# 1954–55 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1954–55 season was Colchester United's 13th season in their history and their fifth 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. Following a replay, Colchester were knocked out of the FA Cup in the first round by Reading. Meanwhile, in the league, Colchester's poor run of form had Jack Butler allowed indefinite leave following a bout of ill health. After resigning in January 1955, Colchester appointed Benny Fenton as his replacement, and despite an upturn in form, a run of defeats at the end of the season meant Colchester needed to apply for re-election for the second successive season. Once more, all clubs applying for re-election were successful, with Colchester receiving 44 votes, behind Third Division North clubs Grimsby Town (49 votes) and Chester City (47 votes), but eleven votes ahead of division rivals Walsall.

## Season overview

Eight successive league defeats from October to December saw Colchester bottom of the league for Christmas Day, and the plight of the club had begun to have an effect on the health of manager Jack Butler. After falling ill in November, Butler was handed indefinite leave until by the club until the end of his contract in 1956. Suffering from a mental breakdown, Butler eventually resigned on 14 January 1955, while club secretary Claude Orrin was charged with finding a new manager.
During this transitional period, Orrin and Alf Miller took charge of the first-team, before appointing Benny Fenton as manager after attracting 48 applications for the vacancy. Despite a brief boost in on-field fortunes in March and early April, performances tailed off as Colchester picked up just one point in the final eight games of the campaign. The club finished bottom of the Football League and were again required to seek re-election, in which they were successful.

## Players

    As of match played 4 May 1955.
| Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| George Wright | GK | Plymouth | (1919-10-10)10 October 1919 (aged 34) | 205 | 0 | Plymouth Argyle | May 1949 | £1,000 |
| John Wright | GK | Aldershot | (1933-08-13)13 August 1933 (aged 20) | 0 | 0 | Colchester Casuals | 23 May 1952 | Free transfer |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Roy Bicknell | CB | Doncaster | (1926-02-19)19 February 1926 (aged 28) | 29 | 0 | Gravesend & Northfleet | June 1952 | £1,000 |
| George French | FB | Colchester | (1926-11-10)10 November 1926 (aged 27) | 3 | 0 | West Ham United | February 1949 | Free transfer |
| John Harrison | FB | Leicester | (1927-09-27)27 September 1927 (aged 26) | 170 | 0 | Aston Villa | 30 September 1950 | Nominal |
| Billy Hunt | CB | Colchester | (1934-11-25)25 November 1934 (aged 19) | 0 | 0 | Amateur | August 1953 | Free transfer |
| Digger Kettle | FB | Colchester | (1922-06-03)3 June 1922 (aged 31) | 172 | 1 | Arclight Sports | September 1946 | Free transfer |
| Fred Lewis | FB | Broughton Gifford | (1923-07-26)26 July 1923 (aged 30) | 48 | 0 | Chelsea | Summer 1953 | Free transfer |
| Reg Stewart | CB | Sheffield | (1925-10-30)30 October 1925 (aged 28) | 218 | 0 | Sheffield Wednesday | 20 August 1949 | £1,000 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Bob Dale | WH | Irlam | (1931-10-31)31 October 1931 (aged 22) | 21 | 4 | Bury | 24 December 1953 | £1,500 |
| Austin Dunne | WH | Limerick | (1934-07-31)31 July 1934 (aged 19) | 0 | 0 | Limerick | October 1953 | Free transfer |
| Jimmy Elder | WH | Scone | (1928-03-05)5 March 1928 (aged 26) | 182 | 14 | Portsmouth | 19 August 1950 | £1,000 |
| Benny Fenton | WH | West Ham | (1918-10-10)10 October 1918 (aged 35) | 0 | 0 | Charlton Athletic | 5 March 1955 | £500 |
| Trevor Harris | WH | Colchester | (1936-02-06)6 February 1936 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Amateur | July 1951 | Free transfer |
| Bert Hill | WH | West Ham | (1930-03-08)8 March 1930 (aged 24) | 17 | 1 | Chelsea | September 1952 | £300 |
| Ron Hunt | WH | Colchester | (1933-09-26)26 September 1933 (aged 20) | 5 | 0 | Amateur | October 1951 | Free transfer |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| Cliff Birch | WG | Newport | (1928-09-01)1 September 1928 (aged 25) | 0 | 0 | Newport County | June 1954 | £1,000 |
| Mike Grice | WG | Woking | (1931-11-03)3 November 1931 (aged 22) | 31 | 3 | Lowestoft Town | Summer 1952 | £25 |
| Paddy Leonard | IF | Dublin | (1929-07-25)25 July 1929 (aged 24) | 0 | 0 | Bristol Rovers | July 1954 | Free transfer |
| Kevin McCurley | CF | Consett | (1926-04-02)2 April 1926 (aged 28) | 92 | 34 | Liverpool | June 1951 | £750 |
| Johnny McKim | IF | Greenock | (1926-01-22)22 January 1926 (aged 28) | 103 | 39 | Chelsea | 19 August 1950 | £1,000 |
| Ken Plant | CF | Nuneaton | (1925-08-15)15 August 1925 (aged 28) | 17 | 6 | Bury | January 1954 | Undisclosed |
| Peter Wright | WG | Colchester | (1934-01-26)26 January 1934 (aged 20) | 44 | 4 | Amateur | November 1951 | Free transfer |
* 1 2 3 4 5 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| Summer 1954 | GK | Jimmy Kirk | Bury | Free transfer |
| Summer 1954 | FB | Ron George | Crystal Palace | Free transfer |
| June 1954 | WH | Frank McCourt | Manchester City | Nominal |
| June 1954 | WG | Cliff Birch | Newport County | £1,000 |
| July 1954 | IF | Paddy Leonard | Bristol Rovers | Free transfer |
| 5 March 1955 | WH | Benny Fenton | Charlton Athletic | £500 |
* Total spending: ~ £1,500
* ↑ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| Summer 1954 | GK | Frank Coombs | Gravesend & Northfleet | Released |
| Summer 1954 | WH | Doug Keene | Dartford | Released |
| Summer 1954 | WG | John Church | Crittall Athletic | Released |
| 31 May 1954 | WH | Harry Bearryman | Metropolitan Police | Free transfer |
| 6 November 1954 | WG | Peter Aitchison | Sittingbourne | Free transfer |
| 5 February 1955 | FB | Ron George | Sudbury Town | Free transfer |
| 19 February 1955 | WH | Frank McCourt | Poole Town | Released |
| 28 April 1955 | GK | Jimmy Kirk | Torquay United | Free transfer |
* 1 2 3 4 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 | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A |
| Result | D | D | D | L | W | L | L | L | D | W | L | W | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | D | D | D | W | W | L | L | W | D | D | W | D | D | L | L | D | W | L | L | L | L | L | D | L | L |
| Position | 14 | 13 | 15 | 19 | 11 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 22 | 19 | 14 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 |

