Let's get this into perspective...

[Sussex Shrimper]

I'm as disappointed as the next person at what happened on Saturday, and the reactions of the inbreds can hardly come as a surprise. I think that what we need to bear in mind is exactly what is driving their desperation to milk every last drop out of their moment of glory:

Col******r have never won Football League honours in their entire existence. Can you imagine that? We all know that supporting a lower league club can be a trying experience at times but we persist for the magic moments that make it all worthwhile. I'm sure that none of us will ever forget the experience of becoming champions last year, for example. But take that away and imagine that your entire football supporting life contained not one such day, and that your greatest moment was watching your club actually finish close enough to their rivals to be considered in their shadow, at a mere one place behind while they dance around like loons celebrating real, permanent honours that are now in the books and you can do nothing about.

Col******r, by just about any measure bar their current, transient, anomolous league position are a League 2 club. They've punched well above their weight due to a particular set of players and management staff who, as much as it pains me, have done a great job. The manager, however has already left, as has one of the star players. More will follow, just as Freddy will eventually want to try his hand at the highest level he can. Good luck to him. Even players who prove themselves to be of average Chapionship standard will surely not turn down pay rises of 200-300% to play for other Championship clubs, any more than you or I would hesitate to leave our employers in the same situation. If we, a club operating at a modest profit, are having trouble meeting the wage demands of potential signings then what chance Col******r?

What hope do Col Ewe have of generating the revenue needed to compete in this division in the long term? They have a new stadium on the way - one that has a smaller capacity than Roots Hall! If a picture says a thousand words then  

just about sums up what I think about their claims that they are building it with a view to permanent Championship status. We, on the other hand have plans to build a stadium which gives Southend United possibilites that I for one never dared to dream of. If Col Ewe are League 2 in all but current league position, then our new stadium would put us comfortably in the top half of League 1, and with every reason to be optimistic of pushing on from there.

I personally think that we will probably go down this season, and that Col Ewe will probably stay up. Does that make them the number one club in Essex? About as much so as Chelsea are now the number one club in England, having overtaken Liverpool - i.e. if you possess total ignorance and a complete lack of class you might succeed in convincing yourself so. Anyone who respects the total achievements of those who plays the game, and who go out and earn the honours that define just who a football club are will know that Col Ewe have as much right to claim overall supremacy over us as we have to claim it over Nottingham Forest. Which of us would do that?

Look ahead ten years. We're playing in a state of the art stadium in front of crowds of 12-15,000, either as contenders in League 1 or maybe, just maybe in the Championship. It turns out that there is no magical aura around Col******r that allows a club of that size to survive in the Championship where others twice the size have failed, and the bottom has well and truly fallen out. They have either slipped back down the divisions without a fight or they have attempted to compete at Championship level and have landed themselves in the same sort of quagmire that we did in the nineties, but with approximately half of the income. The players and staff who propelled them to that level in the first place are long gone and they've replaced them with others better suited to playing in front of 4,000 against Shrewsbury in League 2. We've been there - now imagine that there was no Uncle Ron, Tilly or Brush performing absolute miracles and that the dross showed every sign of being permanent. Eurgh. It'd be the least we could do to fax Col Ewe with the contact details for Drewe Broughton's agent.

Col Ewe - it's my experience that the Football League always eventually rights itself with bigger clubs above smaller ones. You'd better hope that I'm wrong, because if I'm not something tells me that after sewing the wind, our fans aren't going to hesitate in making sure that you reap the whirlwind for the rest of your lives.

Good luck.

 

[Prodigal Son]

Spot on, they know it, we know it.

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

I knew I shouldn't have offered out my post of the day honours so early today! 100% spot on SS, go & put that on any number of their carrot-crunching boards!

 

[Jonny_Stokes]

Yeah, but 3-0.

 

[Sussex Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (Jonny_Stokes @ Nov. 27 2006,21:54)]Yeah, but 3-0.

You can laugh now, but you'll probably end up being their most local rivals.

 

[Jonny_Stokes]

Quote[/b] (Sussex Shrimper @ Nov. 27 2006,21:58)]

Quote[/b] (Jonny_Stokes @ Nov. 27 2006,21:54)]Yeah, but 3-0.

You can laugh now, but you'll probably end up being their most local rivals.

 

Nah, Chelmsford City will be in the conference by the time we get there.

