Cambridge United favourite Tom Youngs passed away in May aged 45 after suffering from multiple sclerosis. Adam Bate attended the team's first match to see fans pay their respects and speak to the club chaplain about the significance of the moment…
“I just felt like if I had any authority over most people, it was only right to do something about it.” Those words from Tom Young, spoken during our 2017 interview at Cledara Abbey Stadium, came to mind.
The former Cambridge United player passed away in May aged 45, having been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014. The visit to Cheltenham Town was the first competitive match at the stadium since then, and the club he grew up with paid tribute to him.
There was applause before the game began, a tribute to his memory. A banner with his number 15 appeared at the Newmarket Road end, where United's most loyal fans gather. Several new Youngs shirts could be seen in the crowd.
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Hazel Bogan, a club volunteer, was one of those wearing a T-shirt with his name proudly embroidered on the back. “Tom played for the Cambridge United team managed by Roy McFarland, who I first fell in love with many years ago,” she told Sky Sports.
It was the great Cambridge side under John Beck in the early 1990s that took the club from relative obscurity to the brink of the Premier League inaugural season, helped by goals from Dion Dublin. The subsequent decline saw four relegations and only one promotion.
Youngs was one of the last to play in 1999, an enterprising and determined teenager. As supporter relations officer Dave Matthews-Jones noted on his weekend programme: “Tom was a brilliant footballer who delighted the fans with his style of play.”
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For a generation hungry for success, he was a gem, having grown up and continued to live in nearby Barton Mills. “It was just an amazing time in my life,” he told Sky Sports, recalling the period in the aforementioned interview.
At the time, he made a strong impression on me. His multiple sclerosis was already making itself felt and was getting worse, but the humour that was so evident in his 2016 autobiography remained an integral part of his character. There was a lightness and a depth to it.
He shared his status as a legendary Championship manager, recalling how his fame meant he was recognised by Darren Byfield, his new high-profile team-mate on loan from Aston Villa, even before he made his first appearance for the first team.
In real life, he admitted he wasn't even the most famous athlete with that name, referring to his rugby player namesake. He self-deprecatingly compared his nerve-wracking debut to losing his virginity, but he did it in front of a crowd.
In his autobiography, he also addressed serious topics such as racism and bullying, although he lamented that his problems with multiple sclerosis worsened significantly in the months following its publication, making it impossible for him to discuss more detailed aspects.
He wanted to talk openly about the difficulties his family faced. “He accepted
Sourse: skysports.com
