Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 0-2 Portsmouth FC

[Clinton Baptiste]

I imagine half of the players who played last night will not be here next season. Powell is probably desperate to get rid of Theo, Kightly, Hendrie.
Sounds like same old problems, no one can create in the midfield. Puzzled as to why he brought Hyam in when he had already signed Mantom and Dieng.

 

[Jai]

You have to deal with it. You have to overcome adversity and to be honest Powell has been sulking since Hopper got injured and its pathetic. We've seen his interviews and if thats how he addresses team talks then would you wanna play for him?

Getting away with murder because he used to play for us

We're 10th in the league and only seven teams have won more games. We're incredibly inconsistent but when you are unable to play an unchanged side for two games running, that will happen. If you don't think that is dealing with adversity, I'm impressed at your extremely high standards.

We're in a hole and have been there since October. We've had to play more pragmatically than Powell would like (evidenced by the excellent football we played at the tail end of last year) to scrape points and try and make sure we don't get dragged in.

So he is dealing with it. As well as those out for the rest of the season, we've also lost Oxley and Demetriou to medium-term injuries. We have a rookie right back and a left back who is not up to League One standard, and they will pretty much have to play every game. He's having to protect players like Kightly, Bunn and Turner who find it tough to play two games a week. He's only got three strikers so he has to sometimes rest one or try something different, with Dieng moving forward etc. This is exactly how he is dealing with it. He hasn't been able to sign anyone, even on loan.

 

[Jai]

I imagine half of the players who played last night will not be here next season. Powell is probably desperate to get rid of Theo, Kightly, Hendrie.
Sounds like same old problems, no one can create in the midfield. Puzzled as to why he brought Hyam in when he had already signed Mantom and Dieng.

Hyam is a completely different type of player, he's a protector.

Although to be honest I'm not too impressed with him, he's not dynamic enough for this league.

 

[Brian Meyers]

.............and therein probably lies the problem with regard to team strengthening

And possibly

Rumour has it theres a lackof commitment because the players havent been paid for 2 months , this comes from a player who played last night so this person says.

i think that was obvious how can he pay all that money for the heap of scrap metal at boots and laces

 

[AndyT]

I like SCP, don't get me wrong, but Ayrshire has a couple of valid points.

He has over tinkered. Talked down our potential and durability and used injuries as an excuse.

Personally, I think he is slightly too over protective. Maybe that comes from being a defender as a player.

We have some quality players here who are not injured, yet they are underperforming at times. Something isn't quite right.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

What's our strongest team if everyone's fit? Hard to say given we haven't really seen Kiernan, Sam Barratt or Lennon at all, but given Powell seems to rate Lennon very highly then you have to assume he'd be a starter. So if Powell had everyone available to him, he'd probably pick:

Oxley
Demetriou
Moore
Lennon
Coker
Bunn
Mantom
Yearwood
Dieng
Cox
Hopper

So therefore we probably had about four of Powell's preferred eleven starting last night.

Probably this would be our strongest XI if everyone was fit IMO, particularly if you choose our own players over loanees:

Oxley
Demetriou
Kiernan
Lennon
Coker
Barratt
Mantom
Yearwood
Bunn
Cox
Hopper

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

We're 10th in the league and only seven teams have won more games. We're incredibly inconsistent but when you are unable to play an unchanged side for two games running, that will happen. If you don't think that is dealing with adversity, I'm impressed at your extremely high standards.

We're in a hole and have been there since October. We've had to play more pragmatically than Powell would like (evidenced by the excellent football we played at the tail end of last year) to scrape points and try and make sure we don't get dragged in.

So he is dealing with it. As well as those out for the rest of the season, we've also lost Oxley and Demetriou to medium-term injuries. We have a rookie right back and a left back who is not up to League One standard, and they will pretty much have to play every game. He's having to protect players like Kightly, Bunn and Turner who find it tough to play two games a week. He's only got three strikers so he has to sometimes rest one or try something different, with Dieng moving forward etc. This is exactly how he is dealing with it. He hasn't been able to sign anyone, even on loan.

