TEAM PREVIEW: Colchester United – Kemal Izzet says pre-season will be key for a good season

 

Tony Humes did the impossible and kept up a side that looked dead and buried at times last season. Whilst remaining in League One is great, Humes will now want to ensure that supporters don’t have to go through all that again this season.

Last Season: League One (19th)

Manager: Tony Humes

 

Squad

GKs: Sam Walker, Chris Lewington, James Bransgrove
DFs: Alex Wynter, George Elokobi, Tom Eastman, Kane Vincent-Young, Frankie Kent, Michael O’Donoghue, Marley Andrews, Jamie Harney, Richard Brindley, Matthew Briggs
MFs: Joe Edwards, Alex Gilbey, Tosin Olufemi, Byron Lawrence, Drey Wright, George Moncur, Sammi Szmodics, Jack Curtis, Tom Lapslie, Dion Sembie-Ferris, Kieran Bailey, Tyler Brampton, Callum Harrison
FWs: Dan Holman, Gavin Massey, Macauley Bonne, Chris Porter

 

Transfers

In: Richard Brindley (Rotherham United), Kieran Bailey (West Ham United), Matthew Briggs (Millwall), George Elokobi (Oldham Athletic), Joe Edwards (Yeovil Town)

Out: Sean Clohessy (Leyton Orient), Dominic Smith (Released), Magnus Okuonghae (Luton Town), Jabo Ibehre (Carlisle United), Kevin Lokko (Released), Sanchez Watt (Released), David Fox (Released), Ben Gordon (Released)

 

First Six: Blackpool (H), Peterborough United (A), Oldham Athletic (H), Fleetwood Town (A), Scunthorpe United (H), Sheffield United (A)

Likely Lineup: (4-5-1) Walker – Brindley, Eastman, Elokobi, Briggs – Wright, Moncur, Edwards, Szmodics, Massey – Porter

 

 

A word from…Kemal Izzet

On loyalty I was proud to be there for so long, it is quite rare these days to see that in the football league and it was great to get as high up the football league as we did at one point.

You always want to challenge and play well and I always felt we did that as both a team and a club, I’d have loved to stay there longer if I’d had the chance.

On leaving the club Sadly, it was a decision that was out of my hands, as I said I would loved to have stayed a bit longer. The manager spoke to me the summer before and told me I probably wouldn’t be playing as much and the club wanted to sort a coaching role out for me alongside my playing duties.

But we didn’t get the category two status we needed to expand the coaching side of things so the club couldn’t do anything about giving me a coaching role and that was that really.

On the difficulties and delights of the football league The difference when you are promoted or relegated isn’t that huge, it’s just little things that take a bit of getting used to. The players you come up against might not always be of a higher quality, but they’re consistent and that makes a difference.

It’s a one off if you face a bigger side in the FA Cup, you’ll have players who put everything on the line for that one game and then go back to another standard in the league, but the top players perform like they would in the cup every single game and that’s difficult to come up against at first.

We were stagnant for a little while but Phil Parkinson came in and changed the club, when we got to the Championship we did really well, top half and we could even have made the play-offs if one or two other things had gone our away. But when you go down you lose players, we lost about 60 goals through players that left and that’s just impossible to replace. Losing becomes a habit once it starts.

On Tony Humes I didn’t get the chance to work with him too much as he was part of the youth side of things but he must be doing something right, they were absolutely dead and buried, I didn’t think they could stay up but he did a remarkable job.

He’ll give the youth players a chance and if they can play like they did at the end of last season they’ve got every chance, that spell of form was promotion form and they were impressive on the last day against Preston too.

On the importance of consistency They’ve brought in a couple of defenders and that’s key, your back four is absolutely key. When we were in the Championship our back four was consistent, they were rock solid and that gives you confidence.

You need a settled squad, loanees coming in and out don’t help, there’s too much inconsistency whoever they might be. Pre-season will be really important, it’s great to get away and do some team building activities, it’s crucial when a lot of new players are coming in. But get a good start, build on what they did last season and who knows?

 

The Offside Rule Podcast Prediction: Despite a superb end to the season, Colchester still lack quality and have lost some good players this summer. It should be another nail-biting season for everybody concerned.

Key Player: George Moncur – He finished last season superbly and was key to Colchester’s revival, if he can push on this season he’ll make a great deal of difference to the side.

One to Watch: Joe Edwards – At 24, the defender still has time on his side and is an impressive signing from relegated Yeovil. With plenty of experience and leadership for his age, he could be a top player for Colchester.