Southend United All-Time Draft

[fbm]

I'd have thought Charlie Mulgrew would be a better pick at LB which is where he played for us?

He wasn't ours, was he? He was on loan. I don't (or didn't) think we were allowed loan players?

Edit - forget that - have just read the rules again.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Need a forward. Got it down to two. But Lee Barnard gets the nod.

As I'm going to be playing 4-3-3 I need another forward.

There were three forwards in the running but Lord F has pinched one of those. That leaves me with the choice of two and in some respects the contrasts between their Southend careers couldn't be greater.

Tommy Mooney played in the modern era, was something of a crowd favourite but blink and you missed his Southend career (mainly a hattrick in a 6-1 win) whereas Jimmy Shankly played in the interwar era, was criticised for scoring the easy goals (maybe he should have missed them?) yet scored at a prodigious rate.

As much as I liked Mooney as a player his legacy at Southend consists of just 5 goals and being exchanged for K***h D****n, in a deal which we had to pay Watford for the privilege of being fleeced.

In the end the choice between a forward who scored five times for Southend and one who managed this in a single match alone.

My choice is therefore Jimmy Shankly. A prolific goalscorer - one of only three men to score 100 goals for the Shrimpers - he was also a strong player, good in the air and could score with either feet. He'll help hold the ball up and be a regular goalscorer in my side. In his opening 11 matches for Southend he scored in 10 of them, rattling in 15 goals, an extraordinary start to his Southend career. The likes of Billy Best, Sam McCrory, David Crown, Freddy Eastwood, Brett Angell, Richard Cadette - all very good players - basically averaged a goal every other game. Shankly averaged two goals every three games. Even allowing for it being an era in which more goals were scored, that ratio is head and shoulders above every Southend player since England's Halse in Southend's inaugural seasons.

No Southend player has scored more goals in a season than Shankly's 35 in 1928/29; no Southend player has scored more goals in a game than his 5 in a league match v Merthyr in 1930 (a month earlier he'd scored 4 goals in a match v QPR). He helped Southend finish 3rd in Division 3 South in 1931-32; our highest finish until David Webb's side finished 2nd in 1990-91, nearly 60 years later.

Southend sold him in 1933 and by 1934/35 were having to seek re-election to the League, a far cry from the 3rd and 5th placed finishes we'd managed with him in the side a few years earlier.

Here's how arguably the greatest manager of all time describes him:

Jimmy, who was four years younger than Alec, could have been one of the finest centre-forwards ever born. Sheffield United bought him from Carlisle United for £1,000, which was a big fee then.


He was five feet eleven, thirteen-and-a-half stone and as strong as a bull, but was possibly a victim of circumstances. Jimmy was good in the air and could belt the ball with both feet, but there were a lot of great players then. The teams were full of them. Sheffield United had players like Jimmy Dunne, Freddie Tunstall and Billy Gillespie.


So Jimmy went to Southend United for six seasons and was leading goal-scorer for six seasons. He played his best football in the Third Division (South). He was a big help to the family. Southend paid him eight pounds in the winter and six pounds in the summer and his money helped to keep us all. He helped us during the winter, too.


Jimmy's last season was at Barrow, where he played with a bad heel. His league goal-scoring record of thirty-nine in a season still holds at Barrow. Jimmy's last season was my first season at Preston, in 1933. He went back home with his wife from Yorkshire, who later became a schoolteacher, and we helped him to buy a wagon and start a coal business because he had helped us so much.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Rd 1
1. Steve Tilson (Manager)
2. Freddy Eastwood
3. Stanley Victor Collymore
4. Alan Moody
5. Billy Best
6. Dave Webb (Manager)
7. Dave Smith (Manager)
8. Barry Fry (Manager)

Rd 2
1. Mervyn Cawston
2. Darryl Flahavan
3. Spencer Prior
4. Chris Powell
5. Peter Butler
6. Steve Thompson (Manager)
7. Adam Barrett
8. Simon Royce

Rd 3
1. Mike Marsh
2. Paul Sansome
3. Ricky Otto
4. Jonathan Hunt
5. David Crown
6. Keith Jones
7. Mark Gower
8. Dean Austin

Rd 4
1. Justin Edinburgh
2. Kevin Maher
3. Paul Clark
4. Richard Cadette
5. Simon Francis
6. Nicky Bailey
7. Leon Cort
8. Brett Angell

