Henrik Larsson and identity

[Yorkshire Blue]

Things are terrible and have to change.

Whether those changes will all be positive I'm not so sure. We seem to be at a crossroads where things could spiral downwards quickly.

An influx of out of contract Swedes to reinforce the current squad - if that is the plan - may sound good but will they be committed to Southend or to Henrik Larsson? What happens if Larsson has enough - like he did in one of his previous roles - and walks away leaving us with a load of players still contracted at great expense to us? That sounds vaguely like what happened at Orient leading to them languishing in the Conference. If this is the plan, then this is a high risk strategy which risks our League status if it doens't work.

Will a team of Swedes (or Dutch) mercenaries really feel like our club? What will their connection be to Southend? Will they force out the youngsters coming through and block their progress?

A high profile managerial team may sound appealing but at what stage do we become Henrik Larsson and Dirk Kuyt's Southend rather than existing in our own right?

At what stage does it stop feeling like our club?

 

[kentblues]

And at what stage do we even imagine that a glass might be half full rather than half empty...

 

[rigsby]

If it means Ron Out.......Does it matter?
Its what everyone wants and guarantees us success.

 

[shrimper61]

Jesus Get a grip they haven't even been appointed yet. Get behind whoever takes over and hope to god they can turn the players we have into a team that will give there all for the club and get us out the hole we are in..

 

[kentblues]

If it means Ron Out.......Does it matter?
Its what everyone wants and guarantees us success.

Well you say ‘everyone’ wants Ron out but again, and it could be you being mischievous (heaven forfend), but this is not consistent with the reality. Overall RM has been a good chairman and the leagues are full of many worse. And I am sure at least some recognise that?

 

[fbm]

If it means Ron Out.......Does it matter?
Its what everyone wants and guarantees us success.

I think we need to be very careful what we wish for.

Ron has been as good as any chairman could be in my opinion. I don't want us in a few years time being in a similar position to Coventry/Blackpool/Blackburn/Bolton/Orient and several other clubs with unethical but very wealthy foreign owners...

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

What makes people think that our team will suddenly fill up with Swedish and other European players? Isn’t that what Johnson has been brought in for .. allegedly .. to scout players from the English leagues? Personally I think we should be looking at the likes of Elvis, Acquah, Egbri, Rush etc and bringing them through as they seem to bring more than some of these so called seasoned pros. Surely Larsson and Kuyt will see that too. Especially if they hate shirkers as has been said. Larsson would’ve seen enough of your likes of Cox and Mantom over those two games. They should be more worried I’d say.

 

[Another Surrey Shrimper]

This feels like close season when any theory gets put up for debate for something to do.

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

Mercenary
noun
"a person primarily motivated by personal gain"

What footballers aren't? They have a job, same as anyone else. They need to get paid whatever way they can and maximise their income in the short period they have before their career ends.

As to identity, exactly what identity do we have now? One reason I wanted Barrett was to try to recapture the identity in that Tilson team where most of the players were from Essex, a few were fans and a few were back after years away elsewhere. We had a real Essex feel then, even a specifically Southend one. What identity do we have now to lose?

 

[Feathers]

Things are terrible and have to change.

Whether those changes will all be positive I'm not so sure. We seem to be at a crossroads where things could spiral downwards quickly.

An influx of out of contract Swedes to reinforce the current squad - if that is the plan - may sound good but will they be committed to Southend or to Henrik Larsson? What happens if Larsson has enough - like he did in one of his previous roles - and walks away leaving us with a load of players still contracted at great expense to us? That sounds vaguely like what happened at Orient leading to them languishing in the Conference. If this is the plan, then this is a high risk strategy which risks our League status if it doens't work.

Will a team of Swedes (or Dutch) mercenaries really feel like our club? What will their connection be to Southend? Will they force out the youngsters coming through and block their progress?

A high profile managerial team may sound appealing but at what stage do we become Henrik Larsson and Dirk Kuyt's Southend rather than existing in our own right?

At what stage does it stop feeling like our club?

Do you also write for the Daily Mail?

Henrik Larsson and Dirk Kuyt both have excellent reputations as professional footballers and played a large part of their careers in the UK. Larsson has also managed in the lower leagues in Sweden

Will they be good managers? I have no idea but what difference does their nationality make?

If, and it is a big if, we do recruit a number of Swedish players why does that make them mercenaries? Why should they be less committed than our current crop of players?

Why would Larsson and Kuyt be more likely to block the youth than any other managers we appoint?

