C C Csiders
Life President
There is an air of inevitability about defeat against Bradford on Friday evening, and when (not if) this occurs the time for big decisions will have been reached. That will be six games without a win, and, at least 12 without a good performance. For a team that was top of the league, two games from Wembley and one from a 3rd round trip to Anfield this is simply not good enough. The manager seems to admit to selection mistakes every time he goes on BBC Essex post-match. Some may call this honesty but I call it fundamental mismanagement. Mismanagement which the Board (i.e. Brady and Martin) should seek to thrust aside, otherwise mid-table mediocrity will be the outcome. It is too late to make such decisions when Southend United drop out of, not only the promotion places, but the top seven, probably on current form by the end of January. Too late to take such decisions after the transfer window has slammed shut leaving any new incumbent with inadequate players for the job in hand.
So the manager led the team to a 17 game unbeaten run. An unbeaten run of a flat-track bully where good performances in the first few of those games were followed by poor performances where the team was inter alia outclassed by Oxford yet sneaked a win thanks to the individual brilliance of a player deemed not good enough to play in a game which could have meant £200k to a cash-strapped club; had a 1-0 victory against the same team who had a comedy stand-in goalkeeper for around 75 minutes of the match; and a 3-2 win against little more than a Conference club shorn of all confidence from a winless streak of mammoth proportions. The defeats in the league this season have all come against teams in the top 6 – proving the flat-track bully analogy. For as soon as the team has come against better quality opposition it has crumbled. Some will say that a 3-0 victory over Shrewsbury Town was amongst the wins. Indeed it was, but with two goals in injury time, after the Shrews had clattered the bar five minutes from the end.
Then there is the situation regarding the manager’s son. A player, let us not forget, grasped from the nettle of the Conference South; a player who has played around 90% of his league career under his father’s care. Ergo, a player deemed not good enough by the manager’s peers. Yet good enough to play for Southend United ahead of the club’s two leading scorers in the game against Oldham. The #ditchblairproject needs to gather momentum, but will not until his father is replaced. I don’t care that he holds the ball up well, there are plenty of players out there that can do that equally as well and better, and add far, far more than a player of his very limited ability.
The players have clearly scapegoated and victimised Bilel Mohsni following his two yellow cards last night. The lead seems to have been taken by the manager from his interview post-match. I can only assume Gael Clichy suffered equal torment at the hands of the Manchester City players on Monday night for his sending-off which saw them lose their unbeaten record. The players clearly lack class off the pitch (and some on it too), and for the likes of Gilbert to slate Bilel is sickening. For Bilel to be made the scapegoat for losing the club £200k is a disgrace. The buck stops with the manager in normal circumstances. He picked that team that most knew would not be capable of beating Oldham – a team which did not include the three leading scorers at the club so that they could make way for the aforementioned anti-striker. One man should be jettisoned, and that is not Bilel. “Oh! He’s had too many chances and let us down”, will be the cry. How many times did the much-vaunted (but totally limited) Roy McDonough get sent off? Was it ever said he should be kicked out of the club? It smacks of something more sinister to me. In any normal workplace such victimisation would be seen as bullying, and subject to disciplinary procedures. I’m not surprised that as one against 20 or so, Bilel feels the need to react. After all, isn’t it a reaction that bullies wish to see?
Losses breed losses I’m afraid and the fact that the manager (or someone close to him) comes on here to communicate with the fans should not paper over the crevices that are forming. The purpose of this season is to get out of this league and this manager is NOT fit for that purpose. The time to act is after Friday’s defeat. I can only hope that Brady and Martin will realise that. However, given the history of standing back and seeing what will happen amongst this Board, previous Board’s, and seemingly a majority of the fans I will not be holding my breath.
So the manager led the team to a 17 game unbeaten run. An unbeaten run of a flat-track bully where good performances in the first few of those games were followed by poor performances where the team was inter alia outclassed by Oxford yet sneaked a win thanks to the individual brilliance of a player deemed not good enough to play in a game which could have meant £200k to a cash-strapped club; had a 1-0 victory against the same team who had a comedy stand-in goalkeeper for around 75 minutes of the match; and a 3-2 win against little more than a Conference club shorn of all confidence from a winless streak of mammoth proportions. The defeats in the league this season have all come against teams in the top 6 – proving the flat-track bully analogy. For as soon as the team has come against better quality opposition it has crumbled. Some will say that a 3-0 victory over Shrewsbury Town was amongst the wins. Indeed it was, but with two goals in injury time, after the Shrews had clattered the bar five minutes from the end.
Then there is the situation regarding the manager’s son. A player, let us not forget, grasped from the nettle of the Conference South; a player who has played around 90% of his league career under his father’s care. Ergo, a player deemed not good enough by the manager’s peers. Yet good enough to play for Southend United ahead of the club’s two leading scorers in the game against Oldham. The #ditchblairproject needs to gather momentum, but will not until his father is replaced. I don’t care that he holds the ball up well, there are plenty of players out there that can do that equally as well and better, and add far, far more than a player of his very limited ability.
The players have clearly scapegoated and victimised Bilel Mohsni following his two yellow cards last night. The lead seems to have been taken by the manager from his interview post-match. I can only assume Gael Clichy suffered equal torment at the hands of the Manchester City players on Monday night for his sending-off which saw them lose their unbeaten record. The players clearly lack class off the pitch (and some on it too), and for the likes of Gilbert to slate Bilel is sickening. For Bilel to be made the scapegoat for losing the club £200k is a disgrace. The buck stops with the manager in normal circumstances. He picked that team that most knew would not be capable of beating Oldham – a team which did not include the three leading scorers at the club so that they could make way for the aforementioned anti-striker. One man should be jettisoned, and that is not Bilel. “Oh! He’s had too many chances and let us down”, will be the cry. How many times did the much-vaunted (but totally limited) Roy McDonough get sent off? Was it ever said he should be kicked out of the club? It smacks of something more sinister to me. In any normal workplace such victimisation would be seen as bullying, and subject to disciplinary procedures. I’m not surprised that as one against 20 or so, Bilel feels the need to react. After all, isn’t it a reaction that bullies wish to see?
Losses breed losses I’m afraid and the fact that the manager (or someone close to him) comes on here to communicate with the fans should not paper over the crevices that are forming. The purpose of this season is to get out of this league and this manager is NOT fit for that purpose. The time to act is after Friday’s defeat. I can only hope that Brady and Martin will realise that. However, given the history of standing back and seeing what will happen amongst this Board, previous Board’s, and seemingly a majority of the fans I will not be holding my breath.
