Dave
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Post by Dave on May 5, 2012 17:11:00 GMT
I decided it would be best not to listen to the game on the radio as I expected it to be a rollercoaster type afternoon. I could not believe it when I looked on here and found out we were three nil down. I’m so glad our boys made a real fight of it after what must have been a nightmare start and at least some pride was restored.
The plain facts are that we have not been good enough of late and while that is a major disappointment, we must not forget the great results that the boys have achieved this season to even make this final day possible.
It’s not all over yet and we still have a chance of promotion, I would not bet against us winning the play-offs as nothing I don’t think could ever surprise me being a fan of this great small seaside town club.
I have had a gut feeling for a while we will go up this season and that has not changed one single bit by today’s results. I just know our fans sitting in their new seats in our brand new stand next season will be watching division one football sat there.
It has to happen and it will if only for the great man the new stand is named after. What a great man who made so many happy as he shared his large lottery win with them and yet never let his good fortune change him one bit from the real gent he was.
That stand will and always will be the most important and meaningful stand ever to be built at Plainmoor and if nothing else good does happen this season, that stand being built should be something we all feel so very good about.
Our lads will give their all in the play-offs, if they are good enough and even get some luck as it can help at times, then we will be going up. If at the end of the day they are not quite good enough then so be it, to even be there so near and yet so far at the end of a long season again, is truly remarkable.
We should never forget the real problems and issues our club face trying to operate here in Torbay, so sad that it is we are not going up today, we can be proud of all our players, the board and all the staff up at Plainmoor.
Yes lads some of you will need to dig deeper into your pockets to try and cheer our boys over the finishing line, I only wish I had the cash to do that myself, but keeping a roof over my head right now is my main objective.
Keep the faith and remember, being a Torquay United fan is and never will be easy, but we are a great club and we should always be so proud to tell the world we support the greatest team in the land, our Torquay United.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2012 17:28:21 GMT
How many chances did we get to make it mathematically certain we would automatically go up? I think there were at least 5 occasions where we let the opportunity slip, and whilst we were all consumed by what Crawley were doing, most of us missed Southend working their way back into it.
But it's still not the end of the season for us. Any of the 17 other clubs for whom it is the final day would be happy to swap places with us, that's for sure.
I'm disappointed but at my age (which is close to Dave's) I know that's how it is in real life. We should all be grateful for the play-off opportunity and now get right behind the team.
We know how to win play-offs, so lets go to it!
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JamesB
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Post by JamesB on May 5, 2012 18:25:16 GMT
If what you want to read is faux-positivity and superficial hope, don't read on any further, because you won't get any of that here. I'm going to be honest and say what I think
We were rubbish. Utterly spineless. The first half was one of the worst half performances I've ever seen from a Gulls team - an outside observer would probably have assumed that we were the team battling relegation, not Hereford. We started off hoofing it up to Rene, which was never going to work - he was totally isolated, and the ball was just being pinged straight back at us. Then when we tried passing it on the floor, we couldn't string two passes together. And then every time Hereford came forward they looked like scoring - the first was a gift, Mansell idiotically conceded the penalty (which was a definite penalty) and for the third, Ellis headed the ball back into play to a Hereford player just before it was going to go out for a goal kick. We also missed some easy chances that we were gifted. It was terrible, in every single area
