The ex-Leicester City youngster was offered a new deal to stay at Roots Hall, but the terms of the deal were reputedly some way below both the front man’s expectations and also the contract that he was on in the 2004/5 campaign, when he netted seven goals from 21 starts. Dudfield, whose wife gave birth to a child during the season and who now has a young family to support, was willing to accept a contract that would have matched previous levels.
Southend supporters were anxious to acquire the forwards’ services again for the new term as they believed that the front line of Freddy Eastwood and Wayne Gray required bolstering. However, the signing of Bermudan international Shaun Goater on Tuesday afternoon pre-empted a candid chat by manager Steve Tilson will fans at Great Wakering Rovers that evening, when the 39-year-old revealed that he was unwilling to make any sacrifices for Dudfield.
For his part, Dudfield himself refused to rejoin pre-season training with Blues, instead concentrating on clubs closer to his Kettering home. He started at Peterborough United, where boss Mark Wright questioned his application, but moved on to former side Northampton last weekend. He scored the winner against Cambridge United in another friendly, and that has prompted his capture by the Cobblers, who were beaten 1-0 on aggregate by Southend in last year’s League Two play-off semi-finals.
Manager Colin Calderwood was delighted with the move, which he described as “deliberately open-ended to suit both parties” to the club’s official website, www.ntfc.co.uk. “He goes straight into the squad for Saturday,” he revealed, adding, “We’ll just have to see how things go. He has got an opportunity to try and impress and if it goes well we’ll certainly try and take it further.”
Dudfield joined the Shrimpers from Town in February 2004, netting four times in seven games on loan from the Sixfields Stadium outfit before Steve Tilson managed to make the move permanent. He finished with a record of 13 goals from 58 appearances in southeast Essex, and we at TLG wish him all the best for the future.
Player Profile: One last look at Lawrie Dudfield | |||
Date of birth | 7 May 1980 | Height | 6ft 1in |
Place of birth | London, England | Weight | 13st 5lbs |
Nationality | English | Position | Forward |
Previous Clubs | Kettering Town, Leicester City, Lincoln City (loan), Chesterfield (loan), Hull City (£210K), Northampton Town (loan), Northampton Town | International honours | None |
Career History By Club | |||||
Team | Debut | Apps (+ sub) | Goals | Yellows | Reds |
Southend United | 13/03/2004 | 27(24) | 9 | 2 | 0 |
Southend United (loan) | 07/02/2004 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Northampton Town | 09/08/2003 | 13(11) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Northampton Town (loan) | 15/03/2003 | 8(2) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Hull City | 11/08/2001 | 46(20) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
Chesterfield (loan) | 05/12/2000 | 7(11) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Lincoln City (loan) | 16/09/2000 | 2(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Leicester City | 08/04/2000 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kettering Town | 15/11/1996 | 15 | 0 | - | - |
Totals | 15/11/1996 | 100(71) | 38 | 2 | 0 |
Career History By Competition | |||||
Competition | Appearances | As substitute | Goals | Yellows | Reds |
League | 95 | (+63) | 29 | 2 | 0 |
FA Cup | 2 | (+1) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
League Cup | 4 | (+1) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Other Matches | 24 | (+6) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Robert Craven
www.thelittlegazette.com