Torquay United Fans Forum

dannyrvtufc4life wrote:Disgraceful. Absolutely hopeless from start to finish. Shocking performance by the players and some terrible decisions from Nicholson. Why keep Shepherd on the pitch? Please tell him he's not a footballer and tell him to piss off. Fenwick, our only player that looked any good gets taken off. Richards was woeful, keep him on the field why? Just diabolical.

Best part of the day? The players come together at the end of the game in a huddle, it's chucking it down with rain, they are kept their for quite a while, they come over to applaud and we just stand there. No chant, no clapping, no booing, just silence. They turn away to the tunnel and the boos and chants ring out, but that was simply brilliant by us, it got the message across.

Tarrboy1 wrote:Well, that was certainly a game of 2 halves. First half we were pretty good. Played some nice football, looked confident on the ball, passed it to feet (Heslop aside who was garbage) and Marsh looked a real threat. Alty barely got in our half and looked a really poor side. 1-0 was not a reflection of our superiority, and whilst we didn't make any clear cut chances, on another day we could have taken those couple of half chances and been 2 or 3 up at the break.

2nd half, a different team came out the tunnel in yellow. Shep came on for Heslop (yes he was guff but at least he got involved unlike his replacement). Alty did up their game but we couldn't string 2 passes together for some reason. We looked nervous and resorted to aimless long ball dirge. The equaliser, whilst being an absolute belter worthy of the applause most of the Gulls fans gave it, was inevitable. The winner for Alty that I was expecting, thankfully never came.

First half we looked a good side. 2nd half we looked like a team near the bottom. If we can maintain the first half level for longer than 45 minutes, we'll do fine and win more than we lose.

Some observations;

Dan Lavercombe was solid in goal - nothing he could do for the goal as it was just one of those shots that you ain't ever saving. One of the best goals I've seen "live".

Heslop is not good enough.

Marsh is a good player and caused them problems all game (until he got sent off).

Gus n Smith look like a good pairing at centre half. Smith looks like he's going to be a good player.

Richards does his job really well - I like him. He needs Young (or someone with a bit of vision) next to him though to give the ball to after he's won it back.

Hurst is unbelievable in the air. Fisher is not.

Shep - erm, why?

I like Kev a lot. I'm impressed with the way he's turned things round and I'm confident that if we can play more like we did first half, well be okay. However, he can't play to the level needed any longer and should get his trench coat out and manage from the sidelines.

For what it's worth, I thought the ref did okay today. He was talking to the players - I like that. The sending off was an odd one. I didn't see the incident as I was looking over at the touchline as a sub was about to be made. No idea what happened. The bloke behind me said that Marsh had headbutted Butler - I can't comment further other than every Gulls fan was a bit WTF?

All in all, I remain positive and, after last week's debacle, a point isn't a bad return.

Tarrboy1 wrote:Well, that was certainly a game of 2 halves. First half we were pretty good. Played some nice football, looked confident on the ball, passed it to feet (Heslop aside who was garbage) and Marsh looked a real threat. Alty barely got in our half and looked a really poor side. 1-0 was not a reflection of our superiority, and whilst we didn't make any clear cut chances, on another day we could have taken those couple of half chances and been 2 or 3 up at the break.

2nd half, a different team came out the tunnel in yellow. Shep came on for Heslop (yes he was guff but at least he got involved unlike his replacement). Alty did up their game but we couldn't string 2 passes together for some reason. We looked nervous and resorted to aimless long ball dirge. The equaliser, whilst being an absolute belter worthy of the applause most of the Gulls fans gave it, was inevitable. The winner for Alty that I was expecting, thankfully never came.

First half we looked a good side. 2nd half we looked like a team near the bottom. If we can maintain the first half level for longer than 45 minutes, we'll do fine and win more than we lose.

Some observations;

Dan Lavercombe was solid in goal - nothing he could do for the goal as it was just one of those shots that you ain't ever saving. One of the best goals I've seen "live".

Heslop is not good enough.

Marsh is a good player and caused them problems all game (until he got sent off).

Gus n Smith look like a good pairing at centre half. Smith looks like he's going to be a good player.

Richards does his job really well - I like him. He needs Young (or someone with a bit of vision) next to him though to give the ball to after he's won it back.

Hurst is unbelievable in the air. Fisher is not.

Shep - erm, why?

I like Kev a lot. I'm impressed with the way he's turned things round and I'm confident that if we can play more like we did first half, well be okay. However, he can't play to the level needed any longer and should get his trench coat out and manage from the sidelines.

For what it's worth, I thought the ref did okay today. He was talking to the players - I like that. The sending off was an odd one. I didn't see the incident as I was looking over at the touchline as a sub was about to be made. No idea what happened. The bloke behind me said that Marsh had headbutted Butler - I can't comment further other than every Gulls fan was a bit WTF?

