Much correspondence seems to have taken place concerning the football ground in Colchester and its “shortcomings”.

I feel there is a danger of the overriding point being missed. People will go to a match if they are enthused enough and in the end it’s the performance of the team that counts.

Let’s examine my match day experience, a 40- minute walk to the ground or two expensive buses or a drive across a busy town centre, to an area overrun by parking cones with no immediate free parking in the vicinity of the stadium.

Facilities that are not up to the job, with tea served at “thermo-nuclear temperatures”

and long queues for poor catering, with indescribable toilet facilities.

An entry charge, that when considering the quality of the “view” of the pitch, could be construed as over-priced at best and like looking through a letter box at worst.

I should clarify, that was my Layer Road, Bar Side experience for over 40 years, but like all fans I attended games regularly because I support my local team.

No, the Weston Homes is not Layer Road, it has its ups and downs, although having visited pretty nearly all the League grounds I think it compares favourably.

We are where we are and raking over the past doesn’t get behind Colchester United. So let’s get to it and support our team.

John Howson
Prior Way
Colchester

...With hindsight it was probably wrong to have built such a large stadium for a small football club such as Colchester United.

Having travelled extensively over the years around the country to many grounds, I would have preferred if the club had built a stadium similar to that of Northampton, with a capacity of 6,000.

With Colchester’s attendances never more than about 4,000 and quite often only 2,800, the capacity is too large to allow any sort of atmosphere to build unless you happen to be in the south stand where nearly all the singing and banter comes from.

Yes, there has been the odd occasion when we have had the ground seeing attendances of 7,000-plus with the visit of Leeds for instance. Martin Gurden should take a look at the away fans’ attendance over the years gone by and almost never have we seen more than a few hundred traveling fans visiting either Layer Road or the Weston Homes. This goes for all clubs in League One and League Two.

At those levels you simply do not get a couple of thousand away fans.

Colchester’s next large home attendances will no doubt be for the visits of both the big Sheffield clubs, who will easily fill the away end at the Weston homes.

We are in the old Third Division, where the club has spent many seasons over the years. So let’s all get real.

Graham Wale
Rainham Way
Frinton