Tilson out?

[seany t]

One point that has been overlooked though, is that I cannot see us EVER gaining sustained success unless we had someone like Tilly in charge. If we got in a new manager without Tilly's ties to Southend, any success would see them whoring themselves round to the next stepping stone in their career, meaning we would have to start again with a new man.

That's a very valid point

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

One point that has been overlooked though, is that I cannot see us EVER gaining sustained success unless we had someone like Tilly in charge. If we got in a new manager without Tilly's ties to Southend, any success would see them whoring themselves round to the next stepping stone in their career, meaning we would have to start again with a new man.

Another agreement here, Barry Fry anyone?

In all seriousness does anyone think we could do better than Tilly as a manager right now? Because I don't.

Some of the more experienced "bigger names" aren't going to come here, because we can't afford them. And we won't be able to attract them until we have a shiny new stadium, stronger finances and a higher profile - all of which takes time.

Somebody said about get in a young inexperienced manager and cited Ferguson @ Peterboro' and Di Matteo @ MK Dons. Isn't that what Tilson is/was? Also those two managers have far greater funds than us, and what we get another novice in, we bound up the league again only to end up back where we are now in a few seasons when their initial bubble bursts like Tilson's has now? No Thanks.

Tilson is still learning, and a dip after that initial success was almost inevitable. Tilson is loyal thanks to his ties and has the club at his heart and that is worth alot to us, he WILL get us out of this I'm sure.

 

[shrimperjon]

the main issue here is def. could someone else do a better job? who knows? thats the gamble you have to take. sometimes it pasy off and in many cases at southend it hasnt. but sometimes you have to gamble. Martin did it with tilson in the first place, so i dont think he would worry doing it again.

the problem with tilson is, yes we have had great success as a club under him, but this season we have gone from nearly championship to fighting RELEGATION. we have made a massive backwards step in terms of the team, squad and results. one league win in 14 games is woeful at any level. we dont learn. we concede goals for fun and are struggling to score. Leeds and Hudd away 0 points, scunny at home 0 points. im sorry boys but in a few weeks we will be in the bottom 3. dont tell me that someone new could do any worse. for my vote holloway would be my choice.

 

[South Bank Hank]

For me, a new manager might produce a quick upturn in results (yes, I'd take that right now) but in no small amount of time, they'd be facing the same problems as ST, working under the same constraints and trying to achieve success on a shoestring.

What always surprises me is the way people throw out comments like "Tilson has gone stale" and "Tilson has lost the plot" with such definitive surety. Then there's my personal favourite that "Tilson is tactically naive" despite what his previous record demonstrates (including the tactical genius against a star-laden Manchester United side and the recent battles with Chelsea. Hardly ST's fault that Revell didn't beat Cech from 4 yards yet just think what might have happened if that had gone in!)

All we KNOW about Tilson is that he's far more experienced now than he was when he started; he has more knowledge about what is required to be a manager than he used to, what works and what doesn't; he has more knowledge about what is required to be a successful manager AT THIS FOOTBALL CLUB (he's been one) than he ever had before; he has more knowledge of tactics than he used to having seen his teams punch way above their weight as a direct result one minute and then come unstuck the next; and he has far, far more contacts in the game than he had when he took his first steps as a manager.

Bottom line? Tilson is more experienced, more knowledgable and better equipped to serve this football club now than he ever was in the past. What he's achieved in the past serves him and us well and, sorry, whatever the problems right now, past performance is always the safest indication of future performance.

No one can be even remotely happy right now about the position we're in, the football on offer or the depth in our squad but things were looking decidedly bleak last January before ST's mid-season signings made the difference.

I said a few weeks ago that things would get even worse before they got better and that's how things have transpired. Our biggest problem remains our inability to sign a commanding, dominant (yet largely unproven previously) centre back, a like-for-like replacement for Nicky Bailey and a like-for-like replacement for Mark Gower. Get those three in the team (with a fit Dougie Freedman) and we're a hugely different proposition - certainly one that would have overrun Yeovil.

