That performance was enough to draw me out of my posting hiatus! Has to be the most enjoyable Southend game I have watched for some time. Watching the Blues is certainly becoming more enjoyable. Dare I say it, that feeling of inner-dread before a game is slowly starting to become ‘cautious optimism’.
Well done to MM and the squad. Everyone did great last night. A real team performance with a few sprinkles of gold dust sprinkled throughout. All three goals were very enjoyable to watch. To a man, each player did the club proud.
Emile has sparked some interesting chat. For what it is worth, I thought I’d throw in my 2 pence as well. Although saying that, the point I make below is probably a broader one, better suited to a different thread.
To start with, I thought Emile’s performance last night was very good. Most on this thread seem to agree. However, for a while now i’ve worried that he has become a bit of a scapegoat, possibly even a victim of the club’s demise over the last few years.
Unfortunately, when the ship is sinking you have to find a way to stop it. Neither Sol, or MM (until more recently) were given many tools, if any, to do this. As a result, both have had to throw players into the team that may not have been quite ready.
I think it is important to remember this, especially in respect of those players that we call ‘our own’ (i.e. youth team/u23 prospects). In an ideal world, these players are gifted first-team opportunities when they are ready. The amount of development contracts/third-year scholars/first professional contracts we dish out every year is testament to our club’s commitment to persevering and being patient with ‘potential’ first team talent. However, as a club we have been in freefall. Instead of remaining patient with ‘potential’ talent, many have been flung into the limelight (e.g. Clifford, Rush, Mitch-Nelson, Gard, etc. etc.).
Some have taken to first-team football quite comfortably, while others have struggled. This is to be expected, and is certainly understandable. They are works in progress after all. I will touch on a few examples below to give Emile’s recent treatment some context.
Clifford’s integration into the first 11 seemed to work perfectly. Fresh from a loan spell at Concord (and I think Bishop S some time before that) he has not looked back. Brilliant story. Now 22, you would imagine it was probably getting to the make or break part of Clifford’s career at Southend anyways. I couldn’t be more pleased for the lad. If he had been chucked into the first team under similar circumstances when he was 19/20 who knows what direction is career would have gone in.
Mitchell-Nelson is an interesting case. While showing some serious promise, it’s quite possible he wasn’t ready for regular first team action just yet. In some ways it is pleasing MM was able to withdraw him from the limelight this season to continue his development. By all accounts, he is performing admirably for the u’23s. I for one certainty hope he gets another opportunity in the first team in the future. Ideally when MM feels he is ready and not because we are under an embargo and happen to lack defenders!
Then we have the curious case of Emile Acquah! I for one did not think Emile looked ready for regular league football when he was first chucked in. Not because he didn’t appear to have potential (he certainly did), but similar to your Mitchell-Nelson’s, Richard Taylor’s, and Matt Rush’s of this world, there was clearly some work/development to do. He looked very raw. However, unlike Clifford who was thrust into the first team at a perfect time in his development, or Mitchell-Nelson who was withdrawn from the limelight this season to develop further (because we now have plenty of CB options), Emile plays in a position that we have been threadbare in for a long time.
Consequently, he has often been expected to step into the first team and successfully lead the forward line. Maybe it’s because we have been bottom of the league for most of this season, or because we have been fighting relegation for the last few years, or because we have become accustom to losing week in and week out, but I think some of us might have forgotten who Emile is.
Emile is a lad who played for our youth team, went to the local Southend grammar school and whose main experience of men’s football came at Harlow a few seasons back. Emile is 20 and is ‘one of our own’. Lets try and remember that the next time he has a bad touch or fails to win a header.
In other seasons, similar prospects would have probably been given the opportunity to soak in another loan experience and combine that with some U’23 games. Possibly even get on the bench occasionally for the first team. Unfortunately, Emile’s not been afforded the same patience given to other prospects. This is because we have been in freefall as a club and gone an embarrassingly long time without experienced striker options. Because of Emile’s size, and because he is a striker, we have continued to throw him, over and over again into our first-team with unrealistic expectations.
However, that is now history. Sol and MM had to try and get results by any means. This I understand, accept and would probably do the same. I just can’t help think that some of our players (mainly our prospects have been harshly judged along the way).
In good news, in my opinion Emile’s performances are getting better every week. While he might have been chucked in the deep end to begin with, he is clearly continuing to learn quickly on the job. I don’t think it is a surprise his uplift in performances coincide with MM being in a position to use him more selectively. I for one am excited to see how Emile’s development continues over the coming seasons (should he stay on). He certainly appears to have a lot of potential. Leading the line as effectively as he has at first and second in the league deserves real credit.
I may have read the whole ‘Emile’ situation completely wrong! All I know is there is nothing better than seeing ‘one of our own’ turn in a decent performance on a Saturday. Clifford’s winner against Newport and Emile’s up at Walsall were all the sweeter because of who they are and what they represent.
Whether Emile goes on to be a legend of the club (which I hope he does), or another that does not quite make it, I hope our club is now better positioned (post embargo) to handle our future talent with more patience and care moving forward. As fans lets remember to be kind.
UTB