All in all, I remain positive and, after last week's debacle, a point isn't a bad return.

tommyg wrote:Very enjoyable second half. Disappointed not to cling on for the win but would have taken a point at half-time and before the game. Played some lovely stuff after the break and had Woking on the ropes. Marsh made a huge difference - set up the first which was curled into the top corner from 25 yards by Richards. I didn't think he had that in his locker! We had chances to take the lead before Woking came back into it and had a stonewall penalty turned down when Berry mistimed a tackle inside the box. I still can't believe the ref didn't give it. He made himself even more unpopular with the home fans when Marsh skipped past the keeper and went down under his challenge before slotting in the resultant spot-kick. Thought we would hang on but Holman netted a late equaliser when he held off Smith, turned and fired past Spiess. Good finish but Smith - otherwise excellent - should have been tighter. Even more frustratingly, we had a golden chance to win it in injury-time but Bell fluffed his lines with only the keeper to beat. Bloody awful attempt. Draw probably a fair result.

Spiess still makes me nervous. He made two mistakes in the second half - dropping a corner and getting caught in no man's land with a cross - but he was rescued by covering yellow shirts on both occasions. Couldn't have saved the second goal and I was late to the game so missed the first by Daniel, who was Woking's best player. Nicholson did quite well considering he didn't get much help when defending against him. Smith was superb... until the late equaliser. I think it was him and not Hickford (they look alike from a distance). Hickford was very solid on his debut. Positioning was good and he looks quite confident. Would like to keep him longer but Angus - who was at the game along with Butler, Chaney, Odofin and Hells Bells - will be back in on Saturday. Berry played well again although was incredibly lucky not to concede that penalty.

Hurst started on the right and ended up on the left. He was limited to shots from outside the box but tested the keeper twice and was a menace. At first it looked like he was going to take the penalty before the ball ended up in Marsh's hands. Fenwick was out of position on the left and struggled although improved slightly after the break. Still not convinced. I've been very critical of Heslop to date but thought he was very good in the second half after taking the captain's armband. Easily his best showing in a Torquay shirt. Richards was garbage in the first half but scored our best goal of the season and that boosted his confidence. Fisher much more involved in the second half too and almost scored a header which was brilliantly clawed away by their keeper at 1-1. Did well with Marsh who was the difference maker. His pace and link-up play was really impressive. Set up one, scored one and put one on a plate for Bell at the end. Less said about Briscoe the better. He was in the huddle after the final whistle and had his calf iced up so maybe his withdrawal was because of injury but he was so ineffective it could easily have been a tactical substitution. Murombedzi did ok when he came on. Ran into a couple of dead ends but set up Marsh to win the penalty after we caught Woking on the counter.

That second-half performance gives me a lot of hope for the rest of the season. Was impressed with the team spirit and our heads never dropped - even after conceding the late equaliser. Marsh must start on Saturday.

Charley the Gull wrote:Just back from a long weekend up north so catching up with the comments. Really good first 25 mins from the Gulls with all the pressure on the Southport goal. Courtney was a great controller in the middle of the field and an excellent goal from Fish after a great cross. We also had two one-on-ones with the goalie which should have produced more but really good to see the ball being moved on the ground. Initially no thrust from them but they clawed their way back as the first half came to a close. however the second half was a different kettle of fish and they were much quicker to the ball so put us under pressure. Some fairly fierce tackling on both parts but the ref seemed to ignore their No 9 backing in and elbowing Angus as well as pushing by several of their guys but have to say we gave as good as we got if not more so no real surprise on the bookings. But that did show the lads were up for a challenge. Pretty fretful final 15 mins as they looked for an equaliser. Courtney Cameron's free kick hit our far post but they couldn't follow up and then Marsh hit the woodwork just before the end. A well deserved result and although Southport were pretty poor, I've seen worse opposition this season so this wasn't an easy match but in the end didn't really cause us a problem.
Team spirit looks good and great to see Courtney firing in the middle of the pitch - sadly Hurst didn't contribute much which is unusual as he has been on cracking form of late. So, hopefully a good base to build on for tonight's match and the confidence and teamwork are growing.

Modgull wrote:My take on the game is much the same as everyone else's. But for an appalling pass from Heslop and joke keeping from Speiss we would be celebrating a great second half performance and a well-earned point.

Hurst is an outstanding player at this level and is consistently showing the rest of the team how to do it. His performance tonight was fantastic and energetic with two of the best taken goals you could wish to see. Unfortunately there isn't the same quality elsewhere in the team and Fisher, for all his effort, missed a couple of gilt-edged chances.

But the most worrying problem is our inability to defend and we are nailed on certainties for the drop if we can't bring in inexperienced central defender to accompany McDonald. That is not to say Smith had a bad game individually but between the two of them they just seem to switch off at key points and - bang - another goal is conceded.

