Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend 0-0 Exeter

[manor15]

League 2 football for us next year then :'(
Never really threatened and could probably count the amount of shots on target on one hand. Nothing on the bench to change the game, Scott Spencer the only attacking option on the bench. Paterson and Vernon didn't click, Paterson hardly ever ran onto Vernon's flick ons, Scannell ran around even more headlessly than normal, Laurent looked bored for a lot of the game, Grant and Moose worked hard in the middle, Malone just ballooned everything that came his way.

Mildy 7.5 Some great saves and his kicks were long but his distribution late on was frustrating
Franno 6.5 Skinned once or twice when too eager to go forward but made some good tackles and his corners were much better for a change
Barrett 7 Solid and consistant, won nearly every header that came his way and looked to get the ball down and play it
Baldwin 7 Like Barrett was solid and consistent and didn't do much wrong, marked his man tightly
Malone 5.5 Hoofball quite often, like Francis at times, and nothing really seemed to come off for him today
Laurent 6.5 Looked uninterested for majority of the game but did use his skill and pace to get at their full back
Grant 8 Worked hard and got stuck in and was easily MOTM but gave away a few silly fouls but worked hard in the middle
Moose 7.5 Didn't do a lot wrong and worked hard, perhaps could have shot more or more accurately but did well
Scannell 6 Didn't really have an impact, didn't get back to help out Malone at all and didn't put many balls in, he tried to dribble it in and just lost it every time
Vernon 6 Made a lot of flick ons but none of them came to anything in the end and had 2 or 3 very good chances that went straight at the keeper, seemed reluctant to shoot, frustrating
Paterson 5.5 Didn't get much of the ball and wasn't on the same wavelength as Vernon and also seemed reluctant to shoot
Subs
Spencer 6 Didn't get much of the ball but ran around a lot and showed off his curls

 

[dloman]

Baldwin pick of the two centre backs for me today used the ball much better than Barrett whose distribution when under no pressure was appalling. Laurent, sorry extremely poor, unfit and uninterested. Moose pick of the two centre mids with great first touch and excellent passing, oh and seemed to be the one player willing to shoot!

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

Cant argue too much with that report Manor15. We simply dont have the attacking talent to win games. Vernons 2 chances and Laurents shot apart, their keeper had nothing to do. Exeter will feel they could and shouldve won it, yet again against a team in the bottom 4 we were holding on at the end.

Things that need to happen next week if we are to have any chance of staying up
- Scannel on the right, he was too predictable on the left today and cutting inside every time. Laurent was a passenger for most of the game.
- Macca in the middle with Grant. Moose was poor but would stick him on the left.
-Herd for Malone. Cant remember seeing a worse left back for us in a long time.

If there were any positives, Barrett and Baldwin looked a decent partnership- shame Tilly didnt do this 6 games ago we might have a few more points.
The lack of options on the bench summed it up, and the fact that no man of the match was announced, quite appropriate!

Assuming Southampton give us a tonking on the last day of the season, we have 10 games to get (at a guess) 15 points to keep us safe. Thats equivalent of 5 wins. League 2 it is then.

 

[Andy_S]

I'll get round to posting my thoughts tomorrow, but you gave a higher mark to Laurent than to Scannell? I don't think there has ever been a rating that I have disagreed more with.

Scannell ran himself into the ground, was our only attacking outlet, helped out in defence and generally was a thorn in their side. Whilst Laurent jogged about for 90 mins without breaking sweat. He put in the most ineffective display I've seen from one of our attacking players all season! And boy has he got some competition!

 

[EastLondonShrimper]

I'll get round to posting my thoughts tomorrow, but you gave a higher mark to Laurent than to Scannell? I don't think there has ever been a rating that I have disagreed more with.

Scannell ran himself into the ground, was our only attacking outlet, helped out in defence and generally was a thorn in their side. Whilst Laurent jogged about for 90 mins without breaking sweat. He put in the most ineffective display I've seen from one of our attacking players all season! And boy has he got some competition!

Totally agree; though I thought Scannell's tantrum (and therefore yellow card) was completely idiotic...

I don't know what it is with Laurent. I can't understand why he thinks he's so good; he's SO unfit! Left his man out wide so often in the first half, and was consistantly shouted down by our defence..

Every time he was 'forced' to run a few yards he looked so breathless, as if he'd just ran 20 miles!

 

[manor15]

I'll get round to posting my thoughts tomorrow, but you gave a higher mark to Laurent than to Scannell? I don't think there has ever been a rating that I have disagreed more with.

Scannell ran himself into the ground, was our only attacking outlet, helped out in defence and generally was a thorn in their side. Whilst Laurent jogged about for 90 mins without breaking sweat. He put in the most ineffective display I've seen from one of our attacking players all season! And boy has he got some competition!

I agree with you but the difference was that Scannell would get the ball and just run into a crowd of defenders at the side of the box and lose the ball but Laurent, although ineffective, managed to get more balls into the box just by beating his man and then putting in a cross, only two or three times but that was two or three times more than Scannell!

