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There's no bandwagon. We just disagree with you. Again, your post completely ignores the bulk of Paterson's league performances for the Club. He's start 12 matches.

He joined us at the beginning of this year (Jan/Feb I thin), without knowing the club were financially desitute, without knowing that the majority of the players wanted to leave and into a squad that was seriously nosediving into relegation. The bulk of his league apperances were last season - we had a different team, a different manager and a completely different perspective - that's why I chose to only deal with this season - it's this season that counts surely? You only hark on about last season because it makes your stats look better! (and before you say it, this season makes my stats look better I know!).

I have the exact same opinions about Scott Spencer you know, it's not just Paterson - imho his four goals in five games at the end of last season should have given him a massive part to play this season with our team, but it hasn't. But lets not hark on about last season eh?

I truly believe that both Spencer and Paterson have been shafted this season. To have to sit in the stands and watch the rubbish that have been put in their place must be a bitter pill. Again I will say, maybe they would not have made the difference of a few goals here and there - but I am of the mind that they would have, that's why I argue their case. I will not just write them off as rubbish, lightweight players as you do.
 
I don't write them off as lightweight, rubbish players. I've at least seen Matt Paterson turn in a decent performance for us, which is more than i can say for Blair Sturrock who has been appalling every time I've seen him. I just acknowledge that the stats simply do not suggest that Paterson is the answer to our problems when Sturrock has scored twice as many league goals than Paterson has and in less time.
 
This season I'm really pleased with Mohsni and Hall

One continually gets caught out of position and cannot keep his temper under control and the other is consistantly left on the bench by Sturrock and not played? Do you mean on Tuesday night you were really pleased with Mohsni and Hall? Don't get me wrong, I really like both players but Billy has been probably our most exciting player but also our most disappointing - Hall is the best winger at the club and god knows why Sturrock doesn't pick him!

Where's your patience for young players? Of course young players are going to make mistake (old ones do as well), but Bilel has improved a lot since the start of the season. There's still work to be done but I'm encouraged by his progress and also by the results with him in the team. Four goals conceded in his last 8 appearances.

Hall needs patience as well. He's struggled for fitness and I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing (long term) to ease him in.

Now are you prepared to patient with a manager who's showing signs of building a strong base?

Sorry are you talking about Mr Sturrock? At what point this season has it looked like he is showing signs of building a strong base? He has a squad of 'his' players with no confidence and no morale and a bunch of youngsters who are at their wits end because their football careers have stalled at Southend. He has sacked his assistant coach, seemingly because he won't tow the his party line - where is the strong base? Football is a results based game - 2 wins in 12 would have seen the manager removed in many of our contemporaries. If Tuesday night was the first green shoot of of this 'strong base' you talk about then lets keep our fingers crossed.

I'm talking about our defence. I believe you build from the back and he has built a decent defensive unit.
 
I don't write them off as lightweight, rubbish players. I've at least seen Matt Paterson turn in a decent performance for us, which is more than i can say for Blair Sturrock who has been appalling every time I've seen him. I just acknowledge that the stats simply do not suggest that Paterson is the answer to our problems when Sturrock has scored twice as many league goals than Paterson has and in less time.


Stats are no more than stats. Paterson has scored twice as many cup goals than Blair in less time. It's how you choose to read them.

My concern for the two youngsters has been that they have not been given a fair crack of the whip. A couple of games here a few sub appearances there is just not enough to make a meaningful contribution to the team. If they had played say ten games and made very little contribution then fair enough, but they haven't, therefore to write them off as many have done is quite rediculous imo. I still believe that Screech and Pato bring something different to the table, to give Jarvis, Fairhurst, Midson, Germain and even Blair for so much pitch time with almost zero return and ignore the two youngsters has again in my opinion been folly, that is the only point I have ever been trying to make on their behalf!
 
that is the only point I have ever been trying to make on their behalf!

Well, it's not, because you've used the plight of those two individuals to martyr them and use them to your own Anti-Sturrock agenda, citing his apparent unwillingness to give them a shot.
 
Where's your patience for young players? Of course young players are going to make mistake (old ones do as well), but Bilel has improved a lot since the start of the season. There's still work to be done but I'm encouraged by his progress and also by the results with him in the team. Four goals conceded in his last 8 appearances.

