Adventures in Football #97: Jobserve Community Stadium (Colchester United FC)
February 17, 2024
50/92
COLCHESTER UNITED vs. ACCRINGTON STANLEY (League 2)
Colchester, as a team, have existed since 1937 but only entered the football league in 1950. They’ve mostly existed as a tier 3-4 side but did drop into the Conference in the early 90s only to swiftly rebound. They also had two glorious seasons as a Championship side back in 2007-2008. Finishing P10, above Ipswich and Norwich in the process. You may remember them for knocking Don Revie’s Leeds United out of the FA Cup in 1971.
They used to play their games at Layer Road but moved to a new facility, on the outskirts of town, in 2008. The first game at the Community Stadium (renamed for naming rights) was against Athletic Bilbao! In the Championship and in a new stadium, Colchester must have felt like they were on the up and up. However, recent form has seen them slide back into League 2. At time of writing they sit P22, just six points above the relegation zone.
Game day and we head out at 10am to pick Mike up from Luton. The M1 (Southbound) is a bit of a state and we end up detouring off. As we cross the M1 it’s a car park just north of Luton. No idea what happened but we saw three car crashes on the day. People were just ‘on one’. You can park at Colchester’s ground for the princely sum of seven English pounds. If you want cheaper, more sensible parking, you can go to the nearby park and ride and pay £3 for the honour.
It’s a short stroll to the ground over the A road we drove in on. Taking a picture of it through the bars on the bridge makes the Jobserve look like a prison. Maybe it looks nicer in the sun but that’s a lot of modern grey concrete.
Getting closer, things improve somewhat. The club badge is a highlight and I like the angular nature of the roof supports. The missing corners is a choice, as are the stand-alone floodlights in the corners. It already feels badly aged.
I do like the Colchester badge and colours though. Blue and white is a nice combination. It’s inoffensive. I’m fond of Real Sociedad and considered wearing one of their shirts to the game but it was cold, so I had a hoodie on anyway. It’s interesting, to me at least, that Colchester (former Roman capital of the British world) uses an eagle on the badge but is nicknamed the U’s.
We head into the club shop and debate getting some Colchester United beer mats for our post-game pints. As you can see Mike has given the idea the “thumbs up”. I apologised to the small child on the right hand side after I bumped into it. Turns out it’s not real. Who knew? The shop has no home kit, so I assume it’s all sold out. The yellow away kit is still on sale and looks alright. Did I get my thumb in the above shot as a “bit”. You be the judge.
Again, the outside of the ground doesn’t scream football stadium at me. Swimming baths, maybe. To the right here is the Accrington team bus. We head into the ground, scanning our digital tickets and picking up a free (!) program. The concourse is wide and spacious. However, the food and drinks choices are not good. Rollover stuff sucks. Pukka pies is the height of the food options and the beer choice is Carlsberg in a bottle. At £4.50 a pop.
Thoughts about the stadium then. It’s not very full. This is at 2:45pm. Accrington didn’t help by bringing only 100 fans (118 according to the website but I counted). The stand opposite was especially patchy and I know Colchester aren’t having a good season but the turn out was way down. Around a third full. It’s a tidy ground but you’d expect that. It’s still reasonably new. It’s all-seater and cashless. It does feel modern.
The mascot is one “Eddie the Eagle”. Oh, he’s going to sue for sure. I wonder if Eddie ski jumps in his spare time? Like all bird mascots, it’s weird that he has hands. Also bizarre looking eyelashes. It isn’t the kind of nightmare fuel that some mascots can be but it’s not an elite tier mascot either.
I didn’t know Colchester was a seaside town but here is the evidence. We’re on the beach, lads! The pitch is badly cut up on the wings, the sidelines, the goalmouth and other random bits. I’m assuming this is because of recent heavy rain but it looks terrible. Another early complaint is that the seats are not comfortable. The leg room is ok but they’re so narrow. Same as Southampton, another new stadium that doesn’t like people with fat asses. It’s a form of discrimination.
Colchester have a song about “we’re as strong as the old oak tree”, which is pretty nifty but I can’t find the lyrics anywhere. There are drums in the home end and they’re a lively bunch who cheer all afternoon. The atmosphere is good. It’s the best thing about the ground. Some of the chants are a bit samey and I’ve heard most of them at various lower division grounds. They’re on it though. Good noise all game.
As for the game; Colchester play some decent football in the first half and deservedly go ahead on 40’ through a lovely curling shot from Chivers. It’s 1-0 at HT and Accrington should have had a red card after a blatant elbow. Both referee and lino bottle the call after a debate on the beach. It must have been a nailed on red because only a matter of seconds into the second half the ref gives a straight red to Brad Hills for an elbow, which wasn’t. Eventually getting the correct red card but for the wrong moment and player.
The referee got a slew of decisions wrong so it wasn’t a shock that he got the big ones wrong too. Colchester’s fans remain lively, convinced their team is now on to a winning situation, which will help their league position no end. It’s helping that Grimsby are getting hammered at home and both Sutton and Forest Green are losing. Colchester don’t look like a team that should be in relegation trouble.
Then it all falls apart. They can’t add to their lead due to a series of poor choices around the edge of the box. To add to their misery they score a stupid own goal where either the keeper doesn’t shout for a cross or he does and the defender, bonehead that he is, just steers the ball into his own net. 1-1. Accrington played better with ten men but probably should have lost anyway.
Full Time: COLCHESTER 1 ACCRINGTON 1
Ok, that’s it from the Jobserve. Let’s get onto some ratings, shall we?
ATMOSPHERE:
It was good all game. No help at all from Accrington, who showed up in dribs and drabs and made no noise at all. The Colchester faithful kept their voices until the end and did their job. Shame the team didn’t. ***½
COST:
I paid £23.75 with fees and that seems about normal for League 2. Seeing as it sits between Stockport and Crewe my complex algorithm gives this ***.
QUALITY:
It wasn’t a bad game of football but both teams were a bit toothless. The Chivers goal was excellent though. **½
EASE OF ACCESS:
The dreaded queue system to get off the park and ride car park was no fun at all, and Maria had to elbow her way out. It felt like we just sat still for 5:00. The train option is even worse as the stadium is on the outskirts of town and 2 miles from the railway station. At least the parking was close by. **½
MISC:
Disappointing choice on the concourse resulted in me drinking a Carlsberg at a football ground for the fifth time. I should get a badge or something. It’s entirely fixable though. The whole concourse just needs an overhaul of what it has in it. The space is there. I’m not impressed by the toilets though, nor the narrow seats. This is a modern stadium. It should not have these issues. **
TOTAL: 13.5
As Mike said as we left “of all the football stadiums in the country, this is certainly one of them”. I will probably forget this ground entirely by next month. The out of town location was just the start of a litany of issues. If the parking situation wasn’t so good it could have scored even worse. No new ground should have a list of things wrong with it. That all said, I didn’t hate it and we all joined in the “COL U!” chants. It does feel like a club with a solid, likeable fanbase. It reminded me, a lot, of Shrewsbury who have a similar new out-of-town ground and a similar good fanbase.
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