Southend Team Guide in FM2008
Average Rating: 9/10 Hits: 699 Submitted: Mar 1, 2008
Here you can find various hints and tips when it comes to managing Southend in Football Manager 2008. Ranging from all the basic information about the club, the history of the club, the expectations of the club in both the current season and over the coming years, an overview of the squad and players at your disposal, the best players to buy, the players you should be looking to sell, the best tactics to use, both for attack and defensive and much, much more.
Basically everything you need to know, to aid your career managing Southend in the English League One, in FM2008.
Team Guide: Southend United
Southend, the home of football. Wait thats not exactly true, in fact its so far from true its ridiculous because lets face it what have Southend ever achieved? Well not a lot apart from the odd division top 3 finish.
One thing that is true, is that its a good team to play as in Football Manager. They lack resources, a good team and have a bad stadium. They don't have a sugar daddy chairman and they will usually only sell out if a big team comes to town. This makes it hard to achieve success because it can take a while to bring the team to a good standard.
Financial stuff
So lets start of with what lots of people consider important, how much money do I have to spend! Obviously this can change per game but you're still going to end up with around £250,000 to spend. That isn't a lot at all, and it might be worth keeping that and doing something I don't do in real life, save it.
As you will notice throughout this gude I've included many screenshots. This is a screenshot of the financials screen.
FM2008 Southend united Financial
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The wage budget at Southend is nearly hitting the limit so it might be an idea to sort this out either renegotiating with players or offloading some overpaid players.
Financial rating: Ok
The Staff
One of the really weak arrays of the team at Southend is the staff.
FM2008 Southend assistant FM2008 Southend coach
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click to enclarge
Assistant Manager - Paul Brush
Paul fits the catagory of most lower division coachs or assistant managers, he has good stats for Motivating and training youth players, he is also good with adaptability but the rest of his stats are poor to say the least.
You might want to think of spending some of that cash you have to improve the backroom staff and Paul could be your first person to get rid of.
Coach - Dean Austin
Southend only have one coach Dean Austin. Apart from adaptability his best stat is defending and the rest are terrible. To get your players stats up you will need to get someone to take care of the attacking side as Dean has bad stats there. He cant even coach the youth players well with his stats.
Tip: Bring in some coaches!
Staff rating: Terrible
The First Team
The Southend first team consists of 19 players. If I were to catagorise the team I would say its hard working, hard tackling team, this isn't suprising for a second division team. The first team is not terrible at all and is capable of going up in the first season, just check out their current progess this season.
The biggest team strength is the hard working midfield with plently of tough tackling midfielders to choose from. The area is is lacking is up front with only one half decent striker.
Goakeepers
FM2008 Southend assistant
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Darryl Flahavan
Darryl is the number one keeper for Southend United and has been for some time now. In real life he is a good keeper and in game he is also. Its one of the real good areas within the team, Southend has a good keeper you need to keep hold of.
There is a good chance if not in the first season, the second you will get some clubs looking at Darryl so it might be worth getting him tied down to a long term contract.
FM2008 Southend goalkeeper
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Stephen Collis
Stephen is the backup keeper at Southend and he isn't even worthy of that title, he is poor all over the place. If Darryl is injured then you really have no choice but to play Stephen but be prepared to let in some goals as he is very poor.
If you can pick up a bargin in this area I would definitely recommend buying a better backup keeper.
Goalkeeping rating: Good
Defenders
FM2008 Southend Simon Francis
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Simon Francis
Simon can play either in defence or midfielder in the center or on the right side. He has fairly consistant stats all over the shop but would be much better in defence than midfield. Whenever I have played as Southend I use Simon as a sub more often than not. He is a good option incase of injuries or to change things up a bit.
At 22 years old he has potential to turn into a much better player although his wages are a little high it would be worth getting him on a longer contract.
FM2008 Southend Adam Barrett
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Adam Barrett
Adam is the Tony Adams of Southend, he is hard working and loves to get into the box on corners. If you check his stats he scores a fair bit for Southend in real life, in game however his stats don't do him justice.
He has good determination and heading stats but everything else is average at best. For the first season I would include him in my team but after that he wouldn't even be worth keeping.
FM2008 Southend Peter Clarke
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Peter Clarke
Peter Clarke is one of the few players in the Southend team with caps at International level (although u21!). He is a central defender with pretty good stats and would be my number one choice for center back.
He earns a pretty high wage but his value is also pretty high, he might even be a good player to sell to bring in some extra cash for the good of the team. If you decide to keep him on then extend his contract so you don't loose him on the cheap a few years later.
FM2008 Southend Zoltan Liptak
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Zoltan Liptak
Zoltan was an odd signing for Southend, do you know many players from Hungary that are any good? Well he isn't one thats for sure. He lacks any real talent in game and really doesn't offer much in potential either.
