Spain Again!

Here we are again in Spain, where it doesn't rain, well hardly ever, not like good old Norn Iron where it rains almost constantly. I must say it was nice yesterday, playing golf in the sunshine, although it threatened to rain at one stage, but it never came to anything. My playing partner,no names and no pack drill (whatever that means), told me it mainly rains at night in this region of Spain and this was confirmed to me last night when I watched a match on the TV and it was raining 'cats and dogs' throughout the game.  But I digress, I took a wee duke on the United forum and it seems that Cush is not on the 5 yellow cards mark after all, you can't believe anything you read in United's programmer it seems.

I was going over the squads for the Linfield game and it seems we have two Aaron Shanahan (Shan) with two different squad numbers, the mind boggles. Our rearranged match with Chickenville, on Tues 04 February will take care of Jenks one game ban or will it? Stephen Alexander explained the format that the IFA use to determine when suspensions are to take place, but with all things to do with the IFA, it's as clear as mud to me, or am I just suspicious of the IFA? I well remember all those years ago (was it 1974 ?), when the supremo of the IFA at that time, Harry Cavan, brought the disciplinarian meeting forward and suspended Paul Kirk to make sure he missed the final of the Irish cup against Ards, who Cavan was the supremo of also, he claimed I think that was all done because he had to go to a meeting of FIFA the next week, a likely story if I ever heard one.

United managed to scrape through their replay with the Welders on Tues of last week, but we were not impressive it has to said, but its all about getting through in this competition and we are through. Alfie Stewart, Archie's father, who was one of the men doing the draw, could've been kinder to us, but he drew Linfield first out of the hat and ensured United got another away draw and a tough one at that. But they're all tough in the cup and the Welders nearly proved our undoing in the previous round, but surely the players will be up for this encounter, if not, we better batten down the hatches as Linfield and the fat controller will want to chastise Fergie and the three baldies for being so bold.

I foolish thought referee Richard Crangle could not be so bad as he turned out to be in our league game with Linfield, but I think he was not going to book Tony, until he saw the reaction of the Linfield bench and then he produced a yellow card. Admittedly he was not helped by Quinn of Linfield going down holding  his head as if he had been decapitated, when in fact I think Tony made no contact with Linfield love child. But they were ducking and diving throughout the match, feigning injury and conning the officials. So much so in fact, when one of them (A. Burns I think), got badly injured in a tackle and was carried off, the normally Sporting United crowd were skeptical and didn't applaud as he was carried down the tunnel.

I and the Sky Blue Sport's crew will miss this Saturday's match at Shamrock Park, against Portadown, a tricky fixture no doubt, but one that could bring rich rewards for United if they get something out of it. Its not an impossible task, as United proved in their last visit to Shamrock Park, in spite of playing with ten men for 70 mins we were by far the best team and if we could have showed a wee bit more composure in front of goal, we surely could've got a positive result. We have  a prolific striker on board now in Darboy, but its no use playing him up front on his own. He needs Captain Jenks to break the ground for him and I think he'll deliver the goods. Although we're not there, we will be with United in spirit, so come Sky Blues, lets shag those apple pickers!

Little Joy!

A big crowd, well relatively big, officially set at 1800 I think, just enough to fill one stand. Gone are the days when a visit from the league leaders (Linfield), would have filled the away stand and more standing on the terrace in front of it. Its the dwindling crowds that'll be the death knell for senior football if the fans stopped coming regularly. I can see it in the United travelling support, where we used to have about 250 or 300 dedicated fans at most away matches, now in fact we struggle to get 150 fans. I think personally its the brand of football we are being served up, this win at all costs policy leaves a bad taste in the mouth, there's very little excitement, in fact it seems that managers and coaches don't want any excitement.

Take United for example, our tactics seem to entail us letting the other team dictate the pace of the game and hitting them on the counter-attack. We went on a ten match unbeaten run on the strength of these tactics and subjected ourselves to at least 2 games, Scum and Welders, where were second best, under pressure for most of the game and how we got a result, a win and a draw, I'll never know. In truth we didn't deserve the results we got, but that's football as they say. Fans are always saying if the team is winning, the crowds will come, I know this to be a fallacy, I only have to look at our own situation, we are in fact as this moment in time just ahead of  the average. Our stats show we have played 33 games in total, we have won 16 of them, drawn 4 and lost 13, I make that a winning season so far.

But has this record prompted any more supporters to attend games at the Showgrounds? I honestly don't see any evidence of this, in fact I think the opposite is true. I think we play boring football, its all about getting results but I have to admit we are doing that very nicely and I will always be there, but its not entertaining. Maybe we can't be entertaining, we haven't got the resources that other teams have and we need to get a high finish in the league in order to generate more cash and maybe then Glenn will  make us into an entertaining team. A few years ago sheep farmers were claiming subsidies from the EEC for sheep they didn't own. I think Irish league clubs have taken a leaf out of their book and are claiming to have more fans in their grounds than they actually have, this could be classed as creative accounting.

I don't know whether massaging these figures, sometimes by as much as 25%, allows clubs to have a bigger budget and therefore more cash to spend on players, but where this money is actually coming from is beyond me. That in itself is not the problem as I see it, but massing the figures gives a false impression on the state of the game here, which is in crisis and needs to be fixed sooner rather than later. Enough gloom and doom for one week at least, I was privileged to have lunch on Saturday with two United legends of the sixties, my good friend Norman Clarke (The Ballymena Boy) and John 'Smudger' Smith. They accompanied me to the match but like me, they got little joy as the match unfolded. Alas Smudger had to go early (a family engagement) and didn't witness our fightback, fruitless, as it turned out. But Sammy Patterson and me were enthralled hearing the two legends recall  games they played in together in the early sixties, over lunch in the Thatch Inn in Broughshane.

They sat with us in Block A of the Slemish stand and Norman recalled that Ballymena rugby club used to play at the Showgrounds before moving to Eaton Park, a fact that I was unaware of. In fact they used to play where the 4g pitch is located now and football fans would come down at the interval and watch the idiot game, a 'crowd of gulpins mugging each other' is the best description I have heard in relation to rugby. We were parked behind the Slemish Stand and although he was going after the match to the boardroom, Norman insisted on leaving us to our car, before shaking hands and telling me to stay in touch. Its a much hackneyed saying, but I'll say it anyway, Norman is a 'true gentleman' and I feel I'm privileged to know him and more than that, he's Sky Blue through and through!

Stang(no)more!

There used to be a time when United played Dungannon Swifts, either home or away, you could count on a spirited performance, say leading 2-1 or 3-2 and then we would eventually collapse and lose the game by the odd goal. Not anymore and we proved that on Tuesday night, in spite of being second to every ball for the first 20 mins, we turned the game on its head and ran out 3-2 winners, with new signings Jimer and Darboy scoring two of goals and it was no more than our play deserved. Sure we even could enjoy the luxury of our talisman Cush, missing a sitter that would been the icing on the cake, but we took the three points anyway and consolidated our 6th place in the Dankse Premier league.

Although we didn't set the world alight at Stangmore on Tues night, we played immensely better that we did at Tillysburn Park in the cup against the Welders. How we got a draw there beggars belief, but we somehow survived and not only did our new signing Darboy score on his debut, but it was his first score in an Irish cup tie, a double celebration for him. The teams were drawn out of the hat for the next round by United defender Archie's dad, Alfie Stewart, but he couldn't get United a home draw (if they beat the Welders in a replay) or  an easy one. The winners of the tie between the Welders and United, played at the Showgrounds next Tuesday Jan 21, will face Linfield at Windsor Park, it doesn't get any harder than that.

I don't know if we're to have the same referee in our replay, Ross Dunlop, I thought he handled the tie well last Saturday, but it will be interesting to see how Raymond Crangle conducts himself when Linfield come to town on Saturday. Crangle usually favours the city teams over United, epitomised by his pulling up of United's ex-keeper Wayne Drummond, for a back-pass, that never was, in game at Seaview against Crusaders a couple of seasons ago. Anyway the boys know what to expect from the refs when playing their team, in a word, nothing. Norman Clarke the 'Ballymena Boy' is going to meet me for lunch at a hostelry in the Ballymena area and I'm looking forward that immensely and we'll chat about old times and remember United teams of old and then we'll go and see United beat those townies, Linfield, COSB!!!

Jim Boy!

A lot has happened since my last piece, we have signed three players, namely Jim Ervin (Jimer) formerly of Linfield, no fee involved as I understand, Darren Boyce (Darboy), formely of Coleraine, hopefully no fee involved here either, but a stipulation in his contract that he can't play against Coleraine this season, and Neal Gawley, who was on our books at the start of the season and he has returned to the fold once again. It's not known if Neal has been signed on a pro contract or like last time, an amateur one. Will Fergie give his new recruits an  instant baptism or will he make them wait on the bench and play the same team that accounted for the Ducks last Saturday, with a new keeper on board, in place of Frenchy Lacroix who is unavailable due to a clause in his loan arrangement from his parent club, Crusaders.

