Colchester United

1973–74 season
Chairman	Robert Jackson[1]
Manager	Jim Smith
Stadium	Layer Road
Fourth Division	3rd (promoted)
FA Cup	1st round (eliminated by Peterborough United)
League Cup	1st round (eliminated by Gillingham)
Top goalscorer	League: Bobby Svarc (25) All: Bobby Svarc (26)
Highest home attendance	10,007 vGillingham, 20 April 1974[2]
Lowest home attendance	3,460 vBradford City, 1 December 1973[3]
Average home league attendance	5,601[4]
Biggest win	4–0 vTorquay United, 19 September 1973 vChester, 14 November 1973 vBradford City, 1 December 1973
Biggest defeat	1–4 vGillingham, 8 December 1973
Home colours
← 1972–73 1974–75 →

The1973–74 season wasColchester United's 32nd season in their history and their sixth successive season in the fourth tier ofEnglish football, theFourth Division. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in theFA Cup and theLeague Cup.

Jim Smith led his side to promotion to theThird Division in his first full season in charge, finishing in third position, five points behind winnersPeterborough United. Colchester experienced first round cup exits in both competitions, coincidentally losing to both teams which finished above them in the league; a defeat to Peterborough in the FA Cup and a defeat at Gillingham in the League Cup.

ManagerJim Smith brought inWatford pairMike Walker andMick Packer during the summer break and also spent £8,000 onforwardPaul Aimson fromBournemouth. While Aimson suffered a career-ending injury early in the season,Bobby Svarc found form and registered 25 league goals, including a record-equalling four goals atChester in November.

At Christmas, Colchester led theFourth Division table. Bobby Svarc's goalscoring waned, and Smith brought inGary Moore on loan fromSouthend United. He scored seven goals in the U's eleven remaining games as Colchester sealed a promotion place. They finished in third position, five points behindPeterborough United and two adrift ofGillingham. The final home game of the season drew a crowd of 10,007, a game in which Gillingham won 2–0 and crept above Colchester in the league table. This would be the last time thatLayer Road hosted a five-figure attendance in league competition.

In the cup competitions, Colchester were knocked out in the first round of both theFA Cup andLeague Cup, coincidentally against their two biggest league title rivals, Peterborough and Gillingham. Gillingham beat United 4–2 atPriestfield in the League Cup in August, while Peterborough triumphed 3–2 at Layer Road in the FA Cup first round.^[5]

As of match played 27 April 1974.^[6]

Name	Position	Nationality	Place of birth	Date of birth	Apps	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Mike Walker	GK		Colwyn Bay	(1945-11-28)28 November 1945 (aged 27)	0	0	Watford	July 1973	£4,000
Defenders
Micky Cook	FB		Enfield	(1951-04-09)9 April 1951 (aged 22)	146	1	Orient	1 March 1969	Free transfer
Barry Dominey	CB		Edmonton	(1955-10-21)21 October 1955 (aged 17)	0	0	Enfield WMC	September 1973	Free transfer
Ray Harford	CB		Halifax	(1945-06-01)1 June 1945 (aged 28)	21	1	Port Vale	3 February 1973[a]	£1,750
Stuart Morgan	CB		Swansea	(1949-09-23)23 September 1949 (aged 23)	36	2	Reading	August 1972	Free transfer
Mick Packer	FB		Willesden	(1950-04-20)20 April 1950 (aged 23)	0	0	Watford	July 1973	Free transfer
Alex Smith	FB		Thornhill	(1947-05-11)11 May 1947 (aged 26)	0	0	Southend United	27 January 1974[a]	£5,000
Lindsay Smith	CB		Enfield	(1954-09-18)18 September 1954 (aged 18)	54	4	Apprentice	20 April 1971[a]	Free transfer
Midfielders
Ray Bunkell	MF		Edmonton	(1949-09-18)18 September 1949 (aged 23)	0	0	Swindon Town	December 1973	Part exchange
Steve Foley	MF		Clacton-on-Sea	(1953-06-21)21 June 1953 (aged 19)	57	13	Apprentice	July 1969	Free transfer
Steve Leslie	MF		Hornsey	(1952-09-04)4 September 1952 (aged 20)	80	16	Apprentice	20 April 1971[a]	Free transfer
Bobby Mills	MF		Edmonton	(1955-03-16)16 March 1955 (aged 18)	8	0	Apprentice	4 March 1972[a]	Free transfer
Bobby Roberts	MF		Edinburgh	(1940-09-02)2 September 1940 (aged 32)	2	0	Coventry City	1 March 1973	Free transfer
Phil Thomas	MF		Sherborne	(1952-12-14)14 December 1952 (aged 20)	35	2	Bournemouth	Summer 1972	Free transfer
Tony Wingate	MF		Islington	(1955-03-21)21 March 1955 (aged 18)	1	0	Apprentice	18 March 1972[a]	Free transfer
Forwards
Barry Dyson	FW		Oldham	(1942-09-06)6 September 1942 (aged 30)	0	0	Orient	25 August 1973[a]	Free transfer
Colwyn Rowe	WG		Ipswich	(1956-03-22)22 March 1956 (aged 17)	0	0	Apprentice	October 1973	Free transfer
Bobby Svarc	FW		Leicester	(1946-02-08)8 February 1946 (aged 27)	20	8	Boston United	December 1972	£6,000

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
Summer 1973	RB		Will Dixon	Reading	Free transfer	[7][8]
July 1973	GK		Mike Walker	Watford	£4,000	[9]
July 1973	FB		Mick Packer	Watford	Free transfer	[10]
1 August 1973	FW		Paul Aimson	Bournemouth	£8,000	[11]
25 August 1973	FW		Barry Dyson	Bournemouth	Free transfer	[12][a]
September 1973	CB		Barry Dominey	Enfield WMC	Free transfer	[13]
September 1973	CB		Barry Dominey	Enfield WMC	Free transfer	[13]
October 1973	WG		Colwyn Rowe	Apprentice	Free transfer	[14]
December 1973	MF		Ray Bunkell	Southend United	Part-exchange (£5,000)	[15]
27 January 1974	FB		Alex Smith	Southend United	£5,000	[16][a]

• Total spending: ~ £22,000

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
30 April 1973	GK		John McInally	Braintree & Crittall Athletic	Player-manager	[17][a]
30 April 1973	CB		Richard Bourne	Ramsgate	Released	[18][a]
30 April 1973	MF		Stan Brown	Wimbledon	Released	[19][a]
August 1973	MF		Phil Bloss	Wimbledon	Released	[20]
September 1973	RB		Will Dixon	Swindon Town	Free transfer	[7][8]
December 1973	FB		John McLaughlin	Swindon Town	Part-exchange (£25,000)	[21]
December 1973	WG		Mick Mahon	Wimbledon	£3,000	[22]
22 February 1974	FW		Paul Aimson	Free agent	Retired	[11]

• Total incoming: ~ £28,000

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	End date	Ref.
October 1973	FW		Peter Silvester	Norwich City	2 November 1983	[23][a]
November 1973	FB		Alex Smith	Southend United	5 January 1974	[16][a]
1 February 1974	WG		Terry Anderson	Norwich City	2 March 1974	[24][a]
March 1974	MF		Paul Taylor	York City	12 May 1974	[25]
March 1974	FW		Gary Moore	Southend United	4 May 1974	[26]

Barnsley v Colchester United

25 August 1973 (1973-08-25)1	Barnsley	0–1	Colchester United	Barnsley
		Report	Svarc 1'	Stadium:Oakwell Attendance: 2,500 Referee: M Smith

Colchester United vCrewe Alexandra

1 September 1973 (1973-09-01)2	Colchester United	3–2	Crewe Alexandra	Colchester
	Aimson 46' Svarc 48' Morgan 76'	Report	Lugg 52' Purdie 80'	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 4,078 Referee: M Veith

Colchester United vNewport County

15 September 1973 (1973-09-15)5	Colchester United	4–1	Newport County	Colchester
	Thomas 6' Svarc 11' Leslie 24' Morgan 57'	Report	Hill 33'	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 3,523 Referee: D Civil

Torquay United v Colchester United

19 September 1973 (1973-09-19)6	Torquay United	0–4	Colchester United	Torquay
	Stuckey	Report	Thomas 35' Svarc 40' Dyson 44' Leslie 80'	Stadium:Plainmoor Attendance: 3,428 Referee: A Glasgow

Swansea City v Colchester United

22 September 1973 (1973-09-22)7	Swansea City	2–0	Colchester United	Swansea
	Screen 37' Thomas 67'	Report		Stadium:Vetch Field Attendance: 1,981 Referee: R Brandon

Colchester United vExeter City

28 September 1973 (1973-09-28)8	Colchester United	1–0	Exeter City	Colchester
	Leslie 83'	Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 5,466 Referee:John Homewood

