Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 0-2 Leceister City

[Southend Neil]

Clarke 8: It's quite frustrating thinking that our best defender by a country mile is about to leave us. I'm actually quite worried as to who we might get to replace him. My opinion is, and I'll probably be slated, that if being able to keep him means we give him the captaincy and get Barrett off the wage bill in the summer, then we should do it.

What, you are saying he is miles better than Dervite? Dervite has transformed our season, not Clarke. Clarke was an integral part of the defensive shambles earlier in the season.

I wouldn't worry about how we are going to replace him if he does go, Blackpool seemed to manage just fine.
Clarke has proved himself to be a 2nd centre half, someone who only plays well when a better, more commanding defender is there to hold his hand alongside him. We already have Barrett who can play that role. The priority this summer is to find a dominant centre half in the Dervite mould, not to keep hold of Clarke.

 

[Southend Neil]

If Tranmere lose all their remaining games, and Scunthorpe's only win comes at Tranmere, then we can still finish above both asuming we win both our games and score a mountain of goals.

You are technically correct of course but we are 21 goals behind Scunthorpe so it is impossible.

 

[Richard_Cadette]

Haven't done player ratings for ages, so here goes... Let's see how out of touch I am with the regulars! :)

Mildy - 7 Not much to do, in fact in the first half, we could have played without him, but what he had to do, he did fine.

Francis - 3 Thought he was absolutely shocking today - terrible from the first kick through to the end. May have been a 4, but the penalty was incredible - some say harsh, I'd say for someone who gets paid to play football for a living, and cannot judge the spin on a ball is extremely bad.

Clarke - 7 Splitting up Clarke and Barrett is showing exactly what a good defender he is. I pray he signs a new contract with us, as he looks every bit the £250,000 centre half we bought.

Dervitte - 8 Another superb display from the Frenchman - not a cat in hells chance he will be with us next year, and if he continues at this rate, he'll be partnering Jonathon Woodgate before long.

Barrett - 7 Better performance than of late, although he does struggle to maintain his position at left back. Did well against Gradel though, and one of his better efforts at left back.

Betsy - 6.5 Better than Scannell, and did OK in the first half. Was lost when switched to the left in the second half, but looks our only chance of creating anything from out wide.

McCormack - 5 Woeful performance from Macca today - his passing was non existent all afternoon, and his clumsy and unnecessary tackle which gifted Leicester their second goal was just a stupid decision.

Christophe - 6 Thought he was excellent on Monday at Northampton, but was chasing shadows at times today, and his passing left a little to be desired - never stopped running though, and I think next season could be a power house of a player for us.

Moussa - 6 Been doing well of late, but was largely anonymous today. Had a few moments which threatened to spark us into life, but when moved into a central position, almost dissapeared from view!

Barnard - 7 He has been getting some stick from fans for missing that chance today, but I thought his overall performance was actually pretty good. Ran into the channels to get possession when we were struggling in the first half, tried to hold the ball up, and I think he deserves more credit than what he's getting.

Robinson - 6.5 Always a threat, and always likely to cause problems with his pace, but wasn't his best game today, and perhaps it's his age, but sometimes holds onto the ball too long, when a pass would be the better option

Subs:-

Freedman - 4 Been saying it amongst friends for a few weeks now, but I will shed no tears if he leaves us in the summer. His heart doesn't seem in it, and whether it's his age or his injuries catching up with him, but he looks a shadow of the player he was, and completely ineffective.

Strange game today - considering how much was riding on this game, I thought the first jhalf was like an end of season game, which nothing mattered. Thought we were incredibly pedestrian in our tempo, and at times, were sluggish. One shot on target in the entire first half between two promotion chasing teams says it all. Second half, we started well, and should have been at least one goal in front, but as against MK Dons, if you don't score, you don't win. Careless ness on our behalf for both of their goals, and when the second one went in, we effectively went on out summer breaks - or at least thatr what it looked like!! I hope they don't just capitulate now the seaosn is effecively over, but I suspect a trip to Oldham next Saturday when the game doesn't mean anything is not appealing to any of our players right now!

 

[Sammy The Shrimp]

You are technically correct of course but we are 21 goals behind Scunthorpe so it is impossible.

Well its not impossible, it just means we have to score 11 against oldham and 11 against cheltenham and not concede any

Also for the ratings i think barnard should be dropped because hes lazy, completly incapable of staying onside and doesnt know when to pass the ball, thinking he is capable of running through 4 or 5 players. Also Dorian should get 10 just for flattening Fryatt which was hillarious.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

mildy - 6 decision making very dodgy today, couldnt do anything about the goals. kicking poor.

francis - 2 very very very poor. light jogging througout the whole game. not sure if he is awar what marking a player means??

dorian - 7 solid, not a lot to say about him

clarke - 7 same as dorian, one great great challenge.

barrett - 6 not a left back

betsy - 6 did his best but not good enough, very nervous taking anyone on

moose - 6 didnt do a lot right or wrong

christophe 7 was playing very decent, used strengh very well

macca 6.5 did some usefull bits around the pitch but knocked off the ball too easily at times.

barney 5 did nothing all game

theo 6 start brightly and should have scored 2nd half, put on the wing and did his best there but wrong decision to put him on the wing.

subs:

grant - can't judge

laurent - 6 looked ok but not on long

freedman - 1.5 looked like he couldnt be bothered, seriously didnt see him run, him and barney are a terrible partnership.

