Tyrone Tamers!

It’s a return to the weekly guessing game when we try to ‘guess’ and we emphasis the word ‘guess’, United manager Tommy Wright’s team. It’s come upon us a day early this week as the match has been brought forward at Dungannon Swift’s request as they have a Setanta cup match with Portadown on Monday night. We assume that the United manager will most definitely go for the eleven that started at Windsor last Saturday, even though they lost by the odd goal in five. We also assume he’ll go with the same bench as it offers him versatility, but who knows maybe there could be two or three people missing that we know nothing about. We did check with the ‘wise man from the East’, but as usual he told us sweet F. A. (sweet fanny Addams to the unlearned). This of course is nothing new, as contrary to suggestions from another source, he knows less about the club than we do and gleans most of his information from us in fact. So what about our chances tomorrow night we hear you ask. Let us say categorically that first and foremost we need at least a point tomorrow night. A win would be great, but a point would keep the Swifts within striking distance and after that our fate is in our own hands. A defeat tomorrow although not the end of our climb up the table would in our opinion be a serious setback and one where we would be depending on results elsewhere, rather than our own efforts. So with that in mind we at ‘Sport hope United for once don’t throw caution to the wind, but keep it tight at the back and who knows with a little bit of luck maybe, just maybe, we can take the three points on offer. As the old saying goes ‘if we hadn’t been getting bad luck recently, we’d be getting no luck at all’. So ‘Lady Luck’ we believe it’s our turn now, so if you’re kind to us and we get a decent referee (do they exist?), maybe, just maybe, we can ‘shag’ those Tyrone Love children!

United Effort!

Sky Blue Sport would like to say categorically that we have no ‘special’ friend on the United board, if we did we probably could get things completely right (or should we say Wright). Strange as it may seem we actually only make informed guesses, last Tuesday we struck it lucky and got the starting eleven correct and only missed out by one for the subs bench. So here we go with our assumptions for tomorrow’s game at Windsor Park, if we get them right, believe us or not, it will be a complete and utter fluke. This message is intended for any individuals who have an inferiority complex, we know we are the ‘best’ United site and your ‘jealous’ ramblings only go to prove it! But we digress; Paul Brown will definitely start tomorrow against Linfield. We have no inside information about this piece of news, but anyone who witnessed his performance against Distillery on Wednesday night, knows that a half fit Brown is over and above any current striker on United’s books. Our next prediction is that Scates will start in place of Charnock and again this is based solely on his performance when he came on as a substitute on Wednesday. We heard a ‘jackanory’ (story) today, that Rowe might get a start, but feel this would be hard on top scorer Vinny Sweeney, but as we don’t have an inside track, we just don’t have a clue. The remainder of the team we expect will be on the usual lines, but for all we know there could be wholesale changes. The only thing we know for sure is that United will be at Windsor tomorrow and the whole Sky Blue Sport team will be there and hopefully we’ll help cheer United to victory. Come on lads, let’s shag these bloody townies!

Rory Return!

United manager Tommy Wright looks set to change his starting line-up for tomorrow night’s Irish cup replay at home to Lisburn Distillery, kick 07-45. Midfielder Aiden Watson remains doubtful with a foot injury and we expect Englishman Phil Charnock to replace him. But the United manager has intimated that he will be giving a start to midfielder Rory Hamill, probably at the expense of Gareth Scates. It’s not known if Scates will get a place on the bench or not, but we at ‘Sport would urge the manager to put the veteran Boydie and new signing Paul Brown on the bench. These two men will give the manager the best option for change, if change is needed. United must surely take their chances tomorrow night as without dismissing first division Bangor, the winners of this tie have been given an almost certain ‘pass’ to the semi-final. After tonight’s replays it looks on paper as if, Linfield, Larne and either United or Distillery are almost certain semi-finalists. The other game between Portadown and Glentoran, who have just appointed former United player Paul Millar as their new manager, looks a bit too close to call, but form would probably point to the Ports, maybe after a replay. But first things first, let’s take care of the Whites tomorrow night and then and only then we can look forward to entering the lion’s den this Saturday, when we taken on the unbeaten Linfield at Windsor park. A win tomorrow night is a must, not only to get us into the next round of the cup, but also in order to give the boys confidence for their next two league games which could have a vital bearing on our season. Sky Blue fans can play their part tomorrow night by getting behind the team right from the start. We have a great away support but our home support is so quiet at times that we almost have to check to see that they’re alive. We think the roof of the new stand is fairly secure, so there’s no danger of raising it, but let’s give it our best shot. Come on United fans, shout your ‘bloody’ heads off and cheer the ‘wee’ Sky Blues to victory!

White Washers!

