# 2006–07 Colchester United F.C. season

The 2006–07 season was Colchester United's 65th season in their history and their first-ever season in the second tier of English football, the Championship. Alongside competing in the Championship, the club also participated in the FA Cup and League Cup.
Following Colchester's promotion from League One, bookmakers had the U's as favourites for an immediate return to the third tier, especially following manager Phil Parkinson's acrimonious resignation and subsequent appointment at Hull City. However, under the guidance of Parkinson's former assistant manager Geraint Williams, Colchester achieved a 10th-place finish in the league, defying the odds and a club record best ever league finish. Indeed, Colchester found themselves on the edges of the play-off positions for much of the season, eventually ending the campaign six points shy after a patch of poor form in February and March.
Colchester for the first time ever entered the FA Cup at the third round stage, but were immediately eliminated by League Two Barnet. They suffered a similar fate in the League Cup when another League Two club Milton Keynes Dons knocked the U's out of the competition in extra time.

## Season overview

On 13 June 2006, manager Phil Parkinson who had led Colchester to their first ever promotion to the second tier, resigned. It was a situation reminiscent of George Burley's resignation and move to Ipswich Town in the 1994–95 season. Hull City's chairman Adam Pearson had approached Parkinson illegally regarding their vacant managers position, and as with Ipswich before, was made to pay when Colchester chairman Peter Heard won £400,000 in damages for the club.
New club owner Robbie Cowling's first task was to appoint Parkinson's successor, with Parkinson's former assistant Geraint Williams overseeing pre-season training. He was ultimately appointed following a lengthy recruitment process and charged with leading United into their first season in the Championship. Mick Harford was brought in as his assistant.
On the back of a successful 2005–06 season for midfielder Neil Danns, scoring 15 goals, he left for Birmingham City in a deal worth up to £850,000. Incoming were former U's loanees Jamie Cureton and Johnnie Jackson.
After a solid yet unsuccessful start to the season, Colchester were without a win after four games, albeit defeats by a single goal on each occasion. They earned their first Championship victory on 26 August when they beat Derby County 4–3 courtesy of a Cureton hat-trick. Colchester then hosted Ipswich Town in the first league derby between the two neighbouring sides for 49 years. Colchester stalwart Karl Duguid's goal was enough to hand the U's victory. Parkinson returned to Layer Road with his struggling Hull side in November as Chris Iwelumo equalled a club record and scored four for himself as the U's beat the Tigers 5–1. Parkinson was sacked by Hull five days later after Colchester's eighth successive home victory on their way to eleven consecutive home victories in the league. By Christmas, the U's found themselves in the play-off positions.
Talk at this point turned to the potential for the U's to ground-share Portman Road with Ipswich Town if they achieved the ultimate dream of promotion to the Premier League as the first turf was cut on the new stadium development at Cuckoo Farm.
In January, the U's received a club record £2.5m from Reading for their England under-20s international Greg Halford.
With two games to spare, Colchester were just one point off the play-off places. Defeat at main rivals Stoke City ended their hopes but the 10th-placed finish was the best in the club's history, making them 30th of all clubs in the English football pyramid. Gates at Layer Road had risen to an average of 5,466, the highest since the 1970–71 season with most games sold out.

