Football Season Review

Colchester have made a real habit of narrowly escaping relegation over the recent years, but they have set themselves new standards in terms of drama this time around, as they needed to collect eight points from their last four games and claim a famous final day win over Preston in order to finish two points above the relegation zone. The U's spend the vast majority of the campaign near the relegation zone or inside it, with the only period during which it seemed that they might easily escape the drop coming in September and October, as they had a honeymoon period under Tony Humes, who replaced Joe Dunne in the first week of September following a horror start to the season. They kept looking like they would escape the drop despite failing to maintain their superb early form under Humes, but everything changed during the winter transfer window, as they lost top scorer Freddie Sears, who left the club to join Ipswich. To add insult to injury, Humes has also had to deal with a number of selection problems during this period, and his men kept dropping down the table as a consequence. A four-game losing run in March put them on the brink of relegation, but the U's managed to find it in them to upset the odds and stay up, as they lost only two of their last ten games and managed to secure their survival on the last day of the season. It was therefore a job well done for Humes, but everyone associated with the club will know that the U's need to break their pattern, as they simply cannot keep relying on late season heroics in order to secure their League One status.

Player of the Season: Gavin Massey