FL2:Torquay Utd v Barnet 13 Nov 2010

This is exactly why they masses don`t turn up, because of absolutely ridiculous expectations! We`re not a team full of multi-million pound players and we aren`t good enough too play in the Champions League, so to expect to replicate what you would expect Chelsea or Man.U to do is quite obsurd, verging on complete lunacy! Dave for gods sake man we`re little old Torquay, every once and a while we do really well against very good opposition but just like loads of other teams we have to battle it out against struggling sides as they don`t let you play expansive free flowing football, we are not good enough to just sweep teams aside like you seem to think we can. It`s not a management issue, it`s about using what you have ( league two players ) to the best of our abilities, with injuries and suspensions it`s even more difficult! We beat Rochedale last season 5-0 mainly because they were top of the league and played an open game, we outplayed them, to play against a desperate team at the foot of the table is a whole different game, mainly a battle, they won`t allow you to have any time on the ball or knock it about. A team like that has to be battered down to massacre them, we don`t play that brand of football. Barnet haven`t been that bad this season, they have played o.k. and had some shocking luck, a story which we know all to well, they will change there possition in the league before long mark my words. If we had a bit more time with the ball and a half decent bunch of officials we would have gone on to win that game even though we played quite poorly at times through the game, but Barnet held us and pushed on which would have given their manager some hope for the future. I wish you could watch a few of our games to appreciate what I`m trying to say here, I`m sure you understand though!

Thank gawd we only scored once then

Barnet havn't been that bad? lost 7-0 to Crewe and have exactly ONE point away from home all season.
Come on stop making excuses. We were absolute crap yesterday. Yes the ref was dire as well but he wasn't the reason we didn't win.
We had absolutely no threat from wide positions. O'Kane had one good run and made the goal and then spent the rest of the half passing the ball backwards and giving it to the oppostion. Stevens was his normal self - had one shot and spent the rest of the half tackling thin air.
Unfortunately their replacements were just as bad - Rose, nice pair of boots. Ran around alot without actually doing anything. Show pony.
Hemmings? - possibly one of the worst peformances I have ever seen from a Torquay player. I appreciate that he is inexperienced but honestly he was terrible.

Exactly. The single most important audience for the manager's comments is the players themselves. Destroying players' confidence to appease a few moaning gits would be utterly counter-productive.

An excellent post Aussie! All too often we forget that we are following a League Two club with League Two players, most of whom would not make it in League One. To expect them to go out and maul the likes of Barnet is one thing but the reality is that there is not that much difference between the top of this division and the bottom.
Whilst I appreciate the frustration and disappointment caused by all those missed chances and wayward passes is this not part of following a team at this level?
I think it was the club chairman who recently said that his ambition was for Torquay to become a settled League One side.
If the finances are not in place due to small crowds and the general apathy shown by the Torbay public towards the club, then we will only see League Two standard players drawn to Torquay. We may well have some home grown talent coming up through the youth team and some ‘rough diamonds’ slowly being polished by Paul Buckle and his team but this takes time and cannot change results overnight.
The present team is good enough to hold it’s own in this division, and whilst we have the likes of Zebroski we may well flirt with the play off places. What happens then if by some twist of fate we get promoted this season? We cannot afford new players of League One standard at the moment and we would surely come straight back down. The present Board want what’s best for this club, of that there is no doubt, but it will take time and money to realise their ambition. As for the old faces shouting out the usual “it’s all Buckles fault” then look what he has to play with!
This is Torquay United, if you want a team and manager like Sir Alex Ferguson then go and support Manchester United and stop moaning. Stand behind his dug out and see what happens when you tell him to sort it out!
IF we ever get into League One will you still demand that we stuff the bottom team out of sight? Will you expect automatic promotion into the Championship? What would you want from the Club?
Surely the whole point of supporting a team like ours is that we know that we will never be a big fish in the Football League. Is that not why we love this Club and cherish the ‘fifteen minutes of fame’ that come along every year or so. How many trips has this Club had to Wembley over the years? Every year we seem to either be fighting relegation or flirting with the playoff places. This is Torquay. A good run in the Cup against more ‘attractive’ higher league opposition will always get us a good gate on the day. Maybe some of the missing 500 or more will be tempted to stay with us once more if we can give a good account of ourselves. However, like it or not money is short in many households in the Torbay area with a population that has a high percentage of seasonal workers. Once Torbay effectively closes for the winter then those who might well like to support the club by coming through the gates have to give serious consideration as to where they spend their money.
In the meantime if you are lucky enough to be able to get to Plainmoor then enjoy the roller coaster ride that is what supporting Torquay United is all about. If not pay your subscription to Sky and sit there on a Saturday and watch the Prima Donnas of the Premiership ‘earn’ more per game than we take in gate receipts!
Onwards and upwards……..when we are ready!!!!!

I am not blaming the manager at all - I would have taken both wingers off which exactly what he did and was definately the right call. i am just lost as to why we spent all afternoon lamping the ball up to the forwards who are probably the shortish combination in league 2. I just think that his comment that Barnet are in a false position is laughable.

Some days you just have to accept that you aren't going to break teams down by playing football and have to try to go more direct. Yesterday was one of those days.

However, we didn't have the personnel to do that. Kee is too short to win much in the air, although his hold up play and ability to bring other players into the game is decent, but Benyon will never be able to 'mix it' and out muscle defenders. He was largely anonymous yesterday apart from the tap-in he scored.

Yesterday just highlighted how important Zebroski is to us and how much we missed his pace and power.

League 2 is still, by and large, a hugely physical league and we don't really possess a physical presence up front apart from Gritts, whose best days are long gone.

We obviously got promoted under Leroy without a massive physical presence up front, but the forward line we had then was technically far superior to anything we have now. I am all for us playing football, but a mobile front man who is decent in the air wouldn't go amiss so we are able to mix it on occasions. I can't remember the last time one of our strikers scored a headed goal from a cross and there is nothing wrong with scoring goals this way.