Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend 1-3 Gillingham

[ooh-andy-ansah]

Be careful what you wish for springs to mind. In the away game against them last season Deegan absolutely bossed midfield but too many of you were more interested in criticising his beard or his shorts. The guy was a vital part of the team and despite the know it alls claiming he wasn't lge 1 standard he got snapped up by another lge 1 club rather quickly, a lot quicker than we've managed to find a replacement. It was very unfair on King being thrown in after only joining 24 hrs earlier but from what I saw I can tell you now Deegan would have had him in his pocket, the lad looks lightweight, let's hope he has enough skill to compensate because I reckon he will be bossed by bigger and more experienced players at this level. There's a lot of wise old heads in lge 1, that's what we need, someone who will control the centre of the park.

 

[Shrimper]

For 40 mins we were on top. The 2 misses by Mooney gave them hope when they should have been dead at HT. We were undone by their set piece first as our defence slept. Downhill from there as we lost the midfield after defensive failures again for their second. Some heads dropped and it was as if last season never ended. The good thing is that in Ranger, Timlin and Wordsworth we do have 3 good players who will be available soon, hopefully. We need a Deegan for days like yesterday and more importantly a top CB for every game. Why did we stand off Emmanuel-Thomas so much. He should have been taken out when he started to pose a threat.

Mooney is a striker I will just never like. Constantly offside and constantly flops. Fails to take chances too.

No excuses for losing though, we sucked *** in the second.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Barry Corr is a big miss at set pieces both attacking and defending. Was like an extra centre back when defending. Can't say that any centre back that Brown has signed has that real physical presence about them. If he didn't think Sokolik was an improvement on what we have why sign him.

I notice BBBC wasn't even in Cambridge's starting line up yesterday so I imagine he's injured already.

 

[* ORM *]

You don't even go to matches to see how Barrett plays so your view is as welcome as a fart in a lift as far as i'm concerned.

So the criteria for posting now is if you haven't been to the game you can't comment on it? Utter tosh. My views are unchanged from when I was a regular attendee to the 4-5 games I'm usually able to witness for myself in a season. My view are also based on unbiased match reports not just on Saturday's game but on plenty of match reports during a failed second half of last season.

I fail to see the logic of appointing a match captain that isn't going to be around week in week out and who quite clearly needs to be upgraded. Club captain and motivator YES, why not ?

 

[Benfleet Blue]

Right firstly let me start by saying I wasn't at the game yesterday as I had a friend's wedding.

It really is difficult to express an opinion if you did not say how poor we were in the second half.

Whatever you think of Phil Brown, he is not an idiot and he will be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of his team.

If Phil Brown is not an idiot and is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the team then why was yesterday's second-half a continuation of last year with the failure to defend set pieces and, God knows how effective his half-time team talk is when you consider how many goals we concede immediately after the restart! I really am sorry but I have no confidence in him whatsoever.

You also have to consider that on Saturday effectively with Demetriou, Leonard, O'Neill and White we had 4 right backs playing or on the bench and only Williams as backup for the strikers. PB has been given full backing as far as I can tell from Ron Martin and yet has the ability to destroy any strikers we bring in. He is defensive minded and yet cannot teach the defenders to defend! Forwards have total lack of service and to say we have replaced either Jack Payne or David Worrall with any like-for-like players is crazy.

I have severe doubts that this year will be any different to the end of last year and he will still be playing with changes to the squad on a regular basis and changes to formation as he appears never to know the best team or the best formation.

 

[shrimperjon]

If Phil Brown is not an idiot and is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the team then why was yesterday's second-half a continuation of last year with the failure to defend set pieces and, God knows how effective his half-time team talk is when you consider how many goals we concede immediately after the restart! I really am sorry but I have no confidence in him whatsoever.

You also have to consider that on Saturday effectively with Demetriou, Leonard, O'Neill and White we had 4 right backs playing or on the bench and only Williams as backup for the strikers. PB has been given full backing as far as I can tell from Ron Martin and yet has the ability to destroy any strikers we bring in. He is defensive minded and yet cannot teach the defenders to defend! Forwards have total lack of service and to say we have replaced either Jack Payne or David Worrall with any like-for-like players is crazy.

I have severe doubts that this year will be any different to the end of last year and he will still be playing with changes to the squad on a regular basis and changes to formation as he appears never to know the best team or the best formation.

Grear post, PB clearly doesn't know our strengths and weaknesses, look at the signings and where he has failed to strengthen the team. The guy is a dinosaur. He is only still at the club thanks to a Joe Piggott job saving goal at Wembley and prob the fact that RM can't afford to sack him. Saturday wasn't just about the defeat, but more importantly the manner of the defeat. No lessons have been learned from last season, yet he criticises the team publicly for the same issues as last season. The guy needs to look in one place to blame, it's called a mirror

 

[TTS]

If Phil Brown is not an idiot and is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the team then why was yesterday's second-half a continuation of last year with the failure to defend set pieces and, God knows how effective his half-time team talk is when you consider how many goals we concede immediately after the restart! I really am sorry but I have no confidence in him whatsoever.

