Southend United All-Time Draft

[Napster]

lots of balance all round!

 

[Colorado Shrimper]

I've got two choices to make, and there's still plenty of great players around. I haven't picked any forwards yet, so I'm going to rectify that. I'm tempted to pick Roy Hollis - his sheer volume of goals will likely never be matched, but I never saw him play, and fans of my father's generation who did are not exactly ebullient in their praise of the man. So I'm going with what I know, and I'm picking the forward partnership that scored the goals to get us to the promised land:

First Choice: Brett Angell
Second Choice: Ian Benjamin

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

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. [FBM]
4. [Lord Football]
5. [Spiff]
6. [YB]
7. [Napster]
8. [Firestorm]

@fbm on the clock

 

[Ricey]

My next choice I didn’t get to see enough of but he’s someone who was playing through my first few games and someone who was adored by all. I took a shine to him during his time on Sky and just in general as he’s an absolute top bloke. My first midfield is the great....

Andy Ansah!

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

@fbm over to you!

 

[Napster]

This is a really interesting thread. Love it!

 

[fbm]

So I've decided to opt for the keeper now. It's a specialist position and some of the obvious besties - Roycie, Cawston, Flahavan and Sammy have already been selected. I thought about going back to some of my personal favourites - Neil Freeman, Derek Bellotti or Malcolm Webster, but they won't be known by many younger people and I'm guessing at the end of this there's going to be some sort of discussion/vote on who has the best team.

I've therefore opted for the player whose saves won us several points over a promotion season and who had the final say in the Wembley play off.

Dan Bentley, get in.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

@Lord Football over to you

 

[fbm]

This is a really interesting thread. Love it!

It is... one of the best threads for a long time.

I'd be interested to know if anyone not in the game is reading the thread with as much interest!

 

[Lord Football]

For those of us of a certain age he was our best player of the late 70s - probably since Peter Taylor. He made the front of the Liverpool FA Cup programme. Finally leaving, to much gnashing of teeth and wailing to Blackpool in a deal worth £111111 (no really.... I'll explain more later if I get the chance).

I give you COLIN MORRIS

@Spaceman Spiff its your go.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Thanks Lordy.

For my pick, I’m going for a manager this time. Probably not one known by too many on here, but one who managed Southend for almost 200 games in the fifties and achieved a win % at 43.15 only bettered by David Webb, Barry Fry and Steve Thompson’s cameo. I give you:

Eddie Perry

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

@Yorkshire Blue you’re up mate

 

[OldBlueLady]

It is... one of the best threads for a long time.

I'd be interested to know if anyone not in the game is reading the thread with as much interest!

Definitely. Wouldn't have wanted to take part as would have thrown a strop if I had missed out on people I wanted, and an OBL with a strop is not a very happy OBL at all!

Really enjoying seeing who is being picked and the reasons why....there's still a few who haven't gone yet who I'm surprised at.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Ok, I'm going for a player I've never seen play. It's a player none of you - other than @Cricko - will have seen. He's a player many of you won't have heard of.

But he's one of the most important players in the club's history. It's taken for granted now that Southend United is a successful (at least relative to Col Ewe), established league club. But it could all have been so different. Many different clubs have been set up over the years, what makes some succeed and others fail? In 1906 there was Southend Athletic, what made the newbie Southend United stay the course whilst Southend Athletic wilted? There will be a myriad of reasons but nothing succeeds like success. And in our inaugural season there was nobody more successful than Harold Halse.

Halse scored an incredible 91 goals in 65 appearances as Southend United won the Southern League Division 2 two years running (we were refused promotion the first year). Enjoying runaway success like this, how could supporters not flock to the fledgling club?

In March 1908 Halse was signed by Manchester United for £350. This may not sound like a lot but this was 1908. This was the largest transfer fee allowable (to sweeten the deal Man U also signed Samuel "Prince" Blott for £350) and will have gone a long way to securing the club's financial future.

Whilst Halse may have feasted upon Southern League 2 Division defences he went on to show he could compete with the best. Within 18 months of leaving Southend he'd been called up by England, scoring twice as England triumphed 8-1 away to Austria. Man U won the title his first season and again in 1911, along with the FA Cup in 1909. He then moved to Villa where he won the competition again before returning down south as he had business in London, where he signed for Chelsea and became the first player to appear in a FA Cup Final for three different clubs before the Great War interrupted his career aged just 28.

He's described as "Small and rather slight of build, he would often score quite unexpectedly, from apparently impossible positions, shooting with supreme confidence in his own powers as a top opportunist marksmen."

A top opportunist marksmen that went onto play for England and won the League and FA Cup? Yes, please!

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

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. [Firestorm]
2. [Napster]
3. [YB]
4. [Spiff]
5. [Lord Football]
6. [FBM]
7. [Ricey]
8. [Thomas Finney]


Rd 7 Order

1. [Thomas Finney]
2. [Ricey]
3. [FBM]
4. [Lord Football]
5. [Spiff]
6. [YB]
7. [Napster]
8. [Firestorm]

@Firestorm on the clock

 

[Napster]

In a meeting so will reply later. Glad we’ve got some oldies now though was worried we’d be focussing too much on players we’ve seen

 

[Napster]

Can’t wait. Ronnie Pountney is the next pick. Was going to pick a centre back but surprised Ronnie is still there!

 

[fbm]

For those of us of a certain age he was our best player of the late 70s - probably since Peter Taylor. He made the front of the Liverpool FA Cup programme. Finally leaving, to much gnashing of teeth and wailing to Blackpool in a deal worth £111111 (no really.... I'll explain more later if I get the chance).

I give you COLIN MORRIS

@Spaceman Spiff its your go.

*******. He was my next selection!

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Another double pick for @Firestorm

 

[Firestorm]

*******. He was my next selection!

And mine ......

I have back to back picks

Alan Moody
Anton Otulakowski