[b said:
Quote[/b] (McScriven @ Dec. 09 2004,16:19)]For years we have read that Jeroen told a Blues supporters to f**k off after they sent well wishes to him in Japan following a stabbing in his eye that left him blind.
However, talking to Helen Giles last night about the Dutchman (apparently he's been rated Southend's worst ever play in a new book out about bad footballers - anything to do with you Matt?) apparently Boere phoned Helen from Japan to say how made up that Southend fans had sent him the most messages and how he was so touched that they'd remembered him.
Seems to blow this one out of the water?
Hmm... Ok, let me get a few things straight here:
1. This "worst ever player" thing definitely wasn't down to me (or at least I don't think it was)!
2. As to the worst ever vote... whilst I agree that, in terms of ability alone, there are plenty who have been worse (Rio Alderton, Gordon Connelly, Simon Livett and Graeme Jones leap instantly to mind), I prefer the "pound-for-pound" rating.
In terms of the "ability showed/effort given/wages paid" ratio, I guarantee that you will struggle to find someone worse than Boere.
As an example: Boere was on £3,500 a week (I'm fairly sure of that). Let's say Connelly was on £700 a week. Would you say Connelly was 5 times as bad as Boere? I wouldn't. 4 times as bad... maybe...
(Bear in mind, after all, that it's wages like Boere's that have caused this club to be so royally f**ked over the last 7 or 8 years)
3. The eye incident. OK, so this appears to change things. All I - and indeed anyone who read the message - could go on was the word of someone on the Shrimpers List, the e-mail precursor to the Zone. I vividly remember a Shrmpers Listee posting on the list to the effect that he had gone to see Boere in hospital, and that on presenting our condolences, received the relpy, "what, those sad w***ers?"
I therefore have relied on the word of a Listee who was in Japan. If it transpires that he has been lying, then I feel pretty upset about that, since my views about Boere have (understandably) been heavily coloured by that account.
Perhaps I'm more than prepared to reassess his character; but I'm still not prepared to change my view that, in many respects, he remains the worst ever footballer we've had. "Worst ever" is not merely demonstrated by ability... after all, the likes of Boere's wages have done far more damage to this club than Gordon Connelly's ineptitude ever could.
Matt