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Broughton, who netted five goals in ten games whilst on loan for two months at Nene Park, as well as racking up a further five cautions to take his season’s tally to nine, will join the Chairboys on Friday for an initial two-month period as the Shrimpers look to off-load the 26-year-old again in order to retain the match fitness gleaned whilst at Rushden & Diamonds.
The Northamptonshire side were unable to afford the LDV Vans Trophy cult hero’s wages, and he returned to Southend on Monday morning. However, with Wycombe looking to find a strike partner for prolific former England Under-21 international marksman Nathan Tyson, Broughton will now have a chance to impress in a similar two-month period, and could earn himself a permanent deal with the Buckinghamshire outfit.
The front man, who hit home five goals in the 2002/3 run to the final of the LDV, will not come back to the Seasiders until after the area semi-final against Swindon Town at Roots Hall, but will not play against United in the two clubs’ Boxing Day clash at Adams Park.
He is currently well down the pecking order, with Freddy Eastwood and Wayne Gray being Steve Tilson’s current first choice and Tesfaye Bramble and Lawrie Dudfield both heaping on the pressure to be given their chance. Meanwhile, Michael Husbands returned to action at Boots & Laces in a low-key friendly against the Great Britain Deaf side, in a game that ended 0-0.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Tilson said, “Drewe feels he needs first team games at the moment and we can’t offer him that with the way our forwards are playing. By all accounts he did well at Rushden and I’m sure he will continue to do so with Wycombe. Who knows: by the time his loan is up we might be in a different situation here and need him for our first team”.
Goalkeeper Darryl Flahavan, as predicted here on TLG, is still some week-and-a-half away from a full return to fitness. The ex-Woking shotstopper still feels some pain when he puts pressure on his badly bruised heel, and as a result is looking at a good ten days on the sidelines. With the only possible run-out being the Essex Senior Cup quarter-final encounter with Canvey Island before the January 11th date in the Pontin’s Holidays Combination against Peterborough United, Flahavan could be consigned to the substitutes’ bench for some time.
Mark Wallis and Robert Craven
www.thelittlegazette.com