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1988–89 Colchester United F.C. season

Field	Value
club	Colchester United
season	1988–89
chairman	Jonathan Crisp
manager	Roger Brown
(until 15 October)
Steve Foley (caretaker)
(21 October until 12 January)
Jock Wallace
(from 12 January)
stadium	Layer Road
league	Fourth Division
league result	22nd
cup1	FA Cup
cup1 result	4th round
(eliminated by
Sheffield United)
cup2	League Cup
cup2 result	1st round
(eliminated by
Northampton Town)
cup3	Associate Members' Cup
cup3 result	Quarter-final (southern section)
(eliminated by
Hereford United)
league topscorer
Mario Walsh (9)
season topscorer
Mario Walsh (15)
highest attendance	7,588
v Sheffield United, 31 January 1989
lowest attendance	993
v Southend United, 20 December 1988
average attendance	2,871
largest win	4–0
v Exeter City, 5 May 1989
largest loss	0–8
v Leyton Orient, 15 October 1988
pattern_name1	Home
pattern_b1	_with_white_collar
leftarm1	0000FF
body1	0000FF
rightarm1	0000FF
shorts1	FFFFFF
socks1	0000FF
prevseason	1987–88
nextseason	1989–90

(until 15 October) Steve Foley (caretaker) (21 October until 12 January) Jock Wallace (from 12 January) (eliminated by Sheffield United) (eliminated by Northampton Town) (eliminated by Hereford United) Mario Walsh (9) Mario Walsh (15) v Sheffield United, 31 January 1989 v Southend United, 20 December 1988 v Exeter City, 5 May 1989 v Leyton Orient, 15 October 1988 The 1988–89 season was Colchester United's 47th season in their history and eighth consecutive season in fourth tier of English football, the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Associate Members' Cup.

Roger Brown's unsuccessful tenure came to and end following a club record 8–0 defeat at Leyton Orient in October. With the club languishing bottom of the entire football league, former Rangers manager Jock Wallace boosted the club and helped them avoid relegation to the Conference, ending the season 22nd of 24 clubs.

Remarkably, Colchester had a successful FA Cup run as they saw off Fulham, Swansea City and Shrewsbury Town on their way to a fourth round tie with Sheffield United, who knocked out the U's following a Layer Road replay. They again reached the area quarter-final of the Associate Members' Cup where they were defeated by Hereford United, and a 5–0 thrashing at Northampton Town spelt an early exit from the League Cup.

Season overview

Following a club record 8–0 defeat at Leyton Orient on 15 October, Roger Brown was dismissed from his position as manager. With the club bottom of the entire Football League for the first time since 1972, Steve Foley once again stepped up as caretaker manager. Under Foley's stewardship, the U's embarked on a successful FA Cup run, where they defeated Third Division Fulham and Second Division Swansea City and Shrewsbury Town. However, Third Division Sheffield United won 2–0 in a replay at Layer Road to progress to the fifth round.

Just weeks after signing for the club for £35,000, Paul McGee was sold to Wimbledon for a club record fee of £150,000, representing a huge profit in a short period of time.

Incoming as Brown's replacement was former Rangers manager Jock Wallace, with England World Cup winner Alan Ball his assistant. The impact of Wallace's appointment was instantaneous, with crowds rising over 3,500 the town became gripped by his passion and desire to avoid relegation to the Conference.

On 29 April, the U's travelled to their closest rivals Darlington, a game which Colchester won 2–1 thanks to a Robert Scott goal. The win lifted Colchester off the bottom of the league table for the first time since Brown's departure, and two successive home wins against Halifax Town and Exeter City confirmed Colchester's Fourth Division status for another year.

Meanwhile, in the League Cup, Colchester suffered an early exit following a 0–0 draw at home to Northampton Town and then a 5–0 hammering at the County Ground in the return leg. In the Associate Members' Cup, Colchester won their two group stage games against Lincoln City and Southend United, before regaining some pride by beating Leyton Orient at Layer Road to progress to the area quarter-final. They were then beaten 1–0 by visitors Hereford United.

Players

Transfers

In

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
Summer 1988	FB	ENG	Kevin Bedford	ENG Wimbledon	Undisclosed	url=http://www.coludata.co.uk/item.php?pg=player&it=465	title=Kevin Bedford	publisher=Coludata.co.uk	access-date=25 July 2018 }}
Summer 1988	FB	ENG	Steve Cartwright	ENG Tamworth	Free transfer	url=http://www.coludata.co.uk/item.php?pg=player&it=463	title=Steve Cartwright	publisher=Coludata.co.uk	access-date=25 July 2018 }}
Summer 1988	FB	ENG	Rodney Rooke	Apprentice	Non-contract
Summer 1988	FB	ENG	Dave Swindlehurst	ENG Wimbledon	Undisclosed	url=http://www.coludata.co.uk/item.php?pg=player&it=464	title=Dave Swindlehurst	publisher=Coludata.co.uk	access-date=25 July 2018 }}
Summer 1988	MF	ENG	Dave Barnett	ENG Windsor & Eton	Undisclosed	url=http://www.coludata.co.uk/item.php?pg=player&it=462	title=Dave Barnett	publisher=Coludata.co.uk	access-date=25 July 2018 }}
Early 1988–89 season	FW	ENG	Steve Restarick	ENG West Ham United	Free transfer
October 1988	WG	ENG	Ian Brown	ENG Harwich & Parkeston	Non-contract	url=http://www.coludata.co.uk/item.php?pg=player&it=548	title=Ian Brown	publisher=Coludata.co.uk	access-date=15 August 2018 }}
21 October 1988	WG	ENG	Gary Bennett	ENG Tottenham Hotspur	Free transfer
11 November 1988	GK	ENG	Mark Coombe	ENG Bristol City	Non-contract	url=http://www.coludata.co.uk/item.php?pg=player&it=468	title=Mark Coombe (Goalkeeper)	publisher=Coludata.co.uk	access-date=25 July 2018 }}
December 1988	FB	ENG	Phil Coleman	FIN MyPa	Free transfer
16 December 1988	WG	ENG	Ian Allinson	ENG Luton Town	Free transfer
January 1989	MF	ENG	Les Taylor	ENG Reading	£20,000
February 1989	FB	ENG	Clive Stafford	ENG Diss Town	Unknown
8 February 1989	WG	IRL	Paul McGee	IRL Bohemian	£35,000	url=http://www.coludata.co.uk/item.php?pg=player&it=472	title=Paul McGee (Midfielder / Forward)	publisher=Coludata.co.uk	access-date=25 July 2018 }}
18 February 1989	FW	ENG	John Warner	ENG Burnham Ramblers	Free transfer	url=http://www.coludata.co.uk/item.php?pg=player&it=473	title=John Warner	publisher=Coludata.co.uk	access-date=25 July 2018 }}
24 March 1989	FB	SCO	Robert Scott	SCO Whitburn Junior	Free transfer
5 May 1989	CB	ENG	John Pollard	Apprentice	Free transfer

Total spending: ~ £55,000

Out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
End of season	CB	ENG	John Ray	ENG Wycombe Wanderers	Undisclosed
End of season	MF	ENG	Keith Williams	ENG Swanage Town & Herston	Released
Summer 1988	WG	IRL	Tommy Keane	IRL Galway United	Undisclosed
July 1988	MF	ENG	Gary Smith	ENG Enfield	Undisclosed
October 1988	WG	ENG	Ian Brown	ENG Harwich & Parkeston	Released
October 1988	WG	ENG	Winston White	ENG Burnley	£17,500
15 October 1988	FB	ENG	Steve Cartwright	ENG Tamworth	Released	name=FG	Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club}}
11 November 1988	FB	ENG	Stephen Grenfell	ENG Bromley	Free transfer
December 1988	CB	ENG	Rudi Hedman	ENG Crystal Palace	£100,000
3 December 1988	GK	ENG	Mark Coombe	ENG Torquay United	Free transfer	name=FG}}
20 December 1988	MF	ENG	Nick Chatterton	Free agent	Retired
31 January 1989	FB	ENG	Dave Swindlehurst	ENG Bromley	Undisclosed	name=FG}}
1 March 1989	WG	IRL	Paul McGee	ENG Wimbledon	£150,000
27 March 1989	FB	ENG	Kevin Bedford	Unknown	Unknown	name=FG}}
April 1989	MF	ENG	Dave Barnett	CAN Edmonton Brick Men	Released
21 April 1989	WG	ENG	Lee Hunter	ENG Wivenhoe Town	Released
13 May 1989	CB	ENG	Steve Hetzke	Free agent	Retired
13 May 1989	FW	HKG	Dale Tempest	HKG Eastern	Undisclosed
13 May 1989	FW	ENG	John Warner	ENG Heybridge Swifts	Released	Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game in his first spell for the club}}

