Exciting prospects entice Tom to upgrade.
In the latest in our series about why fans are choosing to get involved next season, Tom Lissimore explain why he's decided to upgrade to a full Season Ticket as part of his belief in the direction the club is going.
The U's have been pleased to see so many fans getting on board and the good news is that there are many fans who are either getting a Season Ticket for the first time, or returning after an absence.
We had another great week on Season Ticket sales last week, with around 300 fans getting on board in a busy five days for the Ticket Office.
I was mascot for the U’s vs Lincoln in December 1989 which was amazing despite Eamon Collins being sent off and the 1-0 defeat. I still have the pictures of me with the captains and, as a budding goalkeeper at the time, my then favourite player by positional default, John Grace.
I remember going in the Family Enclosure regularly with my brother Gavin; with Dad giving me a £1 which covered the 50p child entrance leaving the change to be spent on penny sweets and the bright coloured sugar drinks in cup!
I think I was 5 or 6 for my first game at Layer Road; placed at the front of Terrace 3, under the floodlight gave me a great view of Mario Walsh adoring any attention he received, as the cliché goes I was hooked ever since then and was fortunate to be taken to most games thereafter.
My Dad was a keen Colchester United fan all of his life and would take my older brother to games. After some nagging from me, it was decided that I was finally old enough to join them on the regular trips.
Why I'm On Board - Tom Lissimore
I remember going in the Family Enclosure regularly with my brother Gavin; with Dad giving me a £1 which covered the 50p child entrance leaving the change to be spent on penny sweets and the bright coloured sugar drinks in cup!
I think I was 5 or 6 for my first game at Layer Road; placed at the front of Terrace 3, under the floodlight gave me a great view of Mario Walsh adoring any attention he received, as the cliché goes I was hooked ever since then and was fortunate to be taken to most games thereafter.
My Dad was a keen Colchester United fan all of his life and would take my older brother to games. After some nagging from me, it was decided that I was finally old enough to join them on the regular trips.
Why I'm On Board - Tom Lissimore
As I grew older I moved around the ground, from the bouncing Layer Road End to the Barside before returning to where it began for me in Terrace 3 and 4, being able to 'commute' between the two stands was a big draw for me.
My Dad never moved from his position in Terrace 3, and the night before his funeral Gavin and I decided that a fitting tribute would be to lay a scarf where he stood.
So with the military precision of the chuckle brothers we managed to get into the then overgrown and desolate Layer Road for one last time. I’m glad we did as it was truly fitting and also somewhat magical being in the place where so many great memories were created.
The performance away at Bury was immense and proved we had the fight to stay up. The general mood was that if we stay up, Dunne could build something quite special for the following season.
Even the bad run of games allowed for the incredible outpouring of relief after finally beating Walsall to end the run, people would be forgiven for thinking we’d won the FA Cup judging by some reactions after the game.
The football and attitude in which it was played was fantastic in the beginning, outplaying sides and having the euphoric feeling after games that was missing since the first year in the Championship.
For a few seasons it became almost a chore to watch a side seemingly scared of losing but terrified of winning. With the appointment of Joe Dunne and Mark Kinsella I think everyone agreed that 'we had our U’s back'.
I thought last season was probably the most exciting, albeit nervous, since the move to WHCS.
Even the bad run of games allowed for the incredible outpouring of relief after finally beating Walsall to end the run, people would be forgiven for thinking we’d won the FA Cup judging by some reactions after the game.
The football and attitude in which it was played was fantastic in the beginning, outplaying sides and having the euphoric feeling after games that was missing since the first year in the Championship.
For a few seasons it became almost a chore to watch a side seemingly scared of losing but terrified of winning. With the appointment of Joe Dunne and Mark Kinsella I think everyone agreed that 'we had our U’s back'.
I thought last season was probably the most exciting, albeit nervous, since the move to WHCS.
Also, I thought buying a full Season Ticket also is a clear statement of approval of the direction the club is going in.
I found myself regularly buying extra tickets on matchday once my allocation was up. The new pricing structure made sense for me to buy a full season ticket and not have to worry about buying extra tickets.
I’ve held half season tickets for last few seasons, as living in London I thought I wouldn’t be able to make some mid week games, and the flexibility these offered was brilliant, even though I would end up going to about 19 home games including all midweek ones!
I found myself regularly buying extra tickets on matchday once my allocation was up. The new pricing structure made sense for me to buy a full season ticket and not have to worry about buying extra tickets.
I’ve held half season tickets for last few seasons, as living in London I thought I wouldn’t be able to make some mid week games, and the flexibility these offered was brilliant, even though I would end up going to about 19 home games including all midweek ones!
I’d love to see the crowds improve to help recreate the atmosphere of the promotion winning season, hopefully with the same end result.
The return of Craig Eastmond sends a fantastic message to the fans of the intent for next season. If we can add a few more players of similar class we will be in for a treat of a season.
The return of Craig Eastmond sends a fantastic message to the fans of the intent for next season. If we can add a few more players of similar class we will be in for a treat of a season.