# 1970–71 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1970–71 season was Colchester United's 29th season in their history and their third successive season in the fourth tier of English football, the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.
Colchester reached the FA Cup quarter-final, famously beating First Division Leeds United 3–2 at Layer Road in the fifth round. They had already defeated Ringmer, Cambridge United, Barnet and Rochdale along the way, before being defeated 5–0 by Everton at Goodison Park. Owing to their cup run, Colchester's league form stuttered, ending the campaign in sixth place, while they suffered a second round exit in the League Cup after being beaten by Birmingham City following a replay.

## Season overview

During the summer of 1970, manager Dick Graham increased the average age of his Colchester squad by signing a number of ageing players, including ex-England international Ray Crawford, Brian Garvey, John Kurila, Mick Mahon and Brian Owen. During the season, both Owen and Roy Massey suffered serious or career ending injuries, forcing Graham into signing Brian Lewis and Dave Simmons.
The 1970–71 season is most notable for Colchester's famous FA Cup run. In the first round, the U's disposed of non-League Ringmer courtesy of a Ray Crawford hat-trick. They then completed a cup double over Cambridge United, beating them 5–0 in the first round of the League Cup and then 3–0 in the second round of the FA Cup. Colchester defeated further non-League opposition in the third round, winning against Barnet at Underhill Stadium. The U's trailed 3–1 with five minutes remaining of their fourth round tie with Rochdale before staging a late comeback to earn a 3–3 draw and a Layer Road replay, where they thrashed Rochdale 5–0. This earned them a home tie against First Division side Leeds United, a side top of the League and who boasted ten internationals in their side.
Leeds United were at the time one of the best teams in the country. However, Dick Graham's side set out to frustrate Leeds by suppressing their usual wing play and playing direct football instead. Chairs and other obstacles were placed by the sidelines to produce an illusion of a narrow playing surface. Colchester found themselves 3–0 ahead after two goals from Ray Crawford and one from Dave Simmons. However, Leeds began to fight back, pulling back two goals with 17-minutes remaining, before Colchester goalkeeper Graham Smith produced a phenomenal save to deny Mick Jones with the score at 3–2. Colchester held on to record a famous victory and one of the most notable FA Cup giant-killings.
With the U's in the quarter-finals, they were drawn against Everton at Goodison Park. Dick Graham's Grandad's Army finally succumbed to defeated by a 5–0 scoreline in front of a crowd of 53,028.
Colchester's cup run had a negative impact on their league form. With fixtures backing up, a run of 17 league games following their cup exit until the end of the season proved too much as they finished the campaign in sixth position, two points shy of promotion.

