Hello friends and welcome back to my Cambridge United story. We left off last time with the club battling for a play off spot so let’s see how the season finished up…
March 2016:
We opened the month with a trip to Reading which saw Jacob Plambech open the scoring after 15 minutes having just returned from winning his first international cap. The home side equalized in the 34th minute but then we went on to dominate the game but frustratingly couldn’t find that winning goal which saw 4 attempts cleared off the line and the same amount of clear cut chances missed.
Three days later we were home to Watford who headed in the opening goal early on the in game after we re-organized the defence following an injury to RB Ikoko. A precision pass by Blanco ended in a smashing strike by Gorman and we were back in the game just after half an hour. Watford took the lead once more half way through the second half when DC Luna put the ball in his own net under pressure from the Watford front two. With eleven minutes remaining Webster made superb run down the left flank and his cross from the by-line was met by the head of Gorman and it was 2-2. Everton Santos came on minutes later and his Brazilian trickery proved too much for the Watford defenders as he forced a penalty that Conor Newton tucked away for the match winning goal
Our third game in seven days meant changing half the line-up which I hate doing which in my opinion effects the rhythm of the team. Case in point in took a very long time to overcome Blackpool away from home with Andrew Driver finally getting a goal and Maclaren adding a second on the counter deep into injury time.
With two wins in a row we closed the gap on the auto-promotion spot but next up would be a trip to the City Ground to take on Nott’m Forest!!!
“For the fans” was the rallying cry in the dressing room before taking the field to meet second place Forest. Within the first twenty minutes Bandiera had his usual header cleared off the line and Maclaren missed an open goal before Everton Santos created a goal for the Scottish striker out of nothing to give us the lead after the home side had been reduced to 10 men minutes earlier. A freak deflection opened the door for an equalizer which would have otherwise been offside to tie the game going into the interval. Following the break we fell victim to the dreaded 30 yard long shot but kept our heads with Johnny Gorman leading a “cavalry charge” on the counter attack that was beautifully finished off by his opposite wingman Jeff Webster. Bandiera then had yet another effort cleared off the the line though I was happy to get a crucial away point.
After the Forest game Everton Santos revealed he was unhappy at the club and so I granted him a leave of absence. Unfortunately the following day Jamie Mclaren was injured in training so I lost two strikers just like that!
Our next game was at home to Crystal Palace and we took the lead early on from a rare goal by DMC Sunny who went on to dominate the midfield. Again we missed a bucket full of chances but a mistake by the Palace keeper late in the game allowed Plambech to poach the second goal and gain all three points. The win pushed us into third place.
Up next was a crucial derby game at home to Ipswich Town. Sunny provided the through ball early on that ST Glen Richardson put narrowly wide. Gorman’s cross found the head of Bandiera – hit the bar! Plambech on the counter hit the bar! A shot by Andrew Driver goes under the keeper and trickles wide. Twenty minutes gone and its’ still 0-0. Another counter attack led by Plambech his cross by met by Glen Richardson on the volley….GET IN!!!! 1-0 at last. The score remained the same until half time with Blanco picking up a knock and having to come off. Two minutes Bandiera head in a corner kick to double our lead but the rest of the game was less exciting apart from the penalty we conceded but we managed to hang on for the victory under late pressure by Ipswich.
One of the things you may have noticed is that I haven’t talked much about the facilities at the Abbey Stadium. On the whole the board have been rather negative about any upgrades though I finally managed to persuade them to upgrade the Youth Facilities.
The next game was away to Plymouth and a quick-fire double by Jamie Maclaren in the opening 10 minutes was enough to win the game down in Devon. Back at home we then entertained Derby County with the pundits correctly predicting an evenly matched game that ended in a draw. We then travelled to Milton Keynes for another frustrating game where we threw everything at the home side but just couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net.
With two game remaining here‘s how the table looks. We have to play Bolton in one of our games and Forest will have to meet Sheffield United.
Our penultimate game of the regular season was at home to Hull City with Andrew Driver getting us off to a great start striking a through ball from Blanco into the net after 11 minutes. Hull though quickly equalized with some slick movement that completely wrong footed our defenders and so the score remained at 1-1 until the interval. Ten minutes into the second half and Driver takes off down the left flank and his cross is met by Plambech who hit’s the ball first time into the roof of the net. The fans go wild at The Abbey Stadium!! With the game seemingly under control Hull came up with a 30 yarder and it’s 2-2. Sensing an opportunity to win the game Hull pressed forward but they didn’t count on Sunny who has played magnificently these past couple of months and it was he broke down the Hull attack – sent the ball screaming forward to Jamie Maclaren who left the Hull defence for dead and hit the ball cleanly into the right hand corner of the net to win the game in a sensational way!
Onto the final game of the season and it was away to Bolton. We were now on second place with the table looking like this. We had to win because the other teams having superior goal difference.
Cambridge 83
Forest 81
Bolton 80
My strategy was counter but for the first half an hour we kept Bolton on the back foot with Driver coming close with a shot at the near post and Glen Richardson hitting the woodwork. Bolton created very little for them-selves and what they did we coped with well defensively. We finally broke their defence down three minutes before the interval with Sunny leading the breakaway and his through ball found Plambech who squared the ball across the box for Richardson to slide past the Bolton keeper. After the beak the home side as expected came out strongly forcing Rigoni between the posts to pull off a couple of good saves. We held firm, kept our heads and the one goal in the end proved enough which meant automatic promotion and we were back in the Premier League!!!
Final Table
After such a terrible start back in August and September, the dressing room turmoil, the lack of faith in my abilities we had somehow rallied together as a team, fought our way back into the race and ended in grand style. It was a wonderful feeling for this season to be finally over.
