Colchester United

1957–58 season
Chairman	Bill Allen[1]
Manager	Benny Fenton
Stadium	Layer Road
Third Division South	12th
FA Cup	1st round (eliminated by Wisbech Town)
Top goalscorer	League: Ken Plant (19) All: Ken Plant (19)
Highest home attendance	11,077 vNorwich City, 14 September 1957[2]
Lowest home attendance	4,391 vNorthampton Town, 30 September 1957[3]
Average home league attendance	10,891[4]
Biggest win	4–0 vWatford, 26 December 1957
Biggest defeat	0–7 vReading, 18 September 1957
Home colours
← 1956–57 1958–59 →

The1957–58 season wasColchester United's 16th season in their history and their eighth season in theThird Division South, the third tier ofEnglish football. Alongside competing in the Third Division South, the club also participated in theFA Cup. They were eliminated at the first round stage of the cup for the fifth successive season, on this occasion tonon-league sideWisbech Town. In the league, with the division being restructured at the end of the season, Colchester managed to finish in the top half of the table by three points to avoid a move to the newly formedFourth Division, instead remaining in the third tier.

WithFootball League reorganisation looming at the end of the season, Colchester's priority for the 1957–58 season was to finish in the top half of the table to join the top half of theThird Division North to form the new nationwideThird Division. The other teams would form theFourth Division.

During the campaign,Benny Fenton's squad suffered from numerous call-ups fornational service, and as such Fenton brought in reinforcements in November withNeil Langman arriving fromPlymouth Argyle for £6,750 andJohn Evans for £4,000 fromLiverpool. Meanwhile,Birmingham City offered Colchester £10,000 forwingerPeter Wright, but he opted to remain as a part-time player.

Colchester secured their place in the third tier for another season in the final game of the season when they beatSouthampton 4–2 atLayer Road.^[5]

As of match played 1 May 1957.^[6]

Name	Position	Nationality	Place of birth	Date of birth	Apps	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Percy Ames	GK		Plymouth	(1931-12-13)13 December 1931 (aged 25)	92	0	Tottenham Hotspur	1 May 1955	Free transfer
John Wright	GK		Aldershot	(1933-08-13)13 August 1933 (aged 23)	4	0	Colchester Casuals	23 May 1952	Free transfer
Defenders
Brian Dobson	CB		Colchester	(1934-03-01)1 March 1934 (aged 23)	6	0	Amateur	January 1956	Free transfer
George Fisher	FB		Bermondsey	(1925-06-19)19 June 1925 (aged 31)	89	3	Fulham	1 September 1955	£1,000
John Fowler	FB		Leith	(1933-10-17)17 October 1933 (aged 23)	60	3	Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic	20 August 1955[a]	Free transfer
John Laidlaw	FB		Aldershot	(1936-07-05)5 July 1936 (aged 20)	0	0	Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare	June 1957	Free transfer
Alf Marshall	FB		Dagenham	(1933-05-21)21 May 1933 (aged 24)	0	0	Dagenham	14 October 1957	£25
Chic Milligan	CB		Ardrossan	(1930-07-26)26 July 1930 (aged 26)	35	1	Ardrossan Winton Rovers	18 August 1956[a]	£1,000
Edgar Rumney	FB		Abberton	(1936-09-15)15 September 1936 (aged 20)	0	0	Colchester Casuals	1 May 1957	Free transfer
Midfielders
Benny Fenton	WH		West Ham	(1918-10-10)10 October 1918 (aged 38)	83	12	Charlton Athletic	5 March 1955[a]	£500
Trevor Harris	WH		Colchester	(1936-02-06)6 February 1936 (aged 21)	3	0	Amateur	July 1951	Free transfer
Bert Hill	WH		West Ham	(1930-03-08)8 March 1930 (aged 27)	75	3	Chelsea	September 1952	£300
Ron Hunt	WH		Colchester	(1933-09-26)26 September 1933 (aged 23)	34	0	Amateur	October 1951	Free transfer
Derek Parker	WH		Wivenhoe	(1926-06-23)23 June 1926 (aged 30)	6	0	West Ham United	March 1957	£2,500
Forwards
Russell Blake	WG		Colchester	(1935-07-24)24 July 1935 (aged 21)	7	0	Dedham Old Boys	8 September 1955[a]	Free transfer
John Evans	IF		Tilbury	(1929-08-28)28 August 1929 (aged 27)	0	0	Liverpool	23 November 1957[a]	£4,000
Bobby Hill	IF		Edinburgh	(1938-06-09)9 June 1938 (aged 18)	43	8	Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare	9 June 1955	Free transfer
Martyn King	CF		Birmingham	(1937-08-23)23 August 1937 (aged 19)	3	1	Amateur	Summer 1955	Free transfer
Neil Langman	CF		Bere Alston	(1932-02-21)21 February 1932 (aged 25)	0	0	Plymouth Argyle	November 1957	£6,750
Kevin McCurley	CF		Consett	(1926-04-02)2 April 1926 (aged 31)	189	74	Liverpool	June 1951	£750
Sammy McLeod	IF		Glasgow	(1934-01-04)4 January 1934 (aged 23)	47	4	Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare	20 August 1955[a]	Free transfer
Hamish McNeill	IF		Alva	(1934-11-16)16 November 1934 (aged 22)	0	0	Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic	August 1957	£600
Ken Plant	CF		Nuneaton	(1925-08-15)15 August 1925 (aged 31)	143	60	Bury	January 1954	Undisclosed
Tommy Williams	WG		Battersea	(1935-02-10)10 February 1935 (aged 22)	23	3	Carshalton Athletic	September 1956	Free transfer
Peter Wright	WG		Colchester	(1934-01-26)26 January 1934 (aged 23)	158	30	Amateur	November 1951	Free transfer

