Post-Match Thread and Ratings Swindon Town 4-2 Southend United

[Shrimpergonzo]

Just got back after having driven from Chelmsford to Swindon via Southampton (picked son up from Uni. so he could watch the game too).

Haven't read any of the other reviews, so this is my take on the game cold (and it was cold), as it were:

Bentley 4 - seems to be rooted to his line most of the time, which makes the defence sit too deep and invites pressure. Really not dominant, would be very surprised if someone from a higher league would make him their no.1 - has looked distinctly average for the last few games.

O'Neill 4 - showed glimpses of the player we had on loan from Burnley, but not as good as White on today's showing.

Coker 4 - shadow of the player he was earlier this season.

Thompson 7 - at least looked like he cared, scored a good goal

Prosser 5 - head like a 50p piece means clearances are a bit random. Played OK, but only OK.

Timlin 6 - started well but faded badly, possibly as it was his first game for a while and on a heavy pitch too

Leonard 5 - not sure what dirt he's got on Brown or Martin but he is clearly undroppable! Brief glimpses of something useful, but mainly a liability in midfield, and those throws? What a waste of time!

Deegan 6 - Very good until he got booked, then completely ineffective as he has to manage his game too much.

Worrall 4 - Dear oh dear, what a disappointment. Time after time he got into good positions but then lacked the ability to do something decent with the ball

Hunt 7 - Decent game until he ran out of steam second half, quality player

Barnett 7 - What we've been crying out for, an out and out striker. Big and strong, a bit of pace. Not as dominant in the air as I'd hoped. Had very little service today.

Subs:

Hurst 3 - no longer worthy of even a place on the bench. Sorry Kev, you used to be one of my favourites but I'd rather see him give a kid a chance. Offered nothing at all.

Mooney 4 - No threat at all when he came on

Atkinson 3 - Can't remember him doing anything useful


Disappointing day after a bright start, conditions didn't help and neither did Homer the ref. If I had to try to put a finger on the problem, I think it's the midfield - something is just not right there. Swindon just seemed to be able to run through us when we sat back. Not sure we have the personnel at the club to change things there though, which is possibly why he says he's after a creative midfielder. Would like to see Lenny dropped for a change and bring back Payne.

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

...are the players out of the changing room, yet ? :unsure:

 

[Pubey]

...are the players out of the changing room, yet ? :unsure:

Not yet, Brown asked Bentley to stand by the door and not let any journalists in. He did his best but unfortunately let in 4.

 

[rigsby]

I agree with most of this, bit generous for Bentley and Timlin but not far off.
What did they find to talk about locked in the dressing room? Still need points to stay up and I'm not joking, that's how poor we were over the last 70 minutes.

Bentley was our best player the only one who never made a mistake minimum of a 7. Highlights don't show a couple of really good saves or when he was fouled a couple of times. As for people blaming him for the first goal, how can they not see he made a great save from well stuck shot from inside the box and low down on a wet surface.

If you want to blame then look at the whole move. Their number 3 has to much time to cross O'Neil had allowed this quite a few times in first half. Coker or Prosser don't challenge in the air. Jon Obika who was easily man of the match had already shown some really good touches and yes he brought it down well but why was he allowed to shoot....Bentley makes a great save but we are all fast asleep for the rebound.

The whole match changed in the last five minutes of the first half. If their first goal was annoying then what about the second in added time. They sucked about four players into the corner flag...What was Timlin up to? Looked to me like we needed a leader at the back....if only we had a wise old CB.

 

[mattitouk]

Interview released now on bbc essex (not sure if it can be listened to from abroad though?)

Anyway.....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03f14kq

 

[Rob49]

The real test is yet to come with Perterborough and Coventry up next, who both sit in the top 6. If there isn't a massive change in organisation/attitude/form what ever it is then both games could turn out the same without doubt.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Interview released now on bbc essex (not sure if it can be listened to from abroad though?)

Anyway.....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03f14kq

Lets just hope he gets the right response, and they man up, and that he hasn't lost the dressing room with harsh words that needed to be spoken. Up til now, there's been a great team spirit, and all pulling in the same direction. I would appeal to the players to take it on the chin and respond in the right way, on the pitch. Don't lose that team spirit, and keep playing for the Manager, regardless of whether you had to take a rollicking in that dressing room.

