The 2006–07 season was Colchester United's 65th season in their history and their first-ever season in the second tier of English football, the Championship. Alongside competing in the Championship, the club also participated in the FA Cup and League Cup. Following Colchester's promotion from League One, bookmakers had the U's as favourites for an immediate return to the third tier, especially following

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Phil Parkinson's acrimonious resignation and subsequent appointment at Hull City. However, under the guidance of Parkinson's former assistant manager

Geraint Williams David Geraint Williams (born 5 January 1962) is a Welsh football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1980 until 2000, notably featuring in the Premier League for Ipswich Town, as well as in the Foo ...

, Colchester achieved a 10th-place finish in the league, defying the odds and a club record best ever league finish. Indeed, Colchester found themselves on the edges of the play-off positions for much of the season, eventually ending the campaign six points shy after a patch of poor form in February and March. Colchester for the first time ever entered the FA Cup at the third round stage, but were immediately eliminated by

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

. They suffered a similar fate in the League Cup when another League Two club Milton Keynes Dons knocked the U's out of the competition in

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 ...

Season overview

On 13 June 2006,

Phil Parkinson who had led Colchester to their first ever promotion to the second tier, resigned. It was a situation reminiscent of George Burley's resignation and move to

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 ...

in the 1994–95 season. Hull City's chairman Adam Pearson had approached Parkinson illegally regarding their vacant managers position, and as with Ipswich before, was made to pay when Colchester chairman Peter Heard won £400,000 in damages for the club. New club owner Robbie Cowling's first task was to appoint Parkinson's successor, with Parkinson's former assistant

overseeing pre-season training. He was ultimately appointed following a lengthy recruitment process and charged with leading United into their first season in the Championship.

Mick Harford Michael Gordon Harford (born 12 February 1959) is an English football manager and former professional player. He is the chief recruitment officer at Luton Town, a club where he has spent a large portion of both his playing and non-playing caree ...

was brought in as his assistant. On the back of a successful 2005–06 season for midfielder

Neil Danns Neil Alexander Danns (born 23 November 1982) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Macclesfield F.C., Macclesfield and the Guyana national football team, Guyana national team. In December 2022, Da ...

, scoring 15 goals, he left for Birmingham City in a deal worth up to £850,000. Incoming were former U's loanees

Jamie Cureton Jamie Cureton (born 28 August 1975) is an English former professional footballer. A striker, he is currently player-manager at Enfield. He began his career at Norwich City in 1994, and after the club's relegation from the Premier League at the ...

and

Johnnie Jackson John Alec Jackson (born 15 August 1982) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder or as a defender. He is the current manager of League Two club AFC Wimbledon. Club career Tottenham Hotspur Born ...

. After a solid yet unsuccessful start to the season, Colchester were without a win after four games, albeit defeats by a single goal on each occasion. They earned their first Championship victory on 26 August when they beat Derby County 4–3 courtesy of a Cureton hat-trick. Colchester then hosted Ipswich Town in the first league derby between the two neighbouring sides for 49 years. Colchester stalwart

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 ...

's goal was enough to hand the U's victory. Parkinson returned to Layer Road with his struggling Hull side in November as Chris Iwelumo equalled a club record and scored four for himself as the U's beat the Tigers 5–1. Parkinson was sacked by Hull five days later after Colchester's eighth successive home victory on their way to eleven consecutive home victories in the league. By Christmas, the U's found themselves in the play-off positions. Talk at this point turned to the potential for the U's to ground-share Portman Road with Ipswich Town if they achieved the ultimate dream of promotion to the Premier League as the first turf was cut on the new

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

development at Cuckoo Farm. In January, the U's received a club record £2.5m from Reading for their England under-20s international

Greg Halford Gregory Halford (born 8 December 1984) is an English semi-professional and former professional footballer who plays for Isthmian League North Division club Hashtag United. He is naturally a right-back or centre-back but can play in numerous pos ...

. With two games to spare, Colchester were just one point off the play-off places. Defeat at main rivals

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

ended their hopes but the 10th-placed finish was the best in the club's history, making them 30th of all clubs in the

English football pyramid The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...

. Gates at Layer Road had risen to an average of 5,466, the highest since the 1970–71 season with most games sold out.

Players

Transfers

In

* Total spending: ~ £0

Out

* Total incoming: ~ £3,000,000

Loans in

Loans out

Match details

Championship

League table

Results round by round

Matches

Football League Cup

FA Cup

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

, - !colspan="16", ''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 2006-07 2006-07 2006–07 Football League Championship by team