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1 May 1957	FB		Edgar Rumney	Colchester Casuals	Free transfer	[7]
June 1957	FB		John Laidlaw	Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare	Free transfer	[8]
August 1957	IF		Hamish McNeill	Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic	£600	[9]
14 October 1957	FB		Alf Marshall	Dagenham	£25	[10]
November 1957	CF		Neil Langman	Plymouth Argyle	£6,750	[11]
23 November 1957	IF		John Evans	Liverpool	£4,000	[12][a]

• Total spending: ~ £11,375

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
31 May 1957	WG		Les Barrell	Clacton Town	Released	[13]
June 1957	IF		Eddie Smith	Queens Park Rangers	£1,050	[14]
July 1957	CB		Reg Stewart	Hastings United	Free transfer	[15]

• Total incoming: ~ £1,050

Colchester United vTorquay United

24 August 1957 (1957-08-24)1	Colchester United	3–0	Torquay United	Colchester
	McCurley pen.' P. Wright	Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 9,760

Queens Park Rangers v Colchester United

26 August 1957 (1957-08-26)2	Queens Park Rangers	1–0	Colchester United	Shepherd's Bush
	Cameron	Report		Stadium:Loftus Road Attendance: 12,135

Brentford v Colchester United

31 August 1957 (1957-08-31)3	Brentford	3–3	Colchester United	Brentford
	Newcombe 1' Towers	Report	Parker P. Wright	Stadium:Griffin Park Attendance: 12,730

Colchester United vQueens Park Rangers

2 September 1957 (1957-09-02)4	Colchester United	2–1	Queens Park Rangers	Colchester
	P. Wright 90' McCurley	Report	Finney	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 8,992

Southend United v Colchester United

7 September 1957 (1957-09-07)5	Southend United	2–3	Colchester United	Southend-on-Sea
	Crossan 17'	Report Report	Plant 6' P. Wright 12' McCurley 51' (pen.)	Stadium:Roots Hall Attendance: 18,125

