Andrew Bennett reviews last season.
July 2009: "We've had this sort of crisis before"
The new squad numbers were announced, with upward 'promotions' for Messrs Holroyd, Crow, Coulson, Willmott, McAuley and Reason, but telling demotions for the unwanted Challinor and Pitt from 10 and 11 to 26 and 25. The coming season's fixture list reflected United's request not to play Histon in the traditional Boxing Day and New Year's Day derby fixtures after past events at the village club's home match, Stevenage providing holiday opposition instead while the Stutes enjoyed the delights of Luton. And there would be no Setanta Shield, to nobody's regret. CRC, however, were accepted into the FA Vase for their own tilt at Wembley glory.
Glamorous home pre-season friendlies with Blackburn, West Ham and Liverpool has been arranged, and Rolls pledged that if the fans turned up in decent numbers, the funds raised would go towards bolstering the squad: "We need the fans to turn up for all the friendlies, because what we've decided to do is put any money that's over what we've budgeted for the pre-season into the player pot, so we can get more players in. We're urging them to come along to the games, as that way they'll be helping Gary to boost his squad.
"I'd like to think we'd get between 4,000 and 5,000, and that would mean getting another player in. It may be Liverpool reserves, but let's be fair, they've got 40 pros on their books, so whoever they bring will be a decent side and there will be a few people who everyone will know. It's the first time we'll have ever played Liverpool in a competitive game or otherwise, and the only reason they're bringing a side down is because of the connections that Gary has got with them."
Rolls stressed, however, that Brabin was not having a problem with sticking to his reduced budget: "It's great to have a manager who understands the finances and who is prepared to work within them. He has got the confidence in his ability as a coach that he feels he can do a good job, and that it's not all about how much you spend on a player.
"It's not Gary's fault the budget has had to be cut, but he's very positive about the new season, as we are, and we all can't wait to kick on. The board are 100 per cent behind him and I expect, come the beginning of the season, we'll have exciting times at the Abbey."
The pre-season action was about to start, but that would not include overseas visits to Irish League Ballymena and Portadown, who had both announced that they were playing the U's without confirming it with the club. The excitement must have become too much for them.
Tuesday 7th July 2009: Ely City 0-3 U's (Friendly - Att. 560)
Goals: Robbins 30, Amory 41, Holroyd 83
The first pre-season friendly saw Brabin use twenty players with almost completely different line-ups for either half, the contracted players joined by trialists Laurie Walker, Tyrone Amory, Grant Robbins and Dean Lodge, plus Daryl McMahon, whose contract had now expired. Anthony Tonkin was forced off early with a groin strain, replaced at left-back by Pitt.
Somersham striker Robbins and former Derby and Atherstone winger Amory gave the visitors a comfortable two-goal half-time lead, and a disjointed second half played in torrential rain was sealed late on by Holroyd's head from a Robbie Willmott cross. It was a damp, but gentle start, apart from a few feisty tackles from the hosts, with a mature showing as skipper and centre-back from Coakley.
Brabin was pleased with the workout and explained McMahon's presence: "As for Daryl, he's a quality player and I think he showed it there; he was outstanding and the best player on the pitch, which shows his attitude because he's desperate to come back and play for us. He knows the situation at the club at the moment and he respects that, but rather than go on trial for other clubs or signing for a club that he doesn't feel 100% happy with, he's come in with a different class attitude and put in a display like that. I respect totally the situation at the club and so does Macca, but he's coming in and getting himself fit and it won't do him any harm."
Phil Bolland, the other out-of-contract player for whom Brabin was desperately trying to find a place within the budget, did not take part in the match.
Wednesday 8th July 2009: Cherry Hinton 0-9 U's (Friendly - Att. c.350)
Goals: Lodge 28 (pen), McAuley 30, Robbins 32 (pen), Amory 34, Marriott 43, 46, 63, 81, Ives 90
United's most rustic workout came the next evening on Cherry Hinton Rec as part of the hosts' centenary celebrations, the crowd as close to the action as they wished in between partaking of refreshments from the burger and hot dog-dispensing tent at one corner. They added one trialist, keeper Ross Cherry, but after a slow start the traffic was only one way after they broke the deadlock on an unpredictable pitch and the visitors could have doubled their winning margin without too much bother in the end.
