under-19's a 1-0 win over their German counterparts in front of a record crowd of 9,692.

Lambert set to work bringing in several loan players including Marc Tierney, Jimmy Walker and Alan Maybury but a pillar of the club departed in December when Marie Partner left her post as Chief Executive as owner Robbie Cowling shuffled his upstairs pack bringing in Steve Bradshaw. Marie had been Mrs Colchester United for over 21 years and a loyal and valued servant.

Back-to-back wins over Yeovil and Northampton were the first of that kind for 19 months and set up a run spanning the New Year of nine games unbeaten.

Hopes were high, off the field, of the much-needed A12 junction but funding was still not in place because of the economic downturn and the subsequent fall in the housing market that would have contributed to the scheme.

Lambert, very publicly, pursued central defenders Mike Williamson (Wycombe) and Rob Jones (Hibernian) for the January transfer window but failed on both counts, but did sign Marc Tierney and Simon Hackney permanently.

Robbie Cowling bought out all remaining shares in the club via his Aspire Media Group to become sole owner.

A terrific run of 10 wins and four draws from 18 games earned Lambert the January Manager of the Month award as United rose to just 7 points off the Play-Offs. Funding was approved for the A12 junction in March and Lambert continued to strengthen his squad with the loan signings of Ashley Vincent, Neal Trotman and Karl Hawley.

Unfortunately the 'first season syndrome' returned to haunt United as they lost 6 of the remaining 9 home games including the last four on the trot. A new club record attendance was set in April when 9,559 watched one of those defeats to Leeds, but The U's fell back to finish in 12th position - 13 points off a Play-Off place. Strangely the U's had enjoyed their best-ever away season with 11 victories but endured their worst-ever home season with 12 defeats. Lambert vowed he would have a mass clear out in the summer and called each player in one by one before May was out to tell them their fate. He had identified his targets and Robbie Cowling was willing to try to fund those wishes.^[1]

Squad

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Dean Gerken 2 DF John White 3 DF Matt Lockwood 4 MF Johnnie Jackson 5 DF Chris Coyne 6 DF Paul Reid 7 FW Steven Gillespie 8 MF Dean Hammond 9 FW Clive Platt 10 MF Kemal Izzet 11 MF Mark Yeates 12 DF Pat Baldwin 14 FW Akanni-Sunday Wasiu

No. Position Player 15 FW Jamie Guy 16 DF Matt Heath 17 MF David Perkins 18 DF Philip Ifil 19 DF Alan Maybury 22 MF Simon Hackney 23 GK Mark Cousins 24 FW Scott Vernon 27 MF Anthony Wordsworth 30 MF Medy Elito 32 DF Marc Tierney 34 MF Sam Corcoran

