Andrew Bennett reviews last season.

February 2010: "The league table makes scary reading."

A new month saw two new arrivals at the Abbey, and one departure. Andy Parkinson had his contract terminated by mutual consent after an injury-blighted spell which had started so well with a spectacular goal against Everton but was ruined by the rupture of his anterior cruciate ligament in training.



Ling paid tribute: "Andy is the perfect example of a professional footballer but due to circumstances it just didn't work out for him at this Club. He's conducted himself in an exemplary manner during his time here and we all wish him well for his future career."

Parky moved on to Gateshead. His replacement was Antonio Murray, formerly of Hibernian, Histon, Cambridge City and Chelmsford and son of former U's left-back Jamie Murray. Said Ling "Antonio is a versatile player who has a good goalscoring record in the Conference. He's been training with us for the last week and has impressed me, so now it's up to the boy to show me he can be a part of my future plans."



Murray, signing until the end of the season, said "I'm delighted to be here. I've supported the club since a youngster and with my Dad playing here too, it's a very proud moment for me. I'll be doing everything I can to earn the right to be part of Martin's plans for the future."

Ling advised "He had a good period at Histon, I'll confess I didn't know much about him, but he was heavily rumoured to be coming here in the summer and that didn't happen, so I think he's gone to Chelmsford with a heavy heart. But as I say, he's trained well, shown good endeavour and application and deserves a go until the end of the season."

United also appointed a new Club Secretary in Lisa Baldwin, wife of Gareth and most recently fulfilling the same role at Histon.



General Manager Robert Smith advised "In my view, Lisa was the outstanding candidate amongst all applicants. She has been offered this position on that basis only." Outgoing Secretary Wayne Purser agreed to remain in the role for CRC, as it was achievable on a part-time basis working from home.


Tuesday 2nd February 2010: U's 0-0 Salisbury City (FA Trophy 3rd Round - Att. 1,237, away 32)

A damp, cold Tuesday night saw United's first-ever foray into the dizzy heights of the Third Round of the Trophy, and they stuck with their 4-3-3 formation, Beesley replacing the departed Holroyd, Gleeson back for the injured McAuley, and Dave Partridge was handed his debut in place of Saah, who had sustained an injury where no man wishes to be injured.

Partridge looked commanding and calm and the defences dominated as the rain began to slant down, United's front three of Beesley, Crow and Phillips all too similar and milling around, getting in each other's way. It was half an hour before anything remotely exciting happened, Coulson having a header from a corner cleared off the line, and that was the highlight of a dreary, forgettable first half.

Ling made an attacking change for part two, replacing Ives with Willmott, and the sub saw a looping header cannon off the upright within a few minutes of the restart. James Bittner was in fine form in the visitors' goal and Simon Russell became United's second debutant on 68 in place of Beesley as they went to 4-4-2.

A robustly fought contest that lacked quality in either penalty box had to wait until three minutes from the end for its best chance when Coulson flicked on Willmott's free-kick and Gleeson arrived unseen seven yards out to thrash wildly over the bar. Somehow it summed up the evening.

Ling looked for positives: "Salisbury really didn't have a clear-cut opportunity, and I thought the back four and Pottsy were excellent. Dave came in like he'd been there all season, and I thought Josh Coulson had an excellent game too. That's the pleasing part, but the disappointing part is that we didn't really threaten enough. We had some chances, mostly from set plays, and as a defensive unit all through the team we take credit, but attacking-wise we could have been better… the 4-3-3 formation didn't work tonight - it was too narrow and you could've chucked a handkerchief over the front three at times."

Promising youngsters Blaine Hudson and Luke Berry signed their first professional terms with the Club. Ling remarked "Both lads have impressed me when they've trained with the first team. Blaine came in and did well for his debut last month, whilst we know all about Luke Berry's ability. We feel these youngsters could have a big future and will play a part in my plans for next season."

Ling was realistic enough to face the fact that his team's current form had left them on the verve of the relegation zone. "If you're not man enough to look over your shoulder you shouldn't be doing the job. Our league form isn't good, we're only seven points off the bottom four and we need to turn it around. I don't want us to be dragged down. It happened three years ago when Jimmy Quinn was in charge and I don't want it to happen again, but it can."

