Historical Football Kits

 

Colchester United

Formed 1937

Elected to Division Three (South) 1950. Relegated to the Conference 1990.

Promoted to Barclays Division Three 1992

Kit History

1954-1955 a e

1960-1961 b

1965-1966 c

1968-1969 h

1969-1972 a d e

Buy shirt from TOFFS

1972-1973 (1) q

1972-1973 (2) q

1973-1974 p

1975-1975 l p

Umbro

1975-1976 p

Umbro

1976-1979 l p

Adidas

1979-1980 k

Adidas

1980-1983 l o p

Umbro

1983-1984 l n

Le Coq Sportif

1984-1985 r

Umbro

1986-1987 a k l

Umbro

1987-1988 o

Spall

1989-1990 f

Scoreline

1990-1991 o m

Ribero

1991-1992 j

Ribero

1992-1993 e g

Spall

1993-1994 o

Spall

1994-1995 e o

Vandanel

1995-1996 o

Vandanel

1996-1997 a o

Patrick

1997-1998 e

Patrick

1998-1999 o

Patrick

1999-2000 e

Strike Force

2000-2002 e

Strike Force

2002-2004 e

Admiral

2004-2005 e m o

Admiral

2005-2006 i

Diadora

2006-2007 i

Diadora

2007-2008 i

Puma
colchester united 2008-09

2008-2009 i

 

Background

Formed in 1937 following the demise of Colchester Town (formed in 1873), United took over the Layer Road stadium and joined the Southern League, winning the championship in 1939. After the Second World War, Colchester reached the fifth round of the FA Cup and two years later they were elected to the Football League when the Southern section of the Third Division was expanded.

The Essex club made a decent start but by the middle of the decade they were struggling and were forced to seek re-election in 1954 and 1955. In 1961 and 1965 they were relegated to the Fourth Division and came straight back up but relegation in 1968 was the beginning of a longer spell in the basement.

In 1971, having dropped their traditional striped shirts in favour of an all-blue kit, Colchester enjoyed their moment of national glory by beating League leaders Leeds United 3-2 in a dramatic FA Cup match. For the 1972-73 season the management decided to relaunch the club with a new badge (a Roman Eagle), nickname (The Eagles) and an all-white kit worn with red boots. The season was a disaster - the manager resigned and Colchester had to apply for re-election. The re-introduction of blue shorts and stockings mid-way through the season failed to stop the rot.

In 1974, with traditional stripes reinstated, United were finally promoted back to the Third Division. Three years later they were down again only to win promotion yet again the following season.

In 1981 the club was back in the Fourth Division and in 1990 they were relegated to the GM Vauxhall Conference. In March 1991, the U’s were saved from extinction when the local borough council bought Layer Road for £1m and leased it back to the football club for a maximum of three years. When the club won the Conference League double in 1992, the council extended the lease to ten years to comply with League regulations and funded £100,000 of safety improvements.

In 1998, Colchester were promoted to Nationwide Division Two via the play-offs and remained at this level until promotion to The Championship in 2006.

After several proposals for developing a new stadium foundered, plans were drawn up during 2000 for a brand new community stadium to be built at Cuckoo Farm. The council, who owned the site, promised not only to donate the land but also the proceeds of the sale of Layer Road to the project. The proposed stadium forms part of a wider plan to regenerate north Colchester.

Sources