# 1997–98 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1997–98 season was Colchester United's 56th season in their history and their sixth consecutive season in the fourth tier of English football, the Third Division. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Football League Trophy.
Colchester ended the season with a strong finish, one point shy of automatic promotion in fourth place. This meant another attempt at promotion via the play-offs. Colchester faced Barnet in the semi-final first leg, and they lost 1–0 at Underhill Stadium. In the return leg at Layer Road, Colchester won 3–1 to defeat Barnet 3–2 on aggregate thus achieving a place in the final and a second trip to Wembley in a year. In the final, the U's faced Torquay United. A David Gregory penalty was enough to separate the sides and promote Colchester to the third tier of English football for the first time in 17 years.
Despite reaching the final of the Football League Trophy the season prior, Colchester were knocked out at the first round stage by Leyton Orient this term. They suffered a same fate at the hands of Luton Town in the League Cup and saw a second round exit in the FA Cup to Hereford United.

## Season overview

Colchester were eliminated at the first round stage of the League Cup, and also the first round of the Football League Trophy after reaching the 1997 Final. They once again lost to a non-League side in Hereford United in the FA Cup second round following a replay.
The club were awarded a settlement of £300,000 from Ipswich Town owing to the saga over George Burley's acrimonious exit from Colchester to their Suffolk neighbours in late 1994. Meanwhile, Alfred McAlpine were named as the consultants commissioned for the process of building a new stadium for Colchester United, with the club's lease on Layer Road due to expire in 2002.
Manager Steve Wignall broke the club's transfer record by spending £50,000 on Neil Gregory, who joined from Ipswich Town to reunite with his brother David.
Colchester's had a late season upturn in form, winning ten of their final 15 games as they missed automatic promotion by just one point. This meant that they had qualified for the play-offs, where they would face seventh-placed Barnet, who themselves earned a place in the play-offs by just one point ahead of Scunthorpe United.
Barnet won the first-leg at Underhill Stadium 1–0, but both sides were reduced to ten men in the game after Guy Branston was sent off for the U's and Sean Devine saw red for Barnet. Colchester won the Layer Road leg 3–1 after extra time with goals from David Gregory and David Greene. Barnet also had Lee Howarth sent off on 60 minutes while Barnet were leading 2–1 on aggregate.
The win took Colchester to Wembley for the second time in a year and a third trip in six years. The fixture was moved to Friday night to accommodate an England versus Saudi Arabia friendly, and as such attracted a relatively low crowd of 19,486. The game was also broadcast on Sky Sports. David Gregory converted from the penalty spot on 22 minutes to win the match 1–0 for Colchester and earn promotion back to the third tier of English football for the first time in 17 years.

