Matt Paterson: Shrimpers only goal scorer after three friendlies
Signed as a makeweight in the January transfer window that took top scorer Lee Barnard to Southampton, Matt Paterson drifted in and out of the side under then boss Steve Tilson.
To be fair to our ex-manager he did look a touch easy to knock off the ball at times, not surprising considering his age, however there was no doubt the boy had skill, his performance when coming on against Norwich, and a couple of other appearances as sub, showed Matt certinnly has talent.
And even luck with that goal against Charlton, always useful!
Then he wakes one morning, Tilly is gone, Paul Sturrock is installed, and within a fortnight Matt is in a squad with 12 strangers and the majority of players he trained with last season are going, gone, or just don't want to play for a team that doesn't guarantee their wages every month.
There were rumours of interest from a number of clubs for the Scottish born striker, again not surprising, there must have been an agent out there placing naughty thoughts in his ear about joining the exodus away from Roots Hall, and the Blair Sturrock signing could have been the final straw!
To his credit, according to a statement made after the Salisbury game to Blues Player, Matt has already expressed his wish to boss Sturrock senior that he wants to stay and fight for his place, where, if the embargo is lifted, there is now plenty of competition.
And master Paterson has not let himself down, picking up the ball against Derby County to show the new manager he has the confidence to be the penalty taker in the team, and palcing it in the back of the net; then coming on against Salisbury with the side struggling, and heading home an equaliser with six minutes remaining on the clock.
After three pre-season friendlies the two times he's found the net makes him the only Shrimper to do so!
Legaue Two with slower defenders and suspect shot stoppers could be the making of him, or he'll be hacked down in his first game and not seen again until Christmas, but we'll go for the former!
Good luck Matt, and thanks for staying.
The Paterson Files
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 18 October 1989 (1989-10-18) | ||
| Place of birth | Dunfermline, Scotland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Southend United | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 200?-2007 | Bournemouth | ||
| 2007-2008 | Southampton | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2008-2010 | Southampton | 18 | (2) |
| 2010- | Southend United | 15 | (2) |
| National team | |||
| 2008 | Scotland U19 | 2 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:33, 2 May 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). | |||
(Player information supplied by Wikipedia, for the full article go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Paterson)