Today v Burton | Page 7 | Vital Football

Today v Burton

JimboGills sums it up well when he asked the question why did we wait until we`d played 70 odd minutes to up the intensity level.

We did pretty well in the final 25 minutes or so and played some nice, quick passing and penetrative football, Dempsey & Graham, especially; it was entertaining to watch. Just unfortunate that we were unable to make the most of chances/half-chances inside their penalty area.

Burton failed to show much of a threat through 90 minutes but, to be fair to them and JFH, they`ve lost no time in addressing their biggest problem - leaking loads of goals. Putting the new loan central defender, Carter, straight into the middle of his defense was certainly a smart move by Jimmy FH - Carter was exceptional today.

But, despite the Brewer`s improved defense, we should have made at least one of our many late chances count. It`s clear that we need someone who can latch onto a ball in the six yard box and poach a few goals. We can get the ball into the box - but we are struggling to do anything with it once it gets there ! That must be the challenge for SE and PS - it`s not an easy one to solve and it might require the equivalent finance spent on trios of midfielders, who sit on the bench between revolving door sessions. Priority is someone who can bag some dirty goals !

Hopefully, in the meantime, we`ll reflect on why the collective high energy and work-rate, that magically appeared in the last third of the game, was so sadly lacking for the first 60 minutes.

We`ll get better, i`m sure. And in the interim, I hope as many of us as possible continue to support the club by being plastics, as the credit card iFollow transaction is an important way for us to get behind our club. UTG
 
Cannot see a falling out between Evans and Scally. Paul's now just an old man sitting in post. His spark has gone and he's just an old man coining it in. He's lost his ambition to move the club on and he's living on his past (relative) successes. :shake:
 
Could the major problem be that Scally wanted a young squad so he could sell players to make ends meet.Evans has largely only proved how hard it is to get young players to play consistently well.Using the loan market for about 30 to 40% of the team isn't likely to produce the money tree Scally wanted.
We are still above our average position in this division so maybe we should be happy with that if it can be maintained.
 
Feeling pretty despondent over today's performance and feel that we could easily be pulled into a relegation battle. I know we are a long ball team, but that pitch is pretty shocking and hardly conducive to playing on the deck, which can't help the technically better players we do have. Wasn't it 400k spent on the pitch a few years back? Doesn't look like a good investment.
 
The more I watch us the more I think we've got more problems than we have answers.

Defensively we are now here near as solid or as organised as we were last season. Forming partnerships and understanding is key, but none of the players have done well enough individually to warrant staying in the team over a long period so there is constant chopping and changing of personnel which then leading to less understanding, so it's a vicious circle.

It's clear either recruitment or the coaching hasn't been good enough. Most of us I think agreed it looked like we had put together a decent squad on a limited budget in the summer but nearly half way through the season and we still look as disjointed as we did in the early part of the season. Players making individual errors and looking defensively shakes, something which should have been sorted by this stage if the season.

I didn't think Jackson was a good signing in the summer and from what I've seen he's the same player that left us and is exposed at this level.

As for the top half of the pitch Graham has been the only one who has shown any consistency. As for the strikers, get the fuckers to play within the width if the penalty box, then there's no excuse other than laziness not to be getting on the end of the crosses coming in. Akinde and Oliver should be lapping up the type of crosses Grahams been putting in this season.

The number if times we've been shite in the first half this season also makes we question our scouting and the managements ability to instill the right tactics, formations or personnel. So many times we've seen changes at half time as its "not worked", today again PR admitted the same after the game.

One thing is sure, at the moment were not good defensively, we can't score goals either and its dogs shit to watch for 90% of the match. Suppose it can only get better, hopefully.

I think the players and management need to pull their finger out their arses individually and collectively and sort it sharpish or we'll be in a dogfight, which on current performances I'd have no faith in us surviving.
 
Last edited:
Oh for a Barry Fuller to gee them up!
Remember Evans (& Scally) chose all these players - and let (or pushed )the more longer term Gills players go; they are all out of excuses
The decisions today to play Drysdale, and worse still to take Oliver off, were awful.

If a Championship club makes an offer for Graham, Scally may want the money, Graham may now want to go as he's seen the c**p around him, and if he goes I think Evans will walk. Need then to get someone who understands lower leagues, and trawl Nat Lge for a strong defender and striker aka Coleman - maybe a stopgap until close season and see if we could attract a good young manager like the guy at Cambridge
 
SteveTreacle said:
In what world can you say that Burton were better than us and not lucky (and I am in no way excusing our pathetic performance in saying this?
Click to expand...

They were not better but, for an hour, they worked harder than than us.
As we have proved in previous games, you don't have to be the technically best side to win.
 
Dazza63 said:
Feeling pretty despondent over today's performance and feel that we could easily be pulled into a relegation battle. I know we are a long ball team, but that pitch is pretty shocking and hardly conducive to playing on the deck, which can't help the technically better players we do have. Wasn't it 400k spent on the pitch a few years back? Doesn't look like a good investment.
Click to expand...
Our pitch is like a bowling green compared to pitches you see on old re-runs of Match Of The Day in the 70's this time of the year.
 
What was the point of McKenzie today? Did he even touch the ball? I know we were short of players today but why do we always play so many defensive players? We were playing bottom of the league today against a team who have been shipping goals. I'd like SE to be be more positive in games like this and take the game to the opposition from the off
 
I watched this game today and I have to say at best it was awful. Evans was bought on to make us adopt all playing team. Yes we could argue that Burton were fortunate. We were at home lest not forget.
evans is not a good coach his methodology is imply to change as many personnel as he can - of that doesn’t work he gets another few in. He never improves players. He expects them to be the finished product. Let’s be honest he bought in so many players and they were HIS choice after all. He’s wasted so much money to date. He shouts and screams from the side .. is that really the way to encourage and get the best out of players especially younger ones ? Tucker should have been on his way to a bigger club by now but Evans has stifled him and if we are not careful we will lose money on what was once a very decent player. The timing is everything. Every player has a window of opportunity and if they fail to materialise and continue improving the money can be gone and the club lose money. Evans was always a bad choice and the half wit that works with him is no better. Graham won’t stay with us he’s far too good. Evans has produced a very mediocre team and people keep saying we are on a small budget yet Evans keeps being in different players - how much money has he wasted ?
 
markinkent said:
I'm no fan of scally BUT I'd argue he has backed Evans. Akinde and Samuel can't be cheap options.
The fact that investment hasn't worked out must be really frustrating for scally.
Click to expand...
Mark I can only agree
lets get a reality check here.
at the start of the season, Graham, Akinde, Oliver, Samual - on paper what a forward line up

i really believe budget or not we have a good team and one under SE for two years I haven’t been looking at points for safety and avoiding relegation, but a team that is closer to promotion. Then I see calls for Lovell or a new Manager FFS

do I like SE (No) but has he improved us (Yes)

did I enjoy today or the majority of games this season (no) but do I want to be Southend - no I F###### don’t

lets be thankful where we are with no cash flow and a chance for survival, my poor cat took a kicking today but reality kicked in

( don’t have a cat)

only dogs
 
At the end of the day if the basic playing budget of circa £1.5m a season doesn’t change, then it doesn’t really matter who the manager is. Scally was hoping an experienced manager in Evans could conjure a miracle and get us up into the top six sides for a shot at promotion. He’s wheeled and dealed using his extensive contacts in the game to get a lot of loan players in for not much money, but ultimately you do have to spend money to get quality consistent players.

No doubt someone will bring up Accrington, who are thought to have a similar budget, as to what can be done with limited funds, well they are the exception to the rule, but generally it doesn’t work.
 
Supported Gillingham since 74,and I’m struggling to remember watching worse football than what I’ve seen last dozen games bar odd one,
Seems a football match is not 2 halves of 45 minutes each for us,it’s bugger all first 45 minutes then perhaps 20 minutes we decide to play,but couldn’t hit a barn door from 2 feet.
 
Regarding the crap players.

Sturdy makes a valid point.

As we began signing players preseason and the squad took shape I think we were all pretty excited. I know I was.

Graham, Samuel, Oliver, Akinde (hopefully fit from a preseason) looks a great group of forwards.

Okeefe, mellis, dempsey (who I was amazed signed for us), Robertson. A good core midfield with the option to bring a few more loans in if required, which we have done.

Tucker, Ogilvie, Bonham, o Connor returning, Jackson (who looked ok the first few games I saw on Ifollow) settled back line to hopefully continue where they finished last season.

Add to that 2 youngsters on the fringes of the arsenal squad.

Now these players don’t become crap overnight. I do feel there is something deeper afoot. Footballers are confidence performers. I don’t think chopping and changing personnel every game (sometimes it looks like just for the sake of it) helps them.
I remember the first third of last season, SE would change the forward line every bloody week, almost looking for something to click. He seems to be doing that again now but throughout the whole team. What we end up watching is disjointed play. No one seems to know what to do or where a team mate will be. Dempsey tries hard to push us forward, Graham will cross balls into the box, but the rest seem to be just going through the motions. Either the just can’t be arsed or don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing.

As for how to fix it, buggered if I know. This is just how I see it after spunking another tenner. Managed to abstain from drowning my sorrows though, so dry jan is still on. The only positive from today.
 
Captainreblue said:
As for the top half of the pitch Graham has been the only one who has shown any consistency. As for the strikers, get the fuckers to play within the width if the penalty box, then there's no excuse other than laziness not to be getting on the end of the crosses coming in.
Click to expand...

One thing that was obvious about Graham's crossing in the second half** is the fact most of the crosses, especially to the back post were high looping ones which drops in an obvious position. I think it is relatively easy for the defenders to predict where to challenge for the ball as it drops. What Graham needs to maybe start doing is fire the ball at pace at face height in order to allow our strikers to try and get on the end of them across the 6 yard box and not just back post.



** didn't realise it was a 2pm kick off
 
Akinde would have been a great signing 10 years ago, but Lincoln at our level didn’t want him and look at them now.
 
Lark said:
At the end of the day if the basic playing budget of circa £1.5m a season doesn’t change, then it doesn’t really matter who the manager is. Scally was hoping an experienced manager in Evans could conjure a miracle and get us up into the top six sides for a shot at promotion. He’s wheeled and dealed using his extensive contacts in the game to get a lot of loan players in for not much money, but ultimately you do have to spend money to get quality consistent players.

No doubt someone will bring up Accrington, who are thought to have a similar budget, as to what can be done with limited funds, well they are the exception to the rule, but generally it doesn’t work.
Click to expand...
The advantage Lancashire clubs have is the players in the main do not need to move home.Not since the Championship years have we had a settled side almost all living fairly local even if they were not from Kent .That must affect available players certainly older ones how we could do with hanging on to a few good young players for many years .Team spirit is difficult when half a dozen are on loan and as many again level at the end of each season.
 
Lark said:
Akinde would have been a great signing 10 years ago, but Lincoln at our level didn’t want him and look at them now.
Click to expand...
Too many people rated Jackson and Akindie but the fact is they are both excellent league two players.Add in our loans which have been very average this year at best and half the top 14 players are not up to standard.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.