Canvey Island have parted company with former Football League striker Paul Cobb.

The ex-Leyton Orient man, who has enjoyed a superb non league goal-scoring career with Purfleet and Dagenham & Redbridge, has joined Gulls' Premier Division rivals Braintree for a £2,000 plus fee.

Cobb arrived at Park Lane in the summer of 2001, but generally found himself third choice in the pecking order behind Lee Boylan and Wayne Vaughan in the fight to partner Neil Gregory up front.

This term, despite the departure of Vaughan, he has seldom been able to dislodge Boylan or new arrival Bertie Brayley and has made only two first team starts.

Cobb had a spell with Heybridge Swifts on loan recently and only arrived back at Canvey a fortnight ago. But he was transfer-listed following the club's Essex Senior Cup demise at the hands of Chelmsford City last week.

For tomorrow's home league game with Hayes Canvey expect to have former Aldershot man Lee Protheroe fit - after three weeks out with an ankle injury.

Scott Forbes, Chris Duffy and Ross Johnson remain on the sidelines with various knocks, but Duffy is expected to be fit to return for the busy Christmas holiday programme after being missing since early last month when he underwent a groin operation.

Gulls know that their home Premier form just has not been good enough for a side with serious pretensions to being involved in the title fight for the third season running.

Although they have lost just once in 11 Ryman starts at Park Lane, exactly half of the other ten games have ended with a sharing of the spoils.

Published Friday, December 13, 2002

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