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Matt the Shrimp

aka Harry Potter
Joined
Oct 27, 2003
Messages
19,929
Location
Lewisham, London
Some random burblings for you:

*Our win against Wycombe was the first time we had won 3 games on the bounce for... well, for absolutely ages.  Can anyone remember when was the last time we did that?  And, before you ask, no - this isn't a quiz.  I don't know when it was!

*The unusual feature about all 3 games in that little winning streak was that we won each game 1-0 - that most un-Southend-like of socrelines.  Indeed, including Tuesday's game, our last 4 outings have resulted in a 1-0 scoreline - very odd.

*Had a chat with Napster at half-time on Boxing Day, and made him chuckle by the fact that I was watching Falkirk v. Aidrie in Scottish League Div 1.  Actually, it was a pretty enjoyable day (albeit rather chilly), and not a bad advert for Scottish football.  That said, "The Falkirk Stadium" (sic) is, perhaps, the weirdest ground I've ever seen.  Weird because, basically, it has one side to it.  Yep, just the one.  It has one fabulous stand, that would not look out of place in the SPL (nor would it be out of place in the Championship, south of the border).  It has conference facilities, is a wonderful brick and glass construction, and it looks really modern and smart.  That stand probably holds just under 4,000.

...And that's it.  Two sides of the ground are completely empty - they have hoardings up and fields behind them; although one of those sides does have some steel girders sticking out of the ground.  There is then an away end, which is a stand of about 6 rows, seating at most 750, covered by a tarpaulin.

I found myself in this away end with the "Diamonds" fans, and was entertained by what was happening on & off the pitch.  The best chant was, by far, the one which (for us) starts:

<span style='color:blue'>"Oh for Southend,
is wonderful..."
</span>

The Shrimpers' version is reasonably amusing, talking as it does of tits, fannies and United.  All very good, of course.  But it doesn't hold a candle to the Scottish version, as sung by the Airdire fans, the self-deprecation of which had me in stitches:

<span style='color:red'>"Oh Air-d-rie!
Is wonderful!
Oh Air-d-rie is wonderful...
It's full ae drugs, whores and Buckfast...
Oh Air-d-rie is wonderful!"
</span>

Incidentally, if you're wondering what Buckfast is (and I was in the dark until a short while ago), then wonder no further:

Airdrie's liquor of choice: Buckfast

As for the game itself, I was hugely impressed by Airdrie's determination to play the ball on the deck at all times (and their passing was certainly crisper and neater than anything you'll see at our level); although that passing ethos was, at least once, at the expense of pragmatism... instead of hoofing it out of defence, the Airdrie right back slipped on the touchline trying to play the ball out of defence, and essentially gifted Falkirk their goal.

Indeed, for divisional leaders, Falkirk were deeply unimpressive - other than the fact that they were incredibly solid in defence, lead by the 6'7" John Henry... who, oddly enough, was not beaten in the air all afternoon.  Russell Latapy, the former Hibs player and now Falkirk's midfield general, was a big disappointment.

Two names to look out for, incidentally, were both on the Airdrie teamsheet.  If Tilly wants a left winger, he should be getting on an Easyjet flight up to Scotland sharpish to see Airdrie's Willie McLaren.  The 20 year-old terrorised the Falkirk defence all afternoon; and would, in the right formation, have surely set a front man up on at least half a dozen occasions.  The Scottish press called Airdrie's formation a 4-3-3, but I'd beg to differ... it was more like a 4-4-1-1, with McLaren wide left, and trying to set up the 39 year-old veteran Owen Coyle, who had a very quiet afternoon - not helped by the fact, supposedly, that he was recovering from a bout of the 'flu.

The other man to watch out for is the Airdrie player who played "in the hole" for Airdire, a 22 year-old called Alan Gow.  I'm not sure he'd fit in to Southend's formation right now; but he's certainly a name to conjure with.  His biggest downfall appears, at the moment, to be a complete absence of pace.  If he can work on that, however, then he looks a big talent - a sublime touch, great vision, always seems to have loads of time & space... basically a young, Scottish Teddy Sheringham.

My girlfriend's Dad (with whom I went to the game) reckons that McLaren could be prised away from Airdrie for £100K max.  When you think that (by all accounts) Craig Levein at Leicester has got his eyes very closely on the pair of them, you'd have to reckon on McLaren being a fantastic investment, especially if he could be snared for less than £100K.

Right, enough random witterings from me... hope you all had a great Christmas, and here's to the Shrimpers getting back to winning ways against Rushden (whom I think will prove a much tougher proposition than they did in September...)

oops.gif


Matt
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Dec. 30 2004,11:03)]*Our win against Wycombe was the first time we had won 3 games on the bounce for... well, for absolutely ages.  Can anyone remember when was the last time we did that?  And, before you ask, no - this isn't a quiz.  I don't know when it was!
Last season we beat Cambridge at home (1-0), C********r away (3-2) then Kiddie at home (3-0).  We also had a run of Lincoln, Luton and Swansea across three comps. If it's league games you're after then you'd have to go back a lot further!
 
