AND so the season ends with a good performance and a feelgood factor in the air, in front of 6,000 fans. Singing, shouting, but ultimately sighing.

I don’t know about you, but in recent seasons I have walked away from the stadium thinking ‘I need a break from this’. Not this season.

We have just missed out on the play-offs by a measly point but already fans are talking about our prospects next year.

Frankly, we need a few weeks to recover before the old football addiction bug will kick in and we will be missing it.

Saturday attracted two premier YouTube vloggers, Ellis Platten, of Away Days, and Smiv, of On the Road. Both recorded the final-day scenes for posterity so that we will all have a reminder of the emotions of the day. Far removed from the old Saturday night Green ‘Un.

The season has fallen conveniently into four phases. First, the opening five games which were a slightly deceptive phoney war in the sunshine, bringing us ten points and suggesting that we could comfortably handle League Two.

The second phase was the miserable Autumn, with serious injuries beginning to kick in and some tougher games and depressing defeats, with a depleted side struggling bravely.

The second phase took us up to the 2-1 defeat at Yeovil on November 19.

Things changed perceptibly at half-time at Cheltenham on November 22. After a poor first half, the shackles dropped off and we looked like a side prepared to go on the offensive away from home.

George Elokobi came back that night and impressed but my abiding memory will be of the enigmatic Owen Garvan. He gave the last great performance of his Colchester career and possibly his EFL career, pushing himself to the limit out on that slippery pitch, making a point to himself and everyone else.

Oh, what might have been, Owen. He didn’t mind the small crowd and humble surroundings that night.

November, December and January were the revival as we shot up the league and dared to dream of Wembley and promotion. Good times.

Results plateaued in the final phase at the end of the season, with a very firmly established pattern of home wins and away defeats, all leading to the final-day drama when the whole season came down to the last ten minutes of the play unfolding before us and 250 miles away where Exeter hosted Carlisle.

Looking towards next season, we seem to have double-banked strength in a number of positions, starting with the keepers, right the way across the back four to left-back.

Midfield is more complicated and up front we need to be happy that we have a good enough strength in Porter, Bonne, Johnston and Szmodics.

There, that’s my end of season review completed, at least from my singular and narrow viewpoint. I will use one word to describe the season. ‘Unforgettable’. That will do for me.

In terms of highlights, it doesn’t get any better than the moment against Yeovil Town on the final day when Tarique Fosu scored our second goal and news elsewhere was that other results were going our way.

At that moment the South Stand literally oscillated under our feet. For about one minute we thought we had sneaked into the play-offs.

Worst moment of the season - for me it was Kurtis Guthrie going down in a heap after a challenge against Hartlepool. It was a blow on several levels and I didn’t even want to look too closely for fear of seeing a hideous fracture. Truly, a bad moment.

One of the highlights of my season has been getting to know Bill Lawrence and Bryn Griffiths, who broadcast the Bryn and Bill Show on Colne Radio. Bryn and Bill are everything that football fans should be. They see things in perspective and understand that it’s not really life and death.they eke every last ounce of enjoyment from following the U’s.

Another highlight has been the strengthening of the bond the South Stand in particular has with the team and the manager. These enthusiastic and supportive fans lead the way forward in every way.

My target for the summer is to move back into Colchester after 40 years away from Essex. I love the thought of walking, or maybe biking, to games for the first time since the 1970s!