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Thread | U's on Sky Sports+
by Daniel at 16:18 5 Dec 2025
With only one fixture out of the next eight being at 3pm on a Saturday, I believe we'll be on Sky Sports+ seven times in the next month!
Sat 6 Dec 12:30 Gillingham H
Tue 9 Dec 19:45 West Ham United U21 (EFLT Round of 32) H
Sat 13 Dec 12:30 Salford City A
Fri 26 Dec 15:00 Crawley Town A
Mon 29 Dec 19:45 Gillingham A
Thu 1 Jan 15:00 MK Dons H
Sun 4 Jan 15:00 Accrington Stanley H
If you don't have Sky Sports+, you can get a one month Now TV pass for £35 and stream the games. |
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Thread | U's Vs Gills - Preview and Match Chat
by Daniel at 11:15 5 Dec 2025
(Sorry, I’ve thought hard about a cheesy thread title to honour Durham, but nothing is coming to mind – we can’t clip the Gills wings, can we?)
Colchester versus Gillingham; the most common fixture in the U's history. This will be the 111th competitive meeting between the two clubs, with past results being fairly even - 40 wins, 32 draws, 38 defeats (according to coludata).
Originally this game was due to be played this coming Tuesday night, but one positive of being out of the FA Cup means both clubs have a free weekend, allowing this to be brought forward and hopefully encouraging a sizable crowd. The 12:30pm kick off time also means it'll still be on Sky Sports+ and ifollow.
We go into this game in great form and I don't expect DC to make any changes to the line-up unless they're forced. Aside from all of the long term injuries, Kyreece Lisbie is probably the only doubt, having picked up a shoulder injury against Cheltenham last week. There's been no news on his fitness, so I assume it'll be the same XI.
Macey
KVY Tucker Araujo Inadolo
Hunt (solid last week out of position) Read
Lisbie Mbick Anderson
Tovide
I'll be honest, I've not paid much attention to Gillingham this season. We beat them 2-1 in the car sales cup (aka EFL/Vertu Trophy) in October, but you can't read much into that. Looking at their season so far, they started well going 11 games unbeaten, but have then won once in their last 12. They're eighth in the league with one point more than us.
Their recent form is three draws on the bounce and their last win and clean sheet was at Bristol Rovers in early November.
Last 5
Shrewsbury (away) D 3-3
Barnet (home) D 1-1
Crawley (home) D 2-2
Wycombe (home - Vertu Trophy) L 0-3
Bristol Rovers (away) W 1-0
I don't expect this to be an easy game, but form is very much in our favour, so I'm going to predict a narrow 2-1 win with goals from Jack Tucker (either a header or strike from outside the box) and Harry Anderson (just because he’s on fire).
Played for both
Joe Dunne is the obvious one here. He started his career at Gillingham and is currently their youth team manager. His ColU career should need no introduction but covers most of the time between his spells at Gillingham! 188 appearances over two spells as a player, youth team manager, coach, assistant manager, caretaker manager and manager (99 games) - he'd done it all. Hopefully the BWA Joe Dunne flag will be flying proud tomorrow.
Of the current Gillingham team, Jake Turner is the only player to have played for both - 13 appearances for the U's while on loan from Newcastle and 76 appearances for the Gills so far. He'll likely be in goal against us.
Of the current U's squad, Jack Tucker and Ellis Iandolo came through youth ranks at Gillingham, Tucker went on to make 137 appearances for the first team. Tom Flanagan played 14 games on loan from MK Dons in 2012/13.
Memories
The stand-out game for me is the 1-0 win on the opening day of the 2013/14 season. I don't really remember much about the game, just Andy Bond scoring an 89th minute winner, sending the faithful wild in the ‘temporary’ stand at Priestfield.
More recently is the promising 3-0 win under Ben Garner in August 2023, or the new year's day defeat in 2024, which signalled the end of Matt Etherington's short reign and the beginning of the Cowley era (all in the same season!).
Weather
The forecast keeps changing - the Met Office currently says cloudy with a 50% chance of rain, 11 degrees (feels like 8), and a mild northerly wind.
Up the U's! |
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Thread | Happy League 2025/26 Week 19 (of 38) - Deadline Saturday 6th December 15.00
by mfb_cufc at 20:42 29 Nov 2025
Week 18 results
SUNDERLAND 3 AFC BOURNEMOUTH 2
A fired-up Sunderland came from two goals down to go fourth in the Premier League. Nobody goi this spot-on, but 9 did have the outcome.
NORWICH CITY 3 QUEENS PARK RANGERS 1
Philippe Clement secured his first victory as Norwich manager as they ended a 13-game winless run with a first home win this season. Again nobody had this spot-on, though 8 did get the outcome.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION 3 SWANSEA CITY 2
West Brom recovered from the shock of conceding after only 12 seconds as they came from 2-0 down to claim a thrilling victory. Another game with no 3 pointer, but 21 did have the outcome.
WREXHAM 1 BLACKBURN ROVERS 1
Max Cleworth netted in the 95th minute as Wrexham salvaged a point to extend their unbeaten Championship run to eight matches. Well done to bwildered for being the only one to have this spot-on, and only Madeira163 got the outcome. 20 predicted a win for Wrexham with 10 going for a 2-1 in what was the weeks most predicted score.
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE 0 NORTHAMPTON TOWN 3
Northampton substitute Elliott List scored within seconds of his 75th-minute introduction as they beat 10-man Plymouth. Yet another game with no 3 pointer, though 7 did have the outcome.
WIGAN ATHLETIC 0 STEVENAGE 0
Stevenage slipped from top spot to second place in League One after being held to this bore draw. Well done to Madeira163 for being the only one to have this spot-on, and a further 4 got the outcome.
