22 August 2002 - The attendance for the opening game of the season against Hartlepool had been confirmed as 11,041, not 10,684 as announced on the day. Roddy Collins and Darren Kelly express their anger at the Loyalist death threat made against Northern Ireland's football captain Neil Lennon. Other news - Neil Lennon announces he is to quit International football. John Terry, Jody Morris, and Des Byrne, are all cleared of affray at Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court. Des Byrne is found guilty of possessing an offensive weapon and fined £2,000. Colin Skellett, the chairman and chief executive of Wessex Water, is arrested on suspicion of receiving a bribe of nearly £1m.
23 August 2002 - Danny Naisbitt has signed a months loan deal as cover for Peter Keen. Danny is currently on Barnet's books where Lee Harrison occupies the number 1 spot. Tickets for Tuesday's away game at Darlington will be on sale from the club show tomorrow. Other news - A Football League Disciplinary Commission has ordered Leicester City to reinstate Dennis Wise. Leicester sacked Wise following an incident with team mate Callum Davidson on their pre-season tour of Finland. The Foxes are to appeal against the decision, with chairman Martin George saying he was "astonished" by the verdict. Aston Villa complete the £1m signing of Charlton captain Mark Kinsella. Microsoft warn that Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, Money 2002, Money 2003, Project 2002 have security holes that could allow malicious hackers to change files on their computers. They advise computer users to close the critical holes by downloading software patches from its website.
24 August 2002 - Lee Maddison may have ligament damage after a tackle in the Bristol Rovers game. Roddy Collins says he is still on the look out for at least two more players. Other news - Cricket and in the third test at Headingley, England end the day at England 264-9 after India declared at 628-8. All the weekend's football games and some other sporting events observe a silence in memory of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.
Carlisle United 0 - 0 Bristol Rovers. League position 8th. Att: 6475.
Team: Keen - 7, Birch - 6, Whitehead - 8, Andrews - 8, Maddison - 7 (Shelley - 6), McGill -7, Summerbell -7, Burns -6 (McDonagh -6), Murphy - 7, Foran - 6 (Wake - 6), Molloy - 8 . Subs not used: Naisbitt, Kelly.
3 games Man of the Match - Yet again we choose Stu Whitehead who hasn't put a foot wrong this season.
3 games comment - We started the game so well and then for second game running the referee decided to take centre stage and ruined what could have been a really good game of football. Five yellow cards and a penalty awarded against us seeded extremely harsh in a game where neither side seemed to use dirty tactics. At times we still lacked cohesion and towards the end of the game both sides looked exhausted with the temperature much more suited to cricket than football. Our defence is starting to look impressive even before Darren Kelly plays his first game, Summerbell looks to be an asset to the squad. Our biggest problem at the moment is the final ball, when our strikers settle and start firing as they can then we will be a match for anything in the division.
26 August 2002 - United have a growing injury list with Maddison, Baldacchino and Bell all out for tomorrows game. Tickets have been selling well for the Darlington game and a sizable away support is expected at Feethams. Other news - Darlington insist they will sign Faustino Asprilla subject to a medical and International clearance. India easily win the third test at Headingley leaving the series all square with the final test at the Oval to play. A train carrying 400 hundred railway enthusiasts hits the buffers at Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, injuring 31 people. In Swansea a man dies after a bungee jump goes horribly wrong. Police believe the safety harness snapped moments after the man leapt 200 feet from a crane.
27 August 2002 - United lose their unbeaten away record in a 2 - 0 defeat by Darlington. Darren Kelly makes his debut in the second half of the game. Other news - Manchester United beat Zalaegerszeg 5 - 0 in the home leg of their Champions League qualifier, 5-1 over the two legs. President George Bush tells the Saudi Arabia's US ambassador that he has made no decision on attacking Iraq.
Darlington 2 - 0 Utd League position 15th. Att: 5163.
Team: Keen - 7, Birch - 7, McDonagh - 6, Andrews - 7 (Kelly - 6), Whitehead - 8, Mcgill - 7, Summerbell -6 (Galloway - 6), Burns - 6 (Wake - 6), Murphy - 7, Molloy - 7, Foran - 8. Subs not used: Naisbitt, Shelley.
3 games Man of the Match - Riche Foran, he didn't score but he gave 100%, 3 crucial headed clearances off the goal line plus loads of good work throughout the pitch.
3 games comment. Still a worrying lack of goals, we got what we deserved from an organised busy Darlo team. Some good individual performances and 100% effort were not enough tonight, we fans have got to be patient and wait for the team to knit together.
