Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 0-3 Brighton and Hove Albion

[BILLERICAY BLUE]

I won"t do ratings, just general observations

Smith - looked tidy, one excellent save in the 2nd half. No chance with the goals
Demitriou - not much chance to get forward, defensively ok
White - did ok at CB. Maybe at fault for the 3rd goal, but it was an excellent cross
Ferdinand - usual calm and collected self
Hendrie - went a bit AWOL at times, but didn't get a lot of protection from Kightly
Lenny - RM isn't his position, looked better in his usual position
Timlin - Attacking CM isn't his game. Game passed him by a bit
Yearwood - did some very good stufff. Got caught in possession a couple of times. Whoever likened him to Keith Jones got it spot on
Kightly - expected a bit more from him TBH. That will come though
Cox - fed off scraps. Their no. 5 had him in his pocket for the whole game.
MAF - worked hard. 1 good effort in the 1st half

McG - did ok
Robinson- didn't do much
Ba - put himself about. Definitely something there


Overall, I wouldn't worry about the result. They'll probably be the best side we'll face all season. Pluses were 90 mins for Ferdinand and Kightly.

Yearwood looks decent. I'd like to see him in the Wordsworth role with Lenny alongside him. Think PB will start with Timlin against Blackburn, but it will be a close call

Ba definitely worth a year with further options

 

[Evening Echo]

Blues seen off by Seagulls at Roots Hall

A TRIO of first half goals saw Southend United slump to a 3-0 defeat against Premier League newcomers Brighton & Hove Albion tonight.

More...

 

[manor15]

Hard to judge on pre-season. Not the best performance but a good run out especially with 8 players getting 90 minutes. They were simply more clinical and the second half faded into nothing. For periods of the first we were the better side.

Smith - Looked comfortable, helpless with the goals.
Demetriou - Usual self, looked in good shape.
White - Not helped by Demetriou much, struggled marking.
Ferdinand - Looked exhausted after 70 mins, good defending.
Hendrie - Confidence is shot, looked shattered, positioning was rusty and looked lost at times. To be expected after basically no game time for a year, but might not be much many fans patient enough for him to come good.
Leonard - Held back somewhat, no influence when wider on the right.
Timlin - Sloppy in and out of possession.
Yearwood - Best player, great vision and passing, create different chances out of nothing.
Kightly - Could see his quality, not a lot came off for him tonight but doing the right things.
Cox - Looked good, physical battle up-front, a little rusty.
Fortune - Fitter and more competitive than ever, pressed a lot.

Subs
McGlashan - Pace
Robinson - Looked a threat, quick and pressed
Ba - Full of energy and drive, he closed everything down and made a good impression. Hard to judge on that 15 minutes but did all he could.

 

[Medway Blue]

Good run-out fitness wise. Hard to judge much else as was played at training ground pace for a lot of it. Things I noted:

Decent games from Smith, Demetriou, Yearwood.
Hendrie somewhat anonymous.
White not a centre back for me.
Still lacking some intelligence and incisiveness through the middle but Yearwood/Kightly display some vision.
Kightly somewhat anonymous, not sure about him on left side but clearly quality.
Lenny not a right-sided player and looked a little disinterested.
Timlin somewhat anonymous.
Fortuné and Cox worked hard but little quality service.
Like the look of Ba.
McGlashan is rapid.

 

[Floval Flyer]

LOL at the stadium announcer "substitute; Triallist" why not just say his name, everyone knows who he is? And Ba is a lot of easier to say... only 15 mins, but seems to be a prospect, good movement and nice bit of skill towards the end.

Not doing ratings, but Dru was by far our most impressive player, and Hendrie by far our worst.

Pitch was like a meadow - hope they fix the lawnmower in time for Blackburn

 

[fbm]

I think Brighton concentrated on stifling us and totally succeeded. It was very hard for us to create anything at all. I think we looked tidy for 20 minutes then they gradually came into it and a goal was inevitable. The second goal I felt was poorly defended but what a crossfield pass, cross and header for their 3rd. Top quality.

I felt the grass was too long and that didn't help us. They adapted to it much better than we did.

Again - just observations.

Smith - Ok but I felt could have done better for the second goal. However, made a couple of very good saves.

Demetriou - Same as last year.
White - Gave everything but lack of height was exposed.
Ferdinand - Some uncharacteristic poor passing at times.
Hendrie - Disappointed - can't cross.

Leonard - Good to see him out there, thought it was a decent showing.
Timlin - The game passed him by a bit
Yearwood - Worth the admission money, wow, if this wasn't a lucky one-off then what a prospect. Great strength and first touch.
Kightly - Really disappointed. Expected much more.

