Post by Dave on Oct 2, 2010 10:15:39 GMT
A very pleasing week for me on the TFF and one that has not in any pushed up my stress levels 
as always on the TFF there has been some excellent debate that has taken place and yes I’ve even enjoyed reading that threat about Margret Thatcher as so many good points have been made on it.
The magic of the TFF for me is that you never know what will appear on the forum next and sure get treated to many great posts on all sorts of subjects, but this week the real magic has come from seeing such a great thread that could only happen on the TFF get three whole pages in the match day programme the Albert Hutchinson thread.
I thank you all for your support on the TFF and hope you will continue on the journey that stated not even three years ago and from nothing grew into the great forum the TFF is, as at the end of the day the TFF is only as good as you the members make it.
This weeks winner sure is a great supporter of the TFF and works so hard to produce our Views from the forum pages for all the home programmes and so I’m pleased as punch he was won this week after writing what was his only ever match report and I only hope he gets the urge again very soon.
This week's winner is Budleigh well done Leigh
The winning post
I don't usually do ‘match reports’ as I don't have the most 'football-savvy' brain, but I’ll break that rule today.
Firstly, it was, as Bucks said afterwards, 'a bad day at the office' and one that occurs to every team in football and no doubt in everyone's working and personal life. It was a blip and one that will be forgotten in a short time.
If our first five minutes play, which was excellent in its' execution, had been rewarded with a goal that game would've been out-of-sight by the break.
Macclesfield were a team who came looking to get a draw and gifting them a goal changed their whole mentality shifting the emphasis from our game to theirs.
That we then pulled one back should've been the time to move on and take the game by the scruff but unfortunately they had a stubborn midfield & defence and one player in particular who seemed determined to allow nothing through him. We huffed and puffed with no reward. Too many lazy passes and lack of thought when it came to the killer, incisive move.
Set-pieces, both the execution of and the defending of, are drilled into the players on the training ground until they become second nature; they are then re-run on a board before the game lest anyone should've forgotten. The five utilised by the team in attack are as well-worked as anything in our league, as is the defending of the same when the opposition take theirs. But it must be remembered that it isn't just set-pieces that have to be learnt, it is also the moves within the game.
For instance, if player X receives the ball on the far touchline and player Y is seen to move alongside him then player Z should instinctively see this as his cue to find his position to make the flow of the movement work, as then do players A, B & C. These 'inter-game' moves are also practised over and over on the training ground and it is this movement within the game that is key to getting a result. Different players are therefore able to mould certain types of play & movement in ways others may not, and are able to subtly change the way other players are operating. It is this which dictates when a manager makes a tactical substitution. It's not always to do with one particular player not playing well, but that bringing a different player on changes how the others play and their reaction within the game. The timing of this as dictated by our own teams' play is crucial, but so is the method of play employed by the opposition. See them tire in a certain area of the pitch, or struggle on certain types of play, and a change that may not be apparent to those of us on the touchlines, will be considered.
Yesterday Paul Buckle realised a change was needed in the pattern of play and brought on a player who was required to do this for him. A player who has trained hard with those players still out on the pitch with this situation in mind; a player who has even tried this pattern of play in the reserves and should be able to be trusted to come on and follow the instruction given to him beforehand. Without the player doing so the whole reasoning for the change, and the impact it would have on the game, and therefore the tactics employed by the manager, flies out the window.
The player entrusted with this came on at a tactically crucial time in the game but didn't follow those instructions nor did he comply with the training ground routine that was integral to the reason for the substitution. Even when he was being ‘informed’ of this fact during play there was no response from him. It killed that plan stone-dead stopping the required change in emphasis in our play to take place.
That game yesterday wasn't just an uncomfortable loss & one that should've been avoided, it was also part of a learning process for those involved and I know that aspects of it have been taken on board; not just what happened during the game but the routines employed beforehand and the reactions afterwards. I'm sure it has all been taken in and will form part of the structure of discussion on Monday morning, both in the managers' office and on the training ground.
The more successful people in life are those who take on challenges and are prepared to try out different ideas, without which stagnation sets-in. By stepping out of the ‘comfort-zone’ mistakes will be made and expected, for it is from making mistakes that most knowledge is gleaned and real experience gained. It is what one does with this knowledge that is crucial and the strong person is one who is prepared to put his hands up and admit some things should've been done differently and be prepared to learn from it, even though that may cause discomfort for a time. Someone who is able to see the bigger picture and thrives to work to that end in the knowledge that decisions made may not always be correct but are done because it is the only way to move forward to achieve all that is aimed for. It would be easy to sit back and make no decisions safe in the knowledge that to do so also means no mistakes made and therefore no flak. That would be a sure way for our club to achieve zilch.
