2016–17 Colchester United F.C. season

Colchester United
2016–17 season
Owner Robbie Cowling
Chairman Robbie Cowling[1]
Manager John McGreal
Stadium Colchester Community Stadium
League Two 15th
FA Cup 1st round
(eliminated by Chesterfield)
EFL Cup 1st round
(eliminated by Brighton & Hove Albion)
EFL Trophy Group stage
Top goalscorer League: Chris Porter (6)
All: Chris Porter (6)
Highest home attendance 7,003
v Leyton Orient, 12 November 2016[2]
Lowest home attendance 548
v Charlton Athletic, 8 November 2016[3]
Average home league attendance 3,031[4]
Biggest win 4–0
v Crewe Alexandra, 26 November 2016
Biggest defeat 0–4
v Brighton & Hove Albion, 9 August 2016
Home colours
Away colours
Third colours

The 2016–17 season is Colchester United's 80th season in their history and their first season competing in League Two following their relegation from League One in the 2015–16 season. It will be their first season in the fourth tier of English football for 18-years.[5] Along with competing in League Two, the club will also participate in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy.

Season overview

Pre-season

Colchester United announced their retained list on 20 May 2016. Darren Ambrose, Joe Edwards, Tosin Olufemi, Elliot Parish, Nicky Shorey and Marvin Sordell would all be leaving after the club decided to not renew their contracts following relegation to League Two. Three Academy products, Marley Andrews, Kieran Bailey and Tyler Brampton, would also leave the club upon the expiry of their deals.[6][7]

Maldon & Tiptree's Ben Wyatt became Colchester's first signing of the season on 23 May when he signed a one-year contract with the club.[8] On 25 May, Drey Wright signed a new one-year deal with the club.[9] The following day, Jack Curtis became the second out-of-contract player to sign a new deal.[10]

The club confirmed their first three pre-season friendlies on 31 May. Colchester would first take on Maldon & Tiptree on 9 July, then host Ipswich Town on 20 July, before a trip to Chelmsford City on 23 July.[11]

On 2 June, Dillon Barnes committed his future to the club by signing a three-year deal.[12] Colchester's League Two rivals Leyton Orient signed Gavin Massey for an undisclosed fee from the club on 8 June.[13] Colchester's next transfer dealings came on 21 June, when Sammie Szmodics signed a new three-year contract with the club.[14] Following this came news that former Southend United defender Luke Prosser had signed a two-year deal with the club after being released by Southend.[15] Two players also left the club the same day, with Alex Gilbey joining Championship side Wigan Athletic after an undisclosed fee was agreed for the out-of-contract player,[16] while George Moncur joined fellow Championship club Barnsley for reported fee of £500,000.[17]

Colchester made their third and fourth summer signings on 28 June, bringing in Scottish striker Denny Johnstone from Birmingham City for an undisclosed fee,[18] and Courtney Senior from Brentford on a free transfer.[19] This followed news that Academy graduate Macauley Bonne had signed a two-year contract extension on 22 June.[20]

Having spent the second half of the previous season on trial from Chelmsford City, defender Dexter Peter joined the club on a one-year contract on 29 June.[21] Following Peter in joining Colchester was former Gillingham wide player Ben Dickenson. Dickenson signed a two-year contract after his release from Gillingham.[22] The following day, four under-18 players signed one-year development contracts with the club. Committing were defender JJ Wilson, midfielder and brother of Drey Wright, Diaz Wright, winger George Brown, and forward Decarrey Sheriff.[23]

On 1 July, Colchester signed another ex-Gillingham player as Doug Loft joined on a two-year contract.[24] On 4 July, Cameron James and Tariq Issa both signed new four-year deals with the club just one year after agreeing contracts until 2019.[25] The following day, Colchester's longest serving player Tom Eastman signed a one-year contract extension.[26]

Kurtis Guthrie became John McGreal's eighth summer signing on 6 July when he joined on a two-year contract from National League side Forest Green Rovers for an undisclosed fee.[27] This followed news that Jamie Harney had agreed a new one-year deal with the club.[28] On 7 July, Femi Akinwande became the final out-of-contract player to agree a new deal with the club, signing a new one-year deal.[29] Later the same day, Colchester announced the arrival of midfielder Craig Slater from Kilmarnock for an undisclosed fee.[30]

Colchester played their pre-season friendly fixture on 9 July away to Maldon & Tiptree. Two different sides turned out for either half, with Dexter Peter's effort separating the two teams at the interval. Former U's player Jamie Cureton turned out as a trialist for the Jammers for the second half. Colchester doubled their advantage through Macauley Bonne in the final ten minutes, before Matthew Briggs sealed the 3–0 victory late on.[31]

In their second pre-season friendlly, Szmodics scored a hat-trick against Needham Market with Chris Porter converting from the penalty spot in a 4–1 win for Colchester on 12 July.[32] Their next fixture was a match against Welsh side Airbus UK Broughton while attending a training camp in Cheshire. Goals from Porter, Guthrie and a deflected Drey Wright shot were enough to hand the U's a 3–2 victory on 14 July.[33]

Colchester's first home friendly was the regular pre-season fixture between the U's and neighbours Ipswich Town. Brett Pitman scored the only goal of the game to hand the visitors victory on 20 July.[34] Another Szmodics hat-trick and Macauley Bonne's second goal of pre-season proved to be the difference between Colchester and Chelmsford City as they earned another 4–1 win on 23 July.[35]

Premier League opposition visited the Colchester Community Stadium on 25 July with the visit of Crystal Palace. A Jordon Mutch goal separated the two sides as Colchester put in a strong performance but could not find the back of the net.[36]

Ahead of their final pre-season friendly against Southend, the U's signed former Aston Villa defender Lewis Kinsella on a one-year contract.[37] Colchester lost their game against Southend 2–0 on 30 July.[38]

John McGreal appointed Luke Prosser as the new club captain on 4 August ahead of the season-opening fixture against Hartlepool United.[39]

League Two

August

Colchester kicked off their campaign away to Hartlepool United on 6 August. The new season began with a dream start for McGreal and his newly assembled side when Tom Eastman put the U's ahead inside five minutes. New signing Craig Slater brought Nathan Thomas down in the box and Billy Paynter converted the resulting penalty after 27-minutes. The scores remained the same throughout the second half in a game which saw a competitive debut for five Colchester players.[40]

In the second week of the new league season, Colchester earned their first win of the campaign and John McGreal's first as manager as the U's won 2–0 at home against Cambridge United on 13 August. The goals came from Ben Dickenson and Denny Johnstone, both goals being each player's first for the club.[41] Dickenson's performance earned him a place in the English Football League Team of the Week for all three divisions.[42] The same day, the club completed two transfer deals to assist the development squad. Young left-back JJ Wilson joined Maldon & Tiptree on loan for one month,[43] while former Barnet trainee full-back Brendan Ocran signed a one-year development contract.[44] Also leaving on loan was Jack Curtis, who joined Needham Market for one month,[45] while George Elokobi was made available for loan.[46]

In Colchester's first midweek game of the season on 16 August, the U's rushed to a 3–0 first-half lead over Grimsby Town at the Community Stadium. Ben Dickenson made it three goals in two games with a brace of goals in the 10th and 39th minutes, separated by Kurtis Guthrie's first goal for the club. Grimsby fought back with an early second-half goal, and then pulled another goal back in the third minute of second-half stoppage time for a 3–2 result.[47] Dickenson was named in the EFL Team of the Week for the second successive week as a result of his performance.[48]

The U's were defeated 2–0 at Fratton Park on 20 August as Gary Roberts scored a brace for Portsmouth.[49] A goal and assist from Chris Porter gave Colchester a 2–0 away victory at Wycombe Wanderers on 27 August with Sammie Szmodics also registering his first goal of the season.[50]

Colchester bolstered their under-23 ranks with the signing of Welsh youth international Rhys Williams on 29 August.[51] The club made two transfer deadline day loan signings of winger Tarique Fosu from Reading until 7 January 2017,[52] and midfielder Glen Kamara for the same period.[53]

It was announced on 6 September that John McGreal and Ben Dickenson were in contention to win the League Two 'Manager of the Month' and 'Player of the Month' awards respectively.[54]

September

After the English Football League transfer window had closed, National League side Lincoln City signed Macauley Bonne on loan initially until 26 October on 2 September.[55]

Colchester's unbeaten home record for the season was ended by visitors Exeter City on 3 September. Robbie Simpson opened the scoring for Exeter after eight minutes, but Sammie Szmodics equalised with his second goal in as many league games after 13-minutes. The U's went ahead seven minutes from half-time when Kurtis Guthrie also scored his second goal of the season. However, Colchester conceded two second-half goals without reply to consign them to a 3–2 defeat.[56]

After failing to break into Colchester's first-team squad, defender Jamie Harney's contract was terminated by mutual consent on 9 September.[57]

Colchester bounced back from their 3–2 defeat against Exeter with a 3–2 win against Blackpool at home on 10 September. The visitors took the lead, but Sammie Szmodics registered his third goal in three league games to equalise nine minutes prior to the break. The U's took the lead after 56-minutes from Chris Porter's close range shot. Porter scored again to put Colchester further in front with six minutes to go, before Blackpool pulled one back through Brad Potts in the 89th-minute.[58] Porter's performance earned him a place in the EFL 'Team of the Week'.[59]

Colchester travelled to Barnet on 17 September for their first ever game at The Hive. Loanee Tarique Fosu scored his first goal for the club after six minutes, and lead for 76 minutes by this margin until Curtis Weston scored an equaliser for Barnet.[60]

Accrington Stanley left the Weston Homes Community Stadium with three points on their first visit on 24 September after beating Colchester 2–1. Drey Wright had scored his first goal of the season after seven-minutes, but two second-half goals from Romauld Boco and Billy Kee condemned the U's to their third defeat of the season.[61]

Closing September with their second trip of the season to Broadfield Stadium, Colchester came away with a point, an improvement on their performance in the EFL Trophy. The hosts had taken the lead after 18-minutes, but Chris Porter scored his fourth goal of the season to rescue a point in the 88th-minute of the game.[62]

October

Colchester stretched their winless run to four games on 1 October with a 2–0 defeat in their away trip to Carlisle United.[63] George Elokobi was loaned out to Braintree Town on 4 October for one month.[64] Colchester signed free agent Lloyd Doyley on 7 October after having been signed to Championship side Rotherham United during the 2015–16 campaign.[65]

Colchester hosted Newport County for the first time since the 1987–88 season on 8 October, with the Welsh club rooted to the bottom of the League Two table. The U's winless run stretched to six games without a win after a goalless draw.[66] On 13 October, Jack Curtis' loan at Needham Market was extended until 12 November,[67] while Colchester recalled Macauley Bonne from his loan spell at Lincoln.[68]

Second-placed Doncaster Rovers hosted the U's on 15 October, and while Colchester had the better of the chances, Doncaster edged a 1–0 victory with a first-half injury time goal from Tommy Rowe separating the sides.[69] A week later, Colchester had a great start against Morecambe when Chris Porter scored after four minutes of their first ever league encounter, and only the second meeting between the two sides. Goalkeeper Sam Walker saved a Morecambe penalty in the first-half, before Tom Barkhuizen equalised on 27-minutes. Porter scored his sixth goal of the season after converting a penalty six minutes before the interval. Morecambe earned a 2–2 draw when substitute Lee Molyneux scored in the 77th-minute.[70] Meanwhile, under-23 striker Femi Akinwande joined National League South side Bishop's Stortford for one month.[71] Callum Harrison also left the club temporarily on 25 October, joining Needham Market for a second loan spell with the Isthmian League Premier Division side.[72] Also leaving the club on loan was Ben Wyatt, who joined National League South outfit Concord Rangers for one month on 28 October.[73]