## Players

    As of match played 6 May 2007.
| No. | Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||||
| 1 | Aidan Davison | GK | Sedgefield | (1968-05-11)11 May 1968 (aged 38) | 84 | 0 | Grimsby Town | 5 July 2004 | Free transfer |
| 13 | Dean Gerken | GK | Southend-on-Sea | (1985-05-22)22 May 1985 (aged 21) | 31 | 0 | Youth team | 1 August 2002 | Free transfer |
| 23 | Mark Cousins | GK | Chelmsford | (1987-01-09)9 January 1987 (aged 19) | 0 | 0 | Youth team | 1 August 2004 | Free transfer |
| Defenders |||||||||||
| 3 | John White | FB | Colchester | (1986-07-26)26 July 1986 (aged 19) | 65 | 0 | Youth team | 1 July 2003 | Free transfer |
| 5 | Wayne Brown | CB | Barking | (1977-08-20)20 August 1977 (aged 28) | 111 | 4 | Watford | 8 July 2004 | Free transfer |
| 12 | Pat Baldwin | CB | City of London | (1982-11-12)12 November 1982 (aged 23) | 109 | 0 | Chelsea | 16 August 2002 | Free transfer |
| 16 | George Elokobi | FB/CB | Mamfe | (1986-01-31)31 January 1986 (aged 20) | 17 | 2 | Dulwich Hamlet | 1 August 2004 | Free transfer |
| 17 | Lawrie Wilson | FB | Collier Row | (1987-09-11)11 September 1987 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Charlton Athletic | 19 August 2006 | Free transfer |
| 19 | Garry Richards | CB | Romford | (1986-06-11)11 June 1986 (aged 19) | 19 | 0 | Youth team | 1 July 2004 | Free transfer |
| 27 | Matthew Paine | DF | Sidcup | (1987-12-22)22 December 1987 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Youth team | 18 December 2005 | Free transfer |
| Midfielders |||||||||||
| 4 | Johnnie Jackson | MF | Camden Town | (1982-08-15)15 August 1982 (aged 23) | 8 | 0 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 June 2006 | Free transfer |
| 6 | Kevin Watson | MF | Hackney | (1974-01-03)3 January 1974 (aged 32) | 105 | 3 | Reading | 5 July 2004 | Free transfer |
| 7 | Karl Duguid | MF | Letchworth | (1978-03-21)21 March 1978 (aged 28) | 353 | 40 | Youth team | 9 December 1995 | Free transfer |
| 10 | Kemal Izzet | MF | Whitechapel | (1980-09-29)29 September 1980 (aged 25) | 200 | 18 | Charlton Athletic | 13 April 2001 | Free transfer |
| 14 | Richard Garcia | MF | Perth | (1981-09-04)4 September 1981 (aged 24) | 61 | 14 | West Ham United | 3 September 2004 | Nominal |
| 21 | Robbie King | MF | Chelmsford | (1986-10-01)1 October 1986 (aged 19) | 5 | 0 | Youth team | 1 July 2004 | Free transfer |
| 25 | Anthony Wordsworth | MF | Camden Town | (1989-01-03)3 January 1989 (aged 17) | 0 | 0 | Youth team | 1 July 2006 | Free transfer |
| Forwards |||||||||||
| 8 | Jamie Cureton | FW | Bristol | (1975-08-28)28 August 1975 (aged 30) | 10 | 7 | Swindon Town | 6 June 2006 | Free transfer |
| 9 | Marino Keith | FW | Peterhead | (1974-12-16)16 December 1974 (aged 31) | 12 | 4 | Plymouth Argyle | 1 March 2005 | Free transfer |
| 11 | Chris Iwelumo | FW | Coatbridge | (1978-08-01)1 August 1978 (aged 27) | 55 | 19 | Alemannia Aachen | 6 July 2005 | Free transfer |
| 15 | Jamie Guy | FW | Barking | (1987-08-01)1 August 1987 (aged 18) | 8 | 0 | Youth team | 1 July 2004 | Free transfer |
| 20 | Kevin McLeod | WG | Liverpool | (1980-09-12)12 September 1980 (aged 25) | 0 | 0 | Swansea City | 30 August 2006 | Free transfer |
| 28 | Craig Hughes | FW | Canterbury | (1987-11-26)26 November 1987 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Youth team | 24 January 2006 | Free transfer |
* ↑ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 6 June 2006 | FW | Jamie Cureton | Swindon Town | Free transfer |
| 26 June 2006 | MF | Johnnie Jackson | Tottenham Hotspur | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2006 | MF | Anthony Wordsworth | Youth team | Free transfer |
| 19 August 2006 | FB | Lawrie Wilson | Charlton Athletic | Free transfer |
| 30 August 2006 | WG | Kevin McLeod | Swansea City | Free transfer |
* Total spending: ~ £0

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 31 May 2006 | MF | Russell Pond | Free agent | Released |
| 31 May 2006 | FW | Gareth Williams | Weymouth | Released |
| 19 June 2006 | FB | Stephen Hunt | Notts County | Released |
| 20 June 2006 | MF | Neil Danns | Birmingham City | £500,000 |
| 11 July 2006 | CB | Liam Chilvers | Preston North End | Free transfer |
| 14 July 2006 | FW | Tony Thorpe | Stevenage Borough | Released |
| 17 July 2006 | FB | Sam Stockley | Wycombe Wanderers | Released |
| 30 January 2007 | FB/MF | Greg Halford | Reading | £2,500,000 |
* Total incoming: ~ £3,000,000

### Loans in

| Date | Position | Name | From | End date |
| 16 August 2006 | FB | Chris Barker | Cardiff City | 7 May 2007 |
| 27 August 2006 | MF | Ritchie Jones | Manchester United | 27 November 2006 |
| 23 November 2006 | FW | Hogan Ephraim | West Ham United | 7 May 2007 |
| 26 January 2007 | CB | Matt Mills | Manchester City | 30 March 2007 |

