Post-Match Thread and Ratings Southend United 4-1 Macclesfield

[Roxy]

Great result and team performance.
Bilel up front made the difference, Macclesfield defence could not handle his unpredictability and never give up attitude.
I thought that the signs were there on Saturday, that just maybe we were turning the corner and tonight confirmed this.
Definitely think that the TBV down the front in the West is a big help to the rest of the ground, coupled with another solid team performance created a good atmosphere despite the low attendance.
Looking forward to Saturday.:happy:

 

[TBV_Dan]

OS says attendance was 3,500 and BBC is saying it was 5,000..... looked more like 3,500 in there tonight to me.

 

[ibwiajwa]

Really good performance which should keep the boo boys on here quiet. Paul Sturrock is quietly building a team that can challenge for the playoffs - a remarkable achievement given the carnage of the summer.
Evans: A good game to settle his nerves. Good distribution - I like the trajectory of his goal kicks - low and often to feet.
Gilbert: Poor first half with some awful distribution and backing off from challenges but improved greatly in the second half with some important clearances.
Coughlan: Solid game. Read their attack well and dealt comfortably with the big men.
Barker: Back to his regal best after the patchy performance on Friday. Lovely run into the box.
Clohessy: Good to see him getting to the byline again.
Hall: Fantastic performance. Full of energy and attacking intent. Some terrific balls into the box and....what a lob!
Grant: Wasn't really at the races in the first half but generally shielded the ball well. Should have had a shot when straight on to goal but put in a poor ball to Mohsni instead. Up to 82 now on the free kicks won...
Easton: Excellent - really bossed the midfield.
Ferdinand: Calm and collected. Well done to Sturrock for giving him a run in the side.
Sturrock: Ran his whatnots off all night and contributed a lot of intelligent layoffs although he struggled to get into the game at the start.
Mohsni:

Subs:
Phillips: Struggled with their big men.
Sawyer: Looked fine.
Corr: Actually played really well, apart from the chance that he blasted over the bar. Some nice touches and good positioning from the big man.

I felt a bit sorry for Macclesfield tonight after the difficult time they have had lately with the death of Richard Butcher following on from the death of their manager last year. It felt a bit like kicking a small dog (not that I would know!) and yet they didn't give up right to the end. Respect to them.

 

[Andy_S]

I won't go into details re: the game's incidents because I'm sure they will be talked about ten times over, so I'll just do my ratings!


Evans 8: Many pats on the back must go to him tonight, because after what happened in his last appearance and after the way the crowd got on his back, it was no doubt difficult for him. He was totally faultless though. He made a couple of good saves, took some good catches, and his drop kicks caused Macclesfield all kinds of problems. Didn't put a foot wrong. Excellent.

Clohessy 7.5: Decent tonight. His best display in the last few weeks and once again he proved what a good signing he's been. Defended well, got forward at times and steady as a rock.

Coughlan 7: Solid. I'm sure nobody, most of all Coughlan himself, expected him to play so many games and in such a short time, so he must be applauded for getting through them so well. The only blot on his copy book tonight was the sitter he missed early on in the game.

Barker 7: No problems again for Barks, but if only he'd have scored after that incredible surging run late on! Now that would've topped off the night.

Gilbert 6.5: Still the poorest of the backline, he got better as the game went on. He still gave it away more than any other player in blue though....

Ferdinand 7.5: We have found ourselves a player. He's so cool and classy on the ball but then he can get stuck in when needed. Forget having a career at centre half, he's totally and utterly suited to an excellent career in the Makelele role. 17? Unbelievable.

Easton 7.5: In my opinion his best display for us, topped off, just, with a goal. His passing can be a little up and down, but tonight I thought he was excellent. Having Ferdinand in there seems to help him.

Grant 7: A quiet game by Grant's standards, but he still managed to influence the game going forwards.

Hall 8: An excellent display by the winger, including yet another assist and a superb finish for his goal. He flitted in and out on Friday, but tonight he was a constant menace.

Sturrock 9: Blair was simply outstanding tonight. I don't often give out 9's... In fact I think I'll leave it at that, as that says it all.

Mohsni 8.5: His workrate was outstanding, he was here, there and everywhere. A human battering ram. Now our players have finally worked out what he might do, it works wonders because the opposition are never going to have a clue!

Subs:

Corr 6: He seemed to struggle tonight and he didn't look completely fit.

