Dudfield has been signed primarily to deal with the goal-shy attitude of the forwards at Roots Hall since the turn of the year – in matches against York City (0-0), Mansfield Town (0-1) and Doncaster Rovers (0-2) United have drawn blanks and indeed have managed just one League goal since Boxing Day when Drewe Broughton scored against Cheltenham Town in the first Third Division fixture of 2004.
However, some may cite the return of Tesfaye Bramble and James Corbett in the Essex Senior Cup stra time victory over Wivenhoe Town on Tuesday night as reason to be positive going into the two-legged LDV Vans Trophy southern section final against local rivals Colchester United and, perhaps more importantly, home games against Cambridge United (on Saturday) and Kidderminster Harriers (February 14th), coupled with a clash against East London outfit Leyton Orient a week later.
Tilson, who will have seen Dudfield perform in the right-midfield role which he came accustomed to at Sixfields in the 2-2 Pontin’s Holidays Cup draw there in November, although he did not feature in the Combination encounter between the two sides, explained to the club’s official website, www.southendunited.co.uk, “He will be a great addition to the squad. I have had my eye on him for a little while now and as soon as we can get him acquinted with the lads the better”. The forward has been out since Christmas with a toe injury.
23-year-old Dudfield, who was born in
The forward has been out since Christmas with a toe injury although he has found first team appearances hard to come by this term amainly thanks to the same knee injury which resulted in a disappointing season in
Robert Craven & Mark Wallis