Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 2-1 Tranmere Rovers

[JoshC]

Mildenhall - 6.5- Made some good saves and was unlucky to miss the penalty, did well to play on after getting a knock
Sankofa - 6.5 - Didn't really notice him but did some good runs down the flank overlapping the midfielder and putting in one or two good balls.
Dervite - 7.8 - Very good today, went in for everything and always came out with the ball, cool and calm.
Barrett - 6 - Didn't do much
Clarke - 7.5 - Did well , linked up with Dervite well and made some good clearances
Francis - 8.3 - Amazing first half performance but was abject in the second
Macca - 9.3 - Did well to withstand and not react to Savage, shows he's changed a lot. Brilliant Tackling and passing
JFC - 6.9 - Linked up with Macca well
Moussa - 7.3 - Dribbling was good, got forward and tried his best. Good prospect
Theo - 8.2 - Excellent start for him and deserved more
Dougie - 5.8 - Did well for the first 10 minutes but slipped in and out and had some poor passes in the second half.

Betsy - 9.0 - Delighted for him, liked him a lot and should threaten for a first team place next game.
Laurent - 7.5 - Key in the build up and did well for the little while he was on

Bas Savage - 0.2 - Woeful performance but comedy kept it in positives.

Referee - 5.7 - Did well in the first half and let the game flow but should've sent Savage off and afterwards just fell apart.

Personally I thought Moussa was more of a 7.4 but hey....

Seriously though, how does Betsy deserve a 9??

 

[Ulysses]

Milders 7.5 (didn't really do much wrong, but i'm starting to find him annoying!)
Sankofa 8 (getting better, starting to link up well with Francis)
Clarke 8 (defo our strongest CB)
Doreen 7 (disappointing few misplaced passes)
Barrett 7.5 (getting used to LB)
Moussa 8 (by far our best player 1st half)
Christophe 7.5 (steady)
Macca 7.5 (didn't understand why he got man of the match)
Francis 8.5 MOM (excellent game)
Freedman 7 (redeemed in last minute would been lower score)
Robinson 7.5 (Strong, sign him up sign him up)

Subs
Laurent 6 (didn't look right, looks a month away from being back)
Betsy 7.5 (other than the goal did he touch the ball???)

 

[chapperzUK]

Mildenhall 7 - Had nothing much to do.
Sankofa 7.5 - Good overlapping but left spaces at the back sometimes.
Clarke 7 - Good at the back.
Doreen 7.5 - Won alot at the back both in the air and on the floor. Good Partnership with Clarke
Barrett 7.5 - Was good at the back and ok going forward.
Moussa 8 - This kid is coming of age and is a real prospect.
Christophe 7.5 - Power house in the centre and covered most of the pitch!
Macca 8 MoTM - Starting to get back into form and it showed what it meant for him to get MoTM at the end.
Francis 7.5 - Great down the right flank. Poor set-pieces tho.
Freedman 7 - Wasn't great but he shows his intelligence and helps Robinson alot.
Robinson 7.5 - Strong and quick. Kept on trying in the first few minutes and got his reward.

Subs
Laurent 6 - Tried his best but not fully fit yet.
Betsy 7.5 - A good run into the box ended up with him scoring. He did well when we came on and when he had the ball.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Mildenhall - 7, was like Bambi on ice whenever he tried to kick the ball yet the other keeper seemed to have no problem. Please sort his kicking out, he has Fed's kicking style at times, but the ball still goes high.
Sankofa - 7.5, blossoming. Got much more involved in attack, was even up in the box at times! Has so much more confidence with Franno in front.
Dervite - 7.5, couple of wayward kicks, but the ball was a bit slippy. Some classy tackles and good, confident passing in the main.
Clarke - 8, why is he this side? It puts him next to Barrett again, and the potential for their calamity scenarios. Looks so much better with Dervite, and used the ball intelligently, and cleared several times by playing the ball rather than hoofing. Pick of the defence for me.
Barrett - 7.5, great first half, looked under more pressure in the 2nd.
Franno - 8, this lad produced a model ;) performance. The corners were obviously in a poor state because he wasn't the only person to suffer trying to take them. Great runs, great passing, great interplay with Sankofa.
Macca - 9 MOM, obvious really, wasn't it? Absolutely brilliant tackle in the 1st half, was here, there and everywhere, influenced every move forward I think and kept a lid on his temper when Tranmere were intent on trying to rile him in the 1st half. :clap: Well done Macca!
Jeff - 7.5, don't see the criticism, thought he did well, broke up attacks and got tackles in, roamed forward more confidently because the defence didn't need the sort of cover he's had to provide.
Mousse - 7.5, fantastic 1st half, seemed quieter in the 2nd. Still not convinced about him and Jeff.
Dougie - 7.5, very unlucky with the penalty decision and the disallowed goal (was it offside anyone?). Clear influence on attacks, much more so that Barney, has really developed a good understanding with Theo.
Theeeeo - 7.5, about time with that goal! Good movement, good skills.

