Pre-Match Thread Southend Utd vs Fleetwood Town 14th September 2019 3pm

[Tombstone Blues]

Who's sulked ?

Several in my opinion over the last few weeks but that wasn’t my point - my point was if players get on with doing what is asked of them we’d be in a better place....ie if they are fit and work hard and do the job the managers asked of them to the best of their ability we’d be better off than playing players that aren’t fit (Macca / Cox / Humphrys - at certain points), or aren’t doing the job they’ve been asked as best they can - because they don’t like playing there or don’t want to play there....or have their noses out of joint because someone’s playing where they want to....etc etc etc

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Here’s a sweeping statement....

If you can define form as a reasonable run of consistency to a good level then you will not see Cox or Macca in form again. You may see glimpses of the ‘old’ player (more likely from Cox) but if a player like Macca is out of form for 18 months you are more than likely seeing all he has to offer right now.

Has anyone even considered that Macca hasn’t even played a minute of football since Lincoln away......when he was struggling with a ‘knock’ and was very poor again.......

Forget formations and squares pegs and all that bull****....try try this.....

No 1 rule - Play players that are fit.
No 2 rule - Play players that will do the job they are asked.
No 3 rule - Play players that care.

If they are not fit then forget rule 2 and 3 and leave them out.

With Macca it's 12 months of bad form not 18 months - he was a big factor in keeping us up when Powell first came in.

He's always been inconsistent though, that's why Forest let him come to us in the first place.

In spite of all you list I'd be interested in seeing if a change in manager can give him a fresh start. That's worth a look.

And it's not as if there are other options deserving of a game. Ndukwu hasn't shown he's good enough for league football; Hutchinson needs to be dropped after he let the team down at Orient - he can come back in if McLaughlin doesn't improve.

I don't know if there are any wide players in the u23s or youths like Terrell Egbri worth considering on the bench.

 

[Dorsetshrimper]

So a) why select a side with wingers whenwe have none...and b) what have they done to warrant selection over anyone else who isn’t any good either?

My thinking was keep a simple system and then pick the "best/most suitable" players for each position. who can you pick to play as a winger?

 

[Tombstone Blues]

For Macca must be loving it here!!! He keeps getting dropped for over a year due to poor ‘form’ and looking like he’s doesn’t give a ****, the team keep losing, managers keep getting sacked due to the results and performances and he keeps getting another crack at it in case it was the managers fault not his!!!

Happy days at £2k a week

 

[Tombstone Blues]

My thinking was keep a simple system and then pick the "best/most suitable" players for each position. who can you pick to play as a winger?

It’s not a simple system if the players don’t suit it or play well in it.....it’s probably only seen as ‘simple’ to the fans

 

[Tombstone Blues]

I don't know if there are any wide players in the u23s or youths like Terrell Egbri worth considering on the bench.

Im not sure of that really are you? Hutchinson literally tore that level up last year with 20 odd goals from CM and he’s found it hard enough!! It’s a massive step up in fitness strength and ability!

 

[Dorsetshrimper]

It’s not a simple system if the players don’t suit it or play well in it.....it’s probably only seen as ‘simple’ to the fans

I do agree with you. Macca must have had so many last chances to put in a acceptable performance, but you have not offered an alternative to him (apologies if I missed it).

 

[SheldonW65]

Im not sure of that really are you? Hutchinson literally tore that level up last year with 20 odd goals from CM and he’s found it hard enough!! It’s a massive step up in fitness strength and ability!

So why was he played out wide against Orient whilst Hamilton strolled around like he was lost ? Surely the perfect game to give Hutchinson a go in his best position ?

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

For Macca must be loving it here!!! He gets getting dropped for over a year due to poor ‘form’ and looking like he’s doesn’t give a ****, the team keep losing, managers keep getting sacked due to the results and performances and he keep Lis getting another crack at it in case it was the managers fault not his!!!

Happy days at £2k a week

I don't see anyone saying renew his contract and the alternative is to pay him £2k a week to sit at home.

Im not sure of that really are you? Hutchinson literally tore that level up last year with 20 odd goals from CM and he’s found it hard enough!! It’s a massive step up in fitness strength and ability!

It's a long shot but none of our options are currently cutting it and having them as an option from the bench is relatively low risk. Maybe somebody surprises us. I'm keen to get some pace on the bench and the transfer window is closed. Maybe there are some unattached players who we can use Theo's wages on, but I doubt they are going to be much better.

 

[SheldonW65]

I don't see anyone saying renew his contract and the alternative is to pay him £2k a week to sit at home.



It's a long shot but none of our options are currently cutting it and having them as an option from the bench is relatively low risk. Maybe somebody surprises us. I'm keen to get some pace on the bench and the transfer window is closed. Maybe there are some unattached players who we can use Theo's wages on, but I doubt they are going to be much better.

Who's doing the scouting at the moment ? Is it Roger Cross or does he just do the acquisition process ?

 

[Tombstone Blues]

So why was he played out wide against Orient whilst Hamilton strolled around like he was lost ? Surely the perfect game to give Hutchinson a go in his best position ?

I can’t answer that but like you said, and I agree with you, I think Hutchinson is someone who’s literally tried to do what’s been asked of him out wide but you can see how he plays that he naturally wants to play inside and through the middle....

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

Round and round and round we go. We must play 442 coz that's all these simpleton players understand/only thing that "works". Stick to the basics and players in the best position. What's that, a centre midfielder and fullback out wide or striker in midfield? Sign me up for some of that!

I went 352 coz those are the players we got. With a few training sessions doing it we might even play like we didn't only meet in the carpark

 

[SheldonW65]

I can’t answer that but like you said, and I agree with you, I think Hutchinson is someone who’s literally tried to do what’s been asked of him out wide but you can see how he plays that he naturally wants to play inside and through the middle....

Ok so what I was getting at was that your original post sounded like you were blaming the players for sulking / not trying etc.

My point is don't under estimate how much of a **** up things were under Bond.

I also think Macca gave his all against Stevenage before going off.

I hate the thought of overpaid players poncing a living as much as anyone else but I sincerely don't think that's the case.

We've lost a great fitness and conditioning coach. We've not got the best record at rehabilitating players fully in a timely manner either. Something isn't right with the number of injuries over the last 2 seasons and the length of time it's taken for players to recover. Now rigsby has said some players have not been taking their rehab work seriously enough, if true that's out of order but again it also comes down to inadequate management.

Do we have someone who's working with these players apart from Ben to get them back doing what they need to ? Who's supervising gym sessions ? Who's doing the sports psychology role etc ? I just sense all is not as professional as it could be behind the scenes.

 

[Harry Bullocks]

Gary Waddock & Todorov's team selection for Sat;
Will it be "as you were under KB..., we don't have many options"....

or,

"Let's go death or glory, we're at home, give them (us in the stands), something to shout about (in a good way)".

I'm hoping for the latter...

 

[Boreham Blue]

Macca has struggled for form for a while but I’m not sure he is at the top of the list for criticism on effort. Tracks back better than most. He needs to offer more of a genuine attacking threat though as it’s the creativity in that position that is most needed.

 

[Evening Echo]

MARK Milligan and Nathan Ralph both face late fitness checks on hamstring problems ahead of Saturday’s clash with Fleetwood Town.

More...

 

[Exiled Shrimper]

...I don't know if there are any wide players in the u23s or youths like Terrell Egbri worth considering on the bench.

Terrell Egbri was with the squad at Orient, training on the pitch at half-time even though he wasn’t on the bench, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t too far away from the squad.

He did well on loan at Harlow, was very impressive in the First Qualifying Round of the Premier League Cup against Fleetwood and came on leaps and bounds last season in the U18s. By and large his end-product has been much-improved in the last 15 months and he has contributed goals and assists at U18s, U23s and Southern League level.

I actually thought he was quiet in the U23s match against Scunthorpe this midweek, when a really strong performance might’ve got him a place in the first-team squad this weekend.

What he’s done so far is illustrate improvement season-on-season as he develops. Is he ready for regular first-team football? We don’t know that, but a 15-minute cameo on Saturday wouldn't do any harm, and he’s the sort of player that, if things went well, would excite the crowd.

 

[Austin the Shrimper]

Here’s a sweeping statement....

If you can define form as a reasonable run of consistency to a good level then you will not see Cox or Macca in form again. You may see glimpses of the ‘old’ player (more likely from Cox) but if a player like Macca is out of form for 18 months you are more than likely seeing all he has to offer right now.

Has anyone even considered that Macca hasn’t even played a minute of football since Lincoln away......when he was struggling with a ‘knock’ and was very poor again.......

Forget formations and squares pegs and all that bull****....try try this.....

No 1 rule - Play players that are fit.
No 2 rule - Play players that will do the job they are asked.
No 3 rule - Play players that care.

If they are not fit then forget rule 2 and 3 and leave them out.

I like these rules, but following them I don’t think we could field a team.

 

[Maroon Blue]

Joey Barton said this

“We are a different level of team to Southend, but we are still in the same division and we didn’t beat them last year so we have to give them courtesy and make sure we are as efficient as we have been because if we aren’t, they have some talented players to cause us problems.”

Team talk done, let the players know and if that does not spur them on, then we are in trouble.

 

[Chris Powell's mate]

MARK Milligan and Nathan Ralph both face late fitness checks on hamstring problems ahead of Saturday’s clash with Fleetwood Town.

More...

Are we cursed or what?
I know Milligan has come in for recent stick, but together with Ralph, the best summer signing, you couldn't make up the injury list!
Am assuming Mr Hyam hasn't tripped over a training ground bib?