U's:0 Rovers:4

I know inflation is an unavoidable problem in these credit-crunched times, but prices are spiralling dangerously out of control.

For example, when did chocolate become so expensive? You can't get any normal sized bar in Royston's WH Smith store (here at U's Blog we're not afraid to name and shame) for less than 65p, it's ridiculous.

The same issues are apparently afflicting football matches. I paid £15 to watch United play Blackburn on Tuesday night. £15! For a friendly! It seemed like a good idea at the time, but after about 20 minutes of "action" I was seriously questioning my sanity.

It would have been ok if Rovers had a few star names in their line up, but the only faces I recognised from their first half team were skipper Craig Nelson and everyone's favourite spitting llama, El Hadji Diouf. The latter went up in my estimation by taking the wind up attempts of the Habbin in good humour, even displaying his freakishly large tongue on one occasion.

From what I remember United played alright for about 20 minutes. Parky made a couple of sprightly bursts down the right, and Phillips looked his usual busy self upfront, but twice got into good positions before shooting weakly at the keeper. Generally our attacking play wasn't especially threatening, with neither of the central midfielders, Reason and Farrell, straying beyond the half way line very much. The absence of Carden, confined to the dug out, was keenly felt.

Rovers on the other hand looked dangerous every time they got near our box. Their opening goal was a bit fortunate, with Keith Andrews' free kick taking a deflection off the top of the wall and wrong footing Danny Potter. The second came via a defensive cock up, with Reason, Coulson and Hatswell contriving to present the ball to Diouf, who ran clear and slotted the ball into the net.

It was all change at half time for the visitors, who brought on an entirely new line up. United made several changes as well, and these only accentuated the gulf in class between the two sides. Jason Roberts got on the scoresheet twice with close range finishes following a couple of slick passing moves, while United didn't really have an effort on goal of note, aside from a Reason corner which nearly dipped straight in under the crossbar. Some light entertainment was provided by Blackburn's Jason Brown, usually a keeper but pressed into service on the right wing after another player went off injured. He was cheered by the travelling fans every time he touched the ball, and rewarded them with a bit of Ronaldo-esque showboating.

So yeah, for a lot of the match we looked ponderous and ineffective, and while much of this is probably down to the fact that we were up against far superior opposition, you have to worry about the depth of our squad. All we've got on the bench at the moment are kids, and as talented as they may be, our team is going to end up looking very lightweight if we have to chuck too many of them in at once. Best cross our fingers for a relatively injury-free season.

Man of the Match: Jai Reason - Tried his best to keep a grip on midfield.







Muppet of the Match: The tannoy man, for turning a simple announcement about raffle tickets into a 20 minute monologue.

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Lilywhites:2 U's:2

It may seem like a million years ago, but we actually played a football match on Saturday.

What turned out to be the Brabinator's swansong ended in a vaguely entertaining draw, with City once again looking impressive under the tutelage of Gary Roberts. If they can keep their players fit, they'll surely have another tilt at promotion from the newly named Zamaretto League.

For United the future is less certain after yesterday's events. Looking back, the starting line up was certainly one that screamed managerial defiance, with Holroyd on the left wing and world player of the year-elect Daryl McMahon on the right. The obvious flaw in this plan is that McMahon's right foot is strictly for standing on only, which meant time and time again he got the ball in space, only to check back and cross from deep, rather than surging on to the byline.

City scored first through ex-U Ashley Fuller. A quick counter attack following a United corner saw Antonio Murray feed Steve Gentle, whose cross was emphatically finished by Fuller from just outside the box. 1-0.

At the back for United, trialist Rhys Day looked like the kind of cool, commanding presence we could do with to replace Bolly, although if he has any sense he'll be getting his agent to seek out alternative employment as I type. He was certainly more impressive than Hatswell, who seems to treat pre-season friendlies with the contempt of a man who'd rather have stayed on the beach for a couple more weeks. Hats looked decidedly dodgy on a number of occasions, but I'm sure he'll pull his socks up before the season starts.

United equalised from the unlikely source of Gleeson, who went on a Carlo Alberto-esque overlapping run, playing a quick give and go with McMahon and slipping the ball past City keeper Zac Barratt from close range. 1-1 at half time should've been 2-1 to the home side, but another former United man, Dave Theobold, missed a simple headed chance at the far post just before the whistle.