Cox - Was shut out completely
Fortune - Good hold up play, had a couple of chances he should have done better with

Subs -

McGlashan - Showed nothing more than pace
Robinson - Lively but Brighton had him sussed
Ba - Looked a bit sheepish when he came on, but soon fleeced their full back before ramming the ball across the box. Clearly a good jumper considering his height. Milked the applause when he came off and I understand felt a bit woolly headed afterwards. He plays the goat in the dressing room which is good, as he is still a kid. Didn't bleat about not starting either.

 

[shrimperjon]

Interesting that Hendrie is getting stick, thought both full backs did ok with limited support. For
me Lenny was very poor, played and looked like a player who
doesnt want to be here, think PB has a huge job on his hands. Dru, Kightly and Timo at least put the effort
in. Thought cox and maf did ok agaisnt quality defenders. White and anton again ok but struggled against the pace brighton had at times. Theo also battled hard and the pace of Ba is clear to see. So 3-0 disapointing but not totally surprising. Cambridge a more realistic test on saturday.

 

[Somerset Ex-TTB]

I think the players were treating the game like a pre season friendly, obvious I know, but against Premiership opposition you can't go through the motions.

Considering Brighton are a week behind us I thought we were very very poor tonight.

Hendrie looked very poor as a left back, and hardly got forward. We badly badly need another centre back. Brown got it all wrong by playing Leonard out wide right. He kept drifting in the middle and looked lost. We improved marginally when he went back central. He also did look a bit like he couldn't be bothered. Timlin was poor and gave the ball away a lot, but did ok defensively.

Knightly was poor and offered nothing going forward at all, looked very rusty.

I think everyone on here needs to take a chill pill about Yearwood. Yes he is young, and has promise, but if he wasn't one of our youth players we wouldn't all be getting so excited.

Nothing came off for Cox, but MAF looked very positive and our best player by a mile.

I really think we are going to be in the same position as last year, looking lost, unfit and not match ready come Saturday week.

It's all gone quiet on the signing front as well. We need Coker, Macca and Wordy back fit asap and for a Ranger to get back as quickly as possible.

Ba, meh? Another Jason Williams but less fat. Not first team material yet, but maybe an investment for a couple of years time?

 

[Ron Manager]

Pretty standard for a pre-season game of this type, fairly evenly matched for much of the 90 however when they stepped up a gear for a spell the difference in class showed and they blew us away with 3 goals.

 

[wakes123]

Not much to really say - Leonard didn't have a good game, Hendrie was a bit out of sorts too imo. First time I'd seen Yearwood, I liked him. Tried to thread killer balls down the middle rather than pass it wide which I liked. Good prospect.

 

[Tommy2holes]

I think the players were treating the game like a pre season friendly, obvious I know, but against Premiership opposition you can't go through the motions.

Considering Brighton are a week behind us I thought we were very very poor tonight.

Hendrie looked very poor as a left back, and hardly got forward. We badly badly need another centre back. Brown got it all wrong by playing Leonard out wide right. He kept drifting in the middle and looked lost. We improved marginally when he went back central. He also did look a bit like he couldn't be bothered. Timlin was poor and gave the ball away a lot, but did ok defensively.

Knightly was poor and offered nothing going forward at all, looked very rusty.

I think everyone on here needs to take a chill pill about Yearwood. Yes he is young, and has promise, but if he wasn't one of our youth players we wouldn't all be getting so excited.

Nothing came off for Cox, but MAF looked very positive and our best player by a mile.

I really think we are going to be in the same position as last year, looking lost, unfit and not match ready come Saturday week.

It's all gone quiet on the signing front as well. We need Coker, Macca and Wordy back fit asap and for a Ranger to get back as quickly as possible.

Ba, meh? Another Jason Williams but less fat. Not first team material yet, but maybe an investment for a couple of years time?

I make you right about Yearwood if he was a standard pro then of course we wouldn't be raving. The fact is he not a standard pro. He is 17 and has never played an actual league game in his life, yet he is showing some of the senior pros up.

I've taken my chill pill but I'm still excited to see this lad develop into a top player.

 

[shrimperjon]

Just seen goals, first one a cracking finish, second one Ted could have done better, the taller Oxley might have saved it, third one, good cross but hesitant defending.

 

[shrimperjon]

I think the players were treating the game like a pre season friendly, obvious I know, but against Premiership opposition you can't go through the motions.

Considering Brighton are a week behind us I thought we were very very poor tonight.

Hendrie looked very poor as a left back, and hardly got forward. We badly badly need another centre back. Brown got it all wrong by playing Leonard out wide right. He kept drifting in the middle and looked lost. We improved marginally when he went back central. He also did look a bit like he couldn't be bothered. Timlin was poor and gave the ball away a lot, but did ok defensively.

