A Tale of Three City (Football Teams)

I got into an argument with a friend last night about the status of professional football teams in our home town of Cambridge. And whilst I can’t rightly remember why we were arguing (I think he was saying that Cambridge’s minor football clubs really weren’t that important in the grand scheme of things), I still thought there was enough of a stance to take in opposition that it would not only be worthy of debate then... but it would also justify an entry into my blog here, now… even though I still have many other outstanding topics I need to write about!

The Beautiful Game

So, I guess my proposal/desire here is for the city of Cambridge to have a singular, successful and sustainable professional football team (built around the core of the current Cambridge United (Utd.) set-up), and that its stadium (wherever that may be) is better integrated in terms of the city's planning needs/provision. I want this club to be a strong asset to the city, both in terms of (on-the-pitch) successes and the subsequent knock-on 'boost' to the local economy that having a successful, and high quality football-playing, team can bring.

But to do so then, I think the current situation regarding the local teams that people pay money to watch would need serious addressing.

It's all a bit wishful thinking maybe, but that's what my blog is all about after all!  

Background

Despite the strong influence the Cambridge Rules of 1848 had on the establishment of the modern rules of Association Football, Cambridge is not what you would call a "Footballing City". Whilst Cambridge Utd has had some moderate success over the past 20 years or so (including once getting to within a single victory of Premier League football), the overall history of professional team(s) playing the game in and around the place does not recall the same richness of cup successes or stretches of higher league membership when compared to some of the other equivalent-sized city teams in the immediate region*.

Indeed, Cambridge Utd itself did not even exist until 1951 when the ambitious Abbey United took on a more city-wide scope and re-named itself. At around the same time, Cambridge City Football Club, then Cambridge Town FC, had just beaten United into receiving the official, and inaugural City-status, title of City Football Club and, despite a preference for amateur status, was still arguably the bigger club of the two – at least in terms of prestige. Indeed, its then home (at the southern end of Milton Road) was in a more central ‘city’ position than Utd's, and attendances could even, on occasion, push the 10,000 mark.

However, Cambridge Utd then undertook a truly noteworthy run of success for such a young club, and quickly accelerated beyond City in terms of league results and the resulting status that that brings, making it to the giddy heights of the then 2^nd Division (now The Championship) at the end of the season of 1977-8. It has thus maintained the position of being Cambridge's 'biggest' club ever since.

At about the same time, Histon FC (bearing in mind they were effectively just a large village side) were slowly-but-surely cementing themselves as a reasonably solid semi-professional unit, and in 1966 joined the Eastern Counties League, where they would then play for the next twenty-five years, eventually securing a place in its Premier Division.  

Crossroads

So, skipping ahead in time a bit, on entering the ‘noughties’, these three closely-neighbouring sides - quite amazingly - found themselves within almost-touching distance of each other in the lower divisions of the English (semi) professional football leagues.

Cambridge Utd had suffered consecutively poor seasons and finances since the late 90's, and even found themselves losing Football League status in 2005. Stuck in The Conference National league (now ‘The National League’, at Tier 5), they had come right down the ladder and alongside that of an up-and-coming Histon, whilst Cambridge City had also recently solidified themselves in the Premier League of the Southern Football League, which was (then) only a single promotion away from Conference football. The chance of all three being in the same league at the same time (and for the first time ever) was very much on the cards!

It was such a bad time for Utd that they came very close - on more than one occasion - to closure. The decrepit ground was very expensive to upkeep, attendances were down, and conflict over future strategy and managing finances meant that relations between various Chairmen and Boards and the fans hit an all-time low.