SALFORD CITY 4 CRAWLEY TOWN 3
Substitute Kallum Cesay scored a dramatic late winner as Salford edged this 7-goal thriller. A final game this week with no 3 pointer, but 21 did have the outcome
As you have probably seen in the excellent wessex_exile preview of the Cheltenham game, there is more sad news to report with the passing of burnsieespana. He was a member of the Happy League since the 2015/16 season, and along with durham_exile I will honour their memory by giving them both 2-1 all games for the rest of the season.
What an incredible week this was, with teams winning from 2 goals down, a seven goal thriller, a team winning at home for the first time this season, a first 0-3 result this season, and a total of 26 goals in the seven games. The problem with so many goals being scored it is going to make 3 pointers hard to find, and that was the case with only two spot-ons this week. At least the 71 total outcomes made sure this was not one of the worst weeks this season. Not surprisingly it was one of the members who had a 3 pointer who is the weeks top scorer, as Madeira163 got four outcomes to go with his good Wigan 0-0 prediction, to give him a decent 7 points. A solid 5 points for bwildered in being the other to have a 3 pointer, by also getting two outcomes. A special mention for blueeagle for having a good five outcomes.
Happy Cup Just a reminder to those who have yet to post their predictions, the 2nd Round deadline for this competition is Saturday 6th December 15.00.
In the Premier On a week of outcomes. the only change involved the member to get a 3 pointer, as bwildered moved up a place. At the top concordman took his run there to six weeks, and increased his lead by 2 points. The only other thing to say is, with just four weeks to go before we know who this seasons U'sual Champions League qualifiers are, the current cut-off is 76 points, so those from blueeagle upwards are looking good at the moment.
In Division One Four outcomes for noah4x4 enabled him to increase his lead to an ever growing 29 points, as just the one outcome for Blue4U2 has in turn reduced his advantage in the other automatic spot. The only change in this league had durham_exile and NME_cufc exchanging places, as the former moved back into the play-off places again. The top scoring perforrnance from Madeira163 gave him his first 3 pointer since Week 4, and gives him hope of still making the play-offs with still over half the seaon to go.
THE TABLES (128 out of 280 played)
(Tie-breaker: Most 3 pointers, and then the first to post)
Week 19 Fixtures
EVERTON v NOTTINGHAM FOREST
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR v BRENTFORD
LEEDS UNITED v LIVERPOOL (17.30)
IPSWICH TOWN v COVENTRY CITY
SHEFFIELD UNITED v STOKE CITY
SOUTHAMPTON v BIRMINGHAM CITY
Good luck everybody. |
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Thread | The Robins to be plucked by Danny's banditos
by wessex_exile at 18:10 27 Nov 2025
So, before I get into the match preview, and I suppose appropriately considering the context of why we’re doing this, two more sad pieces of information to share. After a bit of investigative work and online research, I am sorry to let you know that we believe both pwrightsknees and burnsieespana are sadly no longer with us.
It would appear PWK (real name Bob Olley), one of our more senior members, passed away in July last year, and there is a link to his obituary below. I never met PWK, but we shared a passion for history (military history in particular in his case), and liaised via e-mail on a couple of projects. Many of you will no doubt recall his contributions to several of my matchday blogs. I will share one memory with you though – he was always amused that the only match his mother attended was part of the record attendance against Reading, called off at half time for fog. She never gave it another go.
https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/notice/30628632.robert-patrick-olley-bob-olley/
Burnsieespana’s passing (real name Tony Burns) is much more recent I’m afraid. mfb_cufc last received a message from him on the 11th October relating to being in hospital, and a short while later there was an announcement in the Essex County Standard that a Tony Burns passed away on the 14th October after a short battle with cancer. I think I met Tony once, up at Cheltenham, when he was on a rare trip back to England, but he was always a regular contributor to the U’sual, and avid Prediction Leaguer. His tribute page includes a photo of Tony captioned “Enjoying life in Spain”. There is a donations link on the tribute, with proceeds going to Sarcoma UK, the bone and soft tissue cancer charity, if people wish to make a donation.
https://www.gwinnell.co.uk/tributes/funeral-details/?tribute=anthony-derrick-bur
So, back to the matter in hand, TooT talked of whether the Walsall win could be the start of something special – well I guess after a dominant performance against a good Notts County side on Saturday, I’m going to ask the same question.
I must admit, after losing out on my trip to Walsall thanks to Storm Claudia, as much as I enjoyed watching on line, I thought “there goes my dream away day for this season”. I couldn’t have been more wrong. An uneventful journey brought me promptly to Nottingham, in time to get to Meadow Lane for a pre-match pint, forgoing the dubious ‘delights’ of Hooters en route. It was also great to bump into Gerry in the stand, amongst a vociferous crowd of 600 faithful, loud and proud throughout, so we enjoyed the game and chatted fondly about Durham together.
As for the game, pretty comprehensive really, not much more can be said. It was unfortunate to concede the own goal so early, but even at that point I wasn’t overly concerned, we were more than a match for Notts County. It didn’t surprise me at all when Anderson equalised, though it was amusing to see a player finally do so as soon as the crowd called “SHOOT”. Looking back at the highlights, Roos’ sudden rush of blood to his head was equally amusing, but that wasn’t quite as obvious at the time.
Halftime came and went with the U’s continuing to threaten at will, soaking up what little Notts County had to offer with ease, and breaking with pace whenever opportunity knocked. A sublime through ball from Lisbie set up Mbick for the second, and although Gerry called Goodwin’s offside immediately, there was no doubt about his second attempt to make it 3-1. Almost a perfect awayday – beer, mates, trouble-free travel – the only downer, seeing Flanagan carried off in considerable discomfort. I fear we won’t see him back for some time to come.
