Echo News Southend United chairman Ron Martin: It's been 'torture' and 'atrocious', we have to make changes

[Leigh_Seasider]

Brown’s last few months were littered with baffling decisions as he clearly lost control. Was that the same Bradford game @rigsby that Brown got sent off in along with Leonard (I think) and we lost to a last minute pen after we should’ve put away numerous chances? After that it was only a matter of time. Like the last few games of CP’s reign, all the talk walking out the ground was “when is he getting sacked”

 

[AndyT]

Leonard received a second yellow for the foul that gave away the penalty.

That was our first home defeat of the season.

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

And we won the next one, Charlton on Boxing Day. Cox was back and scored 2 from memory. But people wanted Brown gone.

 

[rigsby]

do you sing every game from your vantage point in the directors box

No, I target our manger and shout abuse at our own players as I know they cant do anything about it. Makes me not only feel good about myself but I bet people around me think I'm really Kool.

 

[Tombstone Blues]

No, I target our manger and shout abuse at our own players as I know they cant do anything about it. Makes me not only feel good about myself but I bet people around me think I'm really Kool.

???? “Kool” ?

 

[AndyT]

And we won the next one, Charlton on Boxing Day. Cox was back and scored 2 from memory. But people wanted Brown gone.

Yep, spot on. Around that time we had the issues mentioned by @rigsby of player discipline (Ranger, Theo, Wordsworth) and Lenny was about to depart in the January window, plus the pitch was starting to take it's toll a bit on fitness I think. I recall Josh Wright having to play through injury in the home match against Fleetwood.

PB had lost his drive, as well. I mentioned earlier about our expectations that season and these started to weigh heavily. We were up to 9th in early December, but that run of poor results saw us slide down the table and the reality of promotion was fading fast. The rot had set in a little.

 

[Shrimpers are Magic]

I feel like you may have erased his last year in charge from your memory.

and this is better is it?
if things were only half as bad as Brown's last season then they would still be so much better than what they are now.
we've no chance of staying up with this squad, absolutely none.

 

[rigsby]

And we won the next one, Charlton on Boxing Day. Cox was back and scored 2 from memory. But people wanted Brown gone.

Indeed. That and combined with what went on in Bristol was when PB gave up and we lost the next 4 games. Anyone could see it in his body language as he made the long walk across the pitch to the waiting Southend mob at Wimbledon on new years day.

I think CP had 8 games at RH until the end of the season and made a huge difference with his magic and passion we ended up with W5 D2 L1....17pts

Counting back from the Charlton game PB's record was W5 D2 L1... 17pts

We have had 8 games at RH this season. Just in case W0 D1 L7.... 1pt

 

[fbm]

PB lost the plot after the MK Dons game when he did the post match interview pretty much as the players were leaving the pitch. We should have won and won easily but we didn't and he slagged pretty much the entire team (not individually) before Ferdinand came out and almost contradicted him.

SCP came in and with the same players played 18 games, winning 9, drawing 5 and losing 4. Pro rata that across the season and its win 23 games, draw 13 and lose 10. That's 79 points and definitely play offs, maybe even promotion in some seasons (subject to goal difference if you take the L1 history from 2005). I think we were therefore quite understandably justified in expecting good things the following season. I'm not sure that keeping Timlin and Wordsworth would have been the answer, but I do believe that not replacing them with players of a similar ilk was the problem. We got players in who were far too similar - Mantom, Hyam, Dieng... they are all more defensively minded and none have the energy of Timlin or the creativity of Wordsworth.

But I think a huge factor and one which is rarely mentioned is the state of the training pitch. The players hate it and it is responsible for so many injuries. That isn't changing any time soon - unless Sol and his team have highlighted that issue I suppose...

 

[AndyT]

Good points well made @fbm

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

PB lost the plot after the MK Dons game when he did the post match interview pretty much as the players were leaving the pitch. We should have won and won easily but we didn't and he slagged pretty much the entire team (not individually) before Ferdinand came out and almost contradicted him.

