I know the following may sound sad, however, one of the things that has been most interesting while working at the club is  when you find something unusal and it is normally something historic.

This week, Emma painted the entrance door of the ladies toilet in the Cut Throat Lane building. Yesterday when checking the paint was dry we looked at another door inside the building with the view of painting it.

See blow the door has the faint words VISITING TEAM on it.

I wonder how long the door has been there, Was it the same one that existed from the fifties? Who were the players that walked through the door?

It may not be anything of value but it is something that represents a part of the club's history and is unique to the Abbey.

We have also uncovered in the area the drain away outlet set in the floor that was from what I presume were the original baths.

Thank you for your continued support of the CUFC Lottery.

CUFC Lottery 'Accumulator' Results (29 June 2018) - this weeks winning 'Accumulator' numbers are (4095)
-there were no winners of the weekly 'Accumulator' this week, meaning next weeks 'Accumulator' will be £2200.

CUFC Lottery 'Main Draw' Results (29 June 2018) - this weeks winning 'Main Draw' numbers are (8743)
-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 are 2 CUFC Lottery members matching the first pair winning £10.00 each
-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

Today, we finished the week having completed some  jobs, starting to plan the next ones and discussing others for the future.

The new bridge over the Habbin is still ongoing. The tarmac was laid. The bridge is being done by Mead.

The Ivy was cut back behind the Habbin and the rubbish cleared away. Three large barrow loads and several wheel barrows to do it

The works compound was tidied and cleared of waste. Mick George came and emptied the skip.

The tunnels were completed as was the accessible stand.  Doors and windows are becoming a glow of Amber everywhere being completed by Brian, Alan and Emma.  We are certainly getting through the jobs now. It is good to see the ones mentioned during the cold winter days now being completed.

Les has worked really hard in the sun and has completed one side of the bridge. If it had been cooler both would have been, but the paint just develops a skin and it becomes impossible to use.

Wendy has cleaned the changing room areas and has started on the dug outs. Washing them down ready for painting next week. Her days will start to fill out now the players are back. The training kits, main kits, towels all need cleaning daily. There are now probably nil days until next next April when the washing machines, tumble driers won't be in use.  If anyone would like to sponsor Gordon or the Kit Room please contact me via the form below. Wendy will ensure we have the cleanest dug outs in the league.

Mick R and Paul Harrison are unsung hero's during the week turning up and doing jobs that go um-noticed but are always the ones making a difference. Tidying cables or adding mastic in areas. Cutting the grass, going to get much needed stores throughout the day are not glamourous but essential.

Loving the Specsavers Football Pitch advert. Ian and Mick have you had your eyes checked before the new season begins.

His technique should be to straddle

There are other opticians

More photos of the pitch work today - taken by Alan Burge

Lots of painting has been going on today.

Alan has been working on the accessible stand today and the second coat will be completed tomorrow. We weren't going to paint the shelter but once everywhere else was done it stood out and needed to be changed

Les has been painting the bridge, however it is a real sun trap and he can only work on it for short periods. This afternoon he started to prep the accessible stand area at end of Main Stand by washing down and preparing it for painting.

Emma has been painting and finishing the doors shown in the photos below. Here again the ladies toilet door was a real bonus. It had been planned for doing in future and brought forward

The whole ground is becoming a far brighter place nowadays

Other work being done taody was -

Clearing some more Ivy in the Habbin area
Starting to wash and clean both set of dugouts for for painting

Mick R came in for n extra day to complete the cable re-route on the old changing rooms and completed this
Wendy has been all over the place cleaning everything within the dressing room areas, dug out and player entrance

Photos of the groundwork being commenced today at Abbey.

I know we moaned about the cold wind, rain and snow during the winter months. I remember thinking how much we could complete when the weather was warmer. However these past few days have been really warm. The order of the day is to keep in the shade whenever you can, drink plenty and have lots of breaks

Brian and Alan started painting the yellow on the accessible stand amber today and this area should be finished by end of Friday

Mick started to clear the track way around the pitch. Ian was repairing the sprinklers that had become faulty.

Brian was also weeding the track in his shorts, doing his his best not to sing Whispering Grass. Green Green Grass of Home is another song that mentions grass in its title. Are there any others?

CFU provide a pre match information sheet to away supporters before each match. Next season will be no different, however we want to update the information and improve the method of presentation.