 

[manor15]

Well its not impossible, it just means we have to score 11 against oldham and 11 against cheltenham and not concede any

Also for the ratings i think barnard should be dropped because hes lazy, completly incapable of staying onside and doesnt know when to pass the ball, thinking he is capable of running through 4 or 5 players. Also Dorian should get 10 just for flattening Fryatt which was hillarious.

But Scunthorpe will have to score 1 to beat Tranmere so:
Tranmere lose to Yeovil 5-0
Scunny lose to Northampton 2-1
Scunny lose to Leceister 4-0
Scunny beat Tranmere 1-0
Then we would need 7 in 2 games so:
Southend beat Oldham 2-0
Southend beat Cheltenham 5-0
We are in the playoffs
If Carlsberg did football results...

 

[gazzacat42]

Robinson 6's and 7's misses an absolute sitter!!
If you are going to be a greedy player who never passes you need to score..
It wasn't the ref who scored for Leicester..
We need a decent goalscorer..
BTW THEO 5 at best.

 

[OldBlueLady]

What a big disappointment, let down as I always feared would be the case, by a referee who didn't seem to know his a*** from his elbow most of the time. Anyone else notice how once we were losing 2-0, suddenly all the decisions came our way?

Mildy - 6, not called on for much, but conceded 2 goals. Yet again a pen that looked straight down the middle, would have thought his legs were long enough to have done something. Holds on to the ball too long when we're chasing games
Franno - 7, I thought he did ok considering the players he had to deal with, this was a much improved performance from Franno, and he was making some telling crosses which Betsy seemed only to happy to leave for him. Desperately unlucky with the pen, arms against his side and a wicked back spin brought the ball up to the top of his arm near his shoulder
Dervite - 7, solid, but a couple of dodgy moments - what was that header at knee height all about? Dickov gave him a hard time
Clarke - 7.5, had Fryatt in his pocket the majority of the game so he was reduced to whinging to the ref, good, solid and not afraid to move forward and have a pop himself
Barrett - 7.5, one of Adam's better games at LB, some really decisive tackling
Betsy - 6, what is the point in having him as a winger if he won't/can't cross? He does all the running, and to be fair, he did work hard yesterday but doesn't deliver
Macca - 7, typical Macca performance without the usual Macca temperament - have to give him credit for restraint. Anyone else notice the hamstring twinge late on?
Christophe - 8 MOM, thought he had a fantastic game, was doing the defensive job and yet still had time to bustle forward, tackled and harried. Thought he and Macca had midfield in total control, not happy with the knee injury, looks serious
Moussa - 6.5, can't fault his work rate but the boy has to learn to tackle
Barney - 7.5, don't understand some people, thought Barney had an excellent game, playing some really intelligent stuff. Yes, he should have put that header away, he knows that but against some big guys he did well
Robinson - going to split his, 4 for the 1st half and 7 for the 2nd - I thought he was poor in the first half, I don't know if it was the occasion or what, but he didn't look like he had any running in him. He actually came to life much more in the 2nd

Subs:
Grant for Christophe - you can't mark him, 2 mins on the pitch, got a tap on his bad knee within the first few seconds and then took what looked like an elbow to the head to leave him concussed and needing a load of stitches just a minute later. Looked like an assault to me, and I'll be interested to see if anything is done retrospectively - was it Oakley? I think he might have been the same guy that kicked Macca
Freedman for Grant - 6, came on to good effect at a difficult time, used his brain to try and break through the defence and release Theo or Barney, I don't have an issue with him, I'd still rather he was here than not
Laurent for Betsy - 7, he confused the hell out of them, I knew he would - this is how we have to use him, he's unreadable and often unplayable!

Ref - 2, rubbish, got so many decisions completely wrong gave what Scott Minto called "the harshest penalty he'd ever seen" and missed two unforgiveable sending off offences. Linos weren't too bad, but could have helped him "see" what he missed

TBV - 10, guys, you were immense. Long may it continue

 

[BrettieAngell]

Can I just say that the pass by Barnard for Theo's chance was amazing, very similar to something Elano did for Man City against Hamburg shame Theo couldn't finish it off though!

 

[Sandbach Shrimper]

Dervitte - 8 Another superb display from the Frenchman - not a cat in hells chance he will be with us next year, and if he continues at this rate, he'll be partnering Jonathon Woodgate before long.

I agree, I can see him getting into the Spurs first team. He's awesome, so strong and good in the air and his long passing is good too. Cant see a fault in his game. Thought he handled arguably the best striker in the league pretty well.

Thought Moussa played well today, more involved and looked lively in the first half. Betsy looks more dangerous than Scannell. Didnt think Francis was as awful as people are saying but maybe I missed something, I didnt have my eyes on the pitch all the time. Theo was lively as usual but missed a great chance just before Leicesters opener. Barnard worked hard but Leicester have the best defence I've seen this season and I thought they were very solid at the back and gave our strikers no joy. Was impressed with Morrison, who we were once interested in. I thought they won the central midfield battle too, Macca and JFC were quiet.

