Torquay United Fans Forum

portugull wrote: ↑11 Feb 2024, 17:12 ...Worthing are 2nd but have conceded 48 goals the 5th worst ignoring the bottom 4. However they have scored 72 goals 11 more than Yeovil thanks to Ollie Pearce with 29 goals...

That's purely down to how we play though, not poor defenders. We don't get bent out of shape about conceding goals because inviting the opposition onto us is precisely how we gain all the space to exploit at the other end. Its the new 'Keeganism'.

Even flippin' Dover scored four yesterday

You could sign two worldie centrehalves, if you don't change the game plan, it won't improve much.

Its all academic though. In truth the football should be of little or no importance to Gulls fans given what's going on with the owner and the ground. Do nothing and it won't be long before you'll yearn for the days when defensive fragility was your biggest issue

We gave you a head start with our now obligatory slow start but once settled we bossed the rest of the first half.

The game then went all scrappy and niggly, can't help but think Johnson sent you out to make it that and knock us off our stride. It nearly worked too, unsettled and less fluid you got your goal and on another day it could've paid off. A classy finish then put the game to bed.

Thought your #17, Da Silva was it, was very good. I'd love him here.

Can't say I'd be happy to play you a third time as although we were worth it on balance the way you unsettled us would worry me. We're a young side, four teenagers today, and although you don't seem to credit your side, your experience and 'housery are better than most at this level.

I hope those of you that came had a reasonable day out, despite the result and good luck for the rest of the season

Minneapolisgull wrote: ↑26 Jan 2024, 19:29 Still unsure if I am going to leg it to Worthing as soon as I arrive I. London!
With I feel the only outcome a miserable 2-0 defeat
Do I want to start my trip with such a miserable experience
On the other hand what if pull one out of the bag!
Oh the joys of Torquay fan. Lots to think about on the 8 hour flight!
Should I stay or should I go? Any advice would be appreciated!

Do it, you've virtually answered your own question anyway...

Win and you'll kick yourself if you weren't there.

Lose and that's just "the joys of being a fan". Its the kicks in the 'happy sack' that make the wins all the more sweet when they come.

Nick Potkins wrote: ↑24 Jan 2024, 18:15 Saturday see us travel to Sussex, to play Worthing - My home town.

Worthing, currently sit second in the table and score goals for fun.

If we only win one more game this season, please let it be this one. About 50 guys from my golf club will be attending this game, mostly hoping to get one over me. Some attend Worthing games from time to time, but for most it will be their only game of the season. I keep telling them it's their cup final and only there for the Torquay.

The ground is in a street between West Worthing and Worthing stations. A short walk from both. If you are looking to drink before hand, I recommend the Railway Hotel, opposite Worthing station.

I can't see us getting anything from this game. Worthing to win 4 - 1
COYY

Going back to the OP, for those of you wanting a QUIET drink beforehand you would be advised to avoid The Railway Inn...

https://x.com/wfc_awayboys/status/17506 ... 58371?s=20

The ABF styles itself like a 'firm' but is peaceful and normally well self policed, existing purely to support the club with passion and noise... drums, flags, chants, pyro, that sort of thing. However. With a young demographic, and with the addition of alcohol, 'over exuberance' on the fringes can never be totally ruled out.

When they refer there to 'let's show this former league club what we're about', they are not referring to a physical confrontation but, as stated, 'passion and noise'.

For these bigger games the usual drill is lots of drinking, singing and chanting at the Railway Inn followed by a 'march' en masse down Cross Street, over the crossing at South Farm Road and then down Pavilion Road to the ground, arriving not long before kick-off.

Its not my bag but each to their own.

So for those who simply want a pleasant pre-match drink therefore I would direct you to The Brooksteed in South Farm Road or The Green Man in South Street Tarring. Both are real ale micropubs equidistant from the ground, the former is nearer to Worthing Station, the latter nearer to West Worthing Station.

Enjoy the day, just thought a 'heads up' about the Railway Inn might be in order

Arf'noon Gulls

Your general lack of positivity is probably understandable given your away record and what happened against us back in August.

But I shouldn't give up all hope because as some of you have already identified, we don't exactly have the best home record either.

Despite improving (to date) on our first season in the NLS we've blown very hot at times but also very cold. Basically we can never quite be 100% certain what mood the team will be in.

We'd like to think they'll be up for this one, but when it comes to confidence that we've hit a stretch of good consistency we've had too many false dawns.

There's been a few personnel changes since August involving ex-Gulls. Aarran Racine has retired through injury and Ricky Aguiar was recalled by Swindon. But we have had a few additions too, good young loanees from Southampton and Bournemouth plus the full transfer of Danny Cashman, released by Coventry.

Different personnel but the style and tempo will be just the same. I'm intrigued to see how Gary Johnson approaches it this time... it was suicide how he set up (and then didn't change things) at Plainmoor. I'm expecting him to give us a tad more respect this time round.

