| Someone has ..... 17:27 - Oct 21 with 955 views | bwildered |
Someone has ...
Left a steaming DeLorean outside the house during the day , pesky kids |  |
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| Someone has ..... on 17:44 - Oct 21 with 951 views | bwildered |
When he returns and moves it and tells his dad , the U's have played non league football, won at Wembley , finished near the top of D2 , sold a player for over 2million , moved from Layer Rd and still got a Walker between the sticks , he will laugh his socks off ! | |
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| Someone has ..... on 18:27 - Oct 21 with 943 views | Leadbelly |
It is officially the future. Let's hope it holds a few more of the good times you mentioned. |  |
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| Someone has ..... on 20:39 - Oct 21 with 918 views | noah4x4 |
So what has actually changed since Doc Brown took to time travel…?
(Source Wikipedia).
In 1984-85 Jonathan Crisp paid £150,000 (n.b. merely £317,765 in today's money!) for overall control of the financial distressed Colchester United club after Chairman Maurice Cadman had already been forced to announce the cancellation of win bonuses for that season. A crucial problem was that home crowds averaged just 2,076, which is perhaps surprising considering that the U’s; then in Division Four (Two); were treating the fans to the goal-fest scoring talent of Tony Adcock (24 league goals) and finished a creditable 7th. But I have read that Manager Cyril Lea was repeatedly criticised for “recruiting too many ex-Ipswich players”.
Then (precisely as Doc Brown took to the skies); the U’s topped the table on 21st October 1985. But the wheels then briefly came off when the U’s suffered six consecutive defeats after Keith Bowen’s career ending car crash. This also meant the end of his prolific partnership with Adcock who was subsequently limited to 15 league goals that season (1985-86). But there was delirous joy when Perry Groves twice scored a hat-trick against Southend (admittedly one in a cup). Even so, average home gates remained under 2,400 despite having more attractive local derbies in that season. The already crisis hit Layer Road then plunged into further financial despair when suddenly faced with £500,000 of improvements to bring it up to the safety standards required after the Bradford City fire (note here that was over three times what Crisp had invested). Much of the wooden part of the ground had to be closed. The (‘Ipswich’) criticisms of Manager Cyril Lea continued and eventually he was sacked near the season's end; whilst reserve team coach Mike Walker, an internal promotion took over. The U’s eventually ended up 6th after winning five of the last six matches.
Now let’s spin forward to the "Future"….on the pitch, something remarkably similar happened in 2014-15. First crucial injuries; then a internal management appointment; then we get out of jail after a string of good results.
But 2014-15 was our sixteenth consecutive season in the (higher) Division One or above; during which our average home gate was 3,782 despite the U’s only just avoiding relegation for a third consecutive season. Note; that is over 75% more than prevailing attendances of 30 years ago!
In season 2015-16 we now have few local derbies and despite an unfortunate run of defeats NOT ONE of our home gates has so far been below the 1984-85--86 averages; even on a cold Tuesday night versus Bradford when the away fans stayed away as it was being streamed live back to Valley Parade (now there's a technology prediction that the pundits got wrong in 1985) ; or even last night versus Port Vale after the U's had suffered three consecutive defeats whilst leaking ten goals.
The club is today financially sound and being managed within budget despite having a wonderful new all seater stadium and a fantastic Academy II and training resource at Florence Park (please do visit this for an Under 21 game; it's a real eye opener). We now sit in 12th place in a higher division too. However, the current manager is an internal promotion; and often criticised for his Ipswich affinities. It seems to me that the more that some things change positively some other things stay the same (notably the fickle negativity of some fans). But the correlation between gates and league status is in evidence. We have never had it so good (other than the brief flirtation with the Championship).
I wasn’t in Colchester 30 years ago; so I invite others to respond; but this is progress beyond anything that Marty McFly might ever have dreamed about when he last got splinters in his backside in the Clock End . He was sat in Row S2 last night and told me that in three years we would be in the Championship under Humes as he had been there and seen it, or was I dreaming...? [Post edited 21 Oct 2015 23:54]
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| Someone has ..... on 13:53 - Oct 22 with 836 views | Leadbelly |
| Someone has ..... on 20:39 - Oct 21 by noah4x4 |
So what has actually changed since Doc Brown took to time travel…?
(Source Wikipedia).
