Post-Match Thread and Ratings Chesterfield 3-0 Southend United

[Evening Echo]

SOUTHEND United sunk to their heaviest setback*in 10 months at Chesterfield tonight as a shocking first half display led to the Shrimpers suffering a 3-0 defeat.

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[RHB]

Says a lot for the result tonight when the Echo starts the ratings and reports thread. Not too many positives based on what I heard on the radio, but no doubt the travelling faithful will tell us more. Roll on Saturday and the Gills so we can get this game out of our systems.

 

[TTS]

On way home. Won't be too negative . It's going to be a long season and we have accept that we won't win every game. Nearly all players weren't at the races today. Chesterfield were quicker and stronger in most positions . I always believe it's how you react to a lacklustre performance. Let's not point fingers, let's not look for scapegoats , if you lose like that, you have to collectively take and shoulder responsibility.

I'd like to think that I'm a realist. These aren't rose tinted glasses , I just prefer to consider the long term and look at the bigger picture rather than make knee jerk reactions to a bad day at the office !

Utb's

 

[Pubey]

It was crap all round. Too many senior players underperformed and there was some terrible defending and decision making at times. Chesterfield were brilliant going forward, with Novak and Ebanks-Blake a real handful, however we gave them too much respect, and with Wordworth it enabled them to get to our defenders too easily. In hindsight probably a game for Deegan, but can't blame Brown for the lineup really. The subs were clearly an opportunity to give Payne, Williams and Hurst a chance and some minutes... sadly none of them took it, and we missed the opportunity to bring on Worrall and/or McLaughlin to really try to turn the game.

Ratings:
Bentley - 5 (really poor day at the office for Dan)
White - 5
Bolger - 5 (tempted to give him a 4, took him 93 mins to make a tackle, put us under pressure so much)
Prosser - 5
Coker - 5 (what was up with him today?)
Wordsworth - 5 (classy on the ball, but passenger and liability off the ball)
Timlin - 5 (slowly got into the game, but lost the midfield battle)
Leonard - 7 (MOTM)
Mooney - 5
Pigott - 5
Weston - 6 (At times he was poor, but worked his nuts off and some smart movement. Dropped his shoulder nicely once to get through and put in a good cross, also played a smart 1-2 pass with Williams).

Subs:
Hurst - 5
Payne - 5
Williams - 5

 

[RobB11]

Where were our shooting boots. Sounded like several good chances hit high wide and not handsome in the first half. Lenny can you figure out how to shoot again please :thumbsup:

 

[Pubey]

If changes are to be made for Saturday then in my opinion Leonard should be the first one dropped.

Were you at the game tonight?

On the basis of tonight, Leonard is the first name on the team sheet.

 

[RobB11]

No, I'm in bed and bloody glad too. Fair enough if he played well tonight, all I've witnessed and heard this season is that his shooting has been woeful though. Obviously not his fault we lost 3-0 but really wish he could shoot like he could 2 years ago.

 

[Danshrimper]

Struggling to think of the last game where we played as bad as that. Chesterfield were good, but not that good we were just absolutely awful.

Bentley 4- Very dissapointing performance. On one of their first corners Ebanks-Blake (what a **** by the way) seemed to be winding Bentley up and this must have got in his head because he had to be saved by Leonard who cleared it off the line. There were at least 4 occasions after this where it should have been an easy catch but he decided to punch. Looked like he could have claimed the ball from the 3rd corner but really couldn't tell.

White 3.5- Poor going forward as usual still can't cross the ball. But poor defensively as well which wasn't expected, kept giving the ball away and kept leaving whoever their winger was plenty of space out wide to cross the ball or make a run.
Prosser 3- Painfully, painfully slow. Chesterfield ran rings around him. His performance was summed up when he literally passed the ball to their striker near the end.
Bolger 3.5 A few good tackles but like Prosser also struggled.
Coker 4- A decent start to the game but began to follow the trend of giving the ball away like everyone else. Not up to his usual standards.

Wordsworth 3- Was he even playing?
Timlin 3- Give the ball away, commit foul, repeat.
Leonard 5- Maybe our best player but still wasn't great. Also seemed to enjoy giving the ball away.

Mooney 4- Mooney can't play in that attacking midfield role. His vision is **** at best. Like Prosser he is also painfully slow. Play him as a striker or don't play him at all.
Weston 4- Had a poor game compared to recent games but did some positive things, not actually sure where he was meant to be playing. One minute he was up front, the next left wing and the next right wing.
Pigott 3.5-nClean through on goal 2 or 3 times and completely bottled it. Had a shot from 20 yards out that was so weak I'm sure the keeper could have left and it wouldn't have reached the line. To his credit unlike the Scunthorpe game at least he tried hard, just didn't work for him tonight.

Payne 3- Looked like he was playing on ice he fell over every time he tried to run with the ball. clearly wasn't wearing the right boots. He is not good enough for this league he is far too lightweight.
Hurst 3- The decision to have him on the bench ahead of Worrall is nothing short of madness. He looked tired as soon as he came on and made absolutely no impact.
Williams 3- Not the answer. I may be being harsh on all 3 subs as everyone else had given up by the time they came on but they added nothing positive.

All round a very dissapointing performance but hopefully it was just a one off. I think every midfielder and forward were guilty of completely wasting at least one chance, some of our shots were laughably bad. Changes are needed in terms of formation and starting 11 if we are to stand any chance on Saturday.