Player Info

No.	Name	Place of Birth	Date of Birth	Previous Club	Date Joined	Fee
1	Dean Gerken	Southend-on-Sea	22 May 1985	Youth Team	1 August 2002	Free
2	John White	Colchester	26 July 1986	Youth Team	1 July 2003	Free
3	Matthew Lockwood	Rochford	17 October 1976	Nottingham Forest	3 June 2008	£100,000
4	Johnnie Jackson	Camden	15 August 1982	Tottenham Hotspur	26 June 2006	Free
5	Chris Coyne	Brisbane	20 December 1978	Luton Town	10 January 2008	£350,000
6	Paul Reid	Carlisle	18 February 1982	Barnsley	2 July 2008	Free
7	Steven Gillespie	Liverpool	4 June 1985	Cheltenham Town	7 July 2008	£400,000
8	Dean Hammond	Hastings	7 March 1983	Brighton & Hove Albion	31 January 2008	£250,000
9	Clive Platt	Wolverhampton	27 October 1977	MK Dons	3 July 2007	£300,000
10	Kemal Izzet	Whitechapel	29 September 1980	Charlton Athletic	13 April 2001	Free
11	Mark Yeates	Tallaght	11 January 1985	Tottenham Hotspur	3 July 2007	£250,000
12	Pat Baldwin	London	12 November 1982	Chelsea	31 August 2002	Free
14	Akanni-Sunday Wasiu	Nigeria	18 March 1984	St Albans City	1 July 2008	Free
15	Jamie Guy	Barking	1 August 1987	Youth Team	1 July 2004	Free
16	Matt Heath	Leicester	1 November 1981	Leeds United	13 May 2008	Free
17	David Perkins	Heysham	21 June 1982	Rochdale	8 July 2008	£150,000
18	Philip Ifil	Willesden	18 November 1986	Tottenham Hotspur	10 January 2008	£100,000
19	Alan Maybury	Dublin	8 August 1978	Leicester City	12 December 2008	Free
22	Simon Hackney	Manchester	5 February 1984	Carlisle United	26 January 2009	£100,000
23	Mark Cousins	Chelmsford	9 January 1987	Youth Team	1 July 2004	Free
24	Scott Vernon	Manchester	13 December 1983	Blackpool	31 January 2008	£100,000
27	Anthony Wordsworth	Camden	3 January 1989	Youth Team	1 July 2006	Free
30	Medy Elito	Kinshasa	20 March 1990	Youth Team	1 July 2007	Free
32	Marc Tierney	Prestwich	23 August 1985	Shrewsbury Town	2 January 2009	£100,000
34	Sam Corcoran	Enfield	5 February 1991	Youth Team	1 July 2008	Free

Transfers

Transfers In

Date	Pos.	Player Name	Previous Club	League	Transfer Fee	Notes
13 May 2008	DF	Matt Heath	Leeds United	Football League One	Free
3 June 2008	DF	Matt Lockwood	Nottingham Forest	Football League Championship	£100,000
1 July 2008	MF	Sam Corcoran	Arsenal	Premier League	Free
1 July 2008	FW	Akanni-Sunday Wasiu	St. Albans City	Conference South	Free
2 July 2008	DF	Paul Reid	Barnsley	Football League Championship	Free
7 July 2008	FW	Steven Gillespie	Cheltenham Town	Football League One	£400,000	Record transfer fee paid
8 July 2008	MF	David Perkins	Rochdale	Football League Two	£150,000
12 December 2008	DF	Alan Maybury	Leicester City	Football League One	Free
2 January 2009	DF	Marc Tierney	Shrewsbury Town	Football League Two	£100,000
26 January 2009	MF	Simon Hackney	Carlisle United	Football League One	£100,000

Transfers Out

Date	Pos.	Player Name	New Club	League	Transfer Fee	Notes
31 May 2008	GK	Ademola Bankole	Retired	N/A	Free	Signed as goalkeeping coach
31 May 2008	FW	Tom Webb	Halstead Town	Eastern Counties Football League Division One	Free
1 June 2008	GK	Aidan Davison	Retired	N/A	Free
1 June 2008	FW	Teddy Sheringham	Retired	N/A	Free
3 June 2008	MF	Kevin McLeod	Brighton & Hove Albion	Football League One	Free
4 June 2008	DF	Danny Granville	Leyton Orient	Football League One	Free
24 June 2008	MF	Karl Duguid	Plymouth Argyle	Football League Championship	Undisclosed
30 July 2008	FW	Kevin Lisbie	Ipswich Town	Football League Championship	£600,000
1 August 2008	MF	Kevin Watson	Luton Town	Football League Two	Free
4 August 2008	MF	Luke Guttridge	Northampton Town	Football League One	Free

Loans In

Date	Pos.	Player Name	Parent Club	League	Date Returned	Notes
25 September 2008	DF	Gary Borrowdale	Coventry City	Football League Championship	12 October 2008
3 November 2008	DF	Sam Williams	Aston Villa	Premier League	30 November 2008
13 November 2008	DF	Lee Hills	Crystal Palace	Football League Championship	13 December 2008
20 November 2008	FW	Jermaine Easter	Plymouth Argyle	Football League Championship	20 December 2008
27 November 2008	GK	Jimmy Walker	West Ham United	Premier League	1 March 2009
27 November 2008	DF	Marc Tierney	Shrewsbury Town	Football League Two	1 January 2009
15 January 2009	MF	Lewis Gobern	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Football League Championship	1 June 2009
19 March 2009	DF	Neal Trotman	Preston North End	Football League Championship	1 June 2009
19 March 2009	MF	Ashley Vincent	Cheltenham Town	Football League One	31 May 2009
20 March 2009	FW	Karl Hawley	Preston North End	Football League Championship	1 June 2009

Loans Out

Date	Pos.	Player Name	New Club	League	Date Returned	Notes
1 August 2008	FW	Jamie Guy	Oxford United	Conference National	2 January 2009
15 January 2009	GK	Dean Gerken	Darlington	Football League Two	20 February 2009
15 January 2009	FW	Akanni-Sunday Wasiu	Luton Town	Football League Two	15 February 2009
2 February 2009	DF	Matt Lockwood	Barnet	Football League Two	5 April 2009
2 March 2009	DF	Matt Heath	Brighton & Hove Albion	Football League One	31 May 2009
3 March 2009	FW	Jamie Guy	Dagenham & Redbridge	Football League Two	31 May 2009
20 March 2009	FW	Scott Vernon	Northampton Town	Football League One	31 May 2009

Results

League One Results Summary

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
11	Bristol Rovers	46	17	12	17	79	61	+18	63
12	Colchester United	46	18	9	19	58	58	0	63
13	Walsall	46	17	10	19	61	66	-5	61

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

League One Results Round by Round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	L	D	W	D	L	L	W	L	L	L	W	L	W	D	L	L	W	W	L	W	D	W	W	D	W	D	W	W	L	L	L	W	D	D	W	W	L	D	L	W	L	L	L	W	L	W
Position	22	21	10	12	20	23	17	17	20	21	18	19	16	18	20	21	20	16	16	16	16	15	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	11	12	12	10	10	11	11	13	10	11	13	14	12	14	12

Source:
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

League One Results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
09/08/2008	Hartlepool United	A	2–4	3,831	Gillespie (2)
16/08/2008	Huddersfield Town	H	0–0	5,340
23/08/2008	Swindon Town	A	3–1	7,031	Jackson, Vernon, Wasiu
30/08/2008	Oldham Athletic	H	2–2	4,708	Yeates (2)
13/09/2008	Crewe Alexandra	A	0–2	3,510
20/09/2008	MK Dons	H	0–3	4,888
26/09/2008	Tranmere Rovers	A	4–3	5,713	Perkins, Yeates, Platt, Jackson
30/09/2008	Leicester City	H	0–1	5,133
04/10/2008	Bristol Rovers	H	0–1	4,811
11/10/2008	Cheltenham Town	A	3–4	3,580	Wordsworth (2), Jackson
18/10/2008	Stockport County	A	2–1	6,025	Perkins, Platt
21/10/2008	Millwall	H	1–2	5,506	Izzet
25/10/2008	Carlisle United	H	5–0	5,152	Perkins, Yeates (2), Hammond, Wasiu
01/11/2008	Southend United	A	3–3	8,920	Jackson, Yeates, Wordsworth
15/11/2008	Walsall	H	0–2	4,071
22/11/2008	Peterborough United	A	1–2	7,401	Platt
25/11/2008	Yeovil Town	H	1–0	3,214	Easter
29/11/2008	Northampton Town	A	2–1	4,833	Platt, Reid
06/12/2008	Hereford United	H	1–2	4,794	Easter
13/12/2008	Leeds United	A	2–1	19,625	Hammond, Yeates
20/12/2008	Scunthorpe United	H	0–0	4,606
26/12/2008	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	2–1	6,299	Hinshelwood (o.g.), Vernon
28/12/2008	Leyton Orient	H	1–0	6,290	Gillespie (pen.)
12/01/2009	MK Dons	A	1–1	8,408	Platt
17/01/2009	Cheltenham Town	H	3–1	4,183	Hammond, Gillespie, Yeates
24/01/2009	Bristol Rovers	A	0–0	6,634
27/01/2009	Northampton Town	H	2–1	3,973	Yeates, Vernon
31/01/2009	Carlisle United	A	2–0	5,745	Livesey (o.g.), Perkins
10/02/2009	Tranmere Rovers	H	0–1	3,588
14/02/2009	Walsall	A	0–2	3,719
21/02/2009	Southend United	H	0–1	8,651
24/02/2009	Stockport County	H	1–0	3,179	Tierney
28/02/2009	Hartlepool United	H	1–1	5,158	Vernon
03/03/2009	Huddersfield Town	A	2–2	10,580	Hammond (2)
07/03/2009	Oldham Athletic	A	1–0	4,591	Platt
10/03/2009	Swindon Town	H	3–2	3,827	Platt (2), Perkins
14/03/2009	Crewe Alexandra	H	0–1	4,907
21/03/2009	Leicester City	A	1–1	20,218	Yeates
28/03/2009	Scunthorpe United	A	0–3	4,304
31/03/2009	Millwall	A	1–0	8,071	Platt
04/04/2009	Leeds United	H	0–1	9,559
11/04/2009	Leyton Orient	A	1–2	4,685	Platt
13/04/2009	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	0–1	4,873
18/04/2009	Hereford United	A	2–0	2,100	Yeates, Beckwith (o.g.)
25/04/2009	Peterborough United	H	0–1	6,532
02/05/2009	Yeovil Town	A	2–0	5,237	Vincent, Yeates

League Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
12/08/2008	R1	Gillingham	A	1–0	2,566	Heath
26/08/2008	R2	Ipswich Town	A	1–2	17,084	Gillespie

Football League Trophy

Southern Section

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
02/09/2008	R1 (S)	Millwall	A	1–0	2,456	Perkins
07/10/2008	R2 (S)	Gillingham	A	1–0	1,557	Yeates
07/10/2008	Area QF	Bournemouth	A	1–0	2,275	Williams
07/10/2008	Area SF	Luton Town	A	0–1	2,638

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
08/11/2008	R1	Leyton Orient	H	0–1	4,600

Squad statistics

^[2]

No.	Nat.	Pos.	Name	Total		League One		FA Cup		League Cup		FL Trophy
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Dean Gerken	24	0	21	0	0	0	2	0	1	0
2	DF		John White	32	0	19+7	0	1	0	1	0	4	0
3	DF		Matt Lockwood	5	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	MF		Johnnie Jackson	34	4	22+7	4	1	0	1	0	3	0
5	DF		Chris Coyne	22	0	17+2	0	0	0	1	0	1+1	0
6	DF		Paul Reid	29	1	25+1	1	0	0	2	0	1	0
7	FW		Steven Gillespie	20	5	8+9	4	0	0	0+1	1	1+1	0
8	MF		Dean Hammond	47	5	38+3	5	0	0	2	0	4	0
9	FW		Clive Platt	48	10	39+4	10	1	0	2	0	1+1	0
10	MF		Kemal Izzet	48	1	39+4	1	1	0	1+1	0	2	0
11	MF		Mark Yeates	50	13	42+1	12	1	0	2	0	1+3	1
12	DF		Pat Baldwin	41	0	38	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
14	FW		Akanni-Sunday Wasiu	19	2	3+12	2	0+1	0	0	0	2+1	0
15	FW		Jamie Guy	4	0	1+3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	DF		Matt Heath	21	1	11+3	0	1	0	2	1	4	0
17	MF		David Perkins	43	6	35+3	5	1	0	0+1	0	2+1	1
18	DF		Philip Ifil	10	0	5+1	0	0	0	2	0	2	0
19	DF		Alan Maybury	26	0	25	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
20	DF		Neal Trotman	6	0	5+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	MF		Ashley Vincent	6	1	5+1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	MF		Simon Hackney	17	0	11+6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
23	GK		Mark Cousins	13	0	9	0	1	0	0	0	3	0
24	FW		Scott Vernon	40	4	15+18	4	0+1	0	2	0	3+1	0
26	MF		Lewis Gobern	12	0	5+7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	MF		Anthony Wordsworth	36	3	9+21	3	1	0	2	0	3	0
28	FW		Karl Hawley	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	MF		Medy Elito	8	0	0+5	0	0+1	0	0+1	0	1	0
32	DF		Marc Tierney	26	1	26	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
34	MF		Sam Corcoran	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
19	DF		Gary Borrowdale	5	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
20	DF		Sam Williams	3	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	1
21	GK		Jimmy Walker	16	0	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	DF		Lee Hills	2	0	1+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	FW		Jermaine Easter	5	2	5	2	0	0	0	0	0	0

