Jamie Stuart made a surprise return on Wednesday

The silence from Roots Hall has been deafening over the last 24 hours, exactly the time-period that the football club said they would make an announcement about the appointment of a new manager. With caretaker boss David Webb vowing to return to other business interests on the south coast, and having revealed in an interview with The Little Gazette in 2002 that he would not consider a Director of Football role, it seems more and more likely that Steve Tilson and Paul Brush, who has been coaching at Boots & Laces recently, will take control of tomorrow’s fixture. We at TLG will bring you any more news on the managerial situation as soon as we have it.

Having seen off Canvey Island with Jay Smith’s late late strike in the third minute of stoppage time at Park Lane in the F.A. Cup first round derby replay, the Shrimpers now return to Football League action, with the drop at the moment staring fans firmly in the face. Without a home League win since August 30^th, when Leon Constantine grabbed a last-minute winner, and having been demolished by four goals to nil by Yeovil Town last weekend at Huish Park, morale is low in the camp. Hopefully Wednesday night’s televised victory will have instilled some belief into a beleaguered squad.

Blues will have Neil Jenkins available for the final time before he sits out a three-match suspension for his dismissal against the Glovers, whilst Kevin Maher returns to League action having missed last Saturday’s debacle through a mixture of a one-match ban and a knee injury sustained in the original Canvey tie. Mark Warren’s ban will not start until the F.A. Cup second round fixture with Lincoln City at Roots Hall on December 6^th.

The return of a number of injured players has meant that only long-term victim Jamie Fullarton, who will not return until the new year, and Leke Odunsi, who remains a fortnight away from a comeback with his aggravating groin problem, are unavailable for tomorrow’s clash. Jamie Stuart made a surprise return at left-back for the trip to Park Lane, whilst Duncan Jupp impressed as a substitute at Huish Park. Both may be reinstated to the line-up for the ‘Dale game.

As a result the shaky Dave McSweeney and Warren may miss out in favour of that pair in the full-back position and loanee Lewis Hunt, who was pulled out of the Cup encounter by his club Derby County. Hunt appears likely to partner Cort in the centre, with both McSweeney and Warren relegated to the bench. Carl Emberson will join them there as the reserve goalkeeper, with Darryl Flahavan having levelled out his mistakes for both Gulls’ strikes in midweek by making some excellent second-half saves.

In midfield, Neil Jenkins may miss out should James Corbett slot back in on the right-hand side, with impressive playmaker Mark Gower on the left flank. With Maher and Cup hero Jay Smith in the centre, there will be no place for Steven Clark, Jenkins, Che Wilson or Michael Kightly, all of whom will be forced to jostle for positions on the bench. The quartet would be likely to start in next week’s Pontin’s Holidays Combination clash against Northampton Town at Sixfields.

Up front, once again, it seems crazy that United would even contemplate leaving Leon Constantine on the bench, although that may well be the case. The top scorer with seven goals in the current campaign has sat out the last four matches, without even coming on in three, and that is footballing suicide. Tesfaye Bramble seems assured of his place having netted his fourth goal of the season on two days ago – worryingly all of his strikes have come away from Roots Hall though. Drewe Broughton is likely to get the nod on the bench ahead of Michael Husbands.

The visitors have problems of their own, with four straight League defeats behind them. Manager Alan Buckley is doing his best to improve the 18^th-placed side, who have just five more points than their hosts tomorrow. The gaffer has managed to acquire the services of Walsall striker Andy Bishop on loan, the ex-Kidderminster loan player having scored seven goals in 30 games for the Harriers and having replaced Broughton in their line-up last season.

‘Dale have not won at Roots Hall since 1985, so their record suggests that this is just the match to get Blues season back on track. As they arrive in Essex this evening, the team coach will be without Paul Connor with a foot injury, Chris beech, suffering from a calf knock, Stephen Hill, out with an ankle complaint and Michael Simpkins, who has pulled a hamstring. Lee McEvilly’s ankle injury may rule him out as the Northern Ireland player fails to respond to treatment, whilst loanee midfielder Gary Jones is rated 50-50 for the game.

Whatever the side, whoever is the manager, the team needs our support more than ever at this time. If we can reproduce half of the atmosphere at Park Lane on Wednesday, then the side will be given a huge boost as we all try to steer clear of the drop zone and back up the Nationwide League table. So let’s get behind the Shrimpers!

TEAM DETAILS

Likely Squads

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Steve Tomlin (East Sussex)

Assistant Referees: Steve Chittenden (Hertfordshire), Matthew Knight (Sussex)

Lewes-based Tomlin will be taking charge of his thirteenth match of the season, having shown 43 yellow cards and three reds in his twelve games so far this season, predominantly in the Nationwide League. Two men - one from each side – were sent off in separate incidents as Bristol Rovers defeated Tranmere Rovers 2-0. He refereed last year’s F.A. Vase match between AFC Sudbury and Maldon Town without required recourse to his notebook, but his last Southend match saw Kevin Nugent sent off, correctly, for elbowing Damon Searle as Swansea City ran out 2-0 winners. TLG match reporter Mark Wallis awarded him four out of ten for his overall efforts.

TEAM FORM

Last Matches

Wednesday 19^th November 2003 – F.A. Cup first round replay @ Park Lane

Canvey Island 2 (Lee Boylan 10, Jeff Minton 45) Southend United 3 (Tesfaye Bramble 22, Jay Smith 46, 90+3) [attendance: 2,731]. Southend United line-up (4-4-2): Darryl Flahavan; Dave McSweeney, Leon Cort, Mark Warren, Jamie Stuart; Mark Gower, Jay Smith, Kevin Maher, Neil Jenkins; James Corbett, Tesfaye Bramble. Subs not used: Carl Emberson, Drewe Broughton, Steven Clark, Che Wilson, Leon Constantine.