Subs:
Laurent for Robinson - 6.5, looked fit but not quite fully confident to me.
Betsy for Sankofa - 7, don't understand the 9s, he scored, yes, but he was only on the pitch for about 5 minutes. Great acknowledgment to the fans at the end of the game, see, if you can do that every week Kev, then everyone will adore you!

Ref - 5, Savage and the penalty apart I thought he had a good game, tried to keep it flowing. Savage should have had at least 2 red cards and it was a big mistake not to have shown it to him. Also thought Moore should have had red for one of his tackles on Macca, they really had it in for him. Tranmere were marking very tightly throughout.

TBV - 7, guys, you kept it going so very well done, but there wasn't a huge amount of joining in collectively, small pockets around the stands but not a collective until right near the end.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Incidentally, the report from Tranmere's OS (others have mentioned it, but here's the link)
http://www.tranmererovers.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10365~44675,00.html

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Incidentally, the report from Tranmere's OS (others have mentioned it, but here's the link)
http://www.tranmererovers.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10365~44675,00.html

Absolute rubbish report on the game. They could have filled more than that space with the highly entertaining show put on by Bas Savage alone.

 

[Beefy]

Thought overall, we played well today, and hats off the the lads, they carried on right to the final whistle to score what is becoming a very frequent late goal.

Interestingly enough, I thought today summed up where our problem in the team lays - the lack of a genuinely creative midfielder. I thought we completely bossed the first half, and without knowing, I'd imagine the possession stats make healthy reading from our point of view. We over run their midfield, and at times, they were camped in their own half as they just couldn't get out. But during this period, we never really opened them up, or created anything that clear cut, apart from the goal, which was all down to the tenacity of Franno.

With a Mark Gower or a Nicky Bailey in the team, I'm fairly confident we could have gone in leading 2/3-0 at half time, and that would have been a fair reflection. Of course, that's not going to happen this season now, and on the evidence of today and the Bristol Rovers match, it seems we have enough in terms of grit and determination to pick up the necessary points to remain clear of the drop zone.

These last two games have shown that the lads are totally up for the fight, and 100% committed to the cause, and to be fair, we do have quality within our ranks - Freedman when on the ball is a class act, and Robinson is a real threat - someone with pace is giving our team a whole new dynamic we haven't had this season, and we can now hit teams on the break.

Finally, I know it sounds like a stuck record, but wanted to give another shout out for JFC today - he really is everywhere, and while not the most elegant on the ball, he is a power house in that midfield, and seems to be improving with every game.

I know we don't always see eye-to-eye but this time I agree with every word. I said at the start of the season that we were a creative midfielder away from being a decent side at this level. Lee Sawyer helped to fill that role for a while and our results picked up but now he's gone we're crying out for someone else to fill that role in the way that Mark Gower did in previous years.

We're pretty solid, we're hard-working and the number of late goals that we've scored this season show that there's nothing wrong with the effort and the spirit in the squad. But we don't have that player who can just unlock a defence with a clever pass or a piece of close control. In recent weeks we've dominated matches against Orient and Bristol Rovers and only had one goal to show for it and that wasn't the fault of the strikers.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Interesting, I thought the midfield were excellent yesterday, totally dominant so where would you fit that player in?

 

[Beefy]

It depends on the player. Mark Gower ran the game for us for five years from the left wing although I'd guess that ideally it would be one of the centre-midfielders.

I don't want to criticise too much as the lads played well yesterday and we got a good result. Plus McCormack and Christophe are both decent players. But if we had a Lee Sawyer or Nicky Bailey then one of them wouldn't be playing.

