Six Pointer!

United take on Glenavon at Mourneview Park tomorrow with a potential six points at stake. The Sky Blues ensconced in 5th place in the Premier league standings are currently 3 points ahead of tomorrow's opponents and with a game in hand and a win would stretch the gap between us to six points with a game in hand, giving us a wee bit of breathing space. Of course winning will not be easy as the Lurgan Blues are one of the most formidable teams in our league, although they will be missing former United talisman, Stuarty King, who had the misfortune to break a bone in his ankle on Monday past. No doubt Marty Quinn will have a suitable replacement for the injured Stuarty, while the rest of his forwards could walk into almost any team in the league, excepting ourselves of course.

United's own front line of Murray, Gibbo, Cutch and Mikey will have to shoulder the burden up front and they are the men to do just that. Cutch with ten goals to his name already this season will be a constant thorn in the flesh for the home defence, especially as he's had an enforced 2 week rest. He will be ably backed up by the human cannonball, Gibbo, the silken skilled Murray and the penetrating runner, Mikey. This is why we believe we can take all three points tomorrow, it won't be easy, but we have the ability to do it. Of course Donegal Celtic proved today that no-one has the right to win every game, but we still think we can do it. In our last game against Glenavon we looked like a beaten team until a certain Albert Watson, (see below), came to our rescue, which just goes to prove we are an all round slick moving machine.

With the United forward line almost picking itself, manager Walker will also have five top performers to pick from in defence, Albert (goal of the month winner in November, see above), Archie, Denver, Sparky and Lee, with Gazza there should any emergencies arise. Midfield should be Gazza and either Taggart or Berry, or has Rory made a miraculous comeback, who knows? Our only problem position, which has lingered since 'Goosey' and Tommy, 'he's never right', fell out, is who to put in nets. Manager Walker thought he had solved the problem when he brought in Ryan Brown from Larne at the start of the season, but he has had one or two expensive gaffes and it meant a recall for Dwayne in our last game and tomorrow's game could hinge, not only on who gets the nod, but on how they perform under pressure. But we still believe and we need the United fans to believe, so come on United, lets go shag those Mourneviewers

Golden Chance!

United go into tomorrow night's rearranged C.I.S. cup quarter-final with a golden chance to progress to the semi-final stage. All any team can ever hope for in a knock-out game is home advantage and we have that tomorrow night. Of course given our poor home form, it's not a great advantage, but as tomorrow night's game is the first of 3 crucial games all at home this month, United need to start as they mean to carry on and hopefully we can finish the year in top form. United will be minus Nathan Hanly who completes his suspension with this game, while Sparky is a doubt after coming off injured in the victory over Dungannon Swifts.

That hard fought victory over the Swift's could leave United manager Roy Walker with a bit of a puzzle as to his starting line-up. Does he start with Gibbo and Cutch, up front, leaving Andy Smith on the bench or give Smith another go, with the option to bring Gibbo on. If Sparky is passed fit, might he continue with the back four of, Sparky, Albert, Archie and Lee, knowing he has Denver as back-up and Gazza for emergencies. With Murray and Mikey automatic selections, the big choice is about who partners Gazza in central midfield. Despite his 'rash' tackle, which gifted Dungannon a penalty on Saturday, Gavin could get the nod ahead of Ryan, who is a good man to have on the bench. This will probably be another close game, as the previous 3 have been and it will be vital that we keep our defence intact against the Crues.

According to the United official website, Alan Black will referee tomorrow night's game and that will put added pressure on United, as he rarely sees thing our way, but as the saying goes, 'there's a first time for everything', but we won't hold our breath. The discipline of our players leaves a lot to be desired and maybe we should remember the character from the kids programme Rainbow and keep it 'zipped'and not allow Mr Black to have his way. As our wee striker Cutch has plundered 10 goals so far, he will no doubt be out to add to that tally tomorrow night and with a wee slice of luck we could be into the semi-final in this the final year of sponsorship by the Co-op. It's all there to play for, if we have the courage and the skill to reach out and grab it, so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Tiger Bay pussycats!

Rusty May!

The ´Sports team will be boycotting tomorrows fixture away to Dungannon Swifts, as United have yet to receive an apology for the complete fabrication and downright lies levelled against our supporters for alleged racial abuse of former Swifts keeper Alvin Rouse. It´s been well documented that referee Trevor Moutray only admitted to hearing ´something´, but under pressure from some Dungannon officials he falsified a report accusing United fans of racial abuse. If the vast majority of United fans are willing to carry on with this stigma hanging over them, we at ´Sport are not. As for team news for tomorrow´s game, we just don´t have a clue as we are all abroad at present in warmer climes. We know for sure That Nathan Hanly will definitely not be playing as he serves a 2 match suspension for alleged serious foul play.

Remember what he did or should we say what he didn´t do, he didn´t go in with a late tackle after the ball had gone, he didn´t punch anybody, nor did he break anybody´s leg, he just made an honest tackle to win the ball, but when his opponent went down crying ´like a baby´, an unsighted referee, Steven Weatherall (remember this game was played in semi-darkness), judged it to be serious foul play. United fans were also falsely accused of abusing the injured player, which they didn´t, but in the light of what has happened, they would have been entirely justified. Two referees have levelled false accusations at us now and we have to assume it will contnue as they are after all of the one ilk. The bad news for Nathan is that when he returns for the the league game against the Glens on Christmas Saturday, the referee will be our good friend Alan Black, as they say it never rains but it pours. Okay we´ve had our rant, so come on Sky Blues, let´s shag those Tyronians!

Gibbo Pain!

What a body blow, we've just heard that United striker Richard Gibson, who didn't scream, or try to get his assailant sent off (Andy Devlin and Tommy Wright, please take note), will be missing with a broken bone in his foot, for at least 6 weeks. Six weeks that will most definitely define our season and we are left with only one fully fit striker, Gary McCutcheon, as Andy Smith struggles with a hamstring injury which could flare up at any time. United in fact will play 8 games inside the next 6 weeks, surely too hectic a schedule for part-time clubs like ourselves. These are the times when the clubs with money behind them can really amass an unassailable lead, surely that can't be fair. But that's the hand we've been dealt and tomorrow's opponents Crusaders will no doubt pose a few fresh problems for us.

Manager Walker has promised to deliver something of a surprise with his selection for tomorrow's game and what that could be is anybody's guess. Does he have an ace up his sleeve, a player who can come on and change things drastically enough for the Sky Blues to take the points? We admit we are completely in the dark over this development, Mo and Berry are reportedly both struggling with injuries, while Rory is still a few weeks away from a return to full fitness. Maybe Roy has convinced the Yeti to don a United jersey, it's definitely cold enough for him, given the snow-showers which have been prevalent over the last two days. Rumours about a former United striker making a cameo appearance have been denied by the club, so we'll just have to wait and see.

The United defence, much maligned after the Solitude debacle (and rightly so)and which regained a bit of dignity last week at the Marshes, will need to be on it's toes when the 'hatchet men' come to town. Games between the two sides have been pretty close in the last couple of seasons, with just one goal separating them in their last two meetings, with the visitors winning both, something that United need to address tomorrow. Then as luck would have it, we'll meet again at the same venue in the C.I.S. cup next Saturday, December 4, don't try to tell us that there aren't too many fixtures in this wee league of ours. Hopefully our new Irish F.A. President, a man native to the Ballymena area, Jim Shaw, will look at things a bit more realistically and not before time. It's yet another corporate lunch tomorrow, so a good crowd is to be expected, let's hope we have something to celebrate come 5 o'clock. Let's get stuck into the hatchet men, come on Sky Blues, let's shag those toothless tigers!

Dire Straits!

With only 3 points gained in their last 4 games, United suddenly find themselves in 'dire straits'. Tomorrow nights game at Newry, which is never an easy venue for United teams, has taken on gargantuan proportions as the teams immediately below us in the league are literally breathing down our neck. This would be bad enough if we had lost a hard fought game last time out, but as we were well and truly trounced, it's the last thing we want to contemplate. But contemplate it we must and it really is time for the experienced men in our team to stand up and be counted. The managers 'logic' (Gaffe),in withdrawing Gazza at halftime last week, backfired almost immediately when Cliftonville drove their midfield 'articulated' lorry through a wide open gap, will surely not be repeated once more.

Yes admittedly we were three nil down and action needed to be taken, but why would you take off your best player, when your defence was having a nightmare, it beggars belief. Surely Albert Watson, who appeared to be 'punch drunk' should've been withdrawn, instead of being moved to rightback where he continued to struggle. Sparky wasn't at his best, while Denver struggled and in fact only leftback Colligan showed us his best side. Ryan Berry looked good when he came on and in fact got a good shot on target, more than can be said for our inept strikers. Gary McCutcheon expressed his surprise at Kevin Kelbie's goal scoring feats when he joined United, reckoning he'd net at least twenty in a season. At this stage last season Kelbie had made 10 starts and 3 appearances as subs and scored 7 goals, Gary has scored 7 goals also, but made 20 appearances, not a great ratio in our book.

We're not saying Gary should be dropped, as let's face it we have nobody else, but maybe it's something we should be looking into come the January transfer window. Hanly, who missed last weeks game due to suspension, will surely earn a recall in midfield, while keeper Ryan Brown, a Walker close season signing will probably hold onto his place, but only just. Who partners Hanly in central midfield will be the crucial decision, we at 'Sport would plump for Gazza, although he may be needed to shore up our leaky defence, in which case it's a toss-up between Taggart and Berry, although Roy may have other ideas. Gibbo, who struggled on the artificial surface at Cliftonville last week (but who didn't), will probably earn a recall, he is after all our only 'target man'.

United fans were saying last week, 'when did we last concede 5 goals'? They were racking their brains, but it's not too distant, in fact it was only 3 months ago when they lost 5-0 away to Limavady United in a pre-season friendly. Before some 'smart Alec', states that that wasn't a full United team, it was after all the nucleus of our team and obviously we learned nothing from that defeat. It's an old old saying, we learn from our mistakes, but obviously this doesn't apply to Ballymena United football club, as they go on repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Tomorrow night we need to bounce back, if we don't we'll be back on the slippery slope and once there it's bloody hard to get going again. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Marshmen!

