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The longest pier you'll ever see

Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2017 11:22 am
by Isaac
My first game of the season and I enjoyed it. Two teams both trying to win, a decent referee who let the game flow for the most part and an traditional ground.

It was an open game and something of a mystery how it ended only 1-1. I thought we looked dangerous going forward, Wes Thomas was excellent and I thought Tiendalli looked fairly decent at right back, when previously he's been seen as a weak link. We on occasion overplayed in midfield, especially in front of our own penalty area (my lack of familiarity with the team means I might be wrong, but Xemi in particular seemed to want too long on the ball) - it might not be our style but a big hoof up the pitch wouldn't go amiss every now and then.

Mowatt I thought was a bit disappointing for a player with his reputation (and appeared to have an enormous arse for a footballer) although wide left is probably not his position. Payne was mostly marked out of the game by two players but actually I thought this created more space elsewhere which for the we exploited quite well, although our finishing was disappointing. Defensively we looked ok when the ball was in the air, but less good when it was on the floor.

I would think we're in a fairly true position in the league for our ability. My worry would be that given the injuries we've got and recent results, you could see the wheels well and truly coming off, so the fact we got a draw on Saturday was a good sign.

Re: The longest pier you'll ever see

Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2017 3:01 pm
by SWA
First game of the season :shock:

Have you been living abroad? Genuinely interested as to why this is the first game you've seen so far this season :?:

Re: The longest pier you'll ever see

Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2017 3:14 pm
by Isaac
The reason is mundane really, I live in Scotland, I have 3 small children, so my opportunities to attend matches is very limited for now. I have a couple of friends who are Southend fans (so our record against them is particularly unfortunate for me) and this game meant I could meet up with them also.

Re: The longest pier you'll ever see

Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2017 5:07 pm
by SWA
Fair enough. Makes more sense now :mrgreen: . Maybe you will be able to make some of the more Northern away games

Re: The longest pier you'll ever see

Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2017 12:46 pm
by ty cobb
I thought the team showed great spirit in coming away with a draw and although both teams could have got a win it was notable just how few saves either keeper made. A combination of a robust offside trap and the woodwork coming to the rescue.

Thomas continues to be a revelation this season, if the ball is into his feet he will do something useful with it. However, if whacked high to him he ain't going to win it against the likes of AF and with Eastwood being made to kick it from his hands due to their tactics of putting a man on him when he had it in hands bringing Obika on was sensible, although he really should have scored.

I thought we stood up well at the back and tried to play football on a pretty awful and bobbly pitch.

I continue to think that let in too many to go up, but we score enough to stay up so hovering around mid-table is a fair reflection of where we are at the moment. Not good enough for some fans though who were moaning about coming for a draw - actually I thought we came for a win but with 10 minutes to go we played for a draw, albeit looked to catch them on the break. Sensible in my view - negative in others. Given this is Peps first season and our injuries I am quite enjoying games with lots of goals and end to end action, we may not always win but when we do we usually do it well (Plymouth, Pboro, AFC Wombles).

Tiendalli did look solid aside from the goal where he was caught tucking in too much. Hopefully a break in the sunshine (got reward for losing in the FA cup!) will help recharge the batteries a little and give the injured players a chance to recover and start to show whether they are worth sticking with before the transfer window opens.

Re: The longest pier you'll ever see

Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2017 12:14 pm
by OtmoorYellow
Following on from Ty's comments about Thomas, I think things would be improved if we played Obika alongside Thomas, so if we have to, or want to, occasionally play the long ball for variation or for a quick counter, then the ball has a much better chance of sticking than coming straight back. Playing Payne in behind them would give a very nice attacking formation.

Thomas is clearly in the form of his life and we need to be able to exploit it whilst it lasts.