Referee Kevin Johnson was forced to leave the field on a stretcher during Colchester's tie with Plymouth Argyle following a collision with Jimmy Spencer on 29 October. Craig Tanner had opened the scoring for the home side on 16-minutes, but a Craig Slater free kick levelled the score after 31-minutes. Following a ten minute delay for Kevin Johnson's injury, Ryan Donaldson capitalised on a defensive mix-up to put his side 2–1 up. Plymouth held on for 16-minutes of injury time to condemn Colchester to a ninth consecutive game without victory.[74]

November

Colchester attracted their largest crowd of the season on 12 November for their home game against Leyton Orient. The O's, who were in the relegation zone before kickoff, beat the U's 3–0 to drop Colchester to 22nd-position, just one point outside of the relegation places.[2] Colchester slipped into the relegation zone on 19 November after they conceded two goals in the final four minutes of their game against Yeovil Town. Kurtis Guthrie's goal early in the second half was cancelled out by substitute François Zoko before fellow substitute Tahvon Campbell scored Yeovil's winner in the 90th-minute.[75]

The U's recalled George Elokobi from his loan at Braintree Town and he was handed his first start of the season for Colchester's game against Cheltenham Town on 22 November. Owen Garvan made his first appearance of the season, assisting a goal as Colchester earned their first victory in eleven League Two matches, moving them out of the bottom two. Craig Slater scored first in the 48th-minute following a goalless first half, before Ben Dickenson scored his fourth of the season on 65-minutes. Three minutes later, a Tom Eastman header from a Garvan corner kick gave the U's a three goal advantage. The match ended 3–0 to Colchester, while Cheltenham had Harry Pell sent off for simulation in the 87th-minute.[76] They followed this up with their biggest win of the season, a 4–0 home win over Crewe Alexandra on 26 November. Kurtis Guthrie opened the scoring in the first-half, while Owen Garvan, Drey Wright and Ben Dickenson scored in the second-half to move the U's up to 15th.[77]

EFL Cup

McGreal named seven changes to his squad that drew 1–1 with Hartlepool on the opening day of the season for their EFL Cup tie with Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion, including debuts for young goalkeeper Dillon Barnes, Ben Dickenson, and Doug Loft. Colchester were dominated by Brighton but managed to go into the half-time break at 0–0. Three goals in ten second-half minutes effectively ended the U's chances, before a fourth was added four-minutes from time.[78]

EFL Trophy

In the new-look EFL Trophy group stage, Colchester lost their first game 1–0 to Crawley Town on 30 August, but handed first-team debuts for Dexter Peter and Diaz Wright.[79] Colchester also lost their second game at home to Southampton U23 on 4 October. Sam McQueen opened the scoring for the visitors after eight minutes, before Dion Sembie-Ferris scored his first goal for the club on 23-minutes. Tariq Issa replaced Sembie-Ferris at half-time to make his debut for the club, before Olufela Olomola scored the winner six minutes later.[80] Unable to progress to the knock-out phase of the competition, Colchester hosted Charlton Athletic in their third and final match on 8 November in front of a crowd of just 548. Charlton took the lead through Nicky Ajose, but Macauley Bonne scored his first goal of the season three minutes from half-time to level the score. Unable to find a winner, the game ended in a draw, with the final bonus point decided by penalties. Dillon Barnes made two saves to earn his side a 4–3 penalty shoot-out win.[3]

FA Cup

Drawn against League One Chesterfield, Colchester drew a crowd of just 1,840 for their FA Cup first round fixture. Chesterfield took the lead in the first half, but half-time substitute Tarqiue Fosu equalised immediately following the break. Chesterfield striker Ched Evans restored the visitors lead four minutes later, and Chesterfield held on to win 2–1.[81]

Players

First-team squad

As of 22 November 2016.[82][83][84]

