Blindsided as in they werenāt expecting it to happen. Remember they had got pretty much to the EFL deadline without any apparent interest in him. Who here over the summer saw him going to a club in our division?
I knew they needed a backup to him but they secured the backup quickly. What they havent done is secured the direct replacement. Theyāve secured the player who could come on for 15 minutes and make the occasional start. I never believed that every player is a starter. Some are backups whose role is largely off the bench as fresh legs.
Cardwell was one of three players this team was built around whoād play every minute of Maher could let him. Those players arenāt easy to replace. Those players are on a different white board list to those who can spell them for 15 minutes from the bench.
When we signed Cardwell few saw a player that would be soon valued at 120k . He came to us because at that time no one else was willing to take a punt on his potential. In his time with Southend he stayed relatively injury free and played regularly thus developing into a much more valuable player than the one we recruited.
The idea that we now might be able to sign a like for like replacement for HC is surely fanciful. Any striker who might be universally expected to score 15 to 20 a season in the NL, with or without HC's workrate, would demand a fee and wages beyond anything we are likely to be able to afford.
It is very possible that if and when we sign a replacement he will be a mirror image of HC when he first arrived; ie long on potential but short on actual career achievements. Signing such a player requires taking a punt, and, as someone who does not mind making a bet, that can be very rewarding but does not always come off. Even if we have already been able to identify such a player bringing him in may take longer than all of us might like.
In the meantime I can see why KM might be discouraged but managing is making the best of available resources. He now has to try meet the challenges caused by recent developments unwelcome and unexpected as they were.
It is too early to write off this season. As I have said before in a league like the NL a strong finish is more important than what happens in August/September. It may take time to bring the players we need but we now need to ensure we do not fall too far behind the competition. Provided we have a full or almost full compliment of players and are mid table by the time 2025 comes around we could still mount an irresistible challenge for a play off slot. In such circumstances (an imporving team with strong recent form) we would be a team no one would want to play against in the play offs.
Had the takeover been completed two months earlier we would likely have found life a little easier but the disadvantages of being slow into our stride have been seriously compunded by the departure of HC, OK's issues and injuries. Some might like to speculate how much has been already spent on the upkeep/maintenance of Roots Hall in 2024, and, how many really decent players that money might have allowed us to bring in. Sadly a fit squad of twenty four players without a ground to play on would be an even worse predicament than the one we now find ourselves in.
Before COSU took over we were a basket case of a foorball club who might have gone out of exsitance any time. Needless to say we were then skint. While money is an issue with us, and is likely to be so for some time yet, our future is in the process of being secured and we are not under embargo. Things are from ideal but this is hardly the worst situation the club has ever faced.
It goes without saying that I believe we have to remain patient while acknowledging a testing month if not six weeks awaits us. Those who advocate a quick fix, or, money splashed on urgent reinforcements, may be disappointed.
Meltdown might be the default position on SZ for a while yet!
In the meantime here's to our next signing (whoever he might be) and a win tomorrow. 4-0 against Oldham has a familiar and comforting ring about it. UTB!