In Paul Buckle we have a manager who is not only of this former mind-set, but more importantly one who is intent on instilling that throughout the club; within the management, the coaching staff and the players. It doesn't happen overnight and it takes some personnel longer to take on-board than others, but we have a manager who has a canny knack of seeing through those who aren't 'up for it' whether it be in the management or playing side, and a man who is prepared to discard them if needs be. It isn't about being ruthless, but honest in building a structure and mind-set within, and for the future, of the club and one that Torquay United will reap benefits from.
Buckle knows when a player has reached a point in his career when said player has slipped backward, even by the smallest of notches, in his ability to keep pace with a game even though the paying public aren't aware of this. As he rightly says, it's not just on the pitch he'll notice it but the slight holding back on the training ground and within the body language of the player when he's around the staff and other players. He knows when that situation is irretrievable and needs to be dealt with and on the balance of play in his managerial career he has so far proven to be correct.
He has also developed a good eye for the potential in younger players, and knows how to bring them on. Again that has become apparent in his handling of some of the youngsters who have been at the club a while and who have trusted in him. Ellis, Benyon and Robertson to name three. Even when those on the outside were howling at him to put these players in the team on a regular basis he knew to ignore the clamour and use his own judgment of the player himself; what he'd seen on the training ground and his instinct of when it was the right time to introduce each as regular first-team starters. Again his judgment would seem to have been spot on. That he has now brought in another crop of exciting youngsters that will prove to be the bedrock of our team in seasons to come adds to this.
One day Paul Buckle will move on; he knows that, we know that and the board know that. He is an ambitious manager and one that I'm sure will grace the Premiership at some point. But he is also a thoughtful, honest and gracious man. One who knows full well the chance the board of Torquay United gave him and who stood by him at all times, and in return gives his all for the club. He will not want to move on up the management ladder and see all the good work achieved over the last three or so years at Torquay United come crumbling down. Even now he is building a foundation that allows any subsequent manager and his staff to come in and use that as a platform to move the club even further on and I am convinced that he has this in mind in a lot of the work he does behind the scenes.
On that note I feel that yesterdays’ game may end up being an important turning point in our season, but not for the worse, for the better.
Apologies, it seems to have changed from a match report!
as always on the TFF there has been some excellent debate that has taken place and yes I’ve even enjoyed reading that threat about Margret Thatcher as so many good points have been made on it.The magic of the TFF for me is that you never know what will appear on the forum next and sure get treated to many great posts on all sorts of subjects, but this week the real magic has come from seeing such a great thread that could only happen on the TFF get three whole pages in the match day programme the Albert Hutchinson thread.
I thank you all for your support on the TFF and hope you will continue on the journey that stated not even three years ago and from nothing grew into the great forum the TFF is, as at the end of the day the TFF is only as good as you the members make it.
This weeks winner sure is a great supporter of the TFF and works so hard to produce our Views from the forum pages for all the home programmes and so I’m pleased as punch he was won this week after writing what was his only ever match report and I only hope he gets the urge again very soon.
This week's winner is Budleigh well done Leigh
The winning post
I don't usually do ‘match reports’ as I don't have the most 'football-savvy' brain, but I’ll break that rule today.
Firstly, it was, as Bucks said afterwards, 'a bad day at the office' and one that occurs to every team in football and no doubt in everyone's working and personal life. It was a blip and one that will be forgotten in a short time.
If our first five minutes play, which was excellent in its' execution, had been rewarded with a goal that game would've been out-of-sight by the break.
Macclesfield were a team who came looking to get a draw and gifting them a goal changed their whole mentality shifting the emphasis from our game to theirs.
That we then pulled one back should've been the time to move on and take the game by the scruff but unfortunately they had a stubborn midfield & defence and one player in particular who seemed determined to allow nothing through him. We huffed and puffed with no reward. Too many lazy passes and lack of thought when it came to the killer, incisive move.
Set-pieces, both the execution of and the defending of, are drilled into the players on the training ground until they become second nature; they are then re-run on a board before the game lest anyone should've forgotten. The five utilised by the team in attack are as well-worked as anything in our league, as is the defending of the same when the opposition take theirs. But it must be remembered that it isn't just set-pieces that have to be learnt, it is also the moves within the game.
For instance, if player X receives the ball on the far touchline and player Y is seen to move alongside him then player Z should instinctively see this as his cue to find his position to make the flow of the movement work, as then do players A, B & C. These 'inter-game' moves are also practised over and over on the training ground and it is this movement within the game that is key to getting a result. Different players are therefore able to mould certain types of play & movement in ways others may not, and are able to subtly change the way other players are operating. It is this which dictates when a manager makes a tactical substitution. It's not always to do with one particular player not playing well, but that bringing a different player on changes how the others play and their reaction within the game. The timing of this as dictated by our own teams' play is crucial, but so is the method of play employed by the opposition. See them tire in a certain area of the pitch, or struggle on certain types of play, and a change that may not be apparent to those of us on the touchlines, will be considered.
Yesterday Paul Buckle realised a change was needed in the pattern of play and brought on a player who was required to do this for him. A player who has trained hard with those players still out on the pitch with this situation in mind; a player who has even tried this pattern of play in the reserves and should be able to be trusted to come on and follow the instruction given to him beforehand. Without the player doing so the whole reasoning for the change, and the impact it would have on the game, and therefore the tactics employed by the manager, flies out the window.
The player entrusted with this came on at a tactically crucial time in the game but didn't follow those instructions nor did he comply with the training ground routine that was integral to the reason for the substitution. Even when he was being ‘informed’ of this fact during play there was no response from him. It killed that plan stone-dead stopping the required change in emphasis in our play to take place.
That game yesterday wasn't just an uncomfortable loss & one that should've been avoided, it was also part of a learning process for those involved and I know that aspects of it have been taken on board; not just what happened during the game but the routines employed beforehand and the reactions afterwards. I'm sure it has all been taken in and will form part of the structure of discussion on Monday morning, both in the managers' office and on the training ground.
The more successful people in life are those who take on challenges and are prepared to try out different ideas, without which stagnation sets-in. By stepping out of the ‘comfort-zone’ mistakes will be made and expected, for it is from making mistakes that most knowledge is gleaned and real experience gained. It is what one does with this knowledge that is crucial and the strong person is one who is prepared to put his hands up and admit some things should've been done differently and be prepared to learn from it, even though that may cause discomfort for a time. Someone who is able to see the bigger picture and thrives to work to that end in the knowledge that decisions made may not always be correct but are done because it is the only way to move forward to achieve all that is aimed for. It would be easy to sit back and make no decisions safe in the knowledge that to do so also means no mistakes made and therefore no flak. That would be a sure way for our club to achieve zilch.
In Paul Buckle we have a manager who is not only of this former mind-set, but more importantly one who is intent on instilling that throughout the club; within the management, the coaching staff and the players. It doesn't happen overnight and it takes some personnel longer to take on-board than others, but we have a manager who has a canny knack of seeing through those who aren't 'up for it' whether it be in the management or playing side, and a man who is prepared to discard them if needs be. It isn't about being ruthless, but honest in building a structure and mind-set within, and for the future, of the club and one that Torquay United will reap benefits from.
Buckle knows when a player has reached a point in his career when said player has slipped backward, even by the smallest of notches, in his ability to keep pace with a game even though the paying public aren't aware of this. As he rightly says, it's not just on the pitch he'll notice it but the slight holding back on the training ground and within the body language of the player when he's around the staff and other players. He knows when that situation is irretrievable and needs to be dealt with and on the balance of play in his managerial career he has so far proven to be correct.
He has also developed a good eye for the potential in younger players, and knows how to bring them on. Again that has become apparent in his handling of some of the youngsters who have been at the club a while and who have trusted in him. Ellis, Benyon and Robertson to name three. Even when those on the outside were howling at him to put these players in the team on a regular basis he knew to ignore the clamour and use his own judgment of the player himself; what he'd seen on the training ground and his instinct of when it was the right time to introduce each as regular first-team starters. Again his judgment would seem to have been spot on. That he has now brought in another crop of exciting youngsters that will prove to be the bedrock of our team in seasons to come adds to this.
One day Paul Buckle will move on; he knows that, we know that and the board know that. He is an ambitious manager and one that I'm sure will grace the Premiership at some point. But he is also a thoughtful, honest and gracious man. One who knows full well the chance the board of Torquay United gave him and who stood by him at all times, and in return gives his all for the club. He will not want to move on up the management ladder and see all the good work achieved over the last three or so years at Torquay United come crumbling down. Even now he is building a foundation that allows any subsequent manager and his staff to come in and use that as a platform to move the club even further on and I am convinced that he has this in mind in a lot of the work he does behind the scenes.
On that note I feel that yesterdays’ game may end up being an important turning point in our season, but not for the worse, for the better.
Apologies, it seems to have changed from a match report!
Well done Leigh!
