Yohann Lacroix

Please forgive us for the title of this post, we had to copy and paste from another site, for we had to be sure that we got the spelling correct. We think its the first time we are to have a French national playing for us, but we could be wrong, but we wish him all the best in his brief Sky Blue career. That we need to call on him at all is down to Stephen 'one cap' Carson of the scum and his brutal attack on our second string keeper, Stuarty Addis. This was the second time this season that a keeper of ours was brutally attacked by an opposing player, normally you only see that sort of tackles once in a blue moon, but already it has happened to us twice in half a season, roll on 2014 is all we can say.

As usual we have no idea about injuries or suspensions, but we hope everybody came through the big Boxing Day victory unscathed as such. We are of the opinion that we'll need to be up for this one, as the corresponding fixture when we played Ards at Dixon Park, we didn't start and got no points, in truth we didn't deserve any. But we've come a long way from then and although Ards play on a unnatural surface, 3 G, we think it is, they're are on an horrendous run of defeats, 7 in a row and if we play as we can, we should make that 8 in a row. But a wounded animal fights for its life and no doubt Ards come into that category and they will be up for a fight.

We have an 'ace in the hole', in our talisman Cush. He drew a blank last Thursday at Coleraine, but he'll want to set the record straight tomorrow and get 2014 off to a scoring start. Captain Jenks, who scored a double at Coleraine to take his tally for the season up to half a dozen, will no doubt be anxious to add to his total, in view of the rumours surrounding United and a certain Pistol Pete. Manager Glenn Ferguson, refused to be drawn when asked about significant signings in the transfer window, his comment was, 'watch and see'. It remains to seen if the addition of a 'new' keeper will have much effect on our defence, it'll maybe take a few games for them to get acquainted, but unfortunately we don't have a few games.

Our understanding of the arrangement with Crues and their manager Stephen Baxter, is that Yohann won't play in the Irish cup, for us and he'll be recalled before the end of January. So he needs to hit the ground running, with two matches in three days, Wed & Sat and a possible match with Dungannon Swifts on Tues Jan 14 and  Linfield on Saturday Jan 18 and Crues will probably require him for the League cup final on Sat  Jan 25. Meanwhile we have to sign a keeper for the Irish cup tie against the Welders On Jan 11, if as expected, Dwayne is ruled out for months instead of weeks. Big Wes, our goalkeeping coach has been registered, but in all fairness we don't expect to use him, except in an emergency. So back to tomorrow game, its all systems go for United and Lacroix, lets shag those Scrabo Tower sheep!

This Christmas!

Hows does the Christmas song go, 'we wish it could be Christmas every day' and the old football saying goes, 'I wish we could play you every week', lump these two together and you would have every Sky Blue supporters wish, when we beat the Coleraine scum tomorrow. According to the BT site we haven't beat the scum for 14 games, we think that's 9 defeats and 5 draws, but we'll never have a better chance to set that record straight than tomorrow, the scum have lost their last 7 games in a row. We on the other hand are going quite well and just last Saturday  inflicted the first defeat on top 3 team Crusaders, since August 17 and they played every team in the Irish premiership in that time, some of them twice.

But form as reliable as that is, has no bearing on the result of a derby game, its just down to who wants it and are prepared to graft to get it. We haven't been setting the world alight with our scintillating football, but we've  been grinding out results, by our never-say-die attitude and that has got us points in the last few weeks, when all seemed lost. We must do without our first-choice keeper tomorrow, as Dwayne has a chipped bone in his knee, unfortunate for him as he has just played two games comimg  back from an earlier injury. But luckily we have a more than capable deputy in Stuarty Addis, who was the hero in our victorious County Antrim Shield team last year, saving two penalties in the shoot-out against Linfield, so no worries on that score.

Shane 'Mario' Dolan, who started three matches when Ally was injured and  has been coming on as a sub  recently, was transfer listed this week and will not be in the panel for tomorrows game we understand. Whether our manger, Spike, is laying the groundwork for players coming in at the transfer window, or he is just pruning  dead wood, we have no way of knowing. But its an ill wind that blows nobody any good and MM and Liggie, will be given their chance to at least get a regular place on the bench. We need a striker who's going to score us 10 goals in the 13 matches if we are going get into that coveted top six place and we need our midfielders to chip in regularly to.

Where better to start at the home of our greatest rivals, the Coleraine scum and although we have a crap referee, Colin Burns, we are hoping for a 'blood thunder' game, with no quarter ask, or given. Much as we hate  Coleraine, we wouldn't like to see them going down to the Championship, but that doesn't mean we will be showing them any mercy tomorrow, its die dog or crap the licence and that's the way we like it. The weather looks to be biting cold and it promises to a be good game, played in natural grass, the way it should be and the best team will win. Not the best football team, but the team that take their chances and the team that are going try their eye-strings out, so come on Sky Blues, lets shag those ewes, from Windy Hall!

Crues Control!

United, fresh their narrow defeat at the hands (it should be feet), of Crusaders, must do battle with the men from Tigers Bay at the Showgrounds tomorrow in the Dankse Premier league. United came so close to ending the Crues unbeaten run of 23 games and now we have a chance to halt their run of 24 games unbeaten, but this time its going on a real football pitch and its going to be no place for namby pamby's we think. Of course the ref might think otherwise and he might be as biased as that 'love child' the other night, but if we keep our heads we can do it. If we keep playing the football and stringing passes together the Crues will show their frustration and then we will have them.

As usual when it comes to team news, we don't have any, but Marky and Cookie could be both doubtful, as Cookie didn't play on Tuesday and Marky came off injured at halftime, so we may be down to the 'bare bones' defensive wise. But hell, we've been here before and the boys haven't let us down, so we predict they wont let us down tomorrow. Will Fergie change his tactics for tomorrows game? Its anybody's guess, but who's available will dictate who he plays and the tactics he uses. We at 'Sport were wondering if he might bring in Addis for Dwayne in goals, as Dwayne could be blamed for the first goal we conceded on Tuesday night and for giving away a needless corner, which they eventually scored the winner from.

But later on he kept us in the match with a double save when the linesman had 'missed' a blatant offside or did the lino just avert his eyes. A lot people are of the opinion that the ref on Tuesday, Colin Burns, was the worst they ever seen, but we see just as bad week in and week out, but its just not as barefaced as that which Burns did on Tuesday night, but at the end of the day it's what we have grown to expect from Belfast referees. We just have to score more goals than them and even an incompetent love child like that on Tuesday, will not be able to take the points away from us, but he'll try. But we believe we have right on our side and we'll prove tomorrow, so come on Sky Blues, lets shag those paper tigers!

Away Day!

Well we suppose that is a wrong statement, the apt title should be 'away night', but we like 'away day' and on this site, what we like, goes, so there. Having got that off our chest we would like to inform fans about team news, that is if we had any, but like you we are none the wiser. Will Fergie tinker with the team that started at Lurgan on Saturday? It's anybody's guess, we felt sure he was going to bring back Ally on Saturday, but alas we were wrong. Dwayne, played on Saturday and he had a stormer, but Fergie has a policy of starting the 2nd string keeper in cup matches and we won't be surprised if Addis gets the nod, but it would be harsh on Dwayne.

Cookie had to come off at Glenavon and Archie suffered a knee injury early on, so they might both be doubtful and its a good job we have cover in depth. Cush has struggled in last three games, but we need him, for in absence of strikers, he is our only reliable marksman. The novelty of playing Captain Jenks as a target man is starting to look foolhardy, as defenders are coming to grips with his box of tricks and reading him every time, but we have nothing more in our cupboard. Liggie, MM and Dolan are all struggling and they can't hold down  a place in our starting X1. We were saying six weeks ago that Spike was going to have to take a chance on one of them and start him in about 4 or more matches.

But alas he didn't take our advice, he chose to go down the road of converting Jenks to a target man and we are no further forward than we were a month ago. We're still relying on Cush for goals and we bring on the strikers when there's only 20 mins or less to go and expect them to deliver the goods. It takes a very special type of player to do that and we haven't got one, Liggie did deliver a killer blow to tomorrow night's opponents, when coming on a sub, but that 23 matches ago and he hasn't done since. We used to be  dangerous at set-pieces, but now that Cush is taking them, corners and free-kicks come to nothing. No doubt some smart-alec will say the manager says who takes the frees and the corners.

If it is, he needs to have a rethink, we must have forced half a dozen corners on Saturday and we never troubled the Glenavon defence with one of them. We seem to have changed our policy when we are defending set-pieces too, Captain Jenks is not coming back to help our defence and with the 'big men' on the Crues side tomorrow night his help could be crucial. Crues manager Stephen Baxter made some changes to his team when we played them in the Shield semi-final and we only hope he treats us as lightly tomorrow night and we will have a chance. Baxter has his eye on the league but we on the other hand have all to play for and if we get to the final ,who knows what could happen. Come on Sky Blues, let's rumble!

Hot'n Cold!

We just noticed, we've reached the halfway stage in the Dankse premiership and nobody's mentioned it, but the league table is starting to take on a familiar look. The four Belfast clubs, Crues, Blues, Reds and Glens are starting to pull away from the rest of us. Portadown, in fifth place seems to be the only club outside the city that has a chance to catch them. That is not to say if another club further down the league were to go on a winning run, they couldn't win the league, potentially they are 57 points out there, but it would take a major transformation in any clubs make-up for that to happen and we haven't seen any omens of that event.

When we played tomorrow's opponents in the first match of the season and they beat us so convincingly, we wondered if we were seeing the birth of such a team, but alas it has all fizzled out in the cold realities of the Irish league. Going into tomorrow's game, Glenavon are just 2 points better off than ourselves (25-23) and a win for the Sky Blues could move us up at least a place or maybe if results go our way, two or even three places. But we're getting ahead of ourselves here, we blow hot or cold, there's no in-between with us, we either win, or we lose.

If you look at our position in the league, you will see that out of the 19 games we've have played, we won 7, lost 10 and only drew 2. If we could reverse that form in the other19 matches we have to play yet, we hazard a guess that we would be in the heralded top six place, that we so much covet. That has to our aim for the second half of the league, garner more points from the remaining fixtures than we did the first time around, starting out with a result tomorrow at Mourneview Park. The weather forecast is not too promising, gale force winds, but we have the players to deal with that.