I thought Richards made a difference to the midfield tonight but Briscoe just seems to be past it - getting slower and slower and none of his tricks are working any more.

The attendance is also worrying - we are heading for sub-1,000 gates if this run continues.

Swanny wrote:So it was not the start we all wanted for Nicholson and it was the same sorry story what we have come to expect this season. Yes, the commitment was decent, I thought the shape of the team looked balanced and there was some decent build up play at times. I thought we used the width of the pitch well and I liked Murombedzi on the left wing who offered a bit of flair. Nicholson himself slotted in well at left back and his experience often showed using the right option when on the ball. It's a shame his corners were typically over hit. But, and it' a huge but, we rarely looked like scoring and whereas Aldershot worked our keeper, we rarely tested their's. Crowd 1,946. around 250 from Aldershot and sponsors MoTM Hurst.

Nicholson had a warm reception and there were plenty of chants of his name from the Popside. The home crowd got well behind the team. The game was evenly matched and Torquay were looking decent in their ideas and approach play. But Speiss had to make 2 outstanding saves to keep the score level, one diving very low down,so the warning signs were there. Like previous matches, Torquay conceded from a free-kick that was beautifully curled past our 3 man wall in to Speiss's left corner. Surely Torquay needed more men in our wall? The goal lifted Aldershot and their second reminded me of a Bromley goal a couple of weeks ago. Neat passing on the edge of our area until they found room to slot the ball past Speiss without a challenge from a defender.

Torquay for the rest of the match never seriously threatened and Aldershot were held comfortably with a bit more know-how. Torquay had their fair share of corners and the occasional promising position but there was no end product.

It's a huge job for Nicholson or indeed any manager. I was amazed he was given the job when surely we needed an experienced manager, now of all times. I have been impressed how Nicholson has conducted himself thus far but I'm afraid I cannot see any light at the end of the tunnel. I was so shocked when I dared look at the league table this evening as we are in huge danger of being cut off adrift in the relegation zone. Even at this stage of the season we need a huge turnaround in results and I cannot see how it is going to happen? It was quite distressing to look over to out dugout and only see a passive Kenny Veysey there. Indeed we used all our subs with like for like swaps and did not ask any questions of Aldershot. If anything, our substitutions made matters worse. There just seems so much wrong I'm afraid and our season continues to plunge.

bobby93 wrote:Perhaps I'm in the minority but I don't think we were awful this evening. We weren't good either, of course, but performance wise I think there were passages of play that were promising. We were never going to bounce back and win this 4-0. We haven't got it in us at the moment. The best we can say is that if we had defended set pieces properly, we could have scraped a 1-0 win and I think we would have deserved that.

Very pleased to have Durrell back. He and Hurst were the standout performers for me. Exodus has been found out. I would drop Butler back to left back and pair Angus with either Smith or this new chap. Then maybe give Murombedzi or someone else a run out on the left wing.

The main thing we are lacking is stability. We have an average group of players with one or two talented individuals. If we can find a level-headed, manager who sticks by his team, I think the wins will start to come back. We aren't going to achieve much this season, perhaps even next season, but after a few days of thinking this might genuinely be curtains for us, I am now starting to think that with some expectation management, we will probably be fine. A lot is resting on the managerial appointment, apparently coming in the next 7-10 days.

I think there are a lot of things wrong with our club at present, and a lot of lessons are being learned by those in charge. We are quite clearly a work in progress and this is an incredibly frustrating time. But it is still September. The season does not end until May.

I'd like to echo the words of others on here and across the internet by thanking the fans of Plymouth Argyle, Exeter City and all the other clubs (I saw shirts from Wycombe, Swansea and others) who turned up tonight. A fantastic gesture from them that will not be forgotten. I hope the anti-City chanting was taken in good humour...

Swanny wrote:There’s not too much you can say about today’s game, the score line says it all. I was hoping after Cox’s departure for some sort of lift today, who knows sometimes a shuffle around can help. But after taking an early lead our defence just weakly surrendered and made Bromley look like Barcelona. I believe we were playing 4-4-2 with MacDonald right back and Smith pairing Exodus in central defence. But whatever formation we were playing the defence stood off and were carved apart. I’m afraid it was a rude awakening for Lavercombe in goal, despite a couple of decent saves, his inexperience was exposed. Crowd a worrying 1,600, 100+ from Bromley, sponsors MOTM Smith.

