Football Season Guide

Colchester United face their first season in the bottom tier of English football since 1998 after being relegated from League One at the end of last season. The U’s have endured four successive seasons of struggle in League One, flirting with relegation before eventually falling through the trapdoor in April. The 2015/16 campaign was one to forget with five different managers ultimately failing to keep the club in the division. Tony Humes was replaced by Kevin Keen in December but the former Liverpool coach was unable to arrest a slide which saw the side go 19 league games without a single victory before they finally won a game at the beginning of March. It was too little, too late for both the club and Keen and he was sacked with two games of the season still to play after relegation had been confirmed They finished second bottom of the table and the club have acted by appointing the inexperienced John McGreal as head coach this summer. He faces a significant rebuilding job with several players leaving the club during the close reason. Influential midfielders Alex Gilbey, George Moncur and Joe Edwards have joined Wigan Athletic, Barnsley and Walsall respectively, winger Gavin Massey has signed for Leyton Orient whilst striker Marvin Sordell has joined Coventry City. McGreal has began strengthening his squad with the arrivals of defender Luke Prosser, midfielders Craig Slater and Doug Loft and strikers Denny Johnstone and Kurtis Guthrie. He also has a host of promising youngsters coming through in the likes of midfielders Sammy Szmodics and Tom Lapslie and strikers Drey Wright and Macauley Bonne. It’s likely to be tricky first season in charge for the rookie boss but if he can find the balance between youth and experience the U’s can look up rather than down in 2016/17.