Colchester United F.C. Under-23s and Academy
Full name | Colchester United Football Club Under-23s and Academy | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | The U's | |||
Ground |
Florence Park, Tiptree Colchester Community Stadium | |||
Capacity | 10,105 (Colchester Community Stadium) | |||
Chairman | Robbie Cowling | |||
Manager |
Wayne Brown (under-23s) Liam Bailey (caretaker) (under-18s) | |||
League |
Professional U23 Development League League 2 South Division (under-23s) Professional U18 Development League League 2 South Division (under-18s) | |||
2015–16 |
Professional U21 Development League 2 South Division, 4th (under-21s) Professional U18 Development League League 2 South Division, 7th (under-18s) | |||
|
Colchester United Football Club Under-23s are the under-23 team of Colchester United Football Club. They play in the South Division of the Professional U21 Development League 2, the second tier of reserve football in England. The team mostly consists of the club's under-23 players, although senior players have occasionally made appearances for the side, for instance, during recovery from injury. The team are coached by Wayne Brown.
Colchester United Football Club Academy are the youth team of Colchester United Football Club. They play in the South Division of the Professional U18 Development League 2, the second tier of youth football in England. The team are coached by caretaker manager Liam Bailey.
The under-23 team play their home games at either the Colchester Community Stadium or the club's training ground, Florence Park in Tiptree. The under-18's also use Florence Park for their home matches.
History
Under Colchester United chairman Robbie Cowling's stewardship, the club put forward a planning application for a nine-hectare site for a new training ground based in the nearby village of Tiptree in 2009. Planning permission was granted in 2010 for the centre which cost £3.5 million. It was built to house a new academy and provide training facilities for all teams within the club.[1]
Under the new Elite Player Performance Plan development scheme, Colchester United were first granted Category Two status for their academy in July 2012. The new system allowed greater contact time between the young players within the academy and the club's coaching staff.[2] However, in August 2013, the club fell short of the required standard set by the EPPP by three percent,[3] but the club secured Category Two status once more in June 2014 after operating with an increased academy budget during the 2013–14 season.[4] During the 2013–14 season, the Colchester United under-18 side secured a league and cup double by winning the Football League Youth Alliance South East division and the national Youth Alliance Cup.[5][6]
Under-23 squad
Colchester United players who are eligible by age to play for the under-23 development squad (born on or after 1 January 1993).[9]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Under-18 squad
Colchester United players who are eligible by age to play for the under-18 development squad.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Staff
Current coaching and medical staff within the academy.[16]
- As of 4 July 2016
- Academy manager: Jon De Souza
- Head of coaching: Sean Thacker
- Academy recruitment: Andy Scott
- Under-23s lead coach: Wayne Brown
- Under-23s assistant coach: Kevin Horlock
- Under-18s lead coach: vacant
- Under-18s assistant coach: Liam Bailey
- Lead phase coach: Adam Lewis
- Lead youth phase coach: James McFarlane
- Lead foundation phase coach: Adam Hampson
- Academy sports scientist: Perry Blanchette, Lewis Coldham
- Senior academy physio: James Hall, Anthony Johnstone
- Academy coach developer: Jon Duckett
- Academy 1-to-1 coach: Richard Hall
Academy graduates
The following players are graduates of the Colchester United Academy who have played for the Colchester United first-team since the academy's first year with Category Two status.[17]
Players who are still with the club are marked in italics.
Honours
- Football League Youth Alliance South East[5]
- Winners: 2013–14
- Football League Youth Alliance Cup
- Winners: 2013–14
References
- ↑ "Colchester United granted approval for extra training time". BBC News. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ↑ Hudson, Matt (20 July 2012). "Category Two Boost For U's". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ↑ "Colchester United: Academy decision angers Joe Dunne". BBC Sport. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ↑ Marston, Carl (16 June 2014). "Colchester United secure Academy Category Two status, but for how long?". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- 1 2 "Newsletter 34" (PDF). The Football League. 14 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ↑ Marston, Carl (30 April 2014). "League-Cup double for super Colchester United Under-18s". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ↑ "Colchester United". FootballSquads. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- ↑ "U's Go To Hull". Colchester United FC. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- ↑ "Professional Development League: Competition format explained". Premier League. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- ↑ "Current Youth" (PDF). Colchester United FC. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- ↑ "Squad Statistics". Football in Colchester – 2015/16. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ↑ Hudson, Matt (10 May 2016). "New Scholars Confirmed". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ↑ Hudson, Matt (19 March 2015). "Meet The Scholars". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ↑ "Retained List 2015-16" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ↑ Hudson, Matt (15 August 2016). "U18s Defeat Forest". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- ↑ Hudson, Matt (24 June 2015). "Who's Who". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ↑ "Alltime- List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2016.