# 1983–84 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1983–84 season was Colchester United's 42nd season in their history and third consecutive season in fourth tier of English football, the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Associate Members' Cup.
Another promotion push ended a long way short with an eighth-placed finish, 15 points shy of the promotion places. Colchester reached the third round of the League Cup, where they faced Manchester United at Layer Road only to suffer a 2–0 defeat. They also reached the third round of the FA Cup, exiting to Charlton Athletic. In the inaugural Associate Members' Cup, the U's fell to a 2–0 defeat to Essex rivals Southend United in the second round.

## Season overview

Cyril Lea began his first full season in charge by bringing in assistant Stewart Houston in a player-coach capacity. He had however already seen the frustrating exit of last seasons top scorer Ian Allinson, who was allowed to leave the club for Arsenal on a free transfer following an administrative error.
In the early stages of the season, Colchester kept pace with the leaders as they embarked on a League Cup run. Following a 1–1 draw at Second Division Swansea City, chairman Maurice Cadman pledged Lea funds to purchase two players if there was an attendance greater than 5,000 in the second leg of the tie. As such, 5,204 were in attendance to see the U's beat the Swans 1–0. They were drawn at home to Manchester United in the third round as Layer Road saw its final-ever five figure gate when 13,031 saw the 2–0 defeat for the U's.
Colchester's form tailed off in the latter stages of the season as they ended the season 15 points adrift of the promotion places in eighth position, despite Tony Adcock's 33 goals. Now frustrated at his board's successive attempts to fund promotion that ultimately ended in failure, Maurice Cadman announced that win bonuses would be dropped for the 1984–85 season replaced by an insurance-backed promotion bonus. He also announced that the club had been put up for sale at a value of £150,000.
Attendances on average were up, largely in thanks to the cup runs, but otherwise league attendances dropped off, and a new low of 1,226 witnessed Colchester's 3–0 win over Torquay United on 28 April 1984. Meanwhile, stalwarts Micky Cook, who had set a club record of 614 league appearances, and Steve Leslie both retired through injury.

## Players

    As of match played 11 May 1984.
| Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| Alec Chamberlain | GK | March | (1964-06-20)20 June 1964 (aged 18) | 4 | 0 | Ipswich Town | Summer 1982 | Undisclosed |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Phil Coleman | FB | Woolwich | (1960-09-08)8 September 1960 (aged 22) | 96 | 7 | Millwall | February 1981 | £15,000 |
| Tony Hadley | CB | Upminster | (1955-07-05)5 July 1955 (aged 27) | 0 | 0 | Southend United | August 1983 | Undisclosed |
| Rudi Hedman | CB | Lambeth | (1964-11-16)16 November 1964 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | February 1984 | Free transfer |
| Stewart Houston | CB | Dunoon | (1949-08-20)20 August 1949 (aged 33) | 0 | 0 | Sheffield United | Summer 1983 | Undisclosed |
| Ian Phillips | FB | Cumnock | (1959-04-23)23 April 1959 (aged 24) | 0 | 0 | Northampton Town | September 1983 | £5,000 |
| Steve Wignall | CB | Liverpool | (1954-09-17)17 September 1954 (aged 28) | 288 | 17 | Doncaster Rovers | September 1977 | £5,000 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Andy Farrell | MF/FB | Colchester | (1965-10-07)7 October 1965 (aged 17) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | Summer 1982 | Free transfer |
| Jeff Hull | MF | Rochford | (1960-08-25)25 August 1960 (aged 22) | 27 | 4 | Basildon United | 17 December 1982 | Undisclosed |
| Steve Leslie | MF | Hornsey | (1952-09-04)4 September 1952 (aged 30) | 471 | 45 | Apprentice | 20 April 1971 | Free transfer |
| Roger Osborne | MF | Otley | (1950-03-09)9 March 1950 (aged 33) | 113 | 7 | Ipswich Town | February 1981 | £25,000 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| Tony Adcock | FW | Bethnal Green | (1963-03-27)27 March 1963 (aged 20) | 83 | 23 | Apprentice | 31 March 1981 | Free transfer |
| Keith Bowen | FW | Northampton | (1958-02-26)26 February 1958 (aged 25) | 13 | 4 | Brentford | 25 March 1983 | £10,000 |
| Perry Groves | WG | Bow | (1965-04-19)19 April 1965 (aged 18) | 31 | 3 | Cornard Dynamos | Summer 1981 | Free transfer |
| Dave Hubbick | FW | South Shields | (1960-03-16)16 March 1960 (aged 23) | 0 | 0 | Dagenham | 15 October 1983 | Free transfer |
| Les Mutrie | FW | Newcastle upon Tyne | (1951-04-01)1 April 1951 (aged 32) | 0 | 0 | Hull City | January 1984 | £10,000 |
| Craig Oldfield | FW | Warley | (1963-11-24)24 November 1963 (aged 19) | 0 | 0 | Stowmarket Town | Summer 1982 | Free transfer |
| John Taylor | FW | Norwich | (1964-10-24)24 October 1964 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | Summer 1981 | Free transfer |
* 1 2 3 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club
* ↑ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game in his second spell for the club

