We`re not there yet...

[The Cat Man]

Not good enough, ok so Southend are big bunch who work hard and run around a lot...doesn`t every team in this bloody awful league. Thought it was funny in the first half when a very stressed Hess ask a man if he could do better to take over. Pressure beginning to showl Andy ? Noone said it would be easy

The team - I have a feeling some will disagree with me

Cronin - well done, great second half save, kicking was pretty good

Fuller - kept pushing people - why, not a bad performance, certainly linked up play with midfield in 2nd period

Lawrence - top man as ever

Gowling - another decent performance, plays well with lawrence

Palmer - poor first half, looked a threat going forward, nice shot towards the end - play him in midfield

Spiller - good athletic performance - football wise not really there, need more from him

Payne - the odd nice touch, have people worked him out already

Weston - most positive midfielder, ball on floor and ran at them

Inkango - didn`t work, couple of nice touches - just went missing

Mcdonald - decent second half, could do with better service, perhaps a touch unlucky not to score

Akinfenwa - first touch not as good as normal, nor his distribution - he is slow, couple of shots - need a lot more than this - he like Cody needs better service

Rooney - didnt really get into the game

Overall poor, we have to win games like this, even if we dont play well. Hess feeling the pressure and I wish we`d thrown on Stanley or Bentley to change things a touch more. My god are we missing Barcham and Oli, especially Barcham

The Cat Man...think we`ll get there, unfortunately slower than we wanted

[jaybo]

overreliant on akinfenwa

midifeld has no balance

no left midfielder

weston/spiller cant play together

when hessy needed tacticshe called upon his brains..................Hendon and Nicky Southall

why no subs? aborah could have made a difference, stefan payne for 10 minutes? were we not pushing for the win being at home? take a gamble?

Not happy......only thing is i suppose before the burton game i would have said 4point minimum from next 6 and we have that. Also another clean sheet

[superblues]

The team....
Cronin- I thought he looked very good tonight,excellent handling and kicking
Fuller- Ok but very exposed
Palmer-as above
Lawrence- very good
Gowling- starting to form a good partnership with Lawrence. My MOM.
Spiller- Nowhere near as effective when not playing centrally. Good energy though.
Ikango- Didn't beat his man and didn't really know where he was playing. Needs a few more cameo appearances from the bench.
Payne- Not his best game, like Saturday, but I still thought he was the pick of the midfield.
Weston- Did 4 or 5 great things as opposed to his normal 1 or 2 so I suppose this was a good game for Weston.
McDonald-Lack of service. Still a bit unconvinced of him.
Akinfenwa-When he got decent ball he kept it well and tried to play people in, lovely touches for a big man.

sub....
Rooney- I thought he looked lively and tried to get things going when he came on. Not being able to tackle or even compete in the air is a bit of a downside though.

Just like Saturday I can't work out what we will hope to gain by playing everyone centrally and leaving our full backs totally exposed. For me Spiller and Payne are the two central midfielders

[Deleted]

Cronin - had one flap in the first half where he punched rather than caught, but otherwise very good.
Fuller - Fine, not much of a threat going forward
Palmer - better going forward than defensively but had no-one playing in front of him for 90 mins. Both wingers played way too narrow and left full backs exposed in both attacking and defensive sense. Good shot towards end.
Lawrence - better than Saturday, coped with a tough forward line well
Gowling - He's always very good when he doesn't lose concentration and he didn't
Spiller - Not been as effective in last 2 games out wide. Played too narrow for a winger and didn't create like he does centrally.
Ikango - A couple of flashes, but didn't get back well enough or make the most of it when he has space. He needs to adjust to England, but I think he's promising.
Payne - Long throws were our biggest threat, tackled and passed well. Not outstanding, but he's 18 and he can't be our best player every game can he?
Weston - signs that the 2009 vintage was coming back with running from midfield and having attempts. Really should have scored in first half and in 2nd half when he did all the work and fluffed the finish. Needs games and confidence to get back to his best. Hope Hessy puts his arm round him and tells him how important he is to the side.
McDonald - great overhead kick, worked hard upfront and reminded me of Jackson on a couple of occasions when he was a little greedy with snap shots from 18 yards. He needs service though
Akinfenwa - won headers but it didn't really result in anything and by the end of the game their outstanding number 6 had him in his pocket a little. Much better when ball played to chest/feet so he can create. We need to learn from that.

Sub: Rooney - anonymous frankly. I know a lot of people rate him, but I'm struggling to think of the last time he made an impact on a game?

Hess: We were way too long ball tonight and I'd've like to have seen Aborah after 70-75 mins. Gave the best entertainment of the night when he confronted a heckling fan in the Medway stand and asked him to come down to the dugout so the fan could say it to his face. When the fan refused, Hess told him he was an "a$$hole." Genius! I'm a little worried that we seem to be getting more long ball. We've got talent and we're at our best with ball to feet. I'm hoping Hess works on this and we don't become a long ball team as I don't think that'll get us out the league. He said to judge him after 10 games, so I'm guessing he needs a result at Accrington. The real time to judge him, though, will be with a fit and match-fit squad. God we miss Barcham!

[nickthehoover]

Cronin - Last 2 games have been his best in the shirt. Made a few good saves and eliminated some of his communication problems.
Fuller - Gave some width on the right and contained their winger well.
Gowling - Probably MOM, solid and dealt with all he had to deal with
Lawrence - Same as always. Reliable and gives the opposition nothing. Player of the season thus far.
Palmer - Felt sorry for him having no support down the left. Delivery from set plays was good and did suport the attacks well.
Inkango - Looks good, the type of player who would frustrate for 85 mins before producing a bit of magic. Would like him to stay a bit wider though.
J.Payne - Did Ok, however I think he needs to look for the ball off the centre halfs more often to start attacks
Weston - One of his better games, looked likely to create something out of nothing and showed his class at times
Spiller - Worst game so far this season, and should have been replaced. Didn't create anything and did not stay wide enough. Poor.
Akinfenwa - When will we learn that his strength is playing the ball into his chest or feet is more useful than his head as he is not tall enough. However when we did play to his strengths he looked very good.
McDonald - Didn't have a kick in the first half but had a few half chances.

Rooney - Did well at first but then drifted out of the game. When Oli and Barcham are fit we shoudl loan him out for experience.

Hessenthaler - A very poor game for Hess, and with a better manager we would have won that game. It was evident after 5 minutes their was just not enough width in the team yet he should have been brave and changed things. When he did make a sub, it was a like for like replacement which did not cure the original problem. Also disappointed he didnt utilise the likes of Aborah and Stefan Payne and tried something diffferent when things were going wrong. He also needs to realise that we have to play the ball on the ground and stop playing this hoof ball which just plays into the hands of the opposition. Lots of improvement needed for the 'legend'.

[dickwroe]

ingangoo is indeed a wide player

but if you noticed last night- every time he drifted out to the wing- hessy called him back into the middle of the park

Its also about time this team started playing to its strengths and not to the bench

there were many occassions last night (and every game) where players were in acres of space on the left (first half) screaming for a ball- only for it to be played into the congested right

first half the team plays 90% of the game on the bench side of the pitch

second half the team plays 90% of the game on the bench side of the pitch

how long before the gills management get the players to use both halves of the pitch more evenly throughout the match?

if the team feels it need to play the bench side to get instruction- then that is a worry

the game was screaming out for someone like aborah- who has the ability to make a telling pass from midfield and who could link up well with inkangoo- who several times attempted to work the one- twos- only to find that the ball was not returned