Let’s at least start with some positives on a bleak day. I was really impressed with Marsh in attack scoring 2 opportunist goals, something I have not seen from any of our strikers all season. He’s pretty nippy and showed good awareness for his goals. Murombedzi came on the left wing late in the second half and has some lovely pace and skill. Ironically going forward today we looked better than previous matches I’ve seen us this season. We linked play well at times and built up moves with more imagination than previous matches. I suppose 3 goals is a good return.
But and it’s a huge but, where was our defence today? You could argue they did not get much protection from midfield but the basics of closing down was not being done, MacDonald at right back being the worst culprit. After taking an early lead from a lovely headed goal by Hurst from a free-kick, our defence handed the game to Bromley. MacDonald was slow in closing down for their first and Ademola finished neatly. Bromley’s 2nd. goal was nightmare defending on our near post from a corner. There was a right old scramble, no-one cleared and the ball was poked in at close range. Bromley’s 3rd. was more embarrassing. I’ve never seen a Torquay defence toyed with on the edge of our box. There were a few clever passes until a shot was curled in. Lavercombe made a decent parried save and Marsh latched on to a Hurst shot in added time to make it 2-3 half-time.

At half-time I asked people around me to guess the full-time score, I predicted 2-4. The other comment at half-time was that Deano and Ramshaw did not appear to be working together in the dug-out, they were stood far apart. It’s made me even wonder now, who was in charge today? Surely it should have been Ramshaw. The arrangement certainly did not work today and needs to change for Tuesday.
Torquay started the 2nd. half quite positively as Bromley seemed content to contain and waste a bit of time. Their 4th. goal really finished us off. From the opposite end we felt Lavercombe could have done better in cutting out a low cross that was tapped in at the far post. The collapse was gaining momentum. Bromley’s 5th. was an embarrassment . A free-kick as given on the edge of the penalty area in a central position. Lavercombe positioned himself too far too one side of his goal and left a huge gap on the other side of the goal. If the Bromley player could chip the ball over the wall into this vacant side of the goal there was no cover. From the opposite end you just knew it would happen and it did.
Goal 6 was a penalty after a player was clipped in the box and goal 7 our defence was again wide open and it was a sweet finish. Marsh latched on to score our 3rd. but the humiliation had already happened. There were not many boos at the end and at least Bromley had a sporting send off from Torquay’s fans particularly from the Bristow bench.

It was a sad, sad day and no-one has a clue what it coming next. It seems from Steve Breed’s pre-match interview Hargreaves is not in the frame for a return. Surely he can do no worse than what currently is on show or Hodges for that matter. How could we afford a manager’s wages. Surely we cannot risk again not paying a manager who can just leave as he pleases. Desperate times I’m afraid but let’s continue to support our club more than ever. I just wish I could see some light at the end of the tunnel.

tommyg wrote:Just got home. Not sure if I'm pleased to collect a point or disappointed we dropped two. I'm somewhere in between. Obviously, we played three quarters of the match with 10 men and soaked up a lot of pressure, but like Welling, we had chances to win the game so a draw was probably a fair outcome.

We settled well in the opening five minutes, with Briscoe testing the goalkeeper with a low drive after some neat build-up play. But then Welling scored with their first attack after some slack defending. Butler was caught out of position as Welling attacked the right channel and our marking for the cross was non-existent. We were second-best to both balls - the first was superbly saved by Spiess at point-blank range and the second was smashed in by a Welling player on the rebound. We were too slow to react.

We got back on level terms through a set-piece - well it wasn't going to be from open play! Butler curled in a peach of a delivery - one of those that is whipped in between the defence and goalkeeper - and it went all the way into the far corner of the goal. Hurst celebrated so he must have got a touch but it was all down to Butler's ball - similar goal to the one Hurst scored at Halifax. Then came a few key turning points.

First, a ball over the top caught out Ex, who brought down their striker on the edge of the box with his outstretched leg. He was last man and it was one of those decisions that could have gone either way. I had a great view of the incident but couldn't tell if Ex got the ball - fortunately the referee sided with us but we'd have been screaming for a red card if it was a Welling defender. However, it didn't take long for the referee to go from hero to villain in yellow eyes. Again, it stemmed from a long ball over the defence. This time, Spiess decided to come and collect - which he did. But the problem was his momentum took him outside of the box and he still had the ball in his hands. There was absolutely no doubt about that but the debate was whether he was nudged by the striker after grabbing the ball, with the contact taking him outside of his area. It was another tough decision and honestly one I'd have to look at again. Usually, goalkeepers are well protected by referees but not on this occasion. Spiess was furious after being shown the red card. Maybe it was harsh. But we'd have been calling for their goalkeeper to be sent off if the same happened at the opposite end of the pitch.

Cox must have had a vision in his dream last night that this would happen because usually he doesn't stick a goalkeeper on the bench. I'd be interested to hear why today of all days he named Lavercombe as a sub. One theory I have is that Richards - who travelled with the squad - failed a late fitness test and therefore this created a free spot on the bench. Welling threatened a few times to score with the extra man and clipped the bar after their player got in between Angus and Lavercombe. However, the best chance fell to us and should have been buried. Briscoe played Fisher through and with only the keeper to beat, he laced his shot wide when it looked impossible not to hit the target. Maybe he should have taken an extra touch instead of firing first time on the half-volley. Every Torquay player had his head in hands after that miss - including Fisher. Quite ironic given the fans were singing 'Feed the Fish and he will score' earlier in the match...

