Sturrock IMO DID NOT FAIL !

[Jam_Man]

Can we put this myth to bed for once? He played plenty of times, but he wasn't fit for most of the season he was here. Eastwood even said himself that he is much fitter this season than he was last so if he was match fit last season then he must now be superhuman fit.

Can we put that myth to bed as well.

He appeared plenty of times, but a lot of them were appearances in the last 10 minutes.

Not disagreeing with you though, it would have been nice to seen him start more games last year, but he never looked physically ready. Then maybe if he had been given that chance he would have been more motivated.

Chicken and egg, and with Tomlin and Britt you cant argue with them playing.

 

[chapperzUK]

Maybe I didn't word it right. He played plenty of times WHEN he was fit enough to play. I can't remember the exact problems he had but his knee seemed to keep getting worse a few times last season.

Let's be honest, if his name wasn't Freddy Eastwood then no-one would have been caring if he was playing much. If we had signed a striker called Simon Ekles who had scored 20 league goals in 5 years and was slightly overweight, Sturrock would have been slaughtered for signing him.

 

[mrsblue]

I have a question mrsblue.

Say you are in a sales role, you have a target of making £2M in two years, lets say in year one you make £1M averaging around £83,333 a month, but then in your second year you only manage to average £66,000 a month and do this for around 10 months of that year. As you can see it looks exceptionally unlikely that you will meet your £2M target in the second year. Falling short my around £200K.

As it transpires you actually make less in the final 2 months and miss your target..

Would this be failure?

Your theory has nothing in common with managing Southend !

Ron should of gave Luggy 1 more season,Paul's downfall was obtaining massive points tally which sadly and incredibly was not enough to go up,Phil gets the gig and IMO we are worse off and heading for a relegation dogfight.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Where would you have played him? First half of the season we had Tomlin and Assombalonga on fire. Corr came back into the side and started scoring as well.

Of course Freddy said he thought he should have played more and not saying he isn't a great player but what was his reaction when he wasn't playing? He said it himself that he wanted to quit football, so is that the right attitude?

I'm not talking at the beginning of the season, he had had an operation which he needed to recover from. But Britt was not the same player in those last few months of the season so he should at least have been given more opportunities than cameo sub appearances.

 

[Jam_Man]

Maybe I didn't word it right. He played plenty of times WHEN he was fit enough to play. I can't remember the exact problems he had but his knee seemed to keep getting worse a few times last season.

Let's be honest, if his name wasn't Freddy Eastwood then no-one would have been caring if he was playing much. If we had signed a striker called Simon Ekles who had scored 20 league goals in 5 years and was slightly overweight, Sturrock would have been slaughtered for signing him.

Freddy needed a manager behind him and pitch time, he didnt get that so fitness didnt improve.

Like you say though, if it wasnt him no one would have said he deserved either.

The difference now and then is incredible, the effort he puts in is massively improved from anytime in his career, and typically is what led to him getting injured so he cant win!

 

[chapperzUK]

Freddy needed a manager behind him and pitch time, he didnt get that so fitness didnt improve.

Like you say though, if it wasnt him no one would have said he deserved either.

The difference now and then is incredible, the effort he puts in is massively improved from anytime in his career, and typically is what led to him getting injured so he cant win!

I think Freddy needed a manager that would make him feel special and Brown seems to have done that. Sturrock not being at the training ground near the end of his reign certainly didn't help, but can't blame Sturrock for that.

I don't get the last bit (might be me being typically slow and dumb) but is Eastwood now injured or are you referring to an old injury?

 

[Jam_Man]

I think Freddy needed a manager that would make him feel special and Brown seems to have done that. Sturrock not being at the training ground near the end of his reign certainly didn't help, but can't blame Sturrock for that.

I don't get the last bit (might be me being typically slow and dumb) but is Eastwood now injured or are you referring to an old injury?

He came off injured yesterday after chasing down their keeper.

Not sure how bad it is though?

Could see he had hurt himself as afterwards he looked deflated after chasing down the ball.

 

[Jam_Man]

Your theory has nothing in common with managing Southend !

Ron should of gave Luggy 1 more season,Paul's downfall was obtaining massive points tally which sadly and incredibly was not enough to go up,Phil gets the gig and IMO we are worse off and heading for a relegation dogfight.

I backed Sturrock and his first two seasons he did very well, but I do think it was time to move on, especially as we have since learnt how little he was actually training etc.

We had lost our way last year and it hard to see how Sturrock could turn it around.

 

[superblue24]

Agree with JM, definitely in regression under Sturrock and the time was right even if the timing maybe wasn't.

 

[chapperzUK]

Agree with JM, definitely in regression under Sturrock and the time was right even if the timing maybe wasn't.

