Pack up your kilt and **** Off Sturrock

[shrimperjon]

Yes and have been for 30 years

Eastwood was blowing because of all of those other lazy pricks not pulling their weight

It seems that the opinion is split on here re Eastwood, for those saying he was class and linking uup play last night were clearly watching a different game to some of us, I would put him in the lazy prick category. Clearly unfit, still carrying some weight and looks disinterested. His touch at times is awful, bouncing off his shins etc, but it is opinions that count and it appears that we are split 50/50. My mate said last night that it says something when Tomlin comes on and gets mom in his opinion!!

 

[Onion_Bag_Dave]

Eastwood is a much better player now.

 

[Sam Jackson]

It seems that the opinion is split on here re Eastwood, for those saying he was class and linking uup play last night were clearly watching a different game to some of us, I would put him in the lazy prick category. Clearly unfit, still carrying some weight and looks disinterested. His touch at times is awful, bouncing off his shins etc, but it is opinions that count and it appears that we are split 50/50. My mate said last night that it says something when Tomlin comes on and gets mom in his opinion!!

you say that Eastwood was lazy etc... But has Britt really been much different recently? He seriously needs a rest and his performances have shown that!

 

[OldBlueLady]

Freddy was far better than Britt last night, Britt looks lightweight against strong defences, at least Fred puts himself about (and ok, that may be down to being a bit heavier himself!). I'd have liked to see 10 mins with him, Corr and Tomlin on.

 

[Blues 'n twos]

Hope some people have had a sleep and regretted their personal slurs on a Manager who does not deserve them.

 

[flapjack]

Would like to have seen Eastwood and Tomlin for the first 20 minutes of the second half to see if that would have worked well, there were several players who didn't put in a shift last night and yes I know Sturrock will get the blame as the manager always does it's the darkside to the job but one you know about when you take up the role.
If we didn't get to wembley I doubt Sturrock would be in charge, maybe if Ron moves him on he will give the last few games to Coughlan and Harris to have a go,but I still think Sturrock will lead the team out at Wembley and then move on

 

[danburyshrimper]

I really do feel saddened at the amount of abuse Paul Sturrock has had to take, both on here but worse of all , at Roots Hall.
He has done a fantastic job overall , battling very difficult circumstances financially , regular embargo's , being forced to sign and play certain players , having to try to motivate players who might not have been paid or know that the club will play some loan kid from a premier club ahead of themselves each week.

I ve said it before away from home Sturrocks tactics are totally spot on. At home his team , savaged by injuries , hasnt been attacking enough , i feel this is his only "crime". There is no doubt players have Wembley on their minds. There is also no doubt in my mind that team spirit has been quite badly damaged by bringing in players who dont deserve to play. Ok , we were desperate, so were forced to play Mohsni. Reeves scored "that goal" so the sudden hero worshipping seems to have hidden the facts that he really aint that great. Lund + Spillane were signed in desperation coz the spine of our team was ripped away through injuries/ suspension , but it usually takes a while for players to settle into a side. Having 6 loan signings is way too many and i feel we should have persevered more with younger players like Leonard, Woodyard , Prosser instead of go out + get yet another loan player in. These 3 players were immense in the rounds leading up to getting us to Wembley but they know full well that the Reeves,Lunds + Mohsnis of the team will stroll in and play ahead of them on the hallowed turf on April 7th. This is felt by the whole team. How would you feel at work if your good mates who've worked hard for years + shared laughs with suddenly are pushed aside for a new bloke to come in...it affects everyone adversely.

I hope Sturrock stays to lead us to promotion next season. I hope he learns from his mistakes mainly being too defensive at home matches, too many squad players leading to unhappy team spirit , and not yielding to his hierarchy forcing him to sign players he doesnt want . I hope the fans realise the difficult circumstances that the club are working under.... and i hope we can get back to the days when we can actually come to Roots Hall and enjoy a good passionate football match.

 

[eastling]

I really do feel saddened at the amount of abuse Paul Sturrock has had to take, both on here but worse of all , at Roots Hall.
He has done a fantastic job overall , battling very difficult circumstances financially , regular embargo's , being forced to sign and play certain players , having to try to motivate players who might not have been paid or know that the club will play some loan kid from a premier club ahead of themselves each week.