If you are heading up you'll be assured a warm welcome, its a small ground transitioning still to National League football but what it doesn't offer in five star amenities it more than makes up with in friendliness and charm. Thankfully its dry on Saturday because with segregation there is no cover sadly.

May the best team win.

Well done, your season starts here

Told you your hardest fixture at Plainmoor this season was on Saturday

culmstockgull wrote: ↑14 Aug 2023, 14:33 If you need cheering up , watch the highlights now showing, the most partisan piece of creative editing I have ever seen, It looked like we were unlucky having as many opportunities as Worthing, second half I lost count of the number of three or four on ones they had.

I think we've been kind to you also with our editing... although we did keep the final whistle in, it was strategically left off your edit, I wonder why?



Good luck tonight Gulls

DB57 wrote: ↑12 Aug 2023, 22:39 You don't get a fourth official at NLS level.

Yup, and just as a suggestion, the club might want to tell their 'substitution monkey'... whoever holds up the board for you... that because of the lack of a fourth official, its actually THEIR job to use the board to inform the crowd how much time has been added on for stoppages.

No-one had a clue yesterday what the scale of the stoppage time was

They didn't inform him/her of this because presumably they were blissfully unaware themselves.

Likewise on the subject of 'ball-non gender specific operatives', I can't recall a single NLS club that does have them.

It feeds into my earlier observation on another thread about half your problems starting with the clubs entrenched EFL mindset.

They are in regional non-league football, how do they hope to get out if they don't understand where they are and how things operate here?

Nick Potkins wrote: ↑13 Aug 2023, 11:16 ...we were embarrassed by Collage Academy Players, part time players and a coaching team paid per hour.

Sorry, I simply can't just let that hang in the wind.

I appreciate the sentiment you are trying to convey with that remark (ie it was meant as a jibe towards Torquay not Worthing) but living so close to the 'enemy' your reconnaissance should be waaay better than that.

There were no "Academy players" on the pitch. There were former Academy players who have been brought through the age groups schooled in the system and tempo we play that runs right the club . The set-up has taken years to bear fruit and with players brought through from our Academy now playing in every league from the Championship down its the envy of most clubs at this level, and above... it should not be glibly tossed about as a jibe.

Yes we have some part time players but you could also say we are semi-pro. A group does train in the week as we enter year two of our three year plan to go fully pro. Again, to suggest we're a 'bunch of amateurs' is disingenuous.

Coaches. One that I know of, two that might be
PPH, on the specialism side, but the main coaching core are contracted full time professionals.

So yes, I get your yellow focused aim with that but no, to a greater or lesser degree all of that is wrong. We are a club doing well but its taken over five years of hard graft to get us where we are now so comparisons with some sort of thrown together pub team are massively wide of the mark.

Its an interesting dilemma innit... were you to embrace the same organic growth model/ethos and build from an Academy with a single focus of producing and developing your own players playing an attractive, attacking and passing game it would undoubtedly yield fruit...

...but could your club, your fans, be patient enough to stomach a five year+ project?

I suspect the answer is empatically no. Because from the outside you appear to still be in a football league mindset, a mindset that requires almost instant gratification. Its born out for me by your pre-season, every one an EFL club.

You're not in the league though, you'd have been better served spending the summer properly understanding the level you are at, not the level you aspire to. You have now fallen to regional non-league football, what is your plan for getting out of it? More ex EFL players, more EFL loanees?

Some hard truths need to be learnt at Plainmoor and some hard choices need to be made, getting out of this league either ain't cheap or ain't easy. Either spend a fortune (Ebbsfleet) or understand where you are and work bloody hard.

Its not just gonna happen... and its not simply about changing a manager. Changing your mindset and getting everyone on board with it, that's the challenge I feel. I really don't envy it.

Sorry to intrude on your grief, I'm not here to gloat.

These were my thoughts on the game as put on our board... a straight cut/paste for you as I think it speaks just as much about your team as it does about ours...

"Wow, just back and I can safely say that was as close to the complete controlled performance as you can imagine. We had them at an arms length all game and just picked them off with scoring punches.

Someone said it earlier but it is really not an exaggeration, I swear we could've scored 8,9,10 if we weren't so wasteful in their box. Certainly if Ollie had started two or three of Luer's chances would've been converted too.

We cut through them like a knife through fresh air, out from the back either through the middle or down the flanks, it was ridiculously easy.

Which brings me to a cautionary observation. We should enjoy the result naturally but it was so easy to walk through them I'm on the fence as to how much was us and how much was them, they were really poor.

As an example, our tippy tappy short passing out from a goal kick thing that usually creates at least a couple of scares a game. Today this is how it worked...

Joel takes the kick from the right corner of the 6yd box, sideways to Roco in the middle of the goal who passes to Klass centrally somewhere around the 'D', Joel has by now moved to the right of the box and takes the pass from Klass... and we're out... EVERY 'KIN TIME.

Their press never once figured it out or did something different, the two forwards just ran at Roco who bisected them to Klass. Was that our tactical genius or just binary stupidity from them?

What was Einstein's quote 'the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result'... well that was Torquays press today.