Rd 5
1. Ian Benjamin
2. Andy Ansah
3. Daniel Bentley
4. Colin Morris
5. Eddie Perry (Manager)
6. Harold Halse
7. Ron Pountney
8. Anton Otulakowski

Rd 6 Order
1. Dave Cusack
2. Sam McCrory
3. Jimmy McAlinden
4. Peter Taylor (player)
5. Derek Spence
6. Andy Ford
7. Les Stubbs
8. Pat Scully


Rd 7 Order

1. Mark Bentley
2. Michael Timlin
3. Ronnie Whelan
4. Frankie Banks
5. Ryan Leonard
6. Dru Yearwood
7. Peter Watson
8. John McKinven



Rd 8
1. Bill Garner
2. Roy McDonough
3. Roy Hollis
4. Micky Stead
5. Paul Sturrock (Manager)
6. Steve Phillips
7. Barry Corr
8. Steve Tilson (Player)


Rd 9
1. Andy Edwards
2. Keith Dublin
3. Neil Townsend
4. Mike Lapper
5. Harry Threadgold
6. Tony Bentley
7. Arthur Williamson
8. Chris Guthrie

Rd 10
1. Dave Martin
2. Martin Ling
3. Jimmy Evans
4. Glenn Pennyfather
5. Mark Oxley
6. Mark McNally
7. Duncan Jupp
8. Ben Coker

Rd 11
1. Bilel Mohsni
2. Chris Powell (Manager)
3. Paul Byrne
4. Lee Barnard
5. Shane Westley
6. Jimmy Shankly
7. Tony Hadley
8. [Firestorm]

Rd 12 order
1. Firestorm
2. Napster
3. YB
4. Spiff
5. Lord Football
6. FBM
7. Ricey
8. Tom Finney

@Firestorm on the clock

 

[Napster]

Thanks. I need a centre-back so I'm going for a local lad - played against Liverpool, was part of a couple of promotions and then went on to front Spandau Ballet. 337 appearances and 21 goals - Tony Hadley.

 

[Napster]

As I'm going to be playing 4-3-3 I need another forward.

There were three forwards in the running but Lord F has pinched one of those. That leaves me with the choice of two and in some respects the contrasts between their Southend careers couldn't be greater.

Tommy Mooney played in the modern era, was something of a crowd favourite but blink and you missed his Southend career (mainly a hattrick in a 6-1 win) whereas Jimmy Shankly played in the interwar era, was criticised for scoring the easy goals (maybe he should have missed them?) yet scored at a prodigious rate.

As much as I liked Mooney as a player his legacy at Southend consists of just 5 goals and being exchanged for K***h D****n, in a deal which we had to pay Watford for the privilege of being fleeced.

In the end the choice between a forward who scored five times for Southend and one who managed this in a single match alone.

My choice is therefore Jimmy Shankly. A prolific goalscorer - one of only three men to score 100 goals for the Shrimpers - he was also a strong player, good in the air and could score with either feet. He'll help hold the ball up and be a regular goalscorer in my side. In his opening 11 matches for Southend he scored in 10 of them, rattling in 15 goals, an extraordinary start to his Southend career. The likes of Billy Best, Sam McCrory, David Crown, Freddy Eastwood, Brett Angell, Richard Cadette - all very good players - basically averaged a goal every other game. Shankly averaged two goals every three games. Even allowing for it being an era in which more goals were scored, that ratio is head and shoulders above every Southend player since England's Halse in Southend's inaugural seasons.

No Southend player has scored more goals in a season than Shankly's 35 in 1928/29; no Southend player has scored more goals in a game than his 5 in a league match v Merthyr in 1930 (a month earlier he'd scored 4 goals in a match v QPR). He helped Southend finish 3rd in Division 3 South in 1931-32; our highest finish until David Webb's side finished 2nd in 1990-91, nearly 60 years later.

Southend sold him in 1933 and by 1934/35 were having to seek re-election to the League, a far cry from the 3rd and 5th placed finishes we'd managed with him in the side a few years earlier.

Here's how arguably the greatest manager of all time describes him:

Jimmy, who was four years younger than Alec, could have been one of the finest centre-forwards ever born. Sheffield United bought him from Carlisle United for £1,000, which was a big fee then.


