Ratings

[Canada Boy]

I am sorry to read about the loss. The individual performances were interesting. I am comfortable with my Player of the Year vote with the glowing compliments about Adam Barrett. Still it is done now. Making the Final twice is a wonderful achievement for the team. I am sure every player would not trade Promotion for this Final. So back to the real job. Get us out of this Division please.

 

[stid]

Well, that's what threads like this are for - so we can disagree. Being an exile I haven't seen Fredy as often as you but what's impressed me about him most is not his abililty to beat players but his ability to be in the right place to receive the ball to beat them and/or score. That kind of nous and understanding with his team-mates seemed to be largely missing today.

Granted the service wasn't all that much but neither striker seemed able to make the best of what they did get. Perhaps I'm being a little harsh but I can say that I wasn't alone in my view that this wasn't the real Fredy Eastwood. Maybe it's because I expect something special from him every game these days, but then that's the high standard that he's achieved so far.

 

[bas blue]

the sooner we bench gower for a couple of games the better. football is a team game and he just seems to let the other players tackle for him, run for him, and trek back for him when he gives the ball away. talk about a prima donna

there has got to be more to it than meets the eye with his rapid decline in form

 

[Barmy Army]

Quote[/b] (Shoebury Shrimper @ April 10 2005,23:27)]

Quote[/b] (Barmy Army @ April 10 2005,22:52)]Che obviously didn't get a call to tell him that there was someone coming for the 2nd goal and had a blinder apart from that defensive lapse.

Did you watch the game.

He should not have needed a call. Hoof the ball out. He is not a sunday league player he is a professional.

Che played the same as last year 20 yards of the player he should have been marking.

I did in fact watch the game.

But I'm more bothered about Che's overall performance, which I thought was immense. Having a no-tackles guy in front of him in Gower for most of the first half meant that he had to work twice as hard as he should have had to. If he had played tight on the winger with the red hair he would have been skinned all day ala Martin Bullock, so standing off him forced him into the corner or to send in a cross that was easily cleared by Barrett and Prior.

 

[stickyboy]

Quote[/b] (Andy_S @ April 10 2005,22:33)]Gower 4: A 4 might be too harsh but that was pathetic from Gower. Since his injury he seems to have lost the ability to control a ball. Shocking, truly shocking. I'd never thought this would be said, but he has to be dropped.

harsh to give him 4 - think generous is the word!

 

[Sandbach Shrimper]

I agree why wasn't Nicky on the bench? He would have been more suitable to replace Gower than McCormack, although McCormack did do very well when he came on but it meant that Bentley had to move out wide which isn't his natural position. Anyway, these are my ratings:

Flahavan 7 - Had no chance with the goals and was fairly solid. Didn't have a great deal to do.

Jupp 6 - Defending fairly well but most of his crosses were awful, we only had a couple of chances from crosses.

Barrett 9 - Put it this way. Before the game, I was unsure as to whether I should vote Barrett or Eastwood for PoTY. Today made my mind up. He was an inspiration. His effort and forward runs embarassed some of his other team mates. You could how hurt he was at the end but he was the one who applauded the fans the most. An absoloute legend.

Prior 7 - Solid at the back and had a good header tipped over the bar by the Wrexham keeper.

Wilson 8 - Another superb recent performance. Certainly made up for his nightmare last year. He was at fault for the 2nd goal and sadly it cost us. I feel sorry for him because apart from that he dealt with everything and did very well against the dangerous red haired guy. Could have got forward a bit more though.

Pettefer 7 - Held the ball up well, defended well and worked hard but didn't create much for the strikers which is what a winger should be doing.

Maher 7 - Was our best creative source and ceratinly did better than the Wrexham central midfielders.

BENTLEY 9.5 - Very close call for MoTM between him and Barrett but Bentley just edged it for me. Like Barrett he was really up for it and he tried his best to get the fans and players going. He was our best attacking player and he made some good tackles aswell. Didn't deserve to be on the losing side. Showed why he got the March PFA PoTM.

Gower 3 - His worst performance in a Southend shirt. Lazy, selfish, sloppy, and when he has a bad game we lack creativity. Time for Guttridge??

