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Cambridge United F.C.

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Cambridge United
File:Camb10.jpg
Full nameCambridge United Football Club
Nickname(s)The U's, The Yellows
Founded1912
GroundAbbey Stadium, Cambridge
Capacity9,617
ChairmanRoger Hunt
ManagerRob Newman
LeagueConference National
2004-05League Two, 24th

Cambridge United Football Club are a professional football club from Cambridge, England. They will play in the Conference National for the 2005-06 season. Often known just as Cambridge (ignoring their lesser-known neighbours Cambridge City), they are nicknamed the U's.

Current situation

Since achieving promotion in the summer of 1999, the club has suffered continual problems. Historically, United have relied on big player sales to fund wages. When the player market dried up, the directors turned to loans, supporter fund-raising and eventually a ground sale to pay debts. The two brightest prospects, Dave Kitson and John Ruddy were sold in 2004 and 2005 respectively, but it was not enough and in April 2005 after being relegated to the Conference National, Cambridge United filed for administration with debts over £500,000.

At the end of the 2004-05 season, the playing squad consisted of Dan Gleeson, Ashley Nicholls, Darren Quinton and John Turner, plus four youth scholars about to start their first professional contracts. Three first team players, Adam Tann, Matthew Somner and captain Andy Duncan were offered contracts to stay, but turned them down.

History

From inception to the professional league

The club was founded in 1912 as Abbey United (named after the Abbey district of Cambridge in which they play). They played in local amateur leagues with some success. In 1949 the club turned professional and took the name Cambridge United in 1951. They played in various non-league divisions.

The club was elected to the Football League in 1970 to replace Bradford (Park Avenue), after success in the Southern League.

The golden era of Cambridge United

Cambridge United have never been a particularly successful club,but their golden era - if it could be called that - was the late 1980s and early 1990s. They won the Fourth Division playoffs under John Beck in 1990, and the following year were crowned champions of the Third Division. Their key player of this era was high scoring centre forward Dion Dublin, who had joined the club on a free transfer from Norwich City in 1988. Dublin powered Cambridge to their best-ever league finish in 1992 - they finished 5th in the Second Division and qualified for the promotion playoffs, full of hope that they would complete a unique third successive promotion and play in the first season of the new Premier League. After drawing 1-1 at home in the first leg of the semi finals with Leicester City, they were hammered 5-0 in the second leg and their promotion dreams were shattered. Dublin left soon afterwards, for Manchester United in a £1million deal (he has since turned out for Coventry City, Millwall, Aston Villa and now Leicester City).

The post-Dublin era

John Beck left Cambridge United at the end of the 1992-93 season when they really felt the loss of Dion Dublin and were relegated from the league's new Division One. Cambridge were relegated again in 1994-95, this time to Division Three, and most of their time since then has been spent in the basement division of the Football League, although they were in Division Two from 1999 to 2002 after Roy McFarland delivered them promotion as Division Three runners-up in 1998-99.

McFarland left the club after relegation to Division Three at the end of the 2001-02 season, and was replaced by veteran striker John Taylor who was given the role of player-manager. He remained in charge until March 2004, with Cambridge struggling in the bottom half of Division Three, when the club's board terminated his contract and named Frenchman Claude Le Roy as his successor. Le Roy won four of the remaining eight matches and kept United in the league. The following season he made way for assistant Herve Renard, who in turn lasted just five months before being sacked and replaced by Steve Thompson.

Thompson was unable to save Cambridge from relegation and their demotion to the Nationwide Conference - after 35 years in the Football League - was confirmed on April 23 2005. This downfall comes just 14 years after the club won the old Third Division title, and just 13 years after they almost gained promotion to the inaugural season of the Premier League. With no prospect of repaying its debts of nearly £1 million, the Club filed for administration on 29 April. As part of a cost-cutting exercise, Thompson and four other backroom staff were sacked by the administrators. Coach Rob Newman took over as team manager.

League history

DivisionSeasons
Division 41970/1 to 1972/3 (promoted 3rd of 24)
Division 31973/4 (relegated 21st of 24)
Division 41974/5 to 1976/7 (promoted 1st of 24)
Division 31977/8 (promoted 2nd of 24)
Division 21978/9 to 1983/4 (relegated 22 of 22)
Division 31984/5 (relegated 24 of 24)
Division 41985/6 to 1989/90 (6 of 24, promoted as divisional play off winners)
Division 31990/1 (promoted 1st of 24)
Division 21991/2 (Premier league founded)
Division 11992/3 (relegated 23rd of 24)
Division 21993/4 to 1994/5 (relegated 20th of 24)
Division 31995/6 to 1998/9 (promoted 2nd of 24)
Division 21999/2000 to 2001/2 (relegated 24th of 24)
Division 32002/3 to 2003/4
League Two2004/5 (relegated 24th of 24)
Conference National2005/6

Honours

Records


Template:Conference National

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