Cambridge United v Ipswich Town
Saturday 16th October 2021 – 15:00
Abbey Stadium
Pre-Match Thoughts - Mike
The Start Of The Climb Or Another False Dawn ?..........
Last Saturday's victory against lowly Shrewsbury Town saw Town climb to their highest League placing so far this season, in truth that is not saying much but to see us in Fourteenth place and heading up is far more palatable that sitting just above the dreaded dotted line. Once again it was a similar story as Town came out of the blocks and took the game to their opponents, we looked in total control and were creating a few chances while at the back we were rarely troubled, our superiority telling as Conor Chaplin put us ahead midway through the half. It is at this point in several games where instead of going on to dominate we go into our shells and let them back into it, it happens again and again and is something boss Paul Cook has remarked upon, it is almost as if we are afraid to be ahead.
Of course once more the inevitable happened and a very poor Shrewsbury side create One chance following some poor play by Sam Morsy and wham it's in the back of our net, for a time after their goal we look second best and are pleased to go in at the break level, it should never come to that against teams of this nature but thankfully parity was restored early in the second half as our lucky talisman came up trumps again with a delightful header to calm the nerves and get us back in the ascendancy.
Obviously not all games are going to be like the Doncaster thrashing and yes we ground out the win but why are we making so hard for ourselves ? Is it a lack of confidence, a lack of belief or what ? I certainly don't see it as a lack of ability within our squad, player for player we looked leagues above Shrewsbury and yet we fail to put them to bed with any great assertiveness. Clearly this is something that needs addressing and fast as we have some harder looking games on the horizon and our surge up the league is dependent on us eradicating the sloppiness that creeps into our performances.
There is plenty of talk surrounding Macauley Bonne and whether or not he can maintain his fabulous run of form in front of goal, probably more important than that is whether he will still be with us come January, with QPR having a recall on him at that point it is very much up in the air although they do have several striking options at their disposal who would appear to be ahead of Bonne in the pecking order, time will tell but if he does keep this amazing scoring run going it would be a massive loss and a blow to our chances, others within the squad need to be finding some form now in case of any eventuality.
For us to force our way into the play off picture it is vital we get some sort of consistency going and get on a bit of an unbeaten run, winning One, Drawing One, Losing One is not going to get us where we want to be, that sort of form is mad table obscurity, with this in mind our trip to Cambridge Utd needs to be a fruitful one, with all due respect they are the kind of team we have to be beating, of course they will see it as a massive game and a bit of a scalp should they come out of it victorious but we need to dominate this type of opponent. Cambridge currently have the same amount of points as ourselves having played a game less, however they have only won One of the last Five which in fairness was a very impressive win at Portsmouth.
Joe Ironside has been in good scoring form for our hosts and will be One to watch, names that stand out in the Cambridge ranks are non other than Wes Hoolahan who not so long back was a very good player at a higher level than this, One name we will all know is that of Jack Lankester, the Town fan having been at Portman Road until becoming a victim of the mass cull in the Summer, quite a lot of Town fans were disappointed at his release but it has to be said Jack hadn't kicked on as we all hoped and his injury record was poor for one so young, in fact once again he is a doubt for this game having picked up an injury at the weekend.
With around 2,500 Tractor Boys and Girls making the trip to the Abbey Stadium the team should feel at home and the backing will no doubt be loud and uplifting. I can't see us messing this One up if I am honest and while no "local derby" game is easy we ought to have the resources to get the job done, for me this is an ideal chance for an away victory for Town which would push us to the cusp of the top Ten prior to our trip to Portsmouth Tuesday evening, so it's a Town win for me and Three invaluable points. COYB'S
The Opposition – Cambridge United
The club was founded in 1912 as Abbey United, named after the Abbey district of Cambridge. A club called Cambridge United existed in Cambridge from 1909, but it was not linked to the club that exists today. The club played in local amateur leagues for many of its early years, moving from ground to ground around Cambridge (see Stadium below) before settling at the Abbey Stadium. In 1949 the club turned professional, and changed its name to Cambridge United in 1951. They played in the Eastern Counties League until finishing as runners-up in 1957–58, which saw them promoted to the Southern League. Three years later, Cambridge United reached the Premier Division of the Southern League.
