'We Want Our Stadium Back!' - 01/05/2005

That was the chant of passionate Cambridge United fans who stayed behind at Nene Park on 30th April after their team's 1-0 victory over local rivals Rushden and Diamonds, a win which did nothing for the already relegated side. On the previous day the club had filed for administration in the Chancery Court and its very future looks uncertain. Earlier this season the club sold its Abbey Stadium to ease cash flow problems, but this didn't work for long, while the stadium could well become a supermarket or housing estate. The club's liabilities amount to around £900K. Presumably they are hoping to secure a Company Voluntary Arrangement which would mean creditors getting some percentage of what they are owed. Finance director Nick Pomey said that the relegation to the Conference meant that it was not feasible for the club to trade sufficiently profitably to pay off the debt (not that they seem to have managed all that well in the Football League). He calculated the cost of an acceptable offer to the creditors and being able to keep together some sort of side during the close season at £250K. One third of that had already been raised, but if the rest couldn't be, the club would have to close. By going to administration now the already relegated club has a meaningless ten points deducted from its Football League total. This means that they will not start their Conference season with a ten point deduction, an important plus as the Conference is a notoriously difficult league to get out of as clubs like Halifax and Hereford have found.