Up the Us

More Records Set by the U’s

The second half of April saw Colchester set new club records.

Firstly, they reached the final of the FA Cup for the first time in their history, with an end-to-end thriller at Wembley against Fulham.  The scoreline of 4-2 disguised the fact that it was a close-run thing until Fabien Louis (who else?) made it safe in the 84th minute with the third of his hat-trick.  Louis started the scoring early on, catching Fulham asleep in the 4th minute, and all the other Col U goals were breakaways.

The win sees them meeting Chelsea, currently the Premier League leaders, in the final, as they prevailed over Liverpool in the other semi.

Colchester made further history by winning the League One Championship.  Their only previous promotion to the second tier was as runners-up to their Essex rivals Southend United, back in season 2005-6; this season therefore sees them winning their highest ever divisional title.

The second half of the month also saw three hat-tricks.  Fabien Louis scored three times against both Fulham and Lincoln City, whilst Xisco Aguilar scored a first-half hat-trick at Derby County as the U’s clinched the title.  Unfortunately for Aguilar, he then broke a toe just before half-time, which will see him miss the remainder of the season.

Xisco Aguilar:  Season Over

The U’s lead Rotherham United by 10 points, with the latter having just 3 matches remaining; their next one is against the champions, but they too already have promotion secured, so this will be a ‘dead rubber’.  Only pride is at stake.

Colchester players dominate the assists chart, showing the creativity of the squad:

Wow I have never seen an assist chart like that! So many players with over 5 assists, that is great to see in a squad. 

Chelsea will be a great final. Top of the PL against League 1 winners. Will have to be your biggest upset yet if you want to win it all..

U’s Stun Premier League Champions

In what is probably the biggest upset in modern football at least, Colchester United beat Premier League champions Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley.

The League 1 champions got off to the best possible start when Fabien Louis danced past the Chelsea defence and scored in the 4th minute – something that Col U have done several times this season and a trait that the Chelsea management should have been aware of.  Louis’ second goal came from a Chelsea corner, after it was cleared to Marcel Ruiz, who put the young Frenchman through with a first-time pass.  It was a classic rapid counter-attack, which has also been a feature of Colchester’s play against the bigger sides all season.

Ebereche Eze pulled one back for Chelsea, who had camped in the Colchester half, and we thought that would lead to an avalanche from the Premier League champions, but it was Noah Chilvers who scored next, latching on to a loose ball in the penalty area during a rare Colchester attack, to send the minnows in to the half-time break 3-1 up.

The second half was all Chelsea traffic, and Nicolas Jackson made it 3-2 with a well-taken shot on 53 minutes, but the U’s held on and scored another breakaway goal – Louis’ third – in time added on at the end of the match to record a 4-2 scoreline that was not reflective of the game as a whole.

“I’m lost for words” said manager Danny Cowley.  “What can I say, other than a huge ‘thank you’ to all the fans, the staff, the players and the whole of Colchester for the support and hard work that has led to this.”

When he was reminded that, apart from the historic nature of the win, this trophy means that Colchester will be in the Europa League next season, his reaction was of shock.  “You know, I never thought of that.  We were simply focused on giving a good account of ourselves.

“It’s something else we’ll have to plan for.  Simply amazing.”

38% possession and a final win. Jose himself would be proud! 

Great win, this changes things big time next season. Not only do you have the grueling Championship schedule but also Europa added into it. The squad depth will be important. 

Planning for Next Season has Begun

Danny Cowley: The work never stops

An interview with Danny Cowley has revealed the thinking behind next season.

Q: What are the priorities going to be for next season – consolidation or a promotion push?

DC: Let’s not get that far ahead!  The Championship is a big step up, so we’ll approach it from the perspective of a game at a time and see where we go – at least in the early stages.

Q: How does Europe affect your thinking?