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

No. Position Player
1 England GK Sam Walker
2 England DF Richard Brindley
3 Guyana DF Matthew Briggs
4 England MF Tom Lapslie
5 England DF Luke Prosser (captain)[85]
6 England DF Frankie Kent
7 England FW Drey Wright
8 England MF Doug Loft
9 England FW Chris Porter
10 England MF Sammie Szmodics
11 England FW Ben Dickenson
12 England DF Kane Vincent-Young
14 England DF Alex Wynter
15 Cameroon DF George Elokobi
17 Scotland FW Denny Johnstone
No. Position Player
18 England DF Tom Eastman
19 Zimbabwe FW Macauley Bonne
21 England FW Dion Sembie-Ferris
22 Republic of Ireland MF Owen Garvan
23 Republic of Ireland DF Michael O'Donoghue
24 Scotland MF Craig Slater
25 England GK Dillon Barnes
28 England FW Kurtis Guthrie
29 England GK James Bransgrove
30 Jamaica DF Lloyd Doyley
31 England FW Tarique Fosu (on loan from Reading until 7 January 2017)
32 Finland MF Glen Kamara (on loan from Arsenal until 7 January 2017)
33 England DF Lewis Kinsella
35 England DF Cameron James
41 Republic of Ireland MF Louis Dunne

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player
16 England FW Femi Akinwande (on loan at Bishop's Stortford until 19 November 2016)
No. Position Player
27 England MF Jack Curtis (on loan at Needham Market until 12 November 2016)

Under-23s

As of 28 October 2016[83][86][87]

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

No. Position Player
20 England FW Courtney Senior
38 England MF Chris Regis
39 Wales FW Charley Edge
40 England DF Dexter Peter
42 England FW Decarrey Sheriff
43 England FW George Brown
No. Position Player
44 England MF Diaz Wright
45 England DF JJ Wilson
46 England FW Tariq Issa
Wales GK Rhys Williams
England DF Brendan Ocran

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player
36 England DF Ben Wyatt (on loan at Concord Rangers until 23 November 2016)
No. Position Player
37 England MF Callum Harrison (on loan at Needham Market until 22 November 2016)

Match details

Pre-season friendlies

League Two

League Two results round by round

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundAHHAAHHAHAAHAHAHAAH
Result D W W L W L W D L D L D L D L L L W W
Position 13 3 2 5 4 8 5 6 8 10 11 12 13 15 18 22 23 17 15

Last updated: 26 November 2016.
Source:
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

  Win   Draw   Loss

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
13 Mansfield Town 19 6 7 6 21 25 4 25
14 Stevenage 18 7 3 8 28 29 1 24
15 Colchester United 19 6 5 8 27 26 +1 23
16 Crawley Town 19 6 5 8 21 32 11 23
17 Morecambe 19 7 2 10 23 36 13 23
Updated to match(es) played on 3 December 2016. Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored

Matches

EFL Cup

Main article: 2016–17 EFL Cup

EFL Trophy

Main article: 2016–17 EFL Trophy
Pos Lge Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 ACA Southampton Academy 3 2 0 1 0 6 1 +5 7 Advance to Round 2
2 L2 Crawley Town 3 2 0 0 1 3 4 1 6
3 L1 Charlton Athletic 3 0 1 1 1 1 3 2 3
4 L2 Colchester United 3 0 1 0 2 2 4 2 2
Source: EFL.com

