2008–09 Colchester United F.C. season
2008–09 season | ||||
Chairman | Robbie Cowling | |||
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Manager |
Geraint Williams (Until 22 September 2008) Kit Symons (Caretaker) (22 September to 8 October 2008) Paul Lambert (From 9 October 2008) | |||
League One | 12th | |||
FA Cup | 1st Round | |||
League Cup | 2nd Round | |||
Football League Trophy | Semi-finals (Southern section) | |||
Top goalscorer |
League: Mark Yeates (12) All: Mark Yeates (13) | |||
Highest home attendance | 9,559 (Leeds United) | |||
Lowest home attendance | 3,179 (Stockport County) | |||
Average home league attendance | 5,084 | |||
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The 2008–09 season was Colchester United's first season back in the third tier of English football after being relegated from the Football League Championship.
Season Review
Life at the new stadium began with the announcement of a sponsorship deal that would see it being named The Weston Homes Community Stadium. The first-ever match was a reduced capacity ramp-up event against Spanish side Athletic Bilbao on 4 August 2008. Scott Vernon had the honour of scoring U's first goal at their new home as 5,610 watched a 2-1 defeat.
Fans favourite Karl Duguid left in the summer to pursue Championship football with Plymouth and Kevin Lisbie joined neighbours Ipswich for a reported £650,000 fee. Short on firepower, manager Geraint Williams broke U's transfer record yet again, bringing in Cheltenham's Steven Gillespie for £400,000.
In order to iron out any teething problems, United were granted permission by The Football League to play their first two games away from home, and thus the first-ever League fixture came on 16 August against Huddersfield when a 0-0 draw was played out. Mark Yeates became the first U's scorer in a competitive match at WHCS when he bagged both goals in a 2-2 draw with Oldham on 30 August. United couldn't force a win at home and following a 3-0 home defeat to MK Dons that left United in the bottom four with a record of 1 League win from 6, Williams was relieved of his duties.
Assistant manager Kit Symons took charge for four games amid speculation that former U's manager Phil Parkinson, then number two at Charlton, or indeed Teddy Sheringham could be the new man in charge. On 10 October 2008 former Wycombe manager Paul Lambert was unveiled as Colchester's new manager. He quickly inspired The U's to record their first home victory in a thumping 5-0 win over Carlisle 15 days later.
On 18 November 2008 the Stadium was rewarded with its first-ever international match when a Henri Lansbury goal gave England Under-19's a 1-0 win over their German counterparts in front of a record crowd of 9,692.
Lambert set to work bringing in several loan players including Marc Tierney, Jimmy Walker and Alan Maybury but a pillar of the club departed in December when Marie Partner left her post as Chief Executive as owner Robbie Cowling shuffled his upstairs pack bringing in Steve Bradshaw. Marie had been Mrs Colchester United for over 21 years and a loyal and valued servant.
Back-to-back wins over Yeovil and Northampton were the first of that kind for 19 months and set up a run spanning the New Year of nine games unbeaten.
Hopes were high, off the field, of the much-needed A12 junction but funding was still not in place because of the economic downturn and the subsequent fall in the housing market that would have contributed to the scheme.
Lambert, very publicly, pursued central defenders Mike Williamson (Wycombe) and Rob Jones (Hibernian) for the January transfer window but failed on both counts, but did sign Marc Tierney and Simon Hackney permanently.
Robbie Cowling bought out all remaining shares in the club via his Aspire Media Group to become sole owner.
A terrific run of 10 wins and four draws from 18 games earned Lambert the January Manager of the Month award as United rose to just 7 points off the Play-Offs. Funding was approved for the A12 junction in March and Lambert continued to strengthen his squad with the loan signings of Ashley Vincent, Neal Trotman and Karl Hawley.
Unfortunately the 'first season syndrome' returned to haunt United as they lost 6 of the remaining 9 home games including the last four on the trot. A new club record attendance was set in April when 9,559 watched one of those defeats to Leeds, but The U's fell back to finish in 12th position - 13 points off a Play-Off place. Strangely the U's had enjoyed their best-ever away season with 11 victories but endured their worst-ever home season with 12 defeats. Lambert vowed he would have a mass clear out in the summer and called each player in one by one before May was out to tell them their fate. He had identified his targets and Robbie Cowling was willing to try to fund those wishes.[1]
Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Player Info
No. | Name | Place of Birth | Date of Birth | Previous Club | Date Joined | Fee |
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1 | Dean Gerken | Southend-on-Sea | 22 May 1985 | Youth Team | 1 August 2002 | Free |
2 | John White | Colchester | 26 July 1986 | Youth Team | 1 July 2003 | Free |
3 | Matthew Lockwood | Rochford | 17 October 1976 | Nottingham Forest | 3 June 2008 | £100,000 |
4 | Johnnie Jackson | Camden | 15 August 1982 | Tottenham Hotspur | 26 June 2006 | Free |
5 | Chris Coyne | Brisbane | 20 December 1978 | Luton Town | 10 January 2008 | £350,000 |
6 | Paul Reid | Carlisle | 18 February 1982 | Barnsley | 2 July 2008 | Free |
7 | Steven Gillespie | Liverpool | 4 June 1985 | Cheltenham Town | 7 July 2008 | £400,000 |
8 | Dean Hammond | Hastings | 7 March 1983 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 31 January 2008 | £250,000 |
9 | Clive Platt | Wolverhampton | 27 October 1977 | MK Dons | 3 July 2007 | £300,000 |
10 | Kemal Izzet | Whitechapel | 29 September 1980 | Charlton Athletic | 13 April 2001 | Free |
11 | Mark Yeates | Tallaght | 11 January 1985 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3 July 2007 | £250,000 |
12 | Pat Baldwin | London | 12 November 1982 | Chelsea | 31 August 2002 | Free |
14 | Akanni-Sunday Wasiu | Nigeria | 18 March 1984 | St Albans City | 1 July 2008 | Free |
15 | Jamie Guy | Barking | 1 August 1987 | Youth Team | 1 July 2004 | Free |
16 | Matt Heath | Leicester | 1 November 1981 | Leeds United | 13 May 2008 | Free |
17 | David Perkins | Heysham | 21 June 1982 | Rochdale | 8 July 2008 | £150,000 |
18 | Philip Ifil | Willesden | 18 November 1986 | Tottenham Hotspur | 10 January 2008 | £100,000 |
19 | Alan Maybury | Dublin | 8 August 1978 | Leicester City | 12 December 2008 | Free |
22 | Simon Hackney | Manchester | 5 February 1984 | Carlisle United | 26 January 2009 | £100,000 |
23 | Mark Cousins | Chelmsford | 9 January 1987 | Youth Team | 1 July 2004 | Free |
24 | Scott Vernon | Manchester | 13 December 1983 | Blackpool | 31 January 2008 | £100,000 |
27 | Anthony Wordsworth | Camden | 3 January 1989 | Youth Team | 1 July 2006 | Free |
30 | Medy Elito | Kinshasa | 20 March 1990 | Youth Team | 1 July 2007 | Free |
32 | Marc Tierney | Prestwich | 23 August 1985 | Shrewsbury Town | 2 January 2009 | £100,000 |
34 | Sam Corcoran | Enfield | 5 February 1991 | Youth Team | 1 July 2008 | Free |
Transfers
Transfers In
Date | Pos. | Player Name | Previous Club | League | Transfer Fee | Notes |
13 May 2008 | DF | Matt Heath | Leeds United | Football League One | Free | |
3 June 2008 | DF | Matt Lockwood | Nottingham Forest | Football League Championship | £100,000 | |
1 July 2008 | MF | Sam Corcoran | Arsenal | Premier League | Free | |
1 July 2008 | FW | Akanni-Sunday Wasiu | St. Albans City | Conference South | Free | |
2 July 2008 | DF | Paul Reid | Barnsley | Football League Championship | Free | |
7 July 2008 | FW | Steven Gillespie | Cheltenham Town | Football League One | £400,000 | Record transfer fee paid |
8 July 2008 | MF | David Perkins | Rochdale | Football League Two | £150,000 | |
12 December 2008 | DF | Alan Maybury | Leicester City | Football League One | Free | |