I ve said it before away from home Sturrocks tactics are totally spot on. At home his team , savaged by injuries , hasnt been attacking enough , i feel this is his only "crime". There is no doubt players have Wembley on their minds. There is also no doubt in my mind that team spirit has been quite badly damaged by bringing in players who dont deserve to play. Ok , we were desperate, so were forced to play Mohsni. Reeves scored "that goal" so the sudden hero worshipping seems to have hidden the facts that he really aint that great. Lund + Spillane were signed in desperation coz the spine of our team was ripped away through injuries/ suspension , but it usually takes a while for players to settle into a side. Having 6 loan signings is way too many and i feel we should have persevered more with younger players like Leonard, Woodyard , Prosser instead of go out + get yet another loan player in. These 3 players were immense in the rounds leading up to getting us to Wembley but they know full well that the Reeves,Lunds + Mohsnis of the team will stroll in and play ahead of them on the hallowed turf on April 7th. This is felt by the whole team. How would you feel at work if your good mates who've worked hard for years + shared laughs with suddenly are pushed aside for a new bloke to come in...it affects everyone adversely.

I hope Sturrock stays to lead us to promotion next season. I hope he learns from his mistakes mainly being too defensive at home matches, too many squad players leading to unhappy team spirit , and not yielding to his hierarchy forcing him to sign players he doesnt want . I hope the fans realise the difficult circumstances that the club are working under.... and i hope we can get back to the days when we can actually come to Roots Hall and enjoy a good passionate football match.

A very sensible post :thumbsup: Indeed we should all be backing the club because, quite frankly, I wouldn't want us to end up like Stockport or Lincoln.

 

[Grayson]

Having 6 loan signings is way too many and i feel we should have persevered more with younger players like Leonard, Woodyard , Prosser instead of go out + get yet another loan player in. These 3 players were immense in the rounds leading up to getting us to Wembley but they know full well that the Reeves,Lunds + Mohsnis of the team will stroll in and play ahead of them on the hallowed turf on April 7th. This is felt by the whole team. How would you feel at work if your good mates who've worked hard for years + shared laughs with suddenly are pushed aside for a new bloke to come in...it affects everyone adversely.

Because we have plenty of players to fill left midfield, don't we?

Sturrock's major failings this season have been in failing to build an adequate midfield and signing a dud left back. Most of our problems have stemmed from that. We have a poor home record because we haven't controlled any games in the middle aside from when we had Laird, Tam and Timlin playing together. In away games there is more space to bypass most of the midfield in attacks which we exploit well. At home the midfield are essential in building the attacks.

 

[Mick]

Though Tam was MOM personally but Freddy I agree the pick of the offensive players.

I found a lot of the players quite offensive last night !

 

[yogi bear up the cagire]

I really do feel saddened at the amount of abuse Paul Sturrock has had to take, both on here but worse of all , at Roots Hall.
He has done a fantastic job overall , battling very difficult circumstances financially , regular embargo's , being forced to sign and play certain players , having to try to motivate players who might not have been paid or know that the club will play some loan kid from a premier club ahead of themselves each week.

I ve said it before away from home Sturrocks tactics are totally spot on. At home his team , savaged by injuries , hasnt been attacking enough , i feel this is his only "crime". There is no doubt players have Wembley on their minds. There is also no doubt in my mind that team spirit has been quite badly damaged by bringing in players who dont deserve to play. Ok , we were desperate, so were forced to play Mohsni. Reeves scored "that goal" so the sudden hero worshipping seems to have hidden the facts that he really aint that great. Lund + Spillane were signed in desperation coz the spine of our team was ripped away through injuries/ suspension , but it usually takes a while for players to settle into a side. Having 6 loan signings is way too many and i feel we should have persevered more with younger players like Leonard, Woodyard , Prosser instead of go out + get yet another loan player in. These 3 players were immense in the rounds leading up to getting us to Wembley but they know full well that the Reeves,Lunds + Mohsnis of the team will stroll in and play ahead of them on the hallowed turf on April 7th. This is felt by the whole team. How would you feel at work if your good mates who've worked hard for years + shared laughs with suddenly are pushed aside for a new bloke to come in...it affects everyone adversely.

I hope Sturrock stays to lead us to promotion next season. I hope he learns from his mistakes mainly being too defensive at home matches, too many squad players leading to unhappy team spirit , and not yielding to his hierarchy forcing him to sign players he doesnt want . I hope the fans realise the difficult circumstances that the club are working under.... and i hope we can get back to the days when we can actually come to Roots Hall and enjoy a good passionate football match.

I agree with your sentiments concerning Luggy. In my time many managers have come and gone but Paul Sturrock, like Steve Tilson before him, is one of those that I have warmed to. I fear that he will not be here next season and think ChapperzUK's comment below (from the Match Report & Ratings thread), may have some truth in it.

Personally I think that Martin and Sturrock had a meeting (that was well documented on here) and he was told that he can manage the team and take them out at Wembley, but will leave after that.

Wouldn't be surprised if that has happened and demotivated Sturrock a bit.

