Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 0 - 1 Barnet

[nevereatwhitesnow]

But you are a Col U fan? Please confirm, yes or no.

Yes,

That’s pretty widely know and commented in over the 15+ years I’ve been posting on here

Your point is?

 

[Barling Magna]

But you are a Col U fan? Please confirm, yes or no.

Of course he is. Just check his early messages. It's nice that he also takes an interest in Southend United but he can be a bit cheeky at times. Must be struggling with forming a meaningful relationship from the flock.

 

[Morello]

Morello---Who can forget Stan Flashman?----Was there a second set of books behind the fridge?
If my memory serves me right Barnet played Clapton at Victoria Road (home of the late Dagenham F C) and I saw Stan in the car park.

I was at that game late 80s I think

 

[tommy tucker]

Disappointing but who can honestly blame him?

Sadly it says it all the wording AND HIS AGENT .Cant stand agents in the lower leauges They are not the big bucks players of the prem leauge .

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Yes,

That’s pretty widely know and commented in over the 15+ years I’ve been posting on here

Your point is?

I just find it interesting that you have made tons of posts about our Great Leader, HMRC, people not getting paid, etc, etc. So many, that those not paying attention would think you're a Southend fan. That's fine. Nice to have an outside view. Keep posting. Looking at your fans forums, they really need to up their game in content and site presentation. I can understand why you would rather be over here getting proper conversations and thoughts about football and all sorts of topics. Shrimperzone is in the Premier League of fans forums. Hats off to the owner, designer and mods.
Why don't you all get together and start a proper one? Be kind Southend fans, please don't say they should call it Sheeperzone. Just kidding nevereatwhitesnow. I know you can take the banter.

 

[Rob1920]

I don’t think we lost last night because of RM whatever you think of him. We lost because we didn’t have a big experienced striker on the pitch, because those we have are always injured. That and a very inept & weak referee who Barnet played like a fiddle. Fair play to them for that. 4 or 5 times (more with corners & free kicks) we put decent balls into the box with no hope of anyone getting on the end of them because they had a giant centre back and we had a 5ft 4” striker. Obviously our recruitment has improved massively under the new regime but we still sign too many crocks, this has to change if we’re ever going to get out of this league.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

I think we lost because we played tactics right into Barnet's hands. Most corners and free kicks were in the air and they easily headed everything away. The first corner we played along the ground in the 2nd half, we nearly scored. Barnet were beatable on the ground, but not in the air.

 

[Holy Joe]

Powell remains our top scorer from open play, of course...... 8 goals from 29 matches compared to Bridge's 8 from 30.

Hasn't Bridge 'only' got 4 from open play?

 

[Shrimp and two veg]

A night of disappointment. Started ok, great atmosphere and noise, but after the first 20 mins I don't think we made much of an impact and Barnet could have had 3 or 4. They have huge players, surely some of the biggest in the league, and whilst size on it's own doesn't mean anything, it doesn't help when almost every corner and free kick is food and drink for 6'5" players to simply head clear. We showed very little invention and their no 27 at the back had Powell in his pocket (almost literally).

I don't get some of the comments about Sandat... he's a 17 year old youth player, not in the team on merit but out of necessity. He wouldn't normally be anywhere near the first team, he's being asked to do a very difficult job with no experience and is making a half decent fist of it. He isn't quick enough in my opinion but he can certainly see a pass... I'm wondering if he may be more suited to an attacking/creative midfield role because he set up more attacks than anyone else last night. This wouldn't be an overnight switch but it wouldn't surprise me to see this... you heard it here first.

Blondy did really well apart from once and that cost us. But he could have saved that and not saved either of the 2 one-on-ones that he did save and no-one would be critical.

Some of Hobson's passing early on was woeful but my word, he made 2 or 3 (and 1 in particular) fantastic tackles and blocks.

Look, these players are NL players and many of them have come up from lower levels. If they did everything right all the time they wouldn't be here! They have given their best and should be applauded for that, not taken to pieces. We all know and are amazed at how they have managed to get us where we are in the league. Kev and his team (inc. Stanley, who also loves this club) have performed miracles keeping this unit together despite Ron's performance and decisions and we've heard numerous times that this group all like each other, do stuff together outside of the club and the performances on the pitch have backed that up.

And now Lopata.

Certainly the most disappointing aspect for me and this put a huge dampener on the evening when I found out about it as I was walking to the game. Mainly I think because of all the stuff he had said before, how much he loves it here and how he also celebrated with the team last weekend... certainly not the actions of someone apparently about to leave. It's obviously agent driven and in truth, I don't think anyone could blame any of the players... but the fact that the rest of the squad are seemingly all in it together make this hurt a little bit.

This just shows what a cracking job Maher and crew are doing keeping everything together.

