Also Rans!

So sorry to use a horse racing term for my title, but I think it sums United's season and puts pressure on our manager to deliver what we pay him to do. There's a lot of talk on the forums and elsewhere about how our manager is restricted financially. I've no doubt there's some truth in that, but my response is he knew what he was taking on when he applied for the job and still he took it on.

This last season we started off like a whirlwind, winning 10 points from our first 4 league games and a league cup victory over Newington Y C. We then had a reality check when we lost at Glenavon (2-1), a scoreline which flattered the home team, with the ref awarding them a corner that never was and Cush missing at least two sitters.

We managed to get back on song when we won at home to Stute, before losing to the Ducks at their ground (3-0), which should rung alarm bells but it didn't. But we managed to pick ourself up, despite Donegal Celtic taking us to extra-time in the County Antrim Shield first round. But when we lost Linfield at the conclusion of the first round of games, we went into free-fall.

Despite making  the the Shield semi-final where lost to eventual winners Chickenville and the league cup final, where we lost to the same opponents, our season has be an unmitigated disaster, not the picture painted by our manger back in August, before this season started. Our manager will no doubt point to our injury list which was long, but that's life in footballing terms.

We played Chickenville at least six times (7 if you count the charity shield) and recorded, 1 win, 2 draws and four defeats including a 7-0 trouncing, which I had the good fortune to miss. Chickenville lost their way somewhat this season, as evidenced by their position in the league table, but they never looked vulnerable when we played them.

No doubt the same excuses will be trotted out at the AGM, like top six teams are paying out loads of money and we just cannot compete. Well that's all well and good, but a lot of clubs manage to make the top six on less finances that we have at our disposal and unlike our youth set-up, they seem to get players coming through.

No doubt I will be slated for that last remark, but when oh when are we going to unearth a vein of talent that will make us a force to reckoned with. What's the use of paying money into a youth set-up which doesn't deliver, we might as well pinch them from other clubs, while only going through the motions, which we seem to be doing at the present anyway.

For a man so steeped in the tradition of winning, when he was at Linfield especially, our manager Spike, seems to have lost that intensity of purpose, we need him to get it back and pronto. Otherwise we are going to be the nearly men, getting to finals or semi-finals and never getting over the finishing line, come on Spike, get all your fingers out, COSB!