Time to spice it up?

[danburyshrimper]

Hopefully we will sign a quality holding midfielder this week. . . but if we dont, maybe the answer is already in our squad?
Last night it was blatantly obvious we were again trying to put square pegs into round holes... and the holes in the midfield were massive! Phillips is a quality defender, but he's certainly no midfielder.

With the awesome performance of Smith in goal + Benyon slotting away the winning penalty last week, maybe its time for the 3rd favourite target of the boo boys to step up + make a name for himself? Spicer is an experienced pro playing hundreds of leagues games in centre midfield + is definitely capable , sadly his confidence has been shot to pieces. Now if the Southend management can encourage him + bring his confidence back , stick him in midfield and he can show us his undoubted class.

Sturrock is a master of this -- Who could foresee Tomlin turning from hopeless to prolific this season? Who could foresee Ryan Hall turning from bit part non league bad boy to Championship quality player?

If Spicer is thrown in the deep end and the Southend faithful actually get behind him on Saturday i do think we will see the real Spice Boy back in business !

UTB

 

[C C Csiders]

Are they pumping Crack through the air vents where you work?

 

[Jam_Man]

So to spice it up we bring up players who havent delivered ahead of those that have?

Benyon only scored a penalty, Im sure you arent sayng he should be in? Tomlin out ? Corr out ? Both have scored plenty.

Why would Spicer do well, when before he was poor ? His class is certainly not undoubted, as he has not been picked for months and we got better when he left the side.

Sorry but just doing something "different" doesnt make it better.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

I do agree that it would be good to see if Spicer can perform well; but the problem when he played before was that the midfield was unsettled and weak; and that is how it is again. When Laird is back I would like to see how he does alongside him with Timlin left and Hirst right.
Harris must be nearly fit and I would rather see him as 1st/2nd choice sub striker than Benyon.

 

[Onion_Bag_Dave]

He definitely deserves another chance when the time comes. He's clearly got the technique. Typical rhythm player.

 

[superblue24]

Ummm, no.

We need to bring in at least 2 new faces, and depending on Hurst and Cresswells injuries, perhaps 4.

We most certainly need another couple of midfielders. Perhaps a winger and defender on loan also.

If we stick with what we have, we can forget about achieving anything this year.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

I'd rather spicer in the middle than Phillips, not his posistion and looked well out of his depth last night. You never know he may have done ok against a league 2 team but not against a team like Brentford who pass as well as they do.

 

[Earls Hall Blue]

Is Spicer injured? PS doesn't even name him as a sub most of the time.

 

[shrimperjon]

Im afraid this post is right, people on here who think we can bring in 3 or 4 new players must be on something. Last nights defeat will have hit us hard, especially financially. The players currently at the club and on the payroll need to step up to the plate. Whether we like it or not, thats the situation and us the fans must do everything possible to get behind them.

 

[Jam_Man]

Im afraid this post is right, people on here who think we can bring in 3 or 4 new players must be on something. Last nights defeat will have hit us hard, especially financially. The players currently at the club and on the payroll need to step up to the plate. Whether we like it or not, thats the situation and us the fans must do everything possible to get behind them.

If we play the same players we played beginning of the season then we will struggle, whether we get behind them or not.

I cant see us getting a left back, but we do need a central midfielder at the very least.

 

[danburyshrimper]

So to spice it up we bring up players who havent delivered ahead of those that have?

Benyon only scored a penalty, Im sure you arent sayng he should be in? Tomlin out ? Corr out ? Both have scored plenty.

Why would Spicer do well, when before he was poor ? His class is certainly not undoubted, as he has not been picked for months and we got better when he left the side.

Sorry but just doing something "different" doesnt make it better.

You are missing the point again mate .... If our midfield was functioning well then of course Spicer wouldnt deserve to be in the team, but i assume you werent there to watch the game last night? ...as you would have seen the gaps in midfield like we have never seen before ... Phillips is a centre back + should not be tried in midfield again. Woodyard did well when he came on but still is just a kid . Timlin was over run trying to do 3 jobs and looks more comfortable on the left , where Straker was really woeful again. What i am saying is why are we trying defenders out of position when we have a 29 year old centre midfielder in the squad who has played 200 odd games at a higher level than this. He played well pre season friendlies + in the first league match at Roots Hall he was quality , in fact almost scored 4 goals that game but was understandably rusty ... Which led to the usual idiots slagging him off and so his confidence was shot to pieces so he stopped demanding the ball in case he made an error. Football is all about confidence - Players are generally much of a muchness but those that are confident ,buzzing, want the ball + feel good about themselves always do well - those that are boo'd tend to hide and therefore do not shine.

So my point is we do have an experienced central midfielder in our squad -- someone needs to get hold of him + tell him he is a good player and give him another chance + we all need to encourage all of our players . Last night Smith made a decent save in the 1st minute right in front of us , a few Shrimpers shouted very loud encouragement to him + you could see the man grow in confidence from there....

 

[superblue24]

Spicer is one of a few players brought in who have failed miserably and need to be cut loose from the wage bill. I think Martin and Benyon are definites whilst Straker is getting very close to also joining the "flop brigade".

With a centre half being preferred ahead of Spicer in midfield (albeit a defensive midfielder) last night along with the games where he's failed to even make the bench not to mention having a yoot favoured over him most of the time in Woodyard, you would kind of deduce that he's either not match fit or (most likely) PS has lost patience with him. I'd say his days are almost certainly numbered.

 

[alginon1]

I do agree that it would be good to see if Spicer can perform well; but the problem when he played before was that the midfield was unsettled and weak; and that is how it is again. When Laird is back I would like to see how he does alongside him with Timlin left and Hirst right.
Harris must be nearly fit and I would rather see him as 1st/2nd choice sub striker than Benyon.

I'm here, give the boy a chance...

UTB

 

[Jam_Man]

You are missing the point again mate .... If our midfield was functioning well then of course Spicer wouldnt deserve to be in the team, but i assume you werent there to watch the game last night? ...as you would have seen the gaps in midfield like we have never seen before ... Phillips is a centre back + should not be tried in midfield again. Woodyard did well when he came on but still is just a kid . Timlin was over run trying to do 3 jobs and looks more comfortable on the left , where Straker was really woeful again. What i am saying is why are we trying defenders out of position when we have a 29 year old centre midfielder in the squad who has played 200 odd games at a higher level than this. He played well pre season friendlies + in the first league match at Roots Hall he was quality , in fact almost scored 4 goals that game but was understandably rusty ... Which led to the usual idiots slagging him off and so his confidence was shot to pieces so he stopped demanding the ball in case he made an error. Football is all about confidence - Players are generally much of a muchness but those that are confident ,buzzing, want the ball + feel good about themselves always do well - those that are boo'd tend to hide and therefore do not shine.

So my point is we do have an experienced central midfielder in our squad -- someone needs to get hold of him + tell him he is a good player and give him another chance + we all need to encourage all of our players . Last night Smith made a decent save in the 1st minute right in front of us , a few Shrimpers shouted very loud encouragement to him + you could see the man grow in confidence from there....

How does the fact the midfield isnt working since Tam left just ify bringing in Spicer, who didnt perform before and meant we had to bring in Tam in the first place. Telling him he is a good player wont make him one.

Spicer wasnt good enough before, he isnt good enough now.

We need to bring in someone else and not stake our future on a player who has already failed to deliver.

The fact we are trying Phillips in the midfield just shows the faith Sturrock has in Spicer.

By all accounts Woodyard has been better so if we stick with what we have he would play ahead of Spicer.

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

He werent even on the bench, need a strong defensive centre mid, a proper left side player who can track back and get forward, and perhaps a another passer in there. Both our goals last night from our left side. Straker absolute garbage. Couldnt control a football to save his life. Timlin drifts in all the time when he plays on the left. All comes down to the centre of midfield though, wasnt good enough last night! Tomlin doesnt look the same player without Britt alongside him, yet corr has done very well in Britts place. Conundrum for Luggy. Persoanlly think maybe Gav needs a rest for a game or two.

 

[WESTY_SUFC]

Phillips is a quality defender, but he's certainly no midfielder.

Agree, what next Prosser at left midfield

.......Oh

 

[Angell Delight]

Hopefully we will sign a quality holding midfielder this week. . . but if we dont, maybe the answer is already in our squad?
Last night it was blatantly obvious we were again trying to put square pegs into round holes... and the holes in the midfield were massive! Phillips is a quality defender, but he's certainly no midfielder.

With the awesome performance of Smith in goal + Benyon slotting away the winning penalty last week, maybe its time for the 3rd favourite target of the boo boys to step up + make a name for himself? Spicer is an experienced pro playing hundreds of leagues games in centre midfield + is definitely capable , sadly his confidence has been shot to pieces. Now if the Southend management can encourage him + bring his confidence back , stick him in midfield and he can show us his undoubted class.

Sturrock is a master of this -- Who could foresee Tomlin turning from hopeless to prolific this season? Who could foresee Ryan Hall turning from bit part non league bad boy to Championship quality player?

If Spicer is thrown in the deep end and the Southend faithful actually get behind him on Saturday i do think we will see the real Spice Boy back in business !

UTB

Tomlin was never hopeless, even when he wasn't scoring he was contributing. Spicer really was hopeless pretty much every time he was selected!

 

[Shrimper2thecore]

He is surely injured, or gone? We only named 6 subs last night, and he wasn't one of them.

 

[Greebosan]

He is surely injured, or gone? We only named 6 subs last night, and he wasn't one of them.

Good point, hadn't considered that aspect before. Would we have been told if he was gone?

Woodyard has had a couple of great games for us and I am a fan - in time he should develop into a real quality player. My concern with him is that he gets knocked off the ball a lot at the moment, so that while his industry and energy are excellent, he just lacks that bit of experience. It's not that I think he's a weak player, just that he needs experience to use his strength to ride the challenges and draw fouls if necesary (like Granty used to do).

I have to say though that if Spicer is still with us he certainly should get a place on the bench - anything is better than only 6 subs as any option is better than none.

 

[dannypav]

Good point, hadn't considered that aspect before. Would we have been told if he was gone?

Woodyard has had a couple of great games for us and I am a fan - in time he should develop into a real quality player. My concern with him is that he gets knocked off the ball a lot at the moment, so that while his industry and energy are excellent, he just lacks that bit of experience. It's not that I think he's a weak player, just that he needs experience to use his strength to ride the challenges and draw fouls if necesary (like Granty used to do).

I have to say though that if Spicer is still with us he certainly should get a place on the bench - anything is better than only 6 subs as any option is better than none.

You've spelt that wrong mate.
It's spelt D.....I.....V......E !:winking: