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

[Andy_S]

Abysmal. Absolutely abysmal. That's the only way I can sum that up today. Tilly needs to show some balls sometimes, he really does. We're playing an average, mid table side at home and we set up with such a negative midfield. It's almost like we're playing Chelsea or something. The substitutions summed things up for me. Francis "please play me on the right" Laurent gets brought on UP FRONT replacing our only threat, whilst at the same time Lee "please for the love of God play me" Sawyer came on out of position on the RIGHT. The logical solution would've been Laurent for Grant and Sawyer for McCormack surely..... In fact I'm so miffed at what I sat through today I think I'll just go straight to my ratings:

Mildenhall 6: Didn't really have anything to do, other than react well when Christophe hopelessly swung his leg and missed the ball from an early Oldham corner.

Sankofa 6: Wasn't really troubled defensively but he adds nothing going forward and that was painfully evident today when we needed him to.

Francis 6: Solid enough. We missed his overlapping. Badly.

Barrett 5.5: Captain calamity did all he could to gift Oldham set pieces and possession all day. Stop cuddling forwards! It's embarrassing how we aim every single attacking set piece towards him despite the fact he does nothing but get in the way of others, give away free kicks or head the ball up in the air. His bundle into Barney late on when Barney had a chance on goal from a free kick summed it up.

Friend 5: The biggest let down of a home debut from a player that I can remember for some time. He's better than Johnny Herd how? Positionally he wasn't great, this "sweet left foot" wasn't at all in evidence and he added nothing going forward. His ball watching and poor positional play caused the penalty and you could see it coming. If I was Herd I'd be extremely miffed.

Grant 5: He's not a right midfielder, we all know that. If only Tilly had the guts to change things to suit certain games it'd be alright. Grant now appears to be beyond annoyed that he's being asked to play there each week as well. The look on his face when he sat on the bench said it all.

McCormack 5: The first five minutes summed up why he shouldn't be this immovable object in the team. Some hapless passing, including some random wack across field that ended up flying ten yards behind Friend and out for a thrown in despite us being in Oldham's half. In fairness he did get slightly better, but he wasn't going to get any worse. The new Kevin Maher in some respects, because no matter how he plays, Tilly will pick him.

Christophe 6: A stupid lunge for his booking, he did little else, although was still probably the pick of a poor midfield. Ironically he's a player that you don't really need in a game like that.

Moussa 5.5: Game after game he appears to become more and more wasted out on the wing. Unfortunately for us and him I don't think the management class him as a central player any more.

O'Donovan 6: Our biggest, well our only, threat. His movement was extremely good and he was always looking to play on the shoulder and get in behind. Unfortunately our midfield time and time again overlooked this and there was no Dougie or Sawyer for him to feed off. We became even more toothless when he went off.

Barnard 6: Ran around a lot, but did little else. Had one decent chance that he unfortunately lashed at. You things are going badly when we're aiming long, high balls at Barney.

Subs:

Laurent 5: How did he miss that chance? Oh dear.

Sawyer 5: Barely saw the ball. Should've started, but well we've said that before haven't we.

Freedman 5.5: Added a little bit of creativity and nous to the team. If only some of the others had an ounce of that today.

 

[weststander]

I felt that today we set up not to lose the match rather than trying to win it, and it came back an bit us with a dodgy penalty !

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

Spot on Andy! Hopefully its just a case of Oldham being our bogey team but really our performances at home have been average all season. If Mvoto is back it will improve things but could really do with a winger on loan and putting either Grant or Jeff in the middle with Macca or Sawyer. Tilly is trying to please too many players. Oh and Herd has to start next game, just starting to get a good relationship building with Moose thne gets dropped for a loanee. He must be getting mightily peed. How is he meant to improve if he doesnt get games and keeps getting dropped for loanees who we have no intention of buying?

 

[EastStandBlue]

My ratings shamelessly copied from the other thread.

Mildenhall, 7: Done well enough, made a few good stops.
Friend, 5: Not for me thanks. No better than Herd and was fooled into giving a penalty away.
Barrett, 6: A few needless errors, otherwise solid.
Sankofa, 5: Playing at CB he wasn't too bad, playing at Right Back he broke down every move we crafted.
Francis, 7: Didn't put a foot wrong and tried to create, but nobody else wanted to.
Grant, 6: Wasted on the right flank.
Christophe, 6: Done his job. Done absolutely nothing else.
Macca, 4: Needn't have bothered. If he wasn't giving the ball away, he was anonymous.
Moussa, 7: At least he ran at defenders and tried to do something with the ball.
O'Donovan, 6: Made the runs he needed but the balls weren't forthcoming, dropped deep to no effect.
Barnard, 6: Same as O'Donovan, no service whatosever.