Phillips 6.5: Good to see him back. That was his first appearance for five months and he didn't look too rusty. The fact that he crunched into a 50-50 within a couple of minutes of coming on is surely encouraging.

Sawyer 6: The game had kind of run out of puff by the time he came on, but the 20 minutes won't have done him any harm as he gets up to speed.

 

[Cockle43]

i would also suggest that arsenal being on terrestrial and man u playing many took the armchair option tonite

Good point. Had forgotten they were on. Mind you I'd rather be at the Hall watching proper football, not that we've seen a great deal this season.

 

[Tampa Blue]

I won't go into details re: the game's incidents because I'm sure they will be talked about ten times over, so I'll just do my ratings!


Evans 8: Many pats on the back must go to him tonight, because after what happened in his last appearance and after the way the crowd got on his back, it was no doubt difficult for him. He was totally faultless though. He made a couple of good saves, took some good catches, and his drop kicks caused Macclesfield all kinds of problems. Didn't put a foot wrong. Excellent.

Clohessy 7.5: Decent tonight. His best display in the last few weeks and once again he proved what a good signing he's been. Defended well, got forward at times and steady as a rock.

Coughlan 7: Solid. I'm sure nobody, most of all Coughlan himself, expected him to play so many games and in such a short time, so he must be applauded for getting through them so well. The only blot on his copy book tonight was the sitter he missed early on in the game.

Barker 7: No problems again for Barks, but if only he'd have scored after that incredible surging run late on! Now that would've topped off the night.

Gilbert 6.5: Still the poorest of the backline, he got better as the game went on. He still gave it away more than any other player in blue though....

Ferdinand 7.5: We have found ourselves a player. He's so cool and classy on the ball but then he can get stuck in when needed. Forget having a career at centre half, he's totally and utterly suited to an excellent career in the Makelele role. 17? Unbelievable.

Easton 7.5: In my opinion his best display for us, topped off, just, with a goal. His passing can be a little up and down, but tonight I thought he was excellent. Having Ferdinand in there seems to help him.

Grant 7: A quiet game by Grant's standards, but he still managed to influence the game going forwards.

Hall 8: An excellent display by the winger, including yet another assist and a superb finish for his goal. He flitted in and out on Friday, but tonight he was a constant menace.

Sturrock 9: Blair was simply outstanding tonight. I don't often give out 9's... In fact I think I'll leave it at that, as that says it all.

Mohsni 8.5: His workrate was outstanding, he was here, there and everywhere. A human battering ram. Now our players have finally worked out what he might do, it works wonders because the opposition are never going to have a clue!

Subs:

Corr 6: He seemed to struggle tonight and he didn't look completely fit.

Phillips 6.5: Good to see him back. That was his first appearance for five months and he didn't look too rusty. The fact that he crunched into a 50-50 within a couple of minutes of coming on is surely encouraging.

Sawyer 6: The game had kind of run out of puff by the time he came on, but the 20 minutes won't have done him any harm as he gets up to speed.

Excellent summary - I agree with all the ratings _ i'd also give Sturrock Senior a 9 for having the balls to play Moshni up front as this could have been a disaster as it is fair to say he is slightyu 'impetuous' and I'll never be surprised to see him get sent off - buthey - he was the epitome of making your own luck by his sheer effort and he so looked like he was enjoying it. Also the formation with Ferdinand sweeping in front of the back 4 worked a treat - Ferdinand was excellent tonight and enabled Easton and Grant to break without worrying about gaps behind them and they were also 10 yards further up the pitch than normal hassling the Maacca players and giving them no time on the ball. Really enjoyed tonight :0)

 

[the_goat]

What a performance!

Moshni was incredibly effective - he's got absolutely everything. Physically he's tall, quick and athletic. Football wise he can head it and use both feet. Combine this with the amount of passion he displays and we have a player that could go ALL the way to the top! Brilliant, just superb entertainment.

Special mention to Hall who looked excellent. Great goal, lots of good crosses and I so wanted that sublime lob to go in.

Ferdinand? The first of the new crop to break through - and it's hard to believe he's so young. He ouzes class - controlled and intelligent.

Moshni, Closhessy, Grant, Sawyer, Hall and Ferdinand.....Southend has some brilliant young talent.

 

[Magnum PI]

What a performance!

Moshni was incredibly effective - he's got absolutely everything. Physically he's tall, quick and athletic. Football wise he can head it and use both feet. Combine this with the amount of passion he displays and we have a player that could go ALL the way to the top! Brilliant, just superb entertainment.

Special mention to Hall who looked excellent. Great goal, lots of good crosses and I so wanted that sublime lob to go in.

Ferdinand? The first of the new crop to break through - and it's hard to believe he's so young. He ouzes class - controlled and intelligent.

Moshni, Closhessy, Grant, Sawyer, Hall and Ferdinand.....Southend has some brilliant young talent.

We cant have this.. Sturrock simply has to go !!

 

[markw]

Really good performance which should keep the boo boys on here quiet. Paul Sturrock is quietly building a team that can challenge for the playoffs - a remarkable achievement given the carnage of the summer.
Evans: A good game to settle his nerves
Gilbert: Poor first half with some awful distribution and backing off from challenges but improved greatly in the second half with some important clearances.
Coughlan: Solid game. Read their attack well and dealt comfortably with the big men.
Barker: Back to his regal best after the patchy performance on Friday. Lovely run into the box.
Clohessy: Good to see him getting to the byline again.
Hall: Fantastic performance. Full of energy and attacking intent. Some terrific balls into the box and....what a lob!
Grant: Wasn't really at the races in the first half but generally shielded the ball well. Should have had a shot when straight on to goal but put in a poor ball to Mohsni instead. Up to 82 now on the free kicks won...
Easton: Excellent - really bossed the midfield.
Sturrock: Ran his whatnots off all night and contributed a lot of intelligent layoffs although he struggled to get into the game at the start.
Mohsni:

Subs:
Phillips: Struggled with their big men.
Sawyer: Looked fine.
Corr: Actually played really well, apart from the chance that he blasted over the bar. Some nice touches and good positioning from the big man.

I felt a bit sorry for Macclesfield tonight after the difficult time they have had lately with the death of Richard Butcher following on from the death of their manager last year. It felt a bit like kicking a small dog (not that I would know!) and yet they didn't give up right to the end. Respect to them.

did you not notice a amazingly cool headed 18 year old playing for us?

 

[bazzashrimper]

I agree with all the plaudits above about young Ferdinand, but he's 18!

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Excellent summary - I agree with all the ratings _ i'd also give Sturrock Senior a 9 for having the balls to play Moshni up front as this could have been a disaster as it is fair to say he is slightyu 'impetuous' and I'll never be surprised to see him get sent off - buthey - he was the epitome of making your own luck by his sheer effort and he so looked like he was enjoying it. Also the formation with Ferdinand sweeping in front of the back 4 worked a treat - Ferdinand was excellent tonight and enabled Easton and Grant to break without worrying about gaps behind them and they were also 10 yards further up the pitch than normal hassling the Maacca players and giving them no time on the ball. Really enjoyed tonight :0)

Yep, thought Macclesfield were very Alan McCormack-esque.

Blair Sturrock was again outstanding, Easton very impressive and Ferdinand looks like a youth team player who'll actually make it as a pro. It's great watching a youngster who you don't have to make constant excuses for because he's young. At 17 or 18 he's already ahead of where Herd is at 21 and Crawford at 19.

We're close to being a pretty good team and one of the most pleasing aspects was the strength on the bench: we were able to bring on subs of the calibre of Phillips, Corr and Sawyer - players who'd have all started last season.

 

[Cockle43]

I agree with all the plaudits above about young Ferdinand, but he's 18!

In which case he'll be able to drink the champagne when he gets a MoM, as he surely will soon.
In 45 years watching the Blues I don't think I've seen a youngster come into the side and look so self assured that you think he's been there for some time.
For me he's doing something really difficult; being a CB playing in mid-field who excites me by just doing so much right, not flash or risky but just, right. Others will probably disagree but he reminds me a bit, in the role he's currently playing and the way he's doing it, of Peter Butler; and for me that's no bad thing at all!

 

[Crowstone Crevette]

didnt make the match tonight but live near west stand entrance in shakespeare drive and looked closer to 3.5k than 5.0k. from above reports its good to see the boo boys silent by another good performance by blair - 8.5, 9 and even a TEN in some ratings. moshni's efforts this evening already appear on his wiki page, someones on the ball. last centre half (now i've set myself up for fall) who moved from centre half to partime centre forward was tony hadley - and he was pants! please no GOLD references!!!

 

[markw]

I agree with all the plaudits above about young Ferdinand, but he's 18!

oops, thanks for pointing that one out to me :D

 

[Up the Shrimpers]

If the crowd was 3,500 then thats our lowest league crowd for 7 years, looks like quite a few season ticket holders not now turning up. Crowds now back to nearly the same level as when RM took over Didn't see anyone in a kilt, what a crazy 'special' offer.