Scorers

^[3]

All Scorer Goals Mark Yeates 13 Clive Platt 10 David Perkins 6 Steven Gillespie 5 Dean Hammond Johnnie Jackson 4 Scott Vernon Anthony Wordsworth 3 Jermaine Easter 2 Akanni-Sunday Wasiu Matt Heath 1 Kemal Izzet Paul Reid Marc Tierney Ashley Vincent Sam Williams Own goal 3

League Scorer Goals Mark Yeates 12 Clive Platt 10 David Perkins 5 Dean Hammond Steven Gillespie 4 Johnnie Jackson Scott Vernon Anthony Wordsworth 3 Jermaine Easter 2 Akanni-Sunday Wasiu Kemal Izzet 1 Paul Reid Marc Tierney Ashley Vincent Own goal 3

FA Cup Scorer Goals

League Cup Scorer Goals Steven Gillespie 1 Matt Heath

Football League Trophy Scorer Goals David Perkins 1 Sam Williams Mark Yeates

Assists

^[4]

Assistant	League	Cup	Total
Mark Yeates	11	0	11
Kemal Izzet	4	1	5
Johnnie Jackson	3	0	3
David Perkins
Clive Platt	2		2
Scott Vernon	1	1
Lewis Gobern		0	1
Simon Hackney
Dean Hammond
Marc Tierney
Ashley Vincent
John White
Anthony Wordsworth
Akanni-Sunday Wasiu	0	1

Disciplinary record

^[5]

Pos.	Name	League		Cups		Total
DF	Pat Baldwin	3	0	0	0	3	0
DF	Chris Coyne	3	0	1	0	4	0
FW	Jermaine Easter	2	0	0	0	2	0
FW	Steven Gillespie	2	1	0	0	2	1
MF	Dean Hammond	10	0	0	0	10	0
DF	Matt Heath	2	0	2	0	4	0
DF	Philip Ifil	1	0	1	0	2	0
MF	Kemal Izzet	7	0	0	0	7	0
MF	Johnnie Jackson	4	0	0	0	4	0
DF	Alan Maybury	5	0	1	0	6	0
MF	David Perkins	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Clive Platt	9	0	1	0	10	0
DF	Paul Reid	4	0	1	0	5	0
DF	Marc Tierney	5	0	0	0	5	0
FW	Neal Trotman	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Akanni-Sunday Wasiu	1	0	0	0	1	0
DF	John White	2	0	1	0	3	0
MF	Anthony Wordsworth	6	0	1	0	7	0
MF	Mark Yeates	4	0	1	0	5	0

Most Frequent Starting XI

This section shows players in a 4-5-1 formation with the most league starts during the season.

No. Pos. Name Apps. Goals 1 GK Dean Gerken 21 0 19 DF Alan Maybury 25 0 12 DF Pat Baldwin 35 0 6 DF Paul Reid 25 1 32 DF Marc Tierney 26 1 11 MF Mark Yeates 42 12 17 MF David Perkins 35 5 8 MF Dean Hammond 38 5 10 MF Kemal Izzet 39 1 4 MF Johnnie Jackson 22 4 9 FW Clive Platt 39 10

Gerken Maybury Baldwin Reid Tierney Yeates Perkins Hammond Izzet Jackson Platt

References

1. "The U's History: The 00s". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
2. "2008–09 Season Appearance Data". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
3. "2008–09 Season Goalscorers Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
4. "2008–09 Season Assists Data". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
5. "2008–09 Season Discipline Data". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 1 April 2011.