Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 0-0 Tranmere Rovers

[Westcliff DGS]

Oxley 8 - Best game since he came back from his injury last season, caught balls coming in, came of his line and made some decent saves. Certainly helped the back line knowing the was some command behind them.
Bwomono 4 - Way off is game, he isnt the best defensively anyway and today was not even as good as usual, going forward was average which is usually his strong point. Rumoured bid from Charlton has that affected him if true.
White 7 - A typical JW display.
Dieng 7.5 - Had a good game, organised well and played will with the other 2 centre backs.
Kiernan 7.5 - Aside from one of the worst foul throws I have seen (outside of kids football) a far better performance, dare I say the best he has had playing for us at the back.
McLaughlin 6.5 - Looked a little laboured in the game, got up and down OK but not with his normal verve, great shot well saved by the keeper. Credit to him playing out of position, which accounts for his defensive positioning at times.
Milligan 5 - Always seems to be dragged to wide when we are defending he is terrible, passing is still poor, however it was his best game for us in my opinion.
Demetriou 6.5 - Quiet game, but was effective in doing what he had too, worried he was going to get sent of for verbals to the ref but a steady game.
Mantom 7 - Has played well of late and another steady performance, good pass to set Macca up for his shot, generally a good steady box to box performance
Humphrys 5.5 - He has everything but work ethic in his locker, he actually put some effort in today chasing a few balls down, what is frustrating he doesn't do it for 90 minutes. There are times (too many) where he is too selfish could have played Mantom in but held on too long (Mantom was free and had an easy pass into Hopper in front of goal). I hope he puts everything into place soon as he has the tools to rip up this division. Hasn't scored since late Septemeber or early October that will also affect his performance.
Hopper 7 - Led the line well, always harrying and pressing the opposition as much as he could.

Subs:
Kelman 6 - Always gives 100% effort and closes down, fair play to him
Barratt - Only on for 5 minute or so, strange to see him on central midfield but lack of numbers their dictated i guess.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

I think I watched a completely different game from most of you.

I rate Mantom but thought he was poor, I thought Milligan was excellent - as was Dieng - and can't see why people are complaining about Elvis, particularly after a clean sheet.

The good news from Saturday was that Tranmere were as poor as you'd expect a team containing Peter Clarke and Alex Woodyard to be and a team that bad 12 points ahead is catchable. A clean sheet was huge for us as that's another mental hurdle overcome. The next one is to hold onto a lead.

I'd like to see us ditch the 5-3-2 for the 4-3-3 we were playing until Ralph was injured. Hopefully Clifford's recall will allow that. Hutchinson needs to come into midfield, Kelman should be up front and we'll get more attacking wise out of Elvis and Macca if they're not wingbacks.

We've come a long way from a team that was losing 3-0 or 4-1 each week to a team that has a only lost one in five. I know Tranmere and the real and fake Dons are poor teams but during that period we also drew with Rotherham and I've just seen they are top of the table. I'm confident that the next 10 points will come a lot quicker than the last 10 points. It probably still won't be enough to keep us up this year but it's looking more promising for next year. We're still not a good team but we are unbeaten this decade and are a team trending up for the first time since Powell replaced Brown. We'll need to keep working but the players should be seeing that what Sol is teaching them is working so there's now light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[FarmdogSUFC]

Weird one. Whilst the game was absolutely abysmal, there were actually a few decent performances out there. It looked to me like the halftime team talk got our shape back as it was a bit all over the place first half and especially in the first 10/15.

I'm not having Dieng at CB but maybe I'm wrong as he was pretty assured for the majority of the game. He does tend to get drawn in a bit but I'll accept that from someone playing out of their normal position.

Macca and Milligan I thought had strong second half performances after pretty shaky firsts. Milligan seemed to find a higher number of forward passes than he normally does and was pinging them into feet which I liked. Macca was getting a fair bit of joy down the left as well, linking up a few times with various players. Loved the moment where he made a 50/50 and then drove with the ball up the pitch. The backheel from Mantom was a decent bit of play and was unlucky in the end. Also think it's worth noting that Macca was vocal on a number of occasions. He appeared to be getting the team to move higher up the pitch which is something you can see Sol screaming at the players all the time so it's good to see that at least he's taking it on board.

I think people are giving Mantom high praise as he gave his absolute all out their IMO. I actually thought he was quite wasteful at times but he covered some ground. Was always an option for Oxley on the break which he annoyingly didn't at least try once.

Unfortunately I think Humphrys might need a move in order to get himself back on track. He still doesn't look like he's fully getting stuck in out there to me. Everything he wants to do with the ball is always a fancy little flick or touch. Get your foot on the ball man! Rate the bloke highly but it's not happening here.

I'm not gonna mention the rest but there are some genuine signs of improvement out there. We look a harder team to score against now (although we do sit ridiculously deep at times) and in pockets of play we actually look like a football team again. We won't stay up, but at least we'll (hopefully) have some building blocks for next season.

 

[Evening Echo]

SOL Campbell felt Blues could have been awarded a penalty in Saturday’s draw with Tranmere Rovers.

More...

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

If I was choosing a player to take corners for us then Hutchinson is top of my list.
For free kicks then Hutchinson also is top, with Humphreys also in the reckoning for a blast.
Our set pieces are poor at the present moment.

 

[jarvisyeh]

Unfortunately I think Humphrys might need a move in order to get himself back on track. He still doesn't look like he's fully getting stuck in out there to me. Everything he wants to do with the ball is always a fancy little flick or touch. Get your foot on the ball man! Rate the bloke highly but it's not happening here.

I still think there is some sort of psychological factor affecting Hump. You don't go from being brave enough to get your face smashed in just to try and score a goal to ducking out of 50/50's that quickly!

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

If I was choosing a player to take corners for us then Hutchinson is top of my list.
For free kicks then Hutchinson also is top, with Humphreys also in the reckoning for a blast.
Our set pieces are poor at the present moment.

I was thinking this. I like Mantom but his set pieces are hit and miss. Not sure why Hutch isn’t getting a look in. He looked in good spirits at half time, having a kick about with Bishop and Kelman.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

I was thinking this. I like Mantom but his set pieces are hit and miss. Not sure why Hutch isn’t getting a look in. He looked in good spirits at half time, having a kick about with Bishop and Kelman.

He seemed fine when spoken to, quiet and reserved as usual but he, like Bish, Rush and other younger men have confidence in themselves.

 

[Evening Echo]

SOUTHEND United went from one extreme to the other end on Saturday as an incredibly eventful week ended with a drab goalless draw against Tranmere Rovers.

More...

 

[Blues4LifeDan]

I still think there is some sort of psychological factor affecting Hump. You don't go from being brave enough to get your face smashed in just to try and score a goal to ducking out of 50/50's that quickly!

It's happened since he took the mask off. He was going in for more challenges and headers with the mask on. Since he's took it off, he's hardly won anything. He is nonexistent in the air. While I appreciate that isn't his game, he should still be better than what he is. It really hinders us in a lot of games. Especially with us trying to get up the pitch and needing both strikers to be holding the ball up and winning their duels.

 

[OldBlueLady]

It's happened since he took the mask off. He was going in for more challenges and headers with the mask on. Since he's took it off, he's hardly won anything.

Yep, said this too - put the bloody mask back on!

 

[Westcliff DGS]

I still think there is some sort of psychological factor affecting Hump. You don't go from being brave enough to get your face smashed in just to try and score a goal to ducking out of 50/50's that quickly!

if thats the case then he shouldnt play for the time being, nut i agree it looks that way, he rarely challenges for a contested header these days

 

[FarmdogSUFC]

I still think there is some sort of psychological factor affecting Hump. You don't go from being brave enough to get your face smashed in just to try and score a goal to ducking out of 50/50's that quickly!

Could be. Would certainly affect me anyway. You add that with a few rumours floating about and you can probably see why it isn't working for him at the minute.

 

[LBBlue]

Well Humphrys will be back at Accrington on Saturday where he got clobbered in the first place. I wonder whether he is looking forward to it or would rather not be there.

 

[Seaside Shrimper]

Humps problem on Sat wasnt so much him challenging in the air (although I can understand why he might still be having 2nd thoughts) but rather when he had the ball at his feet he tried the same thing several times, which was to try and knock the ball past a defender and run onto it, only to either make contact with the defender with the ball and/or not be able to get around the defender.

He often doesnt look for a simple pass or just to hold the ball up. Seems as though he is trying to do too much when he does eventually get the ball at his feet.

I get that it must be frustrating to wait for the ball as long he often has to, but he has to make better use of it when he does get it.

He wont be back to his old self until he scores I suppose. Even if it is one that goes in off his backside