He was five feet eleven, thirteen-and-a-half stone and as strong as a bull, but was possibly a victim of circumstances. Jimmy was good in the air and could belt the ball with both feet, but there were a lot of great players then. The teams were full of them. Sheffield United had players like Jimmy Dunne, Freddie Tunstall and Billy Gillespie.


So Jimmy went to Southend United for six seasons and was leading goal-scorer for six seasons. He played his best football in the Third Division (South). He was a big help to the family. Southend paid him eight pounds in the winter and six pounds in the summer and his money helped to keep us all. He helped us during the winter, too.


Jimmy's last season was at Barrow, where he played with a bad heel. His league goal-scoring record of thirty-nine in a season still holds at Barrow. Jimmy's last season was my first season at Preston, in 1933. He went back home with his wife from Yorkshire, who later became a schoolteacher, and we helped him to buy a wagon and start a coal business because he had helped us so much.

Great choice.

 

[Firestorm]

Right 2 of my last 3 picks ,then that's it until final pick of the Draft...

3 lots to go a Centre Back, Right Winger and a forward (assuming I go 442)

Joe Jacques, one of my first favourites and from the same era

Terry Johnson

 

[Firestorm]

@Napster you are up again

 

[Napster]

and my last pick, a left-back, so much choice. do i go for goals, flair, or consistency? do i go for a bonafide legend?

completing my line-up, is Sandy Anderson. 1950-1963. Most league appearances of 452 and a regular partner with Watson and Williamson.

ps @Firestorm I think you've finished?

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Right 2 of my last 3 picks ,then that's it until final pick of the Draft...

3 lots to go a Centre Back, Right Winger and a forward (assuming I go 442)

Joe Jacques, one of my first favourites and from the same era

Terry Johnson

Er, this is the last round

Your team:

Manager Fry

Cawston
Austin Cusack Jacques Edinburgh
Johnson Martin Otulawski McKinven
Garner and Guthrie

That's a nicely balanced line-up. Really good mix of brawn and skill.

I don't know much at all about Guthrie though. What style of player was he?

 

[Firestorm]

Er, this is the last round

Your team:

Manager Fry

Cawston
Austin Cusack Jacques Edinburgh
Johnson Martin Otulawski McKinven
Garner and Guthrie

That's a nicely balanced line-up. Really good mix of brawn and skill.

I don't know much at all about Guthrie though. What style of player was he?

Great , I forgot to check Garner off and though someone else had him...

Guthrie , IIRC he was a bit like Bill Garner ...,

Basically two wingers who can run and cross. two big blokes in the box ,
With early crossing full backs hitting the big men and the wingers coming in to pick up the knock downs as another option

My only really concern is the manager flogging them all to a porn magnate.....

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Ok, to complete my selections I need a keeper.

This turns out to be one of the deepest positions.

As I said earlier

I've got three options I'm mulling over between the sticks: the statistical choice; the international choice; the sentimental choice. All three would be solid choices.

Well the three options are:

Neil Freeman - statistically Southend's most successful keeper in terms of fewest goals conceded per match. He'd certainly be a solid choice.

George McKenzie - the former Republic of Ireland keeper is still Southend's most capped player.

Billy Moore - my grandfather's favourite player. I remember being surprised when he came back as the answer when I quizzed him before his death as to who his favourite player was, as I expect like many of you, I hadn't even heard of Billy Moore. In turns out I should have. Over 300 appearances for the club, dating back to the days of the Kursaal when my grandfather use to sneak under the turnstiles to watch us.

Moore was a talented, brave keeper but only 5'9"1/2 tall. Despite being only slightly taller than Darryl he emerged as a key player for us, serving us well for over a decade and is in the top 15 most appearances for the club.

He also seems to have been something of a character and would chat with fans whilst the ball was up the other end. He could also look after himself when the opposition tried to take liberties and claim a dodgy goal. @DoDTS might have some more stories like this https://www.shrimperzone.com/forums/threads/postponed-games-the-way-it-used-to-be.47632/#post-880487 from his research of the Southend Standard and Memory Lane series.


