Tilsons contacts. Does he have any?

[Crabby Shrimper]

I prefer the Mr Micawber school of fiscal propriety myself.

Welcome poverty!..Welcome misery, welcome houselessness, welcome hunger, rags, tempest, and beggary! Mutual confidence will sustain us to the end!

That's a helluva lot of confidence, and didn't he find himself in a debtors prison? :p

 

[shrimpled]

I can't believe i'm reading this. Tilly, no contacts? This is an effing joke surely? The bloke is one of the most respected figures in the football league, he has **** loads of contacts when it comes to transfers and player reports and recommendations if and when he needs it. Quite where this has come from god only knows.

 

[CC51DAS]

I can't believe i'm reading this. Tilly, no contacts? This is an effing joke surely? The bloke is one of the most respected figures in the football league, he has **** loads of contacts when it comes to transfers and player reports and recommendations if and when he needs it. Quite where this has come from god only knows.

He definitely has contacts at Wolves ......

 

[biffo]

This argument goes on and on. Why would a "class" player want to join Southend at the moment?
You could have 4 billion quid in your back pocket but it doesnt mean Ronaldihno would join.

actually, it probably would

 

[ashingdon-shrimper]

why does everyone defend matt harold? i can understand defending tilson for what he has done, but matt harold is useless, completly useless a complete waste of time

 

[Ricey]

why does everyone defend matt harold? i can understand defending tilson for what he has done, but matt harold is useless, completly useless a complete waste of time

I have to agree with you on that one!

Waste of space. Worse than Tony Richards.

 

[davewebbsbrain]

I have to agree with you on that one!

Waste of space. Worse than Tony Richards.

This is pushing it..Ok Harrold is ginger and that is a massive negative, but Richards clearly is THE worst striker is Blues history!

 

[canveyshrimper]

In the interest in trying to nail this Tilly has no cantacts argument, let me remind you of the following signings that Tilly & Brush have made while in charge at Southend. Hopefully I've not forgotten anyone, apologies if I have.

Mark Bentley - Dagenham
Lawrie Dudfield - Northampton
Nicky Nicolau - Arsenal - Loan/Permanent
Carl Pettefer - Portsmouth - Loan/Permanent
Darren Blewitt - West Ham - Loan
Spencer Prior - Cardiff
Andy Edwards - Rushden
Wayne Gray - MK Franchise
Bart Griemink - Swindon?
Freddy Eastwood - Grays - Loan/Permanent
Alan McCormack - Preston - 2 Loans/Permanent
Shaun Goater - Reading
Mitchell Cole - Grays
Efe Sodje - Yeovil
Lee Bradbury - Oxford
Luke Guttridge - Cambridge
Steve Collis - Yeovil
Simon Francis - Sheffield United
Richie Foran - Motherwell
Steve Hammell - Mptherwell
Billy Paynter - Hull
Matt Harrold - Yeovil
Gary Hooper - Grays
Michael Ricketts - Leeds
Peter Clarke - Blackpool
Arnau Riera - Sunderland - Loan
Gerard Nash - Ipswich - Loan
Tommy Black - Palace
Jamal Campbell-Ryce - Rotherham
Garry Richards - Colchester
Zoltan Liptak - Hungary
Charlie MacDonald - Gravesend
Nick Bailey - Barnet
Kerrea Gilbert - Arsenal - Loan
Lloyd Sam - Charlton - Loan

According to my calculations that's 35 loan and/or permanent signings. From 29 separate clubs, and I assume 20 odd agents working on the basis that Cody isn't the agent for all of them.

That reads to me that Tilly & Brush between them have plenty of contacts. Allied to the fact that we know that bid for O'Donovan was made, albeit unsuccessful, Liptak comes from Hungary.

I'm not arguing how good, bad or indifferent these signings have been, but I would like to nail this ludicrous assertion about contacts or lack of them. As a side issue anyone care to name me a manager that has never made howlers in the transfer market?

 

[C'mon you Shrimpers]

I'm afraid Wiggy won't be interested in facts that run against his pathetic view of the world.
PS well done Canvey Shrimper for the stats.

 

[Tommy2holes]

Yes tilly has made holwers in the transfer market and yes other managers do this , but the signings that matter (ie) big money signings have been poor. Paynter 250k **** poor i would take a 100k to offload him. Foran 200k not the answer. Clarke 200k the jury is still out. Couple that with releasing players like Bentley and Gray whilst retaining at the time gutteridge and signing matt harold. This is bad management. Bentley would have been very useful and i for one would have gray ahead of most if not all of our strikers through sheer effort and pace alone. Tilly is a legend make no mistake, but questions have to be asked . Why are we not signing anybody even though we have money and the transfer window is soon to close till january . If he doesnt want to spend money then loan some class premier kids in. I know we have gilbert , but surely we need another defender/defensive midfielder and we need another striker with pace as all of ours are static or drop deep.

 

[seany t]

Paynter 250k **** poor i would take a 100k to offload him.

I think Billy P needs some loving on these boards. He's been given about 34 minutes playing time so far and yet we've all condemned him to a lifetime of abuse and inability.

I hope he gets a run out soon, and gets a brace this afternoon...

 

[shrimpled]

When it comes to signings i am 100% sure we have many stokes in the fire as it were. The trouble is at this stage of the window many clubs have their fully assembled squads and are even less likely to release players now than before the start of the season. Also the clubs that have the players we want may be giving us ridiculous price figures and if that is the case i'd rather have no player than be shafted.

 

[shrimpled]

I think Billy P needs some loving on these boards. He's been given about 34 minutes playing time so far and yet we've all condemned him to a lifetime of abuse and inability.

I hope he gets a run out soon, and gets a brace this afternoon...

He'll score this afternoon. I think he's looking sharper than he has done for a while and also a lot fitter.

 

[canveyshrimper]

Yes tilly has made holwers in the transfer market and yes other managers do this , but the signings that matter (ie) big money signings have been poor. Paynter 250k **** poor i would take a 100k to offload him. Foran 200k not the answer. Clarke 200k the jury is still out. Couple that with releasing players like Bentley and Gray whilst retaining at the time gutteridge and signing matt harold. This is bad management. Bentley would have been very useful and i for one would have gray ahead of most if not all of our strikers through sheer effort and pace alone. Tilly is a legend make no mistake, but questions have to be asked . Why are we not signing anybody even though we have money and the transfer window is soon to close till january . If he doesnt want to spend money then loan some class premier kids in. I know we have gilbert , but surely we need another defender/defensive midfielder and we need another striker with pace as all of ours are static or drop deep.

So from that I assume you are not now propagating the myth that Tilly has no contacts?

Everyone can have 20/20 hindsight about signings, and the fact that some didn't work is the way of the world sadly.

Neither or Bentley or Gray were released, they both sought pastures, sadly IMO about Bentley, because I agree he could have been useful at the higher level, but we will never know. It is well documented that Bentley chose a two year deal at Gills rather than stay for a further year at Roots Hall, that was his choice, and good luck to him. Gray considered his offer not good enough and exercised his right to walk away. He didn't exactly pull up any trees at Yeovil, and the fact they were glad to move him on to Orient, says a lot. And after watching him for the Ooze I don't think he has improved in the interim.

Buying palyers is not an exact science and sometimes a deal takes ages to come together, Peter Clarke last saeson is a case in point. Look at some of the protracted tarnsfers that go on elsewhere. I can't answer the question as to why we aren't signing anyone, perhaps that would be better directed at the club in all honesty.

 

[Rayleigh boy]

my worry about Tilsons contacts has always been that they are at the lower level clubs - BUT Gilbert is from Arsenal and Sam was Charlton and I believe
Peggy Lokando is a steal rom the Gunners and I have no idea where that talented teenager Moussa came from but I don't they found him wondering dowm the pier one day -

 

[Kris]

Yes tilly has made holwers in the transfer market and yes other managers do this , but the signings that matter (ie) big money signings have been poor. Paynter 250k **** poor i would take a 100k to offload him. Foran 200k not the answer. Clarke 200k the jury is still out. Couple that with releasing players like Bentley and Gray whilst retaining at the time gutteridge and signing matt harold. This is bad management. Bentley would have been very useful and i for one would have gray ahead of most if not all of our strikers through sheer effort and pace alone. Tilly is a legend make no mistake, but questions have to be asked . Why are we not signing anybody even though we have money and the transfer window is soon to close till january . If he doesnt want to spend money then loan some class premier kids in. I know we have gilbert , but surely we need another defender/defensive midfielder and we need another striker with pace as all of ours are static or drop deep.

First of all, a few corrections. Paynter's fee was undisclosed but it is believed to be about 100k less than you quoted, and Foran's fee was 150k, not 200k (though it would have been 200k if we had stayed up).

Secondly, Tilly DIDN'T release Gray and Bentley. They were both offered new contracts and they chose to go elsewhere. Benno, admittedly, would have been useful last season but people forget that he was largely a fringe player in League 1 and I doubt he would have made enough of a difference to save us last season. As for Gray, pace and effort? Are you serious? OK, he does have pace but his lack of a footballing brain meant that I can probably count on one hand how many times he actually used that asset to his advantage. Gray was decent in League 2 and occasionally brilliant in League 1 but flattered to deceive most of the time. And his effort was largely poor, I thought. I remember when we lost 1-0 to Gillingham at the back end of our League 1 winning season and the general consensus afterwards was that we never wanted to see Gray in a blue shirt again, such was his lack of effort that day. And I saw nothing in the Leyton Orient game to suggest that we miss Gray at all. He was largely anonymous and disinterested, which surprised me as I thought he would be keen to get one over us for his new club.

