Played 6. Won 0, drawn 0, lost 6. Kevin Bond is one game short of having the record 0-0-7, but he surely won’t be on anyone’s service much beyond that point.
His side have been woeful thus far this season. They’ve conceded 17 goals in six matches, the same that hapless Bolton have shipped in five. The Trotters are playing without the benefit of a pre-season or senior professionals, Southend are playing with an Australian international and a squad that’s had a solid pre-season. You wouldn’t be able to see that though, not from their performances.
Rochdale are a nice passing side, much the same as the Shrimpers aspire to be, but yesterday they highlighted the difference in quality and direction. Dale could have had six or seven, such was the tepid, almost gutless Southend resistance. Even as cries for Bond’s sacking rang out around the ground, he seemed unrepentant.
Here is a man who is thought to be belligerent and stubborn. One of our writers shared a press box with a Southend journalist recently and was told a story about their defeat against Blackpool. At 3-0 down Bond was snapped looking glum and the photo was used in the paper. He took the scribe to one side to demand in future they use pictures of him looking ‘determined’. One imagines those pictures might be few and far between.
Bond took over a side decimated by injuries last season; Chris Powell’s work had been undermined by losing the likes of Ben Coker and Tom Hopper, but his successor hasn’t improved the squad at all. They’re muddled, often featuring different lineups on a regular basis. Bond can’t settle on a strike partnership and after Charlie Kelman bagged twice against Stevenage fan opinion forced him to play the youngster against Lincoln.
He took him off after 45 minutes with the score 2-0. It made no difference, they lost 4-0.
They lost 4-3 at Wycombe last weekend despite being 3-1 to the good at half time. MK Dons hammered them 4-1 in the cup in midweek and now Rochdale have piled on the agony. The goals keep flowing and on the sidelines, Bond is trying to look determined for the cameras. Those cameras are too busy snapping opposition celebrations.
Yesterday, at home, they had 38% of the possession and just two shots on target. Rochdale are a good side, but they’re not expected to be in the top six come May. The only thing keeping the Shrimpers off the bottom is Bolton’s indiscretion and Bury’s expulsion. Those two clubs might have been labelled ‘crisis teams’ before the start of the season, but six games in Southend are heading that way. Financially, they’re not in dire trouble but in terms of performance, they’re as bad as it gets.
Bond has said he won’t quit the club, that stubborn nature emanating from his post-match interview yesterday. He still blames the legacy of the past and is determined to fight on. The report in which he fought his corner had him looking determined in the main picture. At least that’s one aspect he seems to have finally got under control, although his attempts to explain some of his choices seem to indicate not much else is in his hands.
He might not get a choice in the matter of his future. Six games, no wins and a muddled approach to matches must mean his chairman is taking stock of the situation. It’s a horrible time to have to do so as well; any new man will be stuck with Bond’s squad, or Powell’s if you’re to believe Bond, until January at least.
On current form, that might be too late for Southend United. Whether that’s the case or not, it’s time for 0-0-6 to come for debriefing; his time is surely up.
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