Torquay United Fans Forum

Going back to new years day 2013 at home to Wimbledon we have won just 5 out of 26..............!! Two of those wins came in one week so you can see why some fans don't go to Plainmoor when there is only a 20% chance of winning the game.

Those 26 games are:
P26 W5 D9 L12 F28 A43

You can count on one hand how many of tose games were good over 90mins. So many one half performances in that lot and hasn't changed much this year.

I haven't enjoyed going to home games since Buckle left.

Even under Ling, although we were winning, quite often the football wasn't the greatest and we were always clinging on to a 1-0 win.

Yes I agree with wivelgull - You don't expect the team to win.

And you ask yourself: should it really be like this? Is there not something fundamentally wrong when even contemplating going to a game fills you with gloom. Surely going to football should be fun, you should feel optimistic, cheerful, excited. Where's all that gone?

It's the going away from Plainmoor after a game that is the worst - nowadays you turn up knowing things are going to be dire, but that doesn't alter the feeling of utter gloom that envelops everyone as we walk away after yet another defeat.

It's very difficult to generate an atmosphere with gates of under 2,000. Sadly, the events of the past few years have caused a lot of people to lose interest.

Unfortunately there is currently a feeling that Hargreaves would come in and play his mates. The decision to play Nico and Mansell at full back on Tuesday night was bizarre in my humble opinion. Couple that with the signing of Stevens and the efforts to resign Rendell show a worrying lack of ideas from the new boss.

I cannot remember the last time I went to a game at Plainmoor with a good atmosphere.

On the subject of atmosphere, does anyone remember Gareth Howells standing on the popside many years ago, slating the Torquay fans for the lack of noise?

It is amazing to compare the atmosphere in the old grandstand to that of Bristow Bench. Why is it so different?

[quote="forevertufc"]Just picking up from the last couple posts made on the Hargreaves signings thread over Tuesdays atmosphere. The crowd does need to play it's part in helping to turn around our current home form, but to me it's understandable why the atmosphere does and can quickly become subdued and sometimes even turn ugly, even though it doesn't help.

Just looked at our home record (info from statto.com) since the start of last season if I've read it right we've played 37 games at home with just 11 wins, 13 draws and 13 defeats GF 51 GA 60 PTS 46 AVE 1.2 PTS a game, but disturbingly since 1.1.2013 we've only a managed 5 home wins, don't think it's right to put the blame on fans for not creating a positive atmosphere for this(and not saying anyone is) but it's hardly surprising if games don't go to plan early on that frustration amongst fans soon sets in, when you've experienced such a prolonged run of adverse results at home.

Something that's still irritating me now two days after the Northampton game is the difference between the team's body language in the Morecambe game compared to the Northampton game. Morecambe with in seconds of the ref starting that game, you could see it, clearly, the team were going drop blood, sweat and more to get something out of that game, the crowd sensed it, and with in minutes the atmosphere was fantastic and remained so through out the game, something even commented on by the Morecambe manager.

Tuesday right from the start, the team looked subdued, flat the body language wasn't right and the atmosphere went down with it, and that's before they scored, once they did, it almost like the players and fans a like resigned them selves, to a here we go again, another game lost. Said it before, and will say it again, there has to be a siege mentality amongst players and fans alike if we are going to see this form turn around.[/quote]

I agree, it can only be be a shared endeavour. I think that the players have to set the tone by showing more aggression and grit. Labadie shows this beautifully, even though Tuesday was not one of his best games you could not accuse him of failing to demonstrate his will to win. The crowd want to see hard (really hard) tackling, and a sort of contempt of the opposition. Get in the opposition's face, make them want to hide. As I say, Labadie showed this on Tuesday, as did Pearce, Hawley and Chapell. One or two of the longer serving players did not appear to want to win enough, and it showed.

