The Opposition View: Colchester

Last updated : 20 August 2012 By Jim Bonner

How happy are you with Colchester's pre-season and their summer transfer activity?

I don't think you can ever read too much into pre-season but we seem to have looked ok. We took on a full-strength West Ham side and were unfortunate to just lose out 2-1 on the day, we only drew 2-2 with Derby by conceding an stoppage time own goal to level things up and, although we lost 2-1 to Ipswich and were dominated in the first half, we began to look more promising in the second and could easily have taken a draw.

The biggest plusses to come from pre-season so far appear to be the emergence of both Drey Wright and Alex Gilbey - two seventeen year olds who have been given professional deals a year into their scholarship.

Wright went on to make his senior debut last week in the cup defeat at Yeovil and stood out amongst our better performers on the night (though, admittedly, not too difficult!). I imagine both will now be in and around the senior squad on matchdays and Gilbey is likely to make his senior bow in to the not-too-distant future as well you would think.

In terms of the summer dealings I was pleasantly surprised with how much of last season's squad we retained. Players such as Anthony Wordsworth, Magnus Okuonghae and John-Joe O'Toole were expected to move on in most quarters, but all three have stayed put.

Magnus originally turned down his new deal and, at the time, looked like the only departure I think we would really miss. But he had a change of heart and penned a new three-year deal. 

Freddie Sears, Marcus Bean and Clinton Morrison were all brought in and all three have made a good impression so far, particularly Sears who was on fire during pre-season with six goals.

I think we're still a man or two short in the forward department, though. Last season the manager said we needed one or two strikers (we only had two), both of them left in the summer and we've replaced them with Sears and Morrison. So by my reckoning that still means we're one or two short but the budget appears to have been used up now. If I would change anything,

I'd say we perhaps retained one or two extra midfielders and would have been better off putting that towards another forward, but we'll make do with what we've got - we have done for the past two years.

Are you happy with your club's owner and how the club is run?

Very much so. Robbie Cowling took over the club in 2006 and, for me, very much has his heart in the right place. I'm sure he would be the first to admit he's made mistakes and has landed himself in a bit of trouble in the past with one or two comments, but he has shown that he is willing to put things right.

A few supporters have doubts that he's trying to erase the history of the club and only focus on anything that's happened since the move from Layer Road, but as far as owners go I think we've got a good one - I can't envisage Robbie leaving the club in a worse position than he found it.

On the whole, I think the club is run very well. There are some brilliant people working there who go the extra mile all the time, from the Ticket Office to the Media guys - we're a small club and I guess that makes it easier to get closer with the supporters.

Again, there are always those with things to complain about, but you can't please everyone and we do more than most clubs I would imagine.

How much do you miss Layer Road?

Completely! Personally, I would go back there tomorrow if the option was there. I can understand why the club needed the move and, off the pitch, the avenues available today are on a completely new scale with, I believe, 'the largest conference facility in the East of England' or something along those lines.

There are activities generating revenue seven days a week pretty much and Layer Road was falling apart, costing the club more in meeting health and safety standards I reckon!

But for me it has never been the same. We're now going into the fifth season at the new ground and many supporters are suggesting it has finally started to feel like home, but I just can't feel that way. I'm definitely a football fan that prefers to be close up to the pitch on a terrace and, at Layer Road, you were within an arm's reach of the action. The crowd were right on top of the players and the atmosphere, particularly in the last couple of Championship years, was electric.

The counter-arguments to that are the lowly-attended games with poor atmosphere, but personally I would rather encounter that at Layer Road than the WHCS. Layer Road could be half empty and yet it wouldn't feel that way, whereas the 5,000/6,000 empty seats at the WHCS feels so much more prominent.

I have never really adjusted and have lost a lot of love for it since the move. I've never felt the atmosphere in the same way as I used to and I miss all of the little things about Layer Road.

This summer the ground was finally demolished to be prepared for housing, and just walking past it feels so unusual. It's very sad, and to any supporters whose clubs are likely to move in the next few years, I'd say to make the most of it whilst it's here because it might not be the same again.

Who will be your key players on Tuesday night?

Anthony Wordsworth is capable of great things and could comfortably pull the strings from the middle of the park. He has a languid style and so can appear a bit lazy or uncommitted at times, but he is a class act when on his game. His range of passing is excellent, he gets forward and scores goals and he can come up with the game-changing spark.

We don't have much pace in the side at the moment, but Freddie Sears has been playing on the left flank of a forward three and adds something more to the attack. As mentioned before, the goals have been coming thick and fast from him during pre-season and he seems to have the confidence to shoot on sight at the moment. He's looking very lively though and he'll be a big player this season.

Where are the big weaknesses in this Colchester side that Pompey could exploit during the game?

I'd say the biggest area that normally causes us problems is the full-backs, who appear to be ordered to push on and attack. They're definitely set up to be more concerned with getting forward than defending, and that can often leave us short at the back with space to make the most of.

Again, we also don't seem to have too much pace in the current squad either, so someone like McLeod could have a field day getting in behind Matt Heath, for example.

What do you make of this new-look Portsmouth team? How well do you think we'll do this season?

The starting eleven looks decent enough on paper. I can't imagine you'll be pulling up many trees, but you'll have enough about you to compete towards the upper side of mid-table I should think.

Players such as McLeod and Howard are proven at this level and, although I don't think a squad of players like Jon Harley and Luke Rodgers will get you into the top six, I don't think you'll be going down either.

That said, a lot of it depends on what happens with the whole administration side of things I guess. I can't understand why the ten points were added back on and wouldn't be surprised if Trevor Birch finds a way to circumvent it.

Obviously the long-term future of the club still remains in doubt, and with the players on one-month deals it could all be back up in the air again this time next month!

With the ten points deducted, I think you'll be doing well to stay up and it would go down to the last few games at least I should think. Without the deduction, I'm sure Pompey will do just fine and finish somewhere in mid-table.

What kind of match are you expecting and what is the score going to be?

To be honest, I'm a bit disappointed as this time last week I was hoping we may be able to notch a few goals! I certainly think Portsmouth will be a big threat and it's dangerous to underestimate them, which would be the biggest concern - many fans don't seem too aware of the recent ongoings and think it will be a walk in the park ala Plymouth last Tuesday.

It's been bugging me all weekend reading how all the players have come together the day before the game when, in reality, they've spent much of pre-season together. With that in mind, I'm just thinking we're going to lose. We do have a decent enough record at the WHCS though, so I'll go for 1-1. I can't see us scoring more than one at the moment!