The 1996–97 season was Colchester United's 55th season in their history and their fifth consecutive season in the fourth 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 League Cup and the Football League Trophy. Following the play-off disappointment of last season, the U's looked to earn a play-off spot at the very least, but missed out by just one point, finishing in eighth. Colchester reached the

1997 Football League Trophy Final The 1997 Football League Trophy Final, known as the 1997 Auto Windscreens Shield Final for sponsorship reasons, was the final match of the 1996–97 Football League Trophy. It was the 14th season of the competition for teams from the Second and ...

, reaching Wembley for only the second time where they faced

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 ...

. The score remained 0–0 after

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

but Colchester were defeated 4–3 in a penalty shoot-out. In the FA Cup, Colchester were eliminated by old foes Wycombe Wanderers in the first round, while Huddersfield Town defeated the U's at the second round stage.

Season overview

Layer Road's Clock End received a makeover during the off season, with a new covered and all seated stand in place. In the League Cup, Colchester overturned a 3–2 first leg deficit against West Bromwich Albion into victory with a 3–1 win at The Hawthorns with

Steve Whitton Stephen Paul Whitton (born 4 December 1960) is an English former footballer who played as a striker. He was born in East Ham, London. Career In a playing career spanning 20 years (1978–1998), Whitton made more than 450 league appearances. He ...

in goal for the entire second half following an injury to goalkeeper Garrett Caldwell. They were then defeated in the second round by Huddersfield Town. Colchester made a first round FA Cup exit following defeat by old rivals Wycombe Wanderers. In September, Mark Kinsella made a move to Charlton Athletic for £150,000. Paul Buckle scored Colchester's first-ever golden goal in the Football League Trophy against Millwall following a first round win against Cambridge United. In the area quarter-final, the U's dispatched

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

and then Northampton Town in the semi-final. Colchester then overturned a 2–0 deficit from the first leg of the area final with Peterborough United to win 3–0 after extra time to set up a Wembley final with

. In the final with 45,077 in attendance, neither side could find a breakthrough, and the tie went to extra time following a goalless 90 minutes. Another goalless 30 minutes followed and the match went to a penalty shoot-out. The U's took the lead in the shoot-out after

Owen Archdeacon Owen Duncan Archdeacon (born 4 March 1966 in Greenock) is a Scottish former footballer. He began his senior career at Celtic before going on to play for Barnsley, Carlisle United and finally Greenock Morton. Archdeacon played on the left-wing for ...

missed Carlisle's second effort, but consecutive misses from youth team product

Karl Duguid Karl Anthony Duguid (born 21 March 1978) is an English former professional footballer. He spent the majority of his playing career with Colchester United where, over two stints, he made over 400 league appearances. He also played for Plymouth ...

and

Peter Cawley Peter Cawley (born 15 September 1965) is an English former footballer who played as a defender. Career Cawley is best known for his spell at Colchester United, where he made more than 200 appearances during his six years at the club between 1 ...

meant that

Steve Hayward Steve Hayward (born 8 September 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder in a sixteen-year career spanning from 1988 to 2004. Career Born in Pelsall near Walsall, Hayward began his career with Derb ...

's converted effort won the shoot-out for Carlisle 4–3. In the league, six defeats in eight league matches saw Colchester slip to 13th in the table. Manager

Steve Wignall Steven Leslie Wignall (born 17 September 1954) is an English former professional football manager and player. During his playing career, Wignall, who played as a central defender, made over 600 appearances in the Football League. Career Playing ...

said: Colchester ended the season in 8th position, one point shy of the play-off positions.

Players

Transfers

In

* Total spending: ~ £106,000

Out

* Total incoming: ~ £165,000

Loans in

Loans out

Match details

Third Division

Results round by round

League table

Matches

League Cup

FA Cup

Football League Trophy

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 1996-97 1996-97 English football clubs 1996–97 season 1996–97 Football League Third Division by team