You're right and this is an awful league so just think where we'd be if we didn't boot the ball at Cox's head or play him on the wing. I've found some of his tactics at times a bit insulting to the players he still has fit.

 

[BILLERICAY BLUE]

We have some quality players here who are not injured, yet they are underperforming at times. Something isn't quite right.

Macca being the most notable. The chance that FBM highlighted in his post summed up his season, the Macca of last year would have just smashed it in, but for whatever reason, lack of confidence etc, he tried something different and failed miserably

 

[Blueronron]

There is definitely some mileage in this statement....I’m not saying it makes the performance excusable in any way but it’s important that everything is given context....

If as fans we talk about a game with limited enthusiasm, we dismiss a competition as a waste of time, we talk of boycotting it, not interested in it, are vocal about playing reserves / 23s, express a real fear of losing players to injury....how do we think the players approach the game?

Do we think they may be concerned with picking up an injury? Do they view it as a poor competition? Would they prefer to be be “rested” for it? Is it hard to motivate yourself properly when you know you’re on a hiding to nothing playing someone else’s reserves...a win and no real credit yet a loss is humiliating? You turn up and are used to playing in front of 8000 and you walk out to 1500 with 3/4 of the ground entirely unpopulated?

I’m not making excuses or saying it’s acceptable as they are pros and it is their job but let’s be realistic, it’s a game based on Adrenalin and enthusiasm, effort and physicality....we all have days at work where we feel uninspired and have a day ahead of mundane tasks....don’t those days drag? Aren’t they met with far less enthusiasm than usual?

I’m not sure where, but I’m sure I read that checkatrade games don’t even carry the usual bonuses etc so at the risk of missing Saturday injured where I get an appearance fee a win bonus a clean sheet bonus or a goal bonus....why would I risk this by competing and risking injury in a game where I get none of that?

Slight increase as average is 6600, however Pompey reserves play to even fewer and produced the goods knowing one day they could play in front of 18,000 at Fratton Park,which is their average

They should feel privileged to be paid for a sport many of us would love to do, and they know if they are not being paid the PFA will cover them

Todays footballers are too pampered even in lower leagues, if they dont like it, move on and get a real job that is five days a week working and probably longer hours than they are use too

UTS

 

[AndyT]

Macca being the most notable. The chance that FBM highlighted in his post summed up his season, the Macca of last year would have just smashed it in, but for whatever reason, lack of confidence etc, he tried something different and failed miserably

Very true, BB.

Not sure what SCP's view is on Macca.

He was singing his praises around the time of the Crawley cup tie, with Macca saying he felt back to his best.

Then starts leaving him on the bench again!

 

[Jai]

Is it an awful league? The clubs above us, for the most part, have far greater resources than us. Unfortunately money talks more and more every year as the top two divisions get further and further away, and the teams who come down from them are stronger as a result.

I'm not saying we can't compete with them but it is very difficult with half a squad out. The injuries are not going away. We can't say we're tired of using them as an excuse as they are still there and they are still hurting us.

Also I'm pretty sure Powell doesn't tell them to lump it to Cox, but when limited players at this level are put under pressure, they play it long. Taylor Moore is very important to us because he doesn't panic and is not afraid to play it out from the back.

I'm not saying Powell hasn't made odd decisions occasionally. He's a third division manager. We're all frustrated and as fans we're always looking for someone to blame. But this season, I don't really think we can point the finger at anyone - it's just been rotten luck. Sadly we still have four months left to endure.

 

[united we stand]

You think the quality of the competition affected the players? Everyone thinks this cup is tinpot, so maybe the players do and see it as an inconvenience.

I wasn’t there, but from what I have read Pompey players didn’t see it this way. If you are right maybe we should have played more youngsters who saw it as an opportunity- who knows

 

[MK Shrimper]

I wasn’t there, but from what I have read Pompey players didn’t see it this way

But didn't they play the reserve team? They had the knowledge that if they performed then they could make the first team. We played the first team who know that if they lost, they'd still be in the squad come Saturday.

 

[southendkid]

You're right and this is an awful league so just think where we'd be if we didn't boot the ball at Cox's head or play him on the wing. I've found some of his tactics at times a bit insulting to the players he still has fit.

I don't like the long ball to Cox either but based on last night it looks like we can't string two passes together, so maybe we're going direct because we simply aren't good enough to play it on the ground.

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

I don't like the long ball to Cox either but based on last night it looks like we can't string two passes together, so maybe we're going direct because we simply aren't good enough to play it on the ground.

I wasn't there last night so I cant comment but there's no consistency in anything we do. Starting line up, formation, results, you name it, its inconsistent.

Take a player like Dieng for example, he played centre mid, CAM, and centre half last night. Harry Bunn plays wing back one week, CAM the next and then right mid the following week.

It's impossible to get any levels of consistency from anyone when you're chopping and changing like that

The injuries are well documented so go back to basics and just play a 4-4-2 as that suits the players still fit. We're never gonna be consistent trying to shoehorn Dieng in as a number 10

 

[Captainwickrum]

I wasn't there last night so I cant comment but there's no consistency in anything we do. Starting line up, formation, results, you name it, its inconsistent.

Take a player like Dieng for example, he played centre mid, CAM, and centre half last night. Harry Bunn plays wing back one week, CAM the next and then right mid the following week.

It's impossible to get any levels of consistency from anyone when you're chopping and changing like that

The injuries are well documented so go back to basics and just play a 4-4-2 as that suits the players still fit. We're never gonna be consistent trying to shoehorn Dieng in as a number 10

i take your point, but with regards to Dieng last night SCP brought him on to add more physicality up top as Robinson was not winning anything in the air against their two center halves. He was forced to move Dieng back to centre back though when Taylor Moore went off injured, we had already used 2 subs at half time so he made an attacking change by bringing Hutchinson on, rather then swapping a like for like with turner.

SCP wasnt just moving Dieng around the pitch to try and make things work, he was forced in the situation really. Dieng is a little unfortunate to be honest that he is quite versatile.

 

[BARNETBLUE]

Ayrshire Blue said:
You have to deal with it. You have to overcome adversity and to be honest Powell has been sulking since Hopper got injured and its pathetic. We've seen his interviews and if thats how he addresses team talks then would you wanna play for him?

Getting away with murder because he used to play for us...

EACH TO THEIR OWN ETC...But Come on!....How has he sulked...Was it CPs fault Hopper got crocked???!

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Puzzled as to why he brought Hyam in when he had already signed Mantom and Dieng.

Probably because he didn't want to go into the season with just 3 central midfielders.

You're right and this is an awful league so just think where we'd be if we didn't boot the ball at Cox's head or play him on the wing. I've found some of his tactics at times a bit insulting to the players he still has fit.

Presumably then you weren't one of the ones who criticised Dru last month when he tried to play it out from the back and got caught out and it cost us a goal?

I also fear you may be confusing John White with Frank Beckenbaur.

The injuries are well documented so go back to basics and just play a 4-4-2 as that suits the players still fit.

The trouble is it seems to suit the opposition more. With maybe the exception of Bradford who were woeful, whenever we've played 4-4-2 with two wingers we've struggled badly defensively as we're too open. It seems like it happened again last night.

 

[Chris Powell's mate]

We lost because we have no heartbeat and no leadership; there is no Kevin Maher or a Paul Clark or AN Other willing to grab things by the scruff of the neck.
Heads go down at the first sight of adversity, and those more knowledgeable than moi will tell me how many times we've won this season from a losing position.
As regards injuries, I'm beginning to wonder about their conditioning. Hamstring tear for Moore? That's NOT an impact injury.

 

[rigsby]

Dieng was moved about so that CP could overcome adversity......Clearly we should kept the Blue Bells as our dance group.