Southend United vs. Boston United - Preview

Mark Gower is disappointed not to meet up with Gazza

There were many cries when Blues announced that there would be five Friday night fixtures this season. Correctly, they asserted that Southend United should have promoted their intentions before many had purchased the early (and therefore cheaper) season tickets. Meekly, United replied that they did not know how the matches would be decided by the Football Association.

The plain facts are thus. The dates for England internationals (of which a significant number of Blues’ seven Friday night matches overall) had already been decided. The dates from which the football calendar was to be plucked were known. Therefore the club knew that if they were to be pulled out at home on those days, then they may want to move matches back to the Friday night, rather than play it on a Saturday afternoon.

In addition to that, there are other games on which the Shrimpers will be playing on Friday nights, without an England international the next day. Usually in a season there will be one such occasion – over the past few years Scunthorpe United have ‘benefited’ from an early weekend jaunt down the east coast, as have Cheltenham Town from the West Country. There are more this season, and therefore it was a concerted Blues effort.

Finally on this thorny subject, Southend even requested more dates to be moved. Wycombe Wanderers, for instance, rejected the Seasiders’ advances for the recent encounter to be moved back fifteen hours. The club knew, and they did not inform the fans who fork out good money for a season ticket. But now that is all said and done, and anyone with a massive problem will have taken up the somewhat pitiful offering of a voucher-based seaso instead. I wonder if anybody actually tried to return their ticket?

One of the main pulls of such a game could have been an England international. Many floating fans may have been enticed to Roots Hall tonight to see ex-Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio and Glasgow Rangers, not to mention Middlesbrough, Burnley and numerous other sides, midfielder Paul Gascoigne strut his stuff for fifteen minutes.

Reports even suggest that Gazza was more than willing to run up and down the touchline signing autographs for the masses of supporters who remember his exploits for the national side in Italia ’90 and Euro ’96. He left the Pilgrims, though, on Tuesday, to earn a coaching certificate and concentrate on management, rather than playing at League Two standard, for his future.

One man who is perhaps more disappointed than most is a former Spurs colleague, Mark Gower. The Edmonton-born midfield playmaker started his career at the White Hart Lane club’s Centre of Excellence as he was breaking his leg in the 1991 FA Cup final and wowing people with that free-kick against David Seaman of rivals Arsenal a round earlier. Needless to say, Gower was excited at the prospect of playing with one of his heroes.

“For me personally, I’m gutted”, the 27-year-old told the Southend Evening Echo yesterday, “I used to go and watch him every week and, growing up, he was my hero really”. Despite being thwarted, Gower has vowed to get Blues back on track after the humiliation of a 4-0 defeat to Darlington six days ago. “It’s a shame he’s gone, but the most important thing is for us to get the three points and steady the ship after the game at Darlington last weekend”.

The Londoner is not the only man with a point to prove. Tesfaye Bramble appeared a little lacklustre, albeit with shoddy service, at the Williamson Motors Stadium, and having scored just his second goal of the season against Colchester United three days previously, he and Wayne Gray are now under pressure to deliver the goods after the arrival of Freddy Eastwood on loan for a month from Grays Athletic.

The 2001/2 top goalscorer, who has nearly half of all the goals scored by forwards in the thirteen games so far this season, told the club’s official website, www.southendunited.co.uk, “I’m confident I can score goals at this level. I got a good goal at Colchester last week, but it was disappointing not to follow it up with another one at Darlington”.

And the 24-year-old ex-Cambridge City front man, who currently stands on 39 career goals for the Shrimpers, easily the club’s leading scorer on the books, added, “I didn’t have many chances in that game, but I want to get as many goals as I possibly can, starting against Boston because I haven’t scored at Roots Hall for a while”.

That last declaration is something of an understatement. The brother of Newcastle defender Titus has not scored a Roots Hall goal in some ten-and-a-half months at the Seasiders’ home, having bagged a brace in the 4-0 win against Rochdale. That spell covers seventeen matches, only five of which have been as a substitute.

