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

[blueblueblue]

I said it a few posts back, the Club is a Rebik's cube, we all know how it should look, but no one knows how to do it....

 

[Mr Browns Ghost]

Better than than Tuesday. Torquay wanted it more than us, got the lion's share of the chances and (admittedly) deservedly won it.

Spoke to Ricky Duncan for the first time ever on the train platform on the way back, and I must say what a gent and a professional: happy to give up a small portion of his time to talk to the fans of the club who recognise him and ask respectful questions. Says PB has time in RM's book as they see the current issues as "confidence issues".

Ffs ?‍ that’s us completely ****ed then completely completely ****ed … confidence issues ? I simply can’t believe the bollox coming out of that ****s mouth, they are complete and utter dog ****

 

[thenobster]

Who would want to come and take over this bunch of wasters....

Funnily enough, a few probably would.. whether they’re right for us or suck Ron’s knob to get the job is another thing.

 

[Zeuss]

I'm as isolated waiting on Torre station as our forwards. This was truly bad. Not one shot at goal; never mind blocked. Dalby wide in the first half was it. Others have said there's a team with the right manager. No, there's not. In an ideal world, would keep Ralph and Arnold. Fair play to John White who came over and spoke to the fans at length, and they were going it! He didn't walk away, but hr must know this team is relegation fodder!

Yes White’s a nice bloke (so is Ricky Duncan)and yes Ralph,absolutely outstanding at this level,and Arnold,despite some panicky miskicks today,are well worth keeping.Also Bridge again was our only real source of danger —Johnson moved extra cover across 2nd half to counter his threat . Poor Egbri on tHe other wing offered no threat whatsoever ,nor did either sub.

 

[Sussexshrimper]

It is all so sad ..i remember liverpool 79 ..spurs 89 .bury 91 etc etc ..of course lows ..harlow 79 ..ayslebury 89 etc etc ..but now every game seems a low ..can we all really just watch and accept the club we all love die due to martin and it is due to martin .not brown or any manager ..martin is a lying cancer that is ruining our club ..i dont know how we do it .bur we have to do something

 

[SeaSideDoughnut]

What exactly did he say please ? Pennyfather is nowhere near as sage as Paul Clark, but jettisoning Akinola and bringing back Atkinson—he was pathetic again today—defies belief.

I couldn't tell you exactly. He basically didn't see the sense in banishing Akinola because he 'wasn't your cup of tea' when the team you're fielding has no pace and no imagination. He made the point that Akinola is a tricky player, who scored 15 goals last time he played in this league from a wide left position, acknowledging he didn't perform well playing as a lone striker last year but he brings something to the table we don't have.

 

[Sussexshrimper]

Thunderbolt do you fancy a pint in the shrimpers club pre chesterfield on the 9th ? Csnt do misweek due to living in brighton ..early start work ..maybe we can have a chat ..see if we csn get a few more heads together

 

[Somerset Ex-TTB]

First viewing of this pile of s**t this season, and I won’t be rushing back soon.

No creative threat whatsoever, at all. Zero.

Arnold, looks a competant keeper who was very positive coming for crosses. Couple of dodgy kicks, but only one save to make.
Ralph, did ok, not a centre back.
White. Solid as always. MOM for me.
Coulson. Wtf? Looks like Sunday league player drunk from the night before.
Egbri, did ok defensively, but absolutely zero going forward. Only one cross all game.
Bridge, Our only creative outlet. Was limping badly when subbed.
Agogo and Dunne both slow and old, but both combative. Agogo looked way of the pace though and didn’t get involved much.
Atkinson, miles off the pace, and runs like his hamstrings have been cut in half.
Dalby, not too bad, holds the ball up,well, but isolated by Browns tactics.
Murphy, very poor, spends more time on the floor than anything else, I think he may have been injured as he came over and shouted at PB 10 mins into the 2nd half.
Dennis and Kargbo. I despair I really do. Are they the best 2 loanees we can get from the entire premier league and EFL? Really?

Conference south beckons. We must get RM out of the club now.

 

[Holy Joe]

I couldn't tell you exactly. He basically didn't see the sense in banishing Akinola because he 'wasn't your cup of tea' when the team you're fielding has no pace and no imagination. He made the point that Akinola is a tricky player, who scored 15 goals last time he played in this league from a wide left position, acknowledging he didn't perform well playing as a lone striker last year but he brings something to the table we don't have.

I think he reads shrimperzone

 

[Thunderbolt & Lightfoot]

Thunderbolt do you fancy a pint in the shrimpers club pre chesterfield on the 9th ? Csnt do misweek due to living in brighton ..early start work ..maybe we can have a chat ..see if we csn get a few more heads together

Thanks for invite. I live too far away and the travelling kills me these days so rarely do home games now. Will probably be at Solihull though.

 

[Barry.C]

Where’s molsey and bluewonder2 They will cheer us up with tales or Ron, phil and their lovable antics

And Surely add in a bit of Riggers and Kent Blues as Rons 2 major protagonists?

 

[gatecrasher]

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

 

[Sussexshrimper]

Thanks for invite. I live too far away and the travelling kills me these days so rarely do home games now. Will probably be at Solihull though.

