Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 1-0 Plymouth Argyle

[Always a Shrimper]

It has been years and years since a Southend United team appeared so fit and were fighting for every ball. Well done the manager your leadership is a breath of fresh air. It is only one game but what a great start. Credit where credit is due.:happy:

 

[Skyblue]

I sit in the west stand and prefer it when TBV aren't in the north stand. The atmosphere was great today.

Couldn't agree more the atmosphere was fantastic. I always enjoy the moment when the the TBV start up their first chant of the afternoon and you see the away fans, who have up to that point held the stage, heads all turn as one to take in the competion. Especially being so close to them in the West. It always makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up even after 45 years of going to the hall. But it has to be said its the away support that helps make the aftrenoon and unfortunately with the exception of maybe Portsmouth we won't see the North bank that full for very many times this season.

 

[Dick Bate's Protege]

Bentley 7
White 8
Prosser 6
Phillips 7
Coker 7
Atkinson 8
Laird 8
Leonard 7
Bale 8
Eastwood 7
Corr 7

Proper team performance, thought everyone grafted; and as mentioned by others we looked like a fit team.

 

[Bobby dazzler]

Southend was great today come on you blues!!!!!!!

 

[silentshrimper]

Great team performance and we tried to play the right way. I wasn't convinced last season when brown seemed to focus on having Leonard in the centre of midfield, he did a good job there but I couldn't see it being a real option all season, yesterday proved that wrong as he was probably the reason we had so much possession.

Bentley 6.5 - confident and good handling, luckily no corners that he had to deal with! Distribution was average.

White 6.5 - solid in defence, reminds me of Gilbert in the way he plays, safety first approach and only played short when he had a lot of time.
Phillips 8 - him and prosser sorted out Plymouths big forwards.
Prosser 8 - as above, such an important player now.
Coker 8 - brilliant debut and linked with straker very well, likes it on the floor and gets forward.

Atkinson 7.5 - nearly an 8, started slowly as he looked harried by the Plymouth midfield, second half his footwork and play was very intelligent and got stuck in, real competition for hurst!
Laird 8 - grat assist. Keeps the ball on the deck, used the ball well when We won it back. Got stuck in too. I got a feeling when laird plays bad we may struggle?
Leonard 8 - as I mentioned, key to the amount of possession we had. He is also a decent passer of the ball.
Straker 8.5 - just about motm for me as his general play was excellent. A few wayward passes and shots but he won so much for us.

Corr 8 - he is the man, good link up play and got his goal.
Eastwood 7.5 - showed class as always but the space won't open up for him to shoot like it used to!

Reid 6.5 - had one chance that the defender dealt with and link up was okay. He will do okay if played next to corr I would imagine.
Clifford didn't have enough time but can't wait to see him play more.

Good turn up from both sides fans wise. Plymouth were disappointing to watch but we did hurry/Harry them constantly.

Will be interesting to see how brown sets us up away from home.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Positive stuff all round, glad to see pre-season work all coming together so well on the 1st day of the season. They all look so much fitter and able to play some really very decent football at times.

Bentley - solid 7
White - 7.5, calm and composed - I don't think TBV will get him to signal that he hates Col U just yet, let him fall in love with the whole club and atmosphere a bit more first! :winking:
Phillips and Prosser - 7.5, MP looked a totally more composed player than what I remember from last season, remember 3 years ago, he and Prosser were Sturrock's 1st choice pairing before he got injured and Prosser's Port Vale debacle! Really think these two can be our Spinner and Sodje this year!
Coker - 8, been raving about him since I first saw him at Great Wakering - great work rate and fab vision
Atkinson - 7, didn't notice him too much in the 1st half but seemed to be everywhere in the 2nd, maybe that was as the middle two tired?
Leonard - 8.5, my MOTM, some really lovely play from Lenny and formed a good partnership with Laird in the middle
Laird - 8, worked incredibly hard, tremendous energy
Straker - 7, not quite as good as I've seen him during pre-season, as there were a few errors, but still huge improvement on last year and if he keeps it up, will become a fans' favourite
Eastwood - 7.5, I actually thought he had a better game than Corr, he seemed to have far more vision and ability to read situations. They worked better together too, which has been a major issue for me
Corr - 7, great goal, but felt he should have won more headers than he did

Subs:
Reid for Freddy, 6, didn't do a lot for me, wanted him to show some of the energy that had started to go missing as others got tired, to run at the defence (which they didn't seem to like)
Clifford for Corr, 6, cameo appearance really, not time to do anything but needed to bolster midfield at a time when everyone was getting tired.

All in all a very gratifying first game of the season, well done Phil Brown and co!

 

[The Blue Stig]

Really impressed by the fitness levels an energy. we look good for promotion if we can play this way week in week out

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

Couldn't agree more the atmosphere was fantastic. I always enjoy the moment when the the TBV start up their first chant of the afternoon and you see the away fans, who have up to that point held the stage, heads all turn as one to take in the competion. Especially being so close to them in the West. It always makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up even after 45 years of going to the hall. But it has to be said its the away support that helps make the aftrenoon and unfortunately with the exception of maybe Portsmouth we won't see the North bank that full for very many times this season.