We're crying out for some width as well, especially in the absence of much creativity in the middle. Francis and Moussa both do a job out there but I'd still rather we played with a natural winger.

I'd expect this side to start picking up some points on the road now but at home I have my doubts whether we'll be able to break down a lot of sides, particularly those who come happy to take just a point.

 

[adam3811]

Only just got on here since game..

Was pleased with macca, moussa, theo and dorian amongst others

Thought the whole team got stuck in well, intercepting, tackling and blocking well throughout the pitch and overall looked like we wanted more than tranmere in the first half for sure!


Kevin Betsy.....Always knew he had it in him! :clap:

Well done blues!

 

[Andy_S]

I can't help but think the last gasp winner influenced some of these ratings. In the first half we played some great stuff and we were helped by a truly hapless display from Tranmere. In the second half though when they improved, we struggled a bit I thought and we were so clearly lacking any kind of creativity and a lot of the time, width as well. As highly as I rate Moussa, and as well as he's done out of position, everytime he got the ball in the second half it was pretty predictable that he'd cut inside and pass inside. Therefore. we'd get away with this more if we had a proper left back, but with our left side being 2 players playing completely out of position, at times it is a struggle to watch our left side. Barrett still doesn't know when to go and when to back Moussa up and so we end up going backwards. Tilly, IMHO, needs to either sign a left back who will overlap and get forward, or get an out and out left sided midfielder, pronto. This game was crying out for Scannell to come on for the last 15-20, but it appears he's another one whose face doesn't fit with Tilly, unfortunately.

Ratings:

Mildenhall 7: Didn't do anything wrong, claimed a couple of crosses under pressure and did well to carry on after landing awkwardly on his knee.

Sankofa 7.5: Possibly his best performance for us. His attacking play was improved.

Clarke 7.5: Decent performance, yet again no doubt linked to the split with Barrett.

Dervite 7.5: On the whole a very decent performance, but as his confidence built, he took a few too many chances for me.

Barrett 6.5: Unspectacular really and didn't offer enough going forward for me.

Francis 7: First half he was here there and everywhere and playing exceptionally, but he tailed off in the second half unfortunately.

McCormack 7: Improved yes, in his tackling and drive, but his passing was still atrocious. Blue, Macca, we play in blue.

Christophe 6.5: Steadyish. He still gives away too many sloppy passes and didn't impose his authority enough yesterday.

Moussa 7: It's very rare that he gives the ball away and the same was true of yesterday. He's doing his best down the left, but he's never going to burst past a couple down the wing.

Robinson 7.5: He's a constant danger to the opposition and was yesterday, but his mind sometimes seems to work faster than his feet. His pace is a fantastic asset for us and I was quite surprised he was taken off. Took his goal superbly.

Freedman 7: Is looking fitter now and he's the only attacking creative outlet we have at the moment. His intelligence is needed desperately in the team. Punished harshly for the penalty.

Subs:

Laurent 6: Didn't really get involved too much in his time on the pitch.

Betsy 6.5: Taps one in from 6 yards and suddenly he's gone from a villain to the hero and gets a 9 out of 10 from people for a few minutes on the pitch. You've gotta love the Zone. Did well to get into the position to score the goal though. Hopefully it'll give him the confidence to actually take his man on next time he plays.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Mildenhall 8 - the dominant keeper that we've been missing for years. Didn't just dominate his 6 yard box but also up to about the penalty spot. Makes such a difference for the defence.
Sankofa 7 - for the first time in his Southend career he didn't treat the ball like a hot potato every time and he almost added something in attack. The run of games has clearly seen him grow in confidence.
Barrett 7 - claims that he can't play left-back were shown up as he had one of the trickier wingers in the division, Shuker, in his pocket.
Beckenbaur 7 - one of his better games. I'm tempted to award him an 8 just for smacking Bas "Lottery" Savage in the head prompting the multiple rollovers.
Dervitte 7 - was interesting to see him up against a big physical striker like Lottery and he didn't completely dominate him in the air but his class still shone through
McCormack 7 - looked to be back to the McCormack of old, complete with his ill-discipline and poor passing to go with his undoubted strengths
Christophe 7 - another one who looked to be back to the player we had on loan. He appears to have benefited from Tilly and Brushy's coaching and the midfield knowing their role
Francis 7 - I'm not a fan of him in that role, but he did a good job for us. His height and athleticism added a lot to our midfield (bring back Benno!). He even set up the first goal, albeit aided by some dire defending.
Moussa 6.5 - I'm a fan of him and he should play centrally, but out wide he didn't have the influence on the game that he looks capable of having.
Robinson 6.5 - scored but then seemed to think his job was done. Has a lot more to offer
Freedman 6 - at times his class and more than anything his experience shines through, yet made lots of unforced errors and misplaced far too many 5-10 yards passes. Conceded very soft penalty and was then needlessly off-side.

