1980–81 Colchester United F.C. season

Season overview

The club's chairman warned financial difficulties would result in an exodus of players, but in the summer months, only Steve Dowman left the club, joining Wrexham for £75,000. The club also received their first-ever shirt sponsorship from Royal London Insurance.

In the opening game of the season in the League Cup against Gillingham, debutant Nigel Crouch became the first Colchester player to be sent off on their debut following an altercation with Gillingham's Steve Bruce. Colchester failed to win any of their opening eight games. When they beat Millwall 3–0 in their ninth game, it attracted national media coverage. Sergeant Frank Ruggles of Essex Police marched on the field during play and attempted to arrest Millwall defender Mel Blyth for swearing.

Manager Bobby Roberts signed unknown Highland League player Kevin Bremner for a then-club record £25,000. Following this came six consecutive home wins, and Colchester were well-placed in the table by Christmas. However, after Trevor Lee moved to Gillingham for a club record deal worth £90,000, the U's form dipped and they began to slip down the table again. In response to this, on transfer deadline day, Roberts matched Colchester's record fee paid for Bremner, signing Roger Osborne from Ipswich Town, while also paying £15,000 each for Roy McDonough and Phil Coleman.

Eight games without a win from March to the penultimate game of the season ensured Colchester were relegated by just two points. Amid news of a 25,000 all-seater stadium development in the pipeline, the stark reality was that a new all-time low attendance of 1,430 witnessed the final day 1–0 win over Carlisle United, with a league average of just 2,641.

Despite relegation, Roberts was given a vote of confidence by the board, while the local Council refused the new stadium plans ensuring the U's would remain at Layer Road for the foreseeable future.

Players

Transfers

In

• Total spending: ~ £80,000

Out

• Total incoming: ~ £170,000

Loans out

Match details

Third Division

Main article: 1980–81 Football League

Results round by round

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League table

Matches

Gough Murphy Giles Delve Kellow Lee Rowles Hodge Walker Birch Brown Hodge Glavin Lee Trusson Charles Allinson Davies Bremner Beardsley Staniforth Hurlock Lee Gough Ball Jeffrey Mower Smith Pullar Martin Horrix Bremner Packer Lillis Parker Rowland Booker

League Cup

Main article: 1980–81 Football League Cup

Bruce Bruce

FA Cup

Main article: 1980–81 FA Cup

Allinson Bremner Broom Bremner

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

|- !colspan="14"|Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season |}

Goalscorers

Disciplinary record

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.

References

General

Books

Websites

Specific

References

1. (2008). "The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years". Breedon Books.
2. "Colchester Utd 0–1 Watford". Coludata.co.uk.
3. "Colchester Utd 1–0 Carlisle United". Coludata.co.uk.
4. "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk.
5. Hudson, Matt. (11 July 2012). "The 1970s and 1980s". Colchester United FC.
6. "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk.
7. "Nigel Crouch". Coludata.co.uk.
8. "Dennis Longhorn". Coludata.co.uk.
9. "Kevin Bremner". Coludata.co.uk.
10. "Phil Coleman". Coludata.co.uk.
11. "Roger Osborne". Coludata.co.uk.
12. "Roy McDonough". Coludata.co.uk.
13. "Tony Adcock (Forward)". Coludata.co.uk.
14. "Steve Dowman (Defender)". Coludata.co.uk.
15. "Trevor Lee". Coludata.co.uk.
16. "Bobby Gough (Forward)". Coludata.co.uk.
17. "Tony Evans". Coludata.co.uk.
18. "Gary Harvey". Coludata.co.uk.
19. "Goals". Coludata.co.uk.
20. "Discipline". Coludata.co.uk.
21. "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk.
22. "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk.