# 1974–75 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1974–75 season was Colchester United's 33rd season in their history and their first season back in the third tier of English football for six years, the Third Division. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.
Jim Smith consolidated Colchester's position back in the third tier by leading them to an eleventh position finish to the season. They experienced a successful cup run in the League Cup, eventually falling to Second Division Aston Villa in the quarter-final stage. However, they were knocked out of the FA Cup in the second round by non-League outfit Leatherhead.

## Season overview

Ahead of the new season, Colchester's board warned that a break-even gate of 9,200 was required and that players would be sold if attendances didn't reach an average of 7,500. However, manager Jim Smith returned to former club Boston United to sign Bobby Svarc's old strike partner John Froggatt for £6,000. The acquisition was fruitful, with Svarc finding the back of the net 24 times in the league and 25 times in total, with Froggatt registering 18 with 16 in the league.
Having reached the quarter-final of the FA Cup four seasons prior, the U's emulated that achievement in the League Cup. After beating Oxford United and Southend United, they hosted First Division Carlisle United, beating the Cumbrians 2–0 to earn a home tie with Southampton. A 0–0 draw at Layer Road led to a 1–0 replay win at The Dell, courtesy of a Barry Dominey goal. This set up a quarter-final tie with Second Division Aston Villa. Villa were just too strong for United, winning 2–1 before a Layer Road crowd of 11,812.
Colchester's success in the League Cup was not replicated in the FA Cup as they were knocked out by non-League outfit Leatherhead in the second round. In the league, a strong start to the season was followed up by a weaker second half to the campaign as the U's fell from fifth to eleventh where they ended the season.
Crowds fell a long way short of the target expected by the board, with a league average of 4,941 attending during the season.

## Players

    As of match played 2 May 1975.
| Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| Mike Walker | GK | Colwyn Bay | (1945-11-28)28 November 1945 (aged 28) | 48 | 0 | Watford | July 1973 | £4,000 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Stewart Bright | FB | Colchester | (1957-10-13)13 October 1957 (aged 16) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | Summer 1974 | Free transfer |
| Micky Cook | FB | Enfield | (1951-04-09)9 April 1951 (aged 23) | 192 | 6 | Orient | 1 March 1969 | Free transfer |
| Barry Dominey | CB | Edmonton | (1955-10-21)21 October 1955 (aged 18) | 3 | 0 | Enfield WMC | September 1973 | Free transfer |
| Ray Harford | CB | Halifax | (1945-06-01)1 June 1945 (aged 29) | 69 | 3 | Port Vale | 3 February 1973 | £1,750 |
| Mick Packer | FB | Willesden | (1950-04-20)20 April 1950 (aged 24) | 35 | 0 | Watford | July 1973 | Free transfer |
| Lindsay Smith | CB | Enfield | (1954-09-18)18 September 1954 (aged 19) | 89 | 5 | Apprentice | 20 April 1971 | Free transfer |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Ray Bunkell | MF | Edmonton | (1949-09-18)18 September 1949 (aged 24) | 6 | 0 | Swindon Town | December 1973 | Part exchange |
| Steve Foley | MF | Clacton-on-Sea | (1953-06-21)21 June 1953 (aged 20) | 91 | 21 | Apprentice | July 1969 | Free transfer |
| Steve Leslie | MF | Hornsey | (1952-09-04)4 September 1952 (aged 21) | 104 | 21 | Apprentice | 20 April 1971 | Free transfer |
| Jimmy Lindsay | MF | Hamilton | (1949-07-12)12 July 1949 (aged 24) | 0 | 0 | Watford | 17 August 1974 | Free transfer |
| Bobby Roberts | MF | Edinburgh | (1940-09-02)2 September 1940 (aged 33) | 2 | 0 | Coventry City | 1 March 1973 | Free transfer |
| Phil Thomas | MF | Sherborne | (1952-12-14)14 December 1952 (aged 21) | 77 | 6 | Bournemouth | Summer 1972 | Free transfer |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| Ian Allinson | WG | Hitchin | (1957-10-01)1 October 1957 (aged 16) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | Summer 1974 | Free transfer |
| John Froggatt | FW | Stanton Hill | (1945-12-13)13 December 1945 (aged 28) | 0 | 0 | Boston United | Summer 1974 | £6,000 |
| Bobby Svarc | FW | Leicester | (1946-02-08)8 February 1946 (aged 28) | 68 | 34 | Boston United | December 1972 | £6,000 |
* 1 2 3 4 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| Summer 1974 | FB | Stewart Bright | Apprentice | Free transfer |
| Summer 1974 | WG | Ian Allinson | Apprentice | Free transfer |
| Summer 1974 | FW | John Froggatt | Boston United | £6,000 |
| 17 August 1974 | MF | Jimmy Lindsay | Watford | Free transfer |
* Total spending: ~ £6,000
* ↑ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| Summer 1974 | MF | Bobby Mills | Chelmsford City | Nominal |
| Summer 1974 | MF | Tony Wingate | Barnet | Released |
| 25 January 1975 | CB | Stuart Morgan | Bournemouth | £4,000 |
| February 1975 | FB | Alex Smith | Halifax Town | Nominal |
| 2 May 1975 | WG | Colwyn Rowe | Chelmsford City | Released |
| 31 March 1975 | FW | Barry Dyson | Chelmsford City | Released |
* Total incoming: ~ £4,000
* 1 2 Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

