An interview with Southend fan Will

Southend United vs Crewe Alexandra Match Preview

The Mighty Shrimpers are back in action tonight as they seek to continue to pull away from the League 1 relegation zone. This is the re-arranged date for the fixture, which was scheduled to be played the Saturday before Southends FA Cup replay with Chelsea.

That match was postponed due to a frozen pitch, much to the annoyance of Crewe Alexandra manager Gudjon Thordarson who when speaking to BBC Radio Stoke felt given a chance the pitch would have been playable, ‘Maybe they are more focussed on playing Chelsea in the FA Cup (on Wednesday) than playing us.’

His comments won`t have gone down well at Roots Hall with all concerned wanting the game played. A certain Alan McCormack was threatening to get out there with his blow torch. He said at the time ‘I`ve said a little prayer to try and make sure the match goes ahead. If that fails then I`ll be out on the pitch with my radiator, a blow torch and lighters or anything else that I can get my hands on to make the pitch playable – talking to the Echo


OLD FRIENDS

Kevin Betsy will be facing his old boss if he appears for the Shrimpers tonight. Betsy previously worked under Thordarson in his spell at Barnsley. ‘He`s a fantastic gentleman and a very good coach and he will have Crewe very well organised, I`m sure about that.’ – Kevin Betsy, Echo.

Lee Barnard would be facing one of his previous clubs should he make it on to the field without breaking a nail. He had a loan speall with Alex in his Tottenham days scoring 2 goals in 5 games. Former Southend United goalkeeper Steve Collis will be returning to his Roots, but is likely to be on the bench this evening, while he currently plays second fiddle to Everton loanee and former Cambridge United player John Ruddy.


TEAM NEWS

Steve Tilson is often not one to change a winning team but with Kevin Betsy coming up with the winner against Tranmere he could be pushing to win back his place on the right of midfield. Francis Laurent will be pushing for a return but the form of Dougie Freedman and Theo Robinson upfront should see them hold on to their places. James Walker and Alex Revell remain sidelined.

Kenny Lunt is expected to be recalled to the Crewe side but midfielders Luke Murphy and James Bailey are still out. Matthew O`Connor could feature despite being left out of recent squads and Mark Carrington and Steven Schumacher are in contention.


MANAGER VIEWS

Steve Tilson believes the turn in Southends form has been down to the return of some older faces. Now he is looking to continue the recent run. ‘I think we`ve been much harder to break down in the last couple of games and that has certainly helped us to get the wins so we want to carry that on now,’ said the 42-year-old. ‘No disrespect to the youngsters who had been playing because they did well but with the position we were in I felt we needed more experience. That led to the change around and since we`ve done that we`ve won both games and are look solid again.’, talking to the Official Southend website

Gudjon Thordarson believes the Railwaymen just need to start taking their chances. ‘I thought our general play at Leyton Orient was good but we shot ourselves in the foot again with the goal we gave away and us not taking our chances. That is a lesson we have to learn and take forward.’, speaking with the Official Crewe website.


STATS

WWLWL Southend (13) v Crewe (23) LLLWD

Last time out Southend secured an injury-time 2-1 home victory over Tranmere Rovers thanks to Kevin Betsy. Crewe were in action just down the road, losing to Leyton Orient 1-0 at Brisbane Road. When the sides met earlier in the season a late Anthony Grant winner secured the victory for the Shrimpers in a goal fest that ended 4-3 in the Blues favour.

In last seasons home fixture Southend cruised to a 3-0 victory. Southend have won their last 2 home games, with Crewe losing their last 3 on the road. The opposition score first 75% of the time against the Alex.
Crewe are again predicted to come unstuck at Roots Hall as we go for a home victory. A tighter defence in recent games has the potential for another clean sheet tonight as we go for a comfortable victory. Theo Robinson and Dougie Freedman are expected to continue to lead the line in attack and look the most likely to open the scoring with a midfield not troubling the scorers much this season.


BETTING ***

Best prices?

Southend to win: 8/11 for the win (Bet Fred/BlueSq/Sky Bet/Stan James/William Hill)

Southend to win 2-0: 8/1 (SkyBet)

Southend to win HT/FT: 7/4 (BlueSq/Coral/StanJames)

Theo Robinson To Score First: 11/2 (Bet365)


***prices correct at time of article