Retaining Guttridge? Well, he was still under contract and had been a major factor in our promotion from League 1. How was that bad management? No-one could have predicted the dramatic loss of form Gutts was to suffer in the Championship. Tilson got very unlucky here.

As for your final point, I'm sure Tilly is doing his utmost to get a new striker in. I mentioned in another thread that having lots of money to spend when you're a small club like us isn't always a blessing. And there aren't exactly a wealth of suitable forwards available at the moment. Let's be patient for the time being and get behind our existing players. They need us at present.

 

[Richard_Cadette]

I think there seems to be some confusion between us not spending all the money we received from the sale of Eastwood and the fact some people think because of this, it must be down to Tilly not having contacts.

I dont think any professional football manager is without contacts, at any level, that just doesnt stack up. Even if your theory about not having any contacts is true, which IMO it isnt, that would not affect Tilly's ability to buy players, if Tilly watched a player and liked him, what difference does it make if he is 'best buds' with that players manager? It makes no difference in reality.

There are other issues that may or may not be worth discussing regarding the transfer activity at Southend United, and it may well be a valid question to ask why none of the funds we got for Eastwood have yet been spent in anger, but I simply cannot believe it is down to Tilly, Brush and of course Uncle Ron not having contacts.

We all have our own views on this issue I guess, and I doubt there is one Southend fan with even half a brain cell that is happy with our current striking options, or at least the ones which are being used at the moment, and I think all of us would love to see at least one, possibly 2 new additions in that department, and perhaps a few cleared out, but it is plain silly to think that Tilly and Brush are also not aware of this situation.

They have bought some duff players, every manager alive has done that, and I am slightly perplexed that they did not jump at the chance to offload Harrold when the opportuniity arose in the summer, but perhaps they did not think it prudent to sell players before replacements had been brought in - look what happened last season when we went down that avenue?

We have a week or so of the window left, and hopefully within that time frame, we will add to our striking options, so perhaps no need to panic just yet - if come September 1st nothing has happened, then maybe a few more questions could be raised.

 

[Tommy2holes]

Granted regarding gray, but how many league goals has gray scored compared to the likes of harold paynter foran per games. I would say that gray shades maybe the latter and destroys the first . Gray did not walk away he was only offered a one year deal and chose the job security of going to yeovil, It was the same with benno he also wanted to stay but wanted a two year deal. Both players didnt simply walk away as suggested. All i am saying is that out of all our strikers mcdonald is the only one who got more than ten league goals last year. I know it was in the conference , but freddy went straight into the team from the ryman premier. I would say that Easter of wycombe could be ours for 4-600k . He is a class player , the sort of player that takes a midtable team and makes them a play off team the kind the we signed from grays not so long ago. Promotion gaurantees atleast 1.5 million in revenue and tv. Our crowds are excellent for this level and if we want to create something long term at the football club then some money needs spending and a bit of ambition needs showing, otherwise we will become static for a few years and support will dwindle back to gates of 5000.

 

[canveyshrimper]

Granted regarding gray, but how many league goals has gray scored compared to the likes of harold paynter foran per games. I would say that gray shades maybe the latter and destroys the first . Gray did not walk away he was only offered a one year deal and chose the job security of going to yeovil, It was the same with benno he also wanted to stay but wanted a two year deal. Both players didnt simply walk away as suggested. All i am saying is that out of all our strikers mcdonald is the only one who got more than ten league goals last year. I know it was in the conference , but freddy went straight into the team from the ryman premier. I would say that Easter of wycombe could be ours for 4-600k . He is a class player , the sort of player that takes a midtable team and makes them a play off team the kind the we signed from grays not so long ago. Promotion gaurantees atleast 1.5 million in revenue and tv. Our crowds are excellent for this level and if we want to create something long term at the football club then some money needs spending and a bit of ambition needs showing, otherwise we will become static for a few years and support will dwindle back to gates of 5000.

A contradiction there surely? They left the club to take up other offers which is their right to do so, I can't blame them for wanting job security I think we all want that. But walk away they did.

 

[loz]

Granted regarding gray, but how many league goals has gray scored compared to the likes of harold paynter foran per games. I would say that gray shades maybe the latter and destroys the first .

on go on then... according to soccerbase:

gray- 0.19 goals per league game
harrold- 0.13
paynter- 0.19
foran- 0.24

to be fair to Harrold, a greater %age of his appearances came as sub than any of the others. Either way, it's not exactly a ringing endorsement for Gray, especially as a fair few of his goals were pens.