It might be worth keeping as a squad player at best otherwise try and get some of that wasted 50k back.
FM2008 Southend Gary Richard
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Gary Richards
Gary Richards is a good player to have, he is young (21), he earns next to nothing (around 750 a week) and is on a 2 year contract (but extend this!). He has good stats and tones of potential so use this guy well. He could easily gain a first team place straight away but its probably worth bringing him into the team slowly.
This is a keeper.
FM2008 Southend Kerrea Gilbert
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Kerrea Gilbert
Kerrea is the young right back on loan from Arsenal. He has potential with good technique and tackling ability. Its a shame he is on loan as its unlikely this kid will make it big time at Arsenal. Try and extend the loan before it finishes but I suspect that won't work.
For me he is the first choice for right back being the best in that position. Maybe he is too young but he has the best stats.
Goalkeeping rating: Lots of potential
The Midfield
FM2008 Southend Steven Hammell
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Steven Hammell
Steven is a decent midfielder for Southend. He is hard working and has a bit of pace as well. He is perfect to start in the center of midfield.
He is worth nearly a million and isn't being paid too much, this guy should be a fundamental part of your first team if you want to bring this team up with the talent they have.
FM2008 Southend Kevin Maher
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Kevin Mahar
Kevin has been with Southend for some time now and in game he is represented pretty well. He is a tough tackling hard working midfielder. He is no Roy Kean or Vieira but he can do a good job at lower levels in their position.
The big risk with Kevin is that he will probably get sent off around 2 times if not more a year so he has his down sides. A good possibility for the second center midfield role with Steve Hammell I think.
FM2008 Southend Alan McCormack
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Alan McCormack
Alan is another central midfielder that has a good chance of playing in the first team. He is a strong hard working tackler and would probably edge out Kevin Mahar for me in the center of midfield role along side Steve Hammell for me.
Alan is only 23 and is being underpaid so he is a cheap option than the others wages wise, but how long would this last if he plays constantly in the first team.
So far I think the central midfield has to be Steve - Alan.
FM2008 Southend Nicky Bailey
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Nick Bailey
Nick Bailey has only one role in this team, backup. He is not good enough for the first team. He isn't good enough for the first team even though he can play either on the right or center. He is young but shows no real signs of being a good player for the future.
FM2008 Southend Tommy Black
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Tommy Black
Tommy offers nothing to the team like Nick and is purely there for backup purposes. Sadly somehow this guy has one of the biggest wages in the team so I would recommend you get rid of him in anyway you can as he is a waste of space.
FM2008 Southend Mark Gower
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Mark Gower
Mark is one of my favourite Southend players, he has a bit of creativity and dribbling skill and can score a few long range goals a season. Mark causes a problem because you now have 3 players that are more than capable of playing central midfield.
Mark also can play on the left wing so offers a good option there also, depending on what other talent can play there.
FM2008 Southend Franck Moussa
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Franck Moussa
Franck is a winger on the left side and for me fits the role for Southend. He has pace and can pass so he would fit perfectly as I love pacey players in my team. This is the only reason he would beat Mark Gower to my first team in this position.
He is also only 19 and is on a small wage, so offers a lot of potential.
FM2008 Southend Richie Foran
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Richie Foran
Richie is a left sided midfielder that can also play up front. He doesnt have any areas that he is very good at but he does have a lot of aggression which isnt good. He is decent enough to keep as back up for the left sided position but nothing else.
Midfield rating: Good
The Striker
FM2008 Southend Leon Clarke
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Leon Clarke
Leon is the main striker at Southend United and sadly is only on loan from Sheffield Wed. He isn't great at all but is average all over the place so isnt too bad. In real life he has done very well at Southend and there is a chance he will in Football Manager also.
FM2008 Southend Gary Hooper
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Gary Hooper
Gary is a 19 year old striker with some potential to mold into a good striker so is worth keeping and should be getting into the first team if you don't bring in other strikers/forwards.
He has a bit of pace and is hard working so could be your fox in the box?
FM2008 Southend Charlie Macdonald
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Charlie MacDonald
Charlie is the third and final striker at Southend. Sadly they didnt replace Freddy Eastwood because they only have 3 first team strikers and one is on loan.
Charlie hasn't got pace but he has got stamina and will run all over the place all the game, he has spot kick ability so if you're prone to a penalty he is your man. He isn't a first teamer but is a decent enough striker to have on the bench.
Striker rating: Poor
Overall rating: Decent
The Southend team isn't too bad but from those ratings you can see where you need to invest that small amount of cash. There is also a few players you could sell to shore up other areas of the team.
What the Assistant manager thinks
FM2008 Southend Assistants opinion
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My Team Selection
So after considering all of this, this is the team I would pick for Southend United.
FM2008 Southend Team selection
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What do you think?
If you think im wrong then let yourself be heard! Make a comment.
Southend, the home of football. Wait thats not exactly true, in fact its so far from true its ridiculous because lets face it what have Southend ever achieved? Well not a lot apart from the odd division top 3 finish.
One thing that is true, is that its a good team to play as in Football Manager. They lack resources, a good team and have a bad stadium. They don't have a sugar daddy chairman and they will usually only sell out if a big team comes to town. This makes it hard to achieve success because it can take a while to bring the team to a good standard.
Financial stuff
So lets start of with what lots of people consider important, how much money do I have to spend! Obviously this can change per game but you're still going to end up with around £250,000 to spend. That isn't a lot at all, and it might be worth keeping that and doing something I don't do in real life, save it.
As you will notice throughout this gude I've included many screenshots. This is a screenshot of the financials screen.
FM2008 Southend united Financial
click to enclarge
Back to top
The wage budget at Southend is nearly hitting the limit so it might be an idea to sort this out either renegotiating with players or offloading some overpaid players.
Financial rating: Ok
The Staff
One of the really weak arrays of the team at Southend is the staff.
FM2008 Southend assistant FM2008 Southend coach
click to enclarge
click to enclarge
Assistant Manager - Paul Brush
Paul fits the catagory of most lower division coachs or assistant managers, he has good stats for Motivating and training youth players, he is also good with adaptability but the rest of his stats are poor to say the least.
You might want to think of spending some of that cash you have to improve the backroom staff and Paul could be your first person to get rid of.
Coach - Dean Austin
Southend only have one coach Dean Austin. Apart from adaptability his best stat is defending and the rest are terrible. To get your players stats up you will need to get someone to take care of the attacking side as Dean has bad stats there. He cant even coach the youth players well with his stats.
Tip: Bring in some coaches!
Staff rating: Terrible
The First Team
The Southend first team consists of 19 players. If I were to catagorise the team I would say its hard working, hard tackling team, this isn't suprising for a second division team. The first team is not terrible at all and is capable of going up in the first season, just check out their current progess this season.
The biggest team strength is the hard working midfield with plently of tough tackling midfielders to choose from. The area is is lacking is up front with only one half decent striker.
Goakeepers
FM2008 Southend assistant
click to enclarge
Back to top
Darryl Flahavan
Darryl is the number one keeper for Southend United and has been for some time now. In real life he is a good keeper and in game he is also. Its one of the real good areas within the team, Southend has a good keeper you need to keep hold of.
There is a good chance if not in the first season, the second you will get some clubs looking at Darryl so it might be worth getting him tied down to a long term contract.
FM2008 Southend goalkeeper
click to enclarge
Back to top
Stephen Collis
Stephen is the backup keeper at Southend and he isn't even worthy of that title, he is poor all over the place. If Darryl is injured then you really have no choice but to play Stephen but be prepared to let in some goals as he is very poor.
If you can pick up a bargin in this area I would definitely recommend buying a better backup keeper.
Goalkeeping rating: Good
Defenders
FM2008 Southend Simon Francis
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Back to top
Simon Francis
Simon can play either in defence or midfielder in the center or on the right side. He has fairly consistant stats all over the shop but would be much better in defence than midfield. Whenever I have played as Southend I use Simon as a sub more often than not. He is a good option incase of injuries or to change things up a bit.
At 22 years old he has potential to turn into a much better player although his wages are a little high it would be worth getting him on a longer contract.
FM2008 Southend Adam Barrett
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Back to top
Adam Barrett
Adam is the Tony Adams of Southend, he is hard working and loves to get into the box on corners. If you check his stats he scores a fair bit for Southend in real life, in game however his stats don't do him justice.
He has good determination and heading stats but everything else is average at best. For the first season I would include him in my team but after that he wouldn't even be worth keeping.
FM2008 Southend Peter Clarke
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Peter Clarke
Peter Clarke is one of the few players in the Southend team with caps at International level (although u21!). He is a central defender with pretty good stats and would be my number one choice for center back.
He earns a pretty high wage but his value is also pretty high, he might even be a good player to sell to bring in some extra cash for the good of the team. If you decide to keep him on then extend his contract so you don't loose him on the cheap a few years later.
FM2008 Southend Zoltan Liptak
click to enclarge
Back to top
Zoltan Liptak
Zoltan was an odd signing for Southend, do you know many players from Hungary that are any good? Well he isn't one thats for sure. He lacks any real talent in game and really doesn't offer much in potential either.
It might be worth keeping as a squad player at best otherwise try and get some of that wasted 50k back.
FM2008 Southend Gary Richard
click to enclarge
Back to top
Gary Richards
Gary Richards is a good player to have, he is young (21), he earns next to nothing (around 750 a week) and is on a 2 year contract (but extend this!). He has good stats and tones of potential so use this guy well. He could easily gain a first team place straight away but its probably worth bringing him into the team slowly.
