Interpol Shrimper
Member
Right, I think we all know that the financial constraints we've had to suffer (many of them self-inflicted) have ended up causing our dismal relegation but I just felt it might be quite good to discuss the football side of why things have ended in disaster this year.
For me, I'd say in the main, it's been our shaky & leaky defence, often conceding goals late in games (or injury time of 1st half). I'm unsure though, as to what has cost us more. Is it the following?
1) Our abysmal away form in general, with only 12 points gained from a possible 66, with such passionless away performances as Hartlepool, Gillingham, MK Dons & Exeter (where on paper you would expect the usual quality of a Southend team to pick up at least 6 points).
2) Our shocking form against lower half opposition (other than the dross that is Borient - I think that is what hurts the most is they likely will stay up while don't - and potentially Stockport next weekend), our form against fellow strugglers is worse than shocking. Exeter, dire home draw, passionless away defeat. Gillingham, lucky last minute winner, spineless away defeat. Hartlepool caved in away, as above. Oldham, pathetic at home, reasonable point picked up away with 10 men. Tranmere, as Exeter. Wycombe, 2 dull draws. Yeovil (seeing as RM likes to quote how much better we are at everything than them), couldn't score against a leaky defence like theirs in 120 minutes & let in another soft away goal.
3) This for me is the one that has killed us, games where we've gone from decent opportunites to gain points to drawing or even losing, again with late killer goals. This category alone I'd say has cost us in the region of something like 9 points. At Roots Hall, Charlton winning position to losing (3 pts, would have taken a draw) and Huddersfield (first game of the season, blew a 2 goal lead to draw - 2 points). Away, I'm not sure you can say we'd have got anything from our trip to the Lego Stadium but certainly THAT pitch didn't help, but seriously again look at the Brentford, Bristol Rovers & Norwich games, all matches we were leading in for long periods of time but again end up losing due to late goals (possibly the draw up at Walsall too falls into that category), so I'd say that again has cost us in the region of 4 or 5 solid points. Add these onto what we've got now & we'd be a fair way down the table but extremely confident of surviving. As a lot of people have said most of the season, we've seemingly only been 2 or maybe 3 quality players away from being at least a mid-table team. If only Ron could have seen this was the case and not let the financial issues strangle the funding of the football side of the club who knows what would have happened.
Personally, I hope Tilson reflects on all of this and is very forceful about the kind of player we hope to get in during the close-season, although as said many times elsewhere on here, what football agent is going to advise his client to come to a club with our current reputation?
I'd be interested to know everybody elses thoughts, although as I said initially lets try & keep the direct blame away from Martin & King here.
For me, I'd say in the main, it's been our shaky & leaky defence, often conceding goals late in games (or injury time of 1st half). I'm unsure though, as to what has cost us more. Is it the following?
1) Our abysmal away form in general, with only 12 points gained from a possible 66, with such passionless away performances as Hartlepool, Gillingham, MK Dons & Exeter (where on paper you would expect the usual quality of a Southend team to pick up at least 6 points).
2) Our shocking form against lower half opposition (other than the dross that is Borient - I think that is what hurts the most is they likely will stay up while don't - and potentially Stockport next weekend), our form against fellow strugglers is worse than shocking. Exeter, dire home draw, passionless away defeat. Gillingham, lucky last minute winner, spineless away defeat. Hartlepool caved in away, as above. Oldham, pathetic at home, reasonable point picked up away with 10 men. Tranmere, as Exeter. Wycombe, 2 dull draws. Yeovil (seeing as RM likes to quote how much better we are at everything than them), couldn't score against a leaky defence like theirs in 120 minutes & let in another soft away goal.
3) This for me is the one that has killed us, games where we've gone from decent opportunites to gain points to drawing or even losing, again with late killer goals. This category alone I'd say has cost us in the region of something like 9 points. At Roots Hall, Charlton winning position to losing (3 pts, would have taken a draw) and Huddersfield (first game of the season, blew a 2 goal lead to draw - 2 points). Away, I'm not sure you can say we'd have got anything from our trip to the Lego Stadium but certainly THAT pitch didn't help, but seriously again look at the Brentford, Bristol Rovers & Norwich games, all matches we were leading in for long periods of time but again end up losing due to late goals (possibly the draw up at Walsall too falls into that category), so I'd say that again has cost us in the region of 4 or 5 solid points. Add these onto what we've got now & we'd be a fair way down the table but extremely confident of surviving. As a lot of people have said most of the season, we've seemingly only been 2 or maybe 3 quality players away from being at least a mid-table team. If only Ron could have seen this was the case and not let the financial issues strangle the funding of the football side of the club who knows what would have happened.
Personally, I hope Tilson reflects on all of this and is very forceful about the kind of player we hope to get in during the close-season, although as said many times elsewhere on here, what football agent is going to advise his client to come to a club with our current reputation?
I'd be interested to know everybody elses thoughts, although as I said initially lets try & keep the direct blame away from Martin & King here.
