How long before we are back in the Football League?

[Zeuss]

You had two months to think of a witty or scathing comeback to my post and this is the best you could do??

I’d only just read your post—I usually manage to skip over them without reading. At least the guy with the contradictory name—Colchester and Proud—admits he supports a small club and needs to come onto our site where there’s hundreds of proper supporters.

 

[Jasrod]

You have to think realistically 4 or 5 years. If the fabled new stadium ever becomes a reality and produces the sort of finances that have been hinted at by Ron over the years, I suppose its possible we could buy our way to promotion, like a micro-Man City or Chelski. But otherwise its going to be a while I think. There's always an outside chance via a play-off spot, and there is often a side no one predicted who gets up like Harrogate & Sutton. Sometimes you get lucky and group of players just click, like they did for Tilly. So its as equally pointless saying we definitely won't go up for at least 6 or 7 years as it is saying we'll be champions this season. We'll have a better idea of things at least for this season in half a dozen games or so.

However are the National League not about to add a salary cap for next season? I know it’s been talked about! There is also talk of the possibility of merging the National League into the EFL structure as most teams are now full time. What the timeframe is for this I don’t know but if it did happen you would think that there would be more promotion places.

 

[Barry.C]

View from the Aldershot forum.............




Southend United

Ins
James Dunne (Barnet)
Josh Coulson (Leyton Orient)
Jack Bridge (Bromley)
Rhys Murphy (Yeovil)
Abu Ogogo (Bristol Rovers)
Steve Arnold (Northampton)
Sam Dalby (Watford)
Matt Dennis (Norwich - Loan)
Hamzad Kargbo (QPR - Loan)

Outs
Kenny Coker
Emile Acquah
Brandon Goodship
Harry Kyprianou
Alan McCormack
Jacob Mellis
Richard Taylor
Michael Klass
Ide Osimeh
Brandon Goodship
Sam Hart
Mark Oxley
Timothee Dieng
Ricky Holmes

Potential Line Up



Squad brief: The 2020/21 season could not have gone much worse for Southend. Curiously, the Shrimpers' defensive record was not terrible all things considered but only scoring 29 goals over 46 games gives some indication as to why Southend are now in this non-league predicament. And then, the less said about the current ownership of the club, the better... All in all, it leaves returning manager Phil Brown with an enormous rebuilding job. Straight away, Brown has looked to sign experienced lower league players with local south east foundations as Josh Coulson, James Dunne, Rhys Murphy and Abu Ogogo have all joined. Centre back Coulson joins after a successful three year spell at Leyton Orient where he was previously promoted from the National League whilst striker Murphy joins from Yeovil after an injury prone season. Dunne and Ogogo will look to bring the best out of each other in midfield although both have had troubled campaigns just gone with Dunne's performances being heavily criticised at Barnet and Ogogo struggling to make the Bristol Rovers squad. Elsewhere, Southend have retained club captain John White and full back Jason Demetriou aged 35 and 33 respectively. The club have looked to invest in youth in places with young striker Sam Dalby joining seemingly as Murphy's strike partner. Dalby joins the likes of existing youngsters Terrell Egbri, Matt Rush and Lewis Gard amongst others who will be hoping to impress at this level. All in all, Phil Brown has some work to do over the season as the squad firmly looks to be in transition at present.

Manager: Gather a list of all the National League managers and the most recognisable to a neutral would be Phil Brown. The 62-year-old is about to embark on his first stint of non-league football after managing throughout the Football League at the likes of Derby, Preston and Hull. Brown's most notable achievement was keeping Hull City in the Premier League for a season. More recently, he found himself at Indian Super League side Hyperabad FC before being sacked at the beginning of 2020. Brown's return to Southend, the club he managed for five years between 2013 and 2018, is a crucial one for his career. Failure to succeed will likely mean curtains on any ambition to manage again in the Football League.

Unheralded Gem: Terrell Egbri - Only 5 foot 4 but the 20 year old is a constant whippet down the wing.

Top Goal-scorer Prediction: Rhys Murphy

Overall prediction: Southend's summer business reminds me a touch of what Dagenham & Redbridge did last summer in buying battle hardened players who have been around the block. Daggers manager Daryl McMahon later commented in the season that in hindsight, he'd left the squad with too many of this type of player and not enough with the legs and fearlessness to impact the game in the way he wanted. With a chunk of the squad also still fresh from last season's disaster, I think it could well a chastening season for Southend. One in which they may well be looking over their shoulders in.

 

[Billy Bests boot laces]

View from the Aldershot forum............

Overall prediction: Southend's summer business reminds me a touch of what Dagenham & Redbridge did last summer in buying battle hardened players who have been around the block. Daggers manager Daryl McMahon later commented in the season that in hindsight, he'd left the squad with too many of this type of player and not enough with the legs and fearlessness to impact the game in the way he wanted. With a chunk of the squad also still fresh from last season's disaster, I think it could well a chastening season for Southend. One in which they may well be looking over their shoulders in.

An interesting viewpoint, guess time will tell?.

