Sam Stringer takes a look at the season’s progress of a very young Colchester squad…
As Colchester United marked off Saturday with a first home win of the season, the young team looks to finally be on track, under new boss Tony Humes.
When chairman Robbie Cowling promoted Humes to the role of first-team manager, Colchester had only accumulated one point from their opening five league games under previous boss Joe Dunne, having also crashed out of the Capital One Cup in the first round.
A philosophy to promote academy players to the first team is nothing new at Colchester and Joe Dunne should be respected for the work he did, but former head of youth Humes certainly looks to be getting the best out of these young players.
Humes spent five years in his previous role, and last season saw him lead the under 18s’ squad to an impressive league and cup double, whilst also helping to secure the U’s academy a prestigious Category 2 status.
In his first ever job as a first-team manager, Humes and his Colchester side have picked up 11 points from their opening seven games together, including four clean sheets and two away wins.
Saturday saw a Colchester team with an average age of just 22.5 come from behind to defeat Fleetwood at the Weston Homes Community Stadium, finally repaying fans for their patience with the young side so far this season.
Whilst the likes of Freddie Sears, Tom Eastman and Sanchez Watt have been largely running the show – all aged under 25 – it’s the promoted academy players that are the real revelation.
Alex Gilbey, the 19-year-old former youth team captain, has established himself as a guaranteed starter in the heart of the midfield, missing only one game so far this season. Following a short loan to Newport County which earned him 90 minutes at Wembley in the Conference play-off final, Gilbey has now made over 50 appearances for Colchester.
Frankie Kent, 18, broke into the first team this campaign after captaining the youth side to their league and cup double last season. The central defender has played his part in earning Colchester three clean sheets in their last six games, and his form is currently keeping club captain Magnus Okuonghae out of the team.
Former young player of the year Drey Wright had an injury-stricken last season, but this term looks to be back on track. 20 years old and with more than 40 first-team appearances, Wright is a pacy winger with an eye for goal and looking to establish his starting place.
19-year-old creative midfielder Sammie Szmodics was also part of the double winning youth side of last season, and netted an impressive hat-trick in the Youth Alliance Cup final, leading to his call-up to the senior side.
The academy quartet is just a fraction of the youngsters thriving in the Colchester first team. With only six players aged over 25 the side has still managed to find a working balance of experience and leadership.
Humes is putting faith in his young players, even in the face of adversity following four back-to-back early season defeats and a relegation scare last term.
Although a pre-season favourite for the League One trap-door, Colchester have shown resilience and brilliance under Tony Humes which could well see them exceed all expectations and continue to thrive as a well-run club. But only time will tell.