Ok in the league it&#39;s Shrewsbury (1-0), Rochdale (1-0) and Oxford (2-1) back in January 2003. Not as far back as I thought.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (MrB @ Dec. 30 2004,12:13)]Ok in the league it's Shrewsbury (1-0), Rochdale (1-0) and Oxford (2-1) back in January 2003.  Not as far back as I thought.
Cheers Mr. B - I'm surprised it's as recently as that...

Matt
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Dec. 30 2004,11:03)]If Tilly wants a left winger, he should be getting on an Easyjet flight up to Scotland sharpish to see Airdrie&#39;s Willie McLaren.
With today&#39;s news about trying to get some cover for Gower, how about you get on the phone to Mr Tilson this afternoon?
wink.gif
tounge.gif
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Andy_S @ Dec. 30 2004,12:52)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Dec. 30 2004,11:03)]If Tilly wants a left winger, he should be getting on an Easyjet flight up to Scotland sharpish to see Airdrie's Willie McLaren.
With today's news about trying to get some cover for Gower, how about you get on the phone to Mr Tilson this afternoon?  
wink.gif
 
tounge.gif
Depends how flush Uncle Ron is feeling after the festive season... Airdrie will want hard cash to part with him (if, indeed, he would even contemplate coming to a Div 3 side, albeit one on the up...).

Incidentally, he wouldn't be cover for Gower. Gower would have to move to the right to accommodate him. He's seriously electric, is "Oor Wullie..."

wink.gif


Matt
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Dec. 30 2004,11:03)]Had a chat with Napster at half-time on Boxing Day, and made him chuckle by the fact that I was watching Falkirk v. Aidrie in Scottish League Div 1. Actually, it was a pretty enjoyable day (albeit rather chilly), and not a bad advert for Scottish football. That said, "The Falkirk Stadium" (sic) is, perhaps, the weirdest ground I've ever seen. Weird because, basically, it has one side to it. Yep, just the one. It has one fabulous stand, that would not look out of place in the SPL (nor would it be out of place in the Championship, south of the border). It has conference facilities, is a wonderful brick and glass construction, and it looks really modern and smart. That stand probably holds just under 4,000.

...And that's it. Two sides of the ground are completely empty - they have hoardings up and fields behind them; although one of those sides does have some steel girders sticking out of the ground. There is then an away end, which is a stand of about 6 rows, seating at most 750, covered by a tarpaulin.

I found myself in this away end with the "Diamonds" fans, and was entertained by what was happening on & off the pitch. The best chant was, by far, the one which (for us) starts:

<span style='color:blue'>"Oh for Southend,
is wonderful..."
</span>

The Shrimpers' version is reasonably amusing, talking as it does of tits, fannies and United. All very good, of course. But it doesn't hold a candle to the Scottish version, as sung by the Airdire fans, the self-deprecation of which had me in stitches:

<span style='color:red'>"Oh Air-d-rie!
Is wonderful!
Oh Air-d-rie is wonderful...
It's full ae drugs, whores and Buckfast...
Oh Air-d-rie is wonderful!"
</span>

Incidentally, if you're wondering what Buckfast is (and I was in the dark until a short while ago), then wonder no further:

Airdrie's liquor of choice: Buckfast

As for the game itself, I was hugely impressed by Airdrie's determination to play the ball on the deck at all times (and their passing was certainly crisper and neater than anything you'll see at our level); although that passing ethos was, at least once, at the expense of pragmatism... instead of hoofing it out of defence, the Airdrie right back slipped on the touchline trying to play the ball out of defence, and essentially gifted Falkirk their goal.

Indeed, for divisional leaders, Falkirk were deeply unimpressive - other than the fact that they were incredibly solid in defence, lead by the 6'7" John Henry... who, oddly enough, was not beaten in the air all afternoon. Russell Latapy, the former Hibs player and now Falkirk's midfield general, was a big disappointment.

Two names to look out for, incidentally, were both on the Airdrie teamsheet. If Tilly wants a left winger, he should be getting on an Easyjet flight up to Scotland sharpish to see Airdrie's Willie McLaren. The 20 year-old terrorised the Falkirk defence all afternoon; and would, in the right formation, have surely set a front man up on at least half a dozen occasions. The Scottish press called Airdrie's formation a 4-3-3, but I'd beg to differ... it was more like a 4-4-1-1, with McLaren wide left, and trying to set up the 39 year-old veteran Owen Coyle, who had a very quiet afternoon - not helped by the fact, supposedly, that he was recovering from a bout of the 'flu.

The other man to watch out for is the Airdrie player who played "in the hole" for Airdire, a 22 year-old called Alan Gow. I'm not sure he'd fit in to Southend's formation right now; but he's certainly a name to conjure with. His biggest downfall appears, at the moment, to be a complete absence of pace. If he can work on that, however, then he looks a big talent - a sublime touch, great vision, always seems to have loads of time & space... basically a young, Scottish Teddy Sheringham.