DC: We know we have at least six European games to fit in before Christmas.  That adds to the workload, so we’ll have to keep a decent-sized squad.  We don’t know what the opposition will be yet, so we don’t know how to approach those games and how they affect the side for the games either side.  It’s an interesting challenge.

Q: Talking about the squad, what’s the likely change there?  What budget will you have?

DC: I would be very silly to mention a number, as that makes you a hostage to negotiations.  We have some thoughts about who might go and where we’ll need to bring people in as a result.  Last season, we developed a lot of academy promotees because we had the games to play them in.  We are confident many of those can make the step up to Championship football.  Let’s wait and see.

Q: But do you expect a lot of change?

DC: We will see  changes.  How many, I couldn’t possibly say at this point.

Q: It’s going to be an exciting season.  The ground is being expanded, too.  What are you hoping for?

DC:  Big crowds, enjoying exciting, hopefully winning football.  The more the merrier!

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@CO88LER5 wrote:

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It always amazes me how you can keep these players happy with so few games during a season. 19 games for Chilvers, out of 42 at this point. Having performed so well in those 19, one would certainly expect him to have played more often. The same goes with Ruiz, Dean, Tovide, Petersen, Miranda and Viudez on the above chart. Maybe a few of them have arrived during the season, obviously that will better reflect their number of games. But for those who've been there all season, I would expect most of them bo be unhappy at this point.

You really did it. FA Cup win from a League One position. Great achievement. I suppose your usual squad size will come in handy, when Europa League football enters the conversation soon.

Bids for Louis Rejected

In Demand, as Expected.

The U’s have received two bids from Premier League clubs for last season’s scoring sensation, Fabien Louis.

Crystal Palace and Everton have both submitted offers for the teenage striker, and both have been rejected.

Palace offered £8 million and Everton £9 million, both of which would be a record sale for the Essex outfit.

“We laughed when we received them,” said manager Danny Cowley.  “He’s worth a lot more than that.  We then decided we’d been insulted.”

When asked whether Louis wanted to go, he said: “we’ve had a good conversation with him, from a career perspective.  In our view, it’s better that he stays here for the time being, where he’ll get lots of games and therefore develop more.

“We also pointed out to him that both these clubs are not in Europe, and we are.  How better to develop further than when playing against European sides?  We believe he’s happy here and it would take a much bigger bid, from much bigger clubs, to change that.”

U’s fans are rightly worried that one of their stars may be on the move, but we will have to wait and see.  The end of August and the closing of the transfer window suddenly looks a long way away.

Labrovic Departs, with Two Others

Croatian goalkeeper Nediljkoj Labrovic has moved to Celta Vigo for £16 million, which is a record sale for the U’s.  It was always the agreement from the start that, should an offer come in that satisfies the U’s financially, and the player wants to move, then he would depart.

“I have enjoyed my two years here and together we have achieved great things.  I’ll always be grateful to this club and will always look out for their results,” the player said.

“Ned got the offer he wanted and he’s going to the top division in Spain,” said manager Danny Cowley.  “It’s great business for us too, getting that amount of money for a player we signed for free.  He’s been brilliant for us and he’s a bit of a legend, now.”

It is expected that his first-choice berth will be filled by players already at the club.

Also leaving are attacking midfielder Olav Petersen and Spanish striker Xabier Rojas.  Petersen goes to Championship rivals Luton Town for £4.6 million and, like Labrovic, Rojas is also heading to Spain, to RCD Mallorca, for £1 million. 

Petersen: Off to Luton

“Xabier got an offer from a club in his home country, and that was simply too good for him to ignore,” said Cowley. “Olav is going to a club only recently in the Premier League, and one of the favourites to go up, so we couldn’t say no to that.”

Rojas: Going Home

Petersen was signed for free at the start of Cowley’s reign, and Rojas is an academy graduate (promoted just this last February), so the £22 million income from all three players is pure profit.

"Pure Profit" you sound like a true chairman! Selling academy players and players signed on a free makes the deals extra special. It is a good conversation to have though on the striker. 

