Chiefs & indians

Marie was almost more a part of the club than Layer Road. I could see us leaving the latter but thought Marie would outlast the lot. Has she ever done anything else? All this clichéd stuff about “Bleeding blue and white blood” – people like Marie are the blood of Colchester United.

Ms. Partner has done it all, from selling the tickets (literally) to signing the players. Some had her pegged as ‘too Col U` and not enough business nous; others as ‘too hard nosed business type` without enough love for fans/club. I imagine the reality was probably somewhere in between.

A lot of where we are today (i.e. in existence at all, let alone at a new stadium) is down to her – so thank you Marie and good luck in whatever you end up doing next.

Stop-gap or stepping stone?

Still, we`ve not been quiet on the new signings front, despite Ms. P`s departure. More loanees in: Easter and Tierney and a trialist in the shape of Alan Maybury.

What`s impressed me most about Easter and Tierney is their desire to play for Col U.

I`m not knocking Sam Williams or Lee Hills – good players both – but I think they saw Colchester United as a stop-gap; somewhere to get a few games before trying for a first-team place at Villa or Palace. That`s all well and good – especially if it means we can borrow quality players.

However, Easter and Tierney see Colchester as a bit more long-term. Granted, I`m sure if we ended up being a stepping stone en-route to a multi-million pound move to Juventus or Real Madrid, they`d not be too upset but the angle is different.

If Easter was just after a pay-day, a break from Plymouth etc. he`d have stayed at Millwall. He didn`t. He wanted to come and play for the U`s and for Paul Lambert.

Likewise Tierney. He was onto a good thing at Shrewsbury – player of the year no less – but he feels the “club`s ambitions match my own” and he`s after a permanent move here.

Some have complained about us buying lower league players rather than proven talents or youngsters from Premier League teams. It`s all about balance.

Yes, Danns and Fagan were great discoveries from the cast offs of ‘bigger` teams – but then we nabbed Jamie Cureton from a lower league team`s bench; Chris Iwelumo from the German second division; Clive Platt from a successful League Two side; David Perkins likewise – it`s the players that count, not their pedigree.

Yes the song did go: “We all dream of a team of Neil Danns?`” but obviously that wouldn`t be terribly successful (or practical: Who`d play in goal? Who`d have which name on their back?), you need balance.

We have our chiefs, the headline or goal grabbers: Yeates; Jackson and now Easter – but you need the indians, the ‘water-carriers` as Didier Deschamps was described.

You need the Perkins and the Izzets who`ll work their proverbials off for 90 minutes and be happy to lay on the pass for one of their ‘chiefs`. You need the much maligned Clive Platt`s: to fight for those aerial balls; rough up the defenders; knock big gaps for the ‘chiefs` to play in.

Too many chiefs = bad. Too many indians = just as bad. The right blend of each, all fighting for the same cause and we could really be on to something.

Mr. Lambert is working on it – today`s line-up could see as many as five ‘new` faces that he`s brought to the club. Almost half the team.

Hereford are struggling and we`re on our best winning run for a year and a half (both games of it!). Keeping that momentum up could be monumental for our season.

War-dance in the stands, whoop our team of chiefs and indians on to another scalp!

Up the U`s!