Spoken to a few people who thought...

Add to that a close effort from Potts that screwed just wide, the shot from Moore straight at the keeper, the flicked near post header from Lindsay which went inches over, the two bungled/blocked efforts from Thiam, and the great block on Mowatt by their lad. Not a very entertaining game, but we made 9 really good chances. I hope we maintain our current form for the rest of the season.

 

Not having a go Stahlrost but I really struggle with post like this because, in my opinion, it's a completely imbalanced view of the game. It's a list of what we did. It completely ignores what the opposition did. We created chances so we were the better side. There is an argument that we were the better side, I'm not denying that, not one set in stone but a valid one, but if we were, it was nowhere near as one sided as this post would have you believe. Personally, I don't understand the benefit of that.

 

Their goal was onside by the way

 

I can't tell, other than to say it looks tight. I'm sure some people will be able to look at that image and say it definitely is one thing or the other, but I can't.

 

I've watched it back a few times and if I had to choose I'd probably have to give benefit of doubt, but it is too close to call IMO. We got off lightly there either way.

 

The important thing to take away is that lindsay has again completely lost his man and been turned

 

The sooner Cavare is packed off to the reserves the better. That kid who won a competition to be part of yesterday's squad would have done better

 

I know you're not having a go, you actually never do have a go and I respect that. It's just a difference of opinion. I think we're a really good side, we hammer most teams in terms of chances created, even though we don't always win. The only game where that didn't happen was the Bristol Rovers game, which we won. For me, the balance of the game was that they hardly had a shot, we had loads. That's what I saw.

However, I do accept there's a couple of challenges to overcome: -

1) Width. This is usually provided by the full backs, and occasionally by Potts on the right and Thiam/Moncur on the left. Neither of the fullbacks can cross consistently. That means it gets crowded in midfield, which was noticeable yesterday. I wish we'd kept Hammill, I wish that Isgrove was fit.

2) Opposition. They want to win too, or at least draw. It's clear that teams have started to suss us out, and play a style that frustrates us. Sometimes that means kicking us, sometimes it means chasing, harrying, pressing. I believe Southend's so-called timewasting tactics yesterday weren't designed to waste time at all, they were to give their players a rest as they were playing a pressing game. We have to learn to deal with this - we've got better players, so if the coaching staff are up to it we should do OK.

 

Add 60% possession to that as well.

I think we've been spoilt by some of the earlier big wins, and now we're grinding out results, some aren't as happy.

I haven't seen much of any of our promotion rivals, but I bet they're all very similar. Portsmouth won by the single goal yesterday, against Bradford who are really struggling, and I'll wager that they will all have a spell when they drop points during the season.

 

If anyone's interested, which I realise most people won't be, the two images below demonstrate why you can't tell if it's offside from the TV footage. In the first image the white lines follow the lines formed by the edge of where the grass is cut/rolled in different directions, causing what looks to be a different shade of green (it isn't, it's the same colour, it's just the way that light is reflected from it). In reality, these lines are parallel (they meet at the point of infinity).

The second image show exactly the same white lines moved to the same point of origin. As you can see the lines converge. This is linear perspective and it is why we can represent what looks to be a 3D image on a flat surface, in this case, the screen of whatever device you're using to view this. Artists use it to create depth, but it happens naturally. If the lines didn't converge it would look flat. But this is also why you can't tell if the Southend player is offside from the position we are viewing the image (or video). If there were far more lines on the pitch, far more sample points, or if you mathematically produced them radiating out from the vanishing point, far more accurately than I have done, then you'd have a better chance, but without them, you can't tell which player is closer to our goal, Pinnock or their forward. And you can't use any line already on the pitch for reference because of the linear perspective. I'll shurrup now.

 

Everyone has. Our two midfielders are at least 5 yards behind the man on the ball. Similar situation for Hedges with their right winger. Cavare is a few yards behind their left sided forward, Lindsay a couple of yards behind the guy who sticks the ball in the net. And they have a man entirely free bombing down their left. Pinnock is looking to cover the guy who has got away from Cavare completely oblivious to the fact that there's a free man behind him. It's an omnishambles.

 

The defending for the chance they had in front of the ponty where there striker dallied on the ball in the box for an age giving us chance to recover was some of the worst I’ve seen. Ever.