Thommo, fresh his one game ban should start and Ally could be added to the starting line-up and we'll have our first choice keeper Dwayne, in out team for the first time in 2 months. With Cookie and Captain Jenks we have a wealth of experience playing in all sorts of weather and we have players like, Tony K , Sparky and the classy JT, who are able to adapt to anything. With Cush, getting fitter with every match, it promises to be a good game and lets hope we get the right result. With freak conditions it could be a freak result, but from experience, it seldom is, so come on Sky Blues, lets shag those Mourneviewers!

Red Flag!

United won't need any red flags to get them going tomorrow at Shamrock Park, against Portadown, they have enough incentive already, trying to keep their unbeaten run going. We fully realise that our unbeaten record is still in it's infancy (4 games), but big trees from little acorns grow and it would be nice if we could keep it going for another game at least. Ports fans will not need any reminding that this 'run' started off when United beat them comprehensively in a league cup match at  Showgrounds on Tuesday November 12. Nor will they need reminding of the score, 4-0 in the Sky Blues favour.

One of the architects of that league cup victory, Thommo,  is unavailable due to suspension and another one, Cookie Munster, must be rated doubtful, as he was rumoured to have a broken a toe against the Ducks last Saturday. In the absence of Thommo, Spike could maybe move Captain Jenks back into midfield and if Ally's fit, he could play with Mario, Liggie or MM, taking the Captain's place at striker. If Ally's not fit, he would have to shuffle the pack a bit more and could elect to go with a 4,4,2 formation, but like the Iron lady, Spike not known for one to change tactics, but needs must.

If Cookie doesn't make it, Spike could play Archie alongside JT, with Ruddy taking Archie's place or he could have Marky reverting to central defence, with Tony K taking over his position and Gavin filling Tony's position. The enigma that is Alan D could be a surprise selection for Thommo's place in the side, but we feel sure that Fergie will not want to gamble on such an inconsistent player as Alan D has turned out to be. When he first signed for the Sky Blues he was like a breath of fresh air, but so far this season he has been a shadow of that player and we cannot afford to carry any passengers.

Maybe like last week we'll turn up at Shamrock Park, only to be informed that one or more of our players didn't train all week and they are not playing. Omar, when he was on the forum, had said the forum lads (and lassies), had asked for a heads-up on the state of injuries, so they would have an idea who was playing. This idea was put to the 'powers that be' and the silence was deafening and it never materialised. The excuse trotted out to the forumites, was that the management team thought that it would give our opponents an edge, we never heard so much claptrap, well not for a week at least.

We are going need all our players focused on the game tomorrow, as the Ports carved a good victory at the Oval last Monday and they'll want to build on that. Their manager, Ronnie McFall needs no introduction to United fans, we normally get to cheer him off once a season, when he falls foul of the referee, but we are not expecting that tomorrow. But if we frustrate the Ports, as we did on our first two meeting this season, you never know and like his team, when Ronnie gets rattled, a red mist comes over him and he gets the blues. So come Sky Blues, let's shove it to them, let's shag those apple pickers!

Stop Press!!!

The time has arrived and Omar is delighted to share with you an interview with a Sky Blue legend, the 'Ballymena Boy' himself , Norman Clarke. Norman has given a full and frank interview, holding nothing back and telling it as he sees it and his memories are as fresh as they were when he saw United lift the Irish cup in 1958, beating the mighty Linfield at the Oval, 2-0. A few short months later Norman fulfilled his and all Sky Blues fans dream, by making his debut for his beloved United against Cliftonville at Solitude and the rest as they say is history. You can read the first instalment of this interview tomorrow, Tuesday night, exclusively  in Sky Blue Sport, entitled The Norman Clarke Interview, we think it will make for compulsive reading, enjoy!

The inimitable Sammy Patterson (no relation to big Tommy of Seven Towers fame, or Billy of the dry humour), has written an introduction to the interview and we publish it here:

Omar has managed to secure an exclusive interview with Ballymena United legend Norman Clarke. Norman made his first appearance for Ballymena in the 58/59 season, playing on the left wing - making his debut against Cliftonville at the age of only 16. A trophy soon followed in the form of the Ulster Cup in 1960, as Geoff Twentyman's legendary side ran out 3-1 winners in the final against Glenavon. Norman played his part the following season when United came within two points of winning the Irish League.

Norman's talents saw him represent the Irish League at inter-league level, representing Northern Ireland at amateur level and winning two caps at U23 level. Not only this but he quickly attracted interest from across the Irish Sea and was signed by Sunderland in 1962. Unfortunately for Norman and for the Black Cats, the Ballymena Boy suffered a knee injury at the age of 22 which put an end to his professional career.

Norman returned to Warden Street in 1966, as player / caretaker manager. Following six games in the Warden Street hot seat, Norman continued to play for the Sky Blues.

Omar is privileged to secure this exclusive interview, having got to know the Ballymena Boy properly when they were neighbours during Norman's second spell at the Showgrounds. Norman showed his class during regular kick-a-rounds at Smithfield Park (formerly "the dump") with jumpers for goalposts. Norman always gave 100% and certainly gave Omar the run-a-round.

Norman is not only a Ballymena legend but a real gentleman and was kind enough to give a frank and detailed interview by mail from his home in England. I'll not ruin any more of the story, I'll leave it to the man himself. If you're lucky enough to have a copy of his 1997 book "The Ballymena Boy" you can read a lot more about his career. Omar has a copy in pride of place on his book-shelf but he's certainly not keen to lend it out.

A summary of Norman's achievements:
5 Youth Caps
6 Amateur Caps
1 Great Britain Amateur Cap
2 Inter-League Caps
2 U-23 Caps
Ulster Cup Winner
Irish Cup Runner -Up
City Cup Runner-Up

Omar has been frantically transcribing Norman's hand-written manuscripts and anticipates publishing the interview in four parts, as follows:
Part 1: December 3
Part 2: December 10
Part 3: December 17
Part 4: December 24, just in time for Christmas!

I hope you enjoy. Please excuse any inaccuracies or errors above, Omar is relying on memory and Google. Regardless, I dare-say none of this would diminish the message that Norman is a true Sky Blue legend!

Duck Farmers!

The Sky Blues need to take on the role of 'duck farmers' tomorrow at the Showgrounds, when Ballinmallard are the visitors. It's a meeting of the two Uniteds, but there is only room for one in our opinion, Ballymena United. We're not saying that we have an exclusive right to that name, far from it, but we have been the only United in the Irish Premier league since its inception and we're not about to share that with any 'johnny come lately' without a fight. We mean a fight for the points of course, we don't want to encourage that other fighting, we'll save it for Boxing day (ha, ha, get the pun). As usual despite all the advances in modern telecommunications, like computers web pages, facebook and twitter , we haven't the foggiest idea about our team selection.

But experience tells us that United manager Glenn Ferguson, could be termed as the 'Iron man', for he's not known to change for change sake and if everyone's fit, we would expect him to name an unchanged team for the 3rd match in a row, but in saying that, what do we know? The answer to that poser is, damn little. We have tried to second guess Spike many times in his short spell at the Showgrounds and ended up for the most part with egg on our faces, but we'll be surprised if the same team don't get a vote of confidence from the Iron man. That means no place on our team for the gang of three, Liggie, Mario and MM, they are fast developing into the forgotten men in our panel. Fegie is picking the team he can rely on and why not, sure we are knocking on the door of the top six.

But lets not get carried away, the Ducks will present a huge obstacle tomorrow, they have slipped up of late and despite denials to the contrary that huge hammering by Portadown is bound to be fresh in their minds. But they'll not lie down, despite their manager, Whitey Anderson, still serving his touchline ban, they'll be organised and disciplined but we have to get in among them and tear that discipline to shreds. We have the men to do just that, with the inform Cush and Thommo ably backed up by Tony K and Sparky. Captain Jenks got a goal last week and we could see him add to his tally again tomorrow, but he's more of a leader, than a goalscorer and he's leading the line well.

JT will remember the last league game with the Ducks at the Showgrounds, when he was injured and missed the majority of last season but we'll need him tomorrow and if he gets our defenders doing their job the points could be ours. Cookie Munster is back to almost his best and the same applies to Archie and Marky McCullagh, Stuarty is keeping Dwayne out of the keepers jersey. That only leaves the enigma that is Ally to mention. The man is a proven match-winner, but he tends to drift in and out of games, but he is another of our dead-ball experts and especially at corners. He could be the our secret weapon tomorrow as the Cush and Jenks will come in for a bit of attention we think and Ally could exploit the space that inevitably leaves. So come on Sky Blues, lets shred those Ducks!

Same Again!

Would it be too much ask of the Sky Blues, if they delivered the same commitment and desire as they showed against Portadown on Tuesday night, against Ards tomorrow? If they show that desire and get beat, who should have any complaints, certainly not us at 'Sport. It was such a refreshing performance, one that leaves you thinking, where was that performance lurking since we beat the Ducks (3-0), in the 2nd round of the league cup? Or are we just reserving that kind of performance for the cup matches? Well we at 'Sport thinks that's the road to no-town and we have said it consistently and we'll keep on saying it, until it gets through to the United players and their management team or we get relegated, for that's where indifferent performances lead to.

We have given up trying to second guess Glenn and his picks, barring injuries we woukld expect him to say 'same again' to the line-up who started on Tuesday night. Captain Jenks was seen gingery touching his hamstring and if he is injured, rest is the only cure and it could open the door for one of our three strikers. As for what one Glenn will select, if its necessary, is anybody's guess? Mario, who came on late on, on Tuesday night against the Ports, didn't get into the game, but he had so little time. MM, who hasn't scored since his debut, seems to be one for the future and so the obvious choice seems to be Liggie. Its true he hasn't set the Showgrounds alight with his performances so far in a Sky Blue jersey, but he is a proven goalscorer.

Our midfield three against Ports, Sparky, Thommo and Tony K, bossed the midfield and if they can turn in another display like that tomorrow, we think the 3 points will be ours. But Fergie may tinker with his selections and bring back Gavin or he may have Alan D lurking in the background. But hopefully not, what we need now is a bit of stability, not change for changes sake. All we ask is that the players are committed to the cause and play their hearts out for United, we expect nothing less. But Ards will be fighting too and if we let them, they'll be only too glad to exploit our weaknesses and we can't allow that to happen. On paper, we should have enough fire-power to take Ards, but this game is not played on paper, so come on United, lets shag those Ards Wanderers!

Night Hunters!

Its league cup time tomorrow night as United entertain Portadown, in the quarter-finals, kick-off 19-45. Ironically Ports are the last team we beat in the Dankse Premiership at the Showgrounds and the same scoreline, 2-1, would do very nicely. Not that our nerves could stand the same finish as United came from behind to snatch the points, as new signing MM, came on as a sub and scored a debut goal and then won a penalty, which Ally duly converted and United took the points. We at 'Sport think United can do it if they truly believe in themselves. No doubt about it, we are playing well, creating a few chances, but not scoring and that will find you out every time.

Will Spike go with two strikers tomorrow night? It's anybody's guess, we think, we were imploring him to go with two strikers last Saturday, but alas all our pleas fell on deaf ears. At least he rested Marky, but we at 'Sport are of the opinion he has to rest another player, his Captain Jenks, in order to get the best out of our team. With ten minutes to go last Saturday, Jenks looked dead on his feet and we think it would best if he is rested tomorrow night. Thommo and Sparky played the 'shirt of their backs' on Saturday and if Fergie is bold and goes for a 4,4,2 formation, with Cush and Ally on the wings and Mario and Liggie up front, Sparky and Thommo could be in the centre of midfield.

Our back four didn't cover themselves in glory last week, but its the best four we have got and with a fit again Dwayne restored to goals, we should be able to keep tabs on the Ports strikers. As the Ports have a potent striking force, in Braniff, Twig and Murray, might Spike be tempted to play three at the back, drafting in Archie and resting one of his two wide men, but it would be a gamble to take. Decisions, decisions, who would be a manager? It seems there is no shortage of lads who want to take on the manager's job, given the lively comments of the United forum, but nobody has come up with any solutions yet.

The trouble with Ballymena is, we think we are a 'big' club, but in reality we are not, but we have the potential to be a 'big' club. The board seem to have given Spike his head and hope he has the ability to turn our season round, but we need to start scoring goals. Where better to start than in tomorrow night's game. Ports very philosophy is to attack and we must exploit the gaps left behind when they are on attack. If our midfield can get their passing game going, then we have a chance to get into their box and create chances, but if we lie back and not compete for the ball, they will punish us relentlessly. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those apple pickers!

Distant Memories!

United go to Chickenville tomorrow needing at least a point from a fixture we haven't got anything out of in two seasons. A tall order at the best of times, but what is even more poignant, this fixture comes on the Saturday of 'remembrance week' and its bound to rekindle old feelings of sadness and the need to move on. But alas United haven't been able to move on as such in our last three matches, losing to Linfield, Crues and the Glens and now we face that other 'townie team', Chickenville, in their own back yard and victories for the opposition there, are usually as scarce as hens teeth. We did say usually, our dear neighbours down the A26(Coleraine scum), had a rare victory there and United need to be organised and do the same.

The word on Dwayne has been good, his jaws not broken, but manager Spike likes to have players play a game for the reserves when they have been out injured, but we at 'Sport hope he shelves that tactic in Dwayne's case. For he is far and away, not only our best keeper, but our best player and we need our best players on our team tomorrow, if we are to get anything out of this match. Don't get us wrong, Stuarty Addis is a more than capable deputy, but Dwayne has that extra something, that sets him apart. Have we seen the end of Marky McCullagh, he was tried at rightback against the Crues and the Glens and he didn't impress and Cookie is a better centre-half than him any day. Mike Ruddy got a roasting last week against the Glens but he didn't get any help from his team-mates, but with Steely McBride fit, Spike has a choice to make.

We are assuming here now that Thommo isn't fit (he had to come off against the Crues), but what midfielder does Fergie choose to play alongside Captain Jenks or is he going back to a 4,3,3 formation or a 4,5,1 as he chose in the first half against the Glens? Your guess is as good as ours, if he sticks with the 4,4,2 system it seems to be a toss up between Gavin, Sparky or Archie to partner the Captain. That would leave Ally and Cush on the wings and a choice between any 2 of the 3, of Mario, Liggie or MM to spearhead our attack. Or Fergie could play an entirely different formation, as he did for the first hour last Saturday, only changing it when we went 3-1 down. must we wait until we are chasing the match to bring on our strikers, we at 'Sport think that's the road to no town.

Better to have them on at the start of the game and be giving the Reds defence something to think about, rather than waiting until we are chasing the match. The match referee is none other than our old friend, Mark 'ham shank' Courtenay, who needs no introduction to Sky Blue fans and we can expect no favours from him, so we'll need to be on our guard and not give him any reason to punish us, with silly bookings and the like. We have struggled to play on Chickenville's 3G surface in the past, but there's really no excuse for us now, for we have the same facility at the Showgrounds now. The surface encourages good passing and we struggle on that score, but if we can match the Reds in midfield (which won't be easy) and not let Boyce and Gormley have any free shots, we maybe will get something out of the match, but its going to tough, so come on Sky Blues, lets shag those Chickenvilliers!

November Decisions!

The Sky Blues management team, of Glenn and the three baldies, in our opinion, need to make a decision for November, of playing basically the same team, if possible, taking account of injuries and suspensions and the same formation for that is the only way we can get any consistency. This chopping and changing the team every week is not good for morale and we don't seem to have a plan of attack, it seems to be a big thump up the field and hopefully get something out of that. Admittedly our players don't seem confident on the ball, but if they were playing it every week, confidence would come.

Tomorrow we take on Glentoran and they have struggled this season also, but unlike us, they have showed a bit of consistency of late and now are 6 points ahead of us in the league. It could be a close match if our defence holds up, for the Glens have only scored one more goal than ourselves in the league so far. To this end if we can keep it tight at the back and hit them on the break we could come out on top, but we need everybody pulling their weight, no room for any passengers tomorrow, the Glens will punish any mistakes for sure. It's not known if JT will be fit, so maybe Cookie or Archie will have to fill in and they must rise to the occasion.

Mike Ruddy seemed to be fit when he came on as a sub at Seaview on Wednesday night, and if he suffered no reaction, should be able to resume at leftback. With Dwayne still injured, we think, Stuart Addis will continue to deputise and he did alright on Wednesday and was only beaten by a cruel deflection. Its midfield where Fergie and his team have to find some magic formula, although everybody in our panel has been tried and found wanting already. But its the manager's job to manage and he has to find someone to play alongside Captain Jenks, out of, Sparky, Archie, Gavin, Thommo, Alan D, Ally, Cush, Robbo, Tony Kane, Lowry or maybe drop the Captain and try a new combination.

Seriously though, we don't see that happening, we are stuck with Jenks this season anyway and as he doesn't tackle, we need a combative midfielder alongside him and we've only four players who come into that category, Sparky, Gavin, Tony and Cush. Will Glenn promote one of those players to partner our Captain? In all honesty we think not, he's not thinking like a desperate man, but in our opinion he needs to be. If we can sneak a victory tomorrow and avoid defeat at Chickenville next week, we maybe will have a chance to avoid being sucked into a relegation battle. If on the other hand we dish out the same drivel as Wednesday night, we'll be on the slippery slope.

Upfront we have another dilemma, MM and Liggie are as different as chalk and cheese. The one doesn't seem to know what the other is doing and they can't find a pass to each other. Surely when they are training together, they could get to know one another's play and try and get some understanding on the pitch. Mario serves the second of his two game ban for elbowing a Coleraine scum player, so it's the last chance for Liggie and MM to cement a relationship that will keep Mario warming the bench for the next few games. We have the same referee as Wednesday night, Colin Burns and he's about average, so our fate is in our own hands. So come on Sky Blues, lets shag those wise men from East!

Burns Night!

Burns Night may seem a daft headline as United (the holders), go to Seaview to play Crusaders, the challengers tomorrow night in the semi-final of the County Antrim Shield. Linfield are already through to the final and the incentive is there for United to join them in a repeat of last season's final, where we triumphed in a dramatic penalty shoot-out. To this end we need a strong referee, not like that 'namby pamby' who we had on Saturday, but a good ref who believes in fair play and we think we've got one in Colin Burns. If Burns has a good match, then football is the winner and we have loads of it to spare.

Due to suspensions we must do without Mario and Tony Kane and it will be interesting to see who Spike will select to fill Tony's place. On Saturday he brought Archie on to replace Steely. Are we to read anything in to that or was he just wanting Archie to get some playing time before tomorrow night game. Marky, who has been JT's partner from our second match of the season, ironically on our last visit to the Hatchet men, is a rightback by trade so to speak and he is the obvious choice and Spike could start either Archie or Cookie alongside JT. Decisions, decisions, who would want to be a manager, when so much hangs on your deliberations.

Crues manager, Stephen Baxter, was trying to use bluffing tactics today, saying he's treating this match seriously, but reading between lines, we think he'll be playing some fringe players, but he's sure to have his bench packed with his elite. If, he does include fringe players, it will be up to our players to get at them from the start, for we know from painful experience its hard to turn a match round when you've been beaten to the punch. To this end Captain Jenks and Thommo need to up their game for last Saturday they were found wanting and the same goes for Ally, he needs to start taking chances rather than missing them.

We fully expect Liggie and MM to be retained upfront and where better to cement their budding partnership than at Seaview tomorrow night. We wouldn't be surprised to see Spike go back to his favoured 4,3,3 system, but we think that would leave either Liggie or MM on the bench and the inclusion of Sparky or Archie in midfield. Reserve keeper, Stuart Addis, looks set to deputise for the injured Dwayne, who got no protection from Matthew Tipton's studs or from ref Andy Hunter on Saturday, who stood idly by and watched him get mugged. At the time of writing this, we aren't still sure of the extent of Dwayne's injuries, but we hope it's not too serious and wish him a speedy recovery.

