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Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend 1 Crawley 1

I have not felt the need to post a comment for 2 years now but after the match today I must.

This will annoy a lot of supporters that although our manager Chris was a very good player for us he is a poor manager who hasn’t got a clue. History said he was always going to be a risk with the only achievement being that he got a Charlton side (he inherited ) promotion once and that’s it total, simply the reason he got the job with us was sentimental i.e. bring back a popular player and keep the fans happy for a short while.
Today showed his lack of management in full
  • At home to Crawley who clearly were a poor team we took a forward off (I think he is a forward) and replaced him with a midfielder which meant we then sat back and hoped Crawley would not score
  • However we play, whatever the score the subs come on around 75 minutes
  • Still does not know his best team
  • Supposed great contacts within the game? Well where are they
  • Clueless with tactics
  • Any manager who plays Robinson says it all
  • Plays players out of position
In total have we improved after Phil Brown left simple answer is no , if we have please tell me where???????
Lastly how we could have done with a forward like their number 9 – totally roughed us up constant threat, we could do a lot worse than him
 
Pathetic. It was like a Brown game from the aged team sheet to the lack of ambition in the second half. Oh wait, that happened first half as well when we refused to cross it in in injury time.

Had we scored a second a woeful Crawley would have folded; instead their equaliser was inevitable and they looked a more likely team to snatch it.

At home against lower league opposition we barely registered a shot second half.

This was a game we should have wrapped up inside 20 minutes but we became complacent at 1-0. Where was the urgency? Where was the desire?

It’s not often I’d lock a team in the dressing room afterwards but this performance deserved it. Shocking.
 
I think the minutes silence was confusing for people as he blew his whistle before the last post. People were clapping when he blew for the silence to start as they thought it was done. A lesson for all, maybe no whistle next time, just let the silence begin. It was a shame, but the last post was excellent and was observed as such.

As for the match, first 50 minutes we should have had 5 or 6. Then we lost the ability to pass. It wasn’t that we were sitting back, we just couldn’t pass and had no hopper up front to use as a get out.

John White had a shocker of a second half up against the number 9 who bullied him, he could have seen red before he scored his OG.

By the end, Crawley could have pressed to win, but chose to fall on the floor with ‘cramp’.
 
Total embarrassment today, could have been so different if Cox had put a couple of chances away in the first 10 mins, but we ended up playing out the game with unbelievable negative tactics in hope of a 1-0 win, got complacent and Crawley simply wanted it more and got what they and their fans deserved.

They played like it was a cup tie, we played as if it was a pre season friendly... We gave up in the 2nd period, takling, passing and tactics all amiss.

Out sung by a handful of Crawley fans off the pitch, and out played in a terrible 2nd half on the pitch.

Don’t know why Moore didn’t play, White and Turner had no pace, with JW looking vulnerable against their pacy and strong no9, and Turner looking all of his 35 years - low point was him missing a simple header from a lofted ball in the first, which actually struck his arm.

Dieng was unusually poor, passing was all over the place, Hendrie had a good first half hour but was also guilty of some terrible balls and out of position too often (missing Ben already!). Demi no better. Cox and Theo were never going to score. (Time to give Normski a chance surely!)

Tbh, I cannot think of one player who put in a shift today, shameful!

Tough and un-needed replay to face now,

Left early, not done that for more than 20 years.

Consoling myself with a curry and beer!
 
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Failure to take our chances and more negative second half tactics from Chris Powell cost us yet again. Don’t understand how he can come on the radio and claim we didn’t sit back in the second half when that’s exactly what we did. How can he think it’s acceptable to go 4-5-1 at home to a League 2 team when we’re only winning by 1 goal. Especially when it’s Cox up front by himself which has never been effective.

What has he said to them at half time to make them go from playing positive, attacking football where we were consantly a threat to not even managing to register a shot in the second half and just sitting there waiting for their inevitable equaliser.