The Ballymena team for tomorrow’s Irish cup match away to Lisburn Distillery is a case of ifs and buts. If Gary Haveron has not recovered from injury, Phil Charnock will take his place, but if Haveron is fit he will probably get the nod. But United’s failure to put away the chances, three clear cut ones last Tuesday night, could mean a place in the starting line-up for new signing Paul Brown. The former Limavady and Sligo striker must surely get some sort of a run out tomorrow, in view of the two tough games which follow tomorrow’s cup match. Distillery for their part will be no pushover tomorrow either, as evidenced by their victory last week at Portadown and it looks like a real ‘humdinger’ is in store for the fans. United have suffered quite a number of cup defeats at New Grovesnor over the years, including an infamous one back in ’82, which caused the then manager Alan Campbell to resign, citing foul mouthed comments from disgruntled Sky Blue fans. No such scenario should ensue tomorrow, but a second defeat in a row would be hard to swallow and would not be ideal preparation for a trip to Windsor next Saturday. We at ‘Sport favour a draw tomorrow and a replay at the Showgrounds next week and hopefully a victory to boot. Then and only then can we consider the two mouth-watering away fixtures against Linfield and Dungannon Swifts respectively. So come on Sky Blues, let’s shag those (Lambeg) drummers tomorrow!

Bouncing Blues!

‘If you Cannae do the bouncy you’re Coleraine’, so goes the song of the Sky Blue faithful and tomorrow night at Seaview the Sky Blues are gonna ‘bounce’ the Linfield Blues. Linfield manager, Davey ‘the bald Eagle’ Jeffrey, is quoted as saying on Teletext that it’ll be a tight game, but we at ‘Sport know him and his team think we are a pushover. They’ve been talking all season about a clean sweep of all trophies, which of course is ridiculous when we consider that last year they only claimed one domestic trophy the County Antrim Shield and Jeffrey’s head was only saved by the winning of the Setanta cup. What short memories these people have, but this is of course to our advantage. We want them full of confidence cause when we knock the ‘stuffing’ out of them they’ll fall like a ‘ton of bricks’. We can turn them over tomorrow night with a team effort and we at ‘Sport know we will turn them over. Manager Tommy Wright in an exclusive interview told Sky Blue Sport that he had a panel of 19 fit players to choose from. He also told us that the thing he values most is loyalty and as a result he will be sticking with the 14 players who were selected for last Saturday’s game. That means no place for new signing Paul Brown, the veteran Boydie, Andy Rosbotham, Gordon Simms, or young striker Randall Reid. He has no plans to try and stop the Linfield goal machines of Thompson and the veteran Ferguson and all he asks is that we have a good strong referee, who’s not afraid to make the big decisions. Is there such a man refereeing in the league at present we wonder? Let’s hope for our sake and for the sake of the game the County Antrim F.A. have found one. The majority of Linfield supporters are from the Donegal Road area of Belfast, which is in their local parlance is called the ‘village’, so let’s go ‘shag those villagers’, we are the boys to do it!  

Legend Marco!

United have the chance tomorrow to stretch their unbeaten run to nine games, when they entertain Armagh City. A win or a draw would mean United going into Tuesday night’s County Antrim Shield final with the possibility of racking up a ten match unbeaten run. Manager Tommy Wright has told his players to banish all thoughts of Tuesday’s final from their mind and to be fully focused against Armagh tomorrow. Armagh’s tails will be up after their great victory over the Glens last Saturday, which ‘heralded’ the end of manager Roy Coyle and they will be a tough nut to crack. Adding a little more spice to the game will be the appearance of former United legend, Mark Carlisle. ‘Marco’ as he is familiarly known by his legions of United fans has been out with an injury recently but hopefully will be able to play some part in tomorrow’s game, no matter whether he plays or not he’ll surely get a warm welcome from Sky Blue fans. Marco it must be stressed never wished to leave ‘his’ beloved United and it was somehow ironic that after surviving half a dozen managers, he was forced out by the man who says he values loyalty above all else. That man has now moved on and we at ‘Sport think that his treatment of our hero, Marco, was a prime example of him having lost the plot. But that’s all water under the bridge now and tomorrow we hope Marco and his team leave the Showgrounds pointless. It’s hard to envisage what the United line-up will be, but we can’t help thinking that the United manager will want to give new signing Paul Brown at least 45 minutes tomorrow and so have him primed for at least a place on the bench next Tuesday. As we have no reports to the contrary we think Albert Watson will still be missing, which means Simmsy and Smickers holding down the central defensive roles tomorrow again. It’ll be hard luck on Whitehead man Albert if he misses out on our County Antrim Shield winning team, but as such is life. Gerald Rowe will probably get the nod on the right wing which is a bit hard on Scatesy, who seems to have found his scoring touch again. Aiden Watson will return if fit, but we expect Phil Charnock to get a game either for Watson or at the expense of Gary Haveron. This leaves the United ‘talisman’ Rory Hamill, who looked sharp when he came on as a sub last week, fighting for a place on the bench. But who knows what the United manager has in mind, we could be completely off the mark (or Marco), if you’ll pardon our pun. All we know is the games there to be won and we have the team to do it, so let’s go get three points and then and only then, we’ll think about Tuesday night!