| Club: | Colchester United |
| Season: | 1965–66 |
| Chairman: | Bill Allen[1] |
| Manager: | Neil Franklin |
| Stadium: | Layer Road |
| League: | Fourth Division |
| League Result: | 4th (promoted) |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | 1st round (eliminated by Queens Park Rangers) |
| Cup2: | League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | 2nd round (eliminated by Middlesbrough) |
| League Topscorer: | Reg Stratton (18) |
| Season Topscorer: | Reg Stratton (21) |
| Highest Attendance: | 10,200 v Luton Town, 8 April 1966[2] |
| Lowest Attendance: | 2,768 v Notts County, 22 November 1965[3] |
| Average Attendance: | 5,225[4] |
| Largest Win: | 4–0 v Barnsley, 11 September 1965 |
| Largest Loss: | 0–4 v Queens Park Rangers, 18 November 1965 |
| Pattern Name1: | Home |
| Pattern La1: | _white_stripes |
| Pattern B1: | _whitestripes3 |
| Pattern Ra1: | _white_stripes |
| Pattern So1: | _color_2_stripes_blue |
| Leftarm1: | 0000FF |
| Body1: | 0000FF |
| Rightarm1: | 0000FF |
| Shorts1: | 000000 |
| Socks1: | FFFFFF |
| Alt1: | Football kit (white jersey with blue, vertical stripes; black shorts; and white socks with two blue, horizontal hoops). |
| Prevseason: | 1964–65 |
| Nextseason: | 1966–67 |
The 1965–66 season was Colchester United's 24th season in their history and their first back in the fourth tier of English football, the Fourth Division, following relegation the previous season. Alongside competing in the Fourth Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup and the League Cup.
Colchester were immediately promoted back to the Third Division after ending the season in fourth position. Queens Park Rangers handed Colchester another early FA Cup exit following a replay, while Middlesbrough knocked the U's out of the League Cup in the second round.
Neil Franklin brought in forward Reg Stratton to lead the line for the new season and he responded with 18 league goals and 21 in total. They won ten times on their travels, setting a new club record, while losing just three times at Layer Road. After leading the Fourth Division table across Easter, subsequent defeats to promotion rivals Darlington on two occasions and Torquay United saw Colchester drop to fourth position ahead of the final game of the season. A 2–1 defeat to Newport County left fans awaiting the result of Luton Town's game with Chester with Luton just one point behind and the game kicking off 15-minutes later than the U's fixture. The game finished 1–1 with Colchester, Luton, and Tranmere Rovers all tied on 56 points. Goal average would separate the sides, with Franklin's side pipping Tranmere to the final promotion spot by 0.08.
As the club did four years prior, the U's bounced back from the Fourth Division at the first attempt. The season was also notable as player replacements were allowed for the first time. Ray Price became Colchester's first substitute when he came on to replace the injured Ted Phillips after 85-minutes of their 2–0 home win over Rochdale on 18 September.[5]
| Name | Position | Nationality | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | |||||||||||
| Alan Buck | GK | Colchester | June 1, 1965 | 11 | 0 | Amateur | July 1963 | Free transfer | |||
| Sandy Kennon | GK | Johannesburg | June 1, 1965 | 10 | 0 | Norwich City | March 1965 | Free transfer | |||
| Defenders | |||||||||||
| Duncan Forbes | CB | Edinburgh | June 1, 1965 | 141 | 0 | Musselburgh Athletic | 4 September 1961 | Nominal | |||
| John Fowler | FB | Leith | June 1, 1965 | 412 | 5 | Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic | 20 August 1955 | Free transfer | |||
| Brian Hall | LB | Burbage | June 1, 1965 | 10 | 1 | Mansfield Town | March 1965 | Free transfer | |||
| David Laitt | FB | Colchester | June 1, 1965 | 0 | 0 | Amateur | Summer 1962 | Free transfer | |||
| Mick Loughton | CB | Colchester | June 1, 1965 | 28 | 1 | Amateur | August 1961 | Free transfer | |||
| Ray Price | FB | Hetton-le-Hole | June 1, 1965 | 11 | 0 | Norwich City | Summer 1964 | Free transfer | |||
| David Raine | FB | Darlington | June 1, 1965 | 0 | 0 | Doncaster Rovers | 1 June 1965 | Nominal | |||
| Midfielders | |||||||||||
| Bobby Blackwood | MF | Edinburgh | June 1, 1965 | 0 | 0 | Ipswich Town | 1 June 1965 | Free transfer | |||
| David Buck | WH | Colchester | June 1, 1965 | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | 16 October 1965 | Free transfer | |||
| Dave Lamont | MF | Glasgow | June 1, 1965 | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | July 1965 | Free transfer | |||
| John Mansfield | MF | Colchester | June 1, 1965 | 1 | 0 | Apprentice | August 1964 | Free transfer | |||
| Derek Trevis | MF | Birmingham | June 1, 1965 | 60 | 7 | Aston Villa | 7 March 1964 | Free transfer | |||
| Forwards | |||||||||||
| Barrie Aitchison | WG | Colchester | June 1, 1964 | 41 | 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 August 1964 | £750 | |||
