Good afternoon and welcome to the R Costings Abbey Stadium for the match against Forest Green Rovers. A warm welcome to all of the supporters, players and directors who have made the long trek from the West Country.

I was back in Cambridge for the Bank Holiday Weekend and enjoyed watching the last two games against Gateshead and Rushden. The passion, volume and encouragement given by the fans during the Rushden match underlined once again just how magnificent our supporters are.

The deadline for the new 'Taster Ticket' passed earlier in the week, a four-match ticket priced at just £49 which also enabled supporters to buy full child season tickets for just £10 on the back of it. The ticket was launched to entice back some of those floating fans who came to support us at Wembley in the last two seasons, as well as offering flexibility to regular supporters who, for one reason or another, can't attend enough home games to warrant buying a full season ticket. I was delighted to learn we sold almost 100 of them before the deadline.

I would also like to mention the 'Smile' scheme, which is up and running again for the 2009/10 season and is managed by Martin Jordan of CFU.

As the name suggests, it is a scheme designed to put a smile on the faces of deserving members of our community. The ethos is about being inclusive, irrespective of age or social background, and Martin works hard to actively seek out and reward those people or organisations in our local community who deserve it.

Last season we welcomed a variety of individuals and groups, including Emmaus, Headway, Romsey Mill, West Anglia Cross Roads Young Carers, East Anglian Children's Hospice and Red Balloon. I know Martin is already working on inviting new people for this season and Cambridge United is committed and determined to build on and support this valuable work going forwards.

The club is delighted to welcome back United legend and all-time leading scorer John 'Shaggy' Taylor as the special guest for the Altrincham match on Tuesday, and supporters can enjoy a two-course sit down meal with him before the game for just £35 a head. To book your place, e-mail commercial@cambridge-united.co.uk or call the club on 01223 566500. Be quick though, the deadline for booking is 10am on Monday!

Finally, I would like to thank you all for your support so far this season. We've had just under 8,000 home fans through the gates in the first three games at the Abbey. It's greatly appreciated and I hope to see you all back here on Tuesday when we take on Altrincham.

Cambridge United: YOUR CITY - YOUR CLUB

All the best,

Paul Barry

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