1. Take the deal and move your career up to the top division but miss Europe.

2. Stay in the second division and get to play in Europe.  

I would be interested to hear what players would actually prefer.

U’s Fail to Impress

The U’s involvement in the European International Cup was mostly a chastening experience, with defeats against two sides, and one win at the end.

After losing to Brighton in the opening match, the U’s then lost against a Porto side reduced to 10 men after only 6 minutes.  They looked way off the pace in matches against higher opposition; especially Porto, the Portuguese champions.

The U’s redeemed themselves in the final fixture, giving Fiorentina a 2-goal start and only really coming alive with a change to 4-1-2-1-2 narrow formation in the second half.  Max Dean put them on the road to recovery, and Xisco Aguilar scored the winning goal to send U’s fans back to England with a litte pride at least.

The U’s were invited to a tournament with a higher level of opposition to what they have seen before, probably because of their new status as a club with European football this coming season.  Manager Danny Cowley found it a useful development.

“This has been a marvellous exercise for us, to play against much bigger opposition and find out wher we are at,” he said.  “We’ve learned a lot for us to go back and consider.  Tactics, formations, what some of the players need to work on.

“We have much to do”

Ruiz on the Move?

1 August 2025

Reports have emerged that the U’s are in negotiations with West Ham United over the sale of Marcel Ruiz to the Premier League club.  An initial offer of £29 million has been received, which the U’s have rejected, but West Ham officials are due at the U’s Camulodunum stadium later this week to try and complete a deal.

Ruiz: About to get his move?

£29 million would smash the club's transfer record for a sale, only recently established by the £16 million sale of Ned Labrovic, so more than that would be even more of a remarkable deal for what was a free signing, 2 years ago.

“We have received an offer for Marcel, from a club he is interested in, but the sum is way short of what we would want,” said manager Danny Cowley.  “Frankly, it’s a bit of an insult to Marcel, if they value him at that price, and we have told them not to bother unless they significantly increase their offer.”

It seems that the Hammers are about to do just that.  As the season is about to start, we will soon see whether it is with, or without, the U’s midfield kingpin.

Ins and Outs so far.

As August starts, we have seen some comings and goings at the U’s.  Here is a summary so far:

The U’s have smashed their transfer record for purchases with the £9.3 million signing of Anderson Duarte, a young left-winger from Chelsea, then followed that up with the £5.5 million capture of left midfielder Roger Fernandes from Wolves.  Both players are expected to compete over the season, and will be joined by academy promotee Laurenco Castro, who is seen as an exciting prospect. 

That completes the forward-oriented left-side of the U’s squad, which was often filled by right-footed players last season.

Meanwhile, up front, the U’s have signed two free transfers – Robert Jovanovic and Sebastian Ayala, to replace outgoing Liam Lambert and Xabier Rojas. 

Jovanovic Joins the U's

The U’s also are currently missing Bradley Ihionvien with an ACL injury, so these two are welcome additions.

Attacking midfielder Felipe Carillo is another exciting academy promotee, replacing the departed Olav Petersen whose default first-team place in the number 10 role is now taken by Noah Chilvers.  Chilvers has also been selected by the players as the club captain; a reward for his stunning season, which left him as the U’s highest asister and third-highest scorer.

The New Club Captain

On the departures front, three more players go to Championship rivals, alongside the already known move to Luton by Olav Petersen. 

So far, the U’s have made a £15 million profit on transfer dealings, with the possible big fee also yet to come for Ruiz.

Winning Start to the League and Disappointment at Wembley

The U’s have got off to a positive start in the Championship, winning both of their first two matches, before heading off to Wembley for what is normally the first game of the season – the Community Shield.

Last season’s strike partnership of Louis and Tovide opened the scoring against Portsmouth, Samson Tovide having the distinction of being the first on the scoresheet on the U’s return to the division. 

