Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 1-3 Gateshead

[Shrimperborn1957]

i dont see it that way, i hate the floaters as much as the next man, could never get our normal seats when the team is doing well lol, but we need their cash to push forward.

Buy a season ticket then

 

[AlfaShrimper]

Yeah he scored a goal last year? that the rest would have been incapable of scoring and he gets 10 minutes most matches
Very fair assessment of him by you!

He is ****ing pony mate. Give over

 

[Shrimperborn1957]

18 pages!? I know it was bad but jeez!

Now I have been lucky so far that I’d seen 2 2-0 wins and both we should have won by more and we were pretty decent both times. However, i appreciate that hasn’t been the whole story. Yesterday was pretty worrying. There is definetely something not right within the team. Now the clearest problem is we have no leader. Now I was never the best player (well actually ) but I would always class myself as a leader and would dish out “advice / encouragement / a moan / whatever I thought it would take” and there is absolutely NONE of that in this side. Now we are without 5 of our best players in Kensdale, Taylor, Ralph, Miley and Cards. And that leaves a huge hole. So im hoping once these guys are back (not Kens or Cards obv) it will massively help.

If this becomes a trend then there is defo cause for concern but im hoping we can chalk this as a one-off performance wise. It didn’t help the new guy at the back was pony and Bonne literally did sweet FA upfront.

Still a few drinks at the Hamlet and then a curry at the Shagor helped ease the worries away.

Could you turn up every week please

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Ooh well, at least we had Billy Best yesterday

Absolutely brilliant SSiD. I hope Billy really enjoyed his special day, barring the football. I wish we had youtube back in the day, so we could now show those that never saw him play, what a fantastic striker he was, and why we still talk about him 50 years on. It was everything about him. For a smallish striker he scored plenty with his head, some were nice diving headers. He could score with either foot. He scored most of his one on ones with the goalie when put through. He had that burst of speed and accuracy of shot, rarely blasting over the bar, as low into the corner seemed to be his favourite. And of course, always buzzing about to lose his marker and find space in the area. Then there was his look, and his massive smile and celebrations after scoring. He will always be the King of Roots Hall. Nice to see you there Si, shaking his hand.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

A good point but actually perhaps he needs both?

Competition doesn't do any harm to anyone and only makes the squad stronger. For instance, if a Ryan Colclough type became available, would we say no having both options to pick from?

That aside, he's proven he is a good attacking outlet when backed up. Wes did that brilliantly when with us, and that missing link is really showing in Bridgey's game at the moment. Husin can do that role also well, but doesn't get forward enough currently to support. I don't see anyone else doing that job in our current squad and it is leaving Bridgey isolated and forced to go backwards.

He was one of the best players in the division with zero competition for the last two seasons so I doubt that’s the issue.

Uhhh...I think we only have two of the four mentioned. OK to Ralph, but maybe I missed the inner Usain Taylor?

Taylor is very quick with his long legs. Kensdale wasn’t.

The reason we played so well last year, over performed perhaps, and with the Dunkirk spirit aside, was that we had the best defence in the league. Ralph, Kensdale, Taylor, with Miley forming a protective screen, and a confident goalkeeper behind them. Only one of those five played today, Collin, and it seems his confidence may be shot.
Didn’t see the game today, listened on the wireless. Those who say that it was a nonsense to start with only one up front are completely correct. And why Bonne, not Pepple?
I posted at length a few weeks ago that the departures of Cardwell and Kensdale, together with Miley’s injury, followed by poor recruitment, had turned us from an upper mid-table side into one that would flirt with relegation.
Where are we in the league right now?
A poster has asked what are the reasons why Gateshead are so much better than us. They have better players than us brought about by better recruitment, they play attacking football, and are miles ahead tactically.
For those who will point out that I wasn’t at the match today, I saw Gateshead twice last season, home and away.

I don’t think we had the best defence. We had the best defensive record IMO because

1. As a team we kept possession well - our defence tried to retain possession rather than boot it long; then when we did go long Cardwell was able to hold it up/win it back
2. We pinned teams back by having Bridge and Gus push up so far. So when we lost it we usually had the numbers in the midfield to pick up the loose ball immediately
3. If we didn’t win the loose ball we were very good at pressing with Cardwell and Powell/Waldron/Dackers and would often quickly force an error
4. If they did pick up the loose ball, weren’t rushed into a clearance by Cardwell and were able to attack we had Miley shielding the defence.

So what’s changed?

Well we’ve lost Kensdale so we don’t play out from the back so well and have been playing it longer only we’ve lost Cardwell who could hold the ball up and keep losing it as Bonne can’t cover the ground he did.

We’re then not pinning teams back as much by not having Bridge at WB as much (Albeit he was at LWB Saturday) so when we lose it they have more players in midfield available to pick up the loose ball.

So we’re winning less loose ball by sheer weight of numbers but then we’re unable to press as dynamically because the likes of Bonne and Moncur are passengers when we press.

This allows opponents to attack us more and at pace which is compounded as we don’t have Miley sitting in front of the defence protecting them.

How do we fix it?

We need a new spine of a central centre defender, a defensive midfielder and a mobile forward (or two) who can hold the ball up.

 

[Medway Blue]

That was about as bad as we've looked in recent memory.

I was a bit miffed that we went one up front. I'm not sure whether they just wanted to pack out our midfield, or whether Bim was carrying a knock. If the former, then I think it was a mistake, because Gateshead just played around our box in midfield. I wish that had been spotted and remedied earlier bit hopefully it gets learned from.

We looked disjointed, tired, devoid of belief and courage, lacking leadership, and bereft of ideas. Gateshead were better than us all over the park, and I think are something to aspire too once we have a settled and well-drilled squad again.

I still think there is some overreaction going on, though. Nobody likes losing, but calling for Maher's head is mad. If we are in a relegation battle in the Spring then more serious questions will need to be asked, but not at the moment. He is still, 3 years after being appointed, yet to be given a proper run at things with a level playing field and without off-field issues.

There was only one member (Collin) of last season's back five on the pitch yesterday, and it showed. The understanding wasn't there, the confidence in each other wasn't there. Jury is out on the quality perhaps, but Crowther, Gubbins and Morton were signed for good reasons - because it was felt that they can, or would soon be able to, slot in and be assets. The changes in front of him have unsettled Collin at best, and exposed his weaknesses at worst (jury also still out here), and that is all being exacerbated by the loss of David Martin, who was a defensive coach almost as much as he was a GK coach and a brilliant voice in the changing room.

The spine of the team has been ripped out. Kensdale, Miley and Cardwell aren't just good footballers - they were absolute square pegs in square holes, and pivotal to the way we play. We no longer play out from the back as confidently and as well as we once did, and we no longer press from the front as well as we once did.

As has been said, we are now back into a transition phase, and a mini rebuild, and it will take time. It's easy to see who on here has written this season off, and who perhaps hadn't prepared themselves for a season of consolidation or even a brief step backwards. I back Maher to get it right eventually.

That doesn't excuse aspects of yesterday's performance, though, and he was quite right to challenge his players to step up and be counted.

They now have a whole week on the training pitch, without a Tuesday game or the travelling/preparation/recovery around it. Hopefully that gives time to really drill them on the training pitch ahead of Maidenhead on Saturday.