All those calling for Tilson's head should think about how you go about replacing Bailey and Gower on a shoestring because it still remains our number 1 problem. In my opinion, getting rid of one of our most successful ever managers would be both short-sighted and wrong.

 

[shrimperjon]

as much as the results against man u and chelseas were fantastic the performances in both were not great. one person one us the man u game and that was flavs, plus eastwoods goal, which ne hever reproduced agaisnt anyone else. as for chelsea, were so lucky, we should have been 5 bdown at half time. so tactically he got nothing right. we were real backs to the wall in all three games. look at how gillingham did against villa. gills league two and villa in better form than chelsea. we never really went for chelsea.

 

[Pubey]

as much as the results against man u and chelseas were fantastic the performances in both were not great. one person one us the man u game and that was flavs, plus eastwoods goal, which ne hever reproduced agaisnt anyone else. as for chelsea, were so lucky, we should have been 5 bdown at half time. so tactically he got nothing right. we were real backs to the wall in all three games. look at how gillingham did against villa. gills league two and villa in better form than chelsea. we never really went for chelsea.

I think JCR, Freddy and Sodje would all take offense at that... plus the fact that everyone else who played gave 110%

 

[South Bank Hank]

as much as the results against man u and chelseas were fantastic the performances in both were not great. one person one us the man u game and that was flavs, plus eastwoods goal, which ne hever reproduced agaisnt anyone else. as for chelsea, were so lucky, we should have been 5 bdown at half time. so tactically he got nothing right. we were real backs to the wall in all three games. look at how gillingham did against villa. gills league two and villa in better form than chelsea. we never really went for chelsea.

...yet still we were almost 2 goals to the good against one of the most expensively assembled club sides in the history of world football.

If you see a win for Southend United against one of the world's best teams, a draw at Stamford Bridge 6 months after rebuilding our team with loan players, and then only a missed header preventing us from taking a two-goal lead against a fired-up Chelsea side as evidence of getting "nothing right tactically", then I think we'd best leave it here.

 

[shrimperjon]

sorry my last peice was a bit harsh and as for the english and grammar!

What people mean when they talk about tilsons tactics are more do to with the way we play especially away from home. in big games away from home we seem to try and hold on for as along as possible and defend. our problem is we cant defend for 90 mins. we get battered at the big grounds leeds, leicester, forest etc. even when we were competeing in league one at the top we struggled in the big games.

look at yeovil on saturday. would we have held on for a win, probably not. this season when at home against brighton, moussa gets sent off we fell apart and lost.

we need to be more disciplined and mentally strong. not sure tilsons can get that from the players.

 

[shrimperjon]

im not saying that the results werent great. of course i loved every minute of them. but to say tilson got the tactics right is wrong. we were very lucky in all the games. and revell nearly put us two up but didnt...fact.

as for the players giving 110%, so they should EVERY GAME! that what we expect and should get.

 

[South Bank Hank]

sorry my last peice was a bit harsh and as for the english and grammar!

What people mean when they talk about tilsons tactics are more do to with the way we play especially away from home. in big games away from home we seem to try and hold on for as along as possible and defend. our problem is we cant defend for 90 mins. we get battered at the big grounds leeds, leicester, forest etc. even when we were competeing in league one at the top we struggled in the big games.

look at yeovil on saturday. would we have held on for a win, probably not. this season when at home against brighton, moussa gets sent off we fell apart and lost.

we need to be more disciplined and mentally strong. not sure tilsons can get that from the players.

My point is that these were the same teams who wallowed in our slipstream when we went up as Champions several years ago and did little more than us when we reached the play-offs last year.

Tilson's tactics were right then so the only difference I can see is on the playing field where, I repeat, we've failed to bring in sufficient quality to solve the problems in our defence and replace players like Bailey and Gower, something that few people could have done given the relative constraints Tilson is working under.

 

[South Bank Hank]

and revell nearly put us two up but didnt...fact.

Wasn't tactics though, was it and a different manager in the dug-out wouldn't have made Revell score it any better.