Total incoming: ~ £267,500

Loans in

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	End date	Ref.
24 October 1988	MF	ENG	Tony Kelly	ENG West Bromwich Albion	21 January 1989
February 1989	GK	SCO	Tom McAlister	ENG West Ham United	1 May 1989

Loans out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	End date	Ref.
December 1988	FB	ENG	Dave Swindlehurst	ENG Peterborough United	December 1988

Match details

Fourth Division

Main article: 1988–89 Football League

Results round by round

League table

Matches

Barnett Cooper Tempest Tempest Wilkins O'Connell Hill Swindlehurst Barnett Richardson Sitton Baker Comfort Hales Day Williamson Edwards Callaghan McPhillips Wilkins Kelly Thompson Neville Hiley Rowbotham Tempest McElhinney Stokes Alexander Allinson Harvey Vickers Howlett Walsh Nicol English Warner Leadbitter Ryan Jones Longhurst Bennett Wilkins Barker Hetzke Buxton Scott Warner Allinson McPhillips Allinson Pollard English Hetzke Tempest

League Cup

Main article: 1988–89 Football League Cup

Culpin Adcock Gilbert

FA Cup

Main article: 1988–89 FA Cup

Wilkins Melville Walsh Wilkins Pratley Allinson Deane Bryson Hill Hetzke

Associate Members' Cup

Main article: 1988–89 Football League Trophy

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	F	A	GD
Colchester United (Q)	6	2	2	0	4	2	+2
Southend United (Q)	3	2	1	1	3	3	0
Lincoln City	0	2	0	2	2	4	-2

(Q) Qualified for next round

Swindlehurst Allinson Wilkins

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

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

Goalscorers

Place	Nationality	Position	Name	Fourth Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Football League Trophy	Total
1	ENG	FW	Mario Walsh	9	3	0	3	15
2	ENG	MF/DF	Richard Wilkins	8	2	0	1	11
3	ENG	WG	Ian Allinson	7	1	0	1	9
4	ENG	DF/MF	Tony English	8	0	0	0	8
HKG	FW	Dale Tempest	7	0	0	1	8
6	ENG	FB	Dave Swindlehurst	5	0	0	1	6
7	ENG	FB	Robert Scott	5	0	0	0	5
8	ENG	CB	Rudi Hedman	1	2	0	0	3
ENG	CB	Steve Hetzke	2	1	0	0	3
ENG	FW	John Warner	3	0	0	0	3
11	ENG	MF	Tony Kelly	2	0	0	0	2
12	ENG	WG	Gary Bennett	1	0	0	0	1
ENG	CB	Stuart Hicks	0	1	0	0	1
NIR	CB	Colin Hill	0	1	0	0	1
ENG	CB	John Pollard	1	0	0	0	1
ENG	MF	Mark Radford	1	0	0	0	1
	Own goals	0	1	0	0	1
	TOTALS	60	12	0	7	79

Disciplinary record

Nationality	Position	Name	Fourth Division	FA Cup
ENG	MF	Dave Barnett	1	2
ENG	CB	Steve Hetzke	0	1
ENG	FW	Mario Walsh	0	1
	TOTALS	1	4	0

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.