FA Cup

Main article: 2016–17 FA Cup

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

As of 26 November 2016[88]
No. Pos Nat Player TotalLeague Two FA Cup EFL Cup EFL Trophy
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK England Sam Walker 21 0 19 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
2 DF England Richard Brindley 21 0 19 0 1 0 0 0 0+1 0
4 MF England Tom Lapslie 14 0 11 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
5 DF England Luke Prosser 17 0 14 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
6 DF England Frankie Kent 5 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
7 FW England Drey Wright 23 2 16+3 2 1 0 0 0 3 0
8 DF England Doug Loft 4 0 1+2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
9 FW England Chris Porter 16 6 12+3 6 0 0 0 0 0+1 0
10 MF England Sammie Szmodics 18 3 13+1 3 1 0 1 0 2 0
11 FW England Ben Dickenson 15 5 11+1 5 0 0 1 0 1+1 0
12 DF England Kane Vincent-Young 13 0 4+4 0 1 0 1 0 3 0
14 DF England Alex Wynter 12 0 6+1 0 1 0 1 0 3 0
15 DF Cameroon George Elokobi 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 FW England Femi Akinwande 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17 FW Scotland Denny Johnstone 21 1 8+9 1 1 0 1 0 2 0
18 DF England Tom Eastman 21 2 18 2 1 0 0 0 2 0
19 FW Zimbabwe Macauley Bonne 12 1 1+7 0 0+1 0 0+1 0 2 1
21 FW England Dion Sembie-Ferris 9 1 0+7 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
22 MF Republic of Ireland Owen Garvan 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 MF Scotland Craig Slater 22 2 13+5 2 1 0 0+1 0 1+1 0
25 GK England Dillon Barnes 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
28 FW England Kurtis Guthrie 22 4 18+1 4 1 0 1 0 1 0
29 GK England James Bransgrove 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
30 DF Jamaica Lloyd Doyley 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 FW England Tarique Fosu 13 2 5+7 1 0+1 1 0 0 0 0
32 MF Finland Glen Kamara 6 0 1+3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
33 DF England Lewis Kinsella 14 0 11+1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
35 DF England Cameron James 2 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0
40 DF England Dexter Peter 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0
41 MF Republic of Ireland Louis Dunne 3 0 0 0 0+1 0 0+1 0 0+1 0
44 MF England Diaz Wright 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0
46 FW England Tariq Issa 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0

Goalscorers

Place Number Nation Position Name League Two FA Cup EFL Cup EFL Trophy Total
1 9 England FW Chris Porter 6 0 0 0 6
2 11 England FW Ben Dickenson 5 0 0 0 5
3 28 England FW Kurtis Guthrie 4 0 0 0 4
4 10 England MF Sammie Szmodics 3 0 0 0 3
5 18 England DF Tom Eastman 2 0 0 0 2
31 England FW Tarique Fosu 1 1 0 0 2
24 Scotland MF Craig Slater 2 0 0 0 2
7 England FW Drey Wright 2 0 0 0 2
8 19 Zimbabwe FW Macauley Bonne 0 0 0 1 1
22 Republic of Ireland MF Owen Garvan 1 0 0 0 1
17 Scotland FW Denny Johnstone 1 0 0 0 1
21 England FW Dion Sembie-Ferris 0 0 0 1 1
TOTALS 27 1 0 2 30

Disciplinary record

Number Nationality Position Player League Two FA Cup EFL Cup EFL Trophy Total
Red card Red card Red card Red card Red card
28 England FW Kurtis Guthrie 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
33 England DF Lewis Kinsella 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 0
5 England DF Luke Prosser 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
4 England MF Tom Lapslie 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
7 England FW Drey Wright 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
19 Zimbabwe FW Macauley Bonne 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0
18 England DF Tom Eastman 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
31 England FW Tarique Fosu 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
24 Scotland MF Craig Slater 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
2 England DF Richard Brindley 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
15 Cameroon DF George Elokobi 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
6 England DF Frankie Kent 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
8 England MF Doug Loft 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
9 England FW Chris Porter 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
10 England MF Sammie Szmodics 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
14 England DF Alex Wynter 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
TOTALS 24 0 1 0 2 0 6 0 33 0

Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.[89]

