Roy's Rain!

No it's not a misprint but I think it sums up what Roy Walker's time as manager of United is all about. Now I don't claim to have influence about our club, but eleven and half years ago we were looking for a manager, after Nigel Best and I like many others thought Kenny Shiels was the man. Kenny lasted five years in the job and it's true he 'flattered to deceive', they were some good times, but they were some bad times and I tend to remember the bad. But when Kenny was sacked, the 'board' in it's wisdom, appointed Tommy Wright. Now I disagreed with this appointment and the Sky Blue Sport team disagreed with as well for two reasons. Firstly, although Tommy had taken Limavady United, who were a relegation hunted team, to the higher reaches of the league, they eventually fell from grace and we were worried that we would improve, only to fail as well.

Secondly, Tommy had done the 'dirt' on us as a player, Kenny signed him as back-up and he played just a handful of matches and he claimed he was hurt and hung up his boots. Then a few weeks later he got a job as Linfield's goalkeeping coach, United cancelled his contract (reading between the lines I believe they paid him off) and two weeks later he registered as a player for Linfield, obviously not a man to be trusted. Tommy as a manager didn't disappoint and through his three years in charge he also 'flattered to deceive' and left us in the lurch, despite the fact that our board in it's wisdom 'sweetened' his contract when first he intimated that he was going to leave. I had cautioned against his appointment and had suggested Marty Quinn (I was told that United fans wouldn't want Marty because of his ethnic background, but I dismissed this as claptrap), Marty took the Coleraine job and as we know the rest is history.

When we were looking for a manager again, the 'board' in it's wisdom, got it narrowed down to two people, neither of which I wanted to see in the job and I made my feelings known and I was told and I quote, 'they had both interviewed well', the mind boggles. Another candidate was local boy made good, Michael O'Neill, but I was told he wanted too much money, (I heard a rumour it was £800 per week, not confirmed) and the choice was made between Tommy's assistant, Jim Gratton and Roy Walker, who been out of the game for a number of years. If Tommy had left us mid-season, we could probably have took a chance on Jim Gratton as caretaker and so the board came to choose Roy Walker. Roy tenure of management men is typified by excuses, he was hampered by a number of players on big contracts in the first years and then we got a catalogue of injuries.

Then the referees was all out to get him and we got some bad decisions no doubt, but the biggest disappointment from my point of view was Roy seemed to listen to other people. This was typified by his disastrous signing of keepers, Ryan Brown and Chris Kerr, when he told us (the fans), that they were both the best keepers in the first division. All I can say is the rest of them must be very poor, these two couldn't catch cold. Cutch, who has been a sensation and Roy's only success story, convinced him about Jenks, another flop and I personally thought he had made a good signing in Elvis an even bigger flop, I could go on and name more but there's no point, suffice to say we are sub-standard. Then the last straw, he panicked and signed Vauls and Watson at the transfer deadline, Vauls after a hesitant start is shaping to be a good player and Watson, the less said about him the better.

Roy didn't seem to be able to motivate his players, we the fans would be built up for a match and the team came out and flopped. Roy maintained he wasn't responsible, but somebody was or something was, maybe the players thought they should have a bonus for playing in knock-outs, for in these games they flopped miserably, I was of the opinion they should all have been fined. Ironically in Roy's last game in charge, the team played like they were really up for it and they were outdone by a poor refereeing decision and a keeper error, typical. Now we are in the market for a new manager and there's six in the frame, but only five are named, who the other one is, I'll try ascertain on Boxing Day, but my source is reluctant to tell me, for I betrayed his trust some years ago, white wine has something to answer for. I hope it's not you know who!