The 2001–02 season was Colchester United's 60th season in their history and their fourth successive season in the third tier of English football, the Second Division. Alongside competing in the Second Division, the club also participated in the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Football League Trophy.
Steve Whitton led the U's to a 15th placed league finish. They were knocked out of the FA Cup by York City in the first round. In the League Cup, Colchester defeated First Division Portsmouth at Fratton Park, before falling to defeat to Barnsley in the second round. They also reached the second round of the Football League Trophy, beating Swindon Town in the first round but they were eliminated by Reading in the second round.
Season overview
Colchester leapt to the top of the Second Division table by the end of August, having beaten Chesterfield 6–3 in the opening game of the season, and also knocked out First Division Portsmouth out of the League Cup at Fratton Park. However, they failed to capitalise on this despite manager Steve Whitton equalling the club's record transfer fee of £50,000 for Northern Ireland international Adrian Coote from Norwich City. They finished 15th, a steady year-on-year improvement after recording 18th and then 17th-place finishes in the previous campaigns respectively.
After beating Portsmouth in the first round of the League Cup, Barnsley proved too much for the U's in the second round. York City eliminated Colchester from the FA Cup in the first round, and Reading defeated the U's in the second round of the Football League Trophy following a first round win over Swindon Town.
Players
Transfers
In
Total spending: ~ £50,000
Out
Total incoming: ~ £0
Loans in
Loans out
Match details
Second Division
League table
Results round by round
Matches
Football League Cup
Football League Trophy
FA Cup
Squad statistics
Appearances and goals
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!colspan="16"|Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season
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Goalscorers
Disciplinary record
Clean sheets
Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.
Player debuts
Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.