United play their second home game in the space four days on Saturday when they entertain Weymouth at the Trade Recruitment Stadium. The Terras will look to extend their four-match unbeaten run following a 1-1 midweek draw at Woking, whilst Gary Brabin's U's will be full of confidence after Jon Challinor's late winner ensured maximum points against Lewes on Tuesday evening.

Saturday's visitors, who were founder members of the Football Alliance, (now Blue Square Premier) in 1979/80, went on to take their place in the Conference South in 2004, at which time former U's legend Steve Claridge was their Player-Manager.

2004/05 culminated in a seventh place finish, but by this time Claridge had departed, as had his successor Steve Johnson, brother of former U's boss Gary. Garry Hill stepped in and, with the club adopting full-time status, there was enough financial clout to clinch the Championship in 2005/06. Chairman Martyn Harrison was delighted following major investment but, unbeknown to most, the honeymoon period was on crash course.

Hotelier Harrison had financed Hill's ambitions with the aim of providing a wealth of experience and talent, including ex-U Richard Logan and Jason Tindall, who assisted Jimmy Quinn for a spell last season. 2006/07 opened with four straight victories but, a downturn in attendances triggered unrest, as Harrison suggested supporters were not supportive enough.

Nonetheless, Hill's men continued to perform well and established a top three spot, but doubts about their long-term credentials soon surfaced. Gates continued to drop, and mid-season Harrison admitted over-stretching himself. Hill left due to £1.2m losses and financial restructuring, whilst the squad were transfer-listed. Amongst many were former U's Wayne Purser and Abdou El Kholti. A slump in results ensued but, with accounting ledgers improving, new boss Jason Tindall guided the Terras to an eleventh spot finish.

Chairman Harrison departed, but the 2007/08 season commenced with a solitary victory in seven games as optimism started to evaporate. Wins over Droylsden and Ebbsfleet halted the slide, however, three consecutive defeats shortly after, including a 3-1 home reverse to relegation rivals Stafford, meant a perilous drop to eighteenth place. Concerning form continued and, although away wins were recorded at Grays and Kidderminster, the Terras hovered two places above the drop zone come the year end.

Four league defeats in January proved the final nail in Tindall's proverbial coffin and, within twenty-four hours John Hollins was installed; the former Chelsea midfielder cheekily snatching away Assistant Manager Alan Lewer from the Mighty U's.

The new duo failed to live up to expectations, though, and a Setanta Shield win over Ebbsfleet aside, an appalling record of six losses in eight games ensued. Home form was particularly erratic, and summed up by a 6-0 hammering courtesy of Forest Green which cemented a bottom four berth.

However, Hollins influence slowly became apparent and, to counter a number of departures, shrewd loan signings were made, amongst them United midfielder Mark Convery, ex-Morecambe man Chris Blackburn and Bristol City goalkeeper Stephen Henderson.

This coincided with an upturn in results and, in fact, just seven goals were conceded in the remaining six matches, whilst the form of striker Simon Weatherstone proved vital as the Terras remained unbeaten. Safety was finally clinched following a 0-0 draw at Champions Aldershot, meaning Hollins could relax in his deckchair.

The Squad

A whole host of players, including the aforementioned Weatherstone, and ex-U's Brian Dutton and Gareth Williams were shown the exit in close-season, whilst passing them in the revolving door was Ryan Williams, who became Hollins' first capture from Aldershot and now fills a much-needed gap in midfield. Williams is ably supported by the left-footed Stephen Reed, who left the Mighty U's in the summer. The two currently compliment club captain Anton Robinson in the engine room, with the Terras regularly lining up in a 4-3-3 formation.

The Alan Lewer connection is obviously paying dividends too; the Terra's snapping up Sam Cutler from United together with Pierre-Joseph Dubois, although the latter has been limited to appearances from the subs bench. Grays were raided, with defenders Santos Gaia and Cameron Mawer arriving together with Chester's Kevin Sandwith; the trio charged with improving a back-line conceding 73 goals last year. Furthermore, they have been joined by goalkeeper Richard Barnard, who has signed after a spell with Queen of the South.