He was pleased with the form of Josh Coulson: "Josh is changing my mind a bit, he's come in, taken his opportunity, and impressed me. On Tuesday I told him well done and long may it continue. When Brian comes back I'd love to have a headache of which of the three to pick. I think he's done well in the last two games and made me think that maybe he could be the answer for next year. We'll need four centre-backs, and with Blaine Hudson, Dave Partridge and hopefully Brian Saah, there's one place available, and you have to say Josh has put himself in the frame."




Saturday 6th February 2010: Crawley Town 1-0 U's (Blue Square Premier - Att. 1,108, away 131)
Goal: Cogan 8

The portents were not good for United when two of their stalwarts, Potter and Carden, had to withdraw through injury; Potter's shoulder injury was expected to keep him out for 6-8 weeks. Understudy Laurie Walker accordingly got the chance to make his full debut and Palmer was restored to left-back, while a formation change to 4-4-2 meant the introduction of Russell and Willmott as wide men with Beesley dropped to a bench which also included Antonio Murray for the first time.

Crawley's top scorer, ex-U Charles Ademeno, had come within two minutes of joining Torquay in January but just missed the transfer deadline, although the Gulls were apparently still considering a loan move for him after their other loan striker, Scott Rendell, had broken his arm.

United got off to the worst possible start when they conceded a dreadful goal inside the first ten minutes. A hopeful long ball seemed headed out of play down Crawley's right channel and Palmer led winger Barry Cogan in the chase to the byline. Palmer attempted to shield it out of play for a goal-kick, but Cogan simply hooked his leg around the pint-sized left-back, left him in a heap and cut inside, drifting easily past Coulson before slotting home past the helpless Walker from point-blank range. Woeful stuff.

The U's began to get a grip, with Russell looking impressive, although Ademeno missed a five-yard header on 28, but when Crow broke clear keeper Simon Rayner was equal to his shot. The visitors were on top, though, and just could not find the finish their build-up play merited.

In part two Walker's miscued clearance ricocheted just wide off Ademeno and the United custodian's kicking never really recovered. Crawley clawed their way back into the contest and missed some good chances of their own and Murray got his debut in place of Ives on 73. But desperation caused the U's to lose their patience and too many long hoofs down the middle meant no goals. There had been some promising signs here and there, but this was their sixth league defeat in a row.

Ling was frustrated: "If you look at the chances created and who was the better team, then you'd say it was ourselves. One slack piece of defending by Aiden Palmer allows them the goal and then we couldn't get back into it with the chances we created. Winning becomes a habit but so does losing. We've got to break it and we've got to break it quickly…

"We're getting dragged in. The word relegation shouldn't be mentioned but if we don't start pulling our finger out and getting it out quickly then we're going to get dragged in there before we know it... I think Simon Russell had a good game; he looks like a good acquisition. It would be nice to be talking about that after a victory rather than after another defeat… When you're not scoring goals, that's the area you're always going to be looking at. No disrespect to Lee but he hasn't got a goal for us all season. Confidence in that area isn't high because we're not banging the goals in.

"There are certain times when you go in and lay into your players, like Stevenage away, but today wasn't one of those occasions. They're fed up of hearing it and I'm fed up of saying it but it's about winning games of football. At the moment we're not doing that."

Russell added "Coming fresh to the Club you can't believe the fantastic turnout that this Club gets. Even with the Club not flying in the league, for as many people to travel here today is superb loyalty and to not be able to give them something to go home with hits all of us hard. We so want to give them something back for their loyalty and the performance today had everything but a finish to give them something to cheer. So it's nice to be named as the United Man of the Match but I'd swap it straight away for a result… it's a travesty that we've got nothing out of the game."


Tuesday 9th February 2010: Salisbury City 2-1 U's (FA Trophy 3rd Round Replay - Att. 592, away c.80)
Goals: Tubbs 29, Sinclair 48 / Crow 79

With scarcely a moment to draw breath, United were back in Trophy action and the squad looked somewhat threadbare in the absence of the injured Potter, Saah and Carden, and the cup-tied Palmer and Murray. Coakley returned at left-back and Beesley replaced Phillips in a front three alongside Crow and Willmott; CRC graduates Marriott, Berry and Patrick were all on the bench.