Esatwood 7 - Looked lively in the first half and hit the post but was a lot quieter in the 2nd half. Not one of his best games.

Gray 6 - Didn't have a single chance on goal. To be fair he didn't get great service but still could have done better.

Subs:

McCormack 7 - Came on and got stuck in straight away. His passing was nice again, just a shame about his shooting.

Dudfield 6 - Did very little.

Guttridge 6 - Ditto.

As for Wrexham, I thought their keeper Foster was their MoTM. Didn't put a foot wrong all game and made 2 great saves from Bentley and Prior. Edwards was good too.

 

[Hong Kong Blue]

Quote[/b] (Barmy Army @ April 11 2005,08:37)]

Quote[/b] (Shoebury Shrimper @ April 10 2005,23:27)]

Quote[/b] (Barmy Army @ April 10 2005,22:52)]Che obviously didn't get a call to tell him that there was someone coming for the 2nd goal and had a blinder apart from that defensive lapse.

Did you watch the game.

He should not have needed a call. Hoof the ball out. He is not a sunday league player he is a professional.

Che played the same as last year 20 yards of the player he should have been marking.

I did in fact watch the game.

But I'm more bothered about Che's overall performance, which I thought was immense.  Having a no-tackles guy in front of him in Gower for most of the first half meant that he had to work twice as hard as he should have had to.  If he had played tight on the winger with the red hair he would have been skinned all day ala Martin Bullock, so standing off him forced him into the corner or to send in a cross that was easily cleared by Barrett and Prior.

Che's performance immense?

I was watching a different game, one in which Wilson was patently unable to cope with Carlos Edwards forcing us to make a tactical change and switch Gower and Pettefer, purely because our full-back didn't look like being able to cope with someone running at him.

After the first 15 minutes Che would have appeared to be playing a lot better, but that was because Pettefer was keeping Edwards quiet. However this meant that Pettefer wasn't adding the extra body to central midfield as he normally does, and that Gower was playing on the wrong wing. Gower had a bad game, but was basically playing out of position - just think of the number of times he cuts in from the left onto his right foot to smack it in (such as the in the game which got us to Cardiff), but when the chance arose Gower was cutting in onto his left foot and the chance went begging.

Wilson looked to me like somebody who wasn't prepared to take responsibility, and was hiding, leaving his team-mates to pick up the pieces. On more than one occasion as balls from the left were half cleared Che stood there as the ball returned out wide requiring Barrett (who was further away) to have to go and close the man down. It is just poor defending to leave your centre-back to go and close down the cross as it leaves gaping holes in your central defence.

Then to sum up his display Wilson stood there as Darryl could only palm the ball into the danger area, leaving the Wrexham player to tap in.

 

[Barmy Army]

Quote[/b] (Hong Kong Blue @ April 11 2005,09:58)]

Quote[/b] (Barmy Army @ April 11 2005,08:37)]

Quote[/b] (Shoebury Shrimper @ April 10 2005,23:27)]

Quote[/b] (Barmy Army @ April 10 2005,22:52)]Che obviously didn't get a call to tell him that there was someone coming for the 2nd goal and had a blinder apart from that defensive lapse.

Did you watch the game.

He should not have needed a call. Hoof the ball out. He is not a sunday league player he is a professional.

Che played the same as last year 20 yards of the player he should have been marking.

I did in fact watch the game.

But I'm more bothered about Che's overall performance, which I thought was immense. Having a no-tackles guy in front of him in Gower for most of the first half meant that he had to work twice as hard as he should have had to. If he had played tight on the winger with the red hair he would have been skinned all day ala Martin Bullock, so standing off him forced him into the corner or to send in a cross that was easily cleared by Barrett and Prior.

Che's performance immense?

I was watching a different game, one in which Wilson was patently unable to cope with Carlos Edwards forcing us to make a tactical change and switch Gower and Pettefer, purely because our full-back didn't look like being able to cope with someone running at him.

After the first 15 minutes Che would have appeared to be playing a lot better, but that was because Pettefer was keeping Edwards quiet. However this meant that Pettefer wasn't adding the extra body to central midfield as he normally does, and that Gower was playing on the wrong wing. Gower had a bad game, but was basically playing out of position - just think of the number of times he cuts in from the left onto his right foot to smack it in (such as the in the game which got us to Cardiff), but when the chance arose Gower was cutting in onto his left foot and the chance went begging.

