The 1980–81 season was Colchester United's 39th season in their history and fourth successive season in third tier of English football, 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 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 the League Cup. On the back of the success of the previous season, Colchester crashed out of the Third Division, relegated in 22nd-position. Several winless streaks contributed to their downfall. In the cup competitions, the U's were defeated in the first round of the League Cup by Gillingham, while

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

overcame Colchester in the third round of the FA Cup.

Season overview

The club's chairman warned financial difficulties would result in an exodus of players, but in the summer months, only Steve Dowman left the club, joining

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

for £75,000. The club also received their first-ever shirt sponsorship from

Royal London Insurance Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

. In the opening game of the season in the League Cup against Gillingham, debutant

Nigel Crouch Nigel John Crouch (born 24 November 1958) is an English former professional footballer who played as a full-back in the Football League for Lincoln City on loan from Ipswich Town, and for Colchester United. Crouch began his career with Ipswi ...

became the first Colchester player to be sent off on their debut following an altercation with Gillingham's

Steve Bruce Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Br ...

. Colchester failed to win any of their opening eight games. When they beat Millwall 3–0 in their ninth game, it attracted national media coverage. Sergeant Frank Ruggles of

Essex Police Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex, in the East of England. Essex Police is responsible for a population of over 1.8 million people and an area of . The chief constable is Ben-Julian Harri ...

marched on the field during play and attempted to arrest Millwall defender

Mel Blyth Melvin Bernard Blyth (born 28 July 1944) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back. During his playing career, he joined Scunthorpe United in 1967. One year later, he signed for Crystal Palace before joining Sou ...

for swearing. Manager Bobby Roberts signed unknown Highland League player

Kevin Bremner Kevin Johnston Bremner (born 7 October 1957) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He made nearly 450 appearances in the English and Scottish Football Leagues, representing ten different clubs. Football career B ...

for a then-club record £25,000. Following this came six consecutive home wins, and Colchester were well-placed in the table by Christmas. However, after Trevor Lee moved to Gillingham for a club record deal worth £90,000, the U's form dipped and they began to slip down the table again. In response to this, on transfer deadline day, Roberts matched Colchester's record fee paid for Bremner, signing

Roger Osborne Roger Charles Osborne (born 9 March 1950) is a former professional association football, footballer who is best known for scoring the winning goal in the 1978 FA Cup Final. Biography Born in Otley, Suffolk, Otley, East Suffolk (county), East S ...

from

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

, while also paying £15,000 each for

Roy McDonough Roy McDonough (born 16 October 1958) is an English former professional football player and manager in the English Football League. Playing career Roy McDonough was born in Solihull, he was one of four brothers and a twin to Gaz McDonough. He ...

and Phil Coleman. Eight games without a win from March to the penultimate game of the season ensured Colchester were relegated by just two points. Amid news of a 25,000 all-seater stadium development in the pipeline, the stark reality was that a new all-time low attendance of 1,430 witnessed the final day 1–0 win over

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 ...

, with a league average of just 2,641. Despite relegation, Roberts was given a vote of confidence by the board, while the local Council refused the new stadium plans ensuring the U's would remain at

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 ...

for the foreseeable future.

Players

Transfers

In

* Total spending: ~ £80,000

Out

* Total incoming: ~ £170,000

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.

References

General

Books * Websites *

Specific

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colchester United F.C. Season 1980-81 1980-81 English football clubs 1980–81 season