1996–97 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United

1996–97 season
Chairman	Gordon Parker[1]
Manager	Steve Wignall
Division Three	8th
FA Cup	1st Round
Coca-Cola Cup	2nd Round
Auto Windscreens Shield	Runners-up
Top goalscorer	League: Tony Adcock (11) All: Tony Adcock (14)
Highest home attendance	5,956 (Northampton Town)
Lowest home attendance	1,842 (Scunthorpe United)
Average home league attendance	3,254
Home colours
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

The 1996–97 season was Colchester United's fifth consecutive season in the fourth tier of English football. They finished as runners-up in the Auto Windscreens Shield after losing 4-3 on penalties to Carlisle United.

Season Review

A fresh looking Layer Road welcomed in the 1996/7 season with the Clock End all-seated and covered.

Mark Kinsella finally got the move his talents deserved. A bargain £150,000 took him to Charlton and there was early League Cup cheer when U's turned a 3-2 deficit with a 3-1 victory at First Division West Bromwich Albion. It was all the more noteworthy as striker Steve Whitton played the entire second half in goal.

Paul Buckle scored Colchester's first ever Golden Goal against Millwall in the Auto Windscreen Shield on 9 January 1997 and wins over Brentford and Northampton set up a Southern Final with Peterborough. All looked lost with a 2-0 first leg defeat but Paul Abrahams' glorious Golden Goal sent United to Wembley.

Unfortunately six defeats in eight League games had seen United slip to 13th. Manager Steve Wignall declared: "I won't be happy until I have guided this club to promotion. All I ask of the fans is trust me with your club."

The Wembley 1997 Football League Trophy Final against Carlisle, played on 20 April in front of 45,077, ended in a 0-0 draw after extra time. Peter Cawley and a young Karl Duguid missed from the spot leaving the Cumbrians to hoist the trophy in the cruellest of manners. Three wins and a draw after Wembley meant that United missed out on the play-offs by just one point. A season of so much promise ended in just memories.^[2]

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player –– GK Garrett Caldwell –– GK Carl Emberson –– DF Simon Betts –– DF Peter Cawley –– DF Joe Dunne –– DF Paul Gibbs –– DF David Greene –– DF Ben Lewis –– DF Adam Locke –– DF Tony McCarthy –– DF Geoff Pitcher –– DF Scott Stamps –– MF Paul Buckle

No. Position Player –– MF Karl Duguid –– MF Steve Forbes –– MF Chris Fry –– MF David Gregory –– MF Nicky Haydon –– MF Dave Rainford –– MF Richard Wilkins –– FW Paul Abrahams –– FW Tony Adcock –– FW Tony Lock –– FW Mark Sale –– FW Steve Whitton

Player Info

Pos.	Name	Place of Birth	Date of Birth	Previous Club	Date Joined	Fee
GK	Garrett Caldwell	Princeton	6 November 1973	Princeton University	24 September 1995	Free
GK	Carl Emberson	Epsom	13 July 1973	Millwall	6 July 1994	£25,000
DF	Simon Betts	Middlesbrough	3 March 1973	Ipswich Town	11 December 1992	Free
DF	Peter Cawley	Walton-on-Thames	15 September 1965	Barnet	9 October 1992	Free
DF	Joe Dunne	Dublin	25 May 1973	Gillingham	27 March 1996	Free
DF	Paul Gibbs	Gorleston	26 October 1972	Diss Town	6 March 1995	Undisclosed
DF	David Greene	Luton	26 October 1973	Luton Town	21 June 1996	£30,000
DF	Ben Lewis	Chelmsford	22 June 1977	Youth Team	1 August 1994	Free
DF	Adam Locke	Croydon	20 August 1970	Southend United	23 September 1994	Free
DF	Tony McCarthy	Dublin	9 November 1969	Millwall	17 March 1995	Free
DF	Geoff Pitcher	Sutton	15 August 1975	Watford	17 February 1997	Free
DF	Scott Stamps	Edgbaston	20 March 1975	Torquay United	26 March 1997	£10,000
MF	Paul Buckle	Welwyn Garden City	16 December 1970	Wycombe Wanderers	28 November 1996	Free
MF	Karl Duguid	Hitchin	21 March 1978	Youth Team	16 July 1995	Free
MF	Steve Forbes	Stoke Newington	24 December 1975	Millwall	14 March 1997	Undisclosed
MF	Chris Fry	Cardiff	23 October 1969	Hereford United	24 October 1993	Undisclosed
MF	David Gregory	Polstead	23 January 1970	Peterborough United	7 December 1995	Free
MF	Nicky Haydon	Barking	10 August 1978	Youth Team	1 August 1995	Free
MF	Dave Rainford	Stepney	21 April 1979	Youth Team	1 August 1996	Free
MF	Richard Wilkins	Lambeth	28 May 1965	Hereford United	3 July 1996	£30,000
FW	Paul Abrahams	Colchester	31 October 1973	Brentford	23 October 1996	£20,000
FW	Tony Adcock	Bethnal Green	27 February 1963	Luton Town	3 August 1995	Free
FW	Tony Lock	Harlow	3 September 1976	Youth Team	1 August 1994	Free
FW	Mark Sale	Burton upon Trent	27 February 1972	Mansfield Town	10 March 1997	£23,500
FW	Steve Whitton	London	4 December 1960	Ipswich Town	24 March 1994	£10,000