Murray hardly stuck out like a player who should be at a higher level, and missed a simple chance in the second half when he got free of his marker but glanced a header wide. He made no mistake moments later though, after Josh Coulson got in a muddle and gifted him the ball in the box in front of goal. No chance Potter, 2-1.

Danny Crow was one of many United substitutes, and if his performance is anything to go by he has (unfortunately) not changed much since last season; lots of nice touches in the build up but no end product. He was denied by Barratt from close range after being set up by Carden, and could've won the match but headed a Parky cross wide with the goal gaping. There is definitely a good player in there somewhere, but if he doesn't improve his finishing I doubt he'll last long under the new regime.

In between times a more deadly striker, Holroyd, had equalised. Again it stemmed from good work by Gleeson, who reacted quickly when a Sam Ives shot was blocked, and sent over a low cross which super Chris tapped in from three yards.

I guess any conclusions that could've been drawn from the match are now null and void. It will be interesting to see how we line up against Blackburn tonight, with Cardy presumably having taken the reigns. You would imagine a few prospective managers will be in the stands as well, crowd watching could be more interesting than the match itself.

Man of the Match: Dan Gleeson - Scored one, made another, and generally looked solid. If we don't sign another centre half, I reckon he'd do a job there too.





Banter of the Match: Day to Gleeson during the second half - "I feel like I've had five heart attacks". Pre-season fitness levels are obviously high for our prospective new number five.

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U's:0 Hammers XI:0

Last night it felt like Newmarket Road had temporarily transformed into an East London overspill.

Chirpy cockney geezers were everywhere, exchanging pleasantries, swigging lager and slapping one another on the back. I was half expecting to see that the Wrestlers had been replaced by a pie and mash shop, or to come across the pearly king doing the Lambeth walk round the stadium car park.

At least the sizeable visiting contingent, most of whom eschewed the delights of the South Stand to mix with the locals, swelled the crowd to just under 2500. On the pitch, it was very much a second string West Ham line up, with the only familiar faces being ex-U’s Jack’s Collinson and Jeffrey, and Freddie Sears, an 18-year old striker who already has a Premiership goal to his name.

The Brabinator appears to have jettisoned most of the trialists, and named an all killer, no filler(ish) starting line up, with Tonkin being the latest man to don the captains’ armband.

Early on it was the visitors who were making all the running, with Collinson and the excellent Sears particularly prominent. United came into the reckoning more as the match progressed, but neither team was displaying much cutting edge. Collinson should have done better when he shot wide under pressure from Gleeson, while Sears showed his pace by beating Hoyte in a race for the ball on the right, but his cross blocked by the alert Coulson.

Paul Carden was back in the side for the rather useless Hutchinson, and he and Convery provided a solid base for many of United’s attacking forays. A nice move involving Carden and Tonkin saw Willmott play in Beesley for a shot that flew wide. Beesley also hit a free kick from the edge of the area into the wall which took a big deflection and was dealt with fairly easily by Jimmy Walker.

The Pittster picked up an injury in the first half, and had to be replaced by Farrell. It was perhaps this, and the absence of Jardim, that persuaded Brabin to switch to 4-3-3 at half time. Evil and Tom Youngs replaced Beesley and Parkinson, and Youngs was impressive, using the ball well and linking play between midfield and attack.

It was he who played in Willmott for an angled shot that Walker blocked comfortably, and moments later he provided the pass which set up Convery for a blaster that was charged down by the lunging Jordan Spence. The rebound fell to Gleeson, whose cross was almost bulldozed into the net by Evil, who jumped above Walker but saw his header loop over the bar.

Sears continued his one-man assault on the United goal, having a shot deflected away by Hoyte then seeing Tonkin race back to nick the ball off his toe when he advanced into the area again. He came closer still with a shot from just outside the box which beat Potter but kissed the outside of the post. On this showing the boy is going to be a star.

For United, Evil had another cleared off the line, substitute Quinton shot straight at the keeper, and right at the death another replacement, Craig Bussens, spurned a great chance to win the game. A cracking through pass from Youngs put him clear, but he chose to check back rather than go for goal, and the chance was gone. He’ll learn.

All in all it was a bit of a mixed bag from United. The football we’re playing now is very easy on the eye, but the final pass or shot let us down all too often. The defence were much improved, and it’s good to have finally kept a clean sheet, but we’ll need to show a lot more clinical-ness in front of goal if we’re to have a decent season.

