Source: FOOTYMAD
Sturrock explains Shrimpers trio of signings
So Liam Dickinson was the missing link upfront to add to full back Ryan Leonard and midfielder Jean-Paul Kalala in a Southend United hat-trick of signings Wednesday. 1) Liam Dickinson So much for the end of the week, it's all been completed by the end of the day, the jigsaw is completed, well at least until January, but for now Blues boss Paul Sturrock has the squad he wants, and that the faithful hope will sustain a real promotion push kicking off with the home game against Hereford on Saturday, August 6th. And the missing striker was......one Liam Dickinson, and the Shrimpers have become his second club of the close season, following an ill-fated week-long stay at Plymouth earlier in the summer, and he pens a one-year deal at Roots Hall, with the option of a second year. On July 5th, Dickinson agreed as contract with the Pilgrims subject to the takeover of the club being completed. He was released from his contract on only eight days later, citing personal reasons. Serial club buyer and Argyle acting chairman Peter Risdale said at the time: "Regrettably, we have agreed to a request from Liam to be released. We fully understand the reasons why. Liam has been a thorough professional in the short time he has been with us, and we hope that things will work out for him." So do we Peter, but really, the Devon club are in a worse financial mess than we are, blimey, that's bad! Now this boy has been around, read his Wiki file, but he certainly looks as he could be a decent partner for Neil Harris, certainly while 21-goal man Barry Corr,and to some extent, Blair Sturrock, are out injured. Luggy told www.southendunited.co.uk: "He's a good size and he had a good goalscoring record in this divisions a few seasons ago with Stockport. We feel he has the attributes to be a success here." The Southend manager added to the Echo: "This is a great chance for Liam to rekindle his career with us" While the man himself also spoke to the paper: "I'm here to score goals and get Southend promoted. I don't want to still be in League Two next season." 2) Jean-Paul 'Kamudimba' Kalala The other two were not a surprise as S24 reported their names early this morning. Midfielder Jean-Paul Kalala has been a Luggy target ever since he started turning out in the pre-season friendlies and good to see another enforcer in the middle. The boy from Zaire started his career in France playing for Nice before moving to Grimsby Town in 2005. From The Mariners Jean-Paul moved on to play for Yeovil Town and Oldham Athletic before moving back to Grimsby on loan in 2008. He re-joined Yeovil for a second spell in 2009 before signing for Bristol Rovers kast year but has been released by new boss Paul Buckle. On Jean-Paul Luggy said: "JP is a very strong man and is the type of person you want in the spine of your side. He played well against Ipswich despite having just two hours sleep due to illness. But I'm pleased to have completed the transfer and brought him in." The Kalala Files Personal information Full name Jean-Paul Kamudimba Kalala Date of birth 16 February 1982 (1982-02-16) (age 29) Place of birth Lubumbashi, Zaire Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Playing position Midfielder Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1999-2003 Nice B 118 (3) 2003-2005 Nice 2 (0) 2005-2006 Grimsby Town 21 (5) 2006-2007 Yeovil Town 38 (1) 2007-2009 Oldham Athletc 20 (0) 2008-2009 → Grimsby Town (loan) 21 (2) 2009-2011 Yeovil Town 49 (1) 2011 Bristol Rovers 11 (0) National team‡ 2002-2006 Congo DR 7 (0) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:11, 17 May 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:51, 31 January 2008 (UTC) (Player info supplied by Wikipedia, for the full player info go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Kalala) 3) Ryan Leonard Let's face it, your introduced to your team mates just before the kick-off of a pre-season friendly at Dartford, and for a Plymouth boy he probably hasn't got a frigging clue where the hell that is! You get on as a right-back at half time, it's 0-0, the games is dull in the extreme, and then after you've seen your side go two up you decide to let fly from an estimated 30-yards out and see it scream past the opposition keeper and nearly break the back of the net for the third........and then for good measure the very next night, at around the same time, you do it all again, but this time further out and even harder. Ryan doesn't do things by half measure and if you want to get a potential new boss interested in you he's done all the right things, and it looks as if Luggy has seen enough and willing to give the Plymouth boy, who the Shrimpers manager introduved to the Pilgrims as a youth, a shiny new contract. On Ryan Luggy told the official site: "Ryan is someone I know well and he's been excellent during pre-season on trial with us. He will challenge Sean Clohessy for a place in the team." The Leonard Files Personal information Full name Ryan Ian Leonard[1] Date of birth 24 May 1992 (1992-05-24) (age 19) Place of birth Plymouth, England Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Playing position Defender / Midfielder Youth career 2001–2010 Plymouth Argyle Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 2010–2011 Plymouth Argyle 1 (0) 2010–2011 → Weston-super-Mare (loan) 5 (0) 2011 → Tiverton Town (loan) 18 (1) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:12, 25 April 2011 (UTC).† Appearances (Goals). (Player info supplied by Wikipedia, for the full article go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Leonard) Many thanks to www.weston-s-mareafc.co.uk for the use of the Ryan Leonard photo.