Colchester United vTorquay United

2 October 1973 (1973-10-02)9	Colchester United	2–2	Torquay United	Colchester
	Svarc 37',50'	Report	Myers 9' Morrall 31'	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 5,291 Referee: T Page

Colchester United vDarlington

12 October 1973 (1973-10-12)11	Colchester United	3–0	Darlington	Colchester
	Foley 34',55' Svarc 78'	Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 5,089 Referee: Tommy Dawes

Colchester United vScunthorpe United

19 October 1973 (1973-10-19)12	Colchester United	2–0	Scunthorpe United	Colchester
	Morgan 19' Svarc 42'	Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 4,862 Referee: K Salmon

Reading v Colchester United

24 October 1973 (1973-10-24)13	Reading	1–1	Colchester United	Reading
	Chappell 3'	Report	Svarc 70'	Stadium:Elm Park Attendance: 12,310 Referee: K Baker

Colchester United vWorkington

2 November 1973 (1973-11-02)15	Colchester United	3–0	Workington	Colchester
19:15GMT	Morgan 33' Cook 57' Harford 77'	Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 5,342 Referee: A Hamil

Mansfield Town v Colchester United

10 November 1973 (1973-11-10)16	Mansfield Town	2–2	Colchester United	Mansfield
	Longhorn 8' Eccles 9'	Report	Foley 61',72'	Stadium:Field Mill Attendance: 3,033 Referee: J Butcher

Chester v Colchester United

14 November 1973 (1973-11-14)17	Chester	0–4	Colchester United	Chester
		Report	Svarc 25',34',62',71'	Stadium:Sealand Road Attendance: 1,973 Referee: D Richardson

Colchester United vStockport County

17 November 1973 (1973-11-17)18	Colchester United	3–1	Stockport County	Colchester
14:15GMT	Dyson 49' (pen.),51' (pen.) Foley 71'	Report	Kirk 67'	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 4,966 Referee: T Bone

Colchester United vBradford City

1 December 1973 (1973-12-01)19	Colchester United	4–0	Bradford City	Colchester
	Svarc 26',80' Morgan 45' Dyson 60'	Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 3,460 Referee: K Dodd

Gillingham v Colchester United

8 December 1973 (1973-12-08)20	Gillingham	4–1	Colchester United	Gillingham
	Richardson 6' Wilks 9',60' Jacks 70'	Report	L Smith 30'	Stadium:Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 8,411 Referee: C Newsome

Stockport County v Colchester United

15 December 1973 (1973-12-15)21	Stockport County	0–3	Colchester United	Stockport
		Report	Svarc 15' Foley 35',80'	Stadium:Edgeley Park Attendance: 1,472 Referee:Gordon Hill

Exeter City v Colchester United

22 December 1973 (1973-12-22)22	Exeter City	1–0	Colchester United	Exeter
	Binney 55'	Report		Stadium:St James Park Attendance: 3,638 Referee: H Powell

Colchester United vPeterborough United

26 December 1973 (1973-12-26)23	Colchester United	1–1	Peterborough United	Colchester
	Svarc 90'	Report	Hall 80'	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 7,960 Referee: M Taylor

Colchester United vNorthampton Town

29 December 1973 (1973-12-29)24	Colchester United	1–0	Northampton Town	Colchester
	Dyson 77' (pen.)	Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 5,042 Referee: B Martin

Crewe Alexandra v Colchester United

1 January 1974 (1974-01-01)25	Crewe Alexandra	1–2	Colchester United	Crewe
	Riley 89'	Report	Svarc 12' Foley 44'	Stadium:Gresty Road Attendance: 2,383 Referee: E Garner

Colchester United vLincoln City

5 January 1974 (1974-01-05)26	Colchester United	4–1	Lincoln City	Colchester
	Svarc 9',43' Morgan 20' Leslie 49'	Report	McNeil 54'	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 4,398 Referee: L Shapter

Newport County v Colchester United

12 January 1974 (1974-01-12)27	Newport County	1–3	Colchester United	Newport
	Hooper 50'	Report	Cook 48' Leslie 56' Thomas 90'	Stadium:Somerton Park Attendance: 3,304 Referee: P Richardson

Colchester United vBarnsley

19 January 1974 (1974-01-19)28	Colchester United	2–0	Barnsley	Colchester
	Svarc 9' Dyson 82' (pen.)	Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 5,793 Referee: C White

Doncaster Rovers v Colchester United

27 January 1974 (1974-01-27)29	Doncaster Rovers	2–0	Colchester United	Doncaster
	Ternent 58' Kitchen 63'	Report		Stadium:Belle Vue Attendance: 4,285 Referee: A Morrisey