Currently we send a word doc, however we want in future to update the information  and present it in a better way.

We will provide the information. Would you be able to help with presenting the information better.

If you could please contact me via the email form below

Thank you

  Today, started with a shocking sight. Two pairs of legs were on show. Can you guess who they belong to?
One pair looks like they belong to a groundsman and the other to an imposter. :-) Could it be Barbie or Bambi? Whatever they put me off my chicken legs at dinner time.

We have been removing some more Ivy from behind the Habbin. Strangely the more you cut the less diifference it seems to make.

Les started painting the bridge. However, it got so hot the paint was becoming difficult to use. Tomorrow he going to wrap the tin with ice

Mick R was tidying up some cables. It really did get too hot this afternoon to continue, so we had to have a break from the sun and pack up to have a very welcome ice cream

We finished painting the tunnels in the Habbin. They really look good. Very impressive. See photos below

The bridge is being worked on still by Mead.

Tomorrow,  hopefully the next stage of the work on the pitch begins. The soil arrived. The next project is to paint the accessible stand panels Amber.

See below the photos from the Abbey today

This is an edited version of an article that appeared in the Cambridge United matchday programme for the game against Bristol Rovers on 30 October 2015.

It’s as frustrating as trying to find Port Vale in an atlas and as mysterious as Donald Trump’s hairdo: when, how and why did Abbey United come into being?

Andrew Bennett’s masterly history of the club’s early years, which you can read in Newmarket Road Roughs (buy it here), the first volume of his Celery & Coconuts series, is probably as close to the truth as it’s possible to be at present, but there are still nagging questions that require definitive answers.
We all know that United was founded in 1912, don’t we? Do we?

There are those who swear that the club that emerged in 1919 and took its place in the Cambridgeshire League two years later had no connection with the pre-war Abbey United that played friendlies against the likes of the Sons of Temperance and Blossom Rovers.

Just two pieces of documentary evidence that connect the two and point to a foundation date of 1912 – some headed notepaper from 1926 and a report of the club’s annual dinner in the Cambridge Daily News of 28 May 1925 – have so far been unearthed. Apart from that, it’s all hearsay and anecdote.

Read more click here

Cambridge United have a number of Match Day staff vacancies available for the 2018/19 Season at the Abbey Stadium.

Event Staff Required

We are looking for friendly and hardworking people to provide efficient service, ensuring Customer Service

Standards are delivered & maintained at all times in & around the ground on Match days and for Events/Functions.

Main qualities
•             Warm, Friendly, Genuine attitude
•             Polite
•             Hardworking
•             Good Team Worker
•             Delivery Quality Service
•             Ability to Learn on the job.
•             Adhere to all Health & Safety & Food Safety Procedures
•             Passion to succeed.

If you are interested in joining the team here at Cambridge United Football Club or have any questions about the above position then please don’t hesitate to contact us using the details below.

paul.burling@cambridge-united.co.uk - Catering & Events Manager: 07730431701

Today, there was more work being done at the ground.

I really can not estimate the amount of hours during the past months that the volunteers have put into tidying up and changing the look around the ground. A big thanks should go everyone taking part. It has proved very satisfying to see what can be done by a loyal group who just love the building and the stadium.

Some people say it has been like turning back the years. The spirit of the club has always been there. It just needs to be brought alive.

It is coming up to year now since we started.

The last two show the work being done to repair the bridge over the brook behind the Habbin

See the photos below

Cambridge United have a number of Match Day staff vacancies available for the 2018/19 Season at the Abbey Stadium.

We are looking for hardworking and reliable match day stewards, ensuring customer service standards are delivered and maintained at all times in and around the stadium on match day.

Requirements:

-          Age 18 +Reliable
-          Fit and reliable
-          DBS will be required
-          Willing to work part of a team
-          NVQ 2 will be required but the Club can facilitate this

Applicants will need to attend two week day evening training sessions

Please email Andy.Pickard@cambridge-United.co.uk to register an interest.

Don't miss out. You can keep up to date with the CFU by following the group on facebook, their website, blog page or twitter. 

