Knill & The Season So Far

[AustrianAndyGull]

Game 1 : Torquay draw 1-1 on opening day against AFC Wimbledon via a Downes header in the last minute cancelling out what looked like a certain Dons winner by Harry Pell in the 88th minute. Nicholson is preferred to start the season over Cruise much to some fans surprise and Hawley starts on the bench as does Chappell. Cameron starts too. Looking back over fans comments of the game we struggled in the middle and Downes and Rice were our best players. Nico struggled too but a promising start to the league campaign.

Game 2 : Torquay go to Morecambe and dig out a 1-1 draw after being on the back foot for much of the first half (I was there) in which we never had a shot. Second half we improved slightly with the introduction of Cameron and Hawley who started this game made a bit of space for himself at the edge of the area and curled one into the top corner. Other than that we created nothing and never looked dangerous. Tonge was sent off for two bookable offences late on. So Hawley in the 11 for this, Nico kept in but struggled as did the midfield of Mansell and Harding. Chappell started too so after not really doing much wrong in a promising first game v Wombles, Knill thinks it necessary to make 2 changes this week. Fans comments on the forum were about the form of Nico, the lack of penetration and the lack of leadership.

Game 3: Oxford at home and the first real signs of what was to come with a 3-1 loss. Cruise had to come in for the suspended Tonge and once again Knill arsed about with the line up dropping Chappell and starting Cameron again. Chappell netted soon after coming on but for the third game in a row we concede and we still haven't taken the lead in a game. Forum members complaining about the ref but also about how dull the game was and once again how we looked well short on energy.

Game 4: Northampton away who are the only team worse than us at the minute so quite understandable that we were able to muster a win there. That said this game was a game of two halves if you excuse the cliché. First half they targeted Nico and were successful, the only saving grace was that they didn't score more than the 1. Nico was annihilated. We created zero again (I was there). Second half is the best I've seen us play under Knill and we were treated to a dynamic period of about 25 minutes where we attacked at pace and created a fair few chances. I have not seen anything remotely like this period of play since. Chappell bagging two in an excellent performance. This time Bodin was on the bench for Cameron. Fans obviously happy but concerned about Nico and his form. Calls for him to be dropped.

Game 5 : The visitors were Hartlepool, at that point at the bottom and yet to score a league goal. The game ended 0-0 with some saying we had enough chances to score but just couldn't on the day. Chappell starts and Cameron on the bench. Tonge back in so full strength side. Forum members bemoaning our inability to score past a dreadful side.

Game 6: Fleetwood away, I went. Got well and truly stuffed 4-1. Men against boys on the day. No creativity whatsoever, no shots at goal apart from Benners consolation and a truly desolate experience. Cameron starts again, I think Bodin was on international duty. Again Nico given a torrid time. Ball starts again but still can't score likewise Hawley. 6 games without taking a lead and with no sense of direction noticeable. Mansell and Harding getting criticised on the forum. Ricey once again MOTM and he let in 4. Tells it's own story.

Game 7: We look for a the first positive reaction from the team as we head to Spotland to banish the ghosts of Fleetwood. We get no reaction and a tepid 1-0 defeat again creating nothing. This is still with a FULL STRENGTH team please bear in mind. Dale take the lead with 15 minutes to go yet Knill waits until 5 minutes from time to make his first sub - Sullivan and then when we really need a last minute push he replaces Nico with Cruise in the 87th minute. No other subs are made. Bodin starts as do Hawley and Ball AGAIN and still neither score. We haven't taken the lead in 7 games. Fans on the forum getting a bit despondant with Knill and his lack of direction or lack of tactical nous.

Game 8 : A bright spot in the season against a Cheltenham side shipping goals and with Darren Deadman in charge too. We overcome them 4-2 at Plainmoor with a brace from Ball who at last scores his only goals in Torquay colours. Hawley also scores and so does Chappell. Cruise now starts ahead of Nico which looks like Knill has finally had enough of the Gulls legend. A great result although the first sign of fans beginning to bicker on the forum about the suitability of Knill for the job of keeping us up never mind anything else. We finally take the lead in a game and after over 700 minutes of league football.

Game 9 : We revert back to type with a tepid 2-1 loss at league newboys Newport. Hawley dropped, Ball starts and debutant Azeez comes on for Chappell after 54 minutes and scores soon after. Knill waits until 10 minutes from the end before making further changes in a game we were chasing a two goal deficit for 54 minutes. Created p*ss all once again and looked totally disjointed. Ball has his last game and scores twice for us. Poor.

Game 10: A 3-0 rout at home by fellow strugglers York City increases the tension and anxiety around the club. To be fair to Knill on this occasion he made all the subs before the 70th minute but we were convincingly outplayed by York. Extenuating circumstances were that both Downes and Pearce were out and therefore Cruise played alongside new loanee Anthony O'Connor at the back. Debates about lack of cover at centre back on the forum.

