U's In Brief - 14/02/09

Goalkeepers were all talk this week, with Jimmy Walker`s transfer saga dominating headlines everywhere, and Dean Gerken extending his loan spell, with Darlington.

The U`s current number one Walker extended his deal with the club from Premier League West Ham, although U`s manager Paul Lambert was still not happy, as he told the East Anglian Daily Times.

"Jimmy's agent was stalling, even though Jimmy himself wanted to do it and I wanted him at the club for the rest of the season, and beyond.

"We all knew what was going to happen, and yet it seems that the agent was still sitting on his hands. It kept going to and fro, although we still sent the fax through on time in the end," he said. All of Lambert's comments are reported here, on Vital Colchester .

The fuss comes because Walker, who has been part of the reason for the club`s mini-revival in recent weeks, was due to sign for an extended period.

According to the Football League, his paperwork did not come through before the transfer deadline, although Lambert says he "saw the fax" go through at ten to five at January.

Dean Gerken also hit the news with his public comments about regaining some form in League Two; the 23-year-old stopper says that he is not at the same level of form as a year ago. Forgetting that the U`s defence was awful last year, it is great news! Click here to read this in full.

Meanwhile, in action, Colchester suffered there first loss of the year, with Lambert blaming the dreaded manager of the month curse as the side fell 1-0 to fellow promotion-chasers, Tranmere Rovers. Despite Lambert's comments, which can be seen here, the club are set to name an unchancged team for this afternoon's trip to Chris Hutchins' Walsall.

"I think the award is a curse! But the run had to come to an end some time and you can't win every single game," he said. Click here to read more.

Injury news ahead of this game can be seen in the site's excellent preview, by clicking here.





It was also a good week for nostaliga at the club: yesterday marked the 38th year since old Fourth Division Colchester United took on Leeds United in Division One in the F.A. Cup, and won. Click here for an ITV video-recall of the classic clash.

United also announced publication of a classic Layer Road book. To order yours, click here.

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