Paul Barry writes, Today I am announcing a change for the club. Andrea, our U's webmistress of the last ten years, is taking a back seat from her position to spend more time with family. I would like to on behalf of the Board and personally thank her for the work she has done.

Since 1996, Andrea Thrussell has worked from the Isle of Man to report and promote Cambridge United via the Internet.

Initially starting as U's Net, the unofficial voice of the U's, she created a news stream and messageboard that appealed to those of us who supported the U's but did not live locally and were starved of our "fix" of the club, as well as increasing numbers of local fans.

U's Net grew tremendously and when the club needed to create their official branded site ten years ago, I asked Andrea to be the driving force behind the official club site.

She took on the role with relish and has made the website what it is today, the best website in the non-League and one that ranks, in performance compared to League clubs, as a mid-table League One club. That is a testament to the volume, timeliness and quality of the news presented on the site.

It is easy to forget just how the website has grown. Recent stats show that it has received over 7.1million page views in the last year, with over 13,500 unique visitors per week. It is the first source for updated news, and with its SMS text service subscribers can find out news first before it appears anywhere else.

With an average of 40 new U's specific articles each week and numerous other updates, the website is the primary source of information about the club.

The messageboard has been at the centre of interaction between fans for many years; sometimes lively and controversial, but always a forum for U's fans to discuss anything about Cambridge United. Andrea has monitored the messageboard almost 24/7.

In addition, Andrea writes articles for the club programme. All of the above have been down to Andrea's unending work and dedication.

During the last ten years, Andrea has also been privy to time sensitive information, interviewing managers, players and club officials. As such she has earned the trust and confidence of successive Club managers and Chairmen.

Cambridge-born Andrea will always be a fan of the club and she comments:

"It was a privilege to be asked by Paul to build the website from scratch, and it's been a delight to interact constantly with so many United supporters throughout the world, and to work with every manager, chairman and player from Roy McFarland and Reg Smart onwards.

"I enjoy every aspect of the work - writing, football, photography and computing - and it has allowed me to deal with many good people and make many friends along the way. I've been able to report in all weathers from grounds as diverse as Grays and Bishop's Stortford to Wembley and the Millennium Stadium, on matches that range from the sublime to the ridiculous, and on news both good and bad.

"It's been fun and challenging and I've had help from some great contributors past and present. It will be a wrench to finish but I feel after ten very demanding years it is time to take a break and recharge my batteries and enjoy some time with my family, who have been incredibly supportive as my hobby grew into more than a full-time role.

"I hope I'm leaving the club with a solid website and readership. I feel we have good times ahead of us and I will look forward to logging on to read the news here in future, rather than reporting it. I'm also looking forward to watching games in future without a laptop in front of me!"

Her shoes will be difficult to fill and the Club shall make our best endeavours to maintain the standards that Andrea has set. During the transition period, I would ask for fans' patience as we work on transitioning Andrea's workload.

Best wishes,

Paul Barry
Chairman

Make Your Click Count For The U's - talk about it on the Message Board!

You are respectfully reminded that any article, as with all content on this website, unless otherwise stated, is subject to copyright © and the Official Cambridge United Website must be acknowledged as the original source including all quotes.

AT091217 andrea@cambridgeunited.net