Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 0-2 Maidenhead United

[Jack_23]

I'd have Tilly back in a heartbeat.

 

[WestyReturns]

As much as we all love Tilly, he was never a master tactician and relied on passion. When that's gone, what's left?

Christ, sounds familiar...

Tilly knew how to get the best out of players. Kept things simple, played players in the right position. He signed some incredible players for us which has never been got close to since. The football was the best ever seen too. Attacking and on the floor. Exactly what we need.

 

[Mad Cyril]

Did alright getting us into league 1 and just missed out on playoffs. Something we can only dream of at tho mo. Players are individuals.

It was a long fall afterwards though…

 

[shrimpercats]

So Shrimperzone is once again in meltdown. It is hardly surprising after these last two abject performances. Yet 2 weeks ago (it seems a lifetime!) we scored 4 goals at Solihull and everything looked rosy.
So much of it seems a lack of confidence. If we score early, we look comfortable playing controlled attacking football. But an early goal the other way puts us on the back foot, playing too cautiously and afraid to make mistakes. Where are the experienced heads we need in this situation? Everything we were told about Moncur and Bonne is there for us to see now - they would be fine in a confident team, but they are not grafters up for the fight. They are not what this team needs.
I am sure Maher knows that the recruitment has misfired, but there is no quick fix. We haven’t replaced Kensdale or Caldwell and we won’t before January. In the meantime, we have to make the best of what we have and this is going to be a real test of Maher’s mettle. I don’t think he is in any real jeopardy just yet, but if we find ourselves in a relegation battle something will have to give.

 

[Bay Shrimper]

After watching an unattractive performance for the third time on the bounce here’s my tuppence worth.
Why do we play like a highly motivated and attractive team only AFTER the opposition has scored? Reeks of a game plan to patiently build up a result, which then has to be changed mid game. How about we flip that around.
Secondly why aren’t we playing Bim and Walker up top, dropping Moncur and Noor to the bench and putting Gubbins in for Crowther, FROM THE START.
My third critique is why no pro-active subs to change a system not working, say at half time, or heavens above before that, rather than at 60 minutes or after.
Really believe in Kev but he NEEDS TO CHANGE HIS MINDSET, or I’m afraid he needs to realise that, and take ideas from Darren and Mark, OR STEP ASIDE.
Will just add that there’s an equally good chance in a few games time, when all are fit and returned to team that we may launch a good run of form. It does seem however that someone in the team may be causing dissent in the ranks. We didn’t have this last season when certain experienced players weren’t in the squad.??????

 

[Target man]

So Shrimperzone is once again in meltdown. It is hardly surprising after these last two abject performances. Yet 2 weeks ago (it seems a lifetime!) we scored 4 goals at Solihull and everything looked rosy.
So much of it seems a lack of confidence. If we score early, we look comfortable playing controlled attacking football. But an early goal the other way puts us on the back foot, playing too cautiously and afraid to make mistakes. Where are the experienced heads we need in this situation? Everything we were told about Moncur and Bonne is there for us to see now - they would be fine in a confident team, but they are not grafters up for the fight. They are not what this team needs.
I am sure Maher knows that the recruitment has misfired, but there is no quick fix. We haven’t replaced Kensdale or Caldwell and we won’t before January. In the meantime, we have to make the best of what we have and this is going to be a real test of Maher’s mettle. I don’t think he is in any real jeopardy just yet, but if we find ourselves in a relegation battle something will have to give.

Very well said

 

[fbm]

Wow.

I haven't read the whole thread but I think just a page or two gives a pretty accurate reflection on what is on the other 15... I don't think I'm missing anything.

So that was one of the worst SUFC performances I have witnessed. The worst ever? Don't know... it was pretty terrible under Brown second time around and the Molesley and Bond teams were truly awful, but at a higher level.

Anyhow, I think one of the biggest problems is that after the RM era, we were all so euphoric that we thought we would just walk the league. Yes, I was in that camp too.

Sadly, football has a habit of bringing you back down to earth with a jolt and at the moment we appear to be free falling without a parachute.

Or are we?

Last year, Maher said on many occasions what a fantastic achievement it was for the team to be where they were. The siege mentality and determination got us places we probably shouldn't have been and - on the pitch, certainly - we exceeded all expectations given the points deduction and fact that most of our players had come from part time or lower leagues.

The delay with the takeover screwed us pre-season wise and we missed all our targets. Cardwell going and Kensdalegate robbed us of two of our most influential players, and the loss of Miley means the entire spine of our side was ripped out in a week. This was just over a month ago.

Can I also remind everyone that that just under a month ago we took Eastleigh apart at the Hall in a 2-0 victory that was probably one of the best performances in many years. LESS THAN A MONTH!

Without any particular reference to the posters who made the following comments, I've just selected a few posts from the first page of the post-match thread -

Oh my days. How good was that.
No player deserved as Clarkey said during the game.less than 8 & no Eastleigh player more than a 6.
Played with so much pace in the 1st half & kept going 2nd half.
Really noticeable that we played the triangles in their half, not how we have in the last few weeks when we often put ourselves in trouble.
Back 3/5 really solid but with a real threat out wide from GSM & Ralph. Gubbins played some really decent balls in the box.
Moncur, Bridge & Husin really efficient & moving the ball quickly. Morton so much better than when playing with Miley.
Pepple really tried hard & got in some decent positions. Bonne probably should have scored with a header & the ball played through by Forson.
At last we played the ball in the opponents half & we looked sooooo much better.

Best performance I’ve seen at the Hall in years.

Options off the bench, strong starting line up.

Really excited for the rest of the season.

Morton MOM for me, Ralph close second.

Best I have seen us play in a long time
Everyone put in a shift
Moncur virtually unplayable
Pepple looks good when he's running at defenders
Bonne has goals in him for sure
KAF is defo a player
Defence solid as
Collin made some good saves second half
Husin great game for his 100th appearance
Morton looks much better without Miley in the side

When Southend play well, all is well in my world! Boy did they play well tonight!

Fantastic performance. They have now set the bar with that performance.

The formation and ease everyone showed on the ball was top dollar!

Morton was my MoM, not a perfect performance, and did give the ball away deep a couple of times, BUT tonight is a night for positives! His availability and ability to spread play and completely change the direction of attack was superb. At last he has shown why we signed him and what he brings to the team that not many, if any of our squad do. Collin a dodgy clearance in the 1st half, but again in the 2nd half made at least three good stops, that could have changed the game if one had gone in.

The back four were solid and for once when the need was there, we did put our foot through the ball to clear our lines.

The midfield were simply awesome, closing down, spreading the play, winning the ball back and setting up chances. Brilliant.

Pepple battled well up front and put himself about well and never gave the Eastleigh back line an easy ride.

Subs, when KAF came on, offered pace and got stuck in immediately. Bonne, give him a couple of games and there are goals there! Worked the line really well.

If this is the shape of things to come, then we will win more than we lose this season and we don't need to fear anyone, they should be very cautious about underestimating us.

Looking forward to the rest of the season big time!

Since then we have lost 3 homes games on the trot BUT have also delivered a very good away performance at Solihull Moors with a 4-2 win and got a draw at Wealdstone.

We have long been patting ourselves on the back for what a fantastic bunch of fans we are, we must be the best in the country to still be supporting after what we've been through, yada yada yada. Well, now is the time for us to stand up and be counted.

It's very easy to shout for the manager to go but is that the right thing to do here? The whole structure is based on continuity and patience, giving players the chance to develop. Can I remind everyone of Kensdale's perfomances when he first arrived (they weren't great) and he is now probably the biggest miss of the players that have gone. Because he had time to develop and work in a system that made us a very good side and hard to beat.

At the moment we must be one of the easiest teams to play against as we are so one paced and predictable.

Individually, players are terrified, clearly. That's a lack of confidence. No-one is making runs or moving into space, so whoever has got the ball has no options, hence it goes sideways or backwards. That's not what Maher wants them to do, but it's probably what they are told to do rather than give the ball away if there are no options.

Collin hasn't had a great season but did make some great saves at Solihull and kept us in that game. His error yesterday from a header that kicked up off the turf higher than expected happens. It didn't cost us the game as we were already 1-0 down. Their keeper, who I've seen referred to as their MoM, let an easy cross through his hands in the first 20 seconds and we nearly scored then. Everyone makes mistakes. His distribution is poor but Kensdale was always the "out" ball for him... he didn't have to go long as often as he does now. He's a young keeper (and a promising one) but he is having a tough time and could probably do with a spell on the bench.