Great post fbm

 

[GBJ]

Am I right in thinking that a small minority of fans still think "we are too big for this league"?

I think it’s depends on how you perceive this division. Technically, we know it’s non-league but in my eyes it’s Lg3.

Are we “too big” for Lg3, probably just about, but a foray into it from time-to-time wouldn’t be a major surprise or shock.

Are we too big for non-league? Absolutely.

Fanbase - Yes, we’re too big for this league. We pulled 7200 last night. There will be plenty of L1 teams who’d love to get that attendance today, nevermind clubs at this level.

Stadium - Yes, too big for this league. It’s dilapidated as ****, but it’s a proper football league, all seater stadium, which has character and history. When you think of non-league stadia, you think of Dagenham, Dorking and Wealdstone. Not Roots Hall.

History - Yes, again we’ve achieved things that clubs at non-league level can only dream of. And we did it without a rich owner(s)

Performances - No. We’re showing why we’re at the level we’re at. But we’ve shown a vast improvement since last year, and even you must know that our stay in this division won’t be a long one (although I recognise that is heavily dependent on our owner sorting his **** out).

Merit - No. We deserved to be relegated down here because of the appalling way we’d been run & the myriad of mistakes we’ve made. Incompetence, complacency, you can use whatever word you’d like to describe it, but in a nutshell, we are where we deserve to be… for now.

There’s a few clubs that are here currently, a few that have come before us and plenty that will come after us who are also “too big” for this so-called non-league level.

The distinction between the Football League and Non-League was always based upon whether a club were full-time or part-time, the size of a fanbase and the stadium/facilities.

With all those factors improving at this level, the lines have been blurred and it’s not as distinctive as it was 20 years ago.

Stockport have proved that this season, and Wrexham/Notts C will prove it again next season.

 

[OldBlueLady]

A giant defensive line was always going to dominate young Sandat and pocket rocket Powell. I thought both had a decent first half as it goes, Powell put in a cracking low cross early doors that no-one connected with and Sandat's foul was as clear a red as you're going to see. I thought he did well under the circumstances, but not a shadow of a doubt we missed a big, strong centre forward. Wreh looked more in that mould when he came on but still lacks height. We can't be so reliant on Cardwell though!

I thought Taylor's foul in the box at the other end was a stonewall penalty so maybe those two things evened themselves out in the ref's eyes. Midfield was a bit off for me, Taylor and Husin weren't as good as I've seen recently, both a little careless in possession. Bridgey was well marked in the 2nd half but had some decent runs in the 1st, trouble was no-one could get on the crosses with the giants in Barnet's defence and the keeper plucking crosses out of the air with ease.

I hate the ****housery in this league and the ineptness of officials who do nothing to crack down on it. Might have been my imagination, but I thought Barnet seemed to be targeting GSM's head after his recent injury, including a headlock from Barnet's giant #30 at one point in the 2nd half. We need to be tougher and definitely nastier!

I think Lopata has served us well in allowing both Hobson and Kensdale to develop and thrive. Lomas has come in and done ok and we still have Ralph to come back. I'm grateful for his efforts in this. Brilliant defensive tackle from Hobson in the 2nd half to save an almost certain goal.

Best game I think I've seen Blondy have, they've defended his kicking saying he's aiming down the line - it would be nice if some of them stayed in though. Some good saves, just a shame he couldn't hold onto the one Barnet scored from.

Wreh and Benton both looked eager when they came on so that's a good sign.

I hope Kev has the boys lined up for something team building wise ahead of Tuesday, after the wages situation and Lopata's going, they need to feel united, and they need us behind them cheering them on throughout the game on Tuesday. Please stop the Martin Out stuff during live play.

Blondy - 7
Gus - 7
Hobbo - 8
Kensdale - 8
Lomas - 7
Bridge - 7
Taylor - 6
Husin - 6
Miley - 7
Powell - 6
Sandat - 7

 

[wiggy]

A night of disappointment. Started ok, great atmosphere and noise, but after the first 20 mins I don't think we made much of an impact and Barnet could have had 3 or 4. They have huge players, surely some of the biggest in the league, and whilst size on it's own doesn't mean anything, it doesn't help when almost every corner and free kick is food and drink for 6'5" players to simply head clear. We showed very little invention and their no 27 at the back had Powell in his pocket (almost literally).

I don't get some of the comments about Sandat... he's a 17 year old youth player, not in the team on merit but out of necessity. He wouldn't normally be anywhere near the first team, he's being asked to do a very difficult job with no experience and is making a half decent fist of it. He isn't quick enough in my opinion but he can certainly see a pass... I'm wondering if he may be more suited to an attacking/creative midfield role because he set up more attacks than anyone else last night. This wouldn't be an overnight switch but it wouldn't surprise me to see this... you heard it here first.