And so on to the visit of Cheltenham Town on Saturday under bandito hunter Steve Cotterill. The Robins have had a somewhat dodgy start to the season, but after back-to-back defeats managed to get a 1-0 win against equally dodgy Bristol Rovers last Saturday in the West Country derby. That being said, the Gas dominated possession and attempts on goal, even hit the woodwork once, so maybe Cheltenham Town haven’t quite turned the corner. Saturday will also be a chance to say hello to Ben Stevenson (what’s the betting he’ll score?) and fellow Colcestrian and son of legend Mark, Liam Kinsella.
As for my team prediction, the injury to Flanagan will probably mean we stick with the 4-4-2 that finished the Notts County game, assuming there are no other knocks or bumps to influence selection, so I’ll go with:
Macey
Vincent-Young Hunt Araujo Iandolo
Lisbie Tucker Read Anderson
Mbick Tovide
Subs: Smith, Powell, Edwards, Gordon, Goodwin, Oni, Williams
On paper, compared to the last two away games, this ought to be a piece of cake, which is exactly why I’m more nervous about this game than the previous two. If we want to mount a credible promotion challenge, we simply have to win this game. I’m reasonably confident that Danny and Nicky will have the team up for this, so I’m going for a suitably Durhamesque upbeat 3-0 to the U’s, with Samson getting us off the mark in the first half, followed by Tucker and Mbick in the second to wrap things up.
Expect it to be wet on Saturday, with a gentle breeze from the south west chilling the air to a brisk 7 degrees.
Up the U’s |
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Thread | Sparkfilms TV
by gerry_us at 18:34 25 Nov 2025
Congratulations on achieving almost 1,000 posts and approaching 0.25 million views...
BUT, posts and views are virtually all you. Give us a break guy. This is a board valued by genuine U's supporters to discuss U's matters and matches. You are taking up space on the board for unrelated rubbish.  |
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Thread | Happy Cup 2025/26 2nd Round - Deadline Saturday 6th December 15.00
by mfb_cufc at 15:21 23 Nov 2025
A recap on how the 1st Round finished
1st Round results
BLACKPOOL 1 SCUNTHORPE UNITED 0
BOREHAM WOOD 3 CRAWLEY TOWN 0
CHELTENHAM TOWN 1 BRADFORD CITY 0
COLCHESTER UNITED 2 MILTON KEYNES DONS 3
CREWE ALEXANDRA 1 DONCASTER ROVERS 2
HALIFAX TOWN 0 EXTER CITY 2
ROTHERHAM UNITED 1 SWINDON TOWN 1
Swindon won 2-1 AET
SALFORD CITY 1 LINCOLN CITY 1
AET Salford won 4-2 on penalties
STEVENAGE 0 CHESTERFIELD 1
WEALDSTONE 1 SOUTHEND UNITED 0
The FA Cup 1st Round had its usual share of surprise results, but at least we still got a decent total of 25 spot-ons, with two members doing well to get three each. They were unitedwhites, who had the 1-0 wins for Blackpool and Chesterfield and the Rotherham 1-1, and two outcomes, to make him the rounds top scorer with a brilliant 11 points. Also bwildered, who got the wins for Doncaster and Exeter and the Salford 1-1, and one outcome, to give him an excellent 10 points.
Final scores
concordman 3 unitedwhites 11 burnsieespana 0
Lewis_1 3 Blue4U2 7 bwildered 10
noah4x4 3 BFG 3 durham_exile 0
mfb_cufc 4 RSCOSWORTH 5 thrillseeker 5
Tropical_Us 1 Jorash63 9 gerry_us 4
oxfcolu 8 NME_cufc 8 basher2010 5
Sector4 4 Madeira163 0 blueeagle 4
wessex_exile 8 ghughes11 5 Daniel 6
The draw for the 2nd Round has been made by mrs mfb. As in the 1st Round there will be a replay for any drawn games. The tie-breaker rule will apply for any replays. Any replays will be 10 matches from the following Saturday's League games. There are no replays in the FA Cup this season, so it is the score at 90 minutes that games will be settled on.
Blue4U2 v wessex_exile
concordman v bwildered
NME_cufc v Jorash63
RSCOSWORTH v BFG
noah4x4 v blueeagle
unitedwhites v gerry_us
Sector4 v thrillseeker
oxfcolu v Daniel
2nd Round Fixtures 10 games from the 2nd Round of the FA Cup. All kick-off at 15.00. If any matches are postponed, the games will be settled on the ones remaining. No more than 4 scores the same as your opponent please.
ACCRINGTON STANLEY v MANSFIELD TOWN
CHELMSFORD CITY v WESTON-SUPER-MARE
CHELTENHAM TOWN v BUXTON
FLEETWOOD TOWN v LUTON TOWN
GRIMSBY TOWN v WEALDSTONE
PETERBOROUGH UNITED v BARNSLEY
PORT VALE v BRISTOL ROVERS
STOCKPORT COUNTY v CAMBRIDGE UNITED
SWINDON TOWN v BOLTON WANDERERS
WIGAN ATHLETIC v BARROW
Good luck everybody. |
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Thread | Happy League 2025/26 Week 18 (of 38) - Deadline Saturday 29th November 15.00
by mfb_cufc at 22:04 22 Nov 2025
Week 17 results
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 0 CRYSTAL PALACE 2
Palace powered into the Premier League's top four as they condemned new Wolves boss Rob Edwards to defeat in his first game in charge. A magnificent 7 got this spot-on, and a further 12 had the outcome.
