History of Cambridge United F.C.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The History of Cambridge United F.C. covers almost 100 years of success and failure of Cambridge's largest football club. Since establishment in 1912 as Abbey United to play friendly games, the club grew quickly and was eventually elected to the Football League, of which it was a member for 35 years before relegation in 2005. During its time in the League, Cambridge enjoyed many success as well enduring many disappointments. The club came close to becoming a founding member of the Premier League in 1992, something which would have almost certainly have put the club on a different course for 15 subsequent seasons. Right now, Cambridge United is part of the Conference National.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] 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); although a club called Cambridge United existed in Cambridge from 1909, it was not linked to the club that exists today.[1] The club played in local amateur leagues, with some success, for many of its early years, moving from ground to ground around Cambridge (see Cambridge United - Stadium) before settling at the Abbey Stadium. In 1949 the club turned professional, and changed its name to Cambridge United in 1951.[1] They played in the Eastern Counties League until finishing as runners-up in 1957/58, which saw them promoted to the Southern League. Three years later, Cambridge United reached the Premier Division of the Southern League.

The club was elected to the Football League in 1970 to replace Bradford (Park Avenue), after back-to-back titles in the Southern League. Eight years later they reached the Second Division and peaked at 8th place in 1980, but went back down to the Third Division in 1984 after winning just 4 league games all season. A second successive relegation followed in 1985, and a year later Cambridge finished fourth from bottom in the Fourth Division - this was the last season in which the league's bottom four clubs had to apply for re-election. Luckily, Cambridge and the other three teams retained their league status.[2]

Cambridge gradually improved as the 1980s drew to a close, and were soon looking like promotion challengers.

[edit] Glory in the early 1990s

Cambridge United's biggest successes came in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They won the Fourth Division playoffs under John Beck in 1990, beating Chesterfield 1-0 at Wembley. The following year United 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, hoping 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 over. Dublin left soon afterwards, for Manchester United in a £1million deal.

[edit] Decline in the mid 1990s

John Beck was sacked in October 1992 with Cambridge battling relegation from the new Division One, and Birmingham midfielder Ian Atkins was named player-manager. Atkins was unable to steer the U's clear of relegation (although he did take them to the quarter-finals of the League Cup) and he was replaced by Beck's former assistant Gary Johnson.

Cambridge finished 10th in the 1993-94 Division Two campaign, but they struggled the following season. They may be considered unlucky to be relegated as league reconstruction that season meant the team finishing 5th from bottom went down, which is where United finished.

Tommy Taylor was appointed manager just before Cambridge's relegation to Division Three, and they were among the pre-season favourites for promotion. A 16th place finish in 1995-96 was way below expectations, but a promising start to 1996-97 gave supporters hope for promotion success.

[edit] 1999 promotion glory

Taylor then moved to Leyton Orient and was replaced by Roy McFarland, who delivered promotion back to Division Two in 1999.

Since achieving promotion to Division Two in 1999, United have been plagued by a series of problems on and off the pitch. 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 off debts.[3] [4]

[edit] Relegation in 2002

McFarland left the club in March 2001, with John Beck returning and saving the club from relegation. However this time around Beck was less than successful and was sacked half way through the 2001-02 season to be replaced by veteran striker John Taylor who was given the role of player-manager. Taylor took Cambridge to the final of the LDV Vans Trophy, where they made their only appearance at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The U's were easily beaten, losing 4-1. Taylor was also unable to prevent relegation to Division Three. 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 by a comfortable margin. The following season he made way for assistant Hervé Renard, who in turn lasted just five months before being sacked and replaced by Steve Thompson. The two brightest prospects, Dave Kitson and John Ruddy were sold in 2004 and 2005 respectively, but the club's debts remained at over £500,000.

[edit] Relegation to the Conference

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.

[edit] Financial plight

On 22 July 2005 the club came out of administration with a deal being struck with HM Revenue and Customs at the eleventh hour, after the intervention of then sports minster Richard Caborn, and had no worries about starting the 2005-06 Conference National campaign.[5][6] Rob Newman was unable to bring anything greater than a 12th place finish in the 2005-06 Conference National final table.

Financial troubles remained, although with the burden of huge debts now lifted, and in December 2005 it was revealed that the club were in talks with their city neighbours Cambridge City F.C. about a possible merger.[7] It was suggested by both parties that Cambridge, with a population of only 110,000, was not big enough to support two professional football clubs and a merger would be beneficial for both teams and guarantee the future of at least one team in the city. However, both sets of fans reacted badly to the news citing their club's individual identities as obstacles, with City fans particularly anxious that it would be a takeover by United rather than a merger.

