Ok we lost but again plus sides

[Southend Pier]

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

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

When Corr came on he played alongside Reid. Ok Eastwood isn't the scorer he was but he is the nearest thing to having one without being a recognised targetman. Who else would you pick? Virtually no one is there other than Njie but not sure if he was on the bench.

 

[fbm]

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.

I know the rationale behind it and agree it's a decent tactic when the centre backs are winning everything down the middle, but there were loads that went out (maybe some were drop kicks rather than goal kicks) and certainly the East Blacks section were getting frustrated. It was much better when he played it out to the full backs rather than kicking it, which does appear to be a weakness in his game.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

When Corr came on he played alongside Reid. Ok Eastwood isn't the scorer he was but he is the nearest thing to having one without being a recognised targetman. Who else would you pick? Virtually no one is there other than Njie but not sure if he was on the bench.

I'd have certainly picked Corr to start. Corr's both a targetman and a goalscorer.

I'd be interested to see how Reid goes alongside Corr. Reid looked as if he lacked match practice but looked a lot better alongside Corr.

 

[Southend Pier]

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.

Over the course of the season I think PLymouth will improve on their position last year. Their new signings are experienced and pacey and think Saturday was a slight blip. Need to gel more etc. As for Hartlepool, they'll be annoyed by their defeat on saturday but they were playing a good championship side in Forest last night.Probably a better side than Yeovil but thats not taking anything away from us nearely forcing extra -time with them. Good effort overall by us. And pool are due a win now. Agree however if we can win there at the weekend more positivity will be forthcoming and deserved.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Glad we lost. Hope we're dumped out of all pointless cups at the first hurdle and focus on the main prize.

 

[Southend Pier]

I'd have certainly picked Corr to start. Corr's both a targetman and a goalscorer.

I'd be interested to see how Reid goes alongside Corr. Reid looked as if he lacked match practice but looked a lot better alongside Corr.

Yes he was better. But you can't solely rely on Corr to score all our goals. If his goals dried up you#'ll be left with two relatively slow targetmen up front. Eastwood might have given us an extra dimension up front as he is the closest we have to a natural finisher without being labelled a targetman.

 

[Jam_Man]

Yes he was better. But you can't solely rely on Corr to score all our goals. If his goals dried up you#'ll be left with two relatively slow targetmen up front. Eastwood might have given us an extra dimension up front as he is the closest we have to a natural finisher without being labelled a targetman.

Reid isnt a targetman.

When you say targetman do you actually mean striker?

A targetman is someone up front who will win the ball for you, only Corr does that for us.

 

[Beefy]

Glad we lost. Hope we're dumped out of all pointless cups at the first hurdle and focus on the main prize.

I don't get this attitude at all. I hope we win every match anyway, but the Cup has been kind to us in the past and represented potentially valuable income to the Club.

 

[Beefy]

Reid isnt a targetman.

When you say targetman do you actually mean striker?

A targetman is someone up front who will win the ball for you, only Corr does that for us.

I'm not convinced that Reid isn't a targetman. He did look a million times better alongside Corr though (although who wouldn't?).

 

[MK Shrimper]

I don't get this attitude at all. I hope we win every match anyway, but the Cup has been kind to us in the past and represented potentially valuable income to the Club.

We have a limited squad. The cups are always an unwelcome distraction. We've got no chance of winning two of them, and the lure of Wembley pretty much kyboshed last season.

We need to get out of this sodding league, that should always be the main focus.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

At least it won't be a distraction for us, like it was to promoted Bradford.

 

[Jam_Man]

I'm not convinced that Reid isn't a targetman. He did look a million times better alongside Corr (although who wouldn't?)

We will see, youve seen him more than I have, Saturday being the only time Ive watched him. He didnt look to have the physical presence to play that role, but certainly too early to know what he is capable of.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

We're in for a very long season if Reid is a targetman.

 

[Crawliano]

I can't think of the right metaphor here, but with Straker you want to pat him on the head for at least trying, but he's still the same player as before, just with a couple of stepovers. He's reminding me of JCR to be honest, all tricks but nothing at all at the end of it. Every cross he attempts goes to the first man in an opposition shirt.

Take for example last night how he turned two men inside out then got to the area and froze.

I hope he gets better with the confidence he's had drilled into him.

 

[Shrimpin]

ive said it before and ill say it again browns gotta stay

 

[Southend Pier]

Reid isnt a targetman.

When you say targetman do you actually mean striker?

A targetman is someone up front who will win the ball for you, only Corr does that for us.

Yeah your right Mr Jam Reid probably isn't a natural targetman but according to the BBC Essex commentators he was kinda playing in that mode. can't form a proper judgement as I wasn't there. Just think Fred could have given us a boost up front. This is not to say I'd be dissapointed because I wouldn't be . A good effort with a team 2 divs abbove and a shame we didn't start pummeling their goal till injury time. What is concerning is that Brown appeared to say Laird's injury could be slightly worse than thought and Ditto Bennett. Typical.

 

[Southend Pier]

My hunch is Jam_man that Reid was left isolated up front on his own therefore starved of service and trying to get others into play as a result. Maybe this was why commentators was sayin he was taking on a TYPE of targetman role.

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

Really shouldn't play 4-5-1 at home against anyone. Brown needs to work out his first choice strike paring and tailor our team to playing to their strengths. I still think once fit Timlin and Hurst will be in the team and will offer more creativity. Would also like to see Forte sign. We lack real pace and someone who can get in behind defences.