NEWCASTLE UNITED 2 MANCHESTER CITY 1
A Harvey Barnes double fired Newcastle to a memorable victory. Only durham_exile had this spot-on, and nobody got the outcome. 17 predicted a win for City with 12 going for a 2-1 in what was the weeks most predicted score.
LEICESTER CITY 2 STOKE CITY 1
Superb first-half goals from Stephy Mavididi and Patson Daka secured three points as improving Leicester withstood a strong Stoke fightback to claim back-to-back Championship wins. A super 6 got this spot-on, and 2 more had the outcome.
PORTSMOUTH 3 MILLWALL 1
Portsmouth scored two brilliant solo goals as they beat 10-man Millwall to record their first Championship victory since early October. Nobody had this spot-on, but 6 did get the outcome.
EXETER CITY v BURTON ALBION POSTPONED Due to a stadium fire
BARNSLEY 5 LUTON TOWN 0
Luca Connell scored the pick of the bunch as Barnsley thrashed Luton to move to within touching distance of the League One play-off places. Not surprisingly no 3 pointer for anyone, though 11 did have the outcome.
BOLTON WANDERERS 0 BRADFORD CITY 0
Bolton's bid for a ninth successive win in all competitions was foiled as the League One promotion rivals played out a bore draw. Another game with no 3 pointer, but 3 did get the outcome. 17 predicted a win for Bolton.
GILLINGHAM 1 BARNET 1
Bradley Dack's stunning first-half free-kick secured a draw for Gillingham. Well done to Daniel for being the only one to get this spot-on, and only Jorash63 had the outcome. The other 21 predicted a win for Gillingham.
CHELTENHAM TOWN 1 BRISTOL ROVERS 0
Jonathan Tomkinson's first senior goal secured an important win for Cheltenham who condemned Rovers to their seventh-successive League Two defeat. A sublime 5 had this spot-on, and a further 7 got the outcome.
SWINDON TOWN 2 GRIMSBY TOWN 2
Grimsby fought back from two down to rescue a point. No points for anyone from this game, with 17 predicting a win for Swindon, and the other 6 going for a Grimsby victory.
Not a good start to the week with the Exeter v Burton game being postponed due to the stadium's control room being badly damaged by a fire last week and it was not reparable in time to make the ground safe for the fixture. The other 9 games struggled to make up for this missing match. with 4 failing to have a 3 pointer, and it was left to the wins for Palace, Leicester and Chelteham to give us a respectable 20 spot-ons in total. Considering 3 pointers were not easy to come by, it was an outstanding effort from Daniel to be the only one to get three, the wins for Palace and Cheltenham and the Gillingham 1-1, and the Portsmouth outcome, to make him the weeks top scorer with a brilliant 10 points. Two members did well to have two 3 pointers. They were durham_exile, going 2-1 all games to give him an excellent 9 points, and basher2010, who had the wins for Palace and Cheltenham, and the Barnsley outcome, to give him a decent 7 points. Best of those to get one 3 pointer was blueeagle, who had the Leicester 2-1 and four outcomes, to also give him a decent 7 points.
Happy Cup All the details for the 2nd Round will be on a separate thread sometime tomorrow (Sunday).
U'sual Champions League Only 5 weeks to go before we know who this seasons qualifiers will be, and it continues to be so close that virtually nobody can be discounted. The member currently in the important eleventh qualifying spot is basher2010 with his 74 points. To show how close thigs are, nine members are within 7 points of that total.
In the Premier Having the Palace 2-0 spot-on hepled concordman to mantain his lead for the fifth week running. A decent week for Jorash63, that included having the Leicester 2-1 spot-on, reduced the deficit by a point. By also having that Leicester win spot-on, Sector4 moved up a place to third. Two outcomes for thrillseeker, and he drops to fourth. The Cheltenham 1-0 spot-on continues the ghughes11 good run, and he remains fifth. The top scoring performance from Daniel moved him up a place, and back into the top half again. The decent week for blueeagle couldn't stop him dropping a place, but more importantly he moved further away from the bottom three. The only other change had mfb_cufc moving up a place, after he had the Cheltenham 1-0 spot-on. Five weeks without a 3 pointer has seen bwildered drop from second in Week 10 to ninth this week. The relegation zone remains unchanged despite the occupants all having a 3 pointer, unitedwhites the Palace 2-0, RSCOSWORTH the Leicester 2-1, and Lewis_1 the Cheltenham 1-0.
In Division One Another 3 pointer for noah4x4, with the Palace 2-0, keeps him on course to break the record for spot-ons in a season. 39 is the record, and he is halfway there, with more than half the season to go. Two outcomes for Blue4U2 keeps him in the automatic spot, but the gap back to the third has been reduced by gerry_us, who moved up place to that spot, after having the Palace 2-0 spot-on. Despite getting the Leicester 2-1 spot-on, Tropical_Us drops a place to fourth. The decent week for basher2010 moved him up three places to fifth. Two outcomes for NME_cufc was enough for him to claim the final play-off place, but only on the most 3 pointer rule from wessex_exile, who had the Palace 2-0 spot-on, and durham_exile. Four outcomes for oxfcolu keeps him to within 3 points of the top six. After firing a rare blank, BFG continues his fall from grace, that saw him leading the way for the first six weeks this season.
THE TABLES (121 out of 280 played)
(Tie-breaker: Most 3 pointers, and then the first to post)
Week 18 Fixtures This is now a 7 game week to make up for the postponed fixture in Week 17.
