Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 1 - 2 Fleetwood Town

[AndyT]

I was in the East Blacks and as soon as the fella headed it, I thought it was unstoppable.

Remarkable that Demi managed to keep it out.

 

[OldBlueLady]

The clue is in the title - MATCH REPORTS AND RATINGS, FFS!!! It's simple isn't it? :facepalm:

 

[AndyT]

Our game plan was to pass it around, no target man etc and try and have some mobility against their big defenders. Sometimes some of the players did this. much of the time the simple plan was ignored and players reverted to the same old rubbish.

Agreed on that 'Massimo'.

However, that's fine if you set-up correctly, but I see little point in playing McG if you want to pass and move the ball around. To make that work, the set-up was all wrong yesterday. A 4-4-2 would have allowed Wabo, Coxy, Macca and Kites to play that way and the midefielders to get beyond the strikers playing short passing football.

We set-up to play with width and get crosses in using the wing-backs but what's the point of that if you have Macca, McG and Coxy on the end of them. None much taller than 5 foot 10 inches.

To me, we set-up to cover half fit centre-halves and the rest was almost an afterthought. Muddled thinking from the kick-off.

Clarky made an excellent point on the way home in the car. As a manager you have to sit down and say "this is how I'm going to play" and stick with it regardless. Tinkering around to try and find some sort of solution is not something a fella in charge for 3 years should be doing, IMHO.

 

[Sherif H]

The clue is in the title - MATCH REPORTS AND RATINGS, FFS!!! It's simple isn't it? :facepalm:

I think the two (report and general musings on Brown) are inextricably linked now - everything refers back to the bizarre tactics...

 

[ms brush]

I thought we were okay in the 1st half on the whole. We didn't do enough in the final third admittedly but, by and large, we were doing okay. It was a big loss to lose Turner so early and it clearly caused a problem. I didn't really understand why Harry Kyp, who had been readied to come on, was replace by Stephen Hendrie, but I've been keen to see Hendrie given the chance to banish his demons on the pitch at RH so accepted it.

I think Anton was caught out by John White's throw to him, clearly wasn't expecting it and wasn't concentrating. What is so frustrating this season is that whenever we seem to make a mistake, we get punished without fail each and every time. What was also frustrating today was a weak referee who allowed a free kick to be taken about 20 yards further forward than it should have been and failed to send off a player who promptly scored against us. I would say we get no luck but then have to remember our goal.

Hoisting high balls up with Bolger in their defence was never going to work, but it's our default when we panic.

I do think they should give our Freddy a ring and ask him to come and do some training in the final third, two such defensive coaches as Brown and Couglan are clearly missing a trick at the other end.

So, 1st half - 0-0 at half time and we were coping ok. And then, as has happened so many times, half time happens, the players come back out and everything suddenly collapses around our ears. It doesn't take much for the vitriol to be unleashed from W block, with even the drum being used in the anti Brown chants.

Oxley - 7, some good saves and showed enthusiasm to get forward
White - 6, fairly solid on the whole
Ferdinand - 5, a risk that shouldn't have been taken, he doesn't deserve to be hung out to dry at this stage in his career quite so horribly
Turner - 6, knew he was in trouble, which was a shame as he's our best defender aerially
Demetriou - 5, little to any effect
Coker - 7, played about 3 different positions, and tried his best in them all
Kightly - 7, I thought Kights had certainly a good 1st half, defended well and has the ability to adapt into this position
Timlin - 7.5, my MOTM, thought he was our clear best player 1st half
McGlashan - 5, one decent run at them, when that's what we should have been doing. Still say he is only effective as an impact sub
McLaughlin - 7, showed promise and commitment
Cox - 6.5, felt sorry for him, doesn't suit the lone striker and had no-one to play off

Subs:
Hendrie for Turner - 6.5, thought he did ok when he came on, wasn't fazed by the atmosphere
Fortune for Ferdinand - 6.5, held the ball up well, probably too late reverting to a 4-4-2
Wabo for Cox - 7, the lad did great when he came on - by why on earth was he brought on for Cox? Should clearly have been McGlashan went off at that time.

Most of us have been here before, I think we still have the personnel to be able to save our season but there's an issue with confidence and there's clearly an issue with the management. Our chairman needs to have a good long think about what he needs out of the season and make some decisions because, at the moment, Southend United is looking a decidedly uncomfortable proposition for attracting any loan player or otherwise in.