Man of the Match: Gavin Hoyte – He never looks like he’s totally in control of his movements, but in the absence of Hatswell big Gav enjoyed a solid, cock-up free, game, making several great interceptions.




Shock of the Match: Courtney’s shorts – Did anyone else notice that he had shunned his normal, billowing, XXL shorts for a normal size pair. And the first game he wears them he goes off injured. Coincidence? I think not.

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U's:1 Sky Blues:3 - Photos

I'll do a report later, but for now you can view photos from Saturday's match here.

All pictures © Nadine Hébert

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Soham:2 U's:4

Its official, 4-2 is the new 2-1. On the basis of our last two games we’re in for double the goals and double the entertainment this term compared to what we had last year, which can’t be a bad thing can it.

Soham’s leafy Julius Martin Lane home is like the perfect place to watch a pre-season game; a nice big pitch, welcoming locals, and plenty of room for youngsters who are bored of the main event to have a kick-around. Jumpers for goalposts eh.

The standard on pitch wasn’t much higher, with United plumbing new depths of non-league-ness by putting a supporter in goal. Jamie Nightingale stepped in between the sticks because Danny Potter was a bit tired after training, and Sam Beagle was stuck in Prague (a likely story) and our under-15 keeper had a broken finger nail, or something.

In front of him it was very much a second string line up, featuring trialists Pat Bexfield, Domaine Rouse, Filino Jardim, and the familiar figure of Tommy Youngs, our former piano-playing goal getter last seen teasing us from the sidelines for Stafford last year.



I’m sad to report that, aside from the odd good pass and little dart forward, little Tom had negligible impact on the game. Admittedly he was playing in an unfamiliar central midfield role, but it seems unlikely he’ll be getting a contract unless he ups his game.

Bexfield was solid if unspectacular at right back, while Rouse had a decent first half before fading a bit in the second period. Most impressive was little Dutchman Jardim, who displayed some good pace, direct running, and a willingness to shoot from distance that led to him notching two goals. If he can work on his crossing then he would certainly make a decent signing.

Soham took an early lead when the U’s backline failed to deal with a corner, and the ball ran to Kentoh Gray, whose shot took a deflection on its way past Nightingale.

The home side certainly weren’t afraid to mix it with their Blue Square Premier counterparts, and this competitive edge made it an entertaining match. Following the goal United dominated, with Bussens and Jardim switching wings to good effect. Rouse showed some fancy footwork to drift into the area and get a shot in which hit the post, while a couple of crosses flashed across the box to no avail.

When it arrived, the equaliser was straight out of the Formernorthernirelandinternational Jimmy Quinn book of tactics. Coulson launched a long ball forward, which wasn’t dealt with by the burly central defender, and Willmott nipped in, showing good strength to carry the ball away from his marker and place a cool finish past the keeper.

It was 2-1 by half time, when Soham gifted possession to Rouse midway inside their own half. His first time pass was picked up by Jardim, who cut into the area and arrowed an angled shot into the far corner.

But almost straight from kick off Soham levelled with a goal which young Nightingale will want to forget in a hurry. Gray collected a pass from Charles Libam, and hit a tame shot which somehow squeezed under the rookie keepers body and into the net.

But United wrapped things up in the second half with two goals in the first ten minutes. First Jardim strode forward from midfield and, with no challenges forthcoming, hit a low shot which bobbled into the corner, provoking a Kaka-esque hands-to-the-sky celebration from the trialist. Then Willmott broke clear down the right, exchanged passes with Bussens and thumped the ball past Lee Jordan from close range.

Game over, and from then on it went downhill in the entertainment stakes too, with both sides slowing to walking pace as the final whistle drew nearer and nearer. Former QPR defender Andy Howell joined the action in the second half, and acquitted himself well, making one excellent goal line block at the death. Darren Quinton also made an anonymous return to action, which is nice for him I suppose.

Man of the Match: Ben Farrell – The boy oozes class, and dominated midfield rarely wasting a pass.






Funny name of the match: Soham trialist Dodou – you can think up your own punchline.

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U's:4 Toffees:2 - More murk

Just when you think things are settling down on the good ship Cambridge United, the club somehow manage to steer a path back into choppy waters.

