The news of the death on Sunday of former Cambridge United forward Tom Youngs, at the tragically early age of 45, came as a shock to all connected with the Club…
Tom, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014, will be remembered as a gifted player who, with probing, darting runs, intelligent positioning and poise in front of goal, graced the Abbey Stadium between 1997 and 2003.
His 180 appearances in all competitions, including 35 as a substitute, brought him 48 goals and many assists. He was part of manager Roy McFarland’s team that won promotion to Division Three in 1998/99, and appeared in the John Taylor side that reached the LDV Vans Trophy final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff in 2002.
Born in Bury St Edmunds on 31 August 1979, Tom grew up in Barton Mills and first took part in playground football at Great Heath primary school in nearby Mildenhall. During a short spell in Mildenhall Town’s junior sides, he was spotted by a United scout and joined the club at the age of ten.
He signed YTS terms in 1996 while staying on at school to study for A levels, but showed such promise that a year later, at the age of 17, he bypassed the rest of his YTS stint and signed a two-year professional contract.
Following his Division Three debut as a substitute in September 1997, he signed a contract extension to take him up to 2001. His first League goal came in September 1999, and he later prolonged his stay at the Abbey until 2003.
Taylor paid tribute to his player with the words: ‘I don’t think you’ll find a forward in the lower divisions who understands the game as much as Tom Youngs.’
But in 2003, Tom’s negotiations for a new contract stalled and he was transferred to Northampton Town for a fee of £50,000. ‘You have to think about your career,’ he observed at the time. ‘I’ve had a lot of good times at United, but I think most people will appreciate why I’ve decided to make this move at this time.’
Injury problems that had emerged at United returned while he was at Sixfields. There followed a brief spell at Leyton Orient and then Tom moved to Bury while studying sports journalism at the University of Staffordshire. In 2007 he was persuaded to join Stafford Rangers by former U’s teammate Fred Murray, but he was soon on the move back to East Anglia, signing for Cambridge City.
Following a trial spell at Stevenage and a return for a trial at United, Tom moved to St Albans City, Norwich United and, as player and assistant manager, Mildenhall Town. A serious hip injury forced him to retire from playing at the age of 32 in November 2011.
In the summer of 2014, while he was working as an accountant at the brewery/pub company Greene King in Bury St Edmunds, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He had first noticed problems with his vision in February of the previous year, while he was watching a game as assistant manager of Mildenhall.
Tom described the triumphs and tribulations of life in football in an acclaimed 2016 memoir: What dreams are (not quite) made of: no fame, no fortune, just football… and multiple sclerosis.
Tom married Chelle in 2004; they had two daughters. He died on 4 May 2025 in St Nicholas Hospice at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds.
Rest in peace, Tom.