The Main Stand at the Abbey Stadium, Cambridge Photo © 2004 Ciderspace

Abbey United was formed in 1912 and spent the early years of its life playing in the local Cambridgeshire League. The club turned semi-pro in 1949 in the United Counties League and changed its name to the more familiar Cambridge United in 1951 when it joined the Eastern Counties League, from where it was promoted to the Southern League in 1958.

Three years later and the U's had made their way into the Southern League Premier Division, finishing second in the 1961-62 season, 3rd in 1967-68 and winning the division outright the following two seasons, a record of success that persuaded even the fossilised Football League chairmen that it was worth breaking open their closed shop to admit some new blood: In the summer of 1970 Cambridge were voted into the then Division Four of the Football League at the expense of Bradford Park Avenue.

The U's gained promotion to Division 3 two years later but came straight back down to the basement the following season. They gained their first honours in league football at the end of the 1976-77 season when they became Division 4 champions, and the following season were promoted again, finishing 2nd in Division 3. They remained in the Second Division for six seasons but succesive relegations saw them back in the basement by the 1985-86 season.

United muddled along in Division 4 for a while, and in 1989 promoted the reserve team manager, a young man named Gary Johnson, to the post of first team coach to work alongside manager John Beck. It was a partnership that gelled from the start and led to a quite remarkable period in the club's history. That season the U's were promoted back into Division 3 via the play-offs at Wembley - the first team to gain promotion in such a manner. As well as gaining promotion Cambridge also reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, a feat they equalled a year later as well as again being promoted, this time as 3rd Division champions.

Beck and Johnson led the U's to the 2nd Division play-offs the following season, however Leicester's win stopped Cambridge from being the first club to be promoted from the 4th to the 1st Divisions in succesive seasons. The advent of the Premiership and the subsequent reorganisation of the Football League meant that Cambridge found themselves in Division One in 1992, but the sale of the likes of Dion Dublin and Steve Claridge meant that the U's began to struggle on the field. Beck was sacked and replaced by Ian Atkins, an unpopular choice amongst the fans. Relegation followed and Atkins himself was shown the door, to be replaced by Gary Johnson in his first professional managerial appointment. Johnson's style of football was popular with the fans but after a decent first season in charge and more forced player sales to balance the books Gary was himself forced out, Tommy Taylor taking over. The U's finished 5th from bottom that season but found themselves back in Division 3 the following season anyway as the League was restructured.

A four year period in the basement followed, Roy McFarland eventually taking the U's back into Division Two in 1999. Once again however key players had to be sold to balance the books, including top scorer Trevor Benjamin to Leicester for £1.5 million, and it was McFarland who paid the price, being replaced by old boss John Beck as United struggled in the higher division. Beck managed to keep the club in Division Two the next season, but the writing was on the wall and he too was sacked in November 2001, to be replaced by Abbey crowd favourite John Taylor in January 2002. Taylor wasn't able to save the club from relegation that season although they did reach the final of the LDV Vans Trophy, and 2002-03, his first full season in control, saw Cambridge finish in mid-table, in 12th place.

However 2003-04 didn't see the progress the club presumably expected and in March Taylor got the chop. Amid a great hullabaloo and fanfare Cambridge posted in letters 20 foot high that they had secured the managerial coup of the century and were going to appoint Claude Le Roy. All rather embarrassing then when Monsieur Le Roy seem as unconvinced as the rest of the world that this is what had actually been agreed. Cambridge ended up with the ever so slightly less famous Sideshow Bob Herve Renard. Le Roy was given titular status of Director of Football, as chairman Gary Harwood rambled on in a press conference about what a crucial role blah, blah, blah. The only words in letters twenty foot high around were 'FACE SAVING'. Claude Le Roy disappeared as fast as you could say "lucrative international post on the cards", and whether he's ever been seen in Cambridgeshire again we know not. In amongst all this the U's had a small revival - er, "Championship form" according to the spinning top of a chairman - and finished 13th. Only a mere 15 points more and they would have rocketed up to er, 9th; only a massive 4 points less and they would have been 19th. Hmmm.

The Newmarket Road Terrace, sometimes known as the North Terrace Photo © 2004 Ciderspace

Prediction corner:
Last term the Glovers got two what in truth were very comfortable 4-1 victories over the U's. Perhaps that tempts us to be too dismissive, but in all honesty we can't see them challenging up near the play-off spots. Nor to be fair does their manager, who sees a longer building process as necessary. Whether our excitable Mr Harwood is likely to be so conservative in his pronouncements remains to be seen. Despite a sentimental attachment to the presence of Abdou El Kholti we're not prepared to go higher than a mid-table 15th.

STOP PRESS : All the optimistic noises from chairman and board turned out to be whistling in the dark to keep their spirits up. The club hit the buffers at the end on 2004, with only the sale and renting back of the ground on November 30th saving them from going into administration. A short term remedy perhaps, but quite how they are going to find the reputed £200,000 a year in rent remains to be seen. A number of the backroom staff suffered the consequences of poor results until eventually the manager Herve Renard joined them in picking up his cards on December 11th.

