Post-Match Thread and Ratings Wealdstone FC 1-1 Southend Utd.

[Ricey]

Ah, another thread of overreactions. Fun!

Same as I said after Saturday. Don't get too high after win, and don't get too low after a loss. We're an average National League team at the minute with the players that we've lost to injuries and other clubs, and those losses have affected us on the pitch and in the dressing room. A mini rebuild is needed.

That was poor, though.

First half was just limp, from both teams. One of the most boring halves of football I've ever watched Southend compete in.

As poor as Wealdstone were on the ball, I actually thought they did well off the ball. Saturday's game was quite open and Solihull stood off us, which suited our game and gave us time and space to move the ball quicker.

Wealdstone were well-organised, and pressed well. They kept closing our passing lanes, which is why the pace dropped and we went sideways and backwards more. Kev would have told them to keep at it and stay patient, keep knocking at the door, which I think is the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, when we started getting somewhere and created some chances, they were missed. A couple of them fairly gilt-edged, too.

Those are the sorts of chances we need to be taking, especially in a game like that. Even just one.

I thought we looked better when Morton came on, as we had absolutely no control in midfield up until that point (missed Cav tonight, imo), and he helped us to move it better. That's when we got on top, but just needed to take one of those opportunities.

Weladstone's goal was calamitous. The Taylor substitution just beforehand probably ended up being a bit disruptive when we were about to defend a free kick. Collin's attempt to come for the ball was late and weak, but Gus and Wind were just as at fault. Both ball watched and let McFarlane ghost in behind them. Really poor.

Walker was a bright point. Took his goal well and looked to make some decent runs off the ball.

KAF showed energy and tried to make things happen, but didn't have the time and space he had against Solihull.

Moncur and Husin look knackered. In fact, a lot of them look tired. Thats what happens when you have another disjointed pre-season, and not enough options to change things up and rest some bodies.

We need improvements to personnel. They're not going to come at the moment, possibly not this side of Christmas. Until then, we've got what we've got, and hopefully things will click a bit better when players are back from injury.

This line is a strange one for me, a week or so ago there was talks of 2 to 3 new signings. Now no new players this side of Christmas. What has changed?

 

[Southend Elvis]

Extremely hard game to watch especially after Saturday.
How can the same side play so bad after playing so well a few days ago? I have to question Kev on that.
The backwards play was terrible, on many occasions we are in their final third and it ends up with Collin passing just past one of their strikers...other teams don't do that.
We have lost the "us against the rest of the world attitude", which we had last season, and this season Kev and Co can't replicate that. Unfortunately I'm beginning to worry that they don't have it in them, I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Ian Benjamin]

That was one of the worst games of football I have seen. Not just involving Southend, it was utter garbage.

Bridge was awful tonight, it really showed how much his slowing of play and then weak cross with his left just doesn't work with these players.

Just get the ball in quicker.

Team improved when Morton came on. Moncur was ineffective tonight.

Had nil nil written all over it - so to end up with a point was fair.

Games like Saturday will show how much we
miss JD.

 

[smudgster]

For all the doom and gloom and how we should be rolling over every team we come up against. I am just happy to have a club I can support and go along to watch every other Saturday.

We will be a force to be reckoned with in this league and above, just have to be a patient.

 

[Texas Eslan]

The last few weeks have been quite the journey for me on this forum. I just cannot understand the mentality of some on here.

The “big club” argument. This only holds true in terms of fan base. And even then, come on! We should embrace being a smaller club and enjoy the fact we have more access to players and staff and they are part of our community. Not some remote Premier League monster. As we stand now as a club we are only 50+ days into being run properly with certain elements being put into place to increase revenue and give us a fighting chance. To be a genuine “big club” at this level we first need to get the overall structure in place. We are years behind others in this division for that very reason.

The “new signings are not good enough” argument. It is widely known that we were under yet another embargo at the start of the summer whilst awaiting the takeover and therefore missed out on a number of key targets yet again. Therefore the management team have again been fishing in a different pool to what they had hoped. Who knows what difference this would have made to the current team but we can assume we may have a few more bodies in through the door to cover for the current injury crisis.