2 January 2009 | DF | Marc Tierney | Shrewsbury Town | Football League Two | £100,000 | |
26 January 2009 | MF | Simon Hackney | Carlisle United | Football League One | £100,000 | |
Transfers Out
Date | Pos. | Player Name | New Club | League | Transfer Fee | Notes |
31 May 2008 | GK | Ademola Bankole | Retired | N/A | Free | Signed as goalkeeping coach |
31 May 2008 | FW | Tom Webb | Halstead Town | Eastern Counties Football League Division One | Free | |
1 June 2008 | GK | Aidan Davison | Retired | N/A | Free | |
1 June 2008 | FW | Teddy Sheringham | Retired | N/A | Free | |
3 June 2008 | MF | Kevin McLeod | Brighton & Hove Albion | Football League One | Free | |
4 June 2008 | DF | Danny Granville | Leyton Orient | Football League One | Free | |
24 June 2008 | MF | Karl Duguid | Plymouth Argyle | Football League Championship | Undisclosed | |
30 July 2008 | FW | Kevin Lisbie | Ipswich Town | Football League Championship | £600,000 | |
1 August 2008 | MF | Kevin Watson | Luton Town | Football League Two | Free | |
4 August 2008 | MF | Luke Guttridge | Northampton Town | Football League One | Free | |
Loans In
Date | Pos. | Player Name | Parent Club | League | Date Returned | Notes |
25 September 2008 | DF | Gary Borrowdale | Coventry City | Football League Championship | 12 October 2008 | |
3 November 2008 | DF | Sam Williams | Aston Villa | Premier League | 30 November 2008 | |
13 November 2008 | DF | Lee Hills | Crystal Palace | Football League Championship | 13 December 2008 | |
20 November 2008 | FW | Jermaine Easter | Plymouth Argyle | Football League Championship | 20 December 2008 | |
27 November 2008 | GK | Jimmy Walker | West Ham United | Premier League | 1 March 2009 | |
27 November 2008 | DF | Marc Tierney | Shrewsbury Town | Football League Two | 1 January 2009 | |
15 January 2009 | MF | Lewis Gobern | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Football League Championship | 1 June 2009 | |
19 March 2009 | DF | Neal Trotman | Preston North End | Football League Championship | 1 June 2009 | |
19 March 2009 | MF | Ashley Vincent | Cheltenham Town | Football League One | 31 May 2009 | |
20 March 2009 | FW | Karl Hawley | Preston North End | Football League Championship | 1 June 2009 | |
Loans Out
Date | Pos. | Player Name | New Club | League | Date Returned | Notes |
1 August 2008 | FW | Jamie Guy | Oxford United | Conference National | 2 January 2009 | |
15 January 2009 | GK | Dean Gerken | Darlington | Football League Two | 20 February 2009 | |
15 January 2009 | FW | Akanni-Sunday Wasiu | Luton Town | Football League Two | 15 February 2009 | |
2 February 2009 | DF | Matt Lockwood | Barnet | Football League Two | 5 April 2009 | |
2 March 2009 | DF | Matt Heath | Brighton & Hove Albion | Football League One | 31 May 2009 | |
3 March 2009 | FW | Jamie Guy | Dagenham & Redbridge | Football League Two | 31 May 2009 | |
20 March 2009 | FW | Scott Vernon | Northampton Town | Football League One | 31 May 2009 | |
Results
League One Results Summary
Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
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11 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 79 | 61 | +18 | 63 |
12 | Colchester United | 46 | 18 | 9 | 19 | 58 | 58 | 0 | 63 |
13 | Walsall | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 61 | 66 | -5 | 61 |
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
League One Results Round by Round
Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ground | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
Result | L | D | W | D | L | L | W | L | L | L | W | L | W | D | L | L | W | W | L | W | D | W | W | D | W | D | W | W | L | L | L | W | D | D | W | W | L | D | L | W | L | L | L | W | L | W |
Position | 22 | 21 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 23 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 21 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 12 |
Source:
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.
