Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 2-1 Torquay

[ibwiajwa]

Loved how there was literally nothing said about us on the FL show after the OS bigged up Mark Clemmitt coming to town, was all about Torquay and their unbeaten run. Oh well, we'll keep playing the underdog :clap:

Not true. After the highlights they discussed how well Southend were doing with three wins on the bounce after having to replace the team over the summer. They said that it was a deserved win. Then the co-presenter said that Sturrock would do well for Southend and had done a great job at Plymouth. OK, there was more about Torquay before that but they were being followed by the cameras round their Baz Vegas hotel in the run up to the game because they had the only 100% record in the league at that point. Not unreasonable. If we get on a run like theirs in the league we might get the same.

 

[united we stand]

Paterson 5. Didn't have much time, but for me didn't close space, or put himself about too much when it was needed, and looked more knackered than some who had chased all game.

.

totally agree with this, he just simply did not put the effort in which was very diapoointing. at this point we were simply hoofing the ball forward and we needed him to chase lost casues. he was only on for 15 mins - he should chase stuff tthat may ebe you don't if you play for 90 (even though sturrock chased everything for 90!)verything

 

[The_Beard]

totally agree with this, he just simply did not put the effort in which was very diapoointing. at this point we were simply hoofing the ball forward and we needed him to chase lost casues. he was only on for 15 mins - he should chase stuff tthat may ebe you don't if you play for 90 (even though sturrock chased everything for 90!)verything

The only thing I'd say about his effort is that according to 606 he played a full 90 and scored 2 against Dagenham and Redbridge in a closed doors friendly a few days ago, so maybe he was a little leggy after that? I agree he didn't impress, but as stated earlier, it's hard to make an impact as an attacker in the last 10 minutes of a game where your team are on the back foot.

 

[ibwiajwa]

The only thing I'd say about his effort is that according to 606 he played a full 90 and scored 2 against Dagenham and Redbridge in a closed doors friendly a few days ago, so maybe he was a little leggy after that? I agree he didn't impress, but as stated earlier, it's hard to make an impact as an attacker in the last 10 minutes of a game where your team are on the back foot.

I saw this slightly differently. When he came on, he was running round like a mad thing, chasing down everything whether it was on or not. However, there were a couple of moments about five minutes further in where he needed to follow up a through ball and didn't. The problem, for me, is that he doesn't husband his resources properly and doesn't know what the right runs to make are. He had a couple of nice touches though.

 

[shrimpercats]

I'm getting a lot of flak on here for the 5 marking awarded to Sturrock. It is suggested that either I didn't understand his role or I have some grudge against him because of his parentage! Neither is true. I fully understand his role in the side (especially in yesterday's formation - not so much when he plays alongside Corr). I just don't think that over the whole match he carried it out particularly well. When I think of hold up play and bringing in teammates my mind tends to focus on Ian Benjamin, who was probably the best I have seen in this role in a Southend shirt (and he carried a goal threat, but I'd better not harp on that!). To my mind, Sturrock isn't in the same league. A lot of his hold up play in the first half was decent, some of his lay-offs came off, a lot didn't. In the second half when we were under the cosh, however, he provided no sort of outlet and the ball just kept coming back. Of course, he wasn't the only one to blame as the midfield totally lost its grip and sat far too deep, offering no support to Sturrock. The abundance of 9s given to Grant and Simpson in these circumstances strikes me as quite ridiculous. The problem with such a game of two halves as this is to balance the first half displays against the second. I would probably give Sturrock a 7 for the first 45 and a 4 for the second. On reflection, 5 was probably a bit harsh and I am happy to upgrade it to a 6 -but no further. Football is all about opinions and it wouldn't do if we all saw things the same way, but please be assured that the marks I gave were honest and unbiased. I confidently predict that Sturrock will continue to divide opinion for the remainder of the season.

 

[TTS]

Morris - 6
Clohessy - 7
Gilbert - 7
Mohsni - 7
Barker - 8
Soares - 6
Easton - 7
Simpson - 9
Grant - 9
Hall - 8
Sturrock - 8

Paterson - 6
Coughlan - 7.5

Sturrock SNR - 8 Great tactical change to put Coughlan on.

Other positives, Simpson, so comfortable on the ball
Hall - nice to see a winger try and get behind the full backs and to the touchline
Barker - looks much better at CB
TBV - great again, constantly pushing the boys forward

UTB's

 

[class]

Morris - 7
Clohessy - 8
Gilbert - 9
Mohsni - 7
Barker - 8
Soares - 6
Easton - 7
Simpson - 8
Grant - 8
Hall - 9
Sturrock - 8

Paterson - 5
Coughlan - 7

Scriven - 10


I've awarded higher marks to Gilbert and Hall, as they dominated the left side in the first half.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Fantastic first 45 where we showed the rest of the league how much of a force we're going to be. Who were those talking about us being potential relegation candidates? Not on that form, no chance!