The “passing sideways and backwards” argument. I did not watch the recent away games at Solihull and Wealdstone. However the reactionary “finally we passed forwards” at Solihull have changed back to the “negative tactics” mob after Wealdstone. In all honesty I think you will find we will end up playing a system somewhere in between gung ho and park the bus. But what is Maher supposed to do when he is scrapping for results? I also believe that despite not getting the run of results we all hope for that the recents games I have seen we have shown considerable attacking intent but without the end result. Once we click I imagine those results will start to change.

Ultimately I believe we need to be patient with the current management. I think we will start to get the results once the pieces of the club start to be put in place to support them.

Anyway a point is a point and onwards to Saturday.

 

[geoffmundo]

Maher Will no doubt say 3 games in a week is tough for his small group of players without proper pre season etc etc is tough. However, looking at those 3 games he’s not making most of substitutions to ensure players aren’t too tired. How many minutes has Jack Wood (for example) played over those 270 possible minutes……? 4!

 

[RHB]

A view from the Wealdstone board :

Seems like i’m in a small minority but i thought that was a cracking, fast-paced game between two good sides. The standards in this division are so high that any win takes maximum effort and maximum concentration for 90 mins and we can’t quite manage that against the better sides.

 

[rigsby]

We need bodies in badly or this season will fizzle out and the goodwill bought by the takeover will be gone.

This will only happen amongst those that don't even go to games. Or the same people who crawl out of the woodwork if we don't win. Funny how they don't ever contribute anything to fund Shrimperzone either.

The bottom line is they have to have someone to hate. Its not just football forums, you meet these people in life. Energy thieves.

Time for the MODS to defend themselves as well as keep the decent posters on board. Anything less than a win is now a predictable whinge fest......Will be a lot worse when the next bad story breaks.

 

[Bratislava Blue]

The way we played in the first half indicated to me that our approach was to manage the 1st half without exerting too much energy based on the fact that we had played on Saturday. If a chance came our way then great.

The slow pace of the first half and the missing attacking threat was evident. I was hoping that the higher energy levels would be on display in the second half. They were increased in the second half but it was also the same for Wealdstone. Without really putting us under extreme pressure Wealdstone were at least getting shots on target, albeit them being tame. Again we huffed and puffed in the final third again and Bonne should have been taken off not Pepple.

You could notice the difference once Morton came on. The jury is still out on him for me still as to whether he can influence games consistently for 90 minutes. Moncur should have been subbed after 60 minutes. He was not providing the energy and tactical nous that he has shown in previous games.

To conclude we got out of jail at the end of a game that we should not have been in jail for. We are better than that. The majority know this. Yes we have a small squad and we don't have the luxuries to rotate line ups. But by now Maher be able to change things earlier on in matches and not leave it 75+ minute to make to majority of his substitutions. Of late I have commented the players ability manage games more effectively. Again another late goal conceded. But I have consistently commented on Mahers inability to make substitutions at the right times that can influence games and when they can have a positive impact on results.

Mahers intention was to give Walker a 10 minutes run out. Not bring on Walker to win the game. Otherwise he would have been on earlier. Pepple going off again was to protect him not keep with a "2 striker approach" Bonne staying on continued to give us nothing up top. Our threats came from Morton increasing the tempo from midfield. Bringing Gubbins on for Bridge gave Wealdstone a clear message from our bench. "We'll happily take the point"!

But have a guess what the 700-800 fans there and those listening or watching the game unfold towards a 0-0 draw didn't want to happily take a 0-0 draw.

Thank god for the 4 minutes of excitement at the end!

UTB!

 

[Tommy's Mooney]

We could have easily won by a few goals with the exact same performance and most people would see that as a professional and highly effective away performance. I believe our retrospective analysis largely comes down to whether we kicked it over the line between the sticks or not.

 

[Hawkwell Blue]

The way we played in the first half indicated to me that our approach was to manage the 1st half without exerting too much energy based on the fact that we had played on Saturday. If a chance came our way then great.

The slow pace of the first half and the missing attacking threat was evident. I was hoping that the higher energy levels would be on display in the second half. They were increased in the second half but it was also the same for Wealdstone. Without really putting us under extreme pressure Wealdstone were at least getting shots on target, albeit them being tame. Again we huffed and puffed in the final third again and Bonne should have been taken off not Pepple.

You could notice the difference once Morton came on. The jury is still out on him for me still as to whether he can influence games consistently for 90 minutes. Moncur should have been subbed after 60 minutes. He was not providing the energy and tactical nous that he has shown in previous games.