SCP came in and with the same players played 18 games, winning 9, drawing 5 and losing 4. Pro rata that across the season and its win 23 games, draw 13 and lose 10. That's 79 points and definitely play offs, maybe even promotion in some seasons (subject to goal difference if you take the L1 history from 2005). I think we were therefore quite understandably justified in expecting good things the following season. I'm not sure that keeping Timlin and Wordsworth would have been the answer, but I do believe that not replacing them with players of a similar ilk was the problem. We got players in who were far too similar - Mantom, Hyam, Dieng... they are all more defensively minded and none have the energy of Timlin or the creativity of Wordsworth.

But I think a huge factor and one which is rarely mentioned is the state of the training pitch. The players hate it and it is responsible for so many injuries. That isn't changing any time soon - unless Sol and his team have highlighted that issue I suppose...

We had a midfielder with the energy of Timlin and the creativity of Wordsworth but Bond sold him to Brentford,

Other than maybe Barratt, which injuries is the training pitch responsible for? Almost all of the long term injuries were in matches (Kyprianou at Wimbledon, Hopper and Lennon home v Walsall, Coker away at Sunderland, Gard away at Col Ewe, Demetriou home v Scunthorpe, Humphrys away at Accrington).

 

[fbm]

We had a midfielder with the energy of Timlin and the creativity of Wordsworth but Bond sold him to Brentford,

Other than maybe Barratt, which injuries is the training pitch responsible for? Almost all of the long term injuries were in matches (Kyprianou at Wimbledon, Hopper and Lennon home v Walsall, Coker away at Sunderland, Gard away at Col Ewe, Demetriou home v Scunthorpe, Humphrys away at Accrington).

I think it accounts for injuries that have caused a lot of the setbacks players have suffered whilst recovering.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

I think it accounts for injuries that have caused a lot of the setbacks players have suffered whilst recovering.

It's an interesting theory. Hopper had a cartilage op, Kiernan has had several set backs, Ridgewell had a setback and several of Hyam's injuries could presumably fall under that category - anyone else?

 

[fbm]

I think Barrett may have had and there are several odd injuries that haven't been long term as well, don't forget.

The surface over there now is awful.

 

[Spenser]

Good points well made @fbm

Agreed - a pleasure to read.
A great example from both of you in how to post your own interesting opinions without lecturing the rest of us !

 

[Rayleigh boy]

whats the thing about the traning pitch ??

 

[Austin the Shrimper]

We had a midfielder with the energy of Timlin and the creativity of Wordsworth but Bond sold him to Brentford,

Other than maybe Barratt, which injuries is the training pitch responsible for? Almost all of the long term injuries were in matches (Kyprianou at Wimbledon, Hopper and Lennon home v Walsall, Coker away at Sunderland, Gard away at Col Ewe, Demetriou home v Scunthorpe, Humphrys away at Accrington).

TBF Dru hadn’t played well for us since He got injured at the end of last season. I think the general consensus on here was it was the right time to take the money as there was no guarantee he was gonna get any better.

 

[OldBlueLady]

whats the thing about the traning pitch ??

I am not aware of any issues with the training pitches, though I well remember the state of the dreadful pitch at RH in PB's last season, which - as @AndyT says - didn't help us at all that final season under Brown.

 

[Mr Browns Ghost]

No, I target our manger and shout abuse at our own players as I know they cant do anything about it. Makes me not only feel good about myself but I bet people around me think I'm really Kool.

Ok under stood, so basically you don’t vocally get behind the team ... just wondered

 

[rigsby]

Ok under stood, so basically you don’t vocally get behind the team ... just wondered

It depends. If the team are winning and the 11 on the pitch are the exact 11 I would have picked and the same formation I would pick...Then yes. If not i spend my time moaning and looking for faults. After all I have payed my money and its down to them to entertain me......Not the other way round.

If a player miss controls a pass, or the manger makes a sub I don't agree with. I certainly let him know his standards aren't good enough for me or Southend.......After all if you don't tell them they will never learn.......So I clearly do get behind them because the players and the mangers know people like me know what were are talking about and if they take it on board they will improve.