Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 0-1 AFC Wimbledon

[AndyT]

There is no current transfer window. Many of Powell's signings have been injured and are here for two years. We still even have some of Brown's! Any new manager is going to have his hands tied with the same players we have now.

This would be an acceptable idea if Powell had taken the team as far as he could. But he hasn't. He hasn't had a chance to even field a complete team of his. Ron has a history of patience with his managers and I can't see him getting trigger happy now.

Further... many outsiders will be sympathetic to the cause due to the extensive injury list. The club could get quite a bad press for getting rid of Powell after he has tried to do a job with his hands tied behind his back. People on here will say "Stop going on about the injuries!" but it's not an excuse; it's the reason. There is a difference and at our level, we cannot afford to have a squad so deep that we can just put in a third replacement when the two first choices are unavailable. This is what has happened to us in a variety of positions this year, mainly in the defence.

I don't think anyone is saying that we haven't got the players to get us out of trouble, they are saying that the selections and systems are constantly wrong.

A new manager or even one of our own staff who took over would galvanise the team and maybe get them back on the front foot.

Over the years, we have made decisions to let managers go who are getting stale and brought in someone to change things around with the same players as the trap door has loomed. Fry, Thompson and the like have done that with the same players the previous manager was failing to get the best out of.

Something needs to change and it's not coming from the dour and depressing rhetoric of the current incumbents.

 

[davewebbsbrain]

That's a fair point; but are you telling me you were happy with the line up yesterday, at home, to Wimbledon, based on the fact most players are now back?

If that's CPs mindset for a home game we needed to win, what makes you think that will change between now and the end of the season.

Are you also happy with his treatment of the younger players - dropping them for others who are not 100% fit?

Hopefully getting Humphrys back so we can actually play 442. Who else would you like to play up front with Cox who won't be played out of position or who is young and untried?

Yes Kelman came on yesterday but offered little. We have Wabo who we can all argue need to be given a chance, but not in these high pressure high stakes games.

We could throw Lennon up front. Tall, strong and fast but then what happens at the back?

All problems Powell had to deal with because of the bad luck with injuries we have had this season

 

[LBBlue]

All those who hounded Robinson out - hold your heads in shame. We’ve not won since he left and probably won’t win again until he is back for the start of next season.

 

[RHB]

I can think of three on target off the top of my head : Turner, Macca, Kelman

Off target there was Bunn, Macca (again) and er, erm .....

Dieng had a shot across the goal, second half.

 

[geoffmundo]

I'm probably going to get shot down in flames here, as it's all still a bit raw. But here goes anyway.

Personally, I think we will avoid the drop and finish mid table. I accept that many will think that I really am in cloud cuckoo land. But as a Southend fan of 49 years, I have learnt to keep the faith and the days of knee-jerk reactions are long gone.

There is no current transfer window. Many of Powell's signings have been injured and are here for two years. We still even have some of Brown's! Any new manager is going to have his hands tied with the same players we have now.

This would be an acceptable idea if Powell had taken the team as far as he could. But he hasn't. He hasn't had a chance to even field a complete team of his. Ron has a history of patience with his managers and I can't see him getting trigger happy now.

Further... many outsiders will be sympathetic to the cause due to the extensive injury list. The club could get quite a bad press for getting rid of Powell after he has tried to do a job with his hands tied behind his back. People on here will say "Stop going on about the injuries!" but it's not an excuse; it's the reason. There is a difference and at our level, we cannot afford to have a squad so deep that we can just put in a third replacement when the two first choices are unavailable. This is what has happened to us in a variety of positions this year, mainly in the defence.

Goalkeeper - Oxley and Smith injured - young Nathan has come in and done a job better than most of us would have thought. However, despite some great saves, the fact remains that we only won 3 of the games he started. Oxley looked nervy on his first game back, was lucky when he made a poor save in the first half and was equally responsible with Turner for the **** up that led to their goal. However - remember Graham Stockdale when he came in on loan. His first game was dreadful, second was ok and he played really well in the third and last appearance, showing what a good keeper he was. The Ox will be ok next week.

Right back - Demi and White have both been injured - Elvis has come in and done ok but over the last few games he played he was obviously devoid of confidence and was targeted by the opposition as a weak link.

Left back - Coker and Hendrie both out. There have been a few games where I think we haven't had a regular left back at all. Hart has come in and done well, was MOM for me yesterday. But he's young and took time to settle.

Centre back - where to start... for a huge chunk of the season we have had 35 year old Turner as the only specialist centre back who is fit. Moore has come in and done brilliantly but is only young himself and has not always been at the races. But now we have Lennon and Kiernan coming back and they are looking better every game. Lennon going off yesterday was a concern - I hope it was precautionary or due to the fatigue of 3 games in a week.

I stand by my opening comments in this post - I think we will be ok.

But I really do think getting rid of Powell now would be a mistake. The senior players have to take the rap here; they are the ones who are currently letting us down (Cox aside).

Nice to read something positive.

