List of Colchester United F.C. players



Colchester United Football Club is an English football club based in Colchester, Essex. Formed in 1937, the club competed in the Southern Football League from their foundation until 1950, when they were elected to the Football League. The club spent eleven years in the Third Division South and Third Division following the league's reorganisation in 1958, with a best finish of third place in 1957, one point behind rivals Ipswich Town and Torquay United. Colchester suffered their first relegation in 1961 as they finished 23rd in the Third Division, but spent just one season in the Fourth Division as they were promoted in second position, behind Millwall by just one point. This trend of relegation followed by promotion continued over the next few decades, before the club were eventually relegated from the Football League to the Conference in 1990.

Player-manager Roy McDonough guided the club back to the Football League in 1992, winning the non-league double of the Conference title and the FA Trophy. The club then won promotion to the Second Division in 1998 with a 1–0 Third Division play-off final win at Wembley against Torquay United. The club were again promoted in the 2005–06 season under the stewardship of Phil Parkinson, gaining the opportunity to play second-tier football for the first time in their history. After two seasons in the Championship, Colchester were relegated back to League One. Colchester were relegated to the fourth tier for the first time in 18-years at the end of the 2015–16 season.

Colchester United's first team have competed in a number of professional competitions, and all players who have played in 100 or more of these matches, either as a member of the starting line-up or as a substitute, are listed below. Each player's details include the duration of his Colchester United career, his usual playing position while employed by the club, the number of matches started, the number of substitute appearances and total number of appearances, their total goals scored and total numbers of yellow and red cards collected. The players are sorted by total number of appearances, then by number of starts, then by player name in alphabetical order.

Introduction
Micky Cook holds the record for total appearances and starts for Colchester United, with 700 first team appearances made between 1969 and 1984, starting 696 games and making four substitute appearances. In second position is Welsh goalkeeper Mike Walker, who between 1973 and 1983 made 524 starts with no substitute appearances.

The club's goalscoring record is held by Tony Adcock, who scored 149 goals in all competitions in two spells, his first between 1981 and 1987, and his second between 1995 and 1998. He made 338 starts and 51 substitute appearances. Martyn King is the club's record league goalscorer, netting 131 times in 212 league games between 1956 and 1964. He scored 140 goals in all competitions in 230 games during his time with Colchester.

Key
Player
 * Players highlighted in yellow are registered Colchester United players for the 2016–17 season.
 * Players marked in italics were on loan from another club for the duration of their Colchester United career. The loaning club(s) are noted in the reference column.

Position
 * Playing positions are listed according to the tactical formations that were employed at the time. The change in the names of defensive and midfield positions reflects the tactical evolution that occurred from the 1960s onwards.

Club career
 * Club career is defined as the first and last calendar years in which the player appeared for the club in any of the competitions listed below.

Total starts, Total subs, Total apps, Total goals, Total yellow cards and Total red cards
 * Total starts, total subs and total goals are matches a player has started, been brought on as a substitute and the combined total of these figures, the total number of goals scored, and the total number of yellow and red cards received in the following competitions; Southern League, Southern League Mid-Week Section, Southern League Cup, English Football League (including play-offs), Conference, FA Cup, EFL Cup, Associate Members' Cup/Football League Trophy/EFL Trophy, FA Trophy, Bob Lord Trophy and the Watney Cup.