The fans could certainly do better, they do away from home (showing the siege mentality that you refer to) but the atmosphere at home could be much better. I don't have answer to this, but I do feel that giving away some blocks of unsold tickets to local schools, colleges and clubs would be worth trying. Fill up the away end with schoolkids when there are few away fans, get an atmosphere going.

Just picking up from the last couple posts made on the Hargreaves signings thread over Tuesdays atmosphere. The crowd does need to play it's part in helping to turn around our current home form, but to me it's understandable why the atmosphere does and can quickly become subdued and sometimes even turn ugly, even though it doesn't help.

Just looked at our home record (info from statto.com) since the start of last season if I've read it right we've played 37 games at home with just 11 wins, 13 draws and 13 defeats GF 51 GA 60 PTS 46 AVE 1.2 PTS a game, but disturbingly since 1.1.2013 we've only a managed 5 home wins, don't think it's right to put the blame on fans for not creating a positive atmosphere for this(and not saying anyone is) but it's hardly surprising if games don't go to plan early on that frustration amongst fans soon sets in, when you've experienced such a prolonged run of adverse results at home.

Something that's still irritating me now two days after the Northampton game is the difference between the team's body language in the Morecambe game compared to the Northampton game. Morecambe with in seconds of the ref starting that game, you could see it, clearly, the team were going drop blood, sweat and more to get something out of that game, the crowd sensed it, and with in minutes the atmosphere was fantastic and remained so through out the game, something even commented on by the Morecambe manager.

Tuesday right from the start, the team looked subdued, flat the body language wasn't right and the atmosphere went down with it, and that's before they scored, once they did, it almost like the players and fans a like resigned them selves, to a here we go again, another game lost. Said it before, and will say it again, there has to be a siege mentality amongst players and fans alike if we are going to see this form turn around.

Plainmoor used to be a ‘fortress’ back in the 70’s and 80’s – it was regularly said how opposing teams used to hate coming to Plainmoor as the atmosphere was so hostile towards them, with the home fans literally just feet away (or closer!) from the opposing players at times.

Sadly those fans who made Plainmoor into that fortress are the ones that so many people knocked for sitting in the old grandstand with rugs over their knees – and many have since stopped attending matches altogether with the demise of that old familiar grandstand and the appearance of the new concrete monstrosity.

The younger fans of today are passionate about their team, there’s no denying that and I take my hat off to those who were at Plainmoor last night. But they are few in numbers and over the years the ‘old stalwart brigade’ has never been replaced to maintain the fortress that was Plainmoor of old.

The songs of today don’t have the same bite or humour to them and the smaller crowds just don’t generate the same atmosphere any more. Standing on the Popside with the nearest fan some 6’ away will never feel the same as standing shoulder to shoulder in the mini-stand!

I guess it is not just at Plainmoor this has happened, many other small clubs have suffered with the demise in their fan base over the years and one has to wonder how much longer a little club like TUFC can continue slogging it out in the lower regions of the Football League with 2k home gates generating the income to pay wages of players, staff plus general club running costs, when perhaps they would be better near the top of the Conference Premier, using part-time players and having less backroom staff and running costs to pay each month.

After all, when you look at the clubs in the Conference Premier today, it’s not a lot different from the good old Division 4 days! There are a lot of familiar names there now, perhaps some of those clubs have just bitten the bullet and chosen their own way forward for the future.

good post diamond girl i cannot for the life of me understand the thought process of playing mansell or nico at full backs personally i think that mr hargreaves made an awful mistake by trying to fit the skipper back in. If like i am meant to believe tongue was struggling a bit then o conner to right back and downes center half. Yesterdays performance was as lifeless as the crowd in fact they would have been running around berry head at 6 o clock this morning if i had been in charge. And while ime on my soap box if you bring in loan players to the club havent you got a kinda prerogative to play them o brien has been given 10 min in 2 games what is the point of that the man u lad rudge why sign him and not play him. When chris was appointed he made it clear he was going to sign players who made a difference so whats happened then cos we have the same toothless front line and still no ball playing midfielder. Then again we still have danny stevens to come in so there is cause for some optimism not.. we need players who will make a difference quick or we are going to lose our league status end of argument we dont need the squad improving we need the team improving and now no more messing about....