Ten of the squad plus four trialists took part, and the mercurial Adam Marriott signalled his promise with a quadruple on a pleasantly relaxed and good-humoured summer's evening. Brabin was pleased with the youngsters: "Maz and the other three lads [Coakley, Ives and Patrick] have come into the squad and been different class, but then we expect that. They've been working with Jez and the rest of the youth staff and I think we're all singing from the same hymn sheet in what we want from players as individuals and as a team, so they've blended in fantastically well with the rest of the first team squad.
"They've worked hard and I thought Daz Coakley, captaining the side, was outstanding last night and Maz has taken the limelight today, so I'm made up for the young lads. They've just got to keep it going - that's the benchmark now."
The 'Your City - Your Club' marketing campaign was launched, aided and abetted by the 'Poster Gang,' and the slogan was to become ubiquitous during 2009-10.
Tensions continued to fizzle behind the scenes between Brabin and Rolls as the manager continued to niggle at the chairman about funds for his squad. Phil Bolland was initially offered new terms, then they were rescinded by Rolls, who explained "We put an offer to him which was acceptable to him and the club, but we had a few further chats and decided to withdraw it. Phil did fantastically well, but he's getting towards the twilight of his career and it was a big decision for him because he was going to have to bring his family down from the north-west."
Bolland signed for Barrow, to Brabin's regret, but he seemed to accept the position: "He couldn't wait any longer and I think Barrow were making steps to go full-time. I think they're showing their ambition by signing a player of Phil's quality because he was outstanding for us and it's someone we'd have loved to have kept at the club.
"But I fully respect the club's financial situation and I'd be selfish if I was asking the club to put themselves in a position where they were at risk just because of me. From a football point of view, I'm disappointed, but I don't feel let down by the board."
Rolls' message concerning McMahon was even clearer. "I know the manager spoke about Daryl after the Ely game, but there's not the money to offer him a contract, so however well he does in pre-season training for us, we won't be signing him. If we were under budget Gary would be able to sign whoever he wished. But while we're over budget I don't think it would be in the best interests of the club to be signing another midfielder because we're quite top heavy in that area. Daryl knows the situation and hopes it will change, but he won't be a Cambridge United player this season."
The chairman also threw doubt over whether the club would be able to sign a replacement for Bolland. "We've got Josh Coulson and Wayne Hatswell and I'm sure that Gary would like to possibly bring one more in. But we're over budget from what we've given Gary, and Courtney Pitt and Jon Challinor are still here and we've had no interest in them at all. I've got to honest and say we'll be over budget at the start of the season because I can't see Pitt or Challinor going for the foreseeable future."
Saturday 11th July 2009: Cambridge City 2-2 U's (Friendly - Att. 605)
Goals: Fuller 11, Murray 62 / Gleeson 27, Holroyd 71
United's most traditional derby match saw them field a strong line-up which gave us our first sightings of Danny Potter and Wayne Hatswell this season, although Coakley was at left-back in the continued absence of Tonkin. The week's trialists had all been let go except keeper Walker on the bench, but there was a new face in central defence in the shape of former Aldershot man Rhys Day. An experimental formation saw a tight midfield trio of Paul Carden, Ben Farrell and Jai Reason, Holroyd and the still stubbornly contractless McMahon wide, and Phillips the spearhead up front. Challinor and Pitt warmed up but played no part, clearly out in the cold.
An unimpressive start saw the visitors go behind to a goal from former U Ash Fuller, but a rare goal from Dan Gleeson, rampaging forward and playing a one-two with McMahon, put them level, and an entertaining encounter ensued.
Josh Coulson replaced a rusty Hatswell but was culpable for City's second goal, dwelling on the ball and dispossessed by Antonio Murray, who curled his shot past Potter. The impressive Gleeson created his side's second equaliser, his low drive into the Corridor of Uncertainty lashed home from almost under the bar by Holroyd. A flurry of subs (including a season's first for Mark Beesley) saw the unsuccessful 4-5-1 abandoned in favour of good old 4-4-2 and a competitive, honourable draw was the final result.
Brabin was fulsome in his praise of man of the match Gleeson, saying "I've told Dan he can be anything he wants to be; I think the Wembley game summed him up because he was outstanding there. He probably thinks I'm on at him a bit but I just think he has so much more to offer. Sometimes he plays within himself but today he was outstanding."
He also expressed his desire to sign both Day and McMahon, and his frustration at so far being unable to do so: "We know all about Rhys Day and he's the type of centre-half we're looking for. We've just got to keep doing things and believing that someone might come in with something so we're ready to sign people. We've got two players here training with us that we've desperate to sign."
It turned out that Brabin's frustration ran deeper than anyone suspected; on the Monday came the announcement: "Manager Gary Brabin has been relieved of his duties as first team manager with immediate effect. The decision was made by the Board on Monday following a meeting between Brabin and Chairman George Rolls… There have been a number of issues between the board and the manager in recent months, culminating in a position where it has become untenable for the board and manager to work together."
The local media caught up with the now ex-manager at Histon's friendly with Northampton Town, and he stated that he had been called into an impromptu meeting with Rolls after training on Monday morning and, after only a couple of minutes, he was told that he was being sacked. "It was George's decision, there were no other board members present. I'm still waiting for something official. I've spoken to my advisors and things are now in the hands of the lawyers."
Brabin did not believe that his dismissal was for footballing reasons. "George said I was disrespectful for not answering his calls, so he was sacking me. It had nothing to do with the budget. I was looking forward to the new season and dealing with what I had. It was a real shock to me and very disappointing."
Rolls responded "We've got a democratic board and I'm sure the other members would have been very upset with me if I'd made the decision on my own. I'm sure Gary has got his opinions and I'd like to say he did a fantastic job for us and wish him well in his career. I've said it a number of times and I think he will go on to become a great manager. But unfortunately, there was a breakdown in communication and he had to go.
"We've got to run the club how we see fit and what's gone on over the last few weeks hasn't been in the best interests of the football club. Something had to give and, unfortunately, it was Gary."
Vice-chairman Terry Baker added "Gary Brabin did a grand job for us, but the club is bigger than any individual. His relationship with the chairman broke down and things couldn't continue. We didn't take this decision lightly, but it was unavoidable in the end. We've had this sort of crisis before and we'll get to where we want to get to eventually."
Tuesday 14th July 2009: U's 0-4 Blackburn Rovers (Friendly - Att. 1,813, away 144)
Goals: Andrews 29, Diouf 37, Roberts 57, 78
Paul Carden took charge of a shell-shocked squad for their first prestige pre-season fixture, a match very belatedly arranged as a result of Fred Murray's transfer between the clubs seven years previously. He left himself out but fielded a near-enough first-choice team in a 4-4-2 formation with Phillips and Crow up front, Parkinson and Willmott wide and Reason and Farrell in the middle, Coakley still depping for the injured Tonkin.
A strong Blackburn side took the lead via a Keith Andrews free-kick that deflected off the wall past skipper Danny Potter, and some calamitous defending by Hatswell and Coulson left the ever-popular El Hadji Diouf to stroll through for a second before the break.
The visitors fielded an entirely different eleven for the second half, but comfortably retained control of a low-key encounter and increased their lead through two close-range finishes from Jason Roberts. United finished the game with seven youth products in the team, including debut-maker Blaine Hudson.
Carden remained positive but cautious: "This could be a fantastic club. We've been so close for a couple of years on the spin. Everybody thought last year was going to be our year but unfortunately it wasn't, and we were looking to try to go one step further. Things have happened that will come out in their own good time - I'm not going to go into it - and unfortunately it's no longer to be. I've still got this job and a year left on my contract so the Board doesn't need to rush into anything, and I don't need to rush into any decisions, because I think the next decision everybody is going to make is going to be a massive one.
