FL2: Torquay United v Port Vale - 23 Feb 2013

Are we playing 3 up front or sticking Jarvis in the "ineffective marginalised wide man" role that Craig had?

4 points now off the drop

Points
19. TUFC.................37 (Lost today)
20. Aldershot............37 (win today)
21. AFC Wimbledon........35 (win today)
22. Barnet...............34 (Draw today)
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23. Accrington...........33 (draw today)
24. Argyle...............32 (Lost today)

Marks for performance and application 10 out of 10 I couldn't fault either and we looked to have a far better shape to the team than we have of late, or let me rephrase that the last four or five months.
Not enough BIG performances though our two supposed main threats Howe and Bodin were poor when we needed something more from them. Some unexpectedly good performances from Jarvis and Easton both put themselves about and did all they could to salvage something from the game. Mansell's game was full of total commitment but error strewn and lacking any finesse. Benyon was a breath of fresh air and chased and harried all the lost causes but this, for whatever reason for seemed to have the undesirable effect of Howe strolling around waiting for something to happen instead of being his usual pro active self. The first half performance was as good as I have watched from us for months and months without really testing their keeper as much as I would have liked though Howe did have one header well saved and Bodin a free kick turned over the bar but nothing clear cut. Sadly we lost Downes to a pull or something and it wasn't long before Vale took the lead with a fortunate deflected shot that had Poke wrong footed. Bad luck some might say but in all honesty Taylor has been coming out with that excuse for weeks now and in this game you make your own luck and we simply are lacking in areas where we create enough chances where maybe we can grab grab a lucky goal.
The second half we kept doing the things that gave us a slim chance to get back in the game but the Vale defense and keeper were solid against our increasingly tiring forward line.We did open them up once or twice Bodin put through clear on goal only to blast wildly over the bar when he should have taken a touch into the box and been more ruthless. It was his last action of the day and Macklin came on to replace him and immediately looked sharper and ready to run at defenders (we need more of this) he actually beat his wide defender and pulled the ball back but it was scrambled away. That sort of play has been so rare we need to encourage our wingers its where the goals, if we do ever score again from open play, have a good chance of coming from.
Today I was, at least, entertained something I would suggest I haven't been since the start of the season when the players had no pressure on them unlike now where the situation has nearly spun out of control and may just be irreversible. Today though did give me some encouragement despite us not scoring once again though this the team performance and standard must be maintained and built upon.
Sad to say both Devon teams could go out of the division now, who would have thought that back last August?

This was a much more positive performance by the Gulls today but sadly a very familiar scoreline. Another nil scored and nil points from interim manager's Knill first game in charge. But there is hope. It was refreshing to see an outright 4-4-2 played today, the first half in particular was the best performance I've seen in quite a while. I felt many players were playing for the first time in ages with their shackles off and gave good accounts of themselves. Today Torquay were beaten by a heavily deflected goal when we were on top and as we all know this sort of thing goes against the struggling team and in favour of the form team. Probably last season we would have won by a deflected goal. Crowd 2,679, 670 from Port Vale, sponsors MOTM deservedly going to the commanding Saah at the back.

At a freezing Plainmoor Knill made his first appearnance as manager and had a warm applause before the match. It was refreshing change to see a manager much more proactive during the match. Knill stood outside the dug-out and was a lot more animated shouting orders and arm waving. A few times players ran up to him when the ball was out of play to receive orders. It was good to see more passion from the dug-out as laid-back Ling tends to stand there with his arms folded and not say much. Likewise there was a lot more passion on the pitch and Torquay from the start took the game to Pot Vale and you would have thought Torquay were the team near the top. With Benyon playing up front with Howe there seemed more options in attack and Bodin and Jarvis on the left and right wings respectively linked play well and looked threatening. On 5 minutes a Nicholson cross was headed by Howe into the bottom corner of the goal but was superbly saved by their keeper. Later a bodin free-kick was just tipped over by the keeper. Downes went off injured with a pulled hamstring and was replaced by MacDonald. On 26 minutes Leadbitter ran into trouble about 30 yards out and lost the ball. Port Vale shot from distance, there was a wicked deflection off one of their players and the ball agonizingly crept in. Torquay remianed the better team for the first half and still pressed well but half-time that familiar scoreline 0-1.

