1939–40 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United
1939–40 season
Chairman	Walter Clark[1]
Manager	Ted Davis; (until September 1939)
Stadium	Layer Road
Southern League	League abandoned
Top goalscorer	League: ; Alec Cheyne (2); All: ; Len Astill; Joe Birch; Alec Cheyne; George Law (2)
Highest home attendance	4,200; v Plymouth Argyle Reserves, 26 August 1939[2]
Lowest home attendance	4,200; v Plymouth Argyle Reserves, 26 August 1939[2]
Average home league attendance	4,200[3]
Biggest win	5–1; v Norwich City Reserves, 28 August 1939
Biggest defeat	1–2; v Chelmsford City, 31 August 1939
	Home colours
	Home colours

The 1939–40 season was Colchester United's third season in their history and their third in the Southern League. Alongside competing in the Southern League, the club were also due to participate in the Southern League Mid-Week Section, FA Cup and Southern League Cup. They were also due to play the Southern League Cup matches remaining from the previous season during the campaign, but only played the outstanding semi-final fixture against Norwich City Reserves. The season was to end prematurely, with competitive football abandoned with the outbreak of World War II. Colchester United played regular season fixtures until 2 September 1939, with the 0–0 draw at Layer Road with Ipswich Town Reserves the final competitive fixture to be played by the club for almost six years.

Season overview

War loomed over Europe during the beginning of the 1939–40 campaign. After kicking the season off with a win against Plymouth Argyle Reserves on 26 August 1939, Colchester played Norwich City Reserves in the first-leg of the delayed Southern League Cup semi-final, beating their opponents 5–1. After only three Southern League games, World War II was declared, and as with predecessors Colchester Town during World War I, the club closed down, denying the club a chance to earn League football after gaining considerable momentum over the previous two seasons.

Colchester United continued to play friendlies against local opposition until December 1939, when the Army Fire Fighting Corp took over Layer Road for drill practice. The ground itself did continued to host matches during hostilities, as a number of high-profile military encounters took place at the stadium. The influx of military personnel through Colchester Garrison ensured that Layer Road played host to a number of star players through the war years.[4]

Players

As of match played 2 September 1939.[5]

Name	Position	Place of birth	Date of birth	Apps	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Billy Light	GK	Woolston	(1913-06-11)11 June 1913 (aged 25)	42	0	West Bromwich Albion	17 June 1938	£1,500
Defenders
Jimmy Baker	CB/RH	Trethomas	(1904-05-05)5 May 1904 (aged 35)	52	3	Bristol City	9 July 1937	Free transfer
Joe Birch	LB/RB	Hednesford	(1904-07-06)6 July 1904 (aged 34)	62	1	Fulham	24 June 1938	£750
Syd Fieldus	DF	Romford	(1909-05-27)27 May 1909 (aged 30)	22	3	Brentford	3 July 1937	Free transfer
George Leslie	CB	Slough	(1907-07-09)9 July 1907 (aged 31)	101	1	Guildford City	9 July 1937	Free transfer
Alf Worton	LB	Wolverhampton	(1914-04-04)4 April 1914 (aged 25)	64	0	Norwich City	3 June 1938	Free transfer
Midfielders
Bill Main	WH	St Monans		0	0	Cardiff City	19 August 1939	Free transfer
Robert Morris	LH/RH	Hatton	(1913-03-11)11 March 1913 (aged 26)	65	5	Norwich City	22 July 1938	£500
Forwards
Len Astill	IL/OL	Wolverhampton	(1916-12-30)30 December 1916 (aged 22)	41	21	Ipswich Town	20 May 1938	Free transfer
Ken Burditt	IF	Ibstock	(1906-11-12)12 November 1906 (aged 32)	0	0	Notts County	25 May 1939	£1,000
Alec Cheyne	IH	Glasgow	(1907-04-28)28 April 1907 (aged 32)	94	56	Chelsea	13 August 1937	£3,000
George Law	CF	Wellingborough	(1912-05-12)12 May 1912 (aged 27)	0	0	Norwich City	18 June 1939	£100
Arthur Pritchard	CF	Newport	(1917-10-22)22 October 1917 (aged 21)	96	72	Yeovil & Petters United	28 August 1937[lower-alpha 1]	Free transfer
Ivan Thacker	CF	Lowestoft		5	2	Lowestoft Town	18 February 1938	Free transfer
George Wallis	IF	Sawley		79	31	Bath City	28 February 1938	Free transfer

Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

Transfers

In

Date	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
25 May 1939	IF	Ken Burditt	Notts County	£1,000	[6]
18 June 1939	CF	George Law	Norwich City	£100	[7]
19 August 1939	WH	Bill Main	Cardiff City	Free transfer	[8]

Total spending: ~ £1,100

Out

Date	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
End of season	LH	George Ritchie	Ipswich Town Reserves assistant coach	Free transfer	[9]
End of season	RH	George Smith	Free agent	Released	[10]
End of season	IF	George Merritt	Free agent	Released	[11]
4 May 1939	RB	Ian Haley	Free agent	Released	[12][lower-alpha 1]
31 May 1939	GK	Ronnie Dunn	Free agent	Released	[13]
31 May 1939	LB	Cecil Allan	Colchester Casuals	Free transfer	[14]
31 May 1939	OR	Jack Hodge	Hereford United	Free transfer	[15]
31 May 1939	CF	Ernie Matthews	Ashington	Free transfer	[16]
31 May 1939	IR/CF	George Williams	Free agent	Released	[17]
1 July 1939	GK	Don Youngs	Free agent	Released	[18]
21 July 1939	WG	George Crisp	Nottingham Forest	Undisclosed	[19]
31 August 1939	IF	Robert Murray	Free agent	Released	[20][lower-alpha 1]
2 September 1939	LB/RB	Joe Birch	Free agent	Released	[21][lower-alpha 1]
2 September 1939	CB	George Leslie	Free agent	Released	[22][lower-alpha 1]
2 September 1939	WH	Bill Main	Free agent	Released	[8][lower-alpha 1]
2 September 1939	LH/RH	Robert Morris	Free agent	Released	[23][lower-alpha 1]
2 September 1939	LB	Alf Worton	Free agent	Released	[24][lower-alpha 1]
2 September 1939	IL	Len Astill	Free agent	Released	[25][lower-alpha 1]
2 September 1939	IF	Ken Burditt	Free agent	Released	[6][lower-alpha 1]
2 September 1939	CF	George Law	Free agent	Released	[7][lower-alpha 1]
2 September 1939	IF	George Wallis	Free agent	Released	[26][lower-alpha 1]
7 September 1939	CB/RH	Jimmy Baker	Retired	Retired	[27]
7 September 1939	CF	Arthur Pritchard	Free agent	Released	[28]
5 January 1940	IH	Alec Cheyne	Chelmsford City	Released	[29]

Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

Match details

Friendlies

16 August 1939 (1939-08-16) Friendly	Southend United	2–2	Colchester United	Southend-on-Sea
	Martin 25' Ormandy	Report	Pritchard	Stadium: Southend Stadium Attendance: 1,753

30 September 1939 (1939-09-30) Friendly	Crittall Athletic	1–1	Colchester United	Braintree
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Law	Attendance: 800

7 October 1939 (1939-10-07) Friendly	Colchester United	4–1	17th/21st Lancers	Colchester
15:00	Leslie 25' Morris 70' Bidewell 71' Law 72'	Report	Simpson 32'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 500

14 October 1939 (1939-10-14) Friendly	Colchester United	1–2	Crittall Athletic	Colchester
15:00	Cheyne 30'	Report	Edwards 37' Rees 75'	Stadium: Layer Road