## Players

    As of match played 7 May 1971.
| Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| Brian Sherratt | GK | Stoke-on-Trent | (1944-03-29)29 March 1944 (aged 26) | 0 | 0 | Gainsborough Trinity | August 1970 | Free transfer |
| Graham Smith | GK | Liverpool | (1947-11-02)2 November 1947 (aged 22) | 46 | 0 | Notts County | Summer 1969 | Free transfer |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Eric Burgess | FB | Edgware | (1944-10-27)27 October 1944 (aged 25) | 0 | 0 | Plymouth Argyle | December 1970 | Free transfer |
| Micky Cook | FB | Enfield | (1951-04-09)9 April 1951 (aged 19) | 21 | 0 | Orient | 1 March 1969 | Free transfer |
| Bobby Cram | FB | Hetton-le-Hole | (1939-11-19)19 November 1939 (aged 30) | 21 | 0 | Vancouver Royals | 17 January 1970 | Free transfer |
| Alan Dennis | CB | Colchester | (1951-02-22)22 February 1951 (aged 19) | 3 | 0 | Apprentice | April 1967 | Free transfer |
| Brian Garvey | CB | Kingston upon Hull | (1937-07-03)3 July 1937 (aged 32) | 0 | 0 | Watford | June 1970 | Free transfer |
| John Gilchrist | FB | Wishaw | (1939-09-05)5 September 1939 (aged 30) | 0 | 0 | Fulham | 15 August 1970 | Free transfer |
| Brian Hall | LB | Burbage | (1939-03-09)9 March 1939 (aged 31) | 253 | 26 | Mansfield Town | March 1965 | Free transfer |
| Bobby Howlett | CB | West Ham | (1948-12-12)12 December 1948 (aged 21) | 18 | 0 | Southend United | Summer 1968 | Free transfer |
| John Kurila | CB | Glasgow | (1941-04-10)10 April 1941 (aged 29) | 0 | 0 | Southend United | Summer 1970 | Free transfer |
| Trevor Painter | CB | Norwich | (1949-07-02)2 July 1949 (aged 20) | 0 | 0 | Norwich City | 30 April 1970 | Free transfer |
| Lindsay Smith | CB | Enfield | (1954-09-18)18 September 1954 (aged 15) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | 20 April 1971 | Free transfer |
| Adrian Webster | DF | Colchester | (1951-11-06)6 November 1951 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | July 1968 | Free transfer |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Phil Bloss | MF | Colchester | (1953-01-16)16 January 1953 (aged 17) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | January 1971 | Free transfer |
| Steve Foley | MF | Clacton-on-Sea | (1953-06-21)21 June 1953 (aged 16) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | July 1969 | Free transfer |
| Ken Jones | MF | Keighley | (1941-02-09)9 February 1941 (aged 29) | 28 | 16 | Millwall | November 1969 | £5,000 |
| Steve Leslie | MF | Hornsey | (1952-09-04)4 September 1952 (aged 17) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | 20 April 1971 | Free transfer |
| Brian Lewis | MF | Woking | (1943-01-26)26 January 1943 (aged 27) | 0 | 0 | Oxford United | 26 December 1970 | £5,000 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| Micky Brown | WG | Farnham Common | (1944-04-11)11 April 1944 (aged 26) | 58 | 12 | Luton Town | 26 October 1968 | £3,000 |
| Ray Crawford | FW | Portsmouth | (1936-07-13)13 July 1936 (aged 33) | 0 | 0 | Kettering Town | 15 August 1970 | £3,000 |
| Brian Gibbs | FW | Gillingham | (1936-10-06)6 October 1936 (aged 33) | 83 | 25 | Gillingham | September 1968 | £8,000 |
| Mick Mahon | WG | Manchester | (1944-09-17)17 September 1944 (aged 25) | 0 | 0 | York City | May 1970 | Free transfer |
| Brian Owen | WG | Harefield | (1944-11-01)1 November 1944 (aged 25) | 0 | 0 | Watford | May 1970 | Free transfer |
| Dave Simmons | FW | Ryde | (1948-10-24)24 October 1948 (aged 21) | 0 | 0 | Aston Villa | 26 December 1970 | £6,000 |
| Ray Whittaker | WG | Bow | (1945-01-15)15 January 1945 (aged 25) | 41 | 7 | Luton Town | 9 August 1969 | Free transfer |
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| Summer 1970 | CB | John Kurila | Southend United | Free transfer |
| 30 April 1970 | CB | Trevor Painter | Norwich City | Free transfer |
| May 1970 | WG | Brian Owen | Watford | Free transfer |
| May 1970 | WG | Mick Mahon | York City | Free transfer |
| June 1970 | CB | Brian Garvey | Watford | Free transfer |
| August 1970 | GK | Brian Sherratt | Gainsborough Trinity | Free transfer |
| 15 August 1970 | FB | John Gilchrist | Fulham | Free transfer |
| 15 August 1970 | FW | Ray Crawford | Kettering Town | £3,000 |
| December 1970 | FB | Eric Burgess | Plymouth Argyle | Free transfer |
| 26 December 1970 | FW | Dave Simmons | Aston Villa | £6,000 |
| 26 December 1970 | MF | Brian Lewis | Oxford United | £5,000 |
| January 1971 | MF | Phil Bloss | Apprentice | Free transfer |
| 20 April 1971 | CB | Lindsay Smith | Apprentice | Free transfer |
| 20 April 1971 | MF | Steve Leslie | Apprentice | Free transfer |
* Total spending: ~ £14,000
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 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 | FB | Bert Howe | Romford | Free transfer |
| End of season | CB | Brian Wood | Workington | Released |
| Summer 1970 | GK | Ron Willis | Arcadia Shepherds | Free transfer |
| 28 April 1970 | WG | Terry Dyson | Guildford City | Free transfer |
| 28 April 1970 | FW | Danny Light | Guildford City | Released |
| May 1970 | CB | Dave Bickles | Romford | Free transfer |
| September 1970 | FW | Jim Oliver | King's Lynn | Free transfer |
| October 1970 | MF | Roger Joslyn | Aldershot | £8,000 |
| March 1971 | FW | Roy Massey | Free agent | Retired |
* Total incoming: ~ £8,000
* 1 2 Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

