Post-Match Thread and Ratings Aldershot Town 1-1 Southend United

[GDM]

Did you go last night?
We sat with a perfect view of Neal and the people in front, behind and to the left and right groaned every time Neal got the ball. Not once did he do anything positive with it.
Any of those from your list could have played his game but slightly more forward thinking. If Maher insists on playing Atkinson then he needs to find an attacking midfielder to create something…..Neal is not the answer going by last nights very negative contribution!

We don't need an attacking midfielder in this formation - his job is to win the ball and get the ball out wide...it was the crosses that let us down last night...and its frustrating when they had 10 behind the ball, which always means it looks like we are passing sideways as we are looking for space to break them down.
Aldershot made the game boring - I don't think you can blame our players for that (oh and before you say, yes I did go!)

 

[ColinMorrisWalksOnWater]

"We've confirmed it was 586 Southend at Aldershot last night."

My contact at Aldershot has confirmed the figure of 586, which is a tremendous effort for a Tuesday night and one of their biggest away attendances so far.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

I think overall it was a good point away from home, especially after going behind so early. Onto Dover away now!

My only concern last night was seeing the bench, it had very little to offer attacking wise which is a bit of a concern in terms of squad depth. Obviously Dennis was injured and Murphy injured as well but I can't help thinking we need a few more squads players to help off the bench, especially against the better teams in the league.

 

[tommy tucker]

M M said the shots played to the game plan .Well if your plan means you spend 80 mins sitting deep and trying to hit teams on the counter attack His game plan is very poor .It looks like even the clubs fans do no like watch .So glad we ditched him .

 

[GBJ]

Dieng is playing very well at Exeter, I think he's a good player that was just stuck in some awful sides.

Never have I witnessed a CM consistently bottle 50:50 tackles and headers… apart from Mantom maybe.

I agree that the sides he played in were poor, but these are basic desires that all CM’s must show. It’s the very least you’d expect from them, regardless of ability.

 

[Petejames]

Did you go last night?
We sat with a perfect view of Neal and the people in front, behind and to the left and right groaned every time Neal got the ball. Not once did he do anything positive with it.
Any of those from your list could have played his game but slightly more forward thinking. If Maher insists on playing Atkinson then he needs to find an attacking midfielder to create something…..Neal is not the answer going by last nights very negative contribution!

Have a day off and yes mate Iv watched every game and there are a lot of clubs monitoring neal… maybe a off night but give the lad a break Jesus!!! We don’t need you dishing crap out we are ok at the moment and neal is part of us turning things around

 

[kentblues]

On one hand Aldershot have gone on a very decent run results wise. Unfortunately for them the fix is one all too familiar to us...but who cares about them.

Far more promisingly as a fix is to improve and climb the table playing good football. An approach built on a desire to create a promotion challenging team as opposed to one that can merely survive.

On one level with so much possession and not winning it feels like there must have been something wrong- quality of balls in to the box, last third creativity etc. etc. This is to overlook to some extent that when a home team parks the bus in the 5th minute it can be difficult. And at NL level the "Prem levels" of quality to open up opportunities when a team adopts this approach, and are well organised defensively, is not there. Chesterfield had the same problem.

So my take is how far we must have come that Aldershot are forced to treat us like a top of the table outfit..

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

Neal - 2 - Sorry but one of the worst performances I’ve seen this season. Absolutely every hall he played was backwards without even considering his options. He could be in an acre of space and still pass to the defence. Hopefully just an off day.

Husin - 5 - Tried to be positive but not a lot came off, often found a red shirt.

So one retains possession and one gives it away but you rate that higher?

 

[JAL]

Have a day off and yes mate Iv watched every game and there are a lot of clubs monitoring neal… maybe a off night but give the lad a break Jesus!!! We don’t need you dishing crap out we are ok at the moment and neal is part of us turning things around

People will always looks for negatives unfortunately, its a fixed mentality they've picked up from the past few seasons.

 

[dusterman]

Never have I witnessed a CM consistently bottle 50:50 tackles and headers… apart from Mantom maybe.

I agree that the sides he played in were poor, but these are basic desires that all CM’s must show. It’s the very least you’d expect from them, regardless of ability.

Yeah, he will look like a Rolls Royce if he has players doing the gritty stuff around him allowing him to float into the box and score. He was a talented player just not what we needed at the time.

Fantastic utility player IMO, he just was with us at the wrong time. Don’t harbour any ill feeling towards him.

