Post-Match Thread and Ratings Torquay United 1-0 Southend United

[dloman]

Its going to take more than 2 players to sort this crap out. Ogogo, Dunne, Atkinson and Coulson should be binned. If they were a 4 x 100m relay team they would still be trying to finish it even thought the Olympics finished a month ago.

I've never ever heard of a football club changing its whole formation to suit and protect a defender??Turner played at the highest level and we never did that for him, but soon as we sign a Leyton orient reserve kit man we do...insanity.

We should be working to our strengths which right now is our forwards. Bring in Walsh, bring in akinola - get some speed and trickery in to pin back teams, get a centre mid in who can put a foot on the ball and find a pass and with a back line of hosbon, white, Ralph and a right back and we might just survive this season

The one who can pass is Ferguson and too be honest looked a better unit when he was in the side.

 

[nick12]

Not sure many would agree. However, when Ron appointed MM he appeared to want to go in a certain direction with a progressive young manager who wanted to sign players at their peak with pace. It seemed to be MM's MO, if you like. Unfortunately he was left high and dry and never had a chance with embargoes ect, all of which has been done to death on here.

What mystified me is his decision to revert to an old school manager who was always going to go in a completely different direction in terms of recruitment. There was no consistency of vision and plan at all. So we have ended up in a situation where we're no better off but now had a complete overhaul, and now have a squad full of old cloggers with no ability but lots of work ethic, and a couple of players with pace and energy and at peak age kicking their heels at home. For the life of me I am not suggesting someone like ANG, who frustrated the bell out of me at times last year, is the complete answer but he did at least take players on and get into good positions. The situation with Akinola is totally baffling given no other club has seemingly ever had an issue with his attitude or work rate, and he was clearly carrying an injury when Brown took over.

Ron Martin's decision making is atrocious. There is no long term plan and the appointment of Brown is looking like a terrible decision.

I agree ? I didn't think MM was given a fair chance with embargo etc and I have said all the way through I would take him any day in non league football over any other current / previous manager

 

[Maroon Blue]

Just home, PB played for a point today. Was telling Arnold to hold onto the ball with 5 minutes to go. Bit him in the backside as nothing is going right, feel like we are stuck and sinking in quicksand. Youngsters Phillips, Sayers and Walsh in the stands with us. Walsh for sure should have been in the squad if not the starting 11 after Tuesdays cameo. We never looked like scoring and they got a deserved 3 points for there persistence.

Arnold 6
White 6 MOTM
Coulson 6
Ralph 6
Egbri 5
Ogogo 5
Atkinson 5
Dunne 5
Bridge 6
Dalby 6
Murphy 5

Dennis 4
Kargbo 4

John White edges MOTM for talking to fans and last to leave, he cares. My god week after week our subs have zero impact apart from Walsh Tuesday. Thank god we and the players have a break next week. UTB

 

[Sussexshrimper]

Totalky agree ..thst cancer must go

 

[Boreham Shrimper]

Z

The one who can pass is Ferguson and too be honest looked a better unit when he was in the side.

Hate to pick out a player but disagree based on Halifax last week. I was relieved not to see him on the starting lineup today but don’t see how he could have been any worse than that shower. In short, I don’t think he’s either the problem or the solution. ?

 

[shrimperjon]

Just home after another frustrating and tiring day, 16 hour round trip for us. It’s getting harder and harder with every game and this week and it’s 3 defeats has left us feeling at our lowest. I simply have no idea what is going on. It’s a new manager, a new league and mostly a new squad, yet again today it could have been any of the squads from the last three seasons. And the sad thing is it was no shock when Torquay scored. I don’t think they deserved to win, neither side did, but when the chance came along they took It. 5 mins prior to that James Dunne put in a great cross yet not one player gambled on the cross…. And today that made a huge difference to the end result.

so what is going wrong… in short I don’t know.

