Us v Them

The Us v The Stags today while I am in the city, some college pals are going to see a League Two match between Cambridge United and Mansfield Town. A Cambridge football team existed in 1909 and became Abbey United in 1912 named after the local district. They turned professional as late as 1949 and then was named Cambridge United in 1951.
Playing in the Eastern Counties League and then the Southern League, United joined the Football League in 1970 replacing the doomed Bradford Park Avenue. They quickly won promotion to Division Three but then went straight back down again. In 2005 they slipped into the Conference and spent nine seasons there getting back to the FL in 2014. In their 39 seasons in the FL they have played in the Championship (as it is now) for 8 seasons, League 1, 9 times and League 2, 22.
The best period for them came when the Us played in the FA Cup Quarter-finals twice and the Football league Cup quarters between 1978-84 and 1991-3.
Their highest league position was 5th in the "Championship" in 1991-2 when they failed to win promotion to the newly formed Premier League. John Beck with his "direct" form of play was largely responsible for this success.

In 1930-1 the club played matches at Parker's Piece, on the edge of the city, historically where the Cambridge Rules of Football were first devised and tried out by students and the like. These contributed to the official FA Laws eventually.
Wilf Mannion (you know him surely) is the only Us player to be inducted in the Football Hall of Fame.Ron Atkinson took charge of the team between 1974-8 and the present Head Coach is Joe Dunne, an Irishman with one ROI U21 cap, who has, let us say, been round the block in East Anglia!