As a result of United’s profligacy in front of goal, and with Lawrie Dudfield (two weeks) out with a thigh strain and Drewe Broughton (three days) missing thanks to the eight stitches he had inserted into his head after being booked in the northeast last Saturday, manager Steve Tilson has acquired the services of former West Ham United youngster Eastwood.

Having opened his Southend scoring account at the New Den on Tuesday afternoon in the 2-1 reserve team defeat to Millwall, the 20-year-old is now set to start his first-team career with a place on the bench, raring to go as Bramble and Gray are given their third consecutive opportunity to impress Tilson and head coach Paul Brush.

Lewis Hunt is one midfield option to replace Bentley

As well as their difficulties up front, the management duo also have selection dilemmas in midfield as two high-profile central midfielders are forced to sit out tonight’s fixture. Jay Smith is now back in full time training, but after spending eight months on the sidelines with a plate inserted into his foot, he will not be considered for the first team before he has at least played in one reserve team match – either the October 27th clash against Gillingham or an Essex Senior Cup third round tie yet to be decided.

Mark Bentley, meanwhile, received the bad news that he had not had his red card from apparently stamping on Stephen Hunt’s head in extra time of the LDV Vans Trophy first round clash with Colchester United at Layer Road whilst the second-string were tackling the Lions. It may be no coincidence that Lewis Hunt immediately moved into the middle of the field just before the hour mark to get thirty minutes in the centre of the park.

Club captain Kevin Maher will certainly start there, but other than Hunt there are options. Both of United’s wide men, playmaker Gower and former Portsmouth talent Carl Pettefer, prefer roles in the middle, and the latter could certainly be switched if Michael Kightly was selected to play out wide. Jimmy Corbett is another possibly, having plied his trade in the reserves as a midfield maestro in the past six months. His energy and enthusiasm, as well as an eye for goal, is most likely to resemble that of Bentley, who will miss three matches in all.

A further option available to Tilson is moving Che Wilson to the middle, where he was so successful in pre-season, from his left-back berth, where he struggled to cope with American college player Adolfo Gregorio against the Quakers. In that instance, Nicky Nicolau, who conceded the penalty against Millwall reserves in midweek, could come back into favour. Duncan Jupp will almost certainly start at right-back.

In the centre, Adam Barrett and Spencer Prior struggled to recreate their form before the latter was rested in the LDV to allow Andy Edwards to get some match practice in. The second of United’s veteran centre-halves has a case for a return after another solid, if unspectacular, display in Blues’ Twos three days ago. Barrett will definitely retain his place.

In goal, despite Bentley’s suspension – he was the nominated reserve goalkeeper with Bart Griemink still at least a fortnight away from a return after an MRI scan this week – Darryl Flahavan is still likely to be the only shotstopper named in the squad. Nick Morgan is certainly available, with the youth team travelling to Brighton & Hove Albion tomorrow.

Boston, as well as being without Gascoigne, will be unable to call upon his possible replacement, Ciaran Donnelly, a prodigious midfielder currently on the books of Blackburn Rovers. The youngster had been lined up for a loan swoop, but with Rovers boss Mark Hughes still undertaking duties as Wales manager this weekend, a deal is not likely to be struck.

Mark Greaves is another who will miss out, having sat on the sidelines for the last few matches with a side strain, whilst boss Steve Evans will wait until the last possible moment to make a decision on goalkeeper Nathan Abbey, who is rated as 50-50 to make the team after a bout of illness. If not, then Paul Bastock, himself just back from injury, will deputise, having faced the Shrimpers in the previous four League meetings between the clubs.

LIKELY SQUADS

REFEREE: Andy Woolmer (Northamptonshire FA)

ASSISTANT REFEREES: Glenn Hambling (Norfolk FA) and Rayford Lee (Essex FA)

 

 

Robert Craven
www.thelittlegazette.com