Plastic Farce!

United travel to North Belfast tomorrow for their first game on Cliftonville's new 'plastic pitch'. When Crusaders announced that they were going to be playing on a plastic pitch in future, we thought, yeah! yeah! and Santa Claus really does come down the chimney. But lo and behold they were not joking and now Cliftonville, whose pitch it must be said used to resemble a cabbage patch, have installed an artificial surface as well. They are not conductive to good football it must be said and unless they're laid properly, they are more of a hindrance than an asset. But it looks like they're here to stay and if rumours are to be believed there could be at least 2 more Premier clubs signing up to the plastic revolution.

As for tomorrow's line-up we just don't have a clue, Nathan Hanly will definitely be missing as he serves an automatic one game ban following his harsh sending off on Tuesday past. The rest of the team, barring injuries of course, almost picks itself. Gibbo and Cutch up front, Mikey and Murray on the wings, Gazza in central midfield, with Taggart or somebody else as his sparring partner. The back four is a matter of picking any four from five, from Albert, Sparky, Denver, Lee and Archie, while we would expect Ryan Brown to retain the keepers jersey. Of course Roy may astound us and go for a 4,3,3 system, bringing in Andy Smith, instead of Gavin Taggart, but we feel it's imperative that our hosts aren't given too much time on the ball and for this reason believe that a 4,4,2 system will prevail.

Cliftonville have struggled over the last few games, as we have done ourselves and the 'winner' tomorrow, will definitely take it all. If United win they will move above their hosts and if Cliftonville win they'll attain a bit of a gap between themselves and the dreaded bottom six. After tomorrow's game we will be past the halfway stage in the league, but we must disagree, with the claim made by Omar last night, that doubling our points tally will see us safely into the top six, when the split arrives after 33 games. As some one once said 'there are lies, damned lies and statistics' and acquiring 48 points may be enough in some seasons, but it can't be put down as a 'marker' for every season, we will just have to suck it and see. With that in mind let's get behind the wee Sky Blues tomorrow, so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Cavehillers!

White Light!

Seemingly when we die (well according to people who have had out of body experiences), we will see a white light and we should walk towards that light. What is beyond that light is anybody's guess, no-one's ever gone beyond it and came back to tell the tale, at least we don't think so anyway. Tomorrow night United go to play the Whites under lights (well maybe not all the lights as they're infamous for not putting them all on), but we definitely don't want to be drawn to their lights. Nor do we want another draw as tomorrow night's game is almost a six pointer, we trail the host by 2 points and a win would mean we'd leap frog them, while a defeat would push us towards the bottom six and that is unthinkable. Manager Walker has intimated, once again, that he may tinker with his selection.

We at 'Sport cautioned him last week not to 'tinker' too much with his selection, in the end he only made one change, with Gavin Taggart replacing Sparky. For whatever reason this had a major effect on the team, who having got off to a dream start with Cutch giving them the lead after only 5 mins, just seemed to lose their way and were decidedly lucky to get a point in a game where they should've been comprehensively beaten. Maybe it was an anti-climax after holding the league champions, Linfield, the previous week, but whatever it was, it must be driven from our midst. Lee Colligan, out of favour of late probably did enough to earn a recall in the short time he was on the field on Saturday at the expense of Archie and along with Sparky, if fit, would surely merit a start tomorrow night. Ryan Berry didn't do a lot when he came off the bench at halftime, but he did set up Cutch for the equaliser and you can't ask much more from a midfielder than that.

Murray was more like his old self on Saturday, but we need Hanly in centre midfield to feed the ball to him, which means deciding between Gazza and Taggart for the other central midfield role. Of course Roy might want to go with a 5 man midfield, but we doubt he'd want to break up the blossoming partnership between Cutch and Gibbo up front. Goalkeeper Ryan Brown, who made a major gaffe on Saturday that led to Glenavon's first goal, did redeem himself with some good stops when the visitors threatened to blow us away in the 2nd half. In fact if it hadn't been for him, we might never have been in a position to snatch the afore mentioned undeserved point. As that was his first match back after injury, we believe the manager will give him the nod once more, but name Dwayne on the bench just in case or to keep him on his toes at least.

Denver and Albert, not at their best on Saturday, are still cementing their defensive partnership and Albert as we now know can come up with the goods when the chips are down, if fit we expect they will both be retained. If Sparky returns at rightback and Berry is selected wide right, will that mean no place for Mikey Smith, one of the few players to try his 'eye strings out last week. This would be a hard decision for Walker to make, but that's what he is paid for after all, but we don't envy him the job. We will no doubt come up against one or two former players tomorrow night, Paul Muir and David Cushley are two that spring to mind, also ex-manager Tommy Wright (who of course ran out on us when the going got tough) and this will add a bit of extra spice to the game. It's going to be tough tomorrow night, with old campaigners like Muir and Glenn Ferguson in opposition, but when the gong gets tough, the 'really tough' get going. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Lambeggars!

Looking Up!

After tonight's results in the Carling premiership, an away win, 2-1 for the I.F.A. (Linfield) and a draw between Newry and Distillery 1-1, United have a chance to move into 5th place with a win or maybe even 4th place depending on the result between the 'scum' and Chickenville when Glenavon come to the Showgrounds tomorrow. United manager Roy Walker has intimated that he may change things a wee bit for tomorrow's game or in his words, 'tweak things a wee bit'. We at 'Sport would counsel Roy to proceed with caution, always remembering the old adage of not changing for the sake of changing. The team that started against Linfield last week is our best starting eleven of the players fit and well at present and that team should be good enough to see off Glenavon tomorrow.

Admittedly there was a wee concern about the apparent ease which Peter Thompson shrugged off the challenges of Denver last week. But Denver is still finding his feet and Thompson (whether we like it or not), is an International and probably the top striker in our league at present, now that Hamilton has gone into the doldrums. Denver just needs to be a little more assertive and our next two games where he'll come up against first the experienced Tony Grant and then the 'I've seen and done it all' Glenn Fergusson, will be the perfect games for him to perfect his technique. The game beyond that, away to Cliftonville could match him against yet another top striker, Chris Scannell, so you see it's not going to get any easier, but it's all a learning curve and will stand him in good stead.

There's always Gazza for back-up if things do get tight, he slotted in last Saturday, just as if he'd been playing there all season, instead of only starting a handful of games this term. If Eamon Murray isn't 100% fit and he hasn't been for a few weeks, then surely he'd best not start against his former club tomorrow. We realise we'd miss his silken skills, but we did manage two goals last week against Linfield, when he didn't come out for the 2nd half. We also missed two 'sitters'and we're left wondering when Cutch is going to start delivering his promise of goals when he signed. Gibbo, a low key signing, has been a revelation and looks set to carve his name in United history along with the best of them. It was nice to see 'Sparky' back among the goals last week too, although we doubt he knew much about his 2nd effort.

With Gavin Taggart and Andy Smith, both fit again, will manager Walker give them starting slots tomorrow? Surely even Roy would be reluctant to bite into his prime eleven in such a fashion. But of course it may be a matter of tactics, or 'horses for courses' as seems to be the in-phrase at present, after studying recent reports on Glenavon's exploits. The visitors have shipped a lot of goals this term and we have missed a lot of sitters and these wil be the deciding factors in tomorrow's game we think. Manager Walker also hinted that he might 'rest' Dwayne Nelson, with Ryan Brown now recovered from injury, that also might be a bold move? Tomorrow's game could go a long way to defining our season and it'd be nice going to New Grovesnor on Tuesday night a place above the Whites and in order to do that a win tomorrow is a must. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Mourneviewers!

Fluffy Landing!

The league champions come to town tomorrow no doubt hoping for a repeat of the goal glut they inflicted on Kilmore Rec in the County Antrim shield on Wednesday past. We at 'Sport can tell the 'fat controller' and his overpaid stars, there will be no 'fluffy landing' for them at the Showgrounds tomorrow. We are on a roll, they have had a couple of easy passages lately and sandwiched in between a wee blip last week down at Newry, while the Sky Blues have had to battle for every precious point. That we believe will be the difference between the two teams tomorrow, the Blues will think, maybe even believe, they can take us tomorrow with consummate ease, we on the other hand know it will be a battle from start to finish.

United manager Roy Walker has been quiet on the likely make-up of his team, but barring injuries we expect United to start with their most cohesive unit. That will mean a place on the bench for Andy Smith, as United's strike-force of the terrible twins, Cutch and Gibbo, with 10 goals between them in all competitions will surely get the nod. The midfield four of, Mikey (Smith), Nathan, Gazza and Eamon, would be hard to displace, while we expect the fullbacks to be Sparky and Archie, which means Lee Colligan will have to wait to play his 90th game in a Sky Blue shirt. Then there's the two men who have been our 'man of the match' in our last 2 games, the veteran Albert and his young apprentice Denver. These two guys backed up by Dwayne in goals are the vital cogs in our defensive machine, another top class performance from them tomorrow and victory will surely be ours.

Linfield will of course have other ideas and we had hoped for a strong referee, but if that wasn't possible, then a fair one. The referee on this occasion is Antrim official Alan Black, who needs no introduction to United fans. We had two really bad experiences of him last season, but in his one and only game this season, we had little cause for complaint, so fingers crossed, maybe tomorrow he'll be as irrelevant, as referees should be. Tomorrow sees the first corporate dinner of this season and it should ensure a good turn out of 'home' fans, while the visitors could maybe partially fill our newly refurbished Warden Street stand, but filling the 2,200 seats is maybe beyond even Linfield. All in all it should augur well for a good atmosphere and with a bit of luck and a lot of skill the right result. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Donegal Road ewes!

Heroes Return!

Someone remarked to us the other week that we had loads of ex-players plying their trade with other Irish league clubs. This is of course true, but we're sure the same could be said of most clubs in this day and age, when players can move so freely between clubs. It's fairly prevalent in the Premier league, but even more so in the first division. Take tomorrow's opponents, first division club Ards, whom we meet in the C.I.S. cup. They have four former United players in their line-up and their manager, Justin McBride, is a former player also. It's fair to say, we believe, that the player most fondly remembered by United supporters will be midfielder Darren Lockhart. The big man was a star in our midfield during his spell here and when he decided this season that he wanted an easier passage, it was a disappointment to us all.