Buoyed by their fortunate lead, Port Vale were stronger in the second half and it was a pretty even half. As the game got stretched the game became quite end-to-end. Poke had to pull off a couple of smart diving saves to keep Torquay in the game. The longer the game went on the less likely Torquay looked like scoring. Bodin summed up his lack of confidence in front of goal. Following a good breakaway Bodin was clear on the left about 25 yards out. He had time to control the ball and take it towards goal. Instead he opted to hit it first time off target - a real waste. Macklin replaced Bodin on the left wing on 68 minutes and later swapped wings with Jarvis. Macklin at times looked a threat and once got to the byline and cut the ball back but as usual we could not finish. Personally I would have brought on Thompson for Jarvis but no more subs were made. Port Vale should have scored when clean through but sliced his shot badly wide. Torquay pressed to the end but there was no breakthough and to be frank in the second half did not look like scoring.

An improved performance, a more attacking line-up. I thought Benyon did well in attack and it was almost like he's never been away. He does put himself around well chasing everything and has decent pace. Benyon had a couple of efforts on goal but did not connect as well as he might. Howe by his standards I thought was a little disappointing. Jarvis and Bodin had their good moments and some frustrating moments but there was plenty of endeavor. Mansell was Mansell getting well stuck in and giving his all. It was good to see him getting into some dangerous positions. It's a bit strange Craig was agian left out of the squad as a midfield playmaker surely would have been useful. As I said earlier in this thread it will take a while for Knill to "turn the tanker around" and the question is, will he have enough time? Games are starting to run out as our slide continues.

no rose tinted specs for me,6 losses on the trot is relegation form,he either gets some quality in or hopes this bunch can win 5 games,which aint going to happen

Michael Poke 8/10 Typical solid game from Pokey could not do anything with goal. Good 2 stops in the second half

Daniel Leadbitter 6/10 Not as good as we have seen from him recently with some poor crosses. It's hard to be harsh on him, he definitely has potential.

Brian Saah 9 As usual a complete rock at the back. Deservedly man of the match

Angus MacDdonald 6 Ok performance quite solid a few swipes let him down.

Kevin Nicholson 7 Good performance from Nicholson, he put a few average performances behind him.

Billy Bodin 6 Good first half performance but sadly he was disappointing in the second half. Had a golden chance and skied it. 4 goals this season sadly is not good enough.

Lee Mansell 7 Looked confident going forward, a few mistakes but still shows why he is our captain

Craig Easton 6 Good defensively but doesn't add much going forward I'm afraid.

Ryan Jarvis 7 Good performance by Jarvis, looked good going forward, a few lightweight moments and sometimes I think he forgot he was right wing, but well done.

Elliot Benyon 8 Didn't get the service he needed but did his job of making a nuisance of himself perfectly.

Rene Howe 6 I'm still one of his best fans but I'm afraid in the second half he just wasn't really there. He didn't seem to be putting himself around much. Good header in the first half saying that though.

Lloyd Mackiln sub. 7 Did not have much service but made one brilliant run, he showed why he has a 93 Fifa acceleration statistic.

Arron Downes N/A This is a nightmare if he is out for a couple games. Would the shot for the deflected goal have been closed down if he was on the pitch?

Alan Knill 8 Good to see a passionate manager, he was shouting orders from the bench and in his post match interview he sounds like a true manager. Only downside only bringing 1 sub on and of course we lost

Ref 4 Don't get me started, he was not up to the job, whether it was handballs or clear fouls. The worst thing is if we get relegated the refereeing standards will get even worse