For our Boxing Day Bonanza it's a bumper crowd in for the home game against Josh Wright's lowly Ebbsfleet from the wrong side of the River Thames. If Southend fans are dissatisfied with our current league position, then spare a thought for fans of The Fleet who are currently rockbottom of the National League. At the end of last season, Ebbsfleet finished a point and a place above the current league leaders, York City, but the fortunes of the two teams who we are playing in consecutive fixtures have gone in starkly contrasting directions since August. Ebbsfleet have mustered a solitary league win all season so far (1-0 at home to Hartlepool on 14th September) and the remainder of their 6 points have come from draws - mostly against other struggling teams. They're not only bottom of the league table, but also the form table:
Former Blues player Josh Wright is Ebbsfleet's third manager of the season - former Southend youth coach Danny Searle was relieved of his duties on 9th September after seven straight defeats and his replacement, Harry Watling was sacked earlier this month after failing to turn round The Fleet's fortunes. Wright has a number of other former Shrimpers in his squad - Dominic Poleon left us as a youngster in 2010, Wes Fonguck at the end of last season and Luke O'Neill, Tyler Cordner and Aaron Cosgrave in between those two. O'Neill, Cordner and Poleon started on Saturday in their 4-1 home defeat to Gateshead, whilst Cosgrave came on as a second half sub. Fonguck was not involved in the squad.
Hopefully our squad have been practicing how to defend from corners since the debacle at York on Saturday, conceding three times to the same set piece in one game is pretty unforgivable and from the reports of those who watched the game, this was far from the only issue with the team.
The next three games Ebbsfleet (H), Braintree (A) and Southport (H) should all be winnable for the current squad, despite the current lack of confidence. There will be a big crowd in on Boxing Day and what is as important as the result is that the team also put on an entertaining performance and not one like the bore-fest in the last home game. Clearly given their league position and form, Ebbsfleet should be there for the taking and it's an opportunity for the team to show that they can score goals and entertain the crowd. This may require personnel changes and even maybe a change in formation - so who would you pick to start against the league's basement boys and what do you predict the result will be?
Happy Christmas to Shrimpers everywhere!
Former Blues player Josh Wright is Ebbsfleet's third manager of the season - former Southend youth coach Danny Searle was relieved of his duties on 9th September after seven straight defeats and his replacement, Harry Watling was sacked earlier this month after failing to turn round The Fleet's fortunes. Wright has a number of other former Shrimpers in his squad - Dominic Poleon left us as a youngster in 2010, Wes Fonguck at the end of last season and Luke O'Neill, Tyler Cordner and Aaron Cosgrave in between those two. O'Neill, Cordner and Poleon started on Saturday in their 4-1 home defeat to Gateshead, whilst Cosgrave came on as a second half sub. Fonguck was not involved in the squad.
Hopefully our squad have been practicing how to defend from corners since the debacle at York on Saturday, conceding three times to the same set piece in one game is pretty unforgivable and from the reports of those who watched the game, this was far from the only issue with the team.
The next three games Ebbsfleet (H), Braintree (A) and Southport (H) should all be winnable for the current squad, despite the current lack of confidence. There will be a big crowd in on Boxing Day and what is as important as the result is that the team also put on an entertaining performance and not one like the bore-fest in the last home game. Clearly given their league position and form, Ebbsfleet should be there for the taking and it's an opportunity for the team to show that they can score goals and entertain the crowd. This may require personnel changes and even maybe a change in formation - so who would you pick to start against the league's basement boys and what do you predict the result will be?
Happy Christmas to Shrimpers everywhere!
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