Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 2 v 0 Portsmouth

[Jam_Man]

Haha James, you post two paragraphs of grips then say we were superb ?! :smile:

I do get the points you made though.

You not in Orlando at moment?

 

[united we stand]

Just to play Devils Advocate, as he isnt here to defend himself there may still well be agreements in place where we benefit from him playing and games like today we have to contribute to wages.

Today doesnt actually prove there isnt.

What it does however show is that even if those agreements are there, it means nothing, we arent forced to do anything and can use him how we see fit. Id also say that by the celebrations with him when he scored morale isnt being affected by him either, the team were very pleased to see him score.

Having to start and financial implications if he does not are different things. She bas always quoted the former

 

[amsemp]

So pleased for Shaq! Said all along that once the first one goes in, he'll be unstoppable. Looking forward to seeing more from him now!

Great result and shows we've got a good squad with good strength in depth.

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Bentley 8 - Did everything right toady, made a couple of good block saves, handling under pressure was faultless and quick throws give us an attacking option

White 6 - Looks the weak link at the moment at the back, maybe he is exposed too much
Thompson 8 - Had his best game in a blue shirt today. Won everything and can#t see Bolger getting back in on that form.
Prosser 8 - Solid as usual
Williams 8 - Great league debut, strong as an Ox. Great cross near the end and powerful header in the firat half, very unlucky not to score
Deegan 9 - MOM Took a few mins to get into it, I think Brown switched formation slightly to fill the gap in CM that Portsmouth were exploiting first 15 mins. Put his body on the line, broke up play, made some great passes and interceptions, made such a difference to the team today
Leonard 7- Seems to be a bit off form at the moment, a few sloppy passes
Payne 8 - Usual energetic self, picks a pass so well and makes space
Hurst 7 - Better than of late, maybe getting some confidence back
Weston 8.5 - Ran his socks off for the team, found space so well and always an outlet. First half, received the ball from a quick Bentley throw, held his man off, turned and left his marker for dead. Great run and cross
Corr 7 - Was anonymous until popping up with the first goal then came to life

Subs:

Worrall 7 - Lively, great pass to Shaw for the second goal
Coulthirst 7 - Came on and was lightning. Composed and took his goal so well. Hopefully he can push on now and really show what he can do
Atkinson 7 - Shored up a defensive set up and still made a couple of good runs


Brown did his homework today and that helped the win.

Positives - Deegan. Must be a regular going forward. Looked slimmer and fitter than the pre-season friendlies. Coulthirst getting his goal. Thompson really showing why he gets picked for international football. Brown realising early on the formation wasn't right and changing it

 

[Jam_Man]

Having to start and financial implications if he does not are different things. She bas always quoted the former

We were never going to be forced to play him, I got tired of it so stayed away for most of it, last I read was the stuff about him being on so much money we had to play him. Even that is clearly not the case.

Hopefully we can put all of that behind us now, he only came on in the 87th minute AND scored, surely we can give him a break now.

 

[Silencer]

I will send my match report / ratings later , but for now I will just say Deegan , Deegan , Deegan.
That is all.

Same, we have been crying out for that nasty player amongst our ranks. He reads the game well, spoils attacks and aside from failed Hollywood balls (seems common amongst our midfielders) he keeps the ball well. The game was fairly flat but his aggression sparked the crowd which lifted the team. If and when he gets a few games under his belt and gets sharper he could prove an important player. His positional discipline would allow the attack minded players to do so in the knowledge that his insurance is behind them.

B-Williams at full back is a unit and very impressive on his debut.

Also so chuffed to see Corr and Shaq get off the Mark, could be the start and confidence they need. Thompson also had one of his better games for us.

Much needed three points and clean sheet, I'm back in love with football.

UTB

 

[South Bank Hank]

Id also say that by the celebrations with him [Shaq] when he scored morale isnt being affected by him either, the team were very pleased to see him score.

I certainly picked that up. Far from a team whose spirit was negatively affected, everyone seemed to have nothing but delight for Shaq today. Almost to a man, they stepped up to show their support. Question asked. Question answered as far as I'm concerned.