Long standing Club Chairman Reg Smart resigned from his role in early 2002 after 12 years in charge. Following brief stints from Gary Harwood (2002-5) and Roger Hunt (2005-6), Terry Baker took over the reins in February 2006. However, Baker's tenure ended suddenly at a Board meeting on 5 June 2006 citing unworkable relationships within the board as his reason for resignation, which led to the appointment of Brian Attmore (Fans' Director) as Acting Chairman on June 6.[8] The fallout from this event led major shareholder Paul Barry to claim there are "deep divisions within the club at staff and board level" and that a new board had to be put in place to ensure stability at the club so that it could achieve the aim of promotion back to the Football League. Any new board would have to continue to deal with financial troubles which were reaffirmed with the news in late June 2006 that fans group Cambridge Fans United had loaned the club £20,000 to pay wages.[9]

[edit] Quinn takes over

On the eve of the 2006-7 season, it was announced that former Norwich City striker Lee Power would be the club's new chairman taking over from Brian Attmore's interim reign. Jonny Hon was also to rejoin the board as vice-chairman after John Howard's resignation on conflict of interests grounds (owing to his ownership of Bideawhile 445 Ltd, United's landlords).[10] Director Paul Barry also confirmed on 6 August 2006 that the club would breakeven for the forthcoming season after a fresh injection of funds following Howard's resignation. The team made an appalling start to the season, and Newman was sacked immediately after a 3-1 defeat by Exeter City. After speculation that Chris Wilder was leaving Halifax to take up the post, on 15 September 2006 the club announced Jimmy Quinn as the new manager, with Steve Castle as his assistant. In December 2006, the team suffered a humiliating 5-0 defeat to local rivals Histon F.C. in the FA Trophy, and subsequently suffered a run of six consecutive league defeats, which many supporters found unacceptable and led to calls for the manager's dismissal. A seven match unbeaten run gave renewed optimism, and although this was ended with two consecutive 5-0 defeats (against Altrincham and York City), the 7-0 demolition of Weymouth F.C. and the 4-2 victory over champions elect Dagenham & Redbridge, led to an atmosphere of positivity around the club. The U's ensured conference safety by winning five of their last seven conference games. A 1-0 away win at Aldershot on the penultimate Saturday of the 2006-7 season was followed up with another 1-0 win at home on the final day against Tamworth, ensuring the U's status for the 2007-08 season.

A strong start to 2007-08 has seen Cambridge United establish themselves as one of the favourites for the Conference National title and promotion back to the Football League.

This came on the back of positive news off the field as an March 26 EGM allowed fresh investment in the club from current board members and American businessman Adrian Hanauer.[11] On Wednesday 23rd January, the chairman Lee Power resigned from Cambridge United after 18 months with the U's

[edit] Seasons since 1970

Cambridge United were elected to the Football League in 1970, since when they have celebrated six promotions and suffered seven relegations. The following table shows each season since 1970 and includes seasons since they were relegated back to non-league football in 2005. Unless otherwise stated, all information is from the following source.[2]

