As the League One relegation fight heats up, Southend United took the call to end what had promised to be a fairy tale by dismissing manager Chris Powell. A hero as a player at Roots Hall, Powell replaced Phil Brown in January 2018, guiding the Blues away from the relegation zone and to safety.
The former Huddersfield boss was given his first real crack at the whip this season, making major changes to the squad with stalwarts like Michael Timlin and Anthony Wordsworth being moved on to make room for Powell to put his own stamp on the team.
This campaign looked set to be one where Powell could join his former team-mate Steve Tilson in becoming a legend for the club both on and off the field. The latter had led his boyhood club to back-to-back promotions between 2005 and 2007. Powell’s journey ended abruptly, and not with the dream ending that many had been hoping for. The team had gone 11 games without a win and were left drifting ever nearer to the relegation zone.
This tactical analysis will consider what went wrong for the Charlton icon back at his old ground and how a promising season went so off the rails, leading to his sacking only a matter of days after a vote of confidence from owner Ron Martin.
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