THERE'S never been a managerial appointment at Colchester United that’s galvanised the fanbase like that of Danny Cowley, writes SAM MORGAN.

Ben Garner and Matt Bloomfield were intriguing in their own ways, while Hayden Mullins, Steve Ball, Wayne Brown and Matty Etherington all had a feel of same old, same old.

Even if you look back to Phil Parkinson’s reign – he was an unknown quantity at the time. Paul Lambert and Aidy Boothroyd offered hope, but we all know how they turned out.

This now feels like a genuine moment in Colchester United’s recent history – and after over a decade of malaise, the arrival of Cowley and brother Nicky could finally be the turning point we’ve all been waiting for.

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As far as regular season league games go – the atmosphere for Bradford was one of the best ever at the JCS.

There was a genuine sense of excitement around the ground – and the Blue and White Army must be credited for putting on a brilliant pre-game display.

The JCS and other new-build stadiums like it are rightly criticised for being soulless and uninspiring. However, the BWA’s efforts make such a difference – and after the display was put on hold against Gillingham, the club should remember not to take this for granted.

Saturday’s performance against Bradford was far from perfect – we seemed to be trapped in two minds.

Gazette: Tom Hopper

When playing out from the back didn’t work, the long ball was deployed to little success.

The second half was much better, and offers hope that we’ll be climbing the table soon.

Tom Dallison stood out in the Dan Burn role and I admire Owen Goodman’s confidence with the ball at his feet – which is particularly impressive when you consider his error against Grimsby back in October.

The criticism of Noah Chilvers from a section of U’s fans is way over the top.

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He isn’t hitting the heights we know he can – but he’s always willing to get on the ball and try to make things happen.

He would have hoped for a better return than two goals and one assist this term but his expected assists of 5.4 ranks him ninth in the whole of League Two, suggesting he isn’t getting the luck he deserves.

This leads us into an awkward conversation that needs to be had about the midfield.

Gazette:

We didn’t truly threaten Bradford until Matt Jay was replaced by Conor Wilkinson. It looks like one of Jay, Chilvers, Arthur Read or Cameron McGeehan will have to make way next time out at Salford.

Read has been my player of the season so far – he’s surely the least dropable of the midfield four.

McGeehan has chipped in with five goals in 20 games while Jay is finally starting to show us what to do.

Would Chilvers benefit from coming out of the firing line? Perhaps. Either way, Wilkinson has done enough in his two substitute appearances to earn a starting spot on Friday night.

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So we’re two games into the Cowley era – no victory yet, but a winning run feels like a question of when not if.

Survival is obviously short-term goal, but half an eye must surely be a promotion push next season.

Cowley is the 15th man in charge since Robbie Cowling took over – all the previous 14 fell short. It feels like he could be the one to finally make us a success.