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| Full name | Colchester United Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The U's | ||
| Founded | 1937 | ||
| Ground | Weston Homes Community Stadium Colchester (Capacity: 10,000) |
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| Owner |  Robbie Cowling |
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| Manager | Aidy Boothroyd |
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| League | League One | ||
| 2008–09 | League One, 12th | ||
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Colchester United Football Club (pronounced /ˈkoʊlˌtʃɛstər, -tʃəstər yuˈnaɪtɪd/) is an English football team based in the town of Colchester, Essex.
The club was formed in 1937, and briefly shared their old Layer Road home with now defunct side Colchester Town who had previously used the ground from 1910. Colchester United play in the Weston Homes Community Stadium in the north of the town. Colchester United are perhaps most famous for beating Don Revie's Leeds United 3–2 in the 5th round of the FA Cup in 1971. Their highest ever league finish was achieved in 2006–07, when they ended the season in 10th place in the Championship while having the division's lowest attendance.
Colchester United Ladies are a very successful part of the club, having won promotion to the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division in 2006-07.
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History
Colchester Town, nicknamed 'The Oystermen', were the original local side, established in 1867 and playing at Layer Road from 1909 until 1937, when they were dissolved. The stadium was originally owned by the army, who still have a strong presence in the town, until it was purchased by the club in 1919. Shortly before Town folded, Colchester United was set up. The owners had intended to run both teams, one professional and one amateur, under the same umbrella but the Essex County FA ruled that both teams could not be run under one set of rules, and so Town were wound down.
In the 1947/48 season Colchester, then in the Southern League, produced one of the most notable F.A. Cup runs by a non-league side, beating fellow-non-league side Banbury Spencer in the First Round before beating league clubs Wrexham, Huddersfield and Bradford Park Avenue. They finally fell to Blackpool in the fifth round.
United went from strength to strength, and they were elected to the Football League in 1950. They spent most of the 50s, 60s and 70s either in the third or fourth tiers before spending the 80s in the fourth tier. However the club got into financial problems towards the end of the 80s and lost their league status for two seasons from relegation in 1990 until 1992, when they won a non-league double by collecting the Conference title and the Football Trophy. They then finished around mid table in the fourth tier for the next 3 seasons before reaching the play-offs in 1995-96 but losing in the semis to Plymouth Argyle.
In the 1996-97 season Colchester were runners up in the Football League Trophy and just missed out on the play-offs by 1 point. But in 1997-98, they got themselves promoted by winning the play-offs to the third tier. They then consolidated their position in that division before achieving promotion in 2005–06 to the second tier of English football, the Championship, by finishing in second place in League One. They also had a good FA Cup run that season before losing in the 5th round to Chelsea despite taking the lead. After a slow start to the 2006-07 season, they soon entered the higher reaches of the division and there was even talk of a challenge for promotion to the Premier League, before they finished tenth in the final table, their highest ever placing. The following season Colchester finished bottom of the Championship with 38 points and were relegated back to League One. They went on to finish 12th in that league in 2008-09.
Stadium
Colchester United formed in 1937 and took over Layer Road from the recently defunct Colchester Town. That remained their home until 2008. At its closure, the ground had a capacity of 6,340, though it had previously been much higher, with a record attendance of 19,072.
In 2000, Colchester announced plans to move to a new 10,000 capacity all-seater community stadium at Cuckoo Farm, which were given the go-ahead by Colchester Borough Council on November 13 2006. Construction of the stadium, funded by the club but owned by the local council, started in June 2007, and the stadium opened at the start of the 2008-09 season. Colchester's biggest attendance at the stadium of 9,559 was set at a League One match against Leeds United on 4 April 2009.
Although generally known as the Colchester Community stadium, and sometimes as Cuckoo Farm, it is officially called, under a ten year sponsorship deal, the Weston Homes Community Stadium.[1]
Supporters
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Notable persons known to be Colchester United fans include Steve Lamacq,[2] Bob Russell MP[3], England opening batsman Alastair Cook and the bands Absent Kid[4] and Special Duties.[5]
Rivalries
Colchester's main rivalry is with fellow Essex side Southend United, with whom they contest the Essex derby. The competitive head-to-head record is 29 wins to Southend, 23 wins for Colchester and 17 draws.[6]
Colchester United also have a rivalry with Ipswich Town, their geographically closest league opponents, whom they met for the first time in a league fixture for almost half a century in the 2006–07 season. A 1-0 win at home, followed by a 3–2 defeat away for Colchester saw Ipswich take their overall competitive record against Colchester to 10 wins, 4 losses with 4 draws.[7] By finishing above both Ipswich & Norwich in the 2006-07 season, Colchester United took the "Pride of Anglia" title for the first time.
League One side Wycombe Wanderers are also fierce rivals to Colchester United, dating back to both clubs' latter years in the Conference.[8] Whilst not a local derby, the rivalry goes back to the 1985–86 season, when Wycombe defeated Colchester 2–0 in an FA Cup tie marred by crowd trouble at Loakes Park.
Colchester and Wycombe were also involved in a race for the Conference title throughout the 1991–92 season, during which Colchester defeated Wycombe 2–1 at Adams Park with an injury-time wind-assisted winner from their goalkeeper, Scott Barrett.
