Up the Us
by CO88LER5Original Post
Title Within Reach
Col U went to the top of the table in April, with 4 wins and one defeat from their 5 matches.
The month started with defeat at home to Accrington, the Stanley dominating the game with 59% possession. The U’s obviously had a hangover from the celebrations at winning the BSM Trophy.
Normal service was resumed after that, with a run of 4 wins, including a 5-0 hammering of Salford City that saw Satoshi Takahashi score a hat-trick from his new position on the left. All three goals were cut-ins from that side, in a man-of-the- match performance from the academy graduate.
A Wrexham stumble sees the U’s lead the table on goal difference, still having two matches in hand and it seems that the title is now theirs.
Samson Tovide is also almost certain to win the scoring title for the division, leading the way on 29 goals, some 8 ahead of ex-U’s striker Luke Norris, on 21. He is also head and shoulders above the remainder of the team, with 41 goals in all competitions.
Goodbye League 2
Colchester United waved goodbye to League Two with three consecutive victories in May, all of which saw them score four goals. Star of the month was Bradley Ihionvien, who reminded manager Danny Cowley of his emerging quality with a hat-trick at Barrow on the last day of the season.
Colchester finished 6 points clear of Wrexham in second, and a whopping 39 points clear of fourth-placed Tranmere Rovers. Eventual play-off winners Bradford City finished 7th, 42 points behind the champions.
The fans can now look forward to a League One campaign next season, but Manager Danny Cowley isn’t planning on an extended celebration personally. “We have a lot to do this summer. We have a squad to adjust, contracts to deal with, a transfer window to negotiate and we need to develop our playing style to meet the different demands of League One.
“The work starts now; we have no time to lose.”
It’s going to be interesting to see what happens in the close season and what kind of squad emerges from the merry-go-round of the next three months.
Clearout at Col U
With the start of the close season, Colchester United have announced the fate of a number of players in the squad. A remarkable 10 players have been put up for sale.
Although those players whose contracts were coming up this summer have already been sold, there are a number who are entering into their last season this August. Almost all of them will not be offered an extension, and therefore the following players are ‘on the market’:
- Goalkeeper Tom Smith (21)
- Right back Mandela Egbo (27)
- Striker Conor Wilkinson (30)
- Midfielder Matt Jay (29)
- Midfielder Jay Mingi (24)
- Midfielder Marley Marshall-Miranda (21)
- Right back Will Greenidge (22)
- Midfielder Arthur Read (25)
- Centre-back Connor Hall (31)
- Ellis Iandolo (27)
The biggest surprises are midfielder Arthur Read and second-top scorer Conor Wilkinson, as both are considered very experienced and amongst the top performers at the club, but this manager is known for his ruthless pursuit of his strategy at other clubs.
At a recent press conference, Manager Danny Cowley explained his strategy. “The demands of League one are different from where we’ve been. The play is quicker and there are some real quality teams in there which means we are not likely to have as much possession. A significant number of teams in League One have enjoyed premier league football and are considerably bigger than us.
“We need different players for where this club is heading. All of the players on the list are unlikely to get as much playing time as they would like next season and it’s only fair to give them the opportunity to go to another club, where they would play more.
“They have been good for us last seasn, they experienced a promotion and I hope they enjoyed that.”
To the question of where the replacements are coming from, he was less forthcoming at this point. All he would say is that the club does not have much money to spend, but will probably use the money from sales to buy ‘one or two’. Does this mean a much slimmed-down squad, or will we see more unattached players coming in?
Contracts Extended
Colchester United have announced that a number of players have had their contracts extended, securing their medium-term future at the club.
Attacking midfielder Noah Chilvers (24) will now be at the club until 2028, as will attacking midfielder Olav Petersen (24). Petersen joined the club last summer as an unattached player and has been a success. Chilvers is an academy product and is considered more than capable at performing in League One.
Left–midfielder Owura Edwards (24) has extended his contract to summer 2027. The former Bristol City player faces stiff competition from Satoshi Takahashi, who has been used on the left with great success during the closing months of the season.
Right-midfielder Jayden Fevrier (22) has also extended to summer 2028. Fevrier was an automatic starter in ‘the first team’ last season.
It comes as no surprise that striker Samson Tovide (21) has signed a new contract. His new contract runs until summer 2029 as the club sought to secure their star 40-goal striker to the longest contract of them all.
Samson Tovide
Bradley Ihionvien’s late-season scoring exploits have secured him a contract extension to summer 2028. The 21-year-old academy product has had a good season and can expect to play a bigger role in League One.
Bradley Ihionvien
“We are pleased to have secured the future of these players with the club.” Said manager Danny Cowley. It’s unusual for a League One (as we are now) side to sign players to such long contracts and this is a sign of the ambition of the owner to develop Colchester United into a higher-level club, with a secure squad. We know these players are going to be big for us, next season.”
Mega Academy Promotion Spree
1 July 2024
Colchester United have announced a string of promotions from the academy, into the first-team squad, in a remarkable vote of confidence in the academy system that manager Danny Cowley has been turbocharging over the last season. The club has promoted the following EIGHT players:
- Goalkeeper Arthur Gardiner (18)
- Centre-back Manuel Alvarez (18)
- Right-back Andres Nunez (17)
- Defensive midfielder Alexander Schmitt (16)
- Left-midfielder Felipe Gonzalez (16)
- Attacking midfielder Ryan Norton (17)
- Striker Fabian Louis (16)
- Striker Xisco Aguilar (16)
This “class of ‘24” arrives with a huge degree of potential, with Aguilar considered the highest potential of them all.
“It’s been an amazing year for the under-18’s,” said Cowley. “They are all promoted to the first team on merit and I expect that they will push the established players very hard. You don’t get as far as they did in the Youth Cup, and push Chelsea so hard in the round they lost, and not have a chance at becoming a first-team star.”
Given the proposed sales, and the players who have already left, it seems that the graduates with the best chance of making the switch to regular first team football are defenders Alvarez and Nunez, although Fabian Louis and Xisco Aguilar certainly know their way to goal and can expect to at least make the grade as impact substitutes.
It’s certainly going to be an interesting ride, this season.
Aguilar: a massive prospect
"This might not be the end of promotions, either," said Cowley. "We have a few others who might well be promoted as the season unfolds. This is the owner's dream, and has been for several years. I am pleased we can finally make it come true for him."
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