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| Summer 1983 | CB | Stewart Houston | Sheffield United | Undisclosed |
| August 1983 | CB | Tony Hadley | Southend United | Undisclosed |
| September 1983 | FB | Ian Phillips | Northampton Town | £5,000 |
| October 1983 | CB | Adam Nichols | Wits University | Free transfer |
| 15 October 1983 | FW | Dave Hubbick | Dagenham | Free transfer |
| January 1984 | FW | Les Mutrie | Hull City | £10,000 |
| February 1984 | CB | Rudi Hedman | Apprentice | Free transfer |
* Total spending: ~ £15,000
* ↑ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| End of season | GK | Ian Cranstone | Wealdstone | Free transfer |
| End of season | GK | Bobby Hamilton | Free agent | Released |
| End of season | CB | Adrian Keith | Haverhill Rovers | Released |
| End of season | FB | Wayne Ward | Wivenhoe Town | Released |
| End of season | MF | Andy Gooding | Wivenhoe Town | Released |
| Summer 1983 | FW | Roy McDonough | Southend United | Undisclosed |
| 2 January 1984 | CB | Adam Nichols | Free agent | Released |
| 14 April 1984 | FB | Micky Cook | Free agent | Retired |
* Total incoming: ~ £0
* 1 2 Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club
* ↑ Stayed on with Colchester United as coach

### Loans out

| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | To | End date | Ref. |
| September 1983 | FB | | Phil Coleman | Wrexham | March 1984 | |

## Match details
### Fourth Division
#### 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 | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A |
| Result | W | W | D | D | W | D | L | W | L | D | W | L | W | D | W | D | L | W | W | L | W | D | W | D | W | W | D | D | D | D | L | W | L | L | L | D | L | D | D | D | L | W | L | W | W | L |
| Position | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
Win  Draw  Loss

#### League table

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 6 | Blackpool | 46 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 70 | 52 | +18 | 72 |
| 7 | Peterborough United | 46 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 72 | 48 | +24 | 68 |
| 8 | Colchester United | 46 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 69 | 53 | +16 | 67 |
| 9 | Torquay United | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 59 | 64 | −5 | 67 |
| 10 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 53 | 53 | 0 | 66 |

#### Matches
### Associate Members' Cup
## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Fourth Division | Fourth Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Football League Trophy |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | ENG | Alec Chamberlain | 56 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Phil Coleman | 9 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Tony Hadley | 55 | 0 | 44+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Rudi Hedman | 4 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Stewart Houston | 51 | 5 | 42 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | Ian Phillips | 48 | 5 | 43 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Steve Wignall | 45 | 10 | 36 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Andy Farrell | 21 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Jeff Hull | 39 | 1 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Steve Leslie | 32 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Roger Osborne | 44 | 1 | 34+2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Tony Adcock | 53 | 33 | 41+2 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| | FW | WAL | Keith Bowen | 55 | 18 | 46 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Perry Groves | 50 | 2 | 38+4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Dave Hubbick | 14 | 0 | 3+7 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Les Mutrie | 16 | 2 | 10+4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Craig Oldfield | 4 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | John Taylor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||||||
| | DF | ENG | Micky Cook | 45 | 2 | 36 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Adam Nichols | 7 | 1 | 4+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Name | Fourth Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Total |
| 1 | FW | Tony Adcock | 26 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 33 |
| 2 | FW | Keith Bowen | 12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 18 |
| 3 | CB | Steve Wignall | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 4 | CB | Stewart Houston | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | FB | Ian Phillips | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | FB | Micky Cook | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | WG | Perry Groves | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | FW | Les Mutrie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | MF | Jeff Hull | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | MF | Steve Leslie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | CB | Adam Nichols | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | MF | Roger Osborne | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Own goals | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| | | TOTALS | 69 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 85 |

### Disciplinary record

| Position | Name | Fourth Division | Fourth Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Football League Trophy | Total | Total |
| CB | Tony Hadley | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| FB | Micky Cook | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | TOTALS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.
| Place | Nationality | Player | Fourth Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Total |
| 1 | | Alec Chamberlain | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 20 |
| | | TOTALS | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 20 |

### Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.
| Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| CB | Tony Hadley | 27 August 1983 | Darlington | Feethams |
| CB | Stewart Houston | 27 August 1983 | Darlington | Feethams |
| MF | Andy Farrell | 27 August 1983 | Darlington | Feethams |
| FW | Craig Oldfield | 3 September 1983 | Blackpool | Layer Road |
| FB | Ian Phillips | 9 September 1983 | Stockport County | Edgeley Park |
| FW | John Taylor | 14 September 1983 | Reading | Elm Park |
| FW | Dave Hubbick | 15 October 1983 | Northampton Town | Layer Road |
| CB | Adam Nichols | 18 October 1983 | Bury | Layer Road |
| FW | Les Mutrie | 28 January 1984 | Stockport County | Layer Road |
| CB | Rudi Hedman | 4 March 1984 | Bury | Gigg Lane |