Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 1-1 Oxford

[onceknownasrab]

I don't quite think I had turned up to the same game as many of the posters on this thread. There were moments of good passing, at pace, and snippets of entertainment. On the whole the play was predictable. As much as I don't rate PB, I actually felt sorry for him today. Ferdinand was poor. Beyond poor. Abject. The crossfield ball, met by SM and sublimely sent into Cox, was a cut above and almost warranted the admission fee on its own. In fact we were by far better when we played the ball to feet and moved at pace. Nearly every high cross was sent into the keeper and produced as much threat as a sparrow waging war on an eagle.

There were numerous examples of creativity throughout the side and chances were made and then wasted by a toothless strike force that looks bereft of any confidence in front of goal. There was little or no composure and at times it was almost embarrassing to call the forward line professionals. Something serious is going on between their ears and it needs to be sorted.

Most of the game we cried out for a striker in the centre but Cox and Fortune are running everywhere but. Why is, someone like Fortune picking the ball up in the channels, when someone like him needs to be given the ball in and around the box. The poor sod tried hard, took defenders with him and nearly always lost out because there was never a team mate in the same postcode as him.

Our limitations in defence, namely Ferdinand can't run, leaves us vulnerable, particularly to anything pushed through at pace. Turner looked capable but again has no legs to cover the **** ups. Timlin did ok. He is not the left back we need. He huffs and puffs and does his best but there is very little coming from him when he needs a good out ball. Maybe he is our best option at the moment but it is not good enough. Demetriou likes to support forward and that means we have to have players who can cover his absence and CB's that can chase across. No hope.

Our ineptness in front of goal was saved by the oppositions feebleness at scoring. Against a better side we would have been spanked. oxford had enough clear cut chances but failed to take them. We cannot give sides that many chances.

I want to be a lot more positive and reading some of the posts I feel churlish for saying how I see it but that kind of performance is going to get us nowhere.

 

[Silencer]

How Ferdinand gets in the team is beyond me, he is not a leader and his legs have obviously gone. The most frustrating part is that nice guy John White is always banished to the bench when he is arguably a candidate for POTY thus far.

Ridiculous, our captain is killing us

 

[McNasty]

How Ferdinand gets in the team is beyond me, he is not a leader and his legs have obviously gone. The most frustrating part is that nice guy John White is always banished to the bench when he is arguably a candidate for POTY thus far.

Ridiculous, our captain is killing us

Doesn't our remarkable manager pick the team ?

 

[rayleigh dan]

Not rangers biggest fan but thought the booing and s lagging him off from idiots in the East stand was bang out of order.

I didn't boo but can absolutely understand why people did. A player who's lucky to still be here decides it's acceptable to turn up consistently late? Pretty pathetic for a grown man and if he wants another job after leaving us he needs to man up soon.

Anyway on to ratings.

Oxley 7 - Did fine, no chance with their goal.

Demetriou 9 - Superb pass made our goal and did well defensively too. Improved massively in the last month or so.
Turner 7 - First time I've seen him and I was impressed. Dominant in the air and looks a threat in the opposition box too. Perhaps could have done better with the first challenge that led to their goal.
Ferdinand 4 - Bloody awful. If I was scoring on the first half alone it would be a 2 or 3. He looks like he's doped up and half asleep, too many schoolboy errors. Embarrassing that he's supposedly our 'captain'. If I was John White I'd be seriously ****ed off right now, he's performed far better than Anton all season. Phil needs to grow a pair and drop his marquee signing.
Timlin 7 - Played well to be fair. He did still perhaps dive in to much but got away with it today. A couple of cracking cross field passes too.

Kightly 6 - I didn't think he was as bad as some are saying, a bit of a mixed bag for me. Perhaps just needs to play the simple ball as he tried to over complicate things at times.
Wright 5 - Anonomous first half, second half he was more involved but missed our best chance. Looks a bit of a 'crab' for me. I don't remember a pass that didn't go either sideways or backwards.
Leonard 7 - Always looking to win the ball and drive forward. Perhaps not his best game but still impressed.
McLaughlin 7 - Seems to have got his confidence back. Started really well and played a part in our goal.

Fortune 7 - Very good at holding the ball up and linking play, but showed his lack of goal threat with that late shot that was more like a back pass.
Cox 8 - Much better, the old Coxy was back today. Only slight sour note was trying the square pass to Fortune when he should have shot.

