Pre-Match Thread Southend Utd vs Harrogate Town 12th September 2020 15:00 hrs

[Evening Echo]

IT will be an historic day for Harrogate Town at Roots Hall tomorrow.

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[leeblue]

Another plucky defeat incoming.
Cheers Ron

 

[SeldomSeenShrimper]

Oxley

Elvis White Hobson Taylor
Egbri Dieng Isaac Green
Humphrys Kelman

Would of put Ralph at LB but don't think he is fit enough yet to be starting League games
Going for a 1-1 draw, Kelman to score

This is my exact prediction haha Great minds, obviously

 

[TownFullOfTeaShops]

Hi all, While this game is an obvious landmark for all Harrogate Town fans, I must admit this game is on a personal level even more significant. Southend are my mum's team (my grandad was a season ticket holder, and my great uncle a former player) and I've been to plenty of northern away trips over the years supporting Southend, the last one being Blackpool away two seasons ago, I'll admit to avoiding the blues last season. I can't say I saw this league fixture ever happening just a few short years ago, but Harrogate have been run every bit as well as Southend have been run badly to make this happen.

Harrogate usually play an attractive brand of intense passing football that can become very direct when appropriate (see our playoff final win over Notts County, I'm not talking aimless long balls to Nile Ranger here). While most of our players have little to no league experience, their work-rate is exceptional and their attitude is fantastic to a man. Whenever I've watched League One/Two football in the last 3 years I've thought Town would do very well at this level. It'll be interesting to see how a team of football league rejects get on! I'm somewhere between predicting a draw or a Harrogate win tomorrow. Maybe 1-2?

In terms of our lineup, it'll be:
Back-up keeper Cracknell (decent shot stopper, claiming catches not so great)
RB Fallowfield (Great going forward, loves a diving block)
LB Burrell (actually played in Weaver's first town match 11 years ago, very versatile stop-gap left back)
CB Smith & Hall (built a great partnership last year, neither had played at National League level before last season)
RM Thomson (good set piece taker and screamer merchant, has fought off competition for his place time and again)
LM Walker (New signing, always played well against us, not great pre-season)
CM Falkingham (A terrier in stature and captaincy style, one you love to have but hate to face. Pulls the strings)
CM Kerry (A Rolls Royce of a player, great passing range)
ST Muldoon (Great work-rate and a versatile finisher)
ST Martin (Signed just before lockdown after pulling up trees in National North, if he can handle this level he may become a real goal threat)

Hopefully it is a good game tomorrow, I can't promise I'll be wearing my Southend scarf, but i'll keep it in the room!

 

[MisterStubbs]

Tomorrow's game is an interesting one for sure. Two teams new to this level, ourselves of course coming down and Harrogate who'll still be bouncing I'm sure after promotion. I think this is a game though we can't lose. We can't afford for a newly promoted team to rock up at Roots Hall and turn us over, it would be a terrible start! I've seen enough from us though in the last two games to suggest we can get a positive result.

My team would be;

Oxley
Elvis - White - Hobson - Taylor
Hutchinson - Dieng - Gard
Egbri - Kelman - Green

Let's start off with a positive please, going for a 2-1 win.. Come on you Blues!

 

[RHB]

Welcome @TownFullOfTeaShops, great post apart from your result prediction.

 

[Chrisb]

Hi all, While this game is an obvious landmark for all Harrogate Town fans, I must admit this game is on a personal level even more significant. Southend are my mum's team (my grandad was a season ticket holder, and my great uncle a former player) and I've been to plenty of northern away trips over the years supporting Southend, the last one being Blackpool away two seasons ago, I'll admit to avoiding the blues last season. I can't say I saw this league fixture ever happening just a few short years ago, but Harrogate have been run every bit as well as Southend have been run badly to make this happen.

Harrogate usually play an attractive brand of intense passing football that can become very direct when appropriate (see our playoff final win over Notts County, I'm not talking aimless long balls to Nile Ranger here). While most of our players have little to no league experience, their work-rate is exceptional and their attitude is fantastic to a man. Whenever I've watched League One/Two football in the last 3 years I've thought Town would do very well at this level. It'll be interesting to see how a team of football league rejects get on! I'm somewhere between predicting a draw or a Harrogate win tomorrow. Maybe 1-2?

In terms of our lineup, it'll be:
Back-up keeper Cracknell (decent shot stopper, claiming catches not so great)
RB Fallowfield (Great going forward, loves a diving block)
LB Burrell (actually played in Weaver's first town match 11 years ago, very versatile stop-gap left back)
CB Smith & Hall (built a great partnership last year, neither had played at National League level before last season)
RM Thomson (good set piece taker and screamer merchant, has fought off competition for his place time and again)
LM Walker (New signing, always played well against us, not great pre-season)
CM Falkingham (A terrier in stature and captaincy style, one you love to have but hate to face. Pulls the strings)
CM Kerry (A Rolls Royce of a player, great passing range)
ST Muldoon (Great work-rate and a versatile finisher)
ST Martin (Signed just before lockdown after pulling up trees in National North, if he can handle this level he may become a real goal threat)

Hopefully it is a good game tomorrow, I can't promise I'll be wearing my Southend scarf, but i'll keep it in the room!

Welcome to our forum and Harrogate Town to league football - if things had been different I would have enjoyed seeing a new team play at Roots Hall and to witness your first match in League 2. Would be interested to know the name of your great uncle who played for us. All the best for the season, starting after tomorrow of course.

