Born and Bred: Colchester United

good month there, and you're in a good position heading into the new year!

MJK- Definitely some close ones, but a win is a win at the end of the day, regardless of the scoreline.

Justice- Eddie is something very special, it's going to be a real task trying to tempt him to join us either permanently or on loan for another season. Hopefully he can help us push up to top spot!

Griffin- It has been an incredible start, trying to keep a level head but the thought of Championship football is something I relish!

Infra- We are, just need to get through December unscathed now.

October proved to be a successful month for the club as we continued a very much ‘strong and stable,’ (to quote Theresa May,) start to the season. The aim for November was to continue the form from the end of the month in which we beat Bolton, Rotherham and Rochdale into this one. As you’ll see, that was achieved in some style.

Our FA Cup campaign began to start off the month, a trip to Blundell Park was in store for us, a place we visited last season as we won promotion to League One. Many a manager has been quoted in saying that the FA Cup has lost it’s ‘magic,’ however for us and Grimsby it meant an opportunity to play the elite teams within England and also provide a financial boost. A 2-0 win with goals from Le Fondre and Wright saw our progression and a tie against Stevenage in the Second Round.

Portsmouth followed, however the team would be led out as usual by my assistant, Steve Ball, during the Checkatrade Trophy fixture. We ran out 4-3 victors in an exciting affair, with Eddie Nketiah continuing his form by scoring a hat-trick against the League Two outfit.

After two different cup competition fixtures, we were finally able to get back to the league and try and further our hold on the playoffs. Accrington Stanley were the hosts, a side who's promotion was claimed to be a 'miracle' by pundits alike, however they have continued to show that they are capable of hanging within the division, sitting just outside the top half.

Stanley have always been a tricky opposition for me and they proved to be yet again today. A late goal from substitute Chris Porter, finally breaking his six match goal duck, albeit all of those appearances had come off the bench, handed us three vital points on a difficult afternoon for the players. Credit had to be given to both goalkeepers, Dean Brill and Marek Rodak, as they racked up an impressive numbers of saves during the game however.

We knew that a result against Walsall was a huge chance for us to push ourselves into the promotion picture and so a win was needed. Despite a slow first half with both sides being rather slack on the ball, we were straight out of the blocks in the second half. Eddie Nketiah would bag yet another goal for his tally from kick-off to give us the lead. A flurry of chances came for both sides, however the score remained the same and we had pushed ourselves into the top two for the first time this season.

Ahead of the Peterborough game we were more confident than we'd ever been this season. We weren't even at the halfway stage of the season and we were just ten points away from the points total of 50 we were searching for at the beginning of the season. With that, the aims were being mapped up once again as we looked to build on the start we had made. We couldn't be too complacent, but it's been highlighted many times before that setting low aims can lead to low results, thus the bar needed to be raised.

Nonetheless the run had stretched to eight and the aim was to keep that going against Posh. The home side threatened numerous times in the match, equalising through Callum Chettle after a Nketiah goal gave us the lead at London Road however they were unable to replicate that once the Englishman found the net for a second time in the 49th minute, therefore meaning the winning run was to continue and survive another day heading into the clash with Charlton.

Charlton found themselves languishing in mid-table obscurity once again at the moment, a lack of ambition and drive from the board saw the club hindering year upon year, much to the fans disapproval. Similarly to Coventry, the fans demonstrated their hatred towards the owners several times since their relegation from the Championship in the 2015/16 season and were a prime example as to the scene of English football, but more so the state of the Football League.

On the pitch however, Athletic would continue to see their league form continue to slump after a 2-1 loss against us, despite a late Jake Forster-Caskey goal. Which couldn't turn around the early strikes of 'F&N,' also known as Fewster and Nketiah - who were quickly becoming one of the deadliest forces within the division within the first twenty minutes of the game.

You couldn't ask for a more perfect month, could you? A win in every single fixture you have played. November saw us bolster our league position by moving up to second, now placed on the same amount of points as recently relegated Blackburn Rovers, but also find ourselves eight points clear of Scunthorpe, who were just outside the playoff places going into December.

The festive period will see us face: Stevenage (A,) Tottenham Hotspur U23's (A,) Gillingham (A,) Blackburn Rovers (H,) Burton Albion (A,) MK Dons (A,) Scunthorpe United (H.)

that could prove to be a very important month for you come the end of the season mate!

Quoting Theresa January (May is too warm a month to call her, so she can be cold like January).... now that's "naughty"

Love your in depth posts like that man, really good to read, keep it up!

Infra- Definitely what I thought, if we can consolidate that then who knows where we'll be at the end of the season!

Justice- I hate Theresa February Just a good quote though.

Griffin- Cheers mate!

