The king has had his coronation, now let’s have the Colchester summation…
The U’s were in the relegation zone at Christmas, but an improved run of results in the new year (including a club record five consecutive away wins) lifted them away from danger
Thursday 8 June 2023
NEXT HOME GAME: Huddersfield - Saturday 22 July, 3pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Lincoln (in Spain!) - Friday 7 July, 12pm
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and any Colchester supporters joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Thursday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
Today, we’re joined by Si Collinson for a look back at Colchester’s season.
A big thank you to Suzanne, Steve and all the team at Delta Telecom Sound & Security for sponsoring today’s edition.
Des Junior
Had King Charles invited you to his coronation celebrations, and insisted you brought him the best food you’d experienced inside a League Two ground this season, what would you have treated him to?
That’s a tough one as I don’t tend to eat at the ground. I’d have to say the Boro Burger at Stevenage – has it all and it’s just what a football fan needs to see them though the game.
Charles is now king of the UK. But who would you choose to be crowned king of the Colchester Community Stadium, and who would be locked up in the tower? You can pick anybody who’s had some sort of connection with the club this season.
The king has to be Chris in the ticket office. The man goes above and beyond to help in any way he possibly can and always deals with everyone with a smile on his face.
Locked up in the tower has to be Matt Bloomfield. The club gave him everything, backed him in the transfer window, only for him to run back to Wycombe as soon as he could without a second thought.
Best moment of 2022-23?
Winning 1-0 at Ipswich in the League Cup.
Worst moment of 2022-23?
The game that sticks out is the 3-1 defeat at Barrow on a Tuesday night. The weather was horrid, the journey went on for hours, and we conceded three carbon copy goals from corners. One of those nights which brought a lot of the “Why do we do this?” questions to the fore.
Funniest moment of 2022-23?
Cole Skuse somehow scoring from outside the box against Rochdale. It was a goal their keeper won’t ever want to see again; even Skuse looked confused how it went in.
Four Four Two said you’d finish 22nd. When Saturday Comes said you’d finish 19th. You finished 20th. Discuss.
I seem to say this every season, but with our squad we should have finished higher in a division that wasn’t as competitive as it has been in recent years. Given how we waited until Boxing Day to get an away win, and then had long spells of not being able to buy a goal, we probably finished in the right spot. Next season we need to improve. We can’t settle for celebrating mediocrity and survival, which should be a given, not a sense of accomplishment.
County 1 Colchester 0 in August. Colchester 0 County 1 in March. Thoughts?
Both games against County were close affairs. Even though we lost, the trip to your place on a sunny weekend in August was a good one, as we hadn’t been up there for over a decade.
I was disappointed we didn’t get at least a draw when we played in March as we were an improved side, but we just couldn’t seem to find the net.
Best and worst away days of 2022-23?
The best away day was Gillingham. Boxing Day is always a favourite fixture of mine, plus it was our first away win of the season which sparked the mini revival that kept us in League Two.
Worst was Barrow. If it could go wrong, it did.
After decades travelling around the world, Sir David Attenborough’s most recent BBC documentary covered Great Britain. Let’s imagine David and his crew have been filming Colchester throughout the 2022-23 season. In that famous voice of his, how would he describe them?
“Here we see Colchester United, a footballing side that can always turn up a surprise. Even when you think you have seen it all, someone is always waiting to pounce.”
With Wrexham up and MK Dons down, there’s a couple of teams coming into League Two who generally cause quite a lot of debate wherever they go. You’re on Moonpig.com buying a welcome card for both of them. What messages are going inside?
MK: “It’s not all about money and location is it?”
Wrexham: “Remember the sequel is never as good as the original.”
Click on the links below to read the previous 2022-23 reviews we’ve published so far.
Carlisle / Crawley / Grimsby / Leyton Orient / Mansfield / Newport / Northampton / Rochdale / Sutton / Swindon / Tranmere / Wimbledon
Congratulations, Delta!
Congratulations to one of our sponsors Delta Telecom Sound & Security who have recently been chosen to be the UK distributor for Torus Key Cabinets.
The family-run business has been trading for over 50 years. They supply, install and maintain low voltage electrical equipment such as CCTV, Nurse Call, Staff Protection Systems, Door Entry and Access Control.
Steve and Suzanne actually both work at County in their spare time, in the security department, and have been loyal fans since 1996, through the good and the bad. If you’re in need of any of the services mentioned above, please give them a call.
Visit deltatelecom.co.uk for further details.
Photo of the day
Deepdale, Preston
Two of County’s greatest ever headers of the ball face off against each other at Deepdale on Boxing Day in 1991.
Today in SK
🍽 Food and drink 🍽
The Armoury (SK3) have just launched their new cocktail menu. Mark Stott definitely wouldn’t mind a Red Wine Cobbler, and Lee Todd’s going to be getting stuck into a Lounge Lizard or two. There’s eight cocktails to try in total; head down today to see which one tickles your tastebuds!
Taster Thursday at TRUNK (SK7). Three tapas dishes and a glass of sangria for £20 from 5pm.
🎶 Free jukebox 🎶
The Nelson Tavern (SK1). From 6.30pm.
🎱 Free pool 🎱
The George & Dragon (SK7). 6pm - 9pm.
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