30th Nov 03. Sorry I didn't inform you's of Saturday's postponement folks, was jumping on a plane to Loftus Road at the time to see the wee hoops win ....... again! Nice of the Glens to put the game back to Tuesday night for me though ........ after all I've said about them too ;-)
28th Nov 03. Coleraine game - If we keep up our average of a point a game, we should finish up with 3 points more at the end ......... than Portadown have NOW! The Title's gone, we're already 12 points off a European spot, and as far as I'm concerned if we lose this one, all we'll have left to play for in this league is pride! God knows who Coyler will play this time, take your pick! One thing's for sure, Chris Walker won't be among them after getting sent off in last weeks shambles at Drumahoe. If the players think I'm being a bit hard on them - tough! You get the plaudits here when you are doing well, but frankly at the moment you're just sh*te. So prove me wrong.
Match Betting: Glentoran 11/10, Coleraine 9/4, and a draw 11/5. All odds supplied by TOALS bookmakers.
27th Nov 03. Surprise Surprise ........ NOT! - 'Smythgate' - the closest yet. The 'tele' tells you how it REALLY happened ......... without the names of course ;-) HERE
UP THE POLES .... I think! - I suppose at the end of the day we can always fall back on our old pals Wisla Kraków to cheer us up! They're at home to Norwegian side Vålerenga tonight in the second leg of their UEFA Cup tie, the score stands at 0-0 after the first leg. BTW - do any of yez remember being in the 'Bohemen' Sportspub in Oslo, the year we played Lillestrom - (all the football regalia on the walls and ceiling)? Well those were all Vålerenga fans in there buyin the drink! More useless information :-) Anyway - Kick-off is 7pm.
Update - found pics of the 'Bohemen' Sportspub online HERE. Aren't I a clever boy ;-)
26th Nov 03. Depressing! - If it's not the friggin IFA, it's Coyler givin off about press speculation over Andy Smith's much mooted possible exodus to Stockport! Suppose you might as well read another rant from Fear-Us then ...... HERE
25th Nov 03. WHERE TO NOW? - Everybody's just had the b******* knocked outta them haven't they :-(
23rd Nov 03. Institute 3 Glentoran 1
21st Nov 03. Institute game - Well one thing's for sure, Institute will be hoping that in this season's games against the Glens, they fair a lot better than they did last season ........... 4-1, 5-1, 6-1, and 4-0 were the scores back then! We could do with another one of those too couldn't we, and believe it or not Institute are one of the few teams actually below us in the League at the moment as well! Fact is I don't even want to look at the table for a while, we need to put a run of half a dozen wins together now to get back into this title race, or we really can forget it. Far as I know only Mark Glendinning picked up slight a knock in Tuesday's Shield clash, I know Coyler took Darren Armour off, not injured I'm told, simply I hear before Davy Malcolm did it for him! It may be as you were on Tuesday. I wonder with us so far off the pace can the players dig in again like they did last year? Ask me in 3 or 4 weeks.
Ballymac's bus leaves early, 12.15pm. We're stopping around 2 o'clock for beer and sarnies at the Upstairs Downstairs Pub on the Dungiven Rd, a mile or so past Institutes Riverside Stadium. Why not come along, you'll be very welcome.
Some of the other clubs running buses to the game can be found at the link above.
Match Betting: Institute 9/2, Glentoran 4/7, and a draw 5/2. All odds supplied by TOALS bookmakers.
IFA Statement - Apparently, as expected, IFA President Jim Boyce has made a statement today. I haven't seen a full version yet, but Beacom has cuttings on the 'Tele' page. Have a look yourself HERE
20th Nov 03. Supporters meeting - Ok folks, how it went last night - HERE
19th Nov 03. Too late - the question submission link for tonight's meeting with the Board has now been removed.
Plenty of interest, though most questions understandably are very similar. We'll see how we go.
18th Nov 03. Glentoran 3 Cliftonville 0 - Sorry folks, couldn't get to the game tonight - no match report :-( For the record though, Paul Leeman (21), Scott Young (40) and Colin Nixon (61) got the goals. Glens into the semi-final.
Cliftonville game - Played these'uns the other day didn't we? Or was that a boxing match!
Just hope our friend Mr Ferry isn't around this time to ruin the bloody thing!
No matter - it's time to get back on the rails isn't it. This is another one of those trophies we won last season
... and without conceding a single goal! Do you also know we've only lost one game in this competition in the last 5 years! Anyway, Cliftonville will be looking to put an end to that wee run. It'll be interesting to see what the starting eleven will be for this one won't it, is the manager's patience beginning to wear thin? I'll tell you this though, I bet there's no lack of effort whoever he plays. Hopefully we can put Saturday behind us tonight and get something to smile about, even if it is only the 'bin lid' :-) Kick-off is 7.45, and remember it's 7 quid a scone!
Match Betting: Glentoran 1/2, Cliftonville 11/2, and a draw 5/2. All odds supplied by TOALS bookmakers.
17th Nov 03. 7/1 - That's what price the Glens are now to win the League - each way betting has now been scrubbed.
16th Nov 03. Glentoran 1 Portadown 2 - Match report has now been moved HERE
So what's to say? Sadly it wasn't really about these last 90 minutes was it? These are the same players that swept all before them last season, the same players who I STILL believe are man for man the best in the country.
So I'll say it for us all then shall I ?
Make a note of the date - 14th October 2003. The day the Gary Smyth shambles broke. The day the Glens went out of the League Cup having won all 7 games, scoring 24 goals and conceding only 2. The day we went from third in the League to third from bottom. The day a team brimming with confidence had the suffing knocked completely out of them for the second year on the trot. The day Glentoran Football Club hit a new bottom .........
