The Who, Whats, Whys and Hows

Who?

Colchester United.

Who are Colchester United? Colchester United is my local professional football team, me having lived in Colchester for almost three years now. They play in the Coca Cola League 1, which is 2 tiers below the Premiership.

What?

What I aim to do is to get acquainted with my local team, and to do that, for the 2009/2010 season, I am following this team from start to finish.

Why?

I have long been a fan of Premiership football, but have always lived in towns whose teams play in the lower leagues. During my university years, Morecambe were dwindling in the Conference: good enough to challenge for a playoff place, but never quite making it until I moved away. They are now in League Two. Lancaster City was my real local club, but they were semi-professional. They have though, been in the news as the club that managed to get just one point in the whole of the 2006/7 season.

When I moved to Colchester United, they were playing in the Championship; they have since been relegated and are now playing in League 1.This is a world away from being the football fan that I know how to be. Following a big club like Manchester United is, to a certain, easy: success has been kind to us (although my following them pre-dates Alex Ferguson, so I remember very well being second fiddle to Liverpool); there is no shortage of media coverage; the club is omnipresent meaning you can’t miss them even if you tried; there is an abundance of money and the world’s best talent is at their picking; and I can enjoy watching them without ever leaving my living room chair.

In contrast, a club like Colchester United barely make national press, have a very limited budget, get their best players poached away by clubs with deeper pockets, and never make it onto TV, almost. In almost every essence, Colchester United is the club Manchester United is not.

And perhaps that is apt therapy for me, of late very frustrated with the way money has influenced the top echelons of the game and overinflated the player market. My dissatisfaction at the Glazer takeover has not yet abated, and since 2005 I have only been to Old Trafford once: for the Ole Gunnar Solksjaer testimonial, the price of tickets of which went to Ole’s foundation rather than back to Glazer.

Colchester United will probably not win the league (although I’d love it if they did). And I quite like that.

Where?

From 2008, Colchester United play at the Weston Homes Community Stadium, in the northern part of Colchester formerly known as Cuckoo Farm (hence the URL). Previously, their home ground was Layer Road (not half a mile from where I first set up base in Colchester: I could hear cheers from the stadium during weekday night games; but for some reason, I’d never been, a major regret) which had a capacity of 6300; less than 10% of the capacity of Old Trafford. The Community Stadium has a capacity of 10,000.

Last season, Colchester finished 12th in League One, 55 places lower than Manchester United.

My one and only shot of Layer Road, and that’s from the outside. I am already ashamed.

How?

In order to operationalise this ‘plan’, the following are on the cards:

1) Go to as many home games as financially possible. This should include at least one away game, a Cup game and a freezing, winter ‘why am I here’ game.

2) Join in fan forums and get a feel for the club’s online presence.

3) Sit back and enjoy what I believe will be quite an interesting – if bumpy – ride.

4) Write about it. Here.

Challenges Ahead:

1) Sticking to it – all roads to hell are paved with good intentions. I may be bored of this 3 weeks into the season, or if (or when) I start getting any racial abuse. But as of today, it is my very intention to see this through the end. We shall see..

2) Different league – there is no omnipresence of the club, apart from the local media and press. Trying to get a feel for things will be a much harder job. But one that perhaps will get me closer to the game.