Remember Limavady!

What a strange headline you might think as we embark on a new season, we've unloaded all our 'money grabbing' parasites and are now a lean points gathering team. All I can say is I haven't seen or heard (mostly heard), much evidence of our point grabbing expertise. I've only attended two pre-season games seeing the whole of the Cowdenbeath game and the 2nd half of the N.I. junior game. These two games were typical of our shortcomings over the last 10 seasons, promised plenty, but delivered nothing! Against Cowdenbeath we got a great start, two nil up at halftime and then went to sleep at a set-piece and were somewhat lucky to get away with a draw.

Against the junior International side, coached by former United player Harry McConkey, we could hardly string two passes together and paid the price in the end with a 2-1 defeat. But these two games were as nothing compared to the game sandwiched in between them, the benefit for former United player Lee Patrick, away to Limavady United. A defeat for the Sky Blues was always on the cards, but to lose 5-0 was really unacceptable. People may argue and say that we didn't have a full first team out, but at the end of the day we had the nucleus of our side on duty and they failed miserably.

This does not augur well for the new season and wouldn't it be ironic if we were drawn away to Limavady in the first round of the C.I.S.cup, which rightly in my opinion has become a knock-out competition. But before that happens United have to face their first league fixtures, starting with a visit to league champions Linfield. A visit to Windsor is rarely pleasant and even more so with our dismal record, but to make matters worse, we are to be 'herded' into the Alex Russell stand behind the goals, as the North stand undergoes repairs.

This arrangement brings the number of grounds where fans are limited to a view from behind the goals to five, in my book five too many, but then again the I.F.A. don't give a hoot about the people who keep them in a job, the long suffering fans. If Roy Walker requires a rallying call for his team this season he could do worse than say to them, 'remember Limavady'! Not that, that game or result was one to be remember, but the fact that it is one we don't want to see repeated. Let's forget about the 'nicey nicey' football, let's get stuck in and remember the immortal words of Corporal Jones in 'Dad's Army', "they don't like it up em", so let's give em what they don't like!