 

[Razzle]

Oh dear. You really are sore losers, aren't you. Do you honestly think we give a monkeys that you came first and we came second last year. Being in this division is what it is all about so the fact you pipped us to the post last year is starting to look a bit hollow now.
As far as permanent Championship football goes, it's a big ask, but our chances are every bit as good as yours. Our stadium will be 10,000 capacity with an option to extend if necessary. Your 22,000 stadium will look very empty in League 1 when the mighty Orient come to town. Meanwhile our stadium allows for realistic growth of fan base, which will happen when people in this region realise that have a real football team on their doorstep and not a little club with a small and outdated stadium as at present.

As far as being the biggest club in Essex - who cares. I don't think you get any trophies for that. One statistic matters at the moment, and that is league position. Look after that and everything else looks after itself. As for bigger clubs always rising to the top, well if that is the case then why not take it further. Do away with promotion and relegation. Just have 4 permanent divisions based on stadium size and average crowd, then you would be in a permanent state of arousal over the fact that you have the bigger ground therefore the 'biggest team in Essex' - wow.. Seriously though - take a look at the Premiership. Wigan, Charlton, Bolton, Pompey. Meanwhile, the Championship is chocker with teams who think they have the divine right to be in the premiership because of their stadia/history/fan base. It's also usually the fans of these clubs who cry the loudest about having to slum it at nasty, dirty Layer Road. Usually following a defeat for their thoroughly mediocre teams.

In conclusion - post your sad post on as many of our forums as you like - we could do with a laugh. Jeez, if this bunch of sour grapes is in the running for post of the day, then it must have been a seriously bad day.

 

[silentshrimper]

Quote[/b] (Razzle @ Nov. 27 2006,23:11)]Oh dear.  You really are sore losers, aren't you.  Do you honestly think we give a monkeys that you came first and we came second last year.  Being in this division is what it is all about so the fact you pipped us to the post last year is starting to look a bit hollow now.
As far as permanent Championship football goes, it's a big ask, but our chances are every bit as good as yours.  Our stadium will be 10,000 capacity with an option to extend if necessary.  Your 22,000 stadium will look very empty in League 1 when the mighty Orient come to town.  Meanwhile our stadium allows for realistic growth of fan base, which will happen when people in this region realise that have a real football team on their doorstep and not a little club with a small and outdated stadium as at present.  

As far as being the biggest club in Essex - who cares.  I don't think you get any trophies for that.  One statistic matters at the moment, and that is league position.  Look after that and everything else looks after itself.  As for bigger clubs always rising to the top, well if that is the case then why not take it further.  Do away with promotion and relegation.  Just have 4 permanent divisions based on stadium size and average crowd, then you would be in a permanent state of arousal over the fact that you have the bigger ground therefore the 'biggest team in Essex' - wow..  Seriously though - take a look at the Premiership.  Wigan,  Charlton, Bolton, Pompey.  Meanwhile, the Championship is chocker with teams who think they have the divine right to be in the premiership because of their stadia/history/fan base.  It's also usually the fans of these clubs who cry the loudest about  having to slum it at nasty, dirty Layer Road. Usually following a defeat for their thoroughly mediocre teams.  

In conclusion - post your sad post on as many of our forums as you like - we could do with a laugh.  Jeez, if this bunch of sour grapes is in the running for post of the day, then it must have been a seriously bad day.

Many good points.

 

[Sean 2]

Quote[/b] (Razzle @ Nov. 27 2006,23:11)]Oh dear.  You really are sore losers, aren't you.  Do you honestly think we give a monkeys that you came first and we came second last year.  Being in this division is what it is all about so the fact you pipped us to the post last year is starting to look a bit hollow now.
As far as permanent Championship football goes, it's a big ask, but our chances are every bit as good as yours.  Our stadium will be 10,000 capacity with an option to extend if necessary.  Your 22,000 stadium will look very empty in League 1 when the mighty Orient come to town.  Meanwhile our stadium allows for realistic growth of fan base, which will happen when people in this region realise that have a real football team on their doorstep and not a little club with a small and outdated stadium as at present.  