Relocation, relocation, relocation

Cambridge Utd’s dire straits had put any thoughts of redeveloping their aging football stadium or moving to new premises on hold. Indeed, whilst some money had been found to start the redevelopment job just after the Millenium (resulting in a new all-seater South Stand in 2002 and an increased length of available pitch to accommodate further expansion/building, including a hotel, at the Newmarket Road End), the eventual 'emptying of the coffers' left them with a rather bizarre current (and still current!) situation of having higher quality and modern facilities available to away fans (in said South Stand) than those for their own loyal supporters (who are effectively stuck in old sheds away from the (also-rapidly-aging) Main Stand on the eastern side of the ground).

But the talk of a move was always there… and the city planners had often eyed-up the large area encompassing the pitch, stands and car parking off Newmarket Road as a potential space for new housing... regardless of the club's struggles to secure “new ground for a new ground” elsewhere.

And in 2011, it looked like some new ground was indeed finally available...

After another failed proposal, and subsequent short-lived interest, in relocating the club to the north of the city in Milton in 2006, more strongly-developed plans to incorporate a new stadium into the new Trumpington Meadows development to the south of the city were then mooted, and integrated within a wider, community-oriented, Cambridge Sporting Village that took on the role of providing the whole area with new sporting facilities and not just a football ground.

Indeed, for a little while, all looked quite rosy for incorporating the football club into this new suburban area, and many fans started to think-through the logistics of how to get to the new ground on match day (investing hope that a new railway station for the city could be built at Addenbrookes Hospital nearby).

However, strong opposition to the plans (including NIMBY responses from (relatively) nearby inhabitants as well as local councils) put an end to it all (at least in terms of Utd’s involvement in the Sporting Village project), and the club looked set to remain on Newmarket Road and return to the concept of redevelopment rather than re-location.

At least, with some stability returning to the club's of finances and a long-awaited promotion and return to the Football League in 2014-15, there was an easing of any latent fears that the club could go under again and that the ground would be sold off for housing regardless of the football club's needs.  

***

At around the same time as the shenanigans surrounding Utd’s hunt for a new ground, Cambridge City, now dwelling in Tier 7 of the professional leagues, had somehow (eventually) secured planning permission to move out of their old ground and move into a new stadium in the Green Belt to the south at Sawston.

This development (still work in progress), whilst perhaps not to the same scale of any new ground plan for Utd, is still not insignificant, and involves the construction of a sporting arena with a capacity for 3,000 fans (despite City games rarely pulling in more than 500 people nowadays).

What’s your argument, John?

Well, I guess the main cut and thrust of all this is that I can’t understand the City Council here – and the main driver behind me writing this blog entry is to ask an open question:

"Why allow Cambridge City to build a new ground in the Green Belt but not, seemingly, help Cambridge Utd - the bigger club - build one there as well?"

In a city where we have already established that there isn't really much of a big football following, there is, none-the-less, still a requirement to support (at City Council level) the needs of three separate football teams that have grounds in (relatively) close vicinity to each other, and have infrastructure (travelling fans, powerful lights and car parks, etc.), that all need complex management and planning support on (home) match days.

And all this whilst still struggling to find space for new housing, fight encroachment on an already buckling Green Belt (well, sometimes!) and strategise over ways to tackle the city’s desperate transport problems and future planning needs through the City Deal plan.

Loyal Fans

In other (legitimately strong) footballing cities in the UK, the idea (or at least proposals) of mergers or ground shares never seem to go down well. One side (or class) of a city nearly always has such distaste (or even hatred) of the other that the idea of coming together for the greater good is outweighed by a strong and everlasting core loyalty.

Life-long fans are very rarely happy with (new, singular) ground moves, let alone the idea of sharing facilities with local rivals... or being behind the creation of a new joint-team. For them, it is not always about the money or silverware at the expense of everything else, it is more about the prestige and history. So, whilst I don’t quite get it myself, I see that it is a ‘thing’ and I acknowledge it.

That said, Cambridge Utd does not need to look for a rival in Cambridge City or Histon. Indeed, when they sometimes meet in cup games (or formerly in a league) in more modern times, I would often hear of fans being split as to who to support, and many “hangers-on” and peripheral fans (away from the core supporters) would go along to these matches with no expressed interest in which side should win.

Cambridge Utd’s true “local” rivals are Peterborough Utd (see here!), and whilst the fans often sing of their hatred of Boro’ (aka 'The Posh'), they have not met them for a derby match for 15 years now as the northern Cambridgeshire club occupy a higher status, with a bigger ground and bigger following.

But it need not be so in my mind. Or at least, it could all have been so different!

Whilst my friend is right that few fans actually follow these other teams in and around Cambridge (and thus don’t make a dint into the core support of Cambridge Utd**), I would still say that all the associated advertising, “extra-curricular” ground hire revenue, and even trickled-thru pub chatter and local news, gets cluttered-up by the presence of so many average teams and their financial needs.

Semi-professional footballers still need to get paid. 'Small' grounds still need to be safe. And sponsorship still needs to be sought to make ends meet.

With a rather limited population of 120,000 or so, there are only so many businesses in Cambridge ready to hand over cash to poorly supported teams with minimal (or at least limited) media 'impact'.

History Repeating

The chances of Cambridge Utd hitting another poor run of form and dropping out of the Football League are certainly not fat. One would like to think that both the finances and the players are better managed than 10 years ago, and that the club should be able to at least stay mid-table in League Two, even if it can't quite yet reach a good enough consistency to get promoted out of it. But... it is a precarious position to be in, none-the-less. And not good for its financial backers. Utd ideally need to get into League One to make things a little more comfortable.

And whilst, perhaps, Histon's decent run of form from 2007 to 2011 is very likely to have been a one-off in its Annals, I would say that Cambridge Ciy's new stadium, when they eventually move in, could trigger the new stadium effect and result in an upsurge of performance and possible promotion or two...

And I would therefore argue that, in doing so, it could also very much result in Utd losing fans (and revenue) and increase the chances of them both meeting up in the same league for the first time not so far down the road.

Yes... all very hypothetical and a worst-case scenario for Utd fans... but stranger things have happened in football.

Fantasy football

I would like Cambridge to have just one professional team, and for teams like City and Histon (if they must survive) to take on the roles of feeder clubs. Cambridge Utd has a good youth academy system, so it could still all work well to the development of good players feeding the main team and getting decent experience playing in lower leagues first, whilst Utd itself starts a sustained push to go back up toward the higher end of the English Football League.

And, at the same time, having just the one “big ground” could mean the freeing-up of space for housing, and enable local planners to work out the movement of people more easily, and give Cambridge Utd (and the city as a whole) a modern home to be proud of.

Yes, new stadiums can be a bit soulless (my friend pointed out how dull Colchester Utd’s new ground is for example), but surely some semi-decent architect can challenge this issue, and move things beyond the provision of four square, albeit all-seated and weather-protected, flat-topped sheds? And anyway, who said the Abbey was an attractive ground and truly worth keeping?

And the 'look' externally? Trees! I've said it before, but if you cover any dull or ugly building with trees, you can turn a sow's ear into a silk purse! 

Anyway, all that said, I suppose, ideally, Cambridge Utd should stay at The Abbey… but both the needs of modern transport and the cramped nature of the site (limiting any expanded capacity to around 11 or 12,000 all-seated) has always put me off the idea and I still remain solidly in the #NewGroundCamp***, even though I am no longer a regular supporter and thus arguably shouldn't have a say in the matter!

Prawn sandwich, anyone?

Redevelopment does seem to be the flavour of the month yet again (see the CUFC website link again, and this one from the BBC showing a slightly different design)…  but I would say this is only really because the club have no other choices available to them.

And that’s a crying shame I say, but (t)here we go!

 ZeeOx

*Such as Norwich City or Ipswich Town…

** Truly, many Utd fans come from quite a good way away to watch home games at the Abbey.

*** I propose this hashtag! (Although I haven't checked to see any prior use.)