Ritchie Hanlon

[Xàbia Shrimper]

RITCHIE HANLON (MIDFIELDER) has signed a two-year deal with Nationwide South club Weymouth FC.

Hanlon, a former Chelsea youth player, joined Southend in the summer of 1996 and made his full debut - and his one and only full appearance for the Shrimpers - on 18 January 1997 against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane; we lost 3-0. His second appearance was ten days later at home to Crystal Palace when he came on for Andy Rammell in the 78th minute as the Shrimpers searched for a winning goal. It duly arrived on 86 minutes when Matt the Shrimp's favourite player Jeroen Boere slotted home to seal all three points for the Shrimpers and secure their first win for over two months; relegation beckoned ...

Hanlon joins a growing band of ex-Shrimpers down in Dorset. Daniel Webb, Steven Clark and Andy Harris have all signed up for former Daggers gaffer Garry Hill.

WS

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (Xàbia Shrimper @ June 25 2005,11:24)]Matt the Shrimp's favourite player Jeroen Boere

At least he's not at the club any more, that's all I can say...

Matt

 

[blues_r_best]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ June 27 2005,12:51)]

Quote[/b] (Xàbia Shrimper @ June 25 2005,11:24)]Matt the Shrimp's favourite player Jeroen Boere

 

 

At least he's not at the club any more, that's all I can say...

Matt

Aren't we after a striker, who is a big bloke, who can win headers, hold the ball up and has league experience?

Wasn't Boere 6'3"?

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

We're also looking for someone who:

a) gives a sh*t about our club
b) wants to play for Southend United rather than simply go through the motions and pick up a huge pay-cheque
c) is in possession of the full complement in the ocular department

Don' mess wi' me, Toddy...

 

[overseas shrimper]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ June 27 2005,14:28)]We're also looking for someone who:

a) gives a sh*t about our club
b) wants to play for Southend United rather than simply go through the motions and pick up a huge pay-cheque
c) is in possession of the full complement in the ocular department

Don' mess wi' me, Toddy...

You forgot 'd':

Player must have two eyes!

 

[shooter mcgavin]

Quote[/b] (overseas shrimper @ June 27 2005,16:23)]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ June 27 2005,14:28)]We're also looking for someone who:

a) gives a sh*t about our club
b) wants to play for Southend United rather than simply go through the motions and pick up a huge pay-cheque
c) is in possession of the full complement in the ocular department

Don' mess wi' me, Toddy...

You forgot 'd':

Player must have two eyes!

DUH!! Isn't that what point c) is all about?

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (shooter mcgavin @ June 27 2005,17:06)]

Quote[/b] (overseas shrimper @ June 27 2005,16:23)]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ June 27 2005,14:28)]We're also looking for someone who:

a) gives a sh*t about our club
b) wants to play for Southend United rather than simply go through the motions and pick up a huge pay-cheque
c) is in possession of the full complement in the ocular department

Don' mess wi' me, Toddy...

You forgot 'd':

Player must have two eyes!

DUH!! Isn't that what point c) is all about?

These Maltesers... they're a bit slow on the uptake, Gav...

 

[Firestorm]

I remeber seeing a TV documentary some in early 1996 about the Chelsea youth team. One young lad, the youth team captain, was giving it the big un about how he was goung to be offered a full time contract and he would be in the reserves the next year .....

He was duly released and Richie Hanlon joined us and basically failed there too.

Another example of a youngster being released by a prem club and disappearing out of the league pretty quickly. Clarke and Harris being two which immediately spring to mind (In fact I can only think of Maher who has lasted more than a season or two

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (Firestorm @ June 28 2005,13:59)]Another example of a youngster being released by a prem club and disappearing out of the league pretty quickly. Clarke and Harris  being two which immediately spring to mind (In fact I can only think of Maher who has lasted more than a season or two

Well, there's a long list of players who for one reason or another (usually a lack of desire or application, but occasionally a plain ole' lack of talent), didn't cur it in pro football:

David Lee, Stephen Broad, Michael Black, Marek Szmid, Mike Kightly, Russ Williamson, Ben Smith, Neil Jenkins, Stuart Thurgood, Danny Webb, Lee Hodges, Mike Husbands, Luke Nightingale, Jim Corbett (?)... all players who started off at the reserves of a top flight side and have ended up drifting into non-league.

A fair few have come to us from Premier$hite clubs who have then successfully gone on to establish themselves in the league (not necessarily at Roots Hall):

Kevin Maher (Spurs)
Barry Conlon (City)
Dave Morley (City)
Jay Smith (Villa)
Andy Harris (Liverpool)
Mark Gower (Spurs via Barnet)
Darryl Flahavan (Soton via Woking)
Carl Pettefer (Pompey)
Freddy Eastwood (West Ham via Grays)
Ryan Robinson (Blackburn)
Nicky Nicolau (although the jury's out, perhaps) (Arsenal)

The two biggest "what might have beens" are Hodges and Lee - bags and bags of talent, but seemingly couldn't be arsed to put in the graft to make it at League level. The other what might have been is perhaps Ben Smith - but more through injuries than a lack of application.

Ho hum.