Of the rest the one to make the biggest impression, in our opinion, was goalkeeper Aaron Kerr, as neither Mark Picking nor Fitzy (Darren Fitzgerald), realised anywhere near their full potential in a United shirt. The term flattered to deceive is the one that springs to mind when considering, not only these two players, but many others who have donned the United jersey over the years. That's not to say that they will give us an easy passage tomorrow, far from it we imagine, in short they will be out to show that they still have something to offer and we'd best be on our guard, or things could get very embarrassing. With Andy Smith and Ryan Berry coming through a reserve game unscathed, both may make tomorrow's panel, but we still expect Roy to pick his strongest starting eleven.

This in turn should entail that Albert Watson plays his 31st league cup game in a United shirt, beating Nigel Boyd's long standing 30 game record in the process. In the previous round United accounted for Banbridge Town and manager Walker picked a strong team for that game and we expect nothing less from him tomorrow. Our four top marksmen, Cutch (5), Gibbo (4), Murray (4)and Hanly (3)will need to be on top of their form if we are to progress to the next round of this money-spinning competition. It's unlikely that Walker, barring injuries, will tamper too much with his selection, as the team almost picks itself, but he may want to tweak things just a wee bit. Whatever team he picks, they will have to do the business, Ards will see to that, so we need to be up for it from the start. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Scrabo Towerians!

Rory Crocked!

Rory Carson is the latest player to join the injured list at the Showgrounds and it seems it's quite serious as his injured knee requires a scan. Manager Roy Walker must be at his wits end as it seems as if just when he gets someone fit, somebody else gets injured. Ryan Brown has returned to training, but is still some time away from a return to full fitness, while Andy Smith will have his groin injury scanned this week. The United team will show little change from last week, when we overcame Donegal Celtic, as Gavin Taggart is suspended, but still injured at any rate. This game is the first of four in a row, which will go a long way to defining our season. At the moment we're in joint 4th, but a win tomorrow coupled by other results could see us jump to joint 3rd, so it's a vital game for us.

Portadown will want to try and upset our apple-cart, as our 'home form' has not been good to put it mildly, but surely Roy will have figured out the problem, whatever it is. Our defensive formation will need to be on their toes as the Ports forwards are not renowned for their niceties and are usually quite a handful and not adverse to 'roughing' the goalkeeper if the chance arises. At the other end the United forwards could have a field day as the Ports defence has been shipping a few goals and United's strike force of Murray, Cutch and Gibbo, should be too hot to handle. The game is there to be won, but have we the 'balls' to go out and win it? That as they say is the $64,000 question, so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Apple Pickers!

Simples Plan!

United go into tomorrow's match against D.C. at Suffolk, in West Belfast, trying to limit the damage inflicted upon them in their last 3 games. Three games in which they only gained one point and a 'lucky' one at that. If Justice had been done (we know it rarely is in football), we would have got what we deserved in the three games, nothing. So it's even more important to get a point at worst tomorrow, as we have three home games in succession and with our unenviable home record. one win, one draw and 3 losses so far this season, there is no such thing as home comfort. Will our manager tweak our defensive formation a wee bit, as Denver and Archie have both struggled, lately or will he give them both another chance.

The midfield that performed so well against the Glens, appears to have lost it's touch and may also need a bit of a tweak, but in the absence of Berry and Taggart, the under-performing Hanly and Carson may keep their places. Team Captain Gazza, one of the few decent performers on Tuesday night, should surely retain his place, while Mo McDowell, showed enough in his subs appearance to merit a start. In the absence of Mackers, on-loan to Portstewart, our striking options are somewhat limited, but if Roy wants to tweak things, why not give Cutch a place on the bench and try Sparky and Gibbo to see if they can form a partnership. We have nothing to lose as the goals have dried up for the Cutch lately.

The last meeting between ourselves and D.C. resulted in a heavy defeat for us and proved the old saying 'that every cloud has a silver lining'. The 'silver lining' in this instance being us dropping,for the most part anyway, our attempts to play football out of defence, as on that occasion we were punished severely for it. Admittedly the thump it up and hope somebody gets it ploy, which so typifies our local game, isn't pretty to watch, but it's a lot less frustrating than watching your team being punished as they attempt to play football out of defence. Football is a simple game, take as few risks as possible, keep it tight at the back and never allow any crosses into the box if you can stop them. In attack one pass can be more telling than six, in other words the more shots you get on goal, the more goals you can score. Listen to the Meerkats, it's 'simples'! Come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Suffolk's and come on Norn Iron, lets shag those Azzurri!

White Knight!

Tomorrow night sees the return of the white knight, Tommy, never ever, Wright right. Our former manager, who promised us plenty but in the end 'scurried' off with his tail between his legs. He has revitalised the Whites it's fair to say, saving them from relegation last season when their situation looked impossible and then taking them into joint 4th this term with ourselves and Cliftonville. But we know Tommy of old, we know that when the 'chips' are down, he'll be found wanting again. That of course doesn't mean we can dismiss him and his team tomorrow night. On the contrary, he and the armada of ex-United players he has acquired, will be looking to lower our colours and no mistake. With that in mind United will need to be fully focused to the task in hand and will need to shrug off the lethargy which has crept into their last 2 performances.

Barring injuries, of which we know nothing, we expect the United line-up to be similar to Saturday past. Hopefully Carson will move back to wide right, Hanly will go inside and Gazza will at least warrant a place on the bench, if not a starting role. Surely when faced by arguably still one of the top strikers in the league, Spike Ferguson, it would only be sensible to have a stalwart like Gazza, at worst, waiting in the wings. Our strikers need to get back to scoring goals too, it's all very well playing in midfielders, but we need goals as well and that's a fact. Eamon Murray is hot at the moment, but he can't do it all on his own, so Cutch and Gibbo, it's time to stand up and be counted.

Our defence has gone back to the bad old ways and if they think they were punished for allowing two crosses to come in, in their last two games, all we can say is, you ain't seen nothing yet. Spike built his reputation on putting away crosses and he will relish playing against a benevolent defence like ours. Of course our new team coach may have sorted this particular malaise out, but somehow we doubt it, as it's been part and parcel of our make-up for too long. A win tomorrow night could see us into 4th place on our own, a false position we realise, but something to build on as we play our 11th game, only 22 games to go before the 'split'. A win of course would also set us up very nicely for our trip to Suffolk on Saturday, to face the D.C., hoping lightning doesn't strike twice. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those White Boys (Non-racist comment)!

Roaring Back!

Expect Rory Carson to come back into the United starting line-up tomorrow at the expense of Mo, as his industry was sadly missed at Coleraine last Saturday. United manager Roy Walker has hinted at other changes, which could mean a recall for team Captain Gazza after the inept display by our central defenders against Paul Brown last week. Tomorrow's opponents Dungannon Swifts, have a similar striker at their disposal in Timmy Adamson, who definitely needs no introduction to United defender Albert Watson. Adamson needs to be hit early and often, as he is a constant thorn in the flesh and he usually gets away with 'blue murder'. Tomorrow's referee, Keith Halliday will need to keep a close eye on Timmy's flailing elbows, but we can expect nothing from the incompetent Crangle who will be the 4th official.

Walker wouldn't be drawn on whether he would rest Gibbo after his poor performance against his former club, Coleraine, but we expect it all hinges on the fitness or otherwise, of the versatile Sparky. United's utility player was suffering from chest pains at Coleraine last week and even though he played the whole 90 minutes for the reserves on Tuesday night he may not be risked tomorrow, unless Walker is 100% sure of his fitness. With Mackers out of favour, it may mean a place on the bench for recent recruit Chris Dowie, who scored twice for the reserves in the same match. George Young and Lee Colligan also got a match under their belts and played a vital part in United's 2nd string's victory over Cliftonville Olympic.

On the downside, Ryan Berry picked up another injury, which may delay his return to first team action, while Andy Smith's return is still a couple of weeks away yet. We would have liked to have asked the United manager, the big question, which is. If Andy was fit, would he come into the reckoning for United's home game against Portadown in two weeks time, somehow we doubt it. But we digress, onto tomorrow's game and for once it's not us that's in the 'smelly stuff' but our opponents. Of course if they were to stay in that position and be relegated, we wouldn't shed a tear, as we know them for the bunch of lying, snivelling dogs that they are. If there's any justice in this world, which we doubt, three points will surely be ours come 16-50 tomorrow. Our new stand will hopefully be open and it'll surely show up the paltry support of our visitors, who will be lost in it's magnitude. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those boys from the 'green hills', in fact let's put them to the sword!

Scum Drum!

United go into the first derby game of the season with the realisation that three points will put them into 2nd place in the Premier table. These heady heights would have been unthinkable after United suffered an embarrassing 4-0 home defeat to Donegal Celtic, in only their 2nd league game of the season. But with wins over Ports. Glenavon and Newry City, before outclassing league leaders Glentoran, despite the efforts of referee Davey Malcolm, we have moved into joint 2nd place with Linfield. Linfield and Glens don't play tomorrow and so a win will move the Sky Blues into 2nd on their own at least for a couple of days anyway. That of course is not to say that a win tomorrow is a foregone conclusion, it is a derby after all and form tends to go out the window on these occasions, but all things considered we believe we've got too much firepower for the Bannsiders.

We have no idea what Roy's thinking may be on his team selection, as both goalscorers, Murray and Gibson were substituted in the Glens game and it's not apparent if they were injured. But as he rightly says it's a matter of 'horses for courses' anyway and he may want to tweak things a little bit. Barring injuries, we expect the back four of Mike, Albert, Denver and Archie to be certain of selection, while if fit, Murray, Hanly and Taggart, with one or two others, as Roy sees fit, will fill the midfield area. In the absence of Carson, serving an automatic one game ban, could Ryan Berry make his comeback, or will the wily Walker, give Mo McDowell his first taste of a Derby game. The strikers, both bang on form, again if fit, pick themselves. Dwayne Nelson, despite his gaffe of gifting the Glens an undesrved goal on Tuesday night is the best man to have between the sticks and will no doubt get the nod tomorrow.