Then there is our talisman, Cush, he has a big part to play and he can be our match winner tomorrow night for sure. He is struggling for fitness, but he usually rises to the big occasions and we expect no less of him tomorrow night. If we had more players with the enthusiasm of the Cush, we know we wouldn't be in the lower reaches of the Premier league, but fighting at the top. Will Spike be telling our players and Cush to shoot on site, we hope so, for its the only way we're going to progress to the final of this competition and beat Linfield again and keep the Shield for another season. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those paper tigers!

Blue War!

They'll be a war of the Blues tomorrow at the Warden Street Showgrounds, when the Sky Blues of United take on the dark Blues of Linfield. This war will start when Referee Andy Hunter blows his whistle after we have all observed a minute's silence for the untimely death of Lesley Scates (as the result of a car accident last week), Lesley is the wife of a former player of both clubs and now the manager of Bangor, Gareth Scates. We expect the fans of both clubs to observe this silent tribute and spare a thought for Scatesy and his family at this time of tragedy.

Then we expect a game of football, a good clean game of football, with no quarter asked or given and definitely no diving and trying to con the ref. The pitch will no doubt be somewhat heavy, considering all the rain we have had over the past few days, but we'd expect it not to cut up too much, as long there's been no stock cars over it since our last match on it, against the Coleraine scum. With the breaking news of Johnny Taylor signing a 2 year extension to his contract, United should be up for this one and lets hope we get a good game. Johnny and Mario missed our victory at Stangmore Park last Saturday through suspension and although Mario could have to be content with a place on the bench, we expect JT to take his usual place in the centre of our defence.

Its not known if Mike Ruddy has shaken off his injury and we would expect Steely to continue at leftback in his place, but our manager could have other ideas. If Spike continues with his new found policy,4,4,2, we'd expect a midfield of Thommo, Jenks, Ally and Cush or maybe Robbo if Cush fails to make it. That leaves MM and Liggie to continue in trying to form a striking partnership and boy do we need them to succeed in that. Its too soon to claim that we have stopped conceding stupid goals, but we need to concentrate on scoring them at the other end, for we have an abysmal goals for record. Only two teams in the Dankse Premier league, have scored fewer goals than us, the 'Point and the Ducks and that makes for depressing reading.

Linfield, as league leaders, should bring a large crowd with them, but such is the malaise in local football now, we may have as many fans as them tomorrow, that is if our fickle fans can drag themselves away from their armchairs or shopping with the wife/partner. We can't guarantee them a victory, nobody can, but we certainly need their backing if we want to get anything out this game and a victory would set us up nicely for the County Antrim Shield semi-final at Seaview against the Crues on Wednesday next. Tomorrow starts a round of matches which will make or break our season, Linfield (H), Crues (A), Glens (H), Chickenville (A) and Ports (H). Nobody is going to do us any favours, we got to dig in and when better to start than tomorrow, come on Sky Blues, lets shag those Townies!

Chicken Wings!

United go into tomorrow's match away to the Dungannon Swifts on a high after coming from 2-0 down against the Coleraine scum and getting a deserved draw. In truth we never looked like winning it and we were just holding on in the last few minutes and more so when Mario got himself sent off with a stupid elbow in full view of the linesman on a scum player. We haven't heard our management team come out and say he put our team in jeopardy with his foolish elbow, so we must think they didn't attach any importance to that incident. We at 'Sport thought Spike or a member of our management team would be slamming Mario for this act of gross stupidity, but so far the silence is deafening.

Spike tried to play down the injuries sustained by Cush and Mike Ruddy, who both must be rated as very doubtful for tomorrow's match, leaving Spike with a bigger headache than he has already, with 3 first teamers suspended, Johnny and Gavin as well as Mario. Liggie looks set to replace Mario and as Omar said in his column last night, he has to step up the plate sometime and we fervently hope its tomorrow. If Fergie goes with 4,4,2 then he has to start Robbo, Jenks, Thommo and either Ally or Cush in midfield, but we won't be surprised if Alan D makes an appearance at the expense of Liggie or MM, but we hope not.

If by some miracle Ruddy is fit to start, it should release Archie to partner Marky in central defence, but Spike may prefer Cookie Munster instead and leave Archie on the subs bench as cover. In our opinion it'll be a grave risk playing either Ruddy or Cush tomorrow for we'll need their services in the five matches after tomorrow, when we play the four city clubs and Ports in a month before we get an easy home game against Ards, lol. But Spike may decide its a risk worth taking and if it pays off, he may stave off the vultures gathering to see when he's going to have to walk the plank, it must be getting close.

Omar says when he used to pluck chickens in his youth, the wings were discarded, but then along came the Chinese and showed us how to get better value from our chickens, hence the title of our post this week. Our manager has to be like the Chinese and extract the full potential from our side if we are gain maximum points tomorrow at Stangmore Park, in short, he has to use the full chicken. Its not without irony that we are playing a team supported by fans which owe their livelihood to the chicken industry and we thought it was a worthwhile analogy. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those chicken farmers and clip their chicken wings!

Windy Lambs!

United go into this derby game against the Coleraine scum on the back of a great victory on Tuesday night over Ballinmallard, by three goals to nil. But it will all count for nothing when referee Tim Marshall blows his whistle at 3 o'clock tomorrow afternoon, to start this Dankse Premiership game, it is in football parlance, a different ballgame. For a start it is a fixture we haven't won for eleven games now and we are hoping fervently we will succeed tomorrow and lay the bogey to rest. Lady luck, we believe is on our side, we have already laid two boogies to rest this season, namely beating the Crues at Seaview and beating Dungannon Swift at Warden Street, so we go into the match with confidence that we can extract some revenge for the hurt we have we have suffered in the last 4 years.

The scum will feature two ex-United players namely Stephen Lowry and keeper Wayne Drummond and if that isn't enough to get fans shouting abuse, their manager is an ex-United player, so you see we have a lot to get our dander up about and we will be singing the 'old songs' like 'four twenty blackbirds', 'you're scum and you know you are' and 'if you canny do the bouncy yeur Coleraine'. By all accounts we will have a new song to sing, but we prefer the old songs and we will reserve judgement on 'have you ever wondered why' until we have heard it a few times. Sky Blue fans will be able to take advantage of a new initiative started by three enterprising fans and it will be available in the concourse behind the Slemish stand tomorrow. Details can be found in the press, but it should raise at least £1,000 for club funds, well done to those three individuals.

What of team news, well we hate to tell you this....we haven't got a baldy. We haven't been able to assess our own official web site for fecks sake. Whether this is a computer glitch or just plain incompetence on our part, remains to be seen, but we haven't heard anything about injuries. Nothing new in that, we didn't even know our manager had got a touchline ban until after Tuesday's match FFS and what way is that to run a club. We understand our manager doesn't want to give the opposition a 'heads-up' about possible team selection, but maybe they can give us a wee inkling, like saying somebody is carrying an injury but should be fit and then if he doesn't make the starting panel, we won't be totally shocked, surely that's not too much to ask. Cush is not 100% fit, but he continues to play and give his all and we hope he is in our starting line-up tomorrow.

If it was our choice we would give the players who started on Tuesday a vote of confidence, but Glenn and three baldies will have their own ideas about who should start against the scum. Johnny and Marky have seeming the central defenders position nailed down and the same applies for Ruddy and Tony, our two fullbacks. If Thommo, Archie and Captain Jenks, came through unscathed on Tuesday, we'd expect them to get the vote, that only leaves the striker's role to be sorted out. We can't believe that Liggie is willing to play a 'bit part', but if Mario and MM are both fit, we can't see Glenn dropping them in favour of Liggie, but what do we know. Whoever gets the nod tomorrow has a chance to make history, ending the most consecutive losing streak against the scum, that any of 'us' can remember. We know its not going be to easy, it never is against them, but we owe them 'big' time, so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Lambs from Windy Hall!

Waiting Game!

The Sky Blue supporters are playing a waiting game to see what players Spike selects for tomorrow night game against the Ducks in the league cup. He actually tried to justify his bizarre decision to leave his 3 strikers on the bench and play with two wingers and a midfielder who's struggling for form, in an interview with Stephen Alexander of the Ballymena Times. We at 'Sport felt sure he must have picked the players with a blindfold and pin, so strange was the line-up, but we are relieved to hear that's all part of the Spike master-plan. That's a relief we can tell you, for a moment there we were of the opinion that he had lost it and was getting prepared to leave for pastures new.

We wonder who he's going to select for tomorrow night's encounter, will it be recognised first-teamers or will he pick fringe players like he has done in our previous knock-out games this season? Anybody's guess if you asked us, just when we think we know Glenn's thinking, he'll surprise us by picking a rookie like he did on Friday night. One things for certain, we have got to change our game plan for tomorrow night's encounter for Friday night's plan didn't work and it certainly won't work tomorrow either. Surely we have got to take the game to the Ducks, never mind their big central defenders, we have got to play our strikers and we have got to get in among them in midfield.

We only ask that the team has a go, if we try and fail that would be acceptable, but not to try, that's a disgrace. Neal Lowry is the only player we have that has real pace and we have got to play him from the start and try to give ourselves the edge, like Liggie, Mario and MM, he's no use sitting on the bench, better on the pitch. Johnny Taylor picked up another booking in last Friday night's encounter and must be nearing suspension, but he will be available for selection in our next 2 games and we'll need him to be at his best. It's 'ham shank' Courtney, who is refereeing tomorrow night's encounter and we can't expect any favours from him, but come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Ducks!

Its Time!

We have played 8 games in the Dankse premiership and we have been as inconsistent as the weather, we blow hot and cold in equal measures and just when you think we had turned a corner, we have blown up again. After playing out a scoreless draw at the Oval last Saturday, we had a chance to redeem ourselves on Tuesday night against DC in the County Antrim Shield and get back to goal scoring ways, but oh no, we couldn't do that, we left our goalscoring boots at home. Our next three matches, two league games and a league cup game, pit us against Warrenpoint Town tomorrow, before a double header against Ballinmallard, two teams below us in the league table and we, the 'Sports team, are of the opinion that 'its time' that our players stepped up to the mark. Nobody has a given right to beat anybody, but the smelly stuff is getting near to the fan and we need to grind out three results, if we are capable of doing it.