This time, it is big Dave’s £5.5million transfer to Stoke which is causing a storm. Of course, United should have been rubbing their hands with glee in anticipation of receiving a big fat cheque from the Royals, equivalent to 20 per cent of the transfer fee.

However, it would seem we’ve settled for less. Messageboard wisdom (possibly an oxymoron I know) would suggest we’ve received a £350k payment in return for waiving our right to any future Kitson cash. One would assume that much of the reported £5.5million Reading are getting is tied up in future payments, meaning United have decided to take a decent sum of money in hand rather than accept a lower initial payment and wait for further cash that may or may not materialise. I can only assume this is the case because NOBODY FROM THE CLUB IS SAYING ANYTHING.

Our directors seem to have learned nothing from this summers PR shambles. It surely can’t be that difficult to make a clear statement explaining the reasons behind a decision? I don’t think for one minute that fans are entitled to know every detail of everything that goes on at the club but to just make a few vague comments such as "Whatever we end up with will be great and give us an opportunity to stabilise" and “as is the norm with transfer fees, we believe the fee paid up front is much less than the headline figure” just leaves people feeling frustrated and allows speculation to mount.

Anyway, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that 350k (if accurate) is a decent figure to have sitting in the bank, and on the pitch things seem to be looking up after Saturday’s demolition of Everton.

It worries me vaguely that we couldn’t beat Kings Lynn or Cambridge City, yet got the result against the Toffees, who presumably afforded us a bit more space and time on the ball. You may remember that prior to the 94/95 season we beat Ipswich and drew with Man United but still ended up going down. It’s all very well playing good football, but you also have to be able to match the cloggers who are happy to kick and bully you out of a game. Hopefully we have enough streetwise characters around to deal with that situation when it arises.

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City:1 U's:1

No pre-season is complete without a trip to Milton Road, a stadium which for some reason has been judged unsuitable for the Blue Square South, meaning our neighbours will ply their trade in the Southern League next year. A bizarre decision to say the least when one considers that the likes of Stafford, Canvey, and Histon have been allowed to compete in the Blue Square Premier, but anyway.

This match had a much more proper feel about it than Saturday’s sleepy sojourn to Norfolk. Perhaps it was merely because there was some semblance of atmosphere, with both sets of fans in good voice, happy to direct abuse at our village dwelling chums.

It also helped that the Brabinator fielded what, give or take a centre half, is probably our strongest team, with Hatswell, Pitt, and Farrell coming into the starting line up for Hoyte, Convery, and Reed. Again it was apparent that United are going to try and be more Arsenal than Bolton this season, with Beesley and Parkinson in particular linking up well with some swift interchanges.

One such move saw Parky slalom into the area and have a shot blocked by a diving defender, while Hatswell and Matt Halliday saw headers comfortably saved by City’s new keeper Richard Willmott.

But somewhat against the run of play it was the hosts who took the lead through the finally tuned goalscoring machine that is Michael Gash. It looked as though Roberts was fouling Hatswell as he flicked the ball through to Gashy, who took one touch before hammering a half volley past Potter.

Beesley forced the ball in from close range for the equaliser after Halliday had headed the ball back into the goalmouth. The young defender put in another good-not-great performance, and one has to wonder whether we can do better in the centre back arena.

The same can be said of Ramon Calliste, who appeared in the second half and was far better than in Saturday’s game, showing some neat touches and going on one decent run which unfortunately ended with him slipping over and shooting wide. I’d like to see him given a run with the ‘first’ team rather than all the subs, but again I suspect we can do better.

The highlight of a mediocre second half was the introduction of an unknown trialist, subsequently identified as Dutch winger Filino Jardin. I prefer it when trialists are unexpected – it lets you imagine they are a young star wrongly discarded by Barcelona rather than some journeyman who couldn’t get a game at Bognor Regis.

By that I’m not saying that little Filino couldn’t get a game at Bognor Regis. In fact he was quite useful in patches, though I don’t really think we need another right winger with Parky, Bussens and Willmott in the squad. Robbie had the best chance of the second half, with a header from a Pitt cross that drew a good save from his namesake Richard.

So yeah, more good football, which was pleasing, and although we did only score one goal, I’m sure our clinical-ness in front of goal will improve between now and the start of the season. Maybe.