SUNDERLAND v AFC BOURNEMOUTH
NORWICH CITY v QUEENS PARK RANGERS
WEST BROMWICH ALBION v SWANSEA CITY
WREXHAM v BLACKBURN ROVERS
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE v NORTHAMPTON TOWN
WIGAN ATHLETIC v STEVENAGE
SALFORD CITY v CRAWLEY TOWN
Good luck everybody. |
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Thread | The U’s to tie County’s defenders in Notts
by TheOldOakTree at 11:57 20 Nov 2025
Does it get any better than last week? Playing away to a team top of the league, winning 0-2 fair and square, starting without arguable 2 of our best players (Payne & Mbick) and Samson finding the net once again. Confidence must be sky high, players having to compete for their place, surely this is it? The start of something special?
A nice easy fixture this weekend and we will be on a roll, but this is Col U, nothing is ever easy and that includes the fixtures. Away again, and this time to Notts County which on paper must be one of the toughest games of the season. Googling the stats doesn’t offer much hope, this millennium we have played 15 league games at Meadow Lane, losing 9, winning 2 and drawing 4 times.
Last year we managed to salvage a respectable draw when loanee Tyreece Simpson equalized after going a goal down on 3 minutes. I wasn’t at that game, but I did manage the year before. It was our last away game of the season and the Cowley’s, in their first season, had really turned things around, County had gone off the boil and we just needed 3 points to ensure our L2 survival. Party Time!!!!
I had the pleasure of meeting up with Wessex, with whom I had witnessed our fine away win at Crawley a week or two earlier. By the time we arrived at Meadow Lane the faithful were in good spirits. Singing and dancing around the concourse with the odd pint of beer flying through the air. I had not seen such merriment at an away game since our glory years.
…until 3pm that is. The 90 mins of football that followed did not live up to the billing and in the finish the U’s were lucky to lose 1-0.
I like Notts County, I don’t know why, maybe because they are not Forest? They don’t belong in L2 and I’ve no objection to them getting promoted as long as it doesn’t stop us doing the same and as long as they lose this Saturday. They are yet another lower league club that has suffered from dubious stewardship. Owners that know diddly squat about football, appointing a celebrity manager, signing has-been stars and then a few years later playing in the Conference. Their fans deserve better.
As for my team prediction, will we revert to 4-2-3-1 or stay with 3 centre backs in our new 5-4-1 formation?
I’m a firm believer of ‘if it aint broke, don’t fix it’ and with County having 4 wins and 2 draws in their last 6, they will be up for this, so I’d stick with the same team as last week.
With Payne still recovering from a hamstring, it’s hard to drop Mbick, but that’s life, Samson stepped up to the plate and deserves another chance. I’d give him until half time to see if he can add to his goal tally. Hopefully Bishop’s injury was just a dead leg and he’ll be back raring to go.
My team:
Macey
Vincent-Young Tucker Flanagan Araujo Iandolo
Lisbie Bishop Read Anderson
Tovide
Subs: Smith Hunt Powell Edwards Gordon Goodwin Mbick
Any right minded person would take a draw if it was offered, but after a loss in the Cowleys first season, then a draw the next season, a win this year would make the sequence nice and tidy, I like tidy. There is only one appropriate prediction in these times and therefore, I’m going for a 1-3 win to the U’s, Anderson, Tovide and a wonder goal from Lisbie.
With some easier games (on paper) coming up, a win on Saturday could be the start of something. Entering the new year in the play-offs is a real possibility.
Meadow Lane is a nice place to watch football. When I went, I got there early and parked in Clarke Road (street parking), right near the ground, you have to pay by phone. Safe journey to all those going to the game. The Weather is predicted to be 7 degrees, light rain and a gentle breeze, so wrap up warm!
Allez les U’s
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Thread | Air Ambulances, Notts County and the 92
by TheOldOakTree at 10:31 18 Nov 2025
Please see a separate thread, later in the week, for my attempt at a match preview, this is just some trivia regarding an encounter I had with Notts County early this season.
Way back in August, as I was closing in on what was for me the last of the current 92, I set off to Rodney Parade to watch Newport v Notts County. Every year it had been on my ‘to do’ list with the U’s, but there was always some reason why I couldn’t make it. My obsession to reach full ‘footy nerd’ status had grown too strong and I couldn’t wait until our next visit in March 2026.
To say the day was something of a disaster would be an understatement. Having gone to great expense and having set off at the crack of dawn to follow complex travel arrangements, I arrived at the ground, bathed in beautiful summer sunshine. Many people were already in the stadium but as I approached the turnstiles, the ground went into lockdown and the gates closed.
An announcement was made over the Tannoy that a Notts County fan had been taken ill and they were going to land an air ambulance on the pitch. Everyone waited patiently in the blistering sunshine as not one, but two helicopters approached and landed in the arena. Despite everyone’s hunger, thirst and desire to watch the first home game of the season, nobody complained and the minutes ticked away. Eventually an hour passed.
Rumors that the game was going to be called off started circulating and I selfishly started counting the cost of what could be a momentous waste of time and money on my part, just to watch two teams that I didn’t particularly care for, just to pursue a stupid hobby. I foolishly opened my trap and started talking to some of the natives, that was a mistake, but fortunately before I was strung from a lamppost, the ambulances departed and the last I heard, the patient arrived safely at hospital and was doing well.
The game eventually went ahead and when I finally got in, the only place I could manage to stand (in the home end) was on the open terrace in full sun. My tight travel schedule now meant that I had to leave at half time otherwise I would miss the Eurostar.
I know there are many, many people that have done the 92, but as a result of the misfortunate of Notts County fan, I returned home with sunburn, significantly lighter in pocket, having watched half a match between two teams that I had no affiliation with, and a few weeks later I became a proud member of the very select 91 ½ club.
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Thread | Happy League 2025/26 Week 17 (of 38) - Deadline Saturday 22nd November 12.30
by mfb_cufc at 21:56 15 Nov 2025
Week 16 results
BURTON ALBION 1 BLACKPOOL 0
Jake Beesley's fifth goal of the season secured Burton a win over his former club, with their only shot on target, and inflict a first league defeat on new Blackpool boss Ian Evatt. 4 got this spot-on, and a further 7 had the outcome.
