Current Situation

[TrueBlue]

I do belive that panic is starting to spread with us all (myself included) Having never been old enough to enjoy a promotion season I like many younger fans I feel I don't want this chance to slip,
what I think the older alot of you must take into account that people like me born in the early 80s and grown up to support Southend have only seen a slow and painfull near destruction of a football club falling from the dizzy hights of 1st in Division 1 to at the low point bottom of the 3rd! I feel that Maher is apart of the team but apart of me feels that he is just another name to add to an era of debt, defeat and demise 1996-2004 - 8 years of going through your teenage and young adult life being laughed at by your mates because 'Southend are crap' 'Southend are sh*t' 'West ham this and West f**king ham that'.
Lets just hope this season is a stepping stone to the next season not just a one off.
I say to all other supporters that now is a very tough time this is where we are having a blip and we need to over come this so we need to get behind the lads at Mansfield drive them on 8 YEARS of sh*te nows the chance to rise up again!

 

[Its grim up north!]

I see your point. But, having spent the last 8 years watching Southend do next to nothing in the football league you surley must realise that something is begining to happen to our club under Tilly and Brush?

Even if we do mess up (lets pray we dont) and miss out on promotion, we have a great boost of morale to go into next season with, which is something we have not had for a long time.

All in all, things seem to be on the up with a great sqaud and great staff.

Keep the faith TB, and if anyone starts with Wet Spam sh*t just run them down with your mobile discoteque!

Up the blues!

 

[Smiffy]

I just want to know why when we have a big game, play infront of a decent crowd or just have the opportunity to really put pressure on the teams above us, we always seem to turn in a below par performance?.

Has anyone got any real thoughts as to why this seems to be happening?

Or is it just coincidence?

 

[Its grim up north!]

We are Southend United........Thats why!

 

[Rusty Lee]

What worries me is Tilson knew exactly how Notts Co were going to set their stall out but we didn’t seem to have any ideas how to break them down.

We are now going to have teams both home & away sitting back happy to soak up pressure looking to hit us on the break. This means we're going to need to be much more creative and use the extra possession with more effectiveness.

Far too early on Sat we looked resigned to hitting balls over the top trying to get in behind Notts Co. Cant remember once where we got wide and got a decent cross in, or where the midfield linked up with the forwards to get beyond them to create a chance.

Tilson has done an excellent job so far, but the real test is just starting and we're going to need a new plan if we're serious about promotion this season.

 

[Its grim up north!]

I disagree about ''a new plan'', I think its just like us to drop points to teams like County, Grimsby and Mansfield.

We had our fair share of chances, but with 10 men behind the ball there is always going to be a problem with getting beyond their defence.

I think the next few weeks will determine our chances of going up, playing the likes of Swansea, Scunny and Northampton will prove to be crunch games.

Lets face it no-one in this league is really running away with it.....Yet!

 

[Shrimp in a Kilt]

Quote[/b] (Rusty Lee @ Jan. 17 2005,10:17)]What worries me is Tilson knew exactly how Notts Co were going to set their stall out but we didn’t seem to have any ideas how to break them down.

Not sure that is quite fair. We had chances, just this week we didn't take them. Watching Match of the Day, and though some of the goals on there were top drawer quality, a large percentage owed more than a little to luck - Goalie error (L'pool) misunderstanding between Goalie and defence (Charlton) deflected off defenders back after the Goalie had commited himself, etc. We just didn't get that little bit of luck this time.

As has been said on another thread, if we had got a goal, County would have been forced to come out and play and we might then have had more chances/goals. With the strike force we have, and with the other players scoring pretty regulary, I think it is a bit early to start worrying.

 

[The Flying Scotsman]

Not taking the ****, but i think we needed Drewe on Saturday.

 

[sufcintheprem]

Totally agree (about having chances, not missing Drewe). Maybe lacking a bit of quality in the finishing. Certainly, this was the case in the onces I've seen at home this year (e.g. Wycombe, Chester, Mansfield).

If anyone's going to be pointing the finger anywhere, it should be at the strikers if we're not scoring, especially considering that the three vs Rushden were scored from other areas.

Still, I hate to see topics suggesting we're in a bad state at the moment considering last year's circus. I thought Mansfield's only genuine threat was from Asamoah when we were at home but he'll be considerably less effective at home where his pace isn't such an attribute.

They defended well against us, hit us on the break and still got the rub of the green with our disallowed 'goal'. The promotion bandwagon will get back on track, don't you worry...

 

[Mad Cyril]

Quote[/b] (The Flying Scotsman @ Jan. 17 2005,12:17)]Not taking the ****, but i think we needed Drewe on Saturday.

I agree.

 

[Rusty Lee]

I dont think we're in a bad state at all, we just need to have varied attacking options. I feel we need someone in the middle of the park who can get forward and get goals.

