Lots has been going on around the ground this past week. Some bits are finished and others are in progress still

Much of it appears to be cosmetic however most of the jobs being completed have appeared on maintenance reports needing to be completed

iWith the summer weather being kind we have concentrated on the exteranl work. Now the jobs internally will start being planned.

See the photos below

The Gnome is from HMS Lawn and they now have their own facebook site - click here if you would like to follow their trips around the country during the next few months -
 www.facebook.com/CUFC-Gnomes-on-road-283592822417574/

Alan is painting the Habbin Turnstiles

White Masonry paint is being used on highlighted areas within the safety report to protect the brickwork from weathering.

Toilets door frame have been repaired in the Ladies Toilets in the Main Stand. Job inside  are now starting to be looked at, planned and costed.

Hazard lines painted by the NRE safety gate by Peter

Mick is locating the sprinklers before work commencing on the pitch to proevent hitting them

Mick Radford needing a lift as he tired after a late night out watching Get Back in their final concert.

South Stand work is being done this week and area needs to be taped off. This will repair the reservoir following a building inspection

The Abbey Arms is being repaired following it being hit by a vehicle during the summer. This will mean the building is weather proof again and usable

The rails behind the Habbin have been painted following a new bridge having to be erected and further rails
 being added. Although it may not not look urgent  it is another preventative job and one highlighted as being required. The bridges have taken almost all summer to do the work.

Lawn mowers beng repaired following a breakdown

Final picture is the work being done on the area behind the goal at the South Stand to help the grass there

"On behalf of the CFU Trust Board, I welcome the appointments announced today of Godric Smith and Duncan Foyle at Cambridge United FC.

Godric is a long term friend of the Club, both as a supporter and, more recently as a major sponsor.  Cambridge United fans may remember Godric’s key role, working with CFU, in saving the Club from liquidation in 2005 when he used his contacts in Government to secure the intervention of the Sports Minister, Richard Caborn.  He will, I am sure, be a huge asset to the CUFC Board.

Dave Matthew-Jones, the Fans Elected Director, was involved in the interview and recruitment of Duncan.  Dave was very impressed and expects the Club to benefit greatly from his experience and expertise.

The CFU Trust Board also applauds the decision of the Club to subject its 2017-18 accounts to an independent audit.  Following the significant financial losses incurred by the Club during 2016-17, CFU has been in discussion with the Club as to how it might offer assurances to shareholders (and the wider fanbase) as to its financial position and future governance.  We believe an external audit of the kind announced by the club will help to do just that.  To this end the Club will allow CFU to work with them on the scope and terms of reference of the audit."

Robert Osbourn, Chair CFU

There we were, minding our own business and showing supporters round The Story of the U's, Coconuts' mini-museum in the Supporters' Club.

The next minute, the tiny space was jam-packed with fashionable beards and tracksuits.

We were delighted to welcome the entire Cambridge United first-team squad to our display during the club's open day at the Abbey Stadium yesterday.

Gary 'Deegs' Deegan was particularly taken with the 1950s-vintage shinpads, and keepers Dimitar 'Dimi' Mitov and David 'Fordey' Forde could only marvel at their predecessor Rodney Slack's gloves, hand-crocheted in the 1960s.

The gloves were hand-crocheted, not Rodney.

Read more click here

In edited version of this article appeared in the Cambridge United matchday programme for the game against Luton Town on 3 March 2018.

When talk turns to big clubs’ practice of ‘stockpiling’ young players, whereby the closest most will ever get to first-team football is on loan at another club, the word ‘Chelsea’ often crops up.

With good reason: at the time of writing, Roman Abramovich’s pet project had 38 players out on loan, and goodness knows how many other youngsters queuing up behind them.

The West London giants have always had an eye for young talent, but there was no question of stockpiling when they snapped up the 19-year-old Ian Hutchinson from United in 1968. Nor is there any suggestion that the Pensioners had anything but the best of intentions for the career of Abbey United’s youthful George Alsop when he left for Stamford Bridge in the early 1920s.

