This real, but edited, 1970s phone conversation between two football club chairmen gives an insight into what sometimes goes on behind the scenes when one club covets another’s employee. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Camberwick Green FC chairman: You do realise I’ve already had an argument with one club over Windy Miller?

Trumpton FC chairman: No, I don’t actually.

CGFC: They very quickly withdrew. I must tell you I spoke to Windy and he says he’s not going on any club’s ‘shopping list’. He’s been reading the paper and he says he’s not really interested.

TFC: That’s fair enough. I suppose he’s been reading about the Chippy Minton business.

CGFC: Yes.

TFC: Well, it’s very unfortunate because I haven’t even spoken to Mr Minton, and all this is because of the Trumpton press and the rather large mouth of our vice-chairman. It caused me a great deal of embarrassment yesterday as the story appeared on the back page of the Daily Mutter.

CGFC: As a matter of fact my secretary forestalled your local paper from getting hold of me just as you came on. We all get into this situation with the papers, I’m afraid. Our local paper has been on to me this morning and I have denied having anything to do with it until I’ve had a chat with you. I don’t know how you want to take it from here, but you must appreciate that Miller is under contract to us. If you take him we are going to want substantial compensation.

TFC: Yes, I understand that.

CGFC: Having said that, if Miller said he wanted to go we would not stand in his way. He’s done a jolly good job for us and we still want him to do so.

TFC: We would be prepared to pay compensation. When you look round for a new manager you have a shortlist of names and Windy Miller was at the top of the list, so I would like to have a word with him even though he has probably been put off by the publicity. Even if I get ‘no’ for an answer, at least I have had the chance to clear the air a bit.

This article appeared in the Cambridge United official programme for the game against Newport County on 8 August 2015.

The 2015 Varsity match between Oxford and Cambridge was played on the Abbey turf in March as a result of a maturing partnership between the two CUs, United and University – but it wasn’t the first time.

Four Varsity matches have taken place on the sacred sward, the first of them in 1990. What’s more, back in the day – a historical era in which Coconuts specialises – the U’s used to help their scholarly chums prepare for the fixture with a practice match, sometimes at the Abbey and sometimes at Fenner’s. Yes, Fenner’s. Wonder what Cyril Coote made of that.

Something else about the Varsity match that young U’s might not know: between 1953 and 1988 it was played at Wembley. And it was at the national stadium that the only Cambridge graduate ever to play for United’s first team made his three Varsity match appearances, scoring each time to help the Light Blues to a triplet of victories.

Peter Phillips was at Fitzwilliam College between 1966 and 1969, studying for the history degree that he hoped would lead to a teaching career. The football gods had other ideas. His attributes – grass-scorching speed, bravery, skill aplenty and an eye for a goal or two – had been noted by professional clubs. Having earned two England amateur caps while playing at Bishop’s Stortford, in 1969 he signed pro terms with Luton.

Back in Cambridge, by March 1971 Bill Leivers was struggling to manage an injury crisis that had left him with just ten fit players. A sympathetic Football League waived the transfer deadline rules to allow him to borrow Phillips and Robin Wainwright – and Phillips impressed on his debut against Scunthorpe by making a goal for Jim White. But the League’s generosity wavered when three United men’s injuries healed, and it was back to Kenilworth Road for Phillips.

In the summer Leivers plundered Luton for Phillips, Alan Guild and Jack Bannister, and 1971/72 saw the young forward claim a regular starting spot at United, 

If there's anyone who embodies the spirit of Cambridge United, it's Russell Crane. Supporter, player and worker, Russell still lives close to the ground and is a U through and through. He and daughter Jane Lyon were the guests of 100 Years of Coconuts and the club on Saturday, for the Northampton game. Here are some pictures from the day and an edited version of an article that appeared in the matchday programme.

Russell Crane has as valid a claim as anyone to the title of Mr United. Growing up in an Abbey United-centred family a coconut’s throw from the ground, he was still a boy when he first pulled on the amber and black. He bowed out 18 years later having played 502 games, scored 186 goals despite playing many of those games at left back, and left his mark on five different leagues.

Now in his late 80s, Russell is today making use of the CFU audio description service through which volunteers provide visually impaired fans with a live account of the action. He hasn’t had to travel far to be with us today, for he lives very close to where he grew up in Ditton Walk. The Cranes were Abbey United through and through – mother washing the team kit, father counting the gate money and taking it to the National Provincial Bank in Trinity Street; like so many U’s people they gave their time freely to the club they loved – so it was natural that Russell should play for his local club. A tricky left winger with a cannonball shot who had represented Cambridge Schoolboys, he left school at 15 and was soon playing alongside fellow legends Harvey Cornwell and Wally Wilson in a 4-2 defeat of an RAF XI. The date was 13 September 1941.

The following season saw Russell playing in the wartime East Anglian League – the Cambridgeshire, United Counties, Eastern Counties and Southern Leagues were also to feature on his CV – and garnering enthusiastic reviews from the press. But there was a war on, and he was called up at the age of 17. His Royal Navy service took him to the ends of the Earth, but it didn’t stop him playing for Abbey when leave gave him the opportunity.

Russell adapted easily to the semi-pro United Counties League after the war, and his star rose to its zenith in the 1948/49 season, when he blasted 42 goals in a mere 37 games – a club record – and notched four goals in a game three times. ‘His marksmanship and working of the ball bore the hallmark of class and the opposing defence never knew what he was going to do next,’ purred the press. Two years later the paper insisted: ‘If Abbey United are fortunate enough to win the East Anglian Cup this season, the name of Russell Crane should be engraved upon it in gilt letters.’

Peterborough United of the Midland League came calling in 1951 as United prepared for life in the Eastern Counties League, but Russell was having none of it. ‘As far as I was concerned it was a family affair,’ he told Coconuts TV last year. ‘My father worked up there, my mother did what she could do at home, my sisters all supported them and used to go up to the games.’

His loyalty was rewarded when the U’s (by now Cambridge United) beat the giants of Cambridge City 2-0 in the final of the Cambs Invitation Cup, in front of a crowd of 9,814, at Milton Road on 1 May 1952. Russell scored both goals in a five-minute first-half spell, and at the final whistle United’s ecstatic supporters chaired him off the pitch, singing I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts as they went. As Andrew Bennett observes, the balance of power in the city was starting to shift.

Russell, converted to an attacking left back role by player-manager Bill Whittaker in 1953/54, continued to endear himself to the fans. In 1956 he was awarded a benefit match to mark 15 years of service, and fought off the attentions of Division Three (South) Ipswich Town.

It was entirely appropriate that he should score United’s first home Southern League goal on 30 August 1958, in a 3-1 defeat of Guildford City. But that season was his last for his beloved U’s and he played out the rest of his career at Sawston and Soham.

It’s unlikely we will see Russell Crane's like again, but the flame lit by him and other legendary players and supporters, united in endeavour, will never be extinguished.