As far as being the biggest club in Essex - who cares.  I don't think you get any trophies for that.  One statistic matters at the moment, and that is league position.  Look after that and everything else looks after itself.  As for bigger clubs always rising to the top, well if that is the case then why not take it further.  Do away with promotion and relegation.  Just have 4 permanent divisions based on stadium size and average crowd, then you would be in a permanent state of arousal over the fact that you have the bigger ground therefore the 'biggest team in Essex' - wow..  Seriously though - take a look at the Premiership.  Wigan,  Charlton, Bolton, Pompey.  Meanwhile, the Championship is chocker with teams who think they have the divine right to be in the premiership because of their stadia/history/fan base.  It's also usually the fans of these clubs who cry the loudest about  having to slum it at nasty, dirty Layer Road. Usually following a defeat for their thoroughly mediocre teams.  

In conclusion - post your sad post on as many of our forums as you like - we could do with a laugh.  Jeez, if this bunch of sour grapes is in the running for post of the day, then it must have been a seriously bad day.

"When" you build your stadium,everyone in Colfester will STILL go to Ipsh1t 'cos you are a crap team to watch.

With your hardcore fan base of a mighty 3000 you must realise there will be more away supporters there most home games

Oh and Chelmsford are doing well are'nt they?

 

[Shrimp in a Kilt]

Quote[/b] (Razzle @ Nov. 27 2006,23:11)]Oh dear.  You really are sore losers, aren't you.  Do you honestly think we give a monkeys that you came first and we came second last year.  Being in this division is what it is all about so the fact you pipped us to the post last year is starting to look a bit hollow now.
As far as permanent Championship football goes, it's a big ask, but our chances are every bit as good as yours.  Our stadium will be 10,000 capacity with an option to extend if necessary.  Your 22,000 stadium will look very empty in League 1 when the mighty Orient come to town.  Meanwhile our stadium allows for realistic growth of fan base, which will happen when people in this region realise that have a real football team on their doorstep and not a little club with a small and outdated stadium as at present.  

As far as being the biggest club in Essex - who cares.  I don't think you get any trophies for that.  One statistic matters at the moment, and that is league position.  Look after that and everything else looks after itself.  As for bigger clubs always rising to the top, well if that is the case then why not take it further.  Do away with promotion and relegation.  Just have 4 permanent divisions based on stadium size and average crowd, then you would be in a permanent state of arousal over the fact that you have the bigger ground therefore the 'biggest team in Essex' - wow..  Seriously though - take a look at the Premiership.  Wigan,  Charlton, Bolton, Pompey.  Meanwhile, the Championship is chocker with teams who think they have the divine right to be in the premiership because of their stadia/history/fan base.  It's also usually the fans of these clubs who cry the loudest about  having to slum it at nasty, dirty Layer Road. Usually following a defeat for their thoroughly mediocre teams.  

In conclusion - post your sad post on as many of our forums as you like - we could do with a laugh.  Jeez, if this bunch of sour grapes is in the running for post of the day, then it must have been a seriously bad day.

You make some good points, Razzle, but fundamentally your whole case is undermined by your failure to understand one simple fact. One of your favourite players is a cheat, and a serial cheat at that.

Read the Sunday Times article to see how hollow your victory was. If one of SUFC's players was so publicly castigated, I would be humiliated, and keen to see the back of him.

Read this board to see how much credit you have got this season from many here. We even started a thread called (IIRC) "Credit where credit is due". We aren't a bunch of Neanderthals who can't take defeat in a manly fashion. If we had been beaten 11 v 11 by that superb first goal of yours there would have been no flak aimed at your team. Sure, there are some bitter words now. I wonder why?

 

[MC BLUES]

Of course you are hurt we did you last year.

Of course your captain was also hurt hence the cheating on Saturday.

The truth always hurts!

 

[Rayleigh boy]

what goes around comes around and cheats never prosper
so am quite happy for a desperate going no-where footballer
to mess up their clubs karma with low life tactics that lose
the respect of their own teammates and everyone else.

There was something decent and honest about Gowers later
tackle whereas the poor Col******r players reputation
will never recover - and professional footballers don't
appreciate cheats.

And before anyone else dives in it was OK to see Freddy still
cares enough to get involved.

Rather have the clean conscience, good reputation and
karma in good condition than have to descend to that to
get points.

Reminds you of the Portuguese - not English in anyway.

 

[seany t]

There were some good points made by both sets of posters there. One question for Razzle though?

Is your messageboard really so bad that you guys have to venture deep into enemy territory to engage in conversation???