 

[Smiffy]

Cheers Kay. We created a great noise today. Its a shame it was flattened somewhat after the incident with Foxes in our stand.

 

[Reg Martin]

Christophe - 8 MOM, thought he had a fantastic game, was doing the defensive job and yet still had time to bustle forward, tackled and harried. Thought he and Macca had midfield in total control, not happy with the knee injury, looks serious

I'v never been convinced by Christophe but I thought he did well yesterday especially in 2nd half and his injury was as much a turning point as the harsh penalty decision.

 

[united we stand]

. Also Dorian should get 10 just for flattening Fryatt which was hillarious.

I am amazed no one else has mentioned that-- it wa my highlught of the amtcha s well, which is a bit sad on several levels.

Being serious though he should ahve been sent off IMO - we would have gone mad if it was the other way round

 

[BlueJ]

You are technically correct of course but we are 21 goals behind Scunthorpe so it is impossible.

Or if Tranmere and Scunthorpe draw when they play each other and lose all their other games, we would finish 2 points above them both providing we win our remaining two games.

 

[Sammy The Shrimp]

Or if Tranmere and Scunthorpe draw when they play each other and lose all their other games, we would finish 2 points above them both providing we win our remaining two games.

no tranmere and scunthorpe have to lose the rest of their game and draw against each other for us to be in the play offs on goal difference but that means we have to score 21 more goals then them in 2 games.

 

[Kris]

Can I just say that the pass by Barnard for Theo's chance was amazing, very similar to something Elano did for Man City against Hamburg shame Theo couldn't finish it off though!

Indeed and I'm shocked that barely anyone has mentioned it. It was a fantastic piece of improvisation from Barney and had Theo finished it off, which he arguably should have done, we'd be talking about it for years.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Mildy - 6, not called on for much, but conceded 2 goals. Yet again a pen that looked straight down the middle, would have thought his legs were long enough to have done something. Holds on to the ball too long when we're chasing games

I thought Mildenhall's distribution was again excellent. I was really impressed with the number of times he rolled the ball out to McCormack or Christophe, although admittedly this was more first half. It was quick, decisive stuff that got us playing football. Didn't notice him holding onto it for too long when we were chasing, if the option was there, he gave it. If it wasn't there he had to wait for numbers to get forward before pinging it 60 yards.

After years of Flahavan and Royce, both who struggled to clear the halfway line (I'm trying to forget the years when we had the likes of Capelton, Emberson, Robinson and Margetson), I find Mildenhall's kicks a refreshing change. I can't believe how quickly he's managed to adapt to Federici's method of kicking.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Didn't have a problem 1st half YB, but those last 15 mins or so he was just not quick enough, and with the extra forwards on, one of those quick punted balls might just have done something.

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

Mildy 7 - Not much to do really despite conceding 2.
Francis 6.5 - Big improvement from his performance v MK, still went missing alot.
Barrett 7 - Decent enough (again)
Dervite 9 MOM - Immense, showed the Foxes forwards, who's boss.
Clarke 8 - Another good showing.
JFC 7.5 - A good performance until he pulled up.
Macca 7.5 - Another big improvement from the last home game.
Moussa 7.5 - Still our most creative outlet.
Betsy 6 - Better than Scannell, not alot else.
Robinson 8 - Always looked a danger, if only his shot had gone in off the bar...
Barnard 6.5 - Plenty of effort but not alot to feed off of, great chip through for Theo.

Grant - Poor sod.
Freedman 3 - Poor.
Laurent 4 - Poor.

Game rested on two incidents. Firstly the GBH on Grant, not evn a freekick?!! Should have been a red card, from west stand saw Oakley(?) leading with his elbow clear as day. We then had to reshuffle and lost our dominance. 2nd the penalty, never in a million years, as Tilly said we gained no advantage.

At this point I'd like to apologise to anyone sat near me who had children, when late on in the game there was a Leicester accidental handball which we didn't get a freekick for and I lept up and yelled "You ****ing hypocrite!", but at least I wasn't the arse near me who barraged Freedman with abuse from the second he came on the pitch until the final whistle - there was someone more deserving of your abuse, the ref who lost us tha game.

 

[Southminster_Shrimper]

have to say that from viewing it on virginmedia, it does appear to be a good case for a penalty. i am not sure that the area the ball hit francis could be classed as shoulder. i personally believe he was caught out by the spinning ball and it didnt bounce how he expected it to. i did think on the day that the ref bottled some of the decisions especially the challenge on grant.

i also think mildy tipped a well taken free kick onto the bar. alas it fell to fryatt who nodded it in.

but then like the game against MK Dons, we had enough chances to score and didnt take them. its not rocket science to know that when you play against these top sides that you wont get too many chances and when you get them, you have to take them else you will be punished. It seems thats what happened in both the MK and Leicester games. Alas we cant blame the ref for us not taking our clear chances to score.