George Alsop in 1925. Photo: Cambridgeshire Collection at Cambridge Central Library

We don’t know exactly when the Barnwell-born lad departed for the Smoke; nor do we know how Chelsea came to find out about young Alsop’s talent. He was after all playing his home games on Stourbridge Common, in the depths of Cambridgeshire League Division Three, when he came to their notice.

Click here to read more

On Saturday, Supporters Direct have agreed to the creation of one supporters group alongside the FSF..

Interesting times for the future of clubs and supporters - somehow you feel we could have lost something special.

I hope the new group recognises the work being done by SD to help smaller clubs and those in the non league and wont just concentrate on tthose at he tip of the pyramid.

Without Supporters Direct there would probably have been no Cambridge United. Other clubs would not have survived without the expertise and knowledge of the goup

Please see below -

At today's SD AGM, a vote was held on whether to pass Indicative Resolution 1:

The resolution was to either;

Form a single, new football supporters' organisation with the Football Supporters' Federation or;

To continue as a distinct organisation focused on governance in sport.

From a turnout of 70% (69 voting members) the vote was as follows:

Form a single, new football supporters' organisation with the Football Supporters' Federation: 36
To continue as a distinct organisation focused on governance in sport: 30
Abstentions: 3

Therefore, Supporters Direct are mandated to form a single, new football supporters' organisation with the Football Supporters' Federation

Further information about the vote will be published early next week.

Richard Irving
Secretary
28th July 2018

Thank you for your continued support of the CUFC Lottery.

CUFC Lottery 'Accumulator' Results (27 July 2018) - this weeks winning 'Accumulator' numbers are (8934)
-there were no winners of the weekly 'Accumulator' this week, meaning next weeks 'Accumulator' will be £2400.

CUFC Lottery 'Main Draw' Results (27 July 2018) - this weeks winning 'Main Draw' numbers are (1943)
-there were no winners of the 'Main Draw' jackpot this week.
-next weeks 'Main Draw' jackpot will be £300.00.

As the 'Main Draw' jackpot was not won this week
-there is 1 CUFC Lottery member matching the first pair winning £10.00
-there are 2 CUFC Lottery members matching the second pair winning £10.00 each

If you are a winner of either the 'Accumulator' or 'Main Draw' you will be notified individually by email.

Yours sincerely,
The CUFC Lottery Team

Find out more about the lottery below

What is the CUFC Play2win lottery?
 
The lottery is run and administered by volunteer fans of Cambridge United FC as a sub group of Cambridge Fans United. The lottery is run in association with Cambridge United Football Club.

Aims
 The lottery aims to raise funds for

•  fans' amenities  at The Abbey stadium
•  local community projects.

How does the lottery work?
Each member is issued with a four digit lottery number.
Each week there are two draws held:
                The first is for a weekly prize – currently £300.
Using a random number generator the winning four digit number is drawn.

The member holding the four digit number in the same order wins the first prize.

If there is no winner then runner-up prizes will be awarded to those members holding either the first two or last two digits in the correct position and order.
               
The second draw is for the jackpot accumulator.

The jackpot is again drawn using the random number generator and, as with the weekly draw, the member holding the four digit number in the same order wins the jackpot amount.
If there is no winner the jackpot increases week by week by £50 until the maximum (currently £2500) is reached .

How much is membership and what happens to the money?
Each lottery membership costs £2.00 per week. Payment can be made by cash, cheque or bank standing order. Payments can be made monthly, quarterly, half yearly or annually.

95pence is paid into a Prize Fund.  This fund can only be used for prizes – the greater the number of lottery memberships, the larger the prizes.

5pence is paid into a Cost Fund. Although the lottery is run by volunteers, there are costs for licences, printing, web charges etc. Any surplus after costs is fed back into the lottery to provide, for example, additional prize draws.

70pence is paid into a fund for fan amenities in the Abbey Stadium.

30pence is paid into a Community Fund used for community projects in the Cambridge area.
 
With Play2Win everyone can support both the Club and the community and have some fun whilst doing it! 

Thanks for your interest and ...Good luck in the draw! Click here to join

From the request last week about the matdh day music, we received a lot of replies suggesting that the Darude tune Sandstorm would be a popular choice for when the teams come onto the pitch.

We are trying to gauge if it would really be a popular choice or not.

We can not guarantee anything

Please vote below

The work continued today and the latest batch of shirts that were delivered were put up.

The area is coming along but we need more shirts if possible to fill some of the other sections.

If you have one or a scarf sitting in a draw feeling unloved and lonely bring it along to the Abbey on a match day to the CFU outlet or to the Abbey Arms (leave behind the bar)

Old flags are also welcome.

Thanks

Today, we have been decorating the Abbey Arms bar area. The top had been painted black originally with the thinking we could write information on it.

Having given it some thought lately we had the idea of adding some pennants to the area instead

We were given some by the Youth Development team from when they visited other clubs abroad.

Les was busy putting them up. He has an eye for heights, so seemed  an ideal candidate for doing the job. Les used to work at Marshalls. I thought he had been a pilot, but he wasn't really. Just designed paper planes. Not like me he dosen't have two wings

Well anyway, David is on the scrounge again - If you have any pennants or rosettes please bring them along and leave them at the CFU outlet on match days or on Sunday  at the open day in the Abbey Arms behind the bar

Thank you

Nelson -

see below I am with some of my Gnome friends. If you know where they came from let me know. They have said they want to stay at the ground for a  lot longer period.  They love the space and open air. Some have even been helping Ian on the pitch. I had to warn one of the gnomes that he could not just turn up here and start telling Ian what to do with the grass. Not like I do

In 1979, the political and cultural magazine the New Statesman published an article by journalist and broadcaster Russell Davies, a 1967 graduate of Cambridge, in which he exposed the U’s to the searching glare of the media spotlight. The article gives those who were never lucky enough to visit the Abbey Stadium in the late 1970s an accurate impression of the experience to be expected on a wet and windy March Saturday.
​
Davies was reporting on the match that took place at the Abbey on Saturday, 10 March 1979. United lost the Second Division fixture 0-1 to Notts County in front of 5,157 spectators. The game’s lure had been irresistible, said the writer.

Mick Leach: joined Tom Finney and Derrick Christie in attack for a time

‘What! The oldest League club in the world against a home side boasting hot-shot £300,000 property Alan Biley, in whom Spurs are trying vainly to suppress an interest?’ It was a spectatorial must, said Davies.

‘Cambridge United is still a small club in resources and outlook, and on a day like Saturday it seems to get smaller. A Fenland wind, rotten with damped-off celery stalks, came bowling straight down the ground from the Allotments End, where there is no stand – just a shallow open terrace, caged off for visiting supporters (on this occasion no more than a couple of hundred or so).

to read more click here

This is a revised version of an article that appeared in the Cambridge United matchday programme for the game against Cochester United on 2 September 2017.

They’re off … and as they pass the Abbey Church in Newmarket Road it’s Warren and Ellis jostling for the lead. Ellis last year’s winner, of course.

Past the brickyards, and at the Paper Mills it’s Warren making the pace. Out on the muddy Quy road it’s still Warren, looking remarkably fresh. He reaches the turn at Bottisham Swan in style, with Ellis looking good too, but trailing. My word, this is fast.

The runners are facing a stiff headwind on the return leg, but that doesn’t bother Warren.

As they pass the cemetery he’s streets ahead of Ellis, who looks beaten. Warren … Warren … Warren all the way. He flies through the finishing line at Abbey Street … and look at his time: he’s smashed the course record by two minutes!

Read more by clicking here here -- www.100yearsofcoconuts.co.uk/blog/coster-living

See below recent photos of the floodlights on a sunny day

Photos by Alan Burge

The latest piece of artwork was commenced during the last week and before the end of the school term. 

It will be finished later in the summer. The lads Joe, Cody and KCi under the guidance of  local artist Kilo completed this stage of the work did  a fantastic job of it.

