The 2007–08 season was Colchester United's 66th season in their history and their second successive season in the second tier of English football, the Championship. Alongside competing in the Championship, the club also participated in the FA Cup and League Cup.
Colchester struggled during their second season in the Championship, suffering long spells without wins. The early stages of the season were promising, with the U's featuring in mid-table, but a drop in form leading into December saw them enter the relegation zone from which they would never emerge. They earned just seven wins and were relegated in 24th and last place. They never recovered from selling their midfield and defensive assets, despite owner and now chairman Robbie Cowling freeing up funds for manager Geraint Williams in January.
It was a farewell season to the club's aging Layer Road ground as they were to move to the purpose-built Colchester Community Stadium in the summer of 2008.
The U's suffered an early exit from the cup competitions to League Two opposition. Shrewsbury Town knocked Colchester out of the League Cup while Peterborough United beat them 3–1 at Layer Road in the FA Cup.
Season overview Ahead of Colchester's largely unexpected second season in the Championship, their star performers Wayne Brown, Jamie Cureton, Richard Garcia, and Chris Iwelumo all left the club citing a "lack of ambition" as their reason for wanting to leave. Cureton left for Norwich City for £750,000, prompting manager Geraint Williams to break the club's record transfer fee twice on the same day by signing Mark Yeates from Tottenham Hotspur and then spending £300,000 on Milton Keynes Dons' forward Clive Platt. The following day, England legend Teddy Sheringham also signed for the club.
Over the summer, Robbie Cowling took over as chairman from Peter Heard, who stepped down after 16 years to become Life President. Cowling instigated a major change at the club by reverting Heard's previous attitude towards not using agents, admitting that if Colchester were to compete then they would have to use agents.
Once a fortress in their first season in the Championship, Layer Road faced its final season hosting Colchester United. Unfortunately, Colchester could muster only four home wins across the season, with their final Layer Road win a 2–0 victory over neighbours Ipswich Town. One of the reasons for the U's struggling was the lack of replacement for Wayne Brown in the centre of defence. While they kept up a good scoring record through Platt and fellow new signing Kevin Lisbie, the defence leaked goals, conceding 86 in the league. Despite early season promise with the U's hovering around mid-table, by Christmas it was apparent they were in a relegation battle.
In the January transfer window, Cowling made funds available to Geraint Williams. He brought in Chris Coyne from Luton Town for another club record fee of £350,000, while Dean Hammond and Philip Ifil were also brought in for six-figure fees. There was a brief turnaround in form in January and early February, but a ten game run without a win including five consecutive defeats left the writing on the wall for the U's.
Colchester could have been relegated from the Championship on 5 April, but the 2–0 win over rivals Ipswich ensured that the U's neighbours would not be the team relegating them. However, the inevitable occurred four days later when, without playing, relegation was confirmed when results went against them. In addition to conceding 86 goals, they kept a clean sheet on just two occasions all season.
On 26 April, Layer Road hosted its final competitive game, just over 70 years since its first. With the move to the Colchester Community Stadium looming in the summer, Colchester played their final home game against Premier League-bound Stoke City, who were 1–0 victors on the day. In spite of the relegation and lowly league position, it was still Colchester's second-best-ever league performance.
Players
No. Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth Apps Goals Signed from Date signed Fee Goalkeepers1Dean GerkenGKSouthend-on-Sea600Youth team1 August 2002Free transfer13Aidan DavisonGK Sedgefield1030 Grimsby Town5 July 2004Free transfer23Mark CousinsGKChelmsford00Youth team1 August 2004Free transfer31Ademola BankoleGKLagos00 Milton Keyes Dons29 February 2008Undisclosed Defenders2Danny GranvilleFBIslington00 Crystal Palace9 July 2007Free transfer3John WhiteFBColchester820Youth team1 July 2003Free transfer5Chris CoyneCBBrisbane00 Luton Town10 January 2008£350,00012Pat BaldwinCBCity of London1491 Chelsea16 August 2002Free transfer18Philip IfilRBWillesden00 Tottenham Hotspur10 January 2008Undisclosed25James HammondDFNewham00Youth team1 July 2007Free transfer28Tom DevauxDF00Youth team1 July 2007Free transfer Midfielders4Johnnie JacksonMFCamden Town412 Tottenham Hotspur20 June 2006Free transfer6Kevin WatsonMFHackney1474 Reading5 July 2004Free transfer7Karl DuguidMFLetchworth39845Youth team9 December 1995Free transfer10Kemal IzzetMFWhitechapel24719 Charlton Athletic13 April 2001Free transfer17Luke GuttridgeMFBarnstaple00 Leyton Orient5 July 2007Free transfer22Dean HammondMFHastings00 Brighton & Hove Albion31 January 2008£250,00027Anthony WordsworthMFCamden Town00Youth team1 July 2006Free transfer Forwards8Teddy SheringhamFWHighams Park00 West Ham United4 July 2007Free transfer9Clive PlattFWWolverhampton00 Milton Keynes Dons3 July 2007£300,00011Mark YeatesWGDublin526 Tottenham Hotspur3 July 2007Undisclosed14Kevin McLeodWGLiverpool253 Swansea City30 August 2008Free transfer15Jamie GuyFWBarking423Youth team1 July 2004Free transfer20Kevin LisbieFW Hackney00 Charlton Athletic3 August 2007Free transfer24Scott VernonFWManchester71 Blackpool31 January 2008Undisclosed26Fabian QuintynFWLondon00Youth team1 July 2007Free transfer29Tom WebbFWChelmsford00Youth team4 July 2007Free transfer30Medy ElitoWG Kinshasa00Youth team1 July 2007Free transfer
