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fbm

Blue tinted optimist⭐
Joined
Oct 28, 2003
Messages
10,024
Location
Cloud cuckoo land
Bloody rubbish, these non-league players. They're maybe players... maybe good, maybe not. No guarantee they'll do anything at all...

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Well, that's the quickest goal I've ever seen. Difficult to describe really... it all happened so quick. I was just aware that we went straight forward instead of laying the ball back from the kick off and it seemed to catch Swansea on the hop. Great cross from Gray and a header from Freddy. 1-0 - I think the official time is 9 seconds.

Was it a goal too early? Well, Swansea were the strongest side I've seen at the Hall this season and broke straight down the other end. A low cross came in from the right and skidded off the turf. Clarke flapped at it, the ball was played goalwards and Spinner cleared off the line. All this was inside the first minute!

Southend continued to press and Gower made room for himself before shooting and forcing a fine diving save from the Swansea keeper. Swansea took control and equalised after 10 minutes - Connor beating the offside trap and slotting over an advancing Clarke - and it was in truth what they deserved.

The next 20 minutes were dominated by the Welsh visitors really, without them ever testing the defence, which was again well marshalled by Barrett and Prior. You could see why Trundle is so highly thought of, and he nearly chipped Clarke with an audacious lob form 30 yards out.

I personally thought we would do well to hold it at 1-1 until half time. Then on 41 minutes, from one of our several corners, Prior headed unmarked into the corner to make it 2-1.

Gray had a chance to make it 3 in injury time but the keeper saved well. The only real downer in the first half was the loss of Gower, which looked as though it may be a nasty injury.

In the second half I was expecting a Swansea onslaught that never came. On 53 minutes their centre back Monk, who had looked pretty dodgy, played a hospital pass to the full back Austin which was intercepted by Gray. He took the ball to the touchline and put in one of the most perfect crosses I have ever seen... whipped in with pace and topspin, taking it away from the keeper, over the defender but coming down straight on Eastwood's head about 6 yards out. He couldn't miss and I was pleased to se as many congratulations for Gray as Eastwood for that one.

It was Southend's game really and they controlled it without threatening further, but we had our usual wobble and with 5 left Forbes capped a good move with a header past Clarke to pull one back.

It was a frantic period now but we kept them out, and then with 2 mins to go Freddy picked up a loose ball and belted it goalwards. It took a wicked deflection into the bottom corner but he'll claim that for his hat trick. 4-2.

Straight from the kick off there was the usual trouble with the Swansea supporters and while one was being wrestled to the ground, Trundle (I think) had a shot straight from the centre that floated over Clarke and came back off the bar before being scrambled to safety.

Eastwood was subbed 30 secs from the end to his own private ovation.

Another cracking game at the Hall and we're moving up the league... only 3 points from the top now.

Ratings

Clarke - 6 - Difficult conditions to make your debut as a keeper... left footed, kicking usually good, handling ok, got away with a couple of errors.

Jupp - 7 - Got caught a couple of times but then rescued us as well. made some good overlaps and crosses.
Barrett - 8 - Very solid against Trundle and partners Prior well.
Prior - 8.5 - Commanding, composed and dominant. Scored as well. Would have been a contender for MOM on any other day.
Wilson - 6. Mmm... ok. This to be fair was more like the Wilson of last year and he needs to improve his perfomances.

Gower - 7 (subbed). Did ok until injured - had a good shot. Hope it's not too serious.
Maher - 8 - Very good performance from Kev, best of the season for me. Needs to do that EVERY week.
Hunt - 7 - Ok... again, I think he did enough but will probably be dropped for Bentley when he returns.
Pettefer - 7. Again, OK. I would prefer to see a palyer that gived us more natural width but he worked hard

Gray - 8.5 - A superb battling performance, unlucky not to score and set 2 up for Freddy with fantastic crosses. I'm now beginning to see why we bought him.
Eastwood - 5 - did nothing except score 3 goals. Can't see why he's here - bring back Drewe!