Morris - 7, thought it harsh that he came back in after Evans kept a clean sheet and the penalty saves against Gills in the JPT. Worried me a bit at times but his handling was good and what a pleasure his kicking is after Mildenhall's frequent fluffs
Clohessy - 7.5, good game for Sean, though that temper was ticking away again, and it's something he'll have to watch. Linked well with midfield and gave options going forward
Barker - 8.5, if Easton wasn't skipper then he'd be the perfect replacement. Bossed and organised the line, kept an eye on Moshni including checking he was ok when going down after a bad challenge. Berated the west line lino too for his ineptitude, which was fine by me!
Moshni - 7, he's big and brave, soldiered on despite several bad knocks, there was obviously a problem at the end though judging by how he left the pitch. Definitely a slightly less refined Efe Sodje!
Gilbert (Remembered him this time Pubey :p ) - 7, he's solid and reliable but one of those you don't notice too much. Torquay moved Zebrowski wide as he was getting no joy down the middle and Gilbert found him a handful but managed - just about - to contain him
Hall - 8, lovely stuff from young Ryan, linked well, looked a real threat down the wing and got some decent crosses in. Not afraid to draw a challenge and looked very confident
Simpson - 9, my MOTM, quite imperious. How Peterborough can't use him I don't know, but I'd gladly take him on here. Been an absolute revelation in what is an exciting midfield trio, superb goal
Easton - 8, guy gets overlooked because of Simpson and Grant but he's absolutely on a level with them. Just because he doesn't do the more flamboyant box to box stuff doesn't mean he's not an attacking option, he still offers himself and still manages to get his defensive duties done too
Grant - 8, fantastic goal, very confidently taken. Some good play as we're coming to expect from Grant but he did fade and at the worst time for us as Torquay exerted more and more pressure, Easton and Simpson seemed to have more stamina
Soares - 7, didn't notice him over much, more seemed to be going down the right but I know his link up play was good and I like his confidence around the box. How refreshing it is to see so many of our players no longer afraid to have a shot from distance
Sturrock - 8.5, very impressive again. If they'd been in the street he'd have been the victim of an assault on more than one occasion, Branston was a thug and the ref was a mug who rarely reacted to it. Some really, really intelligent touches and played the game plan so well

Subs: Paterson for Hall - 6, wrong one for me, I'd have brought Spencer on who would have terrorised the worn out Torquay defence. Pato always looks leggy so I won't accept that as a criticism and he did make some effort. Seemed to time a run to beat the offside to perfection which would have been a very good goal chance but the lino reckoned it was off (he wasn't in line so I doubt it was offside, didn't look it from our side)
Coughlan for Soares - 7, the right sub at the right time. Came on and organised the defence, shored us up at a time when we needed it. Excellent tactics from Sturrock snr.

Officials: 3, The lino on our side (west) is one of my hate characters. Soon as I saw him I knew we'd get nothing out of him. Ref was ok but weak, there were actual body slams and near clotheslines going on in the Torquay defence on our players!

TBV - 9, good stuff, some newer ones today which I didn't know. Still waiting to hear a proper chant for Anthony Grant, I think he's earned it!!!

 

[canveyshrimper]

Thoroughly enjoyed yesterday and the first time in ages I came away with a feeling of optimism rather than the usual despondency. The first time I've seen Moshni, Hall & Gilbert.

Moshni put me in mind of Efe Sodje in many ways, some kamikaze tackling, occasionally going walkabout, and was responsible for their goal. Having said that he's raw and inexperienced and he's on a steep learning curve, and I think he'll develop into a bloody good player who'll be attracting scouts from bigger clubs sooner or later.

I like the look of Hall, confident & tricky, naturally left footed, in the main his crosses were good as were his set pieces, with Barker or Gilbert at left back there's a good balance in the side rather than the square pegs in round holes we've had in recent years.

Gilbert, I guess he does what it says on the tin, looks solid and dependable in defence, and gets forward well when allowed.

Just a word about Blair Sturrock, much maligned on here, and seemingly the latest player to be the target of the boo boys. And while I wasn't enthusiastic about his signing his effort and commitment is a credit to him. I take the point that strikers should score goals, but there are other aspects that can be bought to the game.

All in all a good performance yesterday against a side that looks like they may challenge, and I agree with ORM top ten at Christmas, then who knows?

