Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United vs Walsall

[Shrimper2thecore]

Assombalonga's right big toe?

Left little toe maybe.

 

[Ricky Otto]

I saw us on Saturday but not last night and fear that we are the same as last season. We had 19 shots at goal and only scored the screamer from Leonard. Barnard may look leaner and bright but he cannot find the net. Weston and Coulthirst have added pace but we are always more concerned with defence rather than getting goals.
i know Walsall are a higher level but if we are to go up we should be beating the likes at Roots Hall.
We played a poor game of football at Accrington and must surely improve but we lack any threat of a goal. It is not just the strikers to blame, the midfield is not creative enough, but I guess that is why they are playing for us.
Brown is again talking us up but the truth is, we are short up front.
I hope I am wrong but feel that the next few games will prove the opposite.
Negative, yes but an honest opinion.

I could be proven wrong by stats here but from what I saw last season creating chances was the biggest problem. If we had 19 shots I’d assume we were creating a bit? (sorry I wasn’t there last night). I think you might be jumping the gun a bit, especially with the new guys like Coulthirst, remember how long it took Tomlin to start scoring? I think the injection of pace is just what we need to create more and I’m sure our goals scored column will be healthier than last season.

 

[Jam_Man]

No it didn't. We drew our next 2 matches, and lost the 3 after that. In fact our league (i.e excluding the loss to spurs in the next round) record to the end of the year was:

P 10
W 1
D 5
L 4

I wouldn't say it did anything of the sort. Other than the one win, we didn't win again until new years day. Moreover, we got relegated that season.

The 10 before we

P10
W 0
D 2
L 8

So we went from 2 points gained to 8. Thats a 400% improvement :smile:

 

[Angell Delight]

Smith was awful - the first goal was his fault as he called for it then had a go at Thompson for not clearing it, got lucky with the offside and I'm not sure if he should have saved the second goal. Coulthirst was equally bad - he squandered countless obvious opportunities.

Thanks to th ticket fiasco I was stuck in South Lower so didn't get a good view of the incident just before half time - will be interesting to see whether a) it should have been a penalty b) it should have been a red card. I also felt their number 7 got extremely lucky after getting bbored for a cynical foul on Payne he then put in a tackle on Worrall which the referee deemed fair but I would have predicted would be punished with a second caution.

As a whole I thought we deserved to win as we matched them in the first half and dominated the, in the second - their goal was the only Walsall attack I can recall.

Would have to disagree, he deserved a goal last night and that will come. Looked bright and lively, he'll cause the opposition a lot of problems this season.

Also (and whisper it quietly or mrsblue will hear!) Barney looks sharper and fitter than last season and had a very good game last night.

On certain others Payne had a really good game, probably has the best vision in the squad and threaded a couple of fabulous balls through the middle to get us in one-on-one. We haven't had a player like that for years. Also special mentions to Clifford who did well when he came on and Ibenfeldt who had a cracking second half. Thompson and Prosser were poor IMHO and I don't think Bentley has too much to worry about.

Good performance though and again playing some decent football....and I think this is our year. :thumbsup:

 

[Jam_Man]

Would have to disagree, he deserved a goal last night and that will come. Looked bright and lively, he'll cause the opposition a lot of problems this season.

Also (and whisper it quietly or mrsblue will hear!) Barney looks sharper and fitter than last season and had a very good game last night.

On certain others Payne had a really good game, probably has the best vision in the squad and threaded a couple of fabulous balls through the middle to get us in one-on-one. We haven't had a player like that for years. Also special mentions to Clifford who did well when he came on and Ibenfeldt who had a cracking second half. Thompson and Prosser were poor IMHO and I don't think Bentley has too much to worry about.

Good performance though and again playing some decent football....and I think this is our year. :thumbsup:

Definitely had a lack of creativity in central midfield.

Problem with Payne is that he doesn't offer anything defensively and trying to shoe horn him into a formation. I'm not sure how we fit him in but would certainly like to see more of him.

 

[Jim Levenstein]

After seeing the highlights Paul Smith should definitely of saved the second goal maybe he couldn't see it that well but surely he is disappointed [video=youtube;goboQfh8XWk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goboQfh8XWk[/video]

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Post match thoughts and ratings Sufc v Walsall

A good game of football played at good tempo against a side who kept the ball well with both sides looking to go out wide and counter.