Colchester United vReading

9 September 1957 (1957-09-09)6	Colchester United	1–3	Reading	Colchester
	McCurley	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 8,774

Colchester United vNorwich City

14 September 1957 (1957-09-14)7	Colchester United	1–2	Norwich City	Colchester
	McCurley	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 11,077

Reading v Colchester United

18 September 1957 (1957-09-18)8	Reading	7–0	Colchester United	Reading
	Unknown goalscorer	Report		Stadium:Elm Park Attendance: 13,811

Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic v Colchester United

21 September 1957 (1957-09-21)9	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	1–1	Colchester United	Bournemouth
	Dowsett 46'	Report	McNeill 4'	Stadium:Dean Court Attendance: 16,057

Northampton Town v Colchester United

26 September 1957 (1957-09-26)10	Northampton Town	4–1	Colchester United	Northampton
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Plant	Stadium:County Ground Attendance: 4,000

Colchester United vWalsall

28 September 1957 (1957-09-28)11	Colchester United	1–1	Walsall	Colchester
	P. Wright	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 7,366

Colchester United vNorthampton Town

30 September 1957 (1957-09-30)12	Colchester United	1–0	Northampton Town	Colchester
	P. Wright	Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 4,391

Coventry City v Colchester United

5 October 1957 (1957-10-05)13	Coventry City	1–0	Colchester United	Coventry
	Griffiths 40'	Report		Stadium:Highfield Road Attendance: 14,423

Plymouth Argyle v Colchester United

9 October 1957 (1957-10-09)14	Plymouth Argyle	1–1	Colchester United	Plymouth
	Langman	Report Report	McLeod	Stadium:Home Park Attendance: 22,550

Colchester United vExeter City

12 October 1957 (1957-10-12)15	Colchester United	3–0	Exeter City	Colchester
	Plant McCurley	Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 7,930

Watford v Colchester United

15 October 1957 (1957-10-15)16	Watford	1–1	Colchester United	Watford
	Anderson	Report	P. Wright	Stadium:Vicarage Road Attendance: 6,580

Gillingham v Colchester United

19 October 1957 (1957-10-19)17	Gillingham	2–3	Colchester United	Gillingham
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	McCurley Williams	Stadium:Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 8,535

Colchester United vMillwall

26 October 1957 (1957-10-26)18	Colchester United	2–1	Millwall	Colchester
	P. Wright 65' Plant 79'	Report	Shepherd 8'	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 9,260

Swindon Town v Colchester United

2 November 1957 (1957-11-02)19	Swindon Town	4–0	Colchester United	Swindon
	Micklewright 26' Edwards 37' Skull 76' Richards 83'	Report Report		Stadium:County Ground Attendance: 14,198

Colchester United vAldershot

9 November 1957 (1957-11-09)20	Colchester United	1–1	Aldershot	Colchester
	Fenton 71'	Report	Lacey 83'	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 7,569

Colchester United vPort Vale

23 November 1957 (1957-11-23)21	Colchester United	2–1	Port Vale	Colchester
	Plant 5' Williams 45'	Report	Askey 79'	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 9,106 Referee: C. Woan

Newport County v Colchester United

30 November 1957 (1957-11-30)22	Newport County	2–2	Colchester United	Newport
	Harris 17' Dixon 28'	Report	Langman 2' Plant 8'	Stadium:Somerton Park Attendance: 8,866

Brighton & Hove Albion v Colchester United

14 December 1957 (1957-12-14)23	Brighton & Hove Albion	5–2	Colchester United	Hove
	Gordon 4',76' Sexton 20' (pen.) Harburn 50' Howard 55'	Report	Fisher 16' (pen.) Williams 51'	Stadium:Goldstone Ground Attendance: 9,716

Torquay United v Colchester United

21 December 1957 (1957-12-21)24	Torquay United	1–3	Colchester United	Torquay
	Northcott 80'	Report	P. Wright 20',40' Evans	Stadium:Plainmoor Attendance: 5,749

