Why didn't we turn up?

[yogi bear up the cagire]

So many threads......so many thoughts......so much pain and disappointment.
Let me just deal with the match. I went to bed last night totally numb and shell-shocked, as I suppose is normal, following such a humiliating and emphatic defeat. I woke up in the middle of the night with my brain working overtime to extract some logic from the events I had witnessed. This is what it came up with to the simple question of ; how good were they? and how bad were we?
If Doncaster were THAT good they would have walked away with the league, leaving Swansea and Notts Forrest in their wake. If Southend were THAT bad, we would surely be facing division 2 football next year. To preserve our sanity and reason, we have to look at the final league table, which doesn't lie and shows only a four point difference between the two sides.
It's my opinion that few teams outside the Premiership (and probably a number in it) would have been able to live with Doncaster's performance last night. For them it was a totally perfect night .....for us it was a totally perfect nightmare.
There are so many other related things to say but I think it best to keep them for another thread and another time.
Finally, if I were Garry McAllister on witnessing that match I would obviously be wary and respectful of Doncaster but hopeful, in the belief that kind of performance doesn't happen every week. He'll be relieved that they turned it on against us.....and will feel that they will be hard pressed to be THAT good again in the final.

 

[Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero]

The fans certainly did their bit last night. The support was out of this world, especially from 4-0 down. The 2000+ who made the trip all did Southend United proud...unfortunately the players didn't.
I know Doncaster are a very good side, but so are we. So what happened to us last night?
I cannot believe that in a play off semi-final the game was only competitive for the opening nine minutes. After the pen the heads seemed to drop when faced with the task of turning it around. I don't doubt that the result hurt the players as much as it did the fans, but the way that they gave up the ghost was shocking. I thought players want to play in big, big games, but as a team they couldn't handle the pressure of last night and we simply didn't turn up. The heads went down far too easily and in those situations when you are 2-0 down in a big game you find out a lot about people. I'd imagine the players are full of regrets this morning, but it's too late now.
Could Tilly have done anything to stop the embarrassment?
Blues have always struggled when teams have more in the centre of midfield than us. It was clear that Rovers were out playing us and we couldn't get near them, so why wasn't Walker moved wide right, with Moose coming inside in a 451. I doubt it would have had any bearing on the result, but we kept the same system, chasing shadows and didn't try anything to combat them.
All in all it was a very disappointing conclusion to a season that promised so much from a side that should have given the fans something that warranted the great support they received last night.

could'nt agree more

 

[ms brush]

Will go back to my earlier comment on the other thread.

Doncaster were awesome last night. They gave us a lesson in football last night - helped with a bit of luck (their pen), a misunderstanding or two and some donny-biased decisions from the ref - who for the record had a pretty decent game! We had a bad day at the office. It happens, get over it. Hats off to Tilly 'n' Brush and the entire squad for such a fantastic rollercoaster of a season... roll on August!

It will be the rest of the world vs Leeds in the final, and I'm as disappointed as anyone it isnt us going to face them. I would like to wish Donny all the best at Wembley - they are a far superior team to Leeds, so the final will be a fantastic game.

On our day we can beat anyone - yesterday wasnt our day. No-one died, no one was injured and there is always next season!

There are a lot of positives, and I for one dont want to undermine all the good stuff with a so much pathetic and totally un-necessary whinging.

 

[Shrimper2thecore]

We had a terrible night, and it was not the best time to do it, but it happens. If we had scored after 8 mins and then is it/isnt in pen not given, could have been a different game totally!!

1st goal was always going to be massively important