Southend ( H )

Humphries and Cox were very impressive for Sarfend today.


Don't get me started on Akpan, he should be binned along with Wright, Jones and Riley. Dreadful player, who plays like he couldn't give a toss every week

 

Can't blame this on Chicksen!

 

I can't comment much on the 1st half shape for Bradford but it looked like a diamond midfield in the 2nd half - with Akpan (no. 21?) being the base. Watching him (no.21) I originally thought that you had a back 5 with 3 central defenders as he was so deep - the result seemed to be that there was space in front of him and to the sides - easy for the Southend midfielders and strikers to use.

Otherwise, you nearly scored in the 2nd half - looked like a cracking save from the away supporters view. I agree with the comments about giving the ball away too easily .......... so much so that we copied you for some of the time but in general it was too easy to win the ball back and the threat up front from Bradford was low. I thought there was too great a distance between the front pairing themselves at times. And we kept Jack Payne very, very quiet - and I am very pleased about that.

We (Southend) played a 5-3-2 formation ............ but I can't think of a time in the game when our midfield was over-stretched or Bradford found the space that can exist.

Overall, I am sorry to say that I thought Bradford were poor today.

I wish you luck for the rest of the season and, fingers crossed, you will dodge relegation.

 

Au contraire! It's all his fault! If he hadn't got himself sent off last week, Hopkin wouldn't have felt the need to shuffle so many players out of position today!

 

Hopkin simply can’t admit when he has made a mistake can he? We’ve lost 4-0 so mistakes must have happened...

 

We played 4-3-2-1 aka Christmas Tree formation, with O:Brien, Akpan and Ball pinned to an invisible table football bar, and Payne kept so quiet we sort of ended up with a front two of Miller and Doyle.

Its hard to tell which of our strikers was least effective.

 

We can say this defender should have done this or that defender should have don't that, we could have conceded 5/6 on the day, your big defenders had our strikers in their back pocket, we had no width especially on the left because we played a central defender there so he was unable to get up and down in support attacks, the lad who usually plays left back was out with a two game ban, he's been criticised recently for some of his poor performances but today we offered little going forward and our manager should have realised after 10 minutes hitting it long and high was food and drink for you two central defenders.

 

Dire and felt like back to Coventry at home and those sort of performances which id hoped were behind us.

Again you look at the bench and although the game was over thanks to our inept tactics and personnel we picked, we had no one to bring on who could change the game.

It’s ok excluding the likes of wright, Riley and Jones etc but would they not be better on the bench at least if they are fit? The front men knew today no one would be brought on to replace them

We still need 4 or 5 in. Possibly more if players do leave. It worries me we are only talking of one or two more.

Monday’s job is pay ball what he wants, get Surridge in from Bournemouth and look for a whole new left hand side. A left winger and a left back. Then if scannell is back we can play with wingers again. The problem is if teams pack the middle against us we are too easy to stop and have to resort to lump.

Our goal difference has now gone too. We are one of worst down there again in the space of two games. Woeful.

 

Another Southend fan. I was listening on BBC Essex and it seems like it could have been more. I really wasn't expecting this result to be honest, we've been pretty dire and me personally have been very critical against Chris Powell. Maybe you just met us on a very good day which doesn't happen often.

Our two new signings do sound quite exiting so will look forward to seeing them.

I wish you guys well, you're a good bunch when you come to the Hall and I always look forward to our games.

 

Cold and bitter, more bitter than cold. Could have left at half-time. Contracts sorted until July, they know where they are for a while and that they get a salary until then. They played like it as well, plenty of time to look around and sort a new Club. Having said that, Ramsey did say he`d done his homework on us before the game but DH should have taken that "open" comment and changed it accordingly to counter act. Question time...,

 

I had a really good view, and yes, it was a superb save by your keeper.

We were basically a monumental pile of poo.

But, on the plus side, self and granddaughter had a really good curry before the match. So the day hasn't been entirely wasted.

 

I'm taking nothing away from your lads today you were up for the game, you got the early goal and never looked in any danger to be honest, where as we let our selves down by not being able to play anything else but long high ball which your lads coped with easily.
We were poor at Barnsley last week but they are a good side possibly go straight up in an auto place where as your form recently has been poor and most were expecting us to bounce back especially at Valley Parade, unfortunately we failed badly and now we're are back where we were 3/4 weeks ago one of the worst goal differences of teams down the bottom and firmly back 2nd bottom.

 

A curry BEFORE the match? How novel. I guess you are safe in the knowledge that we are never going to be in a situation where a nervous last 5 mins could test the old sphincter
Which curry house?

 

Disappointing and frustrating performance. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Hoof, hoof and hoof some more. Surely professional footballers can think for themselves.

Confidence in our side is so fragile, that in the space of a few minutes we were back to pre-December performance levels. We desperately need width, need pace at the back and experience in the middle. LOB had his poorest performance to date in my opinion and it showed. Without his “in your face” battles we lost the midfield, but you can’t expect a young lad to perform consistently at this stage in his career.

Hopkin got it wrong today with his selections and tactics. Admitting you got it wrong can go a long way with fans.

 

The sphincter was never in the slightest danger today, would that it had been.

We went to the Karachi, still my favourite even after all these years. Went through a bit of a dodgy phase a few years ago, but now right back to top form. Mushroom madras, food of the gods.

 

Thats good to know. We went to the Karachi about 6 years ago and the food was terrible. Might go back now. Anyone been to The Sweet Centre recently-is it still open after the mill fire? Last time we went there the food was really salty.

 

I'm veggie, so obviously can't comment on the meat dishes, but my granddaughter said her chicken and lentil was delicious.

 

0-4 at home. Dissect our tactics all you like, that scoreline is embarrassing whichever way you slice it.

Some important points from my armchair perspective, all of which have been covered exhaustively by others over the last few months im sure:-

Caddis is a right back. The whole point in signing him was because Mellor and Reilly weren't up to snuff and we were crying out for someone to fill that space. Play him there.

McGowan isn't a right back.

NKP isn't a left back. Stop tinkering with defence.

Doyle isn't a target man. Stop playing him like one.

Find a way to to get Payne and Ball ticking off each other to provide LOW balls into areas where Doyle and Miller can work. O'Brien aswell. These lads can play football and we all want to see that good form from December.

At 27, Akpan should be having his best years. The workrate is poor and will cost us when playing him in such an important defensive role. If he cant break up play, no point in him being there.

Questions over GK? Im a fan of O'Donnell but Wilson is not sufficient competition as far as I have seen.

 

FWIW:

Did you go today?
Caddis played right back today.
O'Donnell made at least three good goal saving saves today.
NKP played OK at left back. Much better than Chicksen did at Barnsley.
Agree-Akpan was no where to be seen today.
Agree-Doyle is not a target man

 

Square pegs in round holes very rarely work, he needs to stop that now. He made a comment during the week about the bench at Barnsley. He said i looked round and we had nothing that would have changed the team or anyone that would have offered different. Well that bench has been the same since December and he should have spent the last 3 weeks rectifying it. Are we cutting our noses off to spite our faces by not having "senior pros" on the bench. We might aswell not be naming any subs