Steely McBride filled in for Mike Ruddy on Tuesday, but if Ruddy is fit, we expect him to get the nod. No doubt Thommo will return in midfield and that leaves Spike with one or two problems on who is rested. On Tuesday night's display, it would hard selecting anyone, as except for the central defenders and Dwayne, no-one else rose above mediocrity. Cush tried hard, as usual, but he's just not wholly fit and maybe he deserves a rest and a chance to get fully fit for the tests that are yet to come after these three games. Will Fergie persist with playing MM on the right side, where he's not as effective or will he start with Liggie and Mario who both were crap on Tuesday night. We know Spike has said its up to players to adapt to the system, but at the Oval last Saturday for long periods we were pinned in our half and we're crying out for somebody to galvanise us, but to no avail.

Ally, who should have had a hat-trick on Tuesday, will no doubt continue with his unbroken sequence of league games, as he is our corner-kick taker and penalty kick expert but who gets the nod for the other place in our forward three is pure speculation. We have a man in our panel who fits the bill nicely, Neal Lowry, but he so inconsistent it feels like you are a man down sometimes. If we could bring out his natural talent on a more regular basis, he could turn out to be the backbone of our team, but he just emits the attitude, that he couldn't care less and no amount of cajoling from our manager has any effect. So its anybody's guess as to our starting line-up tomorrow, but we need to be up for this one. If our defence can hold out, it'll be up to our shot shy forwards to deliver the goods or maybe our midfielders, perish the thought, so come on Sky Blues, lets shag those Rabbit Dwellers!

Our Shield!

We only have had it less than a year and already they're trying to take it away from us, but our manager, Spike Ferguson, says we're going to fight 'tooth and nail' to keep the County Antrim Shield, at the Showgrounds. The best way of doing this in our opinion, would be picking a strong line-up against tomorrows opponents DC, we would be in favour of Spike saying same again for Saturdays starting eleven, if fit, but we would expect him to jig it a wee bit, but not making the wholesale changes that so nearly cost us at home to Ballymoney United in the league cup. No offence to DC, who warmed up for this tie by beating Coagh United 6-1 on Saturday, United should have too much firepower, but the attitude needs to be right also. With ex-Ballymena man, Conor Downey, still pulling the strings in midfield, United will have to be wary of the threat of Kevin Hughes, who scored two on Saturday against bottom club Coagh, no half-hearted tackles, thank-you very much.

With Cush showing signs of getting back to match fitness, Spike maybe could be left with the dilemma of who to leave out, for we think the nucleus of the side that started on Saturday, will need time to gel. We still don't know MM's true position in the scheme of things, in his debut against former club, Portadown, he started as the target man, but in the 2nd half at Windsor Park and again last Saturday, he was tried wide right, where he doesn't seem to be quite as effective. Maybe we need a completely new plan of action, like an orthodox 4,4,2 with the two strikers finding space wherever they can. Will Fergie be tempted to give Johnny Taylor and Dwayne a rest and maybe Liggie and Thommo, but we hope he stops there. Thommo has started every game this season and could get rested if Jenks is free to resume, having served his suspension, or will we not bring him over for this game?

The fickle supporters of the Sky Blue persuasion have a chance to show their appreciation to the players who ended our trophy famine last December, after 23 barren years, by turning up in numbers tomorrow night, but will they find an excuse not to, your guess as is good as ours? DC will be up for the match and will want to take a big scalp and maybe get a trip to Windsor Park or Solitude in the semi-finals and get much needed money into the coffers, so we need to be on our guard. As long as the fates haven't declared that Raymond Crangle or Hugh Carvill will referee, we should be alright, but we need to be professional. When we started our Shield run against Chickenville last season, if wasn't a pretty match, but we stuck at our task and got the job done and triumphed in the end. Now a year on, nobody is going to lie down for us, we got to make sure and win at any costs, so come on Sky Blues, lets shag those Suffolk ewes!

Wise Men!

We've heard that the bible says there were three wise men from the East, when the messiah was born. We didn't know that and as our messiah is Glenn Ferguson, how we could have missed that, is anybody's guess, but miss it we did. For tomorrow's match in the Oval grounds in East Belfast, the Sky Blues hope to have four (not three), wise men in our camp, directing operations and making sure normal service is resumed. The Oval has a been a 'happy hunting' ground for us lately, and we at 'Sport see no reason that can't continue when we play the Glens tomorrow. We'll have to do without our Captain, as Jenks was sent-off for dissent at Windsor Park last Saturday and must sit out this match at least. But that will open the door for somebody else and we have sneaky suspicion that Glenn will start Alan D again, in a last gamble to see if he can regain any semblance of form.

The majority of our supporters have been crying out for Alan D to be dropped from our panel, but Glenn won't let that worry him if he thinks he's the man for the job. We, at Sky Blue Sport, are of the opinion that you can't have Jenks and Alan D in the same starting eleven, they are in our opinion, too similar and the Captains suspension leaves the door slightly open for Alan D. But it would be a huge risk to take, for he has being playing poorly since our first match and only showed a glimmer of brilliance thus far this season in setting up Liggie for the winning goal at Seaview in our second match. But is that enough for his inclusion in our starting line-up tomorrow, we confess we can't make up our collective minds over this issue. Much better to start with Neal Lowry on the right, Thommo and Archie in the centre and Ally on the left and MM and Liggie upfront.

Cush, who came on to good effect last Saturday at Windsor, needs to be kept for the 2nd half, when every player on the field has slowed down to his pace, for he is away short on match fitness. But there is some that believe a half fit Cush, is better than no Cush at all, and the 'Sport team would be inclined to side with that opinion. The rest of the team (if they're no injuries), tends to pick itself, with Dwayne retaining his place, despite a poorish game last time out and the usual back four given a chance to make amends for their lapses in concentration, that cost us so dearly last week. The Glens, like ourselves, have suffered two defeats in a row and they will want to arrest that decline and its going to a hard game and we best be up for it. But our recent record at the Oval should stand us in good stead and if we get our noses in front, we should come out on top again. So come on Sky Blues, let's prove we are the 'wise men'!

Another Monkey!

Already this season, United have laid two bogeys to rest, namely winning at Seaview against the Crues and beating our good friends, Dungannon Swifts at the Showgrounds. Now it is time to lay another 'bogey' to rest tomorrow, when they face the IFA/Linfield at Windsor Park, where United haven't won since 2004, although we been 'cheated' many times by referees including tomorrows official, Hugh Carvill and if that's not enough to have Sky Blue fans reaching for their sick bags, the fourth official is one Raymond 'dick head' Crangle. But United must banish these thought from their mind, we have a job to do and we must stick to our task and if we get our tackles in, there's no reason for us not to come out on top in this battle of the blues.

We wonder if our 'kit man' will take two pairs of socks to Windsor Park, in case Linfield have changed their colours and are now playing in white socks? Well you never know, best to be on the safe side. We also wonder if Fergie will change his formation against the 'fat controller' and spring a surprise and go for 4,4,2 and recall McBride and Cookie Munster and release Kane and Ruddy into right and left midfield, with Marky taking over rightback duties and Steely taking over as leftback and playing Mario and MM up front. Or will he stick with the tried and trusted 4,3,3 system promoting either Gavin or Sparky, to fill in for the suspended Archie or both of them if Gawley's not fit. That could mean a place on the bench for Liggie and Mario, but its all supposition on our part.

There was talk about Cush maybe taking part in a reserve game last night, but we at 'Sport think that match came too early for him, but what do we know? Likewise Steely, who we mentioned earlier, he hasn't been mentioned since he was taken off at Dixon Park where United suffered defeat at the hands of Ards. We have heard from a reliable source (Sammy Patterson's dog), that Steely refused to shake our manager's hand when substituted at Dixon Park. Maybe this is commonplace at Seaview, where the great unwashed, are precisely that, the 'great unwashed' and maybe Steely wasn't taking any chances of picking up a skin infection, they're the devil to get rid of in this day and age. If by any chance Steely has been missing, injured or for any reason not covered above, we do apologise profusely, but we'll forgo the handshake.

We feel sure big DJ will be aware of our defensive shortcomings and we fully expect a barrage of 'long ball' tactics being used against us and we have got to be prepared for that. If Spike does go for his favoured 4,3,3 system, we at 'Sport would be inclined to start Sparky, if he's fit and have him play deep when the Linfield defence tries to turn defence into attack. It isn't going to be a pretty spectacle, it seldom is at Windsor, but we have just got to weather the storm and try to exploit this Linfield defence, which is as low on confidence as our own and if we get ahead of them, they'll have to commit more men to attack and maybe, just maybe we could spring a surprise on them. But its not going to be easy, but if we truly believe, we can do it, so come on Sky Blues, lets shag those villagers!

Red Trickle!

It used to be a red tide when Chickenville came to town, but now it's more a red trickle, but the team are still as hard to beat as ever and maybe even more so. But their confidence has taken a battering of late with two home defeats in their last two games, practically unheard when they marched to the Premier league title last season. Is there a chink in the Chickenville armour, or was them two setbacks just a small glitch and will the real reds turn up tomorrow against the Sky Blues. Listening to the weather forecast I don't think it's going to be a classic, but it all comes down to which team wants it most and we at 'Sport hope it's the Sky Blues.

Our manager Spike is faced with a dilemma? Does he start with the same eleven who he finished with on Tuesday night, or if Mario is fit, does he restore him to the team. It would be kinda hard on M M, but its horses for courses and maybe M M would be better coming on after halftime with his fresh legs. Certainly we cannot approach tomorrow's game with the slip-shod performance we showed in the first half against Portadown on Tuesday night and with referee Richard 'Dick Head' Crangle in charge we better make sure there isn't even a hint of a back-pass, he believes in the 'letter of the law' against us. So we need everybody playing at the top of their game and to that end we can't see Alan D getting a start, anyway the conditions will not to be to his liking.

The budding partnership between Johnny and Marky will be tested to the limit against the two best strikers in our league last season, but if Ruddy and Tony can not let crosses come in and our midfielders tackle instead of pussyfooting around, we might make their job a bit easier, anything else will be a recipe for disaster. The two crucial men in our team will be Neal Gawley and Ally Teggart, they have to tackle back when we are defending and give whatever forward we have up front, support if we get a chance to break. Much has been said about Chickenville's ball playing quantities but if the weather forecast is half right, the pitch should be in no state for that type of game.

