Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 1-0 Port Vale

[shrimperjon]

A really entertaining game that could easily have finished 3-2, 4-3 any score. As much as we played well and deserved the win our lack of finishing is so frustrating. The amount of shots we could have had but decided not must have been double figures. Weston for all his hardwork and effort should have scored and showed today why he probably never be a regular first choice. Thought Piggott and Mooney played very well and are starting to form a decent understanding. Get hunt back in as well and we have the makings of a decent attack. Mom for me was Bolger, thought he was rock solid and didn't miss a header. Other than that the rest get 6 or 7, Bentley also stood out with some excellent saves. As others have said the Vale fans were a disgrace, not all but many of them.

 

[Gt Yarmouth Shrimper]

Good performance but repeat what i stated after witnessing Burton away we need a decent finisher!

We've got one of those but he's injured at the moment. Hopefully he'll be back soon,

 

[Magnum PI]

I'm not a fan of Weston but that was possibly his best performance that I have seen. :thumbsup:

he was certainly influential. Everything went through him. Still think he could do with little more confidence, but encouraging performance.

 

[OldBlueLady]

I'm not a fan of Weston but that was possibly his best performance that I have seen. :thumbsup:

You weren't at Crawley then?

Thought today showed exactly why White is our captain and our 1st choice RB. Some absolutely key challenges in dealing with a very tricky opponent. I think Lenny is also under valued in the role he is being asked to play.

7s all round from me for the starters, with Piggy on a 7.5 and White MOTM on 8. I did type a longer report but my internet dipped as I posted and I apologise for not being arsed to re-write it all again!

I'm afraid I still struggle with Wordsworth though, he might have had the assist but that was all he did, and I prefer Worrall's influence on the game and think the other players are more comfortable with it too.

 

[C V Shrimper]

I wish near the end we would go for goal and not the corner flag! I always think we never seem to hold it in the corner very well.

 

[leeblue]

Sometimes we cry out for some forward thinking, quality midfield player creating something....WordsWorth came on and supplied just this...tap in for piggy. I like him

 

[AndyT]

I think Weston assisted in Pigott's easy 'tap-in'

Wordsworth supplied the cross after an excellent run into space.

Weston had a good game, given he's not everyone's favourite, including myself.

 

[AndyT]

Great result and performance.

Special praise, in no particular order :-

Deegan - A huge influence in the first half and some decent forward passes, as well.
Bolger - Immense from start to finish.
White - Solid performance, first league game back.
Mooney - Found loads of space in the hole and used it well.
Pigott - Much improved, for me.
Weston - Had a good first half.

Thought the ref did OK, after not playing the advantage enough early on.

Their manager was an idiot.

Decent crowd and a buzz around the ground at the end.

All in all, looking very positive.

 

[C V Shrimper]

Their manager was acting like Billy big ******** I thought he and Phil would come to blows on a couple of occassions,to me he's unknown I've never heard of him.

 

[davew]

good game to watch, the finishing by both sides was poor apart from the goal, not complaining a win was a fair result and the ref better than the usual.

Nice to see Grant playing (glad they played him deep), I thought he was one of our better players (when he was here)

 

[davew]

I'm not a fan of Weston but that was possibly his best performance that I have seen. :thumbsup:

agree if only he had his shooting boots on

 

[davewebbsbrain]

he was certainly influential. Everything went through him. Still think he could do with little more confidence, but encouraging performance.

Weston had a good game, gave us a different option. He was always available and has pace to burn. The 2 chances he had he was under pressure so I won't bitch about him not scoring. His pace and movement creates space for other players to move into.

As for the rest of the team, all played pretty well. Timms was a bit off with his passing though. I hope the Deegan detractors can now see what us Deegan lovers see. Great link up play, good range of passing and tough tackling. Mooney worked hard and will get better and better and get goals. Bolger had a great game, as did Prosser. Pigott is like a different player, what on earth has happened, he looks nearly like the Pigott we first got last season and I'm glad he is doing well now. I think Lenny just edged Grant for most fouls won

 

[Welly7]

Pigott is like a different player, what on earth has happened

He's started scoring. Breeds confidence.

