FL2: Torquay United v Northampton 7th August 2010

In all fairness it was not my camera as I had borrowed Carols and its one I seldom use.

Bit late to add to the rest but it's the first home opening game I've seen for about 22 years!

The first half was dire and I thought we were second best and needed the organised defence from Mansell backwards.
I think Benyon's problem is down to aggression rather than lack of strength - he gets into the correct positions but cannot turn an imperfect touch into his ball; he puts his body in the right position but must learn to stamp his foot down between the ball and the defender whilst sticking his arse out, thus creating the shield to stop longer legged defenders nicking it away.
Stevens has some skill and vision but must have more courage to hug the line and then skin bigger defenders like he can. Still he always gives his all to help Nicho that others might not.
Wroe was very quiet, vocally and physically.
Gritton was losing his top to the CB but once the Ref let it go a couple of times he didn't have the courage to ping it from then on.

As to the goal it was down to pure determination from Nicho and the best miscontrol of a lay-off I've seen in a while. The defenders were completely non-plussed at where the ball went of Benyon's shin or whatever and Nicho had more determination and wherewithal than anyone else to capitalise.

Second half was much better but was helped along the way by the ineptitude of their keeper to gift Zebs a second bite.
Third goal was pure class from where I was standing.
Kee really looks the business and has a great attitude - it's his bloody ball and you'd better just let me have it. Want him to start from now on, he's just a class above Benyon. If I had my way it would be with Zebroski but does Buckle have faith in shuffling the pack that way.

As for the experience - I enjoyed the drummer but my left ear was bleeding from the first half so moved down to the sun parallel to the goal for the second. The chants (I won't go as far as calling it singing) went from the sublime to the ridiculous. Why do we shout 'who the f are you' to the opposition fans when they start up and give it a go (and we've gone deathly silent), all the time?
Think Dave has got a shot of my speccy-eyed fat face in one of those frames and am now even more determined to get some more exercise.

Anyway a hoarse voice a happy heart not dimmed by all those bleadin' caravans on the motorway on the way back yesterday.

Last word - don't get carried away; if Northampton had a couple of strikers with some precision and a right midfielder who didn't freeze they would have taken the game away in the first half!

Beware of bookies laying tempting odds to catch a mug punter ~ if they are confident that a team might gain a lot of local support but won't quite make it they will do that.

There's no bigger "mug", than a punter with a romantic attachment.

He had a bit of a gash in his knee according to the local rag. Rated doubtful for the Reading game, lets hope its nothing more than that. Thought he had a good game against the Cobblers.

Some of it is on the official site now but haven't listened to it... but did see Big Dave start his interview, but I had to go and do something...!

Don’t worry midlandstufc those of us who have followed the Gulls for many years have learned the hard way never to get carried away after a good win. The Northampton fans are blaming the team selection and anything else they can use to explain the defeat but the bottom line is we did win our opening game of the new season and we should enjoy the winning feeling until we suffer our first defeat.

I would expect the away leg will be a whole different affair and will be a much harder game than the home leg, but then there are going to be many teams who will come to Plainmoor this season and pose us all sorts of problems and test us to the limit.

Our players are on a high are full of confidence and it will be more about how they handle the first defeat when it comes, how they handle the goal going in that ends the record that will determine how far this team can go. But do we know that already? Last season with their backs against the wall with many fans writing them off and just expecting them to take the club straight back down to the BSP, how did they react? They got their heads down and fought for every ball and played their hearts out for the club, for Paul Buckle, for the fans and for their own personal pride.

The whole feeling at the club this season is one of togetherness, things have changed and so has the atmosphere and the whole environment, that everyone from the manager down to the grounds man will fully enjoy working in and I believe it really will be the case that everyone will be pulling all the same way and that has not always been so.

As a fan we can watch our team win and then start saying well we won that one but we won’t win the next one because that is how some fans are. Far better to just enjoy the good feelings winning a game does bring and then take the next game and the result of the game when it comes.

I enjoyed telling people in Weymouth this morning about our win on Saturday, I enjoyed telling people in Yeovil as well and I will be doing the same tomorrow in all the towns I call at. I know there will be times I tell the very same people how rubbish we were in a game and I know that’s going to happen because there is not a team in the land who do not ever have a bad day at the office, never have a day when for some reason players don’t play at their best, its just how some games go sometimes and its nothing new.

If any fan believes this season is not going to have its up and downs based on winning our opening game then they do need to wake up as we support Torquay United and we do not need to ever build a rollercoaster ride here in the Bay because our team takes us on one every single season.

The secret has always been to enjoy the good times as long as they last and never forget them when the bad ones come around because they will as they always do. We had a great day out up at Plainmoor on Saturday and there are going to be plenty more to come along with some where we will leave the ground wondering why the hell we made the effort to go.

It’s the rollercoaster emotions we go through that really prove just how much we love the game of football and just why we keep going week in and week out. Is there any sport where you can experience every single emotion know to man in an hour and a half? Is there any sport that can take you on the biggest high and them drop you back down again in the dumps? I don’t know any and even if there were any, would they be as beautiful to watch as football can be, that’s if it’s played the way it’s meant to be hey Merse.

I showed them on their PC the thread with the envelope on it and we all had a good laugh about it, not sure they will laugh tomorrow when I tell them you called their place a garden centre ;D