Ok... joking. I'll give him 9 and the MOM. It must be a history making debut... quickest goal on club debut and league debut, surely. First attacker since Angell (?) to score a hat trick... I know Mooney, Hails and Cort have done, but weren't they all midfielders or defenders? Infact, has anyone ever scored a hat trick on their league debut? (Maybe Tony Cottee?) Quick feet, found a blue shirt 90% of the time. I can't say he terrorised the defence with his pace but he is certainly sharp. He didn't have a load of one-on-one's, he didn't have loads of chances, but obviously knows where the goal is. 3 chances, 3 goals. More in one game than Drewe scored in a season and a bit. It will be interesting to see how he copes when defences wise up to him a bit. But for now, absolutely fantastic.
 
Personally, I would like to see Nicolau back in the team (in spite of not having seen Che today). Last time I saw him, it looked like he may have been slipping towards the Che of old. God only knows who taught him to defend against wingers with your back to them!

Also intrigued to see the set up when Smith comes back. Bear in mind we're on hot form as it is and he is, IMO, one of our three most talented players. There's no-one else in the team with his passing ability.

Then again, Bentley's been playing well....

It's so good being able to look up the table again rather than down it.
 
Clark - 6 - Fairly solid except for a few dodgy moments. Good kicking.

Jupp - 6 - Bad first half in which he was given the run around by Trundle and Robinson, but improved in the second.
Barrett - 7 - Comitted as ever and made some crucial challenges.
Prior - 8 - Nice to see him get his first goal and he also defended well.
Wilson - 7 - Another faultless performance from Che.

Petterfer - 6 - Worked hard but again showed that he's not a natural winger.
Maher - 8 - Another brilliant performance from Kev, and he didn't get booked!!
Hunt - 6 - Another OK performance.
Gower - 7 - Lively until he came off injured.
Corbett - 6 - Didn't do much to warrant a place in the team on Tuesday.

Gray - 8 - Starting to show us what he can do. Excellent against Boston, excellent again today. Ran his heart out and set up 2 goals with 2 perfect crosses.
EASTWOOD - 9 - Took all 3 goals well and looked very good on the ball.
 
Quality, quality match. Best game I've been too in a very long time. Whisper it quietly, but this side is really shaping into something!

We have got to get Eastwood in before somebody else beats us to it. Would probably mean one or more of the forwards leaving, but I think its worth the risk - probably Broughton and maybe Jimmy C...

Anyway, they'll be tonnes of match reports etc, so heres my ratings:-

Clarke: 6 - Looked a little shakey at times and took a right bollocking from Prior inside 1 minute!

Jupp: 7 - Usual up and down the right and no nonsense tackling.

Prior: 8 - Great goal and solid at the back against two very good fowards in Conners and Trundle.

Barret: 7 - Quieter than Prior, but as effective

Cheese: 6 - Generally solid, but made a few simple defensive errors (more than once he showed a forward inside towards the goal *DOH!*)

Gower: 7 - Looked threatening before going off. Definately getting back to the Gower of last season.

Maher: 7 - Wayward passing at times, but solid on the whole

Hunt: 7 - I think Bents will get straight back in, but Hunt has done very well in his absense. Tried to get forward and did his usual stint of hard work.

Petts: 6 - Unusually quiet game from the normally 'busy' Petts.

Gray: 9 - Superb performace - much like Boston. 2 sublime crosses, loads of hard work and a constant threat. I knew he would come good!!

Eastwood: 10 - I tend to always give a 10 to a hat-trick scorer - what more can they do? So its not a knee-jerk OTT reaction. Superb debut, but aside from the goals he showed tonnes of skill, great link up play and a willingness to chase lost causes. Already looks a special talent - probably too good for us, so what the hell he has stuck around at Grays for I dont know!

Great competition for places now. I'm trying to pick a team for Tuesday and seriously contemplating benching Eastwood if Bramble is fit. Tes was doing so well and his experience may count for more away from home. What a threat to be able to bring Freddie on... but then... Freddie... tricky choice!
 
As my broadband connection is as about as stable as Willy Gueret is on crosses tonight, I can't be bothered to type a big report like normal incase it goes belly up as I post!

I'll leave mine to:

Clarke 7: Looked very nervy at times, which is understandable I suppose with such little experience. Can't agree that his kicking was that great though, very rarely did it go anywhere near a blue shirt! Looks a useful keeper though.

Jupp 7: Gives it away far too often for my liking. Still flatters to deceive.

Prior 6: Good goal, but got caught on the ball yet again. Seems to blame everyone but himself when a goal goes in our net.

Barrett 7: Solid, if unspectacular. Probably won't have to deal with a player as good as Trundle too often this season.

Wilson 7: As has already been said, he seems to be going back to last years Che slowly but surely, which is a real shame. Didn't get forward too much.

Pettefer 6: Runs around a lot, but IS NOT A WINGER! It'd be nice if we could try a wide player out there. Summed up when Gower was screaming at him to get further out wide in the 1st half.

Maher 9: If it wasn't for Eastwood, he'd probably have been M.O.M. Great display.

Hunt 7: Is doing far better than I would've thought he'd have done in midfield after previous displays there. Did alright again.

Gower 7: Looked dangerous until the injury. Doesn't look good as he had to use crutches when moving from the bench at half and full time.

Gray 8: If only he had better reactions in the box when there's a loose ball. His pace and strength caused problems again though.

Eastwood 10: Not only did he score a hat trick, his all round play was fantastic. Only gave the ball away 2 or 3 times and made so many runs back to help out it was unreal. A hugely exciting talent. A comment made by somebody (who's not really a Southend fan, well, yet!) with me said it all, he was like the kid that you played with at School who was clearly the best and seemed to be everywhere, while being involved in everything. Sign him up!
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I agree with most of the comments made so far...
I felt our weak links were Jupp (too many wayward passes) and Hunt (the game seemd to pass him by for long spells, especially in the 1st half - Bentley or Smith will be far more effective in central midfield)
Plus points....
Prior- best performance from him this season, managed the back 4 well and seemed to relish the abuse he got from the Swansea fans as an ex Cardiff player, hence his goal celebration.
Pettefer- not one of my favourite players but he ran for England today and gave 100%, another who had his best gamein a long while.
Maher - won almost everything in centre midfield and his hard work there allowed some of the more creative players to stamp their mark on the game.
Corbett - Losing Gower so early on was a blow but I felt Corbett slotted into that position well and did more than enough to justify a start at Scunny. Those who said he had a bad game - were you there?
Gray - outstanding. On any other day he would have got MOM, a constant threat, chased every lost cause (our 3rd was from a ball he should have had no right to get) and his role in the performance and result was immense.
Eastwood - Looks like he scores for fun. Best debut from a striker since Stan.

Its always difficult to judge on the strength of one game but we seemedto be more comfortable on the ball today much more passing to feet and I felt we dominated the game against the top of the league side....
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (fbm @ Oct. 16 2004,18:38)]Ok... joking.  I'll give him 9 and the MOM.  It must be a history making debut... quickest goal on club debut and league debut, surely.  First attacker since Angell (?) to score a hat trick... I know Mooney, Hails and Cort have done, but weren't they all midfielders or defenders?  Infact, has anyone ever scored a hat trick on their league debut?  (Maybe Tony Cottee?)  Quick feet, found a blue shirt 90% of the time.  I can't say he terrorised the defence with his pace but he is certainly sharp.  He didn't have a load of one-on-one's, he didn't have loads of chances, but obviously knows where the goal is.  3 chances, 3 goals.  More in one game than Drewe scored in a season and a bit.  It will be interesting to see how he copes when defences wise up to him a bit.  But for now, absolutely fantastic.
Alan Shearer's full league debut for Southampton [against the Arsenal, I think?] comes to mind...  
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08 out of 10 - For a thoroughly entertaining match! a real solid display by everyone.
09 out of 10 - For Maher and Gray, the latter is convincing me that his difficult start is behind him.
11 out of 10 - Eastwood has everything we need from a striker and I'll be gutted if we don't sign him!
 