Bury v Colchester United

3 February 1974 (1974-02-03)30	Bury	2–0	Colchester United	Bury
	Spence 74' Rudd 86'	Report		Stadium:Gigg Lane Attendance: 7,796 Referee: M Williams

Colchester United vSwansea City

8 February 1974 (1974-02-08)31	Colchester United	2–0	Swansea City	Colchester
	Morgan 4' Svarc 71'	Report	Screen	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 5,040 Referee:Alf Grey

Darlington v Colchester United

16 February 1974 (1974-02-16)32	Darlington	1–0	Colchester United	Darlington
	Atkins 50'	Report		Stadium:Feethams Attendance: 2,275 Referee: I Smith

Colchester United vHartlepool

22 February 1974 (1974-02-22)33	Colchester United	3–0	Hartlepool	Colchester
	A Smith 59' Svarc 71' Aimson 82'	Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 5,608 Referee:Ron Challis

Peterborough United v Colchester United

2 March 1974 (1974-03-02)34	Peterborough United	2–0	Colchester United	Peterborough
	Hall 12' Cozens 83'	Report		Stadium:London Road Stadium Attendance: 10,714 Referee: R Capey

Colchester United vRotherham United

8 March 1974 (1974-03-08)35	Colchester United	0–1	Rotherham United	Colchester
		Report	Goodfellow 19'	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 5,180 Referee: A Hart

Scunthorpe United v Colchester United

16 March 1974 (1974-03-16)36	Scunthorpe United	1–0	Colchester United	Scunthorpe
	Keeley 90'	Report		Stadium:Old Showground Attendance: 2,134 Referee: J Hough

Colchester United vBury

19 March 1974 (1974-03-19)37	Colchester United	1–1	Bury	Colchester
	Moore 34'	Report	Melledew 72'	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 4,748 Referee: D Nippard

Colchester United vMansfield Town

22 March 1974 (1974-03-22)38	Colchester United	1–0	Mansfield Town	Colchester
	Morgan 33'	Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 4,695 Referee: Malcolm Sinclair

Lincoln City v Colchester United

27 March 1974 (1974-03-27)39	Lincoln City	0–1	Colchester United	Lincoln
		Report	Svarc 50'	Stadium:Sincil Bank Attendance: 2,638 Referee: E Wallace

Workington v Colchester United

30 March 1974 (1974-03-30)40	Workington	1–4	Colchester United	Workington
	Heslop 82'	Report	Thomas 5' Moore 45' Svarc 46' Wood 88' (o.g.)	Stadium:Borough Park Attendance: 1,103 Referee: A Porter

Colchester United vDoncaster Rovers

2 April 1974 (1974-04-02)41	Colchester United	3–0	Doncaster Rovers	Colchester
	Cook 47',78' Moore 74'	Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 5,124 Referee: P Reeves

Colchester United vChester

5 April 1974 (1974-04-05)42	Colchester United	1–1	Chester	Colchester
	Moore 89' (pen.)	Report	Owen 23'	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 6,371 Referee: T Spencer

Colchester United vBrentford

12 April 1974 (1974-04-12)43	Colchester United	2–1	Brentford	Colchester
	Moore 31',76'	Report	Simmons 61'	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 8,155 Referee: A Lees

Colchester United vGillingham

20 April 1974 (1974-04-20)45	Colchester United	0–2	Gillingham	Colchester
15:00BST		Report	Yeo 40',52'	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 10,007 Referee: R Crabb

Bradford City v Colchester United

27 April 1974 (1974-04-27)46	Bradford City	1–1	Colchester United	Bradford
	Fretwell 34' (pen.)	Report	Moore 28'	Stadium:Valley Parade Attendance: 3,702 Referee: G Flint

Gillingham v Colchester United

29 August 1973 (1973-08-29)1st round	Gillingham	4–2	Colchester United	Gillingham
	Peach 40' Wilks 69' Quirke 76' Yeo 88'	Report	Cook 16' Svarc 42'	Stadium:Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 3,991 Referee:Gordon Kew

Colchester United vPeterborough United

24 November 1973 (1973-11-24)1st round	Colchester United	2–3	Peterborough United	Colchester
	Mahon 22' Harford 90'	Report	Cozens 71',77' Murray 73'	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 9,664 Referee: P Reeves

