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Who was the greater Southend legend?


  • Total voters
    21
  • Poll closed .

Yorkshire Blue

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Joined
Oct 27, 2003
Messages
40,952
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Our 8th clash of the opening round sees two full-backs(?) up against each other, so hopefully an easier one for Mick to make comparisons.
 
Has to be Tony Bentley.Andy Ford was nowhere near as good a player.Like others here I've seen and talked to TB in the Shrimpers bar(though he didn't buy me drink).;)
How many ex-players would prefer to drink in the Shrimpers and talk to real fans rather than be cosseted in the DB?
Tony had a great engine and made overlapping look easy.He absolutely oozed class even in the fourth division.Stoke's loss was our gain.
 
Tony Bentley was the man. Came to us as a winger and ended up one of the best defenders we ever had. Andy Ford not in the same league(!). Tony kept a decent cafe/shop on the seafront as well after he packed in the game. TB for me.
 
This is not a contest....TB was a great defender and one of the best players of that era....Andy Ford Pfft.
 
Nominated Andy Ford for this. Remember watching him as a kid could always be relied on to give a decent cross, defend well and was a very underated solid defender.
Memeory play tricks on me now but can anyone confirm whether he won player of the year? Seem to recal it being 1976/77 season and as with most of our player of the years left the next season!!
 
This will be a walkover for Tony Bentley another stalwart of my early days at Roots Hall. Good solid reliable full back at this level, I can remember him scoring some great long range efforts, and his name being sung to the Trumpet Voluntary tune.
 
No disrespect to Andy Ford, but for me, this is a complete mismatch. Tony Bentley was probably the best right back to play for Southend.

Off the pitch, Tony would always find time to chat to the fans, be it in the Shrimpers or his seafront cafe near the Castle pub.

Tony Bentley gets my vote.
 
Andy Ford was from "my" era of supporting SUFC, just before Steve Yates came in and made that slot his own. A gent of the game, never a dirty player, just solid and reliable......plus he had a great 'tache!
 
Tony Bentley for me, by a country mile. He was a good defender, if a bit on the short side, and a superb, attacking, overlapping full back in the days before the idea of full backs attacking had caught on.
 
Tony Bentley for me, by a country mile. He was a good defender, if a bit on the short side, and a superb, attacking, overlapping full back in the days before the idea of full backs attacking had caught on.

Tony arrived as a winger, quickly converted to wing half and finally re-converted to full back - hence the excellent overlapping.

He also coached us at school.

Always has time for a chat when he's over from Canada.

A star.
 
Tony arrived as a winger, quickly converted to wing half and finally re-converted to full back - hence the excellent overlapping.

He also coached us at school.

Always has time for a chat when he's over from Canada.

A star.

Well said Ray - no contest
 
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