Do you think Ling will be here next year?

[Trojan 67]

Next year or next season ?

Next year/next season is a wee bit too far into the future for me.

What Martin Ling does this season/this year is what counts.

[Scott Brehaut]

That's a silly question Troj....everybody knows a year lasts from August to April, then there is a weird bit in between when we realise that we have a family

[Trojan 67]

That's a silly question Troj....everybody knows a year lasts from August to April, then there is a weird bit in between when we realise that we have a family

[Plymouth Gull]

Apologies, I was only going off what I had been told about Ling commuting regularly. Thanks to all who pointed that out.

[Dave]

No need to apologise Nick, you were not asking for Martin Ling to be sacked, you were not asking for the club to spend far beyond it's means to chase the dream of League 1 promotion, yep, your suggestion about lingy not taking training was wrong, it is very rare if ever you make a mistake in any of your posts.

In answer, yes Martin Ling will be here next season, unless he decides to walk anyway, and I can not see that happening. For me it is not and never has been about promotion, I do not want our club to risk spending money it has not got in trying acheive that.

I do not crave midtable mediocrity either, I do not want my club to settle for being little old Torquay, nor will I accept the notion that us fans should be oh so happy and grateful for just acheiving midtable mediocrity because we are such a tiny little club. All I crave for is a competitive team, and it still remains to be seen if our current team is capable of acheiving midtable mediocrity, the easter eggs are out and we only have 37 pts.

I allways understood and really did get this season was going to be about paying for the bench, training ground etc. My recent posts are aimed at what decisions are being made by the club for the summer and its future. Any strategy adpoted by a football club has a have a certain risk element to it, think we all now agree the general standard and consistancy of our teams performances have/are falling short of where they need to be.

In Martin Ling we do have a manager capable of not only taking our team into League 1 but keeping us there, however that will take time and money, money is in short supply, so for a start all I am asking for as a fan is for the board to look at diverting some, whatever, however little funds it can into the player budget, the team is going backwards and we as a club can not afford for the team to fall much further backwards, other wise a relegation battle will happen and sooner than some think, then all the much needed infrustructure building, and we all got that, would have been for nothing.

[Gullscorer]

One thing about relegation battles is that, unlike mid-table mediocrity, they're never boring; quite exciting really..

[brucie]

Yes of course what you say makes perfect sense...but will we see a signing? I would not bet on it.

[hector]

I would imagine that ML will be here next season, unless of course we somehow get relegated!

[Gulliball]

I like Martin Ling as a manager and am looking forward to the summer when he has some room to work with.

Last season was a very good one, nearly a perfect one. This year was have lost £600k of talent, but replaced them as well as we could possibly expect. We have been in the top half for all the season, and but for 90th minute goals we could be in a play-off spot right now. The league is so tight that we could still be in a promotion or relegation battle in May.

Off the pitch we are making good progress with the new stand, new training ground, increased sponsorship and big screen. These might hamper the budget this season but will benefit us hugely in the future.

As was pointed out last week, Martin Ling's signings have been excellent, he has used his budget well in each season and built two very good squads that have (and likely will this season) finish higher in the league than our budget would suggest we should. In his first season he had little time, and in his second summer he lost key players, including Eunan O'Kane very late.

This summer with 16 players out of contract he has a lot more scope to move players on and get others in. Players like Stevens, Macklin, Halpin, Yeoman, Morris will have been here for two years under him and he will know if he wants to keep them or if he thinks he can do better in his budget. Keeping Saah, Downes and Howe will be important, but other than those, the majority of the out of contract players are fringe players who offer a chance to improve the squad.

I would like to see us slim down by a few players, and instead have some extra quality. Rather than have 7 players fight over two wide spots, have 3 better players and use Thompson, Sullivan, McKenzie and the other YTS players to back them up. We did better last season with a settled XI of real quality and with an extra player in January for depth would likely have been promoted.

[Trojan 67]

Besides Martin Ling being here next season/next year, I'm hoping money will be invested in a refurbished GRASS pitch. For this pitch to settle and be ready for season 2013/14, it's vital that we are not involved in an end of season play-off campaign.

[Gullscorer]

Good post Gulliball; agree with that. As for the pitch, Trojan, we could play our play-off games at St James' Park...

[Trojan 67]

we could play our play-off games at St James' Park...

:no:

[PhilGull]

I like Martin Ling as a manager and am looking forward to the summer when he has some room to work with.

Last season was a very good one, nearly a perfect one. This year was have lost £600k of talent, but replaced them as well as we could possibly expect. We have been in the top half for all the season, and but for 90th minute goals we could be in a play-off spot right now. The league is so tight that we could still be in a promotion or relegation battle in May.

Off the pitch we are making good progress with the new stand, new training ground, increased sponsorship and big screen. These might hamper the budget this season but will benefit us hugely in the future.

As was pointed out last week, Martin Ling's signings have been excellent, he has used his budget well in each season and built two very good squads that have (and likely will this season) finish higher in the league than our budget would suggest we should. In his first season he had little time, and in his second summer he lost key players, including Eunan O'Kane very late.

This summer with 16 players out of contract he has a lot more scope to move players on and get others in. Players like Stevens, Macklin, Halpin, Yeoman, Morris will have been here for two years under him and he will know if he wants to keep them or if he thinks he can do better in his budget. Keeping Saah, Downes and Howe will be important, but other than those, the majority of the out of contract players are fringe players who offer a chance to improve the squad.

I would like to see us slim down by a few players, and instead have some extra quality. Rather than have 7 players fight over two wide spots, have 3 better players and use Thompson, Sullivan, McKenzie and the other YTS players to back them up. We did better last season with a settled XI of real quality and with an extra player in January for depth would likely have been promoted.

Wot e sed

[AustrianAndyGull]

I so hope what ever Martin has illness wise is not serious and he makes a full recovery, that goes without saying but i have watched him gradually grind down this team ( who still have some really good players IMO ) week by week, game by game. It has been such a laboured process of rot that i can't blame many of you for not panicking. Please get better Martin but for Gods sakes please don't come back to manage our football club. I say that as a disgruntled fan and from a purely footballing perspective and i have no qualms in laying most of the blame for this absolute horror show of a season on his shoulders. I'm trying to be as diplomatic and respectful as i can but that is the way i see it and if any of disagree then that's your business and you are entitled to your opinion. The future of this club is at stake and with the outlay for the bench and everything else so positive, why did we appoint a manager so negative. I've truly never seen the likes in all honesty.

[Neal]

Hope he gets better but he wont get us out the conference that's for sure, so no!