BLUES
Tickets: £10 Adults, £7 Seniors & Students, £1 under 16's.
Blues boss Steve Tilson may have to make as many as five changes to his starting line-up for tonight's cup replay v AFC Telford from the team that started against Tranmere. And he wants those replacements to take their opportunities to impress. (Francis Laurent starts a three-game ban today so will next be available for a possible cup second round but certainly the match at Leicester on December 6.)
Speaking to the Southend Evening Echo Tilly said: "It's the same as it was in the first game with AFC Telford and those that are coming in need to show me what they can do. This is a chance for them to prove they should be in more regularly."
Steve Mildenhall, Alan McCormack, Anthony Grant and James Walker all seem set to start and so could Damian Scannell if Alex Revell fails to recover from a calf strain. They will be looking to keep their place in the side for Saturday's clash with Oldham Athletic and will want to go into that game on the back of a win.
But Tilly knows the non-leaguers will be desperate to cause an upset: "This will be their cup final. We know what to expect and we have to make sure we approach the game in the right way."
Striker Dougie Freedman is still out with a thigh problem while Lee Barnard is unlikely to come back from his hamstring strain: "I think it's still a bit too early for Barney to be involved again," added Tilson.
Possible Starting X1: Mildenhall, Francis, Clarke, Barrett, Herd, Betsy, McCormack, Christophe, Grant, Walker, Revell (Scannell), Walker.
So, as possibly the only central striker standing, James Walker is determined to show the Roots Hall faithful what they've been missing.
Also speaking to the Echo James said: "In the games I've had so far this season I think I've done OK but not as well as I could've done," confessed Walker. "They haven't really gone that well for me but hopefully I'll get another chance tonight and I can do more with it. I need to show the manager what I can do. I need to work hard for the team and run around a lot too. It would also be great to get a couple of goals and then I can go on from there."
Walker came on a substitute when Blues drew 2-2 at AFC Telford 10 days ago: "The pitch was very small at their place and everything was quite congested. They put 10 men behind the ball and made things very difficult for us. It will be different this evening though and I think we will be able to get at them a bit more. We know we have to work for the win but I think we're going to get through."
The winners of tonight's tie will host either Altrincham or Luton Town in the second round who also replay tonight.
Left back Johnny Herd will be making his full home debut tonight to show off his skills, as well as that killer throw, after TLG made him Man of the Match in the first game back on November 8.
The 19-year-old, who is a product of the club's youth system, will again replace Dan Harding in the Shrimpers back four. He is also determined to help his side avoid a shock defeat against AFC Telford: "I'm very excited at the prospect of making my home debut. It's something you will always look back on and remember, I just hope it's for the right reasons. We don't want to become the victims of an FA Cup upset and AFC Telford have already shown us what they are capable of so we have to be on form."
Only an injury time equaliser from Jean-Francois Christophe stopped Southend suffering a defeat against the Blue Square North side.
But Herd is confident of avoiding similar complications this evening: "If we play like we can then we will go through," said Herd who joined the Shrimpers as a 15-year-old. "Personally I want to go out and play like I did at their place and I want to also show the Southend fans what I am capable of. It's my best chance of being involved at the moment. If we win tonight then we're at home again in the second and it would be great if we could get a run going."
Blues other full-back Simon Francis will also be looking forward to featuring tonight as he makes his 100th appearance for the club.
The 23-year-old signed from Sheffield United in the summer of 2006 and is proud to be clocking up his century: "It's a good landmark and one I'm obviously pleased with. But we can't afford to think that just because they are in Blue Square North that we're going to win tonight. We saw in the first game what can happen and there were a lot of other shocks that day. Telford drawing with us was probably one of them but if we play like we can then we won't have a problem. It's a great competition to be in and we want to stay in as long as we can."
OPPOSITION
Pub Quiz notes; Telford is the 39th largest city or town in England in terms of population, this gives AFC Telford United a potential fan base of 138,241 people in the immediate area. Towns such as Wigan, Reading and Blackburn have been able to sustain a Premier League team with similar catchment profile.
The town is also earmarked for further expansion over the next 10 years with the population expected to increase to 250,000. This population expansion would place AFC Telford United in the top 10 for potential local fanbases in England.
