Let's get this into perspective...

[Sussex Shrimper]

You get a "nice little trophy" for winning the European Cup too. One that enhances the pedigree of all who win it immeasurably. If Col Ewe ever do win League honours then maybe they'll begin to understand why nobody in their right mind would swap their club's history for a transient league position which will soon mean as little as our league positions of the early to mid-nineties now do. Until then, and realistically it isn't going to happen soon, I'll probably have more luck trying to persuade Chelsea fans that Liverpool wouldn't swap their hard earned class for any number of points.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

omg theres so much writing. i can't read that much

 

[Jonesy tap-in]

Quote[/b] (mattytheshrimper @ Nov. 28 2006,19:33)]omg theres so much writing. i can't read that much

Hmmm, I've noticed that as well. There does seem to be quite a bit of writing on this board actually. Curious...

 

[ph437]

Lets move on from the Col******r defeat - yeah it was achieved by a cheating scumbag- so what it's over - we aint never getting those points back - move on!

And all this bigger fanbase, bigger ground, bigger squad, bigger this, bigger that is all bollocks, current League position is the ONLYthing that ever matters.

 

[Hong Kong Blue]

Quote[/b] (Razzle @ Nov. 27 2006,23:11)]Oh dear.  You really are sore losers, aren't you.  Do you honestly think we give a monkeys that you came first and we came second last year.  Being in this division is what it is all about so the fact you pipped us to the post last year is starting to look a bit hollow now.
As far as permanent Championship football goes, it's a big ask, but our chances are every bit as good as yours.  Our stadium will be 10,000 capacity with an option to extend if necessary.  Your 22,000 stadium will look very empty in League 1 when the mighty Orient come to town.  Meanwhile our stadium allows for realistic growth of fan base, which will happen when people in this region realise that have a real football team on their doorstep and not a little club with a small and outdated stadium as at present.  

As far as being the biggest club in Essex - who cares.  I don't think you get any trophies for that.  One statistic matters at the moment, and that is league position.  Look after that and everything else looks after itself.  As for bigger clubs always rising to the top, well if that is the case then why not take it further.  Do away with promotion and relegation.  Just have 4 permanent divisions based on stadium size and average crowd, then you would be in a permanent state of arousal over the fact that you have the bigger ground therefore the 'biggest team in Essex' - wow..  Seriously though - take a look at the Premiership.  Wigan,  Charlton, Bolton, Pompey.  Meanwhile, the Championship is chocker with teams who think they have the divine right to be in the premiership because of their stadia/history/fan base.  It's also usually the fans of these clubs who cry the loudest about  having to slum it at nasty, dirty Layer Road. Usually following a defeat for their thoroughly mediocre teams.  

In conclusion - post your sad post on as many of our forums as you like - we could do with a laugh.  Jeez, if this bunch of sour grapes is in the running for post of the day, then it must have been a seriously bad day.

Where we finished last year DOES matter.

I thought like you when we got promoted for the first time to Division 2, but as the novelty wore off (and if you manage to stay up this season you'll realise this next year) I realised I was wrong. I enjoyed winning the title last season so much more than I enjoyed (or rather endured) our years in division 2.

Division 2 status is something temporary, it can be taken away from you any season. Southend United division 3 champions 2005-06 is something that we will never lose.

This division is actually quite poor. Yes, the players may be more talented but teams like Hull and Coventry may have good players but they are just bad teams. Despite this we're going down this season, but I'm not too bothered. Last season we achieved pretty much all we could hope to ever achieve. I suppose the only thing we could do to top a year like last year would be the cup run and upset type thing - like beating the League Cup holders and Premiership leaders, which we've done. This might be a terrible year for us, but we've all those memories to fall back on.

 

[tr0ublegum]

Quote[/b] (shrimperbhoy @ Nov. 28 2006,18:44)]Razzle, fancy a bet on Southend being positioned higher up the league than Col******r in a few seasons time?  

Size does matter in the club world unfortunately.  Look at Aberdeen - one of the best sides in Europe in the early 80s under the guidance of Ferguson, but they could hardly keep that going with attendances averaging 15,000!  If you don't have the support, you're going to struggle to keep hold of your best players.  Irrespective of whether Col U stay up, you will lose Halford etc in the same way that we'll lose Eastwood.  

It does seem that Ron Martin's plans for Southend are a tad more ambitious than Col U's, so my advice is to enjoy the success while you can.  

Oh we will, but you're all making the schoolboy error of forgetting that EVERYTHING is temporary in sport.

Your title win last year was, our league position this year is. It looks very likely we will stay up this season and you won't, and your point is that over time you are a bigger club than us, so will fare better in the long run?

