The Fishy - Grimsby Town FC

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Cambridge Preview

By: Richard Hubbert
Date: 23/09/2004

THE Mariners are back to their bread and butter of the league on Saturday with a long trip to Cambridge United, when they will hope to end their dismal run of 18 games without a win away from Blundell Park.

Home > 2004-2005 Season > Previews > Cambridge (a)


Town will be in good confidence ahead of their game with struggling Cambridge, after a fine performance against Charlton in the League Cup on Tuesday, when they failed to make their dominance count against the Premiership side. That’s been the story of the season so far for Russell Slade’s side, but they will be hoping to put an end to that against a Cambridge side who have won only one game this season.

The Opposition

Overview
Cambridge finished in 13th place in the Third Division last season, a creditable position considering that a in early March they lay in 21st place and looked likely to be involved in an end of season relegation dogfight. However, the appointment of vastly experienced Frenchman Claude Le Roy (left) turned the U’s season around, losing just one of his eight games in charge and winning four. In the summer he handed over the reigns to fellow Frenchman Herve Renard, with Le Roy taking up a post as director of football. Renard, however, has had a difficult start to management in England with Cambridge winning only once this season, yielding eight points from their opening nine games.

Their Squad
Renard made his mark on his new side over the summer, with several new signings. Louis George Mongin perhaps looked one of the most promising, but within weeks of signing for the club, was ruled out of the entire season with injury. Jermaine Easter (left) arrived from Hartlepool and has made an impressive start to life at the Abbey Stadium. He has scored three goals in six starts for the club, including one against high flying Mansfield Town a few weeks ago. Another scorer in that 2-2 draw with the Stags was Dennis Oli, who has had spells with QPR, Gravesend, Swansea and Farnbrough. Oli is described as a strong, pacy striker and has impressed during his first few games. He is on a monthly contract whilst Herve Renard decides whether to extend his stay with the U’s. Igor Latt E-Yedo is a defender from France who signed a two year deal with Cambridge after a successful trial in pre-season. He adds steel to a defence that leaked 67 goals last season. Ex Yeovil defender Abdelhalim El`Kholti is another summer addition, this time from Yeovil Town where he made 36 appearances for the Glovers. Daniel Webb and Luke Guttridge had an altercation with each other when Cambridge beat Shrewsbury a few weeks ago, which resulted in both of them being booked. Guttridge failed to set up Webb in front of goal, which resulted handbags between the two players! Guttridge is a highly rated midfielder who has attracted attention from higher division clubs. He was an ever present last season, netting 12 goals - he was named club captain by boss Herve Renard in the summer. Daniel Webb has appeared for local rivals Hull City and Lincoln City as well as a short time under Peter Taylor at Brighton, however, he is injured for the weekend’s clash

Key Player
Justin Walker (left) - former Nottingham Forest, Scunthorpe and Lincoln midfielder who was suspended along with Town midfielder Terry Fleming in December for a "breach of club discipline" by then manager John Taylor. This resulted in Walker being farmed out to York on loan before he was recalled by caretaker boss Claude Le Roy last year, when he has featured ever since in the U’s engine room. A confident player who likes to get stuck in, there could be an interesting battle between him and Fleming on Saturday.

Recent Form

 

TownCambridge
LCharlton(h)0-2 (Cup)
WLeyton Orient(h)2-0
LMacclesfield(a)1-3
LRochdale(h)0-1
LWycombe(a)0-2
Currently 15th in League Two.
DChester(a)0-0
DMansfield(h)0-0
LBoston(a)1-2
DDarlington(a)1-1
LSwansea(h)0-1
Currently 22nd in League Two.

Team News

 

TownCambridge
  • The Mariners will welcome back defender Terrell Forbes to the starting eleven after he missed the Cup game with Charlton through being cup-tied. He will replace Greg Young, despite the former Sheffield Wednesday man’s good performance against the Addicks.

  • Rob Jones played for the reserves in the week so could well make the bench. Chris Williams was also cup-tied in the week so will return to the squad, probably at the expense of the out-of favour Graham Hockless.

