Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 0-2 Walsall

[Skyblue]

I wonder how many of the 6,000 would have stayed at home if they had known the team selection in advance. Why when every Southend fan if asked, would have had Worralls name down first on the team sheet yet Brown's brain seems to have a short circuit and see's the game going in a different direction. I can only imagine Worrall is carrying some sort of knock, if not surely must be the first on the team sheet next time around, along side Timlin.

 

[amsemp]

We were quite simply outplayed by a better team, which is slightly concerning considering they finished 14th last season. We seem to be almost back into the position of Brown not knowing his best XI, mainly due to the vast competition in midfield. We appear to have three supporting strikers in Pigott, Hunt and Mooney, but no one capable of grabbing the shirt and leading the line like Corr so often did. I still think there's a lack of urgency in getting the ball forward and Walsall looked sharp.

Bentley - 6, not sure he could've done a great deal with the goals but attitude didn't look right. Time to cash in I think.
White - 6, some good moments and some shakey moments. Did okay overall.
Bolger - 5, maybe a bit harsh, but he could've done so much better with their second goal.
Barrett - 6, typical Barrett performance but looked leggy at the end against some quick subs.
Coker - 7, had a good game and one of few who really went at them in the second half.
Leonard - 5, struggling to justify his selection of late. Not great defensively and not great going forward, paired with some really poor passing. Time to make way for Timlin I think.
Wordsworth - 6, had some good moments and is obviously a good player, but really badly drifts in and out of the game.
Deegan - 5, guilty of quite a few sloppy fouls and caught out of position on several occasions before coming off.
Weston - 5, not a great Weston performance today. Just didn't seem to work and his final ball was lacking.
Mooney - 6, looked okay until the substitution. Doesn't look great with Pigott.
Pigott - 5, didn't happen for him today. Sloppy passing, failure to capitalise on chances and didn't ever look like scoring.

Payne - 8, best player on the pitch for me. He was the pinnacle of everything good we did in the second half. Must start next week.
Worrall - 6, looked lively when he came on and threatened. Seems to have a good understanding with Coker.
Hurst - 6, tried hard and got some dangerous balls in. Hopefully returning to his best form.

All in all I think the midfield were poor and we definitely lost the midfield battle today. No excuse for Timlin not to start next game as we were crying out for that authoritative Timlin/Maher type figure today. Still in desperate need of a quality striker with some pace to lead the line and I honestly think after today, McLeod is that man. Lots of work needed between now and next Saturday.

 

[CocklesShrimps&Whiteweed]

If ever there was a reality check then that was it. We were chasing shadows and we look like a league two outfit. The Saddlers were a yard faster, quicker of foot with decisive passing that cut us to ribbons. Not getting on our players backs but those are the facts. I now think, given this footballing lesson, that sadly we have to sell Bentley and use the money to bring some quality onto the side. Otherwise we are in a whole world of trouble this season. A few positives..Worrall and Payne. But as a whole I found today a little troubling..and Walsall aren't predicted to be amoung the movers and shakers this term. A lot needs to change if we are to survive.

 

[Medway Blue]

Don't know where to start with that. Absolutely abysmal. Several points:

1. He might not know what his strongest 11 is, but that today was not it. Stop worrying about the opposition so much, and tinkering and playing players out of position to combat them - concentrate on OUR strengths. Pick a formation and play the strongest player you have in each position. Today's team selection was woeful.

2. The set-up wasn't much better. Any manager in L1 who does his homework would know how Walsall play - they play high-tempo passing football and their off-the-ball movement is very good too. So why, from the first minute, were we standing off them? We were giving them all the time and space in the world, especially in the danger areas in and around our penalty box. If you're playing a team like that, you should be fast out of the blocks and up in their sodding faces from the first whistle. Hassle them, harry them, don't give them the time or space to even BREATHE on the ball, press them and pressure them into panicking and making mistakes. We seemed to do the opposite of that today. Too many times they sliced through us too, not necessarily because of the way they played but more because we let them and failed to track/pick-up runners off the ball. The concentration wasn't there.

3. We lacked urgency WITH the ball too. Similar complaint to last season for me really, no intelligent movement off the ball, no penetrative runs and passes, no high-tempo stuff. All a bit slow, beleaguered and lumbering with too much sideways and backwards stuff. This was made doubly as bad by the fact that decision-making was so poor today - too many players not on the same page and far too many misplaced passes.

4. We are a bit too predictable in that we always look to go down the wings. If we're gonna do that, we need to be starting with effective wingers which we did not today. If it's not working then why not switch it up and try to go through the middle a bit? Wordsworth is renowned for being good and carving chances with the ball at his feet, so why are we not utilising that? Let him get forward more and try playing it through the middle a bit!

