1991–92 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United

1991–92 season
Chairman	James Bowdidge[1][2]
Manager	Roy McDonough
Conference	1st (Promoted)
FA Cup	1st Round
FA Trophy	Winners
Conference League Cup	2nd Round
Top goalscorer	League: Roy McDonough (26) All: Roy McDonough (29)
Highest home attendance	7,193 (Barrow)
Lowest home attendance	2,139 (Stafford Rangers)
Average home league attendance	3,509
Home colours
← 1990–91 1992–93 →

The 1991–92 season was Colchester United's second consecutive season in the fifth tier of English football. The season ended in success with Colchester achieving promotion on the final day of the season, resulting in a return to the Football League at their second attempt. They also won the FA Trophy after beating Witton Albion 3-1 at Wembley Stadium.

Season Review

New chairman James Bowdidge appointed Roy McDonough in a playing role. At just 34, McDonough had been Atkins' assistant and vowed to go for goals abandoning Atkins' stoic sweeper system.

McDonough equalled the club record scoring four at Slough on 26 August 1991, but couldn't have planned the astonishing goal that gave U's victory at sole rivals Wycombe. In the dying moments, goalkeeper Scott Barrett's long punt down field skidded up off the greasy surface into the net to give Colchester a priceless 2-1 win, and U's completed the double against Wycombe soon after winning 3-0 at Layer Road.

Colchester Borough Council identified ten sites that might house a new stadium. Each would be investigated. The Football League decreed that all clubs must have at least 10 years lease on their stadium. Fortunately, the Council extended their arrangement.

The U's became the first team in history to be knocked out of the FA Cup without conceding a goal. Twice they drew 0-0 with Exeter only to lose on penalties; the consolation was that they led Wycombe by seven points as 1992 dawned. Sixteen home wins on the bounce failed to shake off their shadows from Buckinghamshire. A dreadful 4-1 defeat at Welling and a lackadaisical 4-4 draw at Macclesfield threatened to derail U's surge back to the League.

United's focus wasn't solely on the Conference they progressed to the Wembley Final of the FA Trophy having knocked out Kingstonian, Merthyr, Morecambe, Telford and Macclesfield on the way.

At just 34, McDonough had delivered his promise. He himself had netted 29 times with Steve McGavin (26) and Gary Bennett (18) part of the 98 goal League haul as Wycombe trailed by eight goals going into the last game. United annihilated Barrow 5-0 with a Mike Masters hat trick to claim the Championship.

A week later 32,254 roared United, in their first-ever Wembley appearance, to a famous non-League double gaining revenge over Witton Albion with Masters, McGavin and Nicky Smith scoring in a 3-1 win. Thousands packed the High Street a few days later as United paraded their trophies to the town. Colchester were back in the Football League.^[3]

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player –– GK Scott Barrett –– DF Warren Donald –– DF Shaun Elliott –– DF Tony English –– DF Martin Grainger –– DF Andy Partner –– DF Ian Phillips –– DF Paul Roberts –– MF Eamonn Collins –– MF Jason Cook

No. Position Player –– MF Mark Kinsella –– MF Nicky Smith –– MF Ian Stewart –– FW Paul Abrahams –– FW Gary Bennett –– FW Julian Hazel –– FW Mike Masters –– FW Roy McDonough –– FW Steve McGavin

