Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 1-4 AFC Wimbledon

[Steve Giles]

Hi Deserter, welcome to our site. A good assumption of our team, a lot going on behind the scene ( apparently) so who knows. Hope you stay up and beat franchise

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Humphrys has a thigh injury. Hyam has a broken hair band.

 

[RHB]

I've had time to reflect on yesterday's second half now and I've decided that I wish it hadn't happened!! Truthfully there is not much more I can add that hasn't already been said.

As for performances, my top two for effort were Hamilton and Elvis closely followed by Stevie Mclaughlin, why Elvis was subbed will be one of life's mysteries and Waddock didn't shine any light on it in his post match chat with BBC Essex. I actually thought Shaunassy had a reasonable first half and somewhere within there is a decent player, the same is true of Ralph, but currently they do good and bad in equal measure. I want Goodship to do well but he does look out of his depth at the moment and Isaac Hutchinson really has got to learn how to head a ball, especially when challenging for it. Yesterday his approach to it was eyes tight shut.

Are we good enough to avoid relegation? At the start of the season I would have said yes, now I'm not as hopeful. I just hope our incoming manager doesn't have Larssony in mind or decides it would be easier to fly a Kuyt on Hadleigh Downs than manage Southend.

 

[Onion_Bag_Dave]

The opening 15 was an absolute disgrace and they deserved all the abuse they got. Lacking any desire, fight, aggression. Almost everything it takes to win a football match.

We need Larson and Kuyt to inject belief and aggression into these guys who are down on their ****ing knees.

It hurts to watch.

 

[fbm]

Players to come out with ANY credit or semblance of it yesterday - Elvis, Hamilton, Dieng, Macca, Hopper and possibly controversially, Oxley. I know he's not perfect but at least he hasn't given up.

Yesterday we did look decent having got our goal. Quite what happens at half time I don't know but we insist on playing handicap football. Incidentally, not that it's to do with anything else, but I have realised that in the only games we have won this season in any competition, young Charlie Kelman has scored all the goals. There isn't any other player who has put the ball in the net in a game we have won. And he's now out for weeks!

Anyhow, there is so little professional pride on display... we are pinning our hopes on players like Elvis, Hutchinson, Kelman... the bench had 4 youngsters yesterday, the squad is currently paper thin in numbers, confidence and ability. As good as the academy is, these players need to be brought on slowly, not just thrown in the deep end in League 1. They will be destroyed.

I always said Bond was the issue. Maybe I was wrong and it's becoming clear that he wasn't.

What I'm now desperately hoping for is that this announcement RM makes is sooner rather than later and that it involves a massive cash injection so that if the new incumbents can't get this lot to gel and play anything like what they should be capable of, we can pay off the contracts of the players that either don't want to be here or who are a financial liability.

Then get a load in January who do.

The trouble is - and other old supporters will probably agree - that when we get "good" players from higher up the ladder who are decent, in their prime-ish players and not crocks or damaged goods, they only want to be here for the money and also won't roll up their sleeves and fight. The dreadful, dreadful team in the mid 80's was testament to that.

We need players like their horrible no 7 Wagstaff who was vocal, intimidating and dominant. We need players who are playing above their station to impress rather than ones on the way down. We apparently have "leaders" but no-one is doing much leading at the moment. Kiernan is a natural leader but it says volumes to me that when the skipper is away on International duty, White is out with a broken arm and Mantom is also injured that Cox is next in line. The captaincy weighed very heavy on his performance yesterday, he was way too deep, trying to be too involved and in the end didn't do his job. It was not a usual Cox performance. We need grit, determination and effort.

If everyone worked as hard as young Elvis, we'd be looking down the table, not up.

FWIW, my ratings on yesterday

Oxley - 6
Elvis - 9 - MOM
Ralph - 4
Shaughnessy - 5
Kiernan - 3
Lennon - 4
Dieng - 6
McLaughlin - 6
Hamilton - 7
Goodship - 3
Cox - 3

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

Waddock proved that he isn't the man to help us, we should have come out 2nd half fired up and into them but started as we did the first, slow, sideways and hesitant.
Waddock stood leaning on the wall all game, no leadership or tactics. Hoppy needed to be on earlier for the ineffective Goodship.
As others have asked what was Up with Hump?
Did Lennon start the game with a slight hamstring which on a wet pitch was a tad silly.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Isaac Hutchinson really has got to learn how to head a ball, especially when challenging for it. Yesterday his approach to it was eyes tight shut.

Hutchinson just doesn't fancy it in the air. He jumps like Humphrys jumped after his injury, hoping he doesn't actually have to head it.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Waddock proved that he isn't the man to help us, we should have come out 2nd half fired up and into them but started as we did the first, slow, sideways and hesitant.
Waddock stood leaning on the wall all game, no leadership or tactics. Hoppy needed to be on earlier for the ineffective Goodship.
As others have asked what was Up with Hump?
Did Lennon start the game with a slight hamstring which on a wet pitch was a tad silly.

As I said earlier, he has a thigh injury.

 

[Tombstone Blues]

Hutchinson just doesn't fancy it in the air. He jumps like Humphrys jumped after his injury, hoping he doesn't actually have to head it.

Neither does Elvis, Mantom, Hyam, Cox, Goodship.....he’s quite good with his feet though so as long as he’s jumping (yesterday he was marking Wordsworth who is quite a unit) and working at it, it is what it is.

Heading is a skill and depends much more on strength and timing than it does on height and jumping. Jumping with someone who is stronger / heavier than you is tough as you find yourself jumping into them and if you’re not off the floor first you’re stuffed.

I thought he competed well yesterday. Made 2/3 decent tackles, challenged in the air without necessarily winning it but dominated the ball once it was on the grass, which is where it’s meant to be.

 

[rigsby]

Not sure why people have picked on Hutch or in some cases removed him from their ratings. It was Hamilton and Hutch who produced our only 30 minutes of football worth watching this season. You demand some one who can 'play' and then slag them for not being Timlin, who couldn't play. Hutch definitely looked better in the middle and as much as some of you wont like it Tombstone is right.

Dieng did his job behind them, which allowed them to push up and find the likes of Elvis (overrated so far) and Ralph (underrated so far). Who let those 4 down....Captain Cox for a start...had a shocker. In case you never noticed him he is the number 10 who doesn't celebrate when his team mates score (see highlights)....Since his goals at Gills a year ago he has won us 1 point v Portsmouth at home. He no longer holds the ball up, brings his midfield into play. Rarely even tests a keeper, wins a corner or no longer provides an assist. But he has a lot to say (allegedly)......Talk is cheap, judge a man by his actions

Don't like to slag youngster but Goodship has proved Bond was right to play him wide and all you fans were wrong about him playing as a forward. I was sitting in the Blues yesterday and had a good view of some excellent work and football down the flanks.....If only 70 goal Goodship or fans favourite Cox had fancied getting on the end of a cross or two then 3-2 at half time would not have been an unfair score......lets not forget that chance where an obvious link up between the two never happened.....Then again it hasn't all season regardless of who plays up top.

I wont bother commenting on our defence.....Whats the point? At least some of you can now see what I meant about Kiernan and Lennon. The only fact is the 4 goals had nothing to do with the midfield not tracking back or a lack of peter butler about them......Its fair to say that yesterday it was the forwards and the defence that let our midfield down....So sorry, we cant stick to the tried and trusted excuse.....For this week anyway.

 

[rayleigh dan]

Well it was more entertaining than the Accrington game though mainly for the wrong reasons. The first 10-15 mins was abysmal with two comically bad goals conceded. However as Rigsby's just mentioned, the 30 minute spell before half time produced some great attacking play, we really should have scored more than one in this period. Sadly this didn't carry on into the second half, I don't think their keeper had a save to make and the awful defending predictably returned.

I'm going to do some ratings but should mention that I left at 4-1, so they're only for the first 72 minutes.

Oxley 5 - Not at his best though not as bad as some have suggested. Probably should have done better for the first goal, looked nervy from any set piece deliveries, rooted to the line again. Good save to deny Pigott though.

Bwomono 9 - Head and shoulders above everyone else, easy pick for MOM. He terrorised Wimbledon's left back and looked a real threat. Easily the best of the 4 defenders at doing his primary job too. In hindsight I regret leaving early, if I knew he was going to be subbed I'd have stayed to give him a deserved standing ovation.
Shaughnessy 5 - Best of the CB's though that's not saying much! At least he didn't make any of the usual calamitous individual errors.
Lennon 4 - Looks so nervy, injured early on but did little to inspire any confidence.
Kiernan 2 - Had an absolute mare, at least party at fault for all 4 goals. I thought the pen was soft at the time , having see no he replay I've changed my mind.
Ralph 6 - Defensively 4, attacking 8, including a super cross for our goal. Surprised he was subbed as he still looked a threat coming forwards.

Dieng 6 - A hard one to rate as his individual form matched the team. Poor first 10 mins which included two early half arsed efforts to win 50-50's which set the early tone. Improved hugely, and was very good for the rest of the first half, including scoring, the best he's played for about a year, perhaps ever! Second half he couldn't maintain the same level though.
Hamilton 6 - Very good in the first half dominant spell, easily his best performance since his debut, like Dieng faded in the second half.
Hutchinson 6 - I struggled to decide between a 5 and a 6, I've decided to be generous. I thought he played very well at times, I remember one excellent long pass out wide, plus some neat link up play. He is raw and made some mistakes and does overplay at times.
McLaughlin 5 - Fairly anonymous, though did work hard and made a couple of good tackles.
Goodship 4 - Even more anonymous than Macca, messed up one of our better openings with a poor touch. I'd have subbed him for Hopper rather than Ralph.

Cox 4 - Still nowhere near his best, wasted a couple of half chances in the first half where I'd expect him to do better.

Hopper - Good to see him back, though as I left a minute afterwards, I can't rate him.

Until the defensive issues are sorted out it's hard to see us getting many points. A record low definitely seems to be on the cards. Good luck Larsson, you're going to need it.

 

[rigsby]

Well it was more entertaining than the Accrington game though mainly for the wrong reasons. The first 10-15 mins was abysmal with two comically bad goals conceded. However as Rigsby's just mentioned, the 30 minute spell before half time produced some great attacking play, we really should have scored more than one in this period. Sadly this didn't carry on into the second half, I don't think their keeper had a save to make and the awful defending predictably returned.

I'm going to do some ratings but should mention that I left at 4-1, so they're only for the first 72 minutes.

Oxley 5 - Not at his best though not as bad as some have suggested. Probably should have done better for the first goal, looked nervy from any set piece deliveries, rooted to the line again. Good save to deny Pigott though.

Bwomono 9 - Head and shoulders above everyone else, easy pick for MOM. He terrorised Wimbledon's left back and looked a real threat. Easily the best of the 4 defenders at doing his primary job too. In hindsight I regret leaving early, if I knew he was going to be subbed I'd have stayed to give him a deserved standing ovation.
Shaughnessy 5 - Best of the CB's though that's not saying much! At least he didn't make any of the usual calamitous individual errors.
Lennon 4 - Looks so nervy, injured early on but did little to inspire any confidence.
Kiernan 2 - Had an absolute mare, at least party at fault for all 4 goals. I thought the pen was soft at the time , having see no he replay I've changed my mind.
Ralph 6 - Defensively 4, attacking 8, including a super cross for our goal. Surprised he was subbed as he still looked a threat coming forwards.

Dieng 6 - A hard one to rate as his individual form matched the team. Poor first 10 mins which included two early half arsed efforts to win 50-50's which set the early tone. Improved hugely, and was very good for the rest of the first half, including scoring, the best he's played for about a year, perhaps ever! Second half he couldn't maintain the same level though.
Hamilton 6 - Very good in the first half dominant spell, easily his best performance since his debut, like Dieng faded in the second half.
Hutchinson 6 - I struggled to decide between a 5 and a 6, I've decided to be generous. I thought he played very well at times, I remember one excellent long pass out wide, plus some neat link up play. He is raw and made some mistakes and does overplay at times.
McLaughlin 5 - Fairly anonymous, though did work hard and made a couple of good tackles.
Goodship 4 - Even more anonymous than Macca, messed up one of our better openings with a poor touch. I'd have subbed him for Hopper rather than Ralph.

Cox 4 - Still nowhere near his best, wasted a couple of half chances in the first half where I'd expect him to do better.

Hopper - Good to see him back, though as I left a minute afterwards, I can't rate him.

Until the defensive issues are sorted out it's hard to see us getting many points. A record low definitely seems to be on the cards. Good luck Larsson, you're going to need it.

Indeed that is Dieng all over. Never quite gets there when comes to a lose ball or a tackle. Kiernan also never won a header until he had to drop back mark Pigott......That set the tone for a poor start.

 

[Evening Echo]

SOUTHEND United fans have their say on Saturday's 4-1 defeat to AFC Wimbledon.

More...

 

[BARNETBLUE]

Have been supporting 50 years. I am struggling to remember it this bad.

Difficult to know where to start. Positives?

Elvis.
The return of Hopper.
Hamilton had his best game for us.

Err... that's about it.

We cannot keep playing handicap football by giving teams a 2 goal start. I am somehow stupidly somehow encouraged by the fact that the players clearly aren't working hard enough or for each other; it's not an ability thing.

If a new manager can get them to ALL put in a shift, we should be able to get ourselves out of this mess.

But Ron needs to get this sorted and fast. The club is drifting and in limbo. Let's have some certainty. And I do feel he is doing his best. We must remember that if there is one person who does NOT want us to drop it is him and he will be financially hurt the most if we do.

Please, please, please let's have it sorted by the weekend.

The positive for me in the bigger picture was the support.Firstly surprised we had that many and the crowd carried on supporting; clinging on to hope of better times ahead after Bond and Waddock.

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

I was really surprised, when we arrived, how many people were there. I remember a Tuesday game against Wimbledon a season or two back when it was nearly empty. Very surprised so many people didn't find better things to do yesterday

 

[geoffmundo]

As well you know, the second half of the season Powell took over was good, he had a full squad to choose from. The rest is history

Indeed on 1st Jan this year we were riding high in 9th position and then the injuries began to bite...............

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Indeed on 1st Jan this year we were riding high in 9th position and then the injuries began to bite...............

Can't blame injuries apparently

 

[blues exile]

Indeed on 1st Jan this year we were riding high in 9th position and then the injuries began to bite...............

There were no significant further injuries after Jan 1. It was simply a slump in form, notably some dreadful home performances against Plymouth, Luton, Bristol Rovers, Barnsley etc.

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

Indeed on 1st Jan this year we were riding high in 9th position and then the injuries began to bite...............

2019 has been an absolute shocker

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

There were no significant further injuries after Jan 1. It was simply a slump in form, notably some dreadful home performances against Plymouth, Luton, Bristol Rovers, Barnsley etc.

Really? Ask Hump, he may disagree.