RM- must carry the main responsibility, his dream of the new ground and the wealth from the sale of the new flats has meant that the football club has been sacrificed. However, come next week we could well be in the relegation zone and if that happens then it may be hard to climb out based on this weeks performances and trips to Torquay and Solihull will be replaced with Concord and Billericay, forget the stadium Ron, if dropping into the NL was a shock on us all, the next level down is simply unthinkable

PB- is also very responsible. He has been given licence to sign players and in his words only players he wanted. He talks about players with experience of the NL, of getting promoted from this league, players with fight and the right character. Well where are these Phil as today showed again that those youve bought in don’t appear to have this. He doesn’t seem to know the right formation or his best 11. Today we had three in the CM yet got over run. He plays two up front yet they are feeding off scraps. Torquay had conceded 11 goals in losing all three home games prior today yet we failed to test their keeper once, it was pitiful to watch. PB is a dinosaur brought back in desperation and somehow convinced RM he was right to lead the team this season. Sending the players on a 10k run after Tuesday clearly hasn’t worked

At the end JW brought some of the players over to the fans. White, Ralph, Dalby, Murphy, Arnold and Bridge at least had the balls to front up to us, but they looked lost and broken. The others came over but more at a distance. PB remained on the half way line barely acknowledging us…. It didn’t go unnoticed Brown. I give him the next 3-4 games and if this slide continues he must go. I spoke to Walsh and Phillips at HT, I asked why certainly in Walsh case he wasn’t playing, thought he did well against Aldershot. He said he had no idea as PB hadn’t spoken to them, Phillips said the same, no explanation as to why he had been dropped. For me Phillips for Atkinson and Walsh for Egbert would make sense at the moment

The players, already looked unfit and void of confidence, a very worrying sight

Arnold- did nothing wrong, in fact had little to do other than claim crosses which he did well, had no chance with the goal but to date has been solid

Ralph- again not too many complaints, battled hard and when able linked up with Bridge

White-solid, battled hard and looked upset at the end when trying to calm the fans down

Coulson- stating to look his age, Orient fans said he would be great for us, at times he looks solid, but the slightest bit of pace against him and he struggles

bridge- probably our best attacking option today, tried to beat his man and a good run second half resulted in one of our few attempts on goal

Egbri- no idea what he offers the team, lightweight, short, can’t beat his man and if he does he can’t beat the first man with his cross. Walsh deserves a run in the side

Dunne- worked hard but that’s it, no creativity and a better touch might have seen him have a good chance second half

Ogogo- I like him but you could tell he wasn’t quite match fit and once booked on 9 minutes when into his shell

Atkinson- loved Will first time round, this time no where near the same player and as said before, for his mobility surely Phillips should be ahead of Will

Murphy and Dalby - both work hard but feeding off scraps. I’m certain with the right delivery and service they will score goals

Dennis- is a raw talent, but today slipped over 4-5 times and on one occasion cost him the chance of a run on goal

big lad QPR- won a few headers but not up to the standard we need

the fans - 2000 at KL, 1000+ at Wealdstone, 415 at Halifax and 466 today. At home 3 crowds of 5000+. We can not do anymore than we are and the support has been great and got behind the team. At the end we have very right to vent our anger and frustration, we love this club and it’s heartbreaking to see us struggle again this season but at the lowest level in our history. I didn’t expect us to win the league, I did think we might flirt with the playoffs at best. What i didn’t expect was to have a week like we have just had.

it’s desperately sad and made harder by the progress Grimsby are making. In a similar position to us last season yet they’ve have bounced back fantastically well and made a great start to the season. Question is how are they doing it? PB needs to find the right formulas and fast otherwise it could be a very long and hard season

 

[Thunderbolt & Lightfoot]

Maybe Grimsby are doing well because they have a manager who knows this league

 

[stewart]

To my brother Danny ,i told you weeks before the season began this is Southend pensioners, Time to sell up RM Time to retire PB ,when you have two decent strikers and you send a side out to play for a draw ,to me says you are past your use by date ,you are afraid of losing and you have no faith in the players ,most of which you signed ,Surely now you can also see that Atkinson was a bad signing and Egbri just not ready for 1st team football ,no end product. Please do the right thing by my clb and walkaway PB

 

[Barry.C]