Not to dwell too much on last Tuesday's result, but it's quite ironic that referee Davey Malcolm booked 8 United players, Carson was booked twice, which resulted in him being sent off and he also sent our manager off at halftime, while only booking one home player and they were feigning injury from the word go. Also it should be noted that Davey was possibly getting his own back on Carson, for his gaffe in not bringing the physio on at Mourneview when Carson was clearly suffering from concussion. We at 'Sport thought that was the lowest that Davey could come, obviously we were well wide of the truth and he had quite a few more tricks up his gigantic sleeve. Hopefully we won't have him officiate at one of our games for a wee while but knowing the I.F.A. anything's possible.

Sky Blue Sport's Bruce Balmer will miss tomorrows game and we may have no match report, although we're hopeful someone will step into the breech. Bruce says he's boycotting tomorrows game as United were fined for a bottle throwing incidrnt on our last visit to the Coleraine slum, while scum keeper, Davey 'fat' O'Hare, who goaded United fans wasn't even censored. Noble as this may sound the rest of the 'Sports team don't believe a word of it and we are convinced that Bruce like us all is just doing as he's told, that as they say is how the cookie crumbles. But we digress, this is just the first instalment of what we hope will be a profitable rivalry, as we're guaranteed two home games, including 'Boxing Day' against the Coleraine scum. So it's all systems go for three points, let's drum the scum into the ground, so come on United, let's shag those Coleraine ewes!

Red Rory!

United pay a visit to league leaders Glentoran tomorrow night and it'll be a chance for our recent recruits to gauge themselves against the top team in the country at the moment. The Glens have been scoring goals for fun and the United defence will have to be at their best if they are to thwart, Matty Burrows and Daryl Fordyce, who shared five goals as the Glens swept aside 2nd division side Queens Uni in the C.I.S. cup on Saturday. It'll be a good test for United central defender Denver Gage, in the Oval cauldron, where mistakes are much magnified. But young Gage has so far demonstrated that he is hard to faze as he continues to make himself an automatic selection in United's rearguard.

Will United manager Roy Walker, continue with the midfield formation he unveiled last Saturday, which pitted Gazza alongside the 'wonder boy', Rory Carson? In fact it's hard to know if he'll continue with the same 4,4,2 formation or change to the more defensive minded 4,5,1 which worked so well against Portadown. Whatever selection the 'wily' Walker comes up with, they will have to perform with the highest quality if United are to take anything from tomorrow night's game. The wide spaces at the Oval will be in massive contrast to the narrow confines of Crystal Park, Banbridge, but that's what football is all about, adapting to the different conditions and still getting your act together.

The man in the middle, Davey Malcolm, is not famous for giving us much and does have a tendency to lean towards the home side, so we can expect a few biased decisions. With that in mind tackling will have to be crisp and fair especially in the last third of the pitch as free kicks in that area can be costly. Hopefully Davey won't ask any more of our players to continue with head injuries, as he did when we played Glenavon, though a similar result will do very nicely. Sammy Patterson has been 'raving' about the conditions at Crystal Park in his latest edition of 'Away View' and no doubt we'll see a major contrast at the Oval tomorrow night. No matter what conditions are though, we'll still be there, so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those EastEnders!

Crystal Gazing!

As we gaze into our crystal (hang on a minute), we just realised we were going to commit the biggest 'gaffe' of all time by uttering the immortal word, 'balls'! This is the unforgivable, this word despite being the name for the receptacle we love to see being booted around a football pitch, is really taboo in general parlance. Many phrases using the word ball or balls 'are' acceptable, but we men refuse to admit to gazing into or at any balls, at any time. Enough on the subject of balls, let's get down to the specifics of football as we know it. Tomorrow United make their first ever competitive journey to Crystal Park, Banbridge, to play the locals in the C.I.S. cup. This will not be an easy task and we need to field our strongest team in this knock-out competition, if we are to progress to the next stage.

This game will not be about style, it'll not be about skill, it'll be about whoever has the 'balls' (there's that word again), to go out and take the game by the 'scuff' of the neck and win it, a classic it will not be. That's not to say good football won't be possible, it just won't be the most important part of the programme. Tomorrow, from our point of view, is about winning, if we can achieve that early on, then there's no reason why we can't turn on the style, but the victory is of paramount importance. With that in mind we expect Roy to field his strongest starting eleven, which we think means no place for Gavin Taggart. His replacement last Saturday, Rory Carson, must surely get the nod tomorrow.

The rest of the team, barring injuries, almost picks itself, although there may be a case for bringing back Lee Colligan if fit, as Archie continues to struggle on the left flank. Mackers will hopefully at last get his place on the bench, which would give us more options if needed and also hopefully we've sorted out who's going to take any future penalties after last week's feeble efforts, but don't bank on it. Speaking of 'bank', we fervently hope that the good news about our season ticket sales bringing in much needed revenue of £20,000 (roughly a guaranteed £1,000 for every home league game), the board won't go overboard on the wage issue and keep within the proposed structure already in place. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Crystal gazers!

Home Comforts!

Surely it must be time for United to be enjoying some home comforts, instead of dreading playing at home, but really looking forward to playing in front of their home crowd. Admittedly the home fans are a little quiet at the moment, but we believe it's because they've had so many disappointments, they are afraid to be too vociferous, just in case they put the boys under too much pressure. On chances alone on Tuesday past we should've won the game, but we failed miserably in front of goal, while at the other end we 'messed' up allowing them to score a soft goal. With that in mind maybe it's time we began playing at home as if it was an away cup-tie, you know what we mean, make sure we don't concede and try to hit on the break.

We realise this won't be very entertaining, but needs must, we just cannot go on leaking goals at home against teams we are capable of beating. Our record against tomorrow's opponents Newry City, is none too hot, though we did manage to avoid defeat against them back in February and a similar result tomorrow though not ideal, would be better than a defeat. Tomorrow is our fourth home game this season and already we've lost two and drawn one, another defeat is unthinkable, but not inevitable. Maybe a 5,4,1 formation tomorrow would be a good way to go about things, a strong defence and a quick breaking attack, this could be our recipe for success at home. Roy of course may have other ideas, but then so had Marty Tabb and look what happened to him!

On our day we are capable of beating anybody, but our defence is suspect and late collapses have been all too prevalent and need to be stopped. Our attack without Gibbo was pretty punchless on Tuesday night, so why wasn't Mackers (James McLaughlin), at least on the bench? How long is Roy going to keep him under wraps? We needed him on Tuesday, but he didn't even make the panel. If he's not getting his chance he'll soon become disillusioned, drop back into junior football and maybe come back to haunt us in a couple of seasons when somebody can manage him and make the best use of his unquestioned ability in front of goals. By heck it's hard to enthusiastic, but we must try, so come on Sky Blues, lets shag those Marshies!

Shield Yield!

Tomorrow night sees the quest for a trophy begin in earnest when United entertain the hatchet men (Crusaders), in the first round/Quarter-final, of the County Antrim Shield. This is probably our best hope of stopping the trophy famine which is entering it's 21st year. Admittedly it won't be easy as the Shore Road men are the holders of the trophy and in any case matches between us are usually pretty much, nip and tuck. Maybe after our last gasp defeat to them at Seaview last Tuesday, we will get the breaks this time. But don't count on it, football by it's very nature, is an unpredictable sport and tomorrow night's game definitely falls into that category.

United manager Roy Walker has promised to field his strongest eleven and as this is our best hope of winning a trophy, we expect nothing less. This means that Cutch will journey over from Scotland tomorrow afternoon and can hopefully add to his impressive goal tally (4 goals already),in tomorrow night's game, which will be played to a finish. We expect the rest of the team to line-up as on Saturday, barring any injuries, sustained against the Reds, which in such a brutal game could only be expected. Referee Burns gave us practically no protection last Saturday, but hopefully we'll have a good strong official in charge tomorrow night.

The Sky Blues have a chance to gain some revenge for our last minute 'mugging' on the plastic pitch at Seaview last Tuesday, when a mishit shot by Coates cancelled out Cutch's early goal, before Jordan Owen, notched an even later winner, which left a bad taste in the mouth. United will need to come out strong and to stay strong, there will be no call for 'namby pamby' football, just good hard graft and oodles of skill. If we apply ourselves to the task, there's no reason why we can't win, if we are found wanting, the quest will go on. As Gazza likes to say in his Blog, 'United we stand, divided we fall', so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those paper tigers!

United Front!

United must try to return to winning ways, when Chickenville come to town, for what may be their only visit this season, depending on the 'split' later at the end of March 2011. Both managers will want their teams to recover after both were defeated on Tuesday night, Chickenville at the Oval and United at Seaview. But United also need to recover after their last cock-eyed performance at home, when Donegal Celtic were the visitors. That was one of the worst results witnessed at the Warden Street venue for many's a day. In fact United were so inept that day, that they bore no resemblance to the team that have played 4 games away from home and collected 7 points. Not people to give in to superstition, it's ironic that our two defeats have occurred when we have been wearing our beloved Sky Blue rig.

What tactics will United manager Roy Walker employ tomorrow, does he stick with his 4,4,2 formation which came so close to delivering the 'goods' last Tuesday night, or revert to his tried and trusted 4,5,1 formation that gave us two wins in a row? Decisions, decisions, decisions, who would ever try to second guess a manager, especially one like Roy Walker, who at times just appears to do the opposite of what is expected of him. Rory Carson and Nathan Handley will most likely make their home debuts and Gibbo could also get the nod, while Mackers must surely be pushing for a start after scoring 7 goals for the reserves so far this season.

Whatever line-up the wily Walker comes up with tomorrow, one thing's for sure, they'll need to come out with all guns blazing, as the visitors will want to dictate the pace of the game and we simply cannot allow that. Anything short of a 2-0 victory tomorrow and questions will inadvertently be asked about Roy's long term future as Sky Blue manager. As he is wont to say, United we stand and it's definitely time for us to stand up and be counted. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those slum dwelling Ballysillianites!

Rock On!

This is the only advice we feel is appropriate for tomorrow night's game away to Crusaders at Seaview, kick-off 19-45. As for team news, we don't have a baldy, but then what else is new. Rory Carson must be rated as doubtful after coming off at halftime in our last match at Mourneview Park, with suspected concussion. It was disappointing to see such a promising debut brought to an end in such a manner and what was even worse was the attitude of referee Davey Malcolm to the players obvious distress. Surely United officials should complain about the referee's non-caring attitude to our player in this instance, he showed an utterly callous disregard for our player's weelbeing..

But enough about referee's shortcomings, they are after all many and varied, but onto more important things. This will be only United's second game on Seaview's artifical surface and it's a surface they will need to get used to as Chickenville are installing a similar surface on their ground as well. As we seem to have abandoned our play from the back policy at the moment we should do quite well as it'ds only when you attempt to play football that the trouble begins on this type of surface. We assume Roy will continue with his five man midfield in the first half and then bring on Gibbo at halftime.

So far this formula has worked well for us in our last two games and it's not as negative as it appears and it reminds us of the old Alan Fraser system that was such a success for a short time with Barry Patton leading the line. Of course we had some willing midfielders in that team, Peter Murray and Phillip Knell being two of them. We wonder if Mo (McDowell) and Nathan (Hanley), will be soon spoken of in the same breath as these two great players. That team system was broken when we foolishly signed Glenn Hunter and things then went from bad to worse. Hopefully we won't make the same mistake again, but it's early days yet. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those tame tigers!

Lion Tamers!

United make a return trip to County Armagh tomorrow night for match number four against Glenavon at Mourneview Park, kick-off 19-45. This game should've been played at Ballymena Showgrounds tonight, Thurs, but a F.I.F.A. ruling about matches on a Thursday means games (other than European games), are a non-starter. So it's all go for tomorrow night and despite 'rumblings' in the press we doubt there will be many changes to last Saturday's starting eleven.

Manger Walker, could of course do worse than begin with the 11 players who took the field in the 2nd period of last Saturday's game. The link-up play between Gibbo and Cutch, augured well for the future and proved that an impressive understanding has built-up between them already and hopefully a rich seam of goals lies in store for future United games. Rory Carson has been mentioned in dispatches, but we at 'Sport expect him to keep the bench warm for at least an hour of tomorrow's game.

United go into the 'Lion's den' tomorrow with their strongest line-up of late, with only two players not expected to report fit. Andy Smith, 'mark our words', will report fit for tomorrow's game and manager Walker will hopefully come to the correct conclusion as regards 'his star' striker's role. The odds are staked against us, but as they say, 'hope springs eternal', so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those non-marchers!

Rory Hanley!

No this isn't bad grammar (admittedly we are guilty of that at times), it's merely the name of the two new signing's who should make their début for United at Shamrock Park, against Portadown tomorrow. Of course we could've had another headline, like Nathan Carson, but we thought not. Hanley, a left sided midfielder, is the latest player to join the Sky Blues (Carson's signature has been expected for weeks)and gives Walker and his team yet another left-sided option. After last Saturday's debacle, we at 'Sport are anticipating major changes especially in defence where no-one emerged with any credit. With Sparky back from suspension, Mike Smith should be 'rested', alongside Albert and Colly. The only player in the back four who emerged with any credit last week was Archie and he should probably keep his place.

This would mean a start for Denver Gauge, with Gazza dropping back to partner him, while Rory Carson should make his début in centre midfield partnering Eamon Murray. With Mo on the right-side and Hanley on the left, it only leaves the striking partnership to be sorted out. Surely it's time we had a look at Dicky Gibson, while Mackers showed enough in his subs appearance last week to merit selection from the start. With the Cutch and Andy 'the headless chicken' Smith, showing little last week, surely a place on the bench is all they can merit.

In an interesting footnote last week a certain David Cushley scored the winner for Lisburn Distillery at Seaview (well Tommy Wright did once dub him the best young player in Ireland and then bluntly refused to let him do his own thing), while Sean O'Neill (Oggers), had a match-winning performance in goal for Dungannon Swifts at home to Linfield. Stephen Alexander in The Ballymena Times (B.T.), said that last Saturday's result was almost as bad as the loss to Kilnore Rec. during the reign of Kenny Shiels. We at 'Sport think you're way off the mark there Stephen, as actually in our opinion last Saturday's was a much worse result.

Not to make excuses for Kenny Shiels, but in the end he merely underestimated Kilmore, by fielding a weakened team. Last week we had out the eleven heroes who went to Windsor Park and fought a gallant draw against the reigning champions. This same starting eleven flopped miserably against newly promoted Donegal Celtic. Four nil was quite a drubbing, but we all know it could and should've been a lot worse. We were outfought and worse still out-thought. When our team came out for the 2nd half, we had made one substitution, but our tactics were still the same and of course we paid the ultimate penalty, a deserved 4 nil drubbing. Enough is enough, a vast improvement is required over the next 3 games, all away from home. Otherwise a bleak future awaits us all. No final punchline form us this week, we just expect some honest endeavour, with that anything is possible!

Walker's Warning!

United manager Roy Walker has told his boys that their draw at Windsor Park last Saturday against league champions Linfield, set the standard for the remaining matches this season. What the man means is, last Saturday's effort will have been for nothing, if they don't consolidate it with a win, when they meet newly promoted Donegal Celtic at the Showgrounds tomorrow. United should be at full strength with Murray and Berry deemed fit enough to make their home débuts. This will be United's only home Saturday fixture in August, as their game against Glenavon, scheduled for August 28 will be played on Thursday August 26.

Tomorrow's opponents suffered a home defeat last week and will no doubt want get a result against the Sky Blues and avoid falling further behind early pace-setters, Glenavon, who ground out a one nil win at home to Portadown tonight. Newly appointed manager, Marty Tabb, was a great battler during his playing days and will no doubt have his boys all fired up for this game. With every man expected to be fit Roy Walker, will have to decide, who to leave out of his 14 man panel, rather than being restricted as to whom he can has fit for selection.

With the United forwards shooting blanks against Linfield last week, it will be interesting to see which player has his scoring boots on tomorrow. This is a game we have to win, it's not that vital as far as points go, but it will tell us if we are still carrying our hang-up of the last few season (our ineptitude against lower placed teams), or if we have definitely laid that statistic to rest. If we could, we at 'Sport believe it just might give us the incentive to go on to bigger and better things. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those westies!

Seeing Red!

No this isn't a description of the embarrassment felt at Windsor Avenue following the news that Raymond 'I put my foot in my mouth every time I open it', Kennedy, has decided to not resign after all. Neither is it that United fans will be seeing red at being herded into the Spion Kop stand at Windsor for tomorrow's opening league encounter against league champions Linfield. It will be because United will be donning their new away red strip, instead of their customary Sky Blue. We at 'Sport will still refer to them as the Sky Blues, we are after all 'dyed in the wool' United fans.

What the make-up of tomorrow's team will be is anybody's guess as at least four first team players seem set to be missing. Sparky is definitely missing as he serves a two game suspension, while local boy Mo McDowell (pronounced Mac Doughall), is still carrying a groin injury. Defensive stalwart Albert Watson is struggling with a facial injury and striker Andy Smith is extremely doubtful too. This may mean a version of little and large leading our forward line aka Gibson and McCutcheon. Also making their competitive débuts tomorrow will be goalkeeper Robert Brown and midfielders Ryan Berry and Eamon Murray.

Local boy Denver Gage could also get the call-up if manager Walker is averse to having three principally left-footed players in defence, namely Gazza, Archie and Colly. Would the manager be bold enough we wonder, to give a start to Mike Smith mark 2 on the left, in the absence of the versatile 'I can play anywhere' Sparky. Tomorrow will probably be a damage limitation exercise and Walker would probably settle for a narrow defeat 2-1, 3-1 or be over the moon with a hard fought draw.
We on the other hand see things a lot differently, Linfield are expected to brush us aside and for that reason there is a just a little bit of extra pressure on them.

Also it'll either be Alan Blaney or 'Alice' Addis in goals for them and we have first hand experience of both their shortcomings. On the downside the referee appointed is Richard Crangle and we have good reason to remember his biased nature at work and a strong character like the bigoted David Jeffrey could surely sway Crangle into making decisions in the home team's favour. But let's not get paranoid, it's the first game of the new season, hopefully fair play isn't just a pipe dream, so come on Sky Blues (Reds), let's shag those village idiots!

Summer News (1)!

This is the first of what we hope will be many editions of summer news during this close season. Omar, who had intimated that he was retiring this year from the 'Sports team, has been persuaded (well to tell the truth he's been threatened by various folk), to carry on, at least on a part-time basis. The big news is of course that our manager has released a big handful of players and begun to recruit one or two as well. Richard Gibson, a striker, formerly with our dear neighbours from Ballycastle Road (Coleraine scum), has signed a one year deal, while Archie Stewart has penned a one year extension to his contract as well. Now we'll just have to wait and see who follows suit.

No doubt our manager would like to be in a position to bid for Glentoran striker Andy Waterworth, whom Tommy Wright allegedly passed up the chance of signing, during his tenure of management at Warden Street. If he's also interested in Kyle Neil a gifted left-side player, he hasn't indicated, but he will probably go back to mid-Ulster, where the pickings appear to be sweeter (apples we're told). Michael Halliday has been approached by the United manager, but Marty Quinn has been linked to him too and if it's just money he's after, it's doubtful if we can compete with those big spenders. This has already been emphasised when Crusaders player Aaron Black opted to sign for the cash strapped Coleraine scum instead of United.

This makes us wonder just how dire our financial situation is when we can't compete with the likes of Coleraine, no doubt all will be revealed at the forthcoming shareholders meeting, we hope. The will he won't he sign has been round Albert Watson's neck all season as he ponders the wisdom of moving on or staying with United for another year. Our gut feeling is that Albert will leave, taking the view that a 'bird in the had is worth two in the bush' or in plain Norn Iron speak, take the mid-Ulster money, instead of the chancy testimonial money in this his benefit year at the Showgrounds. Albert has been a loyal servant at the Showgrounds and owes us nothing, so we wish him well whatever his decision. That's all for now folks, remember the old adage, the only good Coleraine supporter is, what are we saying, everybody knows there's no such thing as a 'good' Coleraine supporter!