The second half was marginally better but that does ignore the fact that we probably missed just as many chances as in the first half. We weren't quite misplacing passes but we didn't make the most of our pressure. Jarvis made a difference. Atieno did OK as usual. Howe and Lathrope were clearly just being rested. We had a good spell at the start of the second half but after we scored the second, we faded and didn't do an awful lot, though Ellis missed another easy chance - perhaps the news from Accy made a difference to how we played after that point. Hereford put 10 behind the ball as expected and also wasted quite a bit of time, especially Bartlett who was being a complete arse with every goal kick. I'm not too sorry to see them go, especially after the comments on their forum at the start of the year when I suggested they would go down on my blog
The game was there for the taking. They were no great shakes once we stopped handing them the initiative on a plate. And I'm sure had we not thrown it away and at least kept it at a competitive scoreline, there would have been a lot more pressure on Crawley, who in the first half struggled to keep Accrington at bay. Like at Oxford and Wimbledon and against Crewe, this is our making. We have wasted a glorious opportunity to get promoted this year
There is an elephant in the room here and that is that certain players in the team haven't been performing and haven't been good enough of late. Today some didn't even look interested for the first 45. Morris in particular was atrocious, and, let's face it, he hasn't been good enough this year - I've defended him on a few occasions, and given him plenty of chances, but he's done sod all for us this year, and we have struggled since he replaced Bodin in the side. Stevens was totally anonymous and even in the second half when we needed to get forward he refused to take people on. Ellis was poor defensively and struggled even more up front - playing him as an auxiliary striker doesn't work at all, and just made us look like we'd run out of ideas and got desperate. He would be no great loss if he did go in the summer. Oastler generally looked out of his depth and I'm concerned that he's looked more exposed as the season's gone on
On the plus side, the usual figures put in a good shift - Saah was good, Manse tried hard, Howe tried his best, Nicho whipped in a few good balls etc. Bobby was blameless. I'm sure you know. Jarvis should now be pushing for a start as well. But it was just so disheartening and humiliating that on the last day of the season, when we needed a win, we totally collapsed under the pressure. Again. Honestly, I'd rather have a rubbish year and stay up on the last day showing character than miss out on promotion by disappearing in the crucial matches
Today was the first time in years that I lost my cool and had a go at the players - after the 3rd goal and again at half time. The boos rang around the temporary stand at half time. And I don't have a problem with that, because it was wholly deserved - some people may say you shouldn't barrack your own players, but I felt totally embarrassed and humiliated to be a Torquay fan at half time. It was horrible. Before the game I thought it couldn't get much worse than last week, and yet it did. This is the worst I've felt since the FA Trophy Final, another big match where certain players disappeared when they were needed the most, after which I felt it was a complete waste of time going if I wasn't going to see a team that wasn't going to turn up. I feel the same today
Sometimes you just lose faith in the ability of your team to perform. As far as I can see, there's no way we'll get anything from the play-offs at this rate, even if we are playing the weaker of the 3 other sides, and even if we do get to Wembley, why should I bother going if I know we're going bottle it just as we have pretty much every time before? There's clearly a mental issue there at the moment and it needs sorting out
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Dave
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Post by Dave on May 5, 2012 19:01:46 GMT
Many thanks for your match report Jamesb. You were there and I’m sure how you saw it was the same as many other fans that made the big effort to go to today’s game. It’s always sad I feel, to read such a report on a day you would have thought the players would have given so much more due to what could have been had we won and Crawley lost.
A bit sad to hear there was some booing, I have mixed views on it myself and not to sure it’s a good thing to do, but then on the other hand how do fans who paid good money to make the trip to Hereford, show the players what they thought of their first half display.
All in all not how we hoped things would turn out and I have never understood how players seem to not play to their very best in games when the need is there far more than in some other games.