Another controversial meeting was during the 1998–99 season. Relegation-threatened Wycombe were leading Colchester 2–1 at Adams Park until the ninth minute of stoppage time, when Colchester were awarded, and converted, an equalising penalty. However, due to lack of recent games between the two sides, Colchester United fans consider Ipswich and Southend bigger rivals.
Records
Colchester's record wins were 9-1 against Bradford City in 1961 and Leamington F.C. in 2005. Their record defeat was 0-8 against Leyton Orient in 1988. Their record attendance at Layer Road was 19072 against Reading
Players
- As of 20 November 2009.[9]
Current squad
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Out on loan
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Club officials
Board and Directors
- Chairman - Robbie Cowling
- Vice Chairman - Richard Cowling
- Directors - John Cowling, Peter Powell, Gary White
- Associate Directors - John Worsp, Terry Sutton
- Chief Executive - Steve Bradshaw
- Life President - P.J. Heard
Management Team
- Manager - Aidy Boothroyd
- Assistant Manager - John Ward
- Sports Scientist - David Carolan
- First Team Physio - Tony Flynn
- Head of Youth - Tony Humes
- First Team Coach - Joe Dunne
- Goalkeeper Coach - Ademola Bankole
- Performance Anaylst - Jonathan Duckett
- Club Doctor - Dr. Stuart Rudge
Notable former players
The following players have been inducted into Colchester United's Hall of Fame for being one of "...those who have made a difference to the club's history."[10] In addition, Peter Wright was awarded the title of "U's Player of the Century". [11]
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The whole of the team that beat Leeds United in 1971 are included:[15]
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Also included is former manager, Dick Graham.[16]
Managers
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Honours
- Football League 1
- Runners up 2006–2007
- Football Conference
- Champions 1991–92
- Southern Football League
- Champions 1938–39
- League Cup winners 1939–40, 1946–47
- Eastern Counties Football League
- Champions 1938–39, 1956–57, 1958–59 (Colchester United Reserves)
- Essex Senior League Challenge Cup
- Winners 1974–75 (Colchester United 'A' )
- Football Association Challenge Trophy
- Winners 1991–92
References
- ^ Colchester reveal ground sponsors
- ^ Lamacq, Steve (30th January, 1999). "Football Fan's Eye View: Colchester United - A swift and defiant single-finger salute". The Independent (United Kingdom: Independent News and Media Limited). http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-fans-eye-view-colchester-united--a-swift-and-defiant-singlefinger-salute-1077246.html.
- ^ "MP is match ball sponsor". Colchester Liberal Democrats. Colchester, UK: Prater Raines Ltd. 22nd February, 2007. http://www.bobrussell.org.uk/news/000026/mp_is_match_ball_sponsor.html.
- ^ "The Golden Ticket (with program of events for Colchester United v Stoke City match)". Colchester, UK: Colchester United (official website). 24th April, 2008. http://www.cu-fc.com/page/News/0,,10424~1296864,00.html. "1:30 - 2pm Absent Kid perform on pitch"
- ^ "Colchester United and Punk Bands unite for Emily". London, UK: Teenage Cancer Trust. 6th December, 2006. https://www.teenagecancertrust.org/in-your-area/units/article.php?SectionId=104&Id=326. "Steve Green of Special Duties said: Hearing <the song> played every game at Layer Road still fills me with pride. It was even played at the old Wembley for our Play-Off Final against Torquay."
- ^ All time results between Colchester United and Southend United Soccerbase
- ^ All time results between Ipswich Town and Colchester United Soccerbase
- ^ Football Rivalries: The Complete Results Bluebird to the Bone
- ^ "Profiles". Colchester United F.C.. http://www.cu-fc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10424,00.html. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
- ^ "Hall of Fame - Rules and Info". www.cu-fc.co.uk. http://www.cu-fc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/HallOfFame/0,,10424~1015971,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
- ^ "Former Players Dinner Announced". www.cu-fc.co.uk. http://www.cu-fc.com/page/Events/0,,10424~1586983,00.html. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
- ^ a b "2006/7 Fans' Inductees". www.cu-fc.co.uk. http://www.cu-fc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/HallOfFame/0,,10424~1018228,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
- ^ a b c "2006/7 Commitee Inductees". www.cu-fc.co.uk. http://www.cu-fc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/HallOfFame/0,,10424~1022047,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
- ^ a b c d e "2007/8 Commitee Inductees". http://www.cu-fc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/HallOfFame/0,,10424~1321096,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
- ^ "Leeds Cup Team Remembered". Colchester United F.C.. http://www.cu-fc.com/page/HallOfFame/0,,10424~1612315,00.html. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
- ^ "2007/8 Special Inductee". www.cu-fc.co.uk. http://www.cu-fc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/HallOfFame/0,,10424~1176446,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
External links
- Official website
- Colchester United Community Sports Trust
- The U'sual / ColchesterUnited.com (formerly ColUOnline)
- Colchester United at the Football Club History Database
- Colchester United Reserves at the Football Club History Database
- Colchester United "A" at the Football Club History Database
- Colchester Utd Layer Road Stadium - Googlemaps
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