#### League table

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 20 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 11 | 16 | 19 | 52 | 80 | 0.650 | 38 | |
| 21 | Swindon Town | 46 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 46 | 64 | 0.719 | 37 | |
| 22 | Exeter City | 46 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 47 | 73 | 0.644 | 37 | |
| 23 | Walsall | 46 | 10 | 14 | 22 | 75 | 86 | 0.872 | 34 | Re-elected |
| 24 | Colchester United | 46 | 9 | 13 | 24 | 53 | 91 | 0.582 | 31 | 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 | George Wright | 14 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | GK | ENG | John Wright | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | John Harrison | 35 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Digger Kettle | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Fred Lewis | 41 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Reg Stewart | 47 | 1 | 45 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Bob Dale | 34 | 4 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | IRL | Austin Dunne | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Jimmy Elder | 30 | 3 | 28 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| | MF | ENG | Benny Fenton | 11 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Trevor Harris | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Bert Hill | 21 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ron Hunt | 26 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | WAL | Cliff Birch | 14 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Mike Grice | 40 | 7 | 38 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| | FW | IRL | Paddy Leonard | 34 | 5 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Kevin McCurley | 18 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Johnny McKim | 34 | 8 | 32 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Ken Plant | 42 | 13 | 40 | 13 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Peter Wright | 23 | 9 | 23 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||
| | GK | SCO | Jimmy Kirk | 32 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Ron George | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | NIR | Frank McCourt | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Peter Aitchison | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Name | Third Division South | FA Cup | Total |
| 1 | CF | Ken Plant | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| 2 | WG | Peter Wright | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 3 | IF | Johnny McKim | 7 | 1 | 8 |
| 4 | WG | Mike Grice | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 5 | IF | Paddy Leonard | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | WG | Cliff Birch | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | WH | Bob Dale | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | WH | Jimmy Elder | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | WH | Benny Fenton | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | CF | Kevin McCurley | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | CB | Reg Stewart | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Own goals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 53 | 4 | 57 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.
| Place | Player | Third Division South | FA Cup | Total |
| 1 | Jimmy Kirk | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | George Wright | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| | TOTALS | 11 | 0 | 11 |

### Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.
| Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| GK | Jimmy Kirk | 21 August 1954 | Swindon Town | Layer Road |
| WH | Frank McCourt | 21 August 1954 | Swindon Town | Layer Road |
| WG | Cliff Birch | 21 August 1954 | Swindon Town | Layer Road |
| IF | Paddy Leonard | 21 August 1954 | Swindon Town | Layer Road |
| FB | Ron George | 16 October 1954 | Brentford | Griffin Park |
| WH | Benny Fenton | 5 March 1955 | Brentford | Layer Road |
| WH | Austin Dunne | 9 April 1955 | Gillingham | Priestfield |
| WH | Trevor Harris | 18 April 1955 | Northampton Town | County Ground |
| GK | John Wright | 30 April 1955 | Southampton | Layer Road |