Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 1-1 Stockport County

[southend4eva]

What a game!!! This is my first post... Listening to 'Player,' for my first live game after 15 years of being a Southend supporter... I am sitting in Newman a mining town in Western Australia... Despite the controversy, loving every bit of it... including that I am now receiving of air BBC Essex banter... they have no idea as one of them has just said, '**** off' to someone... hahaha... very professional... matching some of the incompetencies of the on field officials!

 

[Strykr]

What a game!!! This is my first post... Listening to 'Player,' for my first live game after 15 years of being a Southend supporter... I am sitting in Newman a mining town in Western Australia... Despite the controversy, loving every bit of it... including that I am now receiving of air BBC Essex banter... they have no idea as one of them has just said, '**** off' to someone... hahaha... very professional... matching some of the incompetencies of the on field officials!

the off air banter is usually more entertaining then the game, sometimes it goes on for hours lol

welcome to the zone btw.

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

Very pleased for both Sturrock and Corr. Corr probably should have scored but he won the header to Sturrock's goal.

If you'd offered me a point at the start i'd have taken it.

I actually thought the game was quite boring until their goal which was a terrible desicion from the lino but it fired everyone up, there seems to be good togetherness already.

 

[Frankie the half breed]

I know why we conceeded a goal, because Mohnsi Bilel wasn't playing!

 

[Beefy]

What a game!!! This is my first post... Listening to 'Player,' for my first live game after 15 years of being a Southend supporter... I am sitting in Newman a mining town in Western Australia... Despite the controversy, loving every bit of it... including that I am now receiving of air BBC Essex banter... they have no idea as one of them has just said, '**** off' to someone... hahaha... very professional... matching some of the incompetencies of the on field officials!

Second debut post from Australia of the afternoon! What's your story, southend4eva? You an exile or a lifelong follower of Mark Phillips?

 

[Jam_Man]

Well it was a tight game, we didnt create a lot, nor looked like conceding and a draw probably not an unfair result although we edged it.

Thought the back 4 looked good, like the centre half pairing of Prosser and Phillips and both full backs did well.

My main gripe is the system, 4-3-3 / 4-5-1 just doesnt work for me.

Corr did well winning the ball and leading the line, but he won 4 decent knock downs (the last one we scored from) but there was never anyone near him. He isnt going to score many and certainly not when he is having to play the whole game with his back to the goal like that.

The shape of the formation often led to no width and often play broke down as midfielders went to pass wide and had to resort to passing to a fullback.

When Sturrock and Zaaboub came on we switched to 442 and looked like we had a far better shape and started using the left wing with Zaaboub to some effect and crafted some decent moves down that side. I was disappointed to see Spencer replaced by Sturrock as thought he the likeliest to score, although in the end it was justified :)

The spirit looked good, certainly once their goal went in. Corr doesnt stand for any crap and was standing up for any other Southend player (mainly Zaaboub!) getting grief. Barker too got into a row with one of the stockport players.

Overall a decent start and some of our players look like they are going to be pretty good, they just need to start playing as a team, and hopefully not in a 4-3-3 formation.

 

[Jam_Man]

I know why we conceeded a goal, because Mohnsi Bilel wasn't playing!

He has serious competition from what I saw today, the centre halves looked good, and Bilel made some clangers in both games Ive seen him play....

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

An excellent performance I thought. Defensivley we were superb, special mention to Morris in goal who did everything well, the two centre backs and Clohessy who looks a real find. Midfield I thought didnt work as well as it could. Grant played well first half, faded a bit and played some loose passes in the 2nd. Easton very Maher like, kept it simple and made some good tackles. Simpson didnt get involved enough but its a difficult role to play in the hole, he really needed to get up alongside Corr. Spencer worked hard but struggled in an unnatural role, and Soares didnt see much of the ball out wide but did put in some excellent set pieces and tracked back well.
Think the formation was ok but need a bit more quality up front and think Hall could be the answer on the left.
Ref did well till the last few minutes, ignored some blatant hand balls and of course the goal should not have stood but give Stockport credit they worked very hard and always looked as if they could be a threat, especially Donnelly the goal scorer.

Onwards and upwards I think, didnt lose the game which is the main thing and the players showed great spirit for a bunch who were not used to playing with each other. Also Luggy very passionate on the touchline as well as Coughlan who seemd to be very vocal.

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

One other thing, when things weren't going well what did we do? we changed the formation and got something from the game.

 

[Shrimper Steve]

Should have had all 3 points to be honest, but they showed heart, We are going to be ok this season!



UP THE BLUES

Too right we should have had all 3 points. That lino cost us 2 points.

 

[South Bank Hank]

Southend 1 Stockport 1

A fair result as we certainly didn't deserve to lose. The team still needs to gel and Sturrock will need to see more creativity from the midfield and better use of the flanks. There's a worrying lack of pace in the side this was as useful performance as we could have expected given the late arrival of so many players.

Glenn Morris - Very good hands, came out well for the long balls, dealt well with a few awkward passes from the defence. Mixed opinion on his distribution - set up a couple of nice counters but missed a few of the more obvious ones. Got a hand to the goal but wasn't able to stop it. 7.

Sean Clohessy - Pinged a few decent long balls. Nice skills with the ball at his feet and seemingly eager to beat his man. Looks like a good signing. 7.

Luke Prosser - Will need to see more but seemed to work well with Phillips. Probably the lesser player in the partnership but it's too early to be sure. 6.

Mark Phillips - Will need to see more but seemed to work well with Prosser. Probably the better player in the partnership but it's too early to be sure. 7.

Chris Barker - Best player on the pitch by a country mile. Cracking effort on goal from 30 yards. Calm and composed on the ball. As good a left back as we've had at the Hall in some time? 9.

Anthony Grant - A key player for us this season but he wasn't able to control the game. Still goes down too easily but seemed to get the right decisions from the ref every time. 7.

Craig Easton - Solid tackling and a good choice of captain but, as with Grant, we didn't manage to dominate the midfield. Reminiscent of Kevin Maher with an eye for a good pass. 7.

Barry Corr - Run of the mill striker. Looked good at times but doesn't offer a significant goal threat. Failed to convert 2 or 3 good chances with his head. 6.

Louie Soares - Responsibility for the free kicks. Useful delivery but very much the same ball every time. Voted man of the match but I couldn't see that myself. 6.

Josh Simpson - Always keen to get involved but lacking in pace. 6.

Blair Sturrock - Better than I was expecting. Seemed to have a decent touch and played others in fairly well. Came across as a bit of a stroppy Scotsman. Right place for the goal. Would be worthy of a 7 but loses a mark for the silly hair style. Get it cut son, you look ridiculous. 6.

Scott Spencer - Chased, harried and displayed some good skills. Will do well enough at this level without necessarily being prolific. Would get a 7 but loses two points for the booking which was predictable, pointless and stupid. 5.

Sofiene Zaaboub - Likes to play the ball early. Receives the ball well and plays an intelligent game. Seems to lack pace. 7.


Crowd: Small and subdued. Okay, we're in League Two now but for the opening game of the season, with decent weather and 9 new players on display, 5,589 is a disappointing crowd.

Ref: Barely noticed him until the key decision which, I'd suggest he got wrong. Seemed a strange decision to allow the goal to stand after the lino raised his flag. Did the ref miss it? Did he see it and over-rule it? Whatever way it happened, the players seemed to down tools.

Sturrock: Wow, substitutions! Set the stall out well but the side barely know each other yet so it's difficult to judge. Sent to the stands - a complete farce as this put him just 3 feet back from where he had been. His first action from the stand was to make a substitution. Honest appraisal of the game afterwards, calling it as he saw it and bemoaning the finishing.

 

[Onion_Bag_Dave]

To all you Blair 'haters' **** off you ****ing boring miserable *******s!

 

[Jam_Man]

Too right we should have had all 3 points. That lino cost us 2 points.

Well it was 0-0 then so not really.

We didnt really look like scoring until we were galvanised by their goal, I think whilst we edged it overall a draw was a fair result.

 

[jamesmut2000]

One other thing, when things weren't going well what did we do? we changed the formation and got something from the game.

I can't possibly imagine what you are getting at. ;)

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

First off all, the reason Paul Sturrock was sent off was he was absolutely livid about their goal, and he let the officials know with some appropriate language. The lino put the flag up for off-side, then he nervously put it down again after the ball went in. Had he kept it up as he should have done, the Ref would have been in no doubt it was off-side. When the Ref spoke to the lino, he bottled it.

Our goal came from a great knock down from Corr to Sturrock in front of goal, he could hardly miss as it was on a plate, but full marks for being there, and losing his marker.
Corr had a few headers he could have scored from, but from where I was right behind the South goal, it looks like he closes his eyes just before contact and hopes for the best. You can now see why he has a poor scoring record, but if someone could teach him how to finish with his head, he would be a good striker as he certainly wins his share of headers, and the crosses were coming in all game.

I certainly like the look of Clohessy at right back, very skilful with lots of potential.

 

[Jam_Man]

One other thing, when things weren't going well what did we do? we changed the formation and got something from the game.

Like Swindon last year when we were 2-0 down using 4-5-1 and drew? :)

It was refreshing to see the new management team, I left my wife to get me a ticket yesterday and for some reason she got me one just next to the dugout, which isnt where Id normally choose to sit, but it was interesting to see.

Sturrock actually didnt make any more of a contribution to the game than Tilson, he did stand in the technical area throughout but was quiet. It was only when their goal went in did he get involved, and fair play to him!

Widdrington and Coughlan were both vocal from the dugout and the former more so when he got to stand pitchside following Sturrocks sending off. They are chalk and cheese with Sturrock quietly watching to Widdrington who is more like Martin Allen and very passionate screaming blue murder at Grant when one of his passes ended up in the stand.

Also it was interesting to see Ron Martin come down from his seat to congratulate Sturrock who was sitting in the front row of the directors box to congratulate him when Blair scored.

 

[southend4eva]

Second debut post from Australia of the afternoon! What's your story, southend4eva? You an exile or a lifelong follower of Mark Phillips?

I am an Aussie, but wanted to support a real football team... So after some research in 1995, I decided Southend would be my team, hence 'southend4eva'... Spent the last 10 years living in Malawi, Africa, but never had the internet speed to have this type of involvement... I have followed Southend obsessively, with the awesome 'Shrimperzone,' as one of the main resources... Now I am back home, I am making the most of technology... Dreaming of the day I can get there and watch the boys live... Very jealous of you all, who can do it regularly!... Still sitting here in my 2006 shirt, sent to me buy a Shrimpers fan I met in Egypt, listening to the live commentary, I feel very pleased with the world!

 

[Jack The Flag]

Just got back Gutted!
Should have won!
Firstly there was more than 5500 there if our ground holds 12,000 think they got that wrong :stunned:

Also would be nice to see some new faces in the Blue Voice section rather than the 50 or so each week trying their hardest, also i wonder if Sturrock is going to punish himself for getting sent to the stands as he talked about discipline.

The only way is up :support:

PS: IF the atmospheres not good enough for you, get to the Blue Voice Section and Sing

 

[StockportFan]

Today's Match.

Hi all, you might remember I posted a few eeks back with regards to either club's finances and looking forward to meeting again today.

Personally I thought it was a decent result, disappointing from our point of view to throw another lead away as we ususally do but a draw for us at Roots Hall isn't bad and to be fair I dare say a draw for you againast Stockport isn't too bad either. There were a few disappointing incidents - I thought the referee was very poor and in all fairness Barry Corr's behaviour towards Greg Tansey was disgusting and not welcome in the game any more, but that's football isn't it?

Ultimately I'm just glad that both clubs are in existence and have come out of the other side. I know we're both in the mix for relegation according to the bookies but I'd put my neck on the line and say that come the end of the season, neither Southend nor Stockport will be in the bottom two.

Well done. Any thoughts?

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

Im pretty sure it was Phillips who knocked the ball down for Blair but, agree Corr won a lot of balls and needs a quick striker alongside him.