Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 0-3 Doncaster Rovers

[OldBlueLady]

Said in jest to what OldBlueLady wrote. You won't be seeing us again this season, unless we meet again in the playoffs.

And he's right! There was only one team of Wallies out there today!

 

[Medway Blue]

Unfortunately playing Payne and two strikers is going to leave us exposed somewhere.

Whilst that sounds "delicious" on paper we have now been thrashed twice at home and as good as it was to beat Col U they arent exactly the best of teams.

Anyone still want to complain about "clean sheet policies" ?, because we need to get back to basics and having to score 3 or 4 goals to get a point isnt going to work.

Yes I will talk about "clean sheet policies" because once again today was exactly that. It backfired badly and the negative mentality, from the get-go, spread through a knackered team which was unable to keep the rigid defensive shape the manager so desperately desires. Just because Payne played in behind 2 strikers, doesn't mean we don't still have the clean sheet mentality. They looked absolutely terrified to concede today and that ended up being the downfall. Once again no tempo, no movement, no penetration, no width to our play.....nothing. Slow, tired, laborious and easy to defend against. And the players looked like they are playing with zero freedom, because they are being asked to be rigid so as not to concede a goal. As I said the other day, it's nothing to do with formation, that's such a basic way to look at it. It's mentality, what gets said in the dressing room before the game and during HT, and what they work on on the training pitch. They work too much on defensive shape and defending from the front on the training pitch and not enough on attacking moves and movement.

Take the shackles off and give them a bit of freedom Brown, let them spread their wings, use their attacking talent to its fullest potential. Please.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jaffa1]

. I'm not convinced that Doncaster were at that level though, nearly every chance they had was due to our inept defending, certainly all three goals were.

So you are not giving any credit at all for one of the cutest passes I've seen at the Hall for their first goal ?

 

[Special Blue]

Brown must be hurting tonight, such an uncharacteristic team performance these last 2 games.

Hope He's hurting! I am but can't do anything about it!

 

[Sherif H]

I don't mind losing if the opposition is decent but in both the last games they have not been at all.

i never understand at the end of the game some fans clapping the team off! What have they been watching the game!!

Couldn't agree more with both, although we would seem to be in a minority from what I have read on here, Twitter and heard from fans around me at RH. Obviously most are happy with mediocrity, and don't think we should expect to see us build on our excellent progress. Obviously, I'd prefer another season of 'consolidation' as opposed to going up into the Championship...doh :facepalm:

 

[mfurok]

I don't just want to gaze admiringly at a League table, I want to see an entertaining and spirited performance and for the second match running that has not been on offer. Instead I have seen an unbalanced team, with no presence up front, little creativity in midfield and some woeful defending all hamstrung by some imbecilic team selection.

I actually thought Doncaster were a decent team and probably on a par with Millwall. Both teams thoroughly deserved to take all the points.

Spot on Mick but I think you were too kind about the team selection.

 

[MountainDrew]

Can't believe the stick Adam is getting!!! Unbelievable, as holds everything good about us together, prosser / Thompson partnership isn't even good enough for the championship let alone league 2! Honestly what a load of rubbish!

glad it's Phil b picking the team and not most of the Barrett bashers

adam was far and away the most solid defender today, I'd honestly hate to have seen what would have happened today without him!

 

[united we stand]

Can't believe the stick Adam is getting!!! Unbelievable, as holds everything good about us together, prosser / Thompson partnership isn't even good enough for the championship let alone league 2! Honestly what a load of rubbish!

glad it's Phil b picking the team and not most of the Barrett bashers


adam was far and away the most solid defender today, I'd honestly hate to have seen what would have happened today without him!

There was something good about today?
I think 7 goals in two games is bad enough - do you think it could have been worse?

 

[C C Csiders]

Half an hour on Football Manager and everyone is Bill bloody Shankly.

 

[BrettieAngell]

There was something good about today?
I think 7 goals in two games is bad enough - do you think it could have been worse?

Yeah Millwall could have scored 8!

