He always played that formation. whether it was his prefered formation is a moot point. Most Colchester fans will tell you that Tony Humes, director of football, insists on that fromation, the idea being that every team in the club (i.e. U18s, U23s etc) will play to the same formula. Kevin Keen, just about the only manager in recent times who did not come out of the academy staff, lasted only 6 months because he was not prepared to be dictated to from upstairs.
For what it's worth, I think John McG may be open-minded. he's certainly an attacking manager, and I have been a bit bemused by the notion on here that he'd certainly be a great defensive coach. Under his management the U's regularly had Tom Eastman turning up on the right wing. I think McGreal probably left Colchester because he was tired of not being allowed to buy any wise old heads but possibly also because he couldn't play the way he wanted. The fact that it all ended amicably is probably because he knew the deal from the get-go.
By the way, against Charlton he'll be up against Alex Gilbey, thought of by many as the most promising player ever to come out of the Colchester academy, who McG will have known since Gilbey was a small kid. The fact that like all the other Colchester youth (Szmodics, Kent, Poku to name some of the most obvious) he hasn't been able to really crack the Championship will be a real disappointment to the club.
Finally, Johny Jackson - the Charlton manager, for now at least . When Paul Lambert arrived at Colchester, Jackson was captain (and he'd played every single game of the previous season, in the Championship in the last season at Layer Road)) When Lambert arrived he kicked him and three or four others out of the first team squad and made them train with the kids. Jackson went on to play loads and loads for Charlton. I'm sure many U's fans hope he will one day be U's manager as he always states his affection for the club, but obviously his success at Charlton makes that increasingly unlikely. [Post edited 6 Dec 2021 21:20]
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