United 0 Southend 3 - report

[Deadbat]

Sheffield United’s dreadful start to the season continued as they went down to an embarrassing 3-0 reverse to Southend. The visitors had not won since beating the Blades last March and were rock bottom in form and results. Playing United was just the tonic they needed and they ran out easy winners against an awful home side that looks more like a relegation side than a promotion one.


Manager Wilder played an unchanged side for the fourth straight game. United had the first effort as Done volleyed wide but Southend scored with their first attack. The ball came across and was not cleared. Hussey somehow decided to come out leaving the rest of his defence at home, he then looked stunned as O’Neill his man got the ball. The winger whipped in a cross and O’Connell sliced it horribly beyond Long into the net. Stunned United were further hit soon after. Long and Hussey left it to each other and Cox nipped in and centrered for McLaughlin to tap home. United players argued amongst themselves. The farcical start was not over though and soon after O’Connell errored tossing the ball away and Ranger sprinted away and crossed for Cox to this time put in easily at the back post. Boos cascaded down from the crowd and more players argued amongst themselves. 15 minutes in and the game was effectively over.


Southend nearly got a fourth when Brayford nearly put in his own net with Ranger causing havoc again. United will have been glad to see him limp off soon after. A corner almost was bundled in from Southend and the United team seemed to have no idea what to do as Southend sensed blood facing an awful team that seemingly could no nothing right. A rare break saw a decent cross from Hussey but Leanord was quicker to react than Clarke to clear for a corner that came to nothing. Boos came at half time and after the break Wilder brought on Chapman and Coutts for Done and Fleck.


Coutts made a difference getting on the ball and showing the rest what to do, in terms of no fear and passing it forward. Sharp had a good chance after a decent move with Duffy doing well. Sharp appealed in vain for a penalty and then Hussey hit a tame free kick over. The game was petering out and Southend were coping rather easily. The keeper did not have a save to make. A few crosses skimmed across the goal but there was no attempts on goal at all. Scougall came on but it all seemed for nothing. At this point I have to say I left 82/83 minutes.


United – As stated above I left before the end. A rarity for me. I watched the end of the cycling and Laura Trott on my phone. She did great and it was an exciting race but that is what united have reduced me to. I was almost home for 10pm and watched more cycling with Kenny’s Gold. It really comes to something when you almost wished you had stayed at home to watch sports you never normally watch rather than the Blades.


Less than 2 weeks in and the excitement and enthusiasm has gone and we are back where we are at the end of last season. This club is a mess. Does not seem to matter who we appoint as manager what players we have, we see no improvement, just further decline. Sadly, I am not sure we have hit rock bottom yet.


I did not think Wilder could do it but he has somehow seemingly made us worse than under Adkins…who made us worse than Clough….who made us worse than Wilson (granted Weir was in between). I remember the Crawley defeat under Wilson and the Hartlepool disaster under Weir. We had some shockers under Clough such as Fleetwood. Adkins brought us the Shrewsbury disaster. Well tonight the first half might have been worse than any of the above. We were in short an utter shambles.


We did not compete, we tossed away the ball, stood off all over the field and simply let them walk through our defence. The first as fortunate but even before that they should not have even got to that position. The second was embarrassing as we dithered with Long and Hussey at fault. Even after this no one else covered themselves in glory. The third saw O’Connell make a dreadful mistake and nobody marking. It was 3-0 and it could have been more. It was atrocious. This against a side that had lost 6 or 7 straight was it since the end of last season? Think the last win may have been against us?!


It was an incredible performance. Fleck and Basham stood off. The defence had no organisation, shape or any kind of idea what was going on. Some of the defence was coming out, some going back. We stood off players and all behind this was a keeper who instils absolutely no confidence in the side whatsoever. He was at fault to some degree for one goal (the second) but even with his lack of authority and no confidence, there is still no excuse for what happened in front of him. I heard some praising the centre backs after a few games but as I said they have played one forward each game and no one with any real pace/power. Tonight they played a journeyman Ranger and the lad Cox who moved off the ball and showed pace and running and they looked awful. The left back Hussey continued his abysmal start to his SUFC career seemingly unaware as a full back you have to be within a few yards of his winger. The lad O’Connell had a nightmare and his partner Wilson was not much better constantly losing his man as cross after cross came over. It was an utter mess. I cannot even really blame the two strikers at this stage as it was all Southend really. The midfield may have been sat with me. Done was anonymous again and Fleck not much better. Basham seems to get worse and Fleck had a poor game but was oddly played just in front of the defence.


Even for the marking, defensive play and organisation, you could not believe how bad the control, passing was. It was like we had been possessed. We could not do anything right. Simple passes bounced off, we looked an utter mess. The effort? No better. Different players but the same lack of pride to wear the shirt. If these don’t give a damn, get some more in.


