FOUR Game Season Starts NOW

[South Bank Hank]

I purposely left it a couple of days after the previous game so people can answer with a clearer head - albeit, it's looking far less encouraging than it maybe did a week ago. False dawn? Going in to the home game against WW, you could certainly feel a hint of optimism - however misguided.

Here's what we thought going into the game?



What are we thinking now?

Just FOUR games left now but again, our season starts here.

 

[Jim Levenstein]

Down with barely a whimper.

 

[secondalibi]

It's simple. We must win at Walsall or we're down. Win that and we still have a chance.

 

[wiggy]

Down without a shot on goal......give the wages to the far more deserving Hospice, especially S hightly's

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

It's simple. We must win at Walsall or we're down. Win that and we still have a chance.

We said that last week about Wycombe

 

[Ricky Otto]

Down without a shot on goal......give the wages to the far more deserving Hospice, especially S hightly's

I think Kighty could be the worst signing we have ever made when you consider the chunk of the wage budget he is using up whilst contributing nothing

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I think Kighty could be the worst signing we have ever made when you consider the chunk of the wage budget he is using up whilst contributing nothing

One of Phil Brown’s wow signings. And to think some people suggested having him back!

 

[Sandbach Shrimper]

Worth mentioning we have the best goal difference out of the bottom seven teams. That could prove crucial. It's all going to come down to the Walsall and Rochdale games - we have to win at least one of them.

 

[Ricky Otto]

One of Phil Brown’s wow signings. And to think some people suggested having him back!

I rate Phil as one of our best managers but that signing is definitely a blot on his story here.
On the face of it Kightly had been performing brilliantly for Burton in the championship the tail end of the season we signed him and if we had got that player we'd have been laughing. You get the impression he's got his last contract/ pay day and just isn't interested

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

I rate Phil as one of our best managers but that signing is definitely a blot on his story here.
On the face of it Kightly had been performing brilliantly for Burton in the championship the tail end of the season we signed him and if we had got that player we'd have been laughing. You get the impression he's got his last contract/ pay day and just isn't interested

I rate Brown as the one who got us in this mess in the first place with his short-termism - Powell kept us up last year but was unable to repeat the trick two years running - but the signing of Kightly has Ron's finger prints all over it.

 

[Fairport]

Four games left, if you work hard, are well organized and have a bit of quality you can win games and survive. We are lacking in at least one of these. Sadly, it's hard to feel optimistic at the moment.

 

[Supernaut]

While it was in our own hands I felt we had a chance. Now that we're relying on other results going our way AND us stringing at least 2 wins together I don't think we have a hope in hell. I just don't believe that a team who haven't won a game in weeks are suddenly going to find a couple of wins. We're going down.

 

[South Bank Hank]

Depressingly, the concern for me now is that it actually IS in our own hands.

 

[Shrimper]

We could be relegated next Monday..

 

[Ricky Otto]

I rate Brown as the one who got us in this mess in the first place with his short-termism - Powell kept us up last year but was unable to repeat the trick two years running - but the signing of Kightly has Ron's finger prints all over it.

We are all going to see things differently. Southend United are never likely to have the perfect manager and like league 1 players league 1 managers will have their limitations and faults. I totally get the argument you are presenting, Brown did gamble on a couple of players on high wages who became a millstone around our necks. At the time of signing I don't remember anyone on here being unhappy with extending Ferdinand's contract after his great 1st season with us and signing Kightly, quite the opposite. It was short term-ism but we should never have been in this position. Brown had to go as he had lost the dressing room by all accounts. Powell was a breath of fresh air and we finished the season well. Pre season didn't seem to have the pictures of hard fitness sessions and the quotes from players saying how hard training has been etc. Our fitness levels started badly and have not improved. I don't know if a conscious decision was made due to injuries to lower the intensity of training? We certainly aren't anywhere near matching teams for workrate though which is something you could rarely say about a Phil Brown team

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

We are all going to see things differently. Southend United are never likely to have the perfect manager and like league 1 players league 1 managers will have their limitations and faults. I totally get the argument you are presenting, Brown did gamble on a couple of players on high wages who became a millstone around our necks. At the time of signing I don't remember anyone on here being unhappy with extending Ferdinand's contract after his great 1st season with us and signing Kightly, quite the opposite. It was short term-ism but we should never have been in this position. Brown had to go as he had lost the dressing room by all accounts. Powell was a breath of fresh air and we finished the season well. Pre season didn't seem to have the pictures of hard fitness sessions and the quotes from players saying how hard training has been etc. Our fitness levels started badly and have not improved. I don't know if a conscious decision was made due to injuries to lower the intensity of training? We certainly aren't anywhere near matching teams for workrate though which is something you could rarely say about a Phil Brown team

I definitely had to bite my tongue on the Kightly signing as I'm not such a killjoy as to **** on the chips of all those who were so excited about it. I think there's a post or two of mine when we were linked with him warning against it though.

On the Ferdinand extension I think I limited myself to expressing scepticism at the length of the deal.

I actually believe the fitness/work-rate dropped off during the Brown era. In the first few years (when Dave Penney was assistant?) it was top-notch and we were consistently fitter than our opponents. In the latter years it dropped off considerably with Nile Ranger, Anthony Wordsworth, Rob Kiernan and the Dad's Army of Anton Ferdinand, Michael Turner, Michael Kightly etc.

I think this season was a continuation of that. Fitness standards have consistently slipped for the last few years and combined with an undercooked pre-season schedule and an easing off of intensity due to all the injuries we're paying the price.

What's done is done but I wouldn't have sacked Powell and would have spent his redundancy package/the Rosie relegation bonus on revamping the fitness conditioning team.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

Who's ready for another week of the players and management going on about how we have to be tougher, try harder, want it more etc etc etc etc and then when the whistle blows to start the game we turn in to complete cowards. Cannot be bothered to listen to that total tripe this week thanks.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

We could be relegated next Monday..

If we are destined to go down, I hope we go on Monday. It’s the hope that kills you.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Worth mentioning we have the best goal difference out of the bottom seven teams. That could prove crucial. It's all going to come down to the Walsall and Rochdale games - we have to win at least one of them.

The problem is we've hardly scored the last 10 games, and we're letting too many shots or headers on target in.

 

[GBJ]

Who's ready for another week of the players and management going on about how we have to be tougher, try harder, want it more etc etc etc etc and then when the whistle blows to start the game we turn in to complete cowards. Cannot be bothered to listen to that total tripe this week thanks.

Agreed.

On top of that, It’ll be interesting to see if the club have the bollocks to tell us fans “that we have our part to play” anymore.

Charlatans, the lot of them.