On Saturday afternoon, Southend traveled to Sincil Bank in search of their first league win of the season just four days after progressing to the second round of the Caraboa Cup. Bond opted to stick with his side that beat Stevenage with only John White coming in to replace the injured Harry Lennon. It was to be no guaranteed victory though, as Blues’ opponents had won their 3 previous games, scoring 5 and conceding 0. Danny Cowley’s Lincoln City were loving life in League One, and they were looking to continue their perfect start. Since Cowley’s appointment in 2016, Lincoln fans have been living on Cloud 9 with two promotions and an FA Cup Quarter Final being achieved. In that same time, however, us Southend fans have had a rockier period, seeing two manager sackings, loss of our best players and a drop in the League One table from 7th to 19th.
And it was this fate that continued in the game, with Lincoln looking like they were in a completely different league to the Shrimpers. Southend did look like they were matching their hosts for the first part of the match, with Sam Mantom hitting the post after just seven minutes on the clock. It was too good to be true though, with Lincoln’s quality growing stronger with each passing minute. Former Southend man Jack Payne showed the exact performance we have been missing since the Leigh-on-Sea born midfielder left with not one defender being able to get close to him.
Set pieces are a huge part of Lincoln’s success and so pointless fouls should’ve been avoided. However, as with every Southend side, the basics were not followed when fullback Neal Eardly was brought down on the edge of the box. With the resulting free-kick, Lincoln scored with a great header from Jason Shackell. It was at exactly this point that I knew it was game over. Southend have won just 5 games in 2019 and in only one of these wins, had the Shrimpers come from behind. The goal also meant that Blues’ wait for a clean sheet extended to 29 games, a very worrying stat. After Lincoln’s goal it became men against boys with the visitors unable to get out of their half. Just 9 minutes later, Lincoln doubled their lead with another set-piece. Harry Toffolo and Jack Payne skipped past young Elvis Bwomono and Isaac Hutchinson to slot home the second. Half time ended with many away fans fuming at the performance, and rightly so.
Kevin Bond would’ve hoped for a reaction from his side and brought on Stephen Humphrys for Charlie Kelman, who had a disappointing first half. However, the side did not grant his wishes, when just three minutes inside the second half Joe Shaughnessy brought down Tyler Walker inside the box before the Imps striker converted to make it three. At this point, some of the 600+ travelling fans concluded they had seen enough and headed for the turnstiles. Who could blame them? At the top of my memory, Saturday’s second half was the worst 45 minutes I had seen us play in almost 150 games. Our team of professionals were helpless and were nothing more than ball watchers. On the 81st minute, Southend’s day went from terrible to nightmare as Andrade slotted home to give Southend their biggest defeat since Plymouth Away on March 2018.
The game seemed to be a symbol of Southend’s current state. Over 600 loyal supports travelled the 326-mile round trip filled with optimism and hope of a performance that made them proud to be Southend but were quickly left disappointed with a spineless performance that made them embarrassed. At full time, those who were left in the crowd still showed their loyalty and applauded the members of the team that bothered to come and apologise.
The truth is, this isn’t a one-off and it isn’t a problem with the manager. The club has been on a steady downfall since beating Chesterfield 4-0 in 2017. The unbreakable bond of our players and the “never say die” attitude has slowly disappeared with the departures of Adam Barrett, Ryan Leonard, Michael Timlin and more. Southend’s transfer policy has been one of a gamble rather than sophisticated. Premier League has-beens have been signed who couldn’t care less about the club’s performance as long as they get paid. Youngsters who have a few good games at the u18 level get promoted to the first team and think they are better than they are leaving the fans to be let down week after week.
Not everyone at the club is like this. Stephen Humphrys, the man who kept us in League One, was brought on at half time (by which point the game was over) and received zero service all game. If anyone had no blame for the defeat it was him; however the Mancunian born striker showed his passion for the club and was the first player to come and apologise to the fans. It is this sort of drive that has been missing for numerous seasons. The club has a losing mentality and sets out not to lose games rather than to go and win them.
Kevin Bond is trying to install his philosophy into the side, however our fans cannot expect this to happen straight away. He has taken over a side that has spent the past 2+ seasons playing route one football and is now being asked to build from the back. You do not become pro at a new system straight away and you certainly don’t get rid of a losing mentality over night.
At Coventry we looked nervy but grew into the game and matched the hosts for at least the final half hour of the game- we were ultimately beaten by a very good team goal. At Blackpool we were beaten by 3 individual mistakes which could’ve easily been avoided and 3 of Lincoln’s 4 goals yesterday came from set pieces. If these scorelines were spread out across the season there’d be little concern. We have faced three of the top four sides in the league at the moment and have two tough fixtures up next in Peterborough and Wycombe.
The scorelines seem to suggest that we have been played off the park with no sign of hope however going off stats that’s not the case. I don’t like using stats as a reference to games as it only takes one shot to win a game but it does make for interesting reading. In the three games we’ve played, Blues have averaged 54% possession, their highest being 63% Vs Blackpool. The Shrimpers have also completed an average 426 passes a game, a massive improvement from Chris Powell’s legacy. The stats also show that Blues are pressing up field. In the three defeats, we have had a combined 35 shots but just 8 of these have been on target. There is clearly room for improvement but now is not the time to be calling for the gaffer’s head.
Things in football can change so quickly as us Southend fans know. 3 months ago Southend were a League Two Club for 17 minutes. 2 years and 3 months ago Southend were in the League One Playoffs for 9 minutes and over 4 years ago the Shrimpers were 22 seconds away from another season in the basement of English Football. It’s time to stick together and back the players; that first win may not come this month but it’s around the corner and when it comes, it’ll feel good. We have to keep showing up and sing from the first minute to the last, because this is the club that does not know when it is beaten. UTB.
The SS2 View 