New signing

[ntfcfan]

He's not fat, seriously. https://twitter.com/AkinfenwaStats/status/237548389707968512/photo/1/large I'd love to look like that and be 'fat'.

There is no doubting his quality, 18 goals last year in a team fighting relegation all season is a fantastic return.

 

[A Century United]

Ah jolly good, this has brightened my mood no end. Love affair with Southend United being slapped in the face repeatedly at present.

All praise Sturrocks Southend. Sound the air raid sirens. Rubbish.

Firstly, I naturally respect your opinion, your right to your opinion etc.etc... But I just don't get it.

You and I have supported this team for decades between us, me slightly longer than you (:sad:) and for almost all that time we have been an average boring lower table team playing average boring lower league football enlivened by the odd rare trip to more elevated levels. But we have no history of playing beautiful football, we are not and never have been the Thameside Barcelona. Sturrock has brought in a decent, but no more than decent, crop of players and if they try and play football out from the back they are going to lose more often than they win. Sturrock knows this, and he also knows that if we are ever going to rise to a level which will entice real footballers to the club, then the team has to play to a system that is proven to provide more wins than losses and which his rather limited squad is capable of implementing.

Whatever the Sturrock haters say, he did excellently last season, amassing our second highest ever points tally, and was desperately unlucky not to see us promoted. We as the fans who have the best interests of SUFC at heart need to adopt a realistic and pragmatic approach, grit our teeth and get 100% behind our team and our manager, because the only way this club, with its mounting debts, is ever going to see graceful flowing football at Roots Hall or Fossets Farm, is to work our way up the divisions to the Championship by any means possible

Or we can rot in League two, wittering endlessly about how we should play the game, and how Tilson/Webb/Smith/Rowley should come back and restore the glory days....

 

[palexander]

Firstly, I naturally respect your opinion, your right to your opinion etc.etc... But I just don't get it.

You and I have supported this team for decades between us, me slightly longer than you (:sad:) and for almost all that time we have been an average boring lower table team playing average boring lower league football enlivened by the odd rare trip to more elevated levels. But we have no history of playing beautiful football, we are not and never have been the Thameside Barcelona. Sturrock has brought in a decent, but no more than decent, crop of players and if they try and play football out from the back they are going to lose more often than they win. Sturrock knows this, and he also knows that if we are ever going to rise to a level which will entice real footballers to the club, then the team has to play to a system that is proven to provide more wins than losses and which his rather limited squad is capable of implementing.

Whatever the Sturrock haters say, he did excellently last season, amassing our second highest ever points tally, and was desperately unlucky not to see us promoted. We as the fans who have the best interests of SUFC at heart need to adopt a realistic and pragmatic approach, grit our teeth and get 100% behind our team and our manager, because the only way this club, with its mounting debts, is ever going to see graceful flowing football at Roots Hall or Fossets Farm, is to work our way up the divisions to the Championship by any means possible

Or we can rot in League two, wittering endlessly about how we should play the game, and how Tilson/Webb/Smith/Rowley should come back and restore the glory days....

All well and good, but shouldn't we be seeing progress in what the manager does year on year? Feeling this year is we are going backwards (even ignoring the results, which seem meaningless now, but every point counts and can be the difference between going up or not).

 

[Welly7]

Well today it appeared he did well and scored another goal via clever movement. Makes him noticed a bit more with window closing this week. Hall and Ferdy going at the same time would be a huge blow.

He was poor today. Second touch a tackle, disappointing in possession and let his man beat him far too early for their first. Good goal though but he's got so much to improve on just to stay in our team.

 

[shrimperjon]

Pretty sure hall will be off. Don't mind if Kane follows, yes he scored today but gets bullied in midfield and appears lazy at time. Timlin and spicer would be the better pairing. Defo need a target man and pretty sure corr won't play for us again. Shame that Fred is injured but we def need to find the right pairing upfront. Tomlin works hard but needs support. Asombolongo took his goal well but is not the answer. And please can we have smith in goal. Belend has now cost us two goals. Can't believe people were singing his name after today's howler.

 

[Welly7]

Whatever the Sturrock haters say, he did excellently last season, amassing our second highest ever points tally, and was desperately unlucky not to see us promoted.
..

Doesn't matter though, he failed to take us up from an extremely strong position. He ended up undoing all the good work he'd done earlier in the season and played his part in not taking us over the finish line. Now he's under real pressure to take us up this time but I just don't think he's capable of it.