I notice when we get these low crowds they never announce the official attendance over the tannoy & thank us for our support.

 

[ibwiajwa]

did you not notice a amazingly cool headed 18 year old playing for us?

Yes, just edited my post! Was in a rush to get it done before I went to bed!

We're close to being a pretty good team and one of the most pleasing aspects was the strength on the bench: we were able to bring on subs of the calibre of Phillips, Corr and Sawyer - players who'd have all started last season.

Completely agree about the subs. It was the first time in a while that I've been excited about subs coming on. For the last year or so I have been biting my nails every time we've had to go to the bench.

 

[ian180]

Good atmopshere and a superb result. It was nice to walk back to the car talking about the game and smiling, rather then just going home and kicking the cat. Good performance by every player but Special mentions to Hall, Moshni, Sturrock and Ferdinand.

 

[TTS]

I was given the nod by some BBC chappies during the second half that the crowd was 3,500.

do they not also include "season ticket" holders even if they were not there, I know a lot of season ticket friends that were not in the ground.....

 

[ms brush]

Got confused, thought I'd gone to the wrong ground, and was watching the wrong team... :winking:

Thought that was a fantastic all round effort last night, 3 points wrapped up in the first half, and all credit to Macclesfield, despite their consolation goal, they just didnt look like they had a chance!!

Not doing ratings, supposed to be going to work. But, special mentions for Blair, who I thought was awesome last night, Ferdinand, who played with a level of maturity far beyond his years, Hall, who is looking better and better, and Moshni...!! Masterstroke on Sturrock Snr's part, who'd have thought our talented but slightly mad and kamikaze centre half would make a more credible striker, than er, our strikers...

Pato, Spencer et all need to be worried. very worried!!

Bring it on. After last night, I think the play offs are actually possible!!!

 

[fbm]

Was I the only one to think this victory had a slightly "odd" feel to it? It seemed a strangely un-Southend like performance... not that I'm complaining, far from it, but we played a proper 4-3-3 and that style just isn't something we've ever seen.

Credit to all, Gilbert took a while to make a positive contribution but made some important defensive headers in particular and it was good to see Evans have an assured game, despite not having much to do. Sturrock and Hall were magnificent in particular.

This season we seem to play "First goal wins" as whenever we score first we win the match (the only exception being Northampton away) so when we went one up after 17 mins I sat back comfortably, knowing we'd got the 3 points and enjoyed the rest of the game. Ironically we'd missed two really good chances before that and I thought it may again be "one of those days". But the sort of cross that Hall put in causes havoc when the striker goes for it. The keeper can't dive as the striker may connect, and if he misses or gets a glancing touch (as Mohsni did) then he's flat-footed and the ball trickles into the corner.

Having got that one we had a nervous period as Macclesfield tried to get back in the game and they launched a series of long throws into the box which we defended brilliantly. The second goal was pure route 1 and came after Evans claimed a ball from a cross, raced to the edge of the box and then moaned that there was no-one to throw it to quickly. After waiting a few seconds, he launched the ball downfield, Sturrock superbly knocked it on to Hall who held off the defender and slammed it low into the net. Brilliant.

Macclesfields heads dropped and it was game over soon afterwards. A great passing move saw Sturrock beat the offside trap wide on the left and put a cross in that sort of found it's may to Mohsni who swung an instinctive leg at it, made no proper connection at all and it somehow bounced and bobbled into the net. A more comical 4th came just before half time as we carved Macclesfield open again and this time Mohsni's effort seemed to take 2 deflections before bobbling into the corner. Was this his goal? The text service gave it to Sturrock but who would deny the lad his hat trick, which was achieved in exactly the way he plays the game - unorthodox.

We took our foot off the gas in the second half and whilst it was disappointing to concede, we still saw two pieces of brilliance that made the entrance fee worthwhile. Firstly Halls audacious lob from the touchline in front of the West Blacks that saw the keeper back pedal and make a terrific save (both shot & save would have graced the World stage and been raved about for ever after) and then Barkers run from inside his own half where he brought the ball out of defence and just kept going, accelerating past several Macclesfield defenders before unleashing a shot that the keeper pushed round the post.

All in all a tremendous and long overdue home win and if we can capitalise on this at Barnet and then the next home games we can really leap up the table. The team is beginning to click now.