This week marked Colchester United’s second defeat under the managerial reign of Aidy Boothroyd. Reaction has seen two camps emerge; the saw it coming and we move on brigade and the Private Frazer “we’ll all doomed” battalion.

Now however long you have supported Col U one thing is certain they are both frustrating and exasperating in equal measure at times. Just when you thought that some consistency has been achieved a bad result knocks you back on your heels.

However I think that the reason that so many are critical now is the fact that Aidy Boothroyd has introduced a philosophy where we expect to pick up something from every game that we play. That was never the case with Lambert (and don’t forget that I was a supporter of “Lambo” when he was in charge).

Now statistics normally follow somewhere after “lies and damned lies” but there is no arguing with league positions and results. Therefore Lambo’s managerial record is as follows:

Compare this with Aidy Boothroyd:

Now if we examine Boothroyd’s record at home and away in all competitions:

The simple truth is that Aidy Boothroyd arrived after Lambert’s walk out in the most bizarre circumstances. Colchester had also just lost three out of four matches in the transitional period. No blame should be attached to Joe Dunne’s tenure however because he was trying to stabilise the club reeling from the loss of key players and the Manager. Now the conspiracy theorists will advocate that Gunn was always going to be fired and that the Norwich chairman had lined up Lambert during the summer and exactly how hard did “he” try to secure the services of Grant Holt from Shrewsbury Town who went from definitely staying in Shropshire to a move to Norfolk in a matter of days.

Setting all this aside for one moment Aidy arrived with the club in turmoil, considerable bitterness which has still not dissipated (the compensation saga rumbles on) and with a difficult duo of away games to contend with. At St Mary’s we suffered an injury to “Rio” and had Kem Izzet sent off and still managed a creditable draw. Swindon a week later saw another long term injury to Ashley Vincent and another draw. So far so good.

The Monkey hangers arrived to be faced with the prospect of defending three penalties, two of which were converted by Super Kev and the Boothroyd bandwagon was up and running.  Aidy moved quickly to bring in some key loan signings – the forgotten man at Barnsley Kayode Odejayi has proven to be a revelation as has Danny Batth and the talented John Joe O’Toole.

Steven Gillespie has already played more minutes of football for Boothroyd than in the entire number of games last season. Perhaps most significantly Aidy has operated an inclusive policy where players who had been discarded under Lambert have been brought back to the fold and are once again performing well. White, Heath and Ifil are three examples and even Elito despite his rash challenge has been given an opportunity.

Some players will be moving on but once again Boothroyd has been honest with them and explained whether their future would be best served away from Colchester.

It is no state secret that Boothroyd likes tall players in his teams. I remarked some weeks ago that apart from two the rest of the team that took the field were taller than 6 feet. It is a salutary fact that the Wenger team known as “the invincibles” who went unbeaten in the premier league, were also in excess of 6 feet tall.

Now what about the controversy about the long ball game that Boothroyd’s teams are supposed to employ. Now apart from the live Colchester games that I have seen this season I have watched football on the TV from European and Domestic leagues and I would defy anyone to argue with the fact that the overwhelming majority of clubs elect to play direct long ball when it suits them and Colchester are no different in this respect.

Boothroyd does like to pepper the penalty area with aerial balls but it is significant that to do so it makes sense to have tall strikers and defenders which there is no shortage of in our ranks. It is also effective in pressurizing defences and invariably leads to mistakes and a goal for the super U’s.

Returning to the results this season since Boothroyd’s arrival, they are without doubt the best that I can remember in any new manager’s tenure in over 36 years of supporting the U’s. Aidy Boothroyd speaks well and is articulate, he sets out clearly what he expects and there is no doubt that the players have responded positively to this approach. No team can win every game; no team can play consistently well and win every game by four goals to nil. Other teams may claim to be Brazilian in approach but few can achieve these high standards.

Colchester has also undergone a huge transition since moving from Layer Road. It is not just the facilities, stadium, infrastructure and commercial side that have changed but the expectations of the supporters many of whom never sat at a football ground and were used to substandard accommodation even in the 21st century.

The Weston Homes Community Stadium (WHCS) is slowing becoming accepted as the new home for Col U, results are at last beginning to make the stadium a fortress. The military jargon for a town steeped in history from the Romans to the modern Garrison Town is ever present. The links with the soldiers is never stronger than today, when we accept with humility the dangerous job that they are called upon to do. Perhaps the magnitude of their sacrifice puts our support for a football club firmly into perspective. I’m sure that the great Bill Shankly would have had a few words to explain and to help us understand this important point.

Boothroyd has quickly started to build an impressive set of results of home which has led Managers to bring their teams with ideas of defensive formations which all need to be broken down. This is football, the home team is expected to entertain and win whilst the away side is supposedly there to make the numbers up. The truth is of course that you cannot always win and entertain and often the away team sneaks a point or worse.

No one can argue however that Boothroyd doesn’t set up his side in an attacking manner. Last week at Hereford we actually played four strikers for some of the game. Admittedly two were more midfield than strikers but when we have all witnessed one striker for away games under Parkinson and Lambert; the more open approach is somewhat reassuring. Boothroyd is honest after the game and will always explain the reasons for the result and when the team have not performed will not hide behind excuses.

It is the attacking options that he has at his disposal that ironically could be posing problems in ensuring the correct pairing for example Super Kev and Platty are probably the best pairing but Kayode Odejayi and Stevie Gillespie also have much to offer.

Of course the criticism often of Colchester is that we are not a “big team” (in resource terms rather than stature). Attendances have actually improved which could be partly due to the new stadium or results or perhaps both. A look at the top identifies Leeds, Charlton, Huddersfield, MK Dons and Norwich. If you then add Millwall and Southampton (10 point deduction notwithstanding) to the mix these are all teams that you would expect to see in the upper reaches of the division.

The fact that Colchester are there on merit is a testament to what Aidy Boothroyd has achieved in the short space of time that he has been at the club. I have seen sufficient to believe that we can achieve promotion this season. What Boothroyd is seeking to ensure is that unlike last time we actually stay there.

Therefore whether your philosophy is that you are a glass half empty or glass half full supporter, keep the faith, keep on supporting and more importantly have some belief in the team and the man.

Under Aidy Boothroyd the U’s can achieve something special this year for only the second time in 72 years of history.

Up the U’s

Photo: Action Images

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