Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 3-0 AFC Wimbledon

[Massimo Giovanni]

I hope people take this comment as being positive ............

............ but is anyone else like me and pleased to see a good win without Nile Ranger in the team?

Nile will be missed but Fortune did very well; AND must be signed for rest of season.
For those not there, Nile was today doing the half time draw. Sokolik was on bench.
Mr Tilson and his son where in D.Box.
David Mooney was in track suit and unshaven/ unkempt, PB very sharp dressed and continued with his good line behaviour.

 

[fatgrandad]

Demetriou - 7 played well overall. Provided width and attacking thrush. Good pace and industry, seemed like he had a £5 on himself to score but couldn't finish in a whorehouse today. Great chances though. Defended well and played almost as a wingback so can't do everything.

...cause and effect?

 

[RobM]

I hope people take this comment as being positive ............

............ but is anyone else like me and pleased to see a good win without Nile Ranger in the team?

I'm pleased to see a good win - as this was - whomsoever is in the team.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

Overall superb first half, slightly less so second. Again.


Leonard - 8 such a superb player for me. his defensive work in unreal. his pace and recovery, his tackling and interceptions are ace. His work on the ball is not as good but if they were he'd probably be Premier League. The fact that he puts in such a shift and never gets booked shows how well he does this job.

You had me with you BUT Len was booked today for late tackle foul!
Anton got his 4 th booking for foul so is 1 away from suspension.
Fortune booked for gatting angry after off ball incident that officials ( and me) missed. I am told he was hit by swinging arm and wonder if it is on tape will FA do FA about it on review?

 

[fbm]

Agree with quite a lot but would add the following -

Ted - His kicking is probably average and it showed how good Oxley's is. 2 good saves but also could have claimed a couple that he left... I'd give him a 7

Ferdinand - thought he had a 'mare, especially in the first half. Gave the ball away several times, which is several times more than usual. 6 for me.

Timlin - stopped some crosses very well but was struggling until the sending off. Again, a 6.

Fortune - Great hold up play and lay offs. Sometimes needs to head back into the box and not stay out wide. 8.5

Cox - 9 - MOM. Pure genius in thought, passing sometimes absolute precision, could have had 4 or 5 and if there was a criticism it was to have a shot or two more. Two quality goals, the second one total class.

Superb management from Brown to sub MAF as well.

 

[Ozzer]

Fantastic first half from the team but I have to single out Fortune today. What a performance! 35 years old, ran the whole game and was still annoyed at being subbed off at the end. Showed some great touches and hold up play aswell. My clear MOTM.

Another good performance and 3 points, let's keep it going!

Thoroughly agree. The best I've seen him play for us. The 2nd goal was all through his efforts. Two crucial passes, including the one for Will to score.

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

You had me with you BUT Len was booked today for late tackle foul!
Anton got his 4 th booking for foul so is 1 away from suspension.
Fortune booked for gatting angry after off ball incident that officials ( and me) missed. I am told he was hit by swinging arm and wonder if it is on tape will FA do FA about it on review?

haha, fair play, i'd totally forgotten that. amazing how (that) my mind works

 

[WESTY_SUFC]

The reason why we lasted one season at the Championship, it's cos of Tilson poor transfer dealing in the summer & getting loan players in mid season is the reason why we went down. PB have contacts in the games & he would find couple of gems on loan or prem' deals & upgrades on what we got, to give us an fighting chances & he have experiences of managing in Championship level.

]

So you know PB would of kept us up that season spending the same amount as Tilson did which was peanuts in championship terms? I think Jose Mourinho would of done well to.

Great performance today. Let's see if we get to the championship before saying if we are good enough to stay up....its a long way off yet.

 

[Danshrimper]

I don't want to argue, I'm just expressing my concern when we go up (and I do believe we will). We can't sustain a wage bill to remain in the Championship through gate receipts at Roots Hall.

My question to you is, do you think Roots Hall is a comfortable, clean and welcoming environment to entice more fans? That's a serious question, without sounding patronising.

Yes it is. It was full for most games in the Championship. 8500 today and probably 9500+ against Charlton. People will turn up regardless of how comfortable or uncomfortable they find Roots Hall if we're winning games or playing big teams which we will be in the Championship. Struggling to fill Roots Hall (which we would fill anyway) wouldn't be the problem, the problem is that it isn't big enough and doesn't make enough/any money away from the football.

Brentford's stadium isn't much better and they seem to have been doing alright in the Championship for the past few years.

 

[AndyT]

Going to write this blind, before reading any other posts, so apologies if I'm repeating some points.

Another fantastic team performance!

RATINGS :

Smith 8 - What a crucial save that was at the start. He obviously must have been nervous, especially with a big crowd, but that was a top drawer save and a really great performance all round.

Demetriou 7.5 - Another good game and I loved the way he exploited the space down the right and is always an out ball going forward. I don't think it will be long before he scores.

Thompson 9 MOM - Simply outstanding and did a fantastic job to calm Fortune down and avoid a red card for him. Wimbledon had some big fellas and he dealt with everything.

Ferdinand 8 - Another great performance. Made up for a couple of early lapses, with a captain's show for us all.

Timlin 8.5 - Coker will be very lucky to get his place back, IMHO. Tims is growing into the role and some of his no nonsense tackling was superb.

Wordsworth 6.5 - Wordy didn't have the influence on the game he would have liked, but it's a measure of how good he is, that we notice when he puts in an average performance.

McLaughlin 6.5 - Similar to Wordy. Worked really hard for the team, but a few things didn't quite work for him today.

Atkinson 8 - Mr Reliable, as ever. Took his goal really well.