 

[N'Zamba Legend]

Big contradiction in your argument:

a) league position doesn't matter:

"Do you honestly think we give a monkeys that you came first and we came second last year"

b) league position does matter:

"One statistic matters at the moment, and that is league position"

You what?

 

[DTS]

Quote[/b] (Razzle @ Nov. 27 2006,23:11)]Oh dear.  You really are sore losers, aren't you.  Do you honestly think we give a monkeys that you came first and we came second last year.  Being in this division is what it is all about so the fact you pipped us to the post last year is starting to look a bit hollow now.
As far as permanent Championship football goes, it's a big ask, but our chances are every bit as good as yours.  Our stadium will be 10,000 capacity with an option to extend if necessary.  Your 22,000 stadium will look very empty in League 1 when the mighty Orient come to town.  Meanwhile our stadium allows for realistic growth of fan base, which will happen when people in this region realise that have a real football team on their doorstep and not a little club with a small and outdated stadium as at present.  

As far as being the biggest club in Essex - who cares.  I don't think you get any trophies for that.  One statistic matters at the moment, and that is league position.  Look after that and everything else looks after itself.  As for bigger clubs always rising to the top, well if that is the case then why not take it further.  Do away with promotion and relegation.  Just have 4 permanent divisions based on stadium size and average crowd, then you would be in a permanent state of arousal over the fact that you have the bigger ground therefore the 'biggest team in Essex' - wow..  Seriously though - take a look at the Premiership.  Wigan,  Charlton, Bolton, Pompey.  Meanwhile, the Championship is chocker with teams who think they have the divine right to be in the premiership because of their stadia/history/fan base.  It's also usually the fans of these clubs who cry the loudest about  having to slum it at nasty, dirty Layer Road. Usually following a defeat for their thoroughly mediocre teams.  

In conclusion - post your sad post on as many of our forums as you like - we could do with a laugh.  Jeez, if this bunch of sour grapes is in the running for post of the day, then it must have been a seriously bad day.

Status is temporary - Class is permanent. MUG.

 

[MC BLUES]

Quote[/b] (seany t @ Nov. 28 2006,14:25)]There were some good points made by both sets of posters there. One question for Razzle though?

Is your messageboard really so bad that you guys have to venture deep into enemy territory to engage in conversation???

I think that is the point. I've only looked on there a handful of times and it's like an outlet for special needs. With the odd exception it seems most of the regulars who post on there are 30 plus year old school kids.

 

[Sussex Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (Razzle @ Nov. 27 2006,23:11)]Oh dear.  You really are sore losers, aren't you.  Do you honestly think we give a monkeys that you came first and we came second last year.  Being in this division is what it is all about so the fact you pipped us to the post last year is starting to look a bit hollow now.
As far as permanent Championship football goes, it's a big ask, but our chances are every bit as good as yours.  Our stadium will be 10,000 capacity with an option to extend if necessary.  Your 22,000 stadium will look very empty in League 1 when the mighty Orient come to town.  Meanwhile our stadium allows for realistic growth of fan base, which will happen when people in this region realise that have a real football team on their doorstep and not a little club with a small and outdated stadium as at present.  

As far as being the biggest club in Essex - who cares.  I don't think you get any trophies for that.  One statistic matters at the moment, and that is league position.  Look after that and everything else looks after itself.  As for bigger clubs always rising to the top, well if that is the case then why not take it further.  Do away with promotion and relegation.  Just have 4 permanent divisions based on stadium size and average crowd, then you would be in a permanent state of arousal over the fact that you have the bigger ground therefore the 'biggest team in Essex' - wow..  Seriously though - take a look at the Premiership.  Wigan,  Charlton, Bolton, Pompey.  Meanwhile, the Championship is chocker with teams who think they have the divine right to be in the premiership because of their stadia/history/fan base.  It's also usually the fans of these clubs who cry the loudest about  having to slum it at nasty, dirty Layer Road. Usually following a defeat for their thoroughly mediocre teams.  

In conclusion - post your sad post on as many of our forums as you like - we could do with a laugh.  Jeez, if this bunch of sour grapes is in the running for post of the day, then it must have been a seriously bad day.

If you recognise, unlike most of your fans, that at this point in time we remain the biggest, most successful club in Essex then fair play to you because that shows some class - unlike most of the representatives of your club who have posted here since Saturday. On the other hand you say that you don’t care about being “pipped to the post” last year. All of those charming new found Chelsea fans don’t care about history either – the parallels are there for all to see. If that’s your opinion then that’s up to you, but I respect it as much as I respect the aforementioned “Novi Chelski”.