Final Countdown!

Here we are, we started the season so full of optimism, but as is usual we have flattered to deceive. We promise so much, but deliver so little, so much so that it's a wonder we have any fans left. The will he wont he saga about Kevin Kelbie refuses to go away and it will be interesting to see if United manager Roy Walker, selects United's leading goalscorer for tomorrow's game away to Glenavon at Mourneview Park, Lurgan. It would be understandable if our manager omitted King Kevin from his starting line-up, but maybe he will select him in a bid to secure a win and therefore the 3 points which could vault us back up to eight position.

Even if by a late reconciliation, Kevin decided to tie himself to United for another season, I believe a reliable striker is a must find for the wily Walker, while a tough central defender would also be a great asset, in fact we actually need to recruit a new spine for the team as central midfield also needs strengthening. If perchance a new keeper was available, he would be a mug not to snap him up also and release one or even both his current charges. I have no words of wisdom to impart to Roy, either for the future or for tomorrow, all I can do is issue the rallying call, so for the final time this season, come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Lurgan boys!

Last Homer!

As United approach their last home game, free from the threat of relegation, we wonder if there is any motivation in them to deliver a win against the Whites. There should be plenty as a win would at worst keep them in touch with the team in 8th place, Glenavon and a victory against them in the final league match next Saturday would see us replacing them in eighth place. It would be hard for them to produce as lack lustre a performance as they did against Newry last Tuesday night, but stranger things have happened.

We must assume that we are committed to bringing Gary Muir over for games as on his present form he's not worth his place in the team and definitely not worth his air fare either. United manager Roy Walker does seem to be struck by him, or does he feel obliged to play him also, given the fact that we have flown him in specially. For whatever reason Muir appears to be a fixture of the team, while Cushley and McConnell, have no chance of getting a start. Obviously they don't figure in Roy's plans for next season and we think he may live to regret releasing them to be picked up by someone who can bring the best out of them.

With Sparky serving an automatic one game ban following his sending off at Newry, there should be a place for McConnell alongside Kelbie, with Andy Smith still missing with a gashed shin, or will Roy opt for his favourite ploy of playing with a 4, 5, 1 formation, which in turn delivers sweet fanny Adams. One things for sure, changes will have to be made, as we cannot continue with this devil-may-care attitude as it tends to drive fans away and doesn't reward the die-hard supporters with any due thanks. Hopefully the boys will be fully focused for what may prove to be the last home game for some of our panel. So for them for the last time all we gotta say is, 'come on sky blues, let's shag those lily whites'!

Travelling Light!

After having four players removed from the team due to injury on Saturday and at least one other soldering on while not 100% fit, we imagine the Sky Blues may be a little light on players tomorrow night. Added to that is the fact that reserve striker Mackers, has begun a two match suspension and United may be down to the bare bones tomorrow night. With doubts hanging over our two Scottish players, re-transport, just what sort of line-up United will have is hard to estimate. Things are so bad that Omar is threatening to resurrect his rowing boat in an attempt to get Kelbie and Muir over for tomorrow night's game.

While we don't quite think that will be really necessary, as, if flights are still grounded, ferry transport would be possible, it nevertheless is a grave situation we find ourselves in. Thankfully we gathered 3 points on Saturday past and that just might give us some breathing space. If we can somehow scrape together a team for tomorrow night's game and sneak a win, then that will be like the great escape and our last two games will be even more meaningless. The benefit of our large panel of players should give us the ability to field a decent team, just not our first choice eleven players.

Newry are in a bit of a tight spot and will no doubt see us as a stepping stone to get them clear of the relegation trap-door and for that reason we'll need to be prepared for a battle. Hopefully referee Burns will not be in as lenient a mood as last Saturday's official, Crangle, was. At least two of the injuries affecting our players on Saturday were as a result of Crangle's leniency and another horror story at the Marshes would leave us in 'dire straits' for our last two games. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Carlingford Loughers!

Biggest Game!

United play their biggest game of the season tomorrow when they entertain the 'Stute at the Showgrounds. A win would go a long way to securing Premiership football for next season, a draw would keep us well within the mix, whereas a defeat would start the alarm bells ringing. We'd do well to remember that Glenavon are safe and although pride is at stake in their game at home to Distillery tomorrow, a defeat would not be viewed as a disaster. Then there's United's trip to Newry on Tuesday night, where points have been hard to come by, before entertaining the Whites next Saturday.

So nothing easy on the horizon, but the time has come for the players who are 'really' committed to the cause, to lead by example tomorrow. On paper we should blow the 'Stute away tomorrow, we have too much fire-power for them, but then again games aren't won on paper, they're won on the pitch. And we haven't been doing that lately, so now would be a good time to get our act together. With no new suspensions this week, it'll just be a case of checking on the walking wounded, before selecting the team tomorrow.

Gary Muir should return after being ineligible for the cup last week and Kelbie should partner Andy Smith once more. But it's in midfield and defence where United have the problems and it's where this game will be won and lost tomorrow. Noel Anderson surely deserves a start tomorrow, as he came on as a sub last week and volunteered for the penalty duty also, a player with the right attitude. Otherwise the manager has quite a few permutations at his disposal and hopefully he'll come up with the right one on the day. So come on Sky Blue, let's shag those drummers from the Hoe!

Crunch Time!

Since qualifying for the Irish cup semi-final, it's fair to say that United haven't been at their best. In the opinion of most fans, they had one eye on tomorrow's semi-final against Portadown. Now the big day has arrived and there's no more room for excuses, it's time to stand up and deliver. The record between the two clubs, this season tells us nothing. Portadown adherents may point out that they had two victories to our one, but believe it or not, past victories mean sweet Fanny Adams when the 'crunch' comes. It will be down to whoever performs on the day and even though the Ports have the experience, we hope that the hunger of our players will win the day.

People like Mike Smith, Lee Colligan and Archie Stewart, playing in their first Irish cup semi-final at such a tender age, could shape the rest of their careers in the years ahead. While the veterans like Locky, Andy Smith and Kevin 'the king' Kelbie can write their names in our sparse history books. As we don't know the make-up of the team it's hard to say if all of these six players will be on the team, but one man who 'is' a United veteran and still in his early twenties and 'is' certain to start, is Albert Watson. Albert, with over 260 appearances for the club, is the rock on which our team is built and the one thing that you can count on from Albert is 100% commitment to the cause.

Just who will partner Albert in defence is unknown, but if Sparky (Surgenor),is fit we at 'Sport expect him to get the nod, but then again Roy may have other ideas. If Sparky isn't fit the United manager can opt for two or three players in Archie, Gazza and Kit Ramsay. Another man who looks like an automatic choice given his form of late is midfielder Aiden Watson (no relation to Albert), whose tough tackling and defence splitting passes will be vital in tomorrow's game. Will the manager be bold and pick the Cush tomorrow in left-midfield? If we had to guess we'd say no and he's more likely to go with Archie at leftback and Colligan in the wide left position.

That was the surprise selection he used at Glenavon in the previous round of the cup and it worked, but will it work tomorrow? That as they say is the $64,000 question. Noel Anderson also played a vital role in those two games against Glenavon and he may get the nod tomorrow and in fact the team could only show one change from those two games, Albert instead of Gazza. Dwayne Nelson has the keeper's job tied down and he will be vital to us tomorrow and his leadership qualities will stand us in good stead, while Gavin Taggart looks set to return after serving his one match ban. The time for talking is over, it's time to stand up and be counted, so come on United, let's shag those apple pickers!

Walkers Dilemma!

United manager Roy Walker is faced with a major dilemma for tomorrow night's derby at home to the Coleraine scum. Dare he pick his strongest side and risk the chance of some of them picking up injuries which would rule them out of Saturdays Irish cup semi-final? Or should he field a weakened team and risk the wrath of the Sky Blue following, who would find capitulation to the Coleraine scum hard to stomach. It is a decision only he can make and it's one we don't envy him, a real Hobson's choice. Is their any point in flying Gary Muir over for tomorrow's game also, as he is ineligible for the cup match?

Our manager may argue that at least he hasn't to worry about him getting injured and he's the sort of player needed for this type of game. On the plus side United's fringe players could get a rare start and one who will want to play is team Captain Gazza, who's out of favour at the moment. If Roy does go with a weaker selection, we'd expect Ogers to don the keeper's jersey, while Nathan McConnell could get a belated call-up to first team action. If Mackers is still about this would be an ideal start for him and Locky too could at last grace a Derby fixture, or is Roy holding him back for the semi? Kevin Kelbie, who came off injured last Saturday, should get a well earned rest as he's vital to our plans for next Saturday.

Maybe of course Roy will want to give his intended semi selection a run out tomorrow, but we at 'Sport believe it to be a risk too far, as these games tend to be real humdingers. In other words no quarter is asked or given and there should be a wee bit of atmosphere with both sets of fans in the one stand and in a holiday mood to boot. Another minus believe it or not is that 'fat' O'Hare is serving a suspension and we'll miss him as he's usually good for one or two gaffes against us. But as far as we fans are concerned, it's all systems go, so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Coleraine lambs!

White Knight 2

We have no news, for as far as we know the same team as that selected for duty last Tuesday night, will take the field in the rearranged game tomorrow, weather permitting. The weather is a very big factor, as the cup replay between Newry & Loughgal, scheduled for tonight was cancelled once more, so our game at Ballyskeagh might be in doubt also. As if the fixture headache wasn't bad enough, we now have a Setanta cup semi-final involving Linfield tomorrow, which along with the Scum/Ports game and the cup replay, means only one current league game being played.

As Omar said in his column this is 'organised confusion'. If, as looks likely, we have no match on Easter Tuesday, we will have three weeks to play our 5 remaining league games, before the official end of the season. This of course is an accident waiting to happen and if tomorrow's game falls foul of the weather, the situation will be exacerbated even further. So we are hoping for a dry night and knowing our weather is at best unpredictable, all we can hope for tomorrow is light April showers.

The three points on offer are more vital to the Whites, but as this is possibly our last game before the cup semi-final against the Ports in 8 days time, a good display is called for, to get us out of the rut we are in at present. Tomorrow is Easter Saturday, but surely all true Sky Blue fans will make the trip to Lambeg and cheer the wee team on. It's not the best venue by any means for watching a match, too wide open for one thing, but at least we can get close to the action, if it's not raining. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Lambeggars!