3-0 and the crowd were shell shocked. The game was over. I looked at the side and saw O’Connell and Clarke arguing. People said that was not great but at least they seemed too give a damn. Overall the side had their heads down and nobody said a word. We lacked leaders, characters and anyone who seemed to want to get us out of the cart. The lads at the back for the most part looked like rabbits in headlights (Hussey, Wilson and O’Connell – Brayford no better and he looks like he rather would not be there). After this I have to say whilst we did not concede any more we barely improved really. We played a few more passes to feet and had a few moves but we hardly blew the house down. We had one decent chance, Sharp effort but in the second half there was not any real belief or urgency. Coutts played well and showed he is a far superior footballer than Basham (and I am not his biggest fan) and Clarke kept plugging away (was not great but at least put some effort in). The lad Chapman struggled although it was hard with us chasing the game and then we put Scougall on for his 15-minute anonymous spell again. The game just petered out.


There was promise after the first game and even the second we created chances and were not giving lots of chances away. Saturday and then tonight we have looked awful. There can be no masking things. We were told to expect pressing football, high intensity, us having a go at teams and really making the Lane a fortress. What we have seen is worse than last season. We look so low in confidence, we have sat off more than ever the last two home games, rarely looked like scoring and looked really poor at the back. Long will continued to get a lot of blame and has to be moved out but there are many questions not just him. Hopefully we change the keeper and it will have a domino effect on the side but you cannot blame Long totally tonight for some of the mistakes. The defence was wretched we need players in this area still. The midfield seems even worse than the Hammond, Coutts fiasco and we are getting more overrun there than ever.


It is only four games and people will be saying do not press the panic button, but when do you? We have a new manager who said he knew what was wrong and would change it and would not put up with poor performances but inclusive of pre-season we have lost to Derby, Halifax, Crewe, Bolton and Southend and barely scraped a draw at home to Rochdale. We have got steadily worse in the 5 games I have seen from the Derby pre -season game. The players seem to have absolutely no idea what Wilder is wanting them to do and already there was big question marks against the manager. Hate to have to say that but 6 of the players are his and his best player tonight was a lad he cannot wait to get rid of. He has brought in players who actually may look worse than the ones we got rid of (I would take McEveley over Hussey). The performances over the last week have been unacceptable and the results likewise. He now is under big pressure already. All his interviews and quips mean nothing. He has to put out a product on the field and so far it looks a mess. We face a tough game at Millwall and we now have to make changes. Sadly, the ones in reserve are probably even worse. Already he may have to bring 3 or 4 more in – to replace some of the ones he has brought in. It really is a mess even at this early stage and promotion thoughts even at this stage seem ridiculous. Indeed, a few round me commented the side has the hallmarks of a side that will struggle to stay in the league. Bear in mind a side that Southend who will struggle tore us apart.


As I say I am sure people will say it is early and above is an overreaction but at the moment we can only comment on what we see. There will be a lot of garbage written about individuals such as Long, Sharp, Basham, Clarke, Done etc and yes individuals can all do better and some of those are not good enough but more worrying for me is I see no kind of shape, organisation, cohesion or pattern to our play. Regardless of individuals that comes from the manager.


Tonight the talk over long ball was redundant as we barely got into the game at all to even play it short or long. We lost the midfield battles, got overrun and then defensively stood off. The first 25 minutes was played almost entirely in our half and they were far superior to us. We had a few attacks early but after they scored, a fortunate goal, they turned it into the areas where Hussey and O’Connell were and watched us make mistakes. They probably did everything Wilder wants of us. Get it forward into runners and then turn and get it wide and get crosses in. We appealed in vain for offsides that never were. The second half mattered nothing in many ways as the game was done. We had chucked away any chance of doing anything in 15 minutes. Sure some will come on and harp on about long ball or Clarke but the reality was that the same failings of last year, getting overrun in midfield and poor defending cost us tonight. Second half we did go long at times but tried to go wide but often the wide players did not produce when given the ball. We played it too slowly and lacked tempo. Only once or twice did we penetrate and go at players.


We did not have a shot on target all game. At home. Against Southend who have been losing week in, week out. For the most part we did not look like scoring. They looked like scoring every time they attacked first half. Discuss, analyse players, tactics but the above are facts. What a debacle it was.


Saw a few fans shouting at the directors’ box at the end but it was largely empty. McCabe was not there and as for our foreign ownership; what a joke they are. They may aswell pull out. He has no interest whatsoever. He is never here. We never hear from him. McCabe is not much better. We need to look for new investors and fast. At the moment, the club is dyeing a slow painful death. Maybe McCabe is not totally to blame and maybe we are unlucky (!) with some of the managerial appointments but there is something fundamentally wrong with the club. He needs to let someone else have a go but that is easier said than done as finding someone with the funds and ambition (madness) to take over is nigh on impossible. Our rivals found someone. Twice.

