Red Flag!

United won't need any red flags to get them going tomorrow at Shamrock Park, against Portadown, they have enough incentive already, trying to keep their unbeaten run going. We fully realise that our unbeaten record is still in it's infancy (4 games), but big trees from little acorns grow and it would be nice if we could keep it going for another game at least. Ports fans will not need any reminding that this 'run' started off when United beat them comprehensively in a league cup match at  Showgrounds on Tuesday November 12. Nor will they need reminding of the score, 4-0 in the Sky Blues favour.

One of the architects of that league cup victory, Thommo,  is unavailable due to suspension and another one, Cookie Munster, must be rated doubtful, as he was rumoured to have a broken a toe against the Ducks last Saturday. In the absence of Thommo, Spike could maybe move Captain Jenks back into midfield and if Ally's fit, he could play with Mario, Liggie or MM, taking the Captain's place at striker. If Ally's not fit, he would have to shuffle the pack a bit more and could elect to go with a 4,4,2 formation, but like the Iron lady, Spike not known for one to change tactics, but needs must.

If Cookie doesn't make it, Spike could play Archie alongside JT, with Ruddy taking Archie's place or he could have Marky reverting to central defence, with Tony K taking over his position and Gavin filling Tony's position. The enigma that is Alan D could be a surprise selection for Thommo's place in the side, but we feel sure that Fergie will not want to gamble on such an inconsistent player as Alan D has turned out to be. When he first signed for the Sky Blues he was like a breath of fresh air, but so far this season he has been a shadow of that player and we cannot afford to carry any passengers.

Maybe like last week we'll turn up at Shamrock Park, only to be informed that one or more of our players didn't train all week and they are not playing. Omar, when he was on the forum, had said the forum lads (and lassies), had asked for a heads-up on the state of injuries, so they would have an idea who was playing. This idea was put to the 'powers that be' and the silence was deafening and it never materialised. The excuse trotted out to the forumites, was that the management team thought that it would give our opponents an edge, we never heard so much claptrap, well not for a week at least.

We are going need all our players focused on the game tomorrow, as the Ports carved a good victory at the Oval last Monday and they'll want to build on that. Their manager, Ronnie McFall needs no introduction to United fans, we normally get to cheer him off once a season, when he falls foul of the referee, but we are not expecting that tomorrow. But if we frustrate the Ports, as we did on our first two meeting this season, you never know and like his team, when Ronnie gets rattled, a red mist comes over him and he gets the blues. So come Sky Blues, let's shove it to them, let's shag those apple pickers!