You also have to consider that on Saturday effectively with Demetriou, Leonard, O'Neill and White we had 4 right backs playing or on the bench and only Williams as backup for the strikers. PB has been given full backing as far as I can tell from Ron Martin and yet has the ability to destroy any strikers we bring in. He is defensive minded and yet cannot teach the defenders to defend! Forwards have total lack of service and to say we have replaced either Jack Payne or David Worrall with any like-for-like players is crazy.

I have severe doubts that this year will be any different to the end of last year and he will still be playing with changes to the squad on a regular basis and changes to formation as he appears never to know the best team or the best formation.

Mcglashan
Cox
Ranger
Maybe / hopefully Simpson

Yep, no like for like replacements in terms of attacking !

 

[Bromley Blue]

If Phil Brown is not an idiot and is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the team then why was yesterday's second-half a continuation of last year with the failure to defend set pieces and, God knows how effective his half-time team talk is when you consider how many goals we concede immediately after the restart! I really am sorry but I have no confidence in him whatsoever.

You also have to consider that on Saturday effectively with Demetriou, Leonard, O'Neill and White we had 4 right backs playing or on the bench and only Williams as backup for the strikers. PB has been given full backing as far as I can tell from Ron Martin and yet has the ability to destroy any strikers we bring in. He is defensive minded and yet cannot teach the defenders to defend! Forwards have total lack of service and to say we have replaced either Jack Payne or David Worrall with any like-for-like players is crazy.

I have severe doubts that this year will be any different to the end of last year and he will still be playing with changes to the squad on a regular basis and changes to formation as he appears never to know the best team or the best formation.

Calling Ryan Leonard a right back is bending the truth to make a point really. He might fill in there when required but he's been a central midfield player for several years! I agree that we probably didn't need White and O Neill but until we sign a CB then White was probably on the bench as the central cover, whatever you think of that.

I do agree that it's frustrating how we're still weak at set pieces, especially as this is the sort of thing which should be eradicated in training. But I do have trouble believing that with all the video analysis and statistics available to Brown that he wouldn't have a least tried a few things to sort this out.

All I was really saying in my original post is that things can change very quickly in football. We will play teams weaker than Gillingham this season and we will sign additional players . 2 or 3 signings could completely change the performances of the side. Everyone has highlighted the need for a new CB and by all accounts we're in the market to sign one but Saturday came too soon.

So let's wait til the end of the transfer window before we all jump off a bridge no?

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

For several seasons many posters have been stating that we are slow and predictable at attacking AND we NEED a coach who has knowledge and skill in that area, to work with not just the wingers and strikers BUT the whole squad; never at the touch line, during games, do team PB/GC give advice on attacking , only on keeping tight, closing down, positioning when defending SO is it any surprise that we have such a defending minded set of players?:angry:

Additionally on Saturday AB was trying to take the ball forward at his feet and getting into the Gills half (and back) without panting like a dog; he must be slower than 6 years ago, but he does not appear to be blown quite yet.:thumbsup:

And several times in the 2nd half Coker had the ball to feet looked up, saw nothing on, no movement etc and had to pass across the back, he also shouted at those in front to make some moves and did some shoulder shrugs to GC to make the point to him...............maybe Reading is starting to look more interesting than a season of frustration?:unsure:

 

[Benfleet Blue]

Mcglashan
Cox
Ranger
Maybe / hopefully Simpson

Yep, no like for like replacements in terms of attacking !

Think you're a little confused.

The Jury is out on McGlashen but quite truthfully you could put Vardy or Messi in our team and they would struggle to score!

We have no supply to the forwards so I really don't get your point. Payne and Worrall were both creators which we simply don't have.

 

[danburyshrimper]

Static. Bereft of ideas. Lazy. Lethargic. Naive.

You get my feeling.

Frustrating 1st game to say the least. We faced a Gills team down to their bare bones and yet after we had a decent enough first half hour we totally lost our way.

I cant believe how static we were going forward , zero options , no one making runs off the ball ( which was Ronan Murrays main asset - how we could have done with his energy ) but rather than make this a 90 minute rant which believe me i am tempted , i ll concentrate on our wide players. Why do we have 2 so called brilliant attacking full backs yet not allow them to cross the half way line. Our wingers dont get in space to receive the ball and when they get it they dont take their full backs on --- all they did was stop our own full backs going forward as they know our wingers cant defend if it breaks down. Demetriou had an absolute stinker. Whenever ive seen him before hes been an impressive winger / attacking wing back. He is not a good defender, John White is a good defender so we might as well have him solidly at the back if our right back does not get forward. We all know Coker can cause havoc to opponents down the left but he was shackled as our midfield of an out of sorts Lenny and an over worked Atkinson couldnt cope with Dack of the other Gills midfield, causing our own full backs to stay deep. McLashan should have been given the hook early 2nd half as he was awful , McLaughlin was probably worse. They both have speed and ability in abundance but if they are gonna hide , not take players on , not put in loads of good crosses then im sorry but all they are is a massive lialilty on the shape of the team.