Spot on, mate. It's great watching them chuckle at our lack of support. Then at 2.55pm TBV fills up, the drum rolls, and we all burst into song. A fantastic feeling watching their faces. Well done True Blue and co. Cracking atmos.

 

[farawayshrimper]

Very pleased with the result and performance and made the journey worth it, perhaps lacked a threat in the second half and lost control a bit in the middle but with clifford and hurst to go back in the squad (if deserved) that should iron out that problem. I wonder how we will do against a team that isn't set to give the ball back to us every move to misplace it out of play, hopefully we can see against Yeovil.

I thought every player did well though but can always improve!

 

[jarvisyeh]

I agree with what most people have been saying, but a few things I disagree with:

Bentley only had two dodgy kicks in the game, most of them went to Corrs head!
Straker was okay, but his last ball let him down badly. Great running, and closing down but it was very frustrating when he got in to a good position and then didn't get it past the first man!

 

[BrettieAngell]

Was much better than I thought it was going to be yesterday, we still have Timlin and Hurst to come back into the side aswell. Definitely encouraging signs but it is only one game.

 

[tottenham541]

7,055 fans, great gate for first home game:thumbsup:

 

[Clinton Baptiste]

When you think about it we have a very good midfield of Hurst,Payne,Clifford and Timlin in reserve. Should be plenty of competition in that area but could do with a pacey option upfront.

 

[mrsblue]

Very good start,
Our fitness levels were first class and every damn one of them played their guts out,Special mention to Mr Straker who is finding his feet and his confidence is growing.
Phil is god.

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

"Straker was okay, but his last ball let him down badly. Great running, and closing down but it was very frustrating when he got in to a good position and then didn't get it past the first man!"

I take your point on Straker, but his pace was causing problems. His final ball can be poor, which is why he's better further up the field. Great to see the home support getting behind him, though.

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

1 game in to this season and I think we've already bettered any home performance from last season.

Yesterday was so refreshing to see. Ball on the floor, great attacking play. One of the fittest Southend sides I've seen.

I'd love to know what Phil Brown has said/done to Anthony Straker. He's a new player!!

 

[Eddy Melito]

"Straker was okay, but his last ball let him down badly. Great running, and closing down but it was very frustrating when he got in to a good position and then didn't get it past the first man!"

I take your point on Straker, but his pace was causing problems. His final ball can be poor, which is why he's better further up the field. Great to see the home support getting behind him, though.

lets be realistic, if he had a more consistent end product, he wouldn't be playing in league 2.

 

[Clacton Shrimper]

Pleased with the performance yesterday nice to see them keep going to the end, agree with everyone fitness levels were good. Straker, what a difference to last season, Coker impressed me most as did White. Well done lads. Good luck Tues in the Cup. Atmosphere good. best chant of the day was when the Easy Jet plane took off in the 2nd half and a small chant of Easy Jet Easy Jet Easy Jet was started. East Stand Blacks great comedians. Woooo Woooo

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Bentley 7 - A very bad backpass sent to him led to a corner but otherwise did ok. Came running out of his box with hands to his side at one point which did look a bit iffy but he is coming off his line

White 7 - Good game, good defensively and did get up and down a few times

Phillips 7.5 - Strong at the back, good positioning. Looks the fittest he has been. A couple of odd floated balls down the channels but otherwise good passing or good clearances

Prosser 7.5 - Good partnership with Phillips today, won everything in the air against Morgan. Again was able to pass the ball to feet as he had options as well as a big clearance when needed Scully style into the crowd

Coker 8.5 - MOM for me. So willing to run and run, wants the ball all the time, defends well, takes a decent corner. We finally have a worthy LB. He reminds me of Mark Owen for some reason.

Atkinson 7.5 - Solid, sensible. Does the important things well, has a bit of craft about him and doesn't give up. Good signing

Laird 8 - Hard working box to box display, breaking up play
Leonard 8 - Good game in the middle. People were concerned he wasn't cut out for a CM role, but was the craft in the middle today

Straker 7.5 - Got forward a lot, has some good skills and will improve. Final ball and thought process is lacking but his chasing down was really impressive.

Corr 7.5 - Got his goal, held up the ball and led the line well.

Eastwood 7.5 - Pre-season was pants but Freddy looked livelier yesterday. Held the ball up, linked up play and got more involved. Chased everything and put himself about and not surprised he was subbed, he must have been knackered.


Reid 6.5 - Held the ball up well but didn't get too much service
Clifford - Not enough time to I have seen him pre season and he will add real bite and steel to the midfield. Loves a crunching tackle.

 

[bazzashrimper]

Bentley 6
White 6.5
Coker 8
Phillips 8
Prosser 7
Straker 7
Atkinson 6.5
Leonard 8
Laird 9
Corr 7
Eastwood 6

The game was won by the energy across the board, but mainly by the 2 in the centre of the park. Leonard was a 9 at 70 mins, but he tired after that.

We still need more up front to compete near the top of the table