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

Paterson hardly ever ran onto Vernon's flick ons.

Maybe that's because he didn't win any ?

 

[fredheim_holm]

Mildenhall - 7.5
Francis - 7
Baldwin - 7
Barrett - 7
Malone - 5
Laurent - 6
Moussa - 6
Grant - 7
Scannell - 6.5
Vernon - 6.5
Paterson - 6.5

subs:
Spencer - 6

 

[EastStandBlue]

Even game contested by two sides who clearly didn't want to give much away. Exeter fashioned a few chances but only really tested us in the second half, once with a stinging shot that Mildenhall done well to save and another late on. Exeter lined up to frustrate us, lining a deep midfield with reserved wingers and a striker who continuously dropped deep into midfield, but we weren't helped by Vernon and his turning-circle of a semi-articulated lorry.

Ratings:

Mildenhall - 7 - Kept us in it and times and looked dependable as ever.
Francis - 7 - Another top performance from him today, even if he did overhit his crossfield ball to Scannell an awful lot.
Barrett - 7 - Looked up for it
Baldwin 6.5 - Like Barrett, but made a few slips and didn't get forward for set-pieces for some reason.
Malone - 4 - Couldn't pass for toffee today and it caused an awful lot of pressure to mount on us needlessly
Grant - 6 - Pleased to see him back and make 90 minutes as he'll be vital for the run in.
Moussa - 7.5 - My MOTM. Arguably the only person to show any attacking prowess and his runs with and without the ball looked like our only outlet. Also forged a few shots towards goal.
Scannell - 6.5 - Tested the Exeter full back but lacked the end product to cause real problems. Great work ethic though and it's clear he's benefitting from a run in the side.
Laurent - 4 - Another **** poor performance from Laurent if you ask me. There's no point juggling the ball for half the season if you can't pass, can't cross and you can't shoot. He has no football brain on his shoulders at all and he has to be spoon fed tactics from the touchline. He's too much of a luxury to have around at the moment and we can't carry a player who needs to be talked through a game of professional football.
Paterson - 6.5 - Continues to impress me with his work rate, ability to hold up the ball and all-round professionalism. We have a real asset here.
Vernon - 5 - Plays with his back to goal for the entire game and his tame shot in the first half should have been a goal. No threat whatsoever and we need a cutting edge if we're to win games.

Herd in for Malone and Spencer in for Vernon next week if you ask me. More reaction over at: http://stopthisseason.wordpress.com/

 

[mattytheshrimper]

too disappointed to do this but one thing i found amazing was the fact that mildy had a drink before taking a goal kick on the 90th minute during such a vital last few minutes and then seemed to be stalling before the final whistle.

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

Paterson and Vernon are no better than Revell or Harrold. We need one of them to score 5 or 6 goals to get us out of trouble, cant see it myself.

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

First clean sheet since October was about the only positive from the game. I thought both sides defended fairly well and neither had enough up top, not hard to see why both teams are struggling.

 

[Colchester Shrimper]

Can't be bothered to do the markings, but can't believe Johnny Herd is so bad that he's been kept out of the side by Malone. Malone is poor defensively and offers nothing in attack.

Thought grant was excellent today although ran out of steam over the last 15 mins or so.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

Can't be bothered to do the markings, but can't believe Johnny Herd is so bad that he's been kept out of the side by Malone. Malone is poor defensively and offers nothing in attack.

Thought grant was excellent today although ran out of steam over the last 15 mins or so.

totally agree with you there. grant was great today. i do think he did a two man job aswell.

i was also thinking the same about herd. malone i don't think is bad but herd is no worse plus gives an option with throws and also pretty good going forward. he must think what can i do to get in this team. left back is a posistion we are constantly trying to fill but he never really gets his chance he just replacing until someone else comes in.

 

[Shrimpersarmy]

We could still be playing now and we still wouldn't have scored...

Mildy 7 - Some good saves, does he not realise how badly we needed 3 points today though? Was taking absolutely ages with his kicks in the last 10 mins (Both from the ground and from his hands), seemed to be more than happy with a point

Franno 7 - Pretty good again today, corners were much better than usual
Barrett 7 - Poor first 15 mins but improved as the game went on
Baldwin 7 - Really like him, has decent distribution but also knows when to clear his lines
Malone 4 - Utter crap yet again - have never seen him have a good game for us. Not a massive Herd fan but think he is better than Malone
Laurent 5 - Looked like he couldn't be bothered, rubbish final ball when he did get in a good position for a cross
Moussa 7 - A few sloppy mistakes but thought he did ok, played a few decent through balls in the second half
Grant 7.5 - Our best player today, made some good interceptions and kept it simple when in possesion
Scannell 7 - Worked hard, still needs to get his head up more when he has the ball though
Vernon 5 - Missed our 2 or 3 best chances today, tried hard but looks a bit short on confidence i think
Patterson 5 - Been impressed with him so far but was very ineffective today

Subs:

Spencer 6 - Would have liked to have seen him 10 minutes earlier, barely touched the ball when he came on

Think we are pretty much certain to go down now, unless we string 2 or 3 wins together we have no chance of staying up IMO.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

We could still be playing now and we still wouldn't have scored...