It promises to be a hard game, a game for men, but not a dirty game and bad and all as he is, we don't expect that Crangle will put up with any nonsense. As long as he doesn't drop any clangers, like we saw him do many times, letting one team get away with a tackle from behind and then pulling the other team up for the same offence, he'll get no complaints from us, but he makes us nervous nonetheless. United need to come out of the blocks fast tomorrow and try to stamp their authority on the game and a victory could propel them to the top of the league table, because the Glens, on top on goal difference, face a difficult hurdle at home to the Crues. But that's for the future the only thing in the mind of this United team should be getting the 3 points on offer tomorrow, so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Chickenvilliers!

Popping Ports!

United have to put that reverse on Friday night against Ards behind them and concentrate on popping the Ports bubble, for it can be popped. Somebody said, maybe it was Stephen Baxter, commentating on the big two match, that the way this league's going at the moment, anybody can beat anybody on any given day. We, at 'Sport think so too and we think United have a good chance of putting one over on the Ports, but we have to cut these silly mistakes out. On Friday night Dwayne Nelson was let down by his defenders and they had better be on their toes tomorrow night, with Twigg and Braniff in the Ports team, but if we can cut out the supply to them, we might have a chance.

To that end we think Spike needs to change his midfield somewhat, if he's going to continue with that 4,3,3 formation he has to at least have one tackler in midfield and we at 'Sport would prefer two. If he has to play Archie in front of the back four, so be it or if it's Gavin or Sparky, or both, so be it. We think he can only afford one non-tackler in his midfield and we think he'll have drop Alan D and Thommo to the bench, if he persists with his present midfield three, it's a recipe for disaster. But knowing United we are liable to pick virtually the same team and play out of our skins, but we don't honestly think so.

Transfer deadline signing, Mike McClellan, in our opinion should get a start, whether it's a place of Gawley or in a three striker prong along with Dolan and Liggie, we don't care much, but we fans need to see him and he needs to play. Fergie broke his habit of not changing a winning team last Friday and we lost, so how does he react in his selection tomorrow night. At 'Sport, we don't expect him to change the team much, he'll just put it down as a bad result, but maybe he'll realise the folly of playing three non-tacklers in midfield and one of them, Alan D, seems to have lost the plot, so we need to bring somebody fresh on. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Portadowners!

(H)Ard Task!

United go to Dixon Park Ballyclare to take on newly-promoted Ards in the Dankse premiership, tomorrow night, kick-off 19-45. We apologise for the pun in our title, in truth we couldn't resist it, we are less than sane. But readers of this column know that already, we attend the vast majority of matches when United are playing, never mind the opposition and not paying no never mind to what match is on the TV, so we must be mad, but we don't personally think so. As far as we know we haven't any injury worries but in an interview with the Ballymena Times reporter Stephen Alexander, Spike hinted that we could have some niggling injuries, hope you appreciate the 'plug' Stephen? If we have a clean bill of health we expect Spike to play the same starting line-up as last Saturday, in spite of the performance of Neal Lowry, who had to be substituted at halftime, he believes in picking the same team as won last time.

We had some fierce battles with Ards in the past and after 3 straight league defeats, they returned to winning ways in midweek and will want to build on that result and put one over on the Sky Blues, as they did many times in the past. But if we give a professional performance, as we have done in our last two premiership games, victory will surely be ours. We seem to have got the balance of the team right, Mario up front ably supported by Ally and hopefully Lowry. Thommo, Jenks and Alan D starting to gel in midfield and a back four of Tony, Marky, Johnny and Steely, ably backed by Dwayne in goals. But this is no time to rest on our laurels, we need the same conscious effort as we have shown in our last two matches tomorrow night, or we will end with egg on our faces. I'm sure the local Ballyclarians will welcome us with open arms as usual (joke), but we need to be prepared for that and use their negativity against us in our favour.

Ards have a least one player in their ranks who has played for United, diminutive striker Paul McDowell and although Paul didn't exactly set the Showgrounds alight with his goals when a Sky Blue, he will be need to be watched closely by Marky and Johnny. There were rumours that speedy winger, William Bingham, who was on United's books last season and played in the Shield final, had signed for the nomadic Ards, but he's not listed on their player panel on the official web-site of the Dankse Premiership. That's not to say that he isn't an Ards player and will feature against us tomorrow night, for we know only too well the shortcomings of the IFA, sorry we meant NIFL, different name but bunglers nonetheless. Hows does the old song go, 'for we only know, there's going to be a match and Ballymena United will be there' and we will be there at Dixon Park Ballyclare, so come on Sky Blues, lets shag those County Downers!

United Battle!

Its the battle of the United's in NIFL league cup tomorrow night at the Showgrounds kick-off 19-45 hrs. We were going to say admission charges were down to £7 and £5 concession, but according to the official United website, the lead in price is £8 and concessions start at £5. This is a match that United will be favourites to win and rightly so, but we need to give Ballymoney some respect and pick our strongest team and not our reserves. For Ballymoney this is a game they will expect to give a good account of their-selves and we got to respect that.

Spike and his team have seen it all before and they'll not treat Ballymoney lightly, but saying that we expect a few changes in our starting line-up. Liggie must be odds on to start, as is Gavin Taggart and Archie must be pushing for a recall. Maybe Spike and his henchmen will make one more selection and I'll not be surprised to see Stuarty Addis start in goal. As far as the Sky Blue Sports team is concerned, that is your lot Fergie any more and we would be facing embarrassment, we remember Kenny Shiels and a certain junior team who will remain nameless, its not that we can't remember their name, we don't want to tempt fate.

So take a piece of advice from us, pick your strongest team and tweak them a little, don't bring Jenks over, leave Mario in Dublin, where its not a bank holiday anyway and give Johnny and Dwayne a night off, but no more and impress upon the players that you want a professional performance from them. That's only what we the Sky Blue faithful will expect, the other half of our supporters sitting at home or in the pub, will leave you to fend for yourself and good riddance to them, we don't need part-time supporters.

A lifelong United fan told us only recently that he was thinking of changing tack or colours and supporting the Crues, we kept our silence, (only just, we might add), but we made a mental note to avoid him in future, but he is just one of our fickle fans and they are many and varied, singing your praises on Saturday and cutting your throat on Monday. That's what we are up against, but we'll keep the faith, so come on Sky Blues, let's send them back to the river Maine dejected, in short lets shag those mainliners!

About Time!

It really is about time we laid this Dungannon bogey to rest, we have had a bit of success against them last season early on, snatching an undeserved draw at the Showgrounds and beating them 3-1 in a Friday night game down at their ground. That game was especially poignant for Omar (hope you read his column last night), for he had a couple of Scottish friends (Peterhead supporters), over for that match and we won 3-1. But alas it was downhill from there, a 0-0 down at their ground was followed by a reverse in our last game of the season which we lost 2-1. Dungannon always try to play football and we are, for the most part, found wanting in that department, but they were signs last Saturday that we were trying to address that situation and that's only to be commended'

Now the news on Cush is not good, he is reported to be suffering a medial injury (in all fairness we don't know what that means), but it sounds serious and he could be out for a few weeks at least. No news about the forgotten man, Dave 'Cookie' Munster that signed on for another year and hasn't kicked a ball this term, as far as we know. Mark McCullagh was slated (unfairly we might add), by United's so called supporters for his performance last Saturday. Admittedly he wasn't good, but he was better than Archie was against Glenavon and if he's fit we expect Fergie to select him. If Fergie stands by his usual habits, we would expect only one change from his starting line-up of last Saturday, Dolan in place of the aforementioned Cush.

We at 'Sport think it should be Liggie, so obviously the hero of last Saturday, but Fergie is a creature of habit as we said and he brought on Dolan at Seaview in the 18 mins and he didn't let him down and we expect him to start with him tomorrow. Or we could be completely wrong, Fergie could maybe surprise us as he did last Saturday, but we don't think so, he is a manager that sticks by his players until they let him down. Neil Lowry, who has been away on trial more times than you can say 'Harryville Bridge', looks set to retain his place but in our humble opinion he needs a good kick up the jaxy to get him going or is he just lazy. Whoever Spike and 'three baldies' settle on tomorrow, they need to impress on them that we need that level of performance that we showed at the Crues last Saturday in every game. If we get that level of commitment, then we have a chance of laying this bogey to rest, come on Sky Blues, let's shag those chicken lovers!

Hatchet's Out!

This may seem a strange title considering we are playing the Crues tomorrow and they are rightly dubbed the 'hatchet men' because of their robust tactics, in short they're a dirty pack of scoundrels. The hatchets that we the Sky Blue Sport team are referring to, are the hatchets that a minority of our supporters are sticking in our managers back after last Saturday's reverse at the hands of Glenavon. It was not a pretty thing to watch admittedly, but let's get things into perspective, we only lost 3 points and it was our first match of the season. Omar says he's seen all before and the whole 'Sports team is inclined to agree with him, as soon as a team wins a trophy and they don't follow that up with good results, the hounds are baying for blood.

Maybe they'll see some at Seaview tomorrow as the Crues are famous for going in fiercely and they may come up against one of their former team-mates in the shape of Stephen McBride and they will not treat him with 'kid gloves', rather the opposite in fact. As far as we know United have no injury worries and Gavin after serving his one-game suspension should be in the panel as well as Cush and Dolan. If Cookie Munster is fit, will Glenn start him alongside Taylor or leave Archie, who had a nightmare last week, in. Likewise Glenn maybe feels he ought to beef up his midfield starting Gavin or Sparky and if he's not starting Cush, he could take a chance on Neil Gawley who looks to be a natural winger. But maybe he'll decide to give, Alan D, Thommo and Jenks another start in midfield with Ruddy and Gawley on the bench just in case its not going to plan.