 

[Grayson]

I thought Neal was the biggest crab I have seen in a blues shirt since Kev played.
Never once went forward and wouldn’t care if he ever played for us again. Was a magnet for the ball and constantly played it 10 yards sideways and backwards. Brunt made things happen, this bloke is a negative Atkinson type player that massively contributed to a horrible game to watch….send him back and give someone else a go!

Your crab chat was tiresome 15 years ago let alone in 2022. There is so much more good quality and detailed football analysis available to you now across the internet. Read some and inform yourself.

 

[Crawliano]

Feels good to be somewhat down in the dumps about 2 points dropped vs 1 point gained. Long may that feeling continue

 

[hlane17]

I quite enjoy forgetting about those who have come through in the past 3 years (apart from those now contributing to our comeback of course)

A fair portion of the players who have been and gone in our decline wouldn't be fit to lace the boots of the current squad.

I'm going to spend today basking in the fact we have avoided losses to ****house teams such as KLTFC and Aldershot, who would have been absolute banana skins for SUFC previously.

This is down to our players going to the last minute and making luck for ourselves. Two games in a row we've bagged late goals. That will get us some vital points this season and beyond if we continue this habit.

 

[GBJ]

Did you go last night?
We sat with a perfect view of Neal and the people in front, behind and to the left and right groaned every time Neal got the ball. Not once did he do anything positive with it.
Any of those from your list could have played his game but slightly more forward thinking. If Maher insists on playing Atkinson then he needs to find an attacking midfielder to create something…..Neal is not the answer going by last nights very negative contribution!

No, I didn’t go last night, hence I haven’t commented on that particular performance.

I did watch the Yeovil and Kings Lynn games though - also with perfect views - in which he clearly showed what he can do.

He bossed the midfield for both of those games, and for the first time in four years we finally looked to not only have some mobility and steel in the middle of the park, but a player who can finally grab the game by the scruff of the neck and dictate the play. Something we haven’t seen since Ryan Leonard.

Judging by Maher’s favoured formation of 3-4-3, his clear plan is to attack from out wide & down the flanks, which by your description of last night, seems to have been executed to the letter, no? Win the ball in midfield, then feed the wide men?

The creativity in last nights line up is supposed to come from Davies and Husin, and maybe to a lesser extent Clifford & Ralph, if they’re instructed to overlap. Of course I’ve no doubt Neal would chip in with that creativity too, given the chance, but his job is to anchor the midfield and give it some balance, especially when we have such a high volume of possession and are pressing high up the pitch.

Oh and if any of that list could have played Neal’s game, albeit slightly more forward thinking, it’s a shame they never did. Maybe then we may have avoided falling down the football pyramid so dramatically.

 

[wiggy]

Have a day off and yes mate Iv watched every game and there are a lot of clubs monitoring neal… maybe a off night but give the lad a break Jesus!!! We don’t need you dishing crap out we are ok at the moment and neal is part of us turning things around

Your crab chat was tiresome 15 years ago let alone in 2022. There is so much more good quality and detailed football analysis available to you now across the internet. Read some and inform yourself.

Seems like the ratings section of the site agree with Neal joint bottom for last night.
Silly me for suggesting that the up and coming youngster from a Championship club was as negative as the 34 year old bloke next to him.

 

[Pak Power]

3 mins (of normal time )to go a goal down, and come back for a draw is good right?

 

[Moley]

I thought Neal was the biggest crab I have seen in a blues shirt since Kev played.
Never once went forward and wouldn’t care if he ever played for us again. Was a magnet for the ball and constantly played it 10 yards sideways and backwards. Brunt made things happen, this bloke is a negative Atkinson type player that massively contributed to a horrible game to watch….send him back and give someone else a go!

Wow

 

[kentblues]

3 mins (of normal time )to go a goal down, and come back for a draw is good right?

Good teams are the ones who get a point or a win at the death rather than are hanging on. We have had years of going defensive and hanging on (even in the good Brown years). Yes it's another positive step to go with others.

 

[Chris Powell's mate]

From those there, I wonder if they would prefer Davies to Demi on Saturday?

If Matt D is available, and the signs are promising, who gets dropped? Presumably, a midfielder, or maybe Dalby?

I despair at the standard of refereeing at this level.
Considering practically all clubs are full-time, it's a pity they're at the mercy of amateurs.

For all that, what terrific support - and not just last night!
I don't have the figures, but it seems better than the last two seasons when we were in the EFL!

 

[Mick]

That being said, Dover won tonight, which is their first win of the season. Ominous signs for Saturday?

Not at all. We've often been good, over the years, at giving teams their first win in ages.