Colchester United vWatford

26 December 1957 (1957-12-26)25	Colchester United	4–0	Watford	Colchester
	Plant Langman	Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 9,379

Colchester United vBrentford

28 December 1957 (1957-12-28)26	Colchester United	1–1	Brentford	Colchester
	Langman	Report	Francis	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 9,548

Colchester United vSouthend United

11 January 1958 (1958-01-11)28	Colchester United	1–0	Southend United	Colchester
	Williams 55'	Report Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 9,357

Norwich City v Colchester United

18 January 1958 (1958-01-18)29	Norwich City	1–1	Colchester United	Norwich
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Plant	Stadium:Carrow Road Attendance: 17,523

Colchester United vBournemouth & Boscombe Athletic

1 February 1958 (1958-02-01)30	Colchester United	3–2	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	Colchester
	Evans P. Wright	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 8,091

Walsall v Colchester United

8 February 1958 (1958-02-08)31	Walsall	3–0	Colchester United	Walsall
	Unknown goalscorer	Report		Stadium:Fellows Park Attendance: 7,639

Colchester United vCoventry City

15 February 1958 (1958-02-15)32	Colchester United	4–1	Coventry City	Colchester
	Fenton pen.' pen.' Plant	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 8,613

Exeter City v Colchester United

22 February 1958 (1958-02-22)33	Exeter City	4–3	Colchester United	Exeter
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Evans Plant Langman	Stadium:St James Park Attendance: 7,636

Colchester United vGillingham

1 March 1958 (1958-03-01)34	Colchester United	3–2	Gillingham	Colchester
	Plant Langman	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 8,158

Millwall v Colchester United

8 March 1958 (1958-03-08)35	Millwall	1–4	Colchester United	New Cross
	Johnson	Report	Plant Langman P. Wright	Stadium:The Den Attendance: 7,307

Colchester United vSwindon Town

15 March 1958 (1958-03-15)36	Colchester United	1–3	Swindon Town	Colchester
	Langman	Report Report	Edwards Richards Kelly	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 9,241

Port Vale v Colchester United

22 March 1958 (1958-03-22)37	Port Vale	2–0	Colchester United	Burslem
	Steele Wilkinson	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 7,161

Colchester United vBrighton & Hove Albion

29 March 1958 (1958-03-29)38	Colchester United	1–2	Brighton & Hove Albion	Colchester
	Evans	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 8,751

Crystal Palace v Colchester United

4 April 1958 (1958-04-04)39	Crystal Palace	1–1	Colchester United	Selhurst
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Plant	Stadium:Selhurst Park Attendance: 17,787

Colchester United vCrystal Palace

7 April 1958 (1958-04-07)40	Colchester United	1–1	Crystal Palace	Colchester
	Evans	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 9,528

Colchester United vNewport County

12 April 1958 (1958-04-12)41	Colchester United	1–1	Newport County	Colchester
	Langman	Report	Harris	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 7,472

Aldershot v Colchester United

16 April 1958 (1958-04-16)42	Aldershot	2–1	Colchester United	Aldershot
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Plant	Stadium:Recreation Ground Attendance: 2,630

Southampton v Colchester United

19 April 1958 (1958-04-19)43	Southampton	3–2	Colchester United	Southampton
	Roper Reeves Page	Report	McCurley	Stadium:The Dell Attendance: 13,842

Colchester United vShrewsbury Town

21 April 1958 (1958-04-21)44	Colchester United	3–0	Shrewsbury Town	Colchester
	Evans McCurley P. Wright	Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 7,092

Colchester United vPlymouth Argyle

26 April 1958 (1958-04-26)45	Colchester United	1–2	Plymouth Argyle	Colchester
	Blake 1'	Report Report	Carter 56' (pen.) Baker 81'	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 8,593

