The 1948–49 season was Colchester United's seventh season in their history and their seventh in the Southern League. Alongside competing in the Southern League, the club also participated in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

and Southern League Cup. The club finished as runners–up in the Southern League Cup to

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

just ten days after losing the delayed 1947–48 season final to

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

. The club exited the FA Cup in the first round to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, although the first encounter between the clubs was abandoned due to heavy fog. The match gathered a record

Layer Road Layer Road was a Football League stadium in Colchester, England. It was only used for football matches and was the home ground of Colchester United before being replaced by the Colchester Community Stadium. The stadium held spectators and was ...

and Colchester United crowd of 19,072, before being abandoned with the scores at 1–1.

Season overview

Former

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

and

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defender Jimmy Allen was tasked with taking Colchester United into the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

when he stepped into the void left following Ted Fenton's departure for West Ham United during the simmer. The ex-

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

international oversaw his side reach the final of the Southern League Cup for the second successive season. With the 1947–48 final held over from the previous season, Colchester first lost that final against

5–0, before losing the 1948–49 season final 3–0 to

ten days later. During these ten days, the club also played four league fixtures. On the back of a successful

run across the 1947–48 season, much was expected of Colchester for their 1948–49 campaign. They drew

at home for their first–round fixture, but the game which drew a record

and Colchester United crowd of 19,072 was abandoned with the scores tied at 1–1 due to heavy fog. The rearranged match saw the U's crash out with a 4–2 defeat. In the Southern League, Colchester once again finished in fourth position while Chelmsford City and Gillingham battled for the title, with the Kent side winning their second title in three years.

Players

Transfers

In

* Total spending: ~ £1,000

Out

Match details

Southern League

League table

Matches

Southern League Cup

1947–48 season fixture

1948–49 season fixtures

FA Cup

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

, - !colspan="14", ''Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season''

Goalscorers

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

Player debuts

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

References

General

Specific

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colchester United F.C. Season 1948-49 1948-49 English football clubs 1948–49 season