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Tributes paid to former Cambridge United player Tom Youngs after his death at 45




Former Cambridge United forward Tom Youngs has died at the age of 45, following a battle with multiple sclerosis.

Tom played 180 times for the U’s between 1997 and 2003, including 35 as a substitute, scoring 48 goals and contributing many assists.

Tom Youngs, playing for Mildenhall
Tom Youngs, playing for Mildenhall

Following his death on Sunday in St Nicholas Hospice at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, his former club paid tribute to him, describing Tom as a “gifted player who, with probing, darting runs, intelligent positioning and poise in front of goal, graced the Abbey Stadium”.

Tom, who also played for Northampton, Leyton Orient, Bury and Stafford Rangers among other clubs, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the summer of 2014, while he was working as an accountant at the brewer and pub company Greene King in Bury St Edmunds.

He had first noticed problems with his vision in February 2013 while watching a game as assistant manager of Mildenhall.

Tom was born in Bury St Edmunds on 31 August, 1979, and grew up in Barton Mills. He enjoyed playground football at Great Heath Primary School in Mildenhall and had a short spell in Mildenhall Town’s junior sides, before he was spotted by a Cambridge United scout and joined the club at the age of 10.

He signed YTS terms in 1996, but stayed on at school and achieved A-levels in English, mathematics and French. Fans at the Abbey were inspired to chant: “Tom Youngs has got A-levels”.

His promise meant that at the age of 17, he bypassed the remainder of his YTS stint and he signed a two-year professional contract, making a Division Three debut as a substitute in September 1997. He then signed a contract extension to take him up to 2001.

He was part of manager Roy McFarland’s team that won promotion to Division Two in the 1998-99 season and he scored his first League goal in September 1999, before later extending his stay at the Abbey further until 2003.

He also played for the John Taylor side that reached the LDV Vans Trophy final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff in 2002.

John once said of him: “‘I don’t think you’ll find a forward in the lower divisions who understands the game as much as Tom Youngs.”

Tom was United’s top scorer for the 2000-1 and 2001-2 seasons, netting 26 goals. In 2003, negotiations over a new contract stalled and he was transferred to Northampton Town for a fee of £50,000.

He said at the time: “You have to think about your career. I’ve had a lot of good times at United, but I think most people will appreciate why I’ve decided to make this move at this time.”

Injury problems that had troubled him at United returned while he was at Sixfields and he played just 30 times for the Cobblers. He had a brief stint at Leyton Orient before moving to Bury while studying his sports journalism degree at the University of Staffordshire and would go on to show his passion for the sport through journalism.

He was persuaded in 2007 to join Stafford Rangers by former U’s teammate Fred Murray, but before long moved back to the region and signed for Cambridge City.

He had a trial spell at Stevenage and returned to United for a trial too, before moving to St Albans City, Norwich United and, as both player and assistant manager, Mildenhall Town.

A serious hip injury forced him to retire from playing, aged 32, in November 2011. In his Football League career, he had amassed 275 appearances and scored 56 goals.

Tom, who married Chelle in 2004 and had two daughters with her, titled his acclaimed 2016 memoir What dreams are (not quite) made of: no fame, no fortune, just football… and multiple sclerosis.

Speaking about his condition in 2016, Tom said: ““It’s not like a competitor that you can understand or judge yourself against very easily. I wouldn’t say I am competing against MS because there is nothing I can do as such.

“You just have to see how things pan out and deal with them as best as possible. I am always quite a positive person anyway.

“People don’t tend to associate football with how it prepares you mentally. I was at Cambridge from the age of 10 and every few months you’re having to fight for your place, compete with other people to try to be better than them to secure yourself a contract. You have to have a fair bit of resilience to do that.”

Paying tribute to him, Northampton Town said Tom’s diagnosis with multiple sclerosis was “a life-changing event that he faced with the same resilience and honesty that marked his entire career.” The club said his “moving and insightful book reflecting on both his footballing days and his experience with the disease”, offered “comfort and inspiration to many”.



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