There was encouragement for the visitors, though, when Salisbury's Stuart Anderson was shown a straight red inside the first fifteen minutes for a late studs-up 'challenge' on Russell. But although United enjoyed plenty of possession they fell behind to the sharp-shooting of the prolific Matt Tubbs, turning Coulson and firing past a helpless Walker into the far corner.

The visitors could not turn their territorial advantage into a goal, Reason coming nearest in the first half with a thunderbolt tipped round the post by Bittner. And they committed defensive hari-kari early in part two when they won a free-kick on the edge of their own area, Walker inexplicably blasted it straight at Coakley, and it rebounded to Robbie Sinclair to roll into the open goal. Calamitous stuff which signalled Walker's last game for the first team.

The pattern of the game remained unchanged, United with most of the ball, the ten men defending their lead and the visitors able to do precious little about it, not testing Bittner nearly enough. They finally pulled one back when Crow glanced home Russell's cross with a header across the keeper, but a grandstand finish failed to produce any goal attempt of note.

This time Mr Ling was not happy. He was not happy at all. In fact on a happiness scale of 1-10, he was into minus figures: "They've gone down to ten men, and you have to ask did we use the extra man to our advantage? No. Did we pass the ball well enough? No. There have been times when I've stood here and made excuses for them but there are no excuses tonight, it's not good enough. If there's one man to come out without criticism it is Simon Russell. It was the choice of pass and the choice of decisions that cost us, as a unit and as a team.

"It was a dreadful mistake for the second goal. We've got a young keeper who came in and did well on Saturday but he's made a rick tonight and it leaves you needing a lot to try and get back into the game… Confidence is obviously low because results aren't going for us. Inexperience from the keeper certainly showed in that instance but there are senior players making mistakes as well. When you're 2-1 down with a minute to go and Jai played a one-yard pass to Simon Russell when we'd sent all of our centre-halves forward.

"It's like some of the players have got a death wish! We seem capable of losing a game at any given stage out there without being able to win one. The season is at a crossroads now, without a doubt. I've always been an honest manager and it isn't anywhere near good enough for me at this moment in time."

Chester had failed to fulfil a fixture at Forest Green, the players having refused to travel after not being paid, bringing the threat of the club's expulsion ever closer. Ling commented "It couldn't have been a worse scenario tonight with the Chester game being off. If they go out of the league we'll lose another six points. I don't know if that scenario is going to happen but it's certainly a possibility. We're in a relegation fight. It's as simple as that. The Trophy's now gone and it's over to us, we have to show if there's enough fight in the dressing room to fight relegation."

It got even worse for Chester the next day when their home derby with Wrexham due on the Sunday was postponed after Trading Standards of the Chester West & Chester Borough Council issued a Prohibition Notice on the Deva Stadium. This was due to Cheshire Police having withdrawn their 'Special Police Services' from the game due to the club having failed to pay policing costs by a due time, leaving an inadequate presence of officers for such a relatively well attended match.

A statement from the Conference stated "Pursuant to other matters currently existing at the Club, the Football Conference has served charges for breaches of five separate Competition rules upon the Club which include the failure to fulfil the above two fixtures. The Club has been given seven days to respond to the charges and/or request a Personal Hearing. The charges, and a Personal Hearing if requested, will be considered on Thursday 18th February 2010. Meanwhile the Club's fixtures have been suspended, resulting in Chester City's home fixture on Wednesday 17th February against Kidderminster Harriers being postponed."

Ling captured the experienced goalkeeper he had been looking for when he signed 33-year-old Simon Brown from Northampton, the stopper having given up a coaching role at Sixfields to resume a full-time playing career. Ling explained "It's obvious we needed an experienced replacement for Potts and Simon fits this bill perfectly. He's here until the end of the season to provide us with the cover we need."

Brown revealed "I thoroughly enjoyed coaching at Northampton, and they have had a lot of success in the last few months, but it came at a time when I want to play for as long as I can, so that's why I'm here."

