The 1974–75 season was
Colchester United's 33rd season in their history and their first season back in the third tier of
English football for six years, the
Third Division
In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below.
Association football
*Belgian Thir ...
. Alongside competing in the Third Division, the club also participated in the
FA Cup and the
League Cup.
Jim Smith consolidated Colchester's position back in the third tier by leading them to an eleventh position finish to the season. They experienced a successful cup run in the League Cup, eventually falling to
Second Division 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 ...
in the quarter-final stage. However, they were knocked out of the FA Cup in the second round by
non-League outfit
Leatherhead.
Season overview
Ahead of the new season, Colchester's board warned that a break-even gate of 9,200 was required and that players would be sold if attendances didn't reach an average of 7,500. However, manager
Jim Smith returned to former club
Boston United
Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...
to sign
Bobby Svarc
Robert Louis "Bobby" Svarc (born 8 February 1946) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Career
Svarc, born in Leicester, England, began his career at Leicester City, making 13 appearances, scoring two goals befo ...
's old strike partner
John Froggatt
John Lawrence Froggatt (born 13 December 1945) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he scored 45 goals in 215 league games in seven seasons in the Football League.
He began his career at Notts County in 1963, and later play ...
for £6,000. The acquisition was fruitful, with Svarc finding the back of the net 24 times in the league and 25 times in total, with Froggatt registering 18 with 16 in the league.
Having reached the quarter-final of the
FA Cup four seasons prior, the U's emulated that achievement in the
League Cup. After beating
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...
and
Southend United, they hosted
First Division Carlisle United
Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...
, beating the Cumbrians 2–0 to earn a home tie with
Southampton. A 0–0 draw at
Layer Road led to a 1–0 replay win at
The Dell, courtesy of a
Barry Dominey goal. This set up a quarter-final tie with
Second Division 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 ...
. Villa were just too strong for United, winning 2–1 before a Layer Road crowd of 11,812.
Colchester's success in the League Cup was not replicated in the FA Cup as they were knocked out by
non-League outfit
Leatherhead in the second round. In the league, a strong start to the season was followed up by a weaker second half to the campaign as the U's fell from fifth to eleventh where they ended the season.
Crowds fell a long way short of the target expected by the board, with a league average of 4,941 attending during the season.
Players
Transfers
In
* Total spending: ~ £6,000
Out
* Total incoming: ~ £4,000
Loans in
Loans out
Match details
Third Division
Results round by round
League table
Matches
League Cup
FA Cup
Squad statistics
Appearances and goals
, -
!colspan="14", ''Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season''
Goalscorers
Disciplinary record
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.
See also
*
List of Colchester United F.C. seasons
Colchester United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Colchester, Essex, that was founded in 1937.
Colchester United competed in the Southern Football League from 1937 until 1950, when they were elected to the Foo ...
References
General
Books
*
Websites
*
Specific
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colchester United F.C. Season 1974-75
1974-75
English football clubs 1974–75 season