 

[Medway Blue]

For several seasons many posters have been stating that we are slow and predictable at attacking AND we NEED a coach who has knowledge and skill in that area, to work with not just the wingers and strikers BUT the whole squad; never at the touch line, during games, do team PB/GC give advice on attacking , only on keeping tight, closing down, positioning when defending SO is it any surprise that we have such a defending minded set of players?:angry:

And several times in the 2nd half Coker had the ball to feet looked up, saw nothing on, no movement etc and had to pass across the back, he also shouted at those in front to make some moves and did some shoulder shrugs to GC to make the point to him...............maybe Reading is starting to look more interesting than a season of frustration?:unsure:

The amount of times I reported observing and feeling exactly this last season, suggesting the players are miffed at how they're being set-up and told to play and that they don't look like they're enjoying playing, suggesting that they need the tactical shackles taking off so they can play to their strengths and with a bit of freedom. And I kept getting **** down. At least some people are starting to see the same things now. Nothing will change with PB in charge.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[A Century United]

Are you serious ? Were Gillingham playing in a different temperature zone ?

Justin Edinburgh is way cooler than Phil "Sunbed" Brown.... :whistling:

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

Think we need to look at a 3-5-2 to get the best out of Demetriou and improve our defensive play. 3 in the centre of mid will hopefully allow Leonard and another centre mid to support the strikers. We did pretty well with it last season.

 

[Benfleet Blue]

Calling Ryan Leonard a right back is bending the truth to make a point really. He might fill in there when required but he's been a central midfield player for several years!

I understand what you're saying but is Leonard really a good midfielder. Does he score goals ? Does he create a lot of chances ? I personally think he's a better full back and I've thought it all along. I thought I was proven wrong last year when he was out injured for a period but things really didn't improve when he returned.

Don't get me wrong I would have him in the team but primarily as a defender.

Compare our midfield with Gillingham's and take into account Billy Knott couldn't get into the team and there is something seriously lacking.

 

[LennySUFC]

I couldn't make the game Saturday and from what I have read I don't think I'll bother going for v2.0 Tuesday night!

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

I understand what you're saying but is Leonard really a good midfielder. Does he score goals ? Does he create a lot of chances ? I personally think he's a better full back and I've thought it all along. I thought I was proven wrong last year when he was out injured for a period but things really didn't improve when he returned.

Don't get me wrong I would have him in the team but primarily as a defender.

Compare our midfield with Gillingham's and take into account Billy Knott couldn't get into the team and there is something seriously lacking.

Yes he does but he's being shackled into a defensive role

 

[yogi bear up the cagire]

The assumptions are not only based on this game, but most of last season after Christmas. We have some new players, all of whom I think we're decent signings, yet, as a team they throw in a shocker of a performance. Most of last season we couldn't defend set pieces, today we concede from two. Last season our forward players were left isolated and lack chances, today the same. We need goals, so today we bring on Williams, a player who simply isn't good enough for pro football let alone league one. We take off a right back, one of the best in league one last season, put Leonard there and bring on another right back in midfield. PB as per usual questions the desire of the players, a lack of fight. The only person to blame is himself, the guy is a media darling, but a rubbish manager, out of date wth modern football with no plan B. This result was no coincidence. This is no knee jerk reaction from fans, we all love AB, but at 36 is he really the right captain. In doing so it's almost guaranteeing his place week in week out.

to make it clear, I'm on holiday, so my opinions are based on social media reporting, but it's clear that with PB in charge we are going to struggle. My parents had my season tickets today. My mum who is 69 text to say it was simply same old sane old. That to me says a lot. I hope the PB in brigade are happy, but challenge any of them to find anything positive after today against a team ravaged by injury and an awful preseason.

This for me was the first shock of the new season. IIRC I made a prediction at the start of last season, that neither AB nor White would be regulars by the end of the campaign. Now the 2016/7 season is underway and though White is on the bench AB is more than ever in the frame. Last year we had Bentley to save us from humiliation on a number of occasions, not convinced that Oxley is going to be quite as 'imperméable.' so he's going to need better support.
As with many on here, I believe the issue of central defence and creativity in midfied needs to be urgently addressed. You can just about get by even if you ae not scoring for fun but when, at the same time, you are conceding for fun (especially from set pieces), you're going to get into big trouble.

 

[Andrewboom]

Hi from a lurking Gillingham fan.

The whole injury crisis\bare bones thing has been a bit overblown on this forum.
We don’t currently have a backup right back or left back, and our only backup central defender is a 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] year pro, yet to make a league start. So we still have some squad gaps to fill.
Our starting XI however is still strong, and our bench still had more options than yours in my eyes.
We have had some nasty injuries in preseason, the main problem this has given us is limiting our formation options. We have lost our only defensive midfielder in (Morris (who also covered RB and CH) and both our left wingers in Martin and Garmston. So we can’t play wingbacks, or anyone wide left in a 442.
Tuesday could be interesting as the manager wants to rest Oshilaja, who missed most a pre-season. So we look like we will be playing a youngster on debut in central defence.
If we give Hadler a chance in goal it will also be his pro debut, but I don’t see us making many more changes.

 

[southend4ever]

:smile::smile::smile::smile::smile::smile::smile::smile::smile: We scored a goal! Yay. Something to build on.