Alan McCormack

[dloman]

Well the description says it all for today.. discuss

 

[ldnfatso]

most impressed i have to say. It was the bit of added metal in midfield we needed! Sign him up permanently in Jan please Tilly!

 

[shrimper_sam]

Fantastic start to his new life at Southend. So many positive signs from him, He wants to be here, he plays the ball well and his not affraid to put a foot in.

 

[Pubey]

and from his blues world interview you can tell he is a tiger on the pitch, everything he mentioned was about getting stuck in! i hope we get him permanently

 

[bas blue]

So refreshing to see a southend central midfield player bursting into the opposition box

 

[glentheblue]

Yeah how good was that seeing a midfielder in the box excellent,clarke and maher too defensive.........the futures bright...........the futures alan

 

[I 8 COLU]

Just what we have been crying out for, liked him last time he was here. quality & hard working player.

 

[shrimper_sam]

Its also so fresh to hear just how much he wanted to join Southend. If there was one club he could join it would have been always southend. He wants it and i believe when he came on he showed just that,which gave a lift to the rest of the team.

 

[Westcliff Shrimper]

All the comments above are spot on - with Maher in the midfield holding in front of the back four, Macca knows that he can get forward and support the front two. We saw that a couple of times yesterday, and with another week's training (and hopefully a starting place against the inbreds), we'll see more of it next week...

 

[dloman]

The whole pace of the side changed when he came on, which in turn changed the momentum of the game with his lung busting runs

 

[Beefy]

I think he'll bring out the best in Maher too. I spoke last week of Kev being unable or unwilling to move further forward when he's alongside Clarke. I definately now think it was 'unwilling'. Maher doesn't trust Clarke to do anything other than put a few tackles in so he spends most of his time tracking Clarke and giving him the option of the easy ball. As soon as McCormack came in it freed Maher up to play his own game because he knows he's got a real player alongside him.

I'm really, really pleased with this signing. I think McCormack is already the best centre-midfielder we've had in a decade and can only get better. He's a real Championship player and we've done well to get him.

 

[sufcintheprem]

I get the impression that Maher has more respect for McCormack than pretty much any central midfielder I can remember him playing with. I have to admit that with McCormack and Maher, it looks more like the sort of midfield most teams have been playing against us. One a playmaker who likes to sit deep and the other an energetic midfielder with a bit of bite.

My biggest concern is that we have spent too long adapting to this and not left ourselves enough time but if we pick up a couple of wins next up and then play like a midtable team, that will be plenty to stay up.

 

[BrettieAngell]

He looked really up for it yesterday!

He made a few good runs and actually got beyond the strikers and was unlucky not to score, I hope he starts next week against Col Ewe!

 

[fredheim_holm]

Quote[/b] (BrettieAngell @ Nov. 19 2006,17:19)]He looked really up for it yesterday!

He made a few good runs and actually got beyond the strikers and was unlucky not to score, I hope he starts next week against Col Ewe!

Same here, cant wait 'till next week, and Big Mac is a must start.

 

[Pubey]

big mac for me please..

i think one of the main problems on sat was that clarke wasnt trusted on the ball... gower would look up, clarke would be in a good position but he would be ignored and pass to a marked maher. i felt sorry for clarke because he isn't a CM and he cant move the ball as quick as others in the team (when he tried it would go astray). blackpool played long ball and everton have never been the most elegant of teams so i think he is learning our style (everyone in the team is a confident passer and everyone works to make space and become an option). however i feel that clarke wont feature too much this season if prior and barrett remain fit because although clarke is a greater talent than AB, barrett at least knows our game and when protected by the midfield looks a lot more composed than clarke does at hte moment

 

[mattytheshrimper]

iv never seen him play before, but was very very impressed with what i saw. fast, good control and just wanted to play football.

did notice that on football league review today they called him gary hooper though which made me chuckle. never the less looks good. just what we need.

no a no nonense attacking midfielder.:blues:

 

[Sean 2]

Remembering his last spell with us,he tackled like his life were at stake.Makes King Kev look like a daisy wilting on our hallowed turf.

Which is great but at this level there are more diving going on than a trip with Jacques Costeau (spellcheck) (RIP).

If he does that away he'll be off.

Still,i'm off to get me shirt printed........

 

[ShrimperOT]

McCormack definitely changed the game yesterday. He was able to pass the ball to Maher more quickly and accurately giving him that extra time Kev needs to play his passing game. At last we have a central midfield pairing that can work together at this level.

 

[IANichols]

fingers crossed he has improved over the past 2 years, have to remember only 20 when he was last with us and still learning

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (IANichols @ Nov. 20 2006,09:57)]fingers crossed he has improved over the past 2 years, have to remember only 20 when he was last with us and still learning

Exactly, he was voted MotM on one of his appearances at either Ibrox or Parkhead last season for Motherwell (can't remember which one though!)

A much needed signing to fill a problem area for us this season. Here's hoping January will see him sign permanently!