Will Colchester stay the course ?

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

As previously stated by other posters automatic is a 4 horse race at the moment and i have been very impressed with Colchester this season. Can and will they stay the course. They clearly have a good manager and some good players with a good team spirit. Several of their players are on loan though particularly in the striking department from barnsley and Ipswich. If one or both are recalled it will present them with a problem. January will prove vital to all top clubs in this Division but especially to Colchester in my view. In addition they can only afford a smaller squad then Leeds, Charlton and ourselves. This is where lady luck comes in with injuries . I think they will be in the playoff no problem, but i am worried that they are continuing to do well and cannot be shaken off

[Hucka Hucka Huckerby 0]

They have done well so far, but I can see them falling off the pace in the second half of the season.

If I had written that sentence prior to Lambertgate I would have ended it with ''which would be a shame''. However since we are post Lambertgate, I''ll end it with ''which would make Cowling cry & me laugh''!

[Hooleyfan 0]

Unfortunately, that can only be on gut instinct at the moment. Their wins do not seem as pronounced as ours (if you discount our first meeting!!!). They are going very well and with the probable addition of Nobby Solano, it could be neck and neck for both automatic promotion places between the current top four.

[Ivana_rubyatitz 6]

They have surprised me with how well they have done so far, but like YC I think they may drop off over the second half of the season (although they should still be good enough to make the play offs with ease).  They have had a reasonably straight forward December where with the exception of in-form Saints they had games you would expect to pick up points from and their squad lacks the depth that you find with the current top three so any injuries/loan recalls may hurt them.

[cufcone 0]

Odejayi who was on loan from Barnsley has now signed permanent but Lisbie has now gone back to Ipsh*t.. Alot will depend on what happens with O''Toole who is on loan from Watford and whether we can get Lisbie back but i honestly think Ips*t will sell him to someone else...As for staying the course i think we will end up in the play offs with Charlton,Huddersfield and Swindon with yourselves and Leeds going up automatically.. Our main problem is we haven''t got anyone who is going to score 25 to 30 goals a season like Holt or Beckworth,Gillespie is capeable but is allways injured and other than that we haven''t got anyone who is capeable of reaching anywhere near that sort of target...

[Hooleyfan 0]

The U''s have got a tough January ahead of them with ourselves, MK Dons and Leeds fixtures, not to mention a tricky trip to Gillingham where they dont give much away...even Yeovil away is another banana skin in the waiting.

[UEAstudent 0]

I think they will finish 5th but win the play offs.

Leeds

Norwich

Charlton

Huddersfield

Colchester

Swindon

[shefcanary 2,951]

Lisbie will replace Stead for the next 4 games for the Scum following Keano''s frivolous appeal. Solano won''t get Lisbie''s goals for ColU. Expect another to replace Lisbie.

[Beauseant 0]

Despite their off field antics, I think they deserve our respect for the way they have ground out results. I see no more reason to believe that they will fall away than that we will. I think it will be nip and tuck until the very end, and would be thrilled to bits with a point on the 16th in what I see as our toughest game since the trip to Elland Road.

Yes, we''ve had some bigger wins than them, but you still only get three points, and they have shown remarkable consistency, so we shouldn''t let the idiocy of Cowling blind us to the fact that they area very good team.

[cufcone 0]

Not so sure Lisbie will play for Ips*t again under Roy Keane..There was talk of Ips*t only being able to recall him to sell him and not play him,whether thats true or not i''m not sure..

[......and Smith must score. 1,596]

[quote user="Beauseant"]

Despite their off field antics, I think they deserve our respect for the way they have ground out results. I see no more reason to believe that they will fall away than that we will. I think it will be nip and tuck until the very end, and would be thrilled to bits with a point on the 16th in what I see as our toughest game since the trip to Elland Road.

Yes, we''ve had some bigger wins than them, but you still only get three points, and they have shown remarkable consistency, so we shouldn''t let the idiocy of Cowling blind us to the fact that they area very good team.

[/quote]I agree.They''ve a good manager - who many of us would have liked to have been installed at Carrow Rd - and they continue churning out winning results like us. The team seems to have responded to the new man in charge and they must be nailed on for the play-offs.Apart from Leeds it''s very difficult call predicting who''ll go up with them. I think it''s between Colchester, us and Charlton but I was impressed with Huddersfield when they came to Carrow Rd so I wouldn''t write them off just yet. All teams have a run of poor results at least once a season.We need to keep winning and hope the other teams slip up but it''s unlikely that we won''t have another '' blip '' of some sort before the season''s end.I''ve a horrible feeling we''ll lose at Cuckoo Farm on the 16th Jan which would really put the cat amongst the pigeons. Fingers crossed it doesn''t happen.

[cufcone 0]

They''ve a good manager - who many of us would have liked to have been installed at Carrow Rd - and they continue churning out winning results like us. The team seems to have responded to the new man in charge and they must be nailed on for the play-offs.

Apart from Leeds it''s very difficult call predicting who''ll go up with them. I think it''s between Colchester, us and Charlton but I was impressed with Huddersfield when they came to Carrow Rd so I wouldn''t write them off just yet. All teams have a run of poor results at least once a season.We need to keep winning and hope the other teams slip up but it''s unlikely that we won''t have another '' blip '' of some sort before the season''s end.

I''ve a horrible feeling we''ll lose at Cuckoo Farm on the 16th Jan which would really put the cat amongst the pigeons. Fingers crossed it doesn''t happen.

Funny that,i''ve got you down to win 2-0 at our place...

[Bogbrush 0]

IMO Colchester is a very strong team. They were highly motivated and at the top of their game whilst we were like rabiits caught in headlights for the opening game of the season. Theoklitis (IMO Gunn''s only mistake re choice of players) was frighteningly inept and hopeless and the comination of all meant that we suffered a thrashing. In the haste to pillory Gunn the fact that Colchester were such a strong side was overlooked. We now know how good they are, same points as us at the midpoint of the season and without the resources or fanbase that we enjoy.

I was delighted to read on this thread that Lisbie has gone back to Ipswich because at League One level he is superb. Without Lisbie and his pace and agility I do believe that the Ewss will be far less effective and there fore less of a threat.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 2,035]

Just think what a threat they could be ,if they fully concentrated on what they were doing instead of worrying about other clubs and their managers !!?!

[cufcone 0]

[quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]Just think what a threat they could be ,if they fully concentrated on what they were doing instead of worrying about other clubs and their managers !!?![/quote]

 

I''ve said myself that we need to treat the Norwich game as just ANOTHER match instead of hyping it up so much...Although i would never say a bad word againat Robbie Cowling because of what he has done for the club i think he is taking it a bit personal with what has happened over Lambert and Norwich and i think all that is going on will have a negative effect on us on 16th Jan.

[colufan 0]

We haven''t got a thin a squad as has been suggested by some. If Gillespie can fulfil his potential and stay fit, and his fitness has improved markedly this season, we still have decent strikers and I would not be surprised to see Boothroyd add to them in January. Once Vincent is fit again our midfield options are good, particularly with it looking likely O''Toole will sign permanently. The addition of Solano, if he signs, will add some needed experience to the squad. The back line is strong and if anything will be shipping out players from there - Baldwin likely to sign for Bristol Rovers,

I expect us to be challenging for second but still have Norwich down as favourites for the spot. We''ll make the play-offs comfortably and then it''s a lottery. January is a big month though.

[Wings of a Sparrow 1,708]

An interesting and sensible thread and without resorting to the petty insults we have had previously.

Without patronising the U''s and notwithstanding all the hype surrounding our two clubs at the moment, I would have no problem in wishing Colchester all the best for promotion via the play-offs with us going up automatically. I don''t think we are any where near a done deal yet and there are still plenty of twists and turns to come in this sesason.

Boothroyd and Lambert are good young managers with different styles who will both go on to bigger and better things.