 

[Lord Football]

That was the worst away day for some time. From the appalling park arrangements, **** beer and ridiculous exit arrangements. And I've not mentioned the game.

At 2-0 up we were cruising. We looked dangerous. We looked up for it. We looked like the team the stuffed Bury. Swindon were laughably poor. Timlin should have made it 3-0 and for no reason whatsoever ever, five minutes later it was 2-2. From then on we were abject and if I am honest Swindon should have probably got more than the four they did.

Prosser had an absolute mare; someone earlier said he played like the player who first joined us. I'd agree.
O'Neill struggled. Those calling for White's head, take note.
Bentley, not at fault for any goal and made some good saves; but didn't fill anyone with confidence when coming to punch balls.
Barnett, tasty finish, looks like he can play. For a player who likes the ball crossed, he must have been disappointed in the complete lack of service
Timlin, clearly not 90 minutes fit
Lenny, poor
Brown, odd subs at odd times. The one thing the game didn't need was Will Atkinson. It needed Jack Payne
Referee, was useless. But for both sides.
Weather, awful

All in all, as soon as Swindon scored all confidence sapped and most of us weren't surprised when the second one went in.

With Peterborough and Coventry next up, you have to wonder how we will cope with their forward line.

The one thing WE can do is get behind the time. Again today plenty of people shouting **** at the players and management. Do yourself a favour lads, either shut up or go an sit with the opposition fans.

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

Barnett, tasty finish, looks like he can play. For a player who likes the ball crossed, he must have been disappointed in the complete lack of service

Exactly. A few people (from his previous clubs) have said he thrives off crosses. Were we a narrow 4-1-3-2, with Timlin, Lenny and Worrall in front of Deegan, or were Worrall and Timlin playing out wide ?

 

[RobB11]

Anyone seen what those villa fans did? Disgusting.

 

[LennySUFC]

Anyone seen what those villa fans did? Disgusting.

I can understand their frustration at being bottom and drawing away to L2 oppo, but no player will want to sign for them after witnessing that, nor would the current crop be more inclined to work harder! It's not the players faults that they simply aren't good enough!

 

[EastStandBlue]

Anyone seen what those villa fans did? Disgusting.

I think the two situations are a bit different, no? Villa have been ***** for the best part of five years and are now paying the price for a chronic lack of investment. Were there not very similar scenes in the Roots Hall car park against RM a few years ago?

 

[rlb999]

I think the two situations are a bit different, no? Villa have been ***** for the best part of five years and are now paying the price for a chronic lack of investment. Were there not very similar scenes in the Roots Hall car park against RM a few years ago?

Yes but why? He wasn't not investing - he was just skint.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

Lets just hope he gets the right response, and they man up, and that he hasn't lost the dressing room with harsh words that needed to be spoken. Up til now, there's been a great team spirit, and all pulling in the same direction. I would appeal to the players to take it on the chin and respond in the right way, on the pitch. Don't lose that team spirit, and keep playing for the Manager, regardless of whether you had to take a rollicking in that dressing room.

I don't think Phil could lose the dressing room as I suspect he is a generally nice guy; however he might have "lost" them on his team selection, subs ideas and some other areas of his own thinking.
Day in, day out the players will have a good idea of who can do/is able/skilled etc AND maybe some are treated higher up the order than others - intentionally or otherwise.
Phil is/was, IMO, right to give the lot of the a "hair drying" but if Horton and GC (and White as captain) are doing their jobs they need to have a honest chat with Phil and suggest how to move forward.
The fitness coaches also need to understand that they aren't just paid to hand towels and work sheets to players at David Lloyd BUT to monitor, cajole and report back on weaknesses, injury, lack of effort, disharmony, enthusiasm, spirit, strengths etc that they see, in paid working hours, when Phil and the others aren't about.
It is a TEAM game and the team isn't just the 11 out on the game time pitch.

 

[fbm]

The scene was set; they had lost 5 influential loan players and Martin Ling had suddenly retired on health grounds.

Brown had made changes, most of which I'm sure we were all demanding. I in fact predicted the exact team he chose and took that as a good omen.

It was a very good time to be playing Swindon.

What happened next can probably be called the most weird football match I have ever attended.

We started like a train; hungry and dominant. Before we scored however, Swindon did get the ball in our half and we commented on the amount of space they had coming forward. However, that was forgotten as they messed around at the back with it, Lenny won the ball and fed it to Barnett who made a dream start by firing into the bottom corner.

