Sam Stringer reports on a tricky December so far for Colchester…
It’s been a tough start to the festive period for Colchester United and their rookie manager Tony Humes, having succumbed to a fifth straight league defeat on Saturday afternoon.
Two thrilling FA Cup games which have ultimately seen the Essex side into the third round have been a welcome distraction from what has turned into a dismal domestic campaign.
Six days on from the last-gasp jaw-dropping victory over Peterborough in the cup, U’s fans were put through a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Rochdale, who only returned to League One this season.
The game saw visitors Rochdale strike the woodwork three times as well as the back of the net four, leaving Colchester’s young side shell-shocked and second-bottom in the table.
Humes slammed his side following the defeat, saying this to local media: “I’m questioning their desire, their attitude to hard work and whether they know their jobs.”
Colchester fans took to Twitter to express their dissatisfaction at the result, questioning the line-up, transfers and experience of the manager.
Fans are understandably unhappy with the situation, but the philosophy of the club is a positive one and only a short time ago it looked like Tony Humes had really turned things around for Colchester, post-Joe Dunne.
Inconsistencies in defence have certainly been a factor in Colchester’s collapse; during a streak of six games without a win Humes has fielded a different defensive line-up each time, leaking a cumulative 16 goals.
To be fair injuries have had major influence, with captain and centre half Magnus Okuonghae out for the season and his back-up Frankie Kent currently out of action too.
Latvian international Kaspars Gorkss was drafted into the club on a short term contract after loanee defender Will Packwood was sent off and injured on his debut, which ended in a 6-0 away defeat.
It’s the outgoing transfers which have also raised questions amongst the fan base, with experienced players; David Wright, Marcus Bean and Jabo Ibehre all departing the club under Humes’ management, the latter two on loan.
This has left Colchester with a squad that has just four players over the age of 26, two of which are seen as back up to the first team, making for a severely inexperienced and youthful team.
January will certainly be the key to Colchester’s season as they look strengthen all over the pitch, and avoid the drop down to League Two.
However, given Humes’ own inexperience as a manager, he faces a situation where his first ever transfer window will be his most important, as the consequence could be his job.