Up the Us
Up the Us Promoted to the football league in 1950, Colchester United have spent all but two seasons in the bottom two divisions, bouncing between the third and fourth tiers on a regular basis. Howe...
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@CO88LER5 Absolutely. I always lose interest in the game, when it becomes too easy or predictable. One needs these upsets ns surprises, something to come back and revenge later on...
A Brace of Braces
Xisco Aguilar was the star of the second half of October, scoring twice in two consecutive league matches.
He scored twice in 9 minutes against Plymouth, a match in which the U’s recovered their form after the 4-1 thrashing by Stockport, and then scored a brace in 14 minutes in the second half of the 5-0 romp at Exeter, which also saw two goals from fellow academy graduate Fabien Louis.
“Xisco is really finding his feet in this division, now,” said manager Danny Cowley. “He’s a very bright prospect indeed and I can only see him getting even better.”
The U’s finished off the league month with a 2-1 win against ‘Hollywood’ Wrexham, via a second-half strike from Fabien Louis. Which took his tally for the season to 6 from 11 games in all competitions. This was despite Wrexham dominating the game:
“Fabien is another who is adjusting well to professional football, and I expect this trend to continue as the season unfolds,” said Cowley.
The U’s continue to top the table, leading Rotherham United by 5 points.
Of note also is that the U’s now have the best defence in the division; something that Cowley said “we have been working on.” Whether that continues is to be seen, but the new-look defence does seem to have gelled now.
Samson Tovide remains the main goalscorer for the team, although the two academy graduates are beginning to put pressure on him. It’s a healthy place to be.
Historic Win Leads to Another Hangover
Colchester United made more history in the Carabao Cup, as youngster Xisco Aguilar fired the U’s into the next round with an 86th minute strike that left the travelling Man United fans in shock.
A capacity crowd at Camulodunum witnessed an incredible match, in which Manchester United fielded a largely youth and fringe player side until half-way through the second half, when Erik ten Hag sent on Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund. It was all to no avail, however, as Xisco Aguilar ran half the length of the pitch on a breakaway to slot past Andre Onana. The Cameroonian had been one of the few regular united first-teamers to start the match.
Aguilar Celebrates his Winner vs United
“It’s a statement of where we are getting to,” said manager Danny Cowley. “Okay, some might say we only played against half a team, but we scored when their big guns arrived and anyway, you can only beat what the other side puts out.”
Erik ten Hag was unapologetic about his starting eleven, which somewhat disappointed the home crowd initially. “We put out a team we believed would win. It’s all about attitude and desire. The players who started had the chance to stake a claim and we now have to think about how they performed.
“All credit to Colchester. They have a good team who played with the necessary desire and heart, and they have a really good young striker in Aguilar. He’s definitely one to watch.”
The U's will face Premier League mid-table Nottingham Forest in the quarter-final, for a chance to go further than they have ever been in the competition.
Again, following such a signature win, the U’s stumbled at home, losing 2-1 to struggling Northampton Town in a close match which saw almost even possession. Losing 2-0 at half time, Fabien Louis was sent on in the second half to try and rescue things, but one goal only from him left the U’s on the wrong end of the scoreline.
“It’s probably a bit of an indication of our lack of full maturity,” said Cowley. “Big wins like the United match obviously have an effect and we need to learn how to refocus. It will come with time.”
Gotta love the Wrexham game there. Being dominated so heavily, then stealing a 2-1 win. Incredible. Man United win a crazy achievement, only to go from that into losing to Northampton Town. Almost destroys the accomplishment before, doesn't it? Or maybe not. It's not like you can't afford a defeat or two in the league, as it is.
Question: Once or twice you've mentioned, that you tend to change a "full team", having a first 11 and second 11 approach. Give or take. You have 5 substitutions to make each game. Don't you use them to keep some of the players fresh to play in successive games?
- @JustinCase0110
Yes, I do use subs; mainly to give the academy graduates some game time, but I don't always do many - it depends on how the match is going.