See the story of how it was completed during  one afternoon in July in the photographs below

The U's travel to Dagenham on the 25 July.  Kick off is 7.30pm Web site www.daggers.co.uk/

Dagenham & Redbridge FCChigwell Construction Stadium
Victoria Road
Dagenham
Essex
RM10 7XL

Phone Number:  020 8592 1549 Email:    info@daggers.co.uk

How to get to the ground

Post Code For Sat Nav  RM10 7XL
Traveling from the North & West
If you are coming from the North or West, follow the M25 Clockwise until junction 27 and take the M11 towards London. Proceed along the M11 and as the road splits at the end of the motorway follow the signs for A406 South & A13. There are speed cameras along this road and the speed limit is 50 mph. After 5 miles, take the slip road on the left signposted A13 Dagenham, Tilbury and Southend. There are speed cameras along this road and the speed limit is 40 mph.

Go under the underpass and over the flyover and with the leisure complex on your left bear left onto the A1306 signposted Dagenham East. At the fifth set of lights with McDonalds in front of you, tern left onto the A1112, Ballards Road. The speed limit is 30mph and there is a speed camera on your left. At the Bull Roundabout bear left and go past Dagenham East Tube Station. Victoria Road is the fifth turning on the left.
From the South & East Via Dartford Crossing
Follow signs for A13 to Dagenham/ Central London. Proceed along this road and take the turn off signposted Elm Park & Dagenham East and turn right at the roundabout at the bottom of the slip road. Proceed to the set of lights and turn left onto a dual carriageway.After about half a mile you will see a McDonalds on your right. Get into the right hand filter lane and turn right onto the A1112 Ballards Road. The speed limit is 30 mph and there is a speed camera on your left. At the Bull roundabout bear left and go past Dagenham East Tube Station. Victoria Road is the fifth turning on the left.
By Rail
Nearest Tube station is Dagenham East on the District Line of London's Underground Network. After exiting the station turn left and the ground is the fifth turning on the left about 400 metres from the station.  
By Rail From Liverpool Street
Board the Greater Anglia service from London Liverpool Street to Romford Station. When exiting Romford station turn left where the 103 bus (towards Rainham Station) will stop at the nearest bus stop. The 103 bus will stop outside the ground and the ground is to the right of the stop.

Referee for the  fixture against Cambridge United tomorrow has been named as Tony Goddard. Two assistants are Tom Brooks and Alan Goddard with the fourth official being Joe Gray.

.Normally a who dun it is trying to solve a murder or crime, however today it was a different story at the potential scene.

Overnight, a group of gnomes appeared around the area and on all the tables outside the Abbey Arms. There was even a rabbit on the back step and a frog on the bin. They were not there when we left the site last night

Mick Radford, Mick Brown and Ian Darler found the group on their arrival this morning or did they really find them? are they the main culprits. A gang of shifty characters trying to cover their tracks.  Normally the first people on the scene are the guilty suspects.

We asked Nelson what had happened and who had brought them. He was keeping very quite after last week and denied all knowledge. He seemed scared to speak out but may have to do so if there is a  court case before the beak. Perhaps a case for Captain Beaky who caught Hissing Sid some years ago.

We asked the Gnomes and they were only saying they had come to help. Throughout the day we tried to get the information out of them without joy. They did some painting and did not need to do a second coat. Top painters

So who are the main suspects -

Mick Radford early bird of the group however most of the gnomes were taller than him.

Mick Brown who denied knowledge but said he had lots of owls. He could have helped commit the act with Nelson

Alan Burge not likely he is never at the ground early enough so a complete outsider. Also none of the gnomes drank tea

Ben Phillips he is a possible candidate and favourite with the investigators because he has previous form with gnome stunts

Two squirrels who ran off under the building

The return of the Moles bringing them through their secret corridor of tunnels

or is it Ian whose wife Lisa did not sound surprised at the act and was also encouraging the sailor gnome from the boat The Lawn to visit the Yorkshire seaside resort of Whitby in the near future.

