Author, poet and lifelong Cambridge United supporter, Andrew Stephen has produced his long-awaited sequel to last season’s book The Season That Nearly Was.
Andrew says,” When I started that book, I little realised that the season would end in relegation. I am so pleased that, remarkably, we achieved promotion a year later. Nothing surprises me about this remarkable club.”
Andrew explores his lifelong addiction to the club, ably supported by the stories of other fans who know only too well what a club means to its fans and its community. Once again, he has produced a book which will appeal to all dyed in the wool United fans but also to those who care about the future of the game and demand fair competition and responsible owners who will cherish the dreams of supporters. After all, they are the club.
The book is decicated to Dave Doggett and Colin Proctor, the Foreword is by Mark Bonner, and most of the photos are bySimon Lankester.
The book is available to purchase from Amazon priced at £18.99. ( Amazon Link).
We will also have some copies for collection at a CUFC home match at the special price of £15, and maybe Andrew will sign a few copies.
Some reviews:
Review 1: Welcome to the best book ever written about lower league
football. If you’re a true footie fan who wants to learn about
the pure passion for the game outside the glamour of the Premier
League, this is the book for you.
Author and poet Andrew Stephen has followed Cambridge United for
over 60 years. He’s in love with his beloved U’s – a sentiment
that shines through every page as he follows the fortunes (and
misfortunes) of the club during a vital promotion-chasing season.
If you love football you’ll adore this book.
Review 2: For pure football passion, read this book! The Season That Really Was, by prolific writer Andrew Stephen, is the best book ever written about lower league football. All of England has got football fever at the moment, with the World Cup taking place in North America. And rightly so. But if you’re a true footie fan who wants to learn about the pure passion for the game outside the glamour and big money of the World Cup and the Premier League, The Season That Really Was is the book for you. Author and poet Andrew Stephen has followed Cambridge United for over 60 years. He’s in love with his beloved U’s – a sentiment that shines through every page of this book as he follows the fortunes (and misfortunes) of the club during the vital promotion-chasing 2025-26 season. It’s a typical rollercoaster journey for the East Anglian club, as fellow fans will testify. A year ago, Andrew wrote The Season That Nearly Was – a book that followed Cambridge United’s 2024-25 season. It was a Hickathrift Press bestseller, but it didn’t have a happy ending. Despite all the early-season optimism, the club was relegated from League One. Its sequel, The Season That Really Was, has a very different ending. But, as usual, there were ample downs as well as deserved ups as United edged ever closer to promotion at the first attempt. Most of the book is devoted to Andrew’s predictions and match reports, which vividly describe the emotional turmoil of a devoted football fan urging his team on to the ultimate prize. He also lists his favourite Cambridge United fans from the last six decades and gives fellow fans their say about their club. Their club? Yes, the author makes clear that any football club is nothing without its fans. In the case of Cambridge United, the fans have been strident in their criticisms of previous ownership regimes – and he was instrumental in the establishment of Cambridge Fans United and the club’s Shadow Board. He even led a fans’ revolt and was once hauled before a club disciplinary session, where he was accused of being a geriatric hooligan (or words to that effect). We’re pleased to report that even in his seventh decade, he is as bolshie and vociferous as ever, because football clubs need fans that wear their hearts on their sleeves. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an England fan, or follow one of the rich and glamorous Premier League clubs – if you love football you’ll adore The Season That Really Was.
