Continuous improvement the aim for Cambridge United as Sunderland visit The Abbey

Kaizen is a Japanese term for ‘continuous improvement’.

It’s usually adopted by businesses (especially car manufacturer Toyota) who want to improve their productivity and overall output by encouraging everyone involved to continuously improve.

Since the inception of the term, it has been applied outside the world of business. Areas such as healthcare, life coaching and banking have all benefited from the ideas surrounding Kaizen. So why couldn’t football, and more specifically, Cambridge United?

The U’s trip to MK Dons was nothing short of a disaster from start to finish. Mark Bonner’s tactical set-up was totally wrong, the players were outfought and outpassed, and the Dons systematically pulled their opponents apart in an impressive 4-1 win.

As good as Liam Manning’s side were that afternoon, Cambridge played right into their hands. The gaping holes in their defence were exposed in a ruthless fashion. With the U’s 3-0 down going into the half-time break, Bonner brought off Conor Masterson, moved Jack Iredale across to centre-back and subbed on Harrison Dunk. His side improved drastically in the second half, despite failing to mount a comeback.

This was the start of Cambridge’s continuous improvement.

The subsequent win against Northampton Town in their FA Cup replay felt nothing more than routine. Despite a somewhat unassured start to the tie, Harvey Knibbs’ opener calmed the U’s down as they went on to win 3-1 and seal their place in the Second Round of the competition.

There’s no point ignoring the fact that the Cobblers are still a League Two side, and that Cambridge would face much tougher teams, but this was a step in the right direction.

Rotherham United, arguably the in-form side in the third tier, would be the next side to host the U’s in their nightmarish run of November fixtures. The Millers were on a 13-game unbeaten run stretching back to September 11th and they boasted the best defensive record in the entire division.

Their staggering form would continue as they came out on top in a 3-1 win against Cambridge, but they really had to fight to seal the points.

Ben Wiles’ opener was soon doubled after Iredale pulled down Freddie Ladapo inside the penalty area which allowed Dan Barlaser to make it 2-0 on the stroke of half-time.

Rather than crumble like they did at Stadium MK, the U’s played the second half on the front foot with Wes Hoolahan’s immaculate backheel setting up Sam Smith to curl a beautiful shot into the back of the net.

As Cambridge pushed for an equaliser, they were eventually caught napping at the back as substitute Joshua Kayode headed home from a trademark Rotherham set-piece routine. Ultimately, Bonner’s side were outclassed by arguably the best side in the entirety of League One. The building blocks were starting to fall into place, the next step would be getting a result.

In a rigorous run of midweek games, Cambridge would next host Wigan Athletic, a side sat just outside of the automatic promotion places ahead of travelling to The Abbey. Suddenly, the U’s continuous improvement seemed to be paying off as Joe Ironside volleyed a powerful effort past Ben Amos to give his side the lead just seconds before half-time.

Whatever Bonner said at the break clearly worked as Adam May popped up inside the penalty area to calmly slot the ball into the net eight minutes after the restart. Just 10 days after the humiliating defeat to MK Dons, Cambridge found themselves 2-0 up against the 2013 FA Cup winners.

While they managed to nullify the Latics’ attacking threat for much of the second half, things started to unravel in the final 10 minutes.

Will Keane was given too much space between Masterson and Iredale which allowed him to turn into the box and fire a low shot off the post and into Dimitar Mitov’s goal. With just three minutes of regulation time left, Callum Lang was left unmarked following a dangerous free-kick and sealed the comeback with a late equaliser.

What would’ve been a good result pre-match suddenly felt like a defeat but Cambridge’s kaizen was now evident.

They were outclassed in Milton Keynes and suffered a thrashing as a result. Their performance drastically improved against Rotherham, but they ultimately fell to consecutive league defeats for the first time this season. Against Wigan, their confident display earned them an impressive point, albeit that they should’ve taken all three.

The U’s have found their underdog identity again, a way of playing against the biggest clubs in the division. There’s arguably nobody bigger in League One than Sunderland, who will face a trip to Cambridge this weekend.

The Black Cats were playing in the Premier League as recently as 2017, but their unimaginable plummet down the football pyramid has seen them ply their trade in the third tier for a fourth successive season. Despite their colossal budget and ability to lure Championship-quality players, they’ve not managed to finish any higher than fourth since joining the league in 2018.

Their recent form is also uninspiring, to say the least, having won just one of their last five league games and suffering an embarrassing FA Cup exit at home to Mansfield Town. Their most recent outing was a 1-1 draw against struggling Shrewsbury Town, who were 1-0 down with 10 men going into the half-time break. There is a certain fragility about Lee Johnson’s side which is something that Cambridge can take advantage of.

Saying that the U’s are expected to get a result against Sunderland would’ve been unimaginable this time last year, but the two sides have had very different trajectories. While their aims this season will be very different, there’s a certain buzz of positivity around Cambridge that the Black Cats simply don’t have right now.

Tuesday’s draw in Shropshire was the latest dampener on what has been an awful few weeks for the 2021 Papa John’s Trophy winners. One of their key players, Aiden McGeady, will now face up to 12 weeks on the sidelines after picking up an injury against the Shrews.

That being said, much like MK Dons, Rotherham and Wigan, Sunderland’s quality is clear to see. Striker Ross Stewart is one of the top scorers in the league while the likes of Alex Pritchard and Lynden Gooch have featured in the Premier League in recent years.

It’s important for the U’s to not be starstruck when playing against the bigger teams in League One, something that they could be found guilty of in recent weeks. Bonner knows that eliminating the fear factor surrounding sides like Sunderland will give them a huge chance of coming away with a result.

“You have to strip away the badge of the opposition quite often. It’s 11 against 11 on the pitch, we’re capable of competing with everybody.”

The continued absence of key centre-back Lloyd Jones is a major blow for Cambridge’s hopes of getting a result against Sunderland as they continue to play with a makeshift back four.

Shilow Tracey’s return from injury could be crucial in terms of improving the U’s attacking output which will need to happen against the Black Cats on Saturday.

Cambridge have managed to turn bad performances into good ones and defeats into draws. The final step on their path of continuous improvement is to get the win they so desperately crave as they look to keep their distance from the bottom four.

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