All being well in the Southend camp and Drewe Broughton should be returning to Aggborough this weekend.  This will be an emotional occasion for some and less so for others.

The Drewe fans will make him feel welcome, thinking to themselves that we still haven't replaced the controversial front man, while his detractors, while jeering loudly, will be hoping that he doesn't embarrass them by grabbing a couple of goals for his new team.

So far he's lived up to the detractors expectations of him at Roots Hall by not scoring a single league goal and finding his new fans also split into two camps.  Just as at Aggborough some people think he should be an out and out goalscorer and when he fails to get on the scoresheet the other half of the camp say he's there to hold up play and lay balls off to a partner.

Some feel that the latter reason may be why Bo Henriksen has failed to recreate his scoring form of last season.  He's missing his old partner and the ones that Brit has provided have so far failed to ignite the spark.

The Southend manager, Steve Wignall, is also having a problem finding a strike partner for Drewe and has tried a few combinations without success.  The nearest he has got is to pair him up with Michael Husbands but Husbands has missed a lot of games this season through a medial ligament injury.  He started to make his comeback in a reserve game against Norwich City during the week but is still a few games off match fitness.

He could be on the bench for this game though.

Southend have had a much worse than expected start to the season and find themselves in the same situation as us, down at the foot of the table.  Like us they're better than their position suggests and I don't expect to see them down there at the end of the season.

Then again, who would have forecast Shrewsbury to go down last term.


We've just said goodbye to yet another player in our search for a goalscorer.  Andy Bishop has now gone back to Walsall after failing badly to recapture his form from last season.  Andy's departure was preceded by Lloyd Dyer going back to the Baggies in midweek.  That now leaves us so woefully short in the striking department that Brit has had to call back Matt Lewis from his loan at Hinckley.

Brit has said that his quest to bring in another striker, or two, in time for the game has now had to be called off.  He is still talking to probable targets and will hear more next week.

That leaves just Bo and John Williams to occupy the main striking roles and Williams has yet to show he can still cut it, even at this level.  Brit has got to find a new striker soon or otherwise the good work following last weeks win against Carlisle will all be in vain.

Again?? we have no injury problems but Southend have a few out.  The aforementioned Husbands along with keeper Carl Emberson, defender Che Wilson, Jimmy Corbett and Leke Odunsi.  He was thought to have had a fractured ankle in last weeks defeat against Huddersfield but this has now been discounted.  He is still on crutches and may be out for a few weeks yet.


A win for us is vital.  Win and we climb that little bit further up the table.  Lose and Southend will leapfrog us and send us back down to second from bottom.

Teams

Harriers from:
Brock, Danby, Stamps, Gadsby, Coleman, Willis, Smith, Hinton, D Williams, Parrish, Bennett, Betts, Melligan, Ward, Shilton, Henriksen, J Williams, Lewis.

Southend from:
Flahavan, Petterson, Robinson, Cort, Jenkins, McSweeney, Jupp, Stuart, Warren, S Williams, Tilson, Fullarton, Gower, Maher, Plummer, J Smith, Broughton, Constantine, Husbands, Bramble, Kightly.