Post-Match Thread and Ratings Oldham Athletic 0-0 Southend United

[Chrisb]

Upping the rule to 5 subs was a shockingly poor decision. It was bad enough with 3 but the nonsense that we will now forever have, both during the game with and comments after by fans. Its just another nail in the beautiful game...... Go back to two and no keepers on the bench.

I can remember when there was just one sub so guessing you can too.

 

[Jay_SUFC]

Upping the rule to 5 subs was a shockingly poor decision. It was bad enough with 3 but the nonsense that we will now forever have, both during the game with and comments after by fans. Its just another nail in the beautiful game...... Go back to two and no keepers on the bench.

I can understand why they went with 5 subs; due to the amount of games having to be played, in a short period. Hopefully it'll return back to 3 next season.

 

[Pak Power]

Thought it was funny though , when , on their site it said we looked more in tune now that Elvis and Cliff were our full backs !

 

[LBBlue]

I think Olyinka could be play a big part in our effort to stay up

The season will probably be over before Molesley thinks he’s fit to play though.

 

[Strykr]

Upping the rule to 5 subs was a shockingly poor decision. It was bad enough with 3 but the nonsense that we will now forever have, both during the game with and comments after by fans. Its just another nail in the beautiful game...... Go back to two and no keepers on the bench.

agree with that.

 

[crangoner]

He also mentioned that he wanted Halford for his height in the box and also for his long throw. Not sure Halford's got the pace to get on the end of one his own throws!

They aren't necessarily mutually exclusive!

 

[Evening Echo]

OLDHAM Athletic boss Harry Kewell felt Southend United had been 'underestimated' in the build up to Saturday's 0-0 draw at Boundary Park.

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[Evening Echo]

SOUTHEND United manager Mark Molesley insisted he would have been more concerned had the Shrimpers not created chances against Oldham Athletic.

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[stewart]

im beginning to think MM is not the manager we need ,and half of this team are picking up wages they not earning ,pretending to be footballers. Not happy with 0-0 draws sorry ,rather have a 3-3 draw than 0-0, goals are what make fans happy.

 

[stewart]

Masters of our own destiny well 0-0 draws will not keep us up sorry MM ,we need to start scoring goals or we definitely will be relegated, whats the use of making all these chances if we continue to waste them.

 

[bluesfansince1952]

im beginning to think MM is not the manager we need ,and half of this team are picking up wages they not earning ,pretending to be footballers. Not happy with 0-0 draws sorry ,rather have a 3-3 draw than 0-0, goals are what make fans happy.

There were a lot more goals in the first half of the season but we conceded most of them! I am happier with 0-0 than with 2-3 or 3-4 especially when we are in a relegation dogfight.

 

[KiwiRob]

There were a lot more goals in the first half of the season but we conceded most of them! I am happier with 0-0 than with 2-3 or 3-4 especially when we are in a relegation dogfight.

While Barrow won at home, Grimsby's home defeat means that Southend's away point at Oldhamd helps to put a little more distance between Southend and another relegation struggler.

 

[in the know]

I'm hoping all teams around us start to feel a lot more pressure due to knowing how hard it is for teams to score against us. Those that are regularly conceding in games will have to take far more risks. I think it's too late for any affect on goal difference but do think our solidity will be an advantage. I
Aquah got in good positions yesterday. He won the headers and did well. RhF got shots away and beat his player and got crosses in with his right foot, albeit not all were good.
Clifford had the best game I've seen from him so far. Really good. Keeps getting better.
I think if we create like that consistently, maintain our solidity, utilise our best midfielders as often as possible, we can stay up.
If we get relegated i think it will more probably be through injuries like yday to akinola

 

[tommy tucker]

Mark m Really has to face the facts his team he picks with inept strikers is not working and hasnt a snow balls chance of working while he insists in picking AQU who has only scored one goal in god knows how many matches And Goodship who has been a total waste of space . Think again mr M wake up and smell the coffee before it really is to late if it isnt allready

 

[rigsby]

Claiming that we sat back, or went for the daw is complete BS. People are acting like it was Oldham who hit the bar twice, had a clear pen not given and a couple of 1v1's.

Then add the miss of the day (Sim's bizarre header first half} and some scuffed shots and its another game where we did more than enough to win but the finish let us down....Which, apart from Vale has been the SUFC story since Grimsby away.

Not scoring enough and the reasons why are fair debate but some of the accusations levelled at MM after that result are absolute perjury. Stop joining in with the twitter mob and at least have some honesty on here.

