Late Show!

Apologies about the late preview, as we were not going to be there, we hadn´t realised that as we are in Spain, enjoying the rain and it is winter, the internet cafes close early or don´t open at all. But its a an ill wind that doesn´t blow some good and the delay helped us get the right info on Dwayne´s appearances in a Sky Blue keepers jersey. We thought he was playing his 200 game next Saturday at home to Linfield, but we have been informed, that indeed its this Saturday against Chickenville.

We hope Dwayne has a good game and enjoys his milestone and the Sky Blues pick up three points in our absence. Our manager Glenn Feguson told the Ballymena Times that he was hopeful that, Tippers, Gawley and Ruddy would shake off their respective injuries and be able to take their place in an unchanged team. He also was hopeful that Sparky would take heart from his brilliant performance last week and try his luck against Chickenville.

We hope twitter keeps us up to date on todays game, but failing that, Rusty Rea promises to be at the Solitude and I´m sure he´ll keep us informed. Health & Safety have stuck their neb in yet again and decreed that the Boxing Day game against the Coleraine scum is going to be an all ticket affair. Well maybe on the plus side we´ll get a true reflection of the crowd not an estimate, we should stress an estimate that´s for our benefit.

Much has been said about the debut boy, Matty Shevlin, but we won´t be surprised if he doesn´t make the panel today, for Fergie wants to not over-expose, as he is only fifteen. We agree with that, but we need the three points and if Matty coming on in the last ten mins, with a fresh pair of legs and confidence to take men on, could get us them, we´d be foolish not to have him on the bench. But as has been said before many times in this blog, what do we know?

We´re sure Fergie must have a plan to combat Chickenville´s all-action style of play, but it hasn´t worked so far. It nearly worked at The Showgrounds on the last Saturday in Septemeber, but you know the old saying, ´nearly never caugh the hare´but we live in hope. We apologise for any spelling mistakes in this column, we don´t have a spell checker and anyway it would be in Spanish, lol. So come on Sky Blues, lets shore those North Belfast sheep at Chickenville!

Ducks Delight!

It's raining cats and dogs here, but its a nice night for the ducks, at least that's what they say anyway, only time will tell if the Mallards like it tomorrow. Fans connected with the Sky Blues, have been asking for an update on injured players, but it was always played down by management, so we at 'Sport were shocked this week, when our Sports Therapist (water and sponge man), Gordon McCartney, gave us just that. But immediately Omar's suspicions were aroused, might our management team be playing a 'double bluff', stranger things have happened.

Our manager Spike, has hinted that maybe JT and Steeky, could be added to the panel, but we need to see them back on the team. If the rain continues to fall, might Spike take a chance on Cookie, alongside Captain Jenks, therefore releasing Ruddy to cover at leftback, where we have a serious shortage. In the absence of Brian Mack, we expect Alan D to get a start, alongside Sparky and Thommo, with the barber and Darboy on the flanks and Tippers ploughing a lone furrow upfront, a position that he's not cut for, but needs must.

The Ducks had a good win at 'Stute last week and they'll be fairly confident of turning Ballymena over and getting a much needed confidence boost for the league cup semi-final, at their place in mid-December. We haven't a clue how we are going to win this one, with half of our squad decimated with injuries, but win it we must, as our next three games are tough by anyone's standard, so its mini-crunch time. We need full points tomorrow and we need to get a bit of confidence going, so come on Sky Blues, let's shag those Christmas Ducks!

Wet Point!

According to Twitter, there's to be an inspection at ten am tomorrow at Milltown, Warrenpoint's ground. We've been assured by the powers that 'be' at the Point (two men sitting in a local bar), that the game will definitely go ahead and supporters needn't worry about about the game being postponed. But what team will Sky Blues manager, Spike, put out tomorrow, bearing in mind the huge injury list at Warden Street. Does he persevere with Captain Jenks at central defence or does he restore Mike Ruddy, that is if he recovers from a groin strain, picked up last Saturday.

Our talisman, Cush, has went through his operation on Thursday, to have a bone shaved on his knee, but it will be at least 6 weeks before he can return to the fray. In the absence of Ally, ankle injury, Spike only has one winger to select, Neal Gawley, who incidentally doubled his score tally against the Swifts on Tuesday night. Omar was speculating that Darboy was maybe being geared up to fill on the left in Cushley's absence, but our management team wouldn't say, when asked today. Does Spike take a chance and play Marky, therefore releasing Tony to midfield?

Sparky, whom we have been championing, had a poor game on Tuesday and as the Point are fighting to stay alive and preserve their senior status, we can't afford to carry any passengers. The same can be said for Thommo, he was less than impressive on Tuesday, but as Spike signed him, he'll probably play him. The rest of the team picks itself, with Dwayne, Cookie, Archie. Mack, Gawley, Captain Jenks and Tippers certain starters. We'll have to pack our bench with at least three reserve players and hope we don't have to delve too far into our depleted stocks.