He complains about how small our squad is and how we don’t need another game yet he decided to make the situation worse by settling for a 1 goal lead which made them scoring and forcing a replay a strong possibility. Also drops our 2 best players leaving us with a Turner and White partnership that is just too slow and has shown that when they’ve played together as a pair before. The players of course deserve some of the blames themselves for their half hearted second half performance but not all of the blame which Powell taking absolutely 0 responsibility for the result in his interview would lead you to believe.
 
I don't think for one minute CP chose tactically to have such a bad second half. It just wasn't happening and Kightly and Theo were the right players to be subbed.

Nor do I think we sat back because of Dru coming on instead of McCoulsky. We had not had a shot all second half anyway and to be fair to Crawley they had a right go.

Where you could criticize CP is for not putting Turner on their 9. Right from the start he wanted to get out on the left. So we ended up with a JW marking him and Turner not doing a lot in the middle. In the end it was that miss match that lead to their equaliser.

Rather than turn on the manager the problem was once again us not taking good chances in the first half. They didn't look happy at 1-0 and we all know a second goal would have been job done.

Mantom my MOM. Dieng looked good first 45 but as he does, faded second half. I thought Hendrie played well, stole a couple of balls he had no right to. Whipped a lovely first time ball in second half but we had no anticipation and did not seem to fancy it. However I guess he wont get much praise from the Coker groupies.

On a bad day at least we are in the hat on Monday for the first time in 5 years.
 
I think the time has come to rate the Manager as well as the players. The way things are going we will be playing Crawley next season and it won’t be in Division 1. Once again we concede in the last few minutes. Hardly surprising as with 20 minutes to go we bring on Bunn and Dru and promptly revert to 541. That gave Crawly the opportunity to attack as they had nothing to lose and simply overwhelmed our defence. A team who had let in 9 goals and which in the first half looked poor . This defensive tactic is only too common with Powell no is costing us dear. I also wonder just what influence his coaches are having. There is never a plan b for set pieces just lob in the box and hope that someone gets a head on the ball . Sorry but I am coming to the conclusion that CP and the others do not have what it takes to avoid a relegation fight let alone promotion. I feel better now and await to get shot down in flames.
 
Not sure what the love affair is with Theo but someone said that Cox should have squared so Theo could tap in! He would have missed!! His strength (is supposed to be) his pace - then he needs to work hard the whole game closing people down etc. Today he had his carpet slippers on and strolled through the game. Had one reasonable effort on goal but apart from that his touch and passing was Lee's than woeful! Anyway let's see how he reacts on Wednesday - if he isn't playing I will be astonished.
 
1st 20 mins we absolutely demolished Crawley and they were chasing our shadows. I dread to think what they were thinking as a team and must of been fearing a good thrashing.


But then Powell let them off the hook from half time. I couldn't believe the negative tactics employed 2nd half and Powell must take much of the blame as he is the one who makes the decisions 4-5-1 against a poor team from a lower division and who were being annihilated the 1st half ….. and with a midget as a target man!! Come on Mr. Powell this is utter pants!


Chris Powell and some of the players who didn’t perform second half should be apologizing for such drivel.

Can we sign their no9 as he was so superior to Robinson it was embarrassing (and he wanted it more too!)

Oxley 6 – Was nowhere for their disallowed goal or the shot that hit the bar!

Demetriou 7 for 1st half – 6 for second (although I think he was ordered at half time to stop getting forward

Hendrie – 7 as for Dem

Turner – 6 – average

White – 6 – Had a real running battle with their no9 which he lost. Lucky not to be sent off. I and many around me thought that he should have been subbed (before the own goal).

Mantom – 8 never stopped working

Dieng – 7 – never stopped working but too many stray passes

Kightley – 7 - Best I have see him play since arriving back, ran out of steam though end of 1st half. Good goal.

MacLaughlin – 6 in and out of the game. Bottled a 50 – 50 ball second half and appeared not to really ‘want it’!

