Unlucky for some

[Chris B]

The year 2013 is destined to go down as the worst I have endured as a Torquay fan. Unlike during the near-fatal Chris Roberts days, there's no anger, just defeat after soul destroying defeat in a league utterly bereft of quality. Rene Howe's televised winner at St James Park and Ashley Yeoman's effortless run and finish at Morecambe are the only bright sparks during this miserable period.

At times like these it's almost difficult to remember my impatient anticipation of the next lower league footballing master class I would witness in 2003/04, or the relentless winning in the middle of 2011/12. Torquay don’t have to be perennial losers, yet this year we have conspired to be.

Purely out of interest, I thought I'd check just how bad the year 2013 has really been for us. I've done this with a points per game statistical comparison to other sides I thought have had a bad time of it. The table below also awards points for cup games, and generously gives us one point from the JPT 'draw' versus Portsmouth.

Accrington P37 W9 D10 L18 Pts37 Pts/G 1.00
Bury P37 W8 D9 L20 Pts33 Pts/G 0.89
Bristol City P40 W8 D10 L22 Pts34 Pts/G 0.85
Tranmere P38 W9 D5 L24 Pts32 Pts/G 0.84
Sunderland P30 W6 D7 L17 Pts25 Pts/G 0.83
Torquay P38 W7 D10 L21 Pts31 Pts/G 0.816
Middlesbrough P37 W7 D9 L21 Pts30 Pts/G 0.811

I'm not sure what should be deduced from this, except that living in a depressingly awful part of the country doesn't guarantee you a decent football team to support. Feel for Middlesbrough fans, their annus horribilis began with dreams of promotion, and two of their wins were in the FA Cup against Hastings Utd (conquerors of the mighty Harrogate Town) and Aldershot. They've also lost at home to Accrington.

Back onto us, and it's fair to say we've been dreadful. On current 2013 form, we'd end up on a relegation facilitating 38pts over a 46 game season. There are extenuating circumstances (Ling's illness, our current injury problems), but we have to have the wherewithal to overcome these issues.

Alan Knill is acutely aware of how damning a verdict it is to be sacked by Torquay United. If he fails with us, his managerial career in the Football League is surely over. No matter what happens, we should thank him and Chris Brass for coming down in February, restoring some fight and saving us, all while only being paid expenses.

However, it's time for him to stop panic-signing unfit old favourites and throwing loanees in before they've even had a chance to meet the squad. As Wivel rightly points out on the Burton matchday thread, relegation campaigns (and any under Paul Buckle) are always characterised by constant additions to the squad and thirty plus players used. Allowing ourselves to overload on strikers and wingers when we have defensive problems is simple mismanagement.

If a distinctly average Rochdale side, who we matched, can lead this division, there must be hope of an upturn. Knill needs to select a settled side and consistent formation, as much as injuries allow. Restore Chapell to the XI, and by all means utilise the talents of Azeez, O’Connor et al, but let's have players in their correct positions and two central defenders starting every game. At a time when we need goals, promote proven performer Benyon from fourth choice to the side. After all, Knill commented last season how much better Benyon was for starting regularly, so it's nonsensical to now bring him on for 10min appearances.

[Behind-the-Gulls]

[brucie]

Yes thats an excellent post. Two years ago Benyon was far in excess of anything that Knill currently has at his disposal up front. He also has experience at this level - he really needs to be given a run in the team.

[gullintwoplaces]

Completely agree. Benyon has proved himself as a striker at this level. Of course he should be in the team. To leave him on the bench and play out of form players up front game after game is odd to put it mildly.

[Dave]

Panic for me is the correct word, didn't go and even listen to the game last, but do take on board posts from those who did in the matchday thread.

As a fan of the club I will always back the manager, players and club, however I am not blind, and always thought the label 'rose tinter' to be ridiculous. I have a very good grasp of what relegation will cost the club seriously don't need to be told, also have a very good grasp what position sacking Alan Knill today would leave the club in, sorry pretty much lose and lose.

Right now results and even now performances are simply not good enough, not even close, and the reason I say panic is the correct word , is that is exactly what Alan Knill seems to be doing, after every bad result he seems to be some what rolling the dice looking for an answer a way out, and making the situation worse by the day.

My message to Alan Knill is 'stop' Realize the answer is/could be already here, strip it back to basics, send McCourt back , take a long hard look at Azeez and McCallum, you only need one these players.

Look at the way your playing, Hawley as aloan front man to fair will struggle with the ball hoofed up, played in hope, he is not target man, he needs it into feet, so either go back to 4-4-2, or play someone else,decide your best team and stick with it, chopping and changing will not, is not helping.

[WestLondonYellow]

Panic for me is the correct word, didn't go and even listen to the game last, but do take on board posts from those who did in the matchday thread.

As a fan of the club I will always back the manager, players and club, however I am not blind, and always thought the label 'rose tinter' to be ridiculous. I have a very good grasp of what relegation will cost the club seriously don't need to be told, also have a very good grasp what position sacking Alan Knill today would leave the club in, sorry pretty much lose and lose.