Its promises to be a hard fought game, as already the Point are averaging a half point a game and they desperately need a win or at least a draw to stop the rot. This game for United, represents a chance to stop the slide, after five league defeats in a row, but we'll need to be up for it. The ref is Evan Boyce, not a name we're familiar with, but he can't be any worse than incompetents we had already this season. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we won't have a presence at this game. So come on Sky Blues, its time to stand up and be counted and lets shag those Rabbits!

Cushley Blow!

As if United hadn't enough injuries worries on their plate, comes the devastating news that top scorer Cush, is due in hospital later in the week to have a bone scraped on his knee. We don't have a clue what that entails, do they have to open him up, or can it be done with key-hole surgery, which shortens the recovery time. Will Cush be fit to play tomorrow night, we ask? If not, we are having to dip into the reserves, for we reckon we have only have 14 fit men.

Out already are JT, Kyley, Ruddy, Ally, Gavin and maybe Cush, which leaves us with the bare bones. A lot of people are trying to second guess Spike, but we at 'Sport know from painful experience, he is his own man. Whatever players he picks and whatever formation he goes for, we at 'Sport would like to see have at least one ball-winner in midfield. But Spike seems to firmly believe that his centre-midfield pairing of Thommo and Captain Jenks, works.

We sadly think he is far mistaken and we have paid the penalty, losing five games in a row, with teams making inroads to our defence, because we lack defensive midfielders. We are urging him to get at least one ball-winner in his line-up tomorrow night, for our opponents, Dungannon, like to play football in midfield and we need to stop them. Otherwise we can kiss goodbye to our hopes of progressing to a semi-final in the league cup for a second season running.

We know it will be hard game, the Swifts league position, 11th place, has no bearing on the outcome of this game. Swifts manager Darren Murphy, will be emphasising to his team, the recent bad spell that United are going through at the minute and he'll have his team well up for the task in hand. We have to be prepared to fight 'fire' with 'fire', we need every player to be singing off the same hymn sheet and we need to return to our 'never say die' attitude that's been missing in the last month. COSB, you can do it, you owe us big time!

Rule Benders!

United take on the Coleraine scum at Warden Street tomorrow, safe in the knowledge that nothing has changed in the scum philosophy, they're still bending the rules. This latest episode, of the suspended Rory Harkin, who played last week although he shouldn't have played, is just typical of the scum, they thumb their noses at authority and get away with it time and time again. United have to ignore these shenanigans and not allow themselves to be distracted from the job in hand. Whether Rory Harkin plays tomorrow or doesn't play tomorrow, shouldn't concern us, we have enough trouble getting 16 fit men in our squad.

JT and Tony are suspended, but JT is not fit anyway, neither is Steeky or Gavin, so we have four near certain starters missing tomorrow's game, before we start to plan out tactics. The 'Sport crew would be in favour of a formation of ,5,4,1 but Fergie is liable to start with a 4,4,2, or a 4,1,4,1. We feel he has to bring back Marky, Archie and Sparky, but he's liable to start with Thommo and Jenks in midfield and we feel that's a recipe for disaster. In the absence of Gavin, we feel that Sparky has to start, to give us some bite in midfield, but Spike has his own ideas and he's stubborn.

He's thrown down the gauntlet to his players, saying that they are on trial, but that may work with some of them, but we think, that will not work with all of them. Best to pick a team that could get a result, it will not be pretty to watch, but we need to get our foundation right. Better to battle out a scoreless draw, than have a go and get thumped. But we have the players to snatch all three points, if we get the scum frustrated they will undoubtedly leave gaps at the back and we can exploit them, but if we are chasing the game, its going to tough.

Its a corporate dinner day tomorrow and we are assured of a bumper crowd in the main stand, the scum supporters will no doubt filter in at halftime, as their wont. But Sky Blues supporters need to get behind the team from the start, drowning the noise from the other side of the pitch and not letting up until the final whistle. Just a word about the whistler, it is our old friend, Heth, who hasn't refereed a game involving us since the ill-fated match at Lurgan, when he gave a corner that was a goal-kick, we hope he doesn't drop any clangers tomorrow v the scum.

Whatever selection, Spike and his management team come up with, we only can hope for one thing, that they play together as a team. This game means a lot to the fans of a Sky Blue persuasion, it's the one game that we want to win more than any other. We're not looking for a good football match, we just expect the players to put in a shift, if they do that and they come up short, we'll be disappointed no doubt, but we can live with that. But if they turn in a lack-lustre performance like we saw in our last two games, they can expect us to vent our wrath on them. So come on Sky Blues, lets shag those sheep from Windy Hall!