LEYTON ORIENT 2 EXETER CITY 1
Second-half goals from Idris El Mizouni and Tyreeq Bakinson saw Orient come from behind to win. A great 8 had this spot-on, and 8 also got the outcome.
ACCRINGTON STANLEY 3 BRISTOL ROVERS 1
Two goals in five second-half minutes secured Accrington a win to condemn Rovers to a sixth successive league loss. Well done to BFG for being the only one to get this spot-on, and a further 15 had the outcome.
OLDHAM ATHLETIC 0 CREWE ALEXANDRA 0
Crewe climbed back into the League Two play-off spots following this bore draw. Only NME_cufc and gerry_us had this spot-on, and nobody got the outcome.
SHREWSBURY TOWN 1 NEWPORT COUNTY 0
A goal from ex-U's Anthony Scully won Shrewsbury the battle of League Two's bottom two, and earned them a third successive home win for the first time since August 2023. A great 8 got this spot-on, and another 10 had the outcome.
WALSALL 0 COLCHESTER UNITED 2
Walsall lost their grip on top spot in League Two as they lost to improving Colchester. Nobody had this spot-on, but 4 did get the outcome. 14 predicted a win for Walsall, with 11 going for a 2-0 in what was the weeks most predicted score.
A sad week with the passing of durham_exile coinciding at the same time of Rememberance. As Pete will always be rembered for his enthusiastic and positive previews, and he would have enjoyed predicting the Colchester win today. To keep Pete's memory going for the rest of the season I have had a request to give him 2-1 all games, and I have agreed. I also thought it would be good to honour Pete in some way, and have decided in future the Charity Shield will be now be the Durham Exile Memorial Shield.
As for this weeks 6 fixtures, it has to be said it was another good one overall, with the 23 total spot-ons spread out in such a way that only four members failed to get a 3 pointer, and we had the second best 6 game week of the season so far. This means four members did well to get two 3 pointers, with the best coming once again from noah4x4, who had the 1-0 wins for Burton and Shrewsbury, and the Orient and Accrington outcomes, to make him the weeks top scorer with an excellent 8 points. The other three all got a decent 7 points, they were NME_colu and gerry_us who both got the Orient 2-1 to go with the good Oldham 0-0, and the Accrington outcome. Also ghughes11, who had the wins for Orient and Shrewsbury, and the Accrington outcome. Best of those to have one 3 pointer were Jorash63, mfb_cufc, RSCOSWORTH and durham_exile, who all got the Orient 2-1, and concordman, who had the Burton 1-0. They each also got three outcomes, to give them all a decent 6 points.
In the Premier The decent week for concordman means he remains top for the fourth week running, and increased his lead by a point. The decent week for Jorash63 moved him up a place to regain second place again, but only on the most 3 pointer rule from thrillseeker, whose solid week included having the Shrewsbury 1-0 spot-on. That same 3 pointer for Sector4, and he remains fourth. It is status quo also for ghughes11 after his decent week, but he does move that bit nearer to the top. The Orient 2-1 spot-on for blueeagle and the Shrewsbury 1-0 spot-on for Daniel, and they remain sixth and seventh. Despite being the only one not to have a 3 pointer in this division, bwildered remains eighth after his three outcomes. In the only other change, the decent week for mfb_cufc moved him up a place, and out of the relegation zone, after spending the last six weeks there. He is replaced by unitedwhites, who drops back there for the first time since Week 3, despite getting the Shrewsbury 1-0 spot-on. The decent week for RSCOSWORTH moves him ever nearer to escaping, and despite having the Burton 1-0 spot-on, Lewis_1 has suddenly found himself 15 points from safety.
In Division One After two weeks without a 3 pointer, noah4x4 was back on track this week, and it is congratulations to him on reaching a century of points, after his top scoring performance. He has increased his lead back to 23 points from Blue4U2 who in turn has improved his own position, after having the Shrewsbury 1-0 spot-on, and now has a healthy 7 point advantage over the third Tropical_Us. He only retains that place on the most 3 pointer rule from gerry_us, whose decent week moved him up a place. The decent week for NME_cufc also moved him up a place to fifth. A solid week for wessex_exile, that included getting the Shrewsbury 1-0 spoi-on, moved him up a couple of places, and back into the final play-off place he last occupied in Week 3. But it is only on the most 3 pointer rule from BFG and basher2010, as things remain competitive in this league. Just a further 2 points away is oxfcolu, after he had the Burton 1-0 spot-on.
THE TABLES (112 out of 280 played)
(Tie-breaker: Most 3 pointers, and then the first to post)
Week 17 Fixtures 10 games picked by this weeks guest Sector4. Don't forget it is an early start with the deadline 12.30.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS v CRYSTAL PALACE
NEWCASTLE UNITED v MANCHESTER CITY (17.30)
LEICESTER CITY v STOKE CITY
PORTSMOUTH v MILLWALL
EXETER CITY v BURTON ALBION (12.30)
BARNSLEY v LUTON TOWN
BOLTON WANDERERS v BRADFORD CITY
GILLINGHAM v BARNET (12.30)
CHELTENHAM TOWN v BRISTOL ROVERS
SWINDON TOWN v GRIMSBY TOWN
Good luck everybody. |
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Thread | U's to saddle up and canter to victory at a soggy Bescot
by RSCOSWORTH at 12:53 14 Nov 2025
After last Saturday’s defeat against the Bromley bullies and Tuesday’s comfortable victory against Fulham kindergarten we now have a trip to Walsall to face the current League Two leaders.