Right now results and even now performances are simply not good enough, not even close, and the reason I say panic is the correct word , is that is exactly what Alan Knill seems to be doing, after every bad result he seems to be some what rolling the dice looking for an answer a way out, and making the situation worse by the day.

My message to Alan Knill is 'stop' Realize the answer is/could be already here, strip it back to basics, send McCourt back , take a long hard look at Azeez and McCallum, you only need one these players.

Look at the way your playing, Hawley as aloan front man to fair will struggle with the ball hoofed up, played in hope, he is not target man, he needs it into feet, so either go back to 4-4-2, or play someone else,decide your best team and stick with it, chopping and changing will not, is not helping.

Good post.

In all seriousness, maybe they should sack him and you could be the replacement.

[diamondgirl]

We just seem to be lurching from one disaster to another. Hawley is, sadly, not the answer. Just not big or strong enough to do it on his own. I don't see what the problem would be in playing either Hawley and Benners or Hawley and Ash Yeoman or even Benners and Ash, up front. Whats the problem with giving Sully a chance ? Lets face it, it cannot be any worse than we already have.

We are suffering the same as last season, lack of goals. The only difference being, the problems have started from day 1 this time . At least last season, we were sort of ok, until the end of January. (After the win at Exeter, the 1st game that Martin Ling missed) and were only saved, from relegation, by the skin of our teeth.

I hate having so many loan players in. Eventually (Usually) they have to go back and the team ends up firefighting, again. Lets get our own boys back in and give them a go, after all, we've nothing to lose.

[tomogull]

My message to Alan Knill is 'stop' Realize the answer is/could be already here, strip it back to basics, send McCourt back , take a long hard look at Azeez and McCallum, you only need one these players.

Why send Jak McCourt back? Obviously Mr Knill doesn't rate Damon Lathrope as he preferred a 10% fit Mozika on the bench last night. McCourt seemed eager to impress last Saturday - bit too eager with some of his tackling - so if Lathrope isn't in contention, at least McCourt shows some interest and energy and is therefore a better option than Harding. As for Mc Callum and Azeez, McCallum has scored goals at this level with other clubs and I could see him and Azeez forming quite a good partnership - certainly more effective than Hawley and Ball ...... or Hawley and anyone.

[diamondgirl]

After 13 L2 games, last season, we had 18 points and had netted 20 goals. We had conceeded 17. Failed to score in 3 matches.
After 13 L2 games, this season, we have 10 points and have netted 10 goals.We have conceeded 23.Failed to score in 5 matches.

And we though last season was bad.

[supergulls]

Panic for me is the correct word, didn't go and even listen to the game last, but do take on board posts from those who did in the matchday thread.

As a fan of the club I will always back the manager, players and club, however I am not blind, and always thought the label 'rose tinter' to be ridiculous. I have a very good grasp of what relegation will cost the club seriously don't need to be told, also have a very good grasp what position sacking Alan Knill today would leave the club in, sorry pretty much lose and lose.

Right now results and even now performances are simply not good enough, not even close, and the reason I say panic is the correct word , is that is exactly what Alan Knill seems to be doing, after every bad result he seems to be some what rolling the dice looking for an answer a way out, and making the situation worse by the day.

My message to Alan Knill is 'stop' Realize the answer is/could be already here, strip it back to basics, send McCourt back , take a long hard look at Azeez and McCallum, you only need one these players.

Look at the way your playing, Hawley as aloan front man to fair will struggle with the ball hoofed up, played in hope, he is not target man, he needs it into feet, so either go back to 4-4-2, or play someone else,decide your best team and stick with it, chopping and changing will not, is not helping.

Never a truer word spoken

[supergulls]

Why send Jak McCourt back? Obviously Mr Knill doesn't rate Damon Lathrope as he preferred a 10% fit Mozika on the bench last night. McCourt seemed eager to impress last Saturday - bit too eager with some of his tackling - so if Lathrope isn't in contention, at least McCourt shows some interest and energy and is therefore a better option than Harding. As for Mc Callum and Azeez, McCallum has scored goals at this level with other clubs and I could see him and Azeez forming quite a good partnership - certainly more effective than Hawley and Ball ...... or Hawley and anyone.

C'mon I watched the last game Lathrope played and I thought he done ok definitely the better of our center midfielders, I'm not sure if you were at the game last night but mcoourt was awful last night. My concern is with all these loan players after a month they go back to their clubs and do they care one bit about what's happening at our club, the answer is no they don't. So then your left with all the players who are contracted to our club such as Lathrope, Benyon etc who have been left out of the team low on morale and totally hacked off. I can understand completely the signing of oconnor at center half where we had injuries but we have enough of our own players who should be given an opportunity before we go looking outside the building. The team morale is at an all time low.

[Dave]

Good post.