 

[ooh-andy-ansah]

It's really pathetic and moronic how the same people who were praising Barrett, Bentley etc. less than a month ago are now slating them. You sound like the **** in the South Upper today that was hurling abuse almost every time one of our players touched the ball. Yes it was another poor performance but on balance we have had a great 2015. Get behind the team or **** off.

 

[Andyhsufc]

I am struggling to see how Phil Brown thought that the team (and the tactics) that he employed today were going to be result in anything other than a 0-0 draw or a defeat. At the end of the day, we were playing a mid-table team at home and yet set up with no width, no pace and seemed to be happy to sit back and play on the counter attack. To blame the first goal on Thompson is to miss the point that their player ran 20 yards through our half without challenge or even being closed down. That was despite us playing a defensive midfielder. The second goal came from a corner and quite honestly, we seemed incapable of winning any of the first balls from their set pieces. The third goal was just a comedy of errors.

Bentley - 4.5 - Will be hugely disappointed with the third goal. He is going through a tough spell at the moment and needs to refocus but deserves our full support.
White - 4 - Lots of their attacks came down his side and he seemed unable to stem them.
Barrett - 5 - Usual endeavour but needs a rest.
Thompson - 6 - Will be disappointed with the first goal but was pick of the defensive. Good attitude and continued to work hard till the end.
Coker 5 - Not his usual self and looks like he needs a rest.
Rea - 4- Anonymous and doesn't look like a midfielder to me. The gap between the defence and midfield was huge and he did little to stem the attacks coming through the middle of the park.
Atkinson - 4 - Poor passing and weak on the ball.
Leonard - 5 - Not anywhere near his usual standards.
Payne- 6- Great shot saved at 0-0 and looked to run at their backline. Pick of the midfielders but he does tire and lose influence as the match progresses.
Mooney - 4 - Not sure what he brings to the side to be honest. He doesn't win anything in the air, he doesn't hold the ball up and is offside too much. In his defence, he had absolutely no service but he never comes a little deeper to try and influence the game. The cheering when he was subbed was not useful and will only serve to knock his confidence.
Hunt - 6 - Had some quality touches and linked up quite well with Payne at times. He also had poor service but looked to hold up the ball and bring players into the game. Had two good chances at the end but failed to score.

Deegan - 5 - Improvement on Rea but was booked unnecessarily.
Worrall 5.5 - Brightened up the game a touch and gave us some much-needed width. Has got to start next week.
Pig - 5.5 - Fair play to him for playing under difficult circumstances. He was an improvement on Mooney and chased and harried a bit but he is not the solution to our striker issues.

 

[fbm]

Bloody hell what a week.

First half was pretty dull, it was clear we had set up to stop them scoring. But with 8 defensive players and 3 attackers, the imbalance was obvious.

We weren't terrible, just a bit bland. Payne forced a decent save from the keeper and there were a couple of half chances but Donny broke quickly and it was a good finish for the opener. I haven't seen it back but it looked like either Bentley or Thompson could have cleared.

At half time everything was flat and the opening 10 minutes of the second half was probably the worst 10 minutes I've ever seen from a Southend team. We just were not at the races and gave away corner after corner. A poor back pass and poor slice from Bentley meant yet another corner from which any one of three Doncaster players could have banged the ball in; the marking was dreadful.

Shortly afterwards Bentley blotted his copybook again by trying to dribble the ball out and getting caught in possession. Once the ball came back in, Thompson I think fouled their striker for the penalty which was nailed on for me and I was surprised the card wasn't red.

We had a go in the last 30 mins but Donny had taken their foot off the gas by then. We were pretty abject to be honest.

So where has the team that beat Bury gone?

For me, there was no tempo. The substitutions were almost as baffling as the team selection. 1-0 down and we bring on Deegan for Rea, leaving McLaughlin on the bench? Laughable.

Ratings

Bentley - 4 - No-one will be buying him based on this weeks perfomances and much more of that and he'll be a liability.

White - 4 - One of his worst days. Was constantly done by the winger.
Coker - 5 - Doesn't look fit.
Barrett - 5 - Lack of pace evident, 3 games in 8 days probably too much.
Thompson - 6 - Can't agree with PB that he was the only one to emerge with credit. He wasn't as bad as the others though!

