List of Colchester United F.C. players (1–24 appearances)

[7] 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.

[9] 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.

[10] Colchester United's first team have competed in a number of professional competitions, and all players who have played fewer than 25 of these matches, either as a member of the starting line-up or as a substitute, are listed below.

Three players finished their time with the club on exactly 24 appearances, including Warren Aspinall,[11][12] Elliott Hewitt,[13] Garry Richards[14][15] and Medy Elito[16][17] Four of the players featured on this list would either go on to manage the club or were player-manager.

These include Alf Miller, Jim Smith, Bobby Roberts and George Burley.

Colchester United youth team product Garry Richards made 24 appearances for the club between 2005 and 2007.
Josh Thompson made just 23 appearances in two spells between 2012 and 2015 in a U's career plagued by injury.
Rhys Healey made 23 appearances in two loan spells from Cardiff City in 2014 and 2015.
Doug Loft is another player to have an injury-ridden stay at Colchester United. The midfielder only managed 22 appearances in two years at the club.
Luke Garbutt made 20 loan appearances from Everton in the 2013–14 . He went on to make his Premier League and England under-21 debut later in the season.
Danny Granville appeared 20 times for Colchester during their ill-fated 2007–08 season in the Championship .
Teddy Sheringham called time on his illustrious career at Colchester, playing 20 games and scoring four goals.
Two-time West Ham United loanee Elliot Lee made 19 Colchester appearances in 2013 and 2016.
George Porter made 19 appearances on loan from Burnley in 2013.
Forward Akanni-Sunday Wasiu managed just two goals in 19 appearances in the 2008–09 season.
Billy Clifford made his professional debut for Colchester on loan from Chelsea in 2013.
Replacing the injured Sam Walker , goalkeeper Jamie Jones made 18 appearances on loan from Preston North End in 2015.
Danny Batth made his professional debut on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2009–10 , making 18 appearances and scoring one goal.
Hungary international Béla Balogh made 17 appearances on loan from MTK Budapest in the 2007–08 season.
Jimmy Walker played in goal for Colchester on loan from West Ham United making 16 appearances during 2008–09 .
Reading loanee Michail Antonio played 16 games and scored four goals for Colchester in 2011.
Arsenal loanee Matthew Connolly appeared 16 times for Colchester in 2007, scoring twice.
Former England international Nicky Shorey made 15 appearances for Colchester during a short spell in 2016.
Forward Tony Thorpe played 14 times in Colchester's promotion-winning 2005–06 season, but failed to find the back of the net.
Gary Smith featured 12 times for the U's in the 1987–88 season.
Isaiah Rankin scored five goals in 12 games on loan from Arsenal in 1997.
Liam Henderson failed to score in any of his 11 appearances on loan from Watford in 2010.
Andy Marriott kept goal for Colchester on ten occasions on loan from Nottingham Forest in 1990.
Latvia international Kaspars Gorkšs made nine appearances for the U's during his short-term contract in 2014–15 , scoring one goal.
Tom Williams made nine appearances on loan from Bristol City in 2010, scoring once.
Player-manager Jim Smith made nine first-team appearances between 1972 and 1973.
Michael Smith scored two goals in eight appearances on loan from Charlton Athletic in 2013.
Ex- England defender Kevin Beattie came out of retirement to play for Colchester in 1982, making seven first-team appearances.
Barry Ferguson made six appearances during his loan spell from Coventry City in 2000.
Norwich City loanee Ryan Jarvis made six appearances for the U's from March to May 2005.
Ritchie Jones made six appearances on loan from Manchester United in 2006.
Dan Potts was recalled by parent club West Ham United after making 5 appearances in 2012–13 .
Cian Bolger appeared four times for United on loan from Bolton Wanderers in 2013.
Colchester United academy product Marc Canham made two starts and two substitute appearances for the club between 2002 and 2003.
League Cup winner Franck Queudrue joined on loan from Birmingham City for three games in 2010.
Striker Justin Richards failed to score in any of his three games on loan from Bristol Rovers in 2002.
Wales defender Christian Ribeiro played two games on in January 2010 on loan from Bristol City.
Ben Tozer played one game for Colchester on loan from Northampton Town in 2013.
David Laitt , an apprentice with Colchester United, made one substitute appearance for the club in 1965.