Blue Square North
1 Tamworth 15 4 2 1 14 8 5 3 0 17 7 9 5 1 31 15 32 +16 2 Harrogate Town 15 6 1 0 17 4 3 3 2 10 7 9 4 2 27 11 31 +16 3 Southport 15 5 2 2 17 8 4 2 0 9 2 9 4 2 26 10 31 +16 4 Stalybridge Celtic 15 2 4 2 16 12 5 1 1 14 8 7 5 3 30 20 26 +10 5 AFC Telford United 14 5 3 0 14 5 2 2 2 6 6 7 5 2 20 11 26 +9 6 Hinckley United 15 3 2 2 8 5 4 2 2 14 9 7 4 4 22 14 25 +8
In the midst of such an exciting FA Cup run, AFC Telford's re-emergence as Blue Square North title contenders has almost gone unnoticed. Less than two months back, they were some 10 points off the blistering pace that was set by early front-runners Southport. Now, after extending their unbeaten run to 15 games thanks to James Meredith's first goal for the club, they are right back in it. They now lie six points adrift of Tamworth, who have taken over at the top, but - with a game in hand - could find themselves breathing down the necks of the Warwickshire side by Christmas.
Boss Rob Smith has always insisted the league was his No 1 priority this season, but he admitted he had to work hard to make sure his players kept their eyes on the prize in this one. With their big FA Cup replay at Southend looming large this evening, it was understandable that a few minds might have wandered ahead. The evidence of the last week was enough of a warning of what could have happened on Saturday.
Blyth Spartans, conquerors of Shrewsbury in the Cup, then fell at Harrogate in the league in midweek, while Droylsden - so determined in taking Darlington to a replay - followed up by losing to lowly Solihull Moors. Telford could easily have gone the same way against a Gateshead side who are more than useful.
So many teams have come to the New Bucks Head this season and thrown men behind the ball, happy to settle for a draw if possible. Not the Tynesiders. Their intentions were clear from the outset, and they had enough in their armoury going forward to cause Telford problems. Craig Nelthorpe was a livewire on the wing, while the front two of Graeme Armstrong and Lee Novak have been in prolific form. Nine goals in the last two league games was a record that had to be taken seriously, and that the Bucks came away with another clean sheet was testament to the fine performance of the back four.
This was a victory built on the foundation of a solid defence, with Stuart Whitehead and Gavin Cowan both superb at the heart of it. Armstrong might have notched after just seven minutes when played through one-on-one with keeper Ryan Young, but fired over as the big No 1 came out to narrow the angle. That apart, though, Gateshead rarely threatened the goal despite plenty of forays forward. And, with that solid base at the back, it was Telford who always looked the more dangerous of the two sides.
They had to be patient, as chances were few and far between in the first half, but they improved after the break following a lecture from Smith, who told them in no uncertain terms to forget about Southend and focus on the job in-hand. One man who had no choice but to do that was Danny Carey-Bertram, the striker being cup-tied in any case. And it was he who looked the most likely to unlock the Gateshead defence.
He had a penalty appeal rejected after a tussle with James Curtis and was later denied by a superb tackle from the same player before playing a part in the goal when it finally did come. His header was blocked on the line by full-back Craig Baxter but Meredith was quickest to react and stabbed in the loose ball.
Credit to Gateshead's manager Ian Bogie, who refused to throw in the towel and instead beefed up his attack with some bold substitutions. But the Bucks held firm to extend their unbeaten home record still further.
Telford's form is clearly having an impact on attendances, too. A crowd of more than 2,000 was very impressive indeed, especially as this was a fourth consecutive home game at a time when many people are having to tighten the purse-strings. More performances like this should ensure they keep coming back for more.
Meanwhile, Essex boy Gavin Cowan heads 'home' tomorrow as AFC Telford United travel to Southend for their big FA Cup replay - and the defender believes an upset is on the cards.
The experienced centre-back turned in an eye-catching display on Saturday as Telford extended their unbeaten run to 15 games with a 1-0 victory over Gateshead in the Blue Square North. And the former Canvey Island, Shrewsbury and Grays man believes they can go to Roots Hall for their first round replay oozing with confidence.
"Opportunities like this don't come along too often for players who play in the upper echelons of non-League," he said. "We're really looking forward to it and we fancy our chances - we never go anywhere thinking we're not going to get a result. There's a team every year that does it. We've seen Chasetown do it and loads of others in the history of the FA Cup, so why not us? Why can't it be AFC Telford this year? I've got a lot of family over that way and a lot of friends, and I think plenty of them are making the trip so I'm buzzing about it."
Cowan admits that winning promotion remains the chief goal this season, and to that end he was delighted to see loan man James Meredith net his first goal for the club to beat Gateshead. The victory had added significance for Cowan as it came just two days after the death of his uncle.