5. I still think Mooney will come good but somebody needs to coach the habit of dropping deep out of his game. I don't know if Brown has asked him to do it like he did occasionally with Corr last season, but it's so frustrating. He kept leaving Pigott so isolated up top on his own every time he came all the way back. He's a striker, what damage is he going to do if he's behind the ball everytime we win it back and start playing it forward? Stay up top!

6. Stop pumping balls up to Pigott, he's not a target man and isn't a good header of the ball.

7. Why are we so poor with attacking set pieces? We now have a player who can put a good ball in the box, but nobody is attacking the ball or getting into good positions. I think I can count on one hand the amount of times we've scored from a set piece since Brown took over.

8. Ryan Leonard needs to alter his long throw technique. It's too high, slow and looping and we'll never pose a threat from it because oppo defences have all the time in the world to get into a good defensive position for it. He should try to practice lower, flatter bullet throws which will cause some panic.

Very disappointing, people will say we should be looking to simply survive but mid-table should be the aim really. And with that being the case, taking points off average mid-table teams like Walsall shouldn't be out of our reach, especially at home. Unfortunately they've done a job on us today without breaking a sweat, because we've let them - the line-up and mentality has completely played into their hands. Very, very naive by everyone involved and I hope that's the wake-up call that is needed.


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[steve54]

What a frustrating game that was poor team selection, poor tactics and some woefully inconsistent performances from some of the players Weston had great 15 minute spell at the start then his game just fell apart and he couldn't pass water by the time he came off,but in general our passing was shocking.The only thing that made me laugh today was the 2 special fans in a silver focus calling me a F*****g northern c**t for wearing a british lions rugby shirt to the game.

 

[leeblue]

Brown has admitted he got it totally wrong today. Ok as long as he learns from it. But to be honest I think we are 3 or 4 players short of league one level.
My pro's and cons from today
Pro's. .....Some good stuff played at times. Payne had a 20 min spell un the 2nd half where he was immense. The crowd...stuck with the boys today.

Cons.......final third play today was woeful...poor movement..poor crossing...Weston especially, he got into some great positions but time after time rubbish delivery.
How does deegan start a football match ahead of Timlin. ..
We need pace, power and attacking intent in this team now or its gonna be a long one folks.

 

[Flinty]

Pretty poor today. Our final ball was appalling all game and we didn't look like scoring at any stage of the game. Certainly a reality check. The movement off the ball by Walsall was far superior to ours and for long periods of the game were toying with us.

For me Weston, Payne and Worall all did ok, Leonard I though was particularly poor. Mooney and Pig don't look like scoring anytime soon and certainly need another decent striker.

Still no need to panic yet, it usually takes us 4 or 5 games to get going so see how we start getting on in September

 

[camden shrimper]

Walsall were dull but solid, quick to cut out the loose and hopeful balls. They could have kicked on a gear if need be too. It's going to be a tough season no doubt would rather we learn from one or strategic first game than kid ourselves over several matches in many ways. I'm a fan of Weston, but coming off the bench. Second goal you could see was a lack of midfield covering. We will learn from it, wake up call, welcome to division one, pick ourselves up, learn, adapt and steam ahead.

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Ref also had a shocker

 

[Jam_Man]

As said before I dont understand the Worrall decision.

Even if you play 433 you are surely better playing Weston Striker Worrall than two strikers.

No quality in the final third and didnt start playing till about the 75th minute when we had to go gung ho and almost conceded 2 or 3 in the process.

 

[Shrimperforlife]

There's a decent striker at Cambridge.
Got another two today .......

We don't play to his strengths though..... Funny he bags a few when a team picks him out

 

[Medway Blue]

Ref also had a shocker

Yeah was going to mention him but didn't in the end because he had no real bearing on the result or our performance. But dear oh dear he was appalling.


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[Shrimpers are Magic]

Oh well won't bother attending this season as clearly no chance of staying up after 2 whole games in.
Just reminded me why I usually don't bother coming on here when we commit the heinous crime of losing a football match.
One poxy match and all of a sudden no one is up to league one standard anymore - garbage.

 

[rlb999]

This is a harder division and we'll get games like that - the fact that we've taken a beating today doesn't bother me as long as we learn from it.
What concerns me more, and I've been saying it all summer, is that we've renewed a lot of players who weren't guaranteed their place in the division below rather than freshening things up. It's no good deciding now that A, B and C aren't up to the job at this level when we've renewed their contracts 6 weeks ago.

 

[Angell Delight]

Well, that was a reality check. Appalling team selection from Brown, no idea at all how he can justify dropping Worrall again, he stood out on Tuesday and after coming on last week.

Way too narrow and they took advantage. They showed the difference and simply took the chances they had. We never really threatened first half and even after Mooney went off for Payne. At first that just made us more narrow and we struggled even more as there was no-one at all to stretch the play, apart from completely relying on Coker.

