Q&A - Rob Newman

U's manager Rob Newman goes 'on the spot' for the first time to answer supporters' questions on a variety of subjects.

Continued from part one:

Dave has a few questions. First:
In an ideal world, what is your preferred formation and why?

Rob:
I like 4-4-2. It's just the adage that you have two banks of four and you're supposed to remain solid. You can break wide, you've got your two wingers, your two strikers, so everything's in place and there shouldn't be too many people out of position. That can change, but that would probably be my preferred formation.

How difficult was it to build a squad during the summer?

Rob:
It was very tough, as I said earlier. We had four players on contracts, we had another three - Atkins, Robbins and Daniels - coming out of the third year scholars, so I knew we had seven players to work with, and then it was just a case of targeting players and speaking to them and hoping they would still be available when we came out of administration.

How difficult is it for the younger players to maintain form and fitness throughout a season?

Rob:
Fitness is not a problem. They're young and they should be able to keep their fitness going. Maintaining form is a different matter because if a team is doing well then you can maintain it for longer, but if a team is not doing too well and it's a bit inconsistent then you can't expect a 17- or 18-year-old to carry the can and you need some older players.

That's where we're probably lacking a bit of experience, although we're getting some in now, but to maintain form is very difficult for the younger players. But I'm a believer that you're only inexperienced when you're not in the team; when you're in a team then with every game that goes by you learn from the experience and you hope that's what they're doing.

You have to look at them and deal with them carefully. If they're doing well maybe you keep them in there for one or two more games, but then if you see a little chink in the armour maybe it's better to bring them out rather than go through a bad patch.

Dave's final question is:
Were you surprised by the different reactions you received early in the season after the Forest Green and the Hereford/Accrington matches?

Rob:
Yes, because when we went to Forest Green everyone was saying they were just happy to see Cambridge United put out a team.

We were happy to do that and it proved that we'd survived, and I don't think we put up a bad performance there. It wasn't great but Fola had a great one-on-one chance in the first half and if that had gone in then we probably would have gone on and won that game, but he didn't and we were up against a very direct team.

They had a man sent off after they'd scored their goal and it made it very difficult for us, and although we peppered the goal with crosses it just wasn't to be, and it was very disappointing. People came out afterwards and said we were rubbish, but it was our first game in a new league and in a new culture and it wasn't nice to lose.

Then we had the games here against Hereford and Accrington, where people probably thought we would lose, and we put in two good performances and two good wins too, especially the Hereford one, which was on the telly.

After those two matches the expectations probably rose again so it's difficult - you mustn't get carried away with the bad times and you mustn't get carried away with the good times either, you have to keep a level head.

Dan Weston asks:
First of all Rob, congratulations on getting a team together who look capable of holding their own this season, in such a short space of time. Do you feel lucky to have been offered the manager's job considering you were brought in by an ex-manager, in a right place right time situation?

Rob:
Most definitely. I feel very lucky to have been offered the manager's job. Cambridge United has got a lot of prestige and it's a chance for me to show people that I'm capable of doing the job.

I was brought in by an ex-manager to be his assistant manager and nothing would give me more pleasure now than to be answering these questions as assistant manager to Steve Thompson in League Two, but that's not to be and it is a case of being in the right place at the right time.

But if the board didn't think I was the right person for the job then being in the right place at the right time means nothing, so obviously people at the club thought I could do the job and luckily for me they offered me the chance.

Dan adds:
Secondly, if you hadn't been here already, would you have imagined applying for the job or have you applied for the job in the past?

Rob:
I haven't applied for the job in the past, and yes I would have applied for the job.

Dan of Luton asks:
Is there any real pressure on you and the players to ensure promotion at the first attempt or have you been given a few seasons to rebuild?

Rob:
There's always pressure on a team that comes down from the Football League as we did, and it's just natural for people to say 'oh, they'll go straight back up', but after all the turmoil we went through in the summer it is just a case of consolidation and being able to compete with the teams in this league.

If we do get success at the first attempt then it would be fantastic, but if not we've got to make sure we're ready for the start of next season to have a real go.

It could be like a two-year programme to get this club back up in the league.

If it comes earlier that's great, but if not we've just we're competing on a regular basis and not getting sucked in at the foot of the table.

David Lee from Hong Kong, who was Rob's shirt sponsor at Southend United shirt for few seasons, wrote:
Hello Big Rob, you are my favourite player while you played for Norwich City and I still follow your career. When you played for the Norwich Masters, your bullet-like half volley against Ipswich to tie the game 4-4 was an absolutely cracker!

My question is will you continue to play football at this level? I hope to see you to play again on the field!

Rob:
I know David. For many years he's been sending me pictures and communications from Hong Kong, so it's nice to know that you're still following my career.

I don't think I'll be playing again on the field. You never know, I might play again in the Masters but Norwich don't get in it and I'm leaving all the Masters talk to my assistant, Tony Spearing, and the least said on that the better. We never hear the end of him winning the British final with Leicester!

Norwich fan Glenn Bate (Teflon) says:
Really enjoyed your fans' day last season and will come and cheer you on when Norwich are away, good luck for the season, hope you get back to the football league.

What's the chance of getting Iwan back, a massive player on the pitch and in the dressing room, certainly some of us Norwich fans would come and see him?

Rob:
It would be good. I've spoken to Iwan and I think it's well known that he has retired now, or he says he's retired and he's doing a lot of media work.

He does a lot with BBC Radio Wales because he's a fluent Welsh speaker so he's an asset to them, but I have said to him that he shouldn't say he's finally retired because if he wants to play again then hopefully he would come back here again and pull on an amber shirt.

Iwan has said he will come here on a one-off basis every so often to take the strikers for training, and every time I speak to him he always talks about how the team is doing so that's all good.

Martyn Melvin of Devizes asks:
Does Rob read Andrew Bennett's match reports, and what he think of them? We all see things in a different way but I find these reports unerringly perceptive and do provide some thoughtful insights, does Rob think the same?

Rob:
I've never read one but I'll make sure I do in future!

Back to part one.

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