# 1953–54 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1953–54 season was Colchester United's twelfth season in their history and their fourth season in the Third Division South, the third tier of English football. Alongside competing in the Third Division South, the club also participated in the FA Cup. Colchester were knocked out in the first round of the cup by Millwall following a replay. The club struggled in the league for the second successive season, eventually finishing 23rd of 24 teams under new manager Jack Butler. The club had to apply for re-election at the end of the season for the first of three occasions in its history. All four clubs applying for re-election were successful, with Colchester receiving 45 votes, behind Chester by three votes but ahead of both Walsall (32 votes) and Halifax Town (28 votes).

## Season overview

Following Jimmy Allen's resignation at the end of the previous season, the Colchester United board shortlisted three names for the vacant managerial position, and in-line with their cost reduction policy, appointed Ron Meades as player-manager. Meades had claimed to have been with Cardiff City, and more recently manager of Western League side Wadebridge Town. Journalist Arthur Wood investigated Meades' background and revealed that Meades was a fraud, and after just four days in charge, Meades was asked to leave by the club.
Colchester hurriedly appointed a new manager, Jack Butler, a former player for Arsenal and England international. He had coached in Belgium, initially with Royal Daring Club Molenbeek and had been in charge of the Belgium national team between 1935 and 1940, leading them to the 1938 World Cup finals. More recently, he had managed Torquay United and Crystal Palace, but Butler had little time to prepare his side ahead of the new season, and a 13-game winless run in late 1953 saw Colchester slump to 23rd position in the league.
With the crowd average falling season-on-season to 7,797, the club were required to apply for re-election after finishing the campaign ten points adrift of safety. Colchester earned 45 votes, enough to ensure another season in the Football League, but having been prolific goalscorers earlier in their history, the club had scored only 50 league goals this season.

## Players

    As of match played 29 April 1954.
| Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| Frank Coombs | GK | East Ham | (1925-04-24)24 April 1925 (aged 28) | 31 | 0 | Southend United | 8 March 1952 | £450 |
| George Wright | GK | Plymouth | (1919-10-10)10 October 1919 (aged 33) | 164 | 0 | Plymouth Argyle | May 1949 | £1,000 |
| John Wright | GK | Aldershot | (1933-08-13)13 August 1933 (aged 19) | 0 | 0 | Colchester Casuals | 23 May 1952 | Free transfer |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Roy Bicknell | CB | Doncaster | (1926-02-19)19 February 1926 (aged 27) | 8 | 0 | Gravesend & Northfleet | June 1952 | £1,000 |
| George French | FB | Colchester | (1926-11-10)10 November 1926 (aged 26) | 1 | 0 | West Ham United | February 1949 | Free transfer |
| John Harrison | FB | Leicester | (1927-09-27)27 September 1927 (aged 25) | 128 | 0 | Aston Villa | 30 September 1950 | Nominal |
| Billy Hunt | CB | Colchester | (1934-11-25)25 November 1934 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Amateur | August 1953 | Free transfer |
| Digger Kettle | FB | Colchester | (1922-06-03)3 June 1922 (aged 30) | 168 | 1 | Arclight Sports | September 1946 | Free transfer |
| Fred Lewis | FB | Broughton Gifford | (1923-07-26)26 July 1923 (aged 29) | 0 | 0 | Chelsea | Summer 1953 | Free transfer |
| Reg Stewart | CB | Sheffield | (1925-10-30)30 October 1925 (aged 27) | 191 | 0 | Sheffield Wednesday | 20 August 1949 | £1,000 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Harry Bearryman | WH | Wandsworth | (1924-09-26)26 September 1924 (aged 28) | 293 | 10 | Chelsea | 4 July 1947 | Free transfer |
| Bob Dale | WH | Irlam | (1931-10-31)31 October 1931 (aged 21) | 0 | 0 | Bury | 24 December 1953 | £1,500 |
| Austin Dunne | WH | Limerick | (1934-07-31)31 July 1934 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Limerick | October 1953 | Free transfer |
| Jimmy Elder | WH | Scone | (1928-03-05)5 March 1928 (aged 25) | 143 | 10 | Portsmouth | 19 August 1950 | £1,000 |
| Trevor Harris | WH | Colchester | (1936-02-06)6 February 1936 (aged 17) | 0 | 0 | Amateur | July 1951 | Free transfer |
| Bert Hill | WH | West Ham | (1930-03-08)8 March 1930 (aged 23) | 1 | 0 | Chelsea | September 1952 | £300 |
| Ron Hunt | WH | Colchester | (1933-09-26)26 September 1933 (aged 19) | 3 | 0 | Amateur | October 1951 | Free transfer |
| Doug Keene | WH | Hendon | (1928-08-30)30 August 1928 (aged 24) | 0 | 0 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 20 August 1953 | £1,000 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| Peter Aitchison | WG | Harlow | (1931-09-19)19 September 1931 (aged 21) | 12 | 2 | Amateur | August 1950 | Free transfer |
| John Church | WG | Lowestoft | (1919-09-17)17 September 1919 (aged 33) | 122 | 22 | Norwich City | 19 August 1950 | £1,000 |
| Mike Grice | WG | Woking | (1931-11-03)3 November 1931 (aged 21) | 13 | 1 | Lowestoft Town | Summer 1952 | £25 |
| Kevin McCurley | CF | Consett | (1926-04-02)2 April 1926 (aged 27) | 58 | 25 | Liverpool | June 1951 | £750 |
| Johnny McKim | IF | Greenock | (1926-01-22)22 January 1926 (aged 27) | 84 | 33 | Chelsea | 19 August 1950 | £1,000 |
| Ken Plant | CF | Nuneaton | (1925-08-15)15 August 1925 (aged 27) | 0 | 0 | Bury | January 1954 | Undisclosed |
| Peter Wright | WG | Colchester | (1934-01-26)26 January 1934 (aged 19) | 21 | 2 | Amateur | November 1951 | Free transfer |
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| Summer 1953 | FB | Fred Lewis | Chelsea | Free transfer |
| June 1953 | CF | Tommy Harris | Leyton Orient | Part-exchange with Stan Edwards |
| August 1953 | CB | Billy Hunt | Amateur | Free transfer |
| 20 August 1953 | WH | Doug Keene | Brighton & Hove Albion | £1,000 |
| October 1953 | WH | Austin Dunne | Limerick | Free transfer |
| 24 December 1953 | WH | Bob Dale | Bury | £1,500 |
| January 1954 | CF | Ken Plant | Bury | Undisclosed |
* Total spending: ~ £2,500
* ↑ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 2 May 1953 | FB | Phil Rookes | Chichester City | Manager |
| June 1953 | CF | Stan Edwards | Leyton Orient | Part-exchange with Tommy Harris |
| 22 August 1953 | FB | Trevor Rowlands | Great Yarmouth Town | Free transfer |
| 5 December 1953 | CF | Tommy Harris | Tonbridge | Free transfer |
| 23 January 1954 | FW | Dick Cullum | Sittingbourne | Free transfer |
| 13 March 1954 | IF | Bert Barlow | Retired | Retired |
| 17 April 1954 | IF | Augie Scott | Cheltenham Town | Player-coach |
* 1 2 3 4 5 Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