Second half we switched formation to 4-4-1 with Smith playing right-back and Hurst in front of him. Briscoe was wide left. Welling kept knocking on the door and would have finished us off if they had a half-decent striker. Lavercombe made two excellent saves, Angus made a vital goal-saving challenge and I even think a Welling player inadvertently blocked a goal-bound strike after a scramble inside the area. There were other chances too but we survived the onslaught and even had opportunities to win it ourselves.

Hurst and Heslop both shot wide from good positions on the right-hand side of the area and Briscoe stabbed over a shot from a long throw to the far post before almost scoring a stunning solo goal. Moments after some idiot shouted a derogatory comment at him about how he earns more than our whole midfield combined, he nutmegged one player, dumped another on his backside with a neat turn and then drilled in a low strike which looked destined for the bottom corner - but the keeper dived down and made a splendid save. It was the one moment of real quality in the game.

I thought that was Briscoe's best performance of the season. He still drifts in and out of the game but he caused problems. Fisher had an off day and never recovered from that miss. Lavelle-Moore was unlucky to be sacrificed after the red card but it was the right decision. Quigley came on and set up a good chance for Heslop, who again I wasn't impressed with today. One of those midfielders who is invisible for most of the match. Carmichael was the more noticeable of the two and put in some excellent tackles. Both lacked quality in possession.

Hurst will probably end up being our top scorer at this rate. I wouldn't mind seeing him in a 4-4-2 playing in front of the full-back like he did in the second half because he's great going forward but leaves holes in defence. However, Ex couldn't play in a 4-4-2 because he's too slow. He was turned too many times in the second half. But that throw... it's out biggest weapon so we need him in the team. If only we had a specials team for set-pieces like our American friends! He'd be ideal. Angus made one big mistake in the second half when he lost possession in a dangerous area which led to a Lavercombe save but he defended well other than that hiccup. Smith was excellent again. My MOTM and not the first time I've said that this season. Butler had a decent game, although was out of position for the first goal. His set-pieces were much better today. Spiess made one brilliant save in the build-up to Welling's goal which he could do nothing about before being sent off. Lavercombe pulled out some great stops in the second half but punted a few goal-kicks straight out of play.

Think that's it. Well done if you got through that. Time to watch X Factor, erm, I mean Spanish football...

I see Butler has been credited with our goal. It looked to me like Hurst celebrated but maybe he was just pleased for his fellow wing-back.

forevertufc wrote:Lucky enough to be an invited guest of the match sponsors today, so a different view of the game from the match sponsors box today, firstly a frustrating game, first 30-35 minutes belonged to Guiseley , and just being honest that was a real concern. Thanks to a first class reaction save from Spiess added to that Spiess was out quickly and bravely to the feet of Guiseley forward and two further occasions we'd have surely gone in at the break behind and with a mountain to climb.

This is where the frustration comes in. Second half once again the team have come out looking sharper much better tempo to our play, we've created enough good attacking opportunities in the second half, but for a gamble, or a better ball into the box this game would have been won by us, despite Guiseley striking our post twice.

Spiess certainly deserved a mention today, perfectly set wall for their free-kick that hit the post, and good reason why the Guiseley player hit the post rather than scoring, Spiess was flawless in every thing he did, I said in the week it was far to early to judge him, far to early for people to jump on his back, todays confidence boosting performance from Fabian Spiess was proof of that if it was ever needed, he wasn't my choice as motm but I was out voted by others in our vote.

For me Hurst is clearly the pick our players right now, Lavelle-Moore had a very good game, ran their back line ragged in the second half. The signs are there, that our team is going to be ok and however at the moment we're seeing just bits and pieces of the match, we can't seem to find any consistency through the 90 minutes.

Finally, last season was with the match sponsors prior to the Aldershot game, no10's was appalling, and a real feel upstairs that no one really gave a monkeys. Today being in no10's, firstly what am improvement well done to all at the club for that, but being in their and Gulls nest, not my normal watering hole, I had a chance to see first hand those working behind the scenes.

Seriously there our good people here now working their nuts off for our football club, to any fan reading this, they deserve better than 1500 fans, it's going to take time to rebuild, with out our support there's no chance.

tommyg wrote:On way home. Can't believe we nearly pinched a point because at 3-0 we looked dead and buried. I couldn't see us scoring as up until Hurst's strike we hadn't had a single shot on target. MacDonald headed against the post but that was the only memorable chance and the first thing Poke had to do all afternoon was pick the ball out of his net after Hurst side-footed in Butler's corner from the edge of the six-yard box. Then Fisher flicked in a trademark Ex throw to set up a frantic finish and with the last kick of the game, Briscoe poked a volley over after another throw-in caused carnage inside the Eastleigh area.

