First Light!

I was reading on the United official website that it 106 days since football finished for us Sky Blue supporters, is it really that long? I'm not doubting the veracity of this statement, but merely my own memories about time passing so slowly when I was young, nowadays it passes in a flash. Last season I attended the majority of United's pre-season friendlies, but this year, I couldn't be arsed. I was intending to go to Larne, but then went to Bangor and had lunch instead, how pathetic is that? When I heard the match on Monday night against the PSNI was a tribute to my good friend, Noel 'Stroker' Millar, I decided to take that in. There were very few Sky Blue supporters in attendance, the PSNI had out a fringe team, but United didn't turn up, at least that's what I felt. We lost the match 3-2, but truth to tell it wasn't that close, 6-2 would have been a more realistic scoreline.

Admittedly we had only two recognised first-teamers in the squad, Sparky and Gavin, but they were easily the weakest links in our team. A fellow supporter, who attended the majority of the pre-season games, said that this was the dross he had come to expect and the form United had shown all along in pre-season. I Had attended the United shareholders AGM in June and made an observation to our manager that United in my opinion, were vulnerable to a team playing football. He poohed, poohed, this idea and said that the only team who had played football against us was Chickenville. He obviously was not at the matches against, Glenavon, Crusaders and Coleraine, not to mention Dungannon, DC and Warrenpoint Town, he might have been guesting for a Linfield select on these occasions, when these teams gave us a virtual football lesson. I was the only shareholder that asked the manager a question, so everybody else was happy with our season methinks.

That night I couldn't wait to get my point across on the United forum, I know what you're thinking, I've condemned the anoraks on this forum many times, but I felt forced to join them to find out what was happening in our club. When I logged in that night, I was informed that I had been banned for a month, for nothing. I'm left to conclude that I was getting too close to the truth. I appealed to the web-master, but he ignored my pleas, it was like pissing into the wind. What disappointed more than being banned was I spoke to at least three people who I know they're quite active on the site and I bet have influence on the site, but they kept their silence. When I couldn't log-in, I immediately thought Glenn Ferguson must have some influence, I only raised the point 2 hours ago and I've been banned already, but I had been banned at 11am that morning.

If I was like the rest of these anoraks that are on-line morning, noon and night, I would have known and would have been able to tackle these people at the AGM as to why I was banned. Although my month ban has elapsed I still have not signed in, it has left a bad taste in my mouth. I foolish thought it was a site where supporters could thrash out ideas and maybe make some sense of why we are the great underachievers. But the number times I was put down for stating the obvious and the number times people called me a 'cock', are too numerous to mention. When somebody blamed all our defensive troubles on the injuries to Archie and Johnny Taylor, I pointed out that they were both playing when DC scored 3 against us and the Coleraine scum scored 4 against us. I was called a 'cock' for pointing this out.

When we signed Stephen McBride, I disagreed with the signing of a reserve player that was displaced in the Crues team by Craig McClean, we had already signed another a Crues reserve player in Ruddy. I was lambasted for that and for pointing out that we had already being stung by players in the twilight of their career coming to Ballymena carrying injuries. McBride has been getting glowing reports from these anoraks and I went along to Newforge Lane on Monday to run my eye over him. He didn't start but when we made a substitution at halftime i thought he had come on and I was suitably impressed. It was only when the match was over and was checking my 'tweets' that I realised I was enthusing over local junior player Ryan Stewart, McBride will have to wait for another day!