Ricky Otto
President⭐
Ok here goes, it will be based purely on emotion and how I feel right now - I often try and wait '24 hours' for the dust to settle and allow myself to calm down but tonight I am ashamed to see me team conceed 5 goals at home to Dagenham and Redbridge who effectively are a non league club.
We were actually the better side for large periods of the match but we lack character when we go behind (in the main), defend set pieces like schoolboys the buck has to stop somewhere.
I am one of the Southend fans who has stuck up for Phil Brown last season, all pre season and up till tonight. I have given him a chance, I have looked at the cirucmstances, his contacts, his experience, his idea's and his professionalism but tonight was the straw that broke the camels back for me. Sometimes I feel for the gaffer and the embargo's, lack of funds and support from higher up but he does himself no favours.
Yes we have a team of average league two players who give 100% effort which I admire, we even try and play some nice football in the right way but what on earth is going on with some of Brown's decisions.
Set Pieces - now is it me or are we attempting to play Zonal marking. I may be wrong (which I actually hope I am) but what on earth is that all about, if we are then drop the idea now because it has cost us too many points already. All pre season we were weak at set pieces which cost us time and time again, earlier in the season it cost us but now it's the middle of October and nothing has been done about this. If were not zonal marking then Brown's management of his players is awful, why are they not picking up and man marking and putting everything on the line to defend!?!?!?
4-5-1 at home to mid table Dagenham and Redbridge...we were not playing Brazil. And the one poor sod upfront was an untried and unfit Read who is lacking match fitness (not his fault). How do you expect Read to perform alone up top, at times our midfield quintet were fully thirty yards away from the lone forward. So sticking to this 4-5-1 formation (lets not kid ourselves by calling it 4-3-3) and at 5-2 down with half an hour to go, Brown waits until the 88th minute to introduce another forward!!! WTF
Straker - what on earth is this player all about. He gives us nothing (pace aside) and is a liability yet Brown continues to pick him at every possible opportunity. Brown likened him to Gareth Bale after pre season displays agianst the likes of Wakering, Bishop Stortford and the mighty Braintree. Straker is dross and gives the team problems not options.
Leaders on the field - now don't get me wrong, I rate John White as a player and am pleased with him as a signing but he is not a skipper and not captain material for me. To give someone the club captaincy becuase "he was my first signing" is an egotistic catastrophe, Brown even admitted there was 4/5 other possibilities but wanted his captain to be a "Brown player".
Ego is losing respect - Brown has ruined our players in the local and national press, does he not realise that these are young and average lower league footballers giving their all, I can't see how this is doing the changing room any favours. His ego and fame hungry personality is wearing thin with me now. A work colleague (Fan of other team) was talking to a couple of Blues players at the weekend (3am Subway chat) and both Blues players (first team regulars) even said what a "C##t" the manager is". Respect is going for the gaffer and I don't blame the players if it does.
Red rep me, Green rep me - I just had to get this off my chest. I have backed the manager as much as I could but tonight, I have turned from team Brown to Brown the clown :'(
I think this was based on pure emotion. “finally given up” suggests you have given Brown time, IMO you haven’t. His games last season can only really be seen as an opportunity to assess the squad and prepare for this season and this season we are 10 games into the league and just 3 points off the play offs, hardly a crisis. Brown rested players and tried something different in a game that wasn’t that important to many fans, most on here see the JPT as unwelcome extra games with our threadbare squad. Dagenham aren’t a bad side, the league reflects that. I wasn’t at the game but it sounds like Smith had a nightmare and we all know Smith is not Brown’s 1[SUP]st[/SUP] choice keeper.
I think the Straker criticism is a bit harsh, he has had his bad games but he has also had a couple of very good games for us in the league this season, still feel he has something to offer this team despite his dip in form.
I kind of agree on the captaincy, sometimes the lead by example type captain who isn’t vocal works but feel with this team we could do with a vocal leader. I’m hard pushed to find anyone in the team I’d appoint though. I think maybe Laird could do the job but that’s not going to help us at the moment anyway.
As for the hearsay about the players not respecting Brown, I don’t buy into that kind of unsubstantiated gossip.