that was without doubt the worst game of football I have seen, yes worse than oxford away. I am a torquay supporter through and through, but we were hopeless. mansell, benyon, and Nicholson, are western league footballers and bringing back stevens well.we need a pair of strikers who can actually score goals, my mother (bless her) is more likely to score than benyon, to pay £20 to see a bloke keep diving on the ground ,,keep moaning at the ref like a spoilt kid. I have my doubts about the manager , I cannot believe the teams he is picking . at Portsmouth how the ref did not give a penalty against nicholsons handball, well we were very lucky, how downes can be left out to keep mansell in the team is a disgrace.we have a good back four ; cruise , downes, pearse, O'Conner. but going forward who is going to score , we score from set pieces , downes pearce. where the f**k does benyon come in , where is Ashley yeoman? Hargreaves said he would be back in the team, he's not on the bench, surely he could do better than benyon....(he is a waste of space) and harding is far better than mansell....... looking around the league , we are in the mire, we are that poor......... sorry but this is the way it is ,,, very depressing..

Again, I agree Dave. After that dreadful foul on Billy, which if the guy (Raven something?) had been sent off would not have been an injustice, the team should have been angered, as the fans were, and upped their game. Not by commiting fouls, but by playing better, more aggresive football. Instead they just plodded along, in the same hoofball, way.

The atmosphere thing works both ways. We need something, from the team on the pitch, to be able to give them something back. The atmosphere at Pompey was brilliant, even in the 2nd half when we were mostly defending, but the defending was first class with players putting their bodies, heads, and in Nicho's case arm, in the way of everything that came at them. It gave us something to cling onto and shout and cheer about.

Last night was a turgid bore of a match and its difficult to create an atmosphere under those circumstances. Why Chris played Manse at right back, when we have a specialist right back sitting on the bench, I'll never know. Only he can answer that. Also, why oh why did we persist with playing Nicho. I love the guy to bits, and he has been a great servant, but the time has come for him to be put out to pasture, as far as playing league football goes. He was ripped apart (I know we eventually did win the game) up at San Sixfields, earlier in the season, and both goals came down the right side, last night. There must be an answer to it, as I believe, we do have a capable squad. We just need the right players on the pitch.

You're right Rich, 2 wins at home all season, any country, any league is relegation form, looking at our remaining fixtures though, it appears we have more away games against our fellow strugglers and the majority of our remaining home games are against sides near the top end of the league. So home form could send us down, but on the flip side, our away form could be the thing that keeps us in the league.

The atmosphere at the ground last night was dreadful, and thinking about it through the night as you do, think there were some factors why. the recent run of postponed games, couple with the fact a lot of people, myself included thought this game would be off, wonder how many people changed there plans last minute and went to the football.

And the foul on Bodin that lead to the first goal, that with out doubt set the tone for the rest of the game, the atmosphere on the popside turned ugly, we, as fans went down the road of then berating every decision the ref made, allowed frustration to set, and turned on the team .

The best way to counter an injustice like that, is to develop a siege mentality, the team should have gone up a gear, not down one, and us fans should have cranked up the volume and got behind the team, and fork the ref.

For our form to improve us fans have got to re-create the atmosphere, Morecambe home, that was first class, need it every game now, will it happen, sadly doubt it.

[b]Home form:[/b]
Played 14, Won 2, Drawn 7, Lost 5 (Average points per game = 0.93)

[b]Away form:[/b]
Played 15, Won 5, Drawn 1, Lost 9 (average points per game = 1.07 )

Not a massive difference but it is clear that our home form (if it does not improve) will ultimately cost us league football.

Plainmoor needs to be a difficult and unwanted place for opposing teams to play but at the moment it seems like a soft touch and a decent day out.