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TeenageGull wrote:It's more him taking the piss of all are signings when all he needed to say that he will be a good signing. That's my opinion but if it wasnt inteneddd to be negative as brucie usually does I'm sorry

Teenagegull is right on this occasion, at least take the p*ss once (if) we know that O'Connor is sh*te but we don't know that yet so you cannot possibly take the rise out of a player when he hasn't even played for us. He has added what we need, a young centre half with league 2 experience and so we move on and get behind the lad on Saturday.

Brucie does have a slight point in the fact that Cameron is a dud IMO and the jury is still well out on Harding, Ball i'm not enamoured with either so you could argue that some of his signings aren't great but then he did sign Hawley, Pearce, Chappell and Tonge so the law of averages says that at this level at least a couple will turn out pants. Overall i'd say he has done a fair job of recruiting.

AustrianAndyGull wrote:
Teenagegull is right on this occasion, at least take the p*ss once (if) we know that O'Connor is sh*te but we don't know that yet so you cannot possibly take the rise out of a player when he hasn't even played for us. He has added what we need, a young centre half with league 2 experience and so we move on and get behind the lad on Saturday.

Brucie does have a slight point in the fact that Cameron is a dud IMO and the jury is still well out on Harding, Ball i'm not enamoured with either so you could argue that some of his signings aren't great but then he did sign Hawley, Pearce, Chappell and Tonge so the law of averages says that at this level at least a couple will turn out pants. Overall i'd say he has done a fair job of recruiting.

Yes Andy me old mate, but then S-A-F widley regarded around the football world as one of the greatest managers ever, once signed an Italian keeper who couldn't catch a cold, Jordi Cruyff and Eric Jemba-Jemba, even the best have the odd skeleton in the cuboard.. :na:

Took the words right out of my mouth Dave SG, why hasn't Alan Knill got the contacts and know how to bring in these types of player, only if he (AK) could learn how to sign a loan player, young, massive potential and already 50 games in League 2..

Top work Mr Knill..

On paper this looks like a good signing for us, but I'm going to reserve judgement until he plays a few games. We've had several other signings who looked really good on paper who haven't quite lived up to their billing; Cameron, Ball, Hawley, Harding etc (although it's too early to say that they won't eventually come good).

It does show Knill has contacts in the game - we've been signing players from lots of different clubs which I think is a good thing. However at the moment, Knill's signings have been hit and miss. We've had the excellent signings like Labadie, Chappel, Pearce, Tonge and those that haven't set the world alight for us (see above).

Having said that though, it's too early to really judge the players or Knill. We need more games yet to see whether the good players can maintain their form or those not quite doing well enough can turn it around. Knill needs more time so we can tell whether he can turn promising signings into a decent team.

I'm quietly confident we'll hit some form soon, but I will be happy with a midtable consolidation season this year with the aim of pushing on next year.

What a relief!! Well done Alan Knill. Downes was the single most important outfield player we could not afford to lose.

A great signing. I happen to think Mr. Knill is a lot better connected than many fans realise.

Remember with very little cash we cannot expect the very best because they cost the sort of cash we simply do not have.

Now to beat York.

portugull wrote:What a relief!! Well done Alan Knill. Downes was the single most important outfield player we could not afford to lose.

A great signing. I happen to think Mr. Knill is a lot better connected than many fans realise.

Remember with very little cash we cannot expect the very best because they cost the sort of cash we simply do not have.
Now to beat York.

Spot on there, back in the real world, Alan Knill is the manager TUFC a club with one of the smallest budgets in the entire football league. Sadly some appear to have forgotten that.

Thank God there are some sane people on this forum

people forget that knilly used his contacts to good effect at bury and i think we are seeing that now, azzee was wanted by several clubs in this league but chris powell wanted him to come here . well done alan.

People forget a lot of things mate, some forget it's a Torquay forum they're posting on and not their regular Premiersh!t haunt

I am a big fan of knill's use of the loan system. Not only has he brought in some useful players, the majority are youngsters from bigger teams. Therefore we will hopefully be paying little towards their wages as the parent clubs are happy they're getting game time, which saves our budget. Finger's crossed we'll also get players wanting to prove themselves. The way Azeez celebrated his goal on Saturday showed how much it meant to him. Some more enthusiasm like that from all our players would be very welcomed!

It's also a good balance between the way our previous two managers used the loan system:
- Buckle signing several players in, from similar clubs, who we'd probably be paying majority of the wages for, and then at the end of the season being left with only a handful of our starting eleven.
- And then Ling hardly using the loan system, especially in his first season when it was plainly obvious we needed an injection of fresh legs towards the end of the season (although not sure whether Ling was restricted by budget).

Considering we lost Downsey to injury last Thursday, I am more than happy with AK bringing this lad in so quickly into the squad ready for Saturday.
I cant believe the criticism that AK is coming under from some on this forum. At the start of the season some Arsenal fans wanted Wenger out! I bet they are not asking for that now!
Three or four victories puts us in a very different place.
We are not a bad team without potential, it will take time. We do not have pots of cash to splash out. AK will make mistakes, we all do.
As long as we make steady progress, then I am happy.

This looks a decent signing after reading the link to the Burton paper - sort of irony that the picture shows him playing against Torquay - well, Danny Stevens anyway.

The only downside for me is that if the Burton manager thought he was so good why didn't he play him in his preferred position of centre half.
All his games for Burton were in a position that we won't be playing him in. I appreciate that he may have played at centre half for Blackburn reserves but that probably won't equate to playing centre half in league 2.
I wouldn't say that right back is such a key position as centre half. As Callum Ball has found out being a championship reserve player doesn't automaticaly equate to being a success as a league 2 player.
As such O'Connor to me is still inexperienced playing in a key position in the team so there are still question marks.

I promise I'm not doing this just to repay the favour from the Callum Ball thread, but Tezza is quite fair on this occasion.

On paper, yes, this lad is a decent signing. However, none of us really knows a thing about him. The Burton link is tenuous, given that he played a different role there and Callum Ball is indeed testament to a decent upbringing not necessarily translating into success at L2 level.

I'm sure he'll be fine and that there's no need to worry about him (quite separate from the need to continue to worry generally), but let's not make the collective error of taking the champagne off ice just yet.

Matt.

ferrarilover wrote:I promise I'm not doing this just to repay the favour from the Callum Ball thread, but Tezza is quite fair on this occasion.

On paper, yes, this lad is a decent signing. However, none of us really knows a thing about him. The Burton link is tenuous, given that he played a different role there and Callum Ball is indeed testament to a decent upbringing not necessarily translating into success at L2 level.

I'm sure he'll be fine and that there's no need to worry about him (quite separate from the need to continue to worry generally), but let's not make the collective error of taking the champagne off ice just yet.

Matt.

Oh Matt, Brucie at best has probably only seen Callum Ball play once if at all, and just because you and some other fans think Callum Ball hasn't been a succsess in League 2 doesn't mean thats fact and he isn't going to be.

Alan Knill's opinions are those of a experienced and quailfied professional football manager, he trusts Callum Ball to do a job for us, and believes Anthony O'Connor can do the same, I know who's opinion I trust.