Bonner and Harris rejoin the U's

Having had a difficult season with poor recruitment, poor results and a lot of injuries Monk and Strang both left their roles as head coach and director of football. Uncertainty loomed over CB5 as to who was to replace them with only 15 games left and 8 points off of safety. Rumors of Bonner rejoining left fans divided on social media. However, the general consensus was to rehire Neil Harris after a short term was halted last season.

After odds dropped from 5/1 to 5/4 for Neil Harris to rejoin the U's it seemed clear that he was the target. It was at 5pm on the 19th February he was announced as head coach. A contract until June 2027 was signed by the Millwall legend. The board clearly unaffected by his unique departure only a year ago. A manager who can grind out results is just the man for the job. Many fans confused and surprised by this appointment with one questioning if it was April 1st. I believe this is a great and perfect replacement for Gary Monk. The pressure is on as the mountain to climb still hasn't shrunk. A huge game against Stockport is up next for the U's on Saturday and importantly it's at the Abbey. A great atmosphere is to be expected as we will see Neil Harris suit up in Cambridge uniform once again.

This wasn't the end of the good news as former manager Mark Bonner has been appointed as director of football. This raised eyebrows as Bonner has little experience as a manager let alone being a director of football. This is the first time in his career that he has had this role so it will be interesting to see how it pans out. The clear benefit of appointing Bonner is , as said by the board, he knows the club inside out. This can go 2 ways however because although he has a highly skilled footballing brain this can be blocked by the emotion of working for his boyhood club. On the contrary, this can motivate him to do the very best in this new role. I believe this can be greatly beneficial for all involved in this coming summer window. Bonner is someone that doesn't shy away from challenge having kept the U's up famously on the last day of the season. Both himself and Harris have all the qualities to work greatly together and steady this very shaky ship.

More information to come in the coming days as they are due a press conference on Thursday 20th February at 2pm.