Weekend Round Up

Is it me or are Man United losing their dignity ? Firstly we had those ostentatious leather dugout seats, plastered in the name of one of their sponsors (sorry, partners), but much much worse than that is the electronic advertising that now appears on their pitch hoardings .

Not content with just having their company name on the screen, some bright marketing wizard has decided that the sponsors need just a bit more attention. Messages now scroll along the screen, but after a slight pause, the pixels all shift for a half-second, forcing your attention away from the action. After 5 minutes I found this so disturbing that I switched off. I paid all that money for Sky HD, and the football is unwatchable thanks to a combination of Nike and Peter Kenyon. I'd boycottt them if I didn't already do so.

A terrible shame to see Barcelone with writing on their kit. It isn't sponsorship as such, as the Catalan club are paying Unicef 1.5 million Euros for the privilege, but this is just a way of softening up the fans ready for the big hit next year when somebody will pay serious money, and another part of football's soul will disappear.

Much more healthy was Llanelli's 6-0 trouncing of Rhyl. Lovely. It's always fun to see John Hulme spluttering after a loss, and despite the admirable "Fe Godwn Ni Eto" flag, I always like to see Rhyl taken down a peg or two. Also good to see Andy Legg back on the pitch with his amazing long throws. He reached the far end of the six yard box with one on Saturday. I've been watching him on Big Ron Manager, and that isn't the Andy Legg that I know. I think he was keeping his head down for the cameras. This is a man who once asked me to design him a website in which he would charge female fans to gaze at his sculpted torso.

At the other end of the table, Caernarfon took a 7-1 thumping at Port Talbot. One of the more interesting things about this game, is that despite his resignation as manager on Tuesday, Wayne Phillips played for the Cofis that evening, and then played again at Port Talbot on Saturday.

Just up the road in Carmarthen, Bangor began the game in their red kit, and then changed into their blue kit at half time when it eventually turned up. What's the point ? You're just wasting washing powder.

Cardiff confirmed their promotion credentials by beating Luton 4-1 after an early sending off. Mike Newell complained, but it seemed straightforward to me. Wrexham got hammered which never surprises me. They are known in football circles as "tippy tappy", which is a legacy from the Bryan Flynn era. Lovely one touch football, but they haven't had a solid defence since the days of Barry Hunter. Actually, they were always liable to a thrashing even in those days. Can anyone remember a good Wrexham defence ?

Swansea seem to have had their chance last season. They are now losing momentum, and Kenny Jackett is my tip to leave his job this year.

Meanwhile, the sun is still shining in Felinheli. Three matches, three wins on Saturday; 6-2 for the U13s, 8-3 for the U17s against Blogdroed's Valley FC , and the senior side won 2-1 at Nefyn.