Wilson looked to me like somebody who wasn't prepared to take responsibility, and was hiding, leaving his team-mates to pick up the pieces. On more than one occasion as balls from the left were half cleared Che stood there as the ball returned out wide requiring Barrett (who was further away) to have to go and close the man down. It is just poor defending to leave your centre-back to go and close down the cross as it leaves gaping holes in your central defence.

Then to sum up his display Wilson stood there as Darryl could only palm the ball into the danger area, leaving the Wrexham player to tap in.

Yes in comparison to his performances last year, he was immense yesterday.

Try possibly looking at the fact that Pettefer and Gower switched wings because Gower couldn't deal with holding off Edwards, which Pettefer managed after they switched. Yes there were times when Barrett had to go out to the left to stop a cross coming in, but that's because Che was in the middle helping out his team.

For the majority of the season Che has been great and often has had to do the defensive job of two men as Gower winces away from any tackling duties.

He's not playing in his favoured position and is doing a bloody good job at left-back.

I can't believe that people are looking to Che as a scapegoat for the defeat. Last year - yes...this year - hell no.

 

[southend4ever]

I've decided to do this without looking at other ratings...

Flahavan - 7
Jupp - 6
Prior - 7.5
Barrett - 10 Just don't see how he could have played better?
Wilson - 4 absolutely disgusting schoolboy for the 2nd. it infuriated me, lot of chances down his side, lots of space. out of position.. wasn't totally out played but he wasn't that good.
Gower - 4.5
Pettefer - 6.5
Maher - 7.5 pulled the strings. got involved
Bentley - 7 worked hard got involved..
Gray - 6 had some shocking stuff put into him but did alright.
Freddy - 7 created  afew efforts from nothing... again wrong option sometimes.. looked like the one who was going to score...

 

[Shrimper2thecore]

Where do i start on my rant?

Steve Tilson thats where, someone tell him Gower is playing like a drain! Not having Nicolau on the bench was not only idiotic but a discrace, the guy has only missed one game in getting to the final, and scored a goal on the road to it. Leaving him out means the bench is so one sided, and Gower can never last 90 mins, so we have no left footer on the bench, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING TILLY?, why do you hate Nicky so much?

After the players recieved their medals they all walked in, and did not come and recognise we existed, DISCRACE, we mct have paid on average £150 to be there, especially those of us who went up on friday, and to just walk in isnt fair, it wasnt us who had screwed up!

Maher really really discusted me today, at the very end of 90 minutes their red headed number 7, was outside the box and Maher went up to him, and just had nothing left so tried to kick him, and then blamed someone else (no change there), when he let him go rond him. One may argue it was because he had worked "really hard", but why cant pro footballers last 90 mins? Bentley ran a lot mre for a lot longer. At this point why was Maher kept on?!?! Then he got in a pushing ruck in ET, some ambasador he is for our club. Thanks Kev

Substitutions were bizarre

There are good points though. Barrett and Bentley were awesome today, everywhere all the time. i also thought Carl Pettefer was out of this world, his best game for the club by a distance in my opinion. I feel for Che as he is getting blamed for the second goal, im more worried he was "marking" Ugarte for the first and let him go, but i thought Che had a good game on the whole.

Does anybody know why Nicolau and Hunt did not recieve medals? Surely its those who have appeared, not the match squad for the final.

 

[Shrimpersarmy]

Here goes:

Flahavan 7, took a few crosses

Jupp 6.5, did ok, slightly above average performance IMO, crossing was quite poor but at least he tried to get it in the box

Wilson 5, thought he got stagefright again in the first 15 or 20 mins, probably had something to do with the fact Edwards was Wrexhams best player going forward and looked like he could skin half our players all day long

Barrett 9, fcuking immense, by far and away the best player on the pitch

Prior 8, played well and his experience helped us, his lack of pace didn't get exposed once

Pettefer 7, usual pettefer, made things more solid defensively but has this annoying resistance to just belt the ball at goal when he is unmarked 20 yards out