 

[Chris Powell's mate]

Hi all, While this game is an obvious landmark for all Harrogate Town fans, I must admit this game is on a personal level even more significant. Southend are my mum's team (my grandad was a season ticket holder, and my great uncle a former player) and I've been to plenty of northern away trips over the years supporting Southend, the last one being Blackpool away two seasons ago, I'll admit to avoiding the blues last season. I can't say I saw this league fixture ever happening just a few short years ago, but Harrogate have been run every bit as well as Southend have been run badly to make this happen.

Harrogate usually play an attractive brand of intense passing football that can become very direct when appropriate (see our playoff final win over Notts County, I'm not talking aimless long balls to Nile Ranger here). While most of our players have little to no league experience, their work-rate is exceptional and their attitude is fantastic to a man. Whenever I've watched League One/Two football in the last 3 years I've thought Town would do very well at this level. It'll be interesting to see how a team of football league rejects get on! I'm somewhere between predicting a draw or a Harrogate win tomorrow. Maybe 1-2?

In terms of our lineup, it'll be:
Back-up keeper Cracknell (decent shot stopper, claiming catches not so great)
RB Fallowfield (Great going forward, loves a diving block)
LB Burrell (actually played in Weaver's first town match 11 years ago, very versatile stop-gap left back)
CB Smith & Hall (built a great partnership last year, neither had played at National League level before last season)
RM Thomson (good set piece taker and screamer merchant, has fought off competition for his place time and again)
LM Walker (New signing, always played well against us, not great pre-season)
CM Falkingham (A terrier in stature and captaincy style, one you love to have but hate to face. Pulls the strings)
CM Kerry (A Rolls Royce of a player, great passing range)
ST Muldoon (Great work-rate and a versatile finisher)
ST Martin (Signed just before lockdown after pulling up trees in National North, if he can handle this level he may become a real goal threat)

Hopefully it is a good game tomorrow, I can't promise I'll be wearing my Southend scarf, but i'll keep it in the room!

Never mind all this, how has Covid affected visiting Betty's?
I'm only coming in March if the place is open for tea room blend and Fat Rascals!

 

[Chairman Trigg]

We are still work in progress and unfortunately lightweight in all areas and not helped by the sale of Humphreys up front.Just feels like a bad opening day result.Hope that MM is the miracle worker as these early games will surely show up our weaknesses ,and the last thing we need is the re run of last seasons start

 

[Pak Power]

You have to feel for Harrogate Fans, getting to Wembley, not being able to be there,
winning play off final in front of no-one.

Playing your first game in the football league, and not being able to be there.....

Bloody Covid

 

[SeldomSeenShrimper]

You have to feel for Harrogate Fans, getting to Wembley, not being able to be there,
winning play off final in front of no-one.

Playing your first game in the football league, and not being able to be there.....

Bloody Covid

And a visit to the legendary Rootshall ?

 

[Austin the Shrimper]

Tomorrow is massive. Harrogate are expected to be bottom half of league 2... if we struggle, it will show where we really stand. And what expectations for the season we should really have. A good result could do wonders for confidence, a bad.. well I don’t want to think about that tbh.

 

[NZamba Legend]

Tomorrow is massive. Harrogate are expected to be bottom half of league 2... if we struggle, it will show where we really stand. And what expectations for the season we should really have. A good result could do wonders for confidence, a bad.. well I don’t want to think about that tbh.

Even though it is mid-september it's still just the first game of the season. The year we won L1 we got whupped at home by Port Vale first game. Outclassed. By end of September we were flying. Judge after 10 games. Win 5/10 its play off form, 6/10 you might be going up.

 

[camden shrimper]

I'm not remotely advocating we lose, in fact I don't really know what I am suggesting but I am fearful that a good result tomorrow will discourage RM from strengthening the squad through a false belief that we are good enough not to. Absolutely gutted not to be going with my Mum, end of a 30 year tradition!

 

[Shrimper]

Feel sorry for the likes of Phil Cox. Record of going to every game broken

 

[jarvisyeh]

Feel sorry for the likes of Phil Cox. Record of going to every game broken

Didn't he break that streak not so long ago anyway?

 

[Up the Shrimpers]

Didn't he break that streak not so long ago anyway?

Yeah Phil stopped going to away games last season.
He did post on here the other day that the West Ham game was his first home game missed since 1984.

Hermans run of not missing a home game since 1979 also came to an end when we played West Ham.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Tomorrow is massive. Harrogate are expected to be bottom half of league 2... if we struggle, it will show where we really stand. And what expectations for the season we should really have. A good result could do wonders for confidence, a bad.. well I don’t want to think about that tbh.

It really isn't a good indicator of where we will be.

1) Harrogate will be much more advanced in their fitness and match sharpness than we are, having contested their play-offs.

2) It's their first game in the League. They will have nerves, adrenalin etc that just won't be there a month into the season.

3) More generally first games of the season are really bad predictors for the league. Loads of teams will win opening week and lose their second match and vice versa.

 

[Shrimper]

It really isn't a good indicator of where we will be.

1) Harrogate will be much more advanced in their fitness and match sharpness than we are, having contested their play-offs.

2) It's their first game in the League. They will have nerves, adrenalin etc that just won't be there a month into the season.

3) More generally first games of the season are really bad predictors for the league. Loads of teams will win opening week and lose their second match and vice versa.

RE Point 3. You only tend to get a clear picture 20 games in I feel.

 

[Austin the Shrimper]

Even though it is mid-september it's still just the first game of the season. The year we won L1 we got whupped at home by Port Vale first game. Outclassed. By end of September we were flying. Judge after 10 games. Win 5/10 its play off form, 6/10 you might be going up.

Thank you for talking some sense into me. I guess I’m just fearful of the continuation of bad results. UTB