"It's no good changing your manager year after year; it's no good for the players or for anybody involved with the club. We do need something to be done and settled sooner rather than later, but I don't see anything gained from rushing into any decisions at the moment."
Some sort of peace appeared to have broken out when Rolls advised that a compensation package had been quickly agreed with the outgoing manager. "There have been reports of Gary calling in his lawyers but I can say that after a very amicable telephone conversation today we have sorted out the matter of compensation. We both agreed that we just can't work together, but we've thanked each other and wished each other well."
Applications had already started flooding in from prospective replacements, and Rolls stated that he would not be approaching any manager currently employed by another club. And while starting the process of sifting through the CVs, the future of player-assistant manager Carden would also have to be resolved. At thirty years of age, was he too young to be considered for a player-manager role?
One part of the club that had not only survived the close season but positively flourished was the newly-laid Abbey pitch, an immaculate bowling green of a surface. Carden revealed "Since we've come back to training the lads have been chomping at the bit to get on that new playing surface. Ian Darler and Mick and the lads who have helped have done a brilliant job and it's like a carpet. It was good last year but it's unbelievable this year and Sam Allardyce commented on it too. Hopefully it will play a big part in bringing us success this season."
The assistant manager also revealed the players' reaction to Brabin's dismissal. "There were a lot of disappointed people in the dressing room. Gary had a lot of respect from the players, which he'd earned by the way he spoke to people and the way he conducted himself. Gary addressed the players after he's been told the news to thank them for their efforts. I've never seen such a downbeat dressing room after a manager has been sacked before. There was a long line of players outside his door to see him and thank him."
Rolls insisted that the club's budget would make them competitive for the coming season. And he did acknowledge that a new centre-back would be needed, with only two in the squad at present: "We are a centre-half light and I'm sure we'll be looking to do something in that area if the right player becomes available. I haven't spoken to Paul Carden about Rhys Day because at the moment, Paul's not the manager of the football club and we can't go signing players when we haven't got a manager in place."
Funnily enough, Rolls had taken it upon himself to sign Lee McEvilly a year ago between the departure of Jimmy Quinn and the arrival of Gary Brabin, but that must have been different. In some way or other.
Saturday 18th July 2009: U's 1-1 West Ham United (Friendly - Att. 1,423, away 421)
Goals: McAuley 83 / Abdulla 48
West Ham brought their own souvenir stall with them and among the goodies on offer was a T-shirt with the slogan 'Only Fools and Tottenham - This Time Next Year We'll Be Champions League.' How they must be laughing now. The only household names in the Irons' line-up were Nigel Quashie and Calum Davenport, and what a season was in store for them.
Caretaker boss Carden picked himself in a 4-3-1-2 formation with Beesley 'in the hole' behind strikers Marriott and Holroyd. There was no sign of the unwanted Pitt and Challinor, nor of any of the erstwhile trialists save for Laurie Walker, who had resourcefully offered to help Potter in the warm-up and was rewarded with a place on the bench.
The youthful Hammers side provided competitive opposition and after an entertaining but goalless first half, Ahmed Abdulla put them ahead from the edge of the box. A slew of substitutions followed, but United were still behind when Phillips went down with a bad knee injury thirteen minutes from time. Walker was the only remaining unused sub, so he was found an outfield shirt to go with his goalkeeper's shorts and socks, and the lanky youngster proceeded to put himself about as a surprisingly effective target man.
Seven minutes from time Walker's challenge forced keeper Denis Mehmet to fumble a high ball, and Rory McAuley pounced to rifle home the equaliser. And Danny Crow was only denied an injury-time winner by the lineswoman's offside flag.
Carden said of his temporary charges "They are downbeat but they're professional enough to know they've got bills to pay and they've got to get on with their jobs, and they've got to show all the vultures who have been hanging around the stands lately that they're worthy of a shirt and worthy of being kept on."
On the same afternoon a CUFC XI fought out a goalless draw at AFC Sudbury in front of a crowd of 180 in Suffolk , whose website observed 'the opposition appeared to be CRC in disguise.' Which, of course, they were.
