May Grey!

It's five weeks since the season ended, but there are no signs of substantial signings as United manager Spike says he has to move some people out, before contemplating new signings. You may well think that if he hadn't been so keen to offer certain mediocre players extended contracts, we wouldn't be in this position now. But he's a young manager and he has to learn by his mistakes, but we at 'Sport are of the opinion that this will be a 'make or break' season for him. We fervently hope he comes through with flying colours and consolidates us into a challenging team in the process, the alternative doesn't bear thinking about.

The Ballymena Borough council didn't make Spike's task any easier, by promoting a tournament that features Crusaders, Liverpool, Hearts and one other and not the tenants of the Showgrounds, Ballymena United. It should be said in fairness to the council, that this was done in collusion with a member of the United board, it was originally denied by the club, but they had to come clean when his name was leaked to the press. Apart from a trip to Letterkenny on the July 13, there's not much in the United list of friendlies to set the pulses racing, although the East Antrim trophy looks interesting, roll on the end of July.

Because of this 'hatchet men's' tournament, United had to switch their 'open day' to Saturday August 3rd, instead of the traditional last Saturday in July. With Stephen McBride,Ex-Crusaders, lambasted by Omar on the forum, the only signing of note, we retain a sense of pessimism, but that said and done, it's the Ballymena way, we never expect anything but mediocrity and we are not usually disappointed. But we won a trophy, the County Antrim Shield last season and we laid the so-called Gypsy curse to rest in the process. We finished a place worse off in the league than last season, but hopefully with a good pre-season behind us, we will build on that Shield success, COSB