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FORTHCOMING FIXTURES

CLUB GOALSCORERS

Name

LGE

FAC

FAT

LGC

CC

Total

ATTENDANCE STATISTICS

Highest League Attendance: 0, vs ,
Lowest League Attendance: 999999, vs ,
Average League Attendance: Not Applicable

CURRENT LEAGUE SEQUENCE STATISTICS

Games Without A Win:	0		Games Without A Home Win:	0
Games Without An Away Win:	0		Games Without Defeat:	0
Games Without A Home Defeat:	0		Games Without An Away Defeat:	0
Games Without A Draw:	0		Games Without A Score Draw:	0
Games Without A No-Score Draw:	0		Games Without Scoring:	0
Games Without Conceding:	0		Home Results Sequence:
Away Results Sequence:			Overall Results Sequence:

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A view of the South Stand, used for away supporters if a reasonable turn-out is expected..... ......or, some cynics might suggest, if they want to fleece you by forcing you to sit down. Photo © 2004 Ciderspace

Directions adapted from AmberArmy.co.uk independent website, and the Cambridge Police website.


By Road

From South - M11 to Junction 14, then turn east along the A14 dual carriageway:

From North - A14 from Huntingdon, then turn east along the A14 dual carriageway:

Then exit the A14 at the third junction, up the slip road to the 'T' junction (signposted Fen Ditton). Turn right onto the B1047, and go straight through Fen Ditton village to the traffic lights at a 'T' junction. Turn right onto the A1303 towards the City Centre, and go approximately 150 metres to a roundabout. (The Ground's floodlights can be seen from here.)

Turn left onto the Ring Road. Turn right at the first roundabout (a large Sainsbury's is on the left here), and go along Coldham's Lane. After half a mile Coldham's Common "Parking Area" is on the right (£1). The entrance is at the end of the railings, just before the Greyhound Public House and a Railway Bridge.

If you are early enough you will find parking in the club car park next to the ground at £3.

By Rail

There are regular services to Cambridge Railway Station. Click here for details.

Note - the station is around 2.5 miles from the Abbey Stadium, so a good half an hour to forty minutes away on foot. Walk from the station (Station Road) and take the first road on the right, (Tenison Road). Take the first road again on the right, (Devonshire Road), follow this round to the left, up to the next junction. Turn right - again - onto Mill Road. Walk over the railway bridge, then take the third road on the left, (Sedgewick Street). Follow this road, pass a set of traffic calming barriers, and shops (at this point you are in Cromwell Road) to a T-junction, (Coldham's Lane). Ahead of you should be a large field (Coldham's Common). Go into this field and follow a path under a railway bridge to the away turnstiles.

By Bus

If you arrive by rail there are buses from the station into the town centre every eight minutes, where you can catch a bus to the ground. Alternatively, if you prefer to walk, walk straight out of the station and take the first right. The buses for Ditton Walk go past the ground in Newmarket Road and are Nos. 3 and 3A. These run back past the ground after games when they end in the afternoon (i.e. 4:45 pm), but you will need bus No.93 after an evening game.

Habbin Terrace, split between home and away fans but not always available to visitors. Photo © 2004 Ciderspace

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A second view of Cambridge's South Stand, housing away supporters Photo © 2004 Ciderspace

Local Pubs :

Newmarket Road is the principle local 'refreshment alley', with a large number of drinking and eating establishments. It is the main haunt of home supporters and some of the establishments will not admit away fans. A couple of exceptions are the The Corner House, and the The Wrestlers. Some other pubs in Newmarket Road are The Seven Stars, Bird In Hand, Burleigh Arms, Rose & Crown, and nearest the ground The Five Bells. The Wrestlers is a reasonable walk from the ground, but does an above average range of beers, and excellent Thai food of all things. Of the pubs relatively close to the ground The Greyhound is the one most frequented by visiting supporters. It's a five minute dash or a ten minute stroll away, under the railway bridge and across Coldhams Common.

Having as it does a huge student population and large numbers of tourists the city of Cambridge has a vast number of 'traditional' pubs - some more genuinely traditional than others. And there is a large enough market for places to cater for particular niches. Cambridge has two pubs that ban smoking completely - and they won't be getting my custom! The Cambridge Blue listed below is one. It also bans mobile phones so it won't be getting Badger's either. There are gay pubs, a pub that refuses to stock any sort of lager (hurrah!!) - the Kingston Arms - pubs that specialise in vegetarian food, and so on.

The local cider is Cassels, and the Live & Let Live is one of the establishments stocking it. The most local breweries are City of Cambridge which started up in 1997 and supplies about 25 outlets in the area from it's range of 6-7 beers; and Milton Brewery (founded 1999), which supplies around a hundred pubs in Cambridgeshire and beyond with its range of six regular and many seasonal beers.

Cambridge Blue: Carries a wide range of regularly changing beers from all round the country. Also has Cassels cider in the summer months. Serves food both lunchtimes and evenings. There's a large garden, and children are welcome. However be aware smokers and mobile phones are not. Oh well, sure they'll survive without our custom....... Cambridge Blue, 85-87, Gwydir Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB1 2LG. Tel: 01223 361382. Map: Click Here.