I forgot to mention Corbett, who came on fo Gower.

I'll give him a 7. He took a while to get into the game but got better as it went on, and made some very good defensive contributions as well.
 
Excellent review as always, fbm.

My random thoughts:

* What a brilliant game, in terms of both teams. One of the best games I've seen at our level in ages. Attacking, passing football - from both sides. You can see why Swansea are up at the top... and that means that we deserve to be up there. The transformation from the Cambridge game (my last home game) is massive.

*Amidst all the hyperbole (more of that later), the best player on the pitch was still Lee Trundle. He absolutely carved us apart for both goals. If only he worked harder for 90 minutes, there's no question he could play at "Championship" level, maybe even Premiership.

*Mystified at the comment above that someone thought Jupp had a bad game yesterday. Thought he harried, he worked, he put in some stern challenges. The gulf in class between him and Che Wilson (the only mediocre performer in blue yesterday) was massive.

*Wayne Gray - what a star. Maybe not a scoring sensation yet, but bloody hell, he worked so hard, he chased lost causes, and he scared the crap out of the Swansea defence with his pace. For our third goal, there is no way on earth that he should have got that ball - that was the defender's all the way. Yet he sprinted for it, strained every sinew, roared away from the defender, and then put in the best cross I've seen in yonks. Wayne Gray, you are a star.

* How chuffed was I to see Spinner score, especially against the Swans...
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* Fredy Eastwood. A stunning debut in every sense. Let's just throttle back on the "will play for England / best things since sliced bread / Collymore" comparisons for now. The thing that impressed me most about him was a real striker's instinct, a real brain about him. Even when he was knackered at the end, he didn't amble about... he just bided his time, found space... and wham, slammed the third goal in when he was just plain worn out. So many clever runs, always looking for a yard on defenders - there's no doubt that he's "the real deal" at our level. Let's hope he wants to stay.

I've been hoarse all weekend, a sure-fire sign that I saw a superb game of footy, and that we played brilliantly. Suddenly, my play-off bet doesn't look so daft, unlike how it felt after the Cheltenham or Cambridge games. What a turn-around.

Ratings:

Clark - 6. Did OK, not at fault for either goal, but can't see him keeping Flavs out of the side.
Jupp - 7. Worked hard, harried hard, tackled hard. A key element to our defence this year.
Prior - 8. Still classy, makes it all look simple, great goal.
Barrett - 7. Solid, unfussy, a great signing.
Wilson - 5. Hmm. Not much cop. Just don't feel safe with him at Left back. Not sure Nicolau's there either...
Pettefer - 6. A very up and down performance. At times, harrying, chasing, creating. At other times he looked lost.
Maher - 7. Exuding calm authority at all times. Marvellous.
Hunt - 7. Perhaps the best I've seen him play in centre-mid - altho' that's not saying much.
Gower - 7. Was highly influential until he went off. Hope it's not serious.
Corbett - 6. Started off very slowly. However, towards the end of the game seemed to be getting stronger. A good omen?
Gray - 9. Awesome. MoM on any other day. Chased so much, created so much, scared them so much.
Eastwood - 10. The match-ball on your league debut... nuff said, surely? A very exciting prospect.

A very, very happy

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MtS
 
When Fredy moves on to better things, everybody will remember where he started his league career, how he started it and against who...

throttling back!
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Seriously, I have seen enough to know Fredy will go on to great things and I suspect it will happen all too quickly for my liking!

Fredy Eastwood Appreciation Society: Current members 1
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[b said:
Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Oct. 18 2004,01:10)]Excellent review as always, fbm.

My random thoughts:

* What a brilliant game, in terms of both teams.  One of the best games I've seen at our level in ages.  Attacking, passing football - from both sides.  You can see why Swansea are up at the top... and that means that we deserve to be up there.  The transformation from the Cambridge game (my last home game) is massive.

