Colchester United review of the 2023-24 League Two season

Gazette sports writer Jon Waldron, who has covered the U's home and away again this season, looks back on an eventful time for the club.

PERHAPS the unprecedented events of Colchester United’s opening day of the season were a hint of the toil and trouble that was to unfold, throughout the course of what proved to be a very difficult campaign.

The torrential downpour that led to the U’s curtain-raiser against Swindon Town being postponed, the first time an opening-day game in the Football League has been called off due to a waterlogged pitch, was not exactly a great start; frankly, things did not get too much better from that point on as they battled to remain a Football League club.

A solid finish to the 2022-23 season under head coach Ben Garner, coupled with a host of new signings, had brought genuine optimism from Colchester fans for a season spent at the right end of the League Two table.

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But they seemed to be playing catch up from the very beginning.

The loss of last season’s player of the season, Junior Tchamadeu, to Stoke City on transfer deadline day did not exactly help matters while on the pitch, results in the early part of the season were disappointing, to say the least.

The season started with three successive league defeats along with a Carabao Cup penalty shoot-out exit at Championship club Cardiff City, before wins over Gillingham and Tranmere Rovers finally got some much-needed points on the board.

But it did not bring the momentum that Garner and his team wanted and needed; wins were in short supply, despite the prolific form of on-loan Luton Town striker Joe Taylor.

By the time Colchester made the trip to Gloucestershire to take on bottom side Forest Green Rovers in October, they had just three league wins to their name.

It proved a pivotal game.

Colchester, who shipped four goals in the final half hour having played with ten men for nearly half the match following Jay Mingi’s red card, were thumped 5-0 by a Forest Green side who had just lost six successive league matches.

It was easily the U’s worst performance of the season and prompted an angry reaction from the fans who had travelled to The New Lawn.

Garner did not hold back in his post-match interview, bemoaning a lack of professionalism from his side.

“That’s two weeks in a row where we’ve gone into a game where the players have been diligent all week but haven’t done it,” he said.

“That doesn’t work for anybody; it certainly doesn’t for me.”

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The defeat left Colchester third from bottom in League Two and only out of the relegation zone on goal difference.

A 2-1 home loss to Harrogate Town seven days later, which saw the U’s drop into the relegation zone, proved the final straw for chairman Robbie Cowling, who dismissed Garner and installed under-21 boss Matty Etherington in interim charge.

Colchester took ten points from a possible 12 under the temporary charge of the former West Ham winger, leading to him being given the job on a permanent basis on November 16.

“I’m sure there’ll be a bit of scepticism around my appointment and I totally get it and understand that,” said Etherington after taking over.

“But I believe in the way I work and I believe in myself, as a coach and it’ll be down to me and the staff and the players to prove we can still go on and have a successful season.”

Sadly, things did not go well for Etherington or the U’s, from that moment on as Colchester mustered only three points from a possible 27.

Colchester’s 1-0 home defeat to Gillingham on New Year’s Day, which left them third from bottom and five points above the relegation zone, proved the final straw for chairman Cowling.

Etherington was dismissed and three days later, Danny Cowley and his brother Nicky were unveiled as the U’s new management team on a contract until the summer of 2026, prompting sheer delight from the club’s fanbase.

“I saw the challenge and that’s what excited me really,” said Cowley, upon his appointment.

“Nicky and I have always tried to run towards a challenge.

“I knew the position the club was in; I knew they were losing their top scorer and I knew their second top scorer was going to be out for a significant amount of time.

“We came in with our eyes wide open.

“We’ve lived football long enough to know the challenges that this situation is going to bring.”

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Despite their positivity, it was not going to be an easy task for the Cowleys, especially after the departure of their top goalscorer Taylor.

A host of loanees were signed in the January window, with the likes of Harry Anderson, Alistair Smith and Riley Harbottle drafted in to assist with the U’s relegation battle.

The Cowleys immediately made Colchester a much harder side to beat, with their spirited comeback in their first game in charge at Swindon Town a case in point.

Injuries to important players did not help their cause and the U’s became the league’s draw specialists in the second half of the season but defeats were few and far between.

Colchester lost only six of their 20 final league games this season under the Cowleys and a productive Easter period, followed by back-to-back wins over Crawley Town and Grimsby Town in April, proved crucial.

In the end, it came down to the final day of the campaign for Colchester to secure their Football League status but a 1-1 home draw with Crewe Alexandra meant it was mission accomplished.

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It has without doubt been a challenging season for the U’s - but there have been some positives.

Taylor’s prolific form in the first half of the season was a big bonus, as was Cameron McGeehan’s scoring record.

Arthur Read enjoyed an excellent campaign and the likes of Jayden Fevrier, Samson Tovide and Bradley Ihionvien showed genuine potential, while the Cowleys’ decision to switch Jay Mingi to centre-half proved a revelation.

The brothers also successfully resurrected the relationship between club and fans, which had been at a very low ebb at the start of the calendar year.

This was reflected in attendances, with crowds up in the final months of the season and a turnout of nearly 6,500 at the JobServe Community Stadium for the Crewe clash.

The negatives? One of Colchester’s biggest problems throughout the season has been the number of points they have relinquished from winning positions.

It equates to a massive 38 points over the course of the campaign, something not helped by the high volume of late goals conceded.

Missed penalties have also proved detrimental as have injuries to important players, with the long-term absence of the likes of Ellis Iandolo, Fiacre Kelleher and Samson Tovide a real hinderance.

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Needless to say, the U’s pitch has also been an issue, with three home games being postponed in the space of four weeks in the latter stages of the season.

That will need to be worked on over the summer as will the squad, with plenty of comings and goings expected in the summer months.

Once again, recruitment will be key for Colchester but the fact that they are planning for next season as a Football League club is a pleasant and welcome relief, given the trials and tribulations that the 2023-24 campaign has brought.