Gower 3, bloody terrible, didn't even look interested IMO, thought he was just there to show off in white boots on TV, time for Nicky Nic or Guttridge

Maher 8, though he had a very good game, pulled the strings for the whole match and 90% of the time chose the right option when looking for a pass

Bentley 8, never stopped running, made some brilliant tackles and it would have been so so harsh if his header had gone in his own net instead of onto the bar

Eastwood 7.5, thought he was the only player who looked like doing something special to win us the cup, gave the wrexham defence big problems

Gray 5, personally thought he was poor, never really got into the game but to be honest i don't think he once got a decent ball into space 15 yards in front of him to run onto

 

[Hong Kong Blue]

Quote[/b] (Barmy Army @ April 11 2005,10:30)]Yes in comparison to his performances last year, he was immense yesterday.

Try possibly looking at the fact that Pettefer and Gower switched wings because Gower couldn't deal with holding off Edwards, which Pettefer managed after they switched.  Yes there were times when Barrett had to go out to the left to stop a cross coming in, but that's because Che was in the middle helping out his team.

For the majority of the season Che has been great and often has had to do the defensive job of two men as Gower winces away from any tackling duties.

He's not playing in his favoured position and is doing a bloody good job at left-back.

I can't believe that people are looking to Che as a scapegoat for the defeat.  Last year - yes...this year - hell no.

Just because he he was not humiliated like last year does not mean he was immense. If you are looking for immense performances look at Barrett, Bentley and Prior. They stood up and were counted. Che just hid.

I'm fully aware he wasn't playing in his best position, but he still has to be judged as a left-back, because if he can't do the job he's been picked to do, we need to find someone who can, and I'd suggest that a new left-back is our priority for next season.

I'm not scapgoating Wilson, I'm just pointing out that he - like many of his team-mates had a poor game. Just because it wasn't as poor as last year doesn't mean he should be praised. Che's been given a lot of credit for his improvement this season, but that credit masks the fact that he has only improved to at best the standard of a reasonably compotent 4th division defender.

 

[SUFC Employee]

Gower played sh*t! He should have come off at half time! What was up with his crossing?

 

[Einstein]

Quote[/b] (southend4ever @ April 11 2005,10:34)]I've decided to do this without looking at other ratings...

Wilson - 4 absolutely disgusting schoolboy for the 2nd. it infuriated me, lot of chances down his side, lots of space. out of position.. wasn't totally out played but he wasn't that good.

I did not post messages last night, due to being severely ****ed off and wanting to calm down a little.

I cannot think of a more descriptive word than - Gutted - for how I still feel.

However, not only did you not look at other ratings, but you obviously did not look at your keyboard and punched in random numbers. Having said that I'm not sure you even watched the game. Maybe just the goals on Sky at home.

I'm not an avid fan of Che and in fact still lead calls for him to be replaced next season as I think he is the weakest link in the team, but yesterday he was nowhere near the worst player. He had an amazing game and kept Edwards at bay by preventing him to run at him with full pace and get in behind the defence.  

If anyone around me on Friday night decides to let Che know they think he was at fault for our Final defeat then I will look forward to it.

Che's rating.

1 -117 Minute  -  8.5 - Awesome when doing the job as both the left back and left midfield position.

118-120 minute  -  5  -  Sloppy error, which he knows was partly his fault.  We were 1-0 down already though and never looking likely to score with 2 minutes left.

Overall - 8 - Can wake up this morning being very proud of his performance.

 

[Barmy Army]

Quote[/b] (Hong Kong Blue @ April 11 2005,10:55)]

Quote[/b] (Barmy Army @ April 11 2005,10:30)]Yes in comparison to his performances last year, he was immense yesterday.

Try possibly looking at the fact that Pettefer and Gower switched wings because Gower couldn't deal with holding off Edwards, which Pettefer managed after they switched. Yes there were times when Barrett had to go out to the left to stop a cross coming in, but that's because Che was in the middle helping out his team.

For the majority of the season Che has been great and often has had to do the defensive job of two men as Gower winces away from any tackling duties.

He's not playing in his favoured position and is doing a bloody good job at left-back.

I can't believe that people are looking to Che as a scapegoat for the defeat. Last year - yes...this year - hell no.