We didn't deserve anything though, because we were very poor for 80 minutes. Eastleigh never really got out of first gear but controlled the match and were clinical in the final third. Their first goal came when Hurst was caught out of position and a cut-back into our box was tucked away neatly. Ex was beaten in the air by Constable which helped set up the second. The initial shot was blocked by MacDonald but we were slow to the loose ball, which was stroked past a helpless Spiess. The third was a lovely free-kick straight into the corner after Ex fouled the pesky Constable. I can't actually recall any other Eastleigh chances apart from the ones they scored but they were the better team.

I think Cox got his team selection wrong today. Fisher should have started. I can understand Marsh being given the nod as he was lively when he came on against Cheltenham but Quigley should have made way. I don't think Quigley and Carmichael deserve to start every game so if that's part of the loan agreement then I wouldn't extend it. They just don't contribute enough for me.

If we need to cut the budget to bring in other players then I'd be happy to see Briscoe go. He's probably one of our highest earners and isn't worth the money he's on. Not fit enough, too many niggles and we now have Fairhurst who can play in the hole. Wasn't too impressed with Heslop. We miss Young badly because none of the other midfielders are capable of creating chances from open play. We only look like scoring from a corner or throw.

Ex's throw is a huge weapon but he struggled defensively today. He also looks knackered in the second half of games and needs to improve his fitness. Our wing-backs did quite well going forward and look our biggest attacking threats (throw-ins aside) but Hurst especially leaves acres of space which Eastleigh exploited today. We did score from a Butler corner but there were more bad corners than good ones.

Stand-out players today were Smith and Richards. Smith is our best defender and proves size doesn't matter. Reads the game well and has a bright future. Richards never stopped running and constantly broke up play. Kept it simple in possession - just a shame that - like his fellow fit midfielders - he doesn't have that killer final ball.

I would like to see the team that finished today's match start the next one, possibly with the exception of Fairhurst for Briscoe if fit. Lavelle-Moore looks to have something about him and Fisher should be recalled immediately.

trissyjp wrote:My first time in Bristow's Bench today, and a magnificent place to watch an entertaining game of competitive football. Torquay were competitive for the fist seven minutes only. A fifty fifty challenge in which Carmichel overstretched for a ball and their player caught him late. From the bench it did not look like a sending off, but off went their man. After that the game moved at more of a pedestrian pace. Cheltenham scored from a well worked free kick and on possession and tempo deserved the lead. The feeling was though that Torquay sooner or later would sort it out with the numerical advantage. The opposite happened. Cheltenham tempo increased and they could have easily had five goals today. They were organised and compact without being outstanding.

The positioning of our players was awful. For long passages of play with numerical advantage Torquay were playing the spectacular pass from McDonald through to Fisher, by-passing the whole midfield. They never utilised the width pinging it from right to left as should be with numerical advantage. They never pushed up in midfield playing tappy football using the numbers.

The tempo Torquay played with was very much 'pre-season,' few players appeared to be playing as part of a team and there were too many passengers. The exceptions were Richards, McDonald, Butler and Smith who was taken off at half time for tactical reasons I presume. Richards was getting stuck in everywhere on the park, clearly frustrated at the hospital passes of his team mates. Butler had some good crosses and his positioning (and effort) in attack and defense was so much better than his other half in Hurst, McDonald tried to do the job of more than one player being pulled out of position frequently.

Exodus to me did not look 'with-it.' Captain material today, he was not. Looking down, little communication and as a footballer offered nothing. He should have been subbed in the second half as apart from his throw, which he took two from memory, offered little in terms of uplifting spirit or football. He made no effort to make it disgusting that's for sure and time and time again was out of position asking the impossible of his team mates.

All in all a dismal team performance and I only hope that we play with 11 men more often. I hope bollockings happen and wholesale changes are made for the next game. I would replace Speiss with Lavercombe. Speis was at fault for their second goal and the penalty. Give a chance to Odofin either starting or from the bench. He is ours, lets give him a chance. Is Malachi still with us....? If so lets give him a try please the little we have seen of him, his passing is good, he appears to have positional play, he can head the ball and passing and positional sense alone he should be in the team. Positioning of players today was fundamentally awful.

Special mention today to Aaron Downes. Fully deserved his goal and teams win. Lead by example, that's one area we did not have today.

The real losers today were the fans. People won't pay good money to watch that slop. Bad day at the office indeed. Awful day,

yellowforever wrote:Ok now I've calmed down I feel better placed to make a few comments about last night's match.

We were the better team in the first half, and they were better in the second so I suppose a draw would have been a fair result, but they're not a bad team at all based on last night's showing. They pass it well and had a couple of tricky lads up front.

Our defence did very well on the whole - ExoGus put in a usual decent performance and the star man was once again Nathan Smith, who one day will be a top top defender. He reads the game so well and has terrific timing in tackles. He's also a lot stronger and better in the air than his size would suggest. We need to get him tied down for the season as he's way too good for this level, whether it's at centre-half or at right back.

Hurst had a really good first half, making clever passes and driving runs but I feel he tucks in a little too much, and in the second half it left us without a true wide option on the right. Butler worked very hard but couldn't produce a good enough delivery that often into the box, and when he did, there wasn't anyone attacking it. In all honesty I thought the system could and should have been changed in the second half. Woking doubled up on attacks in the wide areas and it became hard for the wing-backs, especially Butler who had two quick players against him, to defend without proper support. I would have liked us to perhaps bring off Hurst (who is still coming back into fitness and also was less effective in the second half) and bring on Sheppard. We could have returned to a 4-2-3-1 again with Smith shuffled across to right back, Sheppard ahead of him and then Briscoe on the left. Briscoe looked a little lost in the role he played last night, he didn't really have the fitness to get on the ball much as Woking's midfield was too quick and strong. Moving him out wide may have given him a bit more space, and he could have helped the full back out against Woking's quick overlaps.

Speiss could have been a bit stronger for their goal, but I think people calling for the return of Lavercombe are incredibly stupid. Speiss has done well this season so far and looks a very competent goalkeeper - the last thing we need to do is drop him after one mistake mid season, which would completely shatter his confidence. Some keep mentioning the 'resale' value of Lavercombe and don't seem to realise that Speiss could also be sold himself should it come to it. He's young and clearly a decent player.

I like Fisher up front, he's quick, strong and although his finishing was a little off he constantly caused trouble. He could have possibly got the goalscorer Yakubu sent off had Huxtable deemed the Woking player to have taken Fisher down through on goal. It wasn't a stone cold call for me, but on another day that decision may have gone our way. There's definitely a player there in Quigley - he's very strong and decent on the ball and in the air, but he needs to play and build a partnership with Fisher a bit more, as they seem on a different wavelength. They are both young though and see no reason for them not to build a good strike force as time goes on. I thought Carmichael and Richards were superb first half, both passing well and good at breaking up play.They struggled a little bit in the second half though as Woking seemed to out number and thus outpass us in the middle. Nevertheless they kept running trying to break up the play when they could, and I'm especially pleased for Courtney who is obviously a decent player but came under a lot of stick at the end of last season. He was messed around by the previous management and I'm delighted he's got his career back on track as he sounds like a good lad and a top pro.

Quick question - where was Fairhurst? I would have liked to have seen him last night coming on for Briscoe at the hour mark, as he was clearly out of steam and off the pace a bit. A couple mentioned that Fairhurst had previously played in a withdrawn striker number '10' role, and that perhaps was what we needed a little of last night. Heslop came on and looked totally off the pace. Woking's midfield was in full flow and Heslop had clearly not played much recently as he just couldn't get on the ball. He needs a few more weeks to get ready.

Second quick question - why didn't we use Sheppard earlier? Sure his end product could use a bit of work, but the only way to get Woking off the front foot was to offer our own bit of pace on the flanks, especially on the break.

Final word on the Referee and the sub controversy. Sometimes common sense prevails, and last night it did not. The referee's job is to uphold the laws of the game, but to also allow the game to proceed with the emphasis on the players and the match. As someone rightly pointed out, the best referees are the ones you don't notice. I don't doubt that it's a difficult job, but when you make decisions like he did last night you are only making it harder for yourself.

tommyg wrote:On way home from the game. Very proud of the boys - they dug in and worked their socks off to win that. I feared the worst when Halifax levelled to make it 2-2 but we got our noses back in front and held on.

It's the first match I've watched this season and I liked the shape of the side. I've always been fond of wing-backs since the Gurney-Gibbs days and Hurst and Butler have the attributes to play that system. The problem is when one of them can't play we have no cover. When Hurst was subbed - he was understandably knackered on his delayed debut - Richards slotted in and we were significantly weaker (that's nothing against Richards who I thought did well in midfield - he's just not a wing-back).

The first half was fairly even. Both sides struggled to carve out chances from open play so it was no surprise to see all three goals before the break come from dead ball situations. Our first was from a trademark Exodus throw - what a useful weapon it is. It's even more effective than Nicholson's because Exodus can fire in flat throws with plenty of pace, meaning the player who gets on the end of it doesn't need to generate much power on his header. Angus was the target and he flicked his effort over the keeper and into the far corner of the net. Disappointingly, our lead didn't last long when a Halifax free-kick - conceded by Butler for a late tackle - was whipped into the box and smashed in from close range after we failed to win the first ball. Poor defending but I'll have to look at it again to decide who was at fault. Spiess had no chance though. We always looked dangerous from set-pieces and another training-ground routine worked to perfection when Butler's pin-point free-kick over the defence was glanced in by Hurst to restore our advantage. He scored an identical goal later in the half but was flagged offside. It must be very satisfying for Cox to see the hard work at Seale Hayne pay off when we score goals that are no doubt drilled into the players Monday-Friday.