Tovide Nets First

Portsmouth had their fair share of opportunities but, when new boy Anderson Duarte made it 3-1 on 84 minutes, all Portsmouth could do was get another consolation.

A straightforward 3-1 win against QPR saw new striker Robert Jovanovic score twice on his competitive debut, with Max Dean getting the other.  QPR finished in a low position last season, and this performance made it clear why.

Off to Wembley and the U’s gave a good account of themselves in what may have been Marcel Ruiz’s last game for the club, following ‘good talks’ between the U’s and West Ham.  A 1-1 draw saw the U’s lose on penalties, but there was a lot to encourage for manager Danny Cowley.

It's back to the Championship grind now for the U's.  The first two matches have been against teams that struggled, as are the next 2-3 league matches, which gives the U’s a chance to settle into the division. 

“We have at least 8 matches to play this month, possibly 9,” said Cowley.  “We are going to need the squad like no other time before and, with the Europa League games, it will remain really busy right up to Christmas, so a good start is just what we needed.”

Ruiz Breaks Transfer Record

Marcel Ruiz has become Colchester United’s most expensive player ever, after the club agreed to sell him to West Ham United for £45 million.

The deal, which sees the player move down the A12 to East London and the former Olympic Stadium, was announced after the Community Shield match between the U’s and Chelsea.  Ruiz joins the Hammers on a 5-year deal and leaves a gaping hole in the U’s line-up.

“We couldn’t keep Marcel; it wouldn’t have been fair,” said manager Danny Cowley.  “He has a great opportunity that he now needs to take as he enters his prime years.

“We were determined, however, to get the deal we wanted, and Marcel was on board with that, so it was an anxious wait for him.”

Ruiz after a missed opportunity against Chelsea.  He'll now play them twice more this season

The Hammers offered £29 million to start with, but Colchester clearly were not prepared to let him go for that amount.  The final price represents an amazing return on a player who has been with the club 2 years and cost nothing to acquire.

“I will forever be grateful to the club for the opportunity they gave me,” said Ruiz.  “I learned how to settle and live in this country, everybody made me welcome and I hope that, in helping the club to 2 promotions and realising such a large fee, I have given something back.  I will forever look out for the U’s results and I am not that far away.  I will come back whenever I can to watch the team.  Thank you all.”

It remains to be seen how the club fills the position on the pitch.  In the first instance, it will probably fall to Alexander Schmitt (18) who played well in that role at times last season, understudied by new academy promotee Tristan Thygesen, also 18.  Perhaps some of that transfer money will be spent.

Tough luck in the Community Shield. But possibly a fair result at the end of the day.

More than 60 million raised in two years from Labrovic and Ruiz. Signing these internationals for free certainly work out for you. This enables you to spend big now, signing players who would otherwise be above your station. It's a pretty massive development though, first doubling your transfer record, then almost trippling the new record again in the same window. You've practically had a financial takeover in these two transfers.

@JustinCase0110
The thing is, their value wasn't particularly big when I signed them. Ruiz eventually rose to a value of £25 million in the 'book value' terms, which is still a lot, I know, but neither of them were anywhere near these levels 2 seasons ago. I don't know why the game decided to let me push West Ham as far as I could, because the amount over 'book value' was ridiculous. I never thought it would do it. 

Both of these players are 'internationals' in the sense that they have a cap or two.  Ruiz has one at senior level and Labrovic one as well.  When I signed them, it was with that in mind.  I wouldn't call either of them 'established internationals' on that basis.  Over the years, Colchester have had internationals in their squad.
Apart from one big money signing to come, I don't expect to use this money at the moment, as it wouldn't be proper.
What I've signed otherwise is almost entirely in keeping with an upwardly mobile side, I think. Most of my incomings over the two seasons have been from the academy...

Club Captain Out For 3 Months

Sidelined: Captain Chilvers

Club captain Noah Chilvers will miss the next three months after suffering a broken toe during the win over Milwall at Camulodunum.

