Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend Utd 0-1 Bolton Wanderers

[Holy Joe]

See if you can Ask ranger what he got fined for last time he was with us and it’s none of the above

I'm going to be honest here - I think it's very unlikely I'll get to have a chat with Ranger!

 

[Bratislava Blue]

Why did Clifford come off? Thought he and Akinola were our best players.

Demi simply cannot carry on playing in our midfield. He just doesn't have the legs anymore. Broken record writing that but it is having to be said time and time again because he keeps playing.

The fact Bolton took off Maddison, Doyle and the west ham winger showed that we were frustrating them. We look a lot more solid, just need that end product.

P.S. ANG please please please shoot!

I totally agree with your JD comment. He brought nothing to the game today apart from his usual swallow dive looking for a free kick. Taylor is a more forward thinking player and deserved to start today.

 

[tottenham541]

There may well be a players ‘fine’ for missing a penalty. It would be on a pre determined list of ‘fun fines’ compiled by the players before the season to go into a pot for an end of season ‘do’ or a charity donation.

Finishing a game and the manager or the powers that be saying “that was ****, I’m fining you £100” simply doesn’t happen and would be laughed at by an agent and a player before telling them where to go.

It’s not Sunday league football, clubs pay big wages and it’s a players job even tho a short one, you wanna see what’s written in a players contract, you’d be surprised how long it takes for a contract to be signed from when negotiations start, chairman’s try everything on in putting contracts into writing and some players can’t even afford agents at certain levels of the game, outrageous fines exist believe me.

 

[Shrimper57]

Maybe you went into the game subconsciously not wanting to be impressed? He showed more quick and direct running with the ball at his fit than anyone else has this season, bar maybe Olayinka

I was hoping he was going to light the place up but just did not see anything special. I know it was only 20 mins or so and I hope to be proved wrong. I was hoping he would score in true hero fashion. I just hope the expectations of Ranger are better.

 

[Willis]

Still flummoxed how we lost that game. 1st half pretty even, 2nd half all us.

Yes Oxley didn’t have his best game, 2 poor mistakes: one lead to the goal, the other somehow Doyle put over from 4yards. That said, he’s had a very good season so far and has earned us a fair few points along the way, so despite conceding because of a howler, he’s still in plenty of credit.

The team put in a shift today. Closing down in 3s, plenty of harrying and good tempo.

I can’t work out the subs: Clifford and Ferguson were playing well. Why take them off? JD and RHF I get, they weren’t effective today. We lost control of the game when Ferguson went off.

Holmes showed what we’ve been missing so far this season. Lots of skill and endeavour.

If we play like that for rest of the season and get Holmes playing majority of match-time, we’ve a good chance of survival, although I can’t see it not going to the last game of the season. As if I don’t have enough grey hair already....

 

[onceknownasrab]

Sadly it is as expected. Holmes may figure and may help but a goal scorer is the biggest need. It's not that we aren't getting into scoring positions but either the effort is poor or the trigger isn't pulled. There is enough in the side to carve chances but not enough to take them.

 

[kentblues]

Maybe he's trying to maintain fitness for another opportunity at another club - but who knows - Ranger and Mellis have not been named in squad yet

CP posted up to date squad and both Ranger and Mellis are in the 22? I believe there are ways to deregulated or remove someone - not that we necessarily understand

 

[TrueBlue]

I like MM but behave, freak or not bar or his hand PUT IT OVER !!!!!

 

[Holy Joe]

CP posted up to date squad and both Ranger and Mellis are in the 22? I believe there are ways to deregulated or remove someone - not that we necessarily understand

Yeah - sorry to be clear I meant named in a match day squad. You're right Ranger is on the EFL website and the club have publicly stated no issue with Mellis.

 

[OllieSteph44]

It’s not Sunday league football, clubs pay big wages and it’s a players job even tho a short one, you wanna see what’s written in a players contract, you’d be surprised how long it takes for a contract to be signed from when negotiations start, chairman’s try everything on in putting contracts into writing and some players can’t even afford agents at certain levels of the game, outrageous fines exist believe me.

Ive seen players contracts. In fact I’ve seen a Southend players contract, up close.

There is nothing in it whatsoever about making mistakes in games being fined.

It would be entirely unenforceable due to the subjective nature of determining what’s a mistake or not. We can’t even agree on here how culpable Oxley actually was so how on earth could he be fined for it without a pretty strong objection?

Let’s not clog up the post match thread with a discussion on fines and contracts. Well agree to disagree but what I think we can agree on is that Oxley will most definitely NOT be getting fined for his mistake whether you believe he should be or not.

 

[in the know]

I disagree with the comment about us not having any attacking tactics or structure. We're playing a 4-3-3 with inverted wingers, encouraging Nathaniel-George and Hackett-Fairchild to come inside onto their stronger foot. It was exactly this that led to RHF scoring on his debut against Barrow, and ANG getting a number of shots away at the beginning of the second half (having eschewed the opportunity in the first half).

That formation also allows our full-backs to overlap on the outside and, especially in the case of Clifford/Hart on the left-hand side, utilise their delivery into the penalty area. The tactic is generally to get the ball forward a lot quicker now into Akinola, if he's playing centrally, and his job is to hold the ball up and bring those wide players into the game. I thought Clifford in particular linked up really well with Akinola in the second half in that respect. It's not bringing us loads of goals, but that's because none of our forward players (and even Ranger as and when he is fit) have a record of being prolific in the league.

What is does do, however, is make us harder to break down at the back. Without wishing to get bogged down in too much talk about formations, whether you start with a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1, there's a lot less chance that we'll get over-run in midfield. That's probably where the back 5 experiment in January emanated from, but that nullifies our attacking threat as it leaves the forward isolated. 4-4-2 means that there aren't enough bodies in the centre of the pitch, and doesn't play to our strengths given that it means we have two non-prolific forwards up top (or a non-prolific forward and a defender playing as a forward when Halford is there) rather than one forward and two wingers in a 4-3-3 (with ANG, RHF, Egbri, Holmes, even Olaynika able to play in that position, or Akinola if Ranger becomes available).

On the wider game, and the substitutions, I think Molesley was trying to get us the three points rather than one, and we shouldn't be too critical of that. That goal could easily have come if Clifford and/or Ferguson were still on the pitch, and - as tempting as it is to say that we could've settled for a comfortable point - three points would've been massive with Grimsby not playing and Barrow losing. Hart is a more attacking full-back than Clifford, so there was some sense behind that, and Acquah had played well at Cambridge and brought another body up front at the expense of a midfielder. You can quibble over whether the midfielder withdrawn should've been Demetriou rather than Ferguson, who has been very composed since joining the club. It was a gamble, but having done well in the second half to that point, it was worth it to try and get the victory.

And on Oxley, as much as it is a howler, it cost us one point in real terms. He earned us two with his injury time save at Newport eleven days earlier, so it's worth keeping everything in perspective.

Great perspective. Knowledgeable post. Agree with everything but just feel we were in a position not to lose which I felt more valuable against Bolton after 82 with the others losing. Great post tho.

 

[Floval Flyer]

Feel gutted to lose today.

Ref was poor again and didn’t deal with their nasty tactics, especially Maddison (cheat / diver) & Santos (thuggish fouler).

Thought we were by far the better side in the 2nd half, which evened out them taking the 1st.

Feel sorry for Oxley, hard luck on him.

We seriously need a player who can shoot straight and wants to have a go.

Not sure if that will be Ranger? It certainly isn’t Acquah sadly.

 

[Rayleigh boy]

On the wider game, and the substitutions, I think Molesley was trying to get us the three points rather than one,

that did not go well then

 

[tottenham541]

Ive seen players contracts. In fact I’ve seen a Southend players contract, up close.

There is nothing in it whatsoever about making mistakes in games being fined.

It would be entirely unenforceable due to the subjective nature of determining what’s a mistake or not. We can’t even agree on here how culpable Oxley actually was so how on earth couldhe be fined for it without a pretty strong objection?

MM could fine OX for that just like that if he wanted, and I don’t think OX will complain to much about that eh

 

[OllieSteph44]

MM could fine OX for that just like that if he wanted, and I don’t think OX will complain to much about that eh

The fact is he won’t and he knows if he did, Ox wouldn’t pay it, and would be perfectly entitled to under his contract terms.

It would also set a terrible precedent among the squad in terms of players willing to attempt anything that carried a risk of mistakes.....

 

[tottenham541]

The fact is he won’t and be knows if he did, Ox wouldn’t pay it, and would be perfectly entitled to under his contract terms.

It would also set a terrible precedent among the squad in terms of players willing to attempt anything that carried a risk of mistakes.....

Roy Keane graham souness fined players for less and went public with it, does happen even today.

 

[OllieSteph44]

Roy Keane graham souness fined players for less and went public with it, does happen even today.

??? ok.

 

[Floval Flyer]

Sorry for oxley? Behave he’s a ****, I would rather get aids than him playing for Southend

Really? That is really some claim considering over 30m people have died of AIDS.

Mark is a nice guy trying to do his job. He doesn’t deserve the trolling.

 

[OllieSteph44]

Really? That is really some claim considering over 30m people have died of AIDS.

Mark is a nice guy trying to do his job. He doesn’t deserve the trolling.

AIDS is ok but if he’d said he’d prefer to have Covid then that would’ve been way below the belt!!!

 

[Jay_SUFC]

Am I missing something!! Seems a lot of people are slagging off Acquah, but he only played just over 10 minutes!!

After the Cambridge performance, IMO he should have started. Still don't understand why MM made 2 changes today