My girlfriend's Dad (with whom I went to the game) reckons that McLaren could be prised away from Airdrie for £100K max. When you think that (by all accounts) Craig Levein at Leicester has got his eyes very closely on the pair of them, you'd have to reckon on McLaren being a fantastic investment, especially if he could be snared for less than £100K.
Some interesting asides from you there Matt in your usual fluid style. A guy who I play 5-a-side with works for the local Airdrie press as the chief sports reporter and is always saying about the raw talent that Airdrie Utd possess & how a lot of their young players could easily grace the English FL (he also says it's always a shame that as they begin to gel somebody comes in & bids for one of their talents). The local sports pages up here are full of tips as to who Craig Levien will try & tempt to Leicester in 2005.

I live between Glasgow City Centre & Airdrie & believe me their song is spot on. Glad you were introduced to the delights of Buckfast (although perhaps not 1st hand!!!)
tounge.gif


I also have a friend who's a mad Falkirk fan & he was well impressed that the Bairns & the mighty Shrimpers had shared a number of strikers over the years (e.g. Cadette, Lee & Thommo) as well as current shirt colours. I sent him the link to the interview with Richy Cadette that was on the site earlier in the year. He had a song to rival your Airdrie tune about RC, I'll have to have a troll through my inbox & try & post it for everyone.

Interesting to hear your thoughts on the Falkirk Stadium, the Scotland U21s played their last game their before Xmas, from what I hear it has the potential to be impressive, unlike Brockville which was the poor b*stard offspring of Layer Road & Underhill! Airdrie also have a fairly impressive stadium although this was the major reason which sunk their forerunners (the historical Airdrieonians)

Didn't realise you were up in Scotland visiting the in-laws so perhaps my invite for a friendly beer was misplaced. Perhaps finally get to meet up with you either when I'm down in the North-West for say Chester or Macc or perhpas when you're up here again!
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (glasgowsufc @ Dec. 31 2004,00:09)]Some interesting asides from you there Matt in your usual fluid style.  A guy who I play 5-a-side with works for the local Airdrie press as the chief sports reporter and is always saying about the raw talent that Airdrie Utd possess & how a lot of their young players could easily grace the English FL (he also says it's always a shame that as they begin to gel somebody comes in & bids for one of their talents).   The local sports pages up here are full of tips as to who Craig Levien will try & tempt to Leicester in 2005.

I live between Glasgow City Centre & Airdrie & believe me their song is spot on.  Glad you were introduced to the delights of Buckfast (although perhaps not 1st hand!!!)  
tounge.gif


I also have a friend who's a mad Falkirk fan & he was well impressed that the Bairns & the mighty Shrimpers had shared a number of strikers over the years (e.g. Cadette, Lee & Thommo) as well as current shirt colours.  I sent him the link to the interview with Richy Cadette that was on the site earlier in the year.  He had a song to rival your Airdrie tune about RC, I'll have to have a troll through my inbox & try & post it for everyone.

Didn't realise you were up in Scotland visiting the in-laws so perhaps my invite for a friendly beer was misplaced.  Perhaps finally get to meet up with you either when I'm down in the North-West for say Chester or Macc or perhpas when you're up here again!
Sorry not to get in touch whilst I was up, but yes... I was rather occupied with in-laws stuff, albiet that I did spend some of that time in Glasgow City Centre itself.

However, that day, being the Bank Holiday Monday, we were all treated to a trip to Buchanan Street... "fer goodness' sake" as they often say in Glasgow: it was utterly mobbed!

As for the footie - yes, look out for both Willie McLaren and Alan Gow, they will be playing at a higher level next season, I'm sure. As for the Bairns, I thought keeper Allan Ferguson was particularly impressive, as was the gigantesque John Henry... but that was it.

As your Bairns mate will tell you, Falkirk are definitely enduring their leanest spell of the season so far. They really aren't playing well right now, and in only their second defeat of the season lost on Wednesday night to the newly revitalised Jags, who have been galvanised by the return of Partick legend, John Lambie (who is quite a character, having seen a piece on him on the local TV news).

But from my brief view, it seemed the names to look out for were McLaren and Gow, above all... and they were both in the white & red of Airdrie that day.

Anyhow, I should be at one, if not both, of the "North West" games - Chester & Macc, so see you then! Until then, have a great Hogmanay, and see you in 2005!

biggrin.gif


Matt
 
Looks like we could start a special Scottish Div 1 forum&#33;

My mate has just moved back to Scotland after 4 years &quot;darn sarf&#33;&quot;. He&#39;s a mad keen St Mirren fan - however for his time in England, Southend became his adopted team.

I&#39;ve only been to one St Mirren game with him so far, but more are to follow shortly, I&#39;m sure.
 
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