Page 18 - All at Sea Fanzine Issue 68

18 All At Sea Issue 68
But alas, like his father’s, his rst Southend match ended in a 2-1 defeat. But this in a way is apt as it sets the right expectations for anyone who has drawn the lot in life of being a Shrimper. By going through the lows you enjoy the highs even more, as anyone who watched the Scunny home game will attest.
We wandered out of the car park where we met his Mum and sister, and as I explained to Charlie we had actually lost (he hadn’t really taken in the Fleetwood goals), he quietly took it in and uttered a quiet “oh”.
As we drove home I listened to Phil Brown’s nal post-match interview on BBC Essex. I was absolutely astonished by the man’s hubris when he answered the question “Do you fear for your job after seven defeats in the last eight” with a hostile and defensive one word answer: “No”. Perhaps it was this arrogance that pushed Uncle Ron over the edge and led to PB getting the chop.
So Charlie’s rst game was both the beginning of an era for him and the end of one for the Orange One.
Rochdale (A) – When it comes to doing the 92, I have a black hole in the north west of England. I have done Old Tra ord for an England match, Fleetwood and Morecambe,
but other than that I’m sadly lacking. This new ground and nal match of the holiday was the perfect opportunity to tick o the wonderfully-named Spotland. Sadly it was not to be.
The day started well with the train from Leamington on time, hooking up with my mates Ed and Jon at Birmingham for the trip up to Manchester. Then a pleasant walk across the city to Victoria station, before we arrived in Rochdale at 11.30am. We then walked through the bleak and run down town centre spotting an Egyptian shop (no, I have no idea either) and the town hall which was quite impressive. It was sleeting slightly but it actually felt quite mild, and there were no concerns about the weather at this point.
It was then on to the highly-recommended Baum pub, and the rst round of ales was ordered. As we were happily supping on the beers, I received a message from Jai. “Please tell me you didn’t go to Rochdale, Ed” he requested. I thought the question was prompted by his disbelief that anyone would go and watch Southend away under Phil Brown. “Yes” I responded sending a pic of us in the pub. Only when James Welham said “are there any other games you can get to” did we click the game was o – waterlogged