Larning Time!

United manager Tommy Wright must make two enforced changes for tomorrow night’s County Antrim derby against Larne, kick-off 07-30 (we think). Striker Kevin Kelbie is serving a one match ban, while Boydie has picked up a hamstring injury. Randal Reid is expected to get the nod to partner Fitzy up front, while Craig McClean looks set for his first league game of the season, in place of Boydie. We also expect Darren Murphy to return in place of the ineffective Stuarty King, on the left side of midfield. The continued absence of Austen Friel, leads us to believe that he has been censored by the club for a breach of discipline, but we can get no official confirmation of this. The rest of the team should be on the usual lines, but we at ‘Sport will not be surprised if Lee Patrick returns to centre midfield, as United are starting to look like midgets in that department. A win tomorrow night is vital for United, not just for the three points on offer, but to try and kick start our season, anything else doesn’t bear contemplating. With only two more games after tomorrow night, before the big Boxing Day derby against Coleraine at Ballymena Showgrounds, it’s vital that the Sky Blues get a few results under their belts. So where better to start than at our near neighbours Larne, but it won’t be easy. Larne have just appointed a new manager, Paul Curran and teams invariably pull out all the stops for their new manager, so United will have to perform at their best. But at the end of the day if we can’t beat the Inver-men, then there's not much hope for us and Tommy Wright, will know what pressure really is. So come on Sky Blues, lets shag those Larners!

Winter Warmer!

United manager Tommy Wright says he’s left midfielder Darren Murphy to make the decision of whether he’s fit to play after suffering concussion last Saturday against Dungannon Swifts. The United manager feels the midfielder’s aggressive play was sadly missed in United’s loss at Stangmore Park last week. When asked about his own ‘aggressive’ display last Saturday, when he had to be restrained as he exchanged comments with a Dungannon official at the end of the game, the manager said some things were best left unsaid. He would not be drawn either on reports that diminutive striker Austen Friel was in danger of being suspended for a serious breach of club discipline. On his team selection for tomorrow he indicated that he was considering restoring Craig McClean to the leftback slot and moving the versatile Boydie into left midfield. He also said it was his intention to leave young striker Randal Reid on the bench, with Fitzy getting a start up front alongside Kevin Kelbie. Despite his clanger last week, Aiden Watson looks sure to retain his place in central midfield, but Lee Patrick is in contention to be his partner, instead of the out of form Scatesy. Aaron Callaghan has recovered from his ‘dead leg’ and is expected to take his place in defence, alongside Gary Haveron and team captain Albert Watson. Mark Picking, United’s best performer by far over the last month, is an automatic selection in right midfield, but the out of form Stuarty King may have to be content with a place on the bench at best. So hopefully its all systems go for three points against the Whites tomorrow, ‘so come on United, let’s shag those Lisburnians’!

Trying Times!

So what has big Tam in store for us for tomorrow we wonder, has the extra night’s training taught the players how to shoot from distance with no keeper in goals? This and many more questions will no doubt be answered come a quarter to five tomorrow, or if Dungannon by some miracle aren’t leading, five to five. Kevin Kelbie is reportedly restored to the panel after his automatic suspension, whether he starts or not is anybody’s guess. Will the manager give the thumbs up to his shaky back four, but then again what choice does he have, he has nobody else. Hopefully Stuarty King will be missing from the panel, unless Fitzy turns up with the wrong studs or some other stupid reason. We at ‘Sport expect Tommy to give a vote of confidence to last weeks starting eleven, but he could bring Kelbie in to partner Randal Reid, instead of the misfiring Austen Friel. The United manager was unavailable for comment today, but a spokesman said that there were no serious injury problems and the manager was hopeful of a positive result tomorrow. We at ‘Sport are not so sure, they say that hope springs eternal, but its getting increasingly harder to remain positive, after all the ‘dross’ we have witnessed this season so far. We are according to the ‘law of averages’ due a good result at Stangmore Park, but may have to settle for a share of the spoils tomorrow. But one thing’s for sure, the Sky Blue Sport team will be there in full force, so ‘come on United, let’s shag those Tyronians’!

Trigger Tommy!

Tommy Wright faces his nemesis tomorrow in the shape of former club Limavady United, knowing that nothing less than a victory will keep his side on course for a top four finish. With the C.I.S. cup and the County Antrim Shield long gone and nothing more than a distant memory the big Ballyclare man knows that only a victory will appease those baying for his head. Forget about all this talk about private funding for the managers salary, the men who sign the checks are getting restless and when that happens, ‘heads’ are going to roll. The United manager is set to ring the changes with Gary Haveron taking over in central defence from Gordon Simms, who may now be loaned out to some other club. While up front reserve striker Randal Reid, now free from suspension, will partner Austen Friel, in the enforced absence of top scorer, Kevin Kelbie. The rest of the team should be among the usual lines, although the United manager told ‘Sport that Craig McClean could come into the reckoning for the leftback slot. No matter what team takes the field tomorrow, one thing is certain, only three points will suffice if Tommy is to continue his aim of being at the helm in the immediate future. Anything beyond the immediate future is hard to contemplate at the moment, in fact it’s just a pipe dream. Maybe we’ll look back on this period in better times and say it wasn’t really as bad as it looked, but right now it looks pretty bad. But with three points in the bag, it’ll look a hell of a lot better we can tell you!

P.S. Omar’s column is missing this week due to circumstances beyond our control, but he has promised us that he will be back with a double edition next week, if only everybody was as reliable as Omer, oh what a world it would be!

Armagh Geddon!

In an attempt to get back to winning ways United manager Tommy Wright told Sky Blue Sport, that he’d be dropping Gary Haveron out of midfield. His place would be taken by Scatesy, who would partner Aiden Watson, while winger Mark Picking would be restored to wide on the right. In the absence of Paul Brown (broken foot), Austen Friel, who scored his first competitive goal for United in the 2-1 defeat at Portadown, would get the nod tomorrow. The United manager said he was loath to make full scale changes in spite of his team’s poor away form, as it was just a case of them not doing the simple things well. He told ‘Sport that he had considered using a sweeper system, but that would mean deploying Darren Murphy behind the defence and he didn’t want to lose the Portadown man’s combative midfield approach. He also said that the sweeper system was in his opinion a negative approach, but if things didn’t improve he may have to consider it. No doubt former United player Shea Campbell will be out to put one over on his old team-mates tomorrow, fresh from his hat-trick at Limavady last Saturday. So it’s vital that the home team are quick out of the blocks tomorrow as Armagh and Shea, will pounce on any hesitancy in the United ranks. The so called hard games are over, now its time to start gathering points, we can’t afford any more slip-ups, its win or bust from now on, so Sky Blues, ‘let’s shag those apple pickers’!