I’m not sure we could have a much tougher game right now, maybe Notts County away and that’s to come next week, but Walsall have had a little wobble with a draw against Crawley followed by defeats against Barrow and Cheltenham. They have won their last two games though including a comfortable FA Cup win at Eastleigh and a 4-2 win on the road at lowly Newport County.
With Mbick away on England U20 duty I’m expecting the U’s to line up as follows:
Macey
Vincent Young Tucker Araujo Iandolo
Bishop Read
Lisbie Williams Anderson
Goodwin
Subs
Smith Hunt Tovide Flanagan Oni Powell Edwards (Gordon if Edwards unfit)
I think Goodwin will get the nod over Tovide despite the latter’s sublime finish against Fulham U21’s in the week. The number 10 is a difficult position for us to fill when Payne isn’t available and we definitely didn’t get it right with Mbick playing there against Bromley. I think Cowley trusts Williams in that position more than anyone else right now although personally I’d prefer Read or Bishop in there with either Oni or Harvey coming into midfield. I wouldn’t be against playing Tucker in midfield either and having Flanagan drop in alongside Araujo. Tucker has been on the whole very good this season though and probably one of our most consistent performers so I’d be surprised if that’s even something that’s being considered.
According to the BBC in 39 previous meetings it’s 14 wins to both the U’s and the Saddlers with 11 draws. We haven’t won at Walsall in seven games since a 1-0 win in May 2014 but we did win the last meeting between the two teams with Edwards scoring a brilliant second half winner after we’d gone behind just nine minutes earlier.
The weather is set to be wet and cool at the Bescot tomorrow with a maximum temperature of just nine degrees and in the spirit of Durham I’m predicting a 3-1 win for the U’s with Lisbie, Anderson and Goodwin getting the goals.
Up the U’s! |
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Thread | Match Previews In Honour Of Durham
by RSCOSWORTH at 10:24 14 Nov 2025
With the extremely sad news regarding durham_exile this week we've lost one of our most prolific and positive posters as well our main match previewer. In honour of Durham I think we should try to keep these going this season. Obviously wessex has a history of doing them, and has done a few recently, and I'm sure other boarders have done them in the past as well. I'm happy to do a few and hopefully there'll be a number of you willing to do the same. I've put together a list of our fixtures in case there's a certain match you'd like to preview. Please let me know if there is and I'll add your name against that fixture.
Date Home/Away Opposition Previewer
Saturday 15Nov 2025 Away Walsall
Saturday 22Nov 2025 Away Notts County
Saturday 29Nov 2025 Home Cheltenham Town
Tuesday 02Dec 2025 Home West Ham U21's
Saturday 06Dec 2025 Home Gillingham
Saturday 13Dec 2025 Away Salford City
Saturday 20Dec 2025 Home Newport County
Friday 26Dec 2025 Away Crawley Town
Monday 29Dec 2025 Away Gillingham
Thursday 01Jan 2026 Home MK
Sunday 04Jan 2026 Home Accrington Stanley
Saturday 10Jan 2026 Away Chesterfield
Saturday 17Jan 2026 Away Bristol Rovers
Saturday 24Jan 2026 Home Fleetwood Town
Tuesday 27Jan 2026 Home Grimsby Town
Saturday 31Jan 2026 Away Crewe Alexandra
Saturday 07Feb 2026 Home Shrewsbury Town
Saturday 14Feb 2026 Away Barrow
Tuesday 17Feb 2026 Away Cambridge United
Saturday 21Feb 2026 Home Barnet
Saturday 28Feb 2026 Home Salford City
Saturday 07Mar 2026 Away Newport County
Friday 13Mar 2026 Home Crawley Town
Tuesday 17Mar 2026 Away MK
Saturday 21Mar 2026 Away Bromley
Saturday 28Mar 2026 Home Walsall
Friday 03Apr 2026 Home Oldham Athletic
Monday 06Apr 2026 Away Tranmere Rovers
Friday 10Apr 2026 Home Swindon Town
Saturday 18Apr 2026 Away Harrogate Town
Saturday 25Apr 2026 Home Notts County
Saturday 02May 2026 Away Cheltenham
CheeRS
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Thread | Durham Exile AKA Peter Nicholls Sad News
by durham_exile at 14:56 13 Nov 2025
Hi all,
This is David and Stuart, Peter's sons. We regret to inform you that last night he passed away in hospital after a lengthy but brave battle with cancer.
He took great joy in this community and as you all know was a regular contributor and eternal optimist for all things Colchester United, even after 46+ years!
We will keep his account open until the end of the year.
Thank you for all of your support for Dad and for reading his (lengthy) posts, we don't know where you found the time!
Best wishes
David and Stuart
Up the U's |
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Thread | English Football League Trophy (Vertue Trophy AKA Pizza Cup)
by ghughes11 at 20:02 10 Nov 2025
The one cup competition that we are still involved in and doing reasonably "ok" in! 
Played 2 won 2. Top of the group and only needing a draw vs Fulham U21 to finish as group winners and a home tie in the next round. 
So, a great chance to rest a few players and give some game time to the returnees and squad players. I'd go with:
GK. Smith
RB. Hunt
LB. Powell.
CB. Kuffour Jr.
CB. Flanagan
RM. Gordon
LM. Edwards
DM. Harvey
AM. Williams
CF. Goodwin
CF. Tovide
Subs: pick 7 people out of the crowd of about 500 that will be in attendence. 
Prediction:
3-0 Col U! 