To conclude we got out of jail at the end of a game that we should not have been in jail for. We are better than that. The majority know this. Yes we have a small squad and we don't have the luxuries to rotate line ups. But by now Maher be able to change things earlier on in matches and not leave it 75+ minute to make to majority of his substitutions. Of late I have commented the players ability manage games more effectively. Again another late goal conceded. But I have consistently commented on Mahers inability to make substitutions at the right times that can influence games and when they can have a positive impact on results.

Mahers intention was to give Walker a 10 minutes run out. Not bring on Walker to win the game. Otherwise he would have been on earlier. Pepple going off again was to protect him not keep with a "2 striker approach" Bonne staying on continued to give us nothing up top. Our threats came from Morton increasing the tempo from midfield. Bringing Gubbins on for Bridge gave Wealdstone a clear message from our bench. "We'll happily take the point"!

But have a guess what the 700-800 fans there and those listening or watching the game unfold towards a 0-0 draw didn't want to happily take a 0-0 draw.

Thank god for the 4 minutes of excitement at the end!

UTB!

I’ve heard that before, don’t think she’s on SZ.

 

[dusterman]

Wealdstone is never easy for us, we never play well.

Back at home on Saturday where us fans can make a difference.

Walker back is a huge thing. Adds the composure we’re missing in front of goal.

I’d be angry if I went to see that rubbish as well, but you pay your money, take your chance.

Take the point, move on.

 

[Medway Blue]

If you take into acount we would have finished 6th last year without the points deduction and had a team of 13 or so, I really don't think it's unreasonable to aim for at least the same again and a play off place.

We can use all of the excuses under the sun but the performances are worse than last season, and we really did have a lot to complain about then.

It's not unreasonable to aim for the same, and I'm sure everybody was aiming for the same at first, but I think it may be unreasonable to expect it.

You have to bear in mind the following:

1. Incoming transfer plans wrecked and targets taken by other clubs fue to late takeover and embargo
2. Pre-season disjointed again due to poor state of training facilities and disrupted friendly fixture programme
3. A big part of last season's high finish was down to a siege mentality, which is incredibly difficult to muster a second time around, especially when it relies on a team spirit which needs to be rebuilt somewhat due to personnel changes
4. We have lost the spine of the team in Kensdale, Miley and Cardwell for a variety of reasons, too late to be able to adequately replace them immediately, and the two departures (and the nature of one of them) have had an affect on dressing room morale and confidence
5. The earlier departure of a player in Wes Fonguck who, whilst a very average player on the face of it, knew his role here perfectly and unlocked our most creative player in Bridge, has also not been addressed - Bridge'a creative output has suffered as a result.

I'm not saying everybody should be happy with how things are shaping up, but I don't think it's fair to say that these are excuses. They're reasons, imo. Reasons which, I would say, have turned us from a playoff team with the chance to push for the top 3 depending on summer recruitment (as we perhaps were at the end of last season, 'siege mentality' notwithstanding), into a mid table team with the chance to push for the playoffs depending on autumn/winter recruitment.

I think a lot of people got carried away by the takeover, which I completely get, but as a result, some haven't checked their expectations this season, and may find a season of consolidation to be torture.

 

[Medway Blue]

This line is a strange one for me, a week or so ago there was talks of 2 to 3 new signings. Now no new players this side of Christmas. What has changed?

That all went very quiet on my side. I know we were in talks with several players, and the talks with one of them subsided for a number of reasons.

There's a really fine line when signing free agents at this stage of the season. The ones that have any hope of improving us will command decent wages and a degree of security in contract length, which is fair enough. But if they're way off being match fit and get niggly injuries as a result of trying to get fit quickly, then we're paying them a wedge for nothing.

Plus, paying them a wedge to be injured/unfit, and possibly doing so for 2 years when we only want to offer 1 because they're kind of a stop gap, will affect the budget when it comes time to move for the targets we've scouted this season.

It's a real balancing act. I don't envy Maher.

 

[Blues4LifeDan]

I really believe in psychology regarding the approach to games like last night. I think both players and fans go to games like Wealdstone and subconsciously enter into a 'preseason-like' mentality. With the facilities, view of the pitch, lack of atmosphere from the home fans etc. it's hard not to.

