Colchester United are a relatively recent club in historical terms, only being formed in 1937. Previously Colchester Town had flown the Association flag in in this part of Essex, but they went bust mid 1937-38 season and had their record expunged. Whether some in the town had seen the writing was on the wall for Colchester Town, or whether it was a contributory factor in their demise, but United had been formed that same season, applying and being accepted into the Southern League. When Town folded United took the opportunity to take over their ground at Layer Road.

The U's first ever competitive game was on August 28th 1937 at Huish. Yeovil & Petters United won 3-0. The return on September 11th was 0-0. The clubs met again towards the end of that season in the two-legged Southern League Cup Final. Colchester emerged victorious 4-3 on aggregate. In the league the Glovers finished 4th, Colchester 6th.

The following season saw each side win their respective home league game, but whilst Yeovil were distracted by one of their great F.A. Cup runs it was Colchester United who finished the season as Southern League Champions. On the strength of this they made their first application to join the Football League, but only received one vote.

After the War the (renamed) Yeovil Town and Colchester United were again rivals in the Southern League. Yeovil got revenge for the 1938 League Cup Final defeat when they took the U's in the 1949 Final 3-0. However Colchester got the far greater prize the next season. Although they hadn't won the Southern League title post-war, when Division Three South was expanded by two clubs in 1950 they were voted in along with Gillingham.

Clock End - now has seats bolted on to the old terrace Photo © 2005 Ciderspace

A couple of mid-table seasons were followed by several needs for re-election, but when the cut came for who went into Division Three and who into Division Four in the restructuring for the 1958-59 campaign they were doing well enough to get put into the higher tier. It was in that season that Yeovil and Colchester met again, but now in the F.A. Cup in Round Two. The Glovers got a very creditable 1-1 draw at Layer Road and strongly fancied their chances in the replay at Huish. The 1-7 hammering was a shock, Yeovil's second largest F.A. Cup defeat ever. That was it until 1980 when the teams were again drawn in Round Two of the FAC. The pattern was repeated : a 1-1 draw in Essex, followed by defeat in Somerset. In the intervening years Colchester had bobbed about fairly regularly between Divisions Three and Four. Their greatest moment was the defeat of the then mighty Leeds United in the Fifth Round of the F.A. Cup in 1971.

In the Eighties Colchester appeared a solid Division Four team, but towards the end of the decade cracks began to appear in the club and two flirtations with relegation saw them down to the Conference on the second of them in 1990. History never repeats itself? Well not quite, as Colchester United's first match back in Non-league was at Huish Park - the stadium's first ever competitive match. The result was the same as in 1937 though, a win for the Glovers. Full-time Colchester were bound to be a major force in the Conference, but did have one major handicap - a prat of a manager called Ian Atkins. They ended runners-up to Barnet. In 1991-92 under Roy McDonough they made no mistake, though it was a close run thing. In a titanic struggle Colchester and Wycombe Wanderers were in a mini-league of their own, finishing 21 points clear of the rest. The U's pipped it on goal difference and were back in the Football League.

In 1998 Steve Wignall took them up to Division Two (now League One) through the play-offs, and there they still remain eight campaigns later, a significant achievement for a club with one of the smallest average crowds at this level. The price paid is season after season of finishing in the bottom half of the table with little excitement other than the odd flirtation with relegation. Yeovil fans might well look hard at this prospect. If we can maintain League One status our future could be something similar.

The Mainstand at Layer Road Photo © 2005 Ciderspace

Our two most recent meetings have been in the F.A.Cup again, and in the LDV Vans Trophy. In 2000 the Glovers, not to put too fine a point on it, slaughtered the U's 5-1 in Round One of the FAC. The Round Two LDV tie in 2003 finished 2-2 after extra time, but Colchester went through 4-2 on penalties.

Prediction Corner : With crowds averaging around three and a half thousand Colchester United are doing well just to stay up. One feels that eventually the law of gravity will catch up with them, but an eighth consecutive season means they have gained plenty of experience in what it takes to survive. This may be the season they don't : 23rd.

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RECENT RESULTS

09/08/2008	Hartlepool United	Away	CCL1	L	2-4	3831		Gillespie 78, 90
16/08/2008	Huddersfield Town	Home	CCL1	D	0-0	5340
23/08/2008	Swindon Town	Away	CCL1	W	3-1	7031		Jackson 32, Vernon 45, Wasiu 89
30/08/2008	Oldham Athletic	Home	CCL1	D	2-2	4708		Yeates 42, 63

FORTHCOMING FIXTURES

CLUB GOALSCORERS

Name	LGE	FAC	FAT	LGC	CC	Total
Mark Yeates	2	0	0	0	0	2
Steven Gillespie	2	0	0	0	0	2
Johnnie Jackson	1	0	0	0	0	1
Scott Vernon	1	0	0	0	0	1
Akanni-Sunday Wasiu	1	0	0	0	0	1

ATTENDANCE STATISTICS

Highest League Attendance: 5340, vs Huddersfield Town, 16/08/2008
Lowest League Attendance: 4708, vs Oldham Athletic, 30/08/2008
Average League Attendance: 5024

CURRENT LEAGUE SEQUENCE STATISTICS

Games Without A Win:	1		Games Without A Home Win:	2
Games Without An Away Win:	0		Games Without Defeat:	3
Games Without A Home Defeat:	2		Games Without An Away Defeat:	1
Games Without A Draw:	0		Games Without A Score Draw:	0
Games Without A No-Score Draw:	2		Games Without Scoring:	0
Games Without Conceding:	0		Home Results Sequence:	DD
Away Results Sequence:	LW		Overall Results Sequence:	LDWD

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The covered away terrace Photo © 2005 Ciderspace

(Directions adapted from Colchester United Official Site).

