Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 0-3 Walsall FC

[Cricko]

So what happened there then,back to the old stuff or just a bad day at the office?

The run had to end sometime I guess.

SCP won't be happy, nor I guess are all the fans, especially those who helped so much to get the game played.

Over to you lot.

 

[Barling Magna]

Dreadful.

To all those heroic fans who helped to clear the pitch: Very well done, great commitment to our club.

However, this is further proof that no good deed goes unpunished.

Sir Chris has now seen how poor this team can be - for no easily explicable reason. Having looked so strong over the past five matches the same players didn't seem to turn up today and I'm afraid it's difficult not to see that as an insult to those fans, staff and RM who strived to get this game played. The end result is that we've lost our momentum and our confidence, lost our game in hand and allowed Walsall to climb above us in the table. Jeez.....

 

[rayleigh dan]

I said at half time that we were giving Oztumer far too much time and space, when he plays well Walsall do. :sad:

Too many players were sub par, Timlin didn't play anywhere near as well as recently, Coker had a poor game, Harrison was fairly ineffectual and Ladapo was just dire.

Yearwood, Cox and Turner were the only three who managed something near there recent performance levels.

Might do some ratings later if I can bear it! CP was always going to lose a game, disappointing that it was as a result of many players reverting to their late PB era level of performance.

Oh and well done to those who helped clear the pitch What a shame they were let down with such a disappointing performance. I bet Ron's fuming!

 

[Barling Magna]

All three teams who managed to get their game played in our division lost this afternoon. Was it worth it?

 

[Benfleet A1]

I blame that good for nothing moggy down in Cornwall.

 

[shrimper-james]

Ever feel like you shouldn’t have bothered....?

 

[Medway Blue]

I can’t even begin to describe how utterly disgusted with that performance I am. Talk about throwing it back on the faces of the fans and staff who had worked so hard since the crack of a sparrow’s fart to get the match on. The attitude was a disgrace across the board and they all looked like they were disappointed that they had to play in the end.

Alarm bells rang in the first 10 minutes for me. There was absolutely no aggression or intensity to our game. Where was the “quick out of the blocks” high pressing and “in their faces” intensity of the last 5 games? It disappeared. We’ve seen from those first 5 games under SCP exactly what he is drilling into the players on the training pitch and today they have just ignored him.

What makes it even worse is that Walsall are quite probably the poorest team I’ve seen this season, apart from Oztumer.....who pretty much IS their team. If we had turned up today with the same intensity, attitude and will to win of the last 5 games then we’d have dispatched them with ease.

At least Powell will have learned more from that than he did from the victories. That today should have shown him the extent of the clear-out needed in the Summer.

Oxley 5 - poor kicking and should have done better with first 2 goals.

Demetriou 6 - ok, tried to get things going down the right.
Ferdinand 6 - despite conceding 3 goals, didn’t really put a foot wrong. Could have done better to combat Oztumer’s movement for 3rd goal.
Turner 6 - as above.
Coker 6 - decent enough, tried to get things going down the left.

Harrison 5 - tried but not a winger.
Timlin 4 - poor. No big tackles, didn’t press without the ball and too many misplaced passes.
Yearwood 6 - does neat things with the ball and tackles well, went off the boil a tiny bit at the end as everything around him fell apart.
McLaughlin 5 - didn’t look to beat his man or pose a threat enough.

Cox 5 - nothing came off for him today and fed off scraps since nobody was getting the ball into his feet.
Ladapo 4 - a luxury if he carries on playing like that. Off the pace. Doesn’t win enough in the air, doesn’t hold the ball up we’ll enough and static when he should be moving off the ball, running into space, pulling the centre halves out of position etc.

All subs 5 - tried to make an impact but the game was gone.

 

[Barling Magna]

A couple of quotes from the Walsall fans forum say it all:

"I would just like to thank all at Southend Football Club for getting this game on as it was really worth it."

"Serves the buggas right for making us play in such conditions (I bet Scunny are thinking similarly!)"

 

[Bluegoose]

Perhaps motivation was the key, was he at the game? Usually the IFollow camera has several close up's of the bench

 

[Evening Echo]

Match report: Southend United 0, Walsall 3

A SECOND half hat-trick from Erhun Oztumer handed Walsall a shock 3-0 win at Southend United.

More...

 

[Barling Magna]

We’ve seen from those first 5 games under SCP exactly what he is drilling into the players on the training pitch and today they have just ignored him.

Has Powell lost the dressing room?

 

[southendkid]

So what happened there then

It seemed to me that Walsall did their homework and realised we like to play a counter attacking game, so they just just flooded their own half with bodies so that our direct balls forward were snuffed out early. In previous games we've played it direct but managed to knock it on or win a throw in, at which point we progressed with some attractive football. We rarely won the first ball so we never progressed on to the fancy stuff we've done once we won the first ball in previous matches.

What Walsall did was very simple but it was effective and I'm worried other sides will take note and adopt similar methods against us. Powell needs to work out a way to deal with sides that will sit back and possibly find a way to keep the team focused when it isn't all going their way because the side today panicked when they realised they weren't winning the first ball. Rather than changing it up by avoiding the direct balls forward we seemed to double down on it, which just made us more frustrated as the game went on.

 

[LBBlue]

22 players didn't want to be there, I didn't want to be there most of the crowd didn't want to be there. It as far too cold and miserable. Harrison missed a sitter in the 49th minute - our last decent chance. A long range shot bobbled over Oxley and that was it gave them something to play for. Stupid free kick given away after a diabolical mi**** Timlin pass. We all played like we frozen statues. Ferdinand was frozen to the same spot in the second half.

Complete waste of a day!

 

[McNasty]

Should we replace kids with men ?

It's all very well playing youngsters but you will never win anything with boys.

 

[Shrimper]

Walsall took their chances, we didn't. Simple as that. Oxley, what happened on that first goal? Timlin mistake to give Walsall the ball in a key position which led to the free-kick, Oxley should have done better on that. You could see where Otzhumer was aiming and he wasn't far across enough.

 

[Medway Blue]

Has Powell lost the dressing room?

Is that an attempt at humour?

 

[southendkid]

Should we replace kids with men ?

It's all very well playing youngsters but you will never win anything with boys.

We only played 2 kids, one of them (Yearwood) was one of the only players that looked remotely threatening today, Harrison was poor but to be fair to him he's a striker being played out of position on the wing.

 

[Bluegoose]

Walsall took their chances, we didn't. Simple as that. Oxley, what happened on that first goal? Timlin mistake to give Walsall the ball in a key position which led to the free-kick, Oxley should have done better on that. You could see where Otzhumer was aiming and he wasn't far across enough.

Did we have any? looked very tame and lacking any commitment

 

[Shrimper]

Did we have any? looked very tame and lacking any commitment

Cox had two chances, Yearwood one. Think Ladapo had one.

Also, for me. I've yet to be impressed with Ladapo. If we keep MAF, then we should let him leave.

 

[E for B and Billy Best]

It had to happen sooner or later. The same slack attitude that got us in to a mess pre-christmas had to reappear. As someone said earlier if there is a positive then SCP has seen how bad this team can be. Unfortunately, in Ladapo we seem to have a centre forward who lacks any desire to be near the ball when it comes into the box and when he was substituted it was the fastest he moved all afternoon.