Of his new team-mates, he said "They're a young team but the good thing about that is they're hungry and you'll always get that effort and commitment. There are some talented players in the squad as well who can definitely hold their own with a bit of time and guidance. For me the glass is always half full rather than half empty, and hopefully we can sustain our place in the league and push up the table. Every year at Colchester we were favourites to go down and we always got out of it. I had five good years there so I'm fully aware of the task ahead."

Ling reflected on the pressure near the bottom of the table which had now intensified with the nightmare scenario of losing the six points United had gained against Chester. "Six games ago no-one would have thought relegation was a problem - the Chester scenario hadn't come to a head and our season could've gone either way. But now it's been brought home to the players and we'll see what they've got. You put a team out there so you take the blame. The buck stops with you as a manager but there are players who can do better. I see it in training but they can't do it on a Saturday and they need to turn that around.

"I put the tactics together and do what I think feels right, so you look at yourself there and hope they look at themselves too. Any manager is six games from the sack and my last six aren't great, so of course you feel the pressure when things aren't going right, it's difficult to cope but you have to cope with it. The glorified three-year plan we've talked about is on hold while we stabilise where we are."


Saturday 13th February 2010: U's 2-2 AFC Wimbledon (Blue Square Premier - Att. 3,087, away 769)
Goals: Crow 18, Phillips 68 / Taylor 42, 55

Ling rang the changes for his team's return to league action. With Carden and Saah still absent, Brown made his first start in goal, Palmer was restored to left-back, and Crow and Phllips were the front two ahead of a new-look midfield four of Murray on his full debut, Reason, McAuley in the holding role he had filled for CRC, and Russell. Ives, Willmott, Beesley and Walker dropped to the bench.

This truly looked like a 'Ling' side for the first time, and they got off to a brisk, tidy start. McAuley had a shot tipped around the post by James Pullen, then was foiled again by the keeper with a header from the ensuing corner, but United were rewarded for their early pressure when Pullen fumbled Reason's cross, Murray crossed into the middle and Crow was there to nod home from close range.

The Wombles fought their way back and equalised on the cusp of half-time when Lewis Taylor received a pass eight yards out and fired across Brown and into the corner. A promising first 45 for the U's had been spoilt.

There was an on-pitch presentation to the departing Wayne Purser during the interval, to warm applause, but United were caught out ten minutes after the restart when Danny Kedwell sped to the byline and pulled back for Taylor to arrive untracked and poke home to give the visitors the lead. Now we would see what the new U's were made of.

Brown showed his mettle with a fine double save from a free-kick, but just after the hour it looked dire for the hosts when Murray was shown a straight red for a tackle on Kedwell. Positive United stayed with a 4-3-2 formation, but they rode their luck when Paul Lorraine beat Brown to a corner and his header was kept out by a combination of Phillips and the underside of the bar.

Willmott replaced the unimpressive Reason and within five minutes later the U's were level. Palmer was the architect with a teasing cross from deep which tempted Pullen into an ill-advised rush from goal, and the wily Phillips sneaked between the keeper and his back four to guide a clever header past Pullen and into the unguarded net for his first goal of the season.

Suddenly Phillips was a player reborn, bustling all over the Dons' defence. He set up Crow for a shot which cannoned off Pullen's legs while he was diving the other way, then he spurned a good scoring chance by heading sideways towards Crow instead of goalward. Taylor fired narrowly wide in a toe-to-toe battle to the finish, and a minute from time Russell could have won it when Phillips dispossessed Danny Blanchett and squared it, but the York loanee dragged his shot wide from ten yards with all the goal to aim at. At least the losing run had been halted.

Ling was pleased this time: "When we went 2-1 down and then Antonio was sent off you think it's looking bad, but we fought back from there really well. I said to them before that it's about showing character and resolve to get us out of the relegation scrap we're in and you've seen in the second half that we've come back with ten men, equalised, and then had chances to win it."

"We've had five defeats on the bounce [six actually, Martin] and if that had been another one there would have been a lot of doom and gloom about the place, so this feels like a win even though it's only a point. I thought between McAuley and Russell it was a very close call for Man of the Match, they were both outstanding… Forest Green Rovers next week will be another test of character, but we've answered some questions today."

