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

ANOTHER weekend of no football - well, the important football and watching Colchester United.

For me, the fixture break came at the right time with it being my wife Jessā€™s birthday weekend, as I was able to spend time with her relaxing.

Hopefully, the U's players have been able to get a balance of rest, recovery and training ready for the game against Stevenage tonight, in the Leasing.com Trophy.

For years, the Football League Trophy has been there for lower league teams to get a cup run, increase revenue and possibly get the chance to play on the Wembley turf.

I know the competition has become at times a mockery of what it is meant to be for well-published reasons and Premier League teams entering under-23 teams has caused a lot of upset.

The EFL sides have tight rules on who they can play and changes they can make, while under-23 teams are arriving with a substitutes bench of more value than the complete squad of the team they are playing.

Instead of improving the set-up it has gone the other way, to a point where fans feel strongly enough to boycott it.

Everyone is fully entitled to vote with their feet and the lack of bums on seats proves that point.

But - and again only my view before I get run out of Colchester by a pitch fork-waving mob ā€“ I do feel that when it is two EFL teams playing there should be support.

It is normally a decent-strength XI for both sides and clubs still have to put a game on at cost with all the overheads, so it is them losing out, plus the lads playing in three-quarter empty grounds.

If Colchester get to the final, will it just be the 80-odd supporters who were at our opening group game at Gillingham or will the Wembley seats be a tad more full?

My point is, I fully understand the boycott and am sure there are those who will not go until the good-old format returns.

Good luck to them and we can all respect their stance but it's the others who don't go, make a song and dance about it on social media and then quietly buy tickets for the final that really annoy me, as it's all aboard the bandwagon time.

Anyway, sorry for going off on a tangent and back to the passion of League Two action.

We have the new boys coming to town this weekend in the form of Salford City.

They started strongly but have been a tad hit or miss as they adjust to life in League Two.

They will by no means be a walkover and we need to be very weary of their attacking credentials.

But it's a home game, our first in the league in what feels like ages.

Let's all get down to the JobServe Community Stadium and support the Uā€™s to another three points.