Have you missed something during the past weeks on the CFU website see below for what has been on the blog page during the recent period www.cambridgefansunited.org/blog

The May version of the Amber News can be downloadedby clicking here

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

You can follow CFU daily via twitter click here or via the link https://twitter.com/followCFU

Do you follow the Football Supporters Federation see www.fsf.org.uk/ or Supporters Trust
Previous Stories
23 June------------Have you ever hurt yourself Celebrating a United goal
23 June------------Have you won? - Find out how you could and if you have!!!   Cambridge United Lottery Results W/E 22/06/2018
22 June------------Dig out those old United Shirts
22 June------------Raising £500 to purchase and install a memorial plaque to remember Andrew Bennett.
21 June------------It's fixture day and we continue to get ready around the ground
20 June------------On Mon 25 June MPs will debate standing at football in Parliament.
19 June------------Today we felt like the England players and can you guess the year?
18 June------------Amazing efforts by everyone today. Working together as a team to get back on track
17 June------------100yearsofcoconuts - Remembering Billy
17 June------------Looking for United Flags, Scarves, Banners and Shirts

Last week Gareth Southgate dislocated his right shoulder. This will prevent him being able to celebrate any more goals that England may score

Have you ever hurt yourself or broken something while celebrating a goal?

I once jumped up having seen England score and broke the ceiling light!!!!

See more of the story concening Gareth Southgate by following the link below -

www.thefa.com/news/2018/jun/20/gareth-southgate-update-200618

Thank you for your continued support of the CUFC Lottery.

CUFC Lottery 'Accumulator' Results (22 June 2018) - this weeks winning 'Accumulator' numbers are (9258)
-there were no winners of the weekly 'Accumulator' this week, meaning next weeks 'Accumulator' will be £2150.

CUFC Lottery 'Main Draw' Results (22 June 2018) - this weeks winning 'Main Draw' numbers are (5346)
-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

Open them draws and check the cupboards - We are looking for as many old shirts as possible to hang up in the South Habbin stand when it is not being used.

We find it disappointing on match days that it looks empty when the team comes out and during the match. Therefore iw it possible to create an area of colour that represents Cambridge United.

We want to hang them up in front of the black panels at the back of the stand. It may possibly take at least 12

It may not work and if does not we will remove them.  I can not guarantee the shirts won't get damaged and they are unlikely to  be returned in the future

Other items I am looking for are the following - Flags & United Scarves

Does anyone know what happened to the large flag used at Cardiff? Is it available to use?

If yoy have any of these items please contact us via the form below

Raising £500 to purchase and install a memorial plaque to remember Andrew Bennett.

Andrew was a lifelong Cambridge United supporter who gained an army of admirers in the late 1990s through his witty and irreverent match reports which would never fail to raise a smile no matter how United had played on that particular day.

Over many years Andrew also started to compile statistics and historical information on the club which he eventually put to good use when he started writing his history of the football club. To date he has had two volumes of "Celery & Coconuts" published to great acclaim and although Andrew's illness curtailed many things he managed to finish the remaining volumes which will be released over time.

Andrew sadly lost his battle with oesophageal cancer earlier this year but the memory of the man who was given the title of Honorary Historian by Cambridge United still remains.

100 Years of Coconuts are therefore looking to purchase and install an official memorial plaque to remember someone who was not just a fellow committee member but a great friend.

A plaque will cost in the region of £500 and whilst a donation will be provided by the group our funding is extremely limited. We have therefore decided to ask for donations from the wider community so that we can provide a long lasting memorial to be installed in the Habbin Stand where he stood which can also be transferred to any future development.

Thank you,

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/andrewbennett

The fixtures came out today and everyone is starting to plan their travel, weekends and matches.

We had an away day from the Abbey and carried out some work at the training ground and at the house where the players stay. This was done in time for when they return to training. It's doesn't seem too long ago since the final whistle blew against Port Vale and now we are looking forward to our next encounter with them

Alan and Emma stayed at the ground and started on more painting projects. The Habbin panels have now been done, however we do need to still have to wash & clean the black panels on the Habbin South. I am really pleased that Emma painted the gate by the press box. It has irritated me since last July when we did the press box, so getting it done is another tick in the box

Big thank you for the person who donated and paid for the Habbin panel paint. We would like to get some more gloss and if anyone would like to donate towards the cost please contact me via the form below. It cost ~ 50 pounds for a tin of Amber paint. We want to paint the accessible stand panels to match everywhere else as it now really stands out. We also want to get some white masonary paint for the main stand bench seat areas. We would if everything goes well also like to paint the back of the Habbin white before the start of the season.

While at the Abbey the bridge across the brook started to be be repaired by Mead Construction. The needs to be completed before the season and was highlighted in the ground report. It will take several days to complete and the metal fabrication will start to arrive tomorrow.

Alan is painting the tunnel backs Amber to make them stand out. The first coat on the middle tunnel looked good and will look great when all three are done

The pitch is Ian and Mick's main agenda item now and getting it ready for the Millwall match

CUFC Survey 2018 ----- Closes 22nd June

During the past two summers we have given everyone the opportunity to complete the CUFC survey to determine how we can improve the supporter experience.
I would like to run the survey again using exactly the same questions.
I hope you will take part in this survey. I cannot promise to change everything. However, with your views  and opinions, I will be able to understand what is required while focusing on the areas that matter most, ensuring the match day experience is continually being improved.
If you wish to complete the survey click here
Dave Matthew-Jones
If you have a problem completing the survey contact me via CFUmp@outlook.com

On Mon 25 June MPs will debate standing at football in Parliament.

Do your bit by encouraging your MP to understand the subject so they can make a good contribution (there's a briefing doc now in Parliament's Library ready for them)

Keep it polite and don't be shy about putting in your own views and experiences - contact them via:

https://www.theyworkforyou.com/

Work continued on the structures needing to have building work carried out.  Garry completed the brickwork on the old changing rooms this morning following the delivery of the new bricks and Mick taking down the old ones. He then continued on the South Habbin turnstiles this afternoon. These needed to have the work done following the ground inspection.  Both areas are ready now for the new season.

We had planned to commence the gardening work during July, however with all the painting under way and Mick Radford repairing the doors, it was decided we would start clearing behind the Habbin of over hanging branches and overgrown ivy. This will be ongoing. England players had problems last with midgets. Today as we cleared the Ivy they were everywhere. We had call a halt to the work at one point.

Alan continued to paint the Habbin panels, Les completed the third Habbin Entrance. We now need to buy some more white masonary paint. Pete carried on with the yellow painting of the steps while Jason continued with the red gates.

Brian was still clearing the trackway of weeds

We are recovering whatever we can to tidy up the ground. Below is a sign showing the prices of the matches. It is post decimal but what would be the year?

Can you guess the year? I really don't know the answer

It was a fantastic day today. We had an amazing turn out to get the work back on track and on target around the ground

Ian and Paul worked on the pitch and were adding additional seed in the places that were required. Mick cut the pitch this afternoon

There was plenty of painting being carried out today, as well as cleaning around the ground and stands. I missed taking photographs of it all. Jason and Fiona completed the gates around track side

Pete started on the yellow lines on the steps. Alan back at the Abbey again and resumed work on the Habbin. Les did the tunnel in the Habbin, Mick painted the generator window and repaired another door.  Brian started on the window surrounds on the old changing rooms. So much was being done that it became difficult to source all the paint around the ground

Wendy, Frank and Margaret continue to get the South Stands areas clean. Wendy in the photo is practicing cleaning the ice baths that is being started tomorrow. I couldn't fit in them. We also put the covers back on exec seating area. Wendy cleared the remainder of the South Stand rubbish this morning.

Brian was clearing the track. This work will take a long time and is now continuous. Once around the track he will need to start again.

Gary Chandler has kindly started work on removing several layers of bricks and re-pointing around the ground. He finished the Habbin Tea Bar re-pointing.

Thank you to everyone

It's always a pleasure to welcome members of the U's extended family to the Abbey, even if it's out of season and we can't show them The Story of the U's mini-museum because it's been blocked off by mountains of A-ha-related gear.

Sunday's visitors, all the way from Auchterarder in Perthshire, were Andrew Welsh – son of tough-tackling 1960s wing half Billy – and his partner Pauline Silverman. Their visit coincided with Andrew's 50th birthday and the Abbey concert featuring OMD, his favourite band.

Billy – who died in a hill-climbing accident 20 years ago – was never one to brag about his professional football career, and Andrew has long wanted to speak to people who saw his dad play, or played with him.

Coconuts was able to fix this by relaying memories and good wishes from supporters and members of Cambridge United Former Players' Association, and taking Andrew and Pauline to chat to CUFPA's chairman Rodney Slack, who played three seasons with Billy, and wife Josie.

Click here to read more