Swindon were on the floor and we absolutely were walking all over them. More messing around at the back resulted in Worrall nearly doubling the lead with a long shot and the a free kick from Coker was headed in by Thompson from around 4 yards out with the keeper rooted to his line for a ball which I and several around me thought he would just come and claim.

So 2-0 up and cruising. Swindon bizarrely continued to mess around at the back with it despite it putting them in trouble almost every time. The crowd were on their backs, booing the keeper and defenders.

But we still weren't defending very well and always allowed them a lot of space.

After around 25 minutes we stopped doing all the good things we had done, such as the high pressing and break up play and simply sat back, letting them have the ball. They created chance after chance and we knew that a 3rd goal was needed, at which point I think Swindon would have disintegrated.

That opportunity came about 5 minutes before the break. In a now rare attack, Timlin was released in the box on a 1 v 1 but hit the keepers legs.

Within a minute, Swindon had pulled a goal back, the striker being given far too much time to get a shot away, forcing Dan into a good save, and not one Southend player reacted as the striker picked himself up off the floor and fired home.

If I'm honest, deep down I knew what was coming but hoped we'd get to half time at 2-1 so Brown could sort it out. There seemed to be no danger from a throw in in the right hand corner but a comedy "piggy in the middle" set saw the throw over the head of one player, lobbed over another and flicked into the corner.

With about 10 minutes left of the half I said I'd like to hear the boo's that would be ringing out but probably wouldn't be able to because of our cheers; now it was them cheering whilst we were sat silent in disbelief at what we had just witnessed.

This was either going to provoke a reaction from us or them to go and win. We started positively again, Deegan firing just wide a few minutes in but in truth, that was it. We played so little football in the second half. Admittedly the conditions were awful but Swindon seemed to cope and our forward play consisted of lumping the ball down the line for someone to chase. It wasn't a surprise when they went 3-2 up - what was surprising is that Prosser backed off from pretty much the half way line to allow the player a clear run into the box. He got a bit of luck with a touch but finished well in the corner.

The fourth was a break away as we were trying to equalise, Atkinson not being strong enough and the striker running unchallenged half the length of the pitch to slot past Bentley.

Something is seriously wrong here. The trouble is, can Brown fix it? In fact, does he even know what it is to fix?

This game warrants two sets of ratings; one for the first 25 minutes and one for the rest of the game.

First 25 mins

Bentley - 8 - Barely touched the ball, decent distribution in challenging conditions.

O'Neill - 7 - Stopped the crosses and made a few good challenges
Coker - 7 - Looked a little exposed at times but an assist for the 2nd.
Thompson - 8 - Another goal for the lad, fairly solid at the back.
Prosser - 6 - Positionally not great but barely tested to be fair

Deegan - 8 - Everywhere. Broke play up and always wanted the ball. Deegan at his best.
Worrall - 7 - A thorn in their side, nearly scored with a great effort
Leonard - 6 - Set up the first but otherwise anonymous
Timlin - 6 - Was meant to be out wide left but was rarely there, leaving Coker exposed

Hunt - 6 - Struggled in difficult conditions
Barnett - 8 - Dream start, fine finish.



The rest of the game

Bentley - 6 - Can't be faulted for the goals but made some "interesting" punching decisions

O'Neill - 3 - Where did he go? He may as well have not been on the pitch
Coker - 5 - Doesn't look fit to me
Thompson - 6 - The pick of the defence and suffered for not having an experienced defender alongside.
Prosser - 2 - Awful, awful, awful. An absolute liability. In my opinion he is only up to L2 level on his good days and I really don't think he has it for L1. Shp him out Phil and get someone else in please.



Deegan - 3 - Petulant, the usual booking, went AWOL at times. Deegan at his worst.
Worrall - 3 - Showed zero signs of the David Worrall from last year
Leonard - 2 - Worst I've seen him play
Timlin - 3 - Anonymous and clearly not fit

Hunt - 6 - Battled away but with no service or support
Barnett - 7 - The only one who looked like he could influence anything at all

Subs -

Hurst - 4 - May as well not have bothered
Mooney - 3 - Can't remember him touching the ball
Atkinson - 2 - Not the substitution needed at all, clearly not fit and instrumental in their 4th

 

[RobB11]

I think the two situations are a bit different, no? Villa have been ***** for the best part of five years and are now paying the price for a chronic lack of investment. Were there not very similar scenes in the Roots Hall car park against RM a few years ago?