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JamesB
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Post by JamesB on May 5, 2012 19:09:29 GMT
The annoying thing is it didn't look like a poor performance that was just down to nerves on the big occasion - you'd expect the odd misplaced pass but this was ridiculous, and Mansell's lunge to concede the penalty was totally unnecessary and stupid. It was just poor - there's no excuse for that. I saw poor Conference sides that were better than that
I don't usually lose my temper in matches. I'm a quiet, shy bloke - I don't like being angry or abusing people. Even if we put in the effort and lose, I respect that we put in the effort. When we got relegated to the Conference, one couldn't really be annoyed 1) because of the ownership fiasco and 2) I think the players genuinely did all they could to keep us in the division. What makes this so frustrating is that I know we can play so much better. People may say we were just lucky to get where we have on the back of a lot of 1-0 wins but that's not the point. All season we have defended well, passed it around in the middle well, and played some beautiful football. Today we didn't do any of that, even in the second half when we weren't as awful as in the first half. It just makes you wonder what the hell is going on
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simonb
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Post by simonb on May 5, 2012 19:23:46 GMT
I've just got a feeling that we will win through - don't know why!  |
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Post by stuartB on May 5, 2012 20:30:28 GMT
There was one lighter moment of the day that made me laugh. Little Danny Stevens was warming up when suddenly they turned on the sprinklers in the middle of the pitch. It shot up his shorts and he jumped about 6 feet high  Half time and Ricey hit a shot towards the goal but it went over and landed abut 10 feet from me causing some guys tea to explode all over him. he was not a happy bunny but Ricey did come over to apologise and offer a replacement tea or lager. He got some applause for this but the guy was not happy |
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petef
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Post by petef on May 5, 2012 20:46:35 GMT
I've just got a feeling that we will win through - don't know why! Come on Simon take those blinkers off  Firstly lets take a look at this season as a whole and consider the incredible progress and push for promotion that has taken place over the past nine months. Forget what's happened today or in the last few weeks. To be where we are is an incredible achievement for a club that has spent virtually nothing on players. For the blinkered ones who for whatever reason thought we were world beaters and would gain promotion because we have a strong skilful squad unbeatable and tactically strong its time to remove the eye shades.  The facts are that we are a small limited squad that has considerably over achieved. Lingy and Taylor have made the best of what they have at their disposal by forming a very tight group of players who have the "were in it together" attitude whilst playing a very tactically tight game giving little away but also pretty limited going forward. And bugger me its worked a treat for six months but now we have hit the sharp end where it really matters and we have been found out. Its absoloutly no surprise to me to see us fail at the last hurdle, I threw my blinkers away in the awful eighties.  A few things strike me. One when we had an opportunity to strengthen our push in the open season we failed to do so. It was almost as if we didn't believe that our good fortune would continue and the attitude was " well if it happens it happens" Think back and try and remember some of those narrow wins where we scraped a result by the skin of our teeth at least half a dozen games I witnessed that could have gone either way which would now have left us outside of any play off position. Even the players were struggling to accept it shaking their heads and laughing after yet another a narrow win. But those results kept coming which gave us all hope to dream of the impossible. And its still not over we still have an outside chance. Once again I cast my blinkers aside and try and look at the realities. We have a chance yes but I would consider us to be the weakest of the four teams in the final shakedown. Of course that means absolutely nothing, three cup finals which can produce any result. Its a lottery in the true sense of the word, who would have thought Stevenage would have won through last season? In any case promotion and subsequent survival in a higher division would require some wise and much bigger investment than we have seen here for years. This current squad would struggle to survive and would surely be amongst the favourites for a quick return . We were a better footballing side last year and failed, more open admittedly and when I remember how played Shrewsbury off the park in both semis with sublime football I truly thought our time had come. Sad thing is next season we may just have the opposite sort of luck we have ridden so well this season. Confidence and belief have so much to do with form and full credit to Lingy and Shaun for getting the very best out of the squad you have done an incredible job whatever the outcome though the important bit is continuing the progress and building on what has been achieved . A very difficult task. |
