FL2: Torquay United v Barnet 22nd August 2009

Yes, disappointing result especially after the excellent performance at Burton but 9th in the table after 4 games is very creditable. Now that Mansell appears fully fit and can take up the RB berth from the start after today we should now see the centre back pairing of Charnock and Roberston as the established first choice pairing.

In these early season home games in particular surely it isn't too much to expect that our home crowd can make a much bigger effort to lift and inspire the team. It's not being unrealistic to say that this could make a major difference. From the comments and lack of atmosphere via the radio commentary it seemed like Plainmorgue!

Whatever anyone's views about overall and individual performances it is clear that we have a squad and management who consistently put in 100% effort and it must be demoralising for them to play in front of such a meek home support.

I had niavely thought the atmosphere would improve after the success in getting our League place back.

Hmmmm, that was a couple of hours of my life that I'll never get back!

A very quiet crowd, a very uninspiring all-round performance strewn with basic errors, below-par performances from most of the team and other than Wroe (I think) hitting the post and also firing the best chance of the match straight at their keeper we never really looked likely to score or get the upper hand. Stevens and Carayol were well marshalled and sadly Todd just looked out of his depth. I expect far better from Wroe, but again he jave another "Mr Hyde" (not Mycah - who was a real plus for them!) when we really needed a "Dr Jeckell". I guess that we have come to expect it from him.
Too many times the players as individuals didn't "do the right thing" - they made the wrong choices in passing, lost possession too easily, made it hard for their team mates with some of the passes played and sadly seemed to be lacking in direction. I think it was just a bad day at the office, the first at home for a while and I'm sure there will be vast improvement in application for the next home match.

Barnet looked fairly "ordinary", but kept their shape well and the likes of Furlong and their wingers produced a very disciplined performance and I thought that they were worthy of their win. "Ordinary" is often good enough at this level if you keep your shape, work hard, have experience blended with improving youngsters and that is just what Barnet seem to be. We've still got a very long way to go.

It was just one of those days that felt that we were never going to get out of the blocks. Probably one of the scrapiest games I have seen for a while but was never dirty - only Todd's bizarre sliding takle which resulted in the free-kick that gave them the winning goal was a challenge worthy of a straight yellow.

Still. There is plenty to be positive with. We're still finding our feet at this level again but we do have to earn the right to play as Dagenham seemed to last week. I'm sure that we will do it though, I would stress that I didn't feel that there was a lack of effort from the players - that is the only thing I ever find unforgiveable. We go again next Saturday!

The only particularly enjoyable part of the day was the vastly improved programme. I thought it was excellent and I very much enjoyed Budleighgull's editing to give a great new feature. I'll certainly make a habit of buying it.

One thing - I understood Ben Joyce had joined Weymouth on-loan last week, why was he on the bench?

Shades of weymouth, salisbury and forest green eh. But no, let's blame the fans.

If we are to survive in this league we have to get our home form right. We don't have the gimmies from the pub league. We've been done by Barnet ffs. Not good however you dress it up merson. A lot of work to do.

I’m afraid. Merse has said you need to earn the right to play in any game; we only bothered to try making a fight of it in the last ten minutes.

Barnet had done their homework for sure and never let us get into our passing game, never let us play any football at all really. Too many poor passes, too many poor choices and always second best to the second balls. It was only when Carlisle came on did we look like we wanted to try and get anything out of the game. A very disappointing performace and we got what we deserved and that was nothing

The thing is Barnet were not that good a team in my view, they did have a good old pro in Forlong, who was soon winding up Robertson and for a short while I felt Robertson would lose it, but to be fair to him he did keep his head. They did have some real pace out on the right with Adoman, who went past our players with far to much ease, but not a lot else to shout home about.

I will give my report in a second, but before anyone starts knocking the fans to much at Plainmoor today, it was such a poor first half and so uninspiring to watch, so hard to get excited and cheer on the team, even when you wanted too. That said the singing was nonexistent in the first half and the mindless ones got back to sing the C song later in the second half.

For me such a change to how I felt only two weeks ago at Plainmoor, today after the final whistle I just wanted to head for my car and get home. It did start well when I walked in the ground, buying what is now a really great programme, I was pleased to see the great job both Leigh and Darryl has done on our TFF two page feature, so many thanks to both of you.

I thought Bucks would stick with Rendall and Benyon up front, but I was a bit disappointed to see no Mansell or Carlisle, still Stevens had been doing well and Muzzy I thought would get the chance to show he can come into the team and do a good job. After only five minutes he played in a ball from the right toward the near post, but it was cleared out for a corner.

Stevens was sadly very poor in my view, balls played up to him just came off him as he failed to get the ball under control. He summed up his performance for me on 15 minutes, put through into space out wide on the left hand side; he headed across into the box and played such a poor ball that was nowhere near any off our players.

Adoman showed his real pace around the 15 minute mark, going on a great run and sending in the near perfect ball into our box, Robertson did so well to head the ball away for a corner. I thought like others around me that Barnet had taken the lead on 18 minutes, a free kick outside our box and slightly to the right was fired at goal, but it hit the side netting.

But they did take the lead and score the only goal of the game round about the 26 minute, Robertson was turned and beat so easily on our right hand side, across came Todd and slide in and took the wingers legs away, a clear and deserved yellow card.

The free kick was curled into toward the far post; it went over all the players and then bounced before heading off into the top right hand corner. Could Bevan have done better? I did feel in the first half he was not moving that well and did not come for a few crosses I thought maybe he should have.

Todd nearly had a good chance on 32 minutes to get a goal back for us, Nico sent in a wicked curling free kick into the Barnet box, but Todd could not grow the extra inch required and the ball came back off the back of his head, if he could have just got above the ball, he might have scored.

I think Bucks had seen enough and sent on Mansell for Todd; I had looked at many of our player’s faces before this happened and felt they all looked troubled and not looking like they were a team together out on the pitch.

Mansell came on and his face showed he was up for a fight, he was soon barking orders around and that is something that was missing before he came on. Stevens had switched sides with Muzzy but that had no effect on his poor game and the Barnet wingers also switched around. Adoman continued to make good runs making some of our players look no more than statues at times

Our midfield was not helped by Wroe having the worst game I have seen him have, Hargreaves often gave the ball away, but he will always get stuck in and try his best to win balls back for us.

Benyon was often guilty of getting caught off side far too many times; he did get knocked off the ball a bit too easily at times as well today. He was put clear through by a Rendall flick on in the 37 minute, why he did not just get his head down and head for goal I will never know, he took the ball forward a yard or two and then stopped.

Five minutes before halftime Barnet were just passing the ball to themselves inside our box for fun, the end result was they got it in the net, but it was ruled off side. So at least we were going in at halftime only a goal down and plenty to play for in the second half.

We had to try a bit harder, we had been guilty of going back to hitting a few long balls out form the back, more in hope than any believeth a TUFC player was going to get on the end of it. We did start the second half a bit brighter, had the ball in the Barnet box many times, but I felt we did not try that hard to win our headers in there and I really could not see us getting a goal back that way.

Muzzy started going on a few good runs, one on the 50th minute saw him make the wrong choice and shot from too far out, but we were always open to counter attacks
And Barnets no 16 made smart turn in our box and Bevan had to make the save at the near post, it may have been going just wide, but he could not take that chance.

Muzzy again had another shot on 54 minutes, but he hit it with the outside of his right boot and it went high and wide over the goal. Benyon was till running everywhere to get on the end of some long balls played up from the back, he chased one such ball and the keeper claimed it just inside his box. He then went down and took off his gloves and tried to get his boot off. Nothing was wrong with him and when he saw the trainer was not coming on; up he jumped as right as rain.


Just short of the hour we say Carlisle come on for Stevens, he soon got into the game and worked hard with often so little reward, but it was great to see some injection of some fighting sprit out on the pitch.

Our best move saw Hargreaves put in Wroe on goal, but he shot at the keeper who made an easy save pushing the ball out for a corner. He had another shot from to far out on the 72 minute, blasting it high over the Barnet goal.

We had another good chance shortly after this, Hargreaves clearly fouled and held on the halfway line, somehow got the ball out to Muzzy, it was a race between him and the keeper who was forced to come out of his box. Just when you hoped for a clever flick over the keeper, he was blocking the ball with his body.

Benyon was getting caught off side even more time s now and Bucks decided to make a change upfront. Sills came on for Rendall, who really did not have the best of games for me, Sills got stuck in and won some headers, but he did not have a lot off time to get into the game.

Muzzy went on anther great run on 80 minutes and sent in a great cross, both Sills and Carlisle rose for it, over Sills head it want and Carlisle got a good head on it only to see it go past the post.

Muzzy played a good ball to Mansell just outside the box, but his shot lacked and real intent and then it was Wroe who burst through again and cracked off a fine hard shot that had the keeper beaten, but not the post.

Its only game number four and yes there are things we need to sort out and work on, I’m sure this game was a one off and we won’t see another poor game like today’s at Plainmoor, shame about what I feel was a poor crowd, 2856 is not nearly good enough and sadly today’s game might make a few wonder why they went.

Match pictures to follow shortly

Why do you choose to take the opportunity to have a pop at me DtG?

In the absence of any comment from those at the game, or those listening to it, I gave a summary of the impression I got from listening to it myself, and impression was what I emphasized.

I don't see where anything I said could be described as "dressing up", merely asking that things be kept in perspective after an opening four games in which we have both won one and lost one home and away.

Are you seriously suggesting one should dismiss a side merely because they represent a particular club? Like us, D&G and Barnet are small clubs of limited means and they've beaten us. Burton and Chesterfield enyoy better locations and somewhat better prospects as regards commercial opportunities; yet we beat them.

All that proves is that ALL of that is irrelevent once the teams take the field and the referee blows his whistle. If that were not the case, one might as well draw up a league table based on turnover and average attendance and forget the football, thank goodness it's not really like that and small clubs like ourselves AND Barnet can enjoy their "Day In The Sun".....................and I don't mean that potty Red Top that would ignore an earthquake if it coincided with Jordan getting her tits out.

So there you go again DtP, BSP= "Pub League"; Barnet = "FFS" ~ what a superb judge of football you are!

Very good. Not that much of it on display today though. Good job really. I don't like it anymore than you do.