| Peter Barlow | FW | Portsmouth | June 1, 1965 | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | September 1965 | Free transfer | |||
| Dennis Barrett | IF | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | Summer 1964 | Free transfer | |||||
| Peter Bullock | FW | Stoke-on-Trent | June 1, 1965 | 0 | 0 | Southend United | 30 October 1965 | Nominal | |||
| Mike Grice | WG | Woking | June 1, 1965 | 248 | 30 | Coventry City | 18 August 1962 | £1,000 | |||
| John Hornsby | WG | Ferryhill | June 1, 1965 | 0 | 0 | Evenwood Town | October 1965 | £25/5s | |||
| Arthur Kaye | WG | Higham | June 1, 1965 | 0 | 0 | Middlesbrough | 21 August 1965 | Free transfer | |||
| Ted Phillips | IF | Leiston | June 1, 1965 | 0 | 0 | Luton Town | 11 September 1965 | Part exchange | |||
| Reg Stratton | FW | Kingsley | June 1, 1965 | 0 | 0 | Fulham | 28 May 1965 | Free transfer | |||
| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Fee | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 May 1965 | FW | Reg Stratton | Fulham | Free transfer | [7] | ||
| 1 June 1965 | FB | David Raine | Doncaster Rovers | Nominal | [8] | ||
| 1 June 1965 | MF | Bobby Blackwood | Ipswich Town | Free transfer | [9] | ||
| July 1965 | MF | Dave Lamont | Apprentice | Free transfer | [10] | ||
| 21 August 1965 | WH | Jackie Bell | Norwich City | Free transfer | [11] | ||
| 21 August 1965 | WG | Arthur Kaye | Middlesbrough | Free transfer | [12] | ||
| September 1965 | FW | Peter Barlow | Apprentice | Free transfer | [13] | ||
| 11 September 1965 | IF | Ted Phillips | Luton Town | Part exchange with Billy Stark | [14] | ||
| October 1965 | WG | John Hornsby | Evenwood Town | £25/5s | [15] | ||
| 16 October 1965 | WH | David Buck | Apprentice | Free transfer | [16] | ||
| 30 October 1965 | FW | Peter Bullock | Southend United | Nominal | [17] |
| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | To | Fee | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of season | WH | John Docherty | Chelmsford City | Released | [18] | ||
| End of season | FB | Richie Griffiths | Haverhill Rovers | Released | [19] | ||
| End of season | IF | Gareth Salisbury | Chesterfield | Released | [20] | ||
| 23 April 1965 | IF | Bobby Hill | Bury Town | Released | [21] | ||
| 23 April 1965 | IF | Arthur Langley | Nottingham Forest | Released | [22] | ||
| 28 August 1965 | FW | Billy Stark | Luton Town | £1,000 plus Ted Phillips | [23] | ||
| October 1965 | WH | Tecwyn Jones | Crewe Alexandra | Nominal | [24] | ||
| 12 February 1966 | WH | Jackie Bell | Gainford Town | Released |
See main article: 1965–66 Football League.
See main article: 1965–66 Football League Cup.
See main article: 1965–66 FA Cup.
[6] [25] |-!colspan="14"|Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season|}
| Place | Nationality | Position | Name | Fourth Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FW | Reg Stratton | 18 | 0 | 3 | 21 | ||
| 2 | IF | Ted Phillips | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 | ||
| 3 | FW | Peter Bullock | 11 | 0 | 0 | 11 | ||
| LB | Brian Hall | 9 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |||
| 5 | MF | Bobby Blackwood | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 6 | MF | Derek Trevis | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 7 | WG | Barrie Aitchison | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 8 | WG | Arthur Kaye | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 9 | CB | Duncan Forbes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| WG | John Hornsby | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| CB | Mick Loughton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| MF | John Mansfield | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| FW | Billy Stark | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| Own goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||
| TOTALS | 70 | 3 | 4 | 77 | ||||
Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.[26]
| Place | Nationality | Player | Fourth Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sandy Kennon | 15 | 0 | 0 | 15 | ||
| TOTALS | 15 | 0 | 0 | 15 | |||
Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[27]
| Position | Nationality | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WH | Jackie Bell | 21 August 1965 | Port Vale | Vale Park | |||
| WG | John Hornsby | 21 August 1965 | Port Vale | Vale Park | |||
| WG | Arthur Kaye | 21 August 1965 | Port Vale | Vale Park | |||
| FW | Reg Stratton | 21 August 1965 | Port Vale | Vale Park | |||
| MF | Bobby Blackwood | 1 September 1965 | Exeter City | Layer Road | |||
| IF | Ted Phillips | 11 September 1965 | Barnsley | Layer Road | |||
| FB | David Raine | 22 September 1965 | Middlesbrough | Layer Road | |||
| WH | David Buck | 16 October 1965 | Hartlepools United | Layer Road | |||
| FB | David Laitt | 30 October 1965 | Southport | Layer Road | |||
| FW | Peter Bullock | 30 October 1965 | Southport | Layer Road |
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