Roger Brown's unsuccessful stint managing Colchester came to an end in October 1988. Having already inflicted United's joint record defeat of 7-0 back in 1952, Leyton Orient went one better and despatched Brown's sorry team by 8-0 at Brisbane Road on October 15, 1988. The manager's days were over.

Caretaker Steve Foley disposed of Brown's misfits introducing his own youth team players Gary Bennett, Mark Radford and Scott Daniels. Whilst League form did not improve - United sunk to 92nd, a position they had not occupied since 1972 - Foley's team embarked on a typically Colchester FA Cup run. Defying the odds they saw off Fulham, Swansea and Second Division Shrewsbury. In the Fourth Round, a dramatic 3-3 draw at Bramall Lane forced Sheffield United back to fog-shrouded Layer Road. U's lost 2-0 but they had the mercurial former Glasgow Rangers manager Jock Wallace in charge with the late England World Cup winner Alan Ball as his assistant.

The impact was immediate. Crowds rose to over 3,500 as the town became gripped by the passion of Wallace and an equal desire to avoid the drop to the GM Vauxhall Conference. Paul McGee was sold to Wimbledon for a new record £150,000 fee and on April 29, 1989 United travelled to closest rivals Darlington in a do-or-die battle. Robert Scott's goal earned a 2-1 win to lift U's off the bottom for the first time since Brown's departure. Two successive home wins against Halifax and Exeter confirmed U's Fourth Division status.

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