Colchester United vs Bromley preview
Colchester United vs Bromley preview
In the last five years, Colchester United have had ten changes of manager. In the last four seasons, they’ve finished 20th, 15th, 20th, and 22nd. The results speak for themselves.
Hoping to revive the club’s fortunes, when the U’s looked for yet another manager in January 2024, they opted for the local duo of Danny and Nicky Cowley.
The Cowleys’ story is well known in the football world. Successful stints at Concord Rangers and Braintree Town earned them a move to National League promotion-chasers Lincoln City. Not only did they guide the Imps into the Football League at the first time of asking, they took them into League One two seasons later.
Spells at Huddersfield Town and Portsmouth followed, but results were mixed and they lost their seats.
The Colchester job represents a chance for the Cowleys to re-establish their reputation.
When they joined in January 2024, they took on a project at a club that is now in its ninth consecutive season in League Two. During that time, the U’s have consistently flirted with a trip through the trapdoor to the National League.
Last season, the Cowley brothers ensured Colchester’s survival with a final-day escape, but don’t take that to mean they underachieved. Before their arrival, Colchester were averaging 0.88 points per game. That average rose to 1.1 under their tenure, which made a crucial difference in their bid to dodge the drop.
In fact, if we include all of the games the Cowleys have managed thus far, up to and including last Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Accrington Stanley, the U’s have only lost 9 of 26 games.
Given this relative success, it should come as no surprise that many U’s fans expect a better season in 24/25. Reaching the play-offs may prove a stretch, but they look capable of being a side that doesn’t have to stress about relegation.
In the summer, rather unsurprisingly, there were a lot of comings and goings as the Cowleys revamped their squad.
Some notable arrivals include Jack Payne from Charlton, Matt Macey from Portsmouth, Ben Goodliffe from Sutton United, and Lyle Taylor from Cambridge United.
Meanwhile, over ten players were released, with a lot of them going on to sign with National League or National League South clubs, which says a lot.
However, as is often the way, the U’s also lost some of their best talent.
Bradley Ihionvien joined Peterborough United, Jay Mingi and Jayden Fevrier joined Stockport County, and Connor McGeehan turned down a new deal to join Northampton Town.
This upheaval is one of the reasons Colchester fans will need to be patient with the Cowleys this season. Essentially, they have assembled a brand new team.
That said, 24/25 is off to a reasonable start. The U’s have experienced one win, one draw, and two defeats in the league, but they also won their EFL Cup first-round fixture with Reading before bowing out to Brentford in the follow-on fixture.
An intriguing league encounter awaits.
Bromley arrive in Essex on the back of two league defeats while Colchester are yet to find form. It almost feels like neither side can afford to lose, if you catch my drift.
Bromley did of course secure a valuable EFL Trophy (penalty) win in midweek. I say ‘valuable’ not because the EFL Trophy is of paramount importance, but because it gave Andy Woodman a chance to look at his wider squad and assess whether those players deserve a spot in his starting XI.
Given the players who were rested against Cambridge United, I expect that Grant Smith, Byron Webster, Callum Reynolds, Corey Whitely, and Michael Cheek will return to the starting line-up. However, I also suspect we may see some new personnel and a possible change of shape for the Colchester game
There must be some temptation to go to two up front. If so, will two-goal Marcus Dinanga get a start alongside Cheek? That would probably mean putting Congreve on the bench. A tricky call.
Also, now that Ashley Charles is back, will one of Lewis Leigh or Jude Arthurs miss out? This is before we consider the experienced Ben Thompson, who arrived on transfer deadline day.
Who do you think will play? Will Andy return to the XI that started the season, or will he mix it up?
Get at me in the comments section.
The From Bromley with Love XI
Smith
Grant Webster Reynolds
Imray Leigh Charles Odutayo
Whitely
Cheek Dinanga
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