Hall needs patience as well. He's struggled for fitness and I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing (long term) to ease him in.



I'm talking about our defence. I believe you build from the back and he has built a decent defensive unit.

So you make allowances for Mohsni (23) and Hall (23) but not for our youngsters, shouldn't they also be eased in?

Yes, our defence hasn't been too bad and I am sure you have some stats to prove this, however on Monday we were one point off the relegation zone and today thankfully four points away - think we may need to improve on our defence much more still.
 
Stats are no more than stats. Paterson has scored twice as many cup goals than Blair in less time. It's how you choose to read them.

My concern for the two youngsters has been that they have not been given a fair crack of the whip. A couple of games here a few sub appearances there is just not enough to make a meaningful contribution to the team. If they had played say ten games and made very little contribution then fair enough, but they haven't, therefore to write them off as many have done is quite rediculous imo. I still believe that Screech and Pato bring something different to the table, to give Jarvis, Fairhurst, Midson, Germain and even Blair for so much pitch time with almost zero return and ignore the two youngsters has again in my opinion been folly, that is the only point I have ever been trying to make on their behalf!

And I'm sure if we get another cup game whilst he here Paterson will get a chance. In the league Paterson has had a dozen starts and a dozen substitute appearances and has done nothing. And unlike someone like Hooper, he's not done anything in League Football anywhere to suggest that he's a goalscorer.

You talk at times as if these guys turn up on a Saturday and that is it. Sturrock sees them in training and he sees them in the reserves. If he thought that Spencer or Paterson could do the business for us then I'm sure that they would get a game. I know that graysblue jnr for one says that Paterson has looked terrible in the reserves all season.

I appreciate that young players need patience and I wouldn't want to see them get written off. I offer no opinion at all on whether or not Paterson should be up front, I just think that there are huge holes in your logic and make no apologies for pointing them out. You can't just play players because they are young. They need to be good.
 
Well, it's not, because you've used the plight of those two individuals to martyr them and use them to your own Anti-Sturrock agenda, citing his apparent unwillingness to give them a shot.

Unbeliebable retort. I have said from day one that I don't like Paul Sturrock - I do not have any agenda - more over I have yet to miss a single game this season and have supported every single player who has donned a blues shirt. My opinion of who to play and who not to play is solely my opinion, your arguements have just completely nose dived into oblivion in my opinion now. Oh and I'd also champion the cause of young Herd and Harry Crawford for more pitch time as well, instead of the rubbish Sturrock has played - so that's four players I aim to martyr - good grief, give me a break.
 
So you make allowances for Mohsni (23) and Hall (23) but not for our youngsters, shouldn't they also be eased in?

Yes, our defence hasn't been too bad and I am sure you have some stats to prove this, however on Monday we were one point off the relegation zone and today thankfully four points away - think we may need to improve on our defence much more still.

Ignoring the point that this is Hall and Mohsni's first season training full-time and in a professional set-up, Paterson has played more leagues games than each and made far less of an impact.

I think we need to get our first choice defence onto the pitch more often.
 
Unbeliebable retort. I have said from day one that I don't like Paul Sturrock - I do not have any agenda - more over I have yet to miss a single game this season and have supported every single player who has donned a blues shirt. My opinion of who to play and who not to play is solely my opinion, your arguements have just completely nose dived into oblivion in my opinion now. Oh and I'd also champion the cause of young Herd and Harry Crawford for more pitch time as well, instead of the rubbish Sturrock has played - so that's four players I aim to martyr - good grief, give me a break.

So, why are you so keen to allow Paterson and Spencer opportunities, yet not Paul Sturrock? You plead patience should be granted for the young players in the squad, yet not for the manager who assembled that squad in a number of weeks? Please, that's an entirely hypocritical stance to adopt. And besides, your indignant responses to every post that dares to contravene yours indicates to me at least that you can't hold other people's opinions much higher than "oblivion" in the first place...
 
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And I'm sure if we get another cup game whilst he here Paterson will get a chance. In the league Paterson has had a dozen starts and a dozen substitute appearances and has done nothing. And unlike someone like Hooper, he's not done anything in League Football anywhere to suggest that he's a goalscorer.