STEVENAGE 0 COLCHESTER UNITED 5 (Wright 5, Digby 22, Fewster 41, Le Fondre 45, 68 (pen)

Colchester United swept past League Two side Stevenage in the Second Round of the FA Cup with a convincing 5-0 win.

Colchester shown the difference a division can make at Broadway Hall this afternoon, putting five past Stevenage to progress into the Third Round of the competition,a round they failed to progress into after a 2-0 loss to Scunthorpe United last season.

United fielded a strong lineup, the only absentee was striker Eddie Nketiah who also missed out in the 2-1 win over Charlton Athletic last weekend. His replacement, Adam Le Fondre, would certainly make his mark as he scored two goals, included a spectular volley from outside the area to ensure the emphatic victory.

Only five minutes in, Drey Wright opened the scoring following a good finish from just inside the area. The winger bagging just his second goal this campaign, however the 23 year old has been enjoying a good start to his 2017/18 season so far. The scoreline was quickly doubled following Paul Digby's header from a corner, just his first since joining the club after his release from Ipswich Town.

Stevenage's afternoon quickly worsened as they were reduced to ten men. Midfielder Jack King saw a straight red following a dangerous two-footed challenge on Vlad Dragomir, which provoked ugly scenes on the field as King tried arguing with the officials decision.

The first half was capped off in style however, Fewster and Le Fondre rounded off the perfect half to make it 4-0 as the sides headed in at the break. The Middlesbrough loanee Fewster continued to shine despite the absence of his usual strike partner Nketiah, proving to be a thorn in the side of the Stevenage defenders all afternoon.

Although the second half proved to be a lot less action-packed, it still provided the 661 travelling Colchester fans with a fifth goal of the afternoon - definitely giving the supporters their money's worth. Adam Le Fondre converted a penalty after Brennan Dickenson was brought down clumsily by Fraser Franks.

A 'picture-perfect performance,' as manager Paddy McLaughlin said after the game means that Colchester will have the opportunity to face Premier League opposition in the Third Round, as they enter the hat alongside Championship clubs in this round for the first time. The draw will be broadcasted live on BBC One following the Wycombe Wanderers v MK Dons game at 10:30pm on Monday.

Stevenage: Jamie Jones, David Sesay, Dennis Dengering, Fraser Franks, Kgosi Ntlhe, Jack King (sent off, 36) Charlie Lee, Nick Hegarty (Dale Gorman, 57) Steve Pinau, CJ Hamilton (Ryan Johnson, 72) Ben Kennedy (Ben Hinchcliffe, 66)

Substitutes not used: Chris Day, Christian Maghoma, Ryan Paczkowski, James Dayton.

Colchester United: Dean Brill, Lawrie Wilson, Luke Prosser, Paul Digby, Sean Kavanagh, Vlad Dragomir (Tommy O'Sullivan 68), Yaser Kasim, Drey Wright, Brennan Dickenson, Bradley Fewster, Adam Le Fondre.

Substitutes not used: Sam Walker, Tom Eastman, Semi Ajayi, Sean Murray, Chris Porter, Kurtis Guthrie.

Referee: K.Hill

Attendance: 2,286.

Crushing win and great to see Le Fondre amongst the goals whilst the others were shared around!

That was a very nice ass kicking for your squad

Seems Eddie wasn't missed too much, although I'd say the score could have been in the double figures if he was present

All- Thanks lads, one of the best results of the save so far, definitely.

I am still alive, do not stress - although I do think some of you will be a little bit gutted about that one. Joking aside as you can tell by the lack of posts and activity recently, I have been stretched for time and so I just haven't been able to update. A mix of reasons, mostly due to family and work amongst other things but it should all be sorted within the coming days, it's been a stressful week for us all in all honesty.

I just wanted to take the time to explain why there hasn't been updates since Saturday, but this story will very much be continuing since I am now a year and a half ahead of the story, so there's plenty to do. Thank you for your continued support, it means a lot.

Tranmere Rovers joined the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United in the FA Cup Third Round hat this afternoon as the draw was conducted.

Rovers progressed into the third round following a 2-0 victory against fellow National League side York City at Bootham Cresent. The win meant that Tranmere are the only Non-League side still left in the competition.

The side who currently occupy 4th spot in the National League will take on Premier League side Newcastle United at Prenton Park on Saturday 6th January with the game being televised live on BT Sport at 12:45pm.

Elsewhere, Fulham who won the competition last season will be looking to do equally as well this season. The Championship side will face a tricky challenge in Sheffield Wednesday when they will travel to Hillsborough.

Premier League giants Manchester United take on League One Oxford, their Manchester neighbours City host Accrington Stanley and in the tie of the round perhaps, Arsenal will play West Ham.

A very favourable draw against Portsmouth, should be able to progress to the next round!