 

[Jimmych]

Chesterfield were miles better than us, just didn't happen for us tonight. We looked a bit sluggish, they looked like a team finishing in the top 6.

Leonard was easily our best player and the only one who comes out with more than a 5/10. Fortunately the team for Saturday won't be picked by someone who wasn't at the game tonight, so I doubt he'll be dropped.

 

[leeblue]

We have been in good form of late no doubt but I did mention in the pre match thread our current 4 3 3 thing looked full of holes and could be beaten. One of those nights. On to the next stage of the sufc roller coaster whoooooo

 

[Danshrimper]

No, I'm in bed and bloody glad too. Fair enough if he played well tonight, all I've witnessed and heard this season is that his shooting has been woeful though. Obviously not his fault we lost 3-0 but really wish he could shoot like he could 2 years ago.

He had one shot from outside the box that he couldn't really have been expected to score, admittedly it was a very poor attempt but not as bad as Wordsworth (or maybe it was Mooney?) almost clearing the stadium from about 12 yards out. Other players wasted much better chances.

 

[Danshrimper]

Bolger - 5 (tempted to give him a 4, took him 93 mins to make a tackle, put us under pressure so much)

What about the last ditch tackle in the first half that saved us a goal?

 

[Pubey]

What about the last ditch tackle in the first half that saved us a goal?

Yeah true.

Payne managed a shot tonight that went backwards.

 

[Leoblue]

Fare play to all you folks who went tonight. Safe journey home to you all.

 

[shrimperjon]

He had one shot from outside the box that he couldn't really have been expected to score, admittedly it was a very poor attempt but not as bad as Wordsworth (or maybe it was Mooney?) almost clearing the stadium from about 12 yards out. Other players wasted much better chances.

In all fairness based on the commentary both Wordsworth and Mooney at least hit the target, whereas, Leonard had a few efforts of which none were on target.

 

[Pubey]

In all fairness based on the commentary both Wordsworth and Mooney at least hit the target, whereas, Leonard had a few efforts of which none were on target.

Mooney's effort was at the other end and so we didn't have a great view but it looked fairly tame to be cleared off the line. Mooney was poor but slipped a couple of nice through-balls in. Leonard was our best defender and created some good chances. His finishing was poor, but at least he was getting in the positions to have an opening. I was really disappointed by Timlin who seemed to be behind the pace of the game.

I can't remember Wordsworth's effort.

 

[shrimperjon]

Guess the biggest disapointment tonight was, that Chesterfield have been poor at home this season, before tonight, winning just once and conceding bucket loads. It was an opportunity to build further confidence ahead of our toughest game of the season on Saturday. Yet not one of our players appears to have turned up. But let's be realistic, we have done very well to this point and sit 8th in the table. We will have the odd blips along the way, in all likelihood we will probably lose on Saturday as well. But it is about how we bounce back from this result or Saturday's result that matters. Maybe the team needs a freshen up, PB said on Saturday that some players looked tired, yet makes no changes tonight. Yes a poor night tonight, but overall still a decent season so far. A bit of a reality check that tonight.

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

Thank goodness for motorway service stations - it only takes a cup of tea to restore the inner calm.

It could have been 3-0 or 4-0 in the first half alone. As said above Chesterfield were fluent passers of the ball and inventive and sharp whereas when we had the ball we were slow, sideways and predictable.

We came out for the second half and had a reasonable spell with a couple of half chances for Pigott and a goal could have changed the game but we then fizzled out again. The third goal was the nail in the coffin and the substitutes could not make a difference.

A bad game if you were a Southend fan but I suspect Chesterfield fans are buzzing after that performance.

 

[shrimperjon]

Mooney's effort was at the other end and so we didn't have a great view but it looked fairly tame to be cleared off the line. Mooney was poor but slipped a couple of nice through-balls in. Leonard was our best defender and created some good chances. His finishing was poor, but at least he was getting in the positions to have an opening. I was really disappointed by Timlin who seemed to be behind the pace of the game.

I can't remember Wordsworth's effort.

Timlin I reckon is still carry that knock to the ribs he got against Vale. Wordsworth effort was 20 yards out and saved by the keeper. As for Lenny, he does work very hard, but needs to learn how to shoot again. He has a brilliant shot on him, but only hits the target about twice a season. For someone of his ability that's a poor return. Would expect to see Deegan back on Saturday, probably for Wordsworth. Would also like to see McLaughlin back in the side. Offer us a bit more going forward.

as for tonight, wasn't a huge shock, we have ridden our luck a bit in games recently and although we have won, we could easily have llost or drawn. Someone sooner or later was going to give us a hiding. Shame we don't look like doing the same. Would love to see us win comfortably 3-0 at home.

 

[Danshrimper]

In all fairness based on the commentary both Wordsworth and Mooney at least hit the target, whereas, Leonard had a few efforts of which none were on target.

Well based on actually seeing the game Wordsworth had 3 shots, 2 wildly off target and one straight at the keeper. Mooney had one decent shot on target the rest were either tame or off target, Mooney is a striker though so I'd expect him to be hitting the target more than Leonard. I really don't know where you've got these few shots from Leonard from, he had 1 shot which yes was bad but I don't remember any others. Leonard's shot was a half chance from outside the area, Wordsworth and Mooney on the other hand wasted good chances inside the box.