Subs Laurent 6 - good flick for the goal but otherwise didn't get involved and the ball failed to stick up front
Betsy 8 - excellent anticipation for the goal

Tilson and Brush 10/10 - not so much for the winner being scored by a sub, but for their coaching. They've had a 3 week spell working with the team with few games to get in the way and it has shown. The first half produced a much more cohesive team than the same XI had produced in their previous outing.

 

[Kenny]

Laurent 6: Didn't really get involved too much in his time on the pitch.

Well apart from the flick that lead to to the goal...

Agree about the 2nd half performance though, the lack of creativity coming from the midfield is still a worry. This formation is good for away matches if we want to nick a point but I'd like to see us have more width at home.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Well apart from the flick that lead to to the goal...

Agree about the 2nd half performance though, the lack of creativity coming from the midfield is still a worry. This formation is good for away matches if we want to nick a point but I'd like to see us have more width at home.

I don't think the lack of creativity is down to the lack of width as much as a lack of class in midfield. Someone who can pass the ball would make the world of difference.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Mildenhall 8 - the dominant keeper that we've been missing for years. Didn't just dominate his 6 yard box but also up to about the penalty spot. Makes such a difference for the defence.

Barrett 7 - claims that he can't play left-back were shown up as he had one of the trickier wingers in the division, Shuker, in his pocket.

Beckenbaur 7 - one of his better games. I'm tempted to award him an 8 just for smacking Bas "Lottery" Savage in the head prompting the multiple rollovers.

McCormack 7 - looked to be back to the McCormack of old, complete with his ill-discipline and poor passing to go with his undoubted strengths

Wanted to pick up a number of points here YB, so you'd have Mildy as MotM on that basis? Find that strange being as he did very little. That's a very good point about Barrett though, Shuker was almost a spectator for the whole of the first half, and when they upped the anti in the 2nd, Barrett still coped well. Love the Beckenbaur comment :D!

Now Macca, come on you knew I'd say something......ill-discipline? I'd say that was one of his most disciplined performances for us considering the clatterings and whacks he took, I didn't see him put in a bad tackle either - I did see one that was completely out of the top drawer though - how about a bit of credit for once?

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Wanted to pick up a number of points here YB, so you'd have Mildy as MotM on that basis? Find that strange being as he did very little. That's a very good point about Barrett though, Shuker was almost a spectator for the whole of the first half, and when they upped the anti in the 2nd, Barrett still coped well. Love the Beckenbaur comment :D!

Now Macca, come on you knew I'd say something......ill-discipline? I'd say that was one of his most disciplined performances for us considering the clatterings and whacks he took, I didn't see him put in a bad tackle either - I did see one that was completely out of the top drawer though - how about a bit of credit for once?

No Mildenhall wasn't my MOM despite the ratings. He had very little to do, but did all that was asked of him. Others had more influence on the game.

The red-mist came over Macca and he although he didn't get booked he lost his composure and his passing went to pot. I've given a balanced appraisal of McCormack, what is undoubted strengths if it isn't credit?

 

[bishmania]

Mildenhall- 7 - Solid game.

Sankofa - 7.5 - Solid again, supported Franno on the right very well. Has come on leaps and bounds.

Dervitte - 6 - Solid but distribution was awful.

Clarke - 8- Great centre half at this level, thrives when number one in the CB position.

Barrett - 6 - Needs to practice getting a cross over if his position in the team is not to come under threat.

Franno - 7.5 - Linked well with OSei on right. Couple of decent balls in and seems much better there than RB.

Macca - 8 - MOTM - Like the Macca of old snapping into challenges. Would like to see him drive at the defence with the ball a bit more.

Jeff - 7.5 - Strong showing in the middle. Needs Macca to take on more attacking responsibility.

Moose - 6 - Didn't get in the game today.

