Back from Donnie...

[palexander]

What a crap-hole that place is... ho-hum...

Good first half - we had 4-5 excellent chances and I was really worried when we didnt take at least one. Goater, Gray, Cole and Gutts all could have done better when in good positions.

Cole had an excellent first half and was roasting the full back on a regular basis. Bents, Maher and Gutts all had decent 1st halfs.

Second half, there was only one team in it as Donnie doubled their work rate and over-ran us. I am very dissapointed that we did not match their extra effort and in the end they deserved the win.

Nice to hear the home fans after the game walking to the car...

"Good side Southend, played some nice football"

"Good result for us, they (Southend) will win a lot more than they lose"

Ratings:

Flavs 7 - Made some good saves 1st half.
Hunt 4 - Stinker, come back Juppy
Barret 7 - Didnt venture forward, but solid at the back.
Eagle 8 - MOM with some good blocks and headers.
Wilson 6 - Another steady game from the improving che
Bents 7 - Worked hard but is not really giving us width.
Maher 6 - Good 1st half but dropped away in the 2nd and another booking for mouthing off.
Gutts 8 - Another excellent game from Gutts, tough tackling and great vision (1st half especially)
Cole 7 - Good 1st half, quiet second when doubled up on.
Goater 5 - Very poor, think he needs a rest.
Gray 6 - Caused Donnie a few probs but otherwise quiet.

Freddy, Campbell-Ryce and Lawson didnt really do anything.

Good chance to change things around Tuesday and for now the winning run has ended I would go for this next week...

Flavs, Jupp, Barret, Edwards, Wilson, Campbell-Ryce, Maher, Gutts, Cole, Eastwood, Gray with Goater, Hunt, Bentley, Smith and Bart on the bench.

Ah well, could have been worse and we had to lose sometime...

 

[Yellow Army]

weren't the traffic bad then, or did u leave early?

 

[J]

must only live in sheffield..

 

[The General]

He lives in Lincoln (i believe!) ...

 

[palexander]

Yea, near Lincoln - only took 50 mins!

 

[The General]

Quote[/b] (pboreham @ Oct. 15 2005,19:04)]Yea, near Lincoln - only took 50 mins!

How many away fans were there Paul? Make much noise?!

 

[Clarky_Blues]

Just got home.  Strange old game today.  It should have been game won after 30 mins.  Gray, Goat and Cole had great chances. Everytime we went forward we looked like scoring.  When Gray missed that one on one my Dad said to me hope we don't regret that - and he was right!

Donny did not really offer a great deal in the 1st half but I agree with pb they outrun us and did not let us play in the 2nd half, basically seemed to want it more than us.

Gutts was my man of the match, never stopped running and controlled the game in the first 45.  Defence played well, Eagle and AB making a number of excellent blocks and tackles.

The run had to come to an end and it may do us good - I hope!

 

[Clarky_Blues]

I think Freddy will now get his chance. As we were walking back to the car Donny fans were saying "thank god Southend did not start Eastwood".

 

[Andy_S]

Hmm, it sort of makes you feel better if as you say we had chances in the first half, but then at the same time it's slightly worrying we didn't take any and were made to pay. Perhaps Freddy starting might have made the difference to that.

It's a disappointing result but it's still nice to look at the table and see we're 2nd and in the automatics.

 

[Perth Bambi]

Gray missed a one on one by taking too many touches, also missed a header when 2 yards out in the middle of the goal. As said Gutts and Cole should have done better, although the comedy air shot by Cole was quite funny.
Just one question? Was i the only person there who thought Goater had a mare and should have been taken off ahead of Gray who apart from poor finishing had a good game.
Goater then had a hand in both their goals when not even jumping to challange his man for the corner that led to the goal followed by not challanging his man in the middle of the park before there player ran down and scored.
Sorry but for me Goater HAS to make way for Freddy next week.
Hunt did have an awful game today but i usually feel his is pretty reliable and i think calls for Jupp to be brought in are a bit premature.

 

[Clarky_Blues]

Agree the Goat did have a mare tonight, gave the ball away cheaply for the 2nd goal, he did look knackered and should have been replaced.

 

[Andy_S]

I do hope that we're not going to end up in this situation where we refuse to take Goater off ahead of other due to reputation like some clubs and their players seemingly fall to. Against Forest, where Goater wasn't all having all that much influence, stayed on, whilst Gray was running his socks off and he was the one to make way.

 

[Sandbach Shrimper]

Tilson took Gray off rather than Goater against Forest too, when Gray was easily the better player out of the 2. Eastwood for Goater against Barnsley.

