a sunny August Saturday when, after beating Sunderland, we saw
Colchester had bugger all points and were rock bottom of the
Championship seems a long, long time ago.
Still, an Essex derby in the Championship does not happen every year,
though personally, I find it hard to get too worked up about the
derby aspect, it's like hating Ipswich, but wherever they are, we
need the points!
We might take the mick out of their ground, quite rightly let's face
it, but the might of Derby, Southampton and Cardiff, of all teams,
have failed to cope with it.
However most of our team have and that's why, after six succesive
home wins for Col U, I fancy us this Saturday. MCcormack for Clarke
and I see the same team that started v Plymouth continuing our , er,
unbeaten run of three games and , er, two league points, carrying on
the good work. Two wins from the next two and things may look a
little brighter. (QPR win three out of five and now there play off
contenders! We can turn this round, faith everyone, faith.)
In fact the Farmers have come off second best over the years, we even
completed a double over them when we first played in the, suprisingly
late, 1950/51 season. (Sat 14-Oct-1950, D3S, 4 2, Davies(2),
Wakefield(2), in front of 21,000! Then, Sat 24-Feb-1951, away, 3 1,
Tippett(2) Stubbs, they got a mega 12,360. We were even doubling the
crowds over them even then!)
The last time saw the fantastic 3-0 away win on the 4th of March this
year, when the match was over at half time, you know you are going to
win when Maher and Wilson are on the scoresheet, joing the not so
suprising Freddie. It completed a very nice double with a 3-1 win at
the Hall earlier in August, the Goats brilliant first, then Cole,
then a Goat penalty completing an easier win than the score might
suggest.
Of course mentioning Blues v Farmmers fixtures one must mention the
LDV trophy and Drew Broughton, many feel these games were the only
time Brew prformed for us! The semi finals of Feb 2004 were the
first time we had played them for 14 years! Drew joining Constantine
and Bramble in a 3-2 win in the first leg, part of a set of results
that turned our season round under Tilly and Brush, then the
equaliser a week later at the Hall that put us in the final.
Then for good measure he scored one of the penalties that knocked
them out first time round seven months later. (Name the other four
scorers?, answer below.)
Not all good news, my first memory of Layer Road was as a 12 year old
going in November 1968, inbetween the 10-1 and 9-0 cup wins, where we
played four centre halves at the back and got a 0-4 thrashing on a
Friday night in front of 10odd thousand, how did they fit them in?!!
More fun was on Easter Monday 1990 when our 2-0 win, Daley's solo
effort oustanding though I, and most of the crowd in the away end,
never saw it, effectively chucked them out of the league. (Sadly a
coin that hit my girlfriend at the final whistle is not a fond
memory.) However, we had lost the earlier boxing day game 0-2.
Our biggest wins have been two 4-0's December 55 and March 53. While
a 1-4 reverse in January 61 at Roots Hall was our largest league
defeat. Older readers may remember a 6-3 home win on January 28 1964
where Gilfillan grabbed four while Johnny Mac himself, (McKinven),
got the other two, in front of 8,971. (This followed, suprisingly,
another 6-3, but away, I'll take that this week, in August 55.
Hollis got the four this time, Baron and McGuigan the remaining two.)
Overall there have been 69 matches in total: Won 29 Lost 24 Drawn 16.
Colchester United History
2005-06 Season
2nd, Promoted from League One (Who was top again?)
League Cup: 1st Round, Cardiff City h. 0-2
FA Cup: 5th Round, Chelsea a. 1-3
LDV Vans: Southern Final, Swansea City lost 1-3 on aggregate.
Highlight:
3-1 win over Nottingham Forest 2/1/06
Low Spot:
0-3 home defeat to Southend United 4/3/06 (Super, Super Che.)
Player to watch; Greg Halford
Halford is extremely tall for a full back but is quick enough on the
turn and is very comfortable on the ball.
Weighed in with 8 goals and these tended to be better than your
average defenders' strikes.
Voted into the PFA League One XI by his fellow pros.
In Brief:
5 points from the first 6 games left Colchester in the relegation
zone but the side had shown signs of improvement by mid October and
had climbed to 16th.
A 3-2 win over Yeovil and 9-1 demolition of Leamington in the FA Cup
saw the club then win 20 of the next 22 games to head the table.
It looked as though manager Joe Parkinson's advice to the fans to
take a photo of the table might have been spot on as only 1 win came
from the next 13 games in all competitions but a late rally saw them
promoted automatically after grabbing a point at Yeovil on the final
day. (And then he buggered off to Hull anyway, Geraint Williams
taking over and not doing a bad job, for a Welshman.)
The FA Cup saw Colchester sweep aside Sheffield United and Derby
County before putting up a really fine display at Stamford Bridge
against Chelsea when the final 1-3 scoreline did them no favours at
all.
A fantastic effort all round from one of the least fashionable clubs
in the league and especially from a bunch of farmers.
Colchester United Football Club was formed in 1937 although this
event simply marked the continuation of the existing Colchester Town
club which was already situated at Layer Road. The new club would be
a professional outfit, however.
Colchester were elected into Division Three South in 1950, two years
after a marvellous run to the 5th round of the FA Cup. The U's were
the scourge of West Yorkshire after knocking out Huddersfield Town
and Bradford City but they came down to earth at the seaside when
Blackpool beat them 5-0.
Colchester maintained steady progress in the league before being
relegated to Division Four in 1961. This at least allowed them the
joy of a first promotion the following year.
Then when the club were relegated again in 1965 they bounced back at
the first time of asking once more. Colchester could only manage a
two year spell in Division Three before dropping back into the fourth
division in 1968.