We were in this division ten years ago. Was that all that mattered? Of course it wasn’t. That was a transient league position which counts for f%ck all now, whereas the damage we did to our finances trying to maintain it lasted for years, and we can count ourselves very lucky that Ron Martin came along waving his magic wand to bail us out. What are also permanent and lasting are the honours that we have won and you haven’t. Last years title meant the world to me, far more than any of the mid-table finishes from the nineties. I have the frame of reference to make that comparison having experienced both. It must be easy for you to dismiss that which you have no experience of – many a Chelski fan will tell you that they don’t care that they’ve never won the European Cup. Maybe your lot will find more sympathy if you go and post on their forums.

As I said in my original post I have grudging respect for what you have done against the odds, but having been there with Southend in the nineties (and even then we had the revenue of 7-8,000 fans every week) I severely doubt that Championship status is sustainable in your position. It's evidently far from a given for a club in our position at the moment. Ask ourselves, Rotherham, Stockport, Crewe, Bury, Gillingham and the rest whether a club averaging under approx 12,000 fans a week can do anything other than fight relegation year after year until their luck runs out.

The future is as yet undetermined. I believe, unequivocally, that Southend are better prepared for it than ever before - and that includes when we were top of this league after beating Newcastle 4-0. If you believe that Col******r can succeed where no other club twice your size has, even after the individuals responsible for your position have gone, then I'd be intrigued to here why. In fact I’d be fascinated to hear why Col******r have spent their history in the divisions that they have, without winning a single League honour, given that they possess a magical ablility to compete at a much higher level which is apparently completely independent of the retention of a set of staff who come around once in a lifetime. I just hope that you have los cojones to return here in any case, because I remember back to the nineties when we were in this division for six seasons while you were just glad to scrape back into the Football League. Your fans were nowhere to be seen then, which makes it so much funnier to see you picking this particular spot to come out of the woodwork and get your shots in. Oddly enough being in this division wasn’t what it was all about back then according to your lot – in fact you’d do whatever you could to distract from the subject of football altogether.  

 

[Razzle]

I'm glad some of you concede that I made some good points. Sussex. Even though you were coming out with the same tired old Col U staples that we hear from every 'bigger' team has left Layer Road empty handed at least you showed a semblance of intelligence whilst doing so, despite claiming to be able to see 10 years into the future?? (4000 V Shrewsbury in League 2 - that would have been an excellent crowd). Get used to the fact that you will suffer in exactly the same way as us opeating at this level. You have a slightly bigger stadium and a few more fans but ultimately you are punching above your weight at the moment and will be doing so for the forseeable future. The biggest problem will be if you are not in this division when you get the new stadium, as thousands of empty seats don't make for a good atmosphere, as we discovered a couple of weeks ago at the Stadium of Light.

Shrimp & 2 veg - those who already support Ipswich won't change their allegiance, your'e right, but Col******r and the surrounding area are full of Man U/Liverpool/Arsenal etc fans who never actually go and support their team. Those are the people we are gradually winning over to our cause though it is and will be a slow process. Also being able to have 2000 instead of just 1000 away fans will be a bonus at the new stadium.

Shrimp in a kilt - easily the best reply from a sorry bunch, but you need to understand how most Col U fans feel about Doogie before you can say how we should react to him. The bloke is Col******r through and through. While others have disappeared at the first wave of a cheque book, Doogie has stayed loyal and true and not only does he perform heroics for the side week in week out he also does a lot of work in the community as well. He is a Col******r legend so will get the benefit of the doubt as long as there is any. Like most people at the game I didn't see the incident. (I was actually looking on in dread as JCR bore down on our goal thinking 'here we go again') Any TV replays I have seen have been far from conclusive and unless you haven't heard Maher did not get the red card rescinded. However both the FL panel and the lino saw it as a red card. It was still only 11 v 10 at that point though. Yes, I know that Gower reacted to the original incident but he should know better, simple as that. As far as Doogie being a serial cheat, then I bow to your greater knowledge. I'm only a season ticket holder after all. One thing is for sure though, George Williams will be studying the incident on video, and as he is a man of honour and integrity, Doogie will be heavily punished if he does not like what he sees. I have to add that this is one of my pet hates as well, so as he is captain I'm sure he will be made an example of if guilty.