Number Position Player Date Opponent Ground Notes
5 DF England Luke Prosser 6 August 2016 Hartlepool United Victoria Park [90]
33 DF England Lewis Kinsella 6 August 2016 Hartlepool United Victoria Park [90]
24 MF Scotland Craig Slater 6 August 2016 Hartlepool United Victoria Park [90]
28 FW England Kurtis Guthrie 6 August 2016 Hartlepool United Victoria Park [90]
17 FW Scotland Denny Johnstone 6 August 2016 Hartlepool United Victoria Park [90]
25 GK England Dillon Barnes 9 August 2016 Brighton & Hove Albion Falmer Stadium [91]
8 MF England Doug Loft 9 August 2016 Brighton & Hove Albion Falmer Stadium [91]
11 FW England Ben Dickenson 9 August 2016 Brighton & Hove Albion Falmer Stadium [91]
44 MF England Diaz Wright 30 August 2016 Crawley Town Broadfield Stadium [92]
40 DF England Dexter Peter 30 August 2016 Crawley Town Broadfield Stadium [92]
31 FW England Tarique Fosu 3 September 2016 Exeter City Colchester Community Stadium [93]
32 MF Finland Glen Kamara 10 September 2016 Blackpool Colchester Community Stadium [94]
46 FW England Tariq Issa 4 October 2016 Southampton U23 Colchester Community Stadium [95]
30 DF Jamaica Lloyd Doyley 29 October 2016 Plymouth Argyle Home Park [96]

    Transfers and contracts

    Main articles: List of English football transfers summer 2016 and List of English football transfers winter 2016–17

    In

    Date Pos Player From Fee Ref
    23 May 2016 DF England Ben Wyatt England Maldon & Tiptree Free transfer [8]
    21 June 2016 DF England Luke Prosser England Southend United Free transfer [15]
    28 June 2016 FW Scotland Denny Johnstone England Birmingham City Undisclosed [18]
    28 June 2016 FW England Courtney Senior England Brentford Free transfer [19]
    29 June 2016 DF England Dexter Peter England Chelmsford City Free transfer [21]
    29 June 2016 FW England Ben Dickenson England Gillingham Free transfer [22]
    1 July 2016 MF England Doug Loft England Gillingham Free transfer [24]
    6 July 2016 FW England Kurtis Guthrie England Forest Green Rovers Undisclosed [27]
    7 July 2016 MF Scotland Craig Slater Scotland Kilmarnock Undisclosed [30]
    29 July 2016 DF England Lewis Kinsella England Aston Villa Free transfer [37]
    13 August 2016 DF England Brendan Ocran England Barnet Free transfer [44]
    29 August 2016 GK Wales Rhys Williams England Carlisle United Free transfer [51]
    7 October 2016 DF Jamaica Lloyd Doyley England Rotherham United Free transfer [65]

    Out

    Date Pos Player To Fee Ref
    8 June 2016 FW England Gavin Massey England Leyton Orient Undisclosed [13]
    21 June 2016 GK England Elliot Parish England Accrington Stanley[lower-alpha 1] Released [6][7]
    21 June 2016 MF England Alex Gilbey England Wigan Athletic Undisclosed [16]
    21 June 2016 MF England George Moncur England Barnsley £500,000 [17]
    24 June 2016 MF England Joe Edwards England Walsall[lower-alpha 2] Released [6][7]
    1 July 2016 MF England Darren Ambrose Free agent Released [6][7]
    1 July 2016 DF England Marley Andrews England Heybridge Swifts[lower-alpha 3] Released [6][7]
    1 July 2016 MF England Kieran Bailey Free agent Released [6][7]
    1 July 2016 MF England Tyler Brampton England Billericay Town[lower-alpha 4] Released [6][7]
    1 July 2016 DF England Tosin Olufemi England Hayes & Yeading United[lower-alpha 5] Released [6][7]
    1 July 2016 DF England Nicky Shorey England Hungerford Town[lower-alpha 6] Released [6][7]
    1 July 2016 FW England Marvin Sordell England Coventry City[lower-alpha 7] Released [6][7]
    9 September 2016 DF Northern Ireland Jamie Harney Free agent Released [57]
    1. Following Elliot Parish's release by Colchester United, he later joined Accrington Stanley.[97]
    2. Following Joe Edwards's release by Colchester United, he later joined Walsall.[98]
    3. Following Marley Andrews' release by Colchester United, he later joined Heybridge Swifts.[99]
    4. Following Tyler Brampton's release by Colchester United, he later joined Billericay Town.[100]
    5. Following Tosin Olufemi's release by Colchester United, he later joined Hayes & Yeading United.[101]
    6. Following Nicky Shorey's release by Colchester United, he later joined Hungerford Town.[102]
    7. Following Marvin Sordell's release by Colchester United, he later joined Coventry City.[103]

