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

. 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.

References

General

Books * Websites *

Specific

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colchester United F.C. Season 1974-75 1974-75 English football clubs 1974–75 season