This is a keeper.
FM2008 Southend Kerrea Gilbert
click to enclarge
Back to top
Kerrea Gilbert
Kerrea is the young right back on loan from Arsenal. He has potential with good technique and tackling ability. Its a shame he is on loan as its unlikely this kid will make it big time at Arsenal. Try and extend the loan before it finishes but I suspect that won't work.
For me he is the first choice for right back being the best in that position. Maybe he is too young but he has the best stats.
Goalkeeping rating: Lots of potential
The Midfield
FM2008 Southend Steven Hammell
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Steven Hammell
Steven is a decent midfielder for Southend. He is hard working and has a bit of pace as well. He is perfect to start in the center of midfield.
He is worth nearly a million and isn't being paid too much, this guy should be a fundamental part of your first team if you want to bring this team up with the talent they have.
FM2008 Southend Kevin Maher
click to enclarge
Back to top
Kevin Mahar
Kevin has been with Southend for some time now and in game he is represented pretty well. He is a tough tackling hard working midfielder. He is no Roy Kean or Vieira but he can do a good job at lower levels in their position.
The big risk with Kevin is that he will probably get sent off around 2 times if not more a year so he has his down sides. A good possibility for the second center midfield role with Steve Hammell I think.
FM2008 Southend Alan McCormack
click to enclarge
Back to top
Alan McCormack
Alan is another central midfielder that has a good chance of playing in the first team. He is a strong hard working tackler and would probably edge out Kevin Mahar for me in the center of midfield role along side Steve Hammell for me.
Alan is only 23 and is being underpaid so he is a cheap option than the others wages wise, but how long would this last if he plays constantly in the first team.
So far I think the central midfield has to be Steve - Alan.
FM2008 Southend Nicky Bailey
click to enclarge
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Nick Bailey
Nick Bailey has only one role in this team, backup. He is not good enough for the first team. He isn't good enough for the first team even though he can play either on the right or center. He is young but shows no real signs of being a good player for the future.
FM2008 Southend Tommy Black
click to enclarge
Back to top
Tommy Black
Tommy offers nothing to the team like Nick and is purely there for backup purposes. Sadly somehow this guy has one of the biggest wages in the team so I would recommend you get rid of him in anyway you can as he is a waste of space.
FM2008 Southend Mark Gower
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Mark Gower
Mark is one of my favourite Southend players, he has a bit of creativity and dribbling skill and can score a few long range goals a season. Mark causes a problem because you now have 3 players that are more than capable of playing central midfield.
Mark also can play on the left wing so offers a good option there also, depending on what other talent can play there.
FM2008 Southend Franck Moussa
click to enclarge
Back to top
Franck Moussa
Franck is a winger on the left side and for me fits the role for Southend. He has pace and can pass so he would fit perfectly as I love pacey players in my team. This is the only reason he would beat Mark Gower to my first team in this position.
He is also only 19 and is on a small wage, so offers a lot of potential.
FM2008 Southend Richie Foran
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Richie Foran
Richie is a left sided midfielder that can also play up front. He doesnt have any areas that he is very good at but he does have a lot of aggression which isnt good. He is decent enough to keep as back up for the left sided position but nothing else.
Midfield rating: Good
The Striker
FM2008 Southend Leon Clarke
click to enclarge
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Leon Clarke
Leon is the main striker at Southend United and sadly is only on loan from Sheffield Wed. He isn't great at all but is average all over the place so isnt too bad. In real life he has done very well at Southend and there is a chance he will in Football Manager also.
FM2008 Southend Gary Hooper
click to enclarge
Back to top
Gary Hooper
Gary is a 19 year old striker with some potential to mold into a good striker so is worth keeping and should be getting into the first team if you don't bring in other strikers/forwards.
He has a bit of pace and is hard working so could be your fox in the box?
FM2008 Southend Charlie Macdonald
click to enclarge
Back to top
Charlie MacDonald
Charlie is the third and final striker at Southend. Sadly they didnt replace Freddy Eastwood because they only have 3 first team strikers and one is on loan.
Charlie hasn't got pace but he has got stamina and will run all over the place all the game, he has spot kick ability so if you're prone to a penalty he is your man. He isn't a first teamer but is a decent enough striker to have on the bench.
Striker rating: Poor
Overall rating: Decent
The Southend team isn't too bad but from those ratings you can see where you need to invest that small amount of cash. There is also a few players you could sell to shore up other areas of the team.
What the Assistant manager thinks
FM2008 Southend Assistants opinion
click to enclarge
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My Team Selection
So after considering all of this, this is the team I would pick for Southend United.
FM2008 Southend Team selection
click to enclarge
Back to top
What do you think?
If you think im wrong then let yourself be heard! Make a comment.
