Torquay United Fans Forum

culmstockgull wrote: ↑06 Jan 2023, 09:23 Best bit of social engineering I have seen for some time, how a manager can go from loser to hero in one week according to a poll when he hasnt won a game since 1876 just shows that anything of value can be skewed , especially by those running a suppposed web site for fans. This will come back to haunt you.

Can't let this one go. I suppose I am one of those who don't go imposing their views on others ie 'the silent majority'. So when we get the chance to put our view forward in the least biased way possible and this is the response I get very angry. The mods have had nothing to do with the emerging result - its just that a substantial number of fans don't agree with you and your warped reasoning. Red card for you!

Halstead should be one of the first to be secured - one of the few non-loan players to be able to hold his head high this season.

Halstead - two or three excellent saves to save the point and no chance with the goal
Donellan - generally secure at the back and brought the ball forward well at times
Ellis - for his goal but showed a tendency for at least one howler per game which almost cost us
Evans - tried his energetic best to make up for the lack of pace and energy in his midfield partner McGavin
Jarvis - made the best of relatively poor service from midfield and long balls generally stuck

This was an entertaining match with all the hallmarks of a local derby with end-to-end action, full-on effort (but see below) and crunching tackles. Only the absence of quality in the final third kept the scores down for both teams.

For us it was 5 points dropped though as the poor quality of the summer's recruitment continues to haunt us. Crowe, once again, showed that he is as poor as a defender as Marshall and McGavin spent most of the game at half throttle at best. Evans and De Silva were subdued (the latter because he had to support the under-pressure Crowe) but the rest of the team showed flashes of skill and intent. For me MOTM was probably Halstead because without his two or three outstanding saves we would have been crushed. No complaints with Donellan taking the plaudits though - I thought he was the pick of the defence and brought the ball forward well at times. Good to see Wyatt back too. Ellis did well but showed that he still has that suicide ball in his game.

We were very good in the first half with 7 attempts, 5 on target and the goal. The second half was totally different as we seemed unable to cope with the change in Yeovil's formation and despite 5 attempts, only 2 were tamely on target and we were exceedingly fortunate not to concede on multiple occasions.

The absence of Crowe for the return is probably not critical but the loss of Ellis is. I shudder to think what the score might be with Omar at RB and Marshall alongside Donellan at CB.

gullsgullsgulls wrote: ↑24 Dec 2022, 22:19 And to you Louis. Well done on keeping this mad house going!

Hear, hear! Merry Christmas to all.

Yes, the first half was a difficult watch - we made Chippenham look like Argentina! They played through and around our excuse for a midfield and McGavin gifted them the ball for their first goal. The defence was not much better - Ellis had the poorest game I've seen him play - and Crowe was his usual leaky self for their second. Up front Andrews spent most of his time running up blind alleys but did provide the assist with a beautiful ball for Goodwin who was by far our brightest hope before half time.

Only 3 attempts, two on target in the first half, but with De Silva coming on for the ineffective Hanson at half time and, no doubt, a rollicking from the manager, we were a different proposition with 8 attempts, 4 on target and 2 goals in the first half hour before sitting back and allowing Chippenham to make a game of it again in the last 15 mins. Halstead had to make a match-winning save with his feet to guarantee the win.

Wearne was my MOTM and could have had a hat-trick if those around him had more composure followed closely by De Silva and Goodwin. Worrying that we were pushed so hard by a team at the bottom end of the lower division.

Halstead - some fine saves to keep us in it
Goodwin - a combative performance with a fine goal
Lapslie - made the difference in midfield
Evans - tried hard all game to make things happen
Moxey - the only defender who inspired confidence

Much like England I thought we were unlucky to lose after a poor first half performance but a really spirited second half. We were much better with the formation change and Lapslie made the difference in midfield which we started to use productively after the break. The moves that led to both goals were excellent examples of how to play football on a slippery surface - short, quick, incisive passing. Unfortunately we could not make up for our defensive frailties (Crowe is a liability at full back) and a worldie. Credit to Halstead for another fine performance at the back.

Difficult one because no one really shone but it was a goodish team performance. In terms of the result I would suggest:

Halstead - two fine saves to keep Gateshead from taking the points
Jarvis - for scoring a goal when we seemed destined to be scoreless
McGavin - for his best display of the season so far (not that he had a particularly high bar to reach)
Moxey - for steadiness at the back and his Plan B throws
De Silva - a consistent thorn in the Gateshead defence

Thought we were, on the whole, good for all three points yesterday. We had a total of 21 attempts - 7 in the first half and 14 in the second - of which 12 were on target. Gateshead had only a handful of attempts (although Halstead had to make at least two excellent saves to keep them out) and really only pressed once they went behind. The fact that they came only for a point was emphasised by the fact that they retreated back into their shell after equalising.

I think we might have scored more than the one if Goodwin had been playing - Jarvis did well but needed more support. Thought McGavin for the first time this season looked reasonable and clearly has pace when he puts his mind to it. All too often this season he has tried to stroll his way through games. Ellis will be badly missed in defence if his loan is not renewed and Moxey was his usual dependable self on the left flank.

Unfortunately results are going against us and a worrying gap is developing. We do look like relegation-fodder at the moment and the die may well be cast by the time we have finished the Christmas/New Year programme.

Yes, Donellan was good - my TU MOTM. We were put in our place, as were the players, by a very good Derby side. The same weaknesses we saw tonight were evident last Saturday - and indeed most matches this season.

Lapslie - never stopped trying, made a couple of incisive passes and some incisive runs but also some crunching tackles
De Silva- because of the goal but the booking seemed to take the edge off his game
Jarvis - tried his hardest with very little support

No one else deserves a positive mention - several deserve negative comments but...no names, no pack drill.

Just got back from a depressing game. Were we 4 goals worse than Chesterfield? Yes, I think we were!.

We started poorly - I don't think we got out of our half before they scored with a back post header from a corner on 8 minutes. We then clawed our way back into the game and levelled through de Silva on the half hour. There was a brief period where we put them under pressure and Wearne had a glorious chance to put us ahead but his header was at a perfect height to allow the keeper to save. At half time we had had four attempts, three on target and one goal and it was all to play for.

The second half was frankly shocking. Not for the first time in recent games we defended deep at a corner after four minutes leaving Chesterfield players unmarked on the edge of the area to exchange passes and fire in a good long-range shot. I lost count of the number of times we left players unmarked in this area and eight minutes later a similar strike put us three down and effectively out of the game.

Twenty minutes later another long range shot left Halstead with no chance to save and just when it didn't seem like it could get any worse, Tshimanga came on as he returned from injury. You just knew he would score against our static defence and so it proved - another well-taken goal.

Chesterfield were clinical in their finishing and would have had more if they had not overplayed at times. In contrast we had 6 attempts in the second half but only one on target.

What do these guys do in training? Do they just kick the ball into the air as far as possible? When we had the ball there was no space and we were immediately closed down. When they had it there were huge spaces all over the park. Why? Because instead of lobbing the ball forward at every opportunity they continued to play pass and run football, taking our midfield out of the game.

Do I think we will be relegated? Probably not but there seems to be a growing gap between the skill levels and tactics of the better teams and those at the bottom of this league. We really have to start winning against the poorer sides but just accept we will not be able to compete with the likes of Wrexham, Chesterfield and Notts County.

Ellis - he was immense at the back and scored a crucial goal
Da Silva - two well-taken goals
Lapslie - high energy, made some ferocious tackles and some incisive passing
Jarvis - put himself about well and could have scored
Goodwin - again, tried hard with little service until the end when he should have scored the winner

Thought long and hard about last night's game - at times we were made to look like amateurs rather than full-time professionals but we eventually found a way to manufacture a result. Yes, only a draw but could quite easily have won it had Goodwin and Jarvis not spurned glorious chances towards the end.

I really enjoyed Dorking's approach to the game - we could not live with their pass and move game. They showed lots of skill on the ball and created acres of space for their midfield to run the game until they rather ran out of steam.

For me, our stand-out players were Ellis, Da Silva and Lapslie in that order.

What was Halstead doing going up for the last corner though? Did he still think he was in a cup tie and losing by a goal!