Speculation was mounting as to who would be in the frame for the managerial hot seat at the Abbey, but Rolls said that there would be no appointment for at least eight days. Hampton & Richmond boss Alan Devonshire was among the first to be interviewed, but did not do enough to be invited back, while former Leyton Orient boss Martin Ling made more of an impression, prompting Rolls to state "He watched our game on Saturday and he's had an interview and his pedigree would make him one of anybody's favourites. He's a great candidate and he's been invited to see us again."
Former U's assistant boss Alan Lewer also expressed an interest, saying "Cambridge United is a great club and I feel that there's unfinished business to be done there - that's why I've applied." Rolls claimed to have held talks with him, but confusingly, Lewer denied that that was the case.
Other names to be tossed into the fray were Kettering boss Mark Cooper, our old friend Steve Evans, former Abbey legends Alan Kimble and Liam Daish ("it's all hypothetical"), veteran Billy McEwan and John Yems, world-famous former Exeter number 2. And Jimmy Quinn's agent sent in his CV, too, in case the United board had forgotten who he was.
Brabin muddied the waters further in the pages of the Non-League Paper by claiming he might be coming back: "George did ask me to come back when I spoke to him. I had a meeting planned with George on Thursday to get my settlement cheque and we talked about the situation. He was big enough to admit that he was wrong and he's gone up in my estimation for that. It was something I told him I'd think about, but that I couldn't go back under the same circumstances."
Rolls' version of the conversation was somewhat different: "I had a meeting with Gary on Thursday. I admitted to him that I hadn't been perfect and I said to him that he wasn't perfect either. But Gary doesn't seem to think he's been in the wrong and so there's no way forward."
Wednesday 22nd July 2009: U's 1-1 Barnet (Friendly - Att. 823, away 93)
Goals: Beesley 82 / Furlong 35
Ling was present in the Main Stand alongside ex-colleague Kevin Nugent for United's next friendly - well, the Habbin was closed - and so was John Deehan, Norwich City's chief scout. Carden continued to rotate the squad so that everyone got some game time, except for outcasts Challinor and Pitt, this time trying McAuley at centre-back and a front pairing of Holroyd and Crow, Phillips' knee ligament injury looking likely to keep him out for some time.
Forty-year-old golden oldie Paul Furlong gave visitors Barnet a half-time lead in a competitive encounter which became a little too competitive after the break when Bees skipper Mark Hughes was booked for a dreadful lunge at Jai Reason which led to a massed push-me-pull-you conga between the sides. Barnet boss Ian Hendon creditably withdrew the culprit without delay.
Andy Parkinson hit the post but the visitors looked like keeping United at bay until the introduction of some young CRC subs saw the team playing with greater understanding, and Adam Marriott set up Mark Beesley for a comfortable equalising finish eight minutes from time. Beesley missed a sitter from another Marriott cross to win it, but a hard-fought draw seemed a fair result, with McAuley the pick of the bunch at centre-back and later at right-back.
With no coaching staff other than the on-pitch Carden, physio Greg Reid had been in charge of substitutions. The hard-working acting player-boss said afterwards "I'm committed and I'm trying my best. I'm working on my own but the lads have been brilliant."
He was rewarded for his dedication with a new three-year contract as player-assistant manager, possibly an unique award from a club with no actual manager. A thrilled Rolls enthused "I know it must have been a hard decision for him to stay once Gary had gone, but it shows the sort of person Paul is that he's a true professional and he's committed to the club and wants to do well here. This is a fantastic signing for us today to tie him up for an extra two years."
The candidates for the hot seat had been whittled down to a four-man shortlist, understood to be Ling, Daish, Lewer and last-minute candidate Jerry Gill. But it was Ling, whom Rolls had said he would be recommending to the Board, who got the nod on the 27th, the same evening as a friendly at Soham was called off due to rain.
Ling, who had been doing some scouting for Hibernian, was given a three-year contract to match that of his already-appointed assistant. Rolls advised "As I keep saying, stability and continuity is a key thing for us at the club and hopefully Martin Ling will be here long-term. The Board has spoken to Martin three times and he was an impressive candidate. He has the experience of working with young players and bringing them through, and he's a Pro Licence holder so he's an excellent coach and hopefully he can get us to where we want to be.