 

[Deadbat]

Southend – They cut us apart first half against a brittle side. Had a go at us, put pressure on us and watched us completely crumble. The lad Ranger completely dominated us and the right winger had a field day. They sensed blood. A side that’s confidence was rock bottom had somehow found some form and belief due to a playing an utterly disorganised mess. They got it wide, got crosses in and watched us completely fall apart. They scored three well taken goals. One was lucky I suppose but they got a good cross in and then the two others goals were helped by us but they still had to put the ball in the right area. They could have had more goals. They could not have believed their luck. The second half they may have expected us to have a go but it was quite easy. They had two lumps at centre back but they just cleared it and headed it. They just slowed game down and picked up what they could. They scarcely could believe even after 3-0 how easy it was.


Phil Brown watched the whole game from the directors box. He did not bother going down in the second half. He did not half to. He could have watched the cycling on his phone like me.


Opponent man of the match : The right winger played well being involved in all three goals but I felt Ranger tore us apart early. His running and strength saw the defence backing off. He went off before half time but had a bigger impact in half an hour than any of our centre forwards have in 4 games this season. He may be a journeyman with a lot of off field problems but showed everything we have not got up top; pace, power and movement.


Opponent Weak link : Nobody. They won the game easily. The lad at the back Barrett seemed to want to fight with Sharp and Clarke all game and was lucky not to get more than a yellow but overall they had a comfortable night.


SUFC Player Ratings –


Long 4/10 – He will get lots of abuse again and was poor but not the worst player tonight. For the first he had no chance as it got deflected. The second was poor as he and Hussey both seemed to leave it to each other. The third not sure he could do much. He was hesitant and kept coming and then stopping. There is an argument that he sets the tone and I agree but also the mess in front of him was not all down to him. The crowd booed him again and then some booed the boos and it all became rather toxic. He will have been glad to get to the other end of the ground. He needs taking out now. He is not good enough and never will be for me but to keep playing him when his confidence is so low is not helping the team.


Brayford 4/10 – Another poor game. Like the rest of the defence too far off his man. So slow and languid. He seems to make every first touch into a tackle and his passing is often poor. He seems to take an age to do simple things like control it and move it on. His crosses never beat a man when he goes forward. He looks like a different player to the one who was here on loan. His body language seems like someone who does not want to be here. I think it may be best if we can find a taker if we move him on.


Hussey 3/10 – Abysmal. Wilder said he was the best left back in the division. Really?! He looks hopeless and cannot defend at all. The first goal he tried to play offside and then moved up and then left his man. The goal came from his man who he completely left. After this it got worse. He left his man time after time; had no awareness and then seemed to completely lose his confidence. The second saw more hesitancy and him and Long dithered and they nipped in. After this everything seemed to come down his side. They scored a third as he lost his man again. They sensed he was a major weak link and kept attacking him. He put a few decent crosses in after the debacle but a few of his corners were also over hit too but some of the balls were decent and should have been got on the end of too.


Wilson 4/10 – Might have been the best of the defence. By default. He did not make any glaring mistakes but he was slow and also kept losing his men. The ball kept coming across and he kept appealing for offside when it was clearly not. He seemed to struggle with movement of Cox and Ranger and I felt looked weak in the challenge. He did try and play a bit more football than Saturday but he seemed completely lost in confidence as with the rest of them and just hurried things up when he had it.


O’Connell 3/10- Had a bit of a nightmare first half. First goal deflected off him and into the net and then he made a mistake on the third gifting them a clear chance. In between this he was lacking confidence and seemed erratic on the ball and defending as the strikers ran off us time after time. I felt him and the rest of the defence did not have a clue with the offside trap. So many of the players did not know who was coming out and who was not and Long behind was not helping. First real test for the two centre backs tonight and they failed dismally. Improved after the break but the damage had been done.


Basham 3/10 – Another really insipid performance. He is not a player that should be part of things if we want to move forward as a team. Lacks everything you need to be a midfielder. Pace = No. Passing = No. Goals = No. Assists = No. Aggression = No. Intimidation = No. Heading = No. Awareness = No. Mobility = No. He is not garbage but is so ordinary and simply does not affect games. So many times he jumps for the ball and smaller players lean in and win the ball. He plays it sideways or backwards and takes 3 or 4 touches to do a simple thing. He seems to manage to scoop the ball up head height when he had it and when going for the ball always ducks underneath it often missing it. My mate calls him Mr Low Header! He lacks a football brain and when he gets it panics completely if he has to go forward. He is not good enough. I recall seeing him v Bristol City 2 years ago and saying it and in 2 years he has not improved from that debut one bit.


