Torquay United Fans Forum

Taelee73 wrote: ↑25 Apr 2023, 18:19 We may well go down the drain in the future because of the way he runs the club, the money he's loaning us, but his money/loans have meant we continue to have a club to support.

This is my concern, who is ever going to take us off him? Let's say in a year we've failed to win promotion, Uncle Clarke pulls out, no-one is going to take on a club with 5/6 million of debt.

The club's survival then becomes "we HAVE to move", we agree a move to a small, 5k capacity multi-use stadium rented to us by Riviera Stadium Ltd, the council get a cheeky mil or two for Plainmoor, 150-odd houses get built on the site, netting Uncle Clarke a cool ~£40 million or so.

Makes throwing a few million at us a sensible (and much less charitable-seeming) investment on his behalf, I'd say.

Before I get the CO happy-clappers ask me what I'd do - get the council to agree to the above, but Riviera wipe out the debts as part of the deal / a sale and give the ground to the council, who allow us to rent it on the cheap in exchange for splitting profits of the extra facilities. Can't see any other way the club survives long-term.

toastkid wrote: ↑25 Apr 2023, 17:46 Why don't people rate Donnellan? Simply because he makes bad decisions. How many times have we seen him decide to go on a run, lose the ball and then we concede as the opposition expose the hole behind him?

We have been winning games at home and he goes on a run, and I just think "here we go again" and yep, it all goes wrong.

That's why. Cut out that and he might be ol, but I'd play Hanson instead. Even at full back and utilise his throw.

To add to this, when I've seen him (which hasn't been much), he also jogs back after losing it, doesn't seem to have the grit in him for a fight, which is what NLS is going to be all about.

Mr Tea808 wrote: ↑10 Apr 2023, 21:44 If you are asking me if Aldershot will stay up, at the time I said they would do, I think they will do, I think they'll win 2 games, we will need to win 3 out of 4, I doubt it'll happen, I've never questioned your view of Johnson, if you support him, and think he's doing a good job, that's your view, I respect it, but in no way do I agree with it, for me GJ has got us into this mess, for a club of our size, it should never of happened,

What's more likely:

A) A manager with years of experience either decides to or through his own incompetence recruits poorly all season, then just happens to strike lucky and get it right at the end of the season.

B) An owner whose plans for redevelopment has failed runs the club as tight to the bone as he can all season (resulting in a poor squad), realises he'll lose even MORE money if the club gets relegated, and injects a few grand for better players to try and avoid the balance sheet fiasco of dropping into regional football.

It honestly baffles me that people still seem to think we're a 'big club' in this league. We were once, when we had the Bristow cash.

Now? We're just another ex-league 'giant', but in the a**e end of nowhere, where no-one smart would take the risk to move their family to for a one or two-year contract when you could be around dozens of other employment prospects (London, Midlands), paying wages you could match in most supermarkets.

It's a hard thing to accept, and it's much easier to think "oh it's just cos we've got a rubbish manager, change one bloke and it'll be automatic promotion", but it's the truth.

I feel like York are our only way out, as we've got the chance for an effective six-point swing on them, and they have Notts Co on the Final day of the season. We also both play Chesterfield.

Gateshead have the games, Aldershot the run-in.

If we can win our game in hand and beat York, that puts us only one point behind. Then we need to match their other results, and hope to better them against Chesterfield and/or the big two on the Final day.

A long shot, and much easier said than done, but it feels there ready to be written as yet another TUFC Trademark Great Escape.

toastkid wrote: ↑26 Mar 2023, 17:46 Donnellan cost us the win. Firstly going on one of his runs where he loses the ball and we concede in our right back position. Happens time and time again. Bad decision making. We were a goal up, why play a risky move for little reward. Then the winner, again Donnellan is out of position and McGavin gets done. Not great defending by McGavin, but at least he was goal side. Then Donnellan blames Stobbs when he can't even find a good pass at the end. Was it offside for the goal? Didn't look like it at the time, on the video it looked really tight.

Our players have to use their heads, at times they don't seem to think.

Only seen the Solihull game in person this season, but from that and these highlights, it just feels to me like Donellan wants to be high up the pitch and not actually defend, just jogs back every time, complete lack of any effort whatsoever.

desperado wrote: ↑08 Mar 2023, 19:28 Have to agree Portugull our full backs are a weak link. I like Donnellan as he gives it his all, and not sure what he is but he's not a right back , his positioning at times is terrible and Wyatt gives the ball away too often with slack passing and for gawds sake get them to bust a gut to stop the stream of crosses !
It's all too easy for the opposition !

Have to disagree on Donnellan, was walking back and not tracking his man last night, lacked the desire to knock the ball onto his right and cross too often as well. Perhaps it's cos, like you said, he's deffo not a right back!

100% agree on needing to stop the crosses, from their body shaping it looks like we're trying to encourage crosses as long as it's into a certain area, which is fine...if you can defend them, but we can't!

On a side note, does anyone know what the words between Downes and Lapslie with the supporters were at the end?

Lapslie
Lawrence
Evans
The bloke who was calling everyone the c-bomb at the top of his lungs from the first minute

We are a team woefully lacking in confidence. As soon as Solihull's first goal went in, our heads went.

After half time, we did at least start playing it out from the back, but continued to be reluctant to put the ball in the box. We aren't Barcelona; regardless of how good in the air we are, if you fizz it in at chest height you will get chances.

Once Solihull went down to 10, I actually think we played exactly the right way, moving it side to side, but once we got the goal we just seemed to go within ourselves at the pressure, slowed down, not enough players willing to make supporting runs towards the ball.

Oh, and Dawson + Collins looked dead on their feet from 60 mins, any change is better than no change.

Feel like just throwing one of our big lads up top was a no brainer to cause issues, but we just looked apathetic.

End of the day, though, two goals should win you a game, and defensively we looked so shaky from the flanks, even if Lawrence had a good aggressive game in the middle.

Overplaying up front but underplaying out from the back, look very fragile mentally. Need to come out and fight for the next goal, pass out from back a bit more but then whip it in a bit quicker!

First game I've been able to get to for ages, looking forward to the snide sense of superiority with which I can post "well for those who were AT the game..." later, not gonna lie!

Where we are it's all about scrapping, scraping results and just getting the points somehow. Annoying time for Solihull to pick up their first win in however long at the weekend, but as a habitual highlight watcher my only consolation is we do seem to at least create a few chances; we just need to stick a couple away (it's so simple, right?). As always, seems to be if the players are brave and manage to string a few passes together then we're so much better, but too often they panic and hoof it.

Got a feeling we're gonna scrape another point tonight, late equaliser in a drab Tuesday night affair. I'll double down, we'll get it from a corner. Believe.

GullsUnited wrote: ↑25 Feb 2023, 13:12 They would also hate being in a team with you most likely, players feed off our energy, when the ground becomes toxic after a misplaced pass etc, it doesn't help

Aha I meant the moaners and the doomsayers matey, the "we're basically relegated three times over" crew

gullsgullsgulls wrote: ↑25 Feb 2023, 05:08 Gosh. One (admittedly terrible) result and people are throwing in the towel already.

Whilst we’re not in a great spot right now, we have 15 games to close a 3-point gap to safety so can we save the doom and gloom for a bit longer?!

...and a game that we were winning until we went down to ten men.

No stomach for the fight at all, this lot; would hate to be in a team with them, the type who collapse after the first goal is conceded!

Chelston TUFC wrote: ↑18 Feb 2023, 18:34 A very disappointing result for some of the people who post on this site.......they and we know who they are. The silence is deafening.

A super result and let the momentum build. COYY

100% agree, can always tell if we've won based on how many pages a match thread has.

United62 wrote: ↑21 Jan 2023, 18:33 ...and I hope it's his f**king last! What a waste of a day.... to call it off at such short notice (I was 3 minutes from the ground) is not only disgraceful after Boring Wood had said 'no concerns' it also shows huge lack of respect to those United fans who had travelled from far and wide.

Well, whenever this game is re-arranged for I can guarantee that Boring F**king Wood can count on two less United fans making the trip.

To the referee (sic) who called this off, I hope you sleep well tonight knowing that you've ruined the day of many....and no, not just the Yellow Army...the caterers, the programme compilers etc etc

To be fair, from what I can tell it's not his fault at all. If Boreham Wood said their pitch is fine, he's got there at the normal time, taken a look at the pitch and made the only decision he could make. If he keeps the game on and a player turns an ankle, he's probably liable somehow.

Given that clubs have to pay travel expenses if the game is called off late, it sounds like the responsibility is on clubs to require a pitch inspection, not refs.