1952–53 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United

1952–53 season
Chairman	Bill Allen[1]
Manager	Jimmy Allen (until 2 May)
Stadium	Layer Road
Third Division South	22nd
FA Cup	3rd round (eliminated by Rotherham United)
Top goalscorer	League: Kevin McCurley (16) All: Kevin McCurley (19)
Highest home attendance	14,674 v Ipswich Town, 23 August 1952[2]
Lowest home attendance	3,382 v Crystal Palace, 19 March 1953[3]
Average home league attendance	8,002[4]
Biggest win	6–1 v Walsall, 14 February 1953
Biggest defeat	0–4 v Southend United, 7 March 1953; 1–5 v Torquay United, 18 April 1953; 0–4 v Norwich City, 2 May 1953
Home colours
← 1951–52 1953–54 →

The 1952–53 season was Colchester United's eleventh season in their history and their third season in the Third Division South, the third tier of English football. Alongside competing in the Third Division South, the club also participated in the FA Cup. Colchester reached the third round of the FA Cup for the second season running, but were knocked out by Second Division side Rotherham United after a replay. The club struggled in the league, eventually finishing 22nd of 24 teams which would ultimately cost manager Jimmy Allen his job.

Season overview

The season began with a Layer Road crowd of 14,674 witnessing a 0–0 draw with local rivals Ipswich Town, and in the early stages of the campaign, the club remained mid-table. In the FA Cup, Colchester disposed of Weymouth in the first round following a replay, and then Llanelli in the second round, before once again facing Second Division Yorkshire opposition in Rotherham United. After drawing 2–2 at Millmoor and forcing a replay, Colchester lost the Layer Road replay 2–0.

In the latter stages of the season, a poor run of just one point from six games saw United slip from 13th-position to 22nd, just one place and two points above the re-election positions. Meanwhile, forward Kevin McCurley had justified manager Jimmy Allen's £750 outlay with a return of 19 goals. However, with Allen's style of play criticised by supporters and his unwillingness to reduce the playing staff as requested by the board saw Allen tender his resignation on 2 May 1953.^[5]

Players

As of match played 2 May 1953.^[6]

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

No. Position Player GK Frank Coombs GK George Wright GK John Wright DF Harry Bearryman DF Roy Bicknell DF Brian Dobson DF Jimmy Elder DF George French DF Trevor Harris DF John Harrison DF Bertie Hill DF Billy Hunt DF Ron Hunt DF Digger Kettle

No. Position Player DF Phil Rookes DF Trevor Rowlands DF Reg Stewart FW Peter Aitchison FW Bert Barlow FW John Church FW Dick Cullum FW Stan Edwards FW Mike Grice FW Kevin McCurley FW Johnny McKim FW Augie Scott FW Peter Wright

Match details

Third Division South

Third Division South results round by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H
Result	D	W	D	L	W	L	L	L	W	L	W	D	L	D	L	D	W	W	W	D	L	L	W	L	D	W	L	W	D	D	L	D	W	D	D	L	L	D	W	L	L	D	L	L	L	L
Position	13	5	5	13	10	14	17	17	17	17	14	18	20	19	19	19	18	17	15	15	15	18	17	17	17	15	17	16	16	15	17	17	11	12	10	14	16	16	13	16	17	17	21	21	22	22

Last updated: 28 February 2016.
Source:
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

  Win   Draw   Loss

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv1	Pts2	Promotion, qualification or relegation
20	Queens Park Rangers	46	12	15	19	61	82	0.744	39
21	Gillingham	46	12	15	19	55	74	0.743	39
22	Colchester United	46	12	14	20	59	76	0.776	38
23	Shrewsbury Town	46	12	12	22	68	91	0.747	36	Re-elected to Third Division South
24	Walsall	46	7	10	29	56	118	0.475	24

^{Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Number of goals scored}

^{(C) Champion; (P) Promoted; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (R) Relegated.}

^Notes:

^{1 The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976–77 season.}

^{2 The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.}

Matches

FA Cup

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

^[6][7]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Third Division South		FA Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK		Frank Coombs	18	0	18	0	0	0
	GK		George Wright	33	0	28	0	5	0
	DF		Harry Bearryman	50	1	45	1	5	0
	DF		Roy Bicknell	8	0	6	0	2	0
	DF		Jimmy Elder	50	3	45	3	5	0
	DF		George French	1	0	1	0	0	0
	DF		John Harrison	51	0	46	0	5	0
	DF		Bertie Hill	1	0	1	0	0	0
	DF		Phil Rookes	46	0	43	0	3	0
	DF		Trevor Rowlands	5	2	5	2	0	0
	DF		Reg Stewart	45	0	40	0	5	0
	FW		Peter Aitchison	3	0	3	0	0	0
	FW		Bert Barlow	33	7	28	6	5	1
	FW		John Church	39	9	34	8	5	1
	FW		Stan Edwards	19	7	16	5	3	2
	FW		Mike Grice	13	1	13	1	0	0
	FW		Kevin McCurley	47	19	42	16	5	3
	FW		Johnny McKim	33	15	28	13	5	2
	FW		Augie Scott	40	2	38	2	2	0
	FW		Peter Wright	12	2	12	2	0	0
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
	DF		Len Jones	13	0	13	0	0	0
	DF		Harry Wilkinson	1	0	1	0	0	0

Goalscorers

^[7]

Place	Nation	Position	Name	Third Division South	FA Cup	Total
1		FW	Kevin McCurley	16	3	19
2		FW	Johnny McKim	13	2	15
3		FW	John Church	8	1	9
4		FW	Bert Barlow	6	1	7
		FW	Stan Edwards	5	2	7
6		DF	Jimmy Elder	3	0	3
7		DF	Trevor Rowlands	2	0	2
		FW	Augie Scott	2	0	2
		FW	Peter Wright	2	0	2
10		DF	Harry Bearryman	1	0	1
		FW	Mike Grice	1	0	1
			Own goals	0	1	1
			TOTALS	60	9	69

Disciplinary record

^[8]

Nationality	Position	Player	Third Division South		FA Cup		Total
	FW	Johnny McKim	0	1	0	0	0	1
		TOTALS	0	1	0	0	0	1

Captains

Number of games played as team captain.^[9]

Place	Nation	Position	Player	Third Division South	FA Cup	Total
			Not recorded	46	5	51

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.^[10]

Position	Player	Date	Opponent	Ground	Notes
FW	Stan Edwards	6 September 1952	Swindon Town	Layer Road
FW	Mike Grice	11 September 1952	Bristol Rovers	Layer Road
FW	Bert Barlow	13 September 1952	Queens Park Rangers	Loftus Road
DF	Roy Bicknell	4 October 1952	Gillingham	Layer Road
DF	George French	4 October 1952	Gillingham	Layer Road
DF	Harry Wilkinson	14 March 1953	Watford	Layer Road
DF	Bertie Hill	11 April 1953	Bristol City	Layer Road

Transfers and contracts

In

Date	Pos	Player	From	Fee	Ref
23 May 1952	GK	John Wright	Colchester Casuals	Free transfer	[11]
1 June 1952	DF	Roy Bicknell	Gravesend & Northfleet	£1,000	[12]
1 July 1952	DF	Billy Hunt	Apprentice	Free transfer	[13]
6 September 1952	FW	Stan Edwards	Chelsea	£750	[14]
11 September 1952	FW	Mike Grice	Lowestoft Town	£25	[15]
13 September 1952	FW	Bert Barlow	Leicester City	£1,000	[16]
30 September 1952	DF	Bertie Hill	Chelsea	£300	[17]

Out

Date	Pos	Player	To	Fee	Ref
3 May 1952	FW	Adam Davidson	Carnoustie Panmure	Released	[18]
31 May 1952	DF	John Moore	Staines Town	Free transfer	[19]
31 May 1952	FW	Jack McClelland	Stoke City	Undisclosed	[20][21]
14 March 1953	DF	Harry Wilkinson	Folkestone Town	Released	[22]
4 April 1953	DF	Len Jones	Ipswich Town	Released	[23]

See also

• List of Colchester United F.C. seasons

References

General

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: 1953". 11v11.com. Retrieved 24 March 2016. 
• "Statistics 1952/53". The Millwall History Files. Retrieved 24 March 2016. 
• "1950/51 to 1959/60" (PDF). Watford Football Club archive 1881–2015. Retrieved 24 March 2016. 
• "Season 1952–1953". Weymouth FC. Retrieved 24 March 2016. 

Specific