Demotivated Sturrock and the squad? The ironic thing is that, if our home form was the same as away we would have 62 points and sit in a play-off place!
I have worries that we will not be able to attract the same quality of manager as Sturrock and even if we did, change will probably condemn us to AT LEAST another season, in League Two. It would be expecting a lot for a new man to come in and create a promotion winning side in the first year. When you get to my age, two years could be a very long time....a life-time!!! I think that's one of the main reasons that failure to gain promotion has come as a crushing blow to me, one that a visit to Wembley, is a long way from compensating for.

 

[danburyshrimper]

Because we have plenty of players to fill left midfield, don't we?

Sturrock's major failings this season have been in failing to build an adequate midfield and signing a dud left back. Most of our problems have stemmed from that. We have a poor home record because we haven't controlled any games in the middle aside from when we had Laird, Tam and Timlin playing together. In away games there is more space to bypass most of the midfield in attacks which we exploit well. At home the midfield are essential in building the attacks.

I think Reeves spent only around 5 minutes of the 90 actually playing wide on the left. The rest of the game he drifted inside anonymously or wandered across to the right. If he could stay wide ,track back his opposing winger,put in the odd tackle and concentrated on giving our team shape and width rather than trying another fancy flick or passing backwards then he would be a good player. Straker looked shocking last night but this is due to massive lack of cover in front of him or an option to pass to. Leonard was a revelation at left midfield a month ago, what happened?

 

[Kevin Hogg]

I think we need a fresh focus next season.
Having said that...there are 16 places below us that are available if we get the wrong "fresh focus". The last two positions (23rd/24th) do not bare thinking about.

Careful does it!

 

[Jai]

I was a bit worried about coming on here today but there's some good posts (aside from some of the frankly embarrassing personal abuse from BenfleetDan).

Our home form is a long way short of good enough. Sturrock has to take some of the blame for that. On the flip side, as a supporter who regular goes away I have never enjoyed two seasons of watching Southend on the road quite like this and last. It really has been a joy to watch at times.

Personally I'm still firmly in the Sturrock in camp, and that won't change as due to some of the contacts in the media and amongst "ITK" fans, I'm more aware than most of the restrictions Paul Sturrock has worked under for the last three years - a lot of which can't really be imparted on message boards or Twitter, frustrating as that may be.

I am however finding it harder and harder to criticise those calling for his head - at the end of the day most don't go away and the home games have been amongst the worst I have seen. In the cold light of day, we lost last night because of individual errors from players not doing their jobs, but overall it's been a horrendous injury list (yes every club has injuries but I've never known a season as bad as this), a lack of confidence and form from key attacking players like Hurst and Britt, the constant need to chop and change the first eleven, the loss of Michael Timlin and his ability to press opponents high up the pitch, leading to more possession in the final third, and yes, giving the opposition too much respect. Of those factors, Sturrock can really only be blamed for the last.

He had to rebuild his squad entirely this season after losing Grant, Hall, Mohsni, Ferdinand and Dickinson and it looked like, with a settled side in November/December, we'd be challenging. That all fell apart with bad injuries at key times, and let's not forget we still had plenty of players out last night including captain and vice captain (the attack was strong so there can be no excuse for them). That's the most frustrating part, we've fallen away from a good position.

Whether you think we've failed or not, Sturrock deserves respect for the job he has done over the last three years and we can count ourselves unlucky not to have been promoted. But then, we don't get promoted most seasons. In our history it's happened about 10 times I think. We have a great occasion to look forward to on April 7th and I for one am grateful for that - it will truly be one of the greatest days we will have as Southend fans.

If Sturrock does leave this season I will look back on his time with fond memories. But I am worried about the future because our money situation is not going to get any better, and like someone said, there's 16 worse places we could fall into next season. My opinion is there are few who know the game better than PS and if he goes, next year will be a season of transition at best.

 

[madaboutblues]

I really do feel saddened at the amount of abuse Paul Sturrock has had to take, both on here but worse of all , at Roots Hall. He has done a fantastic job overall , battling very difficult circumstances financially , regular embargo's , being forced to sign and play certain players , having to try to motivate players who might not have been paid or know that the club will play some loan kid from a premier club ahead of themselves each week. I ve said it before away from home Sturrocks tactics are totally spot on. At home his team , savaged by injuries , hasnt been attacking enough , i feel this is his only "crime". There is no doubt players have Wembley on their minds. There is also no doubt in my mind that team spirit has been quite badly damaged by bringing in players who dont deserve to play. Ok , we were desperate, so were forced to play Mohsni. Reeves scored "that goal" so the sudden hero worshipping seems to have hidden the facts that he really aint that great. Lund + Spillane were signed in desperation coz the spine of our team was ripped away through injuries/ suspension , but it usually takes a while for players to settle into a side. Having 6 loan signings is way too many and i feel we should have persevered more with younger players like Leonard, Woodyard , Prosser instead of go out + get yet another loan player in. These 3 players were immense in the rounds leading up to getting us to Wembley but they know full well that the Reeves,Lunds + Mohsnis of the team will stroll in and play ahead of them on the hallowed turf on April 7th. This is felt by the whole team. How would you feel at work if your good mates who've worked hard for years + shared laughs with suddenly are pushed aside for a new bloke to come in...it affects everyone adversely.I hope Sturrock stays to lead us to promotion next season. I hope he learns from his mistakes mainly being too defensive at home matches, too many squad players leading to unhappy team spirit , and not yielding to his hierarchy forcing him to sign players he doesnt want . I hope the fans realise the difficult circumstances that the club are working under.... and i hope we can get back to the days when we can actually come to Roots Hall and enjoy a good passionate football match.