Like I say, it matters not, we won and we won at a canter, we should enjoy it. Maybe we have now turned into worldbeaters, and we'll do the same to Slough on Tuesday, I dunno.

But it'd be prudent not to count too many chickens because I suspect we were made to look a little better than normal today by a truly dreadful team.

Perfect day though, that'll live long in the memory"

Now, I can count on the fingers of one finger how many Torquay games I've seen this century so what you have here is someone without any preconceptions, without the baggage of what you went through last season and without the baggage of thoughts pro or anti your manager.

We're a good passing side, always have been in recent years and that seemed waaay too easy. However the bulk of the NLS isn't so easy on the eye, its more of a blunt instrument, against which your side may well do much better. You won't come up against that each week and I suspect by the time you visit Woodside Road you'll be up amongst the front runners where you should be. Like I said before the game I felt this was the perfect time to play you, before you've found your feet.

You might not think it right now but trust me, there's some proper clogger sides in this division and your season is not defined by this game which was just a culture clash... old thinking v new thinking... and there's a lot more 'old thinking' you will face.

Genuinely, good luck for the rest of the season... with the usual caveat of course!

Skillsy wrote: ↑11 Aug 2023, 00:31 Keithsson......

May the best team win?!? Really??

My priorities are, in order.................

1 Torquay win, playing scintillating football.

2 Torquay win, playing unscintillating football.

3 Any other result, big disappointment.

I'm sure it was only a figure of speech but in reality supporters surely only want their team to win, however it comes about. For disclosure, I am an ex-Worthing player and I have great affection for the club so I am in no way negative towards them. My ideal scenario would be for Torquay to win the League, and Worthing to go up via the play offs.

Forza Torquay.

It's a mindset thing, the priorities for tomorrow are...

1) A safe and trouble free trip down, a great game of football is watched followed by a safe and trouble free trip home...

... and that's it!

As long as that happens my day won't be made or ruined by the result. Sure I'd prefer a Rebels win, a point would be a 'victory' too. But if Gulls win, and win because they deserved to, then so be it.

You see I came into non-league football as a disaffected league football fan. I grew tired of that unremitting win at all costs mentality, where your whole weekend indeed your whole week could be ruined by the mere lottery of a football result, something entirely out of your control. So I just kick back and enjoy the journey now, not fret over the destination. It's so much more enjoyable that way.

I'm sorry if this outlook seems unimaginable to you... but yes, may the best team win

brucie wrote: ↑10 Aug 2023, 23:42 Wow now who is being arrogant - the Dover game is completely irrelevant to be honest, and you dont actually know that you will perform better than Dover, I mean noone can know that. Another day totally different game. Who cares who you beat last season - again totally irrelevant.

Maybe you are not quite as good as you think you are perhaps. A 95th winner against 10 men last week - and that courtesy of a blazing howler from the opposition goalkeeeper.

Maybe indeed. No-one knows, not I, not you. That's why I expressed my 'hopes', not my expectations.

Ultimately everything is "irrelevant" until 22 players cross the white line. But taken to its logical conclusion that indisputable fact means all discussion, all opinions, all messageboard threads and all predictions are equally irrelevant... and where's the fun in that?

MellowYellow wrote: ↑10 Aug 2023, 14:03 There's a fine line between confidence and arrogance. United lacked confidence in their squad last season until the final 10 games. Having keep most of that squad we have got the basic requirement of confidence back and a foundation to build from. So it is confidence you are seeing, the arrogance line has not been crossed. Humility is the basis of any human being and not one comment states 'we are the greatest'. We know we are not but we are hoping to be the best this season, given the resources at our disposal.

You'll receive a warm welcome this Saturday on your first trip to a real seaside town - now that's agrrogance .

And with arrogance can sometimes come ignorance. Multiple posters on this thread have repeated the misconception that we finished 3rd last year... we finished 4th

Nit picking? yes, absolutely. But it nevertheless demonstrates what I hope will be the theme for this game... Gulls having not quite done their homework properly allowing for Rebels to administer a lesson

Hope being the operative word there, I don't think you're being arrogant at all in predicting a home win, we certainly don't travel with any expectations of victory... just a pretty good team and hope.

You see any Gulls ignorance and complacency that manifests itself are our best weapon playing you so early.

We fully acknowledge you are one of the favorites but you haven't hit your straps yet... and have you learnt not to take the 'little teams' for granted yet?

Because from our side having handed both last seasons relegated NL sides their hats in 3-0 wins on their turf, 'status' hold no fear for us at all.

You will need to be fully on your game for this one and you will have to earn that victory because you'll get a proper job game from us, a level poor old Dover just aren't up to.

This is arguably our toughest away game... but we go into the game knowing that. However do you know this is arguably your toughest home game?... and are you prepared accordingly? We shall see.

As a Devonian by birth I'm really looking forward to our first ever game in Devon where I know the welcome will be warm.

Its a long trip for this club so I don't expect a miracle but I do hope for one... as ever, on the day may the best team win.