Subs:
Sawyer, 6: Made 1 good pass.
Laurent, 6: Tried to engineer something on the left, but didn't happen.
Freedman, 6: Made a good pass which Laurent should've converted but apart from that, nothing.

You're being too lenient on Macca. He was absolutely abysmal in the centre of the park today, should be in the team to lead but all he was capable of today was watching the game pass him by and give the ball away on the occasion it came to him. An absolute passenger in a **** poor performance.

 

[wiggy]

Mildy 6 stuck to his line for crosses but nothing to do
Sankofa 3 wouldn't get a game for Grays and our attacking play through Francis had to make way for him
Barrett 6 usual commitment
Francis 7 our only real class act, good delivery but had to lose his attacking option by being stuck in the middle
Friend 4 looks a bit of a liability, poor positional play and all at sea a couple of times with his control, Herd adds more, poor signing
Grant 6 not as lively as usual but wrong to come off
Jeff 7 the pick of the midfield and also wrong to come off
Macca 3 even Old Blinkered Lady must admit that he is now a crab like, poor passer and kicker of a football, time for a rest without us having to wait for his next yellow
Moose 6 ok but no fireworks
Barney 6 tried his socks off with no help or service whatsoever
O'Donavan 4 got in good positions only for his control to let him down, have let plenty better go by the looks of it

Duggie 7 for the thru ball that any of the others could only dream about
Laurent 6 should start in front of the new bloke
Sawyer 6 Tilly does not only insult him by not starting the game but then gives him 20 mins on the wing

Ref Mr. Whistle Hill and manager Steve Tilson both get a 1 for getting it all wrong. Hill we know will never get it right but for Tilson to play Sankofa, not start Sawyer and to keep playing Alan McCrab was a very bad managerial decision for a home game with a not very good Oldham!

 

[RobM]

I didn't think Sankofa merits a 3. What did he do wrong, exactly, to justy that?

 

[CyrilSneer]

I didn't think Sankofa merits a 3. What did he do wrong, exactly, to justy that?

Yeah youre right. 2 would have been more accurate;)

 

[wiggy]

I didn't think Sankofa merits a 3. What did he do wrong, exactly, to justy that?

Doesn't do anything particularly wrong other than slows down and ruins the whole teams style of play, can't cross either!

 

[Sandbach Shrimper]

Absoloutely spot on Andy.

Appalling match. 0-0 would've been the right result but fair play to Oldham, it was a good away team performance, they defended well and nicked a goal. Neither side looked like scoring in open play, a match seriously lacking in creativity or skill. I thought the double sub might liven things up but it didn't. Everything about today was crap - match, ref, crowd, atmosphere, players not being played in their best positions. Just needed it to be wet and cold to complement it! My ratings:

Mildenhall 6 - Didn't have much to do, did nothing wrong.

Sankofa 6 - Solid defensively but nowhere near as good going forward as Francis, hence Francis moved to right-back late on. Don't remember him getting a cross into the box. Did have a chance to score near the end which he skied.

Francis 7 - If I had to choose a MOTM it'd be him. Did well at CB, good in the air. We missed him down the right.

Barrett 5 - Disappointing after some excellent recent performances. Bombed forward recklessly at times, losing the ball. Andy makes a good point about him on corners, all he does is give away fouls yet we always aim it to him. Go for someone else (preferably M'Voto when he's back).

Friend 5 - Rubbish. I feel sorry for Herd, we keep getting these sh*t left backs on loan/trial but he's done nothing wrong. He has to start at Brentford if fit. Friend is slow, offered nothing in attack and gave away the penalty after being outpaced by a chubby person. I'd like to see the penalty again but nevertheless his own fault, putting your arm on someone in the area is always going to be risky. He did make one goalline clearance though.

Grant 6 - The best tackler in the team but quiet on the right, maybe it's time to move him into the middle.

Christophe 6 - Decent game but as Andy says, not the kind of player we needed in central midfield today.

McCormack 5 - Passing was poor again. Tilly won't have the balls to drop him but hopefully he'll get another yellow at Brentford and a suspension.

Moussa 7 - The only Southend player to show any level of creativity or flair or technical ability, although his final ball was lacking. Lively in the 1st half, quieter in the 2nd.

Barnard 6 - Worked his socks off as ever, bullied by defenders as ever, moaned at the ref as ever, got little service as ever.

O'Donovan 5 - Wasn't very impressed. Didn't link up with Barnard at all, didn't latch onto his flick-ons, control was awful. But don't want to be too harsh on him, he got barely any service and he hasn't played much competitive football recently.

Sawyer 6 - Barely touched the ball, he's just not a right winger and is wasted there.
Freedman 7 - Held the ball up well and some good touches, added a bit of quality.
Laurent 5 - Missed a great chance, did nothing else.

