All At Sea editor Jamie Forsyth pens a column for the Echo newspaper. Here is the latest, published today.
FOOTBALL supporters have notoriously short memories.
It was just two months ago when we didn’t know if we would have a Southend United to support, and we were looking set to start the season with a youth team because we couldn’t sign any players. The club was in a state of total disarray, and it looked like it would take a minor miracle to keep us in the Football League at all.
So for that reason I was surprised to see some of the negative post-match comments from fans printed in Wednesday’s Echosport following the 2-1 reverse against Northampton.
Personally I think Paul Sturrock has done an incredible job just piecing a team together in time. They didn’t get a proper pre-season and he had to persuade players to take huge risks by agreeing pre-contract agreements with a club that has a track record of not paying its players on time and has treated its loyal servants like something they have scraped off their shoes.
In my opinion it was Sturrock, not Torquay’s Paul Buckle, that deserved the divisional August Manager of the Month Award.
Saturday was disappointing of course but that just goes to show how far we have come in a short space of time. Both goals conceded were down to individual errors but we dominated the first 60 minutes.
That follows the excellent team displays against Torquay and Bradford, but it seems that some supporters are still unwilling to give the new manager the benefit of the doubt.
Personally I have enjoyed watching Blues this season – the players are not world-beaters but there are a couple of exciting prospects and it is a step up from some of the horrible dross of last season with most of the squad wanting to be somewhere else.
It is also nice to know that when you go away from home and spend upwards of £100 following the team, there is a chance of the side at least competing, which was not the case during the first half of 2010.
Some of the football we have played has been excellent, but the fans have to have patience, things will not happen overnight.
All At Sea Fanzine 
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