Meanwhile here's a profile of him from a Leeds' site:

Billy Moore, who was no relation to his goalkeeping namesake Stan, was one of the most colourful characters on [Leeds] United’s books. He took up goalkeeping at school and also practiced at a Sunderland fairground when he took time off his work as a shipyard carpenter. He played for Limited Yard Apprentices and was offered professional terms by Blackburn Rovers, but he rejected them as he wanted to continue his apprenticeship. After he became a qualified carpenter, Leeds signed him from Seaham Colliery in March 1924. He was also a pianist in a dance band. Although popular at Leeds, United were well served by Billy Down, Bill Johnson and David Russell and his chances were few. In June 1925, he moved to Southend United, giving them ten years excellent service, making two hundred and eighty-five League appearances, eighteen F.A. Cup and one other Cup appearance for them. It was while at Kursaal that he got to play at Wembley Stadium in unusual circumstances. Their away fixture at Clapton Orient’s Lea Bridge Road stadium was moved to Wembley Stadium as Orient’s ground had been closed following a bad injury to a Torquay United player resulting from the close proximity of the pitch barrier to the playing surface. While remedial work was carried out the East Londoners were forced to hire the Empire Stadium in order to stage two home games. The first resulted in an easy 3-0 win over Brentford in front of a healthy 8,000 plus crowd. However, the visit of Southend United attracted a crowd of only 1,916 which must have looked very odd in vast stadium with a then capacity of 100,000. So Billy Moore and former Leeds Left-Back, Dave Robinson, managed to play at Wembley in a 3-1 defeat by Clapton Orient, albeit in a Third Division South fixture on 6th December 1930. He left Southend in June 1936 and went back North and joined Hartlepools United. He made his Hartlepools United debut on 24th October 1936 in a 0-1 defeat at Port Vale and made sixteen League appearances for them before retiring. He died in 1962.

Well Gramps, this one is for you. With my final selection I choose goalkeeper Billy Moore.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

My XI

Manager: Webb

.............................Moore
T. Bentley.....Prior.....Clark.....J. Evans
....McAlinden...K. Jones...Yearwood
.................Halse....Hollis...Shankly


Now that's a team and a half.

 

[Napster]

My XI

Manager: Webb

.............................Moore
T. Bentley.....Prior.....Clark.....J. Evans
....McAlinden...K. Jones...Yearwood
.................Halse....Hollis...Shankly


Now that's a team and a half.

its not bad, midfield's a bit unbalanced with Jimmy there, mind.

 

[Napster]

My XI

Manager: Dave Smith

...........Flahavan
Williamson...Hadley...Watson...Anderson
Gower...Maher...Pountney...Ling
.....McDonough...McCrory

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

its not bad, midfield's a bit unbalanced with Jimmy there, mind.

I know he was what was called an inside forward but the inside forward he played

equates to midfield today rather than the inside forward that Halse played a couple of decades earlier that equates to a forward.

He pulled the strings from midfield (check out the newsreel I posted of him earlier in the thread) and with two mobile midfielders not afraid to get stuck in alongside him I can afford to have him push further forward if need be.

 

[Napster]

I know he was what was called an inside forward but the inside forward he played

equates to midfield today rather than the inside forward that Halse played a couple of decades earlier that equates to a forward.

He pulled the strings from midfield (check out the newsreel I posted of him earlier in the thread) and with two mobile midfielders not afraid to get stuck in alongside him I can afford to have him push further forward if need be.

fair enough. waiting for everyone else to finish, before I bemoan others I could have picked...

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Anyway, it's @Spaceman Spiff on the clock

 

[Exiled Shrimper]

...George McKenzie - the former Republic of Ireland keeper is still Southend's most capped player...

Jason Demetriou went past George McKenzie last season, but his record stood for 78 years.

PS. This has been a superb thread; I've thoroughly reading it.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Jason Demetriou went past George McKenzie last season, but his record stood for 78 years.

PS. This has been a superb thread; I've thoroughly reading it.

Good job I didn't pick him then!

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

For my last pick I have delved once more into the past and selected a Scottish centre half who played 233 games in the 1950s, scoring 2 goals, alongside Harry Threadgold, Arthur Williamson, Sandy Anderson, Sammy McCrory and Roy Hollis among others.

He played in the one victory we have had over Liverpool - a 2-1 win in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday 5th January 1957 in front of 18,253 fans at the newly-built Roots Hall.

Step forward Jimmy Stirling.