Maher- would you consider selling him??

[Shrimper2thecore]

sell.

maher slows the game down when he plays and is not needed with moussa comming through and the ability of gower to play centrally is really needed. i feel we havea new generation of players now, and only gower barrett, flavs and hunt are the survivours

I am not really sure how you can say Flavs is "surviving" more than Maher

 

[davewebbsbrain]

I think because Maher has been so good for us for the past 6 years, it notices so much when he has a dip in form.

He is an excellent player, capable of turning games with 1 pass, and will hit top form again!!

 

[BrettieAngell]

I wouldn't sell Maher now there will be there times this season where Macca or Bailey are suspended and if one them gets injured we need Maher as I wouild rather have him in the side than Moussa at the moment.

 

[South Bank Hank]

I am not necessarily saying I would advocate this but Mahers recent performances have been woeful, to me he looks like his heart is no longer in it. Accomodating him in the team and pushing Macca out wide has been a failed tactic and Tilly must realise our best performances this season have been with Macca and Bailey in the middle. With him now being 30, and with the emergence of Moussa as a viable alternative, if someone came in with a decent offer in January I would be tempted to take it and use the money to buy a good winger, as with only Gower fit at the moment we have looked out of sorts in the midfield.

While Maher has clearly dropped down in the pecking order behind the excellent McCormack and Bailey, he is still, for me, an outstanding squad player, and it would be madness to even consider selling him.

As others have pointed out, our current first choice midfield will miss games this season through injury and suspension. While the Moose is an excellent prospect for the future, he is nowhere near as dependable as Captain Monkey, and we will undoubtedly benefit from having Kevin around for some time to come.

From the club's perspective, given the man's age and career, it's unlikely that anyone would offer enough money to tempt us to take it.

From big Kev's perspective, he has a lucrative pay-day around the corner when we move to the new stadium, and he may well see himself as a future coach/manager of the club if Tilson ever moves on.

In an industry where "Legend" is too easily bandied about, we have here a true Southend Legend and I'm sure he'll be here for a little while yet.

 

[BrettieAngell]

Maher will have been at the club 10 years in January so I guess he will be having his testominal at the end of the season, that is a great achievement!

 

[southend_united_fan]

I am not really sure how you can say Flavs is "surviving" more than Maher

sorry, what i meant, is that those four inc flavs are the only ones from the original group that brought us sucess that are still needed/of use.

obviously flavs isnt playing, but a team allways needs a back up goalie and he is a v good back up.

i couldnt not say flavs, becasuse i knew people would be nagging and then go and make silly corrections.........oh

 

[TJC]

we've had players off form for longer and been here less time.
Gower for me is one player who goes in and out of form for long periods, but it hasn't been suggested that he should be sold.
Kevin has been a loyal consistant servant and I'm sure his form will be rediscovered shortly given a run in the side.
I think he has a few more years of good service in him yet and I see him (and Barrett) as potential future management. I like the idea of loyal SUFC players becoming management at a future date. It seems to have worked very well recently and provide a bit of stability - but thats another potential thread ;-)

 

[Joolz]

Im actually in deisbelief that there is even a thread about selling our long serving captain?!

He might not have been up to scratch lately but every player goes through a bad run of form. Maher is a Southend legend. He is playing his testimonial in the new ground supposedly. He is comitted and not far behind Barrett in the passion stakes.

Lets stop this nonsense immediately!

It's just a discussion - no harm in that. This isn't North Korea you know.

 

[BoyWonder2]

I wouldn't sell him.

If we say Macca and Bailey are the first choice, then if we sell Maher we would have to spend even more to bring in a replacement. Moussa has looked out of his depth at times, granted his been stuck out on the wing, next in line would be Gower into the middle but we hardly have enough wide men to cover him.

Maher is off the boil at the moment, there is no denying it, but his still one of the best players at the Club. His passing is second to none, previously all our decent play goes through him, and if he plays well the team plays well. Maybe the reason we are not playing so well at the moment is because King Kev is off form.

He still showed decent touches Vs Luton and Oxford to show his still got it.

 

[shrimper dan]

captain kev has got to that point where the younger generation are coming into the limelight. he will always be here until the end of his carrer and play a few games but macca and bailey are always going to run longer and be more dangerous than him, its a like giggs at man u. hes a legend there and always will be but players like nani and ronaldo are a lot more effective than him now.

 

[BARNETBLUE]

I am not necessarily saying I would advocate this but Mahers recent performances have been woeful, to me he looks like his heart is no longer in it. Accomodating him in the team and pushing Macca out wide has been a failed tactic and Tilly must realise our best performances this season have been with Macca and Bailey in the middle. With him now being 30, and with the emergence of Moussa as a viable alternative, if someone came in with a decent offer in January I would be tempted to take it and use the money to buy a good winger, as with only Gower fit at the moment we have looked out of sorts in the midfield.

