Post-Match Thread and Ratings Doncaster Rovers 4-1 Southend United

[Ayrshire Blue]

"Kieffer Moore scored more goals in 31 minutes against us than he had in his previous 39 League appearances.

Tom Eaves scored more goals in 24 minutes against us than he had in his previous 32 League appearances.

Ben Whiteman scored as many goals in 11 minutes against us as he had in his previous 30 League appearances."

It could only happen to us....

Clean sheet mentality

 

[IloveShrimp]

I'm pro-PB and have been since the start.

As others have said, we are in a stronger position as a club than we were and have improved year on year. Added to this, there is stability throughout the club and in the youth set-up. We aren't hiring and firing left right and centre and the coaches in the youth teams are being allowed to work with the players at their own pace. This is starting to reap rewards.

I think PB wanted to keep Anton here for his experience in developing a structured defence and maybe bring a couple of players through over the next two years, but I do concede that we haven't done great in the transfer market defensively. Ironically an area most would think PB would be strong in. We've let some good players go, as well. Some forced and some not so and have recruited possibly more poorly than we would like.

I would like to see a plan there. The chopping and changing, some enforced through injury, has left us looking vulnerable when sides come at us. It's no coincidence that we seem to concede batches of goals, close together, when the oppo tail is up.

That said, we are where we are and I do believe we will be fine. Especially if we stop giving away silly free-kicks and use Row Z a bit more, when we are under pressure.

I have to say I missed Clarky's take on things on the radio, yesterday. Being a former defender, he always talks a lot of sense on positional play and the like. The club could do a lot worse than to get him on the payroll and smartish!

shouldn't need to, we have an ex defender manager, and an ex defender coach in charge. If they brought in Paul Clarke they would have to admit failure and they would not do that!

 

[AndyT]

Agreed. We shouldn't need to, but of the goals we concede, many are from set-pieces and/or poor positional play, so something needs addressing.

 

[geoffmundo]

If there is 'something rotten in the Dressing Room', could this be to do with players continually being picked when not fit/performing....and others playing well then dropped for the next match....?

 

[Ex-Member1]

The old chestnuts are in season it would appear? COYBB

 

[Swiss Tony]

As i pointed out in the pre match thread i think it was earlier in the week , this is SUFC and out of form teams seem to find form against us.Been like that for years.Good to see all the whingers back and enjoying themselves.:hilarious:

Remember cobber their paying out hard earned coinage every week your not.:loyalsupporter:

 

[Sammy Shrimper]

Yesterday was a typical away day for me to Donny! 5th visit and just a draw back in the eighties at Belle Vue.
Shocking 2nd half performance. Why do we lump it forward to Ranger when he was in the pocket of their centre half most of the game.
Only highlights - a night out on the ale in Nottingham, followed by a very decent lamb bhuna!

 

[5scoops]

Again brown has goes at players half time , something wrong in dressing room !
Yes mate you !
Brown out ! Why ! Lost players again ,no width and playing players out position when we have fit players back

 

[BrettieAngell]

Could be worse we could be Northampton! :unsure:

 

[Lord Football]

24 hours later, so no knee jerk reaction and I've intentionally not read other comments.

It is not that we lost to a team who were, frankly, dreadful. It was the manner we did it in. There was absolutely no need for that performance, there are no excuses. With the exception of Oxley, everyone of them needs to take a look at their own personal involvement yesterday. We looked shambolic, and quite how you can give away a goal lead and then concede four in about fifteen minutes is baffling.

We looked clueless going forward. Cox wasted a good chance early and Ranger won some aerial ball, but both fed on scraps. Wordsworth was the best of a poor midfield. Macca and Wright were non existent for most of the game. Elvis was dreadfully exposed and he will need more time. Timlin, not sure where was playing - I'd be playing a left back at left back (Hendrie).

Some will bleat about the ref, but d'ya know, he was poor for both sides (and the equalising goal is onside, and it was a penalty). But again, to be sent off for giving the referee some abuse at this level is very difficult to do. To do it after the game takes a very special stupid. But, hey, I suppose those who were screaming for Anton to be dropped will see what we miss (if we do, of course).

All in all a dreadful 90 minutes

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

24 hours later, so no knee jerk reaction and I've intentionally not read other comments.

It is not that we lost to a team who were, frankly, dreadful. It was the manner we did it in. There was absolutely no need for that performance, there are no excuses. With the exception of Oxley, everyone of them needs to take a look at their own personal involvement yesterday. We looked shambolic, and quite how you can give away a goal lead and then concede four in about fifteen minutes is baffling.

We looked clueless going forward. Cox wasted a good chance early and Ranger won some aerial ball, but both fed on scraps. Wordsworth was the best of a poor midfield. Macca and Wright were non existent for most of the game. Elvis was dreadfully exposed and he will need more time. Timlin, not sure where was playing - I'd be playing a left back at left back (Hendrie).

Some will bleat about the ref, but d'ya know, he was poor for both sides (and the equalising goal is onside, and it was a penalty). But again, to be sent off for giving the referee some abuse at this level is very difficult to do. To do it after the game takes a very special stupid. But, hey, I suppose those who were screaming for Anton to be dropped will see what we miss (if we do, of course).

All in all a dreadful 90 minutes

Some reasonable points there. I thought Elvis was okay and Ranger did well given that the situation he was faced with. I did wonder about the Cox miss and whether it would prove to be costly.

As another poster said, there was no width. And that was a significant issue as we could not pull Doncaster out of shape and create space inside for players like Lenny and Wordsworth to benefit. Tims was not getting forward in support of MacL who was isolated and can only have had the ball a dozen times or so all game (and his crossing was poor) ...... whilst on the other wing Elvis rightly stayed as a steady right back (but got forward more in the 2nd half) but Wright looked incapable of doing anything inventive.

Some very decent players in that starting XI but it just didn't work as an overall team.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Having moved away from the area in the mid 90s it has been a long time since I have been able to watch the team I started supporting in 1960 but thanks to iFollow now I can. Maybe an enforced diet of watching La Liga, Serie A and even the Premier league instead have spoiled it for me, but to say that I was shocked by the poor standard of football seen so far is an understatement, and I don't just mean Southend. I know memory can play tricks and the past often seems rosier than it really was, but on the evidence of what I have seen so far, league one football is at an all time low generally and this Southend side is shockingly inept in virtually every respect and certainly suffers by comparison with the teams of Ernie Shepherd, Arthur Rowley and Dave Smith.

I first moved away permanently from Southend in 1978 and have followed SUFC since the Ted Fenton era.

While I watch La Liga on a fairly regular basis, as an Espanyol season card holder (soci) for 20 years or so now, I would disagree that the standard in L1 football is at an all time low these days.Personally I think matches are much quicker now than they have ever been,also highly competitive and the skill standard is quite high too.Granted being able to watch games at the highest level from other European leagues plus the Prem.rather ups the ante somewhat.

I would certainly agree that SUFC matches in the Ernie Shepherd,Rowley and Dave Smith era were wonderful to watch but I'm sure people already look back with affection to matches played in the Dave Webb,Barry Fry, Peter Taylor, and Steve Tilson era too, as they will in the future to matches played under Paul Sturrock and Phil Brown.

 

[RobM]

Could be worse we could be Northampton! :unsure:

I bet there were no maximum points in the prediction league there!

 

[Blues 'n twos]

Anyone else p***ed off with South Yorkshire? 9 goals shipped in 2 games....the only consolation on both visits was a great day out with the TZ crew, and 2 cracking pubs. :smile:

 

[LBBlue]

If there is 'something rotten in the Dressing Room', could this be to do with players continually being picked when not fit/performing....and others playing well then dropped for the next match....?

Could have something to do with square pegs in round holes - too many players being asked to play out of position.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

Is the "rotten something" in the dressing room to do with the too often lack lustre performances after the half time break. I don't know what happens in there but we are often "not at the races" from the re-start.
Do they have too much information, too little, no orange, 3 spoons of sugar? what is it that is said? Too much emphasis on safe safe side side etc and not enough fast forward shoot?

 

[Floval Flyer]

Anyone else p***ed off with South Yorkshire? 9 goals shipped in 2 games....the only consolation on both visits was a great day out with the TZ crew, and 2 cracking pubs. :smile:

weve been done more times in S Yorks that a Christian schoolgirl!

 

[united we stand]

weve been done more times in S Yorks that a Christian schoolgirl!

Not really what I want to read on the match thread thanks, very poor taste vest saved for " homers bar"

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

Long ball just didn't work. Main concerns will be who plays centre back next weekend and the fact that we don't have any plan B and keep having woeful 5-10 minute spells where we throw the game away.

Does anyone actually know what Plan A is? Because if it's defence playing it into the middle, where all the midfielders get a touch before playing it back to the defence or sometimes if we're feeling adventurous, the goalkeeper, where it then gets hoofed up to the strikers then we're in for a tough season.

That style benefits absolutely none of our key players

 

[AndyT]

It's a game management thing.

I like the fact we try and pass the ball around, but when you are a minute into injury time in the first half, you need to stick it in Row Z and take the sting out of the situation.

If we'd have walked off 1-0 up at the break, the Donny fans may well have booed the team off and they'd feel under pressure straight away from the re-start.

Giving them something to grab hold of, they're buoyed and out after the break with their tails up. The rest is history.