Colchester United F.C. Under-23s and Academy

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 Richard Hall.

Colchester United F.C. Under-23s and Academy
Full nameColchester United Football Club Under-23s and Academy
Nickname(s)The U's
GroundFlorence Park, Tiptree
Colchester Community Stadium
Capacity10,105 (Colchester Community Stadium)
ChairmanRobbie Cowling
ManagerRichard Hall (under-23s)
Liam Bailey (under-18s)
LeagueProfessional U23 Development League League 2 South Division (under-23s)
Professional U18 Development League League 2 South Division (under-18s)
2019–20Professional U23 Development League 2 South Division, 10th (under-23s)
Professional U18 Development League League 2 South Division, 9th (under-18s)

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 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
As of 29 August 2020.[7][8]

Colchester United players who are eligible by age to play for the under-23 development squad (born on or after 1 January 1997).[9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
7 FW  ENG Courtney Senior
14 MF  ENG Noah Chilvers
16 MF  ENG Diaz Wright
17 DF  ENG Miquel Scarlett
19 DF  ENG Ollie Kensdale
20 FW  ENG Michael Fernandes
21 MF  ENG Ryan Clampin
24 MF  ENG Ben Stevenson
25 MF  ENG Andre Hasanally
No. Pos. Nation Player
27 DF  DEN Matthew Weaire
28 GK  ENG Callum Coulter
30 DF  ENG Al-Amin Kazeem
31 MF  ENG Sammie McLeod
32 FW  ENG Jake Hutchinson
49 MF  ENG Kwame Poku
— GK  ENG Shamal George
— DF  ENG Danny Collinge
— FW  ENG Ollie Sims

Staff

Current coaching and medical staff within the academy.[10]

As of 15 February 2020
  • Under 23s lead coach: Richard Hall
  • Under-18s lead coach: Liam Bailey
  • Under-18s assistant coach: Adam Lewis
  • Academy goalkeeping coach: Paul Smith
  • Academy sports science: Kem Ismail, James Lee
  • Academy physio: Greg Barnes
  • 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 in July 2012.[11]

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
  1. "Colchester United granted approval for extra training time". BBC News. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  2. Hudson, Matt (20 July 2012). "Category Two Boost For U's". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  3. "Colchester United: Academy decision angers Joe Dunne". BBC Sport. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  4. 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.
  5. "Newsletter 34" (PDF). The Football League. 14 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  6. Marston, Carl (30 April 2014). "League-Cup double for super Colchester United Under-18s". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  7. "First Team Profiles". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  8. "Colchester United". FootballSquads. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  9. "Professional Development League: Competition format explained". Premier League. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  10. "Who's Who & Contact Details". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  11. "Alltime List of Debuts". Coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
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