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Day: June 12, 2012

What is the difference between the Southend independent group and a true independent?

Published by neilmonnery on June 12, 2012

Well seemingly we are about to find out. Independents are meant to be just that but here in Southend we have a gaggle of them who are classified as the ‘independent group’ on the Council. The independents have ten members and they formed a group so that they could get offices at the council and other perks that alone they weren’t entitled too. However this also meant in practice they were a party and weren’t truly independent. It is something that has never really been transmitted to the electorate across the borough.

Well the independent group is about to go from ten to nine as Westborough independent Dr. Vel has made it clear that he wants to secede from the group and sit as a true independent albeit one that is Conservative minded and has already stopped sitting with his independent colleagues.

With the Thorpe Bay gang of three deciding to go into a deal with the minority Tory administration to get perks for Thorpe Bay to the detriment of some of the other independents the group as a whole is starting to look fractured. Cllr. Ron Woodley has masterminded a move that gives him and his Thorpe Bay colleague the balance of power at the Civic Centre although with Dr. Vel also now set to potentially vote with the Tories it weakens his position slightly.

From what I hear through the grapevine the goings-on at the Civic Centre are very interesting under the surface but on the surface not a lot seems to be happening. The independents are at a point where one section of the group are getting better treatment for their constituents compared to other members of the same group. Independents such as Brian Ayling (St. Lukes) and Martin Terry (Westborough) are most certainly not Tory sympathisers unlike the Thorpe Bay three.

It would always come to a point where the independent group would split apart and that moment is set to come. When 2014 comes around the Labour and the Lib Dems can very strongly point to the independent group in part keeping a minority Tory administration in power. The Tories when they are facing the independents can say that they are Tories in sheep’s clothing so why bother voting for them when they could just vote for the real thing? They’ll say that Virgin Cola is coke but it’s not Coca-Cola.’

Unless the independent group collapses then the independents are set for a hard time in 2014. Those who aren’t part of the Thorpe Bay trio will be tainted by their association with them. If the independents want to grow then they need to kick-off the Thorpe Bay trio from the group and go forward with the six of them with Dr. Vel sitting on his own as a true independent. The problem with independents is you don’t know what you are voting for if you vote for one and in the case of Southend the independents all have a different viewpoint and sit under one banner.

The independent group is not going to grow as presently constituted. They either make the Thorpe Bay three go alone and set up their own ‘Thorpe Bay First’ party (which actually would be a great way for them to go if they wanted to ensure they won their seats for another decade) but would Cllr. Woodley be happy to do this and essentially give up his hopes of ever being leader of Southend Council?

Say what you like about the three main parties and how they are doing in Southend. One thing is for sure and that is the independent group is more fractured than all three of them put together. Now all three of the main parties have ammunition to prove that the independents are a party (albeit one with no cohesive direction) and that by voting independent you aren’t voting for anything. You are just voting against something.

The independents have had a great run in Southend but they now face their most uphill battle yet – and this is one that can only be resolved by something drastic – so lets wait to see what drastic move happens.

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Ian Wright’s England punditry is right up there with my girl-pulling abilities…

Published by neilmonnery on June 12, 2012

This afternoon I read Ian Wright’s latest article on how England are performing at Euro 2012 in The Sun and seriously wondered if his rose tinted specs that he wears on all things England are so rose-tinted it has effected his vision – and mind.

The only thing he got right in my opinion was when he said that we were ‘okay but not great,’ which I think is probably fair. He thought we would win 2-1 if we were aggressive and came out with a more positive mind-set. This is an England team missing several key personnel against a French team who hadn’t lost a game since Laurent Blanc took over the manager duties of the French national side. The fact the weather was scorching hot also didn’t exactly favour the home side. A 2-1 victory for the English was always possible but it was never the most probable outcome.

He is not happy with Roy’s negative approach and couldn’t see us scoring from anything other than a set piece. The fact that James Milner had a one-on-one and got down the inside right channel many, many times obviously escaped his memory as it didn’t fit in with the narrative that he wanted to portray. The underlying narrative that if Harry Redknapp has been appointed then we’d have attacked and really gone for it – and lost 3-0 – but we’d have done it with good intentions.

He questions whether teams can win tournaments by being solid at the back. I’m not sure how his memory is because I distinctly remember that he used to play for Arsenal – in a team that was known for the scoreline ‘one nil to the Arsenal,’ who were strong at the back and hoped to steal games. If you don’t concede then you can’t lose. The age old adage is you have to score to win games but not letting any in is also a good starting point. We loved Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle side the first time around but I’m struggling to recall the names of any trophies they lifted in that era. Harry Redknapp himself only has one major trophy to his name and in Portsmouth’s six game run to FA Cup glory they scored just seven times and let in one. Yes Pompey and Harry Redknapp won the FA Cup but being miserly at the back.

He says that he ‘doesn’t think it can get much worse,’ and you look at the article and think ‘what?’ It is a very encouraging start. The team looked solid and it looked together. They worked hard for each other and stifled a better team. That is good enough for most pundits and indeed most of the media saw it as such but The Sun who thought Harry Redknapp was hosed and are leading the attack on Roy Hodgson already think differently.

International football is a results-based industry. So far so good for Roy Hodgson. We shall see how it works out but there is a reason optimism is down and it has very little to do with the manager. The talent is either getting on a bit, is injured, is suspended or very young and raw. Technically English footballers are so far below the likes of their European counterparts it is laughable. Until that changes then England will never be able to constantly match some of the other nations in an open game of free-flowing football and that is why we need to be more tactically astute. This is Roy Hodson’s forte and so far he hasn’t shown that he is lacking at an international level.

So whilst Ian Wright is foaming at the mouth I most certainly am not. I don’t expect England to entertain. England haven’t got the players to wow us at the moment so you need to find other ways to progress and that it what it looks like Roy is providing.

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