### Loans out

| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | To | End date | Ref. |
| April 1971 | WG | | Micky Brown | Romford | End of season | |

## 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 | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | W | L | D | W | L | L | L | D | W | D | W | L | W | W | D | W | D | W | D | W | L | L | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | D | L | D | W | W | L | L | W | D | L | L | L | D | W | W | D |
| Position | 4 | 12 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 4 | York City | 46 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 78 | 54 | 1.444 | 56 | Promoted |
| 5 | Chester | 46 | 24 | 7 | 15 | 69 | 55 | 1.255 | 55 | |
| 6 | Colchester United | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 70 | 54 | 1.296 | 54 | Qualified for 1971 Watney Cup |
| 7 | Northampton Town | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 63 | 59 | 1.068 | 51 | |
| 8 | Southport | 46 | 21 | 6 | 19 | 63 | 57 | 1.105 | 48 | |
* ↑ The two teams who scored the most goals in each division, and did not qualify for Europe and were not promoted, qualified for the Watney Cup.

#### Matches
### FA Cup
## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Fourth Division | Fourth Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | ENG | Brian Sherratt | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | GK | ENG | Graham Smith | 47 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Eric Burgess | 10 | 1 | 8+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Micky Cook | 40 | 0 | 34+1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Bobby Cram | 53 | 4 | 43 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Alan Dennis | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Brian Garvey | 54 | 1 | 44+1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | SCO | John Gilchrist | 38 | 2 | 28 | 1 | 5+2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Brian Hall | 52 | 5 | 41+1 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| | DF | SCO | John Kurila | 54 | 2 | 44 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Trevor Painter | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Lindsay Smith | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Phil Bloss | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ken Jones | 37 | 9 | 32 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| | MF | ENG | Steve Leslie | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Brian Lewis | 22 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Ray Crawford | 55 | 31 | 45 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Brian Gibbs | 55 | 11 | 45+1 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Mick Mahon | 47 | 7 | 37+1 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Brian Owen | 9 | 4 | 4+2 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| | FW | ENG | Dave Simmons | 15 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Ray Whittaker | 9 | 0 | 5+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||||
| | MF | ENG | Roger Joslyn | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Roy Massey | 18 | 4 | 12+4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Name | Fourth Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | Ray Crawford | 24 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| 2 | FW | Brian Gibbs | 11 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| 3 | MF | Ken Jones | 4 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| 4 | WG | Mick Mahon | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| 5 | FW | Dave Simmons | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 | LB | Brian Hall | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 7 | FB | Bobby Cram | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | MF | Brian Lewis | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | FW | Roy Massey | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | WG | Brian Owen | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 11 | FB | John Gilchrist | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | CB | John Kurila | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | MF | Phil Bloss | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | FB | Eric Burgess | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | CB | Brian Garvey | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Own goals | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| | | TOTALS | 70 | 18 | 7 | 95 |

### Disciplinary record

| Position | Name | Fourth Division | Fourth Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| CB | John Kurila | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| GK | Graham Smith | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| WG | Brian Owen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | TOTALS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.
| Place | Player | Fourth Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | Graham Smith | 11 | 4 | 1 | 16 |
| 2 | Brian Sherratt | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| | TOTALS | 14 | 4 | 1 | 19 |

### Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.
| Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| CB | Brian Garvey | 15 August 1970 | Hartlepool | Layer Road |
| FB | John Gilchrist | 15 August 1970 | Hartlepool | Layer Road |
| FW | Ray Crawford | 15 August 1970 | Hartlepool | Layer Road |
| WG | Mick Mahon | 15 August 1970 | Hartlepool | Layer Road |
| CB | John Kurila | 19 August 1970 | Cambridge United | Layer Road |
| WG | Brian Owen | 19 August 1970 | Cambridge United | Layer Road |
| GK | Brian Sherratt | 21 September 1970 | Darlington | Feethams |
| CB | Trevor Painter | 18 December 1970 | Chester | Layer Road |
| FW | Dave Simmons | 26 December 1970 | Lincoln City | Sincil Bank |
| MF | Brian Lewis | 26 December 1970 | Lincoln City | Sincil Bank |
| FB | Eric Burgess | 20 February 1971 | Newport County | Layer Road |
| CB | Lindsay Smith | 20 April 1971 | Grimsby Town | Blundell Park |
| MF | Steve Leslie | 20 April 1971 | Grimsby Town | Blundell Park |
| MF | Phil Bloss | 26 April 1971 | Barrow | Layer Road |