Of McAuley's selection, the Gaffer said "With Paul missing I just felt we needed a bit more physical presence - Sam Ives has done really well this season but he needed a rest and with him and Jai in there as a partnership we were a bit lightweight."

Phillips was also a happy bunny: "The Manager and Paul Carden have put in loads of work with us in training, focusing on getting the ball forward as quickly as we can. That showed in the performance we gave for the first twenty minutes or so… I've been in and out of the side this season swapping places with Bees, but I've worked hard in training and I know how frustrating it has been for the fans seeing a striker who hasn't delivered for them. I also feel I have let myself down with injuries as well as not getting the goals I should be getting. But I now feel fitter, sharper than I have in all my time here. I'm doing extra training and the Manager has seen that and given me the chance to start today and hopefully I've repaid him with the equaliser."

There was more squad strengthening during the following week. Chester utility man Kevin Roberts arrived until the end of the season after the cancellation of his contract at the Cheshire crisis club. At 20 years old he had already played over 100 first team games and Ling advised "Kevin is a good addition to the squad. With games coming thick and fast, his versatility will be a big asset to us. Kevin is here to demonstrate his ability to earn a contract for next season." He added "At Chester Roberts played in three positions - centre-back, right-back and centre midfield, so he can fill any of those, but I see him mainly as a defender.

While Brian has been out Blaine has been on the bench and in the current climate it's probably too early for him to be in the squad. Josh has done well but we needed another body in defence in case there are any problems with Dan Gleeson or the centre-halves."

Following him into the Abbey was journeyman striker Calum Willock on non-contract terms after his release from Crawley. The big target man advised "I'm here to score goals, put in good performances and help Cambridge United get as many points as possible. I want to impress and earn the right to be here on a longer term basis."

Ling said "It's a non-contract gamble with Calum, and it's a situation where he can show us what he's all about. He gives us pace and power which is something we haven't got and something which is hard to find. I've been trying to fetch that sort of player in, but you speak to agents and say you want a big forward and they say you're not the only one. So Calum sort of dropped on our doorstep, and now he's got the chance, but things can change week-to-week and we'll see if he can come in and quickly show he can do a job."

Of the squad generally, the Manager pointed out "Even without the Chris Holroyd transfer money, we've saved a lot by moving out the seven players, so now we're just rebalancing numbers. The likes of Pitt, Challinor and Parkinson were on good money, and all I've done is get us back up to 23 bodies. So the Board have given me money that's been saved in other areas of the squad, because we were down to 20 players which is not enough, especially with eight matches coming up in March.

"We're not happy in a position where we are happy in mid-table. We've talked about the three-year plan but the most important thing now is a three-month plan to settle what happens next season. The league position is crucial to the football club, so that moves the goalposts in terms of investment. If we were in mid-table and I asked to bring in a player then maybe the answer would be no, but because we're for fighting for our lives perhaps you get a different answer."

Ling concluded "I've been in relegation battles before and I think you have to take as much pressure as possible away from the players, whether that's coming from the fans, press, or whoever. The players can't play to their best if they are tense, they've got to be relaxed. You find players who are relaxed work a lot harder, and if they are feeling the pressure more than they need to then you're on a hiding to nothing. So I'll stand up and say I pick the team and try to take that pressure, and at the same time I expect the fans to get behind us as I know they will. The league table makes scary reading, there's no doubt about it, and as manager you've got to take the brunt of that fear and get the players to relax and play."


Saturday 20th February 2010: Forest Green Rovers 1-1 U's (Blue Square Premier - Att. 930, away 205)
Goals: Hodgkiss 72 / Crow 22

United's visit to the strugglers of Nailsworth could only be described as a relegation six-pointer, and Ling kept an unchanged side save for the replacement of the suspended Murray with Willmott.

A decent start was rewarded with the lead when McAuley's long throw was headed out to Willmott and his first-time volleyed cross was met by Crow, who chested down and hammered into the net. Russell saw a shot fingertipped wide by keeper Danny Ireland and Partridge poked wide from the resultant corner, and although Rovers rallied towards the end, United saw out a fairly comfortable first half with a deserved lead.

