[Div3North]

Southend United

V

Accrington Stanley

2011 Prediction League – Game 36; v Southend (away)

They may still be in the automatic promotion places, but the Shrimpers (or the Blues, or the Seasiders – take your pick) are, beyond question, in a sticky patch; in mid-January, after their 5-2 win at Northampton, they were top of the League – 52 points from 25 games and a goal difference of +24; their last 10 games, though, have brought them just 11 points – W3 D2 L5 – with just 9 goals scored (none at all in 4 of those games, including three of the last four outings), so that currently they’re 3rd, with 63 points from 35 games and a goal difference now down to +19.

What may be worse from Paul Sturrock’s point of view is the cracks that are starting to show; Liam Dickinson, Ryan Hall and Kane Ferdinand were found guilty of breaching club discipline in an incident at their team hotel before the 1-0 defeat at Morecambe on 25th February, and Tunisian defender Bilel Mohsni, signed last season from French League CFA-2 side Sainte Genevieve Sports, apparently asked to the subbed in the same game, then walked out of the ground and caught a train home ; that might be bad enough, but he seemingly did the same thing after their FA Cup defeat at Oldham in December , and was also disciplined by the Club for his part in a reported ‘fracas’ in August . You may also remember than he was sent off at our place during last season’s 3-1 win …………..

You may make some of your own luck, but not all of it; top scorer Liam Dickinson (who signed for Plymouth in the summer, changed his mind more or less before he got there, and joined Southend instead) broke his ankle in Monday’s goalless draw with Crawley, and is out for the season ; so is Congolese midfielder Jean-Paul Kalala (30) – whose cv includes playing for Nice and for Grimsby (maybe they should consider twinning ) – who suffered a cruciate injury at Morecambe . Defender Chris Barker is also out, having got a one match ban for a red card when he handled a Crawley shot on the line in Monday’s game; Belford duly saved the penalty, Crawley dropped two points, Barker “would do the same thing again” , and I think that’s cheating ; except that it was against that nice Mr Evans’s Crawley , so it doesn’t count as cheating after all ………..

They’ve been out a-signing in the transfer window; they’ve “bought” defender Pat Baldwin (29), who’s spent the last 10 years at Colchester; ex Bohemians (and Shamrock Rovers, Dundalk, Shelbourne and Galway – in fact, everywhere except Sligo ) striker Anto Flood (27); midfielders David Martin (26, ex Millwall and Palace) from Derby County and Michael Timlin (28) from Swindon, who also sold them striker Elliott Benyon (24) – ex St Albans and Crawley - who Swindon themselves had signed from Torquay in January last, and who’d then been on loan at Wycombe …….. The loan market provided GK Cameron Belford (23), who was Bury’s keeper in their promotion season last year (and who thinks that Southend are “better equipped to go up than Bury were” – which should make him popular when he goes back to Bury after his loan! ); Lee Hills (21), a defender from Palace who’s been out for 2 years with a knee injury; and Bolton’s u19 England international striker Jack Sampson, of whom Paul Sturrock rather succinctly said, “He’s a big boy. Six foot two. Left footed with a strong build” . So now you know …….. Sturrock also said, “He’s here for a month. If he excites us we’ll extend the loan”. Go on Jack – excite them!

Their next four games (against us, Hereford, Aldershot and Bristol Rovers) will certainly define their season; from odds-on for an automatic, they may well now have to go through the play-offs (they lie 9 points above the 8th placed side), especially because they’re only one point above both Shrewsbury and Torquay, each of whom are in form and each of whom has a game in hand on the Shrimpers. They did well in the Cups – first round defeat by Leyton Orient on penalties in the Carling, before beating Crawley (1-0), Dagenham (3-1) and Oxford (1-0) in the JPT, going out in the semi final to Swindon 2-1, and doing Preston 1-0 in a replay following a 0-0 at Deepdale in the FA Cup, then to lose at Oldham in Round Two.

In the League their home record is 8 wins, 5 draws and four losses, and on the road they’ve an impressive W11 D1 L6; overall, 19 wins, 6 draws and 10 defeats, scoring 59, conceding 40, and having, as mentioned earlier, 63 points. In total, Cups included, they’ve got 64 goals in 43 games, scoring 5 once, four 3 times and three on seven occasions; against that, they’ve drawn a blank 11 times; nor do they ship many – so far it’s four once (Swindon 1-4), and three twice (3-0 at both Cheltenham and Crawley…………) Leading scorers are Liam Dickinson with 12, ex Palace and Bromley strike partner (and fellow miscreant ) Ryan Hall (11); Bilel Mohsni has 8, as has 30 year-old ex Millwall and Brentford defender Mark Phillips (who I thought rode horses with Princess Anne, but what do I know? ); Neil Harris (34) has 7, to continue his extensive scoring exploits with MIllwall (also Forest and Gillingham), and defender Kane Ferdinand – a product of the Southend system and now 19 – has 6; there are 6 other names (plus own goals) on the list as well ………..

They came down to League Two at the end of 2009/10, in 23rd place, just above Stockport (who lost 6-0 at Alfreton last night, you may have seen ) – with 10 wins out of 46 games, a goal difference of -21, and 43 points. Last season we drew 1-1 at Roots Hall (Jimmy Ryan getting our goal), but won 3-1 at home – our 8th consecutive home win during The Run – the goals coming from Ian Craney, Terry Gornell, and Sunbeds with a penalty; this season, in our first home game, we conceded a 1st minute penalty and lost 2-1, despite a goal from Andy Proctor ……… revenge, they say, is a dish best eaten cold …….What do you think, lads? Is it cold enough?

The deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3pm on Saturday 10th March. If Will Hatfield keeps scoring at the same goals scored/minutes played ratio, he’ll be our leading scorer before half time. Please can you start with him, Cooky? I don’t know if we can all stand the strain of stoppage-time equalisers by the 85th minute sub ……….. Thumping win? Struggling sneaky win? Any kind of a win? 0-0 draw? Who knows? Maybe you do; get your entries in early – gives you longer to change your mind ……………..

Good luck to everyone ……….and thanks for playing!