Transfers

Transfers In

Date	Pos.	Player Name	Previous Club	League	Transfer Fee	Notes
21 June 1996	MF	David Greene	Luton Town	Football League Division Two	£30,000
3 July 1996	MF	Richard Wilkins	Hereford United	Football League Division Three	£30,000
1 August 1996	MF	Dave Rainford	Youth Team	N/A	Free
5 August 1996	DF	David Barnes	Watford	Football League Division Two	Free
23 October 1996	FW	Paul Abrahams	Brentford	Football League Division Two	£20,000
28 November 1996	MF	Paul Buckle	Wycombe Wanderers	Football League Division Two	Free
17 February 1997	DF	Geoff Pitcher	Watford	Football League Division Two	Free
10 March 1997	FW	Mark Sale	Mansfield Town	Football League Division Three	£23,500
14 March 1997	MF	Steve Forbes	Millwall	Football League Division Two	Undisclosed
26 March 1997	DF	Scott Stamps	Torquay United	Football League Division Three	£10,000

Transfers Out

Date	Pos.	Player Name	New Club	League	Transfer Fee	Notes
31 May 1996	DF	Gus Caesar	Eastern AA	Hong Kong Second Division League	Free
31 May 1996	DF	Jean Dalli	Dover Athletic	Football Conference	Free
31 May 1996	DF	Tony English	Retired	N/A	Free
31 May 1996	MF	Steve Ball	Sudbury Town	Southern Football League Premier Division	Free
31 May 1996	MF	Robert Boyce	Enfield Town	Isthmian League Premier Division	Free
31 May 1996	MF	Michael Cheetham	Sudbury Town	Southern Football League Premier Division	Free
30 July 1996	MF	Tony Dennis	Lincoln City	Football League Division Three	Free
20 September 1996	MF	Mark Kinsella	Charlton Athletic	Football League Division One	£150,000
13 February 1997	FW	Robbie Reinelt	Brighton & Hove Albion	Football League Division Three	£15,000
1 March 1997	DF	David Barnes	Retired	N/A	Free

Loans In

Date	Pos.	Player Name	Parent Club	League	Date Returned	Notes
11 October 1996	MF	Nyrere Kelly	Leyton Orient	Football League Division Three	19 October 1996
8 November 1996	FW	John Taylor	Luton Town	Football League Division Two	26 December 1996
3 February 1997	GK	John Vaughan	Lincoln City	Football League Division Three	28 February 1997

Results

Division Three Results Summary

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
7	Cardiff City (PO)	46	20	9	17	56	54	+2	69
8	Colchester United	46	17	17	12	62	51	+11	68
9	Lincoln City	46	18	12	16	70	69	+1	66

