When did it start to unravel?

[BluBayou]

When Roots Hall was no longer owned by the supporters.

Yes, this may be the awful truth. Looking at our history from the early 1980s onwards it's painful to think of all the problems that could have been avoided. The loss of the south bank and the property developers circling Roots Hall are the most obvious. I'm not sure when Roots Hall was handed over to SUFC. That was before my time. I wonder if this transfer was inevitable in the end?. Could the supporters have hung on to Roots Hall?. I can't think of any other stadium that is owned by the supporters.

 

[rigsby]

I get where you are coming from but my mind always go back to Doncaster at home, Luton and Wycombe away. No injury concerns at this time. The goals we conceded in that season opener were shocking. No team with any aspirations of achieving anything can ship those types of goals. It was Sunday league level defending.

Luton away was an absolute embarrassment of a performance under Powell. Didn't threaten their goal and conceded poor chances once again. Luton didn't have to work for their lead - it was that easy. Then, at 2-0, we start playing the ball from side to side because Luton had sat back with the job done. I remember fans saying we're having a better spell because we had the ball. But, we didn't go anywhere with it! It was another alarming performance.

Wycombe was a real strange one. 3-0 ahead and tactically very good. Cox in behind Theo and Hopper and wing backs that forced Wycombe's wingers backwards instead of forwards. It was all working so well until Powell changed the shape and went with one up front and four in the midfield. Suddenly, our wing backs couldn't get on because of the bodies directly in front of them. We manage to hang on for a 3-2 win. Powell celebrates like it was a masterclass when the reality was it was him who so very nearly cost us.

Yes the injuries were bad and we may well have avoided relegation had players been fit, but IMO there was no future under Powell in terms of moving the football club forwards. He was taking us backwards and at a worrying rate. Tactically he was below the required level. Recruitment was a poor. Decisions over the Captaincy were concerning and he made same very odd comments about Dru being our best player - and then left him on the bench for several weeks!

There have been many, many more mistakes made by the club since Powell's departure and lessons haven't been learned. All of these have played a part in our current predicament. However, the beginning of the poor performances on the pitch started under Powell and did so long before the injuries really took hold of the club.

This post is good example of why CP was destined to fail....Not because he was bad as his job but because of the reaction by our fans.

As a season opener, Doncaster was the most one sided first half of football I have ever seen. They could barley get out of their half but a combination of missing good chances and their keeper making good saves kept it to 0-0. We were sharp and first to every lose ball but the manager cant actually put the ball in the net, even if he has got everything else spot on. We even had 3 or 4 good chances after the 90 minutes were up.

Luton away....Are you forgetting Hoppers perfectly good goal ruled out for a foul on the keeper....Dieng getting injured after we had already lost Lennon and Barratt from the first game.....Luton went on to be champions and did not lose a game at home all season.

We win at Wycombe, which again is not that easy but thats not good enough for some...Anything less than 3-0 is a failure.

CP was a victim of his own success during the honeymoon period after Brown went. Far to many fans got a large dose of promotion fever. With each injury it was fans failure to adjust their own bloated expectations that spiralled us down the table and drove CP off the touchline

When CP went It was absolutely the right thing to do at the time but the so called fans created the conditions over many weeks in order for it to happen.

 

[gatecrasher]

When Goater retired - im confident we would of stayed in the championship that season by the skin of our teeth with his experience. Who knows who we could of signed and made a fist of staying in there

 

[Welly7]

CP was a victim of his own success during the honeymoon period after Brown went. Far to many fans got a large dose of promotion fever. With each injury it was fans failure to adjust their own bloated expectations that spiralled us down the table and drove CP off the touchline

When CP went It was absolutely the right thing to do at the time but the so called fans created the conditions over many weeks in order for it to happen.

That was part of the problem. He didn't really have any success. The start he had turned out to be the new manager bounce and nothing more. He never repeated that points per game return throughout his reign.

Personally speaking, there was never any bloated expectation as I never saw anything from him that warranted such thoughts. I think the fact that he was a fan favourite clouded peoples judgement of the job he was doing and, as I mentioned in a previous post, the injuries won him more time.

Again, personally speaking, I would have loved Powell to have succeeded. Partly because of his association with the club from his playing days but more importantly because it would have meant a successful Southend team.