 

[Barry.C]

Quite a detailed report by this bloke on every club and where he predicts they will finish up, I happened to come across it on the Aldershot form and chat. He clearly seems to think we will be in a relegation fight, judging by his prediction above,

This is not my view , and getting off to that win was critical. Next up I think we will stuff Stockport,

Onwards and upwards

p.s. I may have briefly mentioned at some point in the past, the number of experienced players we are going for .Nice to see the very honest Will Atkinson referring to himself as experience meaning Old, For what its worth I hope Will rips it up

 

[Jasrod]

Is it correct that Dover have a 12 point deduction this season?

 

[LBBlue]

Is it correct that Dover have a 12 point deduction this season?

Yes
https://www.thenationalleague.org.uk/match-info/tables

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

Well, we are now over half way through the season.

23% of people thought we would get promoted this season - that's not looking very likely but it is still mathematically possible I suppose.

 

[Mr. Benedict]

View from the Aldershot forum.............


Overall prediction: Southend's summer business reminds me a touch of what Dagenham & Redbridge did last summer in buying battle hardened players who have been around the block. Daggers manager Daryl McMahon later commented in the season that in hindsight, he'd left the squad with too many of this type of player and not enough with the legs and fearlessness to impact the game in the way he wanted. With a chunk of the squad also still fresh from last season's disaster, I think it could well a chastening season for Southend. One in which they may well be looking over their shoulders in.

Well that prediction from Aldershot was pretty much spot on. At least we didn't leave it until it was too late to change the course of our season this time around...

 

[BALDY]

How long is a piece of string?

Leyton Orient spent just 2 seasons in this league.
Wrexham have been down in the NL forever!

Some I see thought it would be a walk in the park-----Wrong!

 

[Maldon Shrimper]

Those that thought we would be promoted straight away will realise how tough this league is with only one up automatically and one via playoffs.Kev and coaches are steadily building a decent squad it will not happen this season but we are on track to be competitive next season.The sooner the better we are back up yo the EFL the better it's not going to be easy

 

[gpd]

If we go up It would be brilliant (and preferable from a stress point of view) if we went up as Champions...but it will not be easy. We will have to graft for a few poor-performance wins..and have some luck along the way. So we are beginning to practice now for a title winning season ahead.

 

[Rob1920]

I remember in either their first or second season in the NL Wrexham for a period were runnaway leaders, looking certain to go back up, & then as often seems to happen in this league they had an awful run, got caught & overtaken, & the rest for them is history. I see our situation as very akin to Chesterfield, similar fall from L1 to the NL, first season in the NL spent fighting relegation, second season stabilising, then starting to threaten at the top again in the third. Hopefully we're slightly ahead of that curve but there's going to be bumps in the road and I still think we're probably looking at the season after next before we're promotion contenders, much as I'd love us to do it next season of course.

 

[Chris Powell's mate]

One example of a slow build-up is Sutton United, who had the bedrock of a tightly run ship even before their 2016-17 FA Cup run when knocked out by Arsenal.

The money from that kick-started a real charge for promotion, but even then they had the advantage of a 3G surface.

However, with a decent boss, Paul Doswell, followed by a seamless transition to Matt Gray, they have got up a head of steam with average 2,500 gates.

The key was low expectation that eased the pressure along with a good-feel club.
I think Boreham Wood are doing something similar, and it's the 'big' clubs like Wrexham that are feeling the pinch, and before them in previous seasons: Notts, Chesterfield and Stockport.

 

[BALDY]

There is much more pressure on a former league club than a club like Sutton who until this season have a history of only ever having played non league football.

The N L really is a graveyard for so many former EFL clubs.
Just look down the league table!

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

This is a thread from a couple of years ago .......... 20% of voters thought we would go straight back up whilst about 50% thought it would take up to 3 years.

Our "progress" this season (2022/23) would seem to suggest that we are on the right trajectory. Plenty of other ex-league clubs have been in the Conference for a lot longer.

We will have to see how the club fares over the summer of course*.

*no that is not an invite to start a pro-Ron or anti-Ron discussion please.

 

[tallboyblue]

This is a thread from a couple of years ago .......... 20% of voters thought we would go straight back up whilst about 50% thought it would take up to 3 years.

Our "progress" this season (2022/23) would seem to suggest that we are on the right trajectory. Plenty of other ex-league clubs have been in the Conference for a lot longer.

We will have to see how the club fares over the summer of course*.

*no that is not an invite to start a pro-Ron or anti-Ron discussion please.

I think we have the basics for a promotion bid but progression depends upon investment.

 

[Billy Bests boot laces]

I voted 3-5 seasons, and without the current situation we're in, could have been wrong as maybe this season we'd have done it without the problems we've had?.
As for next season, none of us have a clue what will happen during the next 2-3 months, so until August it's impossible to predict our fortunes & the strength of the squad for next season?. We can only hope for positive news?.

 

[Jonny_Stokes]

Always enjoyable to be reminded that my comparative objectivity results in my being the most consistently accurate poster on here.

 

[Callum]

We will be promoted next season under new ownership