Player Info

Pos.	Name	Place of Birth	Date of Birth	Previous Club	Date Joined	Fee
GK	Scott Barrett	Ilkeston	2 April 1963	Stoke City	18 August 1990	Free
DF	Warren Donald	Uxbridge	7 October 1964	Northampton Town	27 August 1990	Free
DF	Shaun Elliott	Haltwhistle	26 January 1957	Blackpool	15 December 1990	£7,000
DF	Tony English	Luton	19 October 1966	Coventry City	1 January 1985	Free
DF	Martin Grainger	Enfield	23 August 1972	Youth Team	1 August 1989	Free
DF	Andy Partner	Colchester	21 October 1974	Youth Team	1 August 1991	Free
DF	Ian Phillips	Cumnock	23 April 1959	Kettering Town	26 August 1991	Free
DF	Paul Roberts	West Ham	21 October 1974	Fisher Athletic	28 September 1991	Free
MF	Eamonn Collins	Inchicore	22 October 1965	Portsmouth	19 August 1989	Free
MF	Jason Cook	Edmonton	29 December 1969	Southend United	28 September 1991	Free
MF	Mark Kinsella	Dublin	12 August 1972	Home Farm	26 August 1989	Free
MF	Nicky Smith	Berkeley	28 January 1969	Southend United	18 August 1990	Free
MF	Ian Stewart	Belfast	10 September 1961	Aldershot	11 February 1992	Free
FW	Paul Abrahams	Colchester	31 October 1973	Youth Team	1 August 1991	Free
FW	Gary Bennett	Enfield	13 November 1970	Youth Team	1 August 1988	Free
FW	Julian Hazel	Luton	25 September 1973	Youth Team	1 August 1991	Free
FW	Mike Masters	Leesville	26 April 1967	San Francisco Bay Blackhawks	18 January 1992	Free
FW	Roy McDonough	Solihull	16 October 1958	Southend United	13 October 1990	Free
FW	Steve McGavin	North Walsham	24 January 1969	Sudbury Town	1 April 1991	£3,000

Transfers

Transfers In

Date	Pos.	Player Name	Previous Club	Transfer Fee	Notes
1 August 1991	DF	James Goodwin	Youth Team	Free
1 August 1991	DF	Andy Partner	Youth Team	Free
1 August 1991	FW	Paul Abrahams	Youth Team	Free
1 August 1991	FW	Julian Hazel	Youth Team	Free
26 August 1991	DF	Ian Phillips	Kettering Town	Free
21 September 1991	DF	Simon Gray	Ipswich Town	Free
28 September 1991	DF	Paul Roberts	Fisher Athletic	Free
28 September 1991	MF	Jason Cook	Southend United	Free
8 October 1991	FW	Sean Duffett	Eastern Gas Recreation	Free
18 January 1992	FW	Mike Masters	San Francisco Bay Blackhawks	Free
11 February 1992	MF	Ian Stewart	Aldershot	Free

Transfers Out

Date	Pos.	Player Name	New Club	Transfer Fee	Notes
31 May 1991	DF	Ian Atkins	Birmingham City	Free
31 May 1991	DF	Marcelle Bruce	Baldock Town	Free
31 May 1991	DF	Scott Daniels	Exeter City	£50,000
31 May 1991	DF	Neale Marmon	FC Homburg	Free
31 May 1991	DF	Gary Osbourne	Released	Free
31 May 1991	DF	John Pollard	Fisher Athletic	Free
31 May 1991	MF	Garry Brooke	Reading	Free
31 May 1991	MF	Mark Radford	Wivenhoe Town	Free
31 May 1991	FW	Laurie Ryan	Cambridge City	Free
31 May 1991	MF	Les Taylor	Oxford United	Free
17 August 1991	FW	Mario Walsh	Redbridge Forest	Free
8 October 1991	FW	Sean Duffett	Wivenhoe Town	Free
16 December 1991	DF	James Goodwin	Halstead Town	Free
16 December 1991	DF	Simon Gray	Wivenhoe Town	Free
16 December 1991	MF	Wayne Hannigan	Chelmsford City	Free
14 January 1992	FW	Steve Restarick	Chelmsford City	Free

Loans In

Date	Pos.	Player Name	Parent Club	Date Returned	Notes
24 March 1992	MF	Dave Martin	Southend United	10 May 1992

Results

Conference Results Summary

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Colchester United (C)	42	28	10	4	98	40	+58	94
2	Wycombe Wanderers	42	30	4	8	84	35	+49	94
3	Kettering Town	42	20	13	9	72	50	+22	73

