who had a partnership with Arsenal at the time; John Halls, Graham Stack, and Steve Sidwell also were sent on loan to the Belgian side. He was sent off on his debut – a 6–1 defeat by Sint-Truidense. He made four further appearances out of position as a full-back, before he returned to England – by that time his three Arsenal colleagues had returned to London and the Beveren manager had given up trying to speak to Chilvers in English. He later admitted he did not enjoy his experience, though he did get to play alongside Yaya Touré and Emmanuel Eboué. Colchester United On 24 January 2003, he joined Colchester United on loan until the end of the season, after impressing manager Steve Whitton on a trial. He only made six appearances. At the end of the campaign Arsenal and Northampton Town agreed a transfer that would see Chilvers sign a three-year deal at Northampton; however Chilvers backed out on the deal in the final stages of negotiations. He returned to Colchester United on loan at the start of the 2003–04 campaign, initially on a three-month deal. He made his League Cup bow against Rotherham United at Millmoor on 23 September, and was sent off for the first time in his professional career for a professional foul in the last minute of a 1–0 defeat; Colchester stated that they would appeal the ban. He retained his first team place after serving his suspension, and the loan deal was extended until the end of the season. Chilvers made a total of 45 appearances in league and cup throughout the campaign. Chilvers was released by Arsenal in June 2004, and so quickly agreed to join Colchester United on a permanent basis. Manager Phil Parkinson said that "Liam's a quality player. He's got the chance to go a long way in the game." He was sent off the second time in his career when he received two yellow cards in a goalless draw with Port Vale at Vale Park on 8 March 2005; Vale also had two players sent off in what was described as 'a dour game'. He netted his second senior goal on 16 April, his ninetieth-minute strike at the Galpharm Stadium winning the U's a share of the points with Huddersfield Town. In all he made 48 appearances in 2004–05. He received interest from Barnsley in September 2005, though he