Leonard 7.5 - One tackle, chasing back in the first half, sums up what Lenny is about and his role in front of the back four is so crucial to our defensive record lately.

Cox 8.5 - Wonderful goal. Can you imagine some of our recent strikers having the confidence to chip the keeper like that. This guy is a different level.

Fortune 8.5 - If anyone is in any doubt that he is a great acquisition, then they just need to watch today's first half performance.

SUBS :

McGlashan 7 - Brought on at exactly the right time, to protect Fortune from a red card.

WIMBLEDON :

I think I was watching the old 1980's Wimbledon. Knocking long balls up to muscly strikers and committing niggly fouls. Arguing with the ref. A shame, as they really are a flagship for what you can achieve from nothing, but they would have won few admirers this afternoon.

OVERALL :

We just go from strength to strength.

All the players just seem to be enjoying our success and working so hard to achieve it. Loving the goal celebrations, especially.

Is it too early to start believing!

 

[IronMike]

Delighted with today.
A really positive performance, second visit of the season - 12th here since moving up this way.
So glad to see a dominant display for once and a convincing 3-0 win, could have been more.
I finally got my brother to join us too for his first ever visit and happy that he enjoyed it.
He said he didn't know quite what to expect but said the standard was pretty decent and was happy with what he got for his £18.
He'll come with me and the kids now all the time I just know it - after the 3pm match he mentioned what a great day for football it was all round. Tells me how he likes Southend more than Leyton Orient which made me chuckle (only a West Ham fan from Redbridge can understand that comment/comparison). Another follower, he's got the bug - don't think he expected both my sons passion and enthusiasm for Southend.
Smith 7. Important save at the start after Anton's misplaced header, did what he had to do today, confident and assured. Growing mentally.
Demetriou 7. International. Great going forward, provided plenty of options. Should have scored, nearly an 8.
Thompson 7. Complimented Anton well at CB. Ran straight over to the ref to back his mate up for the red card. Funny effort near the end.
Anton 8. Love this boy. Saw him come through at West Ham. Always partial to a muck up but so assured. Qualty breeds quality. Influential.
Timlin 7. IMO best footballer at the club - just not today! Not a LB remember but his tackling was superb, making up for balls he gave away.
Atkinson 7. Took his goal well, good link up play today, nice bit of skill in second half in the corner
Leonard 7. Not his best but a 10 for effort as always. Long throw always a bonus at any level.
Wordsworth. Similar to Leonard, maybe wear studs next time. His slip/fall on touchline even better than Thompson's effort on goal.
McGlaughlin 7. Busy as ever, looking to make things happen. Productive.
Cox 8. Two goals, looks a decent striker when in a two, beautiful chip for second. Deserves praise.
Antoine-Fortune 8. Very impressed, made second goal, perfect foil for Cox. Ball sticks and links up well. Toss up MOM the front two.
Decent crowd, love Boxing Day, Southend are clearly in form and it showed today, Wimbledon aren't as crap as what Southend made them look like today. Promotion a very real possibility. Embrace it. My next visit will be Bury, last match... could be an important one at this rate!
Indeed a great day for football personally.

 

[AndyT]

Have now read the rest of the thread, ignoring all the posts about The Championship and the new stadium.

One step at a time, guys & gals!

 

[Crowstone Crevette]

peterborough give away a 92 min equaliser so drop home points to the gills. giving us a playoff place!!!

 

[Mick]

You had me with you BUT Len was booked today for late tackle foul!
Anton got his 4 th booking for foul so is 1 away from suspension.
Fortune booked for gatting angry after off ball incident that officials ( and me) missed. I am told he was hit by swinging arm and wonder if it is on tape will FA do FA about it on review?

No, he is 6 bookings away from suspension.

 

[AndyT]

LOL, 1 or 6, what's the difference! :winking:

 

[Floval Flyer]

peterborough give away a 92 min equaliser so drop home points to the gills. giving us a playoff place!!!

we're in the TOP 6 ! Quite an achievement considering where we were a couple of months back...

nice to to see PB come across to applaud the fans again at the end of today's match and the crowd to reciprocate!

 

[ace]

The performance by Wimbledon and their fans made me almost sympathetic towards Franchise FC for the first time. Unattractive hoof football supported by a poor turnout of moaning fans that blamed the ref for their own inadequacies.

 

[rigsby]

we're in the TOP 6 ! Quite an achievement considering where we were a couple of months back...

nice to to see PB come across to applaud the fans again at the end of today's match and the crowd to reciprocate!

Just remember 10 weeks ago we weren't go enough for L1. Now we're not good enough for the Championship:smile:

 

[Lord Football]

That was fun, wasn't it? For the second home game running I am disappointed we only managed three!!! What a fantastic display by Fortune. I've said we'd be wetting our pants about him if we hadn't got Ranger, and today we were.

So what has changed since October. Ferdinand, 4-4-2, a fit Wordsworth, Nile Ranger..... all of them help. But, its the whole mindset. We aren't letting teams play. The amount of work our front two do to limit options for their defenders is incredible. And then we have a midfield that win tackles. We attack with a bit of pace. - something we failed to do for most of the first couple of months of the season - and we have options. We played some really good stuff first half and 2-0 flattered them.

Quite of lot of Phil Brown's reign has been turgid, clean sheet mentality football. Not nice to watch. But this current run of form is worth £20 of anyone's money. Proper team. Proper entertainment. No complaints :)

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

That was fun, wasn't it? For the second home game running I am disappointed we only managed three!!!

Proper entertainment. No complaints :)

Eh? Come on - you've been on the booze haven't you? :omg: :whistling: :raspberry: