Cambridge United has existed on a shoestring budget for many years now and has from necessity been a "selling club". Over the years the United scouting system has discovered many players who have blossomed at the Abbey Stadium and gone on to bigger things, but in recent years the youth scheme has also been rightly praised for producing a stream of good quality youngsters who have progressed to the first team.
The most recent addition to this page - Danny Granville - graduated from United's YTS scheme to play over 100 games before moving to Premiership club Chelsea, and he brings the tally of ex-U's playing in the Premiership to nine (almost a full team!) Here is a look back at how they affected Cambridge United.
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| Grateful thanks to Andrew Ivy for this picture | ||
| Keith's career began at Cambridge United with one appearance in the 1983-84 season. He established himself as United's regular goalkeeper from 1986 before he was was sold to Millwall for £100,000 in March 1988.
He played in the old first division in his spell at the Den but was never the automatic first choice, recording less than 50 appearances for Millwall and spending time on loan with Brentford, Gillingham and Fulham. Keith moved to Burnden Park in June 1992 and was an ever present in the Bolton Wanderers side that won promotion from the second division in 1993. Unfortunately he missed most of the following season through injury, but upon his return to fitness he earned an Ireland B appearance against England at Anfield in December 1994. He is the undisputed first choice at Bolton and will be looking forward to next season in the Premiership, with the prospect of further international recognition. | ||
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| Steve was a popular figure at Cambridge United and he obviously liked the club too, given that he signed for us twice! He was born in Portsmouth and joined Pompey as an apprentice, but he admits that attitude problems led to him being released after three years. He returned with non-league Fareham Town and then Bournemouth, but after only eight appearances for Bournemouth he dropped back into non-league with Weymouth for a £12,000 fee.
Steve spent three seasons with the south coast club, supplementing his income with gardening jobs and selling fruit and vegetables, before joining Crystal Palace in 1988. He was loaned out to Aldershot where he made a good impression and in November 1988 the move was made permanent. The following season two great displays against Cambridge United caught the eye and because the Shots were in financial difficulties United were able to sign Steve for a bargain £75,000 in February 1990. His departure from Aldershot probably hastened their subsequent demise. As Steve joined the U's a new era was beginning at the Abbey Stadium. John Beck was the new manager and for a while Claridge replaced John Taylor in the famous Dublin/Taylor partnership, although he missed any Cup games as he had played in the first round for Aldershot, ironically against Cambridge. The season ended with that Fourth Division Play-Off win at Wembley, but Steve only featured as a second-half substitute. The 1990-91 Championship season included a run through to the Sixth Round of the FA Cup which ended with a brave 2-1 defeat against Arsenal at Highbury, but for Steve Claridge it was a frustrating time. He spent much of the season on the bench amd was restricted to a string of 'super-sub' appearamces, often rescuing United with late goals but repeatedly overlooked by John Beck. He still managed twelve goals but the frustration of being on the sidelines for much of that momentous season led him to request a transfer. However the attraction of Second Division football in 1991-92 changed his mind. After starting the season on the bench Steve was finally given an extended run in the first team by John Beck, and he repaid his boss with some great displays against classy defences. He scored the second goal at Ipswich to put Cambridge on top of the old Second Division, but cruelly injury kept him out for three months and it was no coincidence that the U's slumped to seventh in his absence. His return to the side saw an upturn in form but United could not prevent Leicester City from reaching the Play-Off Final. That failure was in many ways the end of the dream for United. Unable on small attendances to support Second Division wages for another season, players had to be sold. In July 1992 Claridge was one of those to leave but the tribunal-set figure of £160,000 was a shocking under-valuation. However he failed to settle in a struggling Luton team, scoring only five goals in eighteen appearances. Meanwhile at Cambridge, John Beck had departed for Preston North End and caretaker-manager Gary Johnson tempted Steve back to the Abbey for a club record £190,000. His second spell at the Abbey was less successful and he looked short of confidence, but in January 1994 United were unable to turn down an offer of £350,000 from Barry Fry's Birmingham City. After 46 League goals in 134 games for United, Steve moved to St Andrews where he was joined within a month by ex-U Liam Daish. He scored twenty League goals to fire Birmingham to the new Second Division Championship in 1994-95 and by March 1996 his value had soared to £1.2 million which is what Leicester City paid for him. This transfer also triggered a useful sell-on clause and a cash bonus for Cambridge United. He was an instant hit at Filbert Street and his goals inspired a late surge to the Play-Offs. He then won the hearts of the Leicester faithful by scoring the 90th minute goal that got them promoted to the Premiership against his old club Crystal Palace at Wembley in the play-off final. In his first season in the top-flight Steve formed a good partnership with giant teenager Emile Heskey and helped the club to defy the critics who forecast instant relegation. The highspot of his career so far came with another last-gasp winner - this time in the Coca-Cola Cup replay at Hillsborough to defeat the star-studded line-up of Middlesbrough. | ||
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| Liam is remembered as possibly one of the best central defenders Cambridge United has had. Like Steve Claridge he was born in Portsmouth and signed for his local club as a schoolboy, but failed to make the regular breakthrough into the first team. A clash of personalities with manager Alan Ball saw him released in 1988 and Chris Turner signed him on a free transfer in the summer. He played twelve games on loan at Barry Fry's Barnet at the start of the 1988-89 season before making his full league debut (along with a certain Dion Dublin) at Wrexham on 16th December 1988. Liam settled quickly into the side and became a fixture.