### Loans in

| Date | Position | Name | From | End date |
| 4 January 1975 | FW | John Sims | Derby County | 10 January 1975 |
| February 1975 | FB | Danny Cameron | Sheffield Wednesday | 4 March 1975 |
| February 1975 | MF | Ian McDonald | Liverpool | 4 March 1975 |
* 1 2 3 Loan start and end dates refer to the date of the player's first and final games for the club

### Loans out

| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | To | End date | Ref. |
| February 1975 | FW | | Barry Dyson | Chelmsford City | 31 March 1975 | |
* ↑ Loan start and end dates refer to the date of the player's first and final games for the club

## Match details
### Third 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 | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | D | L | W | D | W | W | W | D | L | D | W | W | W | L | D | D | D | L | L | W | L | W | D | W | L | D | L | L | W | L | D | D | W | W | L | W | L | L | L | W | L | L | D | W | D | W |
| Position | 15 | 18 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 |

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 9 | Preston North End | 46 | 19 | 11 | 16 | 63 | 56 | 1.125 | 49 | |
| 10 | Gillingham | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 65 | 60 | 1.083 | 48 | |
| 11 | Colchester United | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 70 | 63 | 1.111 | 47 | |
| 12 | Hereford United | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 64 | 66 | 0.970 | 46 | |
| 13 | Wrexham | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 65 | 55 | 1.182 | 45 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |

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

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Third Division | Third Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | WAL | Mike Walker | 54 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Micky Cook | 54 | 3 | 46 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Barry Dominey | 32 | 3 | 22+5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| | DF | ENG | Ray Harford | 49 | 2 | 40+1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Mick Packer | 37 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Lindsay Smith | 49 | 1 | 38+5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ray Bunkell | 34 | 1 | 23+6 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Steve Foley | 18 | 3 | 16+2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Steve Leslie | 42 | 6 | 32+2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| | MF | SCO | Jimmy Lindsay | 52 | 7 | 45 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| | MF | ENG | Phil Thomas | 35 | 2 | 26+1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Ian Allinson | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | John Froggatt | 54 | 18 | 46 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Bobby Svarc | 50 | 25 | 42 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||||
| | DF | SCO | Danny Cameron | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | WAL | Stuart Morgan | 13 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Alex Smith | 26 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ian McDonald | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Barry Dyson | 7 | 1 | 5+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Colwyn Rowe | 11 | 2 | 4+7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | John Sims | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Name | Third Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | Bobby Svarc | 24 | 0 | 1 | 25 |
| 2 | FW | John Froggatt | 16 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| 3 | MF | Jimmy Lindsay | 6 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 4 | MF | Steve Leslie | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 5 | FB | Micky Cook | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | CB | Barry Dominey | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | MF | Steve Foley | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | CB | Ray Harford | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | Ian McDonald | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | WG | Colwyn Rowe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | Phil Thomas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | MF | Ray Bunkell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | FW | Barry Dyson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | FB | Mick Packer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | CB | Lindsay Smith | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Own goals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | TOTALS | 70 | 1 | 7 | 78 |

### Disciplinary record

| Position | Name | Third Division | Third Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| MF | Steve Leslie | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| CB | Stuart Morgan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| CB | Ray Harford | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | TOTALS | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.
| Place | Nationality | Player | Third Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | | Mike Walker | 13 | 1 | 5 | 19 |
| | | TOTALS | 13 | 1 | 5 | 19 |

### Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.
| Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| MF | Jimmy Lindsay | 17 August 1974 | Watford | Layer Road |
| FW | John Froggatt | 17 August 1974 | Watford | Layer Road |
| FW | John Sims | 4 January 1975 | Aldershot | Layer Road |
| FB | Danny Cameron | 8 February 1975 | Wrexham | Racecourse Ground |
| MF | Ian McDonald | 8 February 1975 | Wrexham | Racecourse Ground |
| WG | Ian Allinson | 19 April 1975 | Preston North End | Layer Road |