Completely agree with this. Disappointed with last night's display from a lot of the players but still living in hope things will improve now Tomlin, Laird and Tam are back. Just need to get a consistent 11 players on the pitch who all know what they are doing. Last night at times it was a real shambles.

 

[Austin the Shrimper]

I really do feel saddened at the amount of abuse Paul Sturrock has had to take, both on here but worse of all , at Roots Hall.
He has done a fantastic job overall , battling very difficult circumstances financially , regular embargo's , being forced to sign and play certain players , having to try to motivate players who might not have been paid or know that the club will play some loan kid from a premier club ahead of themselves each week.

I ve said it before away from home Sturrocks tactics are totally spot on. At home his team , savaged by injuries , hasnt been attacking enough , i feel this is his only "crime". There is no doubt players have Wembley on their minds. There is also no doubt in my mind that team spirit has been quite badly damaged by bringing in players who dont deserve to play. Ok , we were desperate, so were forced to play Mohsni. Reeves scored "that goal" so the sudden hero worshipping seems to have hidden the facts that he really aint that great. Lund + Spillane were signed in desperation coz the spine of our team was ripped away through injuries/ suspension , but it usually takes a while for players to settle into a side. Having 6 loan signings is way too many and i feel we should have persevered more with younger players like Leonard, Woodyard , Prosser instead of go out + get yet another loan player in. These 3 players were immense in the rounds leading up to getting us to Wembley but they know full well that the Reeves,Lunds + Mohsnis of the team will stroll in and play ahead of them on the hallowed turf on April 7th. This is felt by the whole team. How would you feel at work if your good mates who've worked hard for years + shared laughs with suddenly are pushed aside for a new bloke to come in...it affects everyone adversely.

I hope Sturrock stays to lead us to promotion next season. I hope he learns from his mistakes mainly being too defensive at home matches, too many squad players leading to unhappy team spirit , and not yielding to his hierarchy forcing him to sign players he doesnt want . I hope the fans realise the difficult circumstances that the club are working under.... and i hope we can get back to the days when we can actually come to Roots Hall and enjoy a good passionate football match.

His tatics may be great away from home but unfortunately we play half our games at home. This is is job. Also in this very confusing piece you defend Sturrock yet every problem you mention is down to PS. He is the one bringing in the young loan players and playing them ahead of others, he brought Moshni back in, knowing full well how much he disrupted the team spirit last season. I'm sorry the blame in the end of the day lays with him. I think you are deluding yourself thinking PS will learn from his mistakes... He hasn't learnt this season from the mistakes of last.. So why will next season be any different?

 

[Jai]

To be fair the loan players had to come in, all our first teamers were on the treatment table. I believe Mohsni would still be in France if we weren't looking at having to play Barry Corr at the back for the Northampton game. That said, clearly it was a mistake to bring him back and PS has to live by that.

The new guy will have to build his team again almost from scratch - just like Sturrock had to this season when he lost Grant, Hall, Mohsni, Ferdinand and Dickinson. That's five of our key players from a side that won our second highest ever points total. He rebuilt it well, but not quite well enough - I think it's harsh to suggest he hasn't learned from last season's mistakes when he lost so many key players.

 

[Bolton Shrimper]

Unfortunately these situations happen in football. Take it on the chin, put it behind you and GO again ,again and again. Never give up the faith.

 

[tommy tucker]

Someone said maybe we will lose two or three at most . Well lets see Lund mac britt revees mohsni . Maybe Barker . that's 5 Tomlin prosser and all the rest that are out of contract so that's more than half the squad .

 

[mattytheshrimper]

Countless times freddy played well linking between midfield and strikers and I thought looked our biggest threat..

And yes I was there tonight

Have a laugh, he did nothing excpet hit a free kick. I really don't get these people making out Freddy to be something he just isn't anymore.