White Knight!

United for the 2nd time this season come up against former manager Tommy Wright and his Lisburn Distillery side. A vast improvement on our last meeting is called for against the rejuvenated Whites, where Tommy has actually turned them around of late. Hard as this is to believe for United fans who watched the Ballyclare man splutter, while we drifted down the table, the facts nevertheless speak for themselves. A win for the Ballyskeagh team would almost certainly make them the team of the month and we wonder how the hell we can stop them.

A vast improvement on our last showing on Thursday past at Seaview is called for, where we were jammy to escape with a point. Hopefully Roy will have learned from his selective fiddling that it's not a good idea to play your top scorer on the wing and restore Kelbie to the main striking role. It's also to be hoped that he'll give Gary Muir his head and allow him to play his own game and maybe he can start to deliver some decent crosses. What the make-up of our team will be is anybody's guess, will Locky get the chance to play himself back to full fitness with a starting role. What about Gazza we wonder, will he return in midfield or replace Archie at the centre of defence, as he, 'Archie', looks too light to tackle Spike 'Mr Elbows' Ferguson & Co.

One thing's for sure whoever gets the nod will need to be up for the fight as they can expect no quarter from the home team, who are battling for their Premiership survival. Tommy will have them fired up, never mind it being his former team, he'll want to lower our colours as we're in the cup semi-final and leave us with that horrible 'what if' scenario to think about. It's time for the Sky Blues to step up to the mark, roll up their shirtsleeves and get knuckled down to some serious football. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those lily Whites!

Chop Hatchets!

The time has come, nay we digress, the time has been long overdue, United need to put their Irish cup semi-final game on the back burner and get back to winning ways. We are the only team with two games to play before the split and our opponents in those two games, Crusaders and Lisburn Distillery, will be desperate to beat us for two very different reasons. Crusaders, whom we play tomorrow night at Seaview, require the 3 points to bring them level with 3rd placed Cliftonville and put them right in the hunt for the Gibson cup, while Lisburn, our opponents next Tuesday at Ballyskeagh, require the 3 points to consolidate their rise from the bottom of the league.

Back to tomorrow night's game and the bad news from the Showgrounds is that the ever present Mike Smith, may miss his first game since signing for the Sky Blues, his chances are rated 50/50 at the moment. Smith is a vital cog in the United machine and despite what the B.B.C. commentators say, did score the goal of the season at Mournview Park in our drawn Irish cup game with Glenavon. But on the plus side, United's best player in that game and the subsequent replay, Aiden Watson, is fit again after missing the 2nd half of the Portadown game and our pointless trip to Windsor Park on Saturday. Aiden's all action enthusiasm could be the fulcrum that tips the match in our favour tomorrow night.

If Smith is not available the versatile Sparky could get the nod at rightback, where he has played in the past, but then again where has Sparky not played this season? Left-back is one that springs to mind, as he has at times been tried in most other positions, including the keeper's jersey in United's game against tomorrow night's opponents at the Showgrounds way back in August. If United manager Roy Walker wants to 'gee' his side up for tomorrow night, maybe a reference to that game on August 22 would just do the trick. We cannot afford to be drawn into the relegation dogfight that now looks set to be fought between Institute, Lisburn and Newry. Six points in our next two games would go a long way to ensuring we're not involved. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag, those paper Tigers!

Windsor Knots!

United go into what should,ve be their final league game with six players just one booking away from a one game suspension. The players should in fact be alright for the cup semi-final, as United have a game pencilled in for decision on Easter Tuesday and any suspension should run from the previous day, Easter Monday, but can we trust the I.F.A. not to alter things. The answer is quite probably no, as we have fell foul of local legislators on more than one occasion this season and probably will again. As for tomorrow's game the make-up of the team is anybody's guess, as it will be a question of who the manager feels needs a game. This could mean a recall for local boy Albert Watson (still to sign a new contract), which should in turn release Gary Haveron into midfield, where his presence has been badly missed.

The rest of the midfield is a bit of a minefield at the moment and Gary Muir will need to improve if he's to win an extension to his contract, which expires at the end of this season. Nathan McConnell has slipped badly down the striking 'pecking' order, but might warrant a rare starting role tomorrow, as Walker endeavours to rest key players, as the season draws to a close.Ogers appears to be completely out of the picture at present, but could also earn a recall in place of present custodian, Dwayne Nelson. United really need to get something out of this game as our next two games are anything but easy. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those village people!

Bad Timing!

Greetings from sunny Spain, well if truth be known not so sunny Spain, but somewhere a little warmer than Norn Iron. But enough about us as we prepare to fly home to attend the 'theatre of dreams', the old Showgrounds, for the ill-timed meeting with Portadown. Both managers are no doubt insisting that tomorrow's game has no bearing on the cup semi-final meeting in 4 weeks time and depending on where the Ports finish in the league at 'splitting' time, there could be another meeting at Shamrock Park before the 'big' game anyway. Such is the 'organised confusion' that is the Irish league, that the only thing we can depend on is, that we can depend on nothing!

But enough chit-chat, onto the game itself, vital league points are at stake for both clubs tomorrow and for entirely different reasons. United have four games including tomorrow's encounter to play before the 'split' and the other three are away from home, so tomorrow is their last chance for home advantage before the meaningless games after the 'split'. We say meaningless as it would take a 'herculean effort' from the Whites if they were to climb clear of the relegation trap-door, but the 'Stute are a little too close to us for comfort and we need to be mindful of them. The Ports meanwhile are chasing a possible top six position at the expense of our dear friends from Ballycastle Road. Much as we'd like to help them we don't think we can, so we' need to be looking for all three points tomorrow.

How we go about getting them is anybody's guess, supposedly all we can do, is as Roy says, believe! None of us on the 'Sports team believed last week when we saw the team sheet at Lurgan, but with 15 minutes left we were converted. It turned out to be a false dawn, but the same team did the 'business' in Tuesday's night's replay and there no reason to doubt that a similar team could'nt triumph tomorrow. Neither manager will want to show his hand too much, but both games will be entirely different scenarios and with that in mind all we can say is, come on United, let's shag those apple pickers!

Die Dog!

There's an old saying about when things are desperate, choices have to be made and United are at that point tomorrow. In such a situation it has been known for desperate people to utter the immortal words, 'die dog or shite the licence'. United desperately need to win tomorrow in order to reap the financial awards of a semi-final, which is the stepping stone to the final. With an almost fully fit squad to select from, minus the two ineligible players, Muir and Mackers, manager Walker will need to be bold in his team selection. Surely this will mean a start for the mercurial Cushley, not a place on the bench as United need to go for the jugular early on.

Glenavon's last two results have been poor, but tomorrow is a different 'ball game' and Marty will have them fired up for this one. Tony Grant is rated as doubtful for the home side, but United will do well to ignore this bit of information as injuries have a habit of disappearing when there is a cup game to be contested. Former Sky Blue, Stuarty King, will be hoping to get a start, but United have the players to nullify anything Stuarty has to offer. King's shortcomings are well known to us, as he spent four years at the Showgrounds most of which were non-productive. Albert Watson, after his horrific injury sustained at the hands of Timmy Adamson (who freely admits to hate Ballymena), is fit and raring to go and will surely come into the reckoning for a defensive place.

If Albert plays as looks likely, this would in return release Mike Smith into a more attacking right-midfield role. This would leave five players vying for the central midfield role, while up front only Kelbie is assured of his place and Andy Smith may lose out to Sparky as Kevin's strike partner. As we said earlier the manager must be bold in his team selection for tomorrow's game as we don't want to be falling behind and must take the game to the home team. If we can get among them and our midfield can limit the supply to Molloy and Costello, we can frustrate them a wee bit. If we fail in this task then we're afraid this will prove to be be our undoing. So come on United, let's shag those Armagh boys!

Panel Gutted!

United had a full panel of fit players to select from last Tuesday, but after the game at Dungannon, we have four players out injured and two others unavailable due to being selected for the under-23s, what a difference four days make. Albert Watson was on the end of yet another vicious attack from Timmy Adamson, once again missed by the referee. Big Timmy raked his boot into Albert's face and he required 7 stitches to the gaping wound. Albert, who already has a plate in his jaw, thanks to an elbow from Gault of Linfield (again unpunished by the referee), must wonder what's going to happen to him next, while referee's and Linesmen turn a blind eye. Video evidence is not allowed in the Irish league or to be more precise, completely ignored as we know only too well.

Dwayne Nelson will probably continue in goal for the Sky Blues (despite his gaffe for the first goal at Dungannon on Tuesday night, reportedly), as Ogers has been selected for the under-23s. As for central defence it's perm any two from the three of Sparky, Archie and Gazza. Due to the shortage of personnel United could start with two wingers in midfield or maybe Andy Smith will be pushed onto the left wing once more, allowing Cushley to partner Anderson in the centre. One thing's for sure, after their capitulation to Dungannon for the 3rd time this season, United badly need to get a win under their belts tomorrow against Newry City, another team they haven't beaten this term.

We need the three points in order to put some daylight between ourselves and tomorrow's opponents as our next league opponents will be bottom club Lisburn Distillery on Tuesday March 9, if there is no cup replay. This will be followed by a visit from the much improved Portadown who are striving for a possible top six position, it doesn't get any easier does it? It's time for our well paid stars to earn their wages, Gazza needs to lead by example, maybe if he can, the rest will follow. It's all up for grabs now, so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Newry sheep!

Quiet Lambs!

What a strange atmosphere awaits our team at the 'strangely' named Stangmore Park, Dungannon, tomorrow night, weather permitting. United fans have intimated their intention to boycott this game in protest at the false accusations levelled at us regarding racial chanting. We at 'Sport (us three), have decided to support this call for non-support, although it will be a difficult pill to swallow, but swallow it we must. We will however not be attending the reserve game at the Showgrounds, as it is not a 'home game' for us (based 30 miles from Ballymena as we are), but we are hoping to attend the 'legends' night on Wednesday. What a treat it promises to be for Omar, who says Norman Clarke knows him personally (in his dreams) and Eddie Russell is his all time favourite player.

