Ok we lost but again plus sides

[Beefy]

I reckon there's a decent chance that Southend vs Yeovil will be a league game next season.

 

[The Hutch]

I disagree on Stracker tbh lacks a final ball and runs out of ideas in the final third I know alot will disagree but its a game of opinions! We look organised and we are pressing teams very well and the back five tonight looked assured and didnt give much away. I do worry where the goals will come from if Corr gets injured! Payne looks an exciting prospect and hope he gets plenty of playing time this season!

Agree on Ngoo I didnt think much of him apart from the odd turn and shot he didnt do much and was dealt with!

 

[Romford Shrimper]

Thought that Will Atkinson was superb tonight. My motm.

 

[southend-mad.94]

We really put in a performance tonight and could have easily drawn level but for two great saves at the end. I did have an enjoyable time tonight, I don't like losing but as previously stated I can also take it if we still work hard and give our all.

I do think that we did lack that final part and finishing tonight. But I thought Alan Tate for Yeovil had a great game and marked corr well. And I won't judge Reid on tonight's performance because he really was isolated in the first half and probably tired towards the end, and besides he is seen as a 'fox in the box' meaning you don't see much of them until they pop up with a goal (expect he didn't score.)

My first viewing of jack Payne and I was very very impressed. Technically good and drive forward well and nearly scored. Not to mention play some neat passes on the ground to blue shirts. Yes his height will hinder him against big lumps in league two but I thought he used his low centre of gravity well tonight in turning players and either getting past them or drawing a foul. Great debut and I hope he flourishes for southend.

All in all, promising night of football and hopefully all our injuries can clear up and continue to work hard in the league.

 

[adambarrettismyfather]

i said before the game i wouldnt be bothered if we lost and played well and we did. there was no way we looked 2 divisions lower than them and i was very pleased with the work rate of the team and the link up play was good. payne and clifford were very good in the middle, but i would suggest they wont start together very often as they arent the biggest and someone like laird should partner one of them, just to allow a more physical presence and win a header in the middle of the park. straker really is the new gareth bale, wish he'd should sometimes though.

if we play like that all season then playoffs are a real possibility, once the strikers have some confidence.

 

[buffalowolf]

When people say they enjoyed it even when we lost , it tells me that PB is on the right track and doing well ,thankyou all for you match reports they keep us overseas supporters up to speed on the way SUFC are going. Good work PB and all the SUFC players ,keep up the good work. UTB !

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

can't help wondering eastwood should have come on. a goalscorer alongside a targetman and not 2 targetmen together when corr came on.

Eh? Who was your second targetman and who is your goalscorer?

Reid certainly isn't a targetman and Eastwood is no longer a goalscorer.

 

[chapperzUK]

Seems like some have decided to pass judgement on Reid already. Would have been hard for anyone to be played as a lone striker playing against a team 2 divisions above. Listening to the game it sounds like we didn't threaten until we went 4-4-2 for the last 10 minutes.

Good to hear Clifford and Payne did well. Payne's first professional game and must have taken it out of him a fair bit too, but hope he plays a few more times this season like in the JPT games.

Hope they post the full match on Blues Player. Straker seems to be this season's marmite player already and sounds like Cowan had some pace but was up against a very good full back.

Will be looking out for N'Goo for the rest of the season, who also seems to divide opinion on here. Very highly rated by Liverpool who lives up to the cliche of "good feet for a big man".

 

[KiwiRob]

Surely, it is a bit premature to say that Eastwood is no longer a goalscorer. He has played one league game so far and clearly needs a run of games to get back his confidence and his goalscoring ability.

 

[fbm]

For the first 25 mins it was a really even game, But Yeovil did then show their superiority and their goal was a good one. Bentley was by far the busier of the two keepers and we only tested theirs late on with 2 headers.

However, defensively we looked solid, I liked Bennett a lot and hope his injury isn't too bad. I felt we lacked some height and strength in the midfield and the 4-5-1 with Reid on his own didn't really work, although it's possibly unfair to judge bearing in mind the opposition. There won't be any L2 teams who are as quick or as hard working as Yeovil.

All in all, another very encouraging performance although I don't know where the goals are going to come from. We don't look as though we will concede many though to be fair.

There doesn't appear to be a ratings thread so I'll put them here.

Bentley - 6 - No chance with the goal but his kicking was poor again. Almost every goalkick in the second half went into touch. As I said after Saturdays game, if Smith had kicked like that he would have been crucified.

White - 8 - Excellent showing, really good defensive performance and he can kick with both feet
Prosser - 8 - Much improved on last year and looks comfortable
Phillips - 8 - Unlucky not to score with a superb header near the end and looked solid
Bennett - 8 - Obvious class and made the back four look very strong prior to going off

Atkinson - 6 - Anonymous tonight and seemed to run out of ideas on occasion. He got into it a bit more late on but I barely noticed him for the first hour.
Payne - 7 - Very encouraging debut but his lack of height is an issue unless playing alongside someone like Laird
Clifford - 8 - I liked him a lot and he reminded me of the way Scott Parker plays, always wanted the ball and used it wisely
Straker - 8.5 - MOM - Superb performance and he caused them problems all game. It's difficult to see how he has been transformed from the distinctly average Straker we saw last year. I can't recall seeing such a change so quickly.
Cowan - 6 - Looked rusty, which I suppose is to be expected but if he loses a bit of weight and gets fit then who knows?

