EXETER FANS LEAD THE WAY

It's rare now that I feel inspired by a visit to a football ground but it was wonderful to see the strides Exeter City fans have made with their club when Manchester United visited last week.

That's why news of a brave and innovative scheme to rescue Cambridge United from its current plight struck a chord with me this week.

The Us, bottom of League Two, play second bottom Kidderminster at the Abbey Stadium on Saturday as they continue their desperate fight to stay in the Football League.

Three months ago they were forced to sell the stadium to a property company called Bideawhile - you couldn't make it up - for £1.9m. Most of that has already disappeared to repay debts.

The extra kicker is the terms of the deal dictated the club had to repay £200,000 a year to Bideawhile for the next 50 years.

Sounds like the type of deal granny would make with the nice man from the building society but Cambridge had a gun to their heads at the time.

But there is a ray of hope. A group called Cambridge Fans United has come up with a scheme to buy Bideawhile with the help of loans from the business community and interested benefactors.

The interest on the loans would also come to £200,000 a year but the capital would be paid off by 2030. The group is launching its prospectus on Friday.

They would turn the club into the heart of the local community, set in one of the most deprived areas of a vibrant city that should be able to support a football club. I think it's important they succeed.

We need more happy endings like Exeter City.