Then we come to question of the front one, two or three, depending on Glenn's state of mind. Will it be Liggie upfront on his own, or in tandem with Dolan or will Cush be asked to support the striker or strikers as the case may be. When the fixtures came out we knew these two opening games were going to be tough and so we expect no favours from tomorrow's opponents. But if we truly believe in ourselves, we can do it and get something out of this match. Don't forget to read Omar's two latest diatribes, a must read for all Sky Blue fans. We hope we see a big turn-out of United fans tomorrow, so come on Sky Blues, lets shag those paper tigers!

Happy Saturdays!

After the long summer break the Sky Blue Sport team are returning refreshed and raring to go for this the first match under the newly formed NIFL Don't anybody get excited here, we feel sure it'll be the same dross served up every match day as we have seen since the 1950's. We realise the Irish league has been going since 1890 something or is it even earlier, but Omar (as ancient as he is), can't remember much before the fifties. Nothing has changed on the information front, as for team news, we haven't clue, but would hazard a guess that Cush, who had to go off on Monday night at PSNI, would look extremely doubtful, but he is a quick healer nonetheless.

With Johnny Taylor returned to full fitness, it will be interested to see who Glenn picks as his partner, popular opinion seems to favour Archie, but Glenn could spring a surprise and include honey Munster, as he has signed on for another year. Tony Kane looks set to continue at rightback and Stephen McBride should make his debut in the leftback position. Popular opinion seems to favour us playing a 4,4,1,1 formation and the candidates for the midfield include, Gawley, Cush (if fit), Thompson, Jenks, Sparky, Lowry and Ally, so it is perm any 4 from 6 or 7. Alan D seems to have the striking role in behind Liggie sewn up, but Shane Dolan is a candidate also.

Anyone reading this will have noticed we didn't mention the player who was Sky Blue Sports outright player of the year, keeper Dwayne Nelson. We decided to leave the best for last and if our defence sorts itself out, he could be our talisman yet again, but he can't do it on his own, he needs everybody committed to the cause. That not only includes his team-mates, but more importantly, the Sky Blue supporters, they can play their part tomorrow and get behind Dwayne and the boys right from the word go. We know its going to be tough against Glenavon tomorrow, they hammered 14 goals past us in 4 meetings last season and they've really strengthened their team since, but we need to be United, so come on Sky Blues, lets shag those Mourneviewers!

June Gloom!

We have no good news, only bad news, only doom and gloom. We can't afford to sign any more players and on top of that we have a reduced first team squad, thanks mainly to offering Archie, Dwayne and Cush improved contracts. If that's not enough to get Sky Blue fans pressing the panic button, our talisman, the irrepressible Cush, was in the Mater hospital last week suffering from a collapsed lung, if we get any update on that we'll let you know. Omar, who says it like is, has been banned from the Irish league forums, for no other reason than he was getting at the truth, no doubt he'll give them a piece of of his mind when he returns in August. He attended the shareholders meeting and made sure he was early this year, but in his words, 'it were a waste of time'. The shareholders meeting consists of the Ballymena board saying what good boys they were, their one aim is to keep the club afloat and they do that in spite of the economic times we live in.

After all this mutual patting on the back, we find their pessimism coming to the fore. They say they've done a quick audit of the clubs finances for the coming year and we are going to have a shortfall of £33,000 at least and therefore the manager can't have any more money to spend on players. It's that negative attitude of the United board that we at 'Sport find so galling. It's 'the glass is half empty' syndrome, instead of the optimistic, 'the glass is half full'. There was a good turn-out of shareholders, but when the financial report was read out, not one questioned it (was it a ploy to only to be given them on the night, surely we should've got them with our meeting notice). Just to clarify, we are talking about the 'royal we' here. The manager was next, he blamed the injuries, he gave us a diatribe about the long weeks of recovery of Johnny Taylor, Jenks and Jamie Davidson to name a few, Omar tells us he was thinking about that old advertisement about Chocolate Home Wheat biscuits (or is it digestives), 'give me McVities, not excuses'.

When he finished, no-one asked a question except Omar, now Omar had a stroke over two years ago and his speech is not good and he doesn't like speaking in public, but needs must. Omar tabled a question on line for the 'meet the manager' session last season, but Kingo didn't ask the question, that question was, 'did you learn anything from the two big defeats to Linfield and Chickenville'? This time he decided to go with a different tack, he stated to Spike that in his opinion, 'we are vulnerable to a team playing football'. Fergie's answer was an emphatic 'no', he said only one team played football against us, Chickenville. He discounted that Glenavon, Crues and Coleraine, never mind Dungannon Swifts, Warrenpoint Town and DC gave us a football lesson, in short against these teams we were chasing shadows. Omar was waiting for somebody to agree with him and question Fergie further, but nobody took up the gauntlet, they all sat like 'mutton dummies',they're all yes men. Brian Thompson raised the point that the board should think about giving Spike more money and promised he had an idea that was going raise £10,000 by Christmas and a further £10,000 by season's end, but the board wouldn't commit anymore money, it wouldn't do to take a chance, hell we might win the Irish cup or 'god forbid' the league and where would we be then?

It's an old saying and it's a true saying, 'you got to speculate, to accumulate', but our board are scared to take a chance, so it looks like we'll be fighting for scraps this season again, never mind top six, we think we'll be lucky to avoid relegation'. Of course our board will trot out the same drivel next year, we are solvent, not like like some we could mention, never mind they won the Irish cup, or the IRN BRU or god forbid the league, we got to the semi-final of the County Antrim Shield and that's a great achievement. If that's not enough to depress you, take a look at our list of friendlies, starting off with Ballymun United in Dublin on the 13th of July, who we confess we've never heard of and continuing with amateur league and 1st division teams and only one match at the Showgrounds. Then when the season starts proper the first three games pit us against, Glenavon, Crues and Dungannon Swifts, it doesn't bear thinking about. But enough of gloom and doom, maybe when the United legends play on Wednesday, we could tempt some of them real heroes out of retirement and they can show our players what it means to wear the Sky Blue jersey with pride, we can only hope, COSB!

May Grey!

It's five weeks since the season ended, but there are no signs of substantial signings as United manager Spike says he has to move some people out, before contemplating new signings. You may well think that if he hadn't been so keen to offer certain mediocre players extended contracts, we wouldn't be in this position now. But he's a young manager and he has to learn by his mistakes, but we at 'Sport are of the opinion that this will be a 'make or break' season for him. We fervently hope he comes through with flying colours and consolidates us into a challenging team in the process, the alternative doesn't bear thinking about.

The Ballymena Borough council didn't make Spike's task any easier, by promoting a tournament that features Crusaders, Liverpool, Hearts and one other and not the tenants of the Showgrounds, Ballymena United. It should be said in fairness to the council, that this was done in collusion with a member of the United board, it was originally denied by the club, but they had to come clean when his name was leaked to the press. Apart from a trip to Letterkenny on the July 13, there's not much in the United list of friendlies to set the pulses racing, although the East Antrim trophy looks interesting, roll on the end of July.

Because of this 'hatchet men's' tournament, United had to switch their 'open day' to Saturday August 3rd, instead of the traditional last Saturday in July. With Stephen McBride,Ex-Crusaders, lambasted by Omar on the forum, the only signing of note, we retain a sense of pessimism, but that said and done, it's the Ballymena way, we never expect anything but mediocrity and we are not usually disappointed. But we won a trophy, the County Antrim Shield last season and we laid the so-called Gypsy curse to rest in the process. We finished a place worse off in the league than last season, but hopefully with a good pre-season behind us, we will build on that Shield success, COSB

April Showers!

After suffering in March, United started April in fine fettle winning our first 3 games and then the showers came on last Saturday when we lost for the 3rd time this season to fellow strugglers Glenavon. Tomorrow, we have a chance to halt this doom and gloom, temporarily at least, when we entertain Dungannon Swifts in our last game of the season. It would be true to say that we haven't got a particularly good record against the Swifts, but we hope that's all in the past. Swifts manager, Darren Murphy, needs no introduction to Sky Blue fans and we can be sure he'll have the Swifts playing football, not nancy, prancy football, but football with steel and we need to be prepared to battle. Unfortunately we, the Sky Blue Sport team, didn't get to last Saturday's match, but 'Rusty Ray' told us it was dire stuff, so we hope for a positive reaction from the boys tomorrow.

Spike sprang a surprise, bringing Peter Duffin on as a sub last Saturday, but Rusty Ray says even he couldn't raise the tempo of a sluggish Sky Blue team. What will our manager do with his playing panel tomorrow? Will he pick his best side leaving us in no doubt of what we can expect next season? Or will he start with the boys like Cookie Munster who seems to in line to play his last match in a Sky Blue shirt, or are we getting the wrong vibes. It'd be fair to say that Cookie has had an up and down season, he scored our goal in the Shield final, but he also played in some of our biggest hidings this season. We're not saying he was alone in playing crap in these matches, but he's an experienced defender and must shoulder a big percentage of the blame. Everybody in our playing panel has had an up and down season as well, none more so than our leading goal-scorer and talisman, David Cushley.

Some of Cushley's play this season has been a delight to watch, but on the other side of the coin, some of it was painful to watch, but he's never dull. The brightest spark in our team this year has been our goalkeeper, Dwayne Nelson, who was sensationally dropped after we shipped 8 goals at home against the eventual league Champions, Chickenville, which culminated in him missing the biggest match we have played in recent seasons, the County Antrim Shield final. But Dwayne came back from this reverse to win our 'man of the match' on numerous occasions, with some sterling performances when he was the only thing standing between us and certain defeat. But he couldn't do it all on his own and I'm sure he would want to end this season on a positive note, especially against his former club, the Swifts. We are not going to try and guess what tricks Glenn has got up his sleeves, we only hope he has some, so for the last time this season, come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Tyrone bunnies!

Missing Again!

This has been an exceptional season for the Sky Blue Sports team, we're not referring to that long awaited trophy win and it was exceptional, we're referring to ourselves missing so many matches. It's happening again tomorrow, we won't have a presence at the match, Rusty Ray and twitter will keep us informed no doubt but we won't have a match report. Omar is forsaking the cause and going to watch Peterhead (his second favourite team), play Rangers at Ibrox (Judas), after swearing he never be inside Rangers ground, but they're exceptions to every rule, as he points out. But enough about us, the Sky Blues, fresh from their win over Lisburn Distillery, take on Gary Hamilton's Glenavon at the Showgrounds, the same Glenavon who trounced United 7-0 barley two months ago at Mourneview Park.