 

[shrimperian]

Morris - 8 - Good game, never looked shaky, bit unfortunate for the goal
Clohessy -7 just gets better and better. wins every header and looks dangerous going forward
Gilbert - 8 solid as a rock
Mohsni - 7.5 solid and committed as ever, although he needs to learn when he can get the ball and when he has no chance
Barker - 8 - stupendously good at the back. reads the game so well and covers well for mohsni
Hall - 7 started very brightly but if he hada finish he would be devastating. tired very quickly
Soares - 7 - looked more solid and looks to have more pace than previous matches but frustrating at times
Easton -8 mr dependable, although needed to marshall the back four up the pitch a bit more in the final phase
Grant - 8 - just granty!
Simpson - 9 - best game he has had for us, never stopped wanting the ball
Sturrock - 9 - MOTM by a mile! Just played the role so well. His touch, vision and distribution was sublime...now if only he could score!
Paterson - 6 - came on late but needs to hold the ball more
Coughlan - 7 came on very late and added experience at the back though made it a bit too many cooks when the ball was bouncing around in our box
Ref - 8 - did well but looked to let the game go too often. Also not helped by inept lino!
Blue Voice - 7 committed as ever but at the opposite end of the west they sound like a distant crowd. Certainly kept singing and got everyone at it in the end!

 

[BrettieAngell]

Morris - 7
Clohessy - 7
Gilbert - 7
Moshni - 6.5
Barker - 8
Hall - 8
Soares - 6
Easton - 7
Grant - 9 MOM
Simpson - 8.5
Sturrock - 8

Paterson - 6
Coughlan - 7

 

[southendkid]

Morris 7 - Confident for first 70 minutes like most of the team but Torquay hit the post numerous times and he started to look shaky, great save at the end to keep the points though
Clohessy 7 - Looked better than I've seen of him so far and looked good going forward, but like all the defence feel apart in the last 20
Gilbert 7 - Looked good at the back
Moshni 7 - Worried me for the first 5 minutes where he seemed to be prone to losing the ball, fortunately started playing well and winning everything
Barker 8 - Glad hes signed, our best defender by far
Hall 7 - Occasionally looks dangerous but needs to improve his crosses
Easton 8 - Glad we have someone who can command the back 4
Grant 8 - Great goal, unlucky to not get 2, needs to concentrate sometimes
Simpson 9 - Best I've seen of him, constantly a threat
Soares 6 - Was he a striker today? If so why did he run back so much
Sturrock 8 - Held the ball well, complainers need to learn just because your up front doesn't make you a target man

Paterson 6 - Unlucky to be flaged offside or he would have been 1v1
Coughlan 7 - Refocused the defense

 

[The Blue Stig]

Morris - 7 Not much to do a few crosses to deal with a great save at the end
Clohessy - 8 Great on the ball an great overlapping runs an he can defend too
Gilbert - 7 Linked well down the wing an good commitment at all times
Moshni - 7 Either very good or clumsy an awkward at times but still a raw talent
Barker - 8 Great reader of the game an always in the right place
Hall - 8 Great little player in the making very raw talent at the minute
Soares - 6 Never really involved in the game for me
Easton - 7 So calm an assured sensible at all times an leads by example
Grant - 7 Great goal but gave ball away needlessly at times
Simpson - 9 Man of the match display brilliant both on an off the ball
Sturrock - 7 Did well holding the ball up but thought he should of one more in the air

I thought Sturrock set the team out well today i liked the transition in formations it enabled us to remain solid at all times good substitutions as well

 

[The General]

The game reminded me a fair bit of the Hudders game at the start of last season! The difference is this season we hung on and got the 3 points ...

 

[Smiffy]

Morris - 7
Clohessy - 7
Gilbert - 7
Moshni - 7
Barker - 8
Hall - 7
Soares - 6
Easton - 7
Grant - 8.5
Simpson - 9
Sturrock - 7

Paterson - 6
Coughlan - 7

Blue Voice - 9

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

One good thing I like about this side is that we seem to have a lot of leaders on the pitch - Easton, Grant, Sturrock, Barker, Coughlan when needed too. Some are organisers and motivators, others lead by example with their effort. That bodes well for me. You cant really see us struggling this season - the question is how well can we do?

 

[sufcintheprem]

Thought I'd head back after such an uplifting half and general level of performance. Rather than ratings, I'd probably just go with bullet points.

• game of two halves and pressing play - I've read it a few times in books and articles before and having looked out for it for a while I'm now convinced that there is a link between the two. I'm fairly sure that Sturrock is aware as well in spite of his post match comments. Our workrate without the ball in the first half was much higher than Torquay's. It worked well - we did it excellently in fact - but these are not Premiership players or even a particularly fit set of midfielders by the looks of it so a comeback was inevitable. However...
• Target man and three up top - This is something that should be disappointing. Interesting people suggesting on another thread how Sturrock is more likely to intervene while Tilson sat and waited. I don't like managers to completely adapt to the opposition changes but they had changed their entire attacking style and freed Zebroski from CB shackles. At the very least, Grant should have sat a bit deeper with the wingers tracking any attacking players coming from deeper. Hill and Soares had both put in pretty good shifts and I think he really should have brought on someone a bit more disciplined to offer more protection on Zebroski's side
• Zebroski, Benyon, Gritton and Kee - Interesting mix of players and style makes it look like Torquay will never be struggling too much for goals this season. Benyon has been the main threat this year but we were close to him so quickly he barely had a chance to make an impact. Forcing Zebroski to play as a target man was a strange choice and really limited his impact but when he played more on the wing getting the ball to feet he looked a real issue. Gritton was quite smart in targetting Barker and had they had another ten minutes we would have lost that match, I feel. Kee looked very useful when he came on.
• Sturrock, Blair - Quite clearly going to be a target of derision this season. Worth our fans realising now that his goal record has always been bad and it will be bad again this season. I thought he did very well yesterday at what he had been asked to do and fully appreciate his role in the team. I just don't think he's aerially strong enough or weighty enough to be our first choice option for it. Needs to make more headers to be able to pretend to challenge so much. It's no real slight on him, it just won't work that many times in that role.
• Our goals - Arguably the most impressive two finishes I've seen from us in one game since Eastwood. Grant's one almost sent me in to shock with how well measured it was.
• Simpson - Superb goal and great attackign play when we were on top but really disappeared for most of the second half. Possibly 4-4-2 is not a formation which will work for him. In answer to why Peterborough let him come out on loan - he must want to be playing first team but even Charlie Lee isn't starting there. Hopefully the loan will work out well but Grant may need to be more positionally disciplined
• Having 3 men past the ball in the last 5 mins - This felt like asking Torquay to come at us again. Can't believe we would have more than two players upfield when Torquay had possession
• when Scriv, namedropped in the Independent article, clearly had this bit of the pitch covered.

Overall, really enjoyed the contest and think that's a fine win against a team who will probably win more than they don't away this season.

 

[Maroon Blue]

Similar to Bradford in that we tired in last 30 mins, except Torquay put us under real pressure with their long ball tactics. Mohsni & Gilbert were out on their feet at the end. Glad we now have a full week to recover, some players have only played the last 2 weeks and had 5 games. i.e the two mentioned above. The first 60 mins we were superb and at half time I was thinking we would win by 3 or 4, Torquay looked stunned. The quality of our goals aswell made us look too good for this division.

Morris 7.5, a couple of excellent saves, thought might get bullied out of it at the end by their big lump Gritton, but stood firm.
Clohessy 7, solid, good forays forward aswell, decent cross, do not miss Francis as much as thought.
Mohsni 7.5, on first 60 mins 9, but malfunctioned towards end and needed Couhlan to assist, tired badly but will be a star.
Barker 8, captain material, always plays it sensible, steady as a rock,
Gilbert 7, similar display to Clohessy, without so much forward threat. but another solid performance.
Simpson 8.5, sign him up please, a midfield full of goals, box to box, can play anywhere.
Easton 7.5, great holding work, allowing Simpson & Grant freedom to roam and run the game
Grant 8.5, what a transformation now does not have to sit and cover MacCormack, our ability to retain his services will determine our season. Player of the season already and now a goal threat, far to good for this division. Sublime touches and skill, vision for his goal stood out against Torquays hoofball.
Soares 6, only dissapointment, you always want him to do well, but flatters to deceive, got in good positions but rarely threatened.
Sturrock 8.5, run his socks off, did so much work, can forgive lack of goal threat for his teamwork and others scoring.
Hall 7.5, another good display, run at people, lively, please Louie Soares can you emulate.

Patterson 6.5, full of running at first, seemed to lose heart a bit because could not get hold of ball during Torquays ariel bombardment.
Coughlan 7, did what asked when came on, shored up the defence to see the win out.

Can't wit til next week now against a winless Northampton and then a bottom two Morecambe, play off place awaits after these two games. Believe we are getting better and better each week and on the first 60 mins will be a handful for everyone in this league.

 

[BrettieAngell]

Moshni was carrying an injury for the last 10 minutes or so of the game.

 

[sufcintheprem]

Any Barrett lovers that still believe he is as good as any of the four defenders we had on show today. Barker showed how to lead and command a back line even when the chips are down. Last person I saw doing that was Spinner and then Paul Clark before that.

I must have mentioned Barrett 5 times at the game today and mainly in a negative light. What Gritton dd for half an hour was what much smaller strikers used to do all match. Even if it was for financial reasons and even if it was at risk of rebuilding the team, I was really glad Barrett and McCormack left and now it looks slightly vindicated. It's not so much that they were bad players, just that when we bothered to pay them, they were badly overpaid for what they were and it was time for a fresh start.