The injury happened soon after he gave Colchester the lead in a bad-tempered match that saw 4 Millwall bookings overall, as the visitors played their usual robust style of football.

“It’s hard for Noah, so soon after stepping into the captain’s role, but he’ll come back as strong as ever,” said manager Danny Cowley. 

It’s likely that his attacking midfielder place will be shared between Iago Miranda and Ryan Norton.  “This is a good chance for both of them; let’s see what they make of it,” Cowley added.  Both are from the academy and it illustrates the strength of what has been delivered over the last two years.

Colchester also got past Birmingham in the Carabao Cup, setting up a ninth match in August, as they will now face Crystal Palace in the next round.  That will give Fabien Louis, if he plays, a chance to show Palace what they are missing out on, after the U’s rejected a bid from the South London club in July.  Hero of the Birmingham match was summer signing Sebastian Ayala, the striker scoring his first goals for the club as he delivered a hat-trick. 

The U's edged a close game against Blackburn, which saw the return of former U's academy player Sammie Szmodics, who has been the Championship's top scorer for the last two seasons.  Not this time, though, as he was well shackled by the U's defence, who instead let Gallagher in twice.

Louis Signs Contract Extension

Louis: Staying Put

Fabien Louis has ended specuulation about his U’s career by signing a contract extension to summer 2030.  The deal allegedly makes him one of the biggest earners, following the departure of Marcel Ruiz.

Enquiries had been made by a number of clubs, but the U’s rejected them and in the end Louis was convinced that he would be better-placed to continue his development in the Championship – and of course in the Europa League.  None of the clubs making an offer could provide the young Frenchman with the latter.

“Fabien knows that he’s in a great place, with the opportunity to test himself against serious opposition this season” said manager Danny Cowley.  “It’s up to us to try and match his ambition going forward and we will of course be trying to do that.

“I am happy here,” said Louis.  “The manager knows me, what I need and how to help me get better still.  Evereybody here loves me and I do them.  Together, we can do great things.”

Fans will no doubt be very happy at this development.

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@CO88LER5 wrote:

The thing is, their value wasn't particularly big when I signed them. Ruiz eventually rose to a value of £25 million in the 'book value' terms, which is still a lot, I know, but neither of them were anywhere near these levels 2 seasons ago. I don't know why the game decided to let me push West Ham as far as I could, because the amount over 'book value' was ridiculous. I never thought it would do it. 

Both of these players are 'internationals' in the sense that they have a cap or two.  Ruiz has one at senior level and Labrovic one as well.  When I signed them, it was with that in mind.  I wouldn't call either of them 'established internationals' on that basis.  Over the years, Colchester have had internationals in their squad.
Apart from one big money signing to come, I don't expect to use this money at the moment, as it wouldn't be proper.
What I've signed otherwise is almost entirely in keeping with an upwardly mobile side, I think. Most of my incomings over the two seasons have been from the academy...

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I know they've grown in your 'possession', but if my memory doesn't fail me, they were already top of your hierarchy (by far) when you signed them for nothing, holding mid-70's ratings compared to the 60-somethings for the rest of your squad.

I get that it wouldn't be 'proper' to spend all that money now, and kudos for thinking this way. But still, I kind of feel you created the situation yourself by making this shortcut. No way these players would choose a League Two side IRL, regardless of their limited amount of international games. Sorry, but I just don't buy it.

This also brings me to the ambivalence, I'm left with here. Should I even say this? I mean, it's your save, so you can go about it just the way you please. Who am I to judge? But there is so many things I do like about your save(s), so perhaps my cincerity about these things comes with the price of honesty, when I come across something that I find to be too unrealistic or whatever one might call it.

In regards to the big fees (45m for 25m player) I've often received this kind of overpayment, sometimes twice the market value (to which you are very close). So nothing of this comes as a surprise to me. In fact, I believe it was actually my first thought, when you signed them two years back.