    Loans in

    Date Pos Player From End date Ref
    31 August 2016 FW England Tarique Fosu England Reading 7 January 2017 [52]
    31 August 2016 MF Finland Glen Kamara England Arsenal 7 January 2017 [53]

      Loans out

      Date Pos Player To End date Ref
      13 August 2016 DF England JJ Wilson England Maldon & Tiptree 11 September 2016 [43]
      13 August 2016 MF England Jack Curtis England Needham Market 12 November 2016[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] [45]
      2 September 2016 FW Zimbabwe Macauley Bonne England Lincoln City 13 October 2016 [55][68]
      4 October 2016 DF Cameroon George Elokobi England Braintree Town 3 January 2017[lower-alpha 3] [64]
      21 October 2016 FW England Femi Akinwande England Bishop's Stortford 19 November 2016 [71]
      25 October 2016 MF England Callum Harrison England Needham Market 22 November 2016 [72]
      28 October 2016 DF England Ben Wyatt England Concord Rangers 23 November 2016 [73]
      1. On 10 September 2016, Jack Curtis' loan was extended.[104]
      2. On 13 October 2016, Jack Curtis' loan was further extended until 12 November 2016.[67]
      3. On 11 November 2016, George Elokobi's loan was extended.[105]

      Contracts

      New contracts and contract extensions.

      Date Pos Player Length Contracted until Ref
      23 May 2016 DF England Ben Wyatt 1 year May 2017 [8]
      25 May 2016 FW England Drey Wright 1 year May 2017 [9]
      26 May 2016 MF England Jack Curtis 1 year May 2017 [10]
      2 June 2016 GK England Dillon Barnes 3 years May 2019 [12]
      21 June 2016 DF England Luke Prosser 2 years May 2018 [15]
      21 June 2016 MF England Sammie Szmodics 3 years May 2019 [14]
      22 June 2016 FW England Macauley Bonne 2 years May 2018 [20]
      28 June 2016 FW Scotland Denny Johnstone 2 years May 2018 [18]
      28 June 2016 FW England Courtney Senior 2 years May 2018 [19]
      29 June 2016 DF England Dexter Peter 1 year May 2017 [21]
      29 June 2016 FW England Ben Dickenson 2 years May 2018 [22]
      30 June 2016 DF England JJ Wilson 1 year May 2017 [23]
      30 June 2016 MF England Diaz Wright 1 year May 2017 [23]
      30 June 2016 FW England George Brown 1 year May 2017 [23]
      30 June 2016 FW England Decarrey Sheriff 1 year May 2017 [23]
      4 July 2016 DF England Cameron James 4 years May 2020 [25]
      4 July 2016 FW England Tariq Issa 4 years May 2020 [25]
      5 July 2016 DF England Tom Eastman 1 year May 2017 [26]
      6 July 2016 DF Northern Ireland Jamie Harney 1 year May 2017 [28]
      6 July 2016 FW England Kurtis Guthrie 2 years May 2018 [27]
      7 July 2016 FW England Femi Akinwande 1 year May 2017 [29]
      7 July 2016 MF Scotland Craig Slater 2 years May 2018 [30]
      29 July 2016 DF England Lewis Kinsella 1 year May 2017 [37]
      13 August 2016 DF England Brendan Ocran 1 year May 2017 [44]
      29 August 2016 GK Wales Rhys Williams 1 year May 2017 [51]
      7 October 2016 DF Jamaica Lloyd Doyley 1 year May 2017 [65]

      See also

      References

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