I didn't think we were impressive last week against the Ducks, but we got the job done, it was not pretty but we got the points. When I watched Cushley's goal on the TV highlights I was amazed to see that Rouse in the Ducks goal nearly stopped the shot, but it just had enough pace to get out of his grasp and end up in the back of net. The one down side of the game was seeing JT pick up a booking which leaves at the 30 penalty points mark which carries a two game suspension and depending on the date of the 'meeting', we could lose him for two vital games, when we go up against Dungannon, Linfield, Chickenville and Portadown after after our Irish cup match on Saturday, we will need all our players focused in the task ahead in these games, if we are to consolidate our 6th place in the Premier league.

But its the magic of the cup firstly and foremost, when United travel to Tillysburn to take on the Welders this Saturday, with a 13-30 kick-off. I fully expect, that barring injuries, Spike will make just one change from his starting line-up of the Ducks match, a new keeper in place of Frenchy. Whether that keeper will be new signing, Shan, or the veteran Wes Lamont is open to speculation and Wes will be reluctant to nominate Shan, if he doesn't think he's up to the task. But it would be a terrible risk to play with an ageing Wes, for one slip on a treacherous surface could lead him to getting seriously injured and then we'd be left without a back-up keeper and a goal-keeping coach. So for that reason I think it will Shan making his debut at Tillysburn against the Welders and Wes providing back-up and I wish them well.

Jimer and Darboy will have to wait a little bit longer I think for the full debut, but if we are comfortable on Saturday, they may get a run-out, or god forbid, if we are chasing the match, they could come on and change the tide in our favour. The next five games will do a lot about defining our season and Darboy will be expected to bring his undoubted talent to bear in these fixtures, I'm not saying he has to hit the ground running, but it would help. In the next 15 days we are due to play 4 games and that is a tall order for part-time professional side, but when the going gets tough, the tough get going and then we'll have 11 days off to lick our wounds. I think our playing strength will be tested to the the limit over the next two and a half weeks, but we must come through a stronger side, if not, then all will be for nothing, but I think we are going to do it!

It's Pouring!

There's an old saying 'that never rains but it pours' and that rings very true at the Showgrounds Ballymena at the present time, where not only first choice keeper, Dwayne Nelson, has been ruled out for at least this season if not into the next, but his understudy Stuarty Addis, has been ruled out for at least six months also. That prompted United manager, Glenn Ferguson, to scour the country and sign a replacement in former Shamrock Rovers keeper, Aaron Shanahan, who comes highly recommended by former United keeper, Dermot O'Neill. It's not known at this moment, whether Aaron's clearance will come through in time to let him play this Saturday, when the Mallards visit the Showgrounds, or will he have to wait to make his United debut in the Irish cup game at Tillysburn, against the Welders.

Bruce Balmer, made on-loan keeper, Johann Frenchy Lacroix, his 'man of the match' against Ards yesterday and the big Frenchman would still be available to slot in if Shan's clearance doesn't come through on time. I must say Frenchy performed admirably yesterday and I agree with Bruce, he was our outstanding player in that game. The rest of our team looked as if they had been out on the town, ringing out the old year and had stayed out too long, to ring in the new year. There was no fluidity about our football, but I could've lived with that, but they insisted on playing short free-kicks and the like and landing themselves in trouble in the process. Did Fergie and the three baldies take their collective eyes off the ball, in light of what's been happening round the Showgrounds in the last week or so.

I sincerely hope not, for we are going to need their full attention this month, when we have four league games and a cup match, that is going to define our season. I have no doubt former Sky Blues central defender, Gary Smyth, who's managing the Welders, is just relishing the thought of 'crossing swords' with his old adversary, Spike and will take great pleasure in taking him down and United in the process, we have to be up for that one. We have got away with two abject performances since we beat the Crues on Christmas Saturday at the Showgrounds and acquired 4 points in the process, but this won't do against the Mallards this Saturday and I shudder to think what the Welders will do if we are not up for the tie with them, it won't be pretty to watch, but we need to win it and that's all that matters.

We have three players walking the tightrope as far as bookings are concerned, JT, Tony K, 9 apiece and Gavin 4. If these three players can avoid being booked in our next two matches they should be available until nearly the end of January. JT and Tony are one booking away from a 2 match suspension and Gavin a one match suspension and we have Mark 'ham shank' Courtenay refereeing this Saturday, I'll be nervous just watching him to see how he reacts to the first bad tackle, although with 'ham shank' you can't take anything for granted, we will just have to suck it and see. Finally I just want to take this opportunity in wishing all Sky Blue players, management and all Sky Blue fans, wherever they may be, a happy and prosperous New Year and come on Sky Blues, let's do the bouncey!