Maybe Grimsby are doing well because they have a manager who knows this league

Grimsby undefeated in 6, won 5. Had major changes bringing in 9 . 2 on loan. Very good recruitment. They all look very strong, across the board

Very clear issue of recruitment for their success, most from league one and 2, not paying out much,

 

[Shrimper]

Maybe Grimsby are doing well because they have a manager who knows this league

They also changed owners

 

[wiggy]

what a fascinating situation....

is promotion still possible

if we had held on for a point ... would the hysteria be abated

i dont thnk it is too serious ............................. yet

Wake up….the manager was useless years ago and his methods and opinions are even more outdated now. He bares a grudge and takes no blame for bringing in paceless cripples……it is very serious when he sets up to never score even though he for once has capable strikers!

 

[rayleigh dan]

Brown, please stop scapegoating individuals, it’s borderline bullying. The most recent two, Ferguson and Phillips deserve another chance, would either have been worse than Atkinson today?

Then there’s Akinola and Nathaniel-George. Neither are world beaters, but to write them off and then put your faith in Dennis and Kargbo seems laughable. Please wind your ego in and give others a chance.

Edit - Respect to John White for taking the time to talk to the away fans, why couldn’t Brown do the same?

 

[flangejackrabbit]

I hope that even those who don't rate JW (I do rate him) recognise he acted like a proper captain after the match.

 

[gatecrasher]

They also changed owners

As did Bristol rovers and Tranmere when they both come down and look what happend. What happens when you get **** chairman who don't care and don't sell....Bury...Macclesfield....Hereford...we are in a terminal decline which only end when we either fold or Ron gets his pot of Gold

 

[RobQ]

What depressing times it has been and still is to be a Shrimper. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Or have we bought a one way ticket on the road to hell?
Surely it's time RM moves into the role of landlord of the club, and allows new blood to invest in and run the footballing side of the club. This must be the first season we have started where us the fans are the biggest asset the footballing side of the club has? Collectively we must generate more income than any sellable player is worth.
As for the playing side of things it is clear we have problems. Are they because PB has underestimated this league? Is it because PB's blunt approach to man management has led to a number of players effectively downing tools? Only time will tell.
It appears that PB had banked on HL & RH staying and his failure to have sourced suitable replacements have undone his plans so far this season. The problem he now faces is history shows RM is happy to make funds available when things are going well, but when was the last time he did so when things were not?
Therefore, PB may now have to change a habit of a lifetime, as we are a side that is going to concede. Instead of focusing on our weaknesses, and setting us up to cover for this, play to our new found forward strengths. Surely having Akinola and Walsh on the wings, supporting the front 2, with Bridge pulling the strings in the centre is going to lead to us scoring more which has got to be our best chance to gaining more positive results. Come on PB roll the dice and swap your 1-0s for 3-2s!

 

[flangejackrabbit]

JW brought some of the players over to the fans. White, Ralph, Dalby, Murphy, Arnold and Bridge at least had the balls to front up to us

We know who the nucleus of the team should be at least then. And no different to what I expected really, I thought Hobson might have been in that group but then he didn't play so it maybe makes no sense for him to do this.

 

[flangejackrabbit]

Are they because PB has underestimated this league?

I think this is where the answer lies if I am honest. Even if the quality of football has not moved on that much in the conference and league two since he was last here, the quality of players has.

 

[duncan bulgaria]

Brown, please stop scapegoating individuals, it’s borderline bullying. The most recent two, Ferguson and Phillips deserve another chance, would either have been worse than Atkinson today?

Then there’s Akinola and Nathaniel-George. Neither are world beaters, but to write them off and then put your faith in Dennis and Kargbo seems laughable. Please wind your ego in and give others a chance.

Edit - Respect to John White for taking the time to talk to the away fans, why couldn’t Brown do the same?

This is spot on - I mentioned on here that Dennis looked lost when we played Ebsfleet and I was worried when Brown offered him and the big lump a contract over ANG And Akinola

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

I didn’t hang around. What did White say to the fans after the game? Fair play to him (and the others) for doing that.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Thank you to those who actually have left reports on the match in this thread.