Torquay United Fans Forum

ferrarilover wrote:Andy, mate, you can't say this...
And say this immediately afterwards...


It's totally contradictory. In line one you say that we have an squad chock full to the brim of internationals and Arsenal players, then, in line two, you describe them as "absolute tripe".

Matt.

Thanks for being so kind on me Matt. :na:

Yeah I see what you mean but I did say that out of all our squad some were tripe and some didn't care not just that all our squad were tripe. Take your point though Matt.

He does absolutely nothing, it was the rest of your befuddled post that was contradictory and confused.

Matt.

Andy, mate, you can't say this...

AustrianAntheaGull wrote:
Look at our squad.

Joss Labadie - was playing in league 1 this season.
Billy Bodin - deemed good enough to feature regularly in the Wales U21 team.
Krystian Pearce - was playing in league 1 last season
Jordan Chappell - ex Sheff Utd and had league 1 clubs looking at him.
Anthony O'Connor - deemed good enough to represent ROI U21's.
Tom Cruise - once of Arsenal and made a CL appearance against Olympiakos.
Ben Harding - featured in the side who got to the league 2 play off final last season.
Lee Mansell - vastly experienced midfielder who captained our play off pushes.
This is the core of our side and add others like Tonge, Poke, Rice, Lathrope, Downes and Hawley et al.

Is this side REALLY the worst in the division and so much so they deserve to be 7 points adrift of safety?

Of course it isn't

And say this immediately afterwards...

AustrianAntheaGull wrote: The reason we are going down is because we have a nucleus of players that are absolute tripe

It's totally contradictory. In line one you say that we have an squad chock full to the brim of internationals and Arsenal players, then, in line two, you describe them as "absolute tripe".

Matt.

potnoodle wrote:Whatever Bill Phillips does it hasn't worked well. The club is in free fall.

For all the investment in different areas, the team has suffered as a result. Surely league status is far more important than the advertising board situated on the popside. Please tell me what that adds to the team?

We have suffered due to bad weather, the Bench being part of the problem. A training ground not fit for the purpose.

And more importantly managers who haven't lived up to their name and the club have had to pay off - far more frequently than should of.

The club waste money in areas which with proper guidance would be better invested in areas to make a profit.

What happened to the conference rooms that Colin Lee sorted out. Added business to the club, all gone by the way side.

The list goes on, I for one see us ending up losing our league status and maybe the club itself if the board don't act now.

This post is confused and that confusion is borne of a gross lack of any real knowledge.

Matt.

Dave_Pougher wrote:Was going to post this Saturday but didn't want to it be seen as a reaction to another defeat.

Can anyone tell me what Bill Phillips brings to the club?

This is a genuine question, not looking for scape goats but I do feel we have to take a long hard look at the setup once again. Apprently he hasn't invested in the club, please if that's incorrect, then feel free to put me right. I just want to know what he brings to the club? Is that an inappropriate question in our now post mortem?

sweet F all

bar, seriously under value our better players

Sorry Andy, going to have to agree to disagree but I think that is an incredibly over-simplistic take on things. I'm not saying players and management shouldn't take any responsibility for the situation we find ourselves in - of course they should. However, if you look all the way back to the Buckle/Bristol Rovers fiasco and what has occurred since I would strongly argue the club has not been managed in a competent manner. The board might not put on the boots but their decisions have a huge bearing on the direction of the club, sadly that direction is only going one way.

Why all this sh*t about the board?

Look at our squad.

Joss Labadie - was playing in league 1 this season.
Billy Bodin - deemed good enough to feature regularly in the Wales U21 team.
Krystian Pearce - was playing in league 1 last season
Jordan Chappell - ex Sheff Utd and had league 1 clubs looking at him.
Anthony O'Connor - deemed good enough to represent ROI U21's.
Tom Cruise - once of Arsenal and made a CL appearance against Olympiakos.
Ben Harding - featured in the side who got to the league 2 play off final last season.
Lee Mansell - vastly experienced midfielder who captained our play off pushes.

This is the core of our side and add others like Tonge, Poke, Rice, Lathrope, Downes and Hawley et al.

Is this side REALLY the worst in the division and so much so they deserve to be 7 points adrift of safety?

Of course it isn't so the problem isn't Bill Phillips or anyone else who doesn't get involved in the team. The reason we are going down is because we have a nucleus of players that are absolute tripe, some more that are ok but have never been given a fair crack of the whip and some more who just obviously do not really give a sh*t. Then we have the misunderstood ones like Bodin and now Chappell who apparently are 'confidence' players. Well this is Torquay, we're sh*t and we'll always be at the bottom so perhaps it is best that we don't sign 'confidence' players as they'll never get an opportunity to shine. In addition we have had a succession of loanees who have either knocked in a few or been total sh*te.

Throw into the mix Martin Ling (his illness prevented him from doing his job but nevertheless it caused the first spiral of struggle for us) then throw in Taylor, Knill and now a total rookie and you can see the chaos.

Managers pick the team and players play on the pitch. If one or both cannot execute their jobs properly then games of football are lost.

Ling was a fully experienced manager with Orient and Cambridge. Knill the same with Scunny and Bury. Hargreaves a rookie but with yellow blood.

All had their opportunities and not withstanding the first season under Ling, all have failed.

Is this the fault of the board or Bill Phillips (not that I know who he is and not that I really care)?

They don't put football boots on. Our squad should not be where it is and that is the fault of managers and players.

I guess the structure of the board will be a question for the end of the season. No doubt on confirmation of relegation a number may look to jump ship which could include Phillips given he has nothing invested in the club. There will have to be change without a doubt. The last two seasons have been a complete disaster for numerous reasons and those who took on the responsibility of running United find themselves on the verge of the same level of failure as their predecessors. It's not all been self-inflicted however the response to situations such as Martin Ling/Alan Knill etc. have in my opinion shown serious flaws in the way the football side has been handled and this stems from the fact that none have that level of expertise within the industry which was required. Colin Lee was that link - the board acknowledged as much when they took over. Although there were events which meant he couldn't continue in that role replacing him with someone whose only experience as I understand it was as a linesman or something was never going to be an effective answer. I've always felt the board seems on the large side anyway, without a great deal of diverse expertise amongst it. Whatever league we find ourselves in I hope it might be possible to address this problem by bringing in a new CEO/Chief Executive - perhaps more in line with how the consortium was made up when they took over the club. As I said though that's for the end of the season, between now and then all we can do is support the team and CH.

From what I can gather Bill Phillips hasn't invested in the club. However he is apparently doing the chief executive role for no salary.
Colin Lee was rumoured to be on a 100,000 k when he was CEO.

Was going to post this Saturday but didn't want to it be seen as a reaction to another defeat.

Can anyone tell me what Bill Phillips brings to the club?

This is a genuine question, not looking for scape goats but I do feel we have to take a long hard look at the setup once again. Apprently he hasn't invested in the club, please if that's incorrect, then feel free to put me right. I just want to know what he brings to the club? Is that an inappropriate question in our now post mortem?