Well great. It's wonderful to take such pride in the fact that, by choice or birthright (I don't know which in your case) you support a team which through their greater resources will probably finish slightly higher in the echelons of football league mediocrity.

The truth is, football is all about enjoying the moment while you can.

One of your fans wants to fast forward 10 years! Wish 10 years of your life away so you can be above us in the league again? That really is sad.

 

[Sussex Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (ph437 @ Nov. 28 2006,21:17)]Lets move on from the Col******r defeat - yeah it was achieved by a cheating scumbag-  so what it's over - we aint never getting those points back - move on!

And all this bigger fanbase, bigger ground, bigger squad, bigger this, bigger that is all bollocks, current League position is the ONLYthing that ever matters.

I disagree with that quite strongly. Forest fans would laugh at the notion of giving back their European trophies just to have swapped places with us at the end of last season. I laugh at the notion of giving back the moments which have defined my support of Southend United just to survive this season in a division which I believe that both clubs will drop out of in short order anyway.

A clubs' honours represent the toil and sacrifices of the men who go out and earn them in the name of the club. Talk of swapping them for points, IMO, shows disrespect to them - who are we to barter away other peoples' rewards and accompishments? How many Olympians do you think would give back their gold medals just to finish a bit further up the field next time around? It's about winning. There are no all night parties over mid-table finishes, and I really do feel sorry for anyone whose football supporting life is highlighted by mild satisfaction over mediocrity.

 

[BrettieAngell]

To be honest I dont give a f%ck about Col Ewe unless we are playing them!

They are doing well at the moment and look likely to stay up, we look dead and buried at the moment and it is going to take a minor miracle for us to stay up. I would rather concentrate on what we are doing and not what Col Ewe are doing!

 

[Sussex Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (tr0ublegum @ Nov. 28 2006,22:11)]

Quote[/b] (shrimperbhoy @ Nov. 28 2006,18:44)]Razzle, fancy a bet on Southend being positioned higher up the league than Col******r in a few seasons time?  

Size does matter in the club world unfortunately.  Look at Aberdeen - one of the best sides in Europe in the early 80s under the guidance of Ferguson, but they could hardly keep that going with attendances averaging 15,000!  If you don't have the support, you're going to struggle to keep hold of your best players.  Irrespective of whether Col U stay up, you will lose Halford etc in the same way that we'll lose Eastwood.  

It does seem that Ron Martin's plans for Southend are a tad more ambitious than Col U's, so my advice is to enjoy the success while you can.  

Oh we will, but you're all making the schoolboy error of forgetting that EVERYTHING is temporary in sport.

Your title win last year was, our league position this year is. It looks very likely we will stay up this season and you won't, and your point is that over time you are a bigger club than us, so will fare better in the long run?

Well great. It's wonderful to take such pride in the fact that, by choice or birthright (I don't know which in your case) you support a team which through their greater resources will probably finish slightly higher in the echelons of football league mediocrity.

The truth is, football is all about enjoying the moment while you can.

One of your fans wants to fast forward 10 years! Wish 10 years of your life away so you can be above us in the league again? That really is sad.

I think that you're deliberately misinterpreting me.

I'm 26 now. If I'm lucky I have what, another 60 years as a Southend fan? How short termist would I have to be to start talking about how I'd rather have your pointsa tally than our prospects for those 60 years?

It's not just those prospects though, because contrary to what you have said our title win last season was permanent. If you don't believe me then look it up at any point of your choosing in the future. The reason your fans dismiss its importance is that you either don't understand it or refuse to contemplate it. I'll probably never see my country win the World Cup, but I'm not going to turn around and pretend that if we reach the semis and France only the quarters next time round that I have it better than French fans who saw their team get the job done in 1998 - that would be very childish and dishonest indeed.

 

[ph437]

Quote[/b] (Sussex Shrimper @ Nov. 28 2006,22:12)]

Quote[/b] (ph437 @ Nov. 28 2006,21:17)]Lets move on from the Col******r defeat - yeah it was achieved by a cheating scumbag- so what it's over - we aint never getting those points back - move on!

And all this bigger fanbase, bigger ground, bigger squad, bigger this, bigger that is all bollocks, current League position is the ONLYthing that ever matters.

I disagree with that quite strongly. Forest fans would laugh at the notion of giving back their European trophies just to have swapped places with us at the end of last season. I laugh at the notion of giving back the moments which have defined my support of Southend United just to survive this season in a division which I believe that both clubs will drop out of in short order anyway.

