ANSWER: they are being slowly strangled by one of their former directors. A certain John Howard bought the club's ground two years ago, when still a director, so that the club could avoid going into administration. Howard paid ?1.9 million for the ground, when the land alone was believed to be worth over ?4 million. The club went into administration months later after being relegated from the League, and was lucky to avoid liquidation. It should be noted that John Howard is a house builder, and that the ground has received outline planning permission for the development of houses. Surprise, surprise. Since then, Howard continues to get over ?200,000 a year in rent, a sum he knows perfectly well the club cannot afford. Other directors have offered to buy the ground back from Howard on three occasions, allowing him a healthy profit on his purchase. He has steadfastly refused to sell, claiming he knows what is best for Cambridge United. Cynics have suggested that John Howard only knows what is best for John Howard. A few months ago, the other directors demanded that Howard resign from the board, citing his role of landlord as incompatible with his role as director. One director even went so far as to publicly outline the underhand tactics used by Howard to prevent the club buying back its ground. Howard agreed to go. In the meantime, there seems little prospect of the club agreeing a deal with Howard on the re-purchase of the ground. The club's chairman has recently stated that Cambridge United will almost certainly fold if it is relegated again in May. It looks likely that Cambridge United will soon be no more; John Howard can build his wretched houses and be a very rich man. The surprising thing for me is that this story has received so little attention in the media!!!