## Players

    As of match played 22 May 1998.
| Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| Carl Emberson | GK | Epsom | (1973-07-13)13 July 1973 (aged 23) | 129 | 0 | Millwall | 6 July 1994 | £25,000 |
| Tamer Fernandes | GK | Paddington | (1974-12-07)7 December 1974 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | Peterborough United | 28 January 1998 | Free transfer |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Simon Betts | FB | Middlesbrough | (1973-03-03)3 March 1973 (aged 24) | 172 | 11 | Scarborough | 11 December 1992 | Free transfer |
| Peter Cawley | CB | Walton-on-Thames | (1965-09-15)15 September 1965 (aged 31) | 184 | 9 | Barnet | 30 October 1992 | Free transfer |
| Joe Dunne | FB | Dublin | (1973-05-25)25 May 1973 (aged 24) | 47 | 2 | Gillingham | 27 March 1996 | Free transfer |
| David Greene | CB | Luton | (1973-10-26)26 October 1973 (aged 23) | 71 | 4 | Luton Town | 21 June 1996 | £30,000 |
| Nicky Haydon | DF/MF | Barking | (1978-08-10)10 August 1978 (aged 18) | 1 | 1 | Youth team | 1 August 1995 | Free transfer |
| Scott Stamps | FB | Edgbaston | (1975-03-20)20 March 1975 (aged 22) | 8 | 0 | Torquay United | 26 March 1997 | £15,000 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Paul Buckle | MF | Hatfield | (1970-12-16)16 December 1970 (aged 26) | 29 | 3 | Wycombe Wanderers | 28 November 1996 | Free transfer |
| Karl Duguid | MF | Letchworth | (1978-03-21)21 March 1978 (aged 19) | 42 | 4 | Youth team | 9 December 1995 | Free transfer |
| Steve Forbes | MF | Stoke Newington | (1975-12-24)24 December 1975 (aged 21) | 1 | 1 | Millwall | 14 March 1997 | Free transfer |
| Jeremy Goss | MF | Dhekelia | (1965-05-11)11 May 1965 (aged 32) | 0 | 0 | Heart of Midlothian | January 1998 | Free transfer |
| David Gregory | MF | Sudbury | (1970-01-23)23 January 1970 (aged 27) | 58 | 1 | Peterborough United | 8 December 1995 | Free transfer |
| Dave Rainford | MF | Stepney | (1979-04-21)21 April 1979 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Youth team | July 1997 | Free transfer |
| Aaron Skelton | MF/DF | Welwyn Garden City | (1974-11-22)22 November 1974 (aged 22) | 0 | 0 | Luton Town | 3 July 1997 | Free transfer |
| Richard Wilkins | MF/DF | Lambeth | (1965-05-28)28 May 1965 (aged 32) | 230 | 34 | Hereford United | 3 July 1996 | £17,500 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| Paul Abrahams | FW/WG | Colchester | (1973-10-31)31 October 1973 (aged 23) | 119 | 24 | Brentford | 23 October 1996 | £20,000 |
| Tony Adcock | FW | Bethnal Green | (1963-03-27)27 March 1963 (aged 34) | 314 | 143 | Luton Town | 3 August 1995 | Free transfer |
| Neil Gregory | FW | Ndola | (1972-10-07)7 October 1972 (aged 24) | 10 | 5 | Ipswich Town | 26 March 1998 | £50,000 |
| Ian Hathaway | WG | Wordsley | (1968-08-22)22 August 1968 (aged 28) | 0 | 0 | Torquay United | 1 August 1997 | Free transfer |
| Tony Lock | FW | Harlow | (1976-09-03)3 September 1976 (aged 20) | 10 | 2 | Apprentice | 28 January 1995 | Free transfer |
| Mark Sale | FW | Burton upon Trent | (1972-02-27)27 February 1972 (aged 25) | 13 | 3 | Mansfield Town | 10 March 1997 | £23,500 |
* ↑ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game in his second spell for the club
* 1 2 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| July 1997 | MF | Dave Rainford | Youth team | Free transfer |
| 3 July 1997 | MF/DF | Aaron Skelton | Luton Town | Free transfer |
| 1 August 1997 | WG | Ian Hathaway | Torquay United | Free transfer |
| 8 September 1997 | GK | Paul Newell | Sittingbourne | Non-contract |
| January 1998 | MF | Jeremy Goss | Heart of Midlothian | Free transfer |
| 28 January 1998 | GK | Tamer Fernandes | Peterborough United | Free transfer |
| 26 March 1998 | FW | Neil Gregory | Ipswich Town | £50,000 |
* Total spending: ~ £50,000

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| End of season | MF | Ernie Cooksey | Heybridge Swifts | Released |
| Summer 1997 | GK | Garrett Caldwell | Toronto Supra | Undisclosed |
| Summer 1997 | CB | Andy Partner | Heybridge Swifts | Free transfer |
| 31 May 1997 | FB | Paul Gibbs | Torquay United | Free transfer |
| 31 May 1997 | CB | Tony McCarthy | Shelbourne | Released |
| July 1997 | MF/WG | Chris Fry | Exeter City | Released |
| 1 August 1997 | MF/FB | Adam Locke | Bristol City | Free transfer |
| 17 September 1997 | GK | Paul Newell | Northampton Town | Released |
| 27 February 1998 | FW | Steve Whitton | Free agent | Retired |
* Total incoming: ~ £0
* ↑ Following Tony McCarthy's release by Colchester United, he later signed for Shelbourne.
* ↑ Following Paul Newell's release by Colchester United, he later signed for Northampton Town.
* ↑ After retiring through injury, Steve Whitton remained at Colchester United as assistant manager.

### Loans in

| Date | Position | Name | From | End date |
| 26 September 1997 | FW | Isaiah Rankin | Arsenal | 26 December 1997 |
| 16 October 1997 | CB | Wayne Brown | Ipswich Town | 8 November 1997 |
| 1 January 1998 | FW | Neil Gregory | Ipswich Town | 2 March 1998 |
| 9 February 1998 | CB | Guy Branston | Leicester City | 10 May 1998 |
* ↑ Loan end date refers to the date of the player's final game in his first spell for the club

### Loans out

| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | To | End date | Ref. |
| 24 December 1997 | MF | | Dave Rainford | Wivenhoe Town | 24 February 1998 | |

## 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 | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | W | L | D | D | L | W | W | W | L | D | L | D | W | W | D | D | L | W | L | L | L | W | D | W | L | L | W | W | L | D | L | W | W | W | W | D | L | W | D | W | W | W | W | L | D | W |
| Position | 4 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 |

