Colchester United's top 10 best ever managers in order of win percentage (Ranked) | OneFootball

Colchester United are preparing for another season in League Two with Ben Garner as their manager.

Garner joined at the end of the 2022/23 season. Now, with a full pre-season in charge, he’s hoping to implement his style at the club. It’s exciting times for Colchester with Garner at the helm, but how far can he take them?

With their new manager settled in, we’ve looked back at their past managers.

We’ve ranked Colchester United's top 10 best ever managers in order of win percentage.

Here are 10 managers who have had the best win percentage in their time in charge of the club and who have also managed more than 20 games.

10 Aidy Boothroyd, 43.2%

After successfully guiding Watford to the Premier League in his first managerial role, his move to League One Colchester came as a shock. It did look like the appointment would be a success. Colchester were in the top six for most of the campaign, a poor run ended their play-off hopes.

Boothroyd left Colchester for Coventry City after just one season in charge. He left the club with a win percentage of 43.2% after winning 19 of his 44 games in charge of the club. Boothroyd went on to manage England at various youth levels.

9 Jimmy Allen, 43.4%

Jimmy Allen managed Colchester between 1948 and 1953 after a successful playing career with Portsmouth and Aston Villa. He managed 249 games, winning 108, which is a win percentage of 43.4%.

At the time he took over as manager, Colchester were playing in the Southern League, which was outside of the Football League. When the Third Division South was expanded in 1950, Colchester became a Football League club for the first time.

After performing well in their first two seasons in the Football League, Colchester finished 22nd in the 1952/53 season. Allen resigned and never went onto manager again.

8 Roy McDonough, 44.5%

Next on our list of Colchester United’s best managers based on win percentage is Roy McDonough. McDonough, like Allen previously, enjoyed a long playing career that included two spells with Colchester. His second spell was as player-manager between 1991 and 1994.

As player-manager, McDonough won the Conference and FA Trophy in the 1991/92 season. Winning the Conference meant Colchester returned to the Football League under McDonough.

Known for his confrontational style, he went on to manage in non-league after his spell with Colchester. He did leave with a respectful 44.5% win percentage, winning 69 of his 155 games. He’s fondly remembered by many Colchester fans.

7 Mike Walker, 44.6%

Mike Walker made 451 appearances for Colchester as a player. The Welsh shot-stopper went on to also manage the club. However, he didn’t last as long as their manager. Despite being top of the league, Walker was sacked by the club.

Between 1986 and 1987, Walker managed 83 games, winning 37 of those games, a win percentage of 44.6%. After leaving Colchester, Walker had two spells as Norwich City manager, managed Everton briefly and managed APOEL in Cyprus.

6 Paul Lambert, 45.2%

A well-known name in management now, but as Paul Lambert was building his reputation as a manager, he was at Colchester. Lambert only managed the club for one year, before leaving for Norwich City. His side missed out on the League One play-offs, despite being in with a chance throughout the season.

Lambert only managed 42 games at Colchester, winning 19 of those games. He left with a win percentage of 45.2%. After managing Norwich, he went on to manage various Premier League and Championship clubs.

5 George Burley, 46.2%

Only just meeting the criteria for this list is George Burley, who managed just 26 games at Colchester. He won 12 of those games, which is a win percentage of 46.2%.

Burley was player-manager of the club, but only played seven games for the club. His short spell ended sourly as he talked to Ipswich Town without permission from the club. He left for Ipswich, where he stayed for eight years. Burley went on to manage Southampton, Scotland, and Derby County.

4 Allan Hunter, 47.2%

Just missing out on a top three spot is Allan Hunter, a former Northern Ireland international. Hunter came to Colchester as player-manager in 1982, but wasn’t with the club for long, leaving at the start of 1983.

Hunter decided to leave the club after one of his players, John Lyons, committed suicide hours after playing for Colchester. Despite being at the club only a short period of time, he has a win percentage of 47.2%. Of his 32 games, he won 17.

3 Ted Fenton, 54.5%

Starting our top three is Ted Fenton, who between 1946 and 1948 managed 88 games. This makes his win record of 54.5% even more impressive. Fenton won 48 of his 88 games, losing only 23.

He joined the club post World War Two after making over 166 appearances for West Ham. At the time, Colchester were in the Southern League, outside of the Football League. After Colchester, he went on to manage West Ham and Southend United.

2 Ian Atkins, 58.8%

Missing out on the top spot is Ian Atkins. Atkins had a long-playing career with an array of clubs, including Colchester, before he dipped his toes into management.

He joined Colchester as player-manager from Birmingham City in 1990. His aim was to return Colchester to the Football League after they had dropped out for the first time since they entered in 1950. He guided them to second place, two points behind the leaders, so they missed out on promotion.

Atkins left after just one season. He managed 51 games, winning 30, which is a win percentage of 58.8%, putting him second on our list.

1 Ted Davis, 62.5%

Topping our list of Colchester United’s best managers based on win percentage, with an outstanding 62.8%, is Ted Davis. Davis was manager between 1937 and 1939, managing 128 games and winning 80 of those games.

While manager of Colchester, he won the Southern League in the 1928/39 season and the Southern League Cup in the 1939/40 season. He left the club to re-join Bath City, where he had managed before Colchester.