"He was our number one choice and I'm sure the fans will be very happy with the appointment, which shows our ambition by appointing a manager of such a high calibre. Obviously we're not expecting miracles in year one but in that period of three years we're hoping we will get promoted."
Ling was positive: "This is a club that is capable of going back into the Football League. For me it's been out of the League too long, and it's a club with the fan support to be able to do that." And he would be doing it the footballing way: "Anyone who's worked with me or seen my team play know it will be a team that looks to play football. It's easy to say you want your team to play football but you've got to pass the football with a purpose. It's no good passing for passing's sake and not winning games of football so it will be a passing team that wins games of football."
It all sounded so simple. And the financial restrictions did not concern him: "There's a tight budget here that we'll have to work within and there may be deficiencies within the squad but 'wheeling and dealing' will be the words we'll have to use. I may have to beg, borrow and steal and use the contacts I've made over time, especially in and around the London clubs, to make sure we have the right players to do the job."
There was good news as well for Lee Phillips, whose knee ligament would not require surgery, meaning he could be back in training in 5-6 weeks. United's only other walking wounded, Anthony Tonkin, was still gradually working his way back to fitness following his groin injury.
Tuesday 28th July 2009: U's 0-1 Liverpool XI (Friendly - Att. 4,115, away 929)
Goal: Bruna 73
Ling was given a warm welcome by the amber army before the club's next friendly, their first-ever meeting with Liverpool. The new 'sash' kit made its debut after a pre-season played entirely in Cambridge blue so far against a Reds side devoid of any familiar names, to the disappointment of an impressive crowd, although the cosmopolitan Scousers still managed to field a Spaniard, a Frenchman, an Icelander, a Hungarian, a Swede and two Dutchmen.
This time Beesley and Crow were paired up front and Pitt made a surprise return to the bench. Floppy-haired Dutchman Jordy Brouwer was foiled by Danny Potter in a one-on-one in the first minute, and the Reds' unimpressive frontman proceeded to scuff another sitter wide then hit the post when confronted with an almost entirely open goal. Most of the visiting youngsters looked like good footballers, though, and United matched them in an intricate, low-key passing battle during the first half.
Pitt was one of three U's subs to start the second half and he made a good, energetic impression. His side lacked a cutting edge, however, and a more open second 45 was settled by Argentine sub Gerardo Bruna's excellent free-kick over the wall and into the top corner.
Ling was reasonably pleased with what he had seen: "I thought they did OK. There was a lot of chasing the ball in the first half and I thought they got into it a bit more in the second half. I spoke to them about being a passing team and that was really the one comment I made before the game, but I think one or two of the players took me a bit too literally… I was well pleased with the fitness levels and the performance."
Ling identified the need for another experienced centre-back as his first priority for the squad, with a centre-forward second priority, especially following the injury to Phillips. Contacts were offering him players and he was considering a long-term loan signing as perhaps the answer.
He would also be giving Pitt a chance to prove himself, although both he and Challinor would remain on the transfer list: "I feel that their money could be used, but in terms of positions I feel Pitt is more important than Challinor because in wide areas we've only got two seniors, so I feel Courtney is more use to me than Challinor. That's no reflection on Challinor as a person or a player, because I don't really know him as either, but the central midfield position is looking OK and the cover in there with the two younger boys [Ives and Reason] is OK as well.
"Whether it's to start or to come on as a sub, I just feel Courtney can have an effect on games and it's a chance for him to show me what he's all about. He's done that so far, and Challinor's done that too in terms of training, but he won't be involved in games. Everybody knows his details have been circulated but since I've been in on Tuesday I'm waiting for the phone to ring about him."
The final action of a dramatic month at the Abbey was a youth team match between the young U's and their Blackburn Rovers equivalents, arranged as part of the deal by which 15-year-old Jackson Ramm had moved to Ewood Park. The Premier League youngsters ran out narrow 2-1 winners.
Andrew Bennett
Cambridge United: YOUR CITY - YOUR CLUB
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