In 1984-85 Jonathan Crisp paid £150,000 (n.b. merely £317,765 in today's money!) for overall control of the financial distressed Colchester United club after Chairman Maurice Cadman had already been forced to announce the cancellation of win bonuses for that season. A crucial problem was that home crowds averaged just 2,076, which is perhaps surprising considering that the U’s; then in Division Four (Two); were treating the fans to the goal-fest scoring talent of Tony Adcock (24 league goals) and finished a creditable 7th. But I have read that Manager Cyril Lea was repeatedly criticised for “recruiting too many ex-Ipswich players”.
Then (precisely as Doc Brown took to the skies); the U’s topped the table on 21st October 1985. But the wheels then briefly came off when the U’s suffered six consecutive defeats after Keith Bowen’s career ending car crash. This also meant the end of his prolific partnership with Adcock who was subsequently limited to 15 league goals that season (1985-86). But there was delirous joy when Perry Groves twice scored a hat-trick against Southend (admittedly one in a cup). Even so, average home gates remained under 2,400 despite having more attractive local derbies in that season. The already crisis hit Layer Road then plunged into further financial despair when suddenly faced with £500,000 of improvements to bring it up to the safety standards required after the Bradford City fire (note here that was over three times what Crisp had invested). Much of the wooden part of the ground had to be closed. The (‘Ipswich’) criticisms of Manager Cyril Lea continued and eventually he was sacked near the season's end; whilst reserve team coach Mike Walker, an internal promotion took over. The U’s eventually ended up 6th after winning five of the last six matches.
Now let’s spin forward to the "Future"….on the pitch, something remarkably similar happened in 2014-15. First crucial injuries; then a internal management appointment; then we get out of jail after a string of good results.
But 2014-15 was our sixteenth consecutive season in the (higher) Division One or above; during which our average home gate was 3,782 despite the U’s only just avoiding relegation for a third consecutive season. Note; that is over 75% more than prevailing attendances of 30 years ago!
In season 2015-16 we now have few local derbies and despite an unfortunate run of defeats NOT ONE of our home gates has so far been below the 1984-85--86 averages; even on a cold Tuesday night versus Bradford when the away fans stayed away as it was being streamed live back to Valley Parade (now there's a technology prediction that the pundits got wrong in 1985) ; or even last night versus Port Vale after the U's had suffered three consecutive defeats whilst leaking ten goals.
The club is today financially sound and being managed within budget despite having a wonderful new all seater stadium and a fantastic Academy II and training resource at Florence Park (please do visit this for an Under 21 game; it's a real eye opener). We now sit in 12th place in a higher division too. However, the current manager is an internal promotion; and often criticised for his Ipswich affinities. It seems to me that the more that some things change positively some other things stay the same (notably the fickle negativity of some fans). But the correlation between gates and league status is in evidence. We have never had it so good (other than the brief flirtation with the Championship).
I wasn’t in Colchester 30 years ago; so I invite others to respond; but this is progress beyond anything that Marty McFly might ever have dreamed about when he last got splinters in his backside in the Clock End . He was sat in Row S2 last night and told me that in three years we would be in the Championship under Humes as he had been there and seen it, or was I dreaming...? [Post edited 21 Oct 2015 23:54]
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Where's my hover board? | |
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| Someone has ..... on 14:14 - Oct 22 with 833 views | noah4x4 |
| Someone has ..... on 13:53 - Oct 22 by Leadbelly |
Where's my hover board? |
It's under the stairs...or is that a Hoover Bored | | | |
| Someone has ..... on 18:32 - Oct 22 with 816 views | bwildered |
Next to the Robot Dogwalker .
Keith Bowen was the unsung hero, always chasing and covering ground upfront, although the Rooster was the class act and Groves scaring everyone with his pace. Roger Osbourne did sterling service in the middle of the park .
Attendances were extremely low due to the hooligan element, and remember Chairman Crisp stating on a national radio programme that D4 would be part time in a few years ( Regular live TV games where on the horizon ). Well after MoM Mike Walker was replaced by a factory manager the seeds where sown to play part time football, which he had predicted, with complete success.
No academy was present, but the reserves where a mixture of apprentices, and returning to first team players who played in the Eastern Counties League ( which became Jewson league ) .
One bright spot, was that we played in a Roy of the Rovers yellow and red striped away kit . | |
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