 

[OldBlueLady]

No way was there a 2 division difference in those teams out there last night, I thought Yeovil were classy at times, but were also guilty of some quite thuggish tactics which didn't get picked up on till well into the match. Michael Ngoo looked a lazy, lanky forward who relied on his height and was consistently outjumped by both Phillips and Prosser, although he did show skill on the ground.

I didn't agree with the selection of both Payne and Clifford in the middle, I felt either of them should have been with someone with more experience and it was a huge shame to me that Laird was unavailable through injury as he would have been the perfect one. I can understand Timlin not being risked yet, and I thought Lenny took a few knocks on Saturday so I guess it was the only option.

Anyway,
Bentley - 6, looked less happy in front of a noisier Yeovil support than he did on Saturday, seemed a bit unsettled and his kicking was poor at times
White - 8, MOTM, calm and composed, a great reader of the game and plays some delightful long ball passes
Phillips - 8, coped well with Ngoo, though I thought he was a bit lucky that the ref didn't see the smack in the face towards the end. Unlucky not to score in injury time
Prosser - 7, another good, solid game, also dealt with Ngoo reasonably well
Bennett - 7, classy player, got pushed into the gravel and then looked to be suffering muscle problems, hope it's not too serious as it was a promising debut
Cowan - 6, good at times, loads of running but question the stamina
Atkinson - 8, really like him, Hursty is going to find it difficult getting back in
Payne - 6, felt Clifford did better in the middle, Payne wasn't able to dominate as much as against West Ham, possibly because of Clifford, looked a little lightweight at times
Clifford - 7, solid performance in the middle, some good tackling and great energy. This boy has real potential
Straker - 8, just edged for MOTM by the skip. Still have one big criticism and that is that he doesn't use Coker enough on the overlap
Reid - 7, thankless task being the solitary striker, didn't really feel he was the man for that role last night - more a job for Fred? Did ok though and will be interested to see him alongside Corr for longer. Fred could have problems here because Reid and Cowan are both the same type of player as he is, get them both fully match fit and he could struggle

Subs:
Corr for Payne - 7, inevitable change, another great free kick that barely missed
Leonard for Bennett - 7, this young man has come on massively and seems to be thriving under Brown, long may it continue as he's a player I've admired since that thunderbolt back at Wakering when he was on trial
Coker for Cowan - 7, really like him, we actually have a quality right and left back for the first time in many a year

Officials:
5/10. Far too lenient for too long, poor judgement not booking the guy who pushed Bennett off, and how Yeovil's captain remained on the pitch I do not know. Also, what was that about at half time? Blowing up when we were in the middle of an attack?

 

[Southend Pier]

No way was there a 2 division difference in those teams out there last night, I thought Yeovil were classy at times, but were also guilty of some quite thuggish tactics which didn't get picked up on till well into the match. Michael Ngoo looked a lazy, lanky forward who relied on his height and was consistently outjumped by both Phillips and Prosser, although he did show skill on the ground.

I didn't agree with the selection of both Payne and Clifford in the middle, I felt either of them should have been with someone with more experience and it was a huge shame to me that Laird was unavailable through injury as he would have been the perfect one. I can understand Timlin not being risked yet, and I thought Lenny took a few knocks on Saturday so I guess it was the only option.

Anyway,
Bentley - 6, looked less happy in front of a noisier Yeovil support than he did on Saturday, seemed a bit unsettled and his kicking was poor at times
White - 8, MOTM, calm and composed, a great reader of the game and plays some delightful long ball passes
Phillips - 8, coped well with Ngoo, though I thought he was a bit lucky that the ref didn't see the smack in the face towards the end. Unlucky not to score in injury time
Prosser - 7, another good, solid game, also dealt with Ngoo reasonably well
Bennett - 7, classy player, got pushed into the gravel and then looked to be suffering muscle problems, hope it's not too serious as it was a promising debut
Cowan - 6, good at times, loads of running but question the stamina
Atkinson - 8, really like him, Hursty is going to find it difficult getting back in
Payne - 6, felt Clifford did better in the middle, Payne wasn't able to dominate as much as against West Ham, possibly because of Clifford, looked a little lightweight at times
Clifford - 7, solid performance in the middle, some good tackling and great energy. This boy has real potential
Straker - 8, just edged for MOTM by the skip. Still have one big criticism and that is that he doesn't use Coker enough on the overlap
Reid - 7, thankless task being the solitary striker, didn't really feel he was the man for that role last night - more a job for Fred? Did ok though and will be interested to see him alongside Corr for longer. Fred could have problems here because Reid and Cowan are both the same type of player as he is, get them both fully match fit and he could struggle

Subs:
Corr for Payne - 7, inevitable change, another great free kick that barely missed
Leonard for Bennett - 7, this young man has come on massively and seems to be thriving under Brown, long may it continue as he's a player I've admired since that thunderbolt back at Wakering when he was on trial
Coker for Cowan - 7, really like him, we actually have a quality right and left back for the first time in many a year

Officials:
5/10. Far too lenient for too long, poor judgement not booking the guy who pushed Bennett off, and how Yeovil's captain remained on the pitch I do not know. Also, what was that about at half time? Blowing up when we were in the middle of an attack?

OBL would you agree Timlin might have got minutes under his belt last night? For if Laird is injured for saturday Timlin might provide that exerienced body to slot in there.