FL2: Wycombe v Torquay 6 October 2012

Well the players did not turn up again and nor did the TFF members to share their views on yesterdays game. Thanks to those who did and what a contrast this match thread is so far to our last away game at Chesterfield, but then If I had made the effort that some of you made to watch such a poor performance, I don’t think I would have calmed down enough to even want to talk about the game.

Football is a funny old game, it was only a few days ago I was reading on here about the great comeback and one has to ask the question, if the team had that much fight in them on Tuesday night, where did it all go yesterday.

I did not get too carried away with Tuesdays result, the plain facts were we were being beaten at one point, three goals to nil by a team playing away from home that has only won one game so far this season and can’t seem to score for toffees.

I bet for half the game on Tuesday night there were fans wishing they had not bothered on such a wet and windy night, but such a fight back soon made them forget that at home we were being beaten by a side that maybe should not have been in the game at all.

Yes if you had paid £22 to watch what was on offer yesterday instead of the £5 charged, I’m sure you might have started asking yourself was it worth going in the first place. The cost of going to an away game is not a cheap affair and if you did make the effort and spent good money, you do expect the team to turn up.

We have talked so much on here about the cost of watching second division football these days and we have talked also about the entertainment value. I’m afraid it’s no longer for many the fact they are happy to pay good money to watch a game just because eleven players out on the pitch are wearing a Torquay United shirt.

Keep serving up poor quality football and have players out on the pitch who seem if they can’t be asked to put in a good shift, or the fact they are just poor players who would be better suited to a lower league, then fans will start asking themselves the question, do I really want to pay to watch that.

I know one or two here on the TFF who feel that winning the game is the only important thing, well yes we all want to see the team win and climb up the table. But we are not winning many games are we and all I read on so many match days threads so far this season, is that we were poor and not enough players had turned up and only a few of them came out of any of the games with any real credit.

I have never minded if the team had lost a game if they were beaten by a much better side, or the team had given everything they had to try and win but were not good enough on the day. But I have always minded if I like so many of you I had made great efforts to get to a game and paid money I could have spent more wisely, the team failed to turn up.

What was Tuesdays fight back all about? How did it happen? Where was that same fight yesterday? Is it just the case we have a much weaker side this season? Is it the fact the style and formation we are playing is the problem? Do we have the players to change how we are playing and start pushing teams back instead of letting them camp in our half of the field? I can’t answer any of the above questions due to the fact I have not seen the team play and in one way I’m glad I do not have the money right now to pay to watch Torquay United play as I would be asking the question is what’s on offer worth even paying for.

We as fans have enjoyed some wonderful seasons of late, sure one or two of them ended in tears as we just failed on the final hurdle, but the ride on the whole was very enjoyable. Maybe that is a part of the problem as we as fans just expect more of the same as we look to build on past success.

Can you build on a previous teams past success? Maybe you can if you still had the same players and added one or two who would bring some extra quality into the team, but it seems to me this season its more a case of losing some quality players and ending up a weaker team and a team that might just really struggle this season.

The good news is there still is a long way to go this season and things can be turned around, but what is needed for that to happen? Do we need to ship out a few players and simply replace them with better quality ones? The answer might be that simply on paper, but we all know in reality, achieving that goal would prove far more difficult.

If the team continue to keep putting in poor performances and failing to get good results, mark my words gates will start dropping and we might even return to the days when we hear calls her on the TFF for the manager to be sacked. We all know many football fans are a fickle bunch and every single manger knows they are only as good as their last result.

My stay away this season is an enforced one, but I have enjoyed the fact I’m free on a Saturday afternoon to do what ever I want and believe me, others fans who end up staying away for what ever reason, might also find they do not miss the commitment they have had to make in the past supporting the team week in and week out.

The results end up feeling less painful than if you were there watching them happen before your very eyes and when you read the views of fans who paid and made the effort to go, you end up feeling you had not missed anything special and had the money still in your pocket to pay for more important things.

It might be a different case if I was reading on here we were playing good quality football that was a joy to watch and getting the results into the bargain, then I might have found myself looking to see what other cutbacks I could make to try and get along to be a part of it all. But that is not the case and I will once again repeat that if what is on offer right now does not change, fans will be asking the questions and voting with their feet.

The question was asked a while ago what changes have we seen over the years in the game, one thing that was said was that today’s players are technically much better and one would think in that case the quality of the football would be better. Is the case? Are you now watching a much higher standard of football than you were say even 20 years ago? I will leave you all to answer that, but it does not matter how good the players are if they lack effort and do not go out and die wearing the club shirt proudly on their back.

Maybe part of the problem these days is players move from club to club for the money they can get paid, gone are the days when you wanted to play for the club closest to your heart. But even if that was the case, I would have thought personal pride in ones own performance and the fact that each and every game played is a window to show other clubs you were worth trying to sign, should be good enough reasons for players to give their all in each match.

There is no need to start ringing the alarm bells just yet, as I said there is still plenty of time to turn things around and move in the right direction, but it will need to start happening soon, or else we really could end up in a relegation dog fight. It seems a long time ago we were last in one and my only fear is if the worst was ever to happen and we ended up back in the non-league, this time we might end up staying there for a very long time indeed.