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Echo News 'It was amazing' - Shrimpers legend Best enjoys his Roots Hall return

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Tony Allen said:
Seem to remember a game against Workington on a Friday night and we won about 7-0 and JM was playing but can't recall who else
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JM scored twice that night, along with Eddie Clayton (2) Andy Smillie, Eddie May and King Billy. A good crowd, too of nearly 14,000 (including yours truly). The team was Trevor Roberts, Mike Beesley, Graham Birks, Sammy McMillan, Eddie May, Mel Slack, Phil Chisnall, King Billy, Andy Smillie, Eddie Clayton and JM. (Jimmy Stevenson, who next year was in the Brentwood team we beat 10-1, was the sub.) We then went on to implode and lost 6 of the next 8 games, to miss promotion and finish 6th.
 
tsbl2000 said:
JM scored twice that night, along with Eddie Clayton (2) Andy Smillie, Eddie May and King Billy. A good crowd, too of nearly 14,000 (including yours truly). The team was Trevor Roberts, Mike Beesley, Graham Birks, Sammy McMillan, Eddie May, Mel Slack, Phil Chisnall, King Billy, Andy Smillie, Eddie Clayton and JM. (Jimmy Stevenson, who next year was in the Brentwood team we beat 10-1, was the sub.) We then went on to implode and lost 6 of the next 8 games, to miss promotion and finish 6th.
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Thanks for that - it was an exciting night and we were on fire!
 
Does anyone know wether any of the new board or current players met King Billy Best on Saturday .
 
This was the one home..game I missed all season. My then wife had arranged to have dinner with her friends without consulting me. To make things worse their son burst in on us at about ten o'clock to tell us the result and how well we had played
 
Chris Powell's mate said:
It's been said elsewhere but also thanks to @B.B.The Legend Lives On.
You know, Dave, that devotion to keeping the fires burning is as legendary as your handle!
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Many thanks for your kind words Paul, Billy Best was someone that I first got to know when he came to Roots Hall back in January 1968 signed by the then manager the late great Ernie Shepherd. We obviously spent a lot of time around each other with him playing and me following the team around the country. We sort of became friends, well I wanted to be his best (pardon the pun) mate but I am not so sure he wanted me pestering then stalking him that much but we did manage to spend some time together, having said that I was delighted when he accepted an invitation to my 21st Birthday party (53 years ago) in Great Wakering back in January 1971. Obviously Billy was a fantastic goalscorer in the five years he spent at our club and his stats are certainly impressive to say the least and like many supporters it was a big disappointment to us when he quit the club to move back to Northampton in the summer of 1973 for family reasons. Over the last 50 years we have most of that time stayed in touch in one form or another and back in 2018 I was lucky enough to be able to contact Billy to ask him if he would like to join SUEPA which he was glad to accept. Last Saturday was Billy's first visit since SUEPA was formed and this was when all my dreams came true as I had the privilige of escorting the man we call the "King of Roots Hall" onto the pitch. It really was an emotional time for Billy and his family (and me) and that standing ovation he received from last Saturday's crowd really was something else and certainly will live long in the memory for everyone that attended. I spoke to Billy earlier this evening and he asked me to pass on to each and every one of you his sincere thanks for the wonderful reception both he and his family received last weekend.:Clap: :Clap: :Clap:
 
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