Each to their own, but I thought it was a boring game lacking real quality.

Payne offers little threat as he has no power in his backpassesshot and lacks the quality to pick a pass.

Coulthirst is too raw. Shocking miss first half but I'm more concerned about his lack of experience which kept letting him down.

Clifford was much improved on last season, played one lovely through ball to a much sharper Barney but still made too many bad decisions and failed to pick the man up for the winner, although we should have been tighter down the right before that.

I liked the look of Worrall but our star man was Weston who at least made things happen when he came on. I still think we lack flair, creativity and incisiveness.

 

[Blues 'n twos]

After seeing the highlights Paul Smith should definitely of saved the second goal maybe he couldn't see it that well but surely he is disappointed [video=youtube;goboQfh8XWk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goboQfh8XWk[/video]

Every keeper is disappointed with conceding, but I bet he is more upset that no matter what happens he will never win over the boo boys at our club.
Thompson blocked his view and made a poor effort at trying to head it, or maybe it was travelling too fast, but either way he blocked Smiths sight.
He may not be our favourite, and his mum may not be a MILF, but he is one of us and deserves our support.

 

[Angell Delight]

Definitely had a lack of creativity in central midfield.

Problem with Payne is that he doesn't offer anything defensively and trying to shoe horn him into a formation. I'm not sure how we fit him in but would certainly like to see more of him.

Can't argue with any of that. At such a young age though Payne does look very promising and I believe could potentially grow into an important first-team player a la Leonard and Bentley if he continues to progress.

 

[shrimperjon]

Every keeper is disappointed with conceding, but I bet he is more upset that no matter what happens he will never win over the boo boys at our club.
Thompson blocked his view and made a poor effort at trying to head it, or maybe it was travelling too fast, but either way he blocked Smiths sight.
He may not be our favourite, and his mum may not be a MILF, but he is one of us and deserves our support.

Absolutely right. Its funny how Smith conceding a cracking goal is to blame for the defeat yet those that missed all the chances 19 efforts only 6 on target appear blameless.

 

[united we stand]

Absolutely right. Its funny how Smith conceding a cracking goal is to blame for the defeat yet those that missed all the chances 19 efforts only 6 on target appear blameless.

totally agree with this , we missed some sitters yesterday where we should have at least hit the target and it is hardly mentioned. Their keep made one (very) good save, which was offside anyway. Apart from that I don't recall him doing much. If Jack Payne was to change his name to 'Paul Smith' all of the talk on here would be about how week his shots are instead of raving about what a great game he had. Even if Payne had of scored, if his name had been Smith some would be saying he should have shot with the other foot !

 

[Blue_Wes]

Thompson really struggled with Benning first half and was left exposed for the second, I don't know if he was lacking the support Coker provided down the left, or he just wasn't covering enough, either way that right hand side cost us both goals.

Payne played well, and set up Coker (early on) and Coulthirst for that effort he should of scored in the second half. He was always positive, wanted the ball and generally used it well. I think we can cope without his tracking back when we have two other central midfielders in the side as well.

Coulthirst plays with his head down too often, which is a shame as he gets in to good position with his runs, but he his positive and hopefully can learn to look up and use his team mates a little more, he does seem a bit too desperate for that first goal though.

The two subs played well in Weston and Clifford and we improved with their presence, although it did take Clifford five minutes to get up to pace. Weston really did give us a much needed impetus when we looked to be flagging in the second half as well. I do wonder what position Brown is going to use him in most though?

Smith just looks bereft of confidence and you tend to be waiting for the next mistake, he was very lucky with the spill/goal, as we were in line with it, and the guy who scored definitely looked onside.

I thought as a whole we did alright going forward, and there was some good interlinking play between forwards and midfielders, but we need to be more ruthless in front of goal. Last year we weren't creating enough chances, this year we already seem to be better (I appreciate it's only two games in), lets get someone into a purple patch to put them away!!

Defensively, Thompson just doesn't convince me, he never seemed to be picking anyone up, and Benning had a field day with him first half. Mads improved after a shaky start, and Prosser was strong defensively, although a couple of waywards passes snuck - not quite as bad as others have made out though, especially as some of the passes made to him put him under pressure, and his lack of options at times.

At least it shows that we actually have some strength in depth this year though, being able to match a league one side with seven changes, and a plan B in formation too.

Match report: http://www.thematch.co.uk/thematch-report-southend-1-2-walsall/

 

[TJC]

Thanks to th ticket fiasco I was stuck in South Lower so didn't get a good view of the incident just before half time - will be interesting to see whether a) it should have been a penalty b) it should have been a red card. I also felt their number 7 got extremely lucky after getting bbored for a cynical foul on Payne he then put in a tackle on Worrall which the referee deemed fair but I would have predicted would be punished with a second caution.

First up, the lino was behind play and Barney, I thought was off side when the ball was played. Having let that go, it was in the box from my view point in east yellows, he was the last man, therefore a pen and a sending off, but got neither.

As much as I don't like the idea, I think we need to play to the referees weaknesses more. So many are easily conned by players rolling around, falling over rather when beaten etc. Its not right and its not pretty, but the other teams do it more than we do, and if its the difference between winning and losing, maybe it should be considered. Did I really just say that?!?! :stunned:

 

[TJC]

After seeing the highlights Paul Smith should definitely of saved the second goal maybe he couldn't see it that well but surely he is disappointed [video=youtube;goboQfh8XWk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goboQfh8XWk[/video]

Blimey, I thought at the time it was unstoppable shot, but he really should have saved that.

 

[Shrimper2thecore]

Their 2nd goal was a very average strike, and Dan would have saved it. Smith should be furious with himself.

 

[Crawliano]

Next time Paul Smith plays and let's in a howler, let's all stand up and applaud him for trying.

Wouldn't want him getting upset now would we? We were knocking on the door and building confidence and he zapped it all away. Six crazy minutes in his last cup outing and now this. Great use of a wage there.

Should just use Ted as a back up and if Dan gets a long termer, bring in a Prem / Champ keeper to back up. There's plenty about.

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

Coulthirst is too raw. Shocking miss first half but I'm more concerned about his lack of experience which kept letting him down.

And that is partly what bothers me about some loan players - they get the experience in our team and start to improve - and then move on when they are going to provide the most contribution. And our youngsters (or other squad players) have not had the same time on the pitch. :sad:

 

[shrimperjon]

Next time Paul Smith plays and let's in a howler, let's all stand up and applaud him for trying.

Wouldn't want him getting upset now would we? We were knocking on the door and building confidence and he zapped it all away. Six crazy minutes in his last cup outing and now this. Great use of a wage there.

Should just use Ted as a back up and if Dan gets a long termer, bring in a Prem / Champ keeper to back up. There's plenty about.

Can't agree we were knocking on the door at the point they scored the second. We had a short spell after equalising where we put then under pressure but leading up to the second goal they were controlling the game. My mate said to me about 1 min before the goal, that we are too deep and look tired. A minute later we conceded.

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

First game of the season for me and I have to say I was quite happy with our performance, its not often I will come away from roots hall after a defeat and not feel deflated. Thought we gave a decent league 1 side a very good run for their money. Worrall looks a decent player on last nights showing plenty of quality on the ball and a very good engine. Payne had a very good game and weston also looked a menace when he came on. Was hard to tell if the fould on Barnard was in or just outside of the box, however the lino def looked to give the Pen .Obviously cant judge too much on one showing but I feel very positive towards this season as we def have more pace and quality in the squad in my opinion. UTB

I thought the lino flagged to indicate a foul, then showed that it was outside the box by standing in line with the edge of the penalty area (a new directive).

 

[united we stand]

]Next time Paul Smith plays and let's in a howler, let's all stand up and applaud him for trying.[/B]

Wouldn't want him getting upset now would we? We were knocking on the door and building confidence and he zapped it all away. Six crazy minutes in his last cup outing and now this. Great use of a wage there.

Should just use Ted as a back up and if Dan gets a long termer, bring in a Prem / Champ keeper to back up. There's plenty about.

but the stupid thing is that's exactly what happens when a forward misses a sitter. whats the difference ?