Going Down..with no shots on target

Well that just about summed up the season didn’t it? No shots on target for 90 minutes and humiliated 4-0 at home by an average, but well organised, Southend team; that was apparently going through an injury crisis.

Once Stuckmann had needlessly fouled their striker, who was never going to score, to give away an obvious penalty, we were down. The ref started to lose the plot Chesterfield lost their heads and Dion Donohue decided to try some martial arts on Southend’s Demetriou, who went down like he’d been assaulted by Chuck Norris; only to calmly get up without requiring attention, after the red card had been shown.

Web boards are currently in meltdown as it’s very difficult to take any positives either on or off the field after that display, although any communication from the leadership of the club seems to be in short supply, hopefully they will be opening the post to see if any more CCJs have landed on the doormat of 1866 Sheffield Road.

On fan commented on the facebook page that he had spoken to a member of the Southend coaching staff on the phone and the fact is that on the pitch we have not changed tactics from Plan A since Gary Caldwell arrived.

We try to pass it across the back but if other teams press up then we can’t do that, the ball goes back to the keeper who has to lump it long and then we lose the ball as we don’t have the physical striker to control it.

All the teams in this division know this making Chesterfield easy to beat. Us humble fans can see this, so can opposition scouts, but the management continue to try to play this way.

Being fair to Gary Caldwell, we did go on a record equalling 2 match unbeaten “run” recently, but the players aren’t good enough and whichever formation he tries, the team is too weak.

fans going home after the third goal

On that note, all of the January loan signings seem to have flopped or gone back to parent clubs apart from Liam Grimshaw who got a run out as a sub. Sadiq El Fitouri, our Libyan international was reported as having “lost contact” with the club, whether that means he’s gone home in a sulk or switched his mobile phone off on Friday is anyone’s guess. I thought El Fitouri was the best of the January signings although he’s been given little chance on the field.

Well done, however, to Jay O’Shea who has won a champions medal and scoring goals with Sheffield United, but loaning your best player to your nearest rivals as a cost cutting measure tells you all you need to know about which way the club is heading.

Shut the door on your way out

The history of the club is that we get promoted from the bottom division, have a tilt at promotion from the third tier to the second, spend too much money, then the club either goes into freefall or has nearly gone bust and we find our selves back in the basement. 

The real questions are, is this our worst team ever? And who has gained financially from being here? Dave Allen won't sell the club for £10m there seems little chance of anyone making such an offer. Ashley Carson is trying to run the club as well as his own business, but will he bail out? 

We had someone in marketing that made up a raffle winner...and was given the elbow

Chris Turner has gone, but was on wages that many of the fan base could only dream of earning. One mate of mine told me stories of a meeting with Mr Turner which illustrated that he thought our previous leader lacked business skills. 

My greatest fear is that we will end up like Leyton Orient

Still eh, this club does not make mistakes does it? But the pantomime goes on.

Staying up....for another week

Finally a home win for Gary Caldwell, the Blues were good value for the three points in the second half, the first half was pretty forgettable, but no one really minds.

Had we lost that one, the trap door would have opened and we’d have been in League Two, as it is watching Port Vale’s lovely fan base getting all uppity and wanting to have a go at their own players rounded off a nice afternoon. Many on the Port Vale massage board are suggesting that result just got them relegated, especially as they have Sheffield United to play next week.

Joe Rowley took the plaudits today, great to see him getting his first goal and maybe with Lawrence McGuire coming through the team may have a future. It’s great credit to Mark Smith and his Academy that we have these lads who should make the base of next season’s team. Although if 17 year old Joe does get a bottle of champagne for Man of the Match he is too young to legally drink it.

A win against Southend next week would be amazing, but in reality we are all but relegated. There are twelve points left to play for and we are 9 away from safety, even if we won every match, Shrewsbury and Gillingham can still send us down by picking up points.

So, lots of supporters and playing “Guess the retained list” for next season. One player we are nearly all hoping stays on at the Proact is Dan Jones, a man who was out for nearly a year and has finally come back he certainly adds to the teams performance. If Gary Caldwell persists with 3 at the back he can play the attacking wing back role very well or as a left back in a 442, but the manager has left Jones and Sam Hird out in recent matches with no apparent explanation of why, this has led to serious consternation in the stands that some sort of rift had developed between our better players and the manager.

Rai Simons still seems to have people wondering whether he’s one for the future, or if this is the best we are going to see of him like Gboly Ariyibi he can look great going forward but seems to lack positional play when he doesn’t have the ball

On the injury front we’d all like to see Tommy Lee get back to fitness but if and when he comes back, who would you pick Lee or Stuckmann? it’s a difficult decision.

Guy Branston has lists of players drawn up and the manager has a few weeks left to decide who stays and who goes.