No Strikers? No Problem! 4-5-1 Works For U`s

Fears of striking inequities for Colchester United`s 2010-11 season look to be at least temporarily cured by John Ward`s tactical creativity.

The manager deployed to reasonable impact a flexible 4-3-3 formation when attacking (otherwise 4-5-1) for the first game away at Exeter, a system pro his midfield-heavy squad.

One player who certainly enjoyed it was new recruit Andrew Bond, who said he was absolutely "buzzing" when realising he`d been named for a league debut following transfer from Barrow.

Winger Ian Henderson and double-goal-getting Anthony Wordsworth also put in profitable performances at the weekend, which only adds to the intrigue ahead of Tuesday`s selection quandaries as the League Cup game against Hereford approaches.

Ward`s first game allowed him to show
deliverance on the promise that he could depart from a style even he recently called "too predictable" under his and the club`s former boss, now Coventry supremo Aidy Boothroyd.

The U`s had former Barnsley striker Kayode Odejayi as their only out-and-out striker and also gave new Reading loanee, Dave Mooney, a short cameo from the bench.The only other senior striker, the perennially injured Steven Gillespie, did not feature.







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