Also, I'm aware that subbing players can seriously reduce the match rating they get, which is not good for potential, etc., so I am quite careful about that.
I sub:
a) if the player is getting tired - e.g. when the game starts to recommend a substitution
b) if the match isn't going to plan, and I think a different player might make the difference
c) if the game is effectively won and I need to consider putting a graduate on.
I actually have three team sheets:
1) the 'full first team'
2) a 'second team', which is used when the next match is quite close to the previous one, and especially where, for example, the Man United match, it's not possible to do many subs
3) a 'cup team', which is mainly academy players to play in the three cups (will be two cups if I get promoted, as the BSM Trophy is only for the bottom two divisions). That's how they get much of their game time, as a group, that is. If the match is against a team I know are not likely to be very good, the 'cup team' will get a run out against them too.
For this career, I'm running with a much smaller squad than I normally do, althgough it has been creeping up as more academy players get promoted. I think there might be a few sales in the summer, including some of the academy grads, and possibly some loans out. I usually tend to work with two team sheets:
one with 4 or 2 defenders (usually a form of 4-3-3), one with 5 or 3 defenders (a form of 5-2-3 or 5-2-1-2), depending on how defensive/attacking.
I tend to work with a top 18 of players (starting eleven, seven on the bench) and then eight youngsters (own academy or scouted from elsewhere). In total, a squad of 26 first team players (including three goalies). That is a slight decrease to how I operated before with a triple occupation of every position by first team players. Back then it was 33 first team players and a full acaemy squad (49 players in total).
I do try to have an academy team where all positions are covered to ensure a natural flow of promotion by youth players. So, essentially I've gone back from 49 players to 42 players (26 first team players and 16 youth academy players).
Progress in the FA Cup
The U’s cup exploits continued; this time in the FA Cup, where a 6-1 thrashing of Wycombe Wanderers in the first round saw the home side taunt ex-U’s manager Matt Bloomfield with a rendition of ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’. Bloomfield famously left the U’s in February 2023 to ‘move to a bigger club’, so the fans really enjoyed reminding him which club was in the higher position now.
A draw against Port Vale, which saw the U’s line up against another old boy, winger Gavin Massey, and a victory at home to Carlisle United, saw the U’s retain leadership of the League One table. The Carlisle win was notable for academy promotee Fabien Louis’ first senior hat-trick, as the Cumbrians found him completely unplayable.
Fabien’s hat-trick took him to first place in the U’s scoring chart, one ahead of Samson Tovide, who has entered a bit of a barren spell at the moment. “Every striker goes off the boil, now and then,” said Manager Danny Cowley. “I’m sure Samson will be among the goals again soon.
Lambert out for 4 Months
Striker Liam Lambert broke a toe in the match against Port Vale and will miss at least 3 months.
Lambert: Time in the Treatment Room
“It’s a shame for the lad, as he was getting into his stride, but we’ll have to hope he doesn’t have complications,” said manager Danny Cowley.
Lambert has been doing well recently, coming off the bench and getting some starts, and this will be a blow to his development.
10 points from 12
The U’s entered December in fine form, winning three and drawing one of the first 4 matches this month.
The win against Sheffield Wednesday – a big club, despite their lowly position currently – was a signature move, with the U’s dominating the match and winning 3-1.
They repeated the same scoreline at Oxford, where they again dominated possession, shots and passes. “We are controlling games more and that’s what I want to see,” said manager Danny Cowley.
It didn’t happen that way in the next match, at home against Shrewsbury Town, where the match finished all square in terms of scoreline and possession.
Colchester then made the long journey north to Carlisle and brought back the points in a more closely-fought contest than the home match against the same opposition last month.
Next up for the U’s is a date with Premier League Nottingham Forest, in their historic quarter-final match in the Carabao Cup. The U’s have never been further than this in this competition, so if they can pull it off, it would be a piece of history. They have already knocked out Spurs and Manchester United, so why not?
Yeah, having sent United and Spurs out, I'm sure it would be a bit disappointing to lose to Nottingham Forest - even though they are in a superior tier. Good luck making history against them.
