Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 1 Oxford 1

[McNasty]

Your thoughts on today's game please.

 

[Barry.C]

Phil just said it was a great point given we stopped playing! He said he had no idea why we stopped playing, which is honest enough. He thought their penalty was soft He did say we dominated for 45 minutes but " goals win games". I was pleased to hear that as when I saw the side I thought Payne might score but the 2 wingers wouldnt.

 

[manor15]

First half was good, far from our best but good enough to beat an average League 2 side, second half was absolutely woeful. Defensively looked all over the place, no width, no flare or creativity, no one to finish anything, absolutely awful. Players who played well looked tired after 70 minutes, Leonard had a mare, nothing seemed to come off for him, genuinely hard to single anyone out for praise other than Payne, Thompson or Clifford.

Bentley 6.5 Few fantastic saves in the second half but poor distribution throughout.
White 6 Weak link in defence, can't deal with it when faced with any pace and clueless at left back.
Thompson 7 Best I've seen him play, calm and assured.
Prosser 6 Didn't deal well with being run at, few pointless long balls and didn't control the back line.
Coker 6 Nothing going forward, not too much to do defensively.
Leonard 5.5 Nothing went his way, desperately out of form and wasted chances by shooting from 40 yards.
Clifford 7 Respect to him for playing on through the pain at the end, few headless moments but on the whole a good game.
Atkinson 7 Worked hard, tired late on but did well, especially in the first half.
Payne 7.5 Creative, made chances, not afraid to shoot, best player on the pitch.
Coultihurst 6 Didn't make anything and seems destined not to score.
Weston 6 Started off better and faded, useless as a target man and too one footed.

Worrall 6 Didn't make much of an impact, I'd like to see him start.
Corr 6 Useless hoofing long balls up to him with no support, we needed width and didn't have any.
Hurst 6.5 Better than he has been, not his best but not much time to make an impact.


Brown has to take the blame for changing the tactics at half time, the penalty seemed very soft from my view but can't blame the officials, we should have put it beyond doubt in the first half and killed them off. As for Oxford, they were shockingly bad and some of the worst divers I've seen in a while.

Reminded me of the spell we had last season with 15/16 games without a win when we looked like a flood in a desert was more likely than a goal, only what worries me is that Lenny, Hurst, Coker, etc who had the moments of magic to get us a point aren't performing, and we look weaker at the back than we did then.

 

[Tommy2holes]

Good passing first half and play calm attractive football without really doing much.

Second half was one of the poorest halves of football I have seen. No endeavour no class no togetherness and no idea.

The penalty looked soft but for Bentley we would have lost today.


Coulthurst needs to man up and quick. Bullied all game and lazy off the ball.

Scoring goals or not scoring will cost us any chance this season and I have no confidence that corr barney or Shaq will get anywhere near scoring goals.

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Good passing first half and play calm attractive football without really doing much.

Second half was one of the poorest halves of football I have seen. No endeavour no class no togetherness and no idea.

The penalty looked soft but for Bentley we would have lost today.


Coulthurst needs to man up and quick. Bullied all game and lazy off the ball.

Scoring goals or not scoring will cost us any chance this season and I have no confidence that corr barney or Shaq will get anywhere near scoring goals.

Agree with all of that and nothing else really to say

 

[Medway Blue]

Deleted - double post

 

[Barry.C]

Positives.
1. Jack Payne, starred again
2. We still have the best set of midfielders in this league. Are we missing some Timlin marshalling?
3. Thompson getting better, still young, representing his country next week. Can play right back
4 .Bentley 2 great saves, still learning but real class, big revenue to come.
5. We remain a very young, agile, energetic side, will only improve.
6. Phil will turn this around, only 3 points off play offs folks, really early days.

Negatives.

1. Still no real threat upfront ( or height or weight today)
2. Our standard of crosses needs to get back to where we were.
3. Phil remains instinctively defensive , but this may even spark him and Ron to go out an add a loanee quality forward. We Sat back even further when Worrall came on. ?under instruction
4. Weston seen as pacey but someone released by Brentford and Gillingham as possibly flattering to deceive as a scorer
5. Coulthirst not a main striker, needs to learn to bend runs more. Experienced Goalscorers on bench today and waiting in the wings/ development squad but how will Weston and Coulthirst and the younger ones cope when trying to hurtle through the mud of heavy winter pitches?
6. No wins in 5 games, can impact on confidence.