  • Ronnie Bull is out for two weeks with an ankle ligament injury.

  • Stacy Colidicott (shin), Jason Crowe (back) and Thomas Pinault (groin) all have minor knocks, but are expected to recover in time.
  • Warren Goodhind and Shane Tudor have returned to training, but will not be fit enough to play. Goodhind has been suffering from a groin injury, Tudor a hamstring strain. Manager Herve Renard has hinted, however, that they could be involved in their midweek LDV Vans clash with Boston United.

  • Igor Latt E-Yedois a few weeks away from full fitness as is Daniel Webb who needs a scan on his knee. Therefore Dennis Oli and Daniel Chillingworth will resume in attack.

  • Luke Guttridge has missed the last few games with a knee injury and viral infections so will require a fitness test before Renard names his side.
  • Probable Teams

     

    TownCambridge
    1Anthony Williams
    28Terrell Forbes
    6Justin Whittle
    24Dean Gordon
    2John McDermott
    15Terry Fleming
    17Thomas Pinault
    8Jason Crowe
    10Andy Parkinson
    9Michael Reddy
    7Ashley Sestanovich
    33John Ruddy
    20Dan Gleeson
    5Adam Tann
    3Abdelhalim El Kholti
    2Stevland Angus
    25Ashley Nicholls
    11Justin Walker
    26Kingsley Mbombe
    8Jermaine Easter
    27Dennis Oli
    9Daniel Chillingworth

    Subs

     

    TownCambridge
    11Stacy Coldicott
    3Greg Young
    27Paul Robinson
    12Graham Hockless
    26Chris Williams
    4Andy Duncan
    15John Turner
    16Darren Quinton
    13James Jowsey
    28Tom Beech

    Head to Head

    The two sides meet for the 25th time on Saturday, with the Mariners having the slightly better of the past meetings -with 10 wins to the U’s nine, but scoring two fewer goals than Cambridge.

    P 24 W 10 D 5 L 9 F 31 A 33

    Cambridge Head-to-Head (38th on The Opposition Ladder).

    Connections

    Terry Fleming made 96 appearances for the U’s in a three year spell with the club. He struggled to find his form last season after some off-the field disciplinary problems which resulted in his move away from the Abbey Stadium. Regardless of this, Terry is quite a cult hero there, even having a "Terry-torial" army and a flock of fans, which you can find out more about here.

    Last Meeting

    The two sides last met 12 years ago in the old First Division, or what is now "The Championship". Cambridge got a rare win against Alan Buckley’s Mariners in a season which saw them finish second from bottom - ultimately meaning relegation for Gary Johnson’s side. The Mariners finished in a highly respectable 9th place - a finish that has not been beaten since.

    Grimsby Team: Wilmott, McDermott, Agnew, Futcher, Rodger, Dobbin, Watson , Gilbert, Groves, Smith, Rees.
    Subs: (used) Croft and Ford

    Cambridge Team: Vaughan, Fensome, Kimble, Raynor, Heathcote, O’Shea, Rowett, Claridge, Butler, Clayton, Lyne.
    Subs: (used) McGlashan

    Attendance: 4,137

    Prediction

    Fishy prediction: These away day blues have to end sooner or later. Cambridge are struggling at the foot of the table and with a few of their key players out, this could be the perfect opportunity for a Town. I hope I’m right, for the sake of all our fans who’ve travelled to the last 18 away games!

    1-0

    Recent Predictions

    GamePredictionScorePoints
    Charlton1-20-21
    Leyton Orient2-22-00
    Macclesfield1-11-30
    Wycombe2-20-20
    Mansfield1-12-00
    Wigan1-21-00
    Rushden1-00-10
    Bury2-15-11
    Boston2-21-11
    Darlington1-00-10
    Reader's POMs

    Directions

    Click on the link for directions to the Abbey Stadium (left).

    Admission Prices

    Click on the link for ticket prices to the Abbey Stadium.




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