This time the club would spend six seasons in Division Four before
escaping but during that time Colchester enjoyed their finest hour.
In 1971 Colchester took advantage of favourable draws pairing them
with Barnet and Rochdale to progress to the 5th round of the FA Cup
where they were given a home tie with the mighty Leeds United,
holders of the competition.
On a never to be forgotten day the U's stormed into a three goal lead
as the former England striker Ray Crawford rolled back the years with
a couple of goals. United buckled under tremendous late pressure but
held on for a famous 3-2 win.
In the quarter finals they were caned 5-0 by Everton at Goodison
Park.
Colchester were promoted to Division Three in 1974 but again found
themselves unable to cope at that level and were relegated after just
two seasons. The club did manage to bounce straight back up again in
1977 and finishes of 8th and 7th on their return to Division Three
suggested the club might at last move forward. Instead they faltered
and slipped to another relegation in 1981.
Colchester remained a strong fourth division outfit throughout most
of the 1980's. They reached the first divisional play offs in 1987
only to lose in the semi finals to Aldershot. They then suffered a
sudden collapse, however.
United dropped alarmingly to finish 22nd in 1989 and the following
year finished bottom to lose their league status. (And losing 2-0 at
home to the Super Blues, though I never saw the second goal!)
(Un)Fortunately the club rallied and in 1992 returned to the league
after winning the Vauxhall Conference and they also took the
opportunity to capture the FA Trophy after a 3-1 victory over Witton
Albion at Wembley. (Super Roy McDonaugh!!!)
Colchester returned to Wembley in 1997 for the Auto Windscreens
Shield final but lost out on penalties to Carlisle United. This
disappointment was more than softened the following year when the
club made their third trip to the national stadium and claimed a 1-0
win over Torquay United in the play off final. David Gregory was the
match winner slotting home from the penalty spot.
The club have spent the last seven seasons safely in the middle
reaches of the third tier which marks a decent run of form for the
club. Whether the club has the potential to progress to the next
level is debatable with an apparently small fan base and perhaps the
worst ground in the country. This could change, however, with a move
to a new stadium, intriguingly named Cuckoo Farm, planned for the
start of the 2007-08 season.
Colchester's best effort in the League Cup came in 1975 when they
made it through to the 5th round. The U's knocked out Oxford United,
Southend United, Carlisle United and Southampton. The victory over
the Saints was especially worthy as it came in a replay at the Dell.
United only fell in the quarter finals after a titanic struggle at
home to the eventual winners of the trophy, Aston Villa, who left
Essex very relieved about their 2-1 win.
In the course of establishing the clubs record victory, a 9-1
demolition of Bradford City in 1961, both Bobby Hunt and Martyn King
set a club record by scoring four goals apiece. Hunt managed to
repeat the feat before the season was out, putting another four past
Doncaster Rovers.
Pubs
The nearest pub to Layer Road is the the Drury pub at the top of
Layer Road, but I wouldn't go there for a derby game! A better bet
may be to head towards the town centre where you will pass the
Dragoon pub in Butt Road which is on the way to the ground, almost
opposite the police station. It is in the Campaign For Real Ale
guide, serves good ales and does a mean chilli on match days. It is
full of Col U fans but of the friendly real ale drinker variety. To
find this pub and to head towards the town centre; then with the
Club's ticket and administrative offices behind you turn left and go
down Layer Road. You will pass the Drury pub on your left and then at
the t-junction turn right into Butt Road. Continue down this road
passing, the entrance to Colchester Barracks on the right and just
further down on the right is the Dragoon Pub which serves a range of
Adnams beers. If you carry on down Butt Road, passing the Police
Station on your left, then proceed through the underpass and on
towards the main shopping area. Turn right into St Johns Street and
just a short way down in the right is another CAMRA listed pub, the
Fox & Fiddle which serves a number of real ales. Almost next door is
the Playhouse, which is a Wetherspoons outlet. This former theatre is
a spectacular setting for a bar, as the original dress circle and
stage of the theatre have been preserved and is well worth a visit.
It is about a 15 minute walk from the ground into the town centre.
However it will probably take about 20 minutes to walk back as it
mostly uphill.
There is also The Odd One Out, another real ale pub, it is situated
at the bottom part of Mersea Road not far from Colchester Town
station, maybe a 15 minute walk away from the ground. The pub has won
the best real ale pub in Essex award on more than one occasion. Also
the Hospital Arms in Crouch Road serves a decent pint.
How To Get There By Car & Where To Park
The ground is situated one mile south of the town centre.
Parking is easiest in Boadecia Way or in one of the side roads to the
right and this will leave about a 5 - 7 min walk to the ground. There
is a small unofficial car park about 200 yards from the ground. There
is also a Park and Ride scheme which is well sign posted (situated at
Sobroan barracks). Cost for the unofficial car park is £2.50 per car,
and holds between 50 to 100 cars. The Matchday Park and Ride is
slightly larger and is £2 per car. However, the buses can be every 20
minutes or so'.
By Train
The nearest station to the ground is Colchester Town which is around
a ten minute walk away and is seven minute journey time away from
Colchester mainline station where most fans are likely to end up at.
The main Colchester station is really too far from the ground to
walk, so either get another train to Colchester Town station or jump
in a taxi, which should cost about £5. If you arrive early at
Colchester mainline station and decide to walk to the ground give
yourself a good hour.
Answer: Penalty scorers; Wed 29-Sep-2004 Away LDV1 1 1 Bramble AET:5-3pens
Gray Hunt Maher Broughton Corbett 3469
(Thanks to the Internet Ground Guide and the SUFC Database for most
of the above.)