And what a well taken goal. Hopefully, he can push on from here. If he'd showed that sort of finishing before, we wouldn't have gone into this game under so much pressure.

Other notable mention for Atkinson who made a great impact when he came on.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

This game and the performances from all of the outfield players will give PB a great problem for Tuesday. There were no duff performances today with the exception of a few odd decisions such as handball blindness from the ref and some sexism from the mom selectors.
Dan, good catching & some standard saves, solid 7
Whitey, ok, little worry except for getting a little isolated and having 2 on 1 situations against him that left him exposed at times until the team sorted themselves out, 7
Thommo, got better, headed well and looked to play short to middies as an outlet, 7+
Luke, usual Luke show, good in emergency but weak when not stressed, poor lofted balls forward too often gave possession away but he knows that and IS trying to not do it! 7
New guy Williams, smashing debut, got better and better, 8
Lenny, quiet for him but goal saving challenge towards end of game, better than previous games, 7
Deggan, very impressed, proper lower league middie aka Butler, Martin, no fuss, my mom 8+
Hurst, better in 2nd half, not got his mojo back, quite, but better, 6+
Westy, fast, good runs, linked well later on with new LB, 7
Corr, took some knocks, tracked back, usual good stuff and GOAL, 7
Jack, top lad, loves a run with the ball, almost scored with his head! 8

Subs, Wozza,7,
Shakka, fast, confident,huge relief for his goal, 8
Willo, better, much better, 8

 

[Medway Blue]

Haha James, you post two paragraphs of grips then say we were superb ?! :smile:

I do get the points you made though.

You not in Orlando at moment?

Yeah mate, as I said across the two paragraphs, got no problem with the team or the way their performances today. My gripes are with Brown and the fact that despite today, I don't think he'll get the best out of a very good squad across the whole season because of the tactics and the fact he doesn't seem to know what his best team is! Thought I'd get those gripes outta the way first, takes little away from the performance mind, I just think we could be a lot more clinical if we were set up better.

Moved back to the UK in mid-August after the 13-month contract at Disney ended, just haven't gotten around to having my name changed back yet!

 

[Jam_Man]

I certainly picked that up. Far from a team whose spirit was negatively affected, everyone seemed to have nothing but delight for Shaq today. Almost to a man, they stepped up to show their support. Question asked. Question answered as far as I'm concerned.

And what a well taken goal. Hopefully, he can push on from here. If he'd showed that sort of finishing before, we wouldn't have gone into this game under so much pressure.

Other notable mention for Atkinson who made a great impact when he came on.

Obviously he came on against tired legs but instantly caused them problems.

Thought he had taken too long and could have squared it but he was single minded enough, and despite not scoring yet, confident enough to put it in the corner.

Could have had a second too.

Hopefully he can build on that.

 

[jaffa1]

Very good result with forwards scoring who 'can't score', and no Bolger or Mads in defence. Hmmm,.......not sure what that tells me.

That you really rate Thompson ?!?

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

I thought Williams grew into the game superbly. He was difficult to get past being built so solid. I like his forward runs a lot. After all that effort, he was still trying to bomb forward even at the end, so superb stamina as well. Deegan had a great game. Reel steel. McCormack with thicker legs. The celebration shown by Coulthirst right in front of me was one of pure relief, after he got that out of the way, he then celebrated properly. Probably get some flack for this, my only downside was Corrs performance. Yes I know he scored a tap in header, and I celebrated as much as anyone, but he only seems to win about 1 in 5 headers nowadays, it used to be about 3 out of 5. The guy next to me pointed it out after about ten minutes, he said watch how many headers Corr wins the rest of the game, and I did, and he was right. A lot of the time he was fouling, and a lot he miss judged the flight of the ball completely. He was nearly always out jumped. Something not quite right there. That was his strength 2 seasons ago.
Back to the positives, as there were far more positives. 2 strikers scoring. Bentley getting slowly better and better. The players threw their bodies in the line of shots. 3 massive points and we are now back in the hunt.

 

[fbm]

Deegan MOM? Eh?

I like him and he always wants the ball, but some of his distribution is extremely poor. There were 3 or 4 really wayward passes and poor selections today.

Probably an 8/10. A good performance in a good team performance.

My MOM was Thompson with Prosser close behind. They never missed a thing. White was pretty good too.

 

[Crabby Shrimper]

Deegan MOM? Eh?

I like him and he always wants the ball, but some of his distribution is extremely poor. There were 3 or 4 really wayward passes and poor selection today

Probably an 8/10.

My MOM was Thompson with Prosser close behind. They never missed a thing. White was pretty good too.

Wasn't at the game, so can't comment on performances, but was chatting to my Northampton supporting boss, and he reckons Deegan is pretty good until he gets a contract, and then goes downhill a bit.

Of course, he could just be talking a load of cobblers!

 

[chapperzUK]

I thought Williams grew into the game superbly. He was difficult to get past being built so solid. I like his forward runs a lot. After all that effort, he was still trying to bomb forward even at the end, so superb stamina as well. Deegan had a great game. Reel steel. McCormack with thicker legs. The celebration shown by Coulthirst right in front of me was one of pure relief, after he got that out of the way, he then celebrated properly. Probably get some flack for this, my only downside was Corrs performance. Yes I know he scored a tap in header, and I celebrated as much as anyone, but he only seems to win about 1 in 5 headers nowadays, it used to be about 3 out of 5. The guy next to me pointed it out after about ten minutes, he said watch how many headers Corr wins the rest of the game, and I did, and he was right. A lot of the time he was fouling, and a lot he miss judged the flight of the ball completely. He was nearly always out jumped. Something not quite right there. That was his strength 2 seasons ago.
Back to the positives, as there were far more positives. 2 strikers scoring. Bentley getting slowly better and better. The players threw their bodies in the line of shots. 3 massive points and we are now back in the hunt.

Agree about Corr. In the 2nd half when he was running back to close down someone near the west stand it looked like he was grimacing and it quite a bit of pain. Without trying to sound like I'm writing him off, but I think 2 seasons of constant football since that horrible year out might be catching up with him - really hope I'm wrong though!

Defence was solid apart from one bit of confusing between Prosser and Bentley. Thompson and Prosser were dominant in the air and tidy on the floor. Williams looked like an exciting player as he grew as the game went on, looked nervous at first but gained confidence and was still running putting some good balls into the box.

Deegan is the nasty midfielder we need, not great at passing and looks like he could miss a few games from suspension but looks like someone who will do the dirty work and allow the other midfielders to get forward. On that note, Leonard looked nothing like the same player as last season in the first half. Second half he improve and made one of those runs near the end of the game. Hopefully Deegan playing will give him the freedom to do that more. I thought Payne was playing too deep to offer Corr any support or influence the game much, but when he got the ball in their 3rd and ran at them, he caused them problems.

Glad that Corr and Coulthirst got their goals, hopefully a springboard for them to bang them in on a regular basis.

 

[chapperzUK]

Wasn't at the game, so can't comment on performances, but was chatting to my Northampton supporting boss, and he reckons Deegan is pretty good until he gets a contract, and then goes downhill a bit.

Of course, he could just be talking a load of cobblers!

Good one! :winking:

 

[bluethroughandthrough]

Flew in from my current home in Singapore for work and a blues game. Avid reader of all the blues news on here in order to keep in touch. I was therefore facing my first game of the season with trepidation after the great start/lost our way season.

Had a lovely lunch by the sea before leaving for the game. England and even southend are different places when the sun is out. Nothing like a bit of Indian summer sunshine. So with that in mind I was expecting a good afternoon with good football to match the weather!

I thought we started very slowly and then played a cagey first half being careful not to give a goal away. Second half the shackles came of slightly - you could tell with Williams playing no risk football in the first half and then getting forward much more with some surging runs in the second. The goal came at the right time with some good pressure and good corner. Of course it had to be corr. Had a couple of dodgy moments thereafter where the concentration dropped and corr tired. Great run and ball from worrall seems to be a smart player with a good engine. My pleasant surprise was the run and goal by Shaq, his subsequent run and shot which went narrowly and then the penalty that want given - he could have had a hat trick! What's everyone complaining about!? As others have mentioned this could be the key to the flood gates. All in all a highly enjoyable day back in southend with a lovely wander back home in the late afternoon sunshine! Good to be back and could well be my only game of the season. Up the blues. Seeing as I don't get to post a match report I'll indulge in some ratings too!

Bentley - 7 - I honestly don't remember him making some match winning saves (although surely a lower number is conversely a better score for a goalie?) He did his day job well and then received man of the match (I don't think I've ever agreed with the award choice in 27 years of attending roots hall (27 years... Crickey that seems a long time when I put in numbers). Great player though with great confidence which is always important for a goalie.
White - 7 - also didn't see him all that much but he did his job well. Didn't think much of the player he marked either mind (wasn't he someone we were interested in?)
Thompson - 8- really impressed with him. Commanding, lots of clever defensive touches, linked well with prosser, played plenty of passes on the floor. Actually reminded me of one of our other great defenders who grew in stature spencer prior both in terms of style but also in features.
Prosser - 8 - I remember when he made his debut. Another commanding game and the same comments apply from above. He does love his hoof however perhaps that his orders? No nonsense and it's what you need in this league.
Williams - 7 - for someone that's 19 and makes his debut a couple of days after signing I was very impressed. Strong quick and good awareness. He did the basic things well without being elaborate in the first half. He either was more confident in the second half or was given license to get forward. Not bad for a loan debut.
Hurst - 7- enjoyed watching his industry and he remains our best crosser of the ball by far. One move in the second half he dropped his shoulder then took his man on the outside and swung a beautiful ball into the box where corr should really have been attacking the ball. Not the fastest but he really worked hard as did the whole team admittedly.
Leonard -6 - didn't impress me as much as I've seen him in the past but still a good player and got stuck in and tried to drive the team forward - the Leonard I last saw came alive in the last 5-10 mins when he drove the shot across the goal.
Deegan - 8 - peter butler anyone? Got stuck in, wanted to win and protected the back 4 job done. Appreciate the concerns re red cards however so important in the team. Very impressed and the roar he gave at the end after winning was evident of his desire.
Weston - 7 - quick and keen with some skill. That will do in this league.
Payne - 8 - home grown always makes a difference but I really like this player. Yes he made a couple of mistakes and he got knocked off the ball a couple of times but so do other players - we only point it out because of his stature. Worked so hard and put some of the Portsmouth lumps to shame. Drove forward showed good movement and some good skill. Fits in well with our team structure playing off the main forward.
Corr - 8 - worked hard as well, some really clever lay offs, ran the line and got the goal. Tired towards the end and I thought he might be replaced. Talisman that is all.

Subs
Worral - great run looks a good player
Shaq - really impressed and I'll join the chorus on how that goal should and will impact his confidence. You saw it a few minutes later when he cut inside and narrowly missed with a smashing hit. Perhaps it's his hair that makes him exciting to watch when he is running in full flight!

Referee played well.

Final not thought the team formation worked today. Nullified Portsmouth attacks, made the defense look solid and then broke with skill and pace. I've seen better at roots hall but thoroughly enjoyable. Good luck for the rest of the season - I'll be following in spirit... And on shrimper zone!

 

[RHB]

That you really rate Thompson ?!?

I've never been really convinced about the guy, but after today I will keen an open mind.

 

[Fairport]

Three points against a poor Pompey team. Williams looks a decent prospect and Payne is looking very good and could be one of the best midfielders this club has produced. Good to see Coulthirst score, he has a good career goalscoring record and that should help his confidence. Deegan worked hard and seems a similar player to Timlin. Hurst was very average today and has gone backwards since gaining a new contract. Thompson played better in the second half but I am surprised people on here seem to rate him and Prosser as a useful central pairing. They are way short of the quality of Egan, Socolic and Kiernan. We really need at least one new central defender and also hope that Bolger comes good.

 

[jaffa1]

I've never been really convinced about the guy, but after today I will keen an open mind.

Well said, I too will confess that he has swayed me this season....