GSM was poor yesterday as was pretty much everyone. Trying to pick a MoM was tough. Walker maybe? Taylor? Both delivered only 6/10 performances anyway but no-one else got anywhere near. Moncur is showing none of the early promise and, for those who remember him, reminds me of when we signed Billy Kellock from Wolves in the mid 1980's. He had played in the first televised game of the season, a Division 1 game between Spurs and Wolves, and a few weeks later he was here. Initially he was masterful, clearly a cut above. By December we were awful and he was worse.

Bonne is showing none of his ability. There clearly has been a player in there, but he hasn't come out yet.

Bridge is missing Fonguck big time and aside from the penalty v Eastleigh hasn't contributed anything this season, although did have our best effort yesterday.

Husin had one of his woeful games yesterday, as did Crowther. KAF has forgotten how to run into space.

But form is temporary. These players are pro footballers and the cure is NOT to just change the manager. I think as fans we need to collectively bite our lips and accept that Rome wasn't built in a day. This season may well be a struggle but I really don't think we will be going down and the playoffs aren't out of the question either - but we do need to add to the squad.

So over to COSU. If there is no money and we can't add to it, then let us all know so we know what to expect.

And as fans, we need to get back behind the team. Yesterday was the flattest I have seen it for years. Encouragement and support will help more than abuse.

We need to play our part too. It's not enough to buy the merch and the tickets... we need to get the Hall back to being a difficult place to come. That's something we can control. Intimidate the opposition, not our own players.

 

[WestyReturns]

It was a long fall afterwards though…

And who was that down to? A situation worse than Kev had. Players were downing tools cause of Ron.

Funny enough that's when I said we needed shot of Ron but the 'failure acceptance squad' on Shrimperzone said give Ron time.....look how that turned out.

 

[Sufc.2008]

I’d love to know what happened with Stan.

Him going from being our most vocal supporter to completely disassociating himself with the club - and then yesterday’s tweet (if we’re lead to believe it is about us - certainly reads like it is).

The recruitment has been woeful and seemingly completely now halted. With the scouting team we have (with another just added - that backs up Stan’s comment!) - you’d think we’d have an almost never ending shortlist of players we could bring in… but no, we had to stoop to the likes of Moncur and Bonne - who we all know deep down are not what we need. Even Pepple is closer to our actual strategy of younger players that actually put a shift in than the other two!

Something is stale - and I’m not sure what it is, but I’m almost certain there’s been a few fallings out behind the scenes!

 

[Blue Yonder]

First things first is to sort out the woeful defending. The clamour was for forwards and attacking midfielders and somehow we find ourselves without a central defensive midfielder and we’ve replaced Lopata and Kensdale with Crowther, Gubbins and Foran. We’ve let in a lot of goals and been lucky not let in more. Some basic stuff is going wrong but maybe if we could tighten up at the back some confidence and spirit would return. How many games have we been dominating only to let in a soft goal and the whole teams performance and body language goes off.

 

[fbm]

I’d love to know what happened with Stan.

Him going from being our most vocal supporter to completely disassociating himself with the club - and then yesterday’s tweet (if we’re lead to believe it is about us - certainly reads like it is).

The recruitment has been woeful and seemingly completely now halted. With the scouting team we have (with another just added - that backs up Stan’s comment!) - you’d think we’d have an almost never ending shortlist of players we could bring in… but no, we had to stoop to the likes of Moncur and Bonne - who we all know deep down are not what we need. Even Pepple is closer to our actual strategy of younger players that actually put a shift in than the other two!

Something is stale - and I’m not sure what it is, but I’m almost certain there’s been a few fallings out behind the scenes!

His other tweets around that time were about Wolves. It may have been us of course, but he doesn't normally say anything about us any more. We can make it apply to our circumstances though.

 

[Thor1]

If it were a question of replacing the man at the helm and I'm not sure he would drop down this far so would have to be sold to him as a viable project and that's Steve Holland.

Done his time as assistant coach at Chrlsea and with England. He wants his next job as manager. Always been highly thought of.

 

[Dutch Branch]

Well if I was Kev’s boss I think it would be a case of “my office now son” We are all at sea right now and I’m not sure how long this will be allowed to continue. Having the back bone ripped out the side was a killer but we know these players can do far better. We all know 3/4 wins on the spin and you’re back in the zone but right now we just don’t seem to have anything in the tank.

Next week I think I would play the young gooner and give Colin a rest as right now he’s doing more harm than good. He seems to have gone to rat since Dave Martin left.

Long time since I’ve proper booing too not good but that’s where are right now.

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

Well if I was Kev’s boss I think it would be a case of “my office now son” We are all at sea right now and I’m not sure how long this will be allowed to continue. Having the back bone ripped out the side was a killer but we know these players can do far better. We all know 3/4 wins on the spin and you’re back in the zone but right now we just don’t seem to have anything in the tank.

Next week I think I would play the young gooner and give Colin a rest as right now he’s doing more harm than good. He seems to have gone to rat since Dave Martin left.

Long time since I’ve proper booing too not good but that’s where are right now.

It’s either going to be the point we start to improve and a wake up call, or the start of something worse. I’m worried by a lot of the body language, Bonne storming down the tunnel being cheered off. Players allegedly arguing with fans. It’s got to be sorted and quickly. Biggest test so far for the ‘Amigos’ and proof you’re only as good as your last result. I doubt KM will shirk the challenge.

 

[Rooster79]

Can you expand? Did Kev want to keep Kensdale and players objected?

I got this as second hand info, what I was told was Kev didn’t want anything to do with it and wouldn’t believe it was true and even when evidence of the misdeeds was presented he still wanted to turn a blind eye. That supposedly led to several players writing resignation letters basically forcing the issue.

How true this is, I don’t know. But the real slump in form properly coincides with the Kensdale mess for me.

 

[Barling Magna]

His other tweets around that time were about Wolves. It may have been us of course, but he doesn't normally say anything about us any more. We can make it apply to our circumstances though.

Yes Stan is more likely referring to Wolves. Played seven matches gained only one point. O'Neil's job must be in danger. He has criticised the changing strategy of the owners and now criticised his players.

 

[RHB]

I got this as second hand info, what I was told was Kev didn’t want anything to do with it and wouldn’t believe it was true and even when evidence of the misdeeds was presented he still wanted to turn a blind eye. That supposedly led to several players writing resignation letters basically forcing the issue.

How true this is, I don’t know. But the real slump in form properly coincides with the Kensdale mess for me.

Often, second hand rumours are extracts from the Mighty Book of Bollocks. would suggest that this is a case in point.

 

[smudgster]

My tuppence worth.

Since Cards left we have lost a presence in both boxes. Our goalkeeper never comes off his line to defend corners etc. Losing Kensdale was a big blow.

We need an enforcer on the pitch as we seem very nice team to play against, and seem to get bullied quite easily.

Like everyone else not that much of a fan of Bonne, but to be fair the service to our strikers has not been good.

I would stick with Kev, the replacements we have got in do not seem to have the desired affect. Maybe they need time to gel.

 

[davewebbsbrain]

I got this as second hand info, what I was told was Kev didn’t want anything to do with it and wouldn’t believe it was true and even when evidence of the misdeeds was presented he still wanted to turn a blind eye. That supposedly led to several players writing resignation letters basically forcing the issue.

How true this is, I don’t know. But the real slump in form properly coincides with the Kensdale mess for me.

IF Kev wanted to turn a blind eye to Kensdale's misdemeanour then he has lost my respect and the sooner he goes the better.
However, he is a man of honour from my understanding so I don't for a minute believe it

 

[Ipswhrimp]

Well, what a load of absolute nonsense. And I don't mean on the pitch.

The I-told-you-so brigade luxuriating in their misery. 'I was laughed at', 'I was shot down', etc. but look at me now. Ridiculous lists of 'potential' replacements drawn up, comparisons made with previous substandard groups of players. A football team has a slump in form that needs sorting out and now one of the club's greatest servants needs to be hounded out. Instant gratification, entitlement, short-termism, all rearing their heads again. It's a perpetual cycle. A strategy of patience, development and stability is boring and for grown-ups.

Watch KM's post-match interview. He cares. He's determined. He'll sort it. But if it's not next week, that's not soon enough for some.