 

[wakes123]

Mark m Really has to face the facts his team he picks with inept strikers is not working and hasnt a snow balls chance of working while he insists in picking AQU who has only scored one goal in god knows how many matches And Goodship who has been a total waste of space . Think again mr M wake up and smell the coffee before it really is to late if it isnt allready

If you take out Acquah and Goodship, who's left to play upfront? We don't have many options.

Our top scorer is our young left back who hasn't played for half the season. That stat is probably the reason why we'll get relegated out of the football league.

 

[wiggy]

Another point well earned, but in truth it should have been 3 given the clear cut chances we had. The problem now being that at present, away games appear to be our best chance of claiming 3 points. Every time we fail to achieve that, the pressure on the matches at Roots Hall cranks up even more. Our own pitch is our biggest barrier to climbing to safety.

Some excellent performances today, most noticeably from Tom Clifford who continues to improve every game. White and Cordner again formed a very solid defensive partnership and looked comfortable all afternoon.
Dieng and Ferguson were the pick of all central 3, dominating the midfield area, particularly in the second half. Indeed Dieng deserves a tremendous amount of credit given the number of minutes he has racked up without a break. He was still chasing and harrying in injury time.
Reeco was again impressive, more so in an attacking sense today, with my only criticism being that his final ball is too often found wanting.
Acquah worked hard but he surely has to out away at least one of those chances he had. The header against the bar was maybe unlucky, but when clean through his left foot attempt at finishing lacked any conviction. Acquah was up against Oldham's captain and their man of the match Carl Piergianni who won everything in the air all afternoon at the back for them.
Final word to Nathaniel- George. He must be one of the most naturally gifted players in League two. For someone so small his ability to keep hold of the ball, twist, turn, go inside and outside is great to watch. However, he MUST deliver a better final ball or shot on target to go alongside this. We need him to deliver more than ever in the final 13 games.

 

[dusterman]

If we’d have picked up more draws early season we wouldn’t be in the drop zone either, so it’s swings and roundabouts. We will win some games when everything clicks and we get the rub of the green but if we pick up draws as and when that doesn’t happen too it will help. We’ve won as many games as those around us, just lost more. Winning is vital but a point rather than none is still a positive, as is our ability to defend well.

 

[NZamba Legend]

I'm hoping all teams around us start to feel a lot more pressure due to knowing how hard it is for teams to score against us. Those that are regularly conceding in games will have to take far more risks. I think it's too late for any affect on goal difference but do think our solidity will be an advantage. I
Aquah got in good positions yesterday. He won the headers and did well. RhF got shots away and beat his player and got crosses in with his right foot, albeit not all were good.
Clifford had the best game I've seen from him so far. Really good. Keeps getting better.
I think if we create like that consistently, maintain our solidity, utilise our best midfielders as often as possible, we can stay up.
If we get relegated i think it will more probably be through injuries like yday to akinola

Yes, our current solidity is important. It's not something we should bemoan. It is our biggest strength. It means we are competitive against every team in the division and therefore can potentially win any game. We don't have to look at the fixture list and earmark the occasions where we play crap teams as three-pointers. Although time is running out, right now we are a pretty decent, if offensively limited side (our predicament is due to the 15 game start we gave everyone else). For the first time in about four years Southend United are actually pretty good at something! So, it's not an either/ or situation, i.e. that we must stop being so defensive so we can score goals. There is no quick fix either. Holmes isn't fit yet but hopefully can still play a part, likewise Goodship. In fact they are both going to have to play their part sooner or later. Olayinka is set to return and he is a threat in the box. But I think we are stuck with what we have up front, which as we all know is limited. We just have to keep plugging away, improving game-by-game, and hope that one or two of our forwards gains a shot of confidence from somewhere and adds the goals we need. I think MM is banking on this happening rather than signing another half-fit experienced player. But at least we are a functioning, competitive team again.

 

[wiggy]

Probably the worst bit of mis management by a nervous over thinking bloke in charge of Southend Utd for a long time, and we have had some bad ones. Oldham were useless and there for the taking but the Tinkerman failed to go for the jugular as usual. Therefore he must go whatever happens, even if we stay up by default. His obsession with Acquah, Demi, Halford, etc. is too much to bare in this rubbish League, he is not up to the job in a man’s game so time to get back to where you belong.
Acquah has scored one scuffed goal in lots of minutes on the pitch, missed about 8...what does he need to do to convince M.M that he isn’t even fit for Weymouth?. Halford I can’t believe is so inept with his background and Demi is as slow as a cart horse......tell you what, let’s go backwards with 20 minutes to go by playing them and let Oldham off the hook.....pathetic!