In the latest of his regular articles for this website, chairman Gary Harwood brings us up to date with recent news and developments.

Although we are now in a much better position than we were on 24th April 2002, at the end of last season, it is still going to be really difficult for us over the next two years. However we are operating a three year strategy which, if successful, will bring us out of this difficult time much more financially viable.

We have almost come through the most difficult financial period in the Club's history and we have learned a lot from the experience. It is a great achievement in which everybody played their part, and I am sure that together we can continue to meet the challenges we will face in the future.

The Board of Directors of this club has been fairly constant for the 12+ years I have been a director and we have a good understanding of our respective strengths and skills. Our strategic planning and business management has improved throughout that time and, although we have made mistakes in the past, we have learned from those experiences and it will help us to improve things now and in the future.

I am backed by a very capable team of directors and I could not perform this role without them. We have shuffled their responsibilities to use their individual skills more effectively and this means we can make critical decisions much more quickly. However, we are a board of non-executive directors and we have also improved the lines of communication and given employees much more responsibility to run the club on a daily basis.

I believe team spirit is as important as individual skills and we have great team spirit throughout the club. We know we must work to improve our commercial and retail activities if we are to meet the financial challenges ahead, and I feel we can also build on our good work in the community to convert many more people into U's fans.

I am obviously delighted that three of our young players have recently agreed extensions to their contracts. Cambridge United will always need to sell players and because we have not sold a player for over two years we have been living on 'borrowed time' for some while. I have been asked many times if we need to sell a player this season and, indeed, our plight will again be perilous if we do not sell a player by next summer. Hopefully before then one of our players will have attracted interest from more than one club, and as a result we will be able to achieve a fair market value.

Shane Tudor is one player I am often asked about by supporters, and I can confirm that Wolves imposed a 'substantial' sell-on clause in the contract when they transferred Shane to us. We try to negotiate the lowest possible percentage when we sign players, and the highest possible percentage when we sell, but we were only able to acquire Shane Tudor on a 'free' by agreeing to a very high percentage with Wolves.

Dave Kitson is another player that supporters often ask about and of course I don't want him to go when he is playing so well for us. Like all of the directors I am a fan and I have been for many years, but I also want to see this Club continue for many more years. The decision to sell Dave or any other player is one that we will take when the situation arises, and with advice from our management team.

John and Dale understand our business, they respect everyone's opinions, they want to produce a winning, entertaining team, and they are committed to youth development. We have been pleased with the team's progress under their direction and if they continue to improve as they have then we can all look forward to a very exciting future. I also believe we have possibly the best first team squad that we have had for many years and they are still learning and developing.

I can assure you that we will not use player sales to fund the redevelopment - unless someone offers us several million pounds for one player! Depending on which scheme we proceed with, there are a number of ways to fund the shortfall and, with some lateral thinking and innovative financing, John Howard and I believe that at least one of the alternative schemes could be fundable.

We have reconsidered the original design for the new Newmarket Road End and investigated options to redesign it at a lower cost without losing the vital commercial potential. Some of those options are worthy of further consideration but they mean design changes and everyone impacted will need to understand and accept these changes.

I believe the local authority will work with us because our relationship with them has never been better, the commercial partner for the first floor has recently confirmed that they are willing to continue to work with us, and I hope the Supporters Club will, although we need to have a lot more dialogue on the alternatives. If any of those do not work with us, then the Newmarket Road End redevelopment will not happen, and even with all of their support, for one of the alternative schemes we may still require a further £700,000+ to fund the work.

In recent months I have had some brief conversations with Cambridge City about our proposed links and, although they remain keen to move forward with us, during the summer they discovered a 'snag'. They will be unable to make progress until they fix the 'snag', which they hope to do by early 2003.

In conclusion, there are several reasons to feel positive as we move forward. As a Club we have learned a lot from the recent financial challenges, we have a management team that cares passionately and understands what is needed to make Cambridge United a club we can all be very proud of, we have a highly promising young first team squad and arguably one of the best youth development schemes in the Football League, we have revived the 'feel good' factor and our fans, players, staff and Directors once again have common objectives for the Club.

We can all be optimistic.

Gary Harwood

Previous Main Features:
09Sep02 - Abbey Gates At Ten Year High
08Aug02 - What's In Store? A Look At The Season Ahead
12Jul02  - Harwood: There's Good And Bad News
14May02- Summer At The Abbey Stadium
02May02- Family Day A Huge Success
21Apr02 - Fans Groups Call For Direct Action
06Apr02 - League Chairman Thanks Fans For Support
30Mar02 - ITV Digital - Crowd Statistics & Viewing Figures
24Mar02 - LDV Vans Trophy Final Photo Feature
17Mar02 - Follow The U's To Cardiff!
10Mar02 - Away Day Blues
03Mar02 - The Best Of The Best?
24Feb02 - The Future of Football?
17Feb02 - U's Fans On Sky TV's Soccer AM
10Feb02 - U's Fans Feature On ITV Digital Quiz
02Feb02 - A Week In The Life of PR Manager Graham Eales
20Jan02  - U's Players Get Darth Vader Treatment
13Jan02  - Kit Carson Explains His 'Head of Talent Development' Role
05Jan02  - Dale Brooks Enjoying New Role
04Dec01 - U's Players Try Out Premiership Physio Machine
10Nov01 - U's Launch New Away Kit

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