Knightly was poor and offered nothing going forward at all, looked very rusty.

I everyone on here needs to take a chill pill about Yearwood. Yes he is young, and has promise, but if he wasn't one of our youth players we wouldn't all be getting so excited.

Nothing came off for Cox, but MAF looked very positive and our best player by a mile.

I really think we are going to be in the same position as last year, looking lost, unfit and not match ready come Saturday week.

It's all gone quiet on the signing front as well. We need Coker, Macca and Wordy back fit asap and for a Ranger to get back as quickly as possible.

Ba, meh? Another Jason Williams but less fat. Not first team material yet, but maybe an investment for a couple of years time?

Didnt he come one through the Arsenal youth system and not ours? Thought I read that somewhere

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Didnt he come one through the Arsenal youth system and not ours? Thought I read that somewhere

I think it was more their toddler system, before he was released and joined us a few years ago?

 

[Shrimpet steve]

Sign up ba immediately!! Looks lively and definitely has somthing! Could be a diamond in the rough! Sign him up now brown! Leonard doesent look the same player!! We need to sell him now and get a decent replacement! Doesent want to be at the club ! And it showed tonight

 

[Shrimpet steve]

What game was u watching? Ba looked lively and and definitely should be signed tomora! Much better then williams! But agree with u about leonard

 

[Blues 'n twos]

Not too worried about the result, it was a good workout for us against a slick well drilled side, who at times passed players out of the game. Their movement when they had the ball was excellent, and when we had the ball they closed us down and never gave us any space, we won't be facing a team as good in the league this season!

On the plus side, Yearwood looks like a good prospect, by no way did he look out of place despite being the youngest on the pitch, but I wouldn't hurry him along too quickly he will benefit from being around the 1st team.

Agree with some of the previous comments about Hendrie, where was the player we originally saw? Lenny at times was the player we all know he can be, but gave the ball away more than I have seen before and lacked the energy at times that we know he has.

Marco and Cox tried but were out marshalled by an organised defence, and I thought we played too narrow, giving them too much respect until Glash the Flash came on to give genuine width and pace.

All in all with another Central Defender and Holding midfielder signed I am looking forward to a good season.

 

[Kevin Hogg]

Wasn't there ...but one predictable outcome - comments that Lenny was not himself.
We ALL know that when a player has an opportunity to develop and wants to get away - IT IS OVER!
What on earth is the point of prolonging the saga? He does not want to play for us. Get rid and get some cash to splash.

 

[Bromley Blue]

Wasn't there ...but one predictable outcome - comments that Lenny was not himself.
We ALL know that when a player has an opportunity to develop and wants to get away - IT IS OVER!
What on earth is the point of prolonging the saga? He does not want to play for us. Get rid and get some cash to splash.

You say that like we're Chelsea or Man City and will have players of Lenny's calibre falling over themselves to sign and take his place. We're less than 2 weeks from the first game of the season and you want us to sell our best player and replace him in that time?

Obviously Lenny wants to go. Similarly I want to leave my current job and am not having much luck either. We'll both keep trying whilst it's possible but there'll come a point when we both take stock and decide to just knuckle down and work hard for our current employers. Then try again at a later date.

That's life and Lenny clearly has enjoyed his time with us so won't want to tarnish that by downing tools for an entire season. He'd never get his dream move then anyway.

 

[rigsby]

Not often Lenny finds himself on the right but last night was about young Dru and he was certainly our MOM. You need experience to play in the middle which is why so many CM's start their careers in other slots. Dru not only looked comfortable but has many qualities to his game. He made Timlin look second best along side him.

Yes I have taken my chill pill and no I'm not just saying it because he is our youth player. If he was our new 21 year old expensive signing or on loan from the PL I would have still thought the same. But he is neither of those he ours, he is 17 and he has just signed for 4 years. I think he has a great future, so do yourself a favour, get down to RH and make your own mind up.

As for the game, yes we were looking good for 25 but Brighton gave us a lesson on how to finish. Just before their 3rd we had several chances to cross a ball nice and early but failed miserably, only to see Brighton nip down our end and show us how its done.

By the way I thought MAF was poor. Sure he does a few things that catches the eye but he is not a good target man and never once tried to link up with Cox. In fact Cox was to often the highest up the pitch being easily out jumped. Mind you if MAF cant chest a ball he refuses to jump anyway. When you are 1-0 up away at Oldham its great to just run the ball down the line and win a throw but at home to Brighton and dare I say Blackburn you need to bring the rest of your team into play, especially if they include the likes of Cox and Kightly.