^[6][27]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Fourth Division		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	WAL	Mike Walker	48	0	46	0	1	0	1	0
	DF	ENG	Micky Cook	46	5	44	4	1	0	1	1
	DF	ENG	Barry Dominey	3	0	1+2	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	Ray Harford	48	2	46	1	1	1	1	0
	DF	WAL	Stuart Morgan	40	8	38	8	1	0	1	0
	DF	ENG	Mick Packer	35	0	32+1	0	1	0	1	0
	DF	ENG	Alex Smith	29	1	29	1	0	0	0	0
	DF	ENG	Lindsay Smith	35	1	23+11	1	0+1	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Ray Bunkell	6	0	5+1	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Steve Foley	34	8	32	8	1	0	1	0
	MF	ENG	Steve Leslie	24	0	21+3	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Bobby Mills	23	0	14+4	0	5	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Phil Thomas	42	4	38+2	4	1	0	1	0
	FW	ENG	Barry Dyson	38	6	36	6	1	0	1	0
	FW	ENG	Colwyn Rowe	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Bobby Svarc	48	26	46	25	1	0	1	1
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
	DF	ENG	John McLaughlin	20	0	18	0	1	0	1	0
	MF	ENG	Paul Taylor	9	0	6+3	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Paul Aimson	5	2	3+1	2	0	0	1	0
	FW	ENG	Terry Anderson	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Mick Mahon	14	1	9+3	0	1	1	1	0
	FW	ENG	Gary Moore	11	7	11	7	0	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Peter Silvester	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0

^[27]

Place	Nationality	Position	Name	Fourth Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1		FW	Bobby Svarc	25	0	1	26
2		MF	Steve Foley	8	0	0	8
		CB	Stuart Morgan	8	0	0	8
4		FW	Gary Moore	7	0	0	7
5		FW	Barry Dyson	6	0	0	6
6		FB	Micky Cook	4	0	1	5
		MF	Steve Leslie	5	0	0	5
8		MF	Phil Thomas	4	0	0	4
9		FW	Paul Aimson	2	0	0	2
		CB	Ray Harford	1	1	0	2
11		WG	Mick Mahon	0	1	0	1
		FB	Alex Smith	1	0	0	1
		CB	Lindsay Smith	1	0	0	1
			Own goals	1	0	0	1
			TOTALS	73	2	2	77

^[28]

Nationality	Position	Name	Fourth Division		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
	CB	Stuart Morgan	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
	FB	Micky Cook	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	CB	Ray Harford	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	FB	Micky Cook	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	MF	Bobby Mills	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	FB	Mick Packer	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	FB	Alex Smith	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	CB	Lindsay Smith	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		TOTALS	7	1	0	0	0	0	7	1

Number of games goalkeepers kept aclean sheet.^[29]

Place	Nationality	Player	Fourth Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1		Mike Walker	21	0	0	21
		TOTALS	21	0	0	21

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.^[30]

Position	Nationality	Player	Date	Opponent	Ground	Notes
GK		Mike Walker	25 August 1973	Barnsley	Oakwell
FB		Mick Packer	25 August 1973	Barnsley	Oakwell
FW		Paul Aimson	25 August 1973	Barnsley	Oakwell
FW		Barry Dyson	25 August 1973	Barnsley	Oakwell
FW		Peter Silvester	6 October 1973	Hartlepool	Victoria Park
FB		Alex Smith	10 November 1973	Mansfield Town	Field Mill
MF		Ray Bunkell	8 December 1973	Gillingham	Priestfield Stadium
FB		Alex Smith	27 January 1974	Doncaster Rovers	Belle Vue	[31][a]
WG		Colwyn Rowe	3 February 1974	Bury	Gigg Lane
WG		Terry Anderson	8 February 1974	Swansea City	Layer Road
CB		Barry Dominey	16 March 1974	Scunthorpe United	Old Showground
MF		Paul Taylor	16 March 1974	Scunthorpe United	Old Showground
FW		Gary Moore	16 March 1974	Scunthorpe United	Old Showground

• List of Colchester United F.C. seasons

Books

• Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008).The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books.ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.
• Ambrosen, Tony (1993).Amber in the Blood: A History Of Newport County. Uxbridge: Yore Publications.ISBN 978-1-874427-40-7.

Websites

• "Colchester United football club match record: 1974". 11v11.com. Retrieved24 April 2018.
• "Chester fixtures 1973/74". Chester Football Club. Retrieved30 January 2018.
• "Season 1973–74". Royalsrecord.co.uk. Retrieved30 January 2018.

• Colchester United F.C. seasons
• English football clubs 1973–74 season

• Use dmy dates from February 2018
• Use British English from February 2018
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata