Welcome back to the Trade Recruitment Stadium for our first home fixture of the new Blue Square Premier season. I'm delighted to welcome the players, officials and directors from Kidderminster Harriers.

We've got an appalling record against Kidderminster, I gather we haven't beaten them since 1959 so fingers crossed that we might be able to lay one or two of the ghosts of that record and secure a first victory against them in Cambridge.

'Delighted' would be the best word I can use to sum up my feelings about the squad with which we are kicking off the season. Gary and Paul have made some very astute signings and those that have come in during the last ten days - Phil Bolland, Jon Challinor, Chris Jones and Felino Jardim - are great additions to the squad. I really do feel that we start the season with an awful lot of expectation but with a great opportunity to realise the dream that we all chase.

I'd like to thank Ian Darler and his staff for the fabulous work that they've put in over the last couple of months. The playing surface at the Trade Recruitment is as good as we can remember it for the last five years and our high-profile pre-season guests - Everton, Coventry and West Ham - have all remarked on the excellence of the surface and really enjoyed their visit to the club.

With both the first team and CRC playing here the pitch gets quite a pounding over the course of a season and, as with all things at the club, we have to watch the pennies and can't spend as much money on it as we'd like, but Ian does magnificently with his budget.

CRC kicked off their Ridgeons Premier League campaign here on Saturday. Their fixtures tend to alternate with those of the first team, so they are at home when the first team is away. As I've said in the past, the CRC team is very much at the heart of Cambridge United and I would always urge our fans that can't travel away with the first team to pop along to the ground to watch CRC and give them a cheer; you will see really good young players there who represent the future of the club.

We've got some cracking young players in the first team squad that have come through the ranks of CRC such as Robbie Willmott and Josh Coulson, who are the two most prominent. I think young Craig Bussens has got a great future as well and it would be great to see him break into the first team this season. For a club like ours, you've always got to be investing in youth; it is very much the future for the Football Club and I can see exciting times ahead with the work that Youth Development are currently doing.

Supporters will see a new sponsors' name on the front of our home shirts this evening. We've entered into a one-year deal with Global Self Drive, our friends from just across the road in Mercers Row. They've been great to deal with and I'm delighted with the arrangement that we've brokered with Global. It's great to have a tie-up with a successful local company who are very keen to support the Football Club in all our ventures.

It was a concern of the Board that having changed the home shirt sponsors so soon it might have left supporters out of pocket, so we've been able to arrange to get some transfers that you can have applied over the old sponsors logo at no cost. Soon you will be able to simply take your shirt along to the Club Shop and they'll be pleased to help you with that.

We've all been dying for the season to finally get underway. It will be great to see some real meaningful action back at the Trade Recruitment Stadium for what promises to be an exciting and, I hope, successful season for the club.

Philip Law
Chairman

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