Blondy did really well apart from once and that cost us. But he could have saved that and not saved either of the 2 one-on-ones that he did save and no-one would be critical.

Some of Hobson's passing early on was woeful but my word, he made 2 or 3 (and 1 in particular) fantastic tackles and blocks.

Look, these players are NL players and many of them have come up from lower levels. If they did everything right all the time they wouldn't be here! They have given their best and should be applauded for that, not taken to pieces. We all know and are amazed at how they have managed to get us where we are in the league. Kev and his team (inc. Stanley, who also loves this club) have performed miracles keeping this unit together despite Ron's performance and decisions and we've heard numerous times that this group all like each other, do stuff together outside of the club and the performances on the pitch have backed that up.

And now Lopata.

Certainly the most disappointing aspect for me and this put a huge dampener on the evening when I found out about it as I was walking to the game. Mainly I think because of all the stuff he had said before, how much he loves it here and how he also celebrated with the team last weekend... certainly not the actions of someone apparently about to leave. It's obviously agent driven and in truth, I don't think anyone could blame any of the players... but the fact that the rest of the squad are seemingly all in it together make this hurt a little bit.

This just shows what a cracking job Maher and crew are doing keeping everything together.

Lopata would still be here if not for Martin's despicable antics of the last few months. We would be in third position and have a decent forward line and much better defence with Lopata marshalling it.....thanks for that you lying little worm!

 

[in the know]

Watched the whole warm up pre match as usual and was so impressed by Collin and steeeeves level of fitness, readiness and clear hunger to start. I understand kevs reluctance to throw either in without match practice but either would make a huge difference to our confidence at the back and distribution.
Trouble is, if a practice game was arranged, I’m not even sure we have enough fit players to put out when you exclude those needed to start Tuesday and sat.
Despite hearing both cardwell and Ralph could be available Tuesday, without match practice it would be a further injury risk throwing them in!
Murphy, Hyde, Mooney, are so unreliable that it’s impossible to include them in any sort of tactical preparation even when near managing a game.
Sandat stood out for me for all the right reasons. Aggressive, not intimidated and a clear eye for a pass. In the shooting warm up he scored all but one of his attempts against the keepers while Powell I think missed every attempt.
Sandals weakness is his inexperience of dealing with seasoned big pro’s. Hardly his fault at 17! A very good prospect who will benefit massively from what’s being asked of him.
Thought Barnet played our circumstances perfectly on the night. I can’t even criticise kevs late substations because to be fair he had no one to bring on that could affect the game. Wreh is strong but reads the game as well as Andre Boccelli reads the papers.
Powell would be a fab half time entertainment act but unfortunately isn’t of much use in a real game.
On Tuesday, I’d love to see sandat and cardwell start if at all possible even if for 45 mins and try and grab a goal to hang on to.
I’d also love steeeve to go for it.

 

[fbm]

Please stop the Martin Out stuff during live play.

Couldn't agree more. It is not helpful in any way especially as he usually isn't even at the games!

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

FWIW I think we'll drop out of the play off places by next Sat if not before.Thanks Ron.We obviously need a fit goal scoring forward.

 

[BALDY]

I was at that game late 80s I think

The flying pig was in goal and wore a shirt of pink and black checks (yuck)

 

[cerbera45]

Thought we knocked it around nicely, but the big centre backs ate up everything we threw at them in the box. They doubled up on Bridge, which basically nullified our creative play.
It wasn't a "stone wall" pen, as others are saying. Sometimes those are given, and sometimes not (when there are others defenders in the vacinity). We desperately need some fresh blood out there. So disappointing with Lopata. That could prove a real turning point

Still, great attendance (gotta love a Fri night game) and it was lovely being in X Block once again.

It was outside the box

 

[dannypav]

Not sure if it's been mentioned as not read all the posts , but highlight for me was a tackle by Hobson with about 10 minutes to go.
Guy looked certain to score and tackle was hard and superbly timed.
Think we even broke from it.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Not sure if it's been mentioned as not read all the posts , but highlight for me was a tackle by Hobson with about 10 minutes to go.
Guy looked certain to score and tackle was hard and superbly timed.
Think we even broke from it.

Yep, mentioned it in my summary and someone else had done previously. Outstanding from Hobbo.

 

[Rob1920]

FWIW I think well drop out of the play off places by next Sat if not before.Thanks Ron.We obviously need a fit goal scoring forward.

Im still seeing this season really as build up to a proper go at promotion next season, assuming we can get out of the embargo and be able to strangthen where needed. It would be a bonus to be in the play-offs this season but I honestly can't see us getting past either Wrexham or Notts County. Get those two out of the way and its a very open field next season where any of probably 7 or 8 clubs could win the league including us.