Parking: the news is not good. There are no parking facilities at the ground. Layer Road and some of the nearby streets are coned off on matchdays. It's hunt around and find what you can. The club warns that if you haven't grabbed a spot by 2.00 p.m. you could be faced with a long walk. There should be an unofficial little parking enterprise a couple of hundred yards from the stadium that has been running for some years. It holds fifty to a hundred vehicles and charges should be around £3.00.

By Rail

The town has three railway stations, Colchester North, Colchester Town and (Colchester) Hythe. None are very convenient for the ground, though Town is the closest at 1.7 miles. North and Hythe are over two miles away.

This is a trainable (is that a word?) one there and back on the day for fans based in the Yeovil area. South West Trains from Yeovil Junction to Waterloo, tube to Liverpool Street, then One Railway on to Colchester. Total journey time around four and three-quarter hours. Note that on the return it may be quicker to make your tube link to Waterloo from London Stratford rather than Liverpool Street. The 18.15 and 19.15 are the last trains out of Colchester that will allow you to get back to Yeovil Junction on the Saturday.

For South-East based Glovers Liverpool Street is the simplest option. Journey times to Colchester North range from 49 minutes to one hour, and to Colchester Town from 1 hour 7 minutes on the 'fast' trains up to 1 hour 17 minutes on the stopping trains.

By Bus

First Traveller are the main bus company in Colchester. The Nos. 64 and 64A are the services that pass the football ground.

Taxis

A selection of Colchester taxi companies can be found here.

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The town is an army one, and although past its heyday in that respect still feels rather military, with barracks and the country's main army prison highly visible.

Club Bar :

No indication any such facilities are available to visiting fans.

Local Pubs :

Bricklayers: Should you alight at Colchester North railway station this is the pub to use whilst you work out how you are going to negotiate the 2.3 miles to the football stadium. There are frequent buses to the town centre which is in the right direction. There's a public bar and a lounge split into three distinct areas (one of which is No Smoking at lunchtime). There's a full range of Adnams beers, including relevant seasonals, plus a guest or two and a traditional cider. Food is home cooked, good value, and lunchtimes only. Has own parking. Opening times are 11.00 a.m. - 3.00 p.m. and 5.50 p.m. to 11.00 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays, 11.00 a.m. - 11.00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Bricklayers, 27, Bergholt Road, Colchester, Essex, CO4 5AA. Tel: 01206 852008. Map: Click Here.

Only pub in Layer Road © Hugh Gleave Drury Arms: On the junction of Drury Road and Layer Road, and closest pub to the ground at about 500 yards. In fact the only pub close to the ground as far as we know. Large venue where home and away fans are generally allowed to mix unless it's a local derby - and that's not us. Serves Carlsberg and Stella Artois lager, Tetley keg, Kilkenny keg........ shan't bother to go on. Hot snacks available. Drury Arms, 1, Layer Road, Colchester, Essex, CO2 7HN. Tel: 01206 575757. Map: Click Here.

Odd One Out: Convenient if arriving at Colchester Town railway station or the bus station, but not convenient for the stadium which is 1.7 miles away. Archers Best Bitter and Ridley's Prospect are the regular beers, with up to five guests in addition. This is the cider pub in town, with as many as three different varieties on. Food restricted to rolls. No TV allowed. A cheap pub for the area, open 4.30 p.m. - 11.00 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays but 11.00 a.m. - 11.00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Odd One Out, 28, Mersea Road, Colchester, Essex, CO2 7ET. Tel: 01206 578140. Map: Click Here.

Our recommended pub in Colchester © Hugh Gleave The Dragoon: Pretty much exactly a mile's walk from the stadium, but that makes it one of the closer pubs, and we highly recommend it. Reasonably busy with home fans. Friendly extrovert landlord when we called in. The beer is a wide range of Adnams plus the odd guest and was excellently kept. Food is simple, unpretentious and good value, with the chilli hot and spicey, and available lunchtimes only (except Friday evenings when fish and chips are served up). Has Sky Sports on a big screen, pool table and darts. Nice beer garden at the back. Opening 11.00 a.m. - 11.00 p.m. The Dragoon, 82, Butt Road, Colchester, Essex, CO3 3DA. Tel: 01206 573464. Map: Click Here.

The Maypole: This is a new concept to us : an 'official' Away Supporters pub promoted by the home club. Not sure how kindly visiting fans will take to being pushed towards one designated hostelry, particularly as that chosen is not particularly convenient. Colchester cheerily say it's five minutes away from the stadium - er, that's driving! But of course most fans park up their cars, mini buses and coaches first, then head for somewhere to eat and drink, before walking on to the ground. Five minutes drive becomes rather a challenging trek when using shanks's pony. Good half-hour walk. Ali and Tina Voy are the landlord and landlady. There's a pool table, darts board and plasma screen with Sky Sports. Also a large car park and a garden. Food is served from 12.00 noon. The Maypole, 131, Berechurch Hall Road, Colchester, Essex, CO2 9NR. Tel: 01206 578170. Map: Click Here.

Not The Dragoon © Hugh Gleave The Royal: Virtually opposite The Dragoon (above). Why anyone would choose it in preference is beyond us, but given it remains open someone must. The Royal, 65, Butt Road, Colchester, Essex, CO3 3BZ. Tel: 01206 577990. Map: Click Here.

Likelihood the Natives Will Understand You :

Not quite as ghastly as 'New-Town' Essex. Deep enough into the county and old enough not to be totally dominated by Mockneys speaking Estuarine. But it's getting that way, so make the most of what's left before the chav generation takes over completely.

Top-Tip :

Take the opportunity for a reality check: how long ago would we have thought 'this ain't a bad ground'? Not long ago at all.

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