“I just felt that if I have got even a slightly elevated profile compared to most people then to do something about it would be good.” Those words from Tom Youngs during our interview in 2017 came to mind at the Cledara Abbey Stadium on Saturday.
The former Cambridge United player passed away in May at the age of 45, having been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014. The visit of Cheltenham Town was the first competitive fixture at the stadium since then – and his boyhood club paid tribute to him.
There was applause before kick-off, a celebration of his life. A banner appeared bearing his shirt number – 15 – in the Newmarket Road End where the most vocal U’s supporters congregate. A smattering of pristine new Youngs shirts were evident among the crowd.
Hazel Baughan, a volunteer at the club, was one of those wearing a shirt proudly displaying his name on the back. “Tom was part of that Cambridge United team under Roy McFarland that I first fell in love with all those years ago,” she tells Sky Sports.
It was the great Cambridge team of John Beck in the early 1990s that propelled the club from relative obscurity to the brink of the inaugural Premier League, fuelled by the goals of Dion Dublin. The fall that followed featured four relegations and only one promotion.
Youngs was part of the latter in 1999, a teenager of enterprise and endeavour. As supporter liaison officer Dave Matthews-Jones, writing in the programme at the weekend, put it: “Tom was a fantastic footballer who excited supporters with his style of play.”
For a generation starved of success, he was precious, one of their own having grown up and continued to live in nearby Barton Mills. “It was just a brilliant time in my life,” he had told Sky Sports when reflecting on the period in that aforementioned interview.
Speaking to him back then, he left a powerful impression. The multiple sclerosis was already taking hold, his condition worsening, but the humour so apparent in his 2016 autobiography remained a feature of his character. There was a lightness and a depth.
He talked of his status as a Championship Manager legend, recalling how it led to him being recognised by Darren Byfield, his high-profile new team-mate on loan from Aston Villa, almost before he had kicked a ball for the first team simply due to his legend on the game.
In real life, he acknowledged that he was not even the most famous sportsman with his own name, a reference to his rugby-playing namesake. He was self-deprecating, comparing his nervy debut to losing one’s virginity – but doing so in front of a crowd.
His autobiography also shared rare insight into serious issues such as racism and bullying, although he lamented that his multiple sclerosis issues increased markedly in the months that followed publication, denying him the chance to discuss more details.
He wanted to be open about the challenges that his family were facing. “He embraced it, he did not shy away from it,” Stuart Wood tells Sky Sports. “He fronted up and was quite vocal and visual about what he was going through. He wanted to raise the profile.
“That squad, with Tom, they were all very embedded in the club community. They would always come and give back to the fans. I think that was also an era where there was a group of them that got what the club was trying to do in terms of its community roles.”
Tom Youngs in action for Cambridge United in the FA Cup in 2003
Wood is one of two chaplains at Cambridge United and has been doing that job for much of the past two decades. His role is an important one on the opening day, taking responsibility to ensure that the families of the bereaved are feeling supported.
“My role is to be able to provide that level of care and attentiveness from the football club,” he explains. “I am just kind of making sure that things run smoothly. I guess my job is to look after the people, to care for the people. Just to connect with them.”
It is not only Youngs who is remembered. Two fans, Samantha Schoepp and James Taylor, also lost their lives over the summer. Taylor recently helped at the ticket office. There was a memorial outside his usual spot on matchday. His funeral was on Thursday.
“Every circumstance is different but the grief is still the same and the club want to care for the community. We offered to do the service for James’ family, which they accepted. They were pleased to have someone who knew James rather than someone random.
“I never take it for granted. It is a privilege. I love the opportunity to be among people and just walk alongside people. I always say to families when I do a service, it is an honour to be able to be invited in because grief is such a personal thing.”
Tribute to supporter James Taylor at Cambridge United before the Cheltenham game
It has become trite to observe that, for many, the football club has become an ersatz replacement for the church. Nevertheless, when one talks of supporters ‘congregating’ it is not a coincidence. Clubs often now serve as the cornerstone of community life.
In practical terms, they take on outreach work to care for the vulnerable, providing a focal point for public gatherings. In emotional terms, those gatherings serve as lightning rods for communal grief. It is the place people turn to for meaning, identity and support.
Wood has a column in the programme in which he addresses the club’s recent losses and the wider context, referencing the shock news of Diogo Jota’s passing in July. “You just try to help people journey through and navigate their thing,” he explains.
Cambridge United’s first-team club chaplain Stuart Wood at the game against Cheltenham
“Everybody wants somewhere to go to remember their loved ones, whether that is a bench in a cemetery or it is a gravestone or some memorial where you can have your moment, catch your breath and have a tear or two and smile. Everybody wants that.
“It is how we can provide that for people in a way which is fitting for the context of being a football club, but also just gives people that comfort. Every family is different. For example, one of the families grieving today would like the ashes to go on the pitch.”
These are weighty matters and the club is keen to meet the emotional requirements of its supporters. “We are looking to build a remembrance garden so people can visit day or night. We have a family room to provide extra support. The club wants to improve.”
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Watch highlights of the Sky Bet League Two match between Cambridge and Cheltenham
On Saturday, Cambridge looked forward on the pitch, with the physicality of Louis Appere and fast footwork of Sulai Kaikai and Ben Knight doing for Cheltenham. Off the pitch, thoughts of those no longer with us were never far from people’s minds at the Abbey.
Football matches are always a reminder that people want to be part of something. And as the applause for Tom Youngs rippled around a packed stadium, the words of the stadium announcer felt particularly poignant. “He will always be part of our story.”
Tom Youngs’ own story was one worth telling.
Contribute to the GoFundMe page raising funds for St Nicholas Hospice Care, the hospice in Bury St Edmunds that provided vital care and support to Tom and his family towards the end of his life.
