SOUTHEND have booted out striker Michael Ricketts — for allegedly being too fat. The Championship new boys are refusing to say officially why they have released the ex-England man, 27, just four months after signing him on a free transfer from Leeds. But a Roots Hall insider declared: "It’s because Michael had put on too much weight. "He had been warned about his fitness but just kept on ballooning. "In the end the manager and coaches just had enough." Steve Tilson’s men face Coventry tonight, with City boss Micky Adams the latest to say he fancies signing United striker Freddy Eastwood. Yet with Eastwood now rated at around £2million, Adams admitted: "We can’t afford him."
