Torquay Utd v Accrington 11/09/10

[Scott Brehaut]

Any firm news on where Benners was...?

He heard that you rated him and has gone into hiding.

We all know what happened to Danny Wring, and Elliott doesn't want to go down that route......

[shaunicus]

Bad day at the office for us today. Completely devoid of any ideas going forward, and, as the stats can testify to - we couldn't get hold of the ball. 30% of possession in the entire match tells it's own story. However, in terms of clear cut chances created it was probably even, and we can play badly and get away with it because we've got a fooking brilliant defence and keeper to get us out of jail. I'll take the point and going back to the top of the league, though after a performance like that it feels a bit flat.

Agree with Fonda, too, that we're overcomplicating things. This division isn't rocket science - we just need to keep it simple.

[devington]

I can't believe we have gone back to the top after that but what a bonus. Buckle's tactics had everyone scratching the heads, including the players I would imagine. We actually looked up for it in the first five minutes but when the formation changed and Zebroksi was played out wide with Carlisle playing in a strange inside role we lost any momentum we had. Gritton cannot play as a lone striker, he doesn't have the pace or mobility to play in that role.

We did liven up when the subs came on but I don't remember a genuine chance of scoring until the header over in injury time. No corners until the last quarter of hour indicate our lack of penetration today and that has to be down to the formation.

Why we persist with pulling everyone back for corners is beyond me. We did it every time and yet on three occasions we were not alert enough to pick players up to prevent short corners. Surely Danny Stevens would be better pushed upfield as that would mean opposing sides having to keep players back instead of flooding our box.

Anyway if we can have a bad day like that and still go back to the top then I doubt there will be too many people refusing to take it.

One final point - Today's referee - Dire. He decided very early on that any challenge made would mean a foul. Pathetic.

[Colorado Gull]

Bucks old ways? What a load of rubbish today was!! 5 mins in I thought, todays goanna be brill! But how wrong was I! First 5 mins was good, we played 4-4-2 (Gritt with Zeb, Wayno wing) and looked good. And then Bucks (MOTM) makes it 4-5-1 and puts Wayno in the middle (where he looked lost), Zeb on the wing and Gritt (The target man with no speed upfront on his own!?!) The subs he made was pointless (but Macklin looked good at times) but never looked like scoring! Branston, Bevan and Nico looked solid as usuall but cant understand why Buckle played Gritt on his own let alone 4-5-1!? Gritt is the target man with no pace, and needs to knock-on the ball to another forward! We were never goanna score playing the way we did! Acc were crap but we let them have a few chances as of falling asleep but it's not hard to see that Acc hardly score a goal. The Lino, Ref?? No point saying how bad they were! The only entertaining thing was to see Guy to say "f**k off" to the ball before he headed it out hard!!

I saw Benners sitting with a track-suit on, but whats wrong with him?? Missed him today.....

But..........WE ARE TOP THE LEAGUE!!

[shaunicus]

There may well be nothing sinister about Benners' absense - an injury in the warm up, perhaps?

[Colorado Gull]

There may well be nothing sinister about Benners' absense - an injury in the warm up, perhaps?

Thats the only thing I can think of

[yellowmonkey]

Benners was sat on the bench with the subs for the whole of the game. Just got back and still cannot understand Buckle's team decision, it wasntt until he brought on Kee,Okane and Macklin that we really started pressing Accrington.

[Plymouth Gull]

That was a very, very dull game, compared to our recent games, in my opinion.

Accrington were better than us in the first half, in my opinion. They looked much more accomplished on the ball, much more comfortable in possession. We looked shabby at best in the first half, and through the whole game, the only two bright lights for me were Bevan and Branston. Also, one thing I do have to grumble about is the tactics. They weren't right today. 4-5-1 at home is always a negative, in a league game, for me. Carlisle looked lost in the middle, and Stevens and Zebs were both very poor. Gritton looked tired after half an hour, and struggled all game. Mansell and Wroe weren't there usual selfs, as the midfield were over-ran. Also, we were extremely deep. Too many times Zebs was on the edge of our box, instead of being in an attacking position.

Still, we could easily have lost that today, and a point has taken us back to the top, which is a good place to be at any time of the season.

