Steven Gillespie, who has left Colchester United to sign for Fleetwood Town

U’s correspondent CARL MARSTON assesses the striker situation, or rather the lack of it, at Colchester United.

COLCHESTER United have not exactly been over-blessed with strikers in recent seasons.

Last term, U’s boss John Ward coped with just a couple of specialist strikers, in target man Kayode Odejayi, never renowned as being a very prolific marksman, and the injury-plagued Steven Gillespie.

Ward spent a good deal of time trying to find a suitable back-up front-man, during pre-season and beyond, but he could never find a permanent striker to fit the bill.

Now, though, Ward will have no choice but to sign at least a couple of new front-runners, either permanently or on loan.

And that’s because he no longer has a specialist senior striker at the club!

Last month, Odejayi turned down the offer of a new contract, preferring instead to drop down a division to join ambitious Rotherham.

And today his former team-mate Gillespie took the bold step to also drop into League Two, by signing a two-year deal at newly-promoted Fleetwood Town, for an undisclosed fee.

Suddenly, the cupboard is bare, in terms of target men, goal poachers or in fact any natural out-and-out strikers.

Ian Henderson can operate as a front-man, as he did at times last season, but his strength is on the wing.

Both Odejayi and Gillespie will be missed.

Odejayi may not have scored many goals – just 17 goals in 115 league appearances –but he rarely missed a game.

Meanwhile, Gillespie spent more time on the treatment table and on the bench, than on the pitch, but he had a knack of scoring goals.

The ex-Liverpool trainee has always been a natural goalscorer, and such players are very thin on the ground.

The U’s are blessed with midfielders galore, following the arrival of new signing Marcus Bean from Brentford and John-Joe O’Toole signing a new deal, but the same cannot be said for the attack.

Odejayi did not score many goals, but the fans still voted him as their player-of-the-season last term.

Gillespie, for all his injury woes, was also a big hit with supporters. You always felt the team could score, with him on the pitch.

Replacements will not be easy to find.