Post-Match Thread and Ratings Sunderland 1 Southend United 0

[Kris]

My first away game for many years - think the last was the 3-0 win at MK under Brown - and, well, logically, my first visit to the Stadium of Light. Beautiful stadium and with 30,000 people behind their team it would be rude to be the party-poopers.

In all honesty my expectations have sunk so much that I was satisfied/relieved/whatever to leave the ground with only a 1-0 loss. It’s such a weird and sad feeling knowing that only in my heart do I believe we will stay up.

The game itself was a damp squid and I doubt any neutral would have been too excited. Nevertheless, some observations:

We, the fans, were so high up it was very interesting to follow the tactics, shapes and patterns of play. The jury is still out on the 3-5-2 system. It’s pretty much our only realistic option at the moment but it was obvious that we were going to be outnumbered and largely exposed in wide areas and it happened on many occasions, including their goal of course. Having said that, our central three in both defence and midfield looked very comfortable and possession-wise we certainly matched them. We appear to have found Dieng’s home and Hutchinson, other than the odd naive error, is made for this central midfield role; he was excellent.

Bishop: No chance with the goal, one decent save.

Back three: All good, Dieng particularly; good to see him coming out with the ball.

Ralph suffered a blow to the head early on and was brave enough to carry on; whether that was a good idea or not is another question. Elvis did ok, a bit erratic at times, not helped by the lack of support on his side. Actually had a great opportunity to score when a ball over the top caught Sunderland napping but he failed to control.

Alongside Hutch, Milligan was in and out of the game and Cox worked his backside off. Too deep to be an attacking threat though.

Attack: Goodship fluffed possibly our best chance and was largely anonymous, Hopper got some valuable minutes and did ok. We really missed Humphrys though.

Acquah, other than one notable back-heel that bamboozled the opposition, didn’t make much of an impact, and Hyam and Rush weren’t on for long enough to analyse.

The opposition: Clearly an off-day. Threatened to open us up on numerous occasions but made some bizarre decisions on the ball and crossing was poor.

The ref: One of Kettle’s more tolerable performances.

SC: He has one hell of a job to do. Good to see him active on the touch line.

Overall: Encouraging. Our possession was good throughout, perhaps overly cautious at times but rather that than aimless hoof ball. Having said that, we looked absolutely knackered by the end and unable to cause Sunderland any sort of problems. Our shape deteriorated as well and we had fewer options on the ball.

Really good to see we have a specialist fitness coach but we probably won’t see his influence for a few weeks yet.

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Now then DWB, now then!

What about Ridgewell!!!!!!

How could you miss him from the list of missing?

I missed him off on purpose. Don't reckon we will see him in a blue shirt again unless Campbell really rates him

 

[Thorper]

i think for Sol to say it was 'a great performance' may be something of an exaggeration. After 5 minutes Glenn Pennyfather on the radio said our shape wasn't working and it looked only a matter of time before Sunderland scored: if they'd had more quality up front they would have been 4 up by half time. Yes, the second half was better and we made them nervous the longer it went but overall in what sounded a poor, scrappy game the score flattered us a bit. I think Sol still has a lo of work to do. Maybe we're meeting Portsmouth at the right time, they look almost as low on confidence as we are and their manager looks next for the chop. Roll on Tuesday, we've got a chance.

 

[Westcliff DGS]

My first away game for many years - think the last was the 3-0 win at MK under Brown - and, well, logically, my first visit to the Stadium of Light. Beautiful stadium and with 30,000 people behind their team it would be rude to be the party-poopers.

In all honesty my expectations have sunk so much that I was satisfied/relieved/whatever to leave the ground with only a 1-0 loss. It’s such a weird and sad feeling knowing that only in my heart do I believe we will stay up.

The game itself was a damp squid and I doubt any neutral would have been too excited. Nevertheless, some observations:

We, the fans, were so high up it was very interesting to follow the tactics, shapes and patterns of play. The jury is still out on the 3-5-2 system. It’s pretty much our only realistic option at the moment but it was obvious that we were going to be outnumbered and largely exposed in wide areas and it happened on many occasions, including their goal of course. Having said that, our central three in both defence and midfield looked very comfortable and possession-wise we certainly matched them. We appear to have found Dieng’s home and Hutchinson, other than the odd naive error, is made for this central midfield role; he was excellent.

Bishop: No chance with the goal, one decent save.

Back three: All good, Dieng particularly; good to see him coming out with the ball.

Ralph suffered a blow to the head early on and was brave enough to carry on; whether that was a good idea or not is another question. Elvis did ok, a bit erratic at times, not helped by the lack of support on his side. Actually had a great opportunity to score when a ball over the top caught Sunderland napping but he failed to control.

Alongside Hutch, Milligan was in and out of the game and Cox worked his backside off. Too deep to be an attacking threat though.

Attack: Goodship fluffed possibly our best chance and was largely anonymous, Hopper got some valuable minutes and did ok. We really missed Humphrys though.

Acquah, other than one notable back-heel that bamboozled the opposition, didn’t make much of an impact, and Hyam and Rush weren’t on for long enough to analyse.

The opposition: Clearly an off-day. Threatened to open us up on numerous occasions but made some bizarre decisions on the ball and crossing was poor.

The ref: One of Kettle’s more tolerable performances.

SC: He has one hell of a job to do. Good to see him active on the touch line.

Overall: Encouraging. Our possession was good throughout, perhaps overly cautious at times but rather that than aimless hoof ball. Having said that, we looked absolutely knackered by the end and unable to cause Sunderland any sort of problems. Our shape deteriorated as well and we had fewer options on the ball.

Really good to see we have a specialist fitness coach but we probably won’t see his influence for a few weeks yet.

Tend to agree bar one point, don’t think we missed Humphrys that much at all, felt we were a lot more mobile up front with players willing to run and work.

Need a good midfielder in there and maybe move hutch forward with Hopper and Cox up front base don Sol’s first two games.

Famous last words with tomorrows game yet to come lol

 

[Evening Echo]

SOUTHEND United manager Sol Campbell was pleased to give youth a chance at Sunderland on Saturday.

More...

 

[Evening Echo]

FOR the second week in succession there were plaudits, pressure and possession for Southend United but ultimately no points.

More...

 

[Kris]

Tend to agree bar one point, don’t think we missed Humphrys that much at all, felt we were a lot more mobile up front with players willing to run and work.

Need a good midfielder in there and maybe move hutch forward with Hopper and Cox up front base don Sol’s first two games.

Famous last words with tomorrows game yet to come lol

I know what you mean mobility wise but Goodship was very quiet and we could have done with Humphrys as an option at the very least to give Sunderland something different to think of.

 

[Westcliff DGS]

I know what you mean mobility wise but Goodship was very quiet and we could have done with Humphrys as an option at the very least to give Sunderland something different to think of.

He was for sure.

I know Hym has been poor but I would have had goodship off with Hyam and Milligan in midfield and Hutch behind Cox and Hopper

I think people overplay Humphrys importance to the team at times (not saying you are), yers he has 5 or 6 goals but we are still down the bottom. We have to defend from the front and he just doesn’t do that at times, Very frustrating. It’s not just him this season obviously but wanted to clarify what I am saying :)

 

[Micky]

I think he’s gradually winning some of the fans over.....he has one or two staunch supporters on here but a lot seem to forget he’s still 19....one problem being is he’s not typically a league 1 ‘type’ player....so some of what he does is overlooked or underrated

To be fair the Ipswich board said similar last week

I think Hutchinson is improving game by game. He does make a few silly mistakes but, as you say, he is young and still learning. What I like most about him though is that when he loses the ball he doesn't just stand still, he immediately challenges to win the ball back, unlike some of our players who become statues once they have lost the ball.

 

[jarvisyeh]

He was for sure.

I know Hym has been poor but I would have had goodship off with Hyam and Milligan in midfield and Hutch behind Cox and Hopper

I think people overplay Humphrys importance to the team at times (not saying you are), yers he has 5 or 6 goals but we are still down the bottom. We have to defend from the front and he just doesn’t do that at times, Very frustrating. It’s not just him this season obviously but wanted to clarify what I am saying :)

I kind of agree with what you say about Humphrys, however I do feel that his injury has affected the parts of his game he can be good at.

You have to feel he has the build to use to his advantage but if he's mentally thinking that getting stuck in will cause issues with his facial injury he's not going to go all in.

Hopefully now the mask is off he can build his confidence back up and become the player that we all know he can be!

 

[ColinMorrisWalksOnWater]

For me, with Hutchinson it is now about improvement and consistent performances.

I definitely think he is good enough.

He also shows good awareness and the dummy into space on the edge of the box to get in the cross for Elvis' early chance was class and showed great awareness.

If he can get a bit more bite into his game and gain a bit of confidence to try the above more often when the opportunity presents itself and he will soon become an integral part of the team and one of the first names on the team-sheet.

 

[Micky]

i think for Sol to say it was 'a great performance' may be something of an exaggeration. After 5 minutes Glenn Pennyfather on the radio said our shape wasn't working and it looked only a matter of time before Sunderland scored: if they'd had more quality up front they would have been 4 up by half time. Yes, the second half was better and we made them nervous the longer it went but overall in what sounded a poor, scrappy game the score flattered us a bit. I think Sol still has a lo of work to do. Maybe we're meeting Portsmouth at the right time, they look almost as low on confidence as we are and their manager looks next for the chop. Roll on Tuesday, we've got a chance.

Sol's job is to build confidence so describing the performance as "great" was accurate in the context of the match. A team floundering at the bottom of the league playing in a fantastic stadium against one of the promotion favourites and allowing them very few chances was a very good performance. I would go so far as to say that with a little bit of luck we could have scraped a draw. Why is it always assumed that the opposition played badly when it could be we actually played well enough to deny them chances?

 

[Westcliff DGS]

I kind of agree with what you say about Humphrys, however I do feel that his injury has affected the parts of his game he can be good at.

You have to feel he has the build to use to his advantage but if he's mentally thinking that getting stuck in will cause issues with his facial injury he's not going to go all in.

Hopefully now the mask is off he can build his confidence back up and become the player that we all know he can be!

I see what your saying, but he has never done that bar one game (fleetwood i think), he wants things played to him, he shoots when he should pass etc. I maybe being harsh but having done some work with Fulham and knowing what they felt about him I seem to see that now playing out here Sadly

 

[jarvisyeh]

I see what your saying, but he has never done that bar one game (fleetwood i think), he wants things played to him, he shoots when he should pass etc. I maybe being harsh but having done some work with Fulham and knowing what they felt about him I seem to see that now playing out here Sadly

I mean, he went in without thinking of the consequences and broke his face scoring a goal, so I think it was his game. Although I must point out I only saw a handful of highlights and never watched him live before that.

I did mention in a previous thread that the treatment and lack of protection he was subject to against Blackpool at the beginning of the season was dreadful and would have affected his game big time. Something he has alluded to in a recent interview.

Another thing we need to remember his his age. He has plenty of time to learn how he can use his body to be a beast up front, maybe we will see a better Humphrys when he is finally got, I reckon this injury has come at the worst possible time for him.

 

[Westcliff DGS]

I mean, he went in without thinking of the consequences and broke his face scoring a goal, so I think it was his game. Although I must point out I only saw a handful of highlights and never watched him live before that.

I did mention in a previous thread that the treatment and lack of protection he was subject to against Blackpool at the beginning of the season was dreadful and would have affected his game big time. Something he has alluded to in a recent interview.

Another thing we need to remember his his age. He has plenty of time to learn how he can use his body to be a beast up front, maybe we will see a better Humphrys when he is finally got, I reckon this injury has come at the worst possible time for him.

I personally aside from the fleetwood game have not seen what i would expect (outside of just goals), he is young and I hope for our benefit he does learn. He has time too for sure, but bigger clubs don’t usually let players go for free if they think they will learn what they need too. BUt I really hope he does as he has the physical size and attributes to do well if he can put it all together

 

[Thorper]

Sol's job is to build confidence so describing the performance as "great" was accurate in the context of the match. A team floundering at the bottom of the league playing in a fantastic stadium against one of the promotion favourites and allowing them very few chances was a very good performance. I would go so far as to say that with a little bit of luck we could have scraped a draw. Why is it always assumed that the opposition played badly when it could be we actually played well enough to deny them chances?

Very few chances? That's not what the radio commentators said.... However, whatever the reason 1-0 there wasn't a bad result given our position and I do feel we might get a draw at Pompey. Fingers crossed.

 

[Tommy2holes]

Humphrys is a young man who hasn't played masses of football and scores goals.

If he had come through our academy he wouldn't be getting a hard time.

Under the guidance of Campbell and particularly cole he will improve. Even a more experienced and similarly built player like hopper will help no end.

He is raw. He will only improve over time. His work rate let's him down. That's easily remedied.

 

[Micky]

Very few chances? That's not what the radio commentators said.... However, whatever the reason 1-0 there wasn't a bad result given our position and I do feel we might get a draw at Pompey. Fingers crossed.

I was there!

 

[Dubai]

Humphrys is a young man who hasn't played masses of football and scores goals.

If he had come through our academy he wouldn't be getting a hard time.

Under the guidance of Campbell and particularly cole he will improve. Even a more experienced and similarly built player like hopper will help no end.

He is raw. He will only improve over time. His work rate let's him down. That's easily remedied.

I don’t buy that. Work rate is one of the hardest things to “coach” someone...it’s not a technique that a better coach can teach. It has to come from within...he played at a higher level academy and got released and that still didn’t teach him to work harder...what will it take to trigger that?

 

[KiwiRob]

I don’t buy that. Work rate is one of the hardest things to “coach” someone...it’s not a technique that a better coach can teach. It has to come from within...he played at a higher level academy and got released and that still didn’t teach him to work harder...what will it take to trigger that?

I thought Southend paid a substantial fee for Stephen Humphrys from Fulham in January. Was he released by Fulham so that he could join Southend?