Place	Nationality	Player	Fourth Division	FA Cup	Football League Trophy	Total
1	SCO	Tom McAlister	4	0	0	4
WAL	Mark Walton	3	0	1	4
3	ENG	Mark Coombe	0	1	0	1
	TOTALS	7	1	1	9

Player debuts

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

Position	Nationality	Player	Date	Opponent	Ground
MF	ENG	Dave Barnett	27 August 1988	York City	Layer Road
FB	ENG	Steve Cartwright	27 August 1988	York City	Layer Road
FB	ENG	Dave Swindlehurst	27 August 1988	York City	Layer Road
FB	ENG	Kevin Bedford	2 September 1988	Tranmere Rovers	Prenton Park
WG	ENG	Gary Bennett	21 October 1988	Cambridge United	Layer Road
MF	ENG	Tony Kelly	25 October 1988	Rotherham United	Millmoor
GK	ENG	Mark Coombe	11 November 1988	Torquay United	Layer Road
WG	ENG	Ian Allinson	16 December 1988	Rochdale	Spotland Stadium
FB	ENG	Phil Coleman	20 December 1988	Southend United	Layer Road
FB	ENG	Rodney Rooke	20 December 1988	Southend United	Layer Road
MF	ENG	Les Taylor	13 January 1989	Tranmere Rovers	Layer Road
GK	SCO	Tom McAlister	4 February 1989	Scarborough	Athletic Ground
WG	IRL	Paul McGee	10 February 1989	Burnley	Layer Road
FW	ENG	John Warner	18 February 1989	Scunthorpe United	Glanford Park
FB	ENG	Clive Stafford	5 March 1989	Cambridge United	Abbey Stadium
FB	SCO	Robert Scott	24 March 1989	Grimsby Town	Layer Road
CB	ENG	John Pollard	5 May 1989	Exeter City	Layer Road

References

General

Books

Websites

Specific

References

(2008). "The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years". Breedon Books.
"Colchester Utd 0–2 Sheffield United". Coludata.co.uk.
"Colchester Utd 2–1 Southend United". Coludata.co.uk.
"Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk.
Hudson, Matt. (11 July 2012). "The 1970s and 1980s". Colchester United FC.
"Appearances". Coludata.co.uk.
"Kevin Bedford". Coludata.co.uk.
"Steve Cartwright". Coludata.co.uk.
"Rodney Rooke". Coludata.co.uk.
"Dave Swindlehurst". Coludata.co.uk.
"Dave Barnett". Coludata.co.uk.
"Steve Restarick". Coludata.co.uk.
"Ian Brown". Coludata.co.uk.
"Gary Bennett". Coludata.co.uk.
"Mark Coombe (Goalkeeper)". Coludata.co.uk.
"Phil Coleman". Coludata.co.uk.
"Ian Allinson". Coludata.co.uk.
"Les Taylor". Coludata.co.uk.
"Clive Stafford". Coludata.co.uk.
"Paul McGee (Midfielder / Forward)". Coludata.co.uk.
"John Warner". Coludata.co.uk.
"Robert Scott". Coludata.co.uk.
"John Pollad". Coludata.co.uk.
"John Ray". Coludata.co.uk.
"Keith Williams". Coludata.co.uk.
"Tommy Keane". Coludata.co.uk.
"Gary Smith". Coludata.co.uk.
"Winston White". Coludata.co.uk.
"Stephen Grenfell". Coludata.co.uk.
"Rudi Hedman". Coludata.co.uk.
"Nicky Chatterton". Coludata.co.uk.
"Lee Hunter". Coludata.co.uk.
"Steve Hetzke". Coludata.co.uk.
"Dale Tempest". Coludata.co.uk.
"Tony Kelly". Coludata.co.uk.
"Tom McAlister (Goalkeeper)". Coludata.co.uk.
"Goals". Coludata.co.uk.
"Discipline". Coludata.co.uk.
"Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk.
"Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk.
"Rochdale 1–1 Colchester Utd". Coludata.co.uk.
"Colchester Utd 2–1 Southend United". Coludata.co.uk.

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