Torquay United Fans Forum

Haven't been able to get to many games this season, and unfortunately most recent two were Chesham and yesterday! My thoughts, on an A* - F scale, C being average.

Team (Overall) - D
Too many players had average games, not enough stepped up to the occasion. First few minutes we looked bright, but then the nerves began to show, and we didn't look brave enough to take a step forward in the press, resulting in Boreham Wood winning the vast majority of knock-downs and 50/50s. As a team, we are direly lacking in pace on the wings, and too many of our midfielders are great technically but lack in the defensive side of the game - we were crying out for a Hockley or Mansell figure today. Noticed too much bickering and throwing up of arms for my liking, seemed to get frustrated too easily, but this was very much a feedback loop with the crowd in fairness.

Hamon: A - Kept us in the game with several great saves, particularly that sprawling stop in the first half, and some brave one-on-one standing up against the late counters.

Thomas: C - Seemed nervy and didn't offer an awful lot going forward, needed to see some more overlaps on the right.

Dyer: D - A series of misplaced passes in the first half stood out, and most of Boreham's good work came down the right side of our defence.

Dreyer: B - Really like the look of him, really got stuck in and drove forward (with admittedly mixed success) a few times when options weren't showing ahead of him.

Foulston: C - Made some cracking runs early on that people didn't find, but then started to fade going forward. Solid enough defensively.

Threlkeld: E - Seemed miles off the pace, one or two moments that showed the experience he was probably started for, but failed to marshal the midfield effectively.

Hasani: B - Didn't do everything perfectly, but one of our players who looks most comfortable with the ball at his feet, and willing to try aggressive passes.

Hayfield: D - In many ways worse than a "D" in that I didn't really notice him at all, not seen him enough to know what he's supposed to bring but wasn't impressed.

Young: C - Got absolutely bullied by Illesanmi, but the sparks he showed made me feel like a "B" from him could have changed the game, so perhaps the most disappointing performance for our hopes.

Jay: C - Obviously wanted to press higher up, but resulted in a few Bruno Fernandes-esqe wastes of energy sprinting around triangles. A real enigma, in that he looked brilliant when he dropped into the 10 role, feel he would comfortably be a League player...if he had an extra few inches of height and a yard extra pace. Tracking for their goal wasn't ideal, but to be fair I wouldn't be putting him in a position where he needs to track back.

Cooke: E - Not sure if he's super slow or just doesn't like sprinting, but lost a series of 50/50s and loose balls that you simply can't afford in a game like this. Not strong enough for his lack of speed.

Jenkins-Davies: C - Looked lively and classy on the ball, but didn't show for the ball as often as I'd like when the crowd were getting antsy when we could have used his technical ability.

Mussa: C - I'm guessing he was peeved at not starting, because he bounced between absolute class on the ball and overplaying. Looked way better in the deeper role than when I saw him further forward against Chesham. Moments of "B", moments of "D".

Ash: C - Not on long enough to judge, lively but feel like to be a striker at this level you need to be either quick or strong/tall, and isn't really either; unsure why we didn't stick on Ilesanmi as another lump to target given Boreham's height disadvantage.

Palmer: C - Again, not on long enough to make a judgement.

Moxey: C - The composure and clarity he showed in 10 minutes were what we should have got from Threlkeld, although not on for long he was pushing a "B". Honestly wonder if he could have come on a little sooner, and feel like Foulston could have come off instead of Jay (no matter how tired he was at that point).

Wotton: D - It was clear at half time that things weren't working, but shape stayed the same until the goal. I actually didn't mind our relatively-deep line, as their only threat was through pace and in transition / broken-play (as per their goal), but we failed to press when the situation demanded it, given the Boreham centre backs were nothing special on the ball. If nothing else, our passiveness served to turn the crowd off.

Fans - B
Would love to give an A / A* for a capacity crowd, BUT, speaking as someone who hasn't been to Plainmoor loads recently...Christ, the scars of recent seasons are clear to see. On a day where we needed non-stop encouragement, the groans and yells of abuse when things didn't go right were painful. We slid into a cycle of nerves on the pitch causing the crowd to go quiet, causing the nerves to increase. The drum is an incredible tool, and the little tour of the ground at the start was brilliant, but (politely) whoever is playing it needs to KEEP PLAYING, if anything LOUDER, when things aren't going our way; gently tapping the drum in a rhythm for five seconds hoping people start to join in isn't the way. HOWEVER...the atmosphere for the last 15 was utterly electric, feel like if we could have nicked an (undeserved) equaliser then the crowd could have carried us to a win in extra time.

The Big Picture

I think if you'd have offered us this finish at the start of the season given everything that our club has been through, we'd have jumped on it. The frustration has (understandably) come from the series of throw-aways, scraped wins and defensive performances, only to see just what we can do when we actually try to attack. I don't agree with the Wotton out chat at all, BUT the owners / Warnock / a senior figure do need to sit down with him and get him to analyse where we've been lacking this season.