Man of the Match: Mark Beesley – Bees was all over the place in the first half, and showed his strikers instinct to get in where it could’ve hurt and poach the equaliser.

(very)Minor celebrity sighting of the Match: Wantaway P*sh striker and part-time Buster Rhymes impersonator Aaron Maclean was hanging around outside the main stand at half time. Checking up on his potential new employers perhaps?

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Linnets:3 U's:2

Attending pre-season friendlies is a bit like viewing an episode of Doctors, Quincy, or one of the other programmes that are shown during the afternoon; You watch them because there's nothing else on, and you think they'll be ok, but after about half an hour you're bored witless and your mind starts to wander to bigger and better things still to come, like 24, or Prison Break, or in this case Northwich Victoria on August 12.

Right, that's enough crap analogies for one day. Yesterday's game actually wasn't that bad as far as friendlies go, although the result wasn't the one that 'Brabs' and 'Cards' would have been hoping for.

United lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, with both new boys (Tonkin and Parkinson) making an appearance, alongside trialist Matt Halliday. Parkinson had the odd good touch, but spent a lot of the match isolated as United's play mostly came down the left through Tonkin and the rejuvenated Mark Convery. I seem to remember that Convery looked quite good last pre-season, so we'll wait and see what happens to him when the going gets tough. Tonkin, however, looks an excellent purchase, with some strong, calm, defending allied to the odd burst forward.

Despite the many changes that have taken place since that day at Wembley, United began the new season as they finished the last; conceding a shoddy goal from a corner. Francis delivered the ball to the back post, where Crane nodded it back into the danger area for Weaver to flick past Danny Potter.

Lynn are certainly no pushovers, and their neat brand of passing football should ensure they hold their own in the Conference North next year. It was clear United were looking to knock the ball around as well, with Beesley often dropping deep to link play and long balls up to the imposing figure of Evil kept to a premium.

The big man, who I thought looked markedly less big than at the end of last year, missed a couple of good chances, while Beesley shot wide and Reedy curled one over the bar. John Turner, one of a couple of ex-U's on display for the hosts (the great Mark Peters warmed up pre-match, but sadly didn't make it onto the pitch) appears to have been converted to a winger, a position which may suit his still-wiry frame quite well. He got one good low cross in which Halliday had to turn behind for a corner.

But United were generally in control, and got a deserved equaliser just before the break. Convery played a pass into McEvilly, who found Beesley. A swift one-two with Parkinson later, Bees found himself with a sight of goal, and placed his shot across Scott Howie into the far corner.

Changes a-plenty came for both sides at half time, with another trialist, Pat Bexfield coming in at right back. Evil had a good chance within a couple of minutes of the restart when he bounced Weaver out of the way, ran clear, but shot wide. He was soon replaced by the third of our on-trial trio, Ramon Calliste. Neither of the second half new boys did much to enhance their claims for a contract for next term, although it has to be said that, with both Beesley and Evil withdrawn, United's attack looked disjointed for much of part two.

One player who was fairly lively was Craig Bussens, whose tricky feet caused his marker problems on a number of occasions. And it was the young right winger who won us a penalty, darting into the area and being tripped by an outstretched leg. Reedy took responsibility, and placed a good penalty into the corner of the net.

And, with the defence looked fairly comfortable, the Brabin reign was all set to begin with victory. That was until Josh Coulson tried an ambitious pass out to Jordan Collins, and only succeeded in whacking the ball into the face of Hatswell. The rebound fell at the predatory feet of Danny Bloomfield, who was never likely to miss. And Bloomfield was at it again moments later, darting past a couple of missed challenges and beating Potter for a second time, and suddenly 2-1 was 2-3.

"There were a lot of positives to take from this game" said our leader afterwards, showing once more that, even though he only has three months experience under his belt, the art of manager-speak is already second nature for him. The main ones for me were that no one got injured, and our style of play, particularly in the first half, was quite pleasing on the eye. However, we'll need to tighten up in defence before the real action starts. But of course it's still early days, roll on Tuesday night.

Man of the Match: Anthony Tonkin - If he continues to perform in this fashion his billing as the best left back in the league will be justified.

Weirdo of the Match: You could take your pick from any of the number of strange looking characters hanging around at Kings Lynn station, most of whom looked like extras from the League of Gentleman. My personal favourite was a bald bloke with a massive bushy beard who was gurning at anyone who came within his vicinity.

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