Ethel The Tree

FT: 3-1 Fair result? Dunno Zero coverage from a Wednesday perspective Have to wait and see what the OS come up with later Disappointed though, that looked like a decent start XI

Struggling for updates 1-1 after 22mins - Colchester scored first after 20

I see Colchester are charging £5 / £3 to get in for this one Don't know what kind of a crowd they're expecting School holidays, I suppose

Yes, DM said in interview this week that there was a loan offer on the table that was under serious consideration Looks like Ryan Galvin is the player ... which is fair enough IMO I'd prefer to keep Alex Hunt in the squad anyway

Alex Hunt gets a game ... Ryan Galvin doesn't. Clues? Otherwise, good continuity in selection

@Tarquin's "Strange effect of our winner" OP

Don't know about Josh and Erneeq But @Tarquin describes the REAL bums off seats moment in another thread

That's how Cheltenham fans will be consoling themselves this morning That 7-0 drubbing at home will be forgotten when they beat Portsmouth 1-0 on Saturday Meanwhile Exeter fans will be cursing their team's short sightedness Last night's foolish 7-0 win has all but scuppered their slender hopes of getting promoted this season And as for their opponents this weekend? You can guarantee Cambridge will be laughing their socks off at the prospect

.... and Jordan Rhodes and he DEFINITELY doesn't count

We could also add Devante Rodney to the list of former academy recruits who scored last night in the cup (for Rochdale) He's had a decent career in pro football since leaving us in January 2017, albeit at lower league level Other scorers last night included Chey Dunkley (with a late winner for Shrewsbury) and Elias Kachunga at Bolton ... but they don't count

... whereas Korede Adedoyin scored again last night for Accrington while Conor Grant grabbed the winner for MK Two of our former academy/PDL recruits whose career trajectories seem to be on the up

Our record at U18 level has been generally good for five of the past six seasons Selecting a starting XI from a core squad of 15 - 18 players helps develop teamwork etc Players benefit individually and progress together as a group Over recent years the situation with our U23s has been the total opposite It was good that nine of our youngsters managed to spend time away on loan, but how to fill the gaps they leave behind? Trialists? U18s stepping up perhaps before they're ready? Then there are senior players either coming back from injury or being made to drop a level as punishment for poor form Last season we had 55 players turn out for the U23s which sounds crazy over a 23-game season There's no wonder results were rubbish and the players who suffered the most were those who had previously stepped up from the U18s and would now struggle to find form and consistency at their own level It seemed inevitable that most would be released, but it's a recurring situation I hope Neil Thompson can identify his own core squad of 15 - 20 players this season and work with them Build confidence within a team that performs well and wins games Then we might have a better selection of young players ready to step up to 1st team contention