 

[Medway Blue]

Very, very frustrating. Yes we played some nice stuff in the first half and dominated possession but never really looked like scoring, bar Payne's goal. I'm not sure what formation was being played in the first half, and I'm not even sure Brown knows himself, but it simply does not work. There was no threat from the wings and no threat up top and it just looked all over the place. He's been so used to getting his success higher up that he's now trying to play systems which are beyond the capabilities of players at this level.

Being contractually-bound to play a loanee "striker" who quite frankly offers us absolutely nothing just exacerbates the situation. I'd rather Barnard play because whether he's scoring or not, he will chase balls down, get into good positions and jump for headers. He's therefore a better option than Coulthirst who seems lazy, disinterested and shirks challenges.

We have the quality in this squad (more quality than last season IMO) to challenge this season but the formation and tactics are holding the team back. Barnard is a natural goalscorer, rough patch or no rough patch, and he is in good shape. If he is persevered with and used correctly in the right formation then he will come good, he doesn't just become a bad player overnight. He's a better option than sticking a winger and a young Spurs player who offers nothing up front. Oxford were there from the taking and we should have been 4-0 up at halftime but going from that to holding on for a point at the end just isn't good enough.

And I'm sorry, John White had a good game today but captain material he ain't.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Positives.
1. Jack Payne, starred again
2. We still have the best set of midfielders in this league. Are we missing some Timlin marshalling?
3. Thompson getting better, still young, representing his country next week. Can play right back
4 .Bentley 2 great saves, still learning but real class, big revenue to come.
5. We remain a very young, agile, energetic side, will only improve.
6. Phil will turn this around, only 3 points off play offs folks, really early days.

Negatives.

1. Still no real threat upfront ( or height or weight today)
2. Our standard of crosses needs to get back to where we were.
3. Phil remains instinctively defensive , but this may even spark him and Ron to go out an add a loanee quality forward. We Sat back even further when Worrall came on. ?under instruction
4. Weston seen as pacey but someone released by Brentford and Gillingham as possibly flattering to deceive as a scorer
5. Coulthirst not a main striker, needs to learn to bend runs more. Experienced Goalscorers on bench today and waiting in the wings/ development squad but how will Weston and Coulthirst and the younger ones cope when trying to hurtle through the mud of heavy winter pitches?
6. No wins in 5 games, can impact on confidence.

Well they weren't there for the second half

 

[geoffmundo]

Thought Brown was very honest in his post match assessment that we played to 'hang on' to our 1 goal lead. The problem with this plan is that if the opposition do get a chance we are then on the back foot with no ideas or momentum.

 

[Mick]

6. Phil will turn this around, only 3 points off play offs folks, really early days.

If he can't even get the players to "turn up" after his halftime talk, what gives you confidence to suggest a turn round ?

It can't be his recent "form" over the last few years, so what is it ?

The teams we have taken points off this season have an average league position of just below 20th. Oxford looked shocking in the first half and we made them look good in the second. Does anyone really think we've moved on from last year ?

 

[ryansm05]

I couldn't make it today as I had a problem with my motor - but I'm kind of glad now!

The problem is, we have been stuck in this division for too long. The fact we still have the same problems in front of goal as last season, seems to suggest automatics will once again elude us if we let the top 3/4 get away too early.

The fact we spent on Bolger and got in real talent like Weston and Worral; yet we cannot kill games off... it's all extremely worrying. And I say that in reference to Brown, who has really brought a professionalism and a bit of class to the club. But if we're still struggling in the next 5/6 weeks, and loses his job here.. it's not going too bode well for his career. And when you look at managers like Dowie who were once in the Premiership and now struggling to get a gig on Sky.

I really hope it all figures itself out, our strikers start scoring and Payne comes to the forefront. But it's all becoming a too familiar story that we seem to be faced with each season.

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

Thought Brown was very honest in his post match assessment that we played to 'hang on' to our 1 goal lead. The problem with this plan is that if the opposition do get a chance we are then on the back foot with no ideas or momentum.

that approach is more often the result of low confidence levels rather than an overly-defensive manager

 

[Pak Power]

Feels like a defeat, and but for Bentley, would have been.


Bentley 8 ;Two wonder saves before the pen, and some good throw outs too to get us on the way. A good block in the first half too when our defence (who can't play the ball out fronm the back) had no big target man to hoof to.


White 6; Not too much wrong , but luckily for him got the wrong side of players, who werent good enough to exploit his lack of pace. I know we were looking at the guy from Man City. I think I know the reason why.


Coker 6; Got a bit caught today in the first half, especially lost his man in the first half, and the guy un-marked at the back stick headed straight at Bentley.


Prosser 6; Won most headers, distribution let him down a little, First two passes (forward) 1. down the left channel towards Weston...straight out of play 2. straight to opposition.


Thompson 6.5 ; his booking left him on edge for much of the match, but did ok with his distribution slightly better than Lukes's.


Leonard 5.5 ; Worst match I have seen him play for us, as like a lot of the team better in the first half than the second.
He is missing Timlin badly, he doesn't trust the others in the midfield, so he is not getting forward nearly as much.

Clifford 6.5: Bags of energy, doesn't know when to tackle , and when to let the opponent make the mistake. hence he got himself injured. was tiring badly though, and should have been substituted around the same time as Payne.


Atkinson 7; got up and down well, final ball let him down, but box to box good.


Payne 8; all that was good about our offensive play came through him. Lovely goal but tired after an hour and was rightly subbed.


Coultihurst 6; Looks to have the upper body strength to hold the ball up, then loses it with control that lets him down. Can't see him scoring, and I hope to be proved wrong about him , but I prefer Corr up top, with the way we play.


Weston 6; at least had a couple of runs and a possible sending off against him. but as someone said earlier, all left foot.
When he went out to the right in the first half, their left back, just showed him outside time after time.

Front two, don't look like they have goals in them. I might use them as subs against a tiring defence.

Corr. 6; I was crying out for him to come on, but little impact, balls at his throat don't help mind.
Worrall 6; Didn't touch the ball for ages after coming on, so whatever was said to him by the management fell on deaf ears.

Hurst 6.5; Pick of the subs, and showed that Worrall and Weston appear to be no better wide men.




I think this team are missing Timlin BIG TIME. I am pleased he has targetted an October return

 

[amsemp]

Bentley secured us a point, Payne was the best player on the pitch and Thompson was like Jekyll and Hyde.

As soon as the first goal went in, it was as if we had absolutely no interest in pursuing a second. Even when we were at 1-1, Corr was chasing down the keeper and beckoning the rest behind the halfway line to join him in attack, which they didn't.

Getting embarrassing now. If we can't kill off a team like Oxford, who in all honesty were poor, then it doesn't really bode well for the rest of the season. Brown is incredibly stubborn and just won't change a system that hasn't worked for 5 games now. I am actually desperate to see a 4-4-2 now. It's all well and good playing 4-3-3 and sacrificing attacking prowess for a 'clean sheet mentality', but when we don't even keep a clean sheet it makes the whole exercise frustrating and pointless.

Really not happy at the moment. Feels like we're going backwards.

 

[Fairport]

The plus point from that game was the performance of Jack Payne. It's great to see him and Bentley come through our youth system and to be the best players we have in the squad. On the downside I cannot see what Atkinson and Worrell bring to the team, never look remotely like scoring and do not provide assists either. Thompson and Prosser are certainly not the answer in the centre of the defence. Hopefully we can bring in one or two quality loanees during next week.

 

[Mick]

Thought Brown was very honest in his post match assessment ..........

He's not paid to be honest and say when we fall short of the required standard, he's paid to stop us falling short !!

 

[The General]

All very similar to last season, this. We've been very good in the majority of games i've seen and think that the 2nd half was just a blip. We've got a very strong squad and that will see us in good stead as injuries start to toll on the league. Bit over-reactive on here (as per) as well as social media but cant say im surprised.

Keep the faith!

 

[shrimperjon]

All very similar to last season, this. We've been very good in the majority of games i've seen and think that the 2nd half was just a blip. We've got a very strong squad and that will see us in good stead as injuries start to toll on the league. Bit over-reactive on here (as per) as well as social media but cant say im surprised.

Keep the faith!

I think we have a strong midfield and a decent keeper. Forward players have been poor with not much in reserve and and the defence also light in numbers

 

[Hawkwell Blue]

Why do people keep saying without Bentley we would have lost, his job is to save shots. It's like saying without our goalscroer, whoever that maybe, we wouldn't have scored.