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Division Three Results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
17/08/1996	Hartlepool United	H	0-2	2,942
24/08/1996	Rochdale	A	0-0	1,816
27/08/1996	Darlington	A	1-1	2,906	Locke
31/08/1996	Hereford United	H	1-1	2,723	Reinelt
07/09/1996	Fulham	A	1-3	5,189	Whitton
10/09/1996	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	2-0	2,540	Kinsella, Reinelt
14/09/1996	Hull City	H	1-1	3,073	Kinsella
21/09/1996	Leyton Orient	A	1-1	5,254	Fry
28/09/1996	Doncaster Rovers	H	2-2	2,672	Cawley, Adcock
01/10/1996	Carlisle United	A	0-3	4,089
04/10/1996	Swansea City	A	1-1	2,531	Greene
12/10/1996	Wigan Athletic	H	3-1	2,700	Adcock, Gregory, Duguid
15/10/1996	Barnet	H	1-0	2,732	Fry
19/10/1996	Northampton Town	A	1-2	4,119	Fry
26/10/1996	Lincoln City	A	2-3	2,768	Betts (pen.), Duguid (pen.)
29/10/1996	Exeter City	H	1-0	2,384	Myers (o.g.)
02/11/1996	Cardiff City	H	1-1	3,226	Duguid
09/11/1996	Torquay United	A	2-0	2,251	Reinelt, Abrahams
19/11/1996	Scunthorpe United	H	1-1	1,842	Sertori (o.g.)
22/11/1996	Chester City	A	2-1	2,028	Taylor (2)
30/11/1996	Lincoln City	H	7-1	2,738	Abrahams, Taylor (pen.) (2), Whitton, Adcock, Fry (2)
03/12/1996	Scarborough	A	1-1	1,605	Locke
14/12/1996	Mansfield Town	A	1-1	1,653	Abrahams
20/12/1996	Cambridge United	H	2-2	3,707	Taylor, Adcock
26/12/1996	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	1-1	4,830	Whitton
11/01/1997	Doncaster Rovers	A	0-0	1,458
14/01/1997	Fulham	H	2-1	3,820	Abrahams, Fry
18/01/1997	Carlisle United	H	1-1	3,588	Adcock (pen.)
25/01/1997	Exeter City	A	3-0	2,666	Abrahams, Locke (2)
31/01/1997	Torquay United	H	2-0	3,895	Adcock (2)
04/02/1997	Leyton Orient	H	2-1	3,689	Wilkins (2)
08/02/1997	Cardiff City	A	2-1	3,912	Adcock, Whitton
14/02/1997	Chester City	H	0-0	3,855
22/02/1997	Scunthorpe United	A	1-2	2,738	Whitton
28/02/1997	Scarborough	H	1-3	3,719	Adcock
07/03/1997	Cambridge United	A	0-1	3,485
14/03/1997	Mansfield Town	H	2-1	3,064	Greene, Adcock
21/03/1997	Rochdale	H	1-0	3,211	Abrahams
29/03/1997	Hartlepool United	A	0-1	2,725
31/03/1997	Darlington	H	0-3	3,604
05/04/1997	Hereford United	A	0-1	2,535
08/04/1997	Wigan Athletic	A	0-1	4,571
11/04/1997	Swansea City	H	3-1	3,162	Whitton, Sale, Abrahams
15/04/1997	Hull City	A	2-1	2,035	Adcock, Sale
26/04/1997	Northampton Town	H	0-0	5,956
03/05/1997	Barnet	A	4-2	1,909	Lock, Sale, Forbes, Haydon

Source: 1996-97 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

League Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
20/08/1996	R1 (L1)	West Bromwich Albion	H	2-3	3,521	Kinsella, Fry
03/09/1996	R1 (L2)	West Bromwich Albion	A	3-1	9,809	Robbie Reinelt (2), Dunne
17/09/1996	R2 (L1)	Huddersfield Town	A	1-1	5,112	Adcock
24/09/1996	R2 (L2)	Huddersfield Town	H	0-2	4,095

Source: 1996-97 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
16/11/1996	R1	Wycombe Wanderers	H	1-2	4,378	Wilkins

Source: 1996-97 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

League Trophy

Southern Section

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
10/12/1996	R1 (S)	Cambridge United	A	1-0	1,108	Whitton
07/01/1997	R2 (S)	Millwall	A	3-2	2,795	Adcock (2), Buckle (Golden goal)
28/01/1997	Area QF	Brentford	A	1-0	2,253	Abrahams
18/02/1997	Area SF	Northampton Town	H	2-1	3,978	Greene, Buckle
11/03/1997	Area Final (L1)	Peterborough United	A	0-2	4,556
18/03/1997	Area Final (L2)	Peterborough United	H	3-0	5,000	Fry, Buckle, Abrahams (Golden goal)
20/04/1997	Final	Carlisle United	N	0-0 3-4 on Pens	45,077