#### League table

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 2 | Macclesfield Town | 46 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 63 | 44 | +19 | 82 | Promoted |
| 3 | Lincoln City | 46 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 60 | 51 | +9 | 75 | Promoted |
| 4 | Colchester United | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 72 | 60 | +12 | 74 | Promoted through play-offs |
| 5 | Torquay United | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 68 | 59 | +9 | 74 | Participated in play-offs |
| 6 | Scarborough | 46 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 67 | 58 | +9 | 72 | Participated in play-offs |
* ↑ New club in the league

#### Football League play-offs
### Football League Cup
### Football League Trophy
## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Third Division | Third Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Football League Trophy | Football League play-offs | Football League play-offs |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | ENG | Carl Emberson | 56 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Simon Betts | 23 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Peter Cawley | 33 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | IRL | Joe Dunne | 33 | 2 | 22+3 | 2 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | IRL | David Greene | 47 | 5 | 38 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| | DF | ENG | Nicky Haydon | 20 | 0 | 9+8 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Scott Stamps | 32 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Paul Buckle | 45 | 5 | 33+5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Karl Duguid | 28 | 3 | 6+15 | 3 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Steve Forbes | 43 | 2 | 25+10 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | David Gregory | 54 | 10 | 42+2 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| | MF | ENG | Aaron Skelton | 48 | 7 | 37+2 | 7 | 3+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Richard Wilkins | 43 | 5 | 37 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Paul Abrahams | 30 | 7 | 16+9 | 7 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Tony Adcock | 32 | 5 | 19+6 | 5 | 3+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Neil Gregory | 18 | 7 | 12+3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Ian Hathaway | 16 | 1 | 5+7 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Tony Lock | 41 | 6 | 14+18 | 6 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Mark Sale | 48 | 8 | 38+1 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||||||||
| | DF | ENG | Guy Branston | 13 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Wayne Brown | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Isaiah Rankin | 12 | 5 | 10+1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Steve Whitton | 23 | 1 | 15+6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Name | Third Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Football League play-offs | Total |
| 1 | MF | David Gregory | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 2 | FW | Mark Sale | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 | FW/WG | Paul Abrahams | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | FW | Neil Gregory | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | MF/DF | Aaron Skelton | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 6 | FW | Tony Lock | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 | FW | Tony Adcock | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | MF | Paul Buckle | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | CB | David Greene | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 7 | FW | Isaiah Rankin | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | MF/DF | Richard Wilkins | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 12 | MF | Karl Duguid | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 13 | FB | Joe Dunne | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | MF | Steve Forbes | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | CB | Guy Branston | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | WG | Ian Hathaway | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | FB | Scott Stamps | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | FW | Steve Whitton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Own goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 72 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 81 |

### Disciplinary record

| Position | Name | Third Division | Third Division | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Football League Trophy | Football League play-offs | Football League play-offs | Total | Total |
| CB | David Greene | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| CB | Peter Cawley | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| FW | Mark Sale | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| FB | Joe Dunne | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| FW | Steve Whitton | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| MF | Steve Forbes | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| MF | David Gregory | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| FB | Scott Stamps | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| FW/WG | Paul Abrahams | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| FB | Simon Betts | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| CB | Guy Branston | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| MF | Karl Duguid | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| DF/MF | Nicky Haydon | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| FW | Tony Lock | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| MF | Richard Wilkins | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| FW | Tony Adcock | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | Paul Buckle | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FW | Neil Gregory | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | Isaiah Rankin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| CB | Wayne Brown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| GK | Carl Emberson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| WG | Ian Hathaway | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF/DF | Aaron Skelton | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | TOTALS | 74 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 100 | 3 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.
| Place | Nationality | Player | Third Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Football League play-offs | Total |
| 1 | | Carl Emberson | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 |
| | | TOTALS | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 |

### Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.
| Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| WG | Ian Hathaway | 9 August 1997 | Darlington | Layer Road |
| MF/DF | Aaron Skelton | 9 August 1997 | Darlington | Layer Road |
| FW | Isaiah Rankin | 27 September 1997 | Exeter City | Layer Road |
| CB | Wayne Brown | 18 October 1997 | Shrewsbury Town | Layer Road |
| FW | Neil Gregory | 3 January 1998 | Hartlepool United | Layer Road |
| CB | Guy Branston | 13 February 1998 | Mansfield Town | Layer Road |
| FW | Neil Gregory | 3 April 1998 | Rotherham United | Layer Road |
* ↑ Second debut for the club