The football season officially kicks off in about 10 hours; although technically it has already begun. Last night Championship new boys Middlesborough played Sheffield United to a nil-nil draw. Friday night games are, of course, a Sky Sports variation to the age old 3pm Saturday kick-offs; something the traditionalist football fans have begrudgingly accepted together with midday, 5pm Saturday and 4pm Sunday kick-offs.
Colchester United will be away to Norwich City today in their inaugural game of 2009/10, to what has been reported to be a sell-out crowd. If rivalries run high between these two clubs, it would be because of geographical proximity: the clubs have only met head to head 25 times. Both have had mixed fortunes over the last few years: Norwich, for a season, dabbled in the Premiership, memorably wearing the Proton sponsored shirts no less. Colchester peaked in the Championship two seasons ago and this was the last time these two sides played in the same league until this season: although it was Norwich’s misfortunes rather than Colchester’s fortunes that take these two sides to their season opener at Carrow Road today.
I feel a bit sorry for Norwich; I remember them as a side that once conquered Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup in the early 1990’s with Jeremy Goss scoring the decisive goal. Current manager Bryan Gunn is a remnant of that once-glorious side. League One is littered with teams that once graced the Premiership: Charlton Athletic, Leeds United, Oldham Athletic, Southampton, Swindon Town.. all are serving time in the third tier of English football, many saddled with debt. Penance, perhaps, for flying too close to the sun with wax wings.
So, what are my hopes and expectations for Colchester United this season? My hopes are that the team scale the heights of three seasons past and regain entry into the Championship. My expectations are that they will at least be in contention for a playoff place, although midtable mediocrity would perhaps be more of the order. New signings will need to gel, although as far as managerial folklore goes, you can’t go wrong with a Scottish manager, and we have one in Paul Lambert. He was a player of considerable pedigree: the first British player to have won the Champions League, no less, with Borussia Dortmund in the late 1990’s.
Interestingly, two of Colchester’s recent signings are graduates of the Manchester United Academy. Goalkeeper Ben Williams once deputised for Fabien Barthez as a youngster, and former England U20 midfielder David Fox spent some time being on loan rather than in a United shirt. It remains to be seen if these two players can fulfill the promise the Manchester United scouts saw in them as teenagers. Another signing – or resigning, at that – is former Colchester player Kevin Lisbie, who travelled up the A12 to Ipswich last season but failed to make an impact. On a season-long loan, it is hoped he will revive the club’s fortunes.
And so, with the season on the cusp, I stand ready with my spanking brand new away Colchester United jersey (okay, from last season, and it was cheap, but before I go on investing £40 I wanted to see how the project pans out), and with my radio tuned to DreamFM for this afternoon’s game.. I say: Bring It On!
My Colchester United Year 