Choosing a Colchester United team drawn from players who have worn the blue and white stripes over eight decades is great fun. It must not be taken too seriously.

When Vic Keeble, Peter Wright and Bobby Hunt played there were no substitutes.

Team formations then were different to the variations we have today.

So, I have tried to blend the past with the present using players from different decades, I have selected a team pattern of 4-2-4 - an attacking formation, providing excitement for the fans, not the boring defence-led formations which we so often see nowadays with, on occasions just a single striker.

Football is supposed to be about entertainment!

I had competing players for several positions who I would love to have named as substitutes... but the Gazette has made no provision for this.

My manager is Phil Parkinson. He took Colchester United into the Championship and the 5th round of the FA Cup away to Chelsea, ably assisted by Geriant (George) Williams who would be my second choice if I was allowed an assistant manager.

George Williams took the U’s to the highest ever position in the club’s history the following year.

In goal I have the dependable and long serving Mike Walker.

My back four are Karl Duguid, Wayne Brown, Derek Parker and Joe Dunne.

The middle two is playmaker Kevin Watson and hard-working Greg Halford.

The front four are Perry Groves, Vic Keeble, Bobby Hunt and Peter Wright. Four attackers, all of them local.

I am going from memory that Perry was local – Keeble, Hunt and Wright all were.

Duguid and Halford are versatile players who can play in several positions, so that gives flexibility to team selection in the event of injuries.

Both can play upfront as equally well as in midfield or at the back.

Duguid’s inspirational running raises team spirit, while Halford’s precision free-kicks and long throws are a huge bonus.

Wayne Brown is a solid central defender who inspires confidence, while local lad Parker – late of West Ham – provides real grit against opponents.

Dunne is a determined full-back who reads the game well. He is my captain.

Watson, in my book, is the classiest midfield general who ever wore a U’s shirt.

His performance during the promotion season to the Championship was the winning ingredient which made the difference.

Halford, a product of the U’s youth policy, brings youthful enthusiasm.

The four attackers are all legends! Perry Groves is tipped for a bright career (he went on to play for Arsenal) as is Vic Keeble (who won an FA Cup winners medal with Newcastle in the mid-Fifties).

Goalscoring machine Bobby Hunt has, for more than 50 years, held the club record of scoring the most goals in a season.

Peter Wright, voted by U’s fans as the top player of the 20th century, had the crowd cheering each time he burst down the left wing.

• WE’RE getting behind Colchester United with a special initiative to mark the club’s 80th anniversary.

To mark the occasion we want you to pick the top all-time XI to play for the U’s and the club’s best ever manager.

We want you to submit your team online, by post or on email. The closing date is April 14.

A panel of experts will whittle them down to a shortlist. Fans will then be invited to vote for the best XI.

Voting will be available at gazette-news.co.uk, via email and by post, from April 17 to April 30.

The team, including three subs and a manager, will be revealed in a 16-page pull-out on Friday, May 5.

Call us traditionalists, but the formation we have selected for the legends team is 4-4-2, so we need four defenders, four midfielders and two forwards, and a manager.

We will be running a selection of best XIs, so feel free to expand on your selection with a write-up of no more than 300 words explaining why you chose each player. Be sure to include contact details on your submission.

To get involved either fill in, cut out and send the form on page 2 to U’s Legends, Colchester Gazette, Unit 1 Brunel Court, Brunel Way, Colchester, CO4 9XP; email us at gazette.newsdesk@nqe.com with your best XI or submit your team at gazette-news.co.uk.