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Post by familystander on May 5, 2012 20:49:36 GMT
Rather than getting angry JamesB, perhaps you need to reflect on how a small, tight knit, and in some cases, limited squad have over-achieved this season. They are 5th on merit, I and most others would take the play-offs any day over a relegation scrap. Personally I think Morris gets a raw deal from the fans, but he fits into ML's system, as does Stevens (by the way, did you know he doesn't take his man on, on purpose- right footed, left wing-cut in, release left footed full-back- seems to work...we are 5th! Danny and Nico having their best ever goal scoring seasons), and ultimately we must place our trust and faith in his team selection. The squad is small, so after a long season, its not suprising they are running out of steam. I raise my glass to them, the management, the board, and the fans for a great season of wonderful excitement, well done one and all! See you at Cheltenham James. |
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Post by lambrettagull on May 5, 2012 20:59:05 GMT
I thought their 1st goal was a foul on our defender. Facey pushed him forwards and them had a free header. Why didnt the ref see that? We also had a penalty shout turned down, very similar to the one they got. Why are refs so inconsistant? They want respect - fecking EARN IT!!! The refs at Gillingham, Crawley, Oxford and Wimbledon have been appalling. The bit of a punchup between Manse and their defender was down wholly to this refs poor and weak officiating. Besides this rant at the ref, we deserved to lose. we were sussed out by a conferance side. Lingo needs to offer some thing more to our style of play because teams know how to play us now. we are a league 2 side, no more. I`m not reacting to emotion but stating what I see. Ok, we can play some really good stuff, but we can also turn out the crap performances too. Danny needs a rest, he should not be in the team. At wimbo and today he has lost either his bottle or energy. Howe places so many restrictions on us going forward he should be replaced by Jarvis. I know we do not have a full complement of adequate players but Lingo should use what we have a little better I feel. Anyway, its been a good season, we`ve punched above our weight, mainly due to having such a good manager. We need to remain L2 as we are certainly not L1. Todays performance was typical of a L2 side, coz that is what we are. Its a bit unfair to expect anything else really.
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JamesB
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Post by JamesB on May 5, 2012 21:38:32 GMT
I've just got a feeling that we will win through - don't know why! Come on Simon take those blinkers off Firstly lets take a look at this season as a whole and consider the incredible progress and push for promotion that has taken place over the past nine months. Forget what's happened today or in the last few weeks. To be where we are is an incredible achievement for a club that has spent virtually nothing on players. For the blinkered ones who for whatever reason thought we were world beaters and would gain promotion because we have a strong skilful squad unbeatable and tactically strong its time to remove the eye shades. The facts are that we are a small limited squad that has considerably over achieved. Lingy and Taylor have made the best of what they have at their disposal by forming a very tight group of players who have the "were in it together" attitude whilst playing a very tactically tight game giving little away but also pretty limited going forward. And bugger me its worked a treat for six months but now we have hit the sharp end where it really matters and we have been found out. Its absoloutly no surprise to me to see us fail at the last hurdle, I threw my blinkers away in the awful eighties. I respect your positivity, Pete, and yes, it has been a good season considering where we were after Buckle left. However, I still don't think that excuses our performance today. I don't think it's a loss of perspective, because I don't remember us playing that badly. And I've been around long enough to see us struggle through many seasons It's just incredibly disappointing to get this far for it all to collapse. For me, a football season is distinct from other seasons. Over the course of a season, we fans invest a lot, financially and emotionally. I know where we have come from this season, but at the same time, you have to factor in that expectations have gone up, and that we clearly have a good squad. If we're fighting for promotion, we're fighting for promotion - I don't get the comments about where we could have been had it not gone as well, because that's not what has happened. Clearly we did have a squad capable of getting promotion because we were only 3 points a team that did get promoted, and it could so easily have been different - the small squad size is just an excuse. Only two results needed to be a goal better for it to happen All I want is for the team to do their best - at times, that best hasn't been enough, but I know that what I saw today wasn't the best they could have offered, because I've seen us play a lot much better. And so I don't think we should feel compelled to be positive about the season we've had just because we did better than expected when we have bottled it. Surely it would be more realistic, looking at our form over the last two seasons, to say "actually we underestimated our squad in the summer" rather than "we