Tag: Southend United

FootballOpinion

Last Week’s Last Day Drama

David Stringer

Although football in the Premiership and the Championship are ongoing, the normal season in Leagues One and Two are now complete.

Speaking as a Hartlepool fan, I'm glad to see the season go.
Speaking as a Hartlepool fan, I’m glad to see the season go.

There’s been some pretty dramatic action on the final day, including an end to the Doncaster – Brentford game you may be aware of, and amazingly, 7 teams battling to avoid relegation from League Two on the final day.

And Jeremy Kyle, daytime TV talk show host, was invited to give a pre-match team talk, during which he presumably revealed the results of a DNA test to one of the players, and yelled at others.

Click here to read The Lower League Week: The Jimmy Glass Day Edition

FootballOpinion

This Week’s Lower League Week

David Stringer

Yesterday, this week’s Lower League Week went up at Bornoffside.net.

Coventry, after refusing to pay the rent on their stadium for almost a year, have finally ended up facing consequences for their rudeness. (Though they’ve objected to their punishment on a legal technicality.)

Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn has responded to West Ham moving into the nearby Olympic Stadium and threatening his ‘community club’ by thinking about moving the club outside of the community.

Southend and Stevenage have both changed their manager, while Northampton and Burton are on very long winning streaks at home.

And the organisers of the Football League Trophy have apparently decided that the trophy was too well respected, and responded by inviting Soccer AM hosts Helen Chamberlain and Max Rushden to sing the national anthem. Yeah, that should fix that problem.

Click here to read The Lower League Week – The Laughably Inept Edition

FootballOpinion

Is There an ‘E’ in Noticeably? Also, a Delayed Link to Lower League Fortnight

David Stringer

Two weeks ago I couldn’t find the time to write a Lower League Week, so last week I wrote a Lower League Fortnight for Bornoffside, covering the events of both weeks.

Coventry are in a legal mess of their own making; things are starting to look up for Portsmouth (relatively speaking); Bury’s players are on low wages; several of Accrington’s players haven’t been paid, but they now have two England international strikers on their books; the Fleetwood chairman has used Twitter to criticise his players; Southend defender Bilel Mohsni might be taking part in a cage fight; and Dani Lopez scored hat-tricks on two successive weekends, for two different teams, in two different divisions. Not bad.

Click here to read The Lower League Fortnight – Financial Mismanagement Edition

FootballOpinion

Kick and a Punch for the First of the Month. And a Column on Leagues One and Two

David Stringer

Another Lower League Week has been published at Bornoffside, again quite late in the week.

This week I’ve written about the tightness of the races to get out of and remain in League One; after Jeanvion Yulu-Matondo was apparently released by Bury after one game, he’s given his side of the story; Chris Kiwomya has been given the Notts County job until the end of the season; Bradford and Oldham have both been knocked out of cups; Southend are in trouble with HMRC; John Still has left Dagenham & Redbridge after nine years to take over as boss at Luton; and Oxford’s match was delayed because the goalposts weren’t put in straight.

Click here for The Lower League Week: Moving On And Staying Put

FootballOpinion

Today’s Week

David Stringer

Earlier today I published a brief blog post linking to last week’s Lower League Week at BornOffside: here I link to the edition that was published today.

There’s large sections on Paolo di Canio’s departure from Swindon, and Coventry’s conflict over their stadium.

English football’s most successful twin brothers were both sacked as managers this week,Oldham marched a bit further on in the FA Cup, and Preston North End have appointed a new manager already.

Bilel Mohsni returned to Southend after throwing a Tevez, only for them to wish he’d stayed away, the area finals of the Johnstone Paint Trophy were both this week, and I looked forward briefly to Bradford competing in the League Cup final this Sunday.

You can read all that in The Lower League Week – Unreasonable People

FootballOpinion

If You Beat Arsenal, Does It Really Count As An Upset?

David Stringer

My latest round-up of the events in football’s League One and Two went up at Born Offside this morning.

If you even vaguely follow English football, you’ll probably be aware that Arsenal were knocked out of the League Cup by Bradford City – a team three divisions lower than them. You can read about the Bradford side of the story, and the rest of their eventful week.

The_Sunwin_Stand_-_Bradford_City,_Valley_Parade by Betty Longbottom Taken from Wikimedia Commons

Meanwhile, Coventry have been in negotiations over rent for their ground, Portsmouth fans are trying to enforce the sale of theirs, Southend and Bury have struggled to pay their wages, a Carlisle director inadvertendly put his manager under more pressure, and you can hear tales of an amusing own goal and an impressive double save.

Click here for The Lower League Week – Keeping Calm and Going to Penalties

FootballOpinion

How Bloody Cool is Edgar Davids?

David Stringer

Seriously. I mean, just take a look at how cool and laid back he looks, even when he’s not leading European teams to continental glory:

I think I may have a man-crush on him.

There is a sort of reason for the above. Davids has just been named as the Joint Head Coach of Barnet, currently sitting 92nd in the English league structure, whcih I’ve written about for BornOffside in the Lower League Fortnight.

I’ve also covered Peter Ridsdale’s tax dodging, Bournemouth’s surprise managerial appointment, Portsmouth’s secret boardroom history, more accusations of racism (yey, navel gazing!) London Orient, transfer embargoes, and Tranmere’s confusingly good start to the season.

Come this way to read The Manager in the Coloured Glasses

FootballOpinion

A Link to the Column with No Name (Like Clint Eastwood Before He Went Crazy)

David Stringer

Wednesday afternoon the latest edition of the Lower League Week went up… shortly before the announcement of Terry Brown’s departure from Wimbledon, and Mark Robins’ appointment at Coventry. If a week is a long time in politics, an afternoon is apparently a long time in lower division football.

I write about Steve Evans’ latest ban (the Rotherham manager probably has a worse disciplinary record than most midfield enforcers); Tranmere and Andy Robinson’s great start to the season, Coventry’s stadium negotiations, some of the impact of Financial Fair Play, and a transfer from League On to the Conference being delayed because it’s classed as an international transfer.

Wales is the bit that’s in red.
Because it’s the colour of dragons.
They’ve set everything on fire.

There wasn’t a clear theme to this week’s edition, so it’s subtitled The ‘I Couldn’t Think of a Title’ Edition.

FootballOpinion

Doesn’t It Feel Lovely to be in a World Where Chesterfield Can Play Swindon in a Cup Final?

David Stringer

 

My latest Lower League Week for Born Offside is now up.

It’s been a busy week in English football’s lower leagues this week – two sets of fixtures, the closing of the loan window, and the final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, and a certain Scottish Yorkshireman equalled a club record. I also cover various teams out of form, breaking back into form, and why.

You can find all of the above in the Trapped On The Magic Roundabout Edition