Season Division Won Drawn Lost Points League Pos FA Cup League Cup Notes
1970/71 Division Four 15 13 18 43 20th 2nd Round 1st Round First League season
1971/72 Division Four 17 14 15 48 10th 2nd Round 1st Round
1972/73 Division Four 20 17 9 57 3rd 1st Round 1st Round Promoted: 3rd of 24
1973/74 Division Three 13 9 24 35 21st 3rd Round 2nd Round Relegated: 21st of 24
1974/75 Division Four 21 14 12 54 6th 3rd Round 1st Round
1975/76 Division Four 14 15 17 43 13th 1st Round 1st Round
1976/77 Division Four 26 13 7 65 1st 1st Round 2nd Round Promoted: Champions
1977/78 Division Three 23 12 11 58 2nd 2nd Round 1st Round Promoted: Runners-up
1978/79 Division Two 12 16 14 40 12th 1st Round 1st Round
1979/80 Division Two 14 16 12 44 8th 4th Round 2nd Round
1980/81 Division Two 17 6 19 40 13th 3rd Round 4th Round
1981/82 Division Two 13 9 20 48 14th 3rd Round 2nd Round New points system - 3 for a win
1982/83 Division Two 13 12 17 51 12th 5th Round 2nd Round
1983/84 Division Two 4 12 26 24 22nd 3rd Round 2nd Round Relegated: 22nd of 22
1984/85 Division Three 4 9 26 21 24th 1st Round 1st Round Relegated: 24th of 24
1985/86 Division Four 15 9 22 54 22nd 1st Round 1st Round Successful application for re-election
1986/87 Division Four 17 11 10 62 11th 2nd Round 4th Round
1987/88 Division Four 16 13 17 61 15th 2nd Round 2nd Round
1988/89 Division Four 18 12 14 68 8th 3rd Round 1st Round
1989/90 Division Four 21 10 15 73 6th QF 2nd Round Promoted: Playoffs
1990/91 Division Three 25 11 10 86 1st QF 1st Round Promoted: Champions
1991/92 Division Two 19 17 10 74 5th 4th Round 2nd Round Lost Playoffs v. Leicester
1992/93 Division One 11 16 19 49 23rd 3rd Round QF Premier League founded
Relegated: 23rd of 24
1993/94 Division Two 19 9 18 66 10th 2nd Round 2nd Round
1994/95 Division Two 11 15 20 48 20th 3rd Round 1st Round Relegated: 20th of 24
1995/96 Division Three 14 12 20 54 16th 1st Round 1st Round
1996/97 Division Three 18 11 17 65 10th 2nd Round 1st Round
1997/98 Division Three 14 18 14 60 16th 2nd Round 1st Round
1998/99 Division Three 23 12 11 81 2nd 2nd Round 3rd Round Promoted: Runners-up
1999/00 Division Two 12 12 22 48 19th 5th Round 1st Round
2000/01 Division Two 14 11 21 53 19th 2nd Round 1st Round
2001/02[12] Division Two 7 13 26 34 24th 1st Round 1st Round Relegated: 24th of 24
2002/03[13] Division Three 16 13 17 61 12th 3rd Round 2nd Round
2003/04[14] Division Three 14 14 18 56 13th 2nd Round 1st Round
2004/05[15] League Two 8 16 22 30[16] 24th 2nd Round 1st Round Relegated: 24th of 24
2005/06[17] Conference 15 10 17 55 12th 4th QR Ineligible
2006/07[18] Conference 15 10 21 55 17th 4th QR Ineligible
2007/08[19] Conference 25 11 10 86 2nd 3rd Round Ineligible Lost play-off final v. Exeter

[edit] Football League attendances

Cambridge played their home games for their entire period in the Football League at the Abbey Stadium in Cambridge. The table below shows the high, low and average attendance for each season between inception in 1970 and relegation in 2005. Where the high attendance is above the capacity of the ground, this was possible due to terracing at the ground which meant the capacity was previously higher than the current figure of 9,617.

Data gathered from Soccerbase, [2] and [1]

[edit] Notes

[edit] See also

List of Cambridge United F.C. managers

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Cambridge United Potted History cambridge-united.co.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2007
  2. ^ a b c Palmer, Kevin (2000). Cambridge United The League Era - A Complete Record. Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-874287-32-5. 
  3. ^ "Fans United", Cambridge United Official Website, 2005-03-22. Retrieved on 2007-06-08. 
  4. ^ "Abbey sale keeps Cambridge afloat", BBC, 2004-12-01. Retrieved on 2007-06-08. 
  5. ^ "U's future to be decided", Cambridge Evening News Online, 2005-06-27. Retrieved on 2007-06-08. 
  6. ^ "Cambridge to exit administration", BBC, 2005-07-20. Retrieved on 2007-06-08. 
  7. ^ "United will we stand?", Cambridge Evening News Online, 2005-12-20. Retrieved on 2007-06-08. 
  8. ^ "'Deep divisions' at Abbey Stadium", BBC, 2006-06-21. Retrieved on 2007-06-08. 
  9. ^ "Cambridge fans pay players' wages", BBC, 2006-06-30. Retrieved on 2007-06-08. 
  10. ^ "Board changes at Cambridge United", BBC, 2007-08-04. Retrieved on 2007-06-08. 
  11. ^ "Cambridge chairman keen to spend", BBC, 2007-03-29. Retrieved on 2007-06-08. 
  12. ^ 2001/2002 Cambridge United Match League Table cambridge-united.co.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2007
  13. ^ 2002/2003 Cambridge United Match League Table cambridge-united.co.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2007
  14. ^ 2003/2004 Cambridge United Match League Table cambridge-united.co.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2007
  15. ^ League Two Final Table 2005/05 soccerstats.com. Retrieved 20 July 2007
  16. ^ Deducted 10 points for entering administration
  17. ^ 2005/2006 Cambridge United Match League Table cambridge-united.co.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2007
  18. ^ 2006/2007 Cambridge United Match League Table cambridge-united.co.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2007
  19. ^ 2007/2008 Cambridge United Match League Table cambridge-united.co.uk. Retrieved 28 April 2008
  20. ^ Club Rivalries Uncovered Football Fans Census. Retrieved 21 July 2007
Cambridge United FC
v • d • e
The Club | Current Squad | Reserves
History: Club History | Former Managers
Home ground: Abbey Stadium
Fans groups: Cambridge Fans United