Source: 1996-97 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

Squad statistics

^[3]

No.	Nat.	Pos.	Name	Total		Division Three		FA Cup		League Cup		League Trophy
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
––	GK		Garrett Caldwell	7	0	5	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
––	GK		Carl Emberson	45	0	36	0	1	0	2	0	6	0
––	GK		John Vaughan	6	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
––	DF		David Barnes	13	0	11	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
––	DF		Simon Betts	14	1	10	1	0	0	4	0	0	0
––	DF		Peter Cawley	37	1	28	1	1	0	4	0	4	0
––	DF		Jean Dalli	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	DF		Joe Dunne	42	1	35	0	1	0	3	1	3	0
––	DF		Paul Gibbs	27	0	20	0	1	0	0	0	6	0
––	DF		David Greene	55	3	44	2	1	0	4	0	6	1
––	DF		Ben Lewis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	DF		Adam Locke	44	4	32	4	1	0	4	0	7	0
––	DF		Tony McCarthy	43	0	35	0	0	0	3	0	5	0
––	DF		Geoff Pitcher	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	DF		Scott Stamps	8	0	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF		Paul Buckle	29	3	24	0	0	0	0	0	5	3
––	MF		Karl Duguid	25	3	20	3	1	0	2	0	2	0
––	MF		Steve Forbes	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF		Chris Fry	47	14	42	6	1	0	4	1	0	7
––	MF		David Gregory	48	1	38	1	1	0	2	0	7	0
––	MF		Nicky Haydon	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF		Nyrere Kelly	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
––	MF		Mark Kinsella	10	3	7	2	0	0	3	1	0	0
––	MF		Richard Wilkins	50	3	40	2	1	1	3	0	6	0
––	FW		Paul Abrahams	36	9	29	7	1	0	0	0	6	2
––	FW		Tony Adcock	47	14	36	11	1	0	4	1	6	2
––	FW		Tony Lock	7	1	6	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
––	FW		Robbie Reinelt	26	5	21	3	1	0	4	2	0	0
––	FW		Mark Sale	13	3	10	3	0	0	0	0	3	0
––	FW		John Taylor	9	5	8	5	0	0	0	0	1	0
––	FW		Steve Whitton	47	7	39	6	0	0	3	0	5	1

Scorers

^[4]

All Scorer Goals Tony Adcock 14 Paul Abrahams 9 Chris Fry 8 Steve Whitton 7 Robbie Reinelt 5 John Taylor Adam Locke 4 Paul Buckle 3 Karl Duguid David Greene Mark Kinsella Mark Sale Richard Wilkins Simon Betts 1 Peter Cawley Joe Dunne Steve Forbes David Gregory Nicky Haydon Tony Lock Own goal 2

League Scorer Goals Tony Adcock 11 Paul Abrahams 7 Chris Fry 6 Steve Whitton John Taylor 5 Adam Locke 4 Karl Duguid 3 Robbie Reinelt Mark Sale David Greene 2 Mark Kinsella Richard Wilkins Simon Betts 1 Peter Cawley Steve Forbes David Gregory Nicky Haydon Tony Lock Own goal 2

FA Cup Scorer Goals Richard Wilkins 1

League Cup Scorer Goals Robbie Reinelt 2 Tony Adcock 1 Joe Dunne Chris Fry Mark Kinsella

League Trophy Scorer Goals Paul Buckle 3 Paul Abrahams 2 Tony Adcock Chris Fry 1 David Greene Steve Whitton

Most Frequent Starting XI

This section shows players in a 4-4-2 formation with the most league starts during the season.

Pos. Name Apps. Goals GK Carl Emberson 36 0 DF David Greene 44 2 DF Joe Dunne 23 0 DF Peter Cawley 28 1 DF Tony McCarthy 34 0 MF Richard Wilkins 40 2 MF David Gregory 32 1 MF Paul Buckle 24 0 MF Chris Fry 31 6 FW Tony Adcock 26 11 FW Steve Whitton 35 6

Emberson Greene Dunne Cawley McCarthy Wilkins Gregory Buckle Fry Adcock Whitton

References

1. Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 279. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.
2. "The U's History: The 90s". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
3. "1996–97 Season Appearance Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
4. "1996–97 Season Goalscorers Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2011.