Mildy 7 - Some good saves, does he not realise how badly we needed 3 points today though? Was taking absolutely ages with his kicks in the last 10 mins (Both from the ground and from his hands), seemed to be more than happy with a point

Franno 7 - Pretty good again today, corners were much better than usual
Barrett 7 - Poor first 15 mins but improved as the game went on
Baldwin 7 - Really like him, has decent distribution but also knows when to clear his lines
Malone 4 - Utter crap yet again - have never seen him have a good game for us. Not a massive Herd fan but think he is better than Malone
Laurent 5 - Looked like he couldn't be bothered, rubbish final ball when he did get in a good position for a cross
Moussa 7 - A few sloppy mistakes but thought he did ok, played a few decent through balls in the second half
Grant 7.5 - Our best player today, made some good interceptions and kept it simple when in possesion
Scannell 7 - Worked hard, still needs to get his head up more when he has the ball though
Vernon 5 - Missed our 2 or 3 best chances today, tried hard but looks a bit short on confidence i think
Patterson 5 - Been impressed with him so far but was very ineffective today

Subs:

Spencer 6 - Would have liked to have seen him 10 minutes earlier, barely touched the ball when he came on

Think we are pretty much certain to go down now, unless we string 2 or 3 wins together we have no chance of staying up IMO.

pretty much spot on

 

[Smudger]

At times it looked like we were crying out for a Rio Alderton figure to lead us to the promised land. :'(

 

[sadsy]

Pretty poor game played by two poor sides.

Grant was excellent today, we have missed him. Back four looked reasonably solid but Malone's distribution poor.

On the attacking side thought Scannell worked hard , particularly in the second half. Laurent , apart from the shot after half-time was abysmal , should be in the Circus !

Paterson didn't get into the game at all and every time Vernon got the ball he lost it.

Thought Tilson should have got Spencer on much sooner , perhaps he was still waiting for Brush to tell him !

 

[Rayleigh boy]

Mildenhall - good quality Lg 1 keeper - made one great save - just annoys me for no good reason...

Malone - enthuisiastic young footballer learning the game -

Baldwin - adequate Lge 1 defender -got a very limited game

Barrett - adequate Lg 1 defender who can play with excellent intensity to raise the game

Francis - clearly a player capable of playing at a highr level than this

Scannell - has ability but his game has barely any worth off the ball - he is like a youth player getting his first few games ... will do well for a small league 2 club -

Granty - put his career on the line for the club - risking further injury when playing unfit

Moussa - a highly talented 20 year old who should be playing with quality players and developing his attcking game. didn't shirk a challenge or miss a header - had an no platform to hurt the opposition - sometims hes better out wide - unrested all season -

#Laurent - needs the ball early in space - suddenly seems to be trying to learn to play a defensive game - which hes terrible at ... yet hes generally a threat but not today -
Vernon - game front man who doesn't carry any threat -

Paterson - 19 year who might make the grade as a good Billy Paynter by the time hes in his early 20s - no threat -

Spencer - ditto Paterson -

Tilson - stood alone on the touchline - I think his confidence is slipping as Ron chips away at everything he has acheived -

SUPPORT - fantastic - didn't let the frustration slip out - let Tilson know we're behind him.

Bench - ?

Exeter - 30 odd professionals - supporters on the board - should have won -

Revell, Walker, Betsy - a centre half - all would have helped -

David Webb - why not head up a consortium ?

Protest - good work - love the "wheres the money" the perfect chant for our times -
why should RM screw it up and not take some heat ?

what next the great escape ? need a goal scorer .... JFC Macca Grant Moussa - someone better learn where the net is ..... freekicks and corners need a fox in the box -
Spencer can finish ....

desperate times -

 

[Lord Football]

An absolutely dire game of football between two sides who looked dead certs for League 2, and neither of them will set that alight next season. Both defences, despite looking creaky, were really never threatened.

Mildenhall 7 - A good stop in the second half, wayward kicking

Francis 8 - Pretty much anything decent we did, had him involved. Defended well as well
Baldwin 7 - Looks better with Barrett, went missing once or twice
Barrett 7.5 - Same as above, but gets an extra half mark for a cracking tackle in the second half
Malone 6 - Not good enough. Play Herd.

Scannell 6 - Ran around a lot but with little of no product
Laurent 5 - May as well not have been there
Moussa 6 - A criminal waste of talent at times
Grant 7 - Pick of the midfield, especially first half

Patterson 6 - Did nothing of note
Vernon 5 - Ok, this is contraversial. But he simply doesn't get off the ground, doesn't seem able to find a blue shirt and doesnt seem to know what to do in front of goal.

Sub

Spencer 6 - Looks like my mate Adam, or a young Jasper Carrot or that bloke out of Gimme Gimme Gimme. Aside from that, we didn't notice him

A quick positive word about the crowd today, a superb effort given the circumstances we are currently in.