did well to overachieve". We're not a big club but it's fair to say we have one of the best group of core players in the league, and thus should be expecting/expected to get promoted... Rather than getting angry JamesB, perhaps you need to reflect on how a small, tight knit, and in some cases, limited squad have over-achieved this season. They are 5th on merit, I and most others would take the play-offs any day over a relegation scrap. Personally I think Morris gets a raw deal from the fans, but he fits into ML's system, as does Stevens (by the way, did you know he doesn't take his man on, on purpose- right footed, left wing-cut in, release left footed full-back- seems to work...we are 5th! Danny and Nico having their best ever goal scoring seasons), and ultimately we must place our trust and faith in his team selection. The squad is small, so after a long season, its not suprising they are running out of steam. I raise my glass to them, the management, the board, and the fans for a great season of wonderful excitement, well done one and all! See you at Cheltenham James. I've subscribed to the tiredness theory lately but what I saw today was not fatigue. We were behind in the 11th minute - if players are tired after 11 minutes, there's something seriously wrong. I know Howe is carrying an injury, and indeed has had injections to get through the game. However, he wasn't responsible for any of the goals. I don't believe Lathrope, our other injury concern, was either. It was just sloppiness. I can imagine errors being made due to fatigue after an hour or more but not in the first half like that I fully support Ling and have done since the beginning. He's been a revelation for us, probably the best manager we've had in the time I've been supporting (and that includes 2 managers that got us promoted and another that got us to a play-off final). I don't believe he is to blame for this. However, I've been waiting for Morris to do something all year and he hasn't done it. I can understand Stevens' inclusion because while there have been times where he has struggled, there have also been times where he has been excellent, and he does fit into the system. But I really can't see what Morris offers. He's not a winger, in my eyes While I wasn't too bothered at the time, I've joined those who say losing Bodin has been a loss for us. Granted, he was less effective as it went on, but he has flair - he can create something out of nothing. Morris doesn't bring that to the table |
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Post by alunmeerkat on May 5, 2012 22:15:04 GMT
A great post pete f. I have not seen so many games this year but I have seen a few. I have seen us win at Cheltenham (whilst having one shot in the game) and narrowly beat the likes of Dagenham and Barnet at home.
We didn't strengthen the team sufficiently when we were in a good position. I never really thought that we would go up this season, but somehow we kiept winning and I started to believe it was going to happen
The key match for me was the Oxford game - had we won that one then I reckon we would have achieved the impossible.
As for the play offs - well I genuinely believe we have no chance whatsoever. Howe is more or less crocked that much is obvious. I will concede that if we have the weakest of the other three teams in Cheltenham.
However if we somehow manage to get past them we will more than likely face Southend. So our forward line will consist of Atieno or Jarvis, whilst the opposition will have Eastwood,Benyon and the French Bloke. Say no more.
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Post by alunmeerkat on May 5, 2012 22:17:48 GMT
JamesB - you need a dose of realism. Blaming the players is ridiculous. They have done brilliantly. The same players are playing week in week out, and as for Morris he has looked ok to me when I have seen him play.
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Post by stuartB on May 5, 2012 22:19:52 GMT
JamesB - you need a dose of realism. Blaming the players is ridiculous. They have done brilliantly. The same players are playing week in week out, and as for Morris he has looked ok to me when I have seen him play. have you had a personality transplant Mr Meerkat?? watch out Hector will be along soon |
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petef
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Post by petef on May 5, 2012 22:20:18 GMT
Its been an odd season and we have exceeded my expectations.
I was ready for a struggle near the bottom of the table If I'm honest so for me what's happened and how things have turned out is a real bonus. Lingy has squeezed every drop out of this squad on a restricted budget. Not quite enough in the end ( or is it?) It's how we got there that really matters and to sum up dogged performances week after week, never totally convincing in my eyes so always ready for the downturn which has only just arrived. When you look at the budgets and squad strength of many of our rivals , the Bradfords, Rotherhams, Gillinghams, Bristol Rovers etc I am amazed at what we have achieved.
Take ofF those shades James we haven't been convincing for a quite a while now, when did we last win a game convincingly asnd by more than a single goal? In fact Il tell you it was Burton when they were on an awful run and spell of form the only win by more than a single goal since Argyle at home in November.
Tells a story doesnt it? This is no Russell, Fowler,David Graham squad......
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