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Conference Results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
17/08/1991	Macclesfield Town	H	2-0	2,233	Bennett, McGavin
24/08/1991	Barrow	A	1-1	1,480	Kinsella
26/08/1991	Slough Town	A	4-2	2,226	McDonough (4)
31/08/1991	Bath City	H	5-0	2,416	McGavin (2), Bennett (3)
07/09/1991	Witton Albion	A	2-2	1,045	Collins, McDonough
10/09/1991	Farnborough Town	H	2-3	2,954	McGavin, Collins
13/09/1991	Yeovil Town	H	4-0	2,979	English, Bennett (2), McGavin
21/09/1991	Cheltenham Town	A	1-1	1,157	McDonough
28/09/1991	Wycombe Wanderers	A	2-1	5,186	Smith, Barrett
05/10/1991	Altrincham	H	3-3	2,853	Anderson (o.g.), McGavin, McDonough (pen.)
12/10/1991	Runcorn	H	2-1	2,617	Bennett, McDonough (pen.)
18/10/1991	Telford United	A	3-0	1,109	McDonough (2) (pen.), Smith
30/10/1991	Yeovil Town	A	1-0	2,385	McGavin
02/11/1991	Stafford Rangers	H	2-0	2,139	Smith, McDonough
09/11/1991	Farnborough Town	A	2-0	3,069	Bennett, Elliott
23/11/1991	Welling United	H	3-1	2,933	Bennett, Cook, English
30/11/1991	Northwich Victoria	A	1-1	1,042	McDonough
03/12/1991	Stafford Rangers	A	3-3	961	Bennett, McGavin
07/12/1991	Wycombe Wanderers	H	3-0	5,086	Bennett, McGavin (2)
14/12/1991	Gateshead	A	2-0	542	Bennett, McDonough
21/12/1991	Witton Albion	H	3-2	2,842	McGavin, Bennett, English
26/12/1991	Redbridge Forest	A	1-2	2,327	McDonough
28/12/1991	Runcorn	A	3-1	883	Bennett, Cook, McGavin
01/01/1992	Redbridge Forest	H	1-0	4,773	McGavin
04/01/1992	Merthyr Tydfil	A	0-2	1,032
18/01/1992	Cheltenham Town	H	4-0	2,643	McGavin (2), McDonough, Kinsella
24/01/1992	Kettering Town	A	2-2	4,100	McGavin, Smith
07/02/1992	Kidderminster Harriers	A	2-2	1,828	Bennett, Smith
11/02/1992	Boston United	H	1-0	3,229	McGavin
15/02/1992	Welling United	A	1-4	1,837	McDonough (pen.)
28/02/1992	Altrincham	A	2-1	905	McGavin, McDonough
07/03/1992	Gateshead	H	2-0	2,897	Roberts, Masters
21/03/1992	Northwich Victoria	H	1-0	3,218	Smith
24/03/1992	Bath City	A	0-0	1,101
28/03/1992	Kidderminster Harriers	H	3-0	3,073	English, Benton (o.g.), Stewart
14/04/1992	Slough Town	H	4-0	3,197	McDonough, Masters, Stewart, Kinsella
18/04/1992	Telford United	H	2-0	3,964	McDonough (2)
20/04/1992	Merthyr Tydfil	H	2-0	4,148	Smith, Masters
22/04/1992	Boston United	A	4-0	2,305	McGavin, McDonough (2) (pen.), Masters
25/04/1992	Macclesfield Town	A	4-4	886	Kendall (o.g.), English (2), McDonough
28/04/1992	Kettering Town	H	3-1	6,303	McDonough (2), McGavin
02/05/1992	Barrow	H	5-0	7,193	Masters (3), Smith, McDonough

Source: 1991-92 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
26/10/1991	4QR	Burton Albion	H	5-0	2,547	McDonough (pen.), McGavin (2) (pen.), Restarick, Kinsella
16/11/1991	R1	Exeter City	H	0-0	4,965
27/11/1991	R1 (R)	Exeter City	A	0-0 2-4 on Pens	4,066

Source: 1991-92 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

FA Trophy

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
11/01/1992	R1	Kingstonian	H	2-2	2,724	Restarick, English
14/01/1992	R1 (R)	Kingstonian	A	3-2	1,642	Smith, Bennett, McGavin
02/02/1992	R2	Merthyr Tydfil	A	0-0	1,211
04/02/1992	R2 (R)	Merthyr Tydfil	H	1-0	2,746	McDonough
22/02/1992	R3	Morecambe	H	3-1	3,206	Stewart, Collins, McGavin
09/03/1992	QF	Telford United	H	4-0	3,894	McGavin, Kinsella, Bennett, Smith
04/04/1992	SF (L1)	Macclesfield Town	H	3-0	5,443	Stewart, English, McDonough (pen.)
10/04/1992	SF (L2)	Macclesfield Town	A	1-1	1,650	Cook
10/05/1992	Final	Witton Albion	N	3-1	27,806	Masters, Smith, McGavin

