Drewe Broughton always gave his best

Broughton was, as eluded to in the feature on Wayne Gray, the natural partner for the speedy front runner when the season began. That is certainly how Steve Tilson viewed the situation, with the affectionately ‘Drewe-d’ forward starting the opening match against Cheltenham Town. It soon became clear, though, that Broughton was not going to feature too heavily, despite his whole-hearted displays.

Never was this more the case than at the Boleyn Ground. Drewe gave his all for ninety minutes, but after twelve of those, he missed a guilt-edged headed chance from eight yards out to cancel out Marlon Harewood’s opener. He never recovered from that, and the following match against Bristol Rovers was his last start for Blues.

Just over a month later, his Shrimpers career as a whole was over. He was brought on in the debacle that was Darlington away, and after being booked for a midfield lunge, was then on the receiving end of a poor tackle and was ruled out whilst the rest of the pack surpassed him. He spent time on loan at Rushden & Diamonds, appeared on the pitch whilst at Wycombe Wanderers and finally returned to Nene Park towards the end of the season. Everyone wishes him well, but cannot mourn his departure too much.

Most peculiar of all the players to have left Roots Hall was the case of Jimmy Corbett. In April, after staggering out of a Cardiff nightclub late one April evening (coincidentally the one on which United lost against Wrexham in extra time), he was called into action for the reserves a couple of days later and promptly went AWOL.

Mark Gower mentioned it in his Southend Evening Echo column, and everyone thought it was a joke. It wasn’t. Corbett went missing, and Steve Tilson immediately announced his departure from Roots Hall. It was a sad end to what, injuries notwithstanding, should have been a glittering career with the Shrimpers. He started just one match, and scored just one goal, a technically brilliant strike at Glanford Park in a 3-2 defeat to Scunthorpe United. It was period in southeast Essex that promised much, much more than it yielded.

Former Aston Villa youngster Michael Husbands was another lost talent for Blues. However, he never got as close as Corbett to proving himself, appearing, tantalisingly, as a substitute just twice in 2004/5. It was a long way from his debut, when he and Drewe Broughton were shrouded with plaudits against Cheltenham Town twelve months earlier.

Husbands had stayed at Roots Hall during the summer, and in doing so, was trying to prove Ron Martin and Steve Tilson wrong after they made him available to transfer. The impasse lasted just a week or so, and then Husbands returned to the reserves. He was again made available, despite impressing and scoring against Oxford United. Husbands made a lot of noise, bemoaning his lack of chances, went on trial at Forest Green Rovers and then disappeared into the sunset.

A wasted talent. There is no other way to describe Tesfaye Bramble. He had all the ability in the League Two world, and could, and should, have been a star. He never made it, and that was almost undoubtedly down to a lack of application, not effort. He did not possess a footballing brain, and he showed it with a reckless dismissal on the opening day against Cheltenham Town.

That set Bramble on the back foot for the campaign, and he took some time to get back into the side. When he did, the results were, for a time, spectacular. He scored with a bullet header against Rushden & Diamonds, and added another fine strike against the old enemy, Colchester United, in the LDV Vans Trophy first round. All in the garden seemed rosy, and a brilliant all-round performance (up front and in goal) against Boston United, ultimately ended his time with Blues.

Bramble was injured whilst deputising in goal for Darryl Flahavan after the regular custodian was sent off. It sent him out of the side, and from then on in, Freddy Eastwood was the mercurial, maverick, forward. Bramble’s thunder was stolen, and after a series of mainly substitute appearances, he went off to Cambridge United on loan. The doomed U’s were thankful for his three-goal intervention, but he was injured again in the Play-Off semi-final against Northampton Town. It was his last chance to win a contract and, this time, he failed.

Robert Craven
www.thelittlegazette.com