A clubs' honours represent the toil and sacrifices of the men who go out and earn them in the name of the club. Talk of swapping them for points, IMO, shows disrespect to them - who are we to barter away other peoples' rewards and accompishments? How many Olympians do you think would give back their gold medals just to finish a bit further up the field next time around? It's about winning. There are no all night parties over mid-table finishes, and I really do feel sorry for anyone whose football supporting life is highlighted by mild satisfaction over mediocrity.

I wasn't suggesting trading our heritage to stay in The Championship - just the arguments about our bigger fanbase, better ground = bigger club seem a bit hollow at the moment.

But yeah - I personally would rather have been runners up last year and be in Col******r's position now.

 

[9 minutes of glory]

Quote[/b] (MC BLUES @ Nov. 27 2006,23:23)]Of course you are hurt we did you last year.

Of course your captain was also hurt hence the cheating on Saturday.

The truth always hurts!

Yes the awful truth of being cast adrift at the foot must hurt...(mixing metaphors)

 

[9 minutes of glory]

Sussex Shrimper, right-oh

Of course we have been in the Conference, only 14 years ago, in that time you have been at this level before.

Since relegation day we have had 3 visits to Wembley, with 2 wins, a first place, a play-off win, a second place & currently at our highest ever position, with the best home record in the Championship bar none.

I think that entitles us to 'enjoy the moment', we'd be fool not to because things can change so quickly.

So I'll just finish by saying...



...



3-0!


and 5-1!



Is FBlockRob on here? I do so miss him.

 

[Razzle]

Sussex. Sorry, I posted my second post before I saw your second one so if it looks like I ignored all the points you made you're right. Given our two results tonight it would be lacking in respect to stick around any further anyway, so I'm off to bed. Suffice it to say though, that I won't make the schoolboy error of typing the 'c' word in full again on your forum.

 

[Sussex Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (9 minutes of glory @ Nov. 28 2006,23:08)]Sussex Shrimper, right-oh

Of course we have been in the Conference, only 14 years ago, in that time you have been at this level before.

Since relegation day we have had 3 visits to Wembley, with 2 wins, a first place, a play-off win, a second place & currently at our highest ever position, with the best home record in the Championship bar none.

I think that entitles us to 'enjoy the moment', we'd be fool not to because things can change so quickly.

So I'll just finish by saying...



...



3-0!


and 5-1!



Is FBlockRob on here? I do so miss him.

I don't begrudge you your moment, if you read my posts properly you'll see me give respect to those who have bought it about. I'm merely pointing out just how ridiculous it is to suggest that what looks like happening this season represents some kind of meaningful long term power shift, making Col******r Essex's most successful club. It's a moment, nothing more, nothing less. Enjoy it, but don't go claiming that it's worth swapping our history for, any more than you hear us claiming that our recent success is worth more than Forest's pedigree. If you do I'll have no choice but to laugh at you.

 

[shedeight]

As 9 minutes says, the last fifteen years have been an immense period for the club and the key will be how we push on from here.

The new stadium may start small, but it has the option to become larger in time - within a three to four year time frame if we stay in this division - and that's the crux of the matter.

Our success - AND YOURS in recent years - has been built on sustainability. No crash and burn philosophies.

And the stadium works on that same premise - 10,000 with additional revenue streams not currently offered by Layer Road. Then, in time, an 18,000 stadium.

Our chairman is a wise man too. He brought on board one of the leading businessmen in Essex to further the cause. He will have no worries about the impending or possible wage bill issues in the future.

I hope that Southend do stay up because the East Anglia mini-league has been one of the highlights of the season so far really.

We have had fourteen years of progress. Many thought that League One was the ceiling, but if we can stick around for two to three years at this level, then there's no reason why we can't develop into a bigger club longer term.

Perhaps, five years ago, there were fans of Oxford (who, remember, have a similar honours list to yourself) were mocking Reading's progress and possibilities for the future.

Oxford, of course, now reside in the Conference. Reading, with a brick on brick approach to progress not dissimilar to that of our respective clubs, are now in the Premiership.

It doesnt have to be the case that the Col U story is hitting its peak.

 

[MC BLUES]

Quote[/b] (9 minutes of glory @ Nov. 28 2006,23:00)]

Quote[/b] (MC BLUES @ Nov. 27 2006,23:23)]Of course you are hurt we did you last year.

Of course your captain was also hurt hence the cheating on Saturday.

The truth always hurts!

Yes the awful truth of being cast adrift at the foot must hurt...(mixing metaphors)

well, let's see where we all are on 6th May 2007.

In the meantime, try and think above being a small tin pot club looking for attention.

Difficult for you admittedly, but You might then find there are a few people around somewhere who may actually be interested.