Francesco Beccheti was an Italian business man. In what way was his purchase of Leyton Orient remotely akin to the potential management roles of Larson and Kuyt?

When does the club stop feeling like our club? I guess that is up to you.

 

[Zeuss]

Do you also write for the Daily Mail?

Henrik Larsson and Dirk Kuyt both have excellent reputations as professional footballers and played a large part of their careers in the UK. Larsson has also managed in the lower leagues in Sweden

Will they be good managers? I have no idea but what difference does their nationality make?

If, and it is a big if, we do recruit a number of Swedish players why does that make them mercenaries? Why should they be less committed than our current crop of players?

Why would Larsson and Kuyt be more likely to block the youth than any other managers we appoint?

Francesco Beccheti was an Italian business man. In what way was his purchase of Leyton Orient remotely akin to the potential management roles of Larson and Kuyt?

When does the club stop feeling like our club? I guess that is up to you.

Very well said.And in Sweden they produce streams of highly talented young players,just look at how often they do well against England despite having only a fraction of our population and financial resources.They also follow the game here closely and speak excellent English.I’m sure there’d be more than a few outstanding young players delighted to join national superhero Henrik Larsson on an upward journey starting in League 1 or 2.
Much the same applies to Dirk Kuyt and the Netherlands,of course.

 

[Mad Cyril]

Things are terrible and have to change.

Whether those changes will all be positive I'm not so sure. We seem to be at a crossroads where things could spiral downwards quickly.

An influx of out of contract Swedes to reinforce the current squad - if that is the plan - may sound good but will they be committed to Southend or to Henrik Larsson? What happens if Larsson has enough - like he did in one of his previous roles - and walks away leaving us with a load of players still contracted at great expense to us? That sounds vaguely like what happened at Orient leading to them languishing in the Conference. If this is the plan, then this is a high risk strategy which risks our League status if it doens't work.

Will a team of Swedes (or Dutch) mercenaries really feel like our club? What will their connection be to Southend? Will they force out the youngsters coming through and block their progress?

A high profile managerial team may sound appealing but at what stage do we become Henrik Larsson and Dirk Kuyt's Southend rather than existing in our own right?

At what stage does it stop feeling like our club?

I'm not that bothered.

I doubt a lot of the kids coming through the academy are any less mercenary.

If they aren't aiming a lot higher than Southend then something is wrong with them.

 

[superblue24]

Mercenary
noun
"a person primarily motivated by personal gain"

What footballers aren't? They have a job, same as anyone else. They need to get paid whatever way they can and maximise their income in the short period they have before their career ends.

As to identity, exactly what identity do we have now? One reason I wanted Barrett was to try to recapture the identity in that Tilson team where most of the players were from Essex, a few were fans and a few were back after years away elsewhere. We had a real Essex feel then, even a specifically Southend one. What identity do we have now to lose?

Exactly. Come on YB, you have to admit it, if the boot was on the other foot and we had a team brimming with talent, they would last a year at best with the club before leaving us for pastures anew and fatter pay checks.

Collymore, Eastwood, Bentley, Angell, B*iley, Barnard etc all left us for bigger clubs. Football is a mercenary sport by definition.

 

[GNH]

If the whole HL and co management/investment is something that ends up happening why would that lead to an influx of soley Swedish talent?

I agree it's likely that some will follow however there must be a plan to find and recruit British based players to provide the basis of the team, with the likes of Tommy Johnson already mentioned in dispatches. A blend of talented foreign youngsters and experienced British players may work out really well?

 

[RHB]

This is all a serious case of the cat could have kittens. Until Ronald makes a manargerial appointment we don't know who we are getting, or if we are. Many a slip and stuff like that. I'll save my fretfulness until I have something concrete to get fretful about.

 

[ShrimperJim]

If it means Ron Out.......Does it matter?
Its what everyone wants and guarantees us success.

If it wasn't for Ron, there wouldn't be a club to support now.
He's a saint compared to Vic Jobson.

 

[Maidstone Shrimper]

If it means Ron Out.......Does it matter?
Its what everyone wants and guarantees us success.

Definitely a "mischievous" comment as kentblues suggests. Maybe you're too subtle at times!

 

[RHB]

Definitely a "mischievous" comment as kentblues suggests. Maybe you're too subtle at times!

I've just choked on my cofee reading that

 

[Maidstone Shrimper]

I've just choked on my cofee reading that

I think you're well experienced at reading into rigsby's mind (frightening thought) … but some take what he says at face value. Good entertainment.

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

Prepared here to have fruit pelted at me but I agree with a lot of what Rigsby has to say.