 

[ms brush]

Best performance at Roots Hall this season, entertaining, consistent and a decent standard of refereeing (which is a first in a long time), both sides committed to playing football, topped off with 3 points for us. Super! We are good defensively, and I will say this again - they need a goal minded coach!! We have a good squad with a lot of talent, and we don't need another striker - we need an attacking coach to work with the lads to build their confidence in front of goal, and there are several of those boys who get into great positions and fail to convert them into goals - they are all capable of hitting the target, and for some reason they don't have that belief. I have no idea why not, and I just wish Mr B would do something about it.

will be interesting to see what Brown does when Hunt comes back - do you disrupt the fledgling partnership between Piggot and Mooney that looks good but isn't as fruitful as we would like? And what about Weston - he looked excellent today, but do you keep him in, when we need to also be playing Worrall in a similar position? It worked today, but will it work long term??

Bentley kept us in the game on more than one occasion 7
White showed today why he is the first choice at RB. Tough, no nonsense, some excellent tackling and a good overall performance. 7
Bolger and Prosser both worked hard, and did a good job keeping their two front men quiet. 7 apiece.
Coker is a class above, with the exception of one misplaced pass and slipping over when one of their players went haring past him 8.5 MOM
Leonard was excellent today, better suited to the role he swapped into 7
Timlin is definitely a key cog in the engine. Looked like he was in a lot of pain when he went off, hope that is a bruised rib not a broken one! 8
Deegan was also excellent today, looked better after the switch with Lenny as well. Was almost certainly going for an early bath though, so probably as well he was substituted before he was sent off! 7
Weston had his best game at home today, strong, quick and purposeful. Just needs to work on the finishing!!! 8
Pigott has got his mojo back, excellent performance today 8
Mooney adds a lot, and today was no exception. Creating a good understanding with the pig 8

Subs
Worrall 8
Atkinson 7
wordsworth 8

can I just add a work about Grant - he is still excellent and thought he played well today!

 

[Darren_webb]

And he hasn't had the fans on his back like most of the other home games

 

[nicko1710]

deserved result but should have been more comfortable but im not complaining, we are looking solid and playing as a team with confidence improving all time...

Bentley 7 - several good saves, consistent as always
White 7 - so solid needed to be against tricky little winger, captains performance
Bolger 7.5 - had the big centre forward under control, great crossfield ball in 2nd half, improved so much
Prosser 6.5 - looked a bit shaky for me at times but put in a decent shift
Coker 7 - another day at the office for him
timlin 6.5 - heart an passion but quite quiet
leonard 6.5 - plenty of effort but not too much going forward
deegan 7.5 - great fast half and nearly scored a cracker in 2nd half
weston 7 - gets in great positions with his pace deserved his place today
mooney 7 - great workrate and team performance
pigott 8 - great to see him prove a lot of people, including myself, wrong, poachers goal, held the ball up and worked hard

subs
wordsworth 6.5 - looks comfortable on the ball and provided the goal on a plate for pigott
worrall 6.5 - few glimpses of what he can do and played his part
atkinson 6 - worked hard but looked a bit lost going forward

 

[spoons]

Their manager was acting like Billy big ******** I thought he and Phil would come to blows on a couple of occassions,to me he's unknown I've never heard of him.

Robert "Rob" Page (born 3 September 1974) is a Welsh former international football defender, now manager at League One club Port Vale. In an eighteen-year career in the Premier League and the Football League he made 550 competitive appearances for six different clubs. He both captained a team and scored a goal in all top four divisions of English football.[SUP][1][/SUP] He also gained 41 caps for Wales in a ten-year international career, captaining the side once, before he retired from international football in September 2006.

​Now you have heard of him, class act as a player, cutting his teeth as manager .

 

[Jai]

Odd how people see things. Four of us went to the match today and three of us had Weston MOM. Constant irritant to the Vale defence, terrific in the air and just a total nuisance from start to finish.

EDIT: Never heard of Rob Page, really?

 

[AndyT]

Now you have heard of him, class act as a player, cutting his teeth as manager

He was dishing out obscenities to our management staff throughout the first half, to the extent that if he'd behaved like that in a nightclub, he'd have been thrown out.

 

[OldBlueLady]

can I just add a work about Grant - he is still excellent and thought he played well today!

Completely forgot about him till midway through the 2nd half, loved him while he was with us but felt he was largely anonymous today. Certainly didn't fall over as much as the 27 did!