Outstanding performance and I look forward to this post and getting a few things off my chest.
My name is slightly deceptive as I am now in my mid 20’s. Having spent 6 years in the youth set up under the guidance of Ricky, Mark Bonner & co I have played and trained with some serious talent, and Still in contact with many of the boys still there. Jack Payne, Glenn Kamara, Dom Iorfa to Name a few. Most notably is Stephy Mavididi who my old man used to pick up from Prittlewell station to bring to boots and laces 3 times a week. Steph now has a serie A medal and a selfie with the cup next to Ronaldo. My point is this, Emile is nowhere near as talented as the aforementioned names, but I have also seen far more talented boys than Emile fall by the wayside and their careers come to nothing. It saddens me every game that our ‘fans’ feel the need to post awful comments against his name for starting, a 20 year old kid who is one of our own. Knowing Emile personally, I have messaged him tonight to say how well I thought he and the team played. If we are going to get out of this mess we need to get behind the boys and fill them with confidence, not idiotic comments from half wits who can’t stand their wife so take it out on a kid representing the club we love.
Oxley 7 - been one of our best players of late. I can forgive the Bolton mishap given how many games he’s kept us in. Good game management with a few decent saves in there.
Elvis 8 - more of the old Elvis tonight. Aggressive and strong in attack and defence.
White 7 - not a huge fan of JW, but can’t fault his effort tonight.
Hobson 9 - was incredibly sceptical when he joined, looked like he had two sandwedges for feet. Has come on leaps and bounds, defends everything throw at him and got his 4 iron out to sting one into the top bin!
Clifford 8 - quieter tonight but kept their widemen at bay. Whilst it might be a minor point, his clearances are always high and wide where I find hart rarely finds either and puts us back in trouble.
Fergy 10 - need I say more? absolute breath of fresh air. Everything looks like he’s in second gear. Rolls Royce
Taylor 9.5 - he was everywhere tonight, breaking play up and driving forward. Simply sublime
Dieng 8.5 - busy in the middle and a great finish.
RHF 8.5 - best performance in a blues shirt. It strikes me that he performs on good pitches, which is unsurprising given his attributes.
Emile 9 - did all the dirty work you want from a target man. Won headers, brought our more technical players into the game. Battled throughout and gave their centre halves no time. Some humble pie to be consumed tonight.
Akinola 9 - came alive in the second half. Tricky, works hard and beginning a fan favourite.
Subs
Macca 8 - only one worth marking. Knows how to see games out. A leader. Happily keep him on another year to coach / sit on the bench and bring on when we need to keep hold of a lead.
MM 10 - too many prisoner of the moment football fans support Southend. How can we forget how terrible it’s been for the last 2/3 years. We are actually winning games! He has brought in some excellent signings who are picking us up points. Had MM had this team at his disposal from day 1, dare I say it we would be closer to top spot than bottom. Even if we go down, he has done a great job. Yes, he has made some strange calls (5 at the back), but he’s a novice in the game. If we stay up, I’m excited for whats to come.
UTB!!!!!