Agreed and not only was the timing of the sacking poor against Sturrock, but think it has put Brown under more pressure too.

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

No funds????? He was allowed funds to sign enough players to field four or five sets of starting elevens during his time here!!! He was an OK manager but I do not feel that he was any sort of miracle worker.

i'd imagine that was one of the reasons he lost his job. he was given enough money to have Anto Flood who only played about 2 minutes. He was given funds, didn't use them well enough. Unlucky second season, poor 3rd. I'll never forgive him for 1) Mohsni on the wing
2) playing long ball against Crewe. We had Benyon and Eastwood up front, they have 2 huge centre backs and we played long ball. Unforgivable. Crewe destroyed us in that game

 

[silentshrimper]

He failed his major objective but in my opinion it was mostly down to bad luck. He still has to be one of the better managers we have had though!

 

[McNasty]

Ron Martin is desperate for higher level football, probably for the higher income that it entails, so I am sure the reason for PS going and PB coming was our lack of promotion in the previous seasons and losing ground last year.

 

[Jam_Man]

i'd imagine that was one of the reasons he lost his job. he was given enough money to have Anto Flood who only played about 2 minutes. He was given funds, didn't use them well enough. Unlucky second season, poor 3rd. I'll never forgive him for 1) Mohsni on the wing
2) playing long ball against Crewe. We had Benyon and Eastwood up front, they have 2 huge centre backs and we played long ball. Unforgivable. Crewe destroyed us in that game

I dont think that was intentional.

We werent playing long ball around that time, and the only reason we reverted to it in that game was they were better than we were and we did it out of desperation rather than choice.

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

I dont think that was intentional.

We werent playing long ball around that time, and the only reason we reverted to it in that game was they were better than we were and we did it out of desperation rather than choice.

if they'd been playing to Bilel, or playing according to the players they had fine. i don't mind long ball if it works. i see the point of playing Bilel against a smaller full back but we needed the width down the left. if we'd lost passing with two tiny strikers the crowd, and me, would have been perfectly happy. no problems there but we were pants. if he'd stuck Hall on the left to go outside to cross to Bilel and Eastwood that would have been something better. you can't judge anyone on one game and i don't, but it was instructive and symbolic of his whole time here.

he had an eye for a player but also had the odd shocker

 

[A Century United]

if they'd been playing to Bilel, or playing according to the players they had fine. i don't mind long ball if it works. i see the point of playing Bilel against a smaller full back but we needed the width down the left. if we'd lost passing with two tiny strikers the crowd, and me, would have been perfectly happy. no problems there but we were pants. if he'd stuck Hall on the left to go outside to cross to Bilel and Eastwood that would have been something better. you can't judge anyone on one game and i don't, but it was instructive and symbolic of his whole time here.

he had an eye for a player but also had the odd shocker

Whereas Brown, judging by Yorkshire Blues revealing post about his signings for other clubs, and his current and previous record, has no eye for a player and regular shockers.

 

[mrsblue]

if they'd been playing to Bilel, or playing according to the players they had fine. i don't mind long ball if it works. i see the point of playing Bilel against a smaller full back but we needed the width down the left. if we'd lost passing with two tiny strikers the crowd, and me, would have been perfectly happy. no problems there but we were pants. if he'd stuck Hall on the left to go outside to cross to Bilel and Eastwood that would have been something better. you can't judge anyone on one game and i don't, but it was instructive and symbolic of his whole time here.

he had an eye for a player but also had the odd shocker

This is Southend United not Real Madrid,Every single fan can pinpoint a flaw in the tactics and most of them if offered the hot seat would turn us into CL champions in double quick time,As you highlight yes under Luggy sometimes it was ugly and yes sometimes it looked clueless but we are a run of the mill shambolic bankrupt skint football club which has become a joke.

We are what we are through no fault of the fans,players or manager.

 

[WESTY_SUFC]

he had become complacent and stale so it was the right time for him to go.

'Stale' as in top 10 league 1 finish before it was taken out of his hands? I'd take that stale please

 

[Silencer]

Thread = Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[Jam_Man]

if they'd been playing to Bilel, or playing according to the players they had fine. i don't mind long ball if it works. i see the point of playing Bilel against a smaller full back but we needed the width down the left. if we'd lost passing with two tiny strikers the crowd, and me, would have been perfectly happy. no problems there but we were pants. if he'd stuck Hall on the left to go outside to cross to Bilel and Eastwood that would have been something better. you can't judge anyone on one game and i don't, but it was instructive and symbolic of his whole time here.

he had an eye for a player but also had the odd shocker

As I said, I doubt it was the plan to do it, its just we werent getting the ball so the players resorted to it.

Games before then we had been playing more football, we just couldnt do so against Crewe.