Born and Bred: Colchester United

Adam Le Fondre has completed a move to Colchester United following his release from Cardiff City this Summer.

Le Fondre, 30, joined Cardiff in 2014 after a £2.5M move from Reading however saw his goals dry up quickly, recording just three in 21 appearances. Within the same campaign he left Wales to join Bolton Wanderers, finding his feet once again scoring eight in 17. Once again he was turfed out on loan for the season in the 2015/16 season, this time to Wolves where 'ALF' netted just three goals again in an extra five games to that at Cardiff.

In an attempt to restore his once prolific self, Le Fondre dropped down a division to League One to rejoin Bolton. Somewhat of an improvement was made, ten goals in 38 games however this wasn't enough to tempt the Bluebirds to keep the striker on the books for the current season and he was released after making just 21 starts.

The forward stated that he was 'grateful for the opportunities he was given' however 'felt like he let the club down' during his spell. Le Fondre allegedy turned down the likes of Millwall, who were promoted back up to the Championship ahead of this season, claiming that he 'needed to find his form in a lower division once again.'

Since starting his career in League One with Stockport County in 2003, Le Fondre has played for seven clubs and Colchester will mark his eighth club during his career. Making his senior debut the next season, in 2004, he has gone on to score 171 goals in 460, including twelve in his only year in the Premiership with Reading.

A club statement from Colchester reads, "The club are delighted to announce the signing of Adam Le Fondre on a two-year-deal. Adam has made it well clear that he wants to find his feet once again within this division and we believe that we can provide what he needs in order to do so. He has a real pedigree about him and will bring a wealth of experience in a rather young squad that has been built for the ongoing season. We hope that both Adam and the club can work together to provide a successful season for both parties."

ALFIE IS HERE!!! He must be the only FM player ever (yes he plays FM) to find himself on the game, and be disgusted with his efforts in the gym!

just kidding.... he's a fantastic goal scorer who can light up any opposition, he'll be a big hit!

Ive always liked the idea of signing Le Fondre in an LLM save because he should guarantee you goals! A very good piece of business mate!

Never head of him but he looks quality

Justice- Aye I know he plays FM, seen a few livestreams where he featured and he seems a good guy. Hopefully he'll provide!

Griffin- Thanks mate, certainly a top name to get in if I say so myself.

MJK- Never heard of Le Fondre? Jesus, he's quite well known for his time in the Championship.

Excellent month going for you there, more months like that and you'll be laughing all the way to promotion.

Some really good form atm and Eddie is still banging in the goals! Play Off spot after 16 games is no mean feat and hopefully you can continue the run into the end of the season!

Perfect month!! Keep it up man.

Eddie is a monster, and Bradley has chipped in with a Few(ster) to his credit! Strong month, and you're now within four points of the top spot. Keep on firing in them goals, and it will be yours soon!

Jack- Certainly, praying it doesn't fall to pieces for us when it matters.

Griffin- He's on absolute fire at the moment is Eddie, nobody can stop him and he's got a rate of a goal a game, which is crazy! To be in a playoff position at this point in the season is definitely a positive sign, just got to keep going.

MJK- Cheers mate, we'll try!

Justice- Good pun Aye, I haven't really been taking much notice of the top spots as we've obviously been chasing the playoffs but it is closer than I thought, who knows what could happen in the coming months, I suppose!

September was a difficult month to judge for me. We had improved our league position at the end of it, which would seem to mean a positive month overall, but the sheer amount of draws was a slight worry and I and the squad knew that we certainly didn't want a repeat and to ensure we ended October in a even stronger position and I'm happy to report that's exactly what we did.

The start of the month was a victory over fellow League One opposition in Southend United in the Checkatrade Trophy, which I will reiterate that I have little to no interest in. Although with that result it puts us in a strong position to progressing from the group, which is helpful as we can now rest a select group of players. Sadly the competition has strict rules in place which doesn't allow a manager and team to make six changes from that who fielded in the previous competitive game.