My first game since before Christmas, as I missed the last 2 games while I was on holiday. Was looking forward to the game and feel deflated after yesterday. Anyway, think OBL must have read my mind as she has said everything I was thinking!

Blaming a half fit Anton, substituting Cox, who always gives 100% even in futile situations such as yesterday, and then expecting a huge turnaround when we are 2-0 down just shows that the leadership is an issue here. My .MOM for the record was Kightly, with Timlin a close second.

 

[BrettieAngell]

I think Anton was caught out by John White's throw to him, clearly wasn't expecting it and wasn't concentrating. What is so frustrating this season is that whenever we seem to make a mistake, we get punished without fail each and every time.

He might not have been expecting but he should have taken a touch and either booted down field or passed back to Oxley.

 

[GBJ]

Maybe in the twilight world that you are living in. The same world that those owners of Leeds Utd, Nottingham Forest, Birmingham and Coventry have in recent years. I'm living in the real world and, in terms of hiring and firing of managers so thankfully, is Ron Martin.

do you honestly think that players playing under Eddie Howe, Harry Redknapp or anyone else for that matter are happy when they are out of the team for any length of the time or for instance happy to sign a 1 year contract at the age of 29/30 when another club offers them 2 or 3 years? Get real. They are players not supporters. They are earning a living not parting with their hard earned cash to be at RH like us on a Saturday afternoon. If someone wants to pay them more, play them more, give them longer job security they will go. It is a merry go round. No more no less. Think of the players that have come here because they have become disenfranchised with who they played for - for exactly the same reason. If the captain of Millwall is considering comin here it won't be because he is getting plenty of game time at Millwall at the moment or that he still has four years on a lucrative contract! He will be trying to use our interest to force Millwall's hand one way or the other and at his age (play me more, extend my contract or let me go to a club that will) nobody will blame him. Their fans won't care either because the moment they are doing okay without him.

and by the way if you have been following Southend for any length of time things can get much, much worse.

You're ignoring the point completely.

So, for the third & final time, I'm NOT talking about fringe players, or players coming to the end of their contract. I'm saying OUTRIGHT, that from our CURRENT starting XI, not many have faith or respect in Brown & his management.

It is the exact reason for our slump.

The only way we'll get out of that slump & change the status quo, is if Brown gets the players back onside, or he is replaced.

 

[Jacketh]

My first match at the hall since the 2-1 win over Blackpool a few months back.

Oxley 6 - Couldn't do anything with either goal, a couple of decent saves, thought his distribution was a little poor.
White 6 - Solid, steady performance.
Ferdinand 3 - Straight from the whistle he nearly played in a Fleetwood player, couple of horrendous back passes and then the second half horror show before PB hauled him off.
Turner 7 - Obviously only played a small part of the game but I thought he looked commanding and kept the ball on the deck, we missed him when he went off.
Deme 7 - A couple of excellent tackles, didn't shy from the game, the type of player we will need in this relegation battle.
Coker 6 - Was decent at left wing back but struggled when Brown moved him into the centre.
Timlin 6 - I thought he did the dirty work brilliantly, won the ball a lot in midfield but then the occasional horror pass which Fleetwood should of scored from in the first half.
Kightly 4 - Thought he was really poor, invisible performance in midfield from someone who should be delivering much more.
McGlashan 3 - I put this largely down to PB's tactics, he was too lightweight but wasn't helped by the hoofball tactics.
McGlaughlin 7 - A few delightful touches in the first half, any of our good play came through him, the one bright spark.
Cox 5 - Struggled with the long balls, when it was played into his feet he always found a blue shirt. More down to PB tactics.

Subs
Hendrie 5 - We lost our good attacking play down the left when he come on, poor.
Fortune 7 - Held the ball up well, I think he should of started given the way PB wanted to play.
Wabo 7 - Fearless, nearly scored a worldie, ran at people and put himself about - give him a start!!

 

[in the know]

Hahaha I was indeed there, albeit not the end of the ground where that happened.
Enjoy your posts 'Andy T' - always display good knowledge of the game.
There are so many many reasons for how things are....the pitch debacle, coaching methods, coaching personnel, facilities pre and post training, man management ethics, players deciding when to train, desire to play for the manager, lack of strategy for games, lack of pre match weekly due diligence in respect of who playing against and styles of play, patience with younger players, injuries, I could probably treble this list.......
It is evident to me that when we win a match and individual players play well each week, it is solely down to their personal desire, conscience, work ethic and professionalism. Its easy to spot those players.
When a club gets in this state with so many problems there is usually only one solution Im afraid. PB and RM must realise that and so its only about timing
If that makes sense!

 

[in the know]

Yep, you're right. Just seen the highlights. My bad.

Good to know there was someone 'intheknow' there! :thumbsup:

Sorry...I was responding to this and forgot to say so!

 

[onceknownasrab]

The crowd was flat, which is more than can be said of the pitch, and from the moment I saw Ferdinand was playing, I feared the worst. Not too many anti manager chanters, which was good, but generally little noise from the crowd at all. I suspect many were feeling pessimistic before kick off, regardless of hope and prayer, and the fears of most were realised.

I have come to agree with the posters that suggest a number of the players are not doing it for the manager. My issue with that, ignoring what we may feel about PB's tactics and/or man management, it is the players who are being unprofessional and are insulting the fans of this club.

Our main problem is that of the players, barring a few of the young ones that have yet to realise their potential, we have players who are on the way down and with no interest of us being in the Championship and others that are scooping a final payday in the twilight of their career. Beyond that we have Coker who always puts in a shift but despite the verdict of many I think he is playing at his best level. Very good in League 1 and not up to scratch for the Championship.

For whatever reason/s, apparent to some but lost on me, RM is sticking with PB. As a fan I have to accept that is the way of things. Unlike Brexit remoaners I accept defeat in wanting the manager ousted and want to get on with what we do now that is for the best of the club.

It is going to become increasingly difficult to attract any new blood that is of sufficient pedigree to really make a difference. We must be viewed as a fractured club and caught in a downward spiral. Any player that comes must do so for lack of choice and that is far from an optimum scenario.

Our only hope is that we alter the tactics, change the position of some of the personnel, and persist with some of the youth. Best foot forward and we have just enough about us to stave off relegation.

 

[McNasty]

I wasn't there yesterday but , for a rubbish game -- according to the majority of comments, there seems to be quite a few higher scores in the ratings.

The defence sounded like it wasn't good and to have hardly any shots on target is poor but scores of 7.5, 7 & 6.5 seems remarkably generous.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but as I say, I am only going on comments on here.

 

[AndyT]

I use 7 as average, so 6.5 is below average, for me.

 

[BrettieAngell]

I wasn't there yesterday but , for a rubbish game -- according to the majority of comments, there seems to be quite a few higher scores in the ratings.

The defence sounded like it wasn't good and to have hardly any shots on target is poor but scores of 7.5, 7 & 6.5 seems remarkably generous.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but as I say, I am only going on comments on here.

Generally our defence didn't have much to deal with but we gave them 2 goals so 7's are generous.

 

[Shrimper]

I wasn't there yesterday but , for a rubbish game -- according to the majority of comments, there seems to be quite a few higher scores in the ratings.

The defence sounded like it wasn't good and to have hardly any shots on target is poor but scores of 7.5, 7 & 6.5 seems remarkably generous.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but as I say, I am only going on comments on here.

Apart from Ferdinand's moments of madness they did okay and dealt with most things. Our midfield should be getting low scores as they were non-existent for most of the game.

 

[rigsby]

Until we have two separate threads, Match Ratings and Match Rantings there is no point in posting on this one.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

Until we have two separate threads, Match Ratings and Match Rantings there is no point in posting on this one.

And it is too painful to go through the dross of non match report negativity to discuss actual game moments or players' performances. If you have a match report Riggers can you pm me with it and then I will message you back with my view point.

 

[Jay_SUFC]

Apart from Ferdinand's moments of madness they did okay and dealt with most things. Our midfield should be getting low scores as they were non-existent for most of the game.

I agree and people seem to have forgotten about his defending (and probably saving a goal, or at least a chance) when he forced their player out wide in the first half when Timlin messed up

 

[RHB]

I agree and people seem to have forgotten about his defending (and probably saving a goal, or at least a chance) when he forced their player out wide in the first half when Timlin messed up

That was, without fear of argument, a master class example of defending. Sadly his mistake for their first goal was at the other end of the spectrum.

 

[rigsby]

And it is too painful to go through the dross of non match report negativity to discuss actual game moments or players' performances. If you have a match report Riggers can you pm me with it and then I will message you back with my view point.

Yes I will add you to the growing list, bit busy for a while so speak later.