Question Successful strikers for us with poor or no decent experience

[Napster]

Surprised no one's mentioned Barry Corr. When we signed him I was underwhelmed looking at his stats and thought he'd be injured constantly.

Happy to be proved wrong though.

I mean I did in the very first post.

 

[Napster]

David Whyte had an excellent period at Charlton before being crap here

 

[SeaSideDoughnut]

I mean I did in the very first post.

Whoopsie

 

[DistantBlue]

Jimmy Shankley as well - not exactly a prolific striker when we signed him at the grand age of 27 https://www.vintagefootballers.com/product/shankly-jimmy-image-1-southend-1930/

Others of note:

Derrick Parker - 2 goals in 6 games
Stuart Parker - 2 goals in 16 games
Chris Guthrie - 0 goals before Southend
John McKinven - 0 goals in 6 games at Raith Rovers before here
Peter Corthine, Jim Fryatt, Mickey Beesley, all also came without much of a pedigree

There's plenty more as well no doubt.

Loved them all
Loved their goals
But most of all if you look back at them every one of them put in a real 90 minute shift every game
They must have been a real pain to play against
Non stop
Sorry a bit off topic !!

 

[Firestorm]

Be interested in the flip side of this too.

How often have we signed someone who’d been banging in goals elsewhere, came with a big reputation and completely flopped.

Salter , from Frome , I really was quite excited at the prospect of someone who appeared to be a “fox in the box” who knew where the goal was . IIRC barely got in the box…

 

[dusterman]

Dougie Freedman had a far better scoring ratio before joining us, really lost that element of his game in his twilight years with us before retiring.

True, but he scored a brace in one of my favourite games ever to watch live against Crewe. 35 degrees in the north and an 88 minute winner in a 4-3. Stunning day.

 

[bluethroughandthrough]

Interesting to see when you overlay playing style ie attack / defence / long ball etc with a strikers success.

I think collymore and maybe Freddie were the only players who succeeded in sub par teams.

 

[Napster]

Interesting to see when you overlay playing style ie attack / defence / long ball etc with a strikers success.

I think collymore and maybe Freddie were the only players who succeeded in sub par teams.

Steve Phillips was superb in a crap side

 

[Richard Hearn]

For someone who came with a goal scoring reputation and then completely bombed at SUFC, I give you "Mr Hide n Seek", Brandon Goodship.

 

[Leeboy]

Salter , from Frome , I really was quite excited at the prospect of someone who appeared to be a “fox in the box” who knew where the goal was . IIRC barely got in the box…

ahem! Post #17

 

[HUMBLEPIE]

For someone who came with a goal scoring reputation and then completely bombed at SUFC, I give you "Mr Hide n Seek", Brandon Goodship.

Lets be honest he has sunk without trace since being with us.

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

Right up to the last minute, it was rumoured to be Johnny Ekström - Swedish International. Oh the excitement I recall turning to dismay when it was announced we had signed an unknown called Stan.
As I understand it, Colin Murphy wasn't interested in Stan and wanted someone else (Johnny Ekström?) but Vic Jobson intervened and insisted it was Stan (perhaps as he spotted the talent or saw the differences in wage demands!). For that, I will be forever grateful to Vic.

That's not the story that I heard at the time.

Colin Murphy had a dead pan dull voice and he announced that he had signed a player (for £100,000 I think) that he had been after for some while and this player was going to be an England international in the future. And to boot, this player was going to get us out of relegation trouble.

There was laughter & dismay in equal amounts when the signing turned out to be a player that couldn't even get in the Crystal Palace first team. And the name - Stanley Victor Collymore - didn't instill confidence either.

All that changed very quickly on the next Saturday against Notts County.

I am proud to say I was there - in the West Stand.

A great game alongside beating Wolves in Division 4 (a very rare Ling header?), Spurs in the League cup & the win against Newcastle (4-0) for example.

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

Leon Clarke did well for us didn't he?

But then he always had a good record I think. If he had signed the club may well have taken a completely different course. [thinking face]

 

[Kris]

Dougie Freedman had a far better scoring ratio before joining us, really lost that element of his game in his twilight years with us before retiring.

In fairness he was unplayable when he first arrived - 4 goals in 5 games I think - then suffered what essentially turned out to be career ending knee injury. He came back too soon and if I remember rightly had to retire at the end of the following season.

It was a real shame as he and Barnard had developed a brilliant partnership.

 

[TJC]

That's not the story that I heard at the time.

Colin Murphy had a dead pan dull voice and he announced that he had signed a player (for £100,000 I think) that he had been after for some while and this player was going to be an England international in the future. And to boot, this player was going to get us out of relegation trouble.

There was laughter & dismay in equal amounts when the signing turned out to be a player that couldn't even get in the Crystal Palace first team. And the name - Stanley Victor Collymore - didn't instill confidence either.

All that changed very quickly on the next Saturday against Notts County.

I am proud to say I was there - in the West Stand.

A great game alongside beating Wolves in Division 4 (a very rare Ling header?), Spurs in the League cup & the win against Newcastle (4-0) for example.

Remember that game very well. Stans first goal seemed to stun the crowd into momen
tary silence for a second or two before any cheering. Sure I heard that story about Vic insisting it was Stan rather than Collins choice. Might have been at the evening with Stan a few years ago. However he ended up with us, I'm eternally grateful to have witnessed those 6 or 7 months. Magical

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Interesting to see when you overlay playing style ie attack / defence / long ball etc with a strikers success.

I think collymore and maybe Freddie were the only players who succeeded in sub par teams.

Collymore and Eastwood played in two of the greatest Southend teams ever.

Murphy had only lost Austin until he sold Benjamin from Webb’s double promotion side. He just didn’t know how to use them.

Eastwood had Maher, Gower, Prior etc through out his (first) time here.

The only Southend side that could match either in my nearly 40 years would be Barry Fry’s side built with the Collymore money.

If you want forwards who scored in bad sides try Crown and Cadette and as @Napster says Phillips.

 

[BluBayou]

Cadette may have only scored 4 in 21 before becoming a shrimper, but one of those goals knocked first division WBA out of the FA Cup. That raised a few eyebrows at the time. The signs of greatness were already there.

It's on Youtube. .................King Richard..........FFwd to 1:28:-

 

[It'sGrimUpNorth]

Leon Constantine scored 21 league goals in 43 games (25 in 53 incl. cups) for us however before that had only scored 3 goals in 35 games across four different clubs.

Great player.

 

[Richard Hearn]

Lets be honest he has sunk without trace since being with us.

Yes, I feel sorry for the guy. His move to SUFC, particularly with the state the club was in at the time, was, as it turned out, probably the worst thing that he could have done.

 

[NZamba Legend]

Slightly off topic but a striker I really liked, who didn’t score many before us, or for us (and after us) was Laurie Dudfield