28 August 2002 - Darlington manager Tommy Taylor says he's still interested in Stuart Whitehead. Roddy Collins continues to look for players to add to the squad before the next game on Saturday. Other news - Celtic are beaten 2 - 0 by FC Basel, the aggregate score over two legs is 3 - 3 meaning Basel go through to the group stages on away goals. Newcastle beat Zeljeznicar 4-0, 5 - 0 over two legs. An American investor agrees to buy the Arrows F1 team. Maxine Carr, who is charged in connection with the deaths of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, is to appear in court via video link after a request by the prosecution counsel.
29 August 2002 - Wimbledon defender Des Byrne joins Carlisle United for a week’s training. Byrne, who was a trainee at Stockport before moving on the Wimbledon has been capped at U18, U20 and U21 level for the Republic of Ireland. Brian Wake may be suffering from strained medial ligaments which makes him doubtful for Saturdays match against Exeter. With Foran and Molloy both suspended, United's only recognised strikers are Marc Nixon and John Slaven neither of whom have started a league game before. Other news - In the draw for the group stage of this seasons Champions league Manchester Uninted find themselves in the same group as Bayer Leverkusen, the team that knocked them out of the competition last season. President Chirac of France condemns US threats of unilateral military action against Iraq, saying measures should be left to the UN Security Council.
30 August 2002 - Stuart Whitehead says he is happy to stay at United and looking forward to the rest of the season despite the ongoing interest from Tommy Taylor, manager of Darlington. Adam Thwaites leaves United and joins Gretna. Tickets for the League Cup game against Rotherham on 10th September, go on sale to season ticket holders from Monday 2nd of September from Brunton Park and from Tuesday 3rd September for all other supporters. Other news - The deal between Faustino Asprilla and Darlington collapsed when Tino fails to appear for a medical, it later emerges that he has left the country and is thought to be now in the Middle East. Spurs agree a £7m deal for Leeds United's Robbie Keane. Manchester United sign goalkeeper Ricardo Lopez from Spanish side Real Valladolid. A service is held in Ely catherdral in memory of school girls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells. A man is arrested at Vasteras airport, Sweden, after allegedly being caught trying to board a Ryanair plane for Stansted with a gun in his hand luggage. Dr Bhagat Singh Makkar is struck off by the General Medical Council after they found him guilty of professional misconduct. trading in human organs. They ruled that he had encourage or participated in the trade of human organs.
31 August 2002 - Kevin Beattie, the Carlisle born ex England International and former Ipswich Town defender, has agreed to be United's new defensive advisor. He will take sessions on Fridays before home games but hopes to be more involved in the future. Marc Nixon makes his full senior debut in the home game against Exeter and Darren Kelly makes his home debut. Other news - Roy Keane gets the 10th red card in his Manchester United career, sent off in the 1-1 draw at Sunderland. The incident came in injury time when referee Uriah Rennie showed the red card after Keene had used his elbow on fellow Irish International Jason McAteer. In cricket, Yorkshire beat Somerster to win the C&G Trophy final, at Lord's. Swedish police are still questioning a man on suspicion of planning to hijack a plane. It emerges that the man, Karem Chatty, had received flying lessons in the US.
UTD 0 - 2 Exeter City League position 18th. Att: 4806
Team: Keen - 7 , Birch - 6, Andrews - 6, Whitehead -6 (McGill -6), Kelly -7, Murphy -7, Galloway - 6 (Jack - 6), McDonagh - 6, Summerbell - 6, Wake - 6, Nixon - 6. Subs not used: Naisbitt, Burns, Slaven.
3 games Man of the Match: Peter Murphy kept trying to bring the ball forward and get the forwards involved.
3 games comment: Oh dear this was bad! From perhaps being guilty of too many passes and over elaborating against Darlo, today we found it difficult to string two passes together. The two young forwards tried their best but rarely got a sniff at the ball, good players played at less than they have proved capable of and their was a general lack of confidence in the side that was quickly pounced on by old pros like Exeter's Goodman. With so many changes in the side and so much upheaval, sooner or later we were going to have a day like this, it happens, we'll get over it! It was tempting to give players lower marks but there wasn't anyone not trying out there, it just wasn't coming off. A great shame that some sections of the crowd feel the need to boo certain players when they come on the pitch it surely can't help their confidence levels.
Back to July/August 2002
Back to 3 Games homepage