 | Blog | Knees-up Mother Brown #14
by wessex_exile at 14:31 26 Nov 2023
The blog returns with KMB14, after another awayday last weekend and first visit for me to Edgeley Park to see the U’s pit their wits against the heir apparent champions Stockport County. Despite a stewarding fubar that I’ve probably mentioned more than enough already, it was a good day out overall, with the U’s more than a match for Stockport for most of the game, apart that is from a 90 second lapse in concentration either side of half-time. Certainly no disgrace though, and with the U’s getting straight back on the bike midweek with a comfortable 1-0 victory over League 1 Posh (albeit against largely their second string), I think we can look forward to this afternoon against promotion contenders Barrow with a degree of confidence. |
| Blog | Knees-up Mother Brown #13
by wessex_exile at 10:48 26 Nov 2023
KMB13, and this weekend I’m sure we will all, in our own way, pause to remember the fallen. With war again raging in Europe, and the Middle East aflame, I’m sadly reminded of the lyrics of Eric Bogle. |
| Blog | Knees-up Mother Brown #12
by wessex_exile at 12:42 5 Nov 2023
It’s a wet, windy first weekend of November, which can mean only one thing – it’s the magic of the FA Cup again! Today we face a trip to the New Meadow, home of League 1 Shrewsbury Town. I’ve never been to the New Meadow, my last trip to Salop was to watch the U’s win 2-1 in our FA Cup second round match at Gay Meadow back in December 2005 – and what a day that was too. That match was featured in Matches of Yesteryear #20, and it was pleasing to see it was the focus of a club interview with Greg Halford last week. There is also something very noteworthy about today – unless my calculations are awry, this will be our 200th appearance in the world’s greatest cup competition. |
| Blog | Knees-up Mother Brown #11
by wessex_exile at 14:34 29 Oct 2023
Well, following the U’s has been a bit of a rollercoaster through the last week. Ben Garner’s U’s slumped to a very poor home defeat last Saturday against Harrogate Town, despite taking the lead with a sublime strike from Chay Cooper. Robbie had seen enough, and that evening Ben was let go, with U21 lead coach Matty Etherington announced as the interim Head Coach on Monday. On Tuesday night, Matty Etherington’s U’s put in one hell of a shift, to come away from Grimsby (Cleethorpes – ed.) with all three points and a masterclass from Arthur Read – happy days, could Matty be our man? Well, not right now that’s for sure, after a call to Robbie from Crawley Town yesterday letting him know that apparently Matty is tied up in a contract exit clause from his brief spell at Crawley, seemingly forbidding him from operating in a head coach/ manager role until May 2024 (when his Crawley contract would have expired). So, Matty Etherington is stood down, with Assistant Head Coach Scott Marshall stepping up as our new interim Head Coach for the tough trip to Accrington Stanley. |
| Blog | Knees-up Mother Brown #10
by wessex_exile at 14:20 22 Oct 2023
Back again, after another U’s-induced matchday ‘experience’ at FGR, and what an experience it was. What was already a poor match between two poor sides descended into insanity after the red card for Mingi, with the U’s dismantled repeatedly to let four second half goals in. I hardly ever leave a game before the final whistle, but as the board went up for nine more minutes I’d seen enough and me and Alfie headed out for our lift home (and as a result, missed the frank exchange of views between players and supporters at the end). However, let’s focus on the positives, whatever was said, a much changed U’s were a different team on Tuesday at League 1 Cambridge. The U’s thoroughly deserved the win and their Pizza Slice Trophy three points, thanks in no small part to an excellent performance from Chay Cooper. |
| Blog | Knees-up Mother Brown #10
by wessex_exile at 14:20 22 Oct 2023
Back again, after another U’s-induced matchday ‘experience’ at FGR, and what an experience it was. What was already a poor match between two poor sides descended into insanity after the red card for Mingi, with the U’s dismantled repeatedly to let four second half goals in. I hardly ever leave a game before the final whistle, but as the board went up for nine more minutes I’d seen enough and me and Alfie headed out for our lift home (and as a result, missed the frank exchange of views between players and supporters at the end). However, let’s focus on the positives, whatever was said, a much changed U’s were a different team on Tuesday at League 1 Cambridge. The U’s thoroughly deserved the win and their Pizza Slice Trophy three points, thanks in no small part to an excellent performance from Chay Cooper. |
| Blog | Knees-up Mother Brown #9
by wessex_exile at 14:44 8 Oct 2023
So, what have we learned so far this season. Well, clearly when we play against better teams who also like to play the attractive passing game, we’re as good as anyone in this league (I submit as evidence m’lud, Gillingham, Mansfield and Notts County). When we’re up against the gnarlier more ‘traditional’ outfits, who want nothing more than to get in our faces, close us down and bully us, not so much. The trouble is, this league is made up of about 25% of the former and 75% of the latter, so we’re on a hiding to nothing if we don’t put that right and develop some steel (without the needless indiscipline). With absolutely no disrespect to today’s visitors, I suspect Morecambe will be more of the latter today, as will FGR and Harrogate up next, so what better chance to prove our mettle and take all nine points on offer? |
| Blog | Knees-up Mother Brown #7
by wessex_exile at 14:07 17 Sep 2023
Another Saturday, and another chance to really see what Garner’s U’s are made of. On the evidence from last weekend, it would seem something very special indeed, other Saturday’s perhaps less so. Okay, so Tranmere weren’t that great, but as has already been said, you can only play the team put out against you, and with 8-9 out of 10 performances all over the pitch it was no surprise that three of the U’s, Goodman, Read and Fevrier were named in the EFL Team of the Week. I do wonder, had we had the chance to beat Swindon on day one, whether our momentum might have been different, but nevertheless we are at least off and running now. Mansfield, however, will be a much sterner test than Tranmere, whose manager Ian Dawes joined a long list that have fallen foul of the losing to Col U curse, getting sacked on Monday morning. |
| Blog | Knees-up Mother Brown #6
by wessex_exile at 14:33 10 Sep 2023
The rollercoaster ride that is following the U’s continues, as we wait to see whether it’ll be Dr Jekyll of Gillingham or Mr Hyde of (fill in blank) that turns up at the JobServe today. With back to back home games against Tranmere today and the Scabs next Saturday, never has it been more important to get our season well and truly on track. Six points and a comfortable mid-table slot will do wonders for our confidence, anything less just doesn’t bear thinking about. The least said about Walsall the better, other than to say if we wait until we’ve conceded midway through the second half to actually start playing, that’s not good. What’s even more frustrating is that when we eventually did, we could have easily equalised, and maybe even won that one (albeit that would have been hard on the Saddlers). |
| Blog | Knees-up Mother Brown #5
by wessex_exile at 14:31 3 Sep 2023
Now that the euphoria of our stunning 3-0 victory at league leaders Gillingham has begun to subside, Ben Garner’s U’s ready themselves for a back to earth tough trip to the Bescot this afternoon. I’ve been to Walsall many times, some days good, others less so, and this was one definitely on my radar for this season. However, and as already mentioned on the board earlier, even without the train strike going on, with a long day ahead tomorrow (hopefully) finishing off the eagle seat designs, my aching bones decided two longish trips in one weekend was probably asking a bit too much. More on our deadline day transfer activity later, but for now good luck Junior, and I hope it works out well for you at Stoke City. |
| Blog | Knees-up Mother Brown #4
by wessex_exile at 14:28 27 Aug 2023
Well, apart from family birthday celebrations, last weekend was a barren source of amusement. Joe Taylor did at least show any remaining doubters just how important he’s going to be for our 2023/24 season, to net his third and fourth goals of the season. Our defence, however, showed the importance of remaining concentrated (or not) for the entire 100+ minutes of league games these days, gifting Gilbey an 88th minute equaliser, and then Dennis a 90+10’ winner. Sadly, another weak referee muddied the waters, not sending Mo Eisa off for blatant dissent when it could have made all the difference. Apparently, none of the officials saw what everyone else did, but then he still had words with Eisa and the captain about the dissent – what’s the story Mr Brook, either you saw it or you didn’t? |
| Blog | Knees-up Mother Brown #3
by wessex_exile at 13:52 20 Aug 2023
Not so much after the Lord Mayor’s show, maybe more the comedy warm-up act beckons, as the U’s take on MK Dongs at the JobServe today, with the Lionesses against Spain to follow in the World Cup final tomorrow morning. The family will be gathering for the game tomorrow, with the dubiously happy coincidence that it also marks my passing of another year on this planet. Durham has hit several nails on the head in his excellent match preview, not least just how poor we were on Tuesday against the real Dons. But, as RS has already pointed out, we are only two games into the season, could have beaten Championship Cardiff City, and should have had at least a point against Bradford City, so not quite time to break out the Leonard Cohen albums just yet. |
| Blog | Knees-up Mother Brown #2
by wessex_exile at 14:09 13 Aug 2023
I must confess, with the Lionesses’ World Cup quarter-final welcome distraction this morning, and given last Saturday’s false start to our league campaign, I was sorely tempted to just recycle last weekend’s Knees-up Mother Brown. However, me and the boy’s midweek trip to Cardiff, along with the other 319 brave souls, has filled me with positivity, so here goes. It may be abbreviated to a degree, depends probably on how much of a distraction the Lionesses prove to be. |
| Blog | Knees-up Mother Brown #1
by wessex_exile at 14:20 6 Aug 2023
Here we go then, another season and another blog, as Ben Garner’s U’s prepare to embark on their 82nd season as a football league club. Surely this is the best day to be a football supporter – a day full of hopes, dreams and aspirations, a day when clubs cement their ambition for the hallowed ground of (at least) the play-offs. We’ve had a very solid positive pre-season, some new faces have joined, some more are still anticipated, and as Durham has already highlighted in his excellent review, the ’will he won’t he’ saga of Junior Tchamadeu continues to rumble on. This season for once feels different, there’s an air of positivity and believe pervading not just the squad but the fanbase too, the club is working hard to reengage with the supporters and under Ben Garner we have a manager who really does look to be on the verge of Col U greatness. |
