The 1998–99 season was Colchester United's 57th season in their history and their first season back in the third tier of

English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...

, the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, following promotion via the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

in the previous season. Alongside competing in the Second 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 ...

, the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

and the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

. After a reasonable start to the season,

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 ...

Steve Wignall quit in January expressing that he had taken the club as far as he could.

Mick Wadsworth Michael Wadsworth (born 3 November 1950) is an English football coach and former player. Born in Barnsley his playing career spanned only one season in The Football League with Scunthorpe United, along with spells playing for Gainsborough Tr ...

was appointed his replacement and duly brought in a number of new players on permanent and loan contracts. Colchester finished the season in 18th position, two points clear of the relegation zone. The U's were ignominiously dumped out of the FA Cup in the first round by

non-League Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to d ...

outfit Bedlington Terriers. They also suffered first round exits in the League Cup and Football League Trophy to AFC Bournemouth and Gillingham respectively.

Season overview

Following

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

from the Third Division, Steve Wignall had a huge task ahead of him to keep Colchester in the division. The league boasted Manchester City and Stoke City amongst its ranks, as well as Kevin Keegan's Fulham during Mohamed Al-Fayed's ownership during their rise to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

. Wignall's side had a reasonable start to the campaign, but were dumped out of the

and

at the first round stages. The U's then faced a trip to

side Bedlington Terriers in the

first round. Bedlington held a 2–0 lead after 23 minutes and eventually held a 4–0 lead after 86 minutes, before

Tony Adcock Anthony Charles Adcock (born 27 March 1963) is an English former footballer who played as a forward in the Football League for Colchester United, where he holds the goalscoring record with 149 goals in all competitions for the club in two spell ...

scored a late consolation goal. Following this, Colchester one just one game in their next nine matches. In January 1999, seven days after handing raw forward

Lomana LuaLua Trésor Lomana LuaLua (; born 28 December 1980) is a Congolese professional footballer who last played as a striker. He is currently the attacking coach for Spalding United. LuaLua was born in Kinshasa, but moved to England at a young age. ...

his debut, Wignall quit the club, citing that he had taken the team as far as he could and left frustrated at the role agents were playing in deals he had been trying to set up. Assistant manager Steve Whitton stepped up as caretaker manager before

was named the new manager of Colchester United. He kept Whitton on as assistant and brought in a number of new players. The club survived relegation by two points, ending the campaign in 18th place. Crowds had risen to an average of 4,479, but swingeing cuts were made to the playing staff at the end of the season.

Players

Transfers

In

* Total spending: ~ £0

Out

* Total incoming: ~ £0

Loans in

Loans out

Match details

Second Division

Results round by round

League table

Matches

Football League Cup

FA Cup

Football League Trophy

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.

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 1998-99 1998-99 English football clubs 1998–99 season 1998–99 Football League Second Division by team