Football Season Review

It was another disappointing season for Colchester United as they failed to challenge for a play-off place and finished in 13th place in the League Two table under head coach John McGreal. The U’s went into the season having missed out on a place in the play-offs by just a single point on the last day of the campaign but there was plenty of optimism around the Colchester Community Stadium that they could one better this time around. They would have to do so with player of the season Brennan Dickenson, with the winger expected to miss most of the season with a knee injury. They also lost striker and leading goalscorer Chris Porter, who rejected a new deal in favour of a move to Crewe Alexandra. The loss of his goals were keenly felt as they made a poor start to the season, winning just two of their opening ten league matches. It was the home grown talent of midfield playmaker Sammy Szmodics which provided the inspiration for their improvement and he was linked with a move to Premier League AFC Bournemouth in January. Sadly for the U’s, Szmodics was unable to sustain that form in the second half of the season, partly due to injury. The return of defender Luke Prosser following a year out with a knee injury was a huge positive but they were unable to find any consistency; winning just three of their last 13 matches. McGreal argued his side had not under-achieved with their performances but it is results that matter and it is hard to argue that their season represents anything other than a failure. The emergence of winger Courtney Senior following a serious knee injury is one positive whilst Szmodics finished as leading goalscorer with 13 goals in all competitions. Centre-back Tom Eastman missed just four games and was voted player of the season. McGreal will be under pressure to deliver promotion for the U’s next season.

Player of the Season: Tom Eastman