Leonard and our 4 midfielders

[dannypav]

Many ( maybe most ) of us will acknowledge that Ryan Leonard has been our ‘stand out’ player of the past few seasons.
He has stood out on more than one occasion - top player.
Yet in the three wins under Saint Chris , the performances and work rate of McLaughlin , Timlin, Yearwood and Kightly has been excellent and IMO way above how they were performing when Leonard was here.
I think a lot is to do with the ‘new Manager’ effect - wanting to impress and better game plan etc , but I also wonder if they feel that without the ‘star’ player , they need to step up more and indeed have the confidence to do so ?
Maybe there was an element of “Lenny will do it” , so they didn’t need to do as much.
As I say , he was our ‘stand out’ player and I don’t think the 4 I mentioned have suddenly become ‘better than Leonard’ , but maybe a better unit ?
Interested to hear what others think.

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

Can Lenny still be a candidate for player of the season in May?

 

[OldBlueLady]

I will never doubt for one moment anything other than that Lenny was a top player for us, however, I do think there was an element of him being a "Phil favourite" and that everything had to go through Lenny, including those sideways passes which so many of us hated.

The style has changed and it suits the players we now have. I think it's a huge shame Lenny isn't still here as it would have been really interesting to see how things changed for him under SCP.

 

[Bromley Blue]

I almost made a joke on the match ratings thread after the Wigan game about Lenny clearly being our weak link. I’d have been shot down in flames even in jest though I fear.

Joking aside, we’ll never know whether we’d have got the same results if Lenny was still here, Tims and Yearwood have been playing out of their skins. But results generally weren’t as good when Lenny was missing when he was here. And we won’t ever know what effect SCP could have had on Lenny. I still think he could play a little further forward if he had someone behind him doing some of the dirty work. The problem was that doing the dirty work was Lenny’s strength.

 

[AndyT]

Can Lenny still be a candidate for player of the season in May?

I think that, quite literally, is in Oxley's hands at the moment.

That said, it might be up for grabs for a couple of other players.

 

[South Bank Hank]

No matter how good Lenny was, you can’t beat 11 players collectively raising their game at the same time alongside an air of optimism and support from the stands.

 

[overseas shrimper]

Many ( maybe most ) of us will acknowledge that Ryan Leonard has been our ‘stand out’ player of the past few seasons.
He has stood out on more than one occasion - top player.
Yet in the three wins under Saint Chris , the performances and work rate of McLaughlin , Timlin, Yearwood and Kightly has been excellent and IMO way above how they were performing when Leonard was here.
I think a lot is to do with the ‘new Manager’ effect - wanting to impress and better game plan etc , but I also wonder if they feel that without the ‘star’ player , they need to step up more and indeed have the confidence to do so ?
Maybe there was an element of “Lenny will do it” , so they didn’t need to do as much.
As I say , he was our ‘stand out’ player and I don’t think the 4 I mentioned have suddenly become ‘better than Leonard’ , but maybe a better unit ?
Interested to hear what others think.

If this were the case, then mid-way through the awful run we were going through, you'd think (or at least 'hope') that the penny would have dropped and they would have realised that expecting Lenny to do it all by himself just wasn't cutting it.

So no, I personally don't think this was the case. I put it down to bad man management, bad tactics and very low self belief.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

We were without Leonard for the Fleetwood (H) and Northampton (A) matches and lost both.

The common denominator would seem to be the overdue change in manager.

 

[bazzashrimper]

When Lenny played we had him as a holding midfielder and one in front. That only really suited Lenny & Wordsworth. Now they are playing with the 2 alongside each other, which suits timlin, yearwood and probably Wright.

 

[fbm]

So, let's pretend for a minute that Lenny has been either injured or suspended and is still our player.

The way we have played, does he come back in, and if so, who for?

Personally, I would suggest not.

Timlin and Yearwood have exceeded all manner of expectations. Wright and Wordsworth will have to be absolutely on their game and may even be behind Mantom if they are to get in, and even then will probably have to wait for an injury or suspension for their chance.

It's a perfect situation.