Robinson - 7 -Grabbed a goal but we didn't put the ball in the right areas for him after that.

Dougie - 6.5- Has class but not fitness at the moment and still finding his way back into form. Oozes class though and great ball for the winner.

SUBS
Laurent - 5 - Disappointing in the little time he had.

Betsy - 7- Gets a 7 for making the run and showing the determination to score. a turning point for him?!?!?


Overall we were pretty good but should have put the game beyond doubt. Win at home to Crewe Tuesday and find some form over the next few weeks of Sat - Tue games then we can push on up the table. If Tranmere can be up there then why can't we?

 

[BoyWonder2]

Mildenhall - Solid display. Claimed quite a few balls that came into the box, unlucky not to save the penalty.

Sankofa - Really has come on leaps and bounds. Played well.

Clarke - Much better without Barrett. Had the occasional mishap but solid enough.

Dorian - The boy is mustard. If there is any chance of signing him, it has to be done. Played 2 games and we have only conceded a dodgy penalty with him playing.

Barrett - Does a job at left back, but his lack of pace is fully exposed out their.

Francis - Has a fantastic delivery on him, but there is no-one out there for him to hit. Liked the variation with the corners.

Macca - Beginning to get back to the old Macca. Mis placed passed, couple of bad tackles, but was the driving force in the midfield, plenty of fight and passion.

JFC - His passing isn't brilliant, but boy can he break up a move. Really stood up when Tranmere got back into the game with some great tackles and interceptions.

Moussa - Until earlier this season I had never seen the fuss with Moussa to be honest, but his developing into a very good player for us, despite being played out of position.

Freedman - Unlucky to have a goal disallowed, good ball for Betsys' goal and makes us a better team when his out there. Looked much fitter as well.

Robinson - Despite his goal, I didn't think he played that well to be honest. Couple of times he took the wrong option, and the pitch didn't help him when he tried to run with the ball. Took the goal really well after his initial shot was going out for a throw in before the keeper saved it.

Subs:

Laurent - Flicked the ball onto Freedman for Betsy's goal, but wasn't really involved apart from that.

Betsy - Didn't see much of the ball but scored a vital goal.

Ref - I thought that he did an OK job to be honest. Didn't think it was a penalty, if it was the lino should have given it as he had the best view. Should of sent off Savage, and could have easily been a few more bookings for them, but he tried to let the game flow. Not the worst we have had, and not the best.

 

[Southend Neil]

Yesterdays result has nothing to do with the players playing well, it was the fact we had 5 subs. Clearly a major improvement since the Leeds game and Scannell sitting there clearly made a huge difference.;)

Amazing how the doom and gloom merchants aren't now saying that league 2 is a racing certainty.

Also worth noting that at the exact same stage last season we only had 4 more points so maybe we aren't quite as bad as some make out.

 

[fbm]

Mildenhall- 7 - Solid game.

Sankofa - 7.5 - Solid again, supported Franno on the right very well. Has come on leaps and bounds.

Dervitte - 6 - Solid but distribution was awful.

Clarke - 8- Great centre half at this level, thrives when number one in the CB position.

Barrett - 6 - Needs to practice getting a cross over if his position in the team is not to come under threat.

Franno - 7.5 - Linked well with OSei on right. Couple of decent balls in and seems much better there than RB.

Macca - 8 - MOTM - Like the Macca of old snapping into challenges. Would like to see him drive at the defence with the ball a bit more.

Jeff - 7.5 - Strong showing in the middle. Needs Macca to take on more attacking responsibility.

Moose - 6 - Didn't get in the game today.

Robinson - 7 -Grabbed a goal but we didn't put the ball in the right areas for him after that.

Dougie - 6.5- Has class but not fitness at the moment and still finding his way back into form. Oozes class though and great ball for the winner.

SUBS
Laurent - 5 - Disappointing in the little time he had.

Betsy - 7- Gets a 7 for making the run and showing the determination to score. a turning point for him?!?!?


Overall we were pretty good but should have put the game beyond doubt. Win at home to Crewe Tuesday and find some form over the next few weeks of Sat - Tue games then we can push on up the table. If Tranmere can be up there then why can't we?

What game were you watching? Moussa was absolute quality, albeit unspectacular, and in my book was one of 4 contenders for MOM today, the others being Francis, Macca and Dervite.

Your other ratings are about right though.