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Best Manager and Best Player - to prove Napster wrong.....

Joined
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In the Worst Manager/Player thread, Napster reckons there would only be a handful if it was Best Manager and Player being discussed. It's been done before, but I don't think together, and I like proving Napster to be wrong, so.....

Graysblue has already nominated Tilly and Billy Best. For achievement, it's hard to look beyond Tilly and Dave Webb, but I'm going to be deliberately controversial and nominate Barry Fry. The Fat Judas is worthy of hate, but we played our best football ever under his stewardship. Best player? Ricky Otto, closely followed by Stan the Man and Sir Christopher of Powell.
 
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Go on then, we also did pretty well under both Arthur Rowley and Dave Smith from what I remember but it really is a straight toss up between Webby and Tilson. At the moment, purely because of the number of times he came back, I'd have Webb just everso slightly ahead, but that could so easily change this season.

Best player, again, difficult choice. Freddy probably excited me more than any other player we've had, Alan Moody was a real stalwart who wore his captain's armband with real pride, Stan, Billy Best even big Mervyn Cawston. Think I'd have to go for Freddy though, almost 3 seasons of absolute delight in watching his play.
 
Dave Smith as manager (again going against Webb and Tilly) he was the blues manager when I first started going. As for player Richard Cadette, as this was the end of the era when players were not celebrities and nobody expected anything from the blues.
 
I'll add this in as well
graysblue
First XI

Join Date: Jul 2008
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best gaffer is easy tilson by a country mile

best player is also easy billy best followed closely by collymore
 
At moment, Webb just edges it as best manager. However if Tilly finishes in the top ten this season then he would take the lead as he would have effectively rebuilt an entire side and still maintained high standards.

Take service, longevity etc out of the equation, the single most talented player to wear our shirt was, in my opinion, Collymore by a mile. Fred was great at a lower level but Collymore destroyed 2nd tier opposition single handedly.
 
Will go for Tilson over Webb as Tilly came from nowhere and what he's done for us has just been fantastic.

Best player is slightly harder as we've had a number of good players over my time watching but it's got to be Freddy, he entertained us in a way no one had done for years, was a joy to watch and played a huge part in the clubs progress.
 
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I would also nominate Ernie Shepherd as one of the best managers, he signed Billy Best amongst many others, and we played good football under his guidance, and scored shed loads of goals.

Overall Dave Webb still just about edges out Tilly, because his side actually consolidated in the higher division.

Best player - Billy Best.
 
this is how i have come to my conclusions

tilly has guided the club to cup finals and promotions which in turn makes him the most successful therefore with his length of service..............the best

billy best played in the era where defenders could stab/maim/murder and rarely even get a ticking off from the ref.add BBs goals and again length of service he is in my view the best.

if collymore or eastwood played in that era that would both end up in row z ,would they of had the balls to compete during that period?
 
this is how i have come to my conclusions

tilly has guided the club to cup finals and promotions which in turn makes him the most successful therefore with his length of service..............the best

billy best played in the era where defenders could stab/maim/murder and rarely even get a ticking off from the ref.add BBs goals and again length of service he is in my view the best.

if collymore or eastwood played in that era that would both end up in row z ,would they of had the balls to compete during that period?

Not sure about Freddy GB but I reckon Sir Stanley would have managed - he was a big fella with a feisty attitude to match. In the 3-3 game against Millwall (when he scored that great goal after picking it up in his own half), he was subject to some 60s/70s style punishment dished out by that tosspot Stevens and never looked like backing down, in fact he seemed to relish the confrontation.

I believe the legend that is Tilly got the other two goals in that game? It's a fair shout to nominate Tilly for both awards come to think of it, isn't it?

I know Billy Best is a true Southend legend but before my time I fear - Derek Spence was my first goal scoring idol.
 
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tilly in my eyes is a true blues legend,this guy has gave us all memories which never will fade,the 3 trips to cardiff are things i never ever thought i would see.

the late 60s and early 70s was proper mans stuff with forwards being brutally hacked down or kicked 3 feet in the air!!!! yet it was part and parcel of the game back then.

today keepers are so well protected, anyone who breaths too hard near them and its a free kick,outfield players get a little knock and go down as though been shot.

if billy best played today i reckon he would have played for his country
 
As far as league positions go it has to be Webby , but personally I would go for Dave smith just for that Championship winning side and the home record that season.