"My Uncle Bob died on Thursday so I'm glad we got the result because it means I can dedicate it to him," he said. "We're aware the league is our main priority and the gaffer made that very clear before the game. Gateshead are exceptional going forward. They've got two great front men and they're very dangerous out wide. We just competed and dealt with it. We've got a back four who are starting to gel and we just battled."
PREVIOUSLY
Played 2: Won 1 Drawn 1 Lost 0.
Of course the actual second was the reason for this replay. On Saturday November 8, at Telford's New Bucks Head ground, we drew 2-2 with the French Foreign Legion, Laurent and Christophe, coming to the rescue.
REF
The man in the middle is Iain Williamson from Berkshire who is in his 6th season as a League referee.
This will be his ninth Southend match in charge including a memorable appearance at Roots Hall when, as 4th official, he held up the numbers board at our historic victory over Manchester United!
FIXTURES - F.A. Cup First Round Replays
Tuesday November 18 2008 (all 19.45 kick-off); Altrincham v Luton, Barrow FC v Eastbourne Borough, Dag & Red v Hereford, Dorchester v Oxford Utd, Droylsden v Darlington, Fleetwood Town v Leiston, Grays Athletic v Carlisle, Hartlepool v Brighton, Lincoln City v Kettering, Oldham v Cheltenham, Rochdale v Barnet, Rotherham v Aldershot, Stockport v Yeovil.
Result from Monday November 17: Northampton Town 2 Leeds United 5
A Beckford hat-trick helps Leeds face giant-killers Histon away. Full report here: www.leedsunited-mad.co.uk/news/loadrprt.asp?cid=MTCH&id=417673
BET
Southend United (4/11) Draw (9/2) AFC Telford United (9).
9/1, two horserace, most of the strikers out, no Federici, Harding, Sawyer, .........no, it can't happen.
For a full update on all the footy cup odds go to: www.oddschecker.com/football/english/fa-cup.
HISTORY
The town of Telford's original football club, Telford United, were experiencing severe financial difficulties towards the end of the 2003-04 season following the collapse of chairman and 100% shareholder Andrew John Shaw's business empire and were forced into administration. The club's supporters rallied and raised around £50,000 in two months, but with very large debts owed to various creditors amounting to over £4 million there was little hope for the club, and Telford United were forced into liquidation on 27 May 2004.
On the same day that the proposed liquidation was announced the Supporters' trust, Telford United Supporters Ltd, created and became the sole owners of a new football club, AFC Telford United, giving the club the Latin motto numquam obliviscere (English: never forget). In the close season, manager Bernard McNally was appointed and a new squad assembled, the ground lease and assets were secured and the new club was placed in the Northern Premier League Division One by the Football Association.
In their first season, the club began with indifferent form, with a lack of consistency leaving them in mid-table and out of both the FA Cup and FA Trophy. However, following a 1-0 away defeat at Willenhall Town on December 30, 2004, the side never lost another league game all season, challenging for the title before eventually finishing third place, three points behind the champions North Ferriby United. In the subsequent playoffs, they defeated Eastwood Town 1-0 before defeating Kendal Town 2-1 in the final to clinch promotion. The final was attended by 4,215 people, a record in that league.
Midway through their second season Telford were second from bottom in the league, leading to the removal of manager McNally, to be replaced by Sean Parrish as caretaker. Results improved immediately, and the side were unbeaten under Parrish's guidance. On Thursday 16 February Rob Smith was announced as the club's new manager, assisted by Larry Chambers. The pair had been managing Willenhall Town. The new regime started with an unbeaten run and Telford finished the season in 10th place.
After a summer of transfer activity during which virtually the entire squad was renovated AFC Telford United topped the Northern Premier League table after 15 games, accumulating the best goal difference of any senior team in the British Isles. Telford could not maintain championship-winning form and a 2-1 home defeat to fellow challengers Burscough on the final game of the season, in front of a record crowd of 5,710, left the club finishing third, enough to qualify for the promotion play-offs. A 2-0 home win over Marine in the play-off semi-final was followed by a 3-1 away win at Witton Albion to give the club its second promotion in three years.
During the 2007-08 season Telford finished second in the Conference North, again qualifying for the playoffs. A two-legged semi-final against Barrow saw Telford lose 0-4 on aggregate.
On the 28th October, Telford beat Northwich 3-0 to reach the first round of the FA Cup which is where we come in!
(Thanks to the Shropshire Star, Southend Evening Echo, Wikipedia, for their help with this article.)