Fleck 4/10 – Not much better than Basham at all but maybe harsh to be hooked. He did not get in the game much and then oddly after we went behind was employed just in front of the defence. He never really got in the game. We cannot even say it was because we lumped it as most of the opening was played in our half.


Duffy 4/10 – Not been impressed by him at all really. His touch and control has been poor. He has failed to beat a man and get any decent balls in. The player who performed so well (allegedly) at Burton we have not seen. He looks a player on his way down the league and I have to say has not been much better than Woolford who has been slammed and rightly so. He looks quite timid in his play and disappointed me that he has not even wanted to get wide and have a go. He keeps coming inside and playing safe. He tracked back and won a tackle when he left his man in the first place at a corner!


Done 3/10 – Another really poor showing. He had one shot early on but offered nothing attacking wise and did not defend. He looks someone, like Brayford, who does not seem to fit at SUFC anymore. Surprised he started tonight and he was hauled off at the break.


Clarke 5/10 – Sure he will get usual criticism and at times he was more interested in wrestling or grabbing shirts but he at least looked interested. He won a few headers but has no kind of understanding with Sharp at all. He seems to head/flick it the opposite way. He is very slow and at times could have reacted much better to some balls going across. However in the great scheme of things he cannot be blamed to the shambles at the back. Still not sure he was the signing we needed and he lacks stamina to even last for 90 minutes – seems to be blowing very early.


Sharp 4/10 – As above he watched it all crumble behind him. Not really in the game as they seemed to be on the front foot. He tried to find some life second half but often with him and Clarke they were second to the ball and seemed so slow. They may have experience and goals in their back catalogue but there lack of pace/mobility really hurts us. Had one decent chance and should have scored but put it wide. Neither him or Clarke had much service. A few crosses came in but not much into feet.

Thought he was a bit fortunate second half when after he was crudely fouled and it had gone on a while (ref stupidly let it go for ages) he seemed to punch the lad on the floor as they got up. Felt he could have gone. It was stupid. I know he was frustrated but he is the captain.


Subs


Chapman 4/10 – Never really got in the game. A few touches and passes but he got crowded out. He lost the ball a few times but had one or two runs but failed to find many decent crosses.


Coutts 7/10 – Our best player in 45 minutes. Showed like he cared. Got on the ball and knocked it wide. He find a shirt and tried to inject some life. He seems to have lost some weight. I have been a big critic but he is better than Basham (and Fleck on tonight – feel he can improve though) and at least has b*****s to actually get on it and try and move it wide.


Scougall – Waste of time. Both the substation and the idea of him playing wide. No idea why Wilder keeps putting him on the wing and for like 10 minutes. McNulty may aswell play here or anyone really who might do something.




Manager – Wilder 1/10 – Not sure what he gets 1 for. Maybe telling them how it was post match. Said everything I could really above. He picked the same team, opted not to bring a keeper in, opted not to change the midfield, not to change the wide men and saw the same weaknesses of Saturday down our left defence continue. Failed to address any of this and saw a side lower than us in confidence tear us apart. It was a mess. Tactics, formation, shape, desire, pressing, cohesion. We lacked everything. We looked an utter mess and even further off a promotion side than anything we have seen and look akin to the side under Weir with poor players brought in with no real pace or creativity. More than this he seems to have completely failed to address the spine. We lack leadership and more than that talent down the team. We look the biggest soft touch we have ever been and we have been incredibly soft. Huge job on his hands. Blade or no Blade, he has to address so much and do it quickly. At the moment he looks the second coming of Micky Adams. Admire his honesty but whether he is calls it as it was or not, the results so far suggest the players are not believing in how he wants them to play.


Ref – He was fussy I felt. He seemed to want to continually have a word with players but never booked them and just slowed things down. Many round us were asking for offside on some of the goals but mostly it seemed the balls came across, were pulled back or players came onto it. It may have been marginal on one but we have made mistakes all over the field like Wilder said himself. It seemed more our useless defence at fault. Second half the foul on Sharp was very cynical but Sharp’s reaction was not great but if ref had blown instead of letting him foul him for an age.