 

[LennySUFC]

He's not fat, seriously. https://twitter.com/AkinfenwaStats/status/237548389707968512/photo/1/large I'd love to look like that and be 'fat'.

There is no doubting his quality, 18 goals last year in a team fighting relegation all season is a fantastic return.

If I was fat like that I'd me happy

 

[A Century United]

All well and good, but shouldn't we be seeing progress in what the manager does year on year? Feeling this year is we are going backwards (even ignoring the results, which seem meaningless now, but every point counts and can be the difference between going up or not).

How can he make significant progress? If he does get a gem in, he is lucky to get a season or two out of them before they are gone again. Luggy has a slight advantage in that because of his long time in the game he has a pool of players he can sometimes call upon - Smith, for example - but generally he has to dig and delve amongst other team's cast-offs and take a chance on lower league players, which sometimes comes off (Hall) but more often doesn't (Flood). However long he has this particular squad, he isn't going to turn them into world-beating table toppers on natural ability. He has to drill into them a system, and the system that has most often worked for him, and very, very nearly worked last year, is a more direct style. Not necessarily the most attractive, but the one that gives us the best chance of progressing to the next level with the players we have.

We are ten million quid in debt, we own diddly-squat, and our best chance as fans to see SUFC survive and prosper is to forget past "Glories" and "injustices" and get completely behind the Team and the Manager for the rest of the season. I guarantee you, there is no Magic Manager waiting in the wings to take over. Only a bunch of failed out of work no-hopers.

 

[Welly7]

How can he make significant progress? If he does get a gem in, he is lucky to get a season or two out of them before they are gone again. Luggy has a slight advantage in that because of his long time in the game he has a pool of players he can sometimes call upon - Smith, for example - but generally he has to dig and delve amongst other team's cast-offs and take a chance on lower league players, which sometimes comes off (Hall) but more often doesn't (Flood). However long he has this particular squad, he isn't going to turn them into world-beating table toppers on natural ability. He has to drill into them a system, and the system that has most often worked for him, and very, very nearly worked last year, is a more direct style. Not necessarily the most attractive, but the one that gives us the best chance of progressing to the next level with the players we have.

We are ten million quid in debt, we own diddly-squat, and our best chance as fans to see SUFC survive and prosper is to forget past "Glories" and "injustices" and get completely behind the Team and the Manager for the rest of the season. I guarantee you, there is no Magic Manager waiting in the wings to take over. Only a bunch of failed out of work no-hopers.

Do you not think Luggy's experience is counting against him? Reason I say that is because he has a formula that has worked before without doubt but his 100% faith in it isn't helping us right now and although I'm advocating a change I take no pleasure in doing so. I just can't see where he's going with the team and have run out of patience and belief in whatever it is he's trying to do.

 

[CocklesShrimps&Whiteweed]

Firstly, I naturally respect your opinion, your right to your opinion etc.etc... But I just don't get it.

You and I have supported this team for decades between us, me slightly longer than you (:sad:) and for almost all that time we have been an average boring lower table team playing average boring lower league football enlivened by the odd rare trip to more elevated levels. But we have no history of playing beautiful football, we are not and never have been the Thameside Barcelona. Sturrock has brought in a decent, but no more than decent, crop of players and if they try and play football out from the back they are going to lose more often than they win. Sturrock knows this, and he also knows that if we are ever going to rise to a level which will entice real footballers to the club, then the team has to play to a system that is proven to provide more wins than losses and which his rather limited squad is capable of implementing.

Whatever the Sturrock haters say, he did excellently last season, amassing our second highest ever points tally, and was desperately unlucky not to see us promoted. We as the fans who have the best interests of SUFC at heart need to adopt a realistic and pragmatic approach, grit our teeth and get 100% behind our team and our manager, because the only way this club, with its mounting debts, is ever going to see graceful flowing football at Roots Hall or Fossets Farm, is to work our way up the divisions to the Championship by any means possible

Or we can rot in League two, wittering endlessly about how we should play the game, and how Tilson/Webb/Smith/Rowley should come back and restore the glory days....

I do agree with a majority of this mate I really do.....but why then do I feel that what is being dished up is beyond bloody awful? I'm not daft, I'm not asking for beautiful football (and have never seen it at Roots Hall) but something isn't right. I don't remember a Southend side playing this way for any length of time. I'm not rose tinting anything I remember the battle with Cambridge for promotion in the nineties under Webb. Ours was branded the 'footballing push' whilst Cambridge were branded 'the long ball merchants'. It sticks with the club for a long time afterwards and doesn't sit well with me.
I've managed to take a step back a little from the club from being obsessive about them, due to other more influential commitments in life and also seeing us lift some silverwear a few years back. And because I have managed to take a step back I don't believe in 'success by any means'.
It's not worth my money. I'm bored. Upsets me to say it but it's true.

 

[A Century United]

Do you not think Luggy's experience is counting against him? Reason I say that is because he has a formula that has worked before without doubt but his 100% faith in it isn't helping us right now and although I'm advocating a change I take no pleasure in doing so. I just can't see where he's going with the team and have run out of patience and belief in whatever it is he's trying to do.

When you've been as successful at a particular thing as Luggy has for as long as Luggy has you don't lose it over night. Wait until Smith starts in goal - Luggy has clearly wanted him for a while so only fair to see what difference it makes. And I would just love to have Akinfenwa in the team.... Luggy is doing what Luggy always does, going quietly about trying to adjust the squad to take account of injuries and players not performing to the standard they can, to get them playing to a system that works and to move them on a level. So many times in the past two seasons people have questioned his judgement, today with Cresswell being a prime example, and he has proved right more often than not. Just get behind him for one more season, and see what happens...

 

[A Century United]

I do agree with a majority of this mate I really do.....but why then do I feel that what is being dished up is beyond bloody awful? I'm not daft, I'm not asking for beautiful football (and have never seen it at Roots Hall) but something isn't right. I don't remember a Southend side playing this way for any length of time. I'm not rose tinting anything I remember the battle with Cambridge for promotion in the nineties under Webb. Ours was branded the 'footballing push' whilst Cambridge were branded 'the long ball merchants'. It sticks with the club for a long time afterwards and doesn't sit well with me.
I've managed to take a step back a little from the club from being obsessive about them, due to other more influential commitments in life and also seeing us lift some silverwear a few years back. And because I have managed to take a step back I don't believe in 'success by any means'.
It's not worth my money. I'm bored. Upsets me to say it but it's true.

I too remember the clash of styles v Cambridge. Check out the team we had, and see how many of them went on to play at a high or the highest level. Putting together a team of that quality in the lowest league is a once in a lifetime event. I doubt I will see it happen again, so as a pragmatist I have learned to accept that second- or third-best will have to do.

I want to see my club survive and I'm not convinced that it is going to if we don't get out of this league. With the resources we have, we aren't going to attract top players, and IMHO we have done very well to get a manager with Luggy's experience and record. It's all very well saying that you don't believe in "Success by any means" but I believe in Survival by any means, and I honestly believe that is the choice we face. And that means that I, and I believe all SUFC fans, need to put "principal" or "dislike" behind us and get completely behind the team this year. Just for one short season. And give the club we love the best possible chance to survive.

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

I'd love Akinfenwa here.

 

[Beefy]

Or we can rot in League two, wittering endlessly about how we should play the game, and how Tilson/Webb/Smith/Rowley should come back and restore the glory days....

And of course both Tilson and Webb played with targetmen anyway.

As for who Sturrock is brining in - one of Akinfenwa or Harrold, please.

 

[The General]

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

 

[Mighty Shrimper]

And of course both Tilson and Webb played with targetmen anyway.

As for who Sturrock is brining in - one of Akinfenwa or Harrold, please.

You think Harrold would want to come back here after the abuse he received from the 'fans' during his last stint?

 

[Beefy]

No I do not. But IMO he'd be the perfect targetman for a Paul Sturrock side as I said on here after he once again bullied us for 90 minutes at Bristol Rovers in April.

 

[Smiffy]

I'm sure most of us would welcome 'The Tank' here.

But....

Do we have the money for his transfer fee?
Do we have the money for his wages?

If the answer to the above is yes, then I would be shocked, utterly shocked. Lets see if we can shift Bilel, Hall or Ferdinand first...

A loan however could be possible if the Cobblers were desparate to off load...

 

[palexander]

I'm sure most of us would welcome 'The Tank' here.

But....

Do we have the money for his transfer fee?
Do we have the money for his wages?

If the answer to the above is yes, then I would be shocked, utterly shocked. Lets see if we can shift Bilel, Hall or Ferdinand first...

A loan however could be possible if the Cobblers were desparate to off load...

Are you saying they are?...

 

[united we stand]

I would take him.

I would like to see that:winking:


for what its worth, with Sturrocks style of football I am surprised we have never been linked with him before. I think he would be extremely effective for us and would be a real fans favourite