21 October 1939 (1939-10-21) Friendly	Chelmsford City	4–0	Colchester United	Chelmsford
	Wright 30' Shaw 37' Burley	Report		Stadium: New Writtle Street Attendance: 3,417

28 October 1939 (1939-10-28) Friendly	Colchester United	3–3	Norwich City Reserves	Colchester
	Cheyne 47', 75' Birch 60' (pen.)	Report	Coleman 30' Rose 35' Houseago 62'	Stadium: Layer Road

7 November 1939 (1939-11-07) Friendly	Colchester United	7–0	Officers' Cadet Training Unit	Colchester
15:00	Edwards Fieldus Perrett Rees	Report		Stadium: Layer Road

11 November 1939 (1939-11-11) Friendly	Southend United	3–2	Colchester United	Southend-on-Sea
	Shalcross Oswald Lewis	Report	Mullane 15', 18'	Stadium: Southend Stadium

25 November 1939 (1939-11-25) Friendly	Colchester United	2–1	Fulham Reserves	Colchester
14:40	Fieldus Birch (pen.)	Report	Cranfield	Stadium: Layer Road

2 December 1939 (1939-12-02) Friendly	Colchester United	4–0	Southend United	Colchester
14:30	Birch 30' (pen.) Rees 45' Cheyne	Report		Stadium: Layer Road

9 December 1939 (1939-12-09) Friendly	Colchester United	4–3	17th/21st Lancers	Colchester
14:30	Little 10' Perrett Pendergast	Report	Elder 65' McCormack	Stadium: Layer Road

16 December 1939 (1939-12-16) Friendly	Colchester United	1–1	Chelmsford City	Colchester
	Cheyne 25'	Report	Jones 20'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 500

23 December 1939 (1939-12-23) Friendly	Chelmsford City	6–1	Colchester United	Chelmsford
	Beauchamp Burley Jones McCormick Sliman (pen.)	Report	Cheyne	Stadium: New Writtle Street Attendance: 1,300

25 December 1939 (1939-12-25) Friendly	Norwich City Reserves	1–2	Colchester United	Norwich
	Unknown goalscorer	Report	Little Rees	Stadium: Carrow Road

26 December 1939 (1939-12-26) Friendly	Colchester United	3–4	Norwich City Reserves	Colchester
14:15	Potts Simpson	Report	Unknown goalscorer	Stadium: Layer Road

30 December 1939 (1939-12-30) Friendly	Colchester United	3–2	Dartford	Colchester
	Morris 60' Fieldus	Report	Rozier	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 200

Southern League

26 August 1939 (1939-08-26) 1	Colchester United	3–1	Plymouth Argyle Reserves	Colchester
15:15	Law 14' Cheyne 51' Birch 85' (pen.)	Report	Olver 88'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 4,200

31 August 1939 (1939-08-31) 2	Colchester United	1–2	Chelmsford City	Colchester
	Cheyne 83' Wallis	Report	Burley 10' Phillips 35'	Stadium: Layer Road

2 September 1939 (1939-09-02) 3	Colchester United	0–0	Ipswich Town Reserves	Colchester
		Report		Stadium: Layer Road

Southern League Cup

28 August 1939 (1939-08-28) 1938–39 Semi-final 1st leg	Norwich City Reserves	1–5	Colchester United	Norwich
	Coleman	Report	Law 57' Astill 60' Pritchard Birch (pen.)	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 1,480

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

[5][30]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Southern League		Southern League Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK		Billy Light	4	0	3	0	1	0
	DF		Joe Birch	4	2	3	1	1	1
	DF		Syd Fieldus	1	0	1	0	0	0
	DF		George Leslie	1	0	1	0	0	0
	DF		Alf Worton	4	0	3	0	1	0
	MF		Bill Main	3	0	2	0	1	0
	MF		Robert Morris	4	0	3	0	1	0
	FW		Len Astill	4	2	3	0	1	2
	FW		Ken Burditt	3	0	2	0	1	0
	FW		Alec Cheyne	3	2	3	2	0	0
	FW		George Law	4	2	3	1	1	1
	FW		Arthur Pritchard	2	1	1	0	1	1
	FW		George Wallis	4	0	3	0	1	0
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
	FW		Robert Murray	3	0	2	0	1	0

