Torquay United Fans Forum

Will be there on Saturday making what has become an all too rare appearance this season for various reasons.
The last couple of games I went to under Knill in Sept/Oct were dour affairs and after 40+ years of supporting the Gulls the enthusiasm and willingness to give up half my weekend to go down and endure what was on offer not to mention the cost, was beginning to wain. Now with Hargreaves in charge there is fresh hope and the old enthusiasm is back and hopefully I will see enough to entice me back during the remainder of the season although finances and other commitments will continue to play a part.
I agree with others, this wont be easy as Northampton will be scrapping for any points they can get but hopefully they won't come down and spoil the party. too often in the past on the big occasion which this essentially, we have failed to deliver but I've a feeling the players will be well up for this one.

Agreed,,,,, the Thea tribute before KO will not only show well disserved appreciation of a very difficult situation handled well but will also motivate a team who will undoubtedly be feeling the pressure and may even get the whole of Plainmoor singing in unison.

I agree. I want and expect to see a big crowd and a big win on Saturday. The players, the manager, the club, Thea, and the Plainmoor faithful regulars, all deserve nothing less. The quality we have in the squad now is as good as most clubs in League Two this season, and with new life and belief and passion restored to the team, we are capable of beating most other teams home and away. We should all get to Plainmoor on Saturday, and if possible bring somebody along with us. I wouldn't expect that to double the gate - most South Devon residents are either geriatric or poverty-stricken - but it should help to make it a great occasion and send a message that this club is resurgent and on the way back up.

No, they're persisting with Andy King. It seems from their forum (if you can wade through the pages and pages of self-important rubbish) that Mad-Dog has counted himself out and that Di Canio is among the fans favourites to take over. As if football needed another reason to pray for their demise.

I'm in the "must win" camp for Saturday. Northampton have a massive budget and have suffered nothing extraordinary which would warrant them being in an unfair or unrepresentative league position. They've scored 19 goals all season and their GD is worse than ours. If we aren't beating NTFC at home, then I really don't know which teams we are going to beat. They are, as those of us who attended the away match will testify, a bloody appalling side of no-hope long ball merchants. If Nico plays, they'll do what they did at San Sixfields and just aim endless 60 yard balls to the winger down that side. With Pokey back in goal and Stockley etc up front rather than Ball (who had a decent second half that day, to be fair to him), as well as playing at home and with options like Niall and Yeoman back, we really should be recording a fairly routine 2/3-0 victory here and be in control of the match from start to finish.

Would be nice to see a crowd of over 2400 home fans, with the away contingent being somewhere around the 350 mark, I'd guess. If possible, singers, could I register another vote for the "one Thea Bristow" chant, perhaps at a convenient moment before kick off? I saw her briefly after the AFCW game and she was, as ever, extremely pleased that we'd won. Aside from being 50% of the reason we still have a football club to support, she's a bloody nice girl and deserves some recognition from the fans.

Matt.

forevertufc wrote:Whilst I agree with you Stef, this isn't an absolute must win game, it is however a must not lose game, a win would be important for so many different obvious reasons, that's why it's a massive game, and need as much support down here as possible Saturday.

Yes-that's exactly how I see it. A win would be great of course but a draw would not be doom and gloom. We mustn't expect too much too soon - there are still 20+ games remaining and it will no doubt be another roller coaster ride to the end of the season. Have Northampton appointed a new manager yet? I've sort of lost touch with managerial comings and goings ^.^

Gullscorer wrote: We would have to win 15 of our remaining 20 games (plus 1 or 2 draws) to get into the playoffs.

Not necessarily (although I am not of course thinking of it as a possibility). Whilst 71 points is generally felt to be the target for the play-offs, 71 sometimes isn't enough, while in other years it is a lot lower (Lincoln City with 66 points within the last 10 years). One game at a time, get out of the bottom two and then when achieved stay out of the bottom two.

I am just hoping we don't freeze on Saturday as the same players have done a couple of times this season after a good away performance.

stefano wrote:I wouldn't say it is a 'must win' as there are still 20 games to go but a convincing performance and another 3 points would make things look a lot brighter. Great start to the new regime on Saturday so we need to build on it. A win puts us 7 points ahead of Northampton and although they have a game in hand they are unlikely to achieve maximum points from it.
If we beat Northampton, I could see us turning over Oxford United at their place the following week to make it 3 wins on the bounce (followed by a thread from somebody entitled 'Are the Play-Offs Possible?' ). A very ordinary Argyle team won at Oxford only a few weeks ago so there is no reason why we can not do the same.
Alternatively ... if we lose to both Northampton and Oxford ...

We would have to win 15 of our remaining 20 games (plus 1 or 2 draws) to get into the playoffs.

And don't anybody think it's going to be an easy game either. Northampton will be desperate to get something out of this game to help maintain their League status, and our lads will have to be as motivated as they were on Saturday against Wimbledon. They will need and deserve all our support.

Whilst I agree with you Stef, this isn't an absolute must win game, it is however a must not lose game, a win would be important for so many different obvious reasons, that's why it's a massive game, and need as much support down here as possible Saturday.

stefano wrote:
Alternatively ... if we lose to both Northampton and Oxford ...

........
Brucie & Wivelgull won't come to the next 18 games !!!!!! Don't even THINK about losing ! We are staying up !!!

I wouldn't say it is a 'must win' as there are still 20 games to go but a convincing performance and another 3 points would make things look a lot brighter. Great start to the new regime on Saturday so we need to build on it. A win puts us 7 points ahead of Northampton and although they have a game in hand they are unlikely to achieve maximum points from it.

If we beat Northampton, I could see us turning over Oxford United at their place the following week to make it 3 wins on the bounce (followed by a thread from somebody entitled 'Are the Play-Offs Possible?' ). A very ordinary Argyle team won at Oxford only a few weeks ago so there is no reason why we can not do the same.

Alternatively ... if we lose to both Northampton and Oxford ...

nickbrod wrote:Whenever I've walked up Fleet Street you only see Man Utd shirts. Also the town's 'older' residents need to know about their 'local' team.
Anyway what's wrong with generating some hype during the week?
You might as well ask Knill, to atone, to walk up and down with a sandwich board during the week!

Selling TUFC shirts in Sports Direct now(Fleet Street),including 3rd Choice strip.

There are more than 2300 Torquay fans out there, very recent history shows that, for ever reason you've staying for, doesn't matter, next week is a massive game, if you can afford it, can get there, then be there, the team need all the support it can get.

There's no excuse, not even the wife.

Nothing wrong with it, just don't think advertising will actually add to the crowd. As we've shown here before, getting within a whisker of automatic promotion added about 3 people to the average attendance. Those who want to go, already do.

Matt.

nickbrod wrote:Whenever I've walked up Fleet Street you only see Man Utd shirts. Also the town's 'older' residents need to know about their 'local' team.
Anyway what's wrong with generating some hype during the week?
You might as well ask Knill, to atone, to walk up and down with a sandwich board during the week!

He might trip over a squirrel in the process