Torquay United Fans Forum

Will BT Sport have him back?

The fashion seems to be zonal defence, especially from corners: everyone on the six-yard line, goalkeeper blocked from coming off his line to dominate in the air, no-one on the edge of the penalty area leaving the opposition 2 or 3 players completely unmarked for the inevitable loose ball.
This style of defending was repeatedly shown up by Altrincham taking short corners and being able to penetrate the penalty area for a shot on goal; even the BT Sport commentators couldn't believe that we had not countered this tactic because apparently that is standard practice for Altrincham, and yet we didn't seem to know about it...
For Altrincham's 4th goal they had 2 defenders together towards the back of our defensive line, we had 3 players, including our newly-brought on sub centre half, marking one another and lo and behold the cross went over them all onto a goalscoring head.
We just do not seem to learn from our copious mistakes or poor positioning, and have all season relied upon last-ditch blocking or poor opposition finishing to hopefully not concede.

It is the constantly dysfunctional midfield which condemns us to never imposing ourselves on the opposition, and yet this game was the ideal opportunity to boss the play and to tire a part-time team.
Our two strikers made lots of runs but were largely ignored, and the fact that they made individual runs ensured that they didn't combine together; indeed Goodwin seemed to think that he had to do everything himself and hence overplayed because there was such little support from midfield.
And that lack of control in the middle allowed, as ever, teams to run through us and threaten our goal.
And yet we started brightly for 20 minutes or so, with Wyatt looking lively, and Crowe finding space down the right.....alas his delivery is woeful, although it would help our cause if only someone would gamble at the near post instead of us hitting hopefully long.
It's not rocket science, and yet we still cannot play as a real team, despite all our opponents showing us how to.

A more encouraging performance for some of the game, a great start with pressing and playing to feet and more dynamism in midfield provided by Evans and Smith, but then we relapsed into hitting hopeful long balls, and consequently offered little direct threat to a young-looking goalie. Indeed our most threatening chances came from fizzing the ball low into the goal area at the near post, as opposed to the soft chips to the far post. Most goals are scored by feet, so why do we persist in choosing the aerial route?
Alarmingly, we gave far too much space to opponents on the edge of our penalty area and are prone to teams running at us down the middle; we needed numerous desperate blocks by defenders throwing themselves in the way of shots, 2 goalline clearances, and a terrific save. Why wasn't Lapslie stationed in front of the back line as usual as he looked unsure of where to be pushed more forwards?
Jarvis and Goodwin came off their markers but were too distanced from one another to play together, and were too often having to jump for high balls and getting thumped by robust defenders. Scunthorpe's tackling earned them 6 yellow cards so we should have pressed them more on the ground. Trying to play out of defence from short goalkicks along the 6-yard line just did not work, mainly because most of our team was on the halfway line so the centre-backs had no-one to pass to in the massive void in midfield.
So, COYY, concentrate more on the basics of passing and movement, and, especially, keeping the ball then playing it with purpose.

Yes Gary we all want things turned around. However, our pattern of play is holding us back, we have gone from a previously exciting GJ teams with flair and attacking intent to a group of individuals who are not putting into practice the very basics of football. Passing with intent, movement with intent, tackling with intent, and especially teamwork, are apparently foreign concepts. Other teams are playing together, playing triangles, playing on the deck, supporting and bringing other team members into play, being strong and physical (alright downright nasty in Woking's case), playing with pace and purpose.
Woking probed our right flank as the weakest part from the kick-off. We have a much taller group of players than last year, and yet we lost most of the aerial battles throughout the game both in attack and in defence. Why do we continue to pump the ball over the heads of our two strikers rather than playing to feet? Why do we take so long over throws-in and often just lob the ball hopefully to opposition heads? Why do we give so much space and light marking to our opponents when they have a throw-in? Why do our midfielders look so slow and unfamiliar with one another? Why do we look so alone when a wide player actually gets the ball? Where is the supporting cast?
We also had difficulty coping with Woking's high line in defence of free kicks and kept getting caught offside. Again down to tactical basics.
Woking certainly took their chances 1-on1 with the keeper, but we didn't show appropriate composure. Our goal was achieved by a fine run to the goalline by a central defender and a deft chip onto the head of his fellow defender...why does it take the defenders to show how to penetrate?

Indeed it is the system which is making us into a group of players set up not to concede, hence the lack of creative play and lack of goals. We have no central playmaker, we have a midfielder protecting the back 3/5, we have insufficient support from the wings and for the front men. Other teams seem to be able to generate midfield support, to have strikers who work together, and desire to attack both posts (not just floated hopeful high balls to give the keeper simple catching practice or beyond the far post).
Apart from a long throw and consequent confusion in the box how on earth are we hoping to score?
Against Boreham Wood, in the second half, it seemed that we were trying to play some actual football as opposed to air ball, and chances were made (to be thwarted by excellent goalkeeping and pathetic refereeing), so we can look like a team on occasions...so why only on occasions?

First league game with such a different squad, so happy with that point, but not with the way we played in continually looking to go long, hence not much created in spite of the width which should come with a 3-5-2 formation. We hardly used the left wing back, the midfield dwelled on the ball and were caught in possession, our throws-in were slow and predictable, and usually not to feet; our zonal defence at set-pieces left us sitting too deeply and leaving opposition unmarked on the edge of our penalty area.
Oldham on the other hand were lively in midfield and upfront with passing and movement off the ball, and should have won the game comfortably.
Goodwin looked a cut above, but needs some decent service rather than having to always jump for the ball; he won a lot in the air, but we were rarely on the end of the hopeful flick-on, so more positional play and support needed if we are to be a long-ball rather than passing team.

Not that harsh actually - Exeter failed to convert several chances in and around our goal area and were only prevented from scoring by excellent goalkeeping and woeful finishing (and even by one of their own men running across goal and getting in the way).
The Exeter front men often made space for themselves on the edge of our penalty area with good movement off their markers, and were supported from midfield and especially from the wings - we found it difficult to cope with the movement and the playing of triangles - basic stuff which Exeter did well. Agree that no 26 triallist looked promising.
Lots of effort and desire, but so far we seem to lack a controlling midfielder to bring everyone into the game and to encourage composure on the ball. Good to see the extra height we now have, so should create more chances from set-pieces this season.

Terrific team and individual performances, wow! And mostly kept our cool despite the man in black allowing so much physical contact, his desire to book our players and ignore blatant fouls by the opposition, and despite the pathetic histrionics and simulation of injury orchestrated by the County captain.
Thank you one and all at Plainmoor for a wonderful day.

Agree with Modgull.

As ever with referees, it is tha lack of consistency that fans deplore - compare the Chesterfield keeper, Loach, who tripped a forward who was rounding him in the middle of the penalty area prior to tapping into an empty net and only received a yellow! We should also have had a penalty in the first half when rugby tackled going to meet a corner, but as almost invariably happens it is the attacker who is penalised.

The ref was inconsistent, and seemed to favour BW whenever a player hit the deck or complained or took a throw-in/free kick 10 yards further upfield.
And he didn't blow for a handball on the edge of the BW penalty area early in the first half.
Still, we set up for a draw, we hoofed and chased the ball upfield for a draw, and we got a draw. Couldn't fault the effort, but very limited tactics with a diminutive and largely by-passed midfield against a stronger, quicker, and more confident opposition.

We are a team in transition, and are finding it difficult to field a settled line-up. It was saddening to see both the angry exchanges between GJ and fans who were criticising the performance of AL, and also the reaction of AL to fans after his goals.
AL is an enigma, obviously talented at this level and wanting to be central to our play; however, he is not a natural captain and is not being as influential from his own half and from set pieces as we all would wish. He is a potential match winner and saver, and his second goal was beautifully controlled and skilful; his first goal showed what we should have been doing from the start, faced with a very young looking keeper wearing no. 20 so not evidently first choice.
Our midfield was dysfunctional, strung out across the park often at least 20 yards from one another, and our 2 central midfielders hardly ever exchanged passes. Hence we were uncreative in the opposition half, although KL and the ever-improving KO were lively but did not get service in the second half when Dover came out of their shell and attacked us with pace and numbers. In the first 45 minutes our front 2 were coming off their markers to link play, but that often left a deserted penalty area as there were not the surging midfield runs to fill the void and create goal-scoring opportunities - a void which would have suited AL on the day and CLE when available.
So, GJ, at the risk of having to re-position some players, we need a shake-up of the leadership on-field plus a tactically more purposeful and co-ordinated midfield.
COYY.

Or, far too often this season, defenders can just watch the ball float over everyone's heads out of play. And we fans are right to question why that happens consistently, and with such little variety (no pun intended as there is insufficient change of tactic - indeed, the set piece corner for the equalising goal at Chesterfield was not taken by AL and was actually hit with pace into the near post area).
We seriously need to be less wasteful of set pieces and to make the defenders, and especially the opposition keeper, earn their money...if we mere fans can see this, why do our coaches and senior players not seem to try to rectify it?

Huxtable is a problem because he consistently makes wrong calls, and with a bit of backbone, would have shown his yellow card more; we had 2 possible penalty shouts, first half when Armstrong was charged in the back in the air and sent sprawling (no mean feat , mind you) and the obvious handball clearing a high ball in the second half.
Patently 4-3-3 did not suit our set of players - CLE was wasted stuck out on the left, CJ was anonymous, AL - well, as documented already, his set pieces are just soft chips over everyone's head, and as v Wealdstone, we didn't close down the opposition playmaker until late in the first half. Just kick-and-rush for 45 minutes, even though our 3 front runners were comfortable on the ball (when they did actually get it to feet) and KL had a right back playing left back who had no left foot.
Far more effective organisation playing 4-4-2. Very encouraging starts for Armstrong and Perritt.
If anyone saw the BT Sport show of National League goals, there were various scored from attacking the near post - shame we don't even think of that. KL had far fewer but better deliveries into dangerous areas than we did and could easily have scored twice from balls into the goal area.