He's a kid just starting his career, to liken him to Hooper or anyone else is stupid? So you write off a young player who has scored six goals for us in maybe a dozen starts and a few sub appearances and suggest he's not good enough? Sorry if he had not scored any goals or created any goals or opportunities I might agree with you, fact is he has scored goals and created opportunities, why can't you just be happy that a youngster has managed this and hope that he goes onto bigger and better things with us?

You talk at times as if these guys turn up on a Saturday and that is it. Sturrock sees them in training and he sees them in the reserves. If he thought that Spencer or Paterson could do the business for us then I'm sure that they would get a game. I know that graysblue jnr for one says that Paterson has looked terrible in the reserves all season.

Seems that Sturrock is never at the training ground and Widdrington has been ruling B&L with an iron fist, hence his departure. As for Paterson being terrible in the Reserves, I cannot comment - but I did see him score two goals against Dageneham and Redbridge in a behind closed doors game, and again I thought he looked fine. I can only comment on what I see.

I appreciate that young players need patience and I wouldn't want to see them get written off. I offer no opinion at all on whether or not Paterson should be up front, I just think that there are huge holes in your logic and make no apologies for pointing them out. You can't just play players because they are young. They need to be good.[/QUOT

Again, I have never said they should be played because they are young. The point I am making is that I feel that could have used them a lot more and given them a better opportunity, especially after seeing just how poor our loan players have been.
 
So, why are you so keen to allow Paterson and Spencer opportunities, yet not Paul Sturrock? You plead patience should be granted for the young players in the squad, yet not for the manager who assembled that squad in a number of weeks? Please, that's an entirely hypocritical stance to adopt. And besides, your indignant responses to every post that dares to contravene yours indicates to me at least that you can't hold other people's opinions much higher than "oblivion" in the first place...

This is just going round and round in circles. Let me make my opinions finally perfectly clear to you, you obviously cannot grasp the fundamentals:

1. I do not like Paul Sturrock, I do not like his persona, tactics or team selections. The players he has brought to the club have not been to the standard that I want to see at Southend United - I have watched and supported for 40 years now. I do not like his character and especially his insistance of playing poor loan players when we have youngsters at the club who may/may not have been a better choice.

2. I will champion the cause of the 'youngsters' because that's what they are - kids. Grassroots football has been a passion of mine. I have been lucky enough to manage a couple of teams in the past and to see every one of those kids wanting to be professional footballers has been brilliant. What they don't see is the continual abuse, put downs and almost blood letting to fulfill their dreams.

3. I for one was delighted when Widdrington walked, again, didn't like his persona and certainly didn't like the way he abused ALL the players from the side lines. Why do you think we are so poor at Roots Hall? the pressure he put the players under with his constant berating was defeaning at times.

4. I want to see at my club a progression of kids from our COE to Youth to Reserves to first team. To get them to the Reserves and then not perserve is pointless - get the kids on the pitch and give them time to adapt - I firmly believe that had we used all our squad players fully we would be in a better position in the league now.

There you go, if you disagree with any of my points then fair enough - but at this moment in time, this is exactly how I feel.
 
This is just going round and round in circles. Let me make my opinions finally perfectly clear to you, you obviously cannot grasp the fundamentals:

Oh no, I understand the fundamentals of your argument just fine... I just disagree them, something which you seem inable to comprehend.
 
I don't write them off as lightweight, rubbish players. I've at least seen Matt Paterson turn in a decent performance for us, which is more than i can say for Blair Sturrock who has been appalling every time I've seen him. I just acknowledge that the stats simply do not suggest that Paterson is the answer to our problems when Sturrock has scored twice as many league goals than Paterson has and in less time.

Sturrock has been our best forward this season.
 
I think I've caught him at unfortunate times...

Probably not - he's pretty consistent with his performances and he's not a heavy goalscorer so if that's what you want he doesn't fit the bill.

He is also a clever player so the poorer players - Corr, Soares etc - are more of a problem to supply as they don't read the game so well.

Nevertheless he holds the ball up well and picks out good passes and would be a good partner for a goalscorer.

He's taken off more than he should be because his dad over compensates given their relationship.
 
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