Opening Days Gone By

A look back at the good, the bad and the ugly from United's season openers

Happy New Season Eve to all who celebrate (nearly).

After weeks of what Fever Pitch author and former part-time Habbin dweller Nick Hornby memorably described as “methadone football”, it’s almost time to get a much-needed fix of the real thing and enjoy the highs and lows that await in Cambridge United’s 2026/27 season.

As U’s fans, we’re accustomed to the lows outnumbering the highs, particularly when we’re competing in League One against teams with far greater resources. But New Season Eve is a time when anything is possible, and we can dream of victories against the league’s big boys, a cup run or two, and maybe even an unlikely tilt at the play-offs. Or at least getting our own back on our friends from the north of the county.

The first game of the season can really set the tone for what’s to come, in a positive or negative sense. For example, who recalls Shaun Derry’s United facing off against Barnet at the start of the 2016/17 League Two season? Me neither, but apparently it ended 1-1 after a game of very little incident, paving the way for two years of very little incident before Derry was finally removed from post.

Luckily, Derry is no longer around to suck the joy from our lives, like a heavily-tattoed footballing Dementor, and United have been involved in some much more memorable opening fixtures down the years.

Josh Coulson scores the first goal back in the EFL on opening day vs Plymouth

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