Goalscorers

[30]

Place	Position	Name	Southern League	Southern League Cup	Total
1	IL	Len Astill	0	2	2
	LB/RB	Joe Birch	1	1	2
	IH	Alec Cheyne	2	0	2
	CF	George Law	1	1	2
5	CF	Arthur Pritchard	0	1	1
		Own goals	0	0	0
		TOTALS	4	5	9

Disciplinary record

[31]

Nationality	Position	Name	Southern League		Southern League Cup		Total
Nationality	Position	Name
	IF	George Wallis	0	1	0	0	0	1
		TOTALS	0	1	0	0	0	1

Captains

Number of games played as team captain.[32]

Place	Position	Player	Southern League	Southern League Cup	Total
1	IH	Alec Cheyne	1	0	1
1	CB	George Leslie	1	0	1
		Not recorded	1	1	2
		TOTALS	3	1	4

Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[33]

Place	Nationality	Player	Southern League	Southern League Cup	Total
1		Billy Light	1	0	1
		TOTALS	1	0	1

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[34]

Position	Player	Date	Opponent	Ground
WH	Bill Main	26 August 1939	Plymouth Argyle Reserves	Layer Road
IF	Ken Burditt	26 August 1939	Plymouth Argyle Reserves	Layer Road
CF	George Law	26 August 1939	Plymouth Argyle Reserves	Layer Road

gollark: Why?

gollark: I can have one of my beedrones harvest it.

gollark: I have infinitely many, but thank you.

gollark: * spun

gollark: https://github.com/oakes/vim_cubed

References

General

Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.

Specific

Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 278. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.
"Colchester Utd 3–1 Plymouth Argyle Reserves". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
"Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
Hudson, Matt (11 August 2013). "The 1930s and 1940s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
"Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
"Ken Burditt". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"George Law". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Bill Main". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"George Ritchie". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"George Smith". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
"George Merritt". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Ian Haley". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Ronnie Dunn". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Cecil Allan". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Jack Hodge". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Ernie Matthews". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"George Williams". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Don Youngs". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"George Crisp". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Bob Murray". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Joe Birch". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"George Leslie". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Robert Morris". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Alf Worton". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Len Astill". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Geo Wallis". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"James Baker". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Arthur Pritchard". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Alec Cheyne". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"Discipline". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
"All matches". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
"Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
"Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[DG-6] Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

[FG-14] Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

[WWCU-1] Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 278. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.

[PAFCR-2] "Colchester Utd 3–1 Plymouth Argyle Reserves". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2015.

[3] "Average Attendance Figures Per Season". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2015.

[4] Hudson, Matt (11 August 2013). "The 1930s and 1940s". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 30 May 2011.

[apps-5] "Appearances". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2015.

[Burditt-7] "Ken Burditt". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[Law-8] "George Law". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[Main-9] "Bill Main". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[10] "George Ritchie". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[11] "George Smith". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2015.

[12] "George Merritt". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[13] "Ian Haley". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[15] "Ronnie Dunn". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[16] "Cecil Allan". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[17] "Jack Hodge". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[18] "Ernie Matthews". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[19] "George Williams". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[20] "Don Youngs". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[21] "George Crisp". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[22] "Bob Murray". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[23] "Joe Birch". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[24] "George Leslie". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[25] "Robert Morris". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[26] "Alf Worton". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[27] "Len Astill". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[28] "Geo Wallis". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[29] "James Baker". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[30] "Arthur Pritchard". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[31] "Alec Cheyne". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[goals-32] "Goals". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[33] "Discipline". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

[34] "All matches". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2015.

[35] "Clean sheets (1st team)". Coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2017.

[36] "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

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