## Match details
### Third Division South
#### 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 | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | A | H |
| Result | W | L | W | W | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | D | L | L | L | L | D | L | D | L | L | W | L | W | D | W | D | L | L | D | W | W | L | L | L | L | L | D | L | D | W | L | D | L | D | L |
| Position | 2 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 |

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 20 | Swindon Town | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 67 | 70 | 0.957 | 40 | |
| 21 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 65 | 76 | 0.855 | 40 | |
| 22 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 60 | 86 | 0.698 | 40 | |
| 23 | Colchester United | 46 | 10 | 10 | 26 | 50 | 78 | 0.641 | 30 | Re-elected |
| 24 | Walsall | 46 | 9 | 8 | 29 | 40 | 87 | 0.460 | 26 | Re-elected |

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

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Third Division South | Third Division South | FA Cup | FA Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | ENG | Frank Coombs | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | GK | ENG | George Wright | 41 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Roy Bicknell | 21 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | George French | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | John Harrison | 42 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Digger Kettle | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Fred Lewis | 48 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Reg Stewart | 27 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Harry Bearryman | 39 | 2 | 37 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Bob Dale | 21 | 4 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Jimmy Elder | 39 | 4 | 37 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Bert Hill | 16 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ron Hunt | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Doug Keene | 24 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | John Church | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Mike Grice | 18 | 2 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Kevin McCurley | 34 | 9 | 32 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| | FW | SCO | Johnny McKim | 19 | 6 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Ken Plant | 17 | 6 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Peter Wright | 23 | 2 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||
| | FW | ENG | Bert Barlow | 34 | 10 | 32 | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Dick Cullum | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Tommy Harris | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Augie Scott | 39 | 4 | 37 | 4 | 2 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Name | Third Division South | FA Cup | Total |
| 1 | IF | Bert Barlow | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | CF | Kevin McCurley | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | IF | Johnny McKim | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | CF | Ken Plant | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | WH | Bob Dale | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | WH | Jimmy Elder | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | IF | Augie Scott | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | WH | Harry Bearryman | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | WG | Mike Grice | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | WG | Peter Wright | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | WH | Bert Hill | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | WH | Doug Keene | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Own goals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 51 | 1 | 52 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.
| Place | Nationality | Player | Third Division South | FA Cup | Total |
| 1 | | George Wright | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| | | TOTALS | 7 | 0 | 7 |

### Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.
| Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| WH | Doug Keene | 20 August 1953 | Torquay United | Layer Road |
| FB | Fred Lewis | 20 August 1953 | Torquay United | Layer Road |
| CF | Tommy Harris | 10 October 1953 | Coventry City | Layer Road |
| WH | Bob Dale | 2 January 1954 | Crystal Palace | Selhurst Park |
| CF | Ken Plant | 6 February 1954 | Swindon Town | Layer Road |