I'm losing faith in Chris Powell. Are you?

[Jai]

Wonder how many people who mindlessly booed the substitution of Cox on Saturday are willing to put their hands up and admit they were wrong, now it has been revealed he was injured.

Not many I would bet.

 

[rigsby]

Yes one of Southend’s most famously angry fans sounded off to me in the Spread when the team was announced

He was really upset with JW being in the team..... Never said a word after the game.

 

[Ex-Member1]

With all the fantastic local managers there on on here and in RH how come we aren't in the Premiersh**e? Baffling.

 

[FarmdogSUFC]

Wonder how many people who mindlessly booed the substitution of Cox on Saturday are willing to put their hands up and admit they were wrong, now it has been revealed he was injured.

Not many I would bet.

I'd be pretty confident in betting that he isn't injured and we're just saying that so he can miss the game and we don't get fined. He'll play Saturday no doubt about it.

 

[Tommy2holes]

I like SCP as a player as a man in general.

From what I have seen so far I haven't been overly impressed with him as a manager.

Yes he has been ridiculously unlucky with injuries etc, but at the same time the lack of tactical awareness and general game plan is worrying. We also seem to lack bite and work rate. If you play a better team, you have to out work them to get the points. If you get outclassed and outworked on a regular basis, it will be a recipe for disaster.

Let's see what he does in January, but the signs aren't good at the moment.


I hadn't missed a home game in about 15 seasons prior to this, but I gave the Scunny game a miss and had to drag myself to the barnsley match. That's not like me at all, and says a lot. It's not much fun at roots hall this season.

 

[Jai]

I'd be pretty confident in betting that he isn't injured and we're just saying that so he can miss the game and we don't get fined. He'll play Saturday no doubt about it.

Hmm, went into quite a lot of detail in the Echo for a lie. It may not be a serious injury but he was down for a while at the end of the first half.

 

[Jai]

I like SCP as a player as a man in general.

From what I have seen so far I haven't been overly impressed with him as a manager.

Yes he has been ridiculously unlucky with injuries etc, but at the same time the lack of tactical awareness and general game plan is worrying. We also seem to lack bite and work rate. If you play a better team, you have to out work them to get the points. If you get outclassed and outworked on a regular basis, it will be a recipe for disaster.

Let's see what he does in January, but the signs aren't good at the moment.


I hadn't missed a home game in about 15 seasons prior to this, but I gave the Scunny game a miss and had to drag myself to the barnsley match. That's not like me at all, and says a lot. It's not much fun at roots hall this season.

What did you think of the tail end of last season?

FWIW I agree about the lack of bite (not work rate though). I do think Luke Hyam is going to play a key role, as long as he can stay fit which is a bit if given our current luck.

 

[FarmdogSUFC]

Hmm, went into quite a lot of detail in the Echo for a lie. It may not be a serious injury but he was down for a while at the end of the first half.

You could be right. I personally was one of the fans who thought it was an absolute insult to basically make him chase lost causes for 75 mins on his own to finally go 2 up top and take him off. I'd have been raging if I was Cox. He might not be a starter at that level anymore but I'd still argue he possesses Championship quality and for the last 4 or 5 games we've been pumping long balls at his head.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

I'd be pretty confident in betting that he isn't injured and we're just saying that so he can miss the game and we don't get fined. He'll play Saturday no doubt about it.

I’ll take that bet.

We need to field 4 qualifying players to avoid a fine. Bet you £10 (proceeds to SZ) that we field at least 4, which means Powell, would have had no reason to lie about Cox.

 

[FarmdogSUFC]

I’ll take that bet.

We need to field 4 qualifying players to avoid a fine. Bet you £10 (proceeds to SZ) that we field at least 4, which means Powell, would have had no reason to lie about Cox.

I would take that bet but I actually agree with you that he'll still field 4 qualifying players. He'll select 4 or our more durable players to try avoid more injuries though (watch one of them get injured in this and be out for 2 months now I've said it).

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

I would take that bet but I actually agree with you that he'll still field 4 qualifying players. He'll select 4 or our more durable players to try avoid more injuries though (watch one of them get injured in this and be out for 2 months now I've said it).

Ok, how about £10 to SZ that he selects 5 or more qualifying players?

He has no reason to lie about Cox.

 

[FarmdogSUFC]

Ok, how about £10 to SZ that he selects 5 or more qualifying players?

He has no reason to lie about Cox.

I don't even know where this is going now. I totally agree CP will play within the rules and ensure we have the correct number of qualifying players in the line-up. My point is I suspect a bit of kidology when it comes to this Cox injury. If he was to play tonight and get one of these ridiculous injuries we seem to be getting at the moment, we'd be left with Theo and McGoalshy and we could really do without that happening.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

I don't even know where this is going now. I totally agree CP will play within the rules and ensure we have the correct number of qualifying players in the line-up. My point is I suspect a bit of kidology when it comes to this Cox injury. If he was to play tonight and get one of these ridiculous injuries we seem to be getting at the moment, we'd be left with Theo and McGoalshy and we could really do without that happening.

I just don’t get why he’d invent an injury to Cox and what he’d gain from it (unless Cox makes a dramatic recovery and starts tonight).

 

[C'mon you Shrimpers]

clearly we need a strong imposing centre forward who can take the pressure off Cox and work with him. Trouble is that those that are any good won't come as their clubs won't let them and why should they as well. So it's either a loan or someone either on their way down from a higher division, someone with a dubious injury record, an untried kid or someone with fatal character flaws that have meant he's been chucked out of a number of clubs but can do the business if arsed and asked. Handy if they are a free agent as well.
Realities gentlemen (and ladies) realities.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

Someone posted that MAF is available, he would be fit and a known quantity. If he comes at a reasonable cost then a play and pay deal would be a stop gap sticky plaster type of solution until a more long term fix is done.

 

[Thundersley Blue]

As much as I enjoyed watching Fortune he isn't now the answer. Given the injuries and with the benefit of hindsight, he could have done a job for us. However, with no guarantee that Hopper will be fit to start next season, we now need to try and look longer term if possible.

I am pleased that the Cox substitution has been mentioned on here. I just can't understand the way some supporters criticise everything the manager does. Saturday the boos were totally embarrassing. The expectations of some are totally unrealistic. The injury situation is not an excuse it is a fact.

 

[Rayleigh boy]

lots of unhappy miserable people come to football to vent their unhappiness -

lots of very unfit decrepid old men screaming abuse at very fit athletes who are far better at football than they ever were ...

and there are 22 highly motivated well paid and experienced football managers fighting for a result every single week - thinks its as easy as dropping John White and playing Moore - nope - theres a bit more to it .. including a high level of stress in a result orientated business and having to always deal politely and patiently with fans of the club ..

 

[Brian Meyers]

clearly we need a strong imposing centre forward who can take the pressure off Cox and work with him. Trouble is that those that are any good won't come as their clubs won't let them and why should they as well. So it's either a loan or someone either on their way down from a higher division, someone with a dubious injury record, an untried kid or someone with fatal character flaws that have meant he's been chucked out of a number of clubs but can do the business if arsed and asked. Handy if they are a free agent as well.
Realities gentlemen (and ladies) realities.

A good keeper would help the back 4 feel more confident

 

[tottenham541]

A good keeper would help the back 4 feel more confident

And the keeper is only as good as your back 3 or 4, it’s a team game.

 

[Jai]

No denying that Oxley hasn't hit the heights of last season, but not many would have seen that coming. And of course we have a decent keeper waiting in the wings - oh no, he's injured of course!

I get that a lot of people are unhappy, none of us are happy at the moment, but there doesn't seem to be a consensus among fans as to exactly why Powell should be relieved of his position?

Subs? The one on Saturday didn't look too bad from where I was sitting. You can't make that triple, attacking sub any earlier in the game and it be effective.

Tactics? From what I can see Powell has had to rotate his team and his tactics quite a lot because the squad has been decimated by injuries, which in turn makes injuries to the remaining players far more likely because they have to play more games and play through knocks etc.

But then people moan that he plays Robinson or McCoulsky, but then moan when he pushes Dieng forward to support Cox in a 4-4-1-1. So what should he do???

The three in the middle system with wing backs also worked for a while, but that was when we had Demetriou and Coker pushing forward and crossing for Hopper...

Every time Powell seems to have come across a good system, a vital cog in it seems to get injured. It's been nigh on impossible for him to play a settled back four (which incidentally would also partly explain Oxley's poor form).

For some fans, it seems to be "yes injuries are bad but he can't hide behind that forever". Well the injuries are not going away, they have decimated us and they are going to effect us until May, so how is it an excuse that is wearing thin?

I warned on the fanzine account in October when we lost Hopper, Lennon and Coker long term that as fans we would have to adjust our expectations. Some have, but many more have not and I am sad because it could end up costing a very good manager his job.

Our fundamental aim has to be get to 52 points and survival. There's always next season. In the meantime, we have to get behind Powell as he showed what he can do at the tail end of last season when he had a full squad to choose from.