Halfway through the season and still number one, as far as I can see. 10 points from 12 possible since your most recent league table. So things are looking good. Too bad with the 3 months injury, but it's come at a time, where you can afford to lose a few points, if his absence should have that consequence for you. And if not, you can always find a replacement in the January window that is just around the corner.
From what I can make of the stats, your approach is similar to mine (well, as far as Arminia Bielefeld is concerned) - I realized I cannot keep clean sheets, so I just make as many goals as I can.
That in itself goes against my normal approach in these games, because I normally prefer to play from a tidy organization that can keep a clean sheet as I know I'll always score one goal or two, thus securing many wins, albeit somewhat sterile and functional.
- @Danimal5981 Your usual approach sounds like my current one then. A lot of clean sheets and one goal wins.
A historic cup run to go along with good league results. It looks like your approach to rebuilding the squad is paying off.
Historic Cup Achievement
The U’s will contest the Carabao Cup Semi-final, after beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Camulodunum. The hero was Samson Tovide with two second-half goals after a keenly-contested stalemate in the first half.
The draw for the semi-finals sees the U’s face Premier League behemoths Manchester City in a two-legged tie that will boost the U’s coffers for next season.
“It’s a historic achievement for this club, no doubt,” said manager Danny Cowley. “My players have done so well in this competition and learned so much. We’ve beaten Premier League opposition again, and they can be proud of themselves."
Bradley Ihionvien Injury
Academy graduate Bradley Ihionvien faces 2 months on the sidelines after breaking an elbow in the match against Wrexham. It’s bad timing for the youngster after such a rich scoring run recently.
Bradley's Setback
“It’s a bad one,” said manager Danny Cowley. “So hard on the lad, as he’s been knocking them in and really playing his part.
“We just want to get him back in the side, fit and healthy for later in the campaign.”
Two Squad Additions
The U’s opened the January transfer window with two additions.
Left-winger Carlos Costa joins the club from Toulouse on loan to the end of the season, whilst Hernan Peralta (17) is promoted from the academy to the roster of strikers.
“We are taking Carlos effectively on trial to the end of the season, when we might be in a better position to bring him in permanently, if he likes us and we like him”, said manaer Danny Cowley.
“As for Hernan, he’s a great prospect and we simply couldn’t hold him back any longer. We have so many like him in our academy, it is an exciting time for us.”
Hernan Peralta: Exciting New Talent
Both players will be looking to play as much as possible, which can only be good for the squad as a whole, with increased competition. We can’t wait to see them in action.
Carabao Cup semi final, that's not bad. And the transfer window has opened, providing new opportunities for you to strengthen the squad. You've signed a loan player, I see. Good choice giving him a short loan, makes it impossible for parent club to recall him early 😉
In the career of @LABoog4 we exchanged a word or two about the value of the League Cup. I argued its value for smaller teams and see..., The U's confirm just that!
@JustinCase0110 wrote:Carabao Cup semi final, that's not bad. And the transfer window has opened, providing new opportunities for you to strengthen the squad. You've signed a loan player, I see. Good choice giving him a short loan, makes it impossible for parent club to recall him early 😉
@JustinCase0110
That was the thinking. He was 'unwilling to move at this time' but a loan was possible and I thought I could try him out without losing him to the dreaded recall. Thought I'd see how it goes.- @Danimal5981
It does provide another opportunity for a match against a bigger side, and some TV money, true. However, it's rare these days for a smaller side to get too far because of the European qualification element.
Having said that, it's not too long ago (2013) that League Two Bradford City played a final against (at that time) Premier League Swansea... Exeter Sick of Col U
The start of 2025 saw Exeter City play Colchester twice in a few days – and lose heavily twice.
First up was the heavy 5-0 League 1 defeat, as the U’s ran riot in front of their own fans, with Fabien Louis grabbing another two goals.
Next, the BSM Trophy second round, where the U’s ran out 4-1 winners, also at home. Star of the show was Iago Miranda, who scored his first-ever hat-trick.
