IT was on this day, 14 years ago, that Colchester United made a couple of pretty big announcements.

The U's smashed their club record transfer fee not once but twice in the space of a few hours on July 3, 2007.

They broke the long-standing club transfer record previously held by the signings of Neil Gregory and Adrian Coote.

The likes of Jamie Cureton, Richard Garcia and Chris Iwelumo, so key in helping the club achieve a magnificent tenth-place finish the previous year, had left Colchester earlier that summer.

And earlier that day the U's had been rocked by the news that key defender Wayne Brown had handed in a transfer request.

So it was imperative that the U's brought in reinforcements, as Geraint Williams and his side prepared for a second season in the Championship.

"These are the first two signings in what will be a very busy campaign in securing the club's squad for next season's push in the Championship," said Colchester chief executive Marie Partner.

"There is a great deal of exciting news to come."

Mark Yeates was the first player to arrive, that eventful day.

The 22-year-old winger signed on a permanent deal from Tottenham Hotspur, having been a key member of the U's promotion-winning squad of the 2005-06 campaign.

Gazette:

Yeates' signing was for an undisclosed fee.

But it smashed the previous club record of £50,000 for the signing of Neil Gregory from Ipswich Town in 1998 and Adrian Coote's arrival from Norwich City, in 2001.

The Irishman, who had missed just two league games for Colchester in that successful season, penned a three-year deal at Layer Road.

Yeates said: "It's good to be back. By the start of next season we should be looking strong.

"I kept an eye out for every (Colchester) result last season, and I must admit that I was envious about how well the lads did."

No sooner had the ink dried on Yeates' signing that Colchester announced another arrival - striker Clive Platt from MK Dons.

Platt was signed for a fee of £300,000, eclipsing the six-figure fee spent on Yeates to complete his move from MK Dons.

Gazette:

The 6ft 4in striker, had also played for Rochdale, Notts County and Peterborough, had played for MK Dons against the U's in the League Cup the previous season.

"I've been a target man at every club I've been at, and I think I have the build and the game for it," said Platt.

"I believe that Chris Iwelumo did well here and the club plays to its strengths, so I hopefully can benefit from that.

"MK Dons are a great club but it is completely different being able to come to a club in the Championship."

Platt went on to make 135 appearances for Colchester, scoring 27 goals.

Yeates played 81 games for Colchester in his second spell there and was on the scoresheet 21 times.

The new signings did not stop there for Colchester but sadly, the new additions could not prevent them from suffering relegation from the Championship, in 2008.