Cambridge United Nil - Match. Day Thread

Ended up going to watch the game yesterday as it was a ground my kids hadn’t been to and it was less than an hours trip for us northern gasheads, and also an opportunity to do a bit of scouting prior to the match Saturday.

Cambridge were very poor, they played a high line with 3 at the back and were done all match by through balls and balls over the top. Wednesday could and perhaps should have scored 8/9. Cambridge offered very little all over the park and were second to everything. They looked a team shot of any confidence, hopefully they’ll carry that into the match at the weekend.

On that performance I doubt Joey will be losing too much sleep ahead of the game, but this is Rovers so no doubt we’ll make it difficult for ourselves. This should be another opportunity for 3pts and to maintain our unbeaten start to 23. Happy New Year and UTG!

Saw the Wed goals, if that's the average standard of their defending we should cause them chaos.

Cambridge United 6 Bristol Rovers 1 - 28th February 1992.

Taylor signed for second Division Bristol Rovers in 1991. Over the course of the 1991–92 season he made his Football League debut as a centre-back in a 6–1 defeat at Cambridge United in February 1992. 

In the first match of the 1994–95 campaign, by which time manager John Ward had converted him into a striker. His height meant he was a good target man and was exceptional in the air, scoring twelve goals (most of them headers) in his first full season alongside Marcus Stewart and Paul Miller in attack.

His brace against Brentford on the final day ensured a Second Division play-off spot. After a tense away goals victory over Crewe Alexandra in the semi-final, Rovers made it to Wembley, though they lost 2–1 to Huddersfield Town.

We exchanged Devon White for John Taylor + £90k that season, Cambridge United were top of the (old) Division Two in November 1991 and looking good for promotion up to what would be the first Premiership season in 1992/93.

Beck's long ball tactics had become unpopular with the players however, including Taylor. Following 46 goals in total for the club he was surprisingly off-loaded to Bristol Rovers in March 1992. Rovers striker Devon White made the opposite move and United also parted with £90,000 to complete the transfer.

It remains one of the most unpopular moves in the history of the club. Cambridge eventually made the play-offs but were beaten 6–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals by Leicester City and fans still wonder what might have happened had Taylor stayed – White played just once in the final run-in, failing to score.

In their squad that season they had Steve Claridge, Dion Dublin, Dave Penney & John Vaughan (GK)

Becks Cambridge team had to be seen to be believed. No passes from defence, all long balls. They grew longer grass on the wings at the Abbey to hold the ball up, along with flooding the away dressing room and other unorthodox but successful actions that I can't recall.

I read an article recently about how Beck was the forerunner to the saturated stats now used, it's basically came down to most goals being from one long knocked down ball so that's what they did. I think they had 3 straight promotions and just missed out on the top flight.

Unfortunately this game is not available to watch on ifollow, which is a shame being that Cambridge Nil is a million miles from nowhere.

UTG

We have played Cambridge 36 times since Dec 1971, W21, D8 & L7, biggest win 4-1, loss 6-1 and have not lost to them since 2004.

Cambridge United were founded in 1912 as Abbey United, they play at the Abbey Stadium which has a capacity of 8,127.

Manager Mark Bonner is 37 and has been with the U's coming up to 12 years, he has a 42% win rate from 152 games in charge.

Since election into the Football League, Peterborough United are considered to be their current main rivals.

Current squad player George Williams was with BRFC for 26 games and Saikou Janneh was on bc1982ltd's books for a while.
Ex Gas player Gary Waddock is currently assistant head coach.

John Taylor and Ian Atkins were once managers at Cambridge, Taylor also being their oldest ever player at 39 too.

IMO we should be looking to bag a few goals and changing our miserable GD from a minus to a plus.

Match Preview - Cambridge United v Rovers..3pm ko.

Manager Preview:

www.bristolrovers.co.uk/siteassets/fans/jmp_charlton_v_bristol_rovers_jg_196.jpg

Joey B***** was in confident mood ahead of tomorrow's test at The Abbey Stadium.

"Why can’t we go and win 22 games out of 22? Why not? Every game is winnable. We have played everybody and we know we can beat anybody.

"The next one is the most important and Cambridge will be a really tough game. They have lost 5-0 (to Sheffield Wednesday). They will be better than they were because their pitch is narrower than Hillsborough and they will be a wounded animal, so they will be dangerous.

"But also, we can beat them. We play Accrington after that with a cup game sandwiched between and that’s the way I see it. Every opponent is susceptible to being beaten.

"We came up and everyone was expecting us to just stay up this year and consolidate the group, but because we’re a firm of greedy so-and-sos, we are wanting to get promoted and kick on again.

"My belief is extraordinary people do extraordinary things. Last year, what we did was ordinary but in extraordinary circumstances with the finale of the season. But it was just ordinary, Bristol Rovers finishing third, if you had looked before the season you would say that is par for the course.

"To go and get promoted again, it is my belief that would set this set these lads apart. If we do that, I think we go down in the annals of the club’s history."

Player Preview:

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Top scorer Aaron Collins spoke with club media ahead of the trip to Cambridge.

“I’m happy here, I think people can tell that from the smile on my face, I’m playing well and I’m here for the next two and a half years,” said Collins.

“It’s been my best year to date. It’s been a great year, for the club as well as me individually, and I’ve fully enjoyed being here as well as fully enjoyed my football. For me, I’m at an age, 25, where a lot of people say strikers hit their prime and I can go even further with goals, assists and take this club even further.”

“I’m here at Rovers now, just doing my job,” Collins added. “My job is - I signed a new contract at the start of the season, because I was happy here and because the club wanted me to be here and, now I’ve just got to go and do my job which is score and assist and hopefully get this club to places they haven’t been before.

“I can’t complain about anything at the moment, I’m enjoying my football as much as I ever have. I don’t need to look good anywhere else, I don’t need to think about the future, I just need to concentrate on now, and do what I need to do.”

Opposition View:

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Cambridge boss Mark Bonner said: "We've had a little bit of time to recover from the defeat to Sheffield Wednesday and we will look to respond against Bristol Rovers. Joey's teams are always tough opponents and we have players back from injury, so this week has given us chance to train and, through this month, hopefully, add to the squad."

One name added on Friday was defender Ryan Bennett, formerly of Wolves, who joined the Us and could come into contention to face the Gas.

Bonner added: "They (Rovers) are very fluid in their formations and are very attacking. They make you defend a lot, and will be confident coming into the game. But our job is to find a good level of physicality, as we did recently at home to Plymouth."

Form Guide (all competitions)

Cambridge: L D W L L

Rovers: W W L L W

Ref Watch:

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The man in the middle on Saturday will be Thomas Parsons. The referee has taken charge of 27 games this season, across many different divisions. He has officiated in three League One fixtures and, last weekend, was the fourth official for the Wigan v Hull game in the Championship.

In addition, he has been a linesman or Fourth Official 21 other times.

During this period, he has issued 50 yellow cards at a rate of 1.85 per game and has shown one red card.

The only possible fly in the ointment is the twelve year old referee - This is what Ipswich fans had to say about his recent performance at Cambridge Nil

Same but for a car, was lucky to get to the bank in time. Best 911 i ever had and paid low as the guy wanted a cash sale, to cover up his assets prior to divorce