The closeness at the top of the table showed that being organised and difficult to beat will get you in the mix, but a look at the past few (complete) seasons* shows that you need at least a 60% win ratio to guarantee top spot; our 54% just isn't going to do it. If we can add some pace out wide, an extra bit of bite in midfield, and be a bit more swashbuckling, I think we can push on and win this league.

*23/24 - Yeovil 63%, 22/23 - Ebbsfleet 70%, 21/22 - Maidstone 68%, 18/19 - Torquay 64%, 17/18 - Havant 60%.

Admiral wrote: 22 Apr 2025, 19:13 Might need some clarification from the club/National League before Saturday

According to the Rules (12.2.1) downloaded from the National League's website, ties are broken by:

1) Goal Difference
2) Goals Scored
3) Matches Won
4) H2H Record

RedGull1902 wrote: 07 Sep 2024, 19:52 United in Devon you have obviously never played proper football in your life, blind or with rose tinted glasses! What is it? is this a forum where people can give opinions right or wrong? Or is it all about you? I want the best for our club but I say it as I see it! If you don’t like what you see here move on, I assume you were well impressed with todays game?

Yeah it's a forum where people can give their opinions...including on each other's opinions, that's how a forum works!

Your original statement is a bit hysterical, let's be honest. No need to be so negative when we're in the playoffs after 8 games...after being close to being out of existence altogether; I get you say mid table "isn't bad considering what we've gone through", but whining that we're "just a bang average mid table side" after only our second defeat of the season is just venting.

A little perspective wouldn't go amiss, is what United is probably trying to say.

Not to sound mean, but why are we finding excuses to talk about GJ? Feels like that person who can't stop talking about how much they hate their ex, let's just move on and enjoy the positivity of the new setup.......

RedGull1902 wrote: 12 Mar 2024, 22:28 When it come to predictions for the tonbridge game when I expect everybody will predict a big win ,I will ask them to explain why! Will start tonbridge win 4-0, why? Because we can’t pass, defend, create, score, hope I’m wrong probably won’t be,and yes I will be there god knows why!

Why do you think you feel the need to take out your frustration on other fans when things go badly, RedGull? The other month it was "WAAAHH EVERYONE IS STUPID COS THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT THE PLAYOFFS" when no-one was, now it's people having fun in a predictor league.

Funnily enough, North Curry House also claimed people were still talking about the playoffs the other day, another astute football brain...

It's crap, the situation is crap, and your guys' antics make me wonder whether you're actually just trolling....

Vick wrote: 09 Mar 2024, 16:01 Thanks, happytorq.
Yes, probably the second one, trying to get a quick deal, but it adds more risk to the club, which is unneccessary in my opinion.

The first one is where the suddenness comes in. As owner, Osborne knows exactly what the financial situation is and has been. To suddenly say "I'm out cuz I can no longer afford it" smacks of poor businessmanship, if there's such a word. He should have been able to see the trajectory long ago and done something about it, or offer the club for sale before it became too much for him.

In the nicest possible way, let's get real, it's number one, because a few weeks back CO was laughed out of the council with his stadium "plans"...again.

Having realised he wasn't going to get what he wanted, and having held his proverbial knife to the club's throat for long enough, he decided to cut it, along with his losses.

The 5m will largely be recouped (if it hasn't been already) through some clever/sneaky use of tax rules, and the rest he will laugh off as an investment that didn't quite come to fruition.

Of course, the cynic in me thinks it also doesn't hurt CO for any future "investments" he makes to know that he'll make good on his (implicit) threat to send the institution he buys to financial oblivion if his demands aren't met.....

North Curry House wrote: 02 Mar 2024, 17:21 Good to see you living up to your name. People ARE still talking about the playoffs, I knew long ago we had no chance. I am behind the team but we are not good enough. This season we need to just survive in this division, avoid administration and make a strong challenge next season. The next few weeks are crucial.

Did a quick search of the forum for "playoffs", last posts mentioning them were...

In the Aveley match thread; clearly not seriously discussing playoffs and talking about avoiding relegation, below:

Taelee73 wrote: 24 Feb 2024, 08:53 As for the score, impossible to say really, some saying it’s not important, of course it is. To help make certain we can’t go down, if we lose players and for an outside chance of the Playoffs. No idea how different Downs is from Johnson in tactics/formations or how fired up or resigned the players will be, so a 3-3 draw.

..and me quoting someone else on the Braintree match thread yelling "can't believe people think we'll make the playoffs". Funny, when I asked them "who", they picked out a post from the 9th of February, from a user who had since said they didn't believe we could make the playoffs.

So, again, from this forum (which is obviously who you're addressing, unless you're making posts here aimed at people somewhere else...which would make you madder than me ) is seriously saying we're making the playoffs? I get it feels better to lash out at all these illusory "idiots", but I honestly think everyone agrees with you that it's all about survival!

North Curry House wrote: 02 Mar 2024, 17:02 Final score 1-1. We did manage to avoid defeat but you have to say two points dropped and our winless run extends to FOURTEEN in a piss poor league!

Forget the playoffs.

Mate, literally NOBODY is talking about the playoffs any more. Have you been living under a rock for the past few weeks!? Given the potential points deduction, staying +10 points above the drop zone is the only priority right now.

I get we've had a shocking season, but it's all a little more understandable now given what's going on. We don't need perpetually negative moaners at this point, we've got to pull together and give the boys our backing.

Colorado wrote: 22 Feb 2024, 23:25 Abbey Greyhound and Speedway Stadium Swindon
Read about it
Then respond here and explain your position again

I think we just need to ignore the pro-CO trolls at this point.

If you're helpless at the side of the road, somebody stops by, holds a knife to your throat, and says "don't worry, I'll save you...if you give me everything I want, or you're dead"....THEY ARE NOT YOUR SAVIOUR, THEY ARE A PREDATOR!!!

The one thing I'd stress now is that this is the time for the fans to get behind the players. The shattered morale all makes so much more sense now; the players will certainly have known this was coming, and it can't be a surprise that our shocking run of form has come as we've got closer and closer to D-Day. If we're to avoid relegation, and more generally to keep the spark of hope alive, people now need to be strong and SUPPORT. No more groaning and venting frustration at misplaced passes, just encouragement and passion, a backs-to-the-wall siege mentality, with a sense of unity between players and fans.

Colorado wrote: 17 Feb 2024, 19:38

That was on the 9th of February, before the Slough game. This is the same person on the 10th of February:

TommyGunn wrote: 10 Feb 2024, 17:53 The play offs are looking unlikely now.

I get people are frustrated, but that needs to be aimed at the right place - the board. Infighting only serves a future housing development on Plainmoor.

RedGull1902 wrote: 17 Feb 2024, 18:07 Totally amazes me there a some that think playoff are still a possibility !!!! Deluded! The season was over months agoand so it’s proved!!!! We need a new managerial set up and at least 12 new quality players in to at least give it a f—k site better go next year!!! All this don’t bother me too much now! Numb to it

I haven't seen anyone say this?

Scorpion wrote: 09 Jan 2024, 12:55 Unfortunately, I think a degree of realism is called for.

Torquay United have historically been a Football League club for a long time, but the support level isn't really there to sustain an EFL club without additional funding. Can't remember the last time Torquay got close to an average of 3000 fans at games in a season. A lot of EFL clubs' money comes from TV revenue or Premier League solidarity payments, but the problem with having dropped out of the league years ago is that the club no longer receive either. Two bigger -league - clubs on either side. So Torquay are looking for players not good enough to play for Exeter and probably not good enough to play for Yeovil either, given that most of them have to drive through Somerset to get to Devon and I get the impression that YTFC are prepared to pay more money.

I can't berate Clark Osborn for not being willing to plough a fortune in to the club as I don't see anyone else prepared to do it either. He is reportedly investing sufficient money to keep the team professional, and IF he is doing that without saddling the club with debt, then he has my gratitude.

If we're honest, a lot of the current dissatisfaction comes from the fact that as fans we think of TUFC as being "too big" for the National League South. I do feel the club should be doing better than it is, as most clubs in the National League South do not have the resources of Torquay United, but I don't see that the club's inability to do so is the fault of the owner. It's all very well just knee-jerk firing the manager, but unless you can get someone else better in you've accomplished nothing.

A very good post, and I'd add that it's players who not only aren't good enough for Exeter or Yeovil, but also who are willing to take the risk of uprooting from the network of pro and semi-pro clubs in the South East.

Moving away from employment prospects, probably for less money than you could make playing part-time with a half-decent "regular" job, isn't something that many people are willing to do for a one-year contract at a troubled club.

We also aren't going to get any decent youth prospects come to us, because again why would you when there is the outstanding Exeter in one direction, and Plymouth the other?

We're left with the dregs at every level. We were a more inviting prospect when we were in League 2/National League (or at least bouncing between them), and there wasn't a massive cost-of-living crisis, AND we were still developing players and selling them to bigger clubs. Unfortunately, we seem to have slipped below the "worth the risk" line for the established players we so desperately need.

Skillsy wrote: 29 Dec 2023, 18:31 Just because it's been going on since football was conceived doesn't make it right, even more so against your own team. Bonkers.

Abuse/criticism will adversely affect the vast majority of players.....maybe Ross Marshall is one of the few who has enough character to rise above it, and may even improve his performances in future.

Good on you, Ross.

Could say that the concept of "don't give it if you can't take it" is not a latter day phenomenon. Love how our big hard fans get OOOHHHH OFFENNDDDEEDDD when a player (rightfully) gives it back.

Top of the form table, second-most goals scored, 4th in the league and 5 points off the top (albeit Yeovil have two games in hand), 5 points ahead of the non-playoff places. If we can keep this up over Christmas with our injury worries, we'll be in with a shout!