The day we lost the League Title.
And by the way, Glentoran Director Cecil McKeague has had enough - I'm sorry to say an honourable man has resigned.
Who can blame him!
14th Nov 03. Portadown game - First of the 'biggies'!
Remember the last time we played this lot? Well the last time our 'first' team did anyway. 5th April 2003, Mourneview Park, Irish Cup semi-final - and the rest as they say is history :-) What a week that began! Seven days later it was off to Drumahoe and the League Title, at a canter! .............. hard to believe that was only about 6 months ago isn't it!
What's to say about Glentoran/Portadown games these days. For the last 2 - 3 years they've been the biggest games in the country, exciting, good atmosphere, good football, and more often than not, very bad-tempered! With the Glens beating the Ports to the title last season, but losing it to them the season before by a single point, this year you might say could be the decider. But who would have thought looking at the fixture list before the season started, that there would have been 11 points between the sides in November! Coyler is quoted in the press as saying this game isn't a 'must-win' tie for us, well I'm afraid Roy I tend to disagree. Defeat wouldn't completely write us off of course, but after this one we'll be almost a third of the way through the title race, and in my opinion 14 points to pull back in 21 games would be a mammoth task - even for us. You probably know we'll be without Locky and Tim McCann (II) tomorrow again - both will be missed. Everybody else is fit.
So here we go folks, up to now this is as big as it gets, 90 minutes away from a result that could dramatically change our whole season. I suspect at the end of the day Portadown would probably settle for the draw ............... I just hope we don't! Expect fireworks from the start, and don't be surprised if there are somewhat less than 22 still on the pitch at the final whistle - so long as we've put more balls into the net than them by the time it goes, that's all that matters to me!
Match Betting: Glentoran 6/4, Portadown 7/4, and a draw 2/1. All odds supplied by TOALS bookmakers.
12th Nov 03. Reds Lift CIS - Cliftonville defeated Larne on penalty kicks last night after a 1-1 draw, to lift this seasons CIS League Cup. Congratulations to them, but surely there has to be something seriously wrong with the format of this competition, when a team who only win 2, and lose 4 of their opening 6 group games, can still go on to win the thing!
11th Nov 03. You might as well hear it from me - The proposed Gary Smyth 'clear the air' meeting between the Board of Directors and Glentoran supporters will take place next Wednesday evening (19th). You may already know, but initially it's two representatives from each of the Official Glentoran Supporters Clubs who have been invited to voice their concerns. Thereafter, your guess is as good as mine. It promises to be an interesting evening.
10th Nov 03. Ring any bells? - Did anybody catch the name of the striker who single-handedly dumped Sammy McIlroy's new club Stockport County out of the FA Cup at the weekend? No? Have a look HERE
9th Nov 03. Cliftonville 1 Glentoran 1 - Needless to say a disappointing result, in what was at times a very very physical game. Match report has now been moved HERE
7th Nov 03. Cliftonville game - Having already beaten Cliftonville twice this season, 1-0 and 2-0 (unofficially of course), it would be easy to get carried away going into this one. I wouldn't though, Cliftonville are one of those 'funny' sides. Check this out. Having won just 2 and lost 4 of their 6 group games in the League Cup, the Reds still found themselves qualified for the knockout stages, (largely down to the fact we beat everyone else by more goals than we beat them if truth be told)! But then they go and win 3-0 at Portadown in the quarters, then beat the Crues in the semi at the Oval to reach the final! Then the League starts - they win their first 3 games to sit joint top of the table ....... and then loss their next 4! My God, even we are above them now! Unpredictable or what!
For the Glens though it has to be the same again. People seem to forget that we still haven't lost a game this season, and if we continue unbeaten we'll stay above the Reds. Indeed a win at Solitude would guarantee we climb at least one place in the table as Larne and Coleraine, both of whom are within reach, face each other tomorrow at Inver Park.
No Locky again with a broken toe, no Tim McCann (II) either I expect, but Tim McCann (I) will probably feature again after an impressive display as sub last week. It'll be tough, but a win here and I've a feeling we could be sitting in the top 4 tomorrow night, with a sell-out Glentoran crowd, it certainly won't be for the want of support. Come on ye Glens.
Match Betting: Cliftonville 9/2, Glentoran 4/7, and a draw 5/2. All odds supplied by TOALS bookmakers
6th Nov 03. In the clear ..... for now! - The first round of IFL suspensions have just been announced, and the Glens don't feature. Not for long though I fear, I seem to recall an awful lot of stupid yellow cards being brandished around lately :-(
5th Nov 03. BREAKTHROUGH! - A meeting between Glentoran and supporters is on the way ..... Watch this space!
SELL-OUT! - No, not another reference to the Glens Board of Directors. Saturday's ticket allocation for our visit to Cliftonville has now gone, no ticket, don't go. You have been warned.
4th Nov 03. County Antrim Shield draw - You probably already heard the Glens have been drawn at home to Cliftonville in the County Antrim Shield quarter-final .............. AND IT'S SEVEN QUID IN AGAIN! Ties take place on Tuesday Nov 18th and will be played to a finish, with the golden goal and if necessary penalties deciding the outcome. Full draw HERE
2nd Nov 03. Latest Fear-Us Rant - Guess what it's about? No prizes - HERE
1st Nov 03. Glentoran 1 Larne 0 - Up to 7th place ..... we're comin to get ya! Match report can now be found HERE.