| Blog | The U'sual Ramblings #34
by wessex_exile at 20:54 7 May 2023
In the words of Frank Sinatra (or actually Paul Anka) “and now, the end is near, and so I face the final curtainâ€, as The U’sual Ramblings #34 brings the season to a close. Despite the frustration of the actual result last Saturday at the Keepmoat (take a bow Mr Sunny Sukhvir Gill and your powderpuff linesmen), our season is finishing on a very positive note overall – certainly considerably more positive than it could have been. First and foremost Ben Garner is making the U’s very difficult to defeat, or even just score against. Latterly, we seem to be starting to get things right at the other end too (let’s face it, we should have scored at least three last weekend). On Monday, Mansfield have to go for it if they are to have any chance of making the play-offs, which with our solid defence, pace in midfield and strength in attack should make for an entertaining game in front what will probably be our largest home crowd of the season. |
| Blog | The U'sual Ramblings #33
by wessex_exile at 21:41 25 Apr 2023
The U’sual Ramblings #33 and following a battling point away at Creepy Crawley, the U’s are on the brink of League 2 survival, only needing to match whatever Hartlepool do at home to the aforementioned Creepies to ensure league football next season (though hindsight will probably show we were safe on Easter Monday after the demolition of Crewe). Mathematical safety with only two games to go is hardly something to crow about I grant you, but given we’re on a seven game unbeaten run, three clean sheets in a row and proving ourselves a very difficult team to beat, it bodes well under Ben Garner’s guidance for next season. Whisper it, but with today’s opponents 22nd in the League 2 form table, and next Saturday’s opponents Doncaster Rovers rock bottom in 24th place, two more victories might even see Ben nominated for the Manager of the Month award? |
| Blog | The U'sual Ramblings #32
by wessex_exile at 14:26 16 Apr 2023
The U’sual Ramblings #32 sees the U’s face another tricky match, traveling to the North West for a game against the Class of ’92 playthings, Salford City. It must grate on the Ammies that their nouveau riche top spot has been usurped by the Hollywood Dragons, but given they are pushing for promotion to League 1 and Wrexham have yet to escape the National League, maybe not that much? However, given recent results, particularly against teams better placed than Salford City, the U’s will be full of confidence that we can get something from this game. With the four teams below us all having potentially winnable games this afternoon, and our crucial visit to Crawley up next, these next few days look like they’re going to be a defining moment in our bid to avoid relegation. |
| Blog | The U'sual Ramblings #31
by wessex_exile at 18:54 10 Apr 2023
The U’sual Ramblings #31, and first off Happy Easter to one and all, and I hope the Easter Bunny rewards you with way too much chocolate this Bank Holiday weekend and the U’s with a long overdue three points tomorrow. Travelling over to promotion-chasing Stevenage on Good Friday, there was no time for a pre-match blog, so this will have to cover both games over the Easter weekend. More on the Good Friday game later but suffice to say I doubt many realistically expected much from the trip to Broadhall Way, so the well-deserved point was a welcome bonus. Pity about results around us, but we can’t do anything about that, just play the teams in front of us. |
| Blog | The U'sual Ramblings #30
by wessex_exile at 14:39 2 Apr 2023
So it’s April Fool’s day for The U’sual Ramblings #30, but please don’t expect anything seasonally appropriate, because right now where we are is no joke at all. Yes, I still have confidence we’ll have enough about us to avoid the drop – the matches are fast running out, and with three teams still below us, we ought to get through this season relatively unscathed. That will give Ben Garner the summer to work on and strengthen his squad to be able to adapt to the tactics he wants going forward. There you go, as April Fool’s jokes go, that’s about as far as I can take it for now 😊. |
| Blog | The U'sual Ramblings #29
by wessex_exile at 15:15 26 Mar 2023
The U’sual Ramblings #29, and still Ben Garner is looking for his first victory as U’s Head Coach. One might argue he really should have had it at Valley Parade on his debut, but two late goals denied him even a point. Ironically, two late goals at Brisbane Road last Saturday earned the U’s the point that at a minimum they deserved, and that really did feel like a victory in that context. Sadly, some of the gloss was taken off of that sensational comeback by moronic chants about the late Justin Edinburgh from a tiny minority of U’s supporters. I’m not sure the club will ever be able to positively identify the culprits and give them the bans they deserve, but when your club hits national headlines for all the wrong reasons, it’s a(nother) black day for Colchester United Football Club. |
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