U's release retained list & light at the end of the tunnel for the Villagers?

Since the departure of Tony Roach, it's all been a bit quiet at the Glassworld.

No lunatic ramblings about being the biggest club in Cambridge, no sackings of club legends, and no employing amateur aborists, it's all got a bit boring.

But fresh from their heroic escape from relegation (courtesy of, er, Forest Green failing to beat Grays), the Villagers are obviously in a good mood again, as they've wheeled out some other chap to make the bizarre suggestion that they might go full time next year.

"More facilities are available during the day because we don't need them to be floodlit. During the evening we need lights, which makes it more expensive and harder to find the right ones," said Alan Soraff in yesterday's CN. Ahh, so it's floodlighting costs which have got them into a financial mess, I don't why nobody has thought of this before. Instead of going full-time, perhaps they could buy all their players miners helmets with lamps on them. Then they could train anywhere, at any time, and illumination wouldn't be a problem.

Uncle Fester, who apparently still thinks he'll be in a job next season despite a record of three wins in 22 games, also chipped in: "It's easier. They eat together, work together and, to be honest, that is what builds spirit in the club." Interesting that, because Fallon and Beck never seemed to have a problem instilling team spirit into their part-time charges. Perhaps the problem lies elsewhere, hmm.

In all seriousness, going full-time has often marked the death-knell for a lot of small teams without the fanbase to support it and, lighting problems aside, I fail to see how it would make sense for the Villagers.

Over at United, the retained list came on Monday and didn't throw up any big surprises. You can't really argue with Lingy's reasoning, as outlined in this CN article, but one thing which did worry me a bit was the goalkeeping situation, with Ling explaining: "Simon [Brown] has done a great job since he came here and if he signs, I see him as a player-coach, who will also put pressure on another senior keeper."

I kind of assumed Brown would be our only custodian next season, with Laurie Walker or a similar young player providing back up. The revelation that another senior keeper could be arriving adds fuel to the rumours that Danny Naisbett is making the switch from across the A14. I'll be a bit disappointed if we've got rid of Potter to sign that useless lump, but I guess we'll have to wait and see what transpires.