Second half was unfortunate that they scored early on as it put the game to bed, but it was an improvement, even if we only mustered a few chances. Payne got better and better as the game went on but was one of few to impress at all.

Bentley 7 Kept us in the game at times, nothing he could do about either goal, may be a tad disappointed with his distribution
White 7 Good battle with their winger and did offer something going forwards
Bolger 6 His off the line clearance was the only positive, too eager to hoof or head the ball anywhere and positioning was poor
Barrett 7 Leader at the back and dangerous at set pieces
Coker 6.5 Formation restricted his threat going forwards and under pressure at the back
Leonard 6 Ineffective, seemed to play the holding role but often went missing
Deegan 6 Awful choice by Brown, he tried hard but wasn't playing in the holding role and a much more creative all round player (eg Timlin) was needed as opposed to Deegan, particularly after Payne came on
Wordsworth 6.5 Poor defensively and guilty of not necessarily tracking back enough, some great passes and moves but at other times they didn't come off for him
Weston 7.5 Best player on the pitch for the first 15 minutes, they struggled with his pace but his usual inconsistencies crept back into his game later on
Pigott 7 If his first touch was better he could have had 1 or 2 great chances but that let him down, but he put himself about and is getting in good positions
Mooney 6.5 In the right positions but didn't work as hard as Pig and didn't really produce much

Subs
Payne 7.5 Anonymous in a deeper role until half time, massively improved after, just needed someone to pass to who could take a shot, most creative player by far
Worrall 7 Crying out for him and he put some good deliveries into the box
Hurst 6 Poor decision making to shoot when he should have crossed late on, didn't offer anything new

Ref 5 Inconsistent and some ludicrous decisions

Brown has to take the blame, awful tactical choices cost us today. Don't try to outsmart the opposition, just play to our strengths.

Second all of that. Worrall should definitely have started, frankly I'd be miffed if I was him. And what the hell has Timlin done to annoy Brown over the summer too? Sorry PB but there is only one person to blame for today's defeat, look in the mirror.

Fair play to Walsall, good side who taught us a valuable lesson that the finishing is far more clinical in this league. Deserved the three points.

We have two problems, we have no pace at centre-half and no pace in the forward line. Infact Weston is our only real pacey outlet and he is simply too inconsistent to feature on a regular basis, there is rarely an end product with him. The strikers in this league are definitely an upgrade to what we've generally faced in L2, I believe you can get away with a slowish CB pairing in L2 to an extent but not at this level. The most worrying thing is that we don't have a single quick CB at the club and it's something I believe needs to be remedied quickly. We certainly need a pacey striker who can get in behind and stretch teams, that will make a big difference going forward. It's essential these issues are addressed. We missed Hunt badly today and I'm sure his return will make a difference but we still need to inject pace at both ends.

Oh and Mr Brown, to reiterate:

Timlin and Worrall please!

PS. Payne and Worrall the only real stand-outs today. And both were subs! Very poor team selection put us well and truly on the back foot.

 

[HudsonNo1]

Brown got thag totally wrong as his admitted... No one seemed up for it, and we really did get a welcome to league one. Walsall made it look so so easy, and apart from 2 chances I can remember we did nothing to threaten at all... Worrall must be the most confused man in Essex right now. His been the stand out player even though it's very early, and he couldn't earn a start. Weston was an improvement and looked dangerous for a bit. Everyone else was anonymous. Not involved and really disappointing. Seems we're gonna be relying on a unfit hunt a awful lot this season.

Coker really disappointed me aswell... He didn't overlap at all until late in the game whilst white was overlapping too much. Deegan done what he was meant to do, but still wasn't good enough. Barrett and Bolger were both exposed and couldn't so much to stop them.

How is can everyone see our strongest 11 apart from PB and I'm normally a massive backer of PB. Not today.

 

[Angell Delight]

Don't know where to start with that. Absolutely abysmal. Several points:

1. He might not know what his strongest 11 is, but that today was not it. Stop worrying about the opposition so much, and tinkering and playing players out of position to combat them - concentrate on OUR strengths. Pick a formation and play the strongest player you have in each position. Today's team selection was woeful.

Spot. On. :thumbsup:

 

[davew]

Ref your player rating, you are v generous don't think any player deserved more than 5, not including Bentley + SUBS .

I give the ref 1 + PB 0.

What was the prob with MOODY again he did not look up for it

 

[eastling]

Early days. Team selection wrong from the start and the disjointed first half performance was a result of that. We looked lost which was quite unlike us especially compared to the Brighton game.

Looked better in second half but Walsall clinically finished from another decent chance to put the game beyond us. We tried to rally but to no avail.

No need to panic just yet. Everyone can learn lessons from this game.

 

[Barling Magna]

Well, that sets the standard we have to achieve. Walsall will finish mid-table and we have to be at least as good as them in future. Much homework set for PB and the team, I feel......