I have seen 3 of his last 4 "performances", didn't go to Luton.I think there is little prospect of Tilson wishing to sell him, nor any real fee being offered.I agree however with the sentiment.I think its time to go with our thanks as he again was poor on Sat. against what I thought was a " nothing" Oxford

 

[loz]

our other central midfield options all seem happier playing further up the park than Kev does, he provides a much needed option in that regard. Macca and Bailey can dominate a lot of teams at this level because they're both very good players, but they are quite similar in some regards + so Maher offers flexibility and experience. Similarly, the Moose seems to be more of an attacking centre mid in the Jay Smith mould, he's hardly a like-for-like replacement for Kev.

 

[sufcintheprem]

There's no way we'd get more money for him than he's worth to us as a club.

The way I see it is that we have, IMO, 4 of (probably) the top 15-20 midfielders in the division but only 5 of the top 50-60. Unfortunately for us, three of them look good in the middle and only one is a winger

Maher looks rusty after his spell out and slightly uncomfortable with where he fits in the team. This isn't particularly surprising when you consider the two players who have played centrally in his absence.

However, he is a good player on bad form and if he can adapt to the new team setup then we'll reap the rewards. Sorry to put a dampener on the talk about us being better without Maher but (all comps, 90 mins only):

Record with Maher this season 7-4-4
Record without Maher 3-2-3

 

[Sean 2]

Well,i still don't know why Kev was dropped in the first place.Hardly his fault for the slack marking v Tranny,thought at the time we bossed the game but let them back into it with usual sloppy marking,with Richards going sleepy for the winner.
Thought our team looked it's best with Kev partnering Nicky in the middle and Alan + Marky out on the flanks.We were scoring from all over the pitch,Macca was hitting the net regularly,Bailey was chipping in,Leon couldn't stop scoring and our issues really were with sorting out our defence,especially at set-pieces.
This is our best midfield in my eyes,because they all know what's required and can trust each other to do their jobs.Now,stick Leon upfront with Morgan,put Richards in the middle with Barrett,Hunty and Hammy either side and a bigger keeper in Colly behind them and watch us climb the table again.
I'm predicting big things coming up with these home games...

Come on you Southend!
Sell Maher? He's just been having a breather,that's all!

 

[Beefy]

We couldn't have sold Maher when he was at his peak let alone now.

He's still a valuable squad player, but that value has always been to us rather than to anyone else which is why we've never had any confirmed interest in him from any other club in ten years other than from that tin-pot outfit from Brisbane Road.

 

[silentshrimper]

He should be entering his prime soon, keep him for sure.

 

[Kristof]

:thump: No way we should even consider flogging the skipper, sure his performances haven't been upto the level of our two promotion years yet but at 30 he's hardly over the hill is he! Plus he is in his well deserved testimonial season.

Kev will come good again and of course Bailey and Macca will definately face further bans.

I hope he's still about to lead us out at Fossett's Farm. Also he's started the last four games in centre mid, where's the logic in selling him. :confused:

 

[Ipshrimp]

It's just a discussion - no harm in that. This isn't North Korea you know.

No, it's not North Korea, but nor is it the Third Reich with the Night of the Long Knives. Southend Lady is right - this thread is unbelievable. Name another player in recent times who has served the club so well over such a period of time? No, didn't think you could.

So Maher has a dip in form after the blow of being dropped as club captain... hardly a surprise, is it? He hasn't suddenly become a bad player. Loyalty deserves loyalty. Knee-jerk reactions against managers and players are the recipe for long-term decline, not success. Long Live Captain Kev!

 

[Ricey]

I have not read through this thread but here is my two pence on it:

I am not a massive Maher fan, never have and never will be but you can't doubt the blokes loyalty and dedication to the club. He has been with us a very long time and always been a pretty good player through the bad times and through the great times. Maher was made captain for a reason, because he was the best man for the job. Personally I think Barrett should take that role as he is a great motivator and is a proud loyal Southend man (not saying Maher isn't). But what I am trying to get at is No I would not consider selling Maher. As due to his loyal service to SUFC he deserves to at least stay for his testimonial at FF (permisson pending on ground).

Although I do feel he might soon struggle to get in the squad with the players we have at current moment. With the likes of Macca, Bailey, Moussa and Lokondo coming though. And to be honest we would not get enough money for him. He is a great player and we all know that when he scores he does it in style and with grace. For those who went to Preston away last season like myself will agree.


Maher is a lifer and we should hang onto him cause I could see him taking on a coaching role as I would Barrett once they both retire from playing.

We can't just sell a player cause they are having a dip in form, jesus we still have Matt Harrold ;)

 

[WestRoadShrimper]

Name another player in recent times who has served the club so well over such a period of time? No, didn't think you could.

I agree we shouldn't sell him, but the above in itself is no justification for keeping him.

It doesn't matter how well someone has played in the past, it's what they can offer both now and in the future that matters. If it didn't then Pele would still be playing :D