 

[Kris]

as much as the results against man u and chelseas were fantastic the performances in both were not great. one person one us the man u game and that was flavs, plus eastwoods goal, which ne hever reproduced agaisnt anyone else. as for chelsea, were so lucky, we should have been 5 bdown at half time. so tactically he got nothing right. we were real backs to the wall in all three games. look at how gillingham did against villa. gills league two and villa in better form than chelsea. we never really went for chelsea.

What on earth are you on about? Our performance against Man U was astonishing, not just because it was unrecognisable in relation to our league position at the time, but also because we thoroughly deserved it. United didn't get in behind us once and the performances of Sodje and Prior to nullify Wayne Rooney were top drawer. Apart from the last few minutes it wasn't as if we were defending for our lives either - we caused them a few problems at the other end. Flavs played well but to be honest none of his saves were out of this world - most of United's efforts were pretty much straight at him; he made them look more spectacular than they were due to his lack of height.

As for Chelsea, Tilly's tactics were spot on. The way to nullify Chelsea is to have a solid base down the middle because that's where they prefer to attack. They don't have any natural wingers and rely on their full-backs for width, so as long as you don't allow them to get to the byline their crosses are usually pretty easy to defend against. We frustrated them by putting ten men behind the ball and it totally worked (at Stamford Bridge anyway). Had we gone for Chelsea we would have been murdered. You only have to look at their last two goals at Roots Hall to realise how easily they picked us off when we committed men forward.

 

[shrimperjon]

Clearly we all have our opinions. i loved those games and the results. even the chelseas game at home was fantastic.

im just saying that we were lucky to get the results. you need luck in these big games. its just that to say that tilly got his tactics right especially at stamford bridge, is right based on the result, but not on performance. it was only chelsea being wasteful and mildy having a blinder that prevented a landslide. any1 ho thinks different obviously wasnt there.

anyway its not about the chelsea, man u or spurs games that matter. its the bread and butter that is and at the mo. is a mjor concern

 

[shrimperton]

Tilson has done a great job here, but i fear a change of scenery will do him and the club a world of good.

 

[Boreham Shrimper]

Tilson has done a great job here, but i fear a change of scenery will do him and the club a world of good.

Ooh, a holiday! Is he going somewhere nice? :D

 

[Mr. Benedict]

Tilson has done a great job here, but i fear a change of scenery will do him and the club a world of good.

That's a good idea - let's change the manager with 5 days of the transfer window remaining for the incoming manager to rebuild the team!

Whether sacking Tilson is the right way forward or not, I don't see how doing it now would be a help. We won't have identified a replacement, and even if we did get someone in before the window shut they would have no time to make any additions and it'd be likely that we'd still be stuck with the same squad, and would only be able to make short term loans.

Then, of course, there is the financial aspect of sacking a manager with plenty of contract remaining - the compensation would come straight out of whatever transfer funds we have....

 

[Kris]

That's a good idea - let's change the manager with 5 days of the transfer window remaining for the incoming manager to rebuild the team!

Whether sacking Tilson is the right way forward or not, I don't see how doing it now would be a help. We won't have identified a replacement, and even if we did get someone in before the window shut they would have no time to make any additions and it'd be likely that we'd still be stuck with the same squad, and would only be able to make short term loans.

Then, of course, there is the financial aspect of sacking a manager with plenty of contract remaining - the compensation would come straight out of whatever transfer funds we have....

Exactly, look at Orient. They'd agreed a deal to take Chris Dickson on loan, only for it to fall through because they sacked Ling. As I write this, Orient are still looking for a successor and without one soon, they aren't going to be able to strengthen their squad sufficiently before the end of the window.

 

[Boreham Shrimper]

Exactly, look at Orient. They'd agreed a deal to take Chris Dickson on loan, only for it to fall through because they sacked Ling. As I write this, Orient are still looking for a successor and without one soon, they aren't going to be able to strengthen their squad sufficiently before the end of the window.

My heart bleeds for them :D

I agree entirely with your point though and I think now would be a disastrous time to get rid of Tilly, when the squad needs strengthening and continuity is what we need more than ever!