*Amidst all the hyperbole (more of that later), the best player on the pitch was still Lee Trundle.  He absolutely carved us apart for both goals.  If only he worked harder for 90 minutes, there's no question he could play at "Championship" level, maybe even Premiership.

*Mystified at the comment above that someone thought Jupp had a bad game yesterday.  Thought he harried, he worked, he put in some stern challenges.  The gulf in class between him and Che Wilson (the only mediocre performer in blue yesterday) was massive.
What a pair of games to choose to come down for - I am clearly a good luck charm, and you fortunate people should club together and buy me a seaso and a book of Sleazy Jet tickets!

I said before the Swansea kick off "Eastwood on from the start? Does Tilly believe in Fairy Tales then?"... What do I know!

Excellent reports. Took my Bro again (he was the one that started taking me in '66) and delighted that he saw such an exciting game. His view:

Jupp - get rid (Sorry MtS, I didn't rate Jupp today either). Eastwood - genuine footballing instinct, which can't be taught. Wilson - get rid. Pettifer - not much cop. Hunt - not much cop. The rest - OK-ish (hard man to please, my bro!) His sage advice on Trundle? Clatter him and he will drop out of the game. He was duly clattered, and we didn't see him again really until the last 10.

We will play better than that and lose - good result but could really have gone either way.

Nice to be able to wear an SUFC shirt in Oxford just now...
 
A bit harsh on Che methinks. One average (not poor) performance amidst many good ones doesn't give rise to any panic yet.

Eastwood, Gray, Maher (in that order) were outstanding for me. Two solid performances from our centre halves and lastly a word or two for Hunt. Not many of us rate him as a centre midfielder but he got through a heck of a lot of work on Saturday. Although he doesn't have the strength of Bentley he seems to have his engine and must have been exhausted at the final whistle.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Kent Shrimper @ Oct. 18 2004,08:59)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] (fbm @ Oct. 18 2004,09:56)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Fredy Eastwood Appreciation Society: Current members 1  

Nah... current members about 20,000....
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and growing  
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Where did the 20000 come from? certainly not Grays!
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[b said:
Quote[/b] (Technician @ Oct. 18 2004,12:12)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Kent Shrimper @ Oct. 18 2004,08:59)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] (fbm @ Oct. 18 2004,09:56)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Fredy Eastwood Appreciation Society: Current members 1  

Nah... current members about 20,000....
biggrin.gif
and growing  
smile.gif
Where did the 20000 come from? certainly not Grays!  
biggrin.gif
you'd be suprised there ground is like a tardis apparently
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Agree pretty much with most of the ratings and comments but these are mine.

Clarke 6 I doubt we will see him play again , but did ok.

Jupp 6.5 Not one of his best games but he still is a good player.

Barrett 7 Dealt with trundle well and played with spirit.

Spinner 8.5 Best game so far and looked alot more interested

Cheese 6.5 Got caught out on a few occasions ,but always gives 100%

Gower 7 looking like the old confident gower until getting injured.

Maher 9 One of kevs best games. Never gets much praise but was a captain on saturday.

Hunt 7.5 Not a central midfielder , but worked hard for the cause and made a good contribution.

Pettifer 7.5 I am not a great lover of petts but his workrate is top draw and he covered a lot of grass on saturday.

Gray 9 Well i was thinking that we had signed a nightmare, but the last couple of games he has been awesome. MOM on another day.

Eastwood 10 I doesnt get any better than that. Good touch good control and the boy knows how to get the ball in the onion bag. Top man!!
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Corbett 8 If gower is injured then im sure that jimmy will do a very good job in his absence. Worked hard a did well.

Top performance although i thought we were poor in the first half. Good atmosphere again from the roots hall faithful and 4 points from the next two away games should set up a big crowd against the cobblers. More friday night football please Ron.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (tommytwoholes @ Oct. 18 2004,14:02)]Top performance although i thought we were poor in the first half.
Apart from a good 7.7 second spell somewhere close to the start of the half.

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