Cox – 8 MOM - 1st half despite his two misses. He was a different class with his movement off the ball and wiley professionalism. 6 second half after the tactical change which didn’t suit his style of play

Robinson – 5 – Why oh why. Apart from pace he has nothing.

Subs – Dru 5 – did nothing, Bunn 5 did nothing

Powell – 5 poor decisions and tactics, wouldn’t take any responsibility in the post match interview – is he PB the 2nd?!!
 
Surely it is now evident beyond contradiction how misguided all this 'Sir Chris Powell 'nonsense has been. It is quite clear why he got the bullet from his previous jobs. Just not up to it.
 
Not sure what the love affair is with Theo but someone said that Cox should have squared so Theo could tap in! He would have missed!! His strength (is supposed to be) his pace - then he needs to work hard the whole game closing people down etc. Today he had his carpet slippers on and strolled through the game. Had one reasonable effort on goal but apart from that his touch and passing was Lee's than woeful! Anyway let's see how he reacts on Wednesday - if he isn't playing I will be astonished.


Its becoming obvious to me that Cox has a problem with Theo and just wont pass to him. Before you all say "Well neither would I", you just cant have that in a team.

Our goal came from a good old hoof. With Theo using his pace their CB scuffed his header across the pitch and we latched onto the lose ball.

Yes when Theo's was put through his shot was embarrassing but that was the only through ball he had all game. He is the polar opposite to Cox, so playing with his back to goal is a waste.

Lets not forget the Cox/Robinson partnership did bang some goals in at the end of last season.
 
Surely it is now evident beyond contradiction how misguided all this 'Sir Chris Powell 'nonsense has been. It is quite clear why he got the bullet from his previous jobs. Just not up to it.

Wow that is a darn good attempt at the record of packing the maximum number of things I disagree with into a couple of sentences. Well done! :Clap::Worthy:
 
Out of interest where should Oxley have been for their disallowed goal?
 
If Brown had been in charge today, he'd be being crucified all over social media right now. Powell still gets away with things because he is Chris Powell. Be under no illusions, that was as shocking a 2nd half performance as I think I've seen in several years and the tactical awareness was poor, as were the substitutions.

As @Rootshallbloke said earlier, the only two to emerge with credit overall were Cox and Hendrie. Demi and McLaughlin had looked very good in the first half, and Mantom tried but his passing let him down. Oxley didn't do much wrong but a disallowed goal and an actual goal got past him.

I didn't understand why all the loanees were on the bench. Taylor Moore has been our best defender by far over recent games and just won the club's POTM. Harry Bunn has been on pretty good form - both should have started as far as I was concerned.

Robinson is always most effective as a sub. We rarely played to his strength and, with such tall and physical presences both at the front and the back for Crawley, the over the top ball was not often an option. Glenn Morris was really well protected in their goal by the defenders in front of him.

We should have had that wrapped up and put to bed by half time. An absolute hat full of chances went begging before Kightly eventually managed to get the ball in the net - with McLaughlin, Robinson and particularly Cox, all wasteful.

The 2nd half was like a different team came out, the light had gone out in their eyes, there was no passion and no fight - almost as if they'd been told to sit back and defend their lead. Credit to Crawley for exploiting that and pushing and pushing until they got the ball in the net (legitimately).

Of course, the ref is up for scrutiny. He messed up the minutes' silence by blowing his whistle before the Last Post when it should have been at the end, meaning that his 2nd whistle, which should have been when the silence started, signified to far too many the end.

That was the first of his many errors. Umpteen handballs missed, so many shoves in the back on our players as they jumped to head the ball, so many challenges and tackles which should otherwise have been given as fouls. Mystifying yellow cards to our players. A yellow card to their manager - surely they should only ever give a red card? And, bizarrely, the Crawley player who went down "injured" at the end and had treatment, being allowed back on before the game had re-started.

I was another who thought White should have been subbed before their equalising goal - he'd been booked (unfairly) and then judged to have fouled again. He'd become angry, and we know angry players can become liabilities. So it played out.
Oxley, Demi, White, Turner - 6
Hendrie - 7.5
Kightly, Dieng - 6
Mantom, Mclaughlin - 7
Cox - 7.5
Robinson - 6

Subs:
Yearwood for Robinson - 6
Bunn for Kightly - 6

Finally, why keep McCoulsky out warming up for 10 minutes near the end and not bring him on when we were (or should have been) looking to win?

Not a good day at the office, and a replay we really didn't need.
 
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He should of came for the cross but was rooted to his line imo

That was never a keepers cross.

I'll grant you, Oxley wont ever win the 'most yards off his line in a season' award but some of you now think every ball in the box is the keepers. You see goals every week where a keeper gets stranded but if they had stayed on his line it would have been a simple save.
 
After a stirring performance from the wonderful Claire Poth, we were expecting a home performance to match her faultless vocals and excellent renditions.

The pre-match Remembrance Service then became a little disjointed. Pop music blaring out for 5 minutes or so instead of The Last Post. When it did arrive, the accompanying minute's silence did not and we were all left a bit bemused.

Still, it's the FA Cup, so we need to focus on that and so with Crawley switching us around, we attacked the South Stand first-half. Crawley started in 1st gear and we frankly passed through them on a number of occasions. A nice slipped pass for Kightly, giving us a well deserved lead.

What then followed was a bizarre performance. Crawley upped their game, as they grew into the match. Their endeavouring midfielders, nicking possession and forcing a few concerns. Balls played into the box, but dealt with OK by our defence.

We then sat out the remainder of the first half, staying in 1st gear for the bulk of it and culminating in a needless interplay of passing on the half-time whistle.

Half-time. No Bluebelles. I know it's a minor thing, but it kind of highlighted the general apathy towards the day itself. Why oh why can't we let season ticket holders have this one for free? Maybe we'd have got nearer 6,000 and created a bit of an atmosphere.

As it was, we then kicked towards an empty North Bank in the second-half and the chances we created were just as barren.

Crawley posed more of a threat. Players bombing forward and forcing the pace. We remained in 1st gear and at some points in neutral.

Their equaliser was thoroughly deserved.

Special praise to Ollie Palmer who was quite magnificent for them. A bulky frame, he had so much desire that he even won a couple of foot races he had no right to. Looking at his career, with one exception, his scoring record isn't bad either.

Also, Lewis Young at Right-Back. Apparently, the younger brother of Ashley Young, I thought he had an excellent game.

On to us. Too many players were half-ar*ed. Putting in a shift befitting of a pre-season friendly, at best.

Dieng doesn't work with Mantom, for me. Mantom is a class act and I thought he was probably the pick today. Always available and in the right place. Dieng, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have a definable role. It needed midfield players bombing into the box from the crosses, but way too many just ended up being scooped clear under no challenge whatsover.

Robinson and Cox don't seem to work together at all. As Rigsby says, they don't even seem to have an understanding. I know where I would say the issue is.

Kightly and McLaughlin both looked short of game time and still feeling their way back into the side.

Above all, for me, we had an ideal opportunity to try a couple of youngsters upfront in the last 15 minutes, but one remained on the bench and the other didn't make it that far.

I'd have started with Dru and given McCoulsky and Wabo a run at their defence, but people know better than me, so it's off to Crawley for a replay!

Referee did OK. Bit slow in handling a couple of things, but he did book their manager, which was quite amusing!

Overall, we didn't want it enough. That, to me, isn't acceptable!
 
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Oxley got a couple of good punches in by coming off his line, so I didn't see too many issues with his positioning today.

I think he's more confident closer to his line, though, as he knows where he is there, judging what is going wide and over without seeming concerned.

One thing I noticed today was that Turner didn't win so many headers as he usually does, particularly from our own set-pieces. That's probably not helping to protect Oxley as much. at our end. I might be wrong on that.
 
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