 

[stickyboy]

agree the 1st half we had our chances , the 2nd we were totally outfought and never really looked like scoring. Agree Goater has a mare and should have gone off. Eastwood should have been playing to start with, he is our best striker and most likely to score so why keep hoping he can do it with 20 mins to go. Goater looks totally f*cked off late and now has to be dropped, lets hope that his reputation is going to keep him in the team. Gutteridge was great again especially in 1st half

 

[Guest]

All a bit surreal, the car was quiet on the way home (although we had an entertaining kickaround and Grantham services!). Atmosphere never got going, much like 1st half vs Gills - I blame open terraces.
We played pretty well in the first half, and should really have been ahead, but Donny were better second hald and restricted our chances severely.

We played worse at Gillingham and still won, so I'm not too down about it. Oh, and the ref was absolutely appaling.

 

[Suffolk Shrimper In Dorset]

Some thoughts on the game today:

- Hunt had a mare but think it will be a one-off. He let the home fans get to him, especially in first half.
- otherwise, defence generally ok.
- Gutts was easily MOM, non-stop effort with skill loaded in.
- Maher needs to see the therapist again before he gets suspended ...old habits etc. and we miss him when he's gone though with Jay Smith to step in maybe he wouldn't find it so easy to come back this time.
- Cole again had a good first half and an annonymous second. I think Cole deserves his place, but time for Tilly to make the most of his resources and start subbing Cole for a game or two at half time and bringing on JCR so JCR then has a reasonable time to do himself justice.
- Bentley deserves his place, always get the commitment and he improves each game though along with most of the team today failed to step up a gear in second half.
- Eastwood is a better player than Gray and Gray is a top notch 20 - 30 mins end of game sub as he always then really seems to want to prove himself. Time for Tilly to recognise this. I think both work best with Goater rather than each other, and if Goats needs a rest I'd prefer to give Lawson a chance again (subbing him then for Gray after 60 - 70 mins).
- we should have won today but the team let themselves and us down in the second half. I don't go with the theory that 'it was bound to happen sometime' - why should it? Fair enough if we are crap or the opposition is amazing, but neither of these things are true at present/today, so today it was dissapointing and there was no need for it.
- added to which it was my first away of the season (bar Chelmsford) so am a bitted miffed!
- nice SUFC fans/player mutual appreciation at the end, the spirit remains high and if IMHO the above advice is taken Barnsley are in for a thumping (Rushden doesn't count - Tilly is bound to use that to exoeriment a bit which is fair enough, the bench need a run out.
- I reckon there were about 700 of us there today - a good turn out.
- Donny is a dump - how they get away with playing there I don't know though it was a 'nice' reminder of days gone by when many stadiums were equally as s%&te. I thought it a tad funny to see a poster in the Club House saying that membership will guarantee Donny fans seats in their new 15,000 seater stadium - I can't see them selling out.

Up the Blues

 

[Guest]

I was surprised at what a dump Donny was, esepcially the stadium, which was so non-league it was unbeliveable. I've been to better Ryman Premier grounds!!!

 

[Smudger]

Quote[/b] (pboreham @ Oct. 15 2005,18:31)]Cole was roasting the full back on a regular basis.

There is no place for that in football.

 

[The Man Who Likes Prams]

Quote[/b] (Suffolk Shrimper @ Oct. 15 2005,21:56)]Some thoughts on the game today:

I don't go with the theory that 'it was bound to happen sometime' - why should it? Fair enough if we are crap or the opposition is amazing, but neither of these things are true at present/today, so today it was dissapointing and there was no need for it.

It has taken us 82 years to break the 7-game record, winning the 8 was superb, but I think that it WAS bound to happen, because:

1. The pressure to break the record was intense, and the players did "ever so well" against Forest to achieve that - there was always likely to be a reaction

2. We had scored in 8 successive games, and we have all been at matches where despite dominating the ball refuses to cross the line - it happens to every team at some point.

3. The publicity associated with the run was just the sort of thing to fire teams like Donnie up. Some teams might have tried to shut up shop and sneak a goal, but credit to Rovers, they stated their intention to give it a go before the match and they were as good as their word.

4. The average standard in this league is good, the difference between a promotion winning team and a foot-of-the-table one is quite small, so it only takes a couple of players to have an off day, and the game is lost.

5. The Players couldn't stand the thought of Tilly with long hair and a smelly suit.

6. I predicted exactly this at 01:18 this morning, so of course it was bound to happen.

 

[Stats]

Quote[/b] (pboreham @ Oct. 15 2005,18:31)]Hunt 4 - Stinker, come back Juppy

Have you not watched the previous games with Hunt in the side, he's been superb

vs nottm forest live on sky he marked commons out of the game

One bad game hardly consitutes being dropped

DONT PANIC!!