Atkinson - 4 - Poor before he went off.
Leonard - 5 - Not sure he knew exactly what he was meant to be doing
Rea - 5 - Fairly anonymous
Payne - 6.5 - MOM - The only person who looked like scoring or creating anything, but was still knocked off the ball far too easily

Mooney - 3 - Poor in all aspects
Hunt - 6 - Worked hard for little reward

Subs -

Worrall - 6 - Looked eager and provided some much needed width
Deegan - 3 - Ineffective, ridiculous booking in injury time
Pigott - 6 - Far better than Mooney and nearly scored a farewell goal

 

[united we stand]

It's really pathetic and moronic how the same people who were praising Barrett, Bentley etc. less than a month ago are now slating them. You sound like the **** in the South Upper today that was hurling abuse almost every time one of our players touched the ball. Yes it was another poor performance but on balance we have had a great 2015. Get behind the team or **** off.

its not pathetic - its a match thread, its about todays match, its not about how the players played a month ago ! whats pathetic and moronic is using someone performance in a game a month ago to justify the crap we saw today. I DO agree with you on getting behind the team. Our support today was pathetic-, and at the ground yes get behind the team or **** **** off (and moan on here instead )-- yes its difficult- sometimes very difficult to sing and applaud when its bad, but thats when we are needed. If we expect the players to raise themselves then we also have to do our bit. We used to get louder when we went one nil down, the last two games we have been very very poor

 

[YoungWestcliffShrimper]

Biggest moan today was the same idiots in w block singing we're ******* ****

Fair play to the lads at the back telling them to shut up

 

[colonelnutter]

On BBC Essex afterwards, Adrian Clarke said, "a couple of bad results don't make a bad team".
I couldn't agree more. Today's showing was proof positive of POOR MANAGEMENT, POOR TACTICS, POOR COACHING and POOR CAPTAINCY. Seems to me our biggest problems are located at the top end of the crumbling structure.

Hysterical nonsense

 

[leeblue]

Fairly simple in my eyes. Rea looked every inch a defender playing out of position. Payne has one role on the pitch...to play in the hole...that's it he simply cannot play anywhere else. Too many games in too little time for Barrett. Worral should be on from the start. Couple of bad results but I still say 99 per cent of supporters would have taken our current position and a win over col ewe at this stage of the season. Time for a few t weeks and regrouping....looking forward to the rest of the season.

 

[spoons]

On BBC Essex afterwards, Adrian Clarke said, "a couple of bad results don't make a bad team".
I couldn't agree more. Today's showing was proof positive of POOR MANAGEMENT, POOR TACTICS, POOR COACHING and POOR CAPTAINCY. Seems to me our biggest problems are located at the top end of the crumbling structure.

Despite your valid criticism we are 7th and still in with a good shout for the playoffs. Some good may come from this yet.

 

[AndyT]

For the last goal, not sure how Bentley could have been better positioned. It was a penalty and Bentley stood in the middle of the goal :smile:

LOL.

I think he should have been leaning on the post, smoking a cigar whilst casually kicking the penalty away.

 

[IloveShrimp]

Poor team display.

However Bentley's positioning was not good 1st & last goals. Similar to the Barnsley home. Where he again was to blame for giving away a plenalty.
Personally I think moving on now would not be wise. Bentley is a very good keeper but not the finished article. He is still young for a keeper and getting 1st team experience in League 1 not many keepers his age can say that.

Dan sign a new contract, take confidence from this. Then get your head down, get back to the level we all know you are capable of. A sizeable offer will likely follow in the summer in any case... just a thought

Sorry but I disagree with you.

Personally I think that Paul Smiths attributes are now showing in Bentleys performances I.e. Not coming for crosses, staying on his line at corners, punching rather than catching and losing the confidence of his defence. I think for his own sake he should move on to a team with better coaching.

As for the last three performances, I think much is to be blamed upon the reluctance to break quickly. So many times the break is on for us only to stop and pass it backwards or sideways or even to the goalkeeper giving the opposition the chance to reorganise for the mindless punt up the field that follows. In doing this all we do is give possession back and bring more pressure onto ourselves.