I can understand while people would of liked to of seen Drewe on sat, we didnt win a header all day in County's half.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (Rusty Lee @ Jan. 17 2005,10:17)]Can't remember once where we got wide and got a decent cross in

Because, basically, we had no fully-fit recognised wingers in the squad on Saturday. When Gower came on, the left side of the County defence was carved open a number of times. Nicky Nic isn't yet a proper winger, but is instead simply a left sided player. Petts had a great game too... but, again, he isn't a winger.

Arguably, the tactial move might have been to go for the early goal by starting with Gower and having Petts alongside Maher in the middle of the park. An early goal would have opened County up, and might have then provided us with more opportunities to hit them on the break, something we're pretty good at - esp. with Wayne Gray in the side.

But that's pure speculation, and I'm not about to start second-guessing Tilly now.

However, Saturday really did demonstrate how valuable a decent winger can be - most of County's best opportunities came through Tony Scully, I thought - especially in the first half.

Tilly was searching for a winger at the beginning of the month, because he recognised that it was a gap in the squad. In my view, he really ought to go looking again - perhaps for someone like Martin Devaney at Cheltenham or Willie McLaren at Airdrie. The latter would (IMHO) be a superb bet - Airdrie are clearly in selling mode, and may let their main striker, Alan Gow, head to Hearts or Birmingham City (or possibly Ipswich) for £150K. If they're in need of money, then why not go in for him now...?

Hey ho, just a thought. Here's to a very, very tough month ahead...

Matt

 

[Kris]

Quote[/b] (Rusty Lee @ Jan. 17 2005,10:17)]What worries me is Tilson knew exactly how Notts Co were going to set their stall out but we didn’t seem to have any ideas how to break them down.

We are now going to have teams both home & away sitting back happy to soak up pressure looking to hit us on the break. This means we're going to need to be much more creative and use the extra possession with more effectiveness.

Far too early on Sat we looked resigned to hitting balls over the top trying to get in behind Notts Co. Cant remember once where we got wide and got a decent cross in, or where the midfield linked up with the forwards to get beyond them to create a chance.

Tilson has done an excellent job so far, but the real test is just starting and we're going to need a new plan if we're serious about promotion this season.

Some good points here. Personally I think the team should learn to be a bit more patient in possession because lumping the ball long too early is playing into the opposition's hands.

It sounds a simple point but the key to beating the Notts Countys of this division is to grab an early goal and force them out of their shells. We actually played some nice football against County in the first 10 minutes but when things didn't happen for us heads seemed to go down and we started playing 'route one' football too much. We need to keep the ball for longer periods and stretch the opposition, even if that means occasionally having to go backwards and sideways to create an opening.

With a bit of luck, this won't be a permanent problem because hopefully Mark Gower will soon be fully fit again and, even though he's been a bit disappointing by his standards this season so far, one thing about Gower is that his movement is excellent and he always seems to be available for a pass. With him back in the team, our ball retention should improve naturally.

 

[fbm]

You also have to bear in mind that knowing exactly how to break a team down and actually doing it are 2 different things. No matter what the manager has said, once the players are on the pitch then it's out of his hands.

Prime example - we needed to get araound the back to cause them problems. In the first half we did - Freddy got to the by line and instead of squaring the ball back to an unmarked Dudfield he tried to get a better position by beating a man. It didn't work as he was tackled.

Patience people. We'll be there or thereabouts come May.

 

[Sussex Shrimper]

I think that the man who could have made the difference between a challenge for automatic promotion or the playoffs this season is Jay Smith. With all of the possession, but lack of ideas, we seem to have against sides like Notts County he is surely the man who could unlock any defence in this division that we are lacking at the moment.

Get well soon Jay.

 

[Rusty Lee]

ohhh what i would give to have a fit Jay Smith, any news on how long Bart is out for?

 

[Proud Shrimper]

IMHO I think it will be easier to get results away from home as the onus is on the home side to come out and play, when teams do that you can see just how good we are - teams who come to Roots Hall and play for a point will IMO more often than not leave with what they came for.

 

[sufcintheprem]

I couldonly imagine how good Smith would be in a decent promotion pushing side as opposed to a lower mid-table side. the solid defence and pacy attack would give him so much scope for creativity.

Such a shame. Where's that Goodhind?!

 

[Sussex Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ Jan. 17 2005,13:44)]I couldonly imagine how good Smith would be in a decent promotion pushing side as opposed to a lower mid-table side.  the solid defence and pacy attack would give him so much scope for creativity.

Such a shame.  Where's that Goodhind?!  

Last spotted rapidly heading towards the conference.

I think that someone should tell him what Lee Boylan and Jeff Minton have been saying about his mum.

 

[The Flying Scotsman]

Saw Jay Smith on Saturday going into the East stand on crutches