Champion Of The Thames: One of the few completely genuine traditional pubs remaining in the city centre. No reproduction horse brasses here. The beers are from the Greene King range, plus guests. Meals at lunchtimes only. Champion Of The Thames, 68, King Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB1 1LN. Tel: 01223 352043. Map: Click Here.

Corner House: This pub is in the same road as the stadium. That's all we know about it. Oh, and that it's been recommended as an outlet in the area of the ground that is welcoming to away fans. Corner House, Newmarket Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB5 8JE. Tel: 01223 500257. Map: Click Here.

Elm Tree: Back street pub that features Adnams Broadside, and Wells Eagle and Bombadier. Amongst frequent guests is Tanglefoot. Has sports on the TV. It's a drinking pub and doesn't do meals. Elm Tree, Orchard Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB1 1JT. Tel: 01223 363005. Map: Click Here.

Kingston Arms - great beer, very pricey food © Hugh Gleave Kingston Arms: This pub is owned by the Lidstone Brewery, which is based in Newmarket. It has ten hand pumps, and concentrates on its own beers such as Rowley Mild, Session, Lucky Punter and Rawalpindi IPA. Guests are usually from micro-breweries. Those into lager, keg, ice, nitro, etc., need not apply - the pub only carries real ales. Fairly convenient for the railway station, all meals are freshly cooked and served lunchtimes and evenings (all day on Saturdays). The food is trendy and expensive. The pub is very popular, and booking for meals can be useful on busy days. It has a walled garden - which is the only area in which children under 14 are allowed. Kingston Arms, 33, Kingston Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB1 2NU. Tel: 01223 319414. Map: Click Here.

Live & Let Live - if on the Damson Porter is to DIE for! © Hugh Gleave Live and Let Live: Another back street local, with home cooked food lunchtime and evenings. The food is in the standard pub fare style, but absolutely excellent. All top notch ingredients, freshly cooked, with no microwave in sight. Means you have to wait longer than normal - but it's worth it. Beers are Adnams Bitter, B&T Black Dragon Mild and Everards Tiger, plus guests. The Damson Porter from Burton Bridge Brewery was one of the best beers I've ever drunk - completely sublime. Cassells and Stowford Press ciders are also available. For those into the more exotic, or wishing to relive the pre-season tour, the pub boasts a wide selection of bottled Belgian beers. Live and Let Live, 40, Mawson Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB1 2EA. Tel: 01223 460261. Map: Click Here.

Portland Arms: Large two bar pub. The public bar has Internet access stations (drinking pre-match and still able to post rubbish on the Ciderspace forum - heaven!), and there are bands playing in the back room (check out their website for listings of what's coming up). Beers are Greene King XX Mild and IPA, Ruddles Best and Abbot, plus guests. Food is available lunchtimes and evenings. Portland Arms, 129, Chesterton Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB4 3BA. Tel: 01223 357268. Website: Click Here. Map: Click Here.

St. Radegund: Bit of a University type pub this one, so pack your college scarf and tie. Only cricket and egg chasing are allowed on the TV - football is for the lower orders. And no mobiles - if the butler isn't at home taking the calls what is he doing? Don't know why we've included it. Oh, yes I do - serves good beer, including Bateman XB. St. Radegund, 127, King Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB1 1LD. Tel: 01223 311794. Map: Click Here.

The Five Bells: The closest pub to the ground. Sells non-descript beer. Be aware that some pubs in the area do not admit away fans. Whether this is one of them we don't know. The Five Bells, 126, Newmarket Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB5 8HE. Tel: 01223 314019. Map: Click Here.

The Grapes: The Grapes, 19 Histon Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB4 3JB. Tel: 01223 506038. Map: Click Here.

The Greyhound: A pub frequented by and thus used to visiting fans. It is about half a mile from the away end South Stand, under the railway bridge and across Coldhams Common. The Greyhound, Coldhams Lane, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB1 3EN. Tel: 01223 247075. Map: Click Here.

The Wrestlers © Hugh Gleave The Wrestlers: Another of the pubs in Newmarket Road that is billed as genuinely welcoming to away fans, this one is about a third of a mile from the ground towards the centre. A rare Charles Wells outlet in the area. It is claimed its Thai food is top notch. Not much use for a post match drink though, as it doesn't open until 6.00. The Wrestlers, Newmarket Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB5 8JE. Tel: 01223 566554. Map: Click Here.

Likelihood the Natives Will Understand You :

It depends which natives you come across really. If they're students then they're all hoity-toity public school types who only speak received pronounciation, and if they're proper locals they all speak some incomprehensible local dialect of English which you have to have six fingers and webbed toes to understand; so us simple Somerset country folk are knackered basically. Take our advice and pretend you're a tourist, at least you'll be able to read the guide books..

Top-Tip :

Don't be afraid to have a go on a punt, you'll love it. Just don't ask where the motor is....

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[No responsibilty is taken for any inaccuracies. This page is entirely the product of bias and prejudice.]

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