Who do you think is the guilty one who brought them in under the cloak of darkness

Tonight the U's travel to Ebbsfleet. Website www.ebbsfleetunited.co.uk/

STADIUM ADDRESSThe Kuflink Stadium,

Stonebridge Road, Northfleet, Kent DA11 9GN

DIRECTIONSARRIVING BY ROAD

i. From the motorway
Exit the M25 at Junction 2 and take the A2 signposted Canterbury. Leave the A2 at the Northfleet/Gravesend West junction. At roundabout, follow signs to Ebbsfleet International Station/A226 which will take you on to Thamesway and past Ebbsfleet International. The stadium is at the end of the road. For car parking see below or contact the club if you have specific parking needs (for example, disabled parking).

ii. From Gravesend town centre
Follow the one-way system round to the railway station, turning right at the top of the road by the traffic lights. At the next junction, take left turn on to New Road/Overcliffe. Continue straight for about two miles to London Road, then The Hill, then Northfleet High Street and finally past The Hive down to Stonebridge Road. The ground is at the bottom of the hill by the roundabout.

ARRIVING BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT
The nearest stations are Northfleet (take Gravesend service from Charing Cross, Waterloo East and London Bridge) and Ebbsfleet International. From Northfleet, go (more or less) straight ahead until you reach the main road. Turn left, walk to the bottom of the hill and the ground is on your right.

The high-speed rail service from London St Pancras to Ebbsfleet International (15-18 minutes journey time) will also take you to within walking distance of the ground. Proceed through Car Park C and out on to the roundabout where you will see the stadium in front of you.

If you are staying in Gravesend, you can get a bus to the ground from Gravesend station. Come out of the station on the Town side and turn right. There are bus stops just by the station – the 480/490 service will drop you outside the ground. Alternatively take the FASTRACK “B” Service, which also serves Ebbsfleet International.

CAR PARKINGThere is limited space down side streets and Thamesway (between the station and the roundabout outside the stadium) is designated a ‘Clearway’ and any cars parked along there are liable to be ticketed. There is also limited space available in surrounding residential streets.

We would encourage all spectators to use Ebbsfleet International Station which offers secure matchday parking in its Car Park C for £3. It is just over five minutes walk from the ground and is the best bet for a parking space in the area. The club strongly advises use of this car park to avoid problems of vandalism or cars being ticketed. Please aid the gate staff by having small change to hand. High-value notes cannot be changed on the premises.

We have bike racks inside the stadium for those of you wishing to lock up bicycles.

AWAY FANSWhere matches are unsegregated, away supporters can use the home turnstiles and make use of the club bar. If games are segregated, away fans must use the turnstiles at the Swanscombe End of the ground. These can be found by going past the home turnstiles and carrying on about 150 yards to the red gate on your right. Turn into the car park and the away turnstiles are straight ahead.

PROHIBITED ITEMSThe following items must not be brought to the Kuflink Stadium: weapons, narcotics, fireworks/flares and smoke bombs are all banned. Stewards reserve the right to perform bag searches for security reasons.

If you have any questions or requirements ahead of your visit, please call 01474 533796 or email info@eufc.co.uk.

On Saturday at the match against Millwall you may have noticed how much better the dug out areas looked.

Not only have they been painted by Emma, they have a new look in front of them with the astra turf being laid.

The astra turf was provided by Florstor who kindly also provided some new carpet in one of the offices last week.

Florstor have a long connection with the club and are in the process of moving to a new showroom see details below

Their new showroom will be opening soon at 46 Hills Road!

In the meantime they are still offering FREE home visit estimates and bringing samples out to you!

They offer an extensive range of Carpets, Vinyl's, Laminates, engineered wood flooring and also Luxury Vinyl Tiles. Contact them via 01223 213307 info@florstor.co.uk

With the new season approaching we re-visit the 1930-1931 season. Please see the fixture card below to see where the Amber Army were visiting during the season.

They started away at the Swifts in September - Do you know who the Swifts were and where they played?
Their last scheduled match was against Coton at home in April.

The reserves started the season with the trip to Barnwell United and finishing against Willingham

Do you know, recognise or are you related to any of the names mentioned on the card? If so, who was it? Do you have any stories about them?

Sir Douglas Newton was born on 14 July 1879

1909 - He was appointed High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire for 1909.

He was then elected as Member of Parliament for Cambridge at a by-election in 1922 following the resignation of t Sir Eric Geddes.

