Where did it all go wrong?

[manor15]

Nobody could disagree that Southend's 2008-09 season went wrong over the Christmas season when the Blues only won 4 games out of 19 from November to January. However after that bad spell the Blues form improved and there was a serious possibility that with a bit of luck and some good form that we could make the play-offs. This belief started at the end of February after we completed the double over Peterborough after coming from behind to win 2-1 at London Road. Since then we have lost just 4 games in 11 but todays defeat to now champions Leceister City pretty much confirmed that we won't make the play-offs. It is actually now impossible for us to reach the play-offs as we must beat both Oldham and Cheltenham while Tranmere must lose to Yeovil, Scunthorpe lose to Northampton and Leceister and then Tranmere face Scunthorpe on the last day of the season which means that if Scunthorpe lose 2 and then beat Tranmere they would move level on points with us but with a better goal difference and a draw would mean the same thing but with Scunthorpe likely to have a very similar goal difference to Tranmere.
This is what I predict the table to finish up as:
6th Tranmere 76pts 17GD
7th Scunthorpe 76pts 16GD
8th Southend 73pts -1GD
So here are our results since the beginning of March and our league position:
3/3 Southend 0-1 Millwall Pos:13th
7/3 Southend 2-0 Walsall 12th
10/3 Brighton 1-3 Southend 11th
14/3 Hereford 0-1 Southend 10th
17/3 Swindon 3-0 Southend 10th
21/3 Southend 3-0 Carlisle 9th
27/3 Southend 3-2 Hartlepool 8th
4/4 Huddersfield 0-1 Southend 7th
10/4 Southend 0-2 MK Dons 8th
13/4 Northampton 2-3 Southend 8th
18/4 Southend 0-2 Leceister 8th
I have highlighted the most important wins and defeats in bold.
The first, a 3-0 defeat away to relegation threatened Swindon, was a game that on paper we should have won easily and looking back at it now we really should have won. Before that we had been in excellent form and were charging up the table but this halted our charge and prevented us from taking a vital 3 points. Results like this have been too common this season and if we cut out just 1 of the 5 losses, most notably Crewe and Yeovil at home, and countless draws against bottom 10 teams we would stand just as good a chance at the playoffs as Tranmere.
However this was followed up by a 3-0 thrashing of Carlisle which in my opinion was just as vital as the 2-1 win at Peterborough. If we had let our heads down after the Swindon defeat we would have gradually dropped back down the table but instead we got straight back into the form that saw us rise up the table even more, rising to 9th and really competing for the playoffs.
The 1-0 away win over fellow competitors Huddersfield made a top 8 finish very likely and also pushed us up to 7th over Tranmere despite them having a game in hand. This would have given the players more belief and taken some away from Tranmere and worried Scunthorpe. It also saw Lee Barnard continue his return to form which would prove vital in the run-in.
However a 0-2 home loss to MK Dons was always going to be a tough game but 1 that if lost would make our play off dream almost impossible to achieve. This game summed up Southend season; playing good football, being the better team but not being able to find the net and then the opposition break away, grab a goal and we go for it and they grab another.
Todays 2-0 defeat to Leceister was very similar to the defeat to MK Dons and sealed our fate in League 1 next season. Damn. Well, there's always next season.

Some people might say that this season was a failure but considering that the team photo was delayed because we didn't have enough players at 1 point and that at one stage we were as low as 22nd in the league we actually had a pretty good season. What we need is a flair player, someone who can make something out of nothing like Freddy Eastwood and Mark Gower in previous seasons, with one of these we could break down the teams that sit back and park the bus like Crewe and Yeovil, and take our chances aginst the teams we play well enough to beat but end up losing to like Leceister and MK Dons. For me it is games like Crewe and Yeovil that ended up costing us a play off place as well as our poor form over Christmas. This season was very similar to last season but this time our form ended up costing us and that is why we will face another season of League 1 football.

 

[M@CC@ 16]

when all the loans left/injuries happened and we were left with about 10 fit players

 

[Dave Smiths Love Child]

When other clubs signed players on contracts and we continued to play the loan game on a wing and prayer.

Next season the club must learn, the fans will not be so forgiving

 

[Blueshrimper]

No goalscorer at that point.

 

[sufcalways]

We have always had a small team. The season we won league one we had a small team and got lucky with little injuries and kept a solid starting 11. This year if we had no injuries, we would be right up there imo, but we cant afford to have a small squad if we want to go up!!

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

No consistent fit striker- all the top teams have got a decent 15+ striker.
No supply from the wide areas.
2 poor right backs.
Bluebelles routines not raunchy enough

 

[BoyWonder2]

and countless draws against bottom 10 teams

We have only drawn 7 games all season! That has been one of the problems. In general we tend to win or lose, during this great run we didn't draw a single game. At home, we have only got 2 draws which is the joint lowest with Leeds yet we have suffered 8 home defeats. You have to look down to Col Ewe to find the next highest position in the league with more home defeats. We have won a good amount of home games, 12 in total, with only Leicester, Leeds, Peterborough and Tranmere have beaten.

Sometimes draws are no good, but they can make a big difference. Games like Leicester, MK Dons and Milwall we should have taken at least a point from, which gives us 3 more points which could make a big difference.

Yes there are other things like injuries, suspensions, loans ending, chopping and changing the starting 11 due to the other points I've made. These have probably made more of a difference, but we need to learn to turn defeats into wins/draws to give us more of a chance.

Thats just something to think about really.

 

[BoyWonder2]

Just doing a little bit of research and our last home draw was all the way back against Col Ewe on the 1st of November 2008. Our first home draw was vs Stockport back on the 11th October 2008.

Our last away draw was back in January 20th at Orient.

 

[Yer Blues]

when the kids started posting

 

[OldBlueLady]

Drawing has been our problem over the last few seasons, we've lost far too many games in successive seasons which is why we had that ridiculous record for 0-0s! I'd go back to the 1-0 defeat at home to Millwall as being pretty important. It was a lucky win for them.

 

[BrettieAngell]

8 home defeats.

 

[Reg Martin]

At start of season I would have settled for anywhere between 7th and 9th (though in mid-January I would have settled for just staying up).
To be honest I would be happy with a similar sort of position next year too especially when I look at who is likely to be coming down.

 

[Beefy]

Were we to finish in 8th, would that not make this one of our more successful seasons ever?

 

[Reg Martin]

Were we to finish in 8th, would that not make this one of our more successful seasons ever?

I started a thread this time last year that demonstrated that finishing 6th was our 3rd best finish at this level since the 3rd north and south was split into 3rd and 4th divisions at end of 50s so coming 8th will certainly be up there with one of our best seasons.

http://www.shrimperzone.com/vb/showthread.php?t=38008

 

[Uncle Leo]

Drawing has been our problem over the last few seasons, we've lost far too many games in successive seasons which is why we had that ridiculous record for 0-0s! I'd go back to the 1-0 defeat at home to Millwall as being pretty important. It was a lucky win for them.

A few years ago, we equalled the record for fewest draws in a league season with just three. Incidentally, over in Spain, Sporting Gijon are still to draw this season - 11 wins and 19 defeats!

 

[Beefy]

I started a thread this time last year that demonstrated that finishing 6th was our 3rd best finish at this level since the 3rd north and south was split into 3rd and 4th divisions at end of 50s so coming 8th will certainly be up there with one of our best seasons.

Indeed. Obviously we'd have all loved to have been in the Playoffs or challenging for automatic promotion, but in the years I've been going to matches I can count the number of times we've been in that position at this stage of the season on the fingers of one hand. Plus as you say, in the context of our history, there's been very few times we've finished higher than this.

I'd say that we're around the 8th biggest Club at this level so I don't think we can demand to finish much higher than we have done. Particularly considering the players we lost last summer and the failure to replace them.

 

[dashman]

While it is easy to look back with hindsight etc, I have said this before; Nicky Bailey leaving (the way it was dealt with and team hassle) was extremely disruptive for all concerned...

 

[Sean 2]

For me, we started the season with the two best strikers in Barney and Freedman, quite an exciting combination and ended the season with the pair of them hardly playing half a season and hardly never seen them play together.
They were the dream ticket, of that i'm sure, but we got unlucky.

Hats off to the management for pulling results in the cup and later in the league and basically defying all the odds.

Oh and let's not forget Macca being out for so long to begin with and that Bailey bloke sodding off at the start of the season.


Imagine a team like this.....

Mildenhall, Francis, Clarke, Dervitte, Barrett, Bailey, Macca, Moussa, Stanislas, Freedman, Barnard.

We could have had a very strong subs bench and would have done very well with that squad all season but look again at that team and think how many have done half a season with us?
Ok, Stan was a short term loan as is Dervitte.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

A few years ago, we equalled the record for most draws in a league season with just three. Incidentally, over in Spain, Sporting Gijon are still to draw this season - 11 wins and 19 defeats!

:unsure:

While it is easy to look back with hindsight etc, I have said this before; Nicky Bailey leaving (the way it was dealt with and team hassle) was extremely disruptive for all concerned...

Not just Bailey, but Gower as well. We spent most of our season trying to establish our best midfield and our pattern of play. I know people point the finger at the loanees (and Sawyer in particular), but look at our midfield now: McCormack, Grant, Moussa and Scannell/Betsy were all on the club's books, we just hadn't figured out how to use them. The only midfielder who wasn't was Christophe, and I'd say Grant is better than him anyway.

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

8 home defeats.

Of which we have failed to score in 7 of them.
As stated elsewhere it's failing to prevent these losses from being draws (especially the poor 0-1's v Crewe, Yeovil & even Millwall - some might argue also how key decisions have cost us against MK & Leicester recently too).

In all these games mentioned, we had loads of sustained pressure, but for whatever reason didn't convert this into chances and ultimately goals (having now seen the brief minute of the Leicester game on The Championship yesterday, I cannot believe how Theo's shot didn't go in).

This is something that needs addressing next season, Roots Hall needs to become a fortress again - cut out shipping silly goals when caught on the break and convert pressure into clearcut chances...