The son of a Dublin-born submariner, he was selected for the Irish Under-21 side for a tournament in France and impressed Jack Charlton's assistant Maurice Setters. He also played a major role in steering United to the Fourth Division Play-Off Final in 1990, but missed the Wembley victory after being sent off in the final league game. He missed most of the following Championship season through injury and played only half of the next season, but the Republic of Ireland management kept tabs on his progress and he returned to the United side as if he had never been away. His form earned him his first full Irish cap on 19th February 1992 in a 1-0 defeat, becoming the first serving United player to make an senior international appearance since Northern Ireland's Tom Finney in the early 80s. Never a prolific goalscorer, Liam was unfortunate to be presented with a clear opportunity on goal which he missed, Another spell of injuries followed and by the time he was ready for first team action again Cambridge had been relegated to the (new) Division Two. His contract was due to expire and Liam was ambitious to regain his place in the Irish squad, so in February 1994 United accepted a cut-price offer of £75,000 from Barry Fry, now in charge at First Division Birmingham City. Ironically City were themselves relegated from Division One but the following season Liam won a Championship medal as they stormed back again. Almost exactly two years after his move to Birmingham, Liam achieved his ambition of top-flight football by joining Coventry City for £1,150,000, 10% of which found its way back to Cambridge to help the club that launched his career. Liam has regained his place in the Irish squad and is an established member of the Coventry side. | ||
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Born in Leicester, Dion was first spotted playing for non-League Oakham United and signed professional terms with Norwich City at the end of the 1987-88 season. But just a year after signing professional terms at Carrow Road, the teenager was released and joined Fourth Division Cambridge United on a non-contract basis.
He spent the start of the 1988-89 season in the reserves but his chance arrived on November 29 when he made his debut as a substitute at home to local rivals Peterborough in a Sherpa Van Trophy tie. And it was a dream start as he scored in a 2-2 draw. Manager Chris Turner had seen enough and threw Dublin into the first team. He made his Football League debut as a substitute for George Reilly at Wrexham on December 13 and on January 3, only his second senior start, smashed a hat-trick past Peterborough. He was a key fixture for the remainder of the season which ended disappointingly as the club missed out on the play-offs by just three points. But Dublin had made his mark and his career promptly took off. Dublin and John Taylor formed a prolific partnership in 1989-90 in which Dublin scored 15 League goals and helped Cambridge to the sixth round of the FA Cup. He scored four times during the Cup run which ended in a gallant and narrow defeat by Crystal Palace. The best was yet to come, though, as Cambridge soared from 15th place into the play-offs. After beating Maidstone, they booked promotion to the Third Division by beating Chesterfield 1-0 at Wembley - and Dublin was the goal hero. The following year was even more successful. This time Dublin contributed 17 League goals and Cambridge reached the sixth round of the FA Cup for the second successive year. Dublin, who had scored twice in their fifth round victory against Sheffield Wednesday, grabbed their consolation as they bowed out with pride, 2-1 at Arsenal. He was now a sought-after property and once his goals had swept Cambridge to the Second Division play-offs, Alex Ferguson enticed him to Old Trafford for £1m in July 1992. He scored 52 League goals in just over 150 appearances for the U's. His first season at Manchester United was an anti-climax. He scored the winner on his full debut at Southampton but a broken leg against Crystal Palace ended his season prematurely. Dublin came back but Eric Cantona and Mark Hughes took some ousting and he made only a handful of appearances and joined Coventry City for £2m in September 1994. To cap a memorable season, he was appointed club captain and finished his first season at Highfield Road as club top scorer with 16 goals in all competitions. Last season he was called on from time to time to fill in as a central defender and he performed admirably in the annual fight against relegation. Dion has often been linked with a move away from Highfield Road, but the Coventry fans will be hoping he sticks around. | ||
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John Filan arrived in England shortly before Christmas 1992 from St George's Budapest in his home city of Sydney, Australia because "I want to play football full time". After spells with Southampton and Peterborough he arrived at the Abbey Stadium and impressed the then-manager Ian Atkins. He made his first team debut at Newcastle on Saturday 3rd April 1993, and despite the 3-0 defeat he received good reviews by all the media at the game. With the departure of John Sheffield in the summer "Skippy" was first choice in goal for the whole of the following season, and his athletic displays began to attract attention from bigger clubs.
After a loan spell with Nottingham Forest his sights were firmly set on the Premiership and in March 1995 he joined ex-Us Dion Dublin and Liam Daish at Coventry City for £300,000. John played in the last two games of that season. A broken leg for City's goalkeeping stalwart Steve Ogrizovic gave him his chance in 1995-96 and he played every League match until November when Ogrizovic returned. His chances were always going to be limited at City while he understudied Oggy and he only managed one appearance in the 1996-97 season, and when his contract was due for renewal in the summer of 1997 John looked for another challenge. Blackburn Rovers were on the lookout for experienced cover for England 'keeper Tim Flowers and he joined them in July, the fee to be decided by a tribunal. Filan has gained international honours wih the Australian Under-21 team but unfortunately for him the Aussies have a number of good goalies. | ||
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Danny Granville was on Charlton's books as a schoolboy and had a spell training with Spurs before joining Cambridge United as a trainee in June 1991. After successfully completing two years as a YTS trainee at The Abbey (voted Youth Team Player of the Year in 1993) Danny made his league debut in March 1994 and played in the remaining ten games of that season - scoring five times. He put his great left foot to good effect in a number of positions as he got established at United, operating in defence or midfield as required.
From December 1995 Danny made the left wing-back position his own with some outstanding performances, and the following season he was a revelation on the left of a three man back-line. With United in the race for Play-Off places he was snapped up on 21st March 1997 by Premiership side Chelsea, the fee an initial £300,000 rising to £500,000. He made a scoring debut for Chelsea reserves just days later and his first team debut followed on 5th April 97 as a second half substitute. After a further appearance as sub in the next game he made his first start against Leicester on 19th April and set up the late winning goal with a deep run and cross for Mark Hughes to head home. Two days later, and just a month after leaving the Abbey Stadium, he received his first England Under-21 call-up and went on to win two caps before the season ended. | ||
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An attacking left back, Alan and his twin brother Garry began their footballing careers at Charlton Athletic, and Alan was a centre-forward in those days. They both joined Cambridge United on free transfers in 1986 from Charlton. While Garry moved on to pastures new, including Peterborough United, "Twinny" stayed to record over 200 appearances and he was voted 'Player of the Season' three times. A dead-ball specialist, his accurate corners and free-kicks were one of the main weapons in John Beck's armoury as United stormed though the divisions between 1990 and 1993, and he also weighed in from the penalty spot.
Alan was obviously destined for better things and it was Wimbledon who snapped him up for a bargain £175,000 in July 1993. Unfortunately for Alan, injury forced him to miss most of the 1993-94 season but he fought back to establish himself in the Dons' first team in 1994-95, making his return for the clash at Manchester United in August 1994. By the end of the season he was a virtual ever-present. 1995-96 was his first injury free season and he started in 31 games for the Dons, but last season he faced competition for his place from Dons' record signing Mark Thatcher, the England Under-21 captain. Injury to Thatcher saw Kimble regain his place for a season in which Wimbledon competed in every competition until the late stages. | ||
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Gary is a product of Cambridge United's youth scheme, joining the club as an apprentice in July 1990. He was originally a centre-forward but at the beginning of his second YTS year Gary was switched to the right wing and he impressed so much that he was signed on a full professional contract in August 1991. A month later he made his first team debut in a bizarre 51 minutes. Named as substitute for the match at Millwall on 7th September 1991 he came off the bench as a first half replacement for John Taylor, scored what turned out to be the winning goal and was himself substituted 12 minutes from the end! Playing as a full-back or winger with a definite eye for goal, Gary was widely scouted by several top clubs including Liverpool, and when Mike Walker took over the reins at Everton the former Norwich boss was quick to snap up Gary in February 1994 for £300,000.
His dream move amounted to just half a dozen appearances for the Toffees and Gary spent three months of the 1994-95 season on loan to Blackpool, where his Dad had been a pro. New Everton boss Joe Royle sold him to First Division Derby in the summer of 1995 as part of the deal which took Craig Short to Everton, with Gary again valued at £300,000. He was installed as sweeper in Derby's five-man defensive system before moving over to the right side of defence, and was part of the side which gained promotion to the Premiership in 1996. Gary has developed into a consistent and respected defender, and he played in the Football League Under-21 side which drew 1-1 with an Italian Serie B XI at Huddersfield two seasons ago. | ||
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| Grateful thanks to Andrew Ivy for the pictures above and below. | ||||
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Three years and over 150 appearances later he moved again, this time to QPR for £350,000. In his five seasons at Loftus Road he again clocked up over 150 games and won England "B" honours before making his senior debut in the 1-1 draw in Poland which secured England's ticket to the 1992 European Championship Finals. In 1993 he moved on to Sheffield Wednesday for a joint club record fee of £2.75m and scored three goals in his first five games for the Owls, but he was dogged by injuries over two seasons and never really estrablished himself. In 1995, and at the age of 29, his former QPR boss Gerry Francis threw him a lifeline when signing him for Tottenham, and Andy has proved an able replacement for the injury-prone Darren Anderton. | ||||
