Paul Barry has been in England for the last few days and he shares his thoughts about recent events on and off the pitch:

Norman Gautrey has decided to leave the club and I am disappointed that he is leaving. I do wish he would stay and work out his differences, and I am extremely thankful for the work and dedication he and Anette have given this club over the past year.

I would like to talk about how this Board of Directors works. I do sit on other Boards and each works differently. On every Board I have sat I have disagreed with everyone, but at different stages. At Cambridge United, I have disagreed with all of the previous Chairmen from Reg to Gary to Roger, Terry and now Phil. I have disagreed with the lot of them on many issues, but that is what a Board is for - to air our views on specific situations, then come to a majority view and move on.

We do disagree, but being disagreeable is not the way forward and the heated manner of last week's fans forum, regardless of the specific questions, could end up driving away future sponsors, investors and directors.

In the last two to three years, the support our team gets on the field has been superb. Both in the size of the crowds, and the spirited nature of the singing and general positiveness. Even with a disappointing performance on Monday, the negativity did not surface as used to happen (and still happens elsewhere).

If you speak to players, one of the most demotivating occurrences for them is to listen to your own fans booing you. On Monday the Kettering Chairman commented after the match that our fans' reaction when we went one down was superb. Long may that continue.

In that same vein, I must ask which club where there have been public spats then performs well on the pitch? Usually it doesn't.

Questions have been asked of Phil Law's integrity recently. Phil has been with the club for over two years now and came in during a transitional period. I have not questioned his integrity and I certainly do not do so now. Nor do any of the other directors.

His commitment has always been there, and it is a difficult role being in the goldfish bowl. Over the last months Phil has talked about setting a timeframe for him to step down to balance more time with his work and family. That was going to be within the next year and will probably be at the end of this season.

The Chairman is elected by the Board members, not the shareholders, and Phil has the support of the Board. The club is and has always been on the search for new investors and directors; the club simply cannot survive without them. Disagree all you want, but I ask please do not create a negative environment that could impact on the attractiveness of Cambridge United.

Finally, a word about Gary Brabin and his team. We've had a terrific start to the season, even better than last year, and the squad is fitter than it has ever been. The Blue Square Premier itself is stronger than ever and tougher to get out of, but this should be another year where we can push into strong contention for the League.

Best wishes,

Paul Barry

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