### Loans out

| Date | Position | Name | To | End date |
| 3 November 2006 | GK | Mark Cousins | Yeading | 3 December 2006 |
| 8 December 2006 | FB | Lawrie Wilson | Welling United | 8 January 2007 |
| 12 January 2007 | MF | Robbie King | Heybridge Swifts | 12 March 2007 |
| 26 January 2007 | DF | Matthew Paine | Thurrock | 31 May 2007 |
| 9 February 2007 | CB | Garry Richards | Brentford | 9 March 2007 |
| 22 March 2007 | FW | Craig Hughes | Cambridge United | 22 April 2007 |

## Match details
### Championship
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 8 | Stoke City | 46 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 62 | 41 | +21 | 73 |
| 9 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 70 | 66 | +4 | 71 |
| 10 | Colchester United | 46 | 20 | 9 | 17 | 70 | 56 | +14 | 69 |
| 11 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 63 | 62 | +1 | 67 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 58 | 50 | +8 | 65 |

#### 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 | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | L | L | L | W | W | D | W | D | W | L | W | L | W | D | W | L | L | W | W | D | W | W | L | W | W | L | D | L | W | D | W | L | L | D | L | D | L | W | W | W | W | D | W | L | L |
| Position | 17 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 15 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |

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

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Championship | Championship | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | NIR | Aidan Davison | 19 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | John White | 17 | 0 | 8+8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Johnnie Jackson | 33 | 2 | 24+8 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Wayne Brown | 48 | 1 | 46 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Kevin Watson | 42 | 1 | 38+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Karl Duguid | 45 | 5 | 42+1 | 5 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Jamie Cureton | 46 | 24 | 44 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Kemal Izzet | 47 | 1 | 45 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | SCO | Chris Iwelumo | 48 | 18 | 41+5 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Pat Baldwin | 40 | 1 | 35+3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Dean Gerken | 29 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | AUS | Richard Garcia | 38 | 7 | 33+3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | ENG | Jamie Guy | 34 | 3 | 1+31 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | CMR | George Elokobi | 10 | 0 | 8+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Garry Richards | 5 | 1 | 3+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Kevin McLeod | 25 | 3 | 13+11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | ENG | Greg Halford | 30 | 3 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Chris Barker | 39 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Ritchie Jones | 6 | 0 | 0+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Matt Mills | 9 | 0 | 8+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | ENG | Hogan Ephraim | 21 | 1 | 5+16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Number | Position | Name | Championship | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | 8 | FW | Jamie Cureton | 23 | 1 | 0 | 24 |
| 2 | 11 | FW | Chris Iwelumo | 18 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 3 | 14 | MF | Richard Garcia | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 4 | 7 | MF | Karl Duguid | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | 2 | FB/MF | Greg Halford | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | 15 | FW | Jamie Guy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | 20 | WG | Kevin McLeod | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | 4 | MF | Johnnie Jackson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | 5 | CB | Wayne Brown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | 6 | MF | Kevin Watson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | 10 | MF | Kemal Izzet | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | 12 | CB | Pat Baldwin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | 19 | CB | Garry Richards | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | 24 | FW | Hogan Ephraim | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | | Own goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | | TOTALS | 70 | 1 | 0 | 71 |

### Disciplinary record

| Number | Position | Name | Championship | Championship | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| 18 | FB | Chris Barker | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 10 | MF | Kemal Izzet | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Karl Duguid | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Richard Garcia | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 5 | CB | Wayne Brown | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | Hogan Ephraim | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2 | FB/MF | Greg Halford | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | Jamie Cureton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | CB | Pat Baldwin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Johnnie Jackson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Kevin Watson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | Chris Iwelumo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | WG | Kevin McLeod | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | CB | Matt Mills | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | Jamie Guy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | FB/CB | George Elokobi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Ritchie Jones | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 49 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 2 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.
| Place | Number | Player | Championship | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | 13 | Dean Gerken | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2 | 1 | Aidan Davison | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| | | TOTALS | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |

### Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.
| Number | Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| 4 | MF | Johnnie Jackson | 5 August 2006 | Birmingham City | St Andrews |
| 8 | FW | Jamie Cureton | 5 August 2006 | Birmingham City | St Andrews |
| 18 | CB | Chris Barker | 19 August 2006 | West Bromwich Albion | The Hawthorns |
| 20 | WG | Kevin McLeod | 9 September 2006 | Burnley | Turf Moor |
| 22 | MF | Ritchie Jones | 28 October 2006 | Southampton | Layer Road |
| 24 | FW | Hogan Ephraim | 28 November 2006 | Hull City | Layer Road |
| 22 | CB | Matt Mills | 30 January 2007 | Preston North End | Layer Road |
* 1 2 Second debut for the club