Source: 1991-92 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

Conference League Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
08/10/1991	R1	Kettering Town	H	4-0	1,289	McGavin, Collins, Kinsella (2)
16/12/1991	R2	Wycombe Wanderers	H	2-6	919	Restarick, McGavin

Source: 1991-92 Season Colchester United Results - coludata.co.uk

Squad statistics

^[4]

No.	Nat.	Pos.	Name	Total		Conference		FA Cup		FA Trophy		Conference LC
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
––	GK		Scott Barrett	56	1	42	1	3	0	9	0	2	0
––	DF		Warren Donald	53	0	41	0	3	0	8	0	1	0
––	DF		Shaun Elliott	44	1	37	1	2	0	5	0	0	0
––	DF		Tony English	52	8	38	6	3	0	9	2	2	0
––	DF		James Goodwin	5	0	3	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
––	DF		Martin Grainger	17	0	11	0	2	0	2	0	2	0
––	DF		Simon Gray	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
––	DF		Andy Partner	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
––	DF		Ian Phillips	4	0	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
––	DF		Paul Roberts	45	1	34	1	0	0	9	0	2	0
––	MF		Eamonn Collins	41	4	32	2	3	0	5	1	1	1
––	MF		Jason Cook	44	3	31	2	2	0	9	1	2	0
––	MF		Wayne Hannigan	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
––	MF		Mark Kinsella	55	7	42	3	3	1	9	1	1	2
––	MF		Dave Martin	12	0	9	0	0	0	3	0	0	0
––	MF		Nicky Smith	55	11	42	8	3	0	9	3	1	0
––	MF		Ian Stewart	14	4	10	2	0	0	4	2	0	0
––	FW		Paul Abrahams	6	0	3	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
––	FW		Gary Bennett	51	18	39	16	3	0	8	2	1	0
––	FW		Sean Duffett	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
––	FW		Julian Hazel	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
––	FW		Mike Masters	19	8	15	7	0	0	4	1	0	0
––	FW		Roy McDonough	51	29	40	26	3	1	7	2	1	0
––	FW		Steve McGavin	53	28	39	20	3	2	9	4	2	2
––	FW		Steve Restarick	12	3	7	0	2	1	2	1	1	1
––	FW		Mario Walsh	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Scorers

^[5]

All Scorer Goals Roy McDonough 29 Steve McGavin 28 Gary Bennett 18 Nicky Smith 11 Tony English 8 Mike Masters Mark Kinsella 7 Eamonn Collins 4 Ian Stewart Jason Cook 3 Steve Restarick Scott Barrett 1 Shaun Elliott Paul Roberts Own goal 3

League Scorer Goals Roy McDonough 26 Steve McGavin 20 Gary Bennett 16 Nicky Smith 8 Mike Masters 7 Tony English 6 Mark Kinsella 3 Eamonn Collins 2 Jason Cook Ian Stewart Scott Barrett 1 Shaun Elliott Paul Roberts Own goal 3

FA Cup Scorer Goals Steve McGavin 2 Mark Kinsella 1 Roy McDonough Steve Restarick

FA Trophy Scorer Goals Steve McGavin 4 Nicky Smith 3 Gary Bennett 2 Tony English Roy McDonough Ian Stewart Eamonn Collins 1 Jason Cook Mark Kinsella Mike Masters Steve Restarick

Conference League Cup Scorer Goals Mark Kinsella 2 Steve McGavin Eamonn Collins 1 Steve Restarick

Most Frequent Starting XI

This section shows players in a 4-3-3 formation with the most league starts during the season.

Pos. Name Apps. Goals GK Scott Barrett 42 1 DF Warren Donald 38 0 DF Paul Roberts 34 1 DF Shaun Elliott 32 1 DF Tony English 37 6 MF Nicky Smith 42 8 MF Eamonn Collins 29 2 MF Mark Kinsella 37 3 FW Gary Bennett 31 16 FW Roy McDonough 40 26 FW Steve McGavin 39 20

Barrett Donald Roberts Elliott English Smith Collins Kinsella Bennett McGavin McDonough

References

1. Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 279. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.
2. "Our People". The Property Merchant Group. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
3. "The U's History: The 90s". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
4. "1991–92 Season Appearance Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
5. "1991–92 Season Goalscorers Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2011.