In all seriousness, maybe they should sack him and you could be the replacement.

Nice of you to say However as a lowly qualified coach and manager of a local div1 U16 team I am certainly not going to claim to be an expert, however managing 16 year old footballers does give me an insight into just how difficult managing a football team in real life is, I am working with players who are tactically aware and with manager games and sky and other T.V companies bringing worldwide football to our screens, the lads know just as much if not more about football than I do, make a mistake and there is no hiding place. The difference is I have only to manage the expectations of the lads and their parents, poor results and for me it doesn't matter I am not getting the sack and the worst that can happen is 15 dads think am shat manager.

Alan Knill has to manage the expectations of the board,players finances and the media, worst of all us fans who can all do the job better, a real lonely place when it isn't going right. there has to be two way trust and respect, if the players lose that trust in the manager, it doesn't matter what he says does, what system it will not work, and this it what concerns me at the moment, has AK lost the trust of the players ? Is that why we are seeing these loanees turning up ?

For me Tomogull nothing against McCourt, Azeez or any of the loan players, we do not need them all, the answer could well amongst the players we already have, and that's why I think he needs to decide on the best 11 and his best system stick to it and the players ( when squad fully fit), give a chance for result's confidence and performances to resolve it self.

You can''t expect players to want want to work for you, if after every bad result, performance etc, the boss is going to ring West Ham or Charlton and bring in a loan player, and give the likes of Lathrope and Benyon, who's morale confidence and match sharpness is in toilet 10 minutes to prove themselfs.

[tomogull]

For me Tomogull nothing against McCourt, Azeez or any of the loan players, we do not need them all, the answer could well amongst the players we already have, and that's why I think he needs to decide on the best 11 and his best system stick to it and the players ( when squad fully fit), give a chance for result's confidence and performances to resolve it self.

You can''t expect players to want want to work for you, if after every bad result, performance etc, the boss is going to ring West Ham or Charlton and bring in a loan player, and give the likes of Lathrope and Benyon, who's morale confidence and match sharpness is in toilet 10 minutes to prove themselfs.

Fully agree with you, supergulls and diamondgirl - I am not keen on bringing in loads of loan players. I also agree that Lathrope has done okay in the few games he's played. I'd pick him every week, but that's a topic for another thread ! My point about McCourt was that on Tuesday night, AK preferred to include an unfit Mozika and TWO wingers (Chappell and Cameron) on the bench ahead of Damon Lathrope which must tell us something about Knill's thinking (unless Lathrope was ill which we haven't been told). By the same token, when Bodin went off injured, he brought on McCallum, who'd barely had time to meet his new team mates, rather than Benyon. As for McCallum/Azeez, it is plain for us all to see that Hawley isn't going to set the world alight so maybe these two, plus giving Benyon more playing time, will lift us out of the mire we're in, even if they're only here for a month.

Reading through this post, I'm not sure if I've convinced myself loan signings are a good idea or not !! Let's just say - they have their uses. Labadie was brought in last season to fill in where there was an obvious weakness and it worked for us.

Incidentally, re McCourt's performance on Tuesday night - he's a young lad and played his first full league game last Saturday. I thought it was unfair to ask him to play another full game just three days later.

[teeboo100]

the returning teeboo The answer for me lies directly within the squad benyon should given a run regardless of how many goals he mite score. The lad is a clear confidence player and sadly that confidence seams to be eroding as every game passes. I cant imagine how he felt when Alan knill shouted for mcallum to come on the other night instead of him . You cant run a football club the way that Alan knill is conducting his business at the moment i am not calling for his head but the camp seams very unhappy none of the players seam to be playing with a smile in fact the whole club seams to have a large black cloud hanging over it. More so than ever at the moment the club needs us it needs its fans we have a duty to give it all we have on sat. I do appreciate its hard and results have been terrible but come on one and all lets do our bit on sat remember the players are mostly young lads don't we all need an arm around our shoulders sometimes you never know they must just surprise us and take 3 points on sat.

[tomogull]

the returning teeboo The answer for me lies directly within the squad benyon should given a run regardless of how many goals he mite score. The lad is a clear confidence player and sadly that confidence seams to be eroding as every game passes. I cant imagine how he felt when Alan knill shouted for mcallum to come on the other night instead of him . You cant run a football club the way that Alan knill is conducting his business at the moment i am not calling for his head but the camp seams very unhappy none of the players seam to be playing with a smile in fact the whole club seams to have a large black cloud hanging over it. More so than ever at the moment the club needs us it needs its fans we have a duty to give it all we have on sat. I do appreciate its hard and results have been terrible but come on one and all lets do our bit on sat remember the players are mostly young lads don't we all need an arm around our shoulders sometimes you never know they must just surprise us and take 3 points on sat.

Yep - you've hit several nails on the head there, teeboo. Mansfield and Burton are in the past, so let's look forward to a good performance and a WIN on Saturday. Maybe this will be the corner we've been promised for several weeks ......