Game 11: We travel to Wycombe (I was there) without new loanee centre back due to him being called up for Ireland so a bizarre decision from Knill to bring him in really. Cruise once again has to deputise alongside the returning Pearce who had been out with a serious illness. Things going surprisingly well without us creating much and we were 2-1 up at half time. They got up a head of steam and put us under pressure and equalised then we just needed to dig in and not do anything silly. Knill then brings on an untried 18 year old midfielder for his football league debut (McCourt) and we go behind 2 minutes later. Masterstroke. A demoralising loss that could so easily have been avoided. After going 3-2 down in the 77th minute Knill then waits a further 10 minutes and brings on...........................................Nathan Craig! Then Cameron in injury time! Lathrope started and did well but all the good work was undone. Forum getting heated.

Game 12 : The Dog and Duck head to Plainmoor or so some would have us believe. Mansfield were the visitors yet we couldn't break them down and we drew 0-0. Cruise dropped again for Nico, Knill brings off Chappell for Craig on 64 minutes (why?), Pearce gets sent off so Cruise comes on and then Benyon in the 82nd minute.

Game 13: Burton away on a Tuesday night (I was there) to witness the worst performance in many years. We had one half chance in 90 minutes and were totally clueless and leaderless. Knill was motionless on the touchline and afterwards said "I thought we did ok". My God. Downes was still out and Pearce suspended so O'Connor and Cruise were at the back. Chappell was inexplicably left on the bench and new loanee striker McCallum added literally at the last minute usurped the rest of the squad by being brought on in place of the injured Bodin in the first half. Bizarre. Nathan Craig started too as did McCourt. Bizarre. Chappell finally comes on after 77 minutes then Benners on 85 minutes when we were a goal down after 70. Scathing criticism on the forum but still some keeping the faith.

Game 14 : A 1-1 draw at home to Portsmouth after going in front with the quickest goal in TUFC history. For Knill that meant nothing, we couldn't hold on and had no chance of holding on. We scored too early. Cruise on the bench again, McCallum starts and Knill waits until the 74th minute before making a change bringing on Mozika. They equalised soon after. A poor display.

Game 15 : Bury were beaten 3-1 (I was there) but the signs were still there. No cohesion, no creativity, no direction, no leadership and we should in all honesty been 3 or 4 down in the first 25 as they cut into us at will down the flanks. We managed to nick two goals from corners. Downes on his return who now is our joint second highest goalscorer with 2 and he is a defender and he has been out for weeks and weeks. The others on 2 are Ball (now left but scored 2 in the one game having had 9 or 10 barren ones) and Azeez who again isn't our player and Hawley who has played nearly every bloody game! Anyway, the conditions deteriorated and Bury looked for a leveller which they were unlucky not to get as they had umpteen goalmouth scrambles. We hit on the break and got a third due to great play by Benners and a great finish by McCallum. We had a few chances once they were sucked in near the end but up until then we were poor in terms of creativity. We were resolute which I've not seen this season. Forum annoyed me because people were saying we'd turned a corner but if you'd seen the game quite clearly we hadn't.

Game 16: A predictable home defeat by a Chesterfield side without a league win in 7. Poor , no ideas, no fight and Knill forlorn on the touchline. I'm not the oracle but if he had read my insight into Chesterfield that I posted in the thread then he could have got us a point. I did his scouting mission for him yet he still failed to work out how they were going to line up and what their threats were when the information was out there and easy to understand. Today proved to me that he doesn't actually do any research into our opponents. He doesn't. Hoping the players can do the business on his behalf so he can take the credit. Calls for Knill out on the forum and justified. For this game he tries to combat effectively a 5 strong talented Spireites midfield by giving Mozika a start who was anonymous, giving Craig a start which not only was bizarre but he also played him on the wing, McCourt started which was bizarre and suddenly Nico is now sh*t again and so Cruise comes back in. O'Connor misses out again to international call up. On top of that he waits until the 70th minute to bring Benyon on, the 78th minute to bring on Sullivan and the 85th minute to bring on Cameron. Hawley starts again and still doesn't score. 2 in 14 or so I reckon. Still, more than Bodin.

In addition we have been dumped out of ALL THREE cup competitions at the first hurdle without scoring in any of them, two of which were at home.

To round off if you can see ANY positives in that little lot then you should really be a cognitive behavioural therapist, maybe you are but i'm not. I'm learning about it but all the above says to me is that we need to get rid of Knill now to give us a chance of staying in the division. His management approach is to create as much disruption as is humanly possible in footballing terms. He has been backed by the board and allowed to bring players in so that is not an excuse. Ultimately there is no evidence above that he is sane or a capable football manager. His demeanour is one of horror, despair and isolation and he has had more than enough opportunities to show us he is on the right path but he just hasn't been able to do that for whatever reason and for that he must go. He is a loser.

[chunkygull]

blimey! i thought andy had gone a bit quiet for a while. :~D

[njgull]

Well I read the whole thing and now I'm thoroughly depressed.

[AustrianAndyGull]

Well that is what has happened so I can't really change it or glitz it up a bit. It's the truth.

[njgull]

Well that is what has happened so I can't really change it or glitz it up a bit. It's the truth.

I know. I hate truth. Maybe someone can do some Torquay fan-fiction in which we play like Barcelona.

[AustrianAndyGull]

Although they aren't that good anymore.

[lucy6lucy]

Just wtf is going on . Can't believe knill would move down south to be sacked . So either player power overrides club or knill is is shit .

[AustrianAndyGull]

Knill is sh*t

[lucy6lucy]

Ok that's sorted then. So what about the players then

[AustrianAndyGull]

Some are sh*t, some are good and most have been managed appallingly.

[Neal]

Great post Andy, and fully agree with all of it.

Knill just doesnt inspire confidence, motivation, passion, nothing.

The more experience players looked pissed off to me, Rice got very annoyed at one point yesterday. The team is completely rudder less.

There must be loads of managers or budding managers out there who would jump at the chance of managing a league club.

What about managers in conference or conference south who are doing well and punching above their weight.

What about pay by results, if there are confident managers who believe in their ability then prove it by pay by results.

[knightmaregull]

Excellent summary Andy. Until now I had still been in the Keep Knill camp, looking at examples like Accrington, Arsenal & Liverpool this season for examples of how things can quickly turn around for managers.

However, all the games I have seen this season have been hugely frustrating and there seems to be a consensus that we actually have some good players here this year, they just aren't being properly managed. In previous years we have had a really clear great team spirit but this year that has completely gone and that's always going to happen when experienced pros (who you need in a relegation scrap) are dumped for loanee teenagers and our own promising youngsters (who we have invested so much time and money in) sent off to obscurity never having been given a chance.

If things stay as we are we will have a game against Plymouth where away fans outnumber home fans. We may as well give them the whole of the Pop - if only to boost the coffers to pay off management!

I feel terribly sorry for the Board and will never be one to attack them as bottom line is that unless they had stepped in we would not even have a club BUT they should print a copy of your OP and use that as agenda item number 1 in the Board meeting on Monday. I suspect numbers 2, 3 and 4 will then become how to action their decision ....

[brucie]

I sort of like Knill as a bloke and wanted him to do well but really we are hopeless. Even Accrington who get half the crowds we do look more of a team than us. The writing was on the wall in the first game against WImbledon when we scrambled a point when really we should have lost easily.

[bengull]

there seems to be a consensus that we actually have some good players here this year, they just aren't being properly managed. In previous years we have had a really clear great team spirit but this year that has completely gone and that's always going to happen when experienced pros (who you need in a relegation scrap) are dumped for loanee teenagers and our own promising youngsters (who we have invested so much time and money in) sent off to obscurity never having been given a chance.

....

This is absolutely spot on, couldn't agree more.

Good work Andy. This sort of research would have been perfect in previous seasons to display how we are progressing game on game for the positive. How the team is developing, moving forward. Sadly, all this is showing is how we are actually getting incrementally worse, after game 16 Knill is no closer to knowing his best 11 than he was after game 1. As a consequence you can see the disintegration of the team spirit and solidarity that has taken us so far in previous season.

It has been said many times that on paper we have a better group of players than in previous years. (I don't necessarily subscribe to that theory) but what the previous 2 managers understood and believed in is the notion of creating a mentality- an 'us against the world' spirit within the camp. We are at the a**e end of the country, facing 7 hour journeys each way for over half the season, facing nights away from the comforts of home etc, the team HAS to stick together. When you watch during the warm up, during the match and after the final whistle, there is precious little togetherness there. What is worse is there is absolutely no warmth of humanity from the manager, he just has not been able to inspire confidence of spirit this season. We have a squad not only at odds with each other, but also the manager, and now facing abuse from the terraces too.

It would be interesting, if Andy has the time or inclination, to continue the OP for the next 5 games or so. With 3 six pointers coming up against Accy, Argyle and Scunny it will be interesting to see the changes made for each match. Get no points from those 3 games and in all likelihood we will be starting to be cut adrift at the bottom before November is out.

[AustrianAndyGull]

I can do that Ben. To be honest, believe it or not this thread was something I just 'rustled up' a bit like Delia Smith. I would have liked to have panned it out with a few more stats and more research but it was getting late. :~D

It was meant to be a rough overall view of our season highlighting the odd managerial decsions of Knill of which there are more but I forgot about them and also highlighting the trend for gradually disintegrating performances which started badly on day 1 and never really got any better.

I can do a breakdown of our next 5 games and then we can see if Knill has got the message yet or he is just too incompetent to even realise he is doing things so comprehensively wrong.