To summarise - dire.

 

[sadsy]

Against a team like Oldham at home you've got to be more positive. I'm a big fan of Granty but a wide midfielder he isn't. I would have him in place of Christophe but whatever your personal preference you can't play both. The game was crying out for some width or creativity. I then couldn't understand after subbing Granty why he then took Christophe off , surely Macca was the obvious choice.

All in all one of the most tedious games I've seen , at half time I said Oldham would nick it 1-0 , and they were very poor too.

 

[Andy_S]

Friend 5 - gave away the penalty after being outpaced by a chubby person.

Thanks for agreeing with me, but I'm giving you green for the above comment instead. ;)

 

[Shrimper]

I don't get how Laurent can run through the whole Brighton defence one week and miss from 5 yards the next.

 

[steve54]

At the moment i would rather have lady mucca than macca in midfield if he is the heartbeat of the team we must be on life support, i think he deserves only a mark of 2 today - 1 for turning up and 1 for getting his kit on correctly, and how he had the balls to slag laurent off after the miss is unbelievable

 

[ibwiajwa]

(Thought I'd copy this off the other thread as it hadn't been set up when I started!)

I went to the game today with the playoffs on my mind. Boy, was THAT a reality check. It didn't remind me of Oldham at home last year so much as Crewe at home - another game where we were fancied beforehand but were one-dimensional and failed to deliver.

Mildenhall - 7 - Two good saves. Only kicked one ball straight into touch this time.

Friend - 6 - On the evidence of today, I don't see that what he provides is better than (or even as good as) Herd. He offers nothing going forward and is average in defense. His positioning at set plays was particularly bizarre and I am told that he was responsible for the 'pen' but couldn't see it from the family stand.

Barrett - 7 - Did well in the air and started some moves. Generally solid, if unspectacular.

Francis - 7 - Probably our player of the season so far and was good in defense today. BUT....he needs to respond better to the prevailing situation. He whipped in some good balls but kept playing the ball high down the middle allowing Oldham to snuff out every attack. He NEEDED to vary his approach. Sawyer tried to play a nice give and go with him near the end but he seemed incapable of responding and gave the ball away. In injury time he was playing far too deep.

Sankofa - 6 - Started well but kept checking back whenever he received the ball in a good position. One of the few half-chances that we got near their goal fell to him only to see the ball hit the ozone layer.

Moussa - 7 - Not one of his better games. We got some trademark surging runs from deep but his passing was very fallible today and lacked penetration. I don't understand why he is still taking the corners as his have no pace or whip on them at all. Francis is probably worth another go since he is crossing well at the moment.

Macca - 6 - Very poor start, giving the ball away a lot. Improved considerably in terms of winning the ball but lacked any creativity and could only pass sideways or backwards.

Christophe - 5 - Poor on the ball. Ineffective in general. Deservedly substituted. Seems to have lost any goal threat that he used to have.

Grant - 6 - A quiet game by his standards this season. Provided no width and sat deep for much of the game.

Barnard - 7 - Won a lot in the air but was so isolated from the rest of the team that his flick-ons went nowhere. Had one decent chance and hit it past the post. To be fair though, Gregan and his merry men were pushing and pulling him all over the place - the only people who couldn't seem to see it were the officials.

O'Donovan - 5 - Had no understanding with Barnard whatever. Looked rather lightweight against a resolute Oldham backline. Poor first touch although he did get in some decent positions. Deservedly substituted though. Can we please start Laurent next time?

Substitutes

Sawyer - 6 - Saw too little of the ball to be able to change anything.

Laurent - 8 - Am I the only one that is cross at Tilly having a go at him in the press conference? Yes, he missed an open goal but he was the ONLY ONE who was really taking on the Oldham defense. He seemed to be playing out of position on the left wing so had to check back to put the ball in. If he'd started the game, as he deserved to do, he would have been given a proper chance to show his importance to our team.

Freedman - 8 - Made a big difference. I saw him telling the team to get the ball out wide and to get higher up the pitch which had a clear effect. Put the ball on a plate for Laurent.

Conclusion: AAAAAAAAAArrrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[manor15]

Quick ratings
Mildy 7
Sankofa 5
Francis 7
Barrett 7
Friend 5.5
Grant 6.5
JFC 6
Macca 5.5
Moussa 6.5
Barney 6.5
O'Donovan 6
Subs
Dougie 6.5
Laurent 6
Sawyer 7

Ref 3.5
Tilly and Brush 5

 

[Lord Football]

A game that deserved to be 0-0. A game so bad that even the glaring incompetence of the assistant referee didn't spoil it any further. One of the most inept displays I've seen by a Southend side for a while, and Oldham were equally as poor.

