 |
Southend United |
| This is the third time Rovers have played Southend United in an LDV game in five years – and we’ve lost the previous two (though both were at Roots Hall). In January 2001 Rovers went down 1-0 to a goal by lower division journeyman Martin Carruthers and Southend went on to reach the Southern Final (which they lost to Brentford). Last season Lewis Haldane put the Gas ahead only for Leon Constantine to equalise three minutes later. The game went to extra-time when Mark Gower got the winner for Southend. The Shrimpers again had a good run in the competition, this time reaching the final, which they lost 2-0 to Blackpool. The game in 2001 was notable for one other point: Garry Thompson had taken over as caretaker manager from Ian Holloway only the day before the tie (29th January) yet the Southend United programme had Thommo down as the Rovers’ boss. Given normal printing deadlines, Gasheads at Roots Hall were a tad suspicious about that inclusion. |
| How are they doing? |
The Shrimpers are another club who have seen a dramatic improvement in their fortunes this season. Last May they finished one point and two places below Rovers in seventeenth while now they are in a play-off place in fifth. Manager Steve Tilson, a former Southend United player, took over from David Webb in November 2003 and has made some astute signings to help them into their current position and to the Southern Final of the LDV. |
Anyone to look out for? |
| Former West Ham trainee Fredy Eastwood has scored thirteen goals for the club since arriving from Grays Athletic in October and he will be a big danger in both legs of the tie. Midfielder Carl Pettefer is another highly rated player and is one of the leading contenders for the PFA’s February Player of the Month award for Division Three. |
| He likes to have a go! |
| Adam Barrett has been a revelation since joining his hometown club and he’s scored eight times already this season; that’s two more than he managed in two full seasons with Rovers. |
| Sheedhead Alert |
| No ex-City players as far as we can see but Tes Bramble – who was on the bench on Friday night – usually comes in for a bit of flak given the actions of his brother Titus at Colchester a few years back. |
| What about Rovers connections? |
When Barrett signed for Southend in June 2004, allegedly for less money than he was on at Rovers, he joined former Gas teammate Che Wilson who had arrived – via Cambridge City – the previous summer. Ryan Clarke also has a link with Southend: he played one game for the Essex side while on loan there in October. Clarke had arrived as cover for a ‘keeping crisis, which had also seen Shrimpers fan and comedian Terry Alderton – who had recently played in goal for the celebrities team on Sky's "The Match" – join on a non-contract basis. |
| Any rivals? |
| Southend’s main rivals are Leyton Orient. Although the two clubs are hardly next door to each other, Leyton was once part of Essex, and being in the same division fuels the rivalry. The two were due to meet at Roots Hall on April 14th but Essex Old Bill have asked for it to be moved to a Friday night, which gives you an idea of the degree to which it has become a grudge match in recent years. |
| Last time we met? |
| 2-1 to Rovers at the Mem back in August. Barrett (of course) equalised for Southend after Thorpe had given Rovers an early lead before James Hunt got the winner with less than five minutes remaining. The win, by the way, took Rovers to the top of the division. |
| How’s things on the home front? |
Not too bad. Despite having had their fair share of financial problems in recent years, the Shrimpers’ good position has led to crowds that average almost a thousand more than last season and the mood around the club seems positive. It’s not all a bed of roses though: there’s still a good deal of uncertainty over a proposed new ground at Fossett’s Farm. There’s also been some recent controversy over a picture of Southend’s mayor wearing a Chelsea shirt appeared in a local paper. Shrimpers fans were angry as he had long said he supports Southend United. A petition was set up by independent website Shrimperzone before the mayor contacted them to clear things up: he is a Chelsea fan but he is also a Southend fan and has watched more Shrimpers than Chelsea games this season. The shirt was worn to a Barclays function and the idea was to wind up his Man United supporting kids by wearing it next to the Premiership Trophy. Or something like that. |
| Will they bring many? |
| Back in August they brought only 181, although the fact it was the Friday night of the August bank holiday weekend was a major mitigating factor. They’ve clearly got the taste for this competition having got to the final last year and that, together with their excellent league form, have contributed to them having sold over 700 tickets for the fixture – no mean achievement for a Tuesday night. |
| ‘Fascinating’ fact? |
Southend United have scored the second quickest goal of the season in Division Three so far. It took the prolific Fredy Eastwood just nine seconds to find the net in the Shrimpers home game against Swansea in October. He went on to complete a hat-trick as Swansea completed a 4-2 victory. |
| The Big Question of the Day |
| Will the shocking pink mascot, Sammy the Shrimp make the trip? We have to say there’s something that really isn’t cuddly about a 7 foot high prawn… |
| Possible Tabloid Headlines |
FLU, WHAT A SCORCHER! BARRETT HOMES IN ON THE FINAL VAN-TASTIC ROVERS! |
LINKS |
Discuss this on the gasheads.com messageboard |