Views on the U's with Colchester United season-ticket holder Si Collinson

SO the Christmas festive period is almost over and the thick and fast fixtures nearly complete.

It has been a mixed bag for the U's that is for sure and was rather frustrating.

All started well with the impressive team display and victory at MK Dons, which brought not only three points but also closed the gap to the top two.

This was followed by the disappointing defeat at home on Boxing Day, a game against Stevenage and the hype that comes with a certain Mr Guthrie.

We were unlucky and to say the decisions went against us is putting it mildly.

Morecambe then came to town and I am sure most will agree they will be a lot happier with the point than us.

So that leaves us four points from a possible nine, making our first game of 2019 more important and a must-win game at Crawley tomorrow.

Seven points from 12 and no injuries after a quick-fire run of games, while not the best, could be worse and we need to find everyone's buzz word of consistency over the remaining months of the season.

Along with consistency, another word thrown around the football world is sustainability.

With the January transfer window nearly here, it was interesting to read Robbie Cowling's comments - I feel it was an honest assessment of the budget and what to expect.

Now I would love to have a club that has billions in the bank, buys top players and plays my other team FC Barcelona - the Lineker effect growing up stuck with me, showing my age - in the UEFA Champions League Final.

Sadly, that's not going to happen, well except perhaps on Football Manager 19.

So back to reality and in the summer, the club I feel brought in some decent players, putting in the investment that us fans were calling out for. This has shown in our league position.

Now in January the club has stated it will not be spending, due to number of reasons but key was the fact we failed to get any momentum in the cups.

Sadly, from a fans point of view it is disappointing, as one or two new additions could let us raise the bar even higher but I can see the suitability reasons behind it.

Anyone who has seen the very good Netflix documentary 'Sunderland till I die' will realise that there are staff at our club who need to be confident that they will get paid each month and in common with us fans, that the club will survive into the future.

It was very interesting to note that the biggest crowd of the season so far was on Boxing Day, a day when public transport is non-existent.

Although some do not agree, this shows that stopping the shuttle bus shuttle is not a block to people attending.

I for one would rather have Harry Pell playing than a bus service losing money, as these are the sort of choices faced.

Robbie Cowling may not be to everyone's taste but he is open and never shies away from fact when answering questions.

I rate him as the owner and the amount of his own money he puts in.

Remember be careful what you wish for - just look at Billericay Town.