Colchester United: How can head coach Ben Garner end 'losing culture'?

Colchester have won only six of 25 games since Ben Garner's appointment in March

How do you change a "losing culture"? That is the question every Colchester United supporter will be pondering following a chastening 5-0 defeat by Forest Green Rovers on Saturday.

Thrashed by a team that had previously lost all six of their home matches in League Two, and the worst record of any EFL or Premier League club in 2023, the early-season promise and optimism in North Essex has evaporated.

Head coach Ben Garner cut a dejected figure as he faced the post-match media conference, having been the subject of abuse from visiting fans, both at half-time and full-time.

Some players did go across to speak to supporters, but that is rarely wise when emotions are running high.

And yet, this should hardly come as a surprise as the "losing culture" Garner referred to after the game has been inherent within the club for nearly three years.

Ironically the turning point in the club's fortunes arrived on a wet December night in Scunthorpe in 2020, when they actually won 1-0. But I remember the theme of the post-match interview with then head coach, Steve Ball, being how they had been largely outplayed and were fortunate to escape with one point, let alone three.

Those sort of victories are often dressed up as teams showing great character to withstand the pressure and how 'that is what good sides do…' - but Colchester were not a good side and, while the win took them up to seventh in League Two, it has been a downward spiral ever since.

What followed that night in Scunthorpe was a run of just one win in 25 league matches, two changes of head coach and a mad scramble to dodge the trapdoor to the National League.

That pattern has now been set and while winning becomes a habit, losing can also become one and has seeped into the fabric of the club. Of their past 150 League Two matches, Colchester have lost 65.

Solid business in each of the past two January transfer windows, coupled with strong finishes to the seasons, have kept the U's in the EFL but it cannot go on forever. There are plenty of examples of clubs not learning their lessons and slipping, inevitably, into non-league.

Garner puts faith in youth

Samson Tovide - aged 19 - is one of the talented youngsters in Colchester's squad

Garner is the fourth permanent head coach since Ball was relieved of his duties in February 2021, but with the exception of a few brief flurries, the club have been unable to shake off that losing feeling.

The average age of the current team hovers around the 22 mark. So is the issue too many youngsters? Well, Colchester went the other way two years ago by recruiting players such as Alan Judge, Cole Skuse, Luke Chambers and Freddie Sears. All of these were north of 30, but the result was still a scramble to ensure EFL safety.

The answer probably lies somewhere in between, but players aged around 26 or 27 with plenty of games under their belts come at a price.

Colchester owner Robbie Cowling has dug deep to keep the club in business, and in the league, but his pockets are only so deep and EFL financial regulations cannot be broken.

Garner spoke last week about how turning around the club has proved harder than he thought. There has been a reset - yes, another one - and the brand of football is certainly easier on the eye, but even an exhilarating win over high-flying Notts County came while conceding four goals - surely a warning that not all is quite right.

Head coaches have come and gone, and only midfielder Noah Chilvers remains from that night at Scunthorpe three years ago, but while those two facets have seen so much change the one statistic which counts has not budged much.

Losing remains part of the Colchester United culture and at some point the answer has to be found if they are not to return to England's fifth tier, from which they returned in 1992 after a two-year sojourn.