Best player, either Peter Taylor or Ronnie Pountney , the former for the raw talent , the latter for sterling service and he was quite a footballer too


(Ask me again and I will say Tilly and Stan as will most people on here.....)
 
As far as league positions go it has to be Webby , but personally I would go for Dave smith just for that Championship winning side and the home record that season.

Best player, either Peter Taylor or Ronnie Pountney , the former for the raw talent , the latter for sterling service and he was quite a footballer too


(Ask me again and I will say Tilly and Stan as will most people on here.....)

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.;)
 
Dave Smith as manager (again going against Webb and Tilly) he was the blues manager when I first started going. As for player Richard Cadette, as this was the end of the era when players were not celebrities and nobody expected anything from the blues.

i'd go for smith also as he was the first manager when i started going. Oversaw our first league title as well.

for player RC is a great call(4 goals v the o's will forever stick in my memory) but has to be Stan the man with chrissy powell my lord a close second.
 
Christ forgive me,this is tough.

I was brought up on the Dave Smith and big Webby era of success so this makes it all the more harder for me.

Manager's accolade MUST go to Tilson now i feel.Such magical moments with him at the helm and of course ,as he is Southend through and through (as opposed to Webby and his Chelsea roots) this will give Steve a slight edge.
You just have to look at the scintilating football Tilson's teams have produced using players from the bottom of the pile.
Putting Man Utd out of the cup whilst they were top of the Premiership demands respect as a feat without doubt.
Scoring in most of the games under Tilson must also be an achievement in itself and an indication as to his time here.

Best Player......easy.



....the unstoppable Stan Collymore.Forget his time at Liverpool.Whilst at Southend the desire and hunger as a raw striker coupled with amazing strength,awesome shooting power,aerial prowess and speed on the deck.Oooh,i forgot his dribbling skill and his assured tap-ins.
This guy was awesome! Shame it all went to his head,literally.
 
Like I say... best manager has to be Steve Tilson for me. Two promotions, two cup finals, a play-off finish, QF league cup, holding Spurs until extra-time, beating Man U, and having to rebuild the side following relegation on a small budget.

Webby may have taken us higher, but Tilly is helping to transform the club from scraping along at the bottom of League Two, to a club which may have a future in the Championship - a far, far tougher league than when we were last there.

* * *

Best player... it's still Chrissy Powell for me - not simply for the class, but the longevity of service; he gave us 6 of the best years of his career. Stan was clearly the most talented player ever to don the blue shirt, but we only had him for 9 months; and I rate Chrissy P ahead of Freddy for ability. Spinner and Otto make up the top 5.
 
Chris Powell met you once didnt he MtS

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He should of really been bowing you you in that photo :)

For me been watching the club since 1996 so my supporting period manager wise has only see every manager fail apart from Tilly so he gets the vote there.

Player wise its got to be Freddy Eastwood, a reall great talent and the main reason why we had those back to back promotions.
 
Tilly v Webby is a really difficult one. Webby had us challenging to be premier league founders and laid the foundation for six(?) seasons in the second tier. Tilly also did the consecutive promotions but has failed (so far!) to get us challenging in the second tier, let alone established. But Tilly has won our most prestigious bit of silverware (and therefore beats Dave Smith hands down IMHO), our biggest cup upset, two cup finals and three Millennium Stadium visits. I've also been impressed with how many times he's rebuilt the team.

I think I'm going to give it Webby, on the basis that the 1990-91/91-92 team was so young and so many of them went onto play top flight football. Royce, Austin, Powell, Edinburgh, Prior, Butler, Ling and Angell all went onto grace the top flight, whilst Tilly's best signings (Eastwood, Bailey, Guttridge) have only gone onto play championship football.

Best player is simply Stan.
 
another reason why tilly in my view has been the best gaffer,if my memory is correct when ST took over the club were 3 0r 4 pts away from relegation to the conference,if the club had dropped down who knows what could have occured.
 
Seeing this and the worst manager / player thread , I tried to imagine how this would pan out on a Man Utd site......

Thistle-arse Fergie would be best manager if they had just won and worst manager if they had just lost.......

I was in Manchester the day after they lost the Champions League Semi-Final in 2007, and I've never heard such fickle BS - 'Fergie can't sign a decent midfield player' was one pearl of wisdom (Paul Ince, Roy Keane, Owen Hargreaves - all crap).
 
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