Yoh are very welcome ..the reverse is true with me ...home games yes ..away now restricted to south based teams ...but i am glad you agree something needs to be done ...lets hope us fans can force something

 

[in the know]

Even more baffling when you consider Ogogo was coming back from a hammy. To not have backup for the oldest and least mobile central midfield is absolutely criminal.

Brown's alienation of players signed by the previous manager is starting to look so petty.

it's the beginning of the Two tier split in the player camp again I fear. pb more or less encouraged it to happen last time and his comments are doing it again. Publicly naming and shaming and inferring it's all the kids faults. Nothing to do with his antiquated ways and methods of course!! hump it into the channels is his only way regardless who playing against. As per last time, a complete lack of research leading up to games and a schizo style of man management. Win and you needn't come in and he's your best ever mate. Lose and be punished, ignored, and alienated. Weekly training scheduling that changes by the hour win or lose.
A manager has to be respected by players and gain that respect. It's not happening that way for pb. Of course it's a two way thing, and some players don't help themselves

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

We are ****ed.

 

[OllieSteph44]

Should have kept MM...

I didn’t know if it was too soon to say this but despite most people’s perception of it at least last season MM teams looked like they were organised and focussed on the job and looked like there was a game plan in place….

The last game I saw at Roots Hall was against Ipswich in League 1, 2 seasons ago in October

That was a good game and a good performance against a side just relegated from the championship…..but people still moaned about that side and the players in it…..pretty sure most people would now take many of that side over more recent ones.

I do.

MM was dealt the hardest hand in the football league and, had he been backed enough to sign a striker or have his players available all season, we would’ve stayed up.

I know we couldn’t score but towards the second half of the season we could defend. Let’s not forget he was sacked after a draw away to eventually promoted Morecambe.

He would’ve had players lined up to fit the way he wanted to play and above all it would’ve been some continuity which we have lacked for so long.

Agree regarding old school brown, it’s out dated and won’t work. Ron needs to see beyond the end of his nose when it comes to planning for the future.

Three games in a row I’ve felt low and thought it must get better from now…

MM was a progressive innovative coach who conducted himself brilliantly at the most difficult of times. His sides whether people understood / liked / respected them had a game plan, were organised and most importantly were improving - just not to people’s liking In terms of time scale. I remain convinced and no one will change my mind that the club were better off with his ‘process’ than they are with the current one.

 

[IloveShrimp]

Ffs ?‍ that’s us completely ****ed then completely completely ****ed … confidence issues ? I simply can’t believe the bollox coming out of that ****s mouth, they are complete and utter dog ****

Really wish you would speak your mind and not beat around the bush! ?

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

I

LennySUFC said:-.




That was a good game and a good performance against a side just relegated from the championship…..but people still moaned about that side and the players in it…..pretty sure most people would now take many of that side over more recent ones.

Agreed .I couln't understand the constant moaning of the 3 kids in front of us directed at our keeper.Granted he gave away the first goal but certainly wasn't responsible for the other 2 goals conceded against Ipswich.As you say, they'd just been relegated from the championship.

 

[Suffolk Shrimper In Dorset]

It's just as well that football is so much more than the match otherwise I would give it a miss.

Off the pitch my son and I had an enjoyable couple of hours in the club bar with the Trust's Retro Kit manufacturer MD who as a football man of many years has any a good tale to tell, I met fellow Shrimpers I hadn't seen in a while, we all stood together on the terrace (albeit more in blind hope than any expectation), and after the match I had a book-swop with the wonderful Rob Spooner.

On the pitch there was no ability shining through, insufficient effort, and zero passion. Jeez.

 

[rlb999]

I'm disagreeing with may others on here regarding what the issue is. From what I've seen this season we aren't as bad as people make out. Many of our players would walk into other sides in this league. What's letting us down is Brown's tactics and stubbornness.

I can see why he's playing 3 at the back. If he plays a back 4 we're going to lack pace in the middle and we're also lacking proper wide players in the squad. I think he's got the right formation but the wrong players in certain positions.

If you're playing 3-5-2 your wing backs have to be good. Bridge isn't a wing back and he certainly isn't a left wing back because he's right footed. Ralph needs to go out there, which means Hobson needs to come into the back 3. Bridge is arguably our most creative player (we're short of them) so he should go into the midfield three with 2 tacklers (we've got lots of them) along side him. Equally Egbri simply isn't good enough - shouldn't be in the first team set up as far as I'm concerned - so Demetriou or Rob Howard should be at right wing back.

Ferguson, Akinola, ANG may not be world beaters, but unless their attitude is so crap we don't want them round the place, they should be around the first team set up - our squad isn't so strong that we can afford to lock them out.

Whatever we need in terms of loans, it's not 2 centre forwards. I actually think Dalby and Murphy look as good as anyone at this level all be it starved of service. We also have Akinola and Rush - we aren't short up front. So why we've loaned in Kargbo and Dennis I don't know - and loaning in Dennis and playing him at LWB isn't fair and isn't going to be effective. We should send back the pair and think about what loans we actually need. For me that's a centre half or a LWB (depending on where you're playing Ralph) and a creative midfielder. Remember Lee Sawyer - we need a kid like him who can pick a pass.

Hate to say it, but for me everything comes back to the manager. Brown needs to swallow his pride and re-integrate the 3 he's banished. He also needs to stop putting square pegs in round holes - if he gets some service into those 2 up front they'll score goals. Egbri and Bridge at wing back simply aren't going to deliver that service.