League One Results
League Cup
Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
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12/08/2008 | R1 | Gillingham | A | 1–0 | 2,566 | Heath |
26/08/2008 | R2 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–2 | 17,084 | Gillespie |
Football League Trophy
Southern Section
Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
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02/09/2008 | R1 (S) | Millwall | A | 1–0 | 2,456 | Perkins |
07/10/2008 | R2 (S) | Gillingham | A | 1–0 | 1,557 | Yeates |
07/10/2008 | Area QF | Bournemouth | A | 1–0 | 2,275 | Williams |
07/10/2008 | Area SF | Luton Town | A | 0–1 | 2,638 |
FA Cup
Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
08/11/2008 | R1 | Leyton Orient | H | 0–1 | 4,600 |
Squad statistics
No. | Nat. | Pos. | Name | Total | League One | FA Cup | League Cup | FL Trophy | |||||
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Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
1 | GK | Dean Gerken | 24 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
2 | DF | John White | 32 | 0 | 19+7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
3 | DF | Matt Lockwood | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
4 | MF | Johnnie Jackson | 34 | 4 | 22+7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
5 | DF | Chris Coyne | 22 | 0 | 17+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | |
6 | DF | Paul Reid | 29 | 1 | 25+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
7 | FW | Steven Gillespie | 20 | 5 | 8+9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | |
8 | MF | Dean Hammond | 47 | 5 | 38+3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
9 | FW | Clive Platt | 48 | 10 | 39+4 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | |
10 | MF | Kemal Izzet | 48 | 1 | 39+4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
11 | MF | Mark Yeates | 50 | 13 | 42+1 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1+3 | 1 | |
12 | DF | Pat Baldwin | 41 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
14 | FW | Akanni-Sunday Wasiu | 19 | 2 | 3+12 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | |
15 | FW | Jamie Guy | 4 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
16 | DF | Matt Heath | 21 | 1 | 11+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | |
17 | MF | David Perkins | 43 | 6 | 35+3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | |
18 | DF | Philip Ifil | 10 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
19 | DF | Alan Maybury | 26 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
20 | DF | Neal Trotman | 6 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
21 | MF | Ashley Vincent | 6 | 1 | 5+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
22 | MF | Simon Hackney | 17 | 0 | 11+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
23 | GK | Mark Cousins | 13 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
24 | FW | Scott Vernon | 40 | 4 | 15+18 | 4 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | |
26 | MF | Lewis Gobern | 12 | 0 | 5+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
27 | MF | Anthony Wordsworth | 36 | 3 | 9+21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
28 | FW | Karl Hawley | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
30 | MF | Medy Elito | 8 | 0 | 0+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
32 | DF | Marc Tierney | 26 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
34 | MF | Sam Corcoran | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season | |||||||||||||
19 | DF | Gary Borrowdale | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
20 | DF | Sam Williams | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
21 | GK | Jimmy Walker | 16 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
25 | DF | Lee Hills | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
26 | FW | Jermaine Easter | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scorers
All |
League |
FA Cup
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League Cup
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Football League Trophy
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Assists
Assistant | League | Cup | Total |
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Mark Yeates | 11 | 0 | 11 |
Kemal Izzet | 4 | 1 | 5 |
Johnnie Jackson | 3 | 0 | 3 |
David Perkins | |||
Clive Platt | 2 | 2 | |
Scott Vernon | 1 | 1 | |
Lewis Gobern | 0 | 1 | |
Simon Hackney | |||
Dean Hammond | |||
Marc Tierney | |||
Ashley Vincent | |||
John White | |||
Anthony Wordsworth | |||
Akanni-Sunday Wasiu | 0 | 1 | |
Disciplinary record
Pos. | Name | League | Cups | Total | |||
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DF | Pat Baldwin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
DF | Chris Coyne | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
FW | Jermaine Easter | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
FW | Steven Gillespie | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
MF | Dean Hammond | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
DF | Matt Heath | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
DF | Philip Ifil | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
MF | Kemal Izzet | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
MF | Johnnie Jackson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
DF | Alan Maybury | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
MF | David Perkins | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
FW | Clive Platt | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
DF | Paul Reid | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
DF | Marc Tierney | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
FW | Neal Trotman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
FW | Akanni-Sunday Wasiu | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
DF | John White | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
MF | Anthony Wordsworth | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
MF | Mark Yeates | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Most Frequent Starting XI
This section shows players in a 4-5-1 formation with the most league starts during the season.
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References
- ↑ "The U's History: The 00s". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
- ↑ "2008–09 Season Appearance Data". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
- ↑ "2008–09 Season Goalscorers Data". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
- ↑ "2008–09 Season Assists Data". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
- ↑ "2008–09 Season Discipline Data". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 1 April 2011.