After election to the Football League in 1970, to replace Bradford (Park Avenue), the club was promoted from the Fourth Division after three seasons, but went straight back down.
Following the appointment of Ron Atkinson as manager, Cambridge won successive promotions which took them into the Second Division in 1978 – a mere eight years after joining the Football League. Atkinson had gone to West Bromwich Albion, a First Division club, in January 1978, and was succeeded by John Docherty, who oversaw the second promotion.
Cambridge peaked at eighth place in the Second Division in 1980. However, a terrible season in 1983–84 (setting a league record for most successive games without a win, 31, which was surpassed by Derby County in 2008) was followed by a further relegation in 1984–85 (equalling the then league record for most losses in a season, 33). These successive relegations, which also had a negative effect on the club's attendances as well as its finances, placed Cambridge back in the Fourth Division, the lowest professional league in English football at the time. They had to apply for re-election in their first season back in the Fourth Division, and promotion would not be achieved for another four years.
The early 1990s was the U's most successful period. Soon after the appointment of new manager John Beck, the club won the first ever appearance as a professional club at Wembley Stadium, the Fourth Division playoff final in May 1990, which secured promotion to the Third Division – the club's first promotion for 12 years. Dion Dublin scored the only goal in a game against Chesterfield. Under Beck, United gained promotion from the Fourth Division and had already reached the FA Cup quarter finals in 1990, and reached them again a year later, and winning the Third Division in 1991. United reached the play-offs in 1992, after finishing 5th in the Second Division, but failed in their bid to become founder members of the Premier League. This was the club's highest final league placing to date. The following season the club sacked John Beck and were relegated from the new First Division. Further relegation followed two seasons later. United returned to Division Two but were relegated in 2002 despite a successful run in the Football League Trophy which saw them reach the final which they lost 1–4 to Blackpool at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
In 2005, after 35 years in the Football League, Cambridge United were relegated into the Football Conference. This brought with it financial difficulties and the club filed for administration on 29 April. On 22 July 2005 the club came out of administration with a deal being struck with HM Revenue and Customs at the eleventh hour after the intervention of then sports minister Richard Caborn. Cambridge had sold their Abbey Stadium home earlier in the season for £1.9 million to keep the club afloat.
On the eve of the 2006–07 season, it was announced that former Norwich City striker Lee Power would be the club's new chairman taking over from Brian Attmore's caretaking reign. Johnny Hon was also to rejoin the board as vice-chairman after John Howard's resignation on conflict of interests grounds (owing to his ownership of Bideawhile 445 Ltd, United's landlords). Jimmy Quinn was appointed manager soon after Power took charge and, after a difficult settling-in period which included a humiliating 5–0 loss to local rivals Histon, he guided Cambridge United away from another possible relegation by achieving five wins from their last seven games of the season.
After signing several respected and experienced players at the non-league level in the following close season Quinn led Cambridge to their then longest ever unbeaten start to a season (2007–08), which stretched to twelve games. Off the field, United reported several major sponsorship deals which seemed to point towards increased financial security. Halfway through the season the chairman, Lee Power, resigned. He was replaced by Wayne Purser. United finished the season in 2nd place, qualifying for the play-offs. They beat Burton Albion in the semi-final, 4–3 on aggregate, but lost 1–0 to Exeter City in the final, played at Wembley Stadium.
Following the play-off defeat many players left the club, culminating in the departure of manager Jimmy Quinn. Quinn was succeeded by former Southport manager Gary Brabin, who appointed Paul Carden as player-assistant manager. United finished the 2008–09 season again 2nd in the league, and also again reached the play-off final, overturning a 3–1 deficit to beat Stevenage Borough 4–3 on aggregate in the semi-final; however, they were beaten again at Wembley Stadium, 2–0 by Torquay United. Brabin was named as the Conference's Manager of the Season, but was sacked in the close-season after reportedly falling out with the chairman. He was replaced by Martin Ling, who resigned just eight days into the job, before the start of the 2009–10 season and was followed days later by chairman George Rolls. The new board re-appointed Ling as manager the following week.
Cambridge finished Ling's first season in 10th place – not enough for a playoff place. The following season, on 6 January 2011, with Cambridge in a similar position to where they finished the previous season, the club's owners put the club up for sale citing the need for new funds to take the club forward. Despite interest being expressed from a number of parties, no new owner has yet been found. Later the same month, the club's landlords Grosvenor Group revealed the plans for a new community stadium, including potential new locations both within the city and outside it. At the start of 2011 Martin Ling was removed from his position as manager and replaced on a temporary basis by CRC manager Jez George. He managed to steer the club towards safety, finishing 17th, which led to George's role being made permanent. After having rebuilt the squad with players from the club's youth system and with astute signings in Harrison Dunk and Tom Shaw, George managed to lead Cambridge to a 9th-place finish, a huge improvement on their previous season. As well as the league, Jez George also took Cambridge to the quarter-final of the FA Trophy (which was the furthest they had reached at the time), but lost 2–1 at home to minnows, Wealdstone. Eleven games into the following season Jez George became Director of Football, and Richard Money was announced as the new head coach of the club. The club spent much of the season in mid-table, finishing in 14th position with 59 points.
The squad was greatly revamped, and United started 2013–14 with a record-breaking 16 games unbeaten. Cambridge finished the season in second place, qualifying for the play-offs. After beating FC Halifax Town 2–1, on aggregate, in the semi-final, they won 2–1 against Gateshead in the final, held at Wembley Stadium, gaining promotion back to the Football League after a nine-year absence. The club also reached their first FA Trophy final, held at Wembley Stadium, where they beat Gosport Borough 4–0.
Cambridge finished 19th with 51 points, 10 points above the relegation zone. The following season started poorly, and Richard Money was sacked in November 2015, to be replaced by Shaun Derry the same month. A six-match unbeaten run saw Derry win the League Two Manager of the Month award for December 2015, and the U's finished the league in 9th place with 68 points. They finished 2016–17 season in 11th place, in a season that took in extended runs of both good and poor form. Derry was dismissed in February 2018 and was replaced on a permanent basis by his assistant, Joe Dunne, on the final day of 2017–18.
Cambridge started 2018–19 poorly, and manager Dunne was dismissed after 20 games with the club in 21st place. Colin Calderwood was appointed as his replacement in December 2018. Cambridge's second half under Calderwood was more successful, however, they could only finish in 21st place, only six points clear of the relegation zone. Following a successful start to the 2019–20 season, Calderwood was offered a new contract. However, after three heavy defeats in one month, Calderwood was sacked following a 4–0 defeat to Salford City. With the U's in 18th place, Calderwood's assistant manager Mark Bonner was placed in temporary charge until the end of the season. Under Bonner, Cambridge won four from their final seven matches before the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the season. Final league positions were decided on a points per game basis with Cambridge finishing in 16th place. This good form resulted in Bonner being handed the permanent role of head coach. During the 2020–21 season, Bonner guided Cambridge to promotion from League Two as runners-up after seven seasons in that division. Promotion was clinched on the final day with an emphatic 3–0 victory over Grimsby Town. Following this success, Bonner was handed a new three-year contract.
The Manager – Mark Bonner
Form Guide
Cambridge United Last 5 Matches – Currently in 16th place with 13 points
18 Sep Portsmouth 1 - 2 Cambridge Utd
25 Sep Cambridge Utd 2 - 2 Fleetwood
28 Sep Cambridge Utd 0 - 2 Gillingham
2 Oct Crewe Alexandra 2 - 2 Cambridge Utd
9 Oct Morecambe pp. Cambridge Utd
Ipswich Last 5 Matches – Currently in 14th place with 13 points
18 Sep Lincoln City 0 - 1 Ipswich Town
25 Sep Ipswich Town 1 - 1 Sheffield Wed
28 Sep Ipswich Town 6 - 0 Doncaster
2 Oct Accrington 2 - 1 Ipswich Town
9 Oct Ipswich Town 2 - 1 Shrewsbury
Match Referee – Leigh Doughty
CAMBRIDGE UNITED 0 IPSWICH TOWN 2
