Torquay United Fans Forum

Taunton play Hemel Hempstead on Saturday, so something has to give in our favour ...

Injuries or not the basic facts are that we started the season with much the same squad as got us relegated, and with the same long ball tactics which saw us relegated. Without Jarvis we cannot play long ball, but spent all the first half v Truro passing between the backline and the goalkeeper, then a 40-yard wonder ball which went for a goalkick.
Injuries or not, the team is set up to play by the coaching staff;when I was learning the game I was told to know what I wanted to do with the ball before getting it - that doesn't seem to be the way now; you want the ball, get it, then just pass it backwards.
Injuries or not, the individual players must take more responsibility for creative teamwork.

Our lack of teamplay and of desire for the ball at feet is just so obvious, so what do we do in training?
When we warm up there is shooting practice, mostly at the goal - in a match mostly over the bar; there is give and move and passing - in a match there is hoofball and both the forward line and midfield line are strung out over the pitch and never near enough to one another to create a possession sequence; the defensive line practices heading the ball long, so in a match heading to the opposition.
Our throws-in are so slow and predictable, we rely so much on a long throw but how much possession and goal-scoring opportunities do they create (I can think of one goal in last and this season)?
Why are our tactics so old-school? Why can't we learn from being outplayed in midfield and attack (Nouble and Murphy showed how front men combine effectively with one another and their teammates)? Why do we keep lofting the ball into the penalty area when the majority of goals are scored with feet not head? Why do we bring every player back to defend a corner, then lose a goal to a direct header or only have recourse to boot the ball back to the opposition because we have no outlet upfield?

Maidstone were allowed to control most of the first half last Saturday, mainly because (unlike other teams) our midfield is not compact and is easy to play through; our forwards are rarely close enough to play with one another, and most attempts at kicking the ball forwards are in the air instead of to feet.
The bright spots last week were the threat Stobbs posed, making 3 great scoring chances in the second half as we played much better with 10, and taking the ball forwards from kick-off instead of ballooning it into touch.

Pre-match we warm up with triangles, give and move, shooting practice. Why bother when we don't play as a passing team but opt for long hopeful balls, and then hardly have an attempt on goal. Pity we couldn't learn from last season's failings, and from watching other teams play us off the park.
The saying 'Modernise or die' comes to mind.

We need a tracksuit player/manager with modern ideas and tactics to develop whoever we can sign!

Defeat snatched from the jaws of victory again, pathetic second half display showing no idea about game management/controlling a winning situation for those vital and elusive 3 points, expending so much energy to win the ball then just hoofing it anywhere, hoping the ever willing Jarvis will somehow beat 3 defenders to it. Hence the visitors, like so many before them this season, realised that they could just keep passing through our ragged formation until getting near enough to threaten our goal. And if they lost the ball it didn't matter because we would give it back to them.
Hardly any attempts on goal after halftime, even though the Dagenham goalie had shown that he wouldn't/couldn't catch the ball; yes, Collins should have scored/hit the target when set up by Jarvis to put us 2 up, but we didn't make the keeper earn his money at all in the last 45 minutes. In the first half we did try to tire the keeper by attempting ambitious 50-yard cross-field wonder passes instead of playing the easy ball to feet and he had to make various trips to the corner flags to retrieve the ball for goalkicks.
And all we could hear from the touchline by way of instructions/encouragement was "come on"; how creative is that?...just totally unprofessional all round.

A valiant performance by the 10 men indeed. I wondered what was the difference between Lapslie's lunge from the ground and their player's lunge from the ground to kick Halstead in the head - both going for the ball with a high foot as they were sprawled, and yet no action taken other than a late polite word?
But basically yet another team has shown us how to play modern football with passing, triangles, support, possession, control; yes, they had the extra man, but we are still playing old-style airball, hardly ever throw the ball to feet to keep possession, lack of composure and creativity. We have had most of the season to adapt and to try to improve a limited ability squad, but all we see is the same-old-same-old. Just not professional.

A spirited valiant performance but another defeat because we cannot turn possession into goals - then again, we tend to go consistently long with our possession, hence lose it. As said above, what was our game plan apart from going long against a tall defence. We desperately need an experienced controlling figure in midfield; for all his running and enthusiasm, Evans was trying to do too much on his own instead of passing more.
Notts dominated the play in the first half, passes and throws to feet, always a supporting teammate nearby or in acres of space as our rigid 5-3-2 was spread about the field. Notts a good footballing side, playing a loose 3-2-2-1-2 system which enabled them to get lots of players forwards and to have at least 4 in our penalty box when attacking. However, we did restrict them to few chances. Galling though that they should have such a nasty team ethos - niggling, feigning injury to elicit a card, always kicking/throwing the ball away, timewasting naturally, Cameron continually in the ear of the ref. Professionalism presumably, which just shows how young and naive we can be.
Cannot believe we did not get a penalty when Moxey was blatantly hauled down to prevent him reaching a corner; but it shows how decisions go when you are either top or bottom of the league.

Jarvis
Donnellan
Moxey
De Silva
Halstead (good handling and blocking under pressure)

Good last summary. Crucial 3 points but what a disjointed performance. Having just signed a player from Maidstone we should have had a comprehensive game plan for dominating and winning the match; however, we persist with long hopeful balls in the air, long hopeful throws-in where we are outnumbered by 5 to 2, and we starved, De Silva, our most likely provider of scoring chances, of the ball, especially in the second half.
Very well -taken goal by Jarvis, who had to be grappled by 2 defenders for most of the match (so why didn't we play to feet?), but what a panicky amateurish final ten minutes when we had to keep the ball instead of hacking it anywhere and thus inviting Maidstone to come at us.
Play like that this coming week and we will suffer cricket scores against our already costly goal difference.
COYY, play some football instead of hopeful long punts, and throw more to feet to keep possession.

Until the sending-off the pattern of play was disappointingly similar to the rest of the season - we played long-ball and long throws and lost possession, Taunton played to feet and threw to feet and kept good possession, and carved us open for their 2 tap-in goals (where was the defence?).
It seemed to take us 10 minutes after the break to actually spread the play in a controlled way, thereafter we largely dictated the game as we should have earlier.
We certainly hit a number of crosses into the penalty area, but too often with hopeful chips rather than purposeful intent - there was often a lack of movement in their box, their keeper's handling was good, and our corners were unconvincing.
Still it was a win. Agree that Lawrence looked a class above.
Where was Gary?

Do we even know how much we gained from the FACup? Or how much is likely to be available for signings or for normal running expenses/debts?

What a contrast in styles last night - we, battling, chasing, hoofing /looking for the long ball over the top; they, total football, fluid passing and moving, cutting around and through us, a joy to watch but so sad to see us being shown how to play as a team.
We badly lacked a midfield playmaker, until our captain was subbed and then we had some more purposeful play in midfield, and might even have stolen an undeserved win.
Can't fault the effort, but playing like a park team will not save us from the drop.

Somerset Live reckons Hargreaves persisted with a 3-5-2 formation which didn't seem to be working with the squad he inherited...