CLUB captain Kem Izzet would like nothing better than to celebrate his 32nd birthday with a first victory of the season, against Hartlepool United this afternoon.

And if Izzet does feature against Hartlepool, then he will break into the top five of Colchester United’s all-time league appearance makers.

Izzet is currently on 415 league appearances, level with John Fowler, and his 416th league outing will elevate him to fifth outright in the U’s charts.

Ex-Charlton trainee Izzet, who signed for the U’s in 2001, is also set to play for his seventh different U’s manager this afternoon. Steve Whitton was his first boss.

New manager Joe Dunne was still playing at the time, before his career was cut short by a knee injury.

Karl Duguid is hot on Izzet’s heels, on 412 league games for the U’s.

Here is a list of the top 10 U’s league appearance makers: 1 Mickey Cook 613, 2 Mike Walker 451, 3 Steve Leslie 432, 4 Peter Wright 427, 5= John Fowler & Kem Izzet both 415; 7 Karl Duguid 412; 8 Percy Ames 397; 9 Tony English 351; 10 Ian Allinson 347.

Meanwhile, the U’s new trio of loan signings, Jabo Ibehre, Sanchez Watt and Craig Eastmond, could all make their debuts this afternoon.