Part two resumed in much the same fashion, but as the game wore on United almost subconsciously began to drop deeper and deeper, inviting pressure onto themselves. And after a couple of scares which the U's should have heeded, the hosts were level when Jared Hodgkiss arrived late into the box to fire Conal Platt's pull-back home.

Now it was all Forest Green as United reeled on the ropes, and Roberts was introduced for his debut in place of Willmott to add a little more solidity. Willock also made his first bow in place of Phillips with five minutes to go as the U's hung on grimly, and they might even have snatched it in added time when Coulson missed a free header from a free-kick. It had been the proverbial game of two halves.

Ling's reaction to this draw was rather different to the last one: "It feels like a loss today. We got our noses in front, we were looking comfortable and we had chances to put it to bed. I keep saying about us having these chances. Then once we got to 1-1 we seemed to put our foot on the gas again and pushed on again and had two chances to win it from there. I feel that we lost a bit of focus to our play and we let them get a foothold in the midfield area. It was without really damaging us but it meant they had a bit more of the ball."

"I was just talking about it [the poor form] and it starts to show on the players on the pitch, they lack that bit of confidence even when taking the lead, and having not won [away] since August shows in their play and we seemed to get deeper and deeper. You can't coach confidence, as I said previously you can try and take the pressure off them and make sure they know what their jobs are but one thing you can't breed is confidence. We've taken two points in two games after nothing in the six before that, it's a minor step in the right direction."

Willmott had sustained knee ligament damage at the New Lawn and needed an operation; he was expected to be out for eight weeks, which meant he would miss all or almost all of the rest of the season. With Murray still suspended United were short on wide men, leading Ling to think about bringing someone new into the squad. He considered it the wrong time to blood CRC's wing-heeled Jordan Patrick, explaining "It's possibly too early for him. He's had one substitute appearance this season, and now we're in a dog fight and I don't want to ruin what he's got going for him."

Jez George announced that he had formed a group called 'Protecting Football's Future' involving the other six former Football League clubs in the Conference who continued to run Centres of Excellence, with the aim of changing the rules regarding funding and protection of player registrations. A national media campaign would follows, as would another epic walk ("my last walk") aiming to raise £75,000 to compensate for United's lack of funding and protect the youth scheme's future.

There was also news that the freehold of the Abbey Stadium was under contract to be sold in the near future to Grosvenor Estates, the largest landowner in the Cambridge area outside of the colleges, with no effect on the underlying lease.

Paul Barry was pleased: "After digesting the news and having now spoken with a representative of Grosvenor Estates, I and the board are excited at the potential of having a friendly Landlord in the form of Grosvenor. They are a very responsible, collaborative, and highly respected development company with a strong presence in Cambridgeshire and strong ties to local planning entities including Cambridgeshire Horizons and the local councils. Their proven track record most recently is in completing the Grand Arcade project, and before that, the Grafton Centre.

"I would like to assure fans we will be meeting with our potential new landlord early next week to explore all possibilities so that we secure not only the future of Cambridge United but also make sure that any major development plans would involve shareholders, and stakeholders in the club. Once we have more news we will meet as a Board and involve CFU so that we can make this journey together."

On the Friday, Chester were finally expelled from the Conference following a meeting of its constituent clubs at Nene Park. The league received over the required 75% of votes from the clubs to take action over the five breached rules, and no representative of Chester even bothered to attend. The club faced a winding-up order over an unpaid tax bill of £26,125 from HM Revenue & Customs on 10th March. Because of the continued presence of club owners the Vaughan family, the club had been denied the discretionary payment due to them from the Football League after their relegation, and they had also been overlooked for the £30,000 hardship payment provided by the Premier League. Their matches this season would be expunged from the records, wiping six points from United and leaving them in the bottom three, albeit with games in hand over most of their rivals; but as Chester technically had until 25th March to appeal, the points were not deducted immediately, sparing U's fans the sight of their club in the relegation zone.

The last weekend in February was another blank one for United as their home game with Tamworth was called off by match ref Rob Whitton, who deemed the surface unsafe for play following heavy downpours overnight and on Saturday morning.

End of month position: 18th

Andrew Bennett

Cambridge United: YOUR CITY - YOUR CLUB

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