Unfortunately, we were very slow out of the blocks after the interval. Even though the half was only a few minutes old, you could sense Halifax scoring because we were sitting off and second to every ball. Hurst gambled to win a header, lost out and left a huge space behind him which Halifax expolited. I'm not sure if it was a shot or cross but it squirmed its way past Spiess who again I didn't think could do much about it. I expected us to crumble after that - similar to in midweek - and we survived a few nervy moments, whilst also hitting the crossbar at the other end from another giant Exodus throw. Then out of very little, we scored our third.

Fairhurst had replaced Briscoe a few minutes earlier and slotted in immediately behind the strikers. It was his header that freed Quigley down the line and he twisted past the full-back before crossing the ball to Fisher, who opened his body and caressed the ball into the corner of the goal with the inside of his left boot. Easily the best goal of the day. Halifax put us under some late pressure but I can only remember Spiess making one save and that was at 2-2. Fenwick was sent off in stoppage time after two petty yellows. The first was time-wasting when we had a throw and the second for kicking the ball away after we conceded a free-kick. No harm done though. The win meant a lot to the players and staff - there seems to be a great team spirit already assembled by Cox. Fantastic atmosphere in the away end too - about 100 fans but the noise was non-stop.

I thought our back three were excellent. Exodus especially who led the team superbly. Very little got past him and he read the danger. Angus and Smith were solid - both love a challenge and throw their bodies in front of the ball. Spiess flapped at one cross but his handling was very good apart from that minor blip and he made a crucial save in the second half. Hurst was fantastic for the first 35 minutes but was then blowing out of his arse. Partly at fault for Halifax's second but he did score himself and will be a key player for us when fully fit. Butler looks a decent player on the other side and has a lot of energy.

We lacked creativity in midfield - which I think is our biggest problem - but then we did score three goals! Richards worked hard and breaks up play well but his passing isn't his greatest asset. I didn't really notice Carmichael much but we have a few players who look alike from a distance! Briscoe wasn't very effective but it was his first match and will be important. I was impressed with Fairhurst when he came on. Showed some nice touches and linked up well with the strikers. Quigley struggled to get involved. He is slow to react to things and often second to the ball but he did set up the winner and had something about him. Fisher will be s fan favourite. Excellent finish and covers a lot of ground. He moves quickly too for his size. I've rambled on for too long now - off for a beer!

Orange Gull wrote:This was my first Torquay game since Crewe at home in April 2012, oh how times change. I know that the team is not what it used to be but even so, the depths to which we have plummeted is just disheartening. My vocabulary does not contain the words to adequately describe the sheer awfulness on display tonight, be in no doubt, we were appalling, and were deservedly beaten. So what went wrong?

The first half saw Wrexham dominate in terms of possession, yet they only had one decent opportunity, which Speiss (who I thought conducted himself well throughout) got down quick and put it out for a corner. Despite all their possession Wrexham didn't really do much. Us on the other hand, well we could barely get the ball. The one time we actually get up their end in the first half and force a corner, we score. We were lucky to go in at half time in a winning position, but you can only take what's put in front of you.

So the second half starts, and we thought that Cox would have told the team just to try and hold on to the ball a bit....but we didn't. We were even worse in the second half than in the first, we created nothing, barely got the ball and when we did, promptly lost it. The first two Wrexham goals could have easily been prevented. In both cases there was a complete lack of man marking which meant that once the Wrexham player had the ball, he could easily slot it into the bottom corner of the net. There was little Speiss could do about either of them. As for the penalty, I couldn't really see it but no one seemed to appeal. Even so, it's pointless to moan about the penalty or the refereeing (which was soft at times), the responsibility for the defeat lies solely with the the team.

I have seen some bad football from Torquay over the years but that second half display was by far the worst I've ever seen. I sincerely hope that we improve and that there are teams far below us in terms of quality, because if not it is going to be a long and hard season. Sorry to be so negative but I could see very few positives from the game. Speiss was the only one who I thought looked decent, despite the Wrexham possession he didn't have much to do, and looked confident when called upon.

I don't get to many Torquay games and this will be last until next season, but if this is our standard of play I don't think I'm going to miss much.

Lastly, our fans were great and loud for most of the game. However, when the opposition supporters are singing "3-1 to the sheep shaggers", it seems somewhat pointless to sing "And you know you are" back at them. It wasn't clever and it wasn't an insult.