Craig Easton: Will he stay or will he go?
According to his agent Captain Craig Easton is on his way from Roots Hall after refusing a new deal.
The former Swindon midfielder joined the club during Blues boss Paul Sturrock's summer revolution and was immediatly named the Shrimpers new skipper.
Though having the odd spell out with injury Easton has been a hard worker in the Southend engine room and many believed was a great help in the rise to fame of Kane Ferdinand, allowing the young Irishman to play further forward and looking a better all-round prospect.
We will also not forget that last minute winner against Wycombe Wanderers last season in a hurry!
However, as he approaches the veteran stage a drop in pay, presuming that was what the club were offering, after his present one year deal ended led to the news that he was indeed talking to cubs in both League Two and Scotland, he spent nine years at Dundee United man and boy, and this has all now been confirmed by Easton's agent, Clive Hart.
Hart told www.skysports.com: "Craig has turned down the offer of a new deal at Southend and will leave the club. Craig is a free agent and I am talking to a number of clubs about a possible deal for him."
Of course, this could be a typical agent ploy to try and get Southend to increase what's on the table, but we're fairly certain that isn't going to happen.
And Echo journalist Chris Phillips has tweeted: 'Craig Easton has NOT told Southend he will definitely be leaving. He's rejected initial offer of a contract but talks are still ongoing.'
Even so, this will leave Luggy hoping that Crystal Palace midfielder Alassane N'Diaye does indeed sign on the dotted line, with an answer expected sometime Wednesday as the Eagles youngster looks over personal terms covering a season long loan.
Whether this also means the club are still looking at former loanee and out of contract Swindon Town middle of the park man Michael Timlin we will wait and see.
Only last month Captain Craig was optimistic of remaining at Roots Hall: www.southendunited-mad.co.uk
The Easton Files
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Craig Easton | ||
| Date of birth | 26 February 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Bellshill, Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Central midfield | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Southend United | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995-1996 | Dundee United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1996-2004 | Dundee United | 221 | (12) |
| 2004-2005 | Livingston | 30 | (3) |
| 2005-2007 | Leyton Orient | 71 | (5) |
| 2007-2010 | Swindon Town | 75 | (8) |
| 2010- | Southend United | 31 | (4) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1998-2001 | Scotland U21 | 22 | (2) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 06:01, 19 March 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:28, 26 March 2010 (UTC) |
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(Player info supplied by Wikipedia, for the full article go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Easton)