Saturday 15^th November 2003 – Nationwide League Division Three @ Spotland

Rochdale 0 Kidderminster Harriers 1 (Matthew Gadsby 35) [attendance: 2,498]. Rochdale line-up (4-4-2): Neil Edwards; Wayne Evans, Daryl Burgess (Michael Simpkins 45), Gareth Griffiths, Simon Grand; Leo Bertos, Sean McClare, Gary Jones (Chris Beech 45), Patrick McCourt; Lee McEvilly (Mickael Antoine-Curier 45), Kevin Townson. Subs not used: Matthew Gilks, Matt Doughty.

Last Five Matches

Southend United

W3-2 (away; Canvey Island; F.A. Cup first round replay; Tesfaye Bramble, Jay Smith 2)

L0-4 (away; Yeovil Town; League Division Three)

D1-1 (home; Canvey Island; F.A. Cup first round; Mark Gower)

W2-1 (away; Swansea City; LDV Vans Trophy second round; Tesfaye Bramble; James Corbett)

L0-1 (home; Northampton Town; League Division Three)

Rochdale

L0-1 (home; Kidderminster Harriers; League Division Three)

W2-1 (away; Bury; F.A. Cup first round; Leo Bertos, Kevin Townson)

L1-2 (away; Leyton Orient; League Division Three; Lee McEvilly [pen])

L0-1 (home; Swansea City; League Division Three)

L1-2 (away; Doncaster Rovers; League Division Three; Kevin Townson)

Southend United home form

D1-1 (F.A. Cup first round; Canvey Island; Mark Gower)

L0-1 (League Division Three; Northampton Town)

L0-2 (League Division Three; Boston United)

L1-2 (League Division Three; Leyton Orient; Leon Constantine)

W2-1 (LDV Vans Trophy first round; Bristol Rovers; Leon Constantine, Mark Gower)

Rochdale away form

W2-1 (F.A. Cup first round; Bury; Leo Bertos, Kevin Townson)

L1-2 (League Division Three; Leyton Orient; Lee McEvilly [pen])

L1-2 (League Division Three; Doncaster Rovers; Kevin Townson)

W2-0 (League Division Three; Cheltenham Town; Kevin Townson, Leo Bertos)

L0-2 (LDV Vans Trophy; Carlisle United)

2003/4 SEASON

Southend United

Nationwide League Division Three (overall [home])

Played: 18 [9]

Won: 4 [2]

Drawn: 3 [1]

Lost: 11 [6]

Scored: 14 [7]

Conceded: 30 [14]

Goal Difference: -16 [-7]

Points: 15 [7]

Position: 23^rd [23^rd]

F.A. Cup

First Round: drew with Canvey Island (home) 1-1

First Round replay: beat Canvey Island (away) 3-2

Second Round: vs. Lincoln City on Saturday 6^th December 2003

Carling Cup

First Round: lost to Swindon Town (home) 2-3

LDV Vans Trophy

First Round: beat Bristol Rovers (home) 2-1 after silver goal extra time

Second Round: beat Swansea City (away) 2-1

Southern Section Quarter-Final: vs. Luton Town (home) on Tuesday 9^th December 2003

Rochdale

Nationwide League Division Three (overall[away])

Played: 18 [9]

Won: 5 [3]

Drawn: 5 [2]

Lost: 8 [4]

Scored: 24 [13]

Conceded: 25 [12]

Goal Difference: -1 [+1]

Points: 20 [11]

Position: 18^th [11^th]

F.A. Cup

First Round: beat Bury (away) 2-1

Second Round: vs. Luton Town (home) on Saturday 6^th December 2003

Carling Cup

First Round: lost to Stoke City (away) 1-2

LDV Vans Trophy

First Round: lost to Carlisle United (away) 0-2

THE HISTORY

Last Match

Last Five Meetings

18^th January 2003 – Southend United 1 (Tesfaye Bramble 89) Rochdale 0 – Third Division

31st August 2002 - Rochdale 1 Southend United 2 (Rawle 35, Bramble 83) - Third Division
9th March 2002 - Southend United 0 Rochdale 0 - Third Division
15th December 2001 - Rochdale 0 Southend United 1 (Broad 7) - Third Division
3^rd March 2001 - Southend United 3 (Whelan 30, Lee 44 [pen], 57) Rochdale 0 - Third Division

The Complete Head-to-Head Record

2002/3 – H1-0 A2-1 (League)

2001/2 – H0-0 A1-0 (League)

2000/1 – H3-0 A1-0 (League)

1999/2000 – H3-3 A0-2 (League)

1998/9 – H1-1 A0-1 (League)

1989/90 – H3-2 A1-0 (League)

1986/7 – H5-3 A2-1 (League)

1985/6 – H5-0 A1-2 (League)

1984/5 – H0-2 A2-2 (League)

1980/1 – H1-1 A2-0 (League)

1977/8 – H3-1 A2-1 (League)

1976/7 – H3-0 A0-0 (League)

1973/4 – H1-2 A1-1 (League)

1972/3 – H1-2 A2-3 (League)

1968/9 – H1-3 A0-3 (League)

1967/8 – H3-1 A1-0 (League)

1966/7 – H0-0 A2-1 (League)

1960/1 – A2-5 (League Cup)

1958/9 – H3-1 A1-1 (League)

Summary

Overall (37 matches)
Southend United 18
Rochdale: 10
Draws: 9

At Roots Hall (18 matches)
Southend United: 9
Rochdale: 4
Draws: 5

In The League (36 matches)
Southend United: 18
Rochdale: 9
Draws: 9

Robert Craven
www.thelittlegazette.com