TUFC v Eastleigh Monday 18th April 3pm KO.

[DerekDawkinsJnr]

His wife was having a baby.

Hope he's not expected to catch it on the way out ....

[Plainmoor78]

Hope he's not expected to catch it on the way out ....

Cruel :~D

[desperado]

Re time wasting , it's all very well adding the time on at the end but these teams achieve their objective by breaking up, stopping the game, and disrupting the flow and momentum and pressure building from the the opposition.

[portugull]

Just a few comments on "the clock"

Not necessary when the ball goes out of play for a throw in, corner or goal kick. Goal kicks must be taken within 20 seconds failing which 30 seconds is added to the clock.

Ball boys mandatory.

I agree with desperado we need some form of sanction when teams cheat like Eastleigh by breaking up play by feigning injury.This is a very difficult one but one idea might be 10 minutes in the sin bin if a player clearly feigns injury as Eastleigh did a number of times yesterday.

The idea of the clock is to make Managers and Players realise that slow play is counter productive. If no action is taken the game will descend into farce. The authorities must take action.

[Taelee73]

How do you prove someone's feigning an injury?!

This season we've time wasted, I'm certain we've played the same dark arts as everyone does.
I agree, stopping the clock as they do in rugby is a good idea. Also agree we need the ball boys/girls back, with instruction to retrieve it ASAP. Unless we're 1-0 up with 5 minutes left of course.

Unfortunately we still need to be beating the Eastleighs of the world if we wish to be a league club. With all their negative play, they still had the best chances.

[The Eternal Optimist]

Does anyone know why the pitch is sprayed so much before kickoff and at halftime? The water does not soak into the soil on these hard surfaces, and the players have difficulty keeping their feet. Is this done on GJ's orders to 'help' our play, or is it done at the whim of the groundsman to help maintain a good surface and encourage grass growth. It certainly doesn't, in my opinion, make for better football. Torquay used to play well on the harder pitches that we used to get towards the end of the season.

[Taelee73]

Pitches are watered in match to zip the ball along, so it's a Gary thing.
Yes I noticed the ground around the sprinklers gets saturated and remains so. And the wings get very little water on them if it's windy.

[Southampton Gull]

Buckle used to do the same before games. It's definitely done to get the ball to zip off the surface.

[DerekDawkinsJnr]

Just a few comments on "the clock"

Not necessary when the ball goes out of play for a throw in, corner or goal kick. Goal kicks must be taken within 20 seconds failing which 30 seconds is added to the clock.

Ball boys mandatory.

I agree with desperado we need some form of sanction when teams cheat like Eastleigh by breaking up play by feigning injury.This is a very difficult one but one idea might be 10 minutes in the sin bin if a player clearly feigns injury as Eastleigh did a number of times yesterday.

The idea of the clock is to make Managers and Players realise that slow play is counter productive. If no action is taken the game will descend into farce. The authorities must take action.

I think the answer is better refereeing rather than drastic rule changes. You do see teams getting away with it at this level unfortunately because the standard of refs is so poor.

To equip the refs better, you might be able to add sanctions if he sees that there is clear time wasting intent as you suggest. Feigning injury doesn't need to be a medical decision either, and can be as the ref decides, much like simulation (diving). A yellow card for what ref sees as blatant time wasting by a player could apply, but it all boils down to same question.... You needs good refs......

[Louis]

Highlights up

[Nick Potkins]

Monday confirmed to me the squad is very lacking. No player rotation or use of bench players confirms Gary's lack of trust in them.

Sadly older legs had to play again and this showed. The speed and movement was very poor. Again we were outplayed through the middle. We have 10 - 12 dependable players, adding a further few, who we trust and play over the summer gives me hope for next season.

[grockle]

Monday confirmed to me the squad is very lacking. No player rotation or use of bench players confirms Gary's lack of trust in them.

Sadly older legs had to play again and this showed. The speed and movement was very poor. Again we were outplayed through the middle. We have 10 - 12 dependable players, adding a further few, who we trust and play over the summer gives me hope for next season.

The problem is how many of these dependable players will still be at Plainmoor next season.

[Nick Potkins]

The problem is how many of these dependable players will still be at Plainmoor next season.

That my friend is the million dollar question. . .

[culmstockgull]

We may have 10 or 12 dependableI players and that is being very charitable, the other twelve in the squad shouldnt have been signed in the first place,many reasons have been given for those circumstances none of which quite tell the full story. Either way we have very few who are outstanding in this league, It has been mentioned already that there is no impact or quality subs to turn a match around, and that weakness has cost us dear this season. We can speculate who will be released and who will leave either way we knowTorquay, we do not try and sign the handful that the majority of us would like to see wear the shirt next season early and then have the nerve to moan when they sign for other clubs albeit for more money, if we wanted them that badly we could at least offer to match the offer or admit they are out of our price range. I still guarantee that with most players out of contract by mid June Torquay will still not announce any new arrivals until a week before the first firendly.

[desperado]

Good article on the time wasting antics we saw on Monday by Dave Thomas in The Torbay Weekly today.
Something has to be done !