Matt

 

[shooter mcgavin]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ June 28 2005,15:16)]Ryan Robinson (Blackburn)

Where has he gone on to make it then? The last I heard, he was playing a few divisions below the conference???

Gav

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (shooter mcgavin @ June 28 2005,15:30)]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ June 28 2005,15:16)]Ryan Robinson (Blackburn)

Where has he gone on to make it then? The last I heard, he was playing a few divisions below the conference???

Gav

Oops, he was meant to be in the other list... well spotted!

 

[chaco27saf]

Quote[/b] (shooter mcgavin @ June 28 2005,15:30)]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ June 28 2005,15:16)]Ryan Robinson (Blackburn)

Where has he gone on to make it then? The last I heard, he was playing a few divisions below the conference???

Gav

He was at Morecambe last season, I'm not sure if he is still there though.

 

[Firestorm]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ June 28 2005,15:16)]A fair few have come to us from Premier$hite clubs who have then successfully gone on to establish themselves in the league (not necessarily at Roots Hall):

Kevin Maher (Spurs)
Barry Conlon (City)
Dave Morley (City)
Jay Smith (Villa)
Andy Harris (Liverpool)
Mark Gower (Spurs via Barnet)
Darryl Flahavan (Soton via Woking)
Carl Pettefer (Pompey)
Freddy Eastwood (West Ham via Grays)
Ryan Robinson (Blackburn)
Nicky Nicolau (although the jury's out, perhaps) (Arsenal)

The two biggest "what might have beens" are Hodges and Lee - bags and bags of talent, but seemingly couldn't be arsed to put in the graft to make it at League level.  The other what might have been is perhaps Ben Smith - but more through injuries than a lack of application.

Ho hum.

Matt

At the risk of nit picking Matt,

Three of them came to us via Non league and I would only class Freddy as a youngster out of them

Jay Smith hasn't made it yet, (Nor Has Nic)
Morley and Petts wern't exactly youngsters
Andy Harris was an abject failure (except for Dudders goal)

Conlon has just about made it.

You could add Kights to the "failed list" as we got him from Spurs at 15-16 years old I think.

The point I was trying to make is that the kids get picked up in their scores by the Prem clubs and , appear to, not be able to lower their expectations when they don't make it at the very top flight when they are merely kids (17-18)
Those with the right attitude drop down, take stock and then have the ability to bounce back (Flavs , Gower, Eastwood, Collymore (remember Wolves released him as a kid and he went to Stafford before Palace). Those who think they are better than the 4th Division (or can't take the failure I suppose) end up like Broad, Hanlon, Clark etc.
I can't honestly believe that the talent which enables them to stay at a prem club until they are 18 just disappears overnight...

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (Firestorm @ June 29 2005,09:32)]At the risk of nit picking Matt,

Morley and Petts wern't exactly youngsters

Those with the right attitude drop down, take stock and then have the ability to bounce back. Those who think they are better than the 4th Division (or can't take the failure I suppose) end up like Broad, Hanlon, Clark etc.

I can't honestly believe that the talent which enables them to stay at a prem club until they are 18 just disappears overnight...

Morley was 20 when he joined us - that's younger than Freddy was.  And the non-leaguers were, to a certain extent, players who had dropped to the non-leagues to get football under their belts in order to step back into the leagues, rather than more "established" non-leaguers (e.g. Mark Bentley).

But your point in the last two paras is spot on - and I agree.  The ones who come back - the Mahers, Flahavans etc. - are the ones with the desire (contrast with, say, Steven Broad) or mental toughness (contrast with, say, David Lee).

And fair play to 'em.  I mean, Lee Hodges is a classic example.  What on earth is someone with that much talent doing at Thurrock, for heaven's sake - other than the fact that, clearly, he can't be arsed...

 

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ June 29 2005,10:31)]The ones who come back - the Mahers, Flahavans etc. - are the ones with the desire (contrast with, say, Steven Broad) or mental toughness (contrast with, say, David Lee).

In some cases, they come back very briefly and are immediately found out for being sh1te and are sent packing again... (for example, David Lee)

 

[Andy_S]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ June 29 2005,10:31)]And fair play to 'em.  I mean, Lee Hodges is a classic example.  What on earth is someone with that much talent doing at Thurrock, for heaven's sake - other than the fact that, clearly, he can't be arsed...

Thurrock fans nicknamed 'The Enigma' a long time ago! Reading about him this week because they've made a few signings, and they don't really want him around anymore.

You've clearly got it right, and it is such a shame.

 

[overseas shrimper]

Quote[/b] (shooter mcgavin @ June 27 2005,18:06)]

Quote[/b] (overseas shrimper @ June 27 2005,16:23)]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ June 27 2005,14:28)]We're also looking for someone who:

a) gives a sh*t about our club
b) wants to play for Southend United rather than simply go through the motions and pick up a huge pay-cheque
c) is in possession of the full complement in the ocular department

Don' mess wi' me, Toddy...

You forgot 'd':

Player must have two eyes!

DUH!! Isn't that what point c) is all about?

Bol-lacks. How did I miss that one? Maybe point 'c' also applies to me?