Bevan wasn't troubled that much, but when needed to, he did perfectly, including a late full-length dive. Some fans seem to moan about his reluctance to let the ball go out to the full backs, but I don't really see what the problem is. We don't have enough attack at those times to counter, in my opinion. MR: 7

Robertson seemed to do well, but didn't really stand out, if I'm honest. He had our best chance. MR: 6

Ellis seemed to be beaten in the air a few times, which was surprising as Accrington didn't look a tall side at all. MR: 6

Branston was strong, and stopped plenty of Stanley's attacks. He was my Man of the Match today. MR:8

Nicholson did okay, but again didn't really stand out. Got caught out once or twice by McConville. MR:6

Mansell was full of energy again, but his distribution was terrible. He seemed to flick it on too often, instead of getting it under control. MR:5

Wroe had a poor game. Could have been booked on at least two occasions, but the referee showed leniency. His passing was poor, and he and Manse were run over by the Accy midfield. MR:5

Zebroski had his worst game for us all season. His first touch was very poor today, twice it hit his foot and went for a throw-in. He didn't have a chance to run at the Accrington back line. MR:4

Carlisle was terrible in the centre. He looked lost, and struggled to get any control of the ball. MR: 4

Stevens was also in too deep a position, and never really got into attacking positions. Never really got going. MR:5

Gritton struggled today. His distribution was off. He didn't really win much in the air, and the referee was happy to give a freekick against him all game. MR:5

The substitutes, Macklin, Kee and O'Kane helped boost the attack, Macklin brought pace, but not much else. Kee was pushed and shoved all game, and didn't get any decisions his way. O'Kane looked bright, but it was a scrappy game, which doesn't really suit Eunan.

All in all, I'm okay with a point as we never got going, and Stanley could easily have won it.

One more thing that really cheesed me off was the timewasting antics of Accrington. The keeper took 10 seconds every goalkick, and the whole team just generally wasted time. And anyone know what started all the Accy players getting all nuts? 3 incidents in about two minutes? :?

[yellow]

If confidence was high on the 998 run it now seems to have been well and truly punctured.

All of a sudden the weaker links are being exposed. I refer to the likes of Stevens, Gritts and what sounds like an unfit Carlisle.

In addition the midfield has been overrun for the last two games.

If it wasn t for the defence and a re-born Scott Bevan we would have lost today. The value of the Ellis/Branston defensive axis is clear. It is the rock upon which our fortunes rest.

And yet we are top of the league. What a funny old game it is!

[westbaygull]

Well. Received a text on my way home saying we're top of the league and that made me realise that things aren't so bad after all...
Haven't read this thread yet, so apologies if I repeat what has already been said, but the first 5 minutes made me think we were going to win comfortably. Carlisle out wide on the right, Zebs up front with Gritts, it all looked so promising and we looked lively and up for it...Then what bloody happened? Why did Carlisle go into the middle? Zebs was sitting so deep on the right I thought he was marking Robbo. Nobody seemed to be linking up or understanding what their roless were. We were just terrible, .like 11 strangers thrown together for the first time.
When the changes were made, we played a bit better - I personally would start with Macklin next match. And Kee (of course). Stevens, Gritts (much as I love him), even Zeb after the first 5 minutes were all off their game.Thank God for Bevs, he kept us in the game on ay least 2 occasions.
So...all in all, if this game had been last season, I would have been feeling really despondant now. As it is, we are still top of the league, so I won't dwell on a crap performance. Just wish Bucks hadn't accepted that flamin' award, don't say I didn't warn you all....

[Colorado Gull]

Just wish Bucks hadn't accepted that flamin' award, don't say I didn't warn you all....

It looked today that your right Jane

I hope not though

[westbaygull]

Don't think Carlisle is unfit, yellow, he was just playing in a bit of a bizarre position, squidged between Manse and Wroe. When he was wide right, he put Zebs through a few times in the first few minutes, and I reckon that would be a good combination in future. Sadly, a few were on his back again, so hope he's given a chance to shine in the next match by playing him where he's at his best.

[westbaygull]

2598 very disappointing crowd

But only about 50 of the 'StanleyUltras'. Bless. Hopefully we'll get some decent away support soon, we'll stay top and Plainmoor will be rocking again

[Fonda]

2500 home fans when we're challenging at the top of the table of pretty awful though. Not that today's performance warranted many more.

If we can't get over 3000 when things are going so well, doesn't bode well.

[pcm]

There may well be nothing sinister about Benners' absense - an injury in the warm up, perhaps?

He definitely was not involved in any pre match warm up.