WE’RE getting behind the U’s with a special initiative to mark the club’s 80th anniversary.

Colchester United was formed in 1937, its predecessor Colchester Town having folded a year earlier.

Promotions, relegations, cup giant-killings and a stadium move have followed in the last 80 years.

To mark the occasion we want you to pick the top all-time XI to play for the U’s and the club’s best ever manager.

We want you to submit your team online, by post or on email.

You have two weeks to submit your selection. The closing date is March 31.

A panel of experts, including our Colchester United reporter Jonathan Waldron who follows the U’s up and down the country, will whittle them down to a shortlist.

Fans will then be invited to vote for the best XI.

Voting will be available at gazette-news.co.uk, via email and by post.

You will be able to cast your votes from April 1 to April 30.

The team, including three subs and a manager, will be revealed in a 16-page commemorative pull-out on Friday, May 5.

Dominic Bowers, the Gazette’s head of content, said: “We are delighted to be marking Colchester United’s anniversary by remembering the greatest players to pull on the famous blue and white stripes.

“My favourite memory of watching the U’s was a 2-0 win over Ipswich Town in front of more than 6,000 fans at Layer Road in 2008. The place was bouncing and Scott Vernon got both the goals.

“We want to hear about your best moments as U’s fans and which players make your all-time XI.”

Call us traditionalists, but the formation we have selected for the legends team is 4-4-2, so please submit a goalkeeper, right back, left back, two centre backs, left winger, right winger, two centre midfielders, two strikers and a manager.

We will be running a selection of best XIs submitted in the next two weeks, so feel free to expand on your selection with a write-up of no more than 300 words explaining why you chose each player.

Be sure to include contact details on your submission.

Either fill in, cut out and send the form on page 2 to U’s Legends, Colchester Gazette, Unit 1 Brunel Court, Brunel Way, Colchester, CO4 9XP; email us at gazette.newsdesk@nqe.com with your best XI or submit your team at gazette-news.co.uk.