Cod Almighty | Diary

Bonding

26 September 2017

What do you think of when you think of Colchester? Middle-Aged Diary's own memories are non-identical twins.

Late in consecutive matches at Colchester's old Layer Road ground in the 1980s, from the same spot on the edge of the goal area, but once with his head and once with his foot, Keith Alexander missed sitters. One was to win the game, the other to win a point.

No-one berated Big Keith. Frankly, anyone giving Alexander a hard time, even more than any other player, ought really to have walked away from football and found a new way to spend their Tuesday nights. He would have been the first name on the teamsheet for a Likeable XI.

Besides, no-one needed to; a cartoonist might have sketched his expression and used it ever after to denote dismay. Whatever a position immediately behind one goal may take away from the supporter's overall appreciation of a match, it is always likely to give you the most intimate appreciation of a key moment, whether a goal or a miss. Not just what happened, but how it matters to the players.

Tonight we play Colchester again. A win would be good, but Colchester may have other ideas; it always pays to remember that our opponents aren't doormats. So we might not win. We have a newish squad of players still getting used to each other and to us, just as we are getting used to them.

We can't demand a win. But if we lose, it would at least be good to see the same dismay that Alexander showed on the faces of the players who concede or fail to take their chances. I don't doubt their professional pride, but even so, it would be good for players and fans to share the feeling that it matters. That too would be a type of progress.