Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 0-1 Sittingbourne Town

[Strykr]

I hope we have a management team that knows how to win, and move us up the league. For so long now we don't seem to have a clue, every foot forward is followed by a couple backwards. We get excited when new players arrive then disappointed when we see them play.
We should have put this team to the sword, but once again we can't score....when is this knightmare going to end!

This. I dont recall ever being so un blown away by so many signings. Has to stop. The whiteboard, the committee, shivas' ai laptop, and john still's 'nous' have all been abysmal.

 

[Sunnyshrimper]

Didn't we loose an FA cup game away to Dover?

Yes but Sittingbourne are considerably worse than Dover in terms of league position. Dover were National League and we were League 2 I think, same with Chester and Scarborough

 

[Maidstone Shrimper]

For me the blame for today’s defeat is spread equally between players and manager. Maher selected three central defenders to do the job of two against Sittingbourne who had minimal attacking intentions. You would think our superior fitness would be key after 60 minutes but we didn’t make the opposition run around chasing us to make that happen. Sittingbourne just needed to stand around and watch while we played backwards and sideways sometimes slowly working our way out to the wings where our wide players didn’t have the pace to get past their man to get crosses in. We needed an extra man in midfield so bringing on Coker was the right thing to do but instead of taking off an unnecessary centre back (preferably Gubbins) a forward was sacrificed. Apart from KAF in the first 10 minutes nobody was prepared to drive at the back-pedalling Sittingbourne massed ranks to draw free kicks.
Our players didn’t show any urgency until the last 15 minutes. Despite all this we had enough chances to score over the course of the game but they ended up either half-hit straight at the keeper or screwed wide. It seems we have forwards who graft but not a natural finisher among them.
Sittingbourne deserved to win. They had a game plan. Defend in numbers, frustrate us by taking ages to take goal kicks and throw-ins. They were probably hoping to take the game to penalties but a mistake meant they didn’t even need those. Yes Bonne deserves flak for not putting his foot through the ball to clear but the rest of them are more culpable for not being able to score against “lowly opposition” in 96 minutes of play. I know what Sittingbourne’s game plan was. I don’t know what ours was.

 

[Flinty]

And this is my point about why I wasn't getting over excited about the Tom Hopper signing. Technically a very good player. Will help out the defence on corners and free kicks. But will he score the goals we need, I don't think so. I think he may get a goal every 4 or 5 games ratio. He lacks that pace. Is he a good replacement for Bim as someone said, definitely not. We still need a main striker. Fylde should have been buried before 30 minutes on Tuesday, and Sittingbourne survived today because of our powder puff attack.

Yeah but the main priority of a striker in this team is that he must be able to defend …sorry still ****ed off after that **** show today

 

[Southend Elvis]

Is it me, Hopper has been signed as a striker, hopefully he comes good, but we turned down a 20+ young goalscorer from a league lower team.
If I was in charge I would go for the potential of a high scoring gem rather than a 31 year old player who has no sell on value even if he scores 20+ goals for us?
I know what I would pick...

 

[Tommy2holes]

The fact we had about 70% posession and about 20 corners and created barely anything says it all.

Maher isnt the answer. Legend yes. The answer no

 

[Paulie Walnuts]

I know it was a stupid turn by Bonne, but none of those players that played have any right to moan at any other other player.

They were all ****.

Agreed, my point was more of the questioning of the desire and fight of our players because I just see a bunch of bang average fluffy bunch of men when to go up you need real fighters in your team with an added bit of ****housery to fire things up.

 

[Barry.C]

Kevs approach at the end of this one might have served him better to just lay prone on the pitch for 5 minutes to accept some responsibility and then go and dish out a right bollucking

 

[RobB11]

We didn’t create anything clear cut from what I remember, it’s not like we tested them or they were so good defensively. Organised I’d say yes but we were just gutless. It was bad so so bad. BAD.

 

[damien]

Agreed, my point was more of the questioning of the desire and fight of our players because I just see a bunch of bang average fluffy bunch of men when to go up you need real fighters in your team with an added bit of ****housery to fire things up.

I agree whole heartedly. I don’t think we have any true winners in the squad. No one who knows what is required to dig really ****ing deep in your guts, in your bollocks to win that game of football and get you in a pay off semi final, a cup final, win a league.

We have a placid team, a style of play that allows passiveness and tranquility to be okay.

Today has really wound me up

 

[RobB11]

Btw special mention for gubbins who is absolutely atrocious and would not stand out at sittingbournes level, in fact I’d have any of their defenders over him, he is abysmal and how he made it this far in the game I have no idea, is he tall? Maybe that’s it.

 

[Supershrimper]

Didn't want to be on this tin pot competition anyway

Onto the league and the playoffs

 

[Sufc.2008]

Is it me, Hopper has been signed as a striker, hopefully he comes good, but we turned down a 20+ young goalscorer from a league lower team.
If I was in charge I would go for the potential of a high scoring gem rather than a 31 year old player who has no sell on value even if he scores 20+ goals for us?
I know what I would pick...

Yeah but Ogunleye is rubbish at defending corners so we decided to go with Hopper

 

[Chrisb]

Was told by a mate at QPR how awful he was...

Me too.

 

[seves]

I'm sorry, but we may be in better hands off the pitch, but on it, it's an absolute s**t show. There is absolutely no excuse for today's result. Like most managers when their team suffers an embarrassing defeat to minnows, managers say well a bad day at the office and credit to them they wanted it more, no no no, in this instance, just not good enough, embarrassing, sort it out Maher or be gone. Fuming....and that ain't very often.

 

[davewebbsbrain]

I know it was a stupid turn by Bonne, but none of those players that played have any right to moan at any other other player.

They were all ****.

It looks like he slips initially, then had to get round the first player before trying to clear it. Just so happens as he kicked the ball to clear it the Sittingbourne player blocks the ball and it shoots off into the net. Bit of a freak goal if you ask me.
If any of the other chances we had would have gone in, none of these conversations would be happening now.
To make Bonne the scapegoat for this loss is totally laughable

 

[Holy Joe]

As long as the club think it’s acceptable to have a retired goalkeeper coach and a Wealdstone reject as a short-term loan as goalkeepers while putting away fans in the west stand, we can’t expect much more. Says it all about COSU’s priorities this season.

He's not a retired goalkeeper coach

Rumour is another keeper has been signed.

 

[Chrisb]

Has there ever been a more dislikable Southend team than the one we currently have? I honestly wouldn't be sad to see about 90% of them binned off in the summer.

There definitely has, more than once.

 

[HawkwellShrimper]

The only thing I enjoyed was watching Ben Goodliffes reaction straight after the goal. He certainly was not afraid to let Bonne know what he thought. The fact one of the more senior pros in the team is spoken to like that by a new loanee suggests to me he isn’t well thought of/respected by his peers.

 

[WillMay333]

In my humble opinion; sitting behind Kevin, I could hear him screaming at a few players in particular to drive, get forward, play forward, and not a single one of them did, once. Keenan and Gubbins.

Kevin was extremely let down by the exact same players who are NOT good enough. Buck falls with him but that was the most gutless and spineless performance i have ever seen across football at any level.

How Keenan is playing pro football is beyond me, he is beyond woeful and I am always seeing him turn backwards, cannot bare to watch him play. Gubbins looked so scared and didnt want to commit to anything. Morton and Ralph the only 2 consistently ready to get the ball moving today.

Bonne was made to be a scapegoat, yes what on earth is he doing, but doesnt deserve blame there. Team are so f*cking poor and this cannot go on any longer. Began to hate so many of my own players, toxic as f*ck again