Torquay United v Yeovil Town - 26th December 2022

DevonBee · Post by **DevonBee** » 26 Dec 2022, 20:10

Games running out , as we keep failing in these 6 pointer, Must win games.
Worrying that Ellis could have played his last game for us with his unfortunate injury, with Omar, Tomlinson and loose cannon Marshall ready to step in !
Rumours that Stoke want Goodwin back
Evans offering very little from what i have viewed so far.
Worrying to say the least.........From what I have witnessed today, Yeovil and us could easy be in the bottom 4 come May

Modgull · Post by **Modgull** » 27 Dec 2022, 08:54

This was an entertaining match with all the hallmarks of a local derby with end-to-end action, full-on effort (but see below) and crunching tackles. Only the absence of quality in the final third kept the scores down for both teams.

For us it was 5 points dropped though as the poor quality of the summer's recruitment continues to haunt us. Crowe, once again, showed that he is as poor as a defender as Marshall and McGavin spent most of the game at half throttle at best. Evans and De Silva were subdued (the latter because he had to support the under-pressure Crowe) but the rest of the team showed flashes of skill and intent. For me MOTM was probably Halstead because without his two or three outstanding saves we would have been crushed. No complaints with Donellan taking the plaudits though - I thought he was the pick of the defence and brought the ball forward well at times. Good to see Wyatt back too. Ellis did well but showed that he still has that suicide ball in his game.

We were very good in the first half with 7 attempts, 5 on target and the goal. The second half was totally different as we seemed unable to cope with the change in Yeovil's formation and despite 5 attempts, only 2 were tamely on target and we were exceedingly fortunate not to concede on multiple occasions.

The absence of Crowe for the return is probably not critical but the loss of Ellis is. I shudder to think what the score might be with Omar at RB and Marshall alongside Donellan at CB.

hector · Post by **hector** » 27 Dec 2022, 10:00

Like many others view of the game really, first half not too bad but worryingly poor in the second half.

Although I often read negative reports, I actually think McGavin is a good player, he doesn’t hide, is intelligent in what he tries to do and takes a really good corner. I thought he had a decent game yesterday and more often than not, I do think that when I’ve seen him play.

The sending off of Crowe, could be viewed as a blessing but it will likely mean our defence away at Yeovil will be Donnelan, Marshall, Omar, Hyde unless Moxey regains fitness and assuming Ellis will be out for a while. Considering the space afforded to Yeovil in that second half with Donnelan and Ellis, I dread to think what the score might be with a Marshall/Omar pairing as both of them are liabilities - they are to defending what Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng are to the economy.

A midfield pairing of McGavin and Evans is unlikely to have enough steel for an away game - thought Evans was pretty anonymous yesterday - but we don’t even really have any options so unless any new signings/loanees are brought in, then I would imagine a 3-0 defeat or more is on the cards for NYD.

Some criticisms of the numbers of away fans travelling yesterday but will we take many more? Whilst we did last season, things are very different this year. It’s not a lot further for me to travel to Yeovil than it is to Torquay but I won’t be going to stand in the rain and watch us get stuffed. Instead, I’ll probably watch via streaming and then at least TUFC will get a % of my payment whereas they don’t see a penny if I pay on the gate at Yeovil.

desperado · Post by **desperado** » 27 Dec 2022, 11:04

Agree McGavin could be a really good player but not sure he has the desire.
Seems so casual at times , he needs to up his fitness, pace and concentration and influence the game more.
I thought he had a superb game against I think it was Gateshead and he was ok yesterday but not at that level and yes there is not enough steel in that midfield.
Lapslie needs to play if fit and maybe Evans wider in place of De Silva who could be a luxury away at Yeovil, be better to have him come off the bench.
I would play Hall at centre back if fit.
If ever we needed to grind out another 1-0 Dagenham type win this is it.

torq2u · Post by **torq2u** » 27 Dec 2022, 11:09

Hall? Fit? I think not.
We now need a solid CB and a striker who can find the net with alarming frequency!

Mr Tea808 · Post by **Mr Tea808** » 27 Dec 2022, 12:16

Yeovil away now really is gigantic,I need clarification on this,is this the last we've seen of Goodwin,Ellis and De Dilva?,we need to 100% play Hall,Moxey and Lapslie if fit, or even 75% fit because we need experience,what sort of defence we'll put out god only knows,but Marshall and Omar starting together it could get ugly in hurry,For me I could see Johnson trying to go with a blanket defence and playing for a point,on yesterday's 2nd half display and all the changes in we'll have to make,it could be a long afternoon,The bigger picture going forward is that with well over 20 games left,there's still hope, although not much, surely we've got to sign at least 5 new experienced players asap,not cast offs or unknowns.

Admiral · Post by **Admiral** » 27 Dec 2022, 12:45

We were understandably raided after the play off final defeat and never replaced them, but hung on to some quality, with the likes of Lewis, Evans, Little and Wynter. Since these have now departed we’ve again replaced them with inferior players. There aren’t enough match winners in the squad, and we’re in desperate need of strengthening the squad. The trouble is, who’s available in January besides loan players, and who would want to make the move to Torquay given our current status?

DevonBee · Post by **DevonBee** » 27 Dec 2022, 13:09

Play Hall centre half if fit........it really has got this desperate. Tomlinson by his side. Avoid Omar and the loose cannon Marshall.
If Johnson has the plan to blanket the defence both Ali and the loose one would probably get in each others way .
Lapslie is a must, even if only for an hour. One thing is for sure we will not miss Johnson on the touchline after the red he recieved.
Things are reaching Desperado Street as each game passes.

Forest gull · Post by **Forest gull** » 27 Dec 2022, 13:18

Was Ellis injury hamstring or dead leg? Either way won’t play NYD.

DevonBee · Post by **DevonBee** » 27 Dec 2022, 13:34

Forest gull wrote: ↑27 Dec 2022, 13:18 Was Ellis injury hamstring or dead leg? Either way won’t play NYD.

Looked like a hamstring from where I was, however there will be no news from the club as it has to be kept a secret as always :rules:

portugull · Post by **portugull** » 27 Dec 2022, 16:28

Having watched the Highlights the key moment was when Jarvis got into a great position between 2 defenders and then sliced his shot from 6 yards.

2-0 and I think we might have scraped home but Jarvis is full of bluster but basically a striker who's scoring record proves' he is 5th rate and simply never going to be a consistent scorer. He flatters to deceive and I hate saying it but if you exclude the Aldershot win I think he has scored 1 goal. Not good enough.Andrews is even worse and Goodwin likely to be going back to Stoke.We are in deep do dah!!!

Mr Tea808 · Post by **Mr Tea808** » 27 Dec 2022, 17:03

I've thought the same about Jarvis,he Huff's and puffs,and there's a lot of endeavour,but ultimately what's the end product?,The Aldershot game was a total false dawn,a decent player no doubt,but not at this level,I said before on another post that there's a good 20 plus games to get out of trouble,but the more I think about it,and what I've seen so far this season,I genuinely think we could drop,every dept or area on the field we look don't look good enough,the writing is on the wall, without sounding like captain obvious:we are down.

JimNichol'sdog · Post by **JimNichol'sdog** » 27 Dec 2022, 17:12

There may be 20+ games, but with the current squad how many of those do regular fans see as winnable or even likely to garner a point?

I would, humbly, suggest not many.

culmstockgull · Post by **culmstockgull** » 27 Dec 2022, 17:22

Portogull the one thing I noticed yesterday was that Jarvis's left leg is just for standing on, I saw him have three shots with his left and they went anywhere than on target.

DevonBee · Post by **DevonBee** » 27 Dec 2022, 17:32

Huffs and Puffs sums Jarvis up.....I like him but he will and has not set the world on fire
I said this in the Our Squad for this season post back in September
For those unaware this is his goalscoring record from
season 2019-20 Sutton appearances 25 Goals 3
2020 Hemel apps 6 Goal 1
2020-22 Scunthorpe App 32 Goals 4 and relegated to the NL

Here he has scored 3 of his goals against Aldershot, after there centre back went off injured !
Hardly prolific but was considered a ' Marquee Signing' by Johnson.
The chance yesterday would have made it 2-0......and taking this chance is the difference between staying up and going down .
We need better than Jarvis and the other so called 'Marquees'

An important month ahead if Gj is allowed to recruit, but do we trust him ?

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