No I know was just saying it was shocking behaviour that's all. Bit off topic sorry haha.

 

[KiwiRob]

It is natural to speculate why Southend have just lost three games heavily in quick succession after a very good start to the season. There were signs of bouncing back for 30 minutes at Swindon and Tyrone Barnett looks like a very good signing. It may just be a confidence thing. But I am wondering if the team has been unsettled by the speculation surronding Dan Bentley or possible tensions behind the scenes. Like many others, I think Bolger should be brought back in the team either in partnership with Thompson or Barrett. I do think Barrett's experience, determination and reading of the game is pretty important at this time. It would also be useful if John White makes a quick recovery.

 

[Barling Magna]

This game warrants two sets of ratings; one for the first 25 minutes and one for the rest of the game.

Dead right. I was sat in the midst of the Swindon supporters with friends who are Swindon fans. I was so proud of the way we played in those first 25 minutes. We looked like champions, brushing Swindon aside. But, oh God, what followed was SO embarrassing. I've not seen a team go from their best to their worst so quickly. But it is a pattern of behaviour with this team, if they get in front they then sit back. Why?

I hope PB gave the team a 10 minute b*llocking and then 1 hour 50 minutes of thoughtful debate on what went wrong and how to prevent it happening again. A two hour hairdryer won't work.

 

[monkwell]

Entertaining match, very disappointing result but definitely some positives to be taken away. Swindon exposed the soft underbelly of the team. The first half hour was a joy. Swindon are a slick passing team with some forward players with great feet. They weren't given a second on the ball and look rattled throughout. Barnett took his time for the first but it was a great finish. Thompson rose well for the second and it looked sure to be followed by more. The whole team seemed on the money early on and Swindon didn't have an inch to play with. When they did get a chance, Bentley always looked unbeatable. The defence should have been following up the rebound for the first - Bentley was not at fault and his reaction at conceding (gesticulating and kicking the post) showed how much he wanted a clean sheet. The next goal was a stinker - if only we'd have gone in ahead at the break, I think the game would have been ours.

Totally different after the break - it was islands of Southend skill in an ocean of Swindon dominance. They deserved the win and we deserved nothing. For some reason, we gave them space all over the park and as time went on frustration led to silly fouls and a lack of composure up front. The defending for the second two goals was abysmal, but the fourth could be forgiven as everyone was being thrown forward. Whatever Brown said at half time, it had the wrong effect. Also putting Atkinson on when you're chasing a game and leaving Payne on the bench is indefensible. I'm a big fan of Atko but that was the wrong time for him. 33 shots in the match according to the BBC. As usual the Blue Voice outsung the home fans with consummate ease.
Bentley 8 - Sounds unlikely to score highly conceding 4 but it could have been more. Couple of dodgy punches but the conditions were terrible.
O'Neill 7 - Excellent in the first half, quick, great tackles and a couple of good crosses. Faded badly in the second.
Prosser 6 - Looked a bit off the pace
Thompson 8 MOM - showed passion and fight throughout. Great goal and still hassling (at the cost of a booking) post 90 mins.
Coker 6.5 - Not quite himself - didn't shine
Worrall 7 - Some good crosses, some v poor. A few great runs but gave people so much space when defending. Tough job being the only winger.
Leonard 7.5 - Worked really hard, chased lost causes and showed occasional class.
Deegan 7 - Customary booking - could have had a few but showed fight and nearly scored
Timlin 7 - Typical Tims - battled hard and won some ball in the middle, but needs a bit more time to get to his best.
Hunt 6.5 - Moments of class, especially a header that came close, but didn't get a lot of service and looked short of energy
Barnett 7 - Took his goal well and made life difficult for defenders but looked a bit off the pace, and understandably had little rapport with the players.
Subs
Hurst 5.5 - poor
Mooney 6 - didn't do a lot, but chased some lost causes.
Atkinson 6 - not on long enough
TBV 8.5 - Great effort and 600+ away fans is a great effort
PB 5 - something went wrong at half time.

 

[AndyT]

^
We can't have this sort of positive nonsense on here.

Where's your scapegoats, man!