Just because he he was not humiliated like last year does not mean he was immense. If you are looking for immense performances look at Barrett, Bentley and Prior. They stood up and were counted. Che just hid.

I'm fully aware he wasn't playing in his best position, but he still has to be judged as a left-back, because if he can't do the job he's been picked to do, we need to find someone who can, and I'd suggest that a new left-back is our priority for next season.

I'm not scapgoating Wilson, I'm just pointing out that he - like many of his team-mates had a poor game. Just because it wasn't as poor as last year doesn't mean he should be praised. Che's been given a lot of credit for his improvement this season, but that credit masks the fact that he has only improved to at best the standard of a reasonably compotent 4th division defender.

I'm not saying he was immense in comparison to any of the other players on the pitch yesterday, I'm saying that his performance yesterday was immense compared to his own performances last year.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Right, here we go...

Flahavan - 7. Couple of smart saves, not really at fault for either goal.

Jupp - 6. Relatively solid defensively, but offered nothing constructive going forward

Prior - 8. Solid, kept their front two quiet all afternoon, and arguably there's little disgrace in losing out, at the corner from which Ugarte scored, to the 6'7" Lawrence.

BARRETT - 9.5. My man of the match. Immense. Not only brilliant defensively, but so often the man who tried to make things happen by carrying the ball forward into midfield. Surely there can be no other PotY.

Wilson - 5. The demons relating to Che's pace are back. Whilst admittedly an idle and ineffective Gower provided Che with no cover, the fact remains that yet again we were forced into a tactical reshuffle in order to bring the industrious Pettefer over to double-team Carlos Edwards. That totally destroyed our shape in midfield and damaged our ability as an attacking unit. And that's because it was obviously decided that Che didn't have the pace to deal with Edwards' threat. Yes, Che's a solid defender - and did plenty of good work. But he's not quick enough, and his lack of pace caused us to re-design the team in order to compensate.

Pettefer - 7.5 Worked hard, kept Edwards quiet, has a phenomenal engine. Should have stayed on instead of a tired-out Maher. Always does his job, and does it well.

Bentley - 8.5. He always seems to take about 25 minutes to get into a game, and yesterday was no exception. But once he has arrived, he is massive, and yesterday was no exception. No surprise that he had our two best shots on goal (the free kick and the header) - and the fist-pumping is what every fan loves to see.

Maher - 6. Not a vintage display from cap'n Kev. Whilst the passing game was there, we conceded too much possession in the midfield, perhaps stifled by Wrexham's 3-5-2 line-up. He sat too deep, let them have too much of the play and too much space. Was also clearly out on his feet at the end of 90, and started to get silly and tetchy in extra time which made him look foolish.

Gower - 2. Woeful. As poorly as I've seen him play. In mitigation, he was switched from his preferred left to the right - but that's because he provides no cover to Che. Then again, how well would Gower have got on, cutting inside onto his right against the pacy Edwards...? Lots of daft showboating in the first 20 minutes in his stupid white boots, fell over a lot (proving that white boots are sh*te - since Gray also fell over a lot), and then gave up. Should have been taken off at half time - although having him cheered off was not particularly edifying.

Gray - 5. Ineffective. Gray's pace ought to have been used... on the rare occasions it was during the second half, we had Wrexham in all sorts of trouble at the back. Instead, there was just much falling over in the white boots, and not much achieving of anything.

Eastwood - 7. There has been some unduly harsh criticism of Fredy. He showed his inexperience in the first half by running around like a lunatic trying to get possession. Ended up dropping too deep and trying too hard, and didn't have the legs - nor the opportunities in and around the box - to do damage like he can. Should have been subbed earlier, as he was knackered. He'll score against Orient, though.

Subs: Dudfield - 5. Surely this was Lawrie's chance to shine? Instead, he came on and did next to nothing. A disappointing afternoon for the man who remains a fans' favourite.

McCormack - 7.5. Bolstered his already good standing amongst the Shrimpers with yet another dogged display. A firecracker.

Guttridge - 6. Not enough time to make an impact.