Newton was re-elected until he was elevated in 1934 to the peerage as Baron Eltisley, of Croxton 

He died in September 1942, aged 63.

Volunteers can do so much, however sometimes there is a need for someone to complete the skilled work around the ground. Dave Mills has for the past few years been the clubs 12th man on many occasions.

He has helped out at very short notice on numerous occasions when we have experienced problems with gas boiler breakdowns, water leaks, burst pipes etc

He has had to unblocked toilets on the day of the Luton match to enable it to go ahead and repair heaters and emergency jobs for other ones to do so.

Most weeks he comes in and does small jobs whenever needed and ones he can do so.

We would like to thank him for all his efforts and support in the help he has given Ian & Mick in and around the stadium over many years

Have you missed something during the past week on the CFU website see below for what has been on the blog page http://www.cambridgefansunited.org/blog

Click on the story below and to see what has been happening or for information

During the week we were cleaning up, ensuring matches took place and started painting again in earnest

The April version of the Amber News can be downloaded by clicking here

You can follow CFU daily via facebook click here or
www.facebook.com/CambridgeUnitedFootballClub/

Previous Stories
22 July-------------Work on Next Project has now been designed and will be started soon
22 July-------------Name that Tune part 2 - James Brown I Feel Good
21 July-------------Abbey Stadium Photographs
20 July-------------Habbin South Project - Find out more and how you can help?
20 July-------------Season Ticket Update
20 July-------------Cambridge United Lottery Results W/E 20/07/2018
19 July-------------Sometimes one photograph can say a thousand words
19 July-------------Match Day Programme - Your help and advice required
19 July-------------Name that Tune - Match day Music
18 July-------------New design on Habbin Gate
18 July-------------Finishing off the Dug Out area
17 July-------------Nelson is watching what is going on at the Abbey - Read his report of what beens going on. A birds eye report
17 July-------------Habbin Stand - Millwall Match Information
17 July-------------Season Ticket & Shirt Information
16 July-------------Do you remember the Abbey Stadium looking like this? part 3
15 July-------------Do you remember the Abbey Stadium looking like this? part 2
15 July-------------Cambridge United Lottery Results W/E 13/07/2018
15 July-------------Do you remember the Abbey Stadium looking like this?
14 July-------------The season approaches and another week ends
14 July-------------100yearsofcoconuts -- Small man, big repuation
12 July-------------Youth Team Fixtures for the 2018/2019 season
12 July-------------Paul Wanless - Pre season. Words that send shudders down players spine.

On Friday, work started on the next project at the Abbey. There is a plain black wall at the end of end of the stand by the painted star that was painted.ready for a new design to be pinted on it

We have been trying to think of a solution or design that would make ithe wall stand out.

A special design has been now been planned and work will start shortly. It is hoped to be finished by the start of the season.

Last week we also finished the NRE end wall and painted the end Amber

Can someone settle an argument please?

Did the James Brown tune I Feel Good get played when United scored for a period of time in years around 2000

Not asking for music to be played again, however i am sure it was but starting to think I am wrong

Click here if you have anymusical choices 

Photographs by Alan Burge from Friday around the ground

To get tickets today see here cufc.venuetoolbox.com/VenueManagement/asp/bookTickets.asp?dept=Spectators&TicketsSelectedCostCentreID=%7B20F50962-D87A-4CDD-907F-46EE3B1797E4%7D

Today, saw the beginning of our next project to ensure the South Habbin is full of colour and has it's own identity although on many match days it is not used.

Instead of players running out to an empty stand they will now see banners,scarves, flags and shirts. Instead of standing in the tunnel they will see Black and Amber in front of them

United colours will be there even though the stand will not be full, hopefully the stand will provide the passion and atmosphere that inspire supporters and players.

If you have a flag you would like to hang up on a math day then please come and hang it in  the area. If you have an old shirt, flag or anything United related that could be contributed it would be a massive help.Does anyone know where the Amber Army & other flags/banners we used to have at games are?.

If anyone can help in anyway then please contact me via the form below

If you have any items please bring them to the CFU caravan on match days or to the Abbey Arms on non match days

We hope you like the work being done.

The shirts can not be handed back after the project