So tht’s it. I have to run off to the subway now otherwise I’ll be late for work. Thanks for all your support this season and your positive comments along the way.
Cheers!
Kevin
PS apologies for any spelling / grammer mistakes
Johnny Karp
23 августа, 2011 at 11:03
Way to go! I told you that you would get promoted this season, I told you! :) I am very happy that you pulled it off Kevin, you did a wonderful job recovering from that poor start, this is an amazing success! Looking forward to seeing you in the Premiership again, I’m sure it will go a lot better this time.
vaibhavc
23 августа, 2011 at 11:54
Hey Kevin
Well done! Great job, I knew that you would get promoted this year. You didn’t have a great start, but you still made it to automatic promotion. Next year, you will do much better in the Prem!
Darren Smith
23 августа, 2011 at 12:09
Get in there mate!! That was one of the best seasons I’ve read mate and mainly due to the drama. You were down and out early on and I worried for a top six spot. But the team rallied around you and pulled it off. A real roller coaster ride and I hope you are offered a decent budget next year to make a good go of the EPL. Good luck mate.
Lye Kuek Hin
23 августа, 2011 at 12:20
Hey Kevin,
What a turnaround for your team. Your patience and desire to stay despite a poor start has paid off. Congratulations on returning back to the Premiership. Your form in the last two months has been incredible and it’s time for some celebrations mate. Well done.
George Dobson
23 августа, 2011 at 12:47
well done where did everton santos go by the way well done and hopefully you will now stay in the premier league
Dan
23 августа, 2011 at 12:56
Result! Great turn around Kevin and an intense end to the season. Well done on getting promoted back to the big time at the first opportunity and this time I’m sure you’ll stay there.
rolando
23 августа, 2011 at 14:23
Boom! That was an amazing run! Well done, returning to Premier League is never easy and this was full of drama :) Hope you get plenty of money for your transfers, tho :)
Laxeyman
23 августа, 2011 at 15:07
Brilliant Kevin, a fantastic fightback after a difficult start, well done! Bouncing back after relegation is hard to do, but you’ve done it and hopefully you won’t have to do it again. Congrats, and looking forward to your pre season :)
FM_addict
23 августа, 2011 at 15:14
Have you done any scouting for players that are good enough to play in the Prem that are Out of contract? I always find this useful and also look to bolster the squad with good young loans players that have had previous seasons experience in the Championship.
Good look next season
Sayam Khan
23 августа, 2011 at 16:44
Well done Kevin! I knew you would get promoted even after that tough start! Well done.
Kevin
23 августа, 2011 at 17:28
*** Consolidated Reply from work***
Johnny — Yeah, yeah, you were right as usual but we did leave it late to squeeze into second place. I was convinced I would get fired at some point :)
vaibhavc — I appreciate your support and confidence for next season. Cheers!
Darren — yes, it was quite a dramatic season in more ways than one which I did my best to bring to the story, so I’m happy that you spotted that and made the comment. Thanks!!
Lye — I was really surprised how the team suddenly gelled and once they did we really took it to the rest of the teams
George — Santos just went back home for a while. He returned to the club at the end of the season but will most likely be released.
Dan — I hope you are right about staying up next season though I need to get over the tension of this one first :)
rolando — I’m pleased you enjoyed the drama that I attempted to bring to the story. I hope I get lots of money too :)
Laxeyman — Thanks a lot mate, I always look forward to your comments
Fm_addict — Appreciate the tip and will have a look through those when building for next season.
Sayam — Thanks a lot mate. It sems I was the only one who didn’t have any confidence in going back up!
Nicholas Phipps
23 августа, 2011 at 18:02
Great to see you promoted and back in the Premier League and if it hadn’t been for your shaky start, I’m sure that you would have finished top of the Championship. Your team were really dominating matches by the end and I’m sure there won’t be a repeat of what happened last time your team were in the Premier League… Good luck :)
Kevin
24 августа, 2011 at 21:40
Hi Nicholas
hopefully our return to the EPL will not be as horrid as last time out and I think you are quite right about that shaky start
Cakalaka
23 августа, 2011 at 19:04
hey kevin
what at season! When you started struggling in the league i honestly couldn’t see you finishing in the top 6, let alone finishing second. congrats on getting promotion and I’m looking forward to reading about your return to the premier league
Kevin
24 августа, 2011 at 21:43
Hi Cakalaka
Greetings from Canada and thanks for taking the time to comment. I really thought we’d end mid table as did you but to my surprise we hit form and now back in the EPL!
Sibo
24 августа, 2011 at 16:31
Well done Kevin!
I knew you would get promoted! Good luck in the Prem next season and I really hope you have a better campaign than last time, it would be awesome if you can avoid relegation! :D
P.S. Glad to know I was right about the Bolton game being crucial, good ting you got the result in the end! :D
Kevin
24 августа, 2011 at 21:46
Hi Sibo
You called it mate!
I hand’t even noitcied it before you said and in the end it all came down to that last day drama. I certainly hope we can avoid relegation too!
paul
24 августа, 2011 at 18:36
now the real hard work starts again :) i predict 15th in the prem next season
Kevin
24 августа, 2011 at 21:52
Hey paul
You’ve definitly got that right :)
Sears
24 августа, 2011 at 23:45
I knew you would come good in the end Kevin, like all good managers. I think you deserve a huge pat on the back after that miracle turn around, so congrats mate!!
CsAtlantis
26 августа, 2011 at 07:21
Nicely done Kevin, Burnley escaped with the Championship title in the end, but considering your horrible early season form you’ve pulled off a miraculous comeback to get back into the Premier League at the first time of asking, good luck for next season, hopefully your team can put up more of a fight!