Crowd – 17,410. Only a few hundred from Southend. As with Crewe they sang; ‘How s**t must you be, we’re winning away’. Teams come here and it is easy. If I was an away fan I would definitely come here; not because it is a great ground/decent city but you know you have a great chance. It’s not even an upset anymore. Our crowd got frustrated but you cannot blame them. The daft digs at Long which were really stupid and fortunately many booed the booers were one sore point but crowd were quite patient considering what was being seen in front of them. The home fans did not boo as lustily as I thought at half time and many had left long before the end. Wilder will get some time and fans will give him slack but make no mistake if that was Adkins, there would have been calling for heads to roll. I have seen fans saying the home fans do not help and make it hard but unsure what they could do tonight? We were 2-0 down even before the stupid Long booing which to be fair was only a minority (enough to be heard from the Kop). Second half they tried to raise the side and I felt tried to be positive. There is no way the supporters can be blamed in any way. Whether it is the manager, the team, the board, it is not the fans. The loyalty we have showed amongst utter dross is admirable. Thank god after Saturday I have no away game planned for some time. To think fans are scrapping (not physically) over AFC Wimbledon tickets!

 

[JJ Sefton]

Crowd – 17,410. Only a few hundred from Southend. As with Crewe they sang; ‘How s**t must you be, we’re winning away’. Teams come here and it is easy. If I was an away fan I would definitely come here; not because it is a great ground/decent city but you know you have a great chance. It’s not even an upset anymore. Our crowd got frustrated but you cannot blame them. The daft digs at Long which were really stupid and fortunately many booed the booers were one sore point but crowd were quite patient considering what was being seen in front of them. The home fans did not boo as lustily as I thought at half time and many had left long before the end. Wilder will get some time and fans will give him slack but make no mistake if that was Adkins, there would have been calling for heads to roll. I have seen fans saying the home fans do not help and make it hard but unsure what they could do tonight? We were 2-0 down even before the stupid Long booing which to be fair was only a minority (enough to be heard from the Kop). Second half they tried to raise the side and I felt tried to be positive. There is no way the supporters can be blamed in any way. Whether it is the manager, the team, the board, it is not the fans. The loyalty we have showed amongst utter dross is admirable. Thank god after Saturday I have no away game planned for some time. To think fans are scrapping (not physically) over AFC Wimbledon tickets!

We're an easy touch for any team on a bad run. Other teams in this division, when they've lost three or four on the bounce, must look at the fixtures list, see a trip to Bramall Lane is up next, and breathe a sign of relief.

 

[georgebernardshaw]

Thanks Deadbat - beyond the call of duty, I call that

 

[Railway Blade]

Depressing reading but accurate. Cant argue with any of that. Some of those players have more ability than they are showing but they look, leggy, shell shocked and low in morale already.

 

[bartman]

Southend – They cut us apart first half against a brittle side. Had a go at us, put pressure on us and watched us completely crumble. The lad Ranger completely dominated us and the right winger had a field day. They sensed blood. A side that’s confidence was rock bottom had somehow found some form and belief due to a playing an utterly disorganised mess. They got it wide, got crosses in and watched us completely fall apart. They scored three well taken goals. One was lucky I suppose but they got a good cross in and then the two others goals were helped by us but they still had to put the ball in the right area. They could have had more goals. They could not have believed their luck. The second half they may have expected us to have a go but it was quite easy. They had two lumps at centre back but they just cleared it and headed it. They just slowed game down and picked up what they could. They scarcely could believe even after 3-0 how easy it was.


Phil Brown watched the whole game from the directors box. He did not bother going down in the second half. He did not half to. He could have watched the cycling on his phone like me.


Opponent man of the match : The right winger played well being involved in all three goals but I felt Ranger tore us apart early. His running and strength saw the defence backing off. He went off before half time but had a bigger impact in half an hour than any of our centre forwards have in 4 games this season. He may be a journeyman with a lot of off field problems but showed everything we have not got up top; pace, power and movement.


Opponent Weak link : Nobody. They won the game easily. The lad at the back Barrett seemed to want to fight with Sharp and Clarke all game and was lucky not to get more than a yellow but overall they had a comfortable night.


SUFC Player Ratings –


Long 4/10 – He will get lots of abuse again and was poor but not the worst player tonight. For the first he had no chance as it got deflected. The second was poor as he and Hussey both seemed to leave it to each other. The third not sure he could do much. He was hesitant and kept coming and then stopping. There is an argument that he sets the tone and I agree but also the mess in front of him was not all down to him. The crowd booed him again and then some booed the boos and it all became rather toxic. He will have been glad to get to the other end of the ground. He needs taking out now. He is not good enough and never will be for me but to keep playing him when his confidence is so low is not helping the team.


Brayford 4/10 – Another poor game. Like the rest of the defence too far off his man. So slow and languid. He seems to make every first touch into a tackle and his passing is often poor. He seems to take an age to do simple things like control it and move it on. His crosses never beat a man when he goes forward. He looks like a different player to the one who was here on loan. His body language seems like someone who does not want to be here. I think it may be best if we can find a taker if we move him on.


Hussey 3/10 – Abysmal. Wilder said he was the best left back in the division. Really?! He looks hopeless and cannot defend at all. The first goal he tried to play offside and then moved up and then left his man. The goal came from his man who he completely left. After this it got worse. He left his man time after time; had no awareness and then seemed to completely lose his confidence. The second saw more hesitancy and him and Long dithered and they nipped in. After this everything seemed to come down his side. They scored a third as he lost his man again. They sensed he was a major weak link and kept attacking him. He put a few decent crosses in after the debacle but a few of his corners were also over hit too but some of the balls were decent and should have been got on the end of too.


Wilson 4/10 – Might have been the best of the defence. By default. He did not make any glaring mistakes but he was slow and also kept losing his men. The ball kept coming across and he kept appealing for offside when it was clearly not. He seemed to struggle with movement of Cox and Ranger and I felt looked weak in the challenge. He did try and play a bit more football than Saturday but he seemed completely lost in confidence as with the rest of them and just hurried things up when he had it.


O’Connell 3/10- Had a bit of a nightmare first half. First goal deflected off him and into the net and then he made a mistake on the third gifting them a clear chance. In between this he was lacking confidence and seemed erratic on the ball and defending as the strikers ran off us time after time. I felt him and the rest of the defence did not have a clue with the offside trap. So many of the players did not know who was coming out and who was not and Long behind was not helping. First real test for the two centre backs tonight and they failed dismally. Improved after the break but the damage had been done.


Basham 3/10 – Another really insipid performance. He is not a player that should be part of things if we want to move forward as a team. Lacks everything you need to be a midfielder. Pace = No. Passing = No. Goals = No. Assists = No. Aggression = No. Intimidation = No. Heading = No. Awareness = No. Mobility = No. He is not garbage but is so ordinary and simply does not affect games. So many times he jumps for the ball and smaller players lean in and win the ball. He plays it sideways or backwards and takes 3 or 4 touches to do a simple thing. He seems to manage to scoop the ball up head height when he had it and when going for the ball always ducks underneath it often missing it. My mate calls him Mr Low Header! He lacks a football brain and when he gets it panics completely if he has to go forward. He is not good enough. I recall seeing him v Bristol City 2 years ago and saying it and in 2 years he has not improved from that debut one bit.


Fleck 4/10 – Not much better than Basham at all but maybe harsh to be hooked. He did not get in the game much and then oddly after we went behind was employed just in front of the defence. He never really got in the game. We cannot even say it was because we lumped it as most of the opening was played in our half.


Duffy 4/10 – Not been impressed by him at all really. His touch and control has been poor. He has failed to beat a man and get any decent balls in. The player who performed so well (allegedly) at Burton we have not seen. He looks a player on his way down the league and I have to say has not been much better than Woolford who has been slammed and rightly so. He looks quite timid in his play and disappointed me that he has not even wanted to get wide and have a go. He keeps coming inside and playing safe. He tracked back and won a tackle when he left his man in the first place at a corner!


Done 3/10 – Another really poor showing. He had one shot early on but offered nothing attacking wise and did not defend. He looks someone, like Brayford, who does not seem to fit at SUFC anymore. Surprised he started tonight and he was hauled off at the break.


Clarke 5/10 – Sure he will get usual criticism and at times he was more interested in wrestling or grabbing shirts but he at least looked interested. He won a few headers but has no kind of understanding with Sharp at all. He seems to head/flick it the opposite way. He is very slow and at times could have reacted much better to some balls going across. However in the great scheme of things he cannot be blamed to the shambles at the back. Still not sure he was the signing we needed and he lacks stamina to even last for 90 minutes – seems to be blowing very early.


Sharp 4/10 – As above he watched it all crumble behind him. Not really in the game as they seemed to be on the front foot. He tried to find some life second half but often with him and Clarke they were second to the ball and seemed so slow. They may have experience and goals in their back catalogue but there lack of pace/mobility really hurts us. Had one decent chance and should have scored but put it wide. Neither him or Clarke had much service. A few crosses came in but not much into feet.

Thought he was a bit fortunate second half when after he was crudely fouled and it had gone on a while (ref stupidly let it go for ages) he seemed to punch the lad on the floor as they got up. Felt he could have gone. It was stupid. I know he was frustrated but he is the captain.


Subs


Chapman 4/10 – Never really got in the game. A few touches and passes but he got crowded out. He lost the ball a few times but had one or two runs but failed to find many decent crosses.


Coutts 7/10 – Our best player in 45 minutes. Showed like he cared. Got on the ball and knocked it wide. He find a shirt and tried to inject some life. He seems to have lost some weight. I have been a big critic but he is better than Basham (and Fleck on tonight – feel he can improve though) and at least has b*****s to actually get on it and try and move it wide.


