COLCHESTER United are now already looking ahead to next season, following the completion of another Football League campaign.

John McGreal’s side finished 13th in League Two, 13 points adrift of the play-off places and with seven points fewer than their tally of last season.

In contrast with last year, the U’s finished on a losing note after picking up one point from a possible 15 in their final five games, albeit against sides all above them in the table.

It was Colchester’s lowest league finish for 24 years and they finished 12th in both the home and away form tables, failing to fufil their promise.

Nevertheless, there were still good things to take from McGreal’s second season in charge at the Community Stadium.

So what were the main positives and negatives from Colchester’s campaign?

The Daily Gazette’s Colchester United reporter Jonathan Waldron, who has followed the U’s up and down the country again this season, examines the pluses and minuses from the 2017-18 campaign.

PLUSES

A CASE FOR THE DEFENCE

COLCHESTER United’s defensive play was more solid, this season.

They conceded five fewer goals compared to their previous campaign and kept 13 clean sheets, in that time.

John McGreal had a solid back four or five throughout the season, especially after skipper Luke Prosser returned from injury at the beginning of the calendar year and put in some impressive performances.

They were able to build their solid defensive platform on the consistency of goalkeeper Sam Walker, who like last season had played every minute of every league match prior to youngster Dillon Barnes being given his chance in their final two games.

IT’S BETTER TO TRAVEL

THERE was a significant improvement in Colchester United’s form on their travels – despite a poor start on the road.

The U’s lost their first four games on their travels but after picking up their first away point at Grimsby Town in September, they did not really look back.

In the period after their 3-1 loss at Cheltenham Town last September, John McGreal’s side won seven, drew seven and lost three games in the league on the road prior to losing their final two away fixtures against play-off hopefuls, Lincoln City and Exeter City.

That was a big improvement on last time around, when the U’s managed just five away wins all season.

READY AND AVAILABLE

IT did not help that Colchester United were without the services of key trio Brennan Dickenson, Kurtis Guthrie and Luke Prosser in the opening half of the campaign.

But in comparison to last season’s unprecedented injury list, the number of fresh long-term injuries the U’s suffered this season was thankfully, comparatively low.

At one stage of last season, John McGreal had more than a dozen players on the treatment table.

But while the relatively short-term absence of players such as Sammie Szmodics, Tom Lapslie and Ryan Inniss was detrimental, the situation was more manageable than last time around.

SENIOR SUCCESS

THIS season saw a continuation of Colchester United providing a pathway for their academy players.

Of the young players who were elevated from the youth set-up to first-team level, Kane Vincent-Young was perhaps the biggest success story for the U’s.

He enjoyed a very consistent season at left-back and left wing-back and made nearly double the amount of appearances he made, last time around.

After scoring on his debut in a 5-1 triumph over Forest Green Rovers back in August, Courtney Senior found some form in the second half of the season and clocked up a total of ten league starts, scoring four times.

His emergence at League Two level was like a breath of fresh air, as was potentially that of Ryan Gondoh and Dillon Barnes at the end of the campaign.

McGreal’s understanding and knowledge of not only the U’s academy has once again proved telling, with more established home-grown players like Tom Lapslie progressing this season.

MCGREAL’S RAPPORT

LIKE the majority of other clubs, it has not all been sweetness and light for Colchester United this season.

But generally speaking, John McGreal has had a good rapport with the club’s supporters, most of whom understand and appreciate that the U’s head coach is working with a tight budget in trying to get results in League Two.

McGreal now has two full seasons as a EFL manager under his belt and that should stand him in good stead.

Phil Parkinson had his critics in his challenging first two years in charge at Layer Road; much like McGreal, he was working within prudent constraints.

But in his third campaign at the helm, the young manager put that experience to good use and ended up securing the U’s a historic promotion.

MINUSES

HOME DISCOMFORT

COLCHESTER United’s home form has been disappointing, in the 2017-18 campaign.

Last season, the U’s won an impressive 14 league games at the Community Stadium and tasted defeat only five times, accumulating 46 points and scoring 43 goals in that period.

But Colchester only managed nine home wins this season and lost seven times in front of their own fans, mustering just 30 goals and accumulating 34 points.

Indeed, the U’s won only three of their last 12 home games, with their 2-1 victory over Luton Town on Good Friday proving their only triumph in their final six fixtures at the Community Stadium.

GOAL SHORTAGE

QUITE simply, Colchester United have not scored enough goals, this season.

Their final tally of 53 goals scored was the sixth-lowest amount in League Two and considerably fewer than the 67 they registered, in the previous campaign.

Indeed, their goal ratio in the final two-and-a-half months of the season has been particularly disappointing.

The U’s managed just eight goals in their final 13 games and failed to score in seven matches in that time.

That was particularly disappointing given that their goalscoring tally last season was second only to the seven sides that finished above them in the League Two table.

Of that total in the last campaign, 50 goals - nearly 75 per cent - were scored by attacking players in the U’s side and Chris Porter (16 goals), Kurtis Guthrie (12 goals) and Brennan Dickenson (12) netted 40 between them, illustrating just how much they have missed the trio’s input, this time around.

SECOND-HALF SLIDE

WHEN Colchester United finished 2017 on the back of a bumper December, where they registered 11 points from a possible 15 on offer, everything looked rosy.

The U’s sat in eighth position in the league – only out of the play-off places on goal difference and level on points with eventful champions Accrington Stanley, three points off the automatic promotion places.

John McGreal and Sammie Szmodics were nominated for League Two Manager of the Month and Player of the Month awards respectively and all looked good for a promotion push.

But Colchester failed to kick on after that and in 2018, managed just five wins in the 21 matches that followed with Szmodics scoring just once in that time.

KEY ABSENTEES

WHILE Colchester United’s injury record was generally a lot better this season, they still had to contend with the unavailability of key players in the first half of the campaign.

The absence of last season’s player of the year, Brennan Dickenson, was always going to be long term but even after he returned from his cruciate injury in February, a secondary thigh problem robbed the U’s of his services for the final six games of the campaign.

Club captain Luke Prosser missed the first half of the season after not returning until January, while it was a similar scenario for last season’s second top-scorer Kurtis Guthrie.

Colchester’s most experienced player, Doug Loft, suffered another stop-start campaign after mustering just ten league starts while top scorer Szmodics’ back problem restricted his performances, in the second-half of the season.

GOOD…BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH

COLCHESTER United’s performances against the leading teams were often good.

But they often failed to convert that into results, against the top teams.

The U’s won just four of the 14 games they played against the sides that have finished in the top seven, claiming a total of 13 out of the 42 points available in those fixtures.

In most of those games, Colchester have pushed their opponents and given them a stern test but have ultimately had little to show for their efforts in terms of results.

The U’s picked up just three points from a possible 18 against the three sides who have won automatic promotion.

Having finished 13 points off the play-off positions, they will need to accumulate more rewards from their fellow challengers if they are to launch a more sustained promotion push, next time around.