Also crazy to think if we had won yesterday, we would have been in the top half of the table.....!

Yes, we lost down to a calamitous mix up between defender and keeper in conditions that were far from helpful. However it is the lack of goals that is currently killing us and that injury time equaliser at Blackpool - mentally devastating for a team wondering where their next win is coming from. We are not going to win matches if we don't score so as I mentioned in the week we need to work out how to win again and he must think about playing a more attacking midfield which should I believe include Dru.

FWIW I think Powell will still be here next week although I am sure there will be a meeting with the chairman. Hopefully White will be back next week, He also needs to have more attacking options on the bench.

We are away next week, which is good. We are playing Peterborough, and it might be as good a time (if any time is good) to play them as they too are finding it hard to win at home (although not as hard as us!).

However, we need to keep the faith we have a good team, what we don't have is confidence.

 

[Jay_SUFC]

Hopefully getting Humphrys back so we can actually play 442. Who else would you like to play up front with Cox who won't be played out of position or who is young and untried?

Yes Kelman came on yesterday but offered little. We have Wabo who we can all argue need to be given a chance, but not in these high pressure high stakes games.

We could throw Lennon up front. Tall, strong and fast but then what happens at the back?

All problems Powell had to deal with because of the bad luck with injuries we have had this season

Sorry, why have you ruled out not playing someone out of position, or a youngster - they are options, you can't just say "don't include those" just to suit your agenda!!!

Why not play 4 at the back and 5 in midfield then?

So having a squad of 7 defenders, playing 5 at the back, playing JD and MO when they aren't match fit; is down to injuries is it. The continuing blame game 'It's the or younger players fault', 'it was SLs fault more missing our only good chance".

However if you're happy with what CP is serving up, then fair enough.

 

[NZamba Legend]

The continuing blame game 'It's the or younger players fault', 'it was SLs fault more missing our only good chance".

However if you're happy with what CP is serving up, then fair enough.

I really don't agree that Powell blames the youngsters. I haven't seen him say this in public once. I see it more that he respects their development rather than throwing them to the wolves each week.

To counter that though, the team is better when youngsters HAVE played. Sounds like we gained nothing from wheeling out the old guard yesterday.

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Sorry, why have you ruled out not playing someone out of position, or a youngster - they are options, you can't just say "don't include those" just to suit your agenda!!!

Why not play 4 at the back and 5 in midfield then?

So having a squad of 7 defenders, playing 5 at the back, playing JD and MO when they aren't match fit; is down to injuries is it. The continuing blame game 'It's the or younger players fault', 'it was SLs fault more missing our only good chance".

However if you're happy with what CP is serving up, then fair enough.

I was under the impression that we played 532/352 yesterday making it a fluid system. Bunn looked like he was playing up with or just behind Cox leaving Hyam Dieng and Macca in the middle with Demi and Hart supporting when we attacked.

I guess Bunn was the option nearest to a striker as he had played there before

I have never blamed anything on the younger players but there comes a point when you have to remove them from the cauldron. That time has come

I would say your view is the one that suits your agenda to get rid of Powell

 

[Bratislava Blue]

How are they earning their shirts? We’re running out of games fast and don’t play mid week reserve matches. Not a big fan of Demi either but he’s first choice so when fit he plays.

Despite you not being a big fan of JD do youn honestly think that Elvis deserves to be out of the starting XI. Yesterday JD was a wing back. But you would have hardly thought. Hart showed him how to play that role. Another example of an attacking role being played by a player in a defensive manner.

 

[AndyT]

I viewed it that we played 3-6-1 with the midfield consisting of Dieng and Hyam in a defensive role, Hart and Demi as wing-backs and Macca and Bunn tucked in behind Cox.

Bunn certainly wasn't playing at any point with his back to goal.

 

[fbm]

That's a fair point; but are you telling me you were happy with the line up yesterday, at home, to Wimbledon, based on the fact most players are now back?

If that's CPs mindset for a home game we needed to win, what makes you think that will change between now and the end of the season.

Are you also happy with his treatment of the younger players - dropping them for others who are not 100% fit?

So - was I happy with the line up? On the way to the game, my mate and I play a game; he knows the team (having seen it) and I try and guess it. Only once this season have I got it right. But yesterday I added a twist; First of all, I told him the time I would have selected before guessing what SCP would have picked. My team (4-4-2) would have been -

Oxley
Demetriou
Hart
Lennon
Turner
McLaughlin
Dieng
Yearwood
Bunn
Cox
Kelman

As for the actual selection, I questioned Turner in a back 3 at home, but that on it's own isn't negative. The wing backs push on and actually gives you more attacking impetus... as long as the rest of the team is set up right. Also, Turner is the only real height in the team.

I applauded the decision to leave the skipper out which is always a tough call for a manager, He is not so much a midfielder as a shrinking violet at the moment. In there is a battling, decent player who is our third highest scorer and I have said for a while that the captaincy is weighing heavy on him. He is not a leader.