Our first league fixture of the month was against Bradford City, who have been a shadow of their former selves so far this season. The Bantams managed to reach the playoff final last season with former player and club legend Stuart McCall, however lost in the final against Sheffield United. Since, they now find themselves teetering just above the relegation zone.

When I first joined Colchester, we had always struggled against the teams down the wrong end of the table and today continued that theme. A 1-1 draw saw us draw our fourth game in just five league fixtures and this was addressed at full-time. On the day we were the better side, Sean Murray was given a start, something he hadn't had much of recently since the arrival of Yaser Kasim and provided a good strike to give us the lead. Sadly we couldn't uphold this, a common theme thus far this season.

We finally recorded an 'overdue' victory as many fans said in the stands against Port Vale. Vale Park has certainly been a difficult destination over the years, the pitch has never been the most glamerous and easiest to play on, however we did enough to come out 4-2 victors. A Wright double, Nketiah and Fewster all scored in what proved to be a fantastic afternoon of football for both sets of fans.

Drey (Wright) has really upped his game since being promoted to League One with us. I was very doubtful of him at the start of the campaign and were heavily contemplating bringing in a replacement however I stuck to my guns and decided to give him a 'trial period' in other words, in which he impressed and has continued to do so this season which is delightful. I cannot fault the squad this season, we are very much overachieving at the moment.

Returning home we were to now take on recently relegated Rotherham United, who finally dropped out of the division after a couple years of being on the very brink of it. The Millers were a side who were certain promotion contenders and so I prepared my squad to try and take whatever they could from the game in order to further our points tally and get to the magic number of 50 sooner than expected.

To expect a convincing win from this game would have been complete lunacy in my eyes. However I should never doubt this set of players, anything is certainly possible. Three fist pumps later, the full time whistle sounded for a 3-0 victory over Rotherham,who's promotion chancer became slimmer after the game, whereas ours took somewhat of a boost.

The win provided the steaks to be much higher for our next game against Bolton Wanderers at the Macron Stadium. Wanderers missed out on promotion following losing in the playoff semi finals last season and so were looking to regain their Championship status this season and were looking good for doing just that thus far, sat comfortably inside the playoff places at this early stage in the season. It was going to be a challenging game for sure, or so we thought at least.

Bolton seemed to roll over for us and once again we came out 3-0 winners against a top side. Full-back Sean Kavanagh opened his goalscoring account for the season with a superb free-kick from the edge of the area, which marked just his second professional goal in his career. Drey Wright and Eddie Nketiah then got a quickfire double on the hour mark to continue their goalscoring form and the win pushed us into the playoffs for the first time this season.

At the start of the month if you told me we'd be closing out October in the playoff places after three 3-0 wins to Rotherham, Bolton and Rochdale I would have bitten your arm off and to think that was achieving was a remarkable feat and just shown how far we were progressing as a club. Ahead of the game we brought in Adam Le Fondre, also known as 'ALF' who would be brought off the bench and provided a real statement.

Goals from Brad Fewster and defender Paul Digby, who marked his first goal of not just the season but his professional career, were added to by the substitute Le Fondre to wrap up the month in style. At the end of it I have been left pondering who exactly fits my 'strongest eleven,' it's one of those decisions managers love to have, rather than struggling to name it due to a lack of good performances, but because your side has played so well.

November would see the start of our FA Cup adventure once again against Grimsby Town, where we'd be heading back to Blundell Park, as well as the following: Portsmouth (A,) Accrington Stanley (A,) Walsall (H,) Peterborough United (A) and Charlton Athletic (H.)

I really hope you can change your fortune against the bottom teams like you have had issues in the past. Same thing happens to me and it is such a pain in the ass. I hope your FA Cup journey is a successful and injury free campaign.

You are in a seriously strong position right now, and you can certainly push for more than just a play-off spot!

I can hear the song already!

we are going up!
we are going up!
WE ARE GOING UP!