It's only three steps to Wembley - step 1
Benson: 'I have never scored a competitive goal at Roots Hall'
Many felt that forward Paul Benson was taking on a step too far when he went to League One Charlton Athletic after his scoring exploits with Dagenham & Redbridge in the lower leagues.
Well, after a tough start, he's knocked that on the head with six goals in 12 appearances for the Addicks, and Paul will hopefully start for his new side against Southend United in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Area Quarter-Final at Roots Hall Tuesday evening.
However, the former White Ensign striker will have a keen supporter in the crowd who also hopes he has a good game, but maybe not a scoring one, his Dad Charlie, a Shrimpers season card holder.
Benson told www.echo-news.co.uk: "My dad is a massive Southend fan and will be cheering for them tonight not me. His argument is that he supported them before I was even born so he won't be changing now."
And if he does grab a goal against his home town club?
Paul continued: "He won't be happy if I score either. I did score a couple against Southend in a pre-season friendly for Dagenham once and he didn't talk to me for a little while after. If I score tonight then I'm expecting more of the same and I probably won't be getting any Christmas presents off him either. It's all good fun though and I fully understand where he's coming from."
Paul himself held a season ticket at Roots Hall between the ages of eight and 14, and after an unsuccesful senior trail with Blues Two's, he also had a year with the youth team in 1997, he went on to score 70 goals in 156 games for the Daggers.
The boy Benson concluded: "I have never scored a competitive goal at Roots Hall and that was always a dream of mine as Southend are my home-town club. I've done it in a reserve game when I was on trial at Southend but it would be better to do it in a match which really mattered, even if my dad won't be happy."
The Benson Files
| Full name | Paul Andrew Benson[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 12 October 1979 (1979-10-12) | ||
| Place of birth | Southend-on-Sea, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Charlton Athletic | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1997 | Southend United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003-2005 | White Ensign | 62 | (107) |
| 2005-2010 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 174 | (70) |
| 2010- | Charlton Athletic | 11 | (6) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007 | England C | 1 | (1) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:30, 3 November 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:35, 9 August 2009 (UTC) | |||
(Player information supplied by Wikipedia, for the full article go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Benson)