Scougall – Waste of time. Both the substation and the idea of him playing wide. No idea why Wilder keeps putting him on the wing and for like 10 minutes. McNulty may aswell play here or anyone really who might do something.




Manager – Wilder 1/10 – Not sure what he gets 1 for. Maybe telling them how it was post match. Said everything I could really above. He picked the same team, opted not to bring a keeper in, opted not to change the midfield, not to change the wide men and saw the same weaknesses of Saturday down our left defence continue. Failed to address any of this and saw a side lower than us in confidence tear us apart. It was a mess. Tactics, formation, shape, desire, pressing, cohesion. We lacked everything. We looked an utter mess and even further off a promotion side than anything we have seen and look akin to the side under Weir with poor players brought in with no real pace or creativity. More than this he seems to have completely failed to address the spine. We lack leadership and more than that talent down the team. We look the biggest soft touch we have ever been and we have been incredibly soft. Huge job on his hands. Blade or no Blade, he has to address so much and do it quickly. At the moment he looks the second coming of Micky Adams. Admire his honesty but whether he is calls it as it was or not, the results so far suggest the players are not believing in how he wants them to play.


Ref – He was fussy I felt. He seemed to want to continually have a word with players but never booked them and just slowed things down. Many round us were asking for offside on some of the goals but mostly it seemed the balls came across, were pulled back or players came onto it. It may have been marginal on one but we have made mistakes all over the field like Wilder said himself. It seemed more our useless defence at fault. Second half the foul on Sharp was very cynical but Sharp’s reaction was not great but if ref had blown instead of letting him foul him for an age.


Crowd – 17,410. Only a few hundred from Southend. As with Crewe they sang; ‘How s**t must you be, we’re winning away’. Teams come here and it is easy. If I was an away fan I would definitely come here; not because it is a great ground/decent city but you know you have a great chance. It’s not even an upset anymore. Our crowd got frustrated but you cannot blame them. The daft digs at Long which were really stupid and fortunately many booed the booers were one sore point but crowd were quite patient considering what was being seen in front of them. The home fans did not boo as lustily as I thought at half time and many had left long before the end. Wilder will get some time and fans will give him slack but make no mistake if that was Adkins, there would have been calling for heads to roll. I have seen fans saying the home fans do not help and make it hard but unsure what they could do tonight? We were 2-0 down even before the stupid Long booing which to be fair was only a minority (enough to be heard from the Kop). Second half they tried to raise the side and I felt tried to be positive. There is no way the supporters can be blamed in any way. Whether it is the manager, the team, the board, it is not the fans. The loyalty we have showed amongst utter dross is admirable. Thank god after Saturday I have no away game planned for some time. To think fans are scrapping (not physically) over AFC Wimbledon tickets!

I think you could have left the marking out altogether as they didn't deserve anything apart from Coutts whose performance you have described well.

He actually played like he gave a shit and wanted to be on the ball to try and do something. He might not be to everyone's liking be the 45 minutes from him was better than any of our midfield players over the last 3 games and only matched by Fleck at Bolton

 

[Bartleby]

I think you could have left the marking out altogether as they didn't deserve anything apart from Coutts whose performance you have described well.

He actually played like he gave a shit and wanted to be on the ball to try and do something. He might not be to everyone's liking be the 45 minutes from him was better than any of our midfield players over the last 3 games and only matched by Fleck at Bolton

transfer listed and hated by the fans he has nothing to lose

 

[bartman]

transfer listed and hated by the fans he has nothing to lose

transfer list all the twats then

 

[Sean Thornton]

I think you could have left the marking out altogether as they didn't deserve anything apart from Coutts whose performance you have described well.

He actually played like he gave a shit and wanted to be on the ball to try and do something. He might not be to everyone's liking be the 45 minutes from him was better than any of our midfield players over the last 3 games and only matched by Fleck at Bolton

Looked pretty but dropped too deep keeping out of harms way and from there was never going to supply much to the forwards. Flattered to deceive, his default position.

Other than his mark I think Deadbat has it spot on.

 

[Treeton Blade]

Dosen`t matter now, but Basham should have had a pen at 0-0, and the second goal was yards offside.

The lino forgot you need two players goal side of the attacking player when the ball is played.
Long was behind him.

Sheer torture watching Utd, and I doubted myself for blindly following this club home & away.
Think I am at the end of my tether, these home horror shows just never stop.

Dreading Millwall, just hope its one of those games you get surprised, in a good way!

Fully behind Wilder, last night will have shocked him as much as us, now he knows how tough this job is.

 

[Grecian2000]

transfer listed and hated by the fans he has nothing to lose

So someone "hated by the fans" has nothing to lose, so tries. Whereas those who are, presumably but only temporarily, "liked" by the fans stroll about like zombies (only with slower thought patterns)?
Not sure it should work like that.