As for you Rayleigh boy, what's decent an honest about losing your rag and trying to break someone's leg. No, that's just stupid.

Seany t & MC Blues - our forum is pretty similar to this one with a diversity of life forms including a sprinkling of Shrimps who are made more than welcome as long as they are not abusive or disrespectful. Win, lose or draw I usually have a look at other teams forums after games to check that my Col U rose tinted specs aren't getting a bit too misty.

N'Zamba Legend - CURRENT league position. Last year we achieved the same by finishing 1st and 2nd respectively but you got a nice little trophy. Bet you'd swap that for being 11th with 27pts right now.

Dave the Shrimper - status is temporary, class is permanent? Reality check needed there I think.

See y'all - off to give Parky some friendly advice.

 

[Shrimp in a Kilt]

Quote[/b] (Razzle @ Nov. 28 2006,17:31)]Shrimp in a kilt - easily the best reply from a sorry bunch, but you need to understand how most Col U fans feel about Doogie before you can say how we should react to him. The bloke is Col******r through and through.  While others have disappeared at the first wave of a cheque book, Doogie has stayed loyal and true and not only does he perform heroics for the side week in week out he also does a lot of work in the community as well.  He is a Col******r legend so will get the benefit of the doubt as long as there is any.  Like most people at the game I didn't see the incident. (I was actually looking on in dread as JCR bore down on our goal thinking 'here we go again')  Any TV replays I have seen have been far from conclusive and unless you haven't heard Maher did not get the red card rescinded.  However both the FL panel and the lino saw it as a red card.  It was still only 11 v 10 at that point though.  Yes, I know that Gower reacted to the original incident but he should know better, simple as that.  As far as Doogie being a serial cheat, then I bow to your greater knowledge.  I'm only a season ticket holder after all.  One thing is for sure though, George Williams will be studying the incident on video, and as he is a man of honour and integrity, Doogie will be heavily punished if he does not like what he sees.  I have to add that this is one of my pet hates as well, so as he is captain I'm sure he will be made an example of if guilty.

I did say I wasn't going to respond again to Col U posts, but I will make a quick exception here.

1. Enough people saw the incident to be able to state without doubt that Maher didn't raise his arms to him. But he fell clutching his face. Afterwards, he said that Maher had put his face into his face and admitted that he hadn't hit him. The Linesman apparently told the Ref that Maher had hit him. That suggests that the Lino hadn't seen the incident himself either but just KD falling. The Times isn't a paper to make accusations lightly, but the match report brands your captain a cheat.

2. A legend with feet of clay, I would suggest. No amount of good works can excuse decietful or fraudelent behaviour. I wrote in another post that one of our players up at Carlisle simulated being hit when he hadn't been. Luckily the Ref didn't fall for it, but in my match report I highlighted it as a shameful thing to do. As far as I know he hasn't repeated that - but if he did I would call long and loud for him to be sold.

3. The game at Birmingham which saw Jerome sent off on his Debut was covered by more than one camera. It was quite clear that KD wasn't, as he claimed by his actions, elbowed by Jerome. If Brum hadn't won anyway, I imagine (and of course this is just my opinion) they would have appealed, and from the video evidence he would have had a very good chance of winning that appeal. Add to that Maher claiming that some of your players apologised to him (and yes I tend to believe him) and other Col******r fans saying that they have seen him do this in the past and I think to brand him a serial cheat is fair and reasonable.

4. I have no reason to doubt that GW is a man of integrity. But he will as he has said, take the word of his player in the absence of clear-cut video evidence. And he is under a lot of pressure not to drop or discipline a vital member of his team, so the evidence would have to be very strong.

 

[shrimperbhoy]

Razzle, fancy a bet on Southend being positioned higher up the league than Col******r in a few seasons time?

Size does matter in the club world unfortunately. Look at Aberdeen - one of the best sides in Europe in the early 80s under the guidance of Ferguson, but they could hardly keep that going with attendances averaging 15,000! If you don't have the support, you're going to struggle to keep hold of your best players. Irrespective of whether Col U stay up, you will lose Halford etc in the same way that we'll lose Eastwood.

It does seem that Ron Martin's plans for Southend are a tad more ambitious than Col U's, so my advice is to enjoy the success while you can.