Post-Match Thread and Ratings Walsall 0-0 Southend United

OldBlueLady said:

A word of advice, try and steer your son to a side if possible, people tend to stand more towards the middle in my experience. I understand how difficult this must have been for you yesterday.

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I absolutely agree with you. He does like to sit quite central and higher up. I think going forward we will look to move to the side just to avoid anything similar happening again.

secondalibi said:

I thought we played really well yesterday, just didn't put away the chances. On another day we could have had 3 or 4. And it's not just a case of playing well, we actually look like a decent side. Some of the passing in the first half was very impressive, We look dangerous going forward and the defence looks solid, for me Ferdinand just looks quality. You do have to wonder how good Ranger will be when he's fully fit, for an hour yesterday he scared the life out of the Walsall defence, but towards the end he couldn't jump or even barely walk.

Special mention for Oxley who looks to be gaining confidence with every game. In some games he has worried me, but yesterday he really looked the part.

One final thing, and I really don't want to have a little moan, but sometimes some people either struggle to put their brains into gear or they just lack the basic life skills. Now the vast majority of our fans are absolutely spot on, but there were a few fans at Walsall, who irritated me with their lack of respect for others. I have no problem with people standing at the match for 90 minutes, no problem at all. But when if affects others trying to enjoy the game, it's not good.

I went to the game yesterday with my son is who 10 years old and suffers from Autism. We have to get to the games early so he can pick the seat he wants, it's just one of those things, he has to "feel right". When we got into the ground yesterday before 2pm and we sat where my son wanted to. At 3pm just as the match was kicking off about 20 lads thought it would a great idea just to stand directly in front of us, we couldn't see anything! My sons condition isn't the easiest to deal with, but he was okay if a little stressed out. I did ask a few of these lads if they could sit down, but I might as well have been talking to myself, they just have this blank look on their faces. I guess as long as they all look good in their Adidias trainers, then nothing else matters. We had to move and thankfully found somewhere my son was okay with. As I said before, I don't mind if people want to stand, but maybe just think about others too. However, I won't hold my breath.

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That's a shame. We were all young and full of ourselves at one point. Well at least I was. Some of our fans seem intent on just getting beered up and being mouthy. I'm sure if they are supporting the blues in a few years time their priorities will have changed.

Hope you manage to get less stress in future.

One of the best nil-nils that I can remember. Walsall were well-organised and with their two efforts rebounding mercifully off the post can also make a creditable claim to the "we should have won" perspective. The ref was happy to make bigger decisions away from the box - our bookings looked really cheap - and on another day, we'd have gone home with the points thanks to a couple of penalties. But no-one likes a moaner so I'll hope we get those decisions another time instead.

Back home in ireland now, some brief impressions on my first two matches of the season last week.

While my presence did manage to bring the winning run to an end, I wasn't quite the kiss of death that I half-feared, and thought that both the Swindon and Walsall games were very enjoyable.

While the first thought was disappointment at failing to turn dominance into points, on reflection there was a lot to take from both matches. In both games, several extended spells of high quality passing, when the play resembled Attack versus Defence, such was Southend's dominance. Very little sign of a "clean-sheet mentality", and I thought that the commitment to winning at Walsall could have resulted in defeat. I can't comment on the difference to early season performances, but all I can say is that I can see no reason at all for any true supporter to stay away because they don't like the style of play or level of commitment right now.

Ranger is clearly a menace to any defence at our level, but equally clearly he runs out of steam at around 45 mins at the moment. While he stayed on for the full 90 at Walsall, I thought he was far less dangerous in the 2nd half. I don't know whether he was injured, but wasn't surprised that Cox went off, as things were not working for him IMO. Didn't think the McGlashan-for-Wordsworth change really worked, but it again showed the positive intent of the management.

Midfield now looks full of options and goal potential, with Timlin ready to get involved as well once his stint at LB comes to an end (which I hope is soon as he got caught out a couple of times). Defence looks pretty solid with Ferdinand gliding around and Thompson far more comfortable than when I last saw him play. As others have said, absolutely no place for AB in the team at the moment, though it would be very disappointing if his Southend career ends badly.

I get the feeling that if absolutely everything fell into place - no injuries or suspensions, retention of key players, luck etc - that team could well find itself in the play-offs. As that is unlikely to happen, we will probably miss out and probably still lack a bit of quality. But if the team keep playing the same way and with the same commitment, it could still be an interesting 2nd half of the season.

Overall, a highly positive first visit of the season, and I am already plotting another visit Jan/Feb. Major lesson learned - having now got used to the roads in rural Ireland, where my journey may occasionally be slowed by a tractor or a few sheep, I am now thoroughly unused to a 4 lane motorway with huge juggernauts coming close to committing indecent acts by driving virtually into my rrrse in the pouring rain! A horrible experience driving from Wales to Southend. Next time by plane not by ferry/car.

Rob Noxious said:

I'll hope we get those decisions another time instead.

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We already have - a string of soft penalties from Coker crosses earlier in the season. Personally I thought the one on Ranger in the first half on Saturday may have been a pen but the others certainly weren't.

Jai said:

We already have - a string of soft penalties from Coker crosses earlier in the season. Personally I thought the one on Ranger in the first half on Saturday may have been a pen but the others certainly weren't.

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I thought the one where he went flying in the second half (after "the coming together" that commentators now speak of) was a penalty and that we'd have got it if we'd been at home but I'm delighted to hear that we've been beneficiaries of some softies earlier this season! :happy: