Torquay United V Woking 12th August 2008

Poor Joe did his best, this board has now been changed so only staff can start the threads, so If it is wrong it will be my fault ;D

At last - a home league game; the first since Crawley where I thought Tyrone Thompson played very well against us and now seems to be playing very well for us.

The first competitive home game since Exeter where Wayne Carlisle came on and changed the game so drastically Hopefully he can now do similar for us.

I am fairly confident of both a good performance and result tonight and hopefully this will banish what to me is the negativity of some fans talking about assessing the situation after 12 games

Obviously, this arbitrary12 game mark has arisen because some fans are unsatisfied with the performances so far! But with the first home game of the season tonight how anyone can make a reasonable and balanced assessment is beyond me, particularly as the majority of fans will not have seen a competitive game yet.

By all means lets talk about the team and management after 12 games if things aren't working but to talk about talking about this is in my mind premature and gives the impression of setting a deadline which IMO is not justified and certainly not helpful.

By all means be critical and enter into debate in the short term but maybe this could be more constructive in some instances - we all want the same thing after all.

OK - Rant over! The point I really wanted to make was let's all get down to Plainmoor tonight and support the team and then talk football after.

I will wait until I see Hargreaves play to night before I give my view. On the radio Dave Thomas, said he played very well but some on here said he was very poor. So as I say I will watch with interest tonight.

It only says that the XI will be picked from the 16, Adams or the three defenders therefore, could be named on the bench. We'll have to wait and see...

I have to say that, from what I have seen so far, Brough is not a good defensive option or midfield option. Against Bristol Rovers he played with Adams in midfield for the 2nd half. He was inferior to Adams in fitness, movement, distribution, control and ball winning, so I think Adams would be unlucky to not make the bench if he does.

To be fair it is early so I dont want to be slating Brough before he has played any competitve football but he certainly still needs to prove himself.

I saw Hargreaves at the back against Bristol Rovers and I actually thought he played pretty well then.

He was our player of the season last season and, despite his age, I still think that he is the best central midfielder we have and would be utilised much better there.

However, last season we had periods where we struggled at the back and none of the other defenders did enough to show that they could successfully partner Todd. Therefore, due to the fact that Hargreaves is a very good player, it should mean that he can be a success, if he can adapt.

Wroe and Thompson both look very good midfield options and I think Buckle has confidence that Hargreaves is therefore not absolutley neccesary there while a partner for Todd is.

So far Brough has shown himself to be no better as a defensive option than the players mentioned above (Those who we already had last season). Therefore, unless Buckle signs a new, natural centre back, such as Brett Johnson, who we missed out on, then he probably feels that Hargreaves has the potential to be the best partner to Todd.

Often, good players are tried in new positions by managers looking to sort out weaknesses in teams. It worked with Lee Mansell last season and Hargreaves is a better and more experienced player than him. I, therefore, feel that Buckle would be right to persist with Hargreaves at the back. If he doesnt feel that he is doing a good enough job in 3 or 4 weeks time he can make changes then. For now, he clearly feels that Hargreaves is capable of adapting to the new role and he can only do that if Buckle continues to give him the chance to.

I am going to be bold and say that, come the end of the season, we will be voting for, CENTRE BACK, Hargrevaes as player of the season for the second season running. ;D ;D ;D

For me, Ellis and Robertson could be good in the future but have alot to learn and are not ready to play as first team regulars for a team trying to get promoted. Woods, like Robertson, has been linked with a move away from plainmoor, therefore, Bucks clearly was'nt impressed enough last season with him. Brough has simply not proved himself to the fans yet. I dont know what Buckle feels about him because he sees him train every day. We dont, so its to early for us to judge him yet. Plus, Hargreaves is naturally a left sided player.