The atmosphere at a stadium like last night's is always dead from us, (Oxford City, Wealdstone, Borehamwood etc.) all the same, and the performances match it too. No one means to feel/think that way, it just happens. I'm sure it's not just us that do it either. Teams like Wealdstone don't have much of an advantage over fellow teams and I guess that is one of their only advantages at home. It's so hard to go and dictate your play and philosophy when the mentality isn't right. Of course, it's up to the manager to try and get that out of them, but once they step foot over that line, it's down to the players.

I think if you can get something from those games, you have to be positive. Overall, 4 points on the road from the last 2 games isn't bad at all. Take the point and move on to the next home games.

 

[Piledriver]

A view from the Wealdstone board :

Seems like i’m in a small minority but i thought that was a cracking, fast-paced game between two good sides. The standards in this division are so high that any win takes maximum effort and maximum concentration for 90 mins and we can’t quite manage that against the better sides.

That's odd was it signed A Nutter

 

[Dawg]

The current tactic just isn’t good enough for promotion. Playing the lone defensive midfielder gives him too much ground to cover on counter attacks which continually gets exploited in the second half of games when him and the back 3 tire and can’t stay high whilst the attackers push forward leaving huge gaps.

For me after seeing how strong we finished the Dagenham game in the 442 pinning back a more rested team on the day, we got bridge and wood into far better positions and they put in multiple good balls creating chances in just a short spell, it seems crazy that isn’t considered an option or even trained at all

I love Kev, so please don’t twist trying to solve our problems as not being supportive

 

[blues exile]

That all went very quiet on my side. I know we were in talks with several players, and the talks with one of them subsided for a number of reasons.

There's a really fine line when signing free agents at this stage of the season. The ones that have any hope of improving us will command decent wages and a degree of security in contract length, which is fair enough. But if they're way off being match fit and get niggly injuries as a result of trying to get fit quickly, then we're paying them a wedge for nothing.

Plus, paying them a wedge to be injured/unfit, and possibly doing so for 2 years when we only want to offer 1 because they're kind of a stop gap, will affect the budget when it comes time to move for the targets we've scouted this season.

It's a real balancing act. I don't envy Maher.

All very true. The management team would no doubt have been aware of all the valid points you make re the sort of signings we would be able to acquire and the risks inherent in this during an intensive fixture period. In other words, an almost impossible task given we were starting with a pretty threadbare squad. The seemingly endless cycle of two games a week was bound to take its toll and apart from the predictable injury and suspension issues it is pretty clear that Moncur, for example, who looked a class above in his first few games, now seems to have lost that early spark. There just doesn't seem to be the same spirit that was such an integral part of last season. Whether that is because the management team have lost their mojo and this is being filtered down to the players is anyone's guess but it seems that something is missing. To try to replicate the siege mentality again this season is a huge ask and I wonder whether Maher and co or the players have the stomach for it. Of course it is still early days and a winning run changes everything but at the moment mid table seems our likely destination.

 

[yogi bear up the cagire]

Everything you say here is fair. COSU/Maher may also decide it isn't worth clogging up future budget up with short term signings now we seemingly are short of challenging, which is also a sensible approach.

The problem is the comms previously. The seed was planted that we were looking at 2-3 more, so when we do not get them, some people will disappointed. It adds unnecessary fuel to the fire for negativity.

Whilst it isn't your fault that many fail to comprehend nuance or reason, it is important to learn that it is the reality of any community when communicating to it.

Maybe you need to search no further as to why ITK's are now providing very little in the way of rumours.

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

The current tactic just isn’t good enough for promotion. Playing the lone defensive midfielder gives him too much ground to cover on counter attacks which continually gets exploited in the second half of games when him and the back 3 tire and can’t stay high whilst the attackers push forward leaving huge gaps.

For me after seeing how strong we finished the Dagenham game in the 442 pinning back a more rested team on the day, we got bridge and wood into far better positions and they put in multiple good balls creating chances in just a short spell, it seems crazy that isn’t considered an option or even trained at all

I love Kev, so please don’t twist trying to solve our problems as not being supportive

Yeah I’m surprised Wood wasn’t brought on to test the tiring Wealdstone defence in a wide right position. For some reason it hasn’t quite clicked with Jack and he seems to be used sparingly. We were crying out for energy & fresh legs though with Moncur visibly struggling and Noor way off it .. we saw when Morton came on the difference was immediate. It’s a tiny bit concerning we looked knackered after 11 games but a lot has gone on. Saturday we can put this right and get back on track.