Subs

Ranger 6 - Won a few headers, ironically buried that header when offside but miscued a similar chance when onside!
McGlashan 6 - Showed his pace and won a couple of corners.
Ba 6 - Looks lightning quick and got behind once but didn't get the final ball right. Looks a decent option from the bench though.

By the way I was right in line with both the offside decisions and at the time I thought both were correct. The guy next to me was adamant the Ranger one should have stood though. :unsure:

 

[Fitz]

I didn't boo but can absolutely understand why people did. A player who's lucky to still be here decides it's acceptable to turn up consistently late? Pretty pathetic for a grown man and if he wants another job after leaving us he needs to man up soon.

Anyway on to ratings.

Oxley 7 - Did fine, no chance with their goal.

Demetriou 9 - Superb pass made our goal and did well defensively too. Improved massively in the last month or so.
Turner 7 - First time I've seen him and I was impressed. Dominant in the air and looks a threat in the opposition box too. Perhaps could have done better with the first challenge that led to their goal.
Ferdinand 4 - Bloody awful. If I was scoring on the first half alone it would be a 2 or 3. He looks like he's doped up and half asleep, too many schoolboy errors. Embarrassing that he's supposedly our 'captain'. If I was John White I'd be seriously ****ed off right now, he's performed far better than Anton all season. Phil needs to grow a pair and drop his marquee signing.
Timlin 7 - Played well to be fair. He did still perhaps dive in to much but got away with it today. A couple of cracking cross field passes too.

Kightly 6 - I didn't think he was as bad as some are saying, a bit of a mixed bag for me. Perhaps just needs to play the simple ball as he tried to over complicate things at times.
Wright 5 - Anonomous first half, second half he was more involved but missed our best chance. Looks a bit of a 'crab' for me. I don't remember a pass that didn't go either sideways or backwards.
Leonard 7 - Always looking to win the ball and drive forward. Perhaps not his best game but still impressed.
McLaughlin 7 - Seems to have got his confidence back. Started really well and played a part in our goal.

Fortune 7 - Very good at holding the ball up and linking play, but showed his lack of goal threat with that late shot that was more like a back pass.
Cox 8 - Much better, the old Coxy was back today. Only slight sour note was trying the square pass to Fortune when he should have shot.

Subs

Ranger 6 - Won a few headers, ironically buried that header when offside but miscued a similar chance when onside!
McGlashan 6 - Showed his pace and won a couple of corners.
Ba 6 - Looks lightning quick and got behind once but didn't get the final ball right. Looks a decent option from the bench though.

McGlashan was useless, poor crosses and a needless foul at the end. All pace but absolutely no idea, much the same as a few others of the same mold we have had down the years.

 

[rayleigh dan]

McGlashan was useless, poor crosses and a needless foul at the end. All pace but absolutely no idea, much the same as a few others of the same mold we have had down the years.

C'mon then let's have your ratings. I didn't think Glash was great but he was by no means the worst today.

 

[mfurok]

First of all what a good game. Plenty of end to end stuff from two teams who both wanted to win even in the 93rrd minute. It was certainly no dragged out bore draw.

Yes very frustrating for us as it capped a week of effort and commitment with little to show for it. We all know you don't always get what you deserve in football but missing two penalties, hitting the wood work 3 times, having 2 goals ruled off-side, handball of the line with no red, goal bound shots hitting your own players (Kightly first half) and Wright dragging that excellent chest down from Cox wide from 6 yds when the goal was gaping........We end up with just 2 points from 9 which seems to me at least not a true reflection of the lads performance in the last 8 days.

Anyway credit to Oxford, like us they want to get on with the game and play with that L1 honesty that many of us enjoy. Not to much shirt pulling, manhandling or rolling around and timewasting.

You can see why they are capable of winning 4-0 away but equally why we could have scored a lot more than one. To be fair the woodwork owed us a few from Tuesday so lets be thank full it went in our favour today.

Pleased for Turner he was my man of the week, proving good things come to those who wait. Nice to see some of you judging Timlin in a more positive light. He was very disciplined after his harsh yellow.

Nice early cross fro McL for the goal. Shame Fortune, McG and Ba all had to have that extra touch in the second half rather than fire it in early and low.

For those of you who claim PB is obsessed with the opposition, yet at the same time demanded Lenny sit on JP.....Well we just got on with our game. Yes he had some nice moves in the first 45, fizzled out second half but still had a chance to win it late on....Typical JP performance at RH.

Many of you will look at the table and groan. We are creating plenty of chances and its not to far fetched to say had that lovable little rogue (joke) Nile Ranger put away that pen v Pompey then we might well be sitting in their place 7th in L1, rather than 14th.

Having agreed with you about Timlin and been asked to agree more often, before I do, would you please kindly explain why you have written seven paragraphs without mentioning the main reason why we didn't win the game - the appalling decision to omit our player of the season instead of a player who is currently shot to bits and has been partially (at least) responsible for the last three goals that we have conceded and a fair few earlier in the season?

 

[AndyT]

Is this the same JW who played centre-half when we shipped 5 goals at Rotherham, 4 at Doncaster and 3 at Gillingham and Wigan?

 

[OldBlueLady]

A thoroughly entertaining game with end to end stuff throughout to keep us on the edge of our seats. As predicted, Lenny had Jack in his pocket for the majority of the game, but who else had their hearts in their mouth when Jack ran through on the 92nd minute against Anton? :stunned:

Maybe JW is feeling rightly a little more frustrated than we thought at his constant bench warming

Sublime ball from Demi to Macca, and a fantastic cross for Coxy to slot home deserved to have us leading for longer than 3 minutes! Really want to see the disallowed goals as they looked distinctly dubious calls from the West lino. Thought we probably deserved a win but it wasn't to be.

Oxley - 7, was limping after his injury so hope it's not too serious, a good performance again from the #1
Demetriou - 7, that cross :clap:Demi at his best, did get mugged off a couple of times though defensively
Turner - 8.5, my MOTM, solid defensively and a threat at the other end. Looks to me as if he's sussed that Anton is susceptible and covers him a lot. Been our best defender by a mile since coming into the team
Ferdinand - 5, something is clearly not right, his heading was off, his kicking wasn't great and his judgement was poor. Might even be generous with the 5, clearly cost us their goal
Timlin - 7.5, unlucky booking, never made contact with their guy at all. Probably the best I've seen him play in defence
Kightly - 6.5, tried some really clever stuff, didn't come off more than it did hence why he didn't look great
Leonard - 8, looked after Jack really well and kept him fairly stifled. Looked to be a nasty groin injury, which we know he's suffered with in the past, so hope it's not serious. Also covered Anton in defence on a number of occasions. Vital player
Wright - 7, industrious but not much forward play, with Lenny looking after Payne, I wanted to see more passing forward than passing wide. Did get in a few good shooting positions and hit the top of the crossbar
McLaughlin - 8, I felt he was a close runner for MOTM, back to his best, running, passing and just being a constant threat. Took a couple of knocks
Fortune - 7.5, how did the officials keep giving fouls against him when he was being grappled to the floor?!! Intelligent player, like him a lot
Cox - 7, goal will give him a boost, next one is his 100th career goal so hope it's not too long a wait. Did ok, still drops too deep for my liking

Subs:
Ranger for Fortune - 7, unexpected booing from our fans, that might open his eyes a bit. Thought he did ok when he came on, but what really frustrates me on the pitch is, for a big bloke, he really should have more physical presence. Thought his "goal" was fine
McGlashan for Kightly - 6.5, did alright, ran at their defence and exploited their left side
Ba for Cox - 7, someone earlier didn't think much of him, I thought it was refreshing to see a sub come on and have no fear going forward - and defending too. More cameos will do him - and us - the world of good.

 

[IloveShrimp]

Not rangers biggest fan but thought the booing and s lagging him off from idiots in the East stand was bang out of order.

He’s had enough chances here. It really is time to pull his finger out. I made fans right to have a pop, it’s time to grow up

I can't agree with this at all Ayrshire. The so-called supporters who boo their own players when they Come on, or slag them off whilst they are playing should look at themselves in the mirror and ask themselves whether they are supporters or not.
I wonder how many of those who boo'ed Ranger when he came on celebrated when he scored.. makes them hypocrites as was as non supporters in my book!

 

[RobM]

Is this the same JW who played centre-half when we shipped 5 goals at Rotherham, 4 at Doncaster and 3 at Gillingham and Wigan?

Oh, they were all his fault? That's cleared that up then.

 

[AndyT]

I can't agree with this at all Ayrshire. The so-called supporters who boo their own players when they Come on, or slag them off whilst they are playing should look at themselves in the mirror and ask themselves whether they are supporters or not.
I wonder how many of those who boo'ed Ranger when he came on celebrated when he scored.. makes them hypocrites as was as non supporters in my book!

Absolutely spot on, mate.

Frankly, I was appalled at the treatment of Anton in particular.

Do people REALLY think it helps. He knew he was having a bad game and held his hand up to his team-mates a couple of times to acknowledge his mistakes. Maybe if the fans chanted "There's only one Anton Ferdy" or similar, it might just have helped him along.

He is often the last player to leave the pitch and applaud the fans. He also was the one trying to lift the players at the end of the Charlton match, last season, when we looked down and out in the heat that day.

He's a good honest pro who, lets not forget, is not 100% fit and has had personal issues to cope with in recent times.

 

[AndyT]

Oh, they were all his fault? That's cleared that up then.

No mate, I didn't say that at all.

It's a response to 'mfurok' saying that the reason we didn't win was because Anton played and JW didn't.

Clearly it's got nothing to do with that. We might have lost 4-1 if JW played. We might have won 6-1. Who knows!

 

[RobM]

No mate, I didn't say that at all.

It's a response to 'mfurok' saying that the reason we didn't win was because Anton played and JW didn't.

Clearly it's got nothing to do with that. We might have lost 4-1 if JW played. We might have won 6-1. Who knows!

Yes, exactly. it's far from an exact science. Someone on Facebook blames Bwomono for every defeat. Personally, yesterday I think it's the fault of the bloke in the South Upper who didn't have his lucky pants on.

 

[AndyT]

LOL. Totally agree 'Rob'. :smile:

I was in the South Upper and it was very subdued once word had got around, yesterday.

 

[onceknownasrab]

Absolutely spot on, mate.

Frankly, I was appalled at the treatment of Anton in particular.

Do people REALLY think it helps. He knew he was having a bad game and held his hand up to his team-mates a couple of times to acknowledge his mistakes. Maybe if the fans chanted "There's only one Anton Ferdy" or similar, it might just have helped him along.

He is often the last player to leave the pitch and applaud the fans. He also was the one trying to lift the players at the end of the Charlton match, last season, when we looked down and out in the heat that day.

He's a good honest pro who, lets not forget, is not 100% fit and has had personal issues to cope with in recent times.

Errors are one thing and all players make them. He was error strewn beyond comprehension. Worst of all he cannot run. His pace is not just an issue at the back. When he forayed forward, two passages of play went by, before he got back to his position. It could not even be describes as a jog. It was an awkward walk at best. His presence on the field was a complete liability. No i don't question his commitment but his body is not able to do what his head and heart want to. Turn it around and ask yourself how a) his team mates on the day feel, having him picked and barely showing up and b) what do others kept out of the squad by him feel? I don't wish him disrespect but very, very, few players, in all the years I have watched football, could have done a worse job, regardless of how bad they were. It's not right and it's sad for him that he has to be paraded like a punch drunk boxer that once was a contender.

 

[onceknownasrab]

Yes, exactly. it's far from an exact science. Someone on Facebook blames Bwomono for every defeat. Personally, yesterday I think it's the fault of the bloke in the South Upper who didn't have his lucky pants on.

I know. I wish I hadn't gone commando yesterday. That wind tunnel known as Victoria Avenue, generated the level of blasts up my jacksy that are generally only felt on the way out of my bum and not on the way in!

 

[AndyT]

Yesterday definitely wasn't the day for that.

 

[RobM]

I know. I wish I hadn't gone commando yesterday. That wind tunnel known as Victoria Avenue, generated the level of blasts up my jacksy that are generally only felt on the way out of my bum and not on the way in!

That's put me off my cheerios...

 

[AndyT]

Errors are one thing and all players make them. He was error strewn beyond comprehension. Worst of all he cannot run. His pace is not just an issue at the back. When he forayed forward, two passages of play went by, before he got back to his position. It could not even be describes as a jog. It was an awkward walk at best. His presence on the field was a complete liability. No i don't question his commitment but his body is not able to do what his head and heart want to. Turn it around and ask yourself how a) his team mates on the day feel, having him picked and barely showing up and b) what do others kept out of the squad by him feel? I don't wish him disrespect but very, very, few players, in all the years I have watched football, could have done a worse job, regardless of how bad they were. It's not right and it's sad for him that he has to be paraded like a punch drunk boxer that once was a contender.

He did make a few errors yesterday 'rab' and wasn't on his game, IMHO, as I mentioned in the match report.

That's one thing, but booing him off the pitch at half-time is entirely another!