COLCHESTER UNITED SUPPORTERS' ASSOCIATION CHAIRMAN JON BURNS DELIVERS HIS EXCLUSIVE WEEKLY COLUMN IN THE STANDARD WITH HIS VIEWS OF THE U's:

My humble little offering could well have been summed up in one simple sentence this week – Banter postponed due to unsafe writing conditions.

Well thankfully my laptop is not unsafe and is working fine, unlike some of your cars, pipes and maybe the odd gritter lorry or two.

So I’ll try to provide you with some Christmas cheer in among all of the bedlam.

So how far did you get to Bristol on Saturday?

I know of one legendary U’s supporter who found out upon reaching Swindon on the train that the game was off.

Sadly it wasn’t that easy to simply turn around and come back the other way with his pre-booked tickets, unless he parted with something like £50 for the privilege, so poor chap couldn’t return until 6pm.

Still he was back to Colchester earlier than the players and management were.

Nearly 15 hours coach-bound on the motorways and then to get held up on the A12 within touching distance of the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

What a nightmare for them and of course the guys who had to sit behind the wheel and do the driving.

I’m glad that they all got back in one piece and hope that all of our fans did too.

We can't afford to lose any!

The CUSA coach thankfully only made it as far as Witham.

A nice little day out for us and we got to use the new A12 junction for the first time.

I know, little things please little minds.

Could the game have been called off on the Friday?

At that time they’d had hardly any snow and the pitch was fine under the covers.

Can the referee and safety officer take into account the weather forecast?

I suppose they had to make every effort to play it – Exeter went ahead – but not far away, the likes of Yeovil, Bath and even Cardiff made an early decision.

Unless the weather improves, then you have to look at the next U’s games at Peterborough on Boxing Day and then Oldham at home on Tuesday. Spending Christmas Day with one eye on the U’s website or Sky Sports won’t be much fun and will probably guarantee you having a turkey leg thrown at you.

Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that one day soon we’ll see the U’s play again.

A winter break for football?

I mentioned this the last time we were blanketed in snow.

When do you start and when do you finish?

Scotland are pushing hard for it, but I love watching football over Christmas and New Year, so it would be a shame to miss out on these games and the atmosphere they generate.

Were you as surprised as I was that the Ipswich v Leicester game was played?

Hindsight says that it should never have been given the forecast and the potential dangers for the 17,000 fans, so you wonder how much influence TV has on these decisions.

The averted travesty of being 3-0 up and then having it called off reminded me of the U’s v Bournemouth game some years back at Layer Road when weren’t we 3-1 up when the ref called time on the wet pitch.

We weren’t happy U’s bunnies so you could imagine what Mr Keane would have been like.

So what is on your Christmas list for Santa?

On mine, I’m asking for an unbeaten run for the U’s leading to promotion to the Championship.

OK, slightly cheesy, but wouldn’t it be great?

We’ve done it before so there’s no reason why we can’t again.

For the U’s players, I would wish for long term contracts for Tierney and Mooney and for Andy Bond, a replacement supercharged engine which he can change over when he runs out of puff.

We’ll need his energy on the pitch.

For Kem, I would gift wrap him a goal.

It’s his testimonial year and anything will do to get him back on the scoresheet – backside, knee or even hand if the officials miss it.

For Reidy, a better choice of hair colourant perhaps.

What was he thinking?

Anyway, have a really good Christmas break.

Enjoy the U’s football on Boxing Day and next Tuesday.

Six points would be wonderful for all of us.

Up the U’s!