Transfers
In Date Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref.1 July 2007FWTom DevauxYouth teamFree transfer1 July 2007DFJames HammondYouth teamFree transfer1 July 2007FWFabian QuintynYouth teamFree transfer3 July 2007WGMark Yeates Tottenham HotspurUndisclosed3 July 2007FWClive Platt Milton Keynes Dons£300,0004 July 2007FWTeddy Sheringham West Ham UnitedFree transfer4 July 2007FWTom WebbYouth teamFree transfer5 July 2007MFLuke Guttridge Leyton OrientFree transfer9 July 2007WGMedy ElitoYouth teamFree transfer9 July 2007FBDanny Granville Crystal PalaceFree transfer3 August 2008FWKevin Lisbie Charlton AthleticFree transfer10 January 2008CBChris Coyne Luton Town£350,00010 January 2008RBPhilip Ifil Tottenham HotspurUndisclosed31 January 2008MFDean Hammond Brighton & Hove Albion£250,00031 January 2008FWScott Vernon BlackpoolUndisclosed29 February 2008FWAdemola Bankole Milton Keynes DonsUndisclosed Total spending: ~ £900,000
Out Date Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.21 May 2007FWChris Iwelumo Charlton AthleticFree transfer31 May 2007MFRobbie King Heybridge SwiftsReleased29 June 2007FWJamie Cureton Norwich City£750,00030 June 2007FWCraig Hughes Heybridge SwiftsUndisclosed30 June 2007FWMarino Keith PeterheadFree transfer30 June 2007DFMatthew Paine ThurrockUndisclosed30 June 2007FBLawrie Wilson Stevenage BoroughReleased2 July 2007MFRichard Garcia Hull CityFree transfer13 July 2007CBWayne Brown Hull City£450,0004 August 2007CBGarry Richards Southend United£50,00030 January 2008FB/CBGeorge Elokobi Wolverhampton Wanderers£500,000 Total incoming: ~ £1,750,000
Loans in Date Position Nationality Name From End date Ref.20 July 2007CBMatthew Connolly Arsenal16 December 20072 August 2007DFBéla Balogh MTK Budapest31 May 200715 August 2007DF/FWAdam Virgo Celtic27 April 200829 February 2008FWIzale McLeod Charlton Athletic31 March 200814 March 2008CBMatt Heath Leeds United12 May 2008
Loans out Date Position Nationality Name To End date Ref.22 November 2007FBJohn White Stevenage Borough30 December 200728 February 2008FWTom Webb Folkestone Invicta28 March 2008
Match details
Championship
League table
Results round by round
Matches
Football League Cup
FA Cup
Squad statistics Appearances and goals
!colspan="16"|Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
Goalscorers
Place Number Nationality Position Name Championship FA Cup League Cup Total120FWKevin Lisbie17001729FWClive Platt800811WGMark Yeates800844MFJohnnie Jackson7007524FWScott Vernon500568FWTeddy Sheringham310414WGKevin McLeod4004818CBMatthew Connolly200295CBChris Coyne100110MFKemal Izzet100116FB/CBGeorge Elokobi100119DF/FWAdam Virgo100130WGMedy Elito1001Own goals3003TOTALS621063
Disciplinary record
Number Nationality Position Name Championship FA Cup League Cup Total10MFKemal Izzet7000007019DF/FWAdam Virgo6000006012CBPat Baldwin210000211GKDean Gerken110000114MFJohnnie Jackson4000004011WGMark Yeates4000004018CBMatthew Connolly1100001120FWKevin Lisbie400000407MFKarl Duguid300000308FWTeddy Sheringham010000019FWClive Platt3000003014WGKevin McLeod3000003015FWJamie Guy2000002016CBMatt Heath2000002017MFLuke Guttridge2000002018RBPhilip Ifil2000002021DFBéla Balogh200000202FBDanny Granville1000001016FB/CBGeorge Elokobi10000010TOTALS5240000524
Clean sheets Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet. Place Number Nationality Player Championship FA Cup League Cup Total11Dean Gerken100113Aidan Davison1001TOTALS2002
Player debuts Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match. Number Position Nationality Player Date Opponent Ground Notes8FWTeddy Sheringham11 August 2007Sheffield UnitedBramall Lane9FWClive Platt11 August 2007Sheffield UnitedBramall Lane11WGMark Yeates11 August 2007Sheffield UnitedBramall Lane17MFLuke Guttridge11 August 2007Sheffield UnitedBramall Lane18CBMatthew Connolly11 August 2007Sheffield UnitedBramall Lane2FBDanny Granville14 August 2007Shrewsbury TownNew Meadow27MFAnthony Wordsworth14 August 2007Shrewsbury TownNew Meadow29FWTom Webb14 August 2007Shrewsbury TownNew Meadow19DF/FWAdam Virgo18 August 2007BarnsleyLayer Road20FWKevin Lisbie18 August 2007BarnsleyLayer Road23GKMark Cousins18 August 2007BarnsleyLayer Road5CBChris Coyne12 January 2008Bristol CityAshton Gate Stadium18RBPhilip Ifil12 January 2008Bristol CityAshton Gate Stadium24FWScott Vernon2 February 2008Sheffield UnitedLayer Road23MFDean Hammond23 February 2008Bristol CityLayer Road25FWIzale McLeod1 March 2008Wolverhampton WanderersLayer Road30WGMedy Elito4 March 2008Plymouth ArgyleHome Park16CBMatt Heath15 March 2008Cardiff CityLayer Road
See also List of Colchester United F.C. seasons
References General Books
Websites
Specific