Up front the loss of Weatherstone has been counter-balanced by Chris McPhee, who was lured to the Wessex Stadium from Ebbsfleet, and he will be partnered on Saturday by dangerous left-sided forward Michael Malcolm or Stuart Beavon, who was a summer target for the U's. Joint top-scorer Malcolm was strangely transfer-listed along with four other players recently and, despite Crawley attempting to take the free-scoring wide man on loan, he remains a regular in the squad.

The season so far

A confidence-building 3-1 home triumph over Grays was recorded on the opening day, with new signings Stephen Reed and Chris McPhee both on the scoresheet in front of a poor crowd of 1,059. Michael Malcolm's long-range strike ensured a point in the 1-1 draw at Stevenage, before he and McPhee increased their goal tally in the 2-0 home win against Lewes. A 4-1 thumping at Forest Green tested the Terras resolve, though, especially as they looked set for a point thanks to Scott Doe's equaliser eighteen minutes from time.

Nevertheless, three goals in the remaining fourteen minutes put Dorset's finest to the sword. That resolve was evident when they came from 2-0 down to snatch a point in the 2-2 home draw with United at the end of August; McPhee and Malcolm again proving a thorn in the side.

Defeat at Salisbury was then swiftly followed by a shock 5-2 thumping at home to our neighbours Histon; a defeat Hollins described as 'wholly unacceptable'. The books were balanced somewhat thanks to respectable 1-1 draw at Nigel Clough's Burton Albion but, disappointingly for supporters, their winless run was extended to seven games after failure to gain victory in the following two home matches. Firstly Kidderminster returned to Worcestershire with a 2-1 reverse and, despite the Malcolm/McPhee partnership proving fruitful against leaders Crawley, they were let down again by the back-line, who wilted to give Town a 2-2 draw.

However, the point gained kick-started the aforementioned four-match unbeaten run, and consecutive 3-2 victories have been recorded away at Northwich and over Eastbourne at the Wessex Stadium. Both games saw the Terras clinch a winner in the 90th minute; Jamie Coutts inflicting the damage at Vics, whilst former United trialist Dubois made the headlines at home to Borough.

A point was picked up in the 1-1 draw at Woking on Tuesday, but Hollins was not a happy man after seeing his side concede a worrying twenty-fourth goal of the season that means a drop to fourteenth place in the table. "We are like a charity at the moment. We are giving away stupid goals through sloppy passing and cannot seem to get it out of our systems."

Matchday Connection

Lee Philpott was a youth player at Peterborough and, after making their first-team on four occasions, travelled down the A1 to join the Mighty U's in May 1989. Lee became an integral cog in the John Beck rollercoaster that took United to the brink of the Premiership, and became renowned for his wizardry on the left-flank. In total he made 163 league and cup appearances in black and amber, scoring twenty-one goals, before he caught the eye of Leicester City, who paid £350,000 for his services in November 1992.

Three goals in seventy-five games unfolded at Filbert Street, and then in March 1996 he joined Blackpool for a cool £75,000. Bloomfield Road was a happy hunting ground and Lee made more than seventy appearances for the Tangerines, scoring five goals along the way, but he left for Lincoln in June 1998. A further three goals in forty-seven matches for the Imps meant Hull City came calling, and another near half-century of appearances were rewarded with his final two goals in the Football League.

He joined today's visitors in the summer of 2003; then managed by ex-U's legend Steve Claridge. Lee only stayed in Dorset for one year, before moving North and enjoying a three-year spell with Harrogate Town, for whom he also doubled as Assistant Manager. He has since worn the colours of both Hinckley United and Hucknall Town, and now runs a Soccer Coaching School with ex-Scunthorpe striker Steve Torpey.

Doug Shulman

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