Not sure why we are persisting with McNulty at the club. If he can't even get quarter of an hour when we're as bad as that he ain't ever going to play.

 

[DronnieBlade]

So someone "hated by the fans" has nothing to lose, so tries. Whereas those who are, presumably but only temporarily, "liked" by the fans stroll about like zombies (only with slower thought patterns)?
Not sure it should work like that.

Not sure why we are persisting with McNulty at the club. If he can't even get quarter of an hour when we're as bad as that he ain't ever going to play.

I don't hate Coutts.

Truth is he is better than UTD at this time. Proper baller who deserves a better / bigger platform to show off his wares. And fans that appreciate what he does, rather than angry young men who prefer fire breathing units that can wrestle !

Football has moved on. As a club, we haven't.

UTB

 

[Bartleby]

So someone "hated by the fans" has nothing to lose, so tries.

it's true though, must come a point when you just think oh fuck it, I'll show them. Pity he didn't do that last season.

Agree about McNulty. Wasn't there last night but was Saturday so surprised to see he put out an unchanged team. What's that about the definition of insanity repeating the same thing and expecting different results?

 

[Revolution]

So someone "hated by the fans" has nothing to lose, so tries. Whereas those who are, presumably but only temporarily, "liked" by the fans stroll about like zombies (only with slower thought patterns)?
Not sure it should work like that.

Not sure why we are persisting with McNulty at the club. If he can't even get quarter of an hour when we're as bad as that he ain't ever going to play.

Oh he'll go. And many want Sharp dropped, with Adams having been sold and Done played out of position.

All of our forwards have good scoring records. Wilder is a poor manager if he can't get goals out of that lot.

 

[Sean Thornton]

it's true though, must come a point when you just think oh fuck it, I'll show them. Pity he didn't do that last season.

Agree about McNulty. Wasn't there last night but was Saturday so surprised to see he put out an unchanged team. What's that about the definition of insanity repeating the same thing and expecting different results?

It's called putting Scougall on, again.

 

[Revolution]

I don't hate Coutts.

Truth is he is better than UTD at this time. Proper baller who deserves a better / bigger platform to show off his wares. And fans that appreciate what he does, rather than angry young men who prefer fire breathing units that can wrestle !

Football has moved on. As a club, we haven't.

UTB

I do. 80 odd games for no goals, 2 assists, no tackles and a lot of strolling about. Plus he's a crock.

And now he's trying hard? Fuck him.

 

[Revolution]

It's called putting Scougall on, again.

And it's time to cut our losses on this man trapped in a teenagers body, or at least stop playing him on the wing. Again, as with Basham in 4-4-2, everyone on the planet except wilder knows he's no good out there.

 

[Bartleby]

It's called putting Scougall on, again.

It's called being a Blade and getting your hopes up in pre-season, again.

 

[Sean Thornton]

McNulty came back from his run to see Scougall getting ready and looked gutted. Almost as gutted as I was and I'm not McNultys biggest fan, but it made no sense to me.

 

[Sean Thornton]

It's called being a Blade and getting your hopes up in pre-season, again.

And I did. Again. Daft bastard that I am.

 

[Bartleby]

And I did. Again. Daft bastard that I am.

I'm sure we all did. Ages ago when speculation about Wilder started I wasn't so sure, his record looked too much like Clough's to me with a lot of time in lower leagues and not a lot that he'd won. Then he finished the job at Northampton in style and I was won over. Now I just don't know what to think any more.

 

[coaxingstar71]

Nail firmly hit on head Deadbat

Once again, I don't know how you find the motivation to keep writing the reports after witnessing yet another awful display.

 

[Dkc]

Sh. At the moment, the club is dying a slow painful death. Maybe McCabe is not totally to blame and maybe we are unlucky (!) with some of the managerial appointments but there is something fundamentally wrong with the club. He needs to let someone else have a go but that is easier said than done as finding someone with the funds and ambition (madness) to take over is nigh on impossible. Our rivals found someone. Twice.

Evidence suggests this is true. But what on earth are we doing wrong? Bar Robson and Weir, all the managers we have got in since Warnock have looked good on paper. and have had plenty of success previously. Are we not giving them enough time? It's all right saying that a manager needs time, but the atmosphere in the stadium when we play crap makes their position impossible.

Wilder is trying to do what 99% of the fans said needed to be done when Adkins was sacked. Pay failing players off, get some new eager lads in, play attacking football. I think he has as good a chance of anyone to succeed, given time.

As for McCabe, most of his decisions (sackings) have been popular at the time. I don't think we can just say he must step down "because he's bad luck"/