We didn't need Dieng AND Hyam. Both in my opinion are at their best in that holding position; Dieng better than Hyam. Neither are bossing midfielders and as a result Wordsworth and co absolutely dominated the middle of the park.

Bunn is a wide player, not a striker and playing 2 wide men with Cox up front on his own doesn't work.

So to answer your question as to whether I was happy with the line up, no, not really. But hey - the manager sees the team every day and knows how he wants to play. If his mindset is too defensive then I agree, that's an issue but at the moment it doesn't seem to matter how we play, nothing is working. Because of the defensive issues we have suffered all season I think he has had to focus more on that side of the game (and of course he was a defender as a player) and who can blame him? There has also been way too much reliance on the kids - it's good to blood them and bring them through, but this is League 1 and when you have four of them in one team it's a recipe for disaster - and we have lost to injury our experienced players who AREN'T coming to the end of their careers for large chunks of the season. The balance is starting to come back now... it's a question of whether we get it back completely before the end of the season. Kids don't have the experience to get you out of a hole at this level. Under normal circumstances, players like Elvis, Hutchinson, Bishop, Kelman, Wabo, Clifford and Howard would be barely near the first team squad, let alone in the team regularly or on the bench. They are kids, they are learning and their treatment under SCP has been better than they could have ever imagined. I doubt any of them are bemoaning their fate; they have got a taste of something much earlier than they could expect, have been on TV (some of them) but it's come to the business end of the season and it's time for the senior players to step up.

The kids have done their best and it will stand us in good stead for the next couple of seasons. But I have no problem with them being nowhere near the match day squad at the moment, as long as the men are doing their bit.

 

[Tinks]

Oh dear! And I only renewed my ST this week

 

[geoffmundo]

Hopefully getting Humphrys back so we can actually play 442. Who else would you like to play up front with Cox who won't be played out of position or who is young and untried?

Yes Kelman came on yesterday but offered little. We have Wabo who we can all argue need to be given a chance, but not in these high pressure high stakes games.

We could throw Lennon up front. Tall, strong and fast but then what happens at the back?

All problems Powell had to deal with because of the bad luck with injuries we have had this season

Will we see Humphreys back this season....?

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Seriously? Pigott is a very mobile centre-forward who wins the ball in the air. I agree Hopper is as good, maybe marginally better, but Humphrys has a lot to do to get to Pigott's level. Notwithstanding his four away goals, I feel that he is a lot more limited in that he doesn't win balls in the air and gives off an air of sheer indifference on the pitch.
He may well score 10-15 goals for us in League 2 next season though.

Yes seriously.Agree with what you say about Hopper.Not sure anyone's seen Humphrys enough (ce,rtainly not me on iFollow) to say whether he's that much behind Pig or not.In any case I think it's much more likely that Pigott will be scoring 10-15 goals next season in L2 rather than Humphrys.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

You’re more experienced than Bishop but I wouldn’t have selected you either.

Just as well.I never played in goal.

I see you've ducked the question as to who was more responsible for the goal-Oxley or Turner?

 

[wiggy]

Oh dear! And I only renewed my ST this week

I thought there young keeper looked very good....strong decisive positive.....a real asset you could rely on. Our bloke Oxley looks none of those and he parries absolutely everything. Got away with one earlier where my old granny could have caught it. For starters next year we need a proper keeper as the Dons have got, Bishop overall 5/10....Smith 4/10 Ox 4/10......we need someone big, dominant and reliable as these three are all weak and unreliable over 90 minutes.

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Will we see Humphreys back this season....?

I'm hoping so. In all the media I have seen him in, he has always said he will be back soon. When someone is out for the season, that's always publicised. There has been no mention of this with Humphrys, only him saying how he can't wait to get back playing. I may be reading something that isn't there, but I have a feeling he will play again this season

 

[LBBlue]

Just as well.I never played in goal.

I see you've ducked the question as to who was more responsible for the goal-Oxley or Turner?

In hindsight I think they are equally culpable - Oxley could clearly see what was going on with Pigott chasing Turner down and should have carried on coming to clear it no doubt though that he would have smashed the ball into Turner leaving Pigott with a clear run on goal. Turner shouldn't have given up running but clearly thought that Oxley was coming for it. Where were our other two centre halves though?

In the end it was just another freak bizarre goal when your luck is out.

 

[OldBlueLady]

FWIW I think Powell will still be here next week although I am sure there will be a meeting with the chairman. Hopefully White will be back next week, He also needs to have more attacking options on the bench.

There's already been a number of those!

 

[LBBlue]

I thought there young keeper looked very good....strong decisive positive.....a real asset you could rely on. Our bloke Oxley looks none of those and he parries absolutely everything. Got away with one earlier where my old granny could have caught it. For starters next year we need a proper keeper as the Dons have got, Bishop overall 5/10....Smith 4/10 Ox 4/10......we need someone big, dominant and reliable as these three are all weak and unreliable over 90 minutes.

Bournemouth paid £1m for him.