"Que sera, sera
Whatever will be, will be
We're going to Wemb(er)ley!  |
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Thread | Happy League 2025/26 Week 16 (of 38) - Deadline Saturday 15th November 15.00
by mfb_cufc at 21:34 8 Nov 2025
Week 15 results
WEST HAM UNITED 3 BURNLEY 2
West Ham came from behind to beat their Premier League relegation rivals. Nobody got this spot-on, but 17 did have the outcome.
NORWICH CITY 1 LEICESTER CITY 2
Jordan James scored a 92nd minute winner for Leicester, as they also came from behind to dramatically deny Norwich their first point at home. Norwich have sacked head coach Liam Manning following this seventh successive home defeat, which has left them second bottom of the Championship. A super 6 had this spot-on, and a further 10 got the outcome.
BOLTON WANDERERS 4 PORT VALE 0
Amario Cozier-Duberry scored twice and claimed two assists as Bolton routed Port Vale to move into the League One play-off places. Again nobody got this spot-on, though 19 did have the outcome.
BRADFORD CITY 1 BURTON ALBION 2
Burton extended their unbeaten run in League One to three games with a victory that inflicts a first home defeat on Bradford. No points for anyone from this game, with 20 predicting a win for Bradford, and the other 2 going for a 1-1.
ROTHERHAM UNITED 3 LINCOLN CITY 0
Rotherham took their unbeaten run to six league games with this win. A final game this week with no 3 pointer, but 8 did have the outcome.
SWINDON TOWN 2 TRANMERE ROVERS 1
A 93rd minute wonder strike from Finley Munroe clinched Swindon's first win for over a month. A great 8 had this spot-on, and another 12 got the outcome.
As we approached the end of this weeks fixtures it looked like being another disappointing one, and then stoppage-time winners for Leicester and Swindon changed that to the extent of giving us the second best 6 game week of the season so far, despite the other 4 games failing to have a 3 pointer. There was four members who did well to get those 2-1 wins for Leicester and Swindon spot-on, with Blue4U2 being the only one to get three outcomes, to make him the weeks top scorer, with a brilliant 9 points. The others were concordman, Sector4 and RSCOSWORTH, who each also had two outcomes, to give them all an excellent 8 points. Best of those to get one 3 pointer were thrillseeker and ghughes11, who each had the Swindon 2-1, and four outcomes, to give them both a decent 7 points. A special mention for basher2010 in getting five outcomes.
In what has been a strange season for results so far, it is not surprising the 1-0 is tops with 13, and the 1-2 is now second best with 11. But it is surprising to find the 3-0 third best with 10, and the 1-1 only equally fifth with just 8. In fact the draw is heading for its worst ever season with only 18 (16.98%) of the 106 games finishing that way.
Happy Cup With the 2nd Round of the FA Cup not until the 6th December, the details for the 2nd Round of this competition will be nearer that time.
In the Premier The excellent week for concordman keeps him top for the third week running. The decent week for thrillseeker moves him up a place, to regain the other Charity Shield spot. Despite having the Leicester 2-1 spot-on Jorash63 drops to third. The excellent week for Sector4 keeps him in contention in fourth. The decent week for ghughes11 moves him up a place to a season high fifth. The fifth time in the last six weeks when he has moved up a place. A decent week for blueeagle that included having the Swindon 2-1 spot-on, moved him up three places to sixth, and back into the top half for te first time since Week 7. The bottom three remains exactly the same for the last six weeks, but the excellent week for RSCOSWORTH will make him confident of escaping the drop.
In Division One Four outcomes for noah4x4 continued his run at the top, but his lead was cut by 5 points, as the top scoring performance from Blue4U2 enhanced his position in the other automatic spot. Having the Swindon 2-1 spot-on helped Tropical_Us to remain third. Those good five outcomes for basher2010 moved him up a place to a season high fourth. After getting the Leicester 2-1 spot-on, gerry_us moved up three places to fifth. Two outcomes were enough for NME_cufc to obtain the final play-off place, but only on the most 3 pointer rule from BFG. Outcomes for wessex_exile and oxfcolu keeps them within one a two points respectively of the play-offs in eighth and ninth.
THE TABLES (106 out of 280 played)
(Tie-breaker: Most 3 pointers, and then the first to post)
Week 16 Fixtures International break time again, so its 6 games from Leagues 1 & 2.
BURTON ALBION v BLACKPOOL
LEYTON ORIENT v EXETER CITY
ACCRINGTON STANLEY v BRISTOL ROVERS
OLDHAM ATHLETIC v CREWE ALEXANDRA
SHREWSBURY TOWN v NEWPORT COUNTY
WALSALL v COLCHESTER UNITED
Good luck everybody.
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Thread | Ravens to have their wings clipped at lunchtime
by wessex_exile at 11:02 8 Nov 2025
I'll start the matchday thread on behalf of Durham, and will it the case of the first 11 fit players who arrive at the JCS will be our starting line-up?
My guess will be:
Macey
Vincent-Young
Tucker
Araujo
Iandolo
Lisbie
Bishop
Williams
Oni
Vincent-Young
Mbick
Subs
Pick the bits out of whoever's left, but Tovide, Smith and Flanagan will be amongst them. Hunt as well, though I won't be surprised if Danny finds some way of fitting him into the starting XI, but instead of whom?
A good chance to keep the league unbeaten run going, but it will be against a very tough physical Bromley (just what we need, more impact injuries). The above assumes Payne, Read and Anderson are all out, but we'll know soon enough I guess. The early kick-off (thanks $ky) won't inconvenience Bromley that much, but I doubt there'll be many more than 100 of them in a slightly sub-5k crowd.
U's to put on the style in front of the cameras and romp away with a 4-0 win! |
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Thread | 12 months on.
by bwildered at 09:15 7 Nov 2025
Reported in the local media …
DANNY Cowley believes his current Colchester United side is superior to the one he had at the same stage, last year. |
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