In principal, picking an all-time Colchester United XI seems pretty straightforward. In practice, it was anything but!

Having reported on the U’s home and away for the Daily Gazette for more than 11 years, watching hundreds of their games in that time, I’ve been extremely privileged to admire from the press box some talented footballers who have pulled on the white and blue shirt.

It made the task of picking the best ever team from players spanning eight decades even harder.

I’m not for one second going to claim it’s the best selection, nor pretend or believe it’s immune to criticism – far from it.

But it’s certainly been a lot of fun and a reminder of what a great football club Colchester United is, as it prepares to celebrate its 80th anniversary.

In goal, I’ve gone for Mike Walker, who played more than 450 league games for the U’s between 1973 and 1983.

He was the picture of consistency for Colchester after being signed by Jim Smith for £4,000, missing just nine league games in ten seasons at Layer Road and twice winning promotion.

At right-back, for me it has to be U’s record-appearance holder Micky Cook, who won two promotions for the club in 15 action-packed seasons and played nearly 700 times for them, a feat unlikely to be beaten.

My two centre-backs are Wayne Brown and Tony English.

Brown was a key player in Colchester’s League One promotion-winning side of 2005-06 and was a defensive rock in their first-ever season in the Championship.

U’s Hall of Fame inductee English skippered Colchester to a glorious Conference and Wembley FA Trophy double in 1991-92 and played more than 500 games for the club, over an 11-year period.

At left-back, I’ve gone for Mr Colchester United, Karl Duguid.

U’s academy product Duguid was versatile enough to play in defensive or midfield for the U’s and clocked up more than 450 appearances for them over two spells. He’s Colchester United through and through.

On the right flank, I’ve opted for the flair of Lomana LuaLua.

After being mentored by former Head of Youth Micky Cook, LuaLua thrilled Layer Road in his time at Colchester with his dazzling skill and trickery, not to mention spectacular goals.

In central midfield, I’ve chosen a mouth-watering partnership between Mark Kinsella and Kevin Watson.

Kinsella joined Colchester as a 17-year-old and played there for seven seasons, including two in the Conference, and helped them win the FA Trophy in 1992 before going onto enjoy a superb career at both domestic and international level.

With his cultured midfield play, former Spurs youngster Watson was class personified in the U’s promotion-winning season in 2006 and also in their first Championship season, helping the club to their highest-ever finish.

On the left flank, for me it simply has to be local lad Peter Wright, once voted by fans as Colchester’s best player of the 20th century as part of a special Gazette poll.

The late, great U’s favourite brought excitement every time he received the ball on the left wing at Layer Road, making more than 450 appearances for his home town club.

Up front, I’ve opted for Jamie Cureton, who hit 23 goals in the 2006-07 season to win the Championship Golden Boot and help Colchester achieve their highest-ever Football League finish.

He’s partnered by Colchester lad Bobby Hunt, who holds the record for the most goals in a Football League season for the U’s after bagging an incredible 38 goals in one campaign.

I’ve plumped for Phil Parkinson as my manager as he is so far the only Colchester United boss to lead the club into the second tier of English football, their highest-ever status.

Geraint Williams carried on the mantle magnificently after Parkinson quit for Hull City, leading them to their highest-ever finish the following season.

He was a candidate, as was Dick Graham who is part of U’s folklore for masterminding their unforgettable FA Cup triumph over the mighty Leeds United side of 1971.

But I’m going to go with Parky, simply for the massive impact he made at Layer Road in his first-ever managerial job.

We're getting behind the U’s with a special initiative to mark the club’s 80th anniversary.

Colchester United was formed in 1937, taking over from Colchester Town.

Promotions, relegations, cup giant-killings and a stadium move have followed in the last 80 years.

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.

You have two weeks to submit your selection.

The closing date is April 14.

A panel of experts, including our Colchester United reporter Jonathan Waldron who follows the U’s up and down the country, will whittle them down to a shortlist.

Fans will then be invited to vote for the best XI.

Voting will be available at online, via email and by post.

You will be able to cast your votes from April 17 to April 30.

The team, including three subs and a manager, will be revealed in the Gazette on Friday, May 5.

Dominic Bowers, the Gazette’s head of content, said: “We are delighted to be marking Colchester United’s anniversary by remembering the greatest players to pull on the famous blue and white stripes.

“We want to hear about your best moments as U’s fans and which players make your all-time XI.”

Call us traditionalists but the formation we have selected for the legends team is 4-4-2.
Please submit a goalkeeper, right back, left back, two centre backs, left winger, right winger, two centre midfielders, two strikers and a manager.
We will be running a selection of best XIs submitted in the next two weeks.
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.
Fill in, cut out and send the form on Page Two of today's Daily Gazette to U’s Legends, Colchester Daily Gazette, Unit 1 Brunel Court, Brunel Way, Colchester, CO4 9XP.
Alternatively, email us at gazettenews@nqe.com with your best XI.
Or you can submit your team at gazette-news.co.uk