UTAS Meets: Dave Matthews-Jones, Life President Cambridge United Football Club

One piece of news that came out of Paul Barry’s recent update to supporters was the appointment of Dave Matthews-Jones as Life President of the club. Dave is a familiar face around the club on matchdays in his role as Supporter Liaison Officer, seemingly managing to be in all four stands at any one time!

Dave kindly answered some questions for us about his new position, and memories of following the club since 1970, plus shared his thoughts on how the club can protect it’s history whilst moving forward with the ground redevelopment and badge consultation.

Firstly, congratulations on being made Life President, it's quite the honour. Can you tell us a little bit about the role?

Thank you. It is certainly an honour to be made Life President. I would like to thank everyone for considering me suitable for the role. It is really an honorary position and is in recognition for all the hard work that has been carried out over the years by not only me but many other volunteers and supporters at the club.  

It has no real powers, but I will still continue to help ensure along with the rest of the board that the reputation of Cambridge United is maintained to the highest standards, there is good financial governance and that all areas of the club are properly managed

If any of the above are at risk, I need to ensure I don't ignore them and raise the issues of concern.

I am keeping my director role at the club. I will ensure supporters' welfare and expectations are at the fore front still. I am also the clubs SLO (Supporter Liaison Officer) which is the position I have enjoyed most of all the ones I have done.  

Improving the match day experience, answering questions and assisting everyone, for both home and away supporters is the area I enjoy most. I would love to see us reach Gold in the Family Excellence Awards and fill the Cledara Abbey Stadium every match. I want supporters of all clubs and Cambridge United to leave to the ground having had an excellent match day experience and saying we are a friendly, welcoming and safe club for everyone

I would also like to start off by saying that I have no longer any day to day involvement with CFU.

You've been a supporter for a long time now - would you say that this is the best position the club has been in since you started supporting us?

Yes, I do. There is certainly a unity at the top of the club. The owners, the board and the executive management team are all working in unison and for a common goal which is to ensure Cambridge United is as successful as possible.

It is always worth remembering that all the owners and board are fans of the club first and foremost. That is arguably the single most important thing as it sets the whole culture and direction of the club

It is more professional and ambitious nowadays. It is proactively trying to improve all the time, be more positive and successful across all areas of the club instead of reacting to crisis upon crisis. 

The targets are clear and everyone is now fully well aware of what is expected of them and what is needed

Do you have any favourite memories from your time following the U's?

Hereford the first match after administration is certainly the first one that comes to mind. We had got through the summer and when so much was being done by volunteers, CFU and a small staff. When pre-season started we barely had any players and at the time CFU was guaranteeing the contracts of players. The thing that stands out though was the Samba Band. We wanted to have a party atmosphere and they were playing at the side of the pitch when I was asked to move them. This was because the music was affecting someones pacemaker. It just seemed to put everything into perspective.

Winning at Wembley to get back into the league again is another and Newcastle away (what a day!).

However, truthfully, my favourite memories are rarely ones that take place on the pitch. It is often the small things that I remember. It is creating a magical moment for someone off the pitch which I find most enjoyable or getting a job completed successfully. For example, filling the coach, selling out a book or filling the ground when given a target. I love having a target and then beating it

You were instrumental in setting up CFU and have been involved with them since the beginning, how do you see CFU's role changing now the club is in the hands of Paul, Adam & Mark? How involved are Adam and Mark in the day-to-day running of the club?

Unfortunately, I have not been associated with CFU for several years now, so I cannot really answer that question on their behalf. It is up to those involved to decide. I was one of three supporters Brian Attmore and Nick Pomery were the others back in 1999 that started the journey of a Supporter Trusts at Cambridge United. We were the seventh club to register. Godric Smith one of my fellow directors was also a founder CFU member.

I was then and still am very passionate about supporters experiences, rights and welfare. I am like everyone a small cog in the history of the club, We are custodians for the period we are involved and hopefully we leave it in a better position than we found it. I am still involved with the FSA (Football Supporters Association) whose small team of employees do an excellent job. Moving forwards, my view is that all trusts will need to find a new position or role. I see them as becoming more involved with the welfare and health of supporters. They need to ask questions but nowadays clubs have Fans Panels & Parliaments and Shadow Boards doing that. I have always believed Supporter Trusts were about past, present and future. In that respect we have 100 Years of Coconuts looking after the history. CUSP and the Shadow Board today. Trusts should be looking at the long term and bigger projects for the future in my opinion. 

The CUFC Lottery is also about building for the now and future.

I find Paul, Mark and Adam always very supportive of the ideas I have concerning supporters experiences and they all know that it is crucial at the club we build on our support and provide a good experience. That is why there had been the investment over the last 12 months across the Abbey to improve the match day experience.

The creation of Coconuts, CUSP and the Shadow Board have all come about from my interaction and that of others with the FSA and Supporters Direct before them.

Are there any stories from behind the scenes in years gone by you could share with us that perhaps supporters might not know about?

There are stories but looking backwards is never helpful nor is it productive. You learn from history, move on and try to take the positives and avoid bad events repeating themselves. I try to look forwards and be positive nowadays in the roles I have. Perhaps getting older makes you wiser about how to achieve things and also ensures a more productive use of your time.

Positive energy and mindset take you a long way and maybe you don't enjoy the good times as much unless you have been through the bad ones sometimes

How involved are you in terms of the redevelopment and change to the clubs badge - how important is it that we recognise our history whilst changing for the future?

The history of the club is extremely important and should be respected however in my opinion it cannot constrain the growth and the future. There are some big opportunities for the club going forwards. Would those who created the club or ensured it grew into a league side want to hold it back because of history?  It was their ambitions and drive to constantly move forwards that enabled the club to grow. One that went from playing in the County leagues to become a Football League side in such a short period of time.

There have been many badge changes since I first supported the club. It needs to remain relevant to the club and its history. However, we are a club that is now attracting interest and support from around the world. Therefore, we need to have a crest that reflects that interest, the special history of the city and club are one that can help be an asset for us in future. As fans we can all sometimes find talk of brand a bit jarring in football. However, it is actually a really important part of any modern club.

Any change should always be positive and properly managed. It should be open and always discussed taking into account supporters views

As a board member I am aware of almost everything going on at the club as is every director on the board. I am really keen that supporters are listened to and any concerns are listened to. Therefore, it is more of a governance role I have in these kinds of decisions nowadays. Everyone on the board is questioning all the time which is important. One thing that has changed over the years are skills and the knowledge of those involved at the club.

I love the idea of redeveloping the Abbey Stadium. It is the clubs spiritual home. I love the place and the character so when it is re-developed we need to ensure that the stadium keeps that. What are your values, what do you represent, what are your distinct values and identity that helps distinguish you from others?

Where do you see CUFC in five years time?

Hopefully it is still growing and is still ambitious both on and off the pitch. I would like to be in the Championship or League 1. I hope we are still able to compete against teams that have bigger budgets and there is a fairer system of the Premier League funding

I would like it to be less reliant on individuals supporting the club financially because the work being undertaken now will enable that to happen.

I hope we are still playing at the Abbey Stadium with plans having been agreed and work being planned to commence or having already started

In my role as SLO I would like to see the Abbey full every week. We are as diverse and welcoming as possible. 

We are constantly improving and asking questions of ourselves.

Dave Matthews-Jones is the current Supporter Liaison Officer for Cambridge United - he has a website full of useful information for fans old and new here:

https://www.slocamutd.org/