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

[Bearded Shrimper]

My first game of the season and we we're shocking. We played loads of players out of position and it showed. Elvis right wing? White as an overlapping fullback? Cox up top on his own trying to control long balls? Terrible set up.
The playing out from the back doesn't work much. Looks great the three times it did, we looked champions League. The rest of the time we looked Sunday league.
Constantly changing team and formation, no wonder we look like 11 strangers who met in the car park after winning a competition in the Echo.
Elvis stood tall. Has seriously grown. But we left it to him to do everything, defend, control a long punt, dribble round five then cross to himself and score.
Then Hump came on and played wide, again needed to cross to himself.
There's some decent players there but in a terrible set up. Very poor.

 

[Ricey]

JW was at fault for both goals.....I’m not digging him, I like him, I’m just stating what happened....

He comes off and we don’t concede, coincidence?

 

[kentblues]

JW was at fault for both goals.....I’m not digging him, I like him, I’m just stating what happened....

I am sorry but wishing it so won't make so.. from the replays the CBs on both occasions failed to pick up the one CF in the 6 yard box (JW was right back - not his job to play CB as well).

 

[amsemp]

Elvis was decent, Hamilton was decent and Goodship had decent moments. Everyone else ??‍

Paul Clark’s analysis on BBC Essex hit so many nails on the head. We’re trying to play a certain way without the personnel. Bond needs to realise quickly that he’s managing a league one team with league one players.

 

[damien]

The performance itself was much better, there is at least some positives to take away from that game. If goodship scores the chance just before half time who knows.

Whilst I will say I like the idea behind what bond is trying to accomplish - and I think we did get glimpses of that tonight - it doesn’t bode well if we will continue to rely on 2 or 3 chances to win games and fail to stay switched on for 90 at the back. Without Hamilton pulling those strings as he did for 20 in the first half there is no forward momentum at all.

Interesting to see if bond adapts, how many more weeks ron will afford him, and whether or not a new manager would be able to get the side out of the funk that seems to have carried over into this season.

Going to be a rough ride until this clicks or Super Ad answers the call alongside Sir tilson

 

[kentblues]

He comes off and we don’t concede, coincidence?

Please can we keep it objective and serious- if we aren't prepared to accept that both goals were down to the CBs then I really am lost for words- I get you dont rate JW thats fine but dont scapegoat him for the obvious failings of the CBs on those two goals tonight- he doesn't deserve that.

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

Omg this fella hasn’t got a clue

 

[palexander]

Not done ratings for a long while, but based on an iFollow watch;

• Bishop - 7 - Made a good save, couldn't do much with the goals, but yea, perhaps we need an experienced and vocal keeper if our back line are playing keystone cops
  
  
• White - 4 - poor at rb and at fault for the goals (at least partially)
  
  
• Shaun Nessy - 4 - Bag of nerves someone said above is right. Very slight for a CB and already appears shot of confidence.
  
  
• Lennon - 5 - Did ok
  
  
• Ralph - 6 - Offers a decent outlet going forward
  
  
• Elvis - 5 - Really think he's not good enough and I seriously think he'd struggle to carve out a League 2 career sadly. Time will tell.
  
  
• Mantom - 6 - Pretty decent, couple of shots, ran about and played a peach of a ball for Goodship second half
  
  
• Milligan - 4 - Poor from what I've seen compared to his other games. Caught out of position (and possession) for one of the goals and didnt really encourage or do much of anything.
  
  
• Hamilton - 6 - Pretty impressive driving through the middle and trying to make things happen.
  
  
• Goodship - 7 - Best outfield player, lively and could have had a couple. Dont know why we bought a prolific striker and stuck him out wide though.
  
  
• Cox - 5 - did ok with no service
  
  
• Humps - 5 - Not sure why the clamour for him to be in the side, hasn't offered anything in cameos this season and probably doesn't deserve the starting place people want.
  
  
• Blackman - 3 - Not seen a performance like that for some time. Absolutely incredibly awful.
  
  
• Ndukwu - 4 - again, not sure why the clamour. Give him the benefit for his age and the fact he's not started yet, but want to see more from him.
  
  

Overall, we can keep possession well at times and build the odd decent attack but absolutely no end product. Can kinda see why Bond wanted 451 today to try and get that elusive clean sheet, but it puts so many fans on the back foot before a ball is kicked and given its August and we are at home, its such a negative mindset to put into the players. We have the squad to play 442 or even today I was expecting 532 with wingbacks which would have been better.

Sadly, I want to be optimistic but I dont know where the next goal is coming from, let alone a point or even a win and I hate to say it but I'd pull the plug on the Bond project now - in August - as with 42 games someone else could get this squad going.

Cant see the point in persisting around the bottom of the table until all we are looking for is survival again.

Sorry Bondy, you had a chance and its not worked out.

 

[rayleigh dan]

Why mention the lack of a clean sheet OVER the lack of a win? Bemusing.

 

[palexander]

I'm all for trying to play out from the back, at this level though there needs to be a mix, long balls are allowed occasionally!

Bond seem's to think he's managing a Prem side, it's all very well dominating possession, but when it's sideways, backwards crab ball, anyone can do that, it's goals that win games and we just don't look like scoring.

It takes so long to pass the half way line, the opposition's defense is organised and we hit a brick wall. Or inevitably someone's made a mistake (Milligan was culpable a number of times today). What's wrong with a quick long ball counter attack?

These tactics don't work, we had zero shots on target against another team without a win. Over four games we've scored one goal (against ten men), and conceded 10. If that's not a wake up call to Bond that his system's failing, them he deserves the metaphorical bullet.

Spot on observations.

 

[kentblues]

Not done ratings for a long while, but based on an iFollow watch;

• Bishop - 7 - Made a good save, couldn't do much with the goals, but yea, perhaps we need an experienced and vocal keeper if our back line are playing keystone cops
  
  
• White - 4 - poor at rb and at fault for the goals (at least partially)
  
  
• Shaun Nessy - 4 - Bag of nerves someone said above is right. Very slight for a CB and already appears shot of confidence.
  
  
• Lennon - 5 - Did ok
  
  
• Ralph - 6 - Offers a decent outlet going forward
  
  
• Elvis - 5 - Really think he's not good enough and I seriously think he'd struggle to carve out a League 2 career sadly. Time will tell.
  
  
• Mantom - 6 - Pretty decent, couple of shots, ran about and played a peach of a ball for Goodship second half
  
  
• Milligan - 4 - Poor from what I've seen compared to his other games. Caught out of position (and possession) for one of the goals and didnt really encourage or do much of anything.
  
  
• Hamilton - 6 - Pretty impressive driving through the middle and trying to make things happen.
  
  
• Goodship - 7 - Best outfield player, lively and could have had a couple. Dont know why we bought a prolific striker and stuck him out wide though.
  
  
• Cox - 5 - did ok with no service
  
  
• Humps - 5 - Not sure why the clamour for him to be in the side, hasn't offered anything in cameos this season and probably doesn't deserve the starting place people want.
  
  
• Blackman - 3 - Not seen a performance like that for some time. Absolutely incredibly awful.
  
  
• Ndukwu - 4 - again, not sure why the clamour. Give him the benefit for his age and the fact he's not started yet, but want to see more from him.

Overall, we can keep possession well at times and build the odd decent attack but absolutely no end product. Can kinda see why Bond wanted 451 today to try and get that elusive clean sheet, but it puts so many fans on the back foot before a ball is kicked and given its August and we are at home, its such a negative mindset to put into the players. We have the squad to play 442 or even today I was expecting 532 with wingbacks which would have been better.

Sadly, I want to be optimistic but I dont know where the next goal is coming from, let alone a point or even a win and I hate to say it but I'd pull the plug on the Bond project now - in August - as with 42 games someone else could get this squad going.

Cant see the point in persisting around the bottom of the table until all we are looking for is survival again.

Sorry Bondy, you had a chance and its not worked out.

Sorry I know I am rising to the bait but how exactly was JW responsible for the goals- what did I miss on the telly and the replays that you saw?

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Yep those post match comments are odd. It does definitely sound like he might be off soon, and if he isn’t it’s an odd couple of things to say

 

[Danshrimper]

It was 2 minutes of madness that was the was the difference although in truth they had other chances and looked more dangerous. I understand Bond being defensive, but you end up just inviting trouble. We tried to play our way out and there were periods, mainly in the second half of the 1st half where we looked slick, but unfortunately no end product. Several players had their moments, notably Goodship, Lennon, Hamilton and I thought Mantom the latter worked his socks off.

It wasn’t 2 minutes of madness that was the difference. It was 2 minutes of madness followed by 40 minutes of nothing because our heads had dropped and we’d given up. The players have a mentality where if we concede a goal, it’s over, that’s the difference.

Maybe if they’d have carried on playing the way they were playing before the goals we’d have got a goal or 2 back and been in with a chance of getting a point, there was plenty of time. But they can’t and won’t keep it up after conceding a goal, and until that changes we have no hope of staying up, we can’t go on losing every game we concede first in.

 

[Grapevine]

I am sorry but wishing it so won't make so.. from the replays the CBs on both occasions failed to pick up the one CF in the 6 yard box (JW was right back - not his job to play CB as well).

Oh wow here we go again......JW miles away from winger.....no cross no goal....JW miles away from his Centre backs and far post (he was actually edge of the box!!) when Toney pulled off his man to find Hyde park at the far post so he took his time and scored!

 

[Bromley Blue]

My first look at the side Bond has worked hard on assembling over the summer tonight. I came to the game with that pre-season optimism as I’d not been scarred by watching the god awful performances you’ve all described for me in recent weeks. “They can’t be as bad as they all say on The Zone, can they?”

What I would say is the squad our manager has put together clearly has some talent. Nathan Ralph at left back looks a solid acquisition with a decent leap and looked tidy on the ball. A fair replacement for Ben Coker it seems.

Ethan Hamilton in midfield looks like a lower league box to box man whose driving runs could bring goals and chances if utilised in the right way.

As others have said, Elvis Bwomono seems to have grown up in the past year and is now one of the first names on the team sheet. His style of play is infectious and he’s going to become a fan’s favourite for sure because at times tonight he looked like the only player in our side who cared.

These were the players that stood out for me. I kept a close eye on Milligan tonight but it sounds like he was due a bad game after earning decent reviews in poor team performances so far.

It all sounds fairly positive so far doesn’t it? That’s because for me we’ve got some good players and in brief spells we strung together some nice little moves. The problem was that often they began far too deep on the pitch and when a nice interchange of passing had freed up a runner in a Blue shirt, he still had 40-50 yards further to run to goal.

Also I lost count of the amount of times, Simon Cox or Stephen Humphrys came wide to get involved in play with either full back, leaving no one in the box should the move be successful and the ball get played in.

If those 2 are going to drop wide and be involved in the build up play then Mantom and Hamilton have got to be unstructured to bomb past them into the box.

But all of these things are fairly obvious right. Surely our manager knows this after years of coaching in the Premier League? After watching that game tonight I seriously have my doubts.

I thought you were all overreacting to a few abject performances on my way to the game tonight. How wrong I was!

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

I wouldn't mind us trying to play out if we had a decent base and solid foundation. Instead he chops and changes every game. The centre backs aren't good at passing so he's asking them to do the wrong thing. Put Milligan back there if you have to so at least one can pass out. No use asking my mum to sprint against Usane Bolt, but at least get her jogging first

 

[RHB]

Saw some good stuff, saw some bad, saw some baffling stuff too. Knackered now, more tomorrow.

 

[kentblues]

Oh wow here we go again......JW miles away from winger.....no cross no goal....JW miles away from his Centre backs and far post (he was actually edge of the box!!) when Toney pulled off his man to find Hyde park at the far post so he took his time and scored!

So its JWs fault that the TWO CBs failed to pick up the one CF in the 6 yard box?
I get it - In give up. And look at the highlights where the "cross' for the first goal came from..
I really dont know. I just think people are so entrenched now in who they like and don't like all objectivity has now gone.

I'm obviously clueless so I'll have a month or so off and refrain from posting whilst I regain my eyesight/marbles.l.

 

[Onion_Bag_Dave]

Stats look healthy in terms of possession.
Two close efforts from Goodship. We did also hit the cross bar. Hamilton had one particularly good strike also.

I do think that “shots on target” can be a bit misleading. Three close efforts just wide are better than a little parried header back to the keepers hands? Or no?

 

[Chairman Trigg]

A decent set of players being made to play a system which doesn't work for the team.Painful to watch at times tonight.
The stats show just how bad it is with us hardly creating chances and leaking goals.
Bond clearly has no other system and clearly doesn't understand football at this level.
He clearly has to go if this is not to become a disastrous season.
The only positives tonight were the new players who look OK at this level