High And Lows Of A Lower League Colchester United Supporter

Anyone who is a football supporter has their club.

Walking into the stadium is like your second home. Familiar faces everywhere — people you never speak to, but can somehow spot easily.

It’s weird, because I go on my own, but I never feel lonely. There are many things in life you can feel lonely doing, but football doesn’t really feel like one of them. I guess that’s why football can be special.

For me, supporting Colchester United started when I was 9 years old. I was totally mad about Michael Owen, to be honest. My dad was a Colchester supporter and went to all the home games at the time, so he picked up on my new liking for football.

Formula One was my first love, but football was starting to creep in.

He asked if I fancied going, and this time I did.

I could have gone back in the day to the Wembley final that Colchester lost in the Auto Windscreens Shield, now known as the Vertu Cup. It was probably the first Colchester game I watched on TV, as I was looking for my dad and sister in the crowd.

Didn’t see them, obviously.

I don’t think I cared much about the football at the time, but I do remember the buzz in the town. It felt like Colchester was properly alive with it.

So my first game was Colchester v Hull, and we won 4–3 with a late Karl Duguid winner. At the time, I thought that was a normal football score.

I was instantly hooked anyway.

These days, Colchester are in the same league as they were back then, and once again looking to try to get into the play-offs. With two failed takeovers this season, it’s never quite dull being a Colchester supporter.

But as a lower league fan, I think there are definitely a lot of woes when supporting a club like us.

Unless you find a chairman willing to waste millions, which I think Cowling, our chairman, actually has in his own way — just not in the same way as Bournemouth. I don’t think he’s willing to pull off a Bournemouth, because it’s incredibly risky.

I know a lot of our fans want a risky chairman, but I’d rather be safe and play at a reasonable level than find us bankrupt and playing on non-league grounds.

A week can make a big difference in football.

I think a lot of us lost hope after losing against Barrow. Then, a week later, we beat Barnet and all the results go our way. Suddenly, we’re thinking again: what if we can beat Salford?

Our manager, Danny Cowley, has been the best thing that’s happened to the club for a long while.

I would even have the Cowleys if they somehow relegated us next season, because I don’t think there are better managers than them at this level who are local and understand what our fans want.

So hopefully we can get into the play-offs, and hopefully, eventually, Cowling finds an owner willing to take us on to the next level.