Town boss Paul Jewell was spotted watching Southend United take on his old club Bradford City on Friday evening. The Blues manager has been keeping an eye on the Shrimpers on a regular basis since the end of last season.

Jewell, who was joined at Roots Hall by coach Sean McCarthy, previously caught Southend in action in the FA Cup at Preston last month.

Southend youngster Kane Ferdinand was in the Shrimpers’ line-up, having been watched by the Blues’ management on a number of occasions last season.

The 19-year-old midfielder was replaced after 65 minutes by team-mate Anthony Grant, another player Town showed interest in towards the end of last season.

In goal for the Essex side was on-loan West Brom man Luke Daniels, who was also caught in action by assistant boss Chris Hutchings in September as well as at Preston, with another keeper very much on the Blues’ wish list for January.

The Town manager was last seen at Valley Parade in October with his West Yorkshire home close to Bradford, the club where he made his name as a boss.

Photo: Action Images

harmitfc added 09:08 - Dec 19 Talent scouting or sizing up next season's opposition????
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bobble added 09:17 - Dec 19 word in the local is he,s applying for the assistant managers job down there.
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strikalite added 10:02 - Dec 19 I think it's good that he's watching these players, it has to be, it's what we all want to hear because some of the best talent in the Prem came from a lower level and had previously slipped through the net at bigger Clubs(they often get it wrong on young players, hey, as we do :))..we want players here who want to make the step up and not the step down.
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tractorboy2434 added 11:31 - Dec 19 I really, really hope you are right but in truth I think Town's scouting system is non existent, other than Cresswell just who have we signed in the past few seasons who is young, hungry talent, exactly zilch. The management of this club need to get off their *rses and do something.
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gypo added 11:54 - Dec 19 Tractorboy 2434 alot of our supporters need to get off there arses and support the club !!
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Bluebaz added 12:03 - Dec 19 for 'support the club' read 'blindly follow with unquestioning loyalty'
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Mark added 12:35 - Dec 19 I think the scouting network was virtually dismantled under Keane, who only wanted to sign players he knew personally. Jewell is rebuilding the network and we await the dividends this will pay. Once scouts have identified players it is right the manager looks at them himself to make sure he agrees they are worth signing before splashing the cash. This story is a positive therefore.

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westleydan added 12:38 - Dec 19 harmitfc you have made my day with that!
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simonsays added 13:05 - Dec 19 He is making a bit of an assumption that they are going to get promoted so we will be playing them next season! Maybe he should try and scout some future opponents who are currently in our own league!
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walberswick added 13:25 - Dec 19 Try doing the football manager job before you try punditry. What an old wind bag he's turned out to be. Anyhow good luck over Christmas, I think we might need it. COYB
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CornardBlue added 14:17 - Dec 19 Good points you make Mark. Keane took this club backwards got rid of loyal backroom staff, sold or gave away Walters, Rhodes, Stead, Trotter, David Wright, and left club in a mess. Paul Jewell is trying to re-build we should all be behind him.
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RegencyBlue added 16:01 - Dec 19 I'm not Jewell's greatest fan but surely this is good news? He's been getting stick for not taking a chance on young players from the lower leagues and when he goes to look at some he still gets stick! CornardBlue makes an excellent point above. Keane destroyed the backroom of this club. Getting rid of Klug, one of the highest qualified coaches in the country, was yet another of his manic decisions which will take us years to recover from.

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scunnyblue added 16:04 - Dec 19 i agree with conardblue and a few others. Keane left this club in an awfull mess . This is PJ's first full season in charge. think we should judge him come the end of the season . if were still in the lower part then maybe question should be raised. For now i think we need to stay behind him and the team despite any doubts we have and give him some time to re build.

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fourth added 16:57 - Dec 19 You don't think he might be meeting up with his mates who are importing exotic northern potato rissoles
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jas0999 added 17:12 - Dec 19 Because PJ opted to rely on loans (three keys players have either left or in process of leaving) and ageing players, we will be back to square one in the Summer. PJ needs to up his game and build for the future - ensuring there is still a good mix of experience. It is therefore good to know that PJ is looking at these type of players. Before the Summer though there is much to do. PJ failed to address the defence in the Summer and as a result we had to rely on a player on a 93-day loan - plus a couple of injury prone older CB's. As a result PJ has left us very very short in that area. Let's hope he learns from his mistake and actually sign the right players in the window - not afterwards when it's freebies or 93 day loans only. I really hope PJ proves me wrong, but to date it's not been very impressive.

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fourth added 17:29 - Dec 19 Well of course it would have been very different if we were challenging for promotion, with the conversion of 3 or 4 players. But it's a great opportunity to create a TEAM based on players who will commit over the long term. Does this mean a number of 3 year contracts?
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Mark added 17:41 - Dec 19 I don't think Jewell opted to rely on loans and aging players, he had a budget and I suspect simply didn't have the money to sign the type of expensive players that Magilton and Keane did. Keane left the squad in tatters and Jewell is trying to rebuild it. Despite our league position, I don't think his signings have been too bad for a total of £3M in fees. Keane blew almost that on one player (Leadbitter).

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Ipswichbusiness added 17:44 - Dec 19 Perhaps we should try playing some of the young players we have already (e.g. Carson, Hyam, Murray) before signing new ones? A defender or to would be good.
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SomershamBlue added 18:24 - Dec 19 No manager would choose to go for loan players - unless he has no budget to buy. Think about it.
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livrich added 18:43 - Dec 19 Any ideas what we do team-wise next match, without Andrews, Collins, Stockdale? Not good to lose 0.3 of your team. Lee Barrett steps in based on last game, but how are we going to cover for one of the divisions leading scorers and a steady central defender in a shocking defence? Over festive break we have... 26 Dec 3:00pm Leicester City A 31 Dec 3:00pm Reading A 2 Jan 3:00pm Nottingham Forest H We need to build on our 1.5 game unbeaten run.... I would imagine Lee-Barrett, Edwards, Sonko, Delaney, Cresswell, Martin, Bullard, Bowyer, Murphy, Chopra, Scotland

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blrmy added 18:52 - Dec 19 sup·port [suh-pawrt, -pohrt] 1. to bear or hold up; serve as a foundation for. 2. to sustain or withstand without giving way; serve as a prop for. 3. to undergo or endure, especially with patience or submission; tolerate. 4. to sustain under trial or affliction.
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h32 added 18:58 - Dec 19 gypo - reality check for you - with the rubbish that's been served up this season, this Club has been WELL supported. Not everyone will pay good money to watch poor entertainment - Thankfully.
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Michael11 added 18:59 - Dec 19 I think its a good idea to look at the lower leagues, there's alot of talent with young players who are hungry to play at a higher level unlike some of the players we have who are 34 just looking for one final big pay day. Just look at Aaron Cresswell for example probably our player of the season so far!
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paulnstar added 19:06 - Dec 19 nice day out for the derby match at southend in league 1 ,candy floss and arcades cant wait
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Garv added 19:30 - Dec 19 '1.5 unbeaten run' - the most idiotic comment I've ever read on here (and there are many daily!) Lee-Barret will do fine as he has shown NUMEROUS times in a town shirt - he's had more good games than bad for us. Andrews we have until the forest game, and possibly the Hull cup game? I'd go with Sonko and Ingimarsson in centre defence. The reason Collins and Sonko worked so well was one was an organizer, good on the ball and position wise and the other was a no nonsense put it into row z defender. Sonko and Ingimarsson could have the same combination together.

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