Tilson - 4. Got a lot of big decisions wrong. Nicky should have been on the bench - it's not like Carlos Edwards' pace was some big secret. A brave manager would have taken Gower off after 30, brought Nicky on and kept the side's shape the same. Nicky has got the pace and ability to have kept Edwards busy for the rest of the day. And then, at the end of the 90, why take Petts off - when his motor was still very much running - instead of an utterly knackered Maher? Fredy was also knackered - and/or had cramp. Again, Duds should have been on sooner. I don't like criticising Tilly - he has got so, so much right this season. But he definitely got things wrong yesterday.

But, f**k it. If he gets us promotion, then I won't give a damn about yesterday, and he'll still rate as one of the finest bosses we've ever had.

Yours, gutted - but trying (slowly) to exorcise the demons of another weekend of pain...

Matt

 

[Technician]

Flahavan (8) - Came for crosses, was brave when needed and would have scored higher with some quick distribution. If we could have got our lads moving earlier, we may have unleashed the pace of our forwards. fifth straight clean sheet (If based on 90 minutes per game)

Jupp & Wilson (6.5) - Both solid in defence for the majority of the game. Neither should be ashamed of their performances although Wilson's error led to Wrexham's 2nd.

Prior (7.5) - 120 minutes of action for a man his age is impressive. Fitness is the key and he has this in abundance. Used his intelligence well and went forward when required.

Barratt (10) - If we had 11 players like him, we'd be in the Premier League. Played the game with passion and wore his shirt with pride. This man loves Southend United and fully deserves the plaudits already given. MotM

Maher & Pettefer (7) - Good performances, but both can do so much better. Needed to raise their games for a big occasion, but failed to impress. Maher as Captain, needs to take more of the initaitive to score higher from me & another needless booking too

Gower (5) - Can change a game in a flash, but after the first 15 minutes, it was generally agreed by those around me, that his mind was elsewhere. Any more performances like these & he may be warming the bench for a while, or shown the door... still struggling with his back?!?

Bentley (9.5) - For such a big lad, he has so much energy. Numerous crunching, but well times challenges, tracked back, pushed forward, a good effort on goal. Superb. He and Barratt should be the inspiration for others in the squad.

Eastwood & Gray (7) - Both displayed glimpses of their respective talents, but were let down by some of those around them. Both seemed to switch off at times and work may be needed in this area.

Subs: (7) - Didn't have much time to make an impact or impress.

On the day, I would say we were beaten by Wrexham because they wanted it more. Their counter-attacks generally started from their keeper, who was quick to release the ball. They were more switched on than we were and often left us chasing shadows, whilst waiting for an opening.

Our tactical changes didn't do anything to improve our standing against the league 1 strugglers and this game may provide a clue to what we can expect next season, when we (hopefully) face their like, in the league.

I am more than a little superstitious about playing in front of SKY TV... Live!

LDV Final (Blackpool) - Lost 0-2
F.A.CupR2 (Luton T.) - Lost 0-3
LDV Final (Wrexham) - Lost 0-2

...and that's just since March 2004

 

[Prodigal Son]

Barrett is obviously a good player but does anyone think he he cares more because he says he was/is a supporter?

How many players would pay to watch?

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (Prodigal Son @ April 11 2005,12:49)]Barrett is obviously a good player but does anyone think he he cares more because he says he was/is a supporter?

How many players would pay to watch?

More than you'd imagine. I doubt either of Chrissy Powell or Phil Gridelet got in for free...

At least meeting Chrissy after the game - my all-time SUFC hero - cheered me up a fair bit. As for Grids... he's bigger in real life than I imagined he would be, and he asked me if I knew the way to Amarillo... presumably suggesting that I'm now a Peter Kay lookalike as well as a Harry Potter lookalike.

Cheeky sod!

Fair play to both of them for being there, though... and I bet Chrissy felt like a politician at the end of the day... he shook a fair few hands before, during and after the game.

Final thought - Beno wasn't a blues fan, so far as I know, and yet gave 100%. Same for Spinner... same (I thought) for Fredy in the first half - indeed, he ran around too much.

Not many out there could be faulted for effort, Gower aside; and plenty of them will watch the Blues in future years, I'm sure of it.

Matt

 

[Prodigal Son]

Interesting on Chrissy and Grids. Not suggesting most did not give 100%. Big case of stage fright and one or two were reminded that League 2 is their level.