Matt Mundy assesses the problems facing Phil Brown…
It isn’t long since four consecutive wins at the back end of September put Southend United in a commanding position at the right end of League 2.
Portsmouth, Cheltenham, York and Shrewsbury were passed with maximum points; however, since 27th September and a 1-0 win over the Shrews, Southend have succumbed to five games without a win – three defeats and two draws giving the opening three months of the season a completely different complexion.
Manager Phil Brown now finds his team’s form completely turned on its head and is beginning to come under intensifying pressure which is mounting from the fans.
The latest of those abject results was a 1-1 draw at home to Bury. Barry Corr had given Brown’s men a half-time lead, but Craig Jones equalised to rescue a point for the Skakers and prolong the misery around Roots Hall.
More and more questions are now being asked of Brown which is in stark contrast – much like the results – to a few weeks ago when he was seemingly on the verge of signing a new contract.
Talk of jumping into the hot seat at the Macron Stadium and taking over at his former club Bolton Wanderers sparked the talks between the Southend board and the former Hull City manager and a four-year contract was rumoured to be close.
Whether it be the poor results or Neil Lennon’s eventual appointment at the Trotters allowing it to take a back seat, Brown’s new deal has stagnated – a word that you could also associate with the on-pitch action.
Blues are without a cutting edge up-front right now having only scored 14 goals in 15 games and fans are questioning if Brown knows his best 11.
There is also a lack of nous to see games out from leading positions, as they’ve shown in the last two home games having taken the lead but only come away with two points in both – a recurring theme which stems from the manager’s substitutions.
This is where the brunt of the fans’ frustration lies. The defensive style the team adopted after taking the lead to protect a narrow advantage at home is extremely negative and if you fail to see it out on more than two occasions – it also happened at home to lowly Oxford United – instead of grabbing another goal, then questions will rightly be asked.
Tactics have also been questioned, as supporter Alex Kennedy voiced on Twitter: “Going 1-0 up and then just sitting back and changing to 4-5-1 just invited pressure to us.”
After the latest draw, Brown was more focused on the bad luck he felt his side had in the referee’s decision not to award a penalty, telling the official website: “We’re not getting the lady luck at the moment. In the last five games, we should have won three of them in my opinion.
“We’re doing a lot of good things but we just aren’t getting the luck at the moment.”
Fans on Twitter see it otherwise, despite a relatively decent position in the table of ninth.
I don’t think I can fit all my anger towards him in one tweet. Our form has been terrible and PB’s tactics have been ridiculous. We were wasting time in the corner in first half stoppage time. Imo Brown needs to go now.
@AlexKen_
I think Brown is losing the plot and he’s losing the fans support to be honest.
@jamesmanktelow
The thought of watching Brown’s team for another three year isn’t appealing. It was only Bury! Poor
@markedwards1995
Has phil brown been sacked yet?
@imran_arbouche
Mansfield Town away on Saturday provides the next chance for Southend to stop the rot and three points will be crucial in regaining the fans belief.