Have we ever played slicker football?

[LennySUFC]

I've been going week in week out since 01/02, and the football on display at the moment IMO is on par if not greater than the football we saw under tilson in the 05/06 campaign. It's one thing to be confident enough to attempt the flicks and skill but the players we have actually have the ability to do it!

We look immense on the ball, off of it and so deadly on the counter as we saw with goals 2 and 3 yesterday.

So my question to you older folk, is have we ever seen better quality of football produced from a Southend Team? (I expect going top of the old championship could beat it?)

 

[AndyT]

Good question, that.

Apart from under Tilly, there were times under Webby where we were unstoppable.

I still believe the second half at Everton in the FA Cup is as good as I ever saw us play, but there are signs now that we have what it takes.

To play as well as we did then and under Tilly, suggests that we may not be far off really being ready for another dart at The Championship.

With the upcoming Sheffield United, Bolton and Scunthorpe games, I think we'll have a truer reflection.

 

[Bobby dazzler]

I've been going week in week out since 01/02, and the football on display at the moment IMO is on par if not greater than the football we saw under tilson in the 05/06 campaign. It's one thing to be confident enough to attempt the flicks and skill but the players we have actually have the ability to do it!

We look immense on the ball, off of it and so deadly on the counter as we saw with goals 2 and 3 yesterday.

So my question to you older folk, is have we ever seen better quality of football produced from a Southend Team? (I expect going top of the old championship could beat it?)

being older leads to poor memory retention but we are showing signs of being up there with the best from the past. I was young when I saw us win the old forth but we were certainly a good team then that played some lovely football. We have had spells since where it was a joy and promotions where we relied on being solid and a good goal scorer. Dave Webb. Barry judas fry and Tilly all produced good sides but for our league level I struggle to remember a front line and backup that was as good. We had spence and mercer. Then crown followed by angell with collymore followed by Eastwood. All excellent upfront but no where near the depth we have now. (Sorry for not mentioning Best but at 50 I am too young to remember him)
defensively we have had some excellent leaders over the years but for me Ferdinand is as good as I remember. The midfield doesn't have big names but is worthy of note. All in all we are up there but they need to win promotion for it to count.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Nice change from all the Brown out threads from not so long ago.:thumbsup:

 

[mrsblue]

Tilly's team that thrashed QPR was a stunning display of attack minded football....truly awe inspiring watching that.

Yesterday for 40 minutes they were close to matching it the above,must do it for longer though .

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Tilly's team that thrashed QPR was a stunning display of attack minded football....truly awe inspiring watching that.

Yesterday for 40 minutes they were close to matching it the above,must do it for longer though .

If we're talking about favourite games I'd still go for the 68/9 6-1 away thrashing of Bournemouth in the League Cup in the Ernie Shepherd era.

 

[dshrimp]

For me has to be Fry's team. Away at Derby was just superb.

 

[AndyT]

For me has to be Fry's team. Away at Derby was just superb.

Was at that game and can concur fully.

At the start of the second half, Derby really went for it (1-1 at the time) and then we put a move together down our right. This was actually in front of us, as we were standing down the side, under the main stand.

It involved about 6 or 7 slick passes, before Gary Poole whipped in a low cross and Gary Jones slid in to score with a first time shot.

They just had no answer to us after that.

 

[Jay_SUFC]

Under Webb we played some good football, especially considering the level we were at (I recall the national papers always praising our football) and getting a standing ovation from the Everton fans after that FA Cup game shows that.

Under Fry we played some good football, and immediately after Fry left, when Peter Taylor took over, as I remember an Anglo Italian game and Fry's return, where we played some excellent stuff.

Though we attacked well under Tilson, I don't recall us playing the ball to the standard we are at the moment and that's down to having former Championship players and above in the team.

However, just because we may play better football now, doesn't mean we will get promoted as arguably other teams are also improving, so standards are much higher now.