Iago celebrates his hat-trick
The match was also notable for the debut of striker Hernan Peralta, the academy graduate getting off to the best possible start in his career with a goal on just 23 minutes.
The U’s then played at home yet again, but the fans were not tired of spending gate money, as the U’s despatched Bristol Rovers 4-1 to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup. Star of this match was Samson Tovide with a double.
Tovide: MOTM
“It’s hard for fans to have three matches close to each other, but I hope they felt we gave value for money,” said manager Danny Cowley.
They certainly did.
Col U out of Carabao Cup
The U’s bowed out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of a 4-1 aggregate defeat to Manchester City.
The U’s lost 3-1 at the Etihad but gave a really good account of themselves. As expected, they were on the back foot for the entire match, as Pep Guardiola decided to play a full first team, obviously on alert after seeing the U’s defeat Manchester United and Nottingham Forest. Goals from Foden, Kovacic and Erling Haaland saw the Sky Blues take control of the tie. At least Fabien Louis got a consolation goal he can celebrate for some time, slotting home on the breakaway with pace and touch that left City’s celebrated defence all over the place.
Louis celebrates his goal at the Etihad
After a league draw and a win, and a BSM round 3 win over Plymouth, the U’s hosted City for the return and held the Premier League giants almost to the end, when a tired side finally gave Erling Haaland half an inch, and he despatched the goal to make the final aggregate score 4-1.
“This is not a League 1 side,” said Pep Guardiola after the match. “They are a wonderful, young and exciting side, with some very good players.”
Rather ominously, he added “Fabien Louis is definitely one to watch.”
Col U Still On Top as Two Leave
The U’s continue to lead the way in League One, now 12 points clear of Derby County in third and therefore comfortably in the promotion positions, as we motor on past the half-way point in the season.
During January, two players left the club, as the U’s sold Jaden Fevrier to Palermo for £1.4 million and Owura Edwards to Elche for the same amount. The development of players such as Satoshi Takehashi and Jesus Mancilla has enabled the U’s to move on two players whose contracts were coming to the end.
Edwards (top) and Fevrier: On to New Pastures
“We couldn’t guarantee the kind of game time that Jaden and Owura wanted, so when good offers came in, we had to let them go for it” said manager Danny Cowley.
“We are pleased that they have gone to good clubs and can continue to enjoy their football.”
Losing to City is expected but it looks like you made a good showing of it. The league was the main goal coming into this season to fight for promotion and it looks like that is nearly confirmed. Plenty of season left but the way this team has played all year, promotion looks inevitable.
Club Buys Part of Stadium
For fans who have been a little perplexed at the apparent arrival of building kit and materials, these last couple of games, the truth is now out.
The club has bought a 49% stake in the stadium from the council, and the money invested to do that is to be used to expand the stadium. Colchester Council built the stadium with a seating capacity of 10,000, in a design that always left the ability to expand later. Indeed, the ground and the surrounding land is sufficient to have a much bigger stadium.
Stadium to be Upgraded
Work is starting to expand the ground to 20-25,000 seats, ready for a return to the Championship. The major work will be done in close season, but much preparation can be done now. It fits in with the rest of the development for Colchester’s leisure centre. The stadium was originally built ‘in the middle of nowhere’ alongside the major route from London to Norwich, but the intervening years has seen a steady development of facilities, including a cycle track, rugby club and, next to the stadium, completion is due on a complex including indoor bowls, a large cinema and 10 restaurants, which will turn the stadium and its surrounting area into a mecca for people wanting to pursue their leisure interests.
“We have wanted our stadium back within the club for many years”, said the club statement. “This is the culmination of that, and we couldn’t be more excited.”
The council decided to keep a majority share in the stadium to ensure its future couldn’t subsequently be compromised by anything that happens in the future. “We have seen other clubs suffer when owners sell the ground. Robbie (Cowling) is not that kind of person, but who knows what might happen in the far future? This ensures that cannot happen to Colchester United.”
It’s another step forward for what is becoming quite a progressive club.
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