There was yet more disappointment at Huish Park yesterday with a late goal consigning a much-improved Yeovil to defeat. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions.
We improved – again. After the Carlisle draw I wrote: That was just the tonic the supporters needed after the poor run. Many – me included – feared a bit of drubbing at the hands of a team that is unbeaten in October but we really showed that there’s more to this team than what we’ve seen of late. The same applies this time, but it’s an unsustainable way. The longer this run goes on, the more those three wins in September look to be a postive reaction to the chaos of Danny Webb’s departure. Things have ‘calmed’ down since then and while Yeovil keep turning a corner to improve the performance, Dryden’s men just can’t get a win.
It was an entertaining game. I thought both sides competed well in a fairly even affair. There was spirit in both teams and it didn’t feel like 18th vs 7th for a lot of the match. Mistakes at the back allowed Southend to spurn some glorious chances but we stuck with playing out (which I’m okay with) and when got through the lines we did create moments. Once again though, we tired towards the closing stages where other teams seem to find another gear, or their substitutes make an impact. Their late winner was a real kick in the knackers but I don’t think many will argue that Southend didn’t do enough to get all three points.
Pic Gary Brown
Where would be without Jed Ward? The glove man was imperious – again – in the Yeovil goal, keeping out a handful of efforts and saving his teammates bacon on more than one occasion. It’s not the first game (but it would be nice if it’s the last) where if were not for the Rovers loanee, Yeovil would have been on the end of a cricket score. As it was, he pulled off some blinding saves to keep the Southend attackers stumped.
Chances are hard to come by. If you don’t make the goalkeeper make a save, you can’t expect to get anything and that was the story yesterday. Southend’s keeper didn’t have a shot to save. Yeovil worked openings and got shots away that were charged down by defenders, but we’re back to “bits and pieces” around the box being called chances. We tried something different with the front three I thought it looked okay in the first half. Morias, Sims and Daly had energy, pace and fluidity that caused some problems when the wingbacks got involved too. Despite the attacking options on the bench, I don’t think Oluwabori or Jarvis improved us when they came on for the tired legs. We’re dangerously closed to lauding final third entries as our ‘Special One’ once did, but if we dont start testing keepers we’re not going to get points.
The echoes of 2022/23 are ringing. Sadly, I think we’re in a dog fight and I’m worried. That miserable relegation year is not a distant memory and there are parallels from that season. Changing manager early in the season, struggling to hit the back of the net, patching up a team until January. This time, however, we have committed owners who, I believe, genuinely have the best interests of the club at heart. Prior to kick off yesterday, Prabhu Srinivasan talked to BBC Somerset about the ambition to reach the EFL by the end of next season. I have no doubts that the new owners have invested in the club. Before selling the club, Martin Hellier said how the club was costing £200,000 a month to run and that number will not have changed – it will probably have increased. The problem is that on the face of it – and on the pitch – that investment is just enabling the club to stand still/regress. We really need to hope this ‘blueprint’ starts bringing results or we’ll be back to regional football.
I have been sceptical of Prabhu from the start, but it is remarkable how he has managed to burn all good will in such a short space of time. He may have good intentions, but he clearly has no knowledge of running a football club and the staffing structure is not appropriate to mitigate that. The idea that we will be in the EFL in 18 months is genuinely laughable. More in common with previous owners than we’d like to admit. We will be lucky to avoid another relegation to regional football.
That sums it up perfectly. We are miles closer to a return to regional football than we are EFL football and anyone that thinks otherwise is surely delusional. I’m told there were murmors of Prabhu out at the ground yesterday, and those murmors will surely escalate if we keep putting performances like that.
Having the ambition to be an EFL club is laudible. It would be great to see the basic building blocks of how this ambition will be achieved.
Without this transparency, the ownership risk being perceived as “all talk”
5 Conclusions from yesterday.
We see no plans; we see no criteria for decision making. Hence conclusions have to be based on outcomes.
1 Crucial decisions regarding the due diligence for selection of the current owners and the new manager look flawed.
2 The core activity of a football club, its Team, is not a priority. We are experiencing managed contraction.
3 Narratives from within the ownership group do not align with outcomes.
The game:
4 The result was inevitable from half-time.
The future?
5 I will not be returning to my seat at Huish Park under this ownership.
The current group of players should be capable of better – no doubt in my mind.
I’m a season ticket holder so see a lot of games. Currently ( the Southend game) we are just about keeping a shape and discipline which is why we can run close games. As I see it we are not playing our best options at the same time. There is no partnership up front , our best options are from running through from midfield . The movement off the ball is appalling with the defence unable to be constructive in setting up moves, thus we get hopeful long balls to our small players marked by huge defenders. (Remember Cousin-Dawson repeatedly stationary withfoot on the ball as he see’s no movement) I see a future for Campbell /Jarvis understanding with plenty of runners / ball players around them. But they rarely play together to build their game play. I’d better stop or it’ll be war and peace 🙄
I am tired of the same failings at this club. Our decision making in final third is abysmal and isn’t anything new. That’s one of the reasons why we don’t create enough chances. We need to put more crosses into the box and shoot more. What happened to the team who won 3 on the bounce and played without fear? Next two games away to Morecambe and home to Boston are huge. I also stand by my opinion that a new manager should have been appointed after Danny Webb’s sudden departure rather than giving it to Dryden. That blueprint of being back in the EFL at the end of next season is delusional from Prabhu unless he is one of the mystic megs. Regional football is a distinct possibility again with us now only 4 points above the relegation zone.