[FM23] The 44 - The EFL teams who have never been in the Premier League - [4/44] - Chapter 5: Colchester United FC

[Punch]

54 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

And also your first venture into League Two, I think

You are correct. Nice catch.

[Punch]

 

Chapter 5 - Colchester United FC

 

Founded in 1937, The U's have spent most of the last two decades in League One, spending two seasons in the Championship, finishing as high as 10th in 2006/2007, before being relegated dead last the following year. Form there the team gradually slid down the table, before finally being relegated to League Two after the 2015/2016 season.

The struggles have continued with the club spending most of their time in the bottom half of the table, narrowly avoiding relegation to the National League on a few occasions.

 

The club calls Jobserve Community Stadium home. With 10,105 seats, it's neither the biggest, nor the smallest in the League, but it is quite a nice looking stadium.

 

I have been given one year to show what I can do.

 

The Board want me developing the clubs youth, but don't seem to have any great ambition towards promotion.

 

The supporters seem to have the same vision as the Board.

 

We have money in the bank, but there is no transfer budget, and no room under the wage budget.

Looks like we will be using the players we have, unless we make some sales.

 

At first glance, it's a pretty decent looking squad, with a good mix of experience and youth.

Will be interesting to see if we can get them to gel together and keep everyone happy.

 

A short pre-season with the League kicking off at the end of July.

[KillYourIdols]

Good luck with these Shitehawks

Love, a Colchester follower.

 

 

 

 

[Punch]

 

JUL 2022

A solid run through the friendlies, before we kicked off the season with a hard fought win away to Northampton.

 

The Bookies have us battling to avoid relegation this season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A busy month as the season proper kicks in, while we also travel to Milton Keynes to kick off the League Cup.

[Punch]

 

AUG 2022

Five League games and three Cup games made for a crazy month, but we came out pretty well.

Two penalty wins in the League Cup get us through to the 3rd Round, while the rotated squad won a seven goal thriller in the Pizza Cup.

 

 

 

We find ourselves in the play off area.

 

 

Four goals in half an hour and then we couldn't be separated.

A big game from our keeper O'Hara, saving a penalty, and then another in the shoot out.

 

Another tough battle, another penalty shoot out, O'Hara the hero again, saving two more in the shoot out.

 

We get a break now before we meet West Ham in Round 3.

 

 

I sent out the rotated squad in the Pizza Cup, and they almost made a meal of it, but came away with the win in a 7 goal thriller.

 

We lead the table, but two tough games to come.

 

A small loss this month.

 

Another busy month coming up.

[KillYourIdols]

On 06/01/2023 at 09:24, Punch said:

The struggles have continued with the club spending most of their time in the bottom half of the table, narrowly avoiding relegation to the National League on a few occasions.

 

 

We can't even afford Pitch Markings

[Punch]

3 hours ago, KillYourIdols said:

We can't even afford Pitch Markings

Or goals

[KillYourIdols]

20 hours ago, Punch said:

Or goals

Saves the opposition scoring. Can't lose if you don't concede

[Punch]

3 hours ago, KillYourIdols said:

Saves the opposition scoring. Can't lose if you don't concede

It's a solid theory

[Punch]

 

SEP 2022

We started off the month with a bang, before forgetting how to score goals for two games, then we got it back together with two wins to finish the month.

We also went down in a 26 shot penalty shoot out in the Pizza Cup.

 

 

 

We still find ourselves up towards the pointy end of the table.

 

 

The rotated squad played out a 1-1 draw, before the shoot out went beyond the goal keepers taking shots, and players started taking second shots, before we finally missed on the 26th shot.

 

We sit 2nd with a game against Wycombe to come.

 

The bank balance is still heading south.

 

A busy month coming up.

[Sonic Youth]

Onto the 5th team Colchester, starting well 

Congrats on finishing with Bristol City. Definitely tipsy turvey your time in the Prem was. Excellent work on making the FA Cup final too!

I also noticed that 5 teams qualified for the ECL too 

[Stuniverse]

Great start to life as Colchester manager, @Punch... although losing a 26-penalty shootout is not nice...

[Punch]

Putting this save on pause for a little bit.

Between some crashes, and sickness, I have lost a bit of motivation for this one.

I also want to start an FM23 Youth Save, so have been doing some work on that, which I will report on soon.

The 44 will be back, just need a break from it for a while.

[Sonic Youth]

1 hour ago, Punch said:

Putting this save on pause for a little bit.

Between some crashes, and sickness, I have lost a bit of motivation for this one.

I also want to start an FM23 Youth Save, so have been doing some work on that, which I will report on soon.

The 44 will be back, just need a break from it for a while.

Getting through to the fifth team so quickly is a decent achievement. This save already is challenging without crashes and illness. Taking care of yourself comes first