We asked a fan of each team give us their thoughts on the 2018-19 season. Have a read of their responses and enjoy!
1.In your opinion, how did 2018/19 go for your side?
In a word, disastrous. We were in the relegation zone for much of the first half of the season before the arrival of Colin Calderwood and never looked likely to climb the table due to a lack of quality in both boxes. In addition to news of significant financial losses, runs of three consecutive wins in October and January did little to lift the mood of frustration and disappointment around the club. The departure and subsequent failure to replace Uche Ikpeazu’s 12 goals and physicality up front was certainly a major factor behind such an abject year. In many ways, we can count ourselves lucky that Notts County, Yeovil and Macclesfield were so poor for so much of the season. A poor recruitment strategy and lack of ruthlessness at both ends of the pitch simply cannot be repeated next season.
2.What was your favourite moment in 2018/19?
There weren’t that many highlights to be honest. The most important result was definitely a surprise Tuesday night 0-3 victory away from home at eventual promotion winners Bury, three points which all but secured our safety. However, my personal highlight would be Rushian Hepburn-Murphy sealing a 0-2 victory with a deft finish on the counter attack away at Grimsby. RHM was a major coup which the club would unlikely have been able to pull off without the influence of former Aston Villa assistant Calderwood. A player who will definitely go on to have a successful career higher than League Two.
3.What was your worst moment of 2018
Well there are plenty of bad moments to choose from but the crowning glory of awful was a 0-6 drubbing by MK Dons on New Year’s Day. The less said about that one the better.
4.Which player impressed you most on your team?
In light of his form at the end of last season and his failed move to then Championship side Rotherham, many fans believed that George Maris would prove to be Cambridge’s star turn for 2018/19. However, Jevani Brown has been the shining light in an otherwise bleak season. Plucked from relative non-league obscurity in 2017, the number of chances he created and assists he made makes me dream of the club possessing a proper goal scoring striker. He was also our top scorer this season with 7 in the league, an impressive total for an attacking midfielder in a team that collectively only scored 40 all season.
5.Which opposition player made the biggest impression?
Kevin van Veen had a frustrating habit of scoring against us for Northampton so he’s one I’m not looking forward to seeing back in League 2 with Scunthorpe next season. Taking the season as a whole though, Tyler Walker looked far too good to be playing in League Two. Will definitely go on to have a good career in the Championship or higher.
6.What are your hopes for 2019/20
A top half finish would be fantastic. I doubt there are too many fans out there who want to be flirting with the relegation zone again. Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing what Colin Calderwood can do with a full summer behind him. His contacts proved invaluable in signing players in January and the recently released pre-season schedule has excited a lot of fans.
7.Which area of the team needs the most improvement for next season?
Without doubt our strikers. Ever since we were promoted back into the league in 2014, we’ve lacked ruthlessness in the final third (arguably with the exception of when Barry Corr was fit) but this year has been particularly awful. As I’ve previously alluded to, the club never properly replaced the talismanic Uche Ikpeazu or even Luke Berry, an attacking midfielder who was well capable of 15 goals per season who departed for Luton in the Summer of 2017. A lot of fans would argue that last year’s recruitment (particularly of strikers) was bordering on inept as we headed into a League 2 season with 3 senior strikers: The ageing and injury prone duo of Barry Corr and Jabo Ibehre, and Ade Azeez, a man who had spent much of the previous season on loan in the National League and seemed to possess far more talent for running offside than for scoring goals. He departed for Newport in January with a measly 2 league goals, both scored against the woeful Notts County.
words Will Fellows, Cambridge United fan