I've said it before, we have no creativity in midfield. Macca, Christophe et al can all play, could probably get in any midfield in this division, but they can't all play together. Today was screaming for Sawyer. Similarly, whilst it is too hard to really judge O'Donovan, Laurent offers the unpredictable up front.

Ratings

Midlenhall 8 - MOM. Man of the Match because he was the only player out there who didn't have a poor game. Made a good stop from a sliced clearance and good tip over from a long range shot.

Sankofa 6 - Got a couple of good early, whippy crosses in. Then didn't attack at all.

Friend 6 - Still too early to really judge. Looks like he can hit a dead ball, but still getting used to his surroundings.

Barrett 6 - Headless chicken at time.

Francis 6 - Looked lost a time, completely skinned on more than occassion.

Moussa 6 - Pick of the midfield, especially in the first half when he looked lively

Macca 4 - Very poor today. Looked somplete out of sorts.

Christophe 6 - Was watched by Sheffield United today btw. At least he got stuck in.

Grant 5 - Wasted on the right. Maybe time for a Grant / Sawyer midfield combo.

Barnard 5 - Anonymous for most of the game. Fell over a lot.

O'Donovan - See above.

Subs

Sawyer 6 - Really needs to start.

Laurent 6 - Glaringly bad miss at the end.

Freedman 7 - At least manage to create things late on.

Management 5- It was clear at half time that this was a battle of attrition, it needed an injection of sparkle. It didn't come until 75 mins.

Officials 4 - I rarely slate officials. Today, they were poor, inconsistence and that linesman wouldn't be appointed to a Borough Comb game on the back of that performance (and I can say that without any fear of contradiction).

 

[shrimperboy84]

always find it interesting how differently people see the same game, JFC had probably his best game this season except for one mistake toward the end of the game where he gave the ball away when the boys were finally getting some good passing going, he was shortly subbed after this even though McCormack had been making glaring errors all game, hopefully McCormack will get his final yellow so Sawyer can get a start and get the team playing creatively going forward, we are in dire need of something extra going forward

Francis needs to go back on RB Herd LB M'voto hopefully fit can be back in and Sawyer in for McCormack and we might start seeing something more going forward yet still have solidity at the back

as i said everyone see's it different though

 

[bazzashrimper]

Mildy - 6
Sankofa - 4
Friend - 4
Francis - 6
Barrett - 5
Grant - 6
Moose - 6
Macca - 4
Christophe - 6
The Don - 6
Barney - 7

Dougie - 7
Laurent - 5
Sawyer - 5


We lost today because Sankofa played at right back. This is not a dig at Osei, but we normally play with attacking full backs, right back in particular, as grant tucks inside more than Moose. Today each time Osei got the ball he stopped and passed inside to a centre midfielder - thus completely changing our style of play in one swoop. Oldham also worked out exactly what happened and closed down the 'creative' Macca and Grant as soon as Osei received the ball - hence the midfield struggled to hold the ball fell apart. If Francis was right back I think we would have won - or certainly played much better as a team.

Anyway - thats the problem we have when we only have 2 centre backs - we have to change half the team to accomodate an injury.

 

[davidovolic]

Wasn't the whole point of playing Grant out of position at RM to act as cover for the attack-minded Francis? Therefore, I can't understand why Tilson played Grant there even though it was the defensive-minded Sankofa playing at RB. Wouldn't it have made more sense to have played Laurent, who scored against Brighton and showed how dangerous his dribbling can be when he came on as a sub today?

I don't think either Grant or Christophe particularly deserved to be dropped from the team that played at Brighton, but you surely don't need two defensive midfielders against a team that's just going to sit back and attack occasionally on the counter like Oldham did today. It meant that there was such a lack of creativity in the team today, particularly on the right. Against the better teams I can understand playing that sort of midfield, but I think that against the likes of Oldham you have to be a bit more attack-minded.

 

[bazzashrimper]

Wasn't the whole point of playing Grant out of position at RM to act as cover for the attack-minded Francis? Therefore, I can't understand why Tilson played Grant there even though it was the defensive-minded Sankofa playing at RB. Wouldn't it have made more sense to have played Laurent, who scored against Brighton and showed how dangerous his dribbling can be when he came on as a sub today?

I don't think either Grant or Christophe particularly deserved to be dropped from the team that played at Brighton, but you surely don't need two defensive midfielders against a team that's just going to sit back and attack occasionally on the counter like Oldham did today. It meant that there was such a lack of creativity in the team today, particularly on the right. Against the better teams I can understand playing that sort of midfield, but I think that against the likes of Oldham you have to be a bit more attack-minded.

I agree with this, certainly you need to be more attack minded in all home games, except perhaps Leeds & Charlton