We hope the wounds from that debacle run deep and the real United step up to the plate and if we are to have any chance of reaching the fabled 51 points (51 points isn't possible, it's either 50 or 52 points). The manager pressed Johnny Taylor into service as an emergency rightback on Tuesday night and he was like 'a fish out of water' and had to be reminded to stick with Whites Jordan Hughes, not be covering central attackers. Luckily his class told in the end and he performed adequately but we expect Tony Kane to be restored to rightback and Johnny to come in at central defence. Thommo has served his suspension and will be in contention for a place in midfield where we were poor on Tuesday night. Alan D scored a goal but otherwise had a poor game and he was indebted to sub Neil Lowry for a surging run and pass to set up his goal, but we know from experience, Neil seldom has two games running where he is effective.

Mike Ruddy had is best game on Tuesday night and is starting to fulfil his potential and maybe he can give his 'nemesis', Stephen McBride, a run for the leftback slot next season, we'll see. Dwayne Nelson was supposed to sign a contract on Wednesday but we haven't heard any confirmation and he remains in limbo (not signed for next season), we think. That said he will be between the sticks for the remaining two matches of this season and must be streets ahead in the clubs 'player of the year' or we are monkeys uncles. Liggie and Dolan are starting to look like a partnership, its early days yet we know, but there were signs on Tuesday night of an understanding between them, but its a work in progress and will take time. Now for United's talisman Cush, he had a disappointing game on Tuesday, but if he's fully fit we would expect him to be back to his best and give the Sky Blues the cutting edge that was missing on Tuesday night, so come on Sky Blues, lets shag those Mourneviewers!

White Light!

Some people believe in the after life (we're not expressing an opinion either way) and some believe that when we die we see a white light and we should go towards it and get to this other life. Tomorrow night the Whites of Lisburn Distillery are fighting for their very existence as a Premier league side and if they fail against the Sky Blues it would be hard to envisage them surviving to fight another day, they have to do battle in the 'white light' at Ballyskeagh. A look on the IFA website will tell you the home team have 3 players serving a suspension and United must do without Gary Thompson also suspended, but we have a ready made replacement in Ally who came off the bench last Saturday and contributed to United's two goals in the second half. Or maybe Spike will spring a surprise and start young Peter Duffin, he's had ample time to give the youngster a start but so far has resisted the temptation.

The news about United's Captain Jenks ankle ligament damage means he will miss United's last three games which includes tomorrows night encounter with the Whites, kick-off 19-45. There's a rumour doing the rounds about Linfield inquiring about United's top scorer Cush and if that is true we could lose our leading scorer two seasons running, we at 'Sport hope its only a rumour. Tomorrow's night game pits Liggie against his former team-mates for the first game since he transferred to United in the January transfer window, no doubt he can expect a rough reception. Cush has already played against his former team-mates and the other ex-Distillery man in our ranks is missing through suspension, as we alluded to earlier.

Of course our manager Spike spent his final years as a player in the Whites team and was assistant manager before taking up his present position. The Whites also have one or two ex-Ballymena men in their ranks, Dom Melly and Aaron Boyd spring to mind, so we may have a bit of needle in the game so we need a strong referee, alas we got Tim Marshall. The 'baby faced' official needs no introduction to United fans and we seen some of his ridiculous decisions or indecisions on many occasions this season, so we can expect no help from him. The boys have struck a rich vein of form as of late and we need to keep winning, for winning can become a habit as we know from last season. For our last away match this season we need the crowd behind us, but the majority of our fans have given up, it's now up to the die-hards, so come on United, let's shag them and show them to the 'white light'!

Last Visit!

A lot of United's fans are talking about United's 'last visit' to DC Suffolk Road grounds, fresh from their Shield success, but shying away from the vital fact, that this could be our last visit to West Belfast for a season at least. DC may escape automatic relegation(the Whites look favourites for that), but if they remain in 11th position in the Premier league table, they could face a play-off with Carrick Rangers and as the 'gers have picked up of late, that could prove a bridge too far for Packy and his boys. For tomorrow's game DC are missing three players through suspension and three players are a huge gap on any teams resources, never mind a team that are in the doldrums of the Irish Premiership table and fighting for survival.

United go into this game on the back of a great win over Portadown, admittedly Ports were saving themselves for the cup semi-final and had mainly a reserve team out, but still our boys had to be professional and put them to the sword. We have an outside chance of pipping Ports for seventh place, but we cannot afford any slip-ups and a win is vital for us tomorrow. We assume we have a fully fit squad to pick from, but we need to be at our best in order to get full points tomorrow. If we play like last time we were up there, we will rightly fail, but if we show a bit of application and fight, there's no reason we can't triumph. A number of our players have to impress the manger to be kept on, times running short for some of them, so come on United, let's shag those Suffolk lambs!

Easter Bonnet!

The big Easter bunny has been and gone, if you didn't get an Easter egg or lots of goodies, then you'd better come along to the Showgrounds, Ballymena and be miserable with the rest of us. One of the Sky Blue Sport's team has a genuine excuse to miss this fixture, the rest of us are just a little envious of him. United without a win since mid January are the league's chopping boys and the visit of Portadown tomorrow fills us with dread, hot on the hells of a mauling by Premier league champions elect, Chickenville, on Saturday past. The match which kicks-off at 14-30 instead the usual 15-00, or better still a night game, looks like a banker bet for the free-scoring Ports forwards, against the third worst defence in the Premiership.

Dwayne Nelson, so often the hero in United's team this season and last Saturday was no exception, might have to miss this game because of injury, but as he is a quick healer and we'll not be surprised to see him play. Team Captain Alan Jenks, suspension completed, will be added to the panel no doubt and if Dwayne is fit, maybe Spike will make Captain Jenks his only change. If Jenks plays, we expect Thommo to make way for him, but Spike is full of surprises, but we don't think he will make wholesale changes in spite of the lack of fighting spirit displayed by the Sky Blues over the last half a dozen games. We need to be quick out of the blocks tomorrow if we are to have any chance of reaching that elusive target our manager has set us over the next 5 games.

If we don't get a win tomorrow, then we cannot reach the target, in fact we need to win all five games to amass more points than last years total, a tall order from a team brimming with confidence, never mind a team that have had all their allusions shattered. Portadown on the other hand missed out a top six berth by the skin of their teeth and may take their eye off the ball so to speak with an Irish cup semi-final against Glentoran coming up in 5 days time. But we can't depend on that, we have to be focused on our own destiny and we have to try and win the game, for its the only thing that makes sense. We have won our first trophy for 23 years and maybe if we can a sneak a win tomorrow, we can consolidate 8th place in the league and get a bit of confidence back, come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Portadowners!

This Time!

We have nothing new to add this time around about tomorrow's fixture against Chickenville at the hen run. As far as we know Cush should be back and maybe Spike will think that's the only change he needs to make in the absence with suspension of team Captain Alan Jenkins, Thommo could move into his position. We and the vast majority of United fans have been hoping young Peter Duffin gets a start over the last few games, but so far Spike hasn't picked the youngster, just left him on the bench, with an occasional run out as a sub.

We don't think it will be any different tomorrow, as the team tries to target this elusive 51 points, which seems to us to be a pipe dream. The Reds on the other hand can take a firm grip on the Gibson cup with a victory and if the Crues don't sneak a win at the Oval, they'll only need 2 points to be champions for 2013. We look like cannon fodder, but if we have any pride (which we doubt somewhat), we'll try to make them fight for the points, but we are not optimistic. But its a match and we haven't conceded a goal for two games, so come on United, lets shag those Chickenvillers or at least give them a game!

Table Football!

There's a blizzard coming on, how I'm wishing I was home, are the opening words to an old song and it's pertinent here as its snowing outside. Well we are at home, but we'll venture out tonight, if the match at Windsor Park featuring Norn Iron against Russia in a World cup qualifier goes ahead. Like lambs to the slaughter we'll venture out tomorrow when United take on Chickenville at the hen run (Solitude), on the 3g pitch that resembles table football, in our opinion. United welcome back Cush from his one game suspension but must do without the traffic Policeman, captain Alan Jenks. The traffic Policeman, aptly named by Sammy Patterson at Shamrock Park last Saturday, is himself suspended for this game courtesy of five bookings, who will take his place?

We figure its a toss-up between Thommo and Alan D, two non-tacklers and we can only afford one against the league leaders, we learned that the hard way last time we met the Reds. We have stopped the rot in our last two matches, getting clean sheets, but as for going forward, we have no idea. In Alan D we have a player who could swing it for us as he is our best passer by far, but on that surface passing is a lottery. We don't think Dolan will be risked as that surface is unforgiving to blokes carrying an injury and it looks to be Liggie playing a lone furrow upfront again, ably backed up by Ally and Cush. We can't see Spike starting Duffin, he has had ample chance to start the young fellow and resisted the temptation and looks like a 'backs to wall' policy tomorrow again.

With the news that Stephen McBride (Crues), has signed a pre-contract deal with United, it's not hard to guess what our tactics will be next season as well. Omar says the best means of defence is to attack, but we need skilful players to do that and of this moment they are as scarce as hens teeth and in absence of them, we're signing another defender, who can't get his place in the Crues team, but he's good for us also-rans. At least he's coming from a team at the top reaches of our league, Spike's last two acquisitions came from the bottom two teams in our league and they're not setting the world alight, now are they. This is our last match that has any relevance this season, not for us, but for Chickenville.

They can take another grip on the Gibson cup with a victory, hopefully we can put a 'spanner in the works', but its not going to be easy. We need everybody playing as if their life depended upon that game, or their livelihood anyway and some are playing for a contract and maybe that might make them try a little harder. It promises to be a cold and bleak day, but maybe United can lift our spirits with a battling display and we'll need that at Solitude tomorrow. It's a horrible ground to watch a match, stuck behind the goals and everything that happens at the other end is like a blur, but maybe it'll be on the radio and we can get a running commentary or maybe not, but we'll be there anyway, come hell or high water, come on Sky Blues, lets shag those Chickenvillers!