As for the team for tomorrow night's game, we just don't have a clue, but imagine Saturday's selection will get the 'nod' again as a win is vital for us in our attempt to move up the league standings. Chris Ramsay is serving the second game of his 2 game ban, but as far as we know everyone else is available. Dungannon will have to manage without star striker Timmy Adamson and former United defender Craig McClean, who are both suspended. Adamson is usually a thorn in the flesh in these games, but United will have to avoid complacency due to his absence as they strive for the three points. Even though we won't be there in body we will be there in spirit, so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Tyronians!

White Time!

United travel to Ballyskeagh tomorrow with Chris Ramsay still missing through suspension. We don't know if manager Roy Walker will persist with Gazza and Albert in central defence, or if he will revert to Archie and Albert, releasing our Captain into his central midfield role. Gazza's ball winning qualities were sorely missed in midfield last Tuesday night, but he did dovetail perfectly with 'man of the match' Albert in a solid defensive display. Gary Muir will be returning to his old stamping ground tomorrow and hopefully this will give him an edge and hopefully he can continue with his good form. He has really settled in quickly since signing for the Sky Blues and already looks like one of Walker's more astute signings. If Gazza returns to midfield it may mean Gavin Taggart returning to the bench, but it will only be a temporary thing we think.

Mike Smith and Lee Colligan, two ever presents in the United team, owe their presence in the team solely to Roy Walker. Just a little over a year ago he plucked Mike from Ballyclare Comrades, while he gave Lee a baptism of fire against Linfield in September 2009. These are the sort of decisions managers must make if they are to succeed and Walker definitely has the courage of his convictions. While many United fans are calling for the inclusion of David Cushley, Walker stands firm and prefers to bring him on as a sub, if at all. That's how we expect it will be tomorrow, but Walker may give a debut to young striker Mackers, who came off the bench on Tuesday night to good effect.

But whoever gets the nod tomorrow, they best be up for it, as the 'Whites' are fighting for their premier league existence. Their manager Tommy Wright, formerly at the Showgrounds, has targeted four wins out of their next seven games, starting with a victory tomorrow. For that reason we will have to be at our best, confident after beating both Cliftonville and Glenavon, but not overconfident. There's 3 precious points up for grabs which could take us closer to a possible top six finish and all the potential money earners, with Linfield, Glentoran and Coleraine all due to visit the Showgrounds. So come on Sky Blues, let's strive towards that goal, Let's shag those Lambeggars!

Dress Rehearsal!

United face their opponents in the next round of the Irish cup, Glenavon, at the showgrounds tomorrow night in a postponed league game, with vital points at stake. Anyone who attends tomorrow night's game thinking it has no bearing on the cup encounter, think again. We're not saying that whoever wins tomorrow night, if any team does, will win the cup-tie, but it will put them in a vary strong position. United manager Roy Walker will have to ring the changes, with Ramsay suspended and Gary Muir eligible once more we can envisage at least two, but we wonder will he restore Andy Smith, free from suspension, in his line-up also or peresevere with the 'budding' strike partnership of Kelbie and Sparky.

Cushley we feel missed a glorious chance to play himself back into the team with Muir's unavailability on Saturday and he may have to settle for a place on the bench this time. Locky is another player who may be recalled for this important game, hopefully Glenavon's last at the Showgrounds this season, barring a cup replay. The veteran midfielder had a well earned rest on Saturday, but his experience will be vital over the coming weeks as United mount a push for a top six finish. Three points are vital tomorrow night if that quest is to continue, a draw would not be a complete disaster, but it would dent our hopes somewhat, a defeat is unthinkable. With that in mind it's all systems go for tomorrow night's game, so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Mourne Viewers!

Ball(in) Breakers!

United need to be in ruthless mode tomorrow when they take on Ballinamallard in the 2nd round of the Irish cup, or else they will come a cropper. Tomorrow isn't about nice clean crisp football, all that matters is the victory, pretty or ugly, it makes no difference. Andy Smith, having served his six game ban for an attempted head-butt, is available for selection but manager Roy Walker may give the former Portadown player a place on the bench and say 'same again' to his starting line-up of Tuesday night. That of course is assuming that we have no new injuries, Chris Ramsay did seem to pick up a bit of a knock, but he is a fast healer.

Let's hope the players have come down to the ground after outplaying league leaders Cliftonville last Tuesday, as we need t be fully focused tomorrow. We confess to knowing nothing re-Ballinamallard, except that former Linfield player Andy Crawford is among their players. Have no doubts this team will be up for this game as they would like nothing better than to embarrass the Sky Blues and we badly need to get to the next round of this premier competition. As any United fan can tell you, 1989 was a long time ago, 21 years to be precise and our name on the 'cup' once more is long overdue. But let's not get carried away, first things first as they say, memories of the Ards match are fairly fresh in the mind and a repeat performance tomorrow would be hard to bear.

Hopefully big Gary and Roy will have down their work behind the scenes and the sky Blues will come out like they did on Tuesday night, firing from the hip. Unfortunately Johnny McLaughlin isn't eligible for this game having played for his previous club Mosside in an earlier round, as this would have been an ideal game for him to 'cut his United teeth', so to speak. To the best of our knowledge Gary Muir, who has made an emphatic start to his United career is eligible to play and if he can continue on the vein of form he has shown in his first two games, he looks to have a bright future in Sky Blue colours.

Will the manager restore Seven Towers supporters club, 'player of the month', Ogers to nets after he kept us in the competition in our previous Irish cup game against Ards, with three magnificent stops or go with the rejuvenated Dwayne Nelson, who has played in our last two games. That dear friends is anybody's guess, but one thing's clear, whoever gets the nod will have to perform at their best, or it will be curtains for us. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Erner's!

Red(dy) Reckoning!

The high flying Reds, league leaders at present, visit the Showgrounds for a postponed game tomorrow night, weather permitting. Both of United's flying Scotsmen will be coming in for this game as United seek to claw themselves clear of the bottom fringes of the table. Chris Ramsay and Noel Anderson should be back in contention for a starting role having served their automatic bans for their dismissal against the 'scum'. United snatched a draw at Drumaho on Saturday when they should've taken all three points and will need to show full commitment tomorrow night or else they'll fall further behind in the race for the top six position.

In fact it may well be beyond us already, as after tomorrow night's game we'll have only 3 other games against the 'likely top six and all away from home. Hopefully the boys will be fully focused on tomorrow's game and not thinking about our match will Ballnamallard in the Irish cup on Saturday, a cup run would be nice, but league points are vital just now. Will the manager continue with his ploy of Surgenor and Kelbie as his striking force or will he give a starting role to big Nathan against his former club, your guess is as good as ours. Nath looked good when he came on at Drumaho, as did the Cush, but our manager seems to have other ideas and we have to accept that as he is the boss.

The visitors, who rarely bring any sort of travelling support, will have to be accommodated in the 'home' stand as work progresses on the visitors stand and it will be a headache for our stewards as they attempt to keep the peace. This may well possibly be our last game against the Reds this season, unless we make the top six and it would be nice to have beaten them twice in the season, if we can somehow raise our game tomorrow night. The referee for tomorrow night's game will be former United player, Dessie 'chicken' Loughery and unless he's changed (which we doubt), he'll make no controversial decisions, hopefully he'll have none to make. Let's also hope the Sky Blues come out firing on all cylinders tomorrow night, so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those townies!

Muir Cure!

United manager Roy Walker has signed former Lisburn Distillery midfielder Gary Muir in a bid to spice up the United midfield. We need to start taking our chances as we seek to climb clear of the relegation trap-door. Muir is the the type of player who we need, if he can show the form he did when playing for the Whites, with 9 goals to his credit last season. United go into tomorrow's game without at least three first team players as, Ramsay, Anderson and Andy Smith are still suspended, while there are fitness doubts surrounding quite a few others. United should have encountered this fixture as their 29th game, which would've given a clearer picture as to the relegation shake-up, but due to the four postponements it comes along a little earlier than planned.

That doesn't make it any less vital for United to get something from the fixture at a ground where they either do quite well or are diabolical. Last time we were there we were diabolical losing the 1st leg of the C.I.S. cup and it's true to say we haven't improved any since that game. Up until the Glentoran match 2 weeks ago we seemed to have sorted our defending out (or lack of it to be more precise), but all the bad habits came back with a bang in that game. Hopefully we won't be so benevolent tomorrow as another abysmal showing would plunge us right into the mire.

The wage bill has now been trimmed somewhat, still not enough to free up money for a new striker, but enough to let us get our finances in order. That should allow our manager to get on with the task in hand, winning games and putting points on the board. We have an important cup game next week when Ballnamallard visit the Showgrounds, but in our opinion tomorrow's game must be the top priority. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Drumaho yins!

Barrel Scraping!

The time has come for United manager Roy Walker to dig deep into his reserves for tomorrow's game at home to Glenavon. With Chris Ramsay and Noel Anderson serving automatic one game bans and Lee Colligan unlikely to play the United manager may be forced to delve into our young reserve team in order to have 16 fit players. It's not known if the injured trio of Locky, Nathan and Aiden Watson will have recovered in time to face the Lurgan blues and if they aren't fit, United could be struggling to name a squad. We assume (which makes an ass out of you and me, or in this case you and we), that the 9 players and 3 subs who finished Tuesday night's game, if fit, will get the nod once more. Which would mean we'd have to find 2 subs to add to Nelson and Taggart.

It would be nice if reserve striker Johnny McLaughlin had completed his suspension, but we haven't a clue as to how many games our 2nd team have played since Christmas. Could we be having to recall the players we have loaned out already? We suppose anything's possible as at the end of the day the 3 points at stake may be of vital importance come the end of the season. Could we be in the position to ask for the game to be postponed? We have no idea what the criteria is for getting postponements in the Irish league, other than for International call-ups and it would only harm ourselves in the long run as players must serve their suspensions and in our opinion, next week's game away to Institute is an even more vital fixture. A win tomorrow would be nice, but a win next week is absolutely vital. So come on Sky Blues, let's shag (not literally we hasten to add), those Glenavon apple pickers!