page_title: 2016–17 Colchester United F.C. season
section_title: Pre-season
hierarchical_section_title: 2016–17 Colchester United F.C. season / Season overview / Pre-season
caption_attribution_description: English: Pictured during the 2-2 draw between Port Vale and Northampton Town on 20 April 2013.
context_page_description: The 2016–17 season was Colchester United's 80th season in their history and their first season competing in League Two following their relegation from League One in the 2015–16 season. It was their first season in the fourth tier of English football for 18-years. Along with competing in League Two, the club also participated in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy.
  Distinct changes in form and a series of lengthy squad injuries dictated Colchester's season. Many first-team players found themselves ruled out by injury, including Matthew Briggs, Kurtis Guthrie, Denny Johnstone, Frankie Kent, Lewis Kinsella, Doug Loft, Luke Prosser, Craig Slater, and Sammie Szmodics. Early season promise faded in late September with a winless run that stretched to the end of November. A turn in fortunes saw the U's win seven out of eight league games through December into January, earning John McGreal the December League Two Manager of the Month award. They again suffered patchy form from January onwards until a late push for the play-offs saw a return to form in April. Colchester fell just one point short of a play-off place on the final day of the League Two season, finishing in eighth position.
context_section_description: Colchester United announced their retained list on 20 May 2016. Darren Ambrose, Joe Edwards, Tosin Olufemi, Elliot Parish, Nicky Shorey and Marvin Sordell would all be leaving after the club decided to not renew their contracts following relegation to League Two. Three Academy products, Marley Andrews, Kieran Bailey and Tyler Brampton, would also leave the club upon the expiry of their deals.
  Maldon & Tiptree's Ben Wyatt became Colchester's first signing of the season on 23 May when he signed a one-year contract with the club. On 25 May, Drey Wright signed a new one-year deal with the club. The following day, Jack Curtis became the second out-of-contract player to sign a new deal.
  The club confirmed their first three pre-season friendlies on 31 May. Colchester would first take on Maldon & Tiptree on 9 July, then host Ipswich Town on 20 July, before a trip to Chelmsford City on 23 July.
  On 2 June, Dillon Barnes committed his future to the club by signing a three-year deal. Colchester's League Two rivals Leyton Orient signed Gavin Massey for an undisclosed fee from the club on 8 June. Colchester's next transfer dealings came on 21 June, when Sammie Szmodics signed a new three-year contract with the club. Following this came news that former Southend United defender Luke Prosser had signed a two-year deal with the club after being released by Southend. Two players also left the club the same day, with Alex Gilbey joining Championship side Wigan Athletic after an undisclosed fee was agreed for the out-of-contract player, while George Moncur joined fellow Championship club Barnsley for reported fee of £500,000.
  Colchester made their third and fourth summer signings on 28 June, bringing in Scottish striker Denny Johnstone from Birmingham City for an undisclosed fee, and Courtney Senior from Brentford on a free transfer. This followed news that Academy graduate Macauley Bonne had signed a two-year contract extension on 22 June.
  Having spent the second half of the previous season on trial from Chelmsford City, defender Dexter Peter joined the club on a one-year contract on 29 June. Following Peter in joining Colchester was former Gillingham wide player Brennan Dickenson. Dickenson signed a two-year contract after his release from Gillingham. The following day, four under-18 players signed one-year development contracts with the club. Committing were defender JJ Wilson, midfielder and brother of Drey Wright, Diaz Wright, winger George Brown, and forward Decarrey Sheriff.
  On 1 July, Colchester signed another ex-Gillingham player as Doug Loft joined on a two-year contract. On 4 July, Cameron James and Tariq Issa both signed new four-year deals with the club just one year after agreeing contracts until 2019. The following day, Colchester's longest serving player Tom Eastman signed a one-year contract extension.
  Kurtis Guthrie became John McGreal's eighth summer signing on 6 July when he joined on a two-year contract from National League side Forest Green Rovers for an undisclosed fee. This followed news that Jamie Harney had agreed a new one-year deal with the club. On 7 July, Femi Akinwande became the final out-of-contract player to agree a new deal with the club, signing a new one-year deal. Later the same day, Colchester announced the arrival of midfielder Craig Slater from Kilmarnock for an undisclosed fee.
  Colchester played their pre-season friendly fixture on 9 July away to Maldon & Tiptree. Two different sides turned out for either half, with Dexter Peter's effort separating the two teams at the interval. Former U's player Jamie Cureton turned out as a trialist for the Jammers for the second half. Colchester doubled their advantage through Macauley Bonne in the final ten minutes, before Matthew Briggs sealed the 3–0 victory late on.
  In their second pre-season friendly, Szmodics scored a hat-trick against Needham Market with Chris Porter converting from the penalty spot in a 4–1 win for Colchester on 12 July. Their next fixture was a match against Welsh side Airbus UK Broughton while attending a training camp in Cheshire. Goal
caption: Doug Loft joined Colchester United from Gillingham on 1 July following his release.
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