Reid - 6 - Didn't really do it for me although he won't be up against that calibre of defender every week in L2

Subs -

Corr - 7 - Gave us an extra dimension when we went 4-4-2 and had a good header saved near the end
Coker - 6 - Not quite as assured as on Saturday and struggled to pick up the pace of the game in my opinion
Leonard - 8 - I thought he did really well when he came on. He's another one who looks trimmed down from last year

The Ref - 6 - A bit lenient in the first half and inconsistent over kicking the ball away, which they did 3 or 4 times unpunished yet which we had Prosser booked for

The Crowd - 10

What a difference we have made over last year. Is it the spark on the pitch that ignites the crowd or the atmosphere in the the stands that fires the players? Either way we can make the Hall a fortress this year in L2. Well done all.

 

[rlb999]

Surely, it is a bit premature to say that Eastwood is no longer a goalscorer. He has played one league game so far and clearly needs a run of games to get back his confidence and his goalscoring ability.

No, but to be fair it's an excellent way to generate comment on this forum, as people can't resist jumping on comments like that. It's a bit like saying Tilson was massively overrated and got lucky with his promotions.

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

Far too much positivety on the Zone at the moment. Just doesn't seem the same...
I'm gonna join a Col U messageboard instead. They'll be much more moaning, going on...lol

 

[shrimperjon]

I think people need to calm down a bit. We beat a poor Plymouth on Saturday and lost 1-0 to a side that is likely to be relegated from the championship. It's a cliche but the 10 game marker is always a gauge. Hartlepool have lost both games so far and therefore a positive result on Saturday will defo stengthen people's positivity towards the team, something that hadn't been around for a while. Still very concerned where goals will come from, but, Timlin and Hurst havnt featured yet both of whom are more of an attacking force. I hope this post doesn't appear negative, I'm just being realistic at this stage.

 

[C'mon you Shrimpers]

I get really ****ed off with this we win games because the popposition were "poor" whatever that means. I like to think we pressed them hard so they did not perform which is part and parcel of winning. Still this is Shrimper Moan so remember when we win we're either lucky or the opposition were "poor". If we lose well .......................we're sh ite but we all knew that any way.

 

[Jam_Man]

I didnt get to the game last night, but why is there so much positivity on this thread yet the end of the official match thread is doom and gloom?

 

[Montycat]

By all accounts Plymouth played really well against Birmingham last night so Im going with the reasoning we made them look like a very poor team on saturday.

 

[Beefy]

I didnt get to the game last night, but why is there so much positivity on this thread yet the end of the official match thread is doom and gloom?

Not sure. We played really well overall. That was my first look at Payne but he looks a cracking player. Clifford was busy too. I can see him and Atkinson both getting several red cards this year as they both love a strong, two footed lunge.

I don't agree with fbm about Bennett. I thought he looked very much off the pace and it seemed that Yeovil were massively targeting him. Hopefully he improves with more games.

I felt sorry for Reid who was massively isolated. That said he didn't come close to winning a single header under challenge. As soon as Corr came on Yeovil backed off and started to hang on. It has been said before but Corr is a hell of a player.

Freddy Eastwood was never a goalscorer. He was just a brilliant footballer who scored goals because he was playing a couple of levels below where he should have been. I still believe in him to get back there, especially based on what I saw from him on Saturday and I'm sure that he'd have got 20 minutes last night had Bennett not been injured.

 

[fbm]

I get really ****ed off with this we win games because the popposition were "poor" whatever that means. I like to think we pressed them hard so they did not perform which is part and parcel of winning. Still this is Shrimper Moan so remember when we win we're either lucky or the opposition were "poor". If we lose well .......................we're sh ite but we all knew that any way.

Totally agree. Teams will only play as well as you allow them too. Last year we didn't press teams very much and these guys are pro footballers... if you give them time and space they will look good.

I remember Bobby Robson giving an interview once when he was manager of Newcastle and he said that fans had watched a training session, saw the players put some wonderful moves and passes together and wondered why they couldn't do that on matchdays? Robson replied that in a game there are 11 guys trying to stop you.

Never underestimate the effect that is had by stopping players playing their natural game. If we press hard all over the pitch (as Swindon did to us 2 seasons ago and Gillingham did last season) then 99% of League 2 players will make mistakes.

Plymouth are a decent side and I'll wager that Reid and Morgan will be a potent strike force in the division. We made them look average and I don't think we got anywhere near enough credit for that.

 

[sufcnum1]

My question is are eastwood and corr fit enough or did we use this game to give cowan and reid some game time???

 

[haveaguiness]

Bentley - 6 - No chance with the goal but his kicking was poor again. Almost every goalkick in the second half went into touch. As I said after Saturdays game, if Smith had kicked like that he would have been crucified.

He only kicked it out twice straight from a goal kick all game. PB told him in the first half to start kicking it out to the wings, which was a great idea as Cowan and Straker are both far better in the air than Reid and also didn't have to challenge the man mountain Webster or the experienced Tate. We had a few attacks start from those kicks. Having said that, some of his kicking towards the end was far too rushed and far too long. I know we were chasing the game a little but it just wasn't working and he either needed to be told or needed to work it out for himself.