Post-Match Thread and Ratings Bristol Rovers 0-0 Southend United

[OldBlueLady]

First half was truly woeful from an attacking point of view, with our idea of attacking play consisting of either a long ball over Eastwood's or Barnard's head or a pointless punt down one of the channels. Second was marginally better as we actually looked to get the ball into feet a bit more but apart from a 10 minute spell at the start of the half and Loza's chance late on we just didn't look like scoring. All the more depressing as Rovers were genuinely the worst side I've seen us play this season.

This is a recurring theme. FFS, Corr is out, we're not blessed with his height up there and we have a forward in Freddy who is much better with the ball at his feet, Barney as well, to a lesser extent....so WHY are we still hitting long balls over the top? Elementary stuff, play to your strengths!!!

 

[mrsblue]

So Fred and Lee up top which many on here longed for with the expected outcome of both not even coming close to scoring!

Bin them both as they are now sadly spent forces.

Luggy was sacked for doing well IMO and never went on a 13 game winless streak yet today the man who was charged with taking the club forward has IMO taken it backwards,Phil seems to believe in the keep them out and nick one down the other end route which has now been well and truly found out.

The one thing which stands out in my eyes is Phil's total lack of imagination and he has probably blown his hour of glory,This team is not good enough yet was in a good position and Phil did not want to change personnel or formation in order to give them an added buzz.

Waste of another season so it seems.

 

[OldBlueLady]

So Fred and Lee up top which many on here longed for with the expected outcome of both not even coming close to scoring!

Bin them both as they are now sadly spent forces.

Not as simple as that though is it? Yet again it seems to be the creativity and service that were lacking, and for that you have to look at midfield.

 

[mrsblue]

Not as simple as that though is it? Yet again it seems to be the creativity and service that were lacking, and for that you have to look at midfield.

I look at what they have done during the past seasons to come to my conclusions and sadly neither have pulled up trees whilst both have suffered injury which has taken it's toll,Both have nil pace and both IMO have lost the spark which made them so good at what they did and age plays a massive part.Blaming the midfield is an easy excuse so we can blame the other midfielders at Bournemouth Oldham Coventry Wolves who all seemed hapless in creating chances for these two to finish.

It's over for them I am sorry to say.

 

[Silencer]

I'd be interested to know how the supply was from midfield...it's all very well slating the forwards but if supply was limited then that's hardly their fault. All I'd heard by half time was John White going close. Twice. :stunned:

This...Hurst was the main creative force in the side and aside from the odd John White cross not much else is created for any forward to work with. Hurst scored a few now seems more intent on shooting and his dramatic dip in form has certainly coincided with our lack goals and chances. Having said that, Hurst isn't to blame, you can't rely on a single player.

Goal wise, although our starved forwards have not scored too many, the contribution of goals from our midfielders and defenders has also been very poor this season.

Maybe the lack of chances and goals is more to do with our style of play and the way we set up. Yes we are quite solid defensively (When Phillips is missing) but that organised and hard to beat style prevents us from producing much it's an attacking force.

If we hadn't kept so many clean sheets this season, then with so few goals scored we could have been in a relegation scrap!!!

 

[mrsblue]

This...Hurst was the main creative force in the side and aside from the odd John White cross not much else is created for any forward to work with. Hurst scored a few now seems more intent on shooting and his dramatic dip in form has certainly coincided with our lack goals and chances. Having said that, Hurst isn't to blame, you can't rely on a single player.

Goal wise, although our starved forwards have not scored too many, the contribution of goals from our midfielders and defenders has also been very poor this season.

Maybe the lack of chances and goals is more to do with our style of play and the way we set up. Yes we are quite solid defensively (When Phillips is missing) but that organised and hard to beat style prevents us from producing much it's an attacking force.

If we hadn't kept so many clean sheets this season, then with so few goals scored we could have been in a relegation scrap!!!

The midfield and defence have scored around 70% of league goals which is a very good return so I cannot understand your theory.

Oh well.

 

[shrimperjon]

A tough game, tough conditions, but we battled through and got what I would say is a decent result in the end. The performance wasn't great, we didn't ever look like scoring and I don't think we would have if we carried on playing all weekend, but at the same time we were great defensively and didn't look like conceding at any point. It really was just a poor game of football and neither side deserved much more. We need a win soon, but we need some motivation, the midfield looked tired and devoid of ideas, up front we were blunt, Loza looked like the spark that might change that if he can settle in quickly and avoid being kicked about too much. Far from a good performance, but there were certainly positives to take from it.

Bentley - 7 - Did what he had to do and his distribution created chances at times
White - 5 - Worst I've seen him play, repeatedly went for the long ball down the line and wasted good chances when attacking
Egan - 7 - Calm, collected and solid, nothing really seemed to worry him
Sokilik - 7 - Would be surprised if he missed a header all season, dominated defence
Coker - 7 - Quiet first half, more of an attacking threat in the second with some good deliveries
Hurst - 7 - Far from his best but created more chances than most and put the ball in the box which is what we needed, not his fault that no one is getting on the end of it
Leonard - 6 - Game just completely passed him by, had no impact or influence
Timlin - 5.5 - Off the boil, tried hard to find the right passes but nothing seemed to come off for him
Atkinson - 6 - Worked hard and had a few decent moments but didn't create much at all
Eastwood - 6 - Won his headers, but is painfully slow and didn't have much help when he got it to his feet
Barnard - 4.5 - It almost hurt to see him struggle so much, improved when Loza replaced Eastwood, never looked like scoring and never seemed to have the ball at his feet for long enough to so anything before losing it


Loza - 6 - Showed glimpses of skill and talent, could really be a good player at this level, but had the obvious issues of clearly having met his team mates a few hours before the game.
Straker - Did he even touch the ball?

CP said he had been training with the team all week, and this does not excuse him from heading over from 4 yards when it was easier to score. Looks lively and pacey but doubt he is the answer to our goal scoring issues

 

[davewebbsbrain]

So Fred and Lee up top which many on here longed for with the expected outcome of both not even coming close to scoring!

Bin them both as they are now sadly spent forces.

Luggy was sacked for doing well IMO and never went on a 13 game winless streak yet today the man who was charged with taking the club forward has IMO taken it backwards,Phil seems to believe in the keep them out and nick one down the other end route which has now been well and truly found out.

The one thing which stands out in my eyes is Phil's total lack of imagination and he has probably blown his hour of glory,This team is not good enough yet was in a good position and Phil did not want to change personnel or formation in order to give them an added buzz.

Waste of another season so it seems.

Totally agree

 

[lee bradbury is a legend]

Was Brown there last night?

 

[Ricey]

Was Brown there last night?

Yes he was in the stands, he drove up on his own as he wasn't feeling well.

 

[Rick Parsnip]

Wobbler don't forget he is the 'holding' mid-fielder. That is mainly a defensive role to protect the back-four. He is doing that role AND getting forward for the'cause'. I think a lot of people are missing that point.

 

[united we stand]

[/B]
CP said he had been training with the team all week, and this does not excuse him from heading over from 4 yards when it was easier to score. Looks lively and pacey but doubt he is the answer to our goal scoring issues

On the radio they said that the players met him for the first time at the stadium

 

[bazzashrimper]

BBC Essex said we were 4-3-3 in the first half, and the went 4-4-2 in the second. Dave Penney said it was 4-4-2 in both halfs, but with hurst floating in the first.

Anyway, they suggested we were better with the orthodox 4-4-2, so hopefully PB will get the message and stop using a formation which relies on having different players!

 

[united we stand]

U daft? Only a few points in it

I posted in another thread details if the team's just below us. Basically 6 of the 7,could pick up 9,points inthe next three games. If we don't start winning at oxford then we are relying on a LOT of teams to self implode

 

[mrsblue]

Here are the last 44 league games under Luggy versus Phil's 44 league games!

Luggy played 44 won 19 drew 10 lost 15 gf 62 ga 43 points 67
Phil. played 44 won 14 drew 16 lost 14 gf 52 ga 46 points 58

Luggy has a superior record and he was fired!

 

[onceknownasrab]

The midfield and defence have scored around 70% of league goals which is a very good return so I cannot understand your theory.

Oh well.

70% of not enough = not enough.

 

[1966 and all that]

A tough game, tough conditions, but we battled through and got what I would say is a decent result in the end. The performance wasn't great, we didn't ever look like scoring and I don't think we would have if we carried on playing all weekend, but at the same time we were great defensively and didn't look like conceding at any point. It really was just a poor game of football and neither side deserved much more. We need a win soon, but we need some motivation, the midfield looked tired and devoid of ideas, up front we were blunt, Loza looked like the spark that might change that if he can settle in quickly and avoid being kicked about too much. Far from a good performance, but there were certainly positives to take from it.

Bentley - 7 - Did what he had to do and his distribution created chances at times
White - 5 - Worst I've seen him play, repeatedly went for the long ball down the line and wasted good chances when attacking
Egan - 7 - Calm, collected and solid, nothing really seemed to worry him
Sokilik - 7 - Would be surprised if he missed a header all season, dominated defence
Coker - 7 - Quiet first half, more of an attacking threat in the second with some good deliveries
Hurst - 7 - Far from his best but created more chances than most and put the ball in the box which is what we needed, not his fault that no one is getting on the end of it
Leonard - 6 - Game just completely passed him by, had no impact or influence
Timlin - 5.5 - Off the boil, tried hard to find the right passes but nothing seemed to come off for him
Atkinson - 6 - Worked hard and had a few decent moments but didn't create much at all
Eastwood - 6 - Won his headers, but is painfully slow and didn't have much help when he got it to his feet
Barnard - 4.5 - It almost hurt to see him struggle so much, improved when Loza replaced Eastwood, never looked like scoring and never seemed to have the ball at his feet for long enough to so anything before losing it


Loza - 6 - Showed glimpses of skill and talent, could really be a good player at this level, but had the obvious issues of clearly having met his team mates a few hours before the game.
Straker - Did he even touch the ball?

For goodness sake, Straker only came on after 86 minutes - and yes, he did touch the ball.

 

[RobB11]

[/B]
CP said he had been training with the team all week, and this does not excuse him from heading over from 4 yards when it was easier to score. Looks lively and pacey but doubt he is the answer to our goal scoring issues

Good to see you make that assumption after 20mins on the pitch and because of one miss.

:thumbsup:

 

[Pak Power]

Question to those who went; what was the pitch like? they play rugby on it I think? Not trying to use it as an excuse because same for both teams.

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

Question to those who went; what was the pitch like? they play rugby on it I think? Not trying to use it as an excuse because same for both teams.

Pitch looked superb all things considered.