The latest former Blue to join the Tilly revolution as an Imp
After some weeks of speculation ex-Shrimpers midfielder Jean-Francois Christophe will join his fellow Frenchman Francis Laurent, and don't forget one Nicky George Nicolau, on signing for Tilly's Lincoln City, who have not found life in the Blue Square Premier easy with two home defeats already meaning they have not got points at Sincil Bank in a any form since beating, erm, us, last March! (They've lost six on the trot since that 2-1 win, a club record!)
Christophe will put pen to paper on a one-year deal subject to international clearance after agreeing to a deal in principle but the club wanted to assess his fitness after a thigh injury.
Tilson told BBC Lincolnshire: "He's almost there with his thigh, I think now it's just a mental thing with him. He's done everything but shooting, but he'll definitely be involved because he's different to what we've got."
Jean-Francois started out with French Ligue 1 club RC Lens before joining Portsmouth in 2007 where he went on to make several loan spells for various clubs until joining Southend United, also on loan before making the move permanent in 2008.
He made 65 appearances in two seasons with Southend and left the Essex boys with Laurent during the 2010 summer of disconsent where unpaid and unbowed they told us they were too good for League Two.
Well, they're in the Premier division now, but possibily not the one they were hoping for.
However, anybody who says the following about the little shit that is Nicky Bailey can be forgiven anything.
French Connection pulls out of Roots Hall: www.southendunited-mad.co.uk
Won Tuesday evening though, away, & no former Blues until 90th minute!: http://news.bbc.co.uk
| 10 | Luton Town | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 5 | +4 |
| 11 | Forest Green Rovers | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 5 | +3 |
| 12 | Newport County | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 5 | +3 |
| 13 | Darlington | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 14 | Lincoln City | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 4 | -1 |
| 15 | Cambridge United | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | -1 |
| 16 | Hayes & Yeading United | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 4 | -3 |
| 17 | Kettering Town | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 4 | -4 |
| 18 | Grimsby Town | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 4 | -6 |
Southend United 1 Charlton Athletic 2; (played on Friday, February 26th, 2010.)
Match Report: www.southendunited-mad.co.uk
There's no letting up on the war of words after Friday's game where the dubious antics of Charlton's Nicky Bailey helped Blues midfielder Jean-Francois Christophe receive a red card and a four match ban.
With former midfielder Nicky Bailey entering a twilight zone where his old manager Steve Tilson is the bad guy and he only gives '110%', which to be fair he does, when trying to get fellow professional sent off, it's time to hear from the real victim in this whole sorry affair.
Midfielder Jean-Francois Christophe will now serve a four match suspension missing matches during the vital month of March that will see if the Shrimpers can survive in League One or not.
He is in no doubt who the villan of the piece is.
Christophe told www.southendunited.co.uk: "I just pushed him in the chest - I never hit him - and he fell to the floor like I had punched him in the face. The next thing I see is him rolling around like a dog - it's a bit embarrassing. I was disappointed to see that, we are on the pitch to play football. I know I shouldn't have pushed him but the way he reacted he knew exactly what he was doing which is bad for football and bad for us."
Phew, tell us what you think Jeff.
The hard working Frenchman did accept his involvement in the incident and the sending off that followed left the remaining Shrimpers with a mountain to climb, which they just failed to do!
Christophe continued: "The strangest thing was that the referee only gave Bailey a yellow card which I felt was harsh. The referee didn't say anything to me. I just said 'did you see what he did to me' and he just gave me the red card. At the end of the game I apologised to my team-mates as it was wrong of me to get involved like that."
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jean-François Christophe | ||
| Date of birth | 27 June 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Creil, France | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Lincoln City | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2007 | RC Lens | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2007–2008 | Portsmouth | 0 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | → Bournemouth (loan) | 11 | (1) |
| 2008 | → Yeovil Town (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2008 | → Southend United (loan) | 14 | (1) |
| 2008–2010 | Southend United | 55 | (4) |
| 2010 | Oldham Athletic | 1 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Compiègne | 3 | (0) |
| 2011– | Lincoln City | 0 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:43, 29 January 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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