 

[WESTY_SUFC]

We are playing great stuff at the moment but none of it has come close to the night we tore Yeovil apart in league 1 in the league winning season. Comments of 'the whole team were abducted by aliens and replaced by Brazil' were made. We haven't reached that level......yet

 

[The General]

Over a sustained period of games I'd say so! There were times when Gower/Eastwood combo was top notch but this is a real team collective where the whole side is getting involved! There was a spell where our bloody right back was upfront and was doing a pretty good job! :omg:

It's fair to say the majority had lost faith in Brown (me included) but credit for the total transformation! It's nice to put in such a good 45 mins at home with a good crowd watching on. It's also nice we can dig in and defend when we need too. Smith made crucial saves at 0-0 and 2-0 and the way Thompson is playing is amazing. He is a real leader and will undoubtedly be skipper one day! The only weak link is Tims but he's doing a decent job to be fair to him! But we will need Cokes back sooner rather than later with a tough Jan!

Kev

 

[sufcwatcha1]

The team with Andy ansah ,Benjamin , Brett Angell and Keith jones were a joy to watch in my day

 

[AndyT]

Talking of Keith Jones, his performance at Everton that day was as complete as you are every likely to see from a Southend United player.

Up there with the all-time great performances in a Blues shirt.

 

[Polish_Blues]

If Ron Martin was in charge when we was going for Premiership on February in 1991/92 season, he would backed D. Webb to finish the job by adding players he needed to cross the line or in 1993/94, give Barry Fry more backing to get quality players in, surely we would be talking about a season or two in Premiership .... only if.

 

[Blues4LifeDan]

Something else you have to consider before comparing teams/era's, is the quality of opposition. A 5 a-side team can play slick football on Wednesday night over your local 3G pitches but whose the opposition? League One is a lot more stronger now, incorporating much more quality from a lot of different teams. When we won League One under Tilly the league wasn't as strong, Col U was even up there!
The money driven Premier League has forced better quality players to filter down the leagues, we have 5 prem players on our books now! A reality check was even needed when looking at Wimbledons team yesterday. They were 7+ leagues away from League One not long ago, and now they have a £1m+ player (Barnett), on the bench!

I would conclude that the football is better/more impressive now, simply because it's being achieved against better sides in a stronger league.

 

[OldBlueLady]

It's an absolute pleasure to watch, though, naturally us oldies can confirm, not an unusual thing. These things seem to have gone in cycles and we're just in one of those "good passing" phases again. We have a number of players who can play good football and it's showing in our performances. Long may it continue!

 

[LCBB72]

If Ron Martin was in charge when we was going for Premiership on February in 1991/92 season, he would backed D. Webb to finish the job by adding players he needed to cross the line or in 1993/94, give Barry Fry more backing to get quality players in, surely we would be talking about a season or two in Premiership .... only if.

Judus did not give a toss about Southend , all he wanted to do was to manage a big club .

 

[Beefy]

I think we played even better football at times under Tilly - and not just the promotion year. The year after we'd got relegated back to League One and had Bailey, Gower and McCormack in midfield some of the football was sublime.

I also enjoyed the Barry Fry team although at its best that team was about pace and power rather than slick football.

I don't know if this is the team who play the nicest football but watching yesterday I certainly found myself thinking that, man for man, thus is the best collection of players I've ever seen play for us. My recollection of Webby's team isn't the best and Tilly's side will always be 'my' Southend team but that was a League Two squad elevated by two extraordinary talents in Gower and Eastwood. This team has so many really good players.

I'm worried about the depth but currently you have to say that Phil Brown's decision to go for quality over quantity is paying off big time.

 

[IloveShrimp]

Please don't forget it was Tilly and Brush... Just saying!

 

[Rob1920]

I think the fact we've got 4 ex prem players in the side, added to the likes of Wordy, Lenny & Coker who are equally comfortable on the ball, makes it obvious why we're playing some truly quality football for L1 at the moment.