Colchester United vSouthampton

1 May 1958 (1958-05-01)46	Colchester United	4–2	Southampton	Colchester
	McCurley Blake McLeod Williams	Report	Mulgrew Reeves	Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 8,914

Wisbech Town v Colchester United

16 November 1957 (1957-11-16)1st round	Wisbech Town	1–0	Colchester United	Wisbech
	Pye 67'	Report		Stadium:Fenland Park Attendance: 9,552

^[6][16]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Third Division South		FA Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	ENG	Percy Ames	47	0	46	0	1	0
	DF	ENG	Brian Dobson	17	0	16	0	1	0
	DF	ENG	George Fisher	46	1	45	1	1	0
	DF	SCO	John Fowler	46	0	46	0	0	0
	DF	SCO	Chic Milligan	27	0	26	0	1	0
	DF	ENG	Edgar Rumney	5	0	5	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Benny Fenton	23	3	23	3	0	0
	MF	ENG	Trevor Harris	7	0	7	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Bert Hill	32	0	31	0	1	0
	MF	ENG	Ron Hunt	4	0	4	0	0	0
	MF	ENG	Derek Parker	30	1	29	1	1	0
	FW	ENG	Russell Blake	8	2	8	2	0	0
	FW	ENG	John Evans	24	7	24	7	0	0
	FW	SCO	Bobby Hill	11	0	11	0	0	0
	FW	ENG	Neil Langman	23	8	23	8	0	0
	FW	ENG	Kevin McCurley	29	12	28	12	1	0
	FW	SCO	Sammy McLeod	16	2	15	2	1	0
	FW	SCO	Hamish McNeill	2	1	2	1	0	0
	FW	ENG	Ken Plant	45	19	44	19	1	0
	FW	ENG	Tommy Williams	29	5	28	5	1	0
	FW	ENG	Peter Wright	46	16	45	16	1	0

^[16]

Place	Nationality	Position	Name	Third Division South	FA Cup	Total
1		CF	Ken Plant	19	0	19
2		WG	Peter Wright	16	0	16
3		CF	Kevin McCurley	12	0	12
4		CF	Neil Langman	8	0	8
5		IF	John Evans	7	0	7
6		WG	Tommy Williams	5	0	5
7		WH	Benny Fenton	3	0	3
8		WG	Russell Blake	2	0	2
		IF	Sammy McLeod	2	0	2
10		FB	George Fisher	1	0	1
		IF	Hamish McNeill	1	0	1
		WH	Derek Parker	1	0	1
			Own goals	0	0	0
			TOTALS	77	0	77

^[17]

Nationality	Position	Name	Third Division South		FA Cup		Total
	WH	Benny Fenton	1	0	0	0	1	0
		TOTALS	1	0	0	0	1	0

Number of games goalkeepers kept aclean sheet.^[18]

Place	Nationality	Player	Third Division South	FA Cup	Total
1		Percy Ames	7	0	7
		TOTALS	7	0	7

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.^[19]

Position	Nationality	Player	Date	Opponent	Ground	Notes
FB		Edgar Rumney	2 September 1957	Queens Park Rangers	Layer Road
IF		Hamish McNeill	21 September 1957	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	Dean Court
IF		John Evans	23 November 1957	Port Vale	Layer Road
CF		Neil Langman	23 November 1957	Port Vale	Layer Road

• 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.
• Kent, Jeff (1990).The Valiants' Years: The Story of Port Vale. Stafford: Witan Books.ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
• White, Eric (1989).100 Years of Brentford. Redditch: Oldfield Press.ISBN 0951526200.

Websites

• "Colchester United football club match record: 1958". 11v11.com. Retrieved27 March 2016.
• "Statistics 1957/58". The Millwall History Files. Retrieved27 March 2016.
• "1950/51 to 1959/60"(PDF). Watford Football Club archive 1881–2015. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 9 March 2016. Retrieved27 March 2016.

• Colchester United F.C. seasons
• English football clubs 1957–58 season

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