 

[BARNETBLUE]

I am sure we are all fans of Chris Powell, both as an excellent ex Shrimper and as a decent Man....But...in my book 3 wins does not quite elevate him from "Sir Chris" to "Saint Chris" :smile:

Many ( maybe most ) of us will acknowledge that Ryan Leonard has been our ‘stand out’ player of the past few seasons.
He has stood out on more than one occasion - top player.
Yet in the three wins under Saint Chris , the performances and work rate of McLaughlin , Timlin, Yearwood and Kightly has been excellent and IMO way above how they were performing when Leonard was here.
I think a lot is to do with the ‘new Manager’ effect - wanting to impress and better game plan etc , but I also wonder if they feel that without the ‘star’ player , they need to step up more and indeed have the confidence to do so ?
Maybe there was an element of “Lenny will do it” , so they didn’t need to do as much.
As I say , he was our ‘stand out’ player and I don’t think the 4 I mentioned have suddenly become ‘better than Leonard’ , but maybe a better unit ?
Interested to hear what others think.

 

[Ricky Otto]

I think we have struggled with balance in midfield. Wordsworth is a good player and is probably our best creative centre midfielder but his workrate isn't particularly good. We had a good system in place when Atkinson was here as his workrate compensated and we also got the benefit of Wordsworth's creativity and goal threat. PB tried to fill the Atkinson shaped hole by putting various CM out wide but none of them could do the job Atkinson did. We now have two CM that work hard for the team and we have the benefit of wide players on both sides who are a constant danger. It's a different dynamic. I really like Wordsworth as a player but I think he is a player you have to make concessions for, much like Jack Payne. I don't think that fits well with the squad of players we have, especially now Lenny has moved on.

 

[South Bank Hank]

I am sure we are all fans of Chris Powell, both as an excellent ex Shrimper and as a decent Man....But...in my book 3 wins does not quite elevate him from "Sir Chris" to "Saint Chris" :smile:

You’re quite right. How can God be expected to sit at his own right hand?

 

[dannypav]

I am sure we are all fans of Chris Powell, both as an excellent ex Shrimper and as a decent Man....But...in my book 3 wins does not quite elevate him from "Sir Chris" to "Saint Chris" :smile:

Don't agree.
When Kightly knocked in the third on Saturday , just for a second , the rain relented and the grey skies parted ever so slightly.
Maybe it was just me , but I saw a 'light' shine down.
It was brief , yes , but it happened.
Now I'm not overly religeous , but I think ( just think ) it was 'THE LIGHT' , you know 'HIS' light.
In that oh so brief moment , I took it as a sign from upon high ( not Ron in the Directors box ) , a sign that we were in the presence of the 'chosen one' - that is all (*)




(*) I had drunk 3 pints beforehand , so anything I thought 'd seen may have been an error on my part.

 

[Barry.C]

I do think players have picked up a bit since Lennys departure. Paul Clark commented for example that Mc Laughlin had strengthened his game defensively before losing some form , but in recent weeks had picked up form nicely and in particular resumed his development in terms of the defensive aspects of his game

 

[ExiledShrimpa]

I've always had a lot of time for Timlin, its probably because I've seen him scored some absolute belters away from home at Rotherham at the old Don Valley and at Oakwell the other season. Then of course there are his playoff heroics against Stevenage.

It's great to see him and Dru making a name for themselves, I did worry that Tims was perhaps past his best given he must be early 30's now - having watched the extended highlights from the last two games its seem they are so energetic and lively they don't give their opponent a minutes peace. Long may it continue.

When we signed Kightly in the summer I often felt it was becasue we knew we would lose Lenny at some point this season.

I sometimes think teams do better when a star player goes, I don't think Lenny had an ego at all and was certainly a loyal and dedicated Southend man and like Brown I thank him for his efforts at my club over the last 5-6 seasons. I'm pleased he has gone for his sake he deserved his crack at the Championship and at least now being a Steel City resident I can pop down the Lane and see him play. What's more pleasing is that we have life after Lenny in our Midfield.

 

[mypantsaremessi]

Tough one - Timlin and Yearwood have been unreal since Powell came in but everyone was dreadful in the first two games after Leonard left so as Yorkshire Blue said I'd imagine it's more to do with Brown leaving than Lenny.

Would love to have seen Lenny play under Powell although it won't be long til Yearwood is worth more than him at this rate!