Torquay.v.Alfreton Sun 4th

[Trojan 67]

It seems this site has caught a cold (virus).

[bobby93]

Maybe I am in the minority, but I thought in the first half we were okay. We kept possession well, moved the ball around the pitch nicely and asked plenty of questions of the opposition, particularly down the wings. Good half from Chappell and Ajala. Where we were struggling was up top, for some reason. Bowman and Duane were very quiet and played like they'd never met each other.

I fully expected us to use that uneventful but solid half as a base and kick up a gear in the second half, because Alfreton didn't look a great side and were happy to let us have the ball. The win, at that stage, was there for the taking. Whatever was said at half time evidently did not work.

I thought the substitutions were strange. Briscoe had a go but I would have liekd to see Yeoman come on much earlier. Richards for Harding was a weird one. Harding did okay and they are reasonably similar players. If anything Richards is more combative.

Another thought - Seabright's kicking is very full-on, in the end it led to a goal but clearly the defenders felt that a short pass was a better option as Downes and Pearce consistently loitered around the edge of the box at goal kicks. Unless that was tactical, I can't imagine that behaviour will do Seabright's confidence much good.

And finally - I think the media is blowing the Ajala comment up a bit, although I have to say CH is very quick to name and shame. I just hope that he is as quick to praise the players when they do something right.

[AustrianAndyGull]

How did Mr Hawley play yesterday folks? Same old 'couldn't really give a monkeys' attitude or was he genuinely trying to earn his wages?

Did he get any abuse?

He's an interesting one is our Karl. A Knill signing yes but i actually think that it Hawley's whole attitude that stinks and not so much his ability. Having seen him many times (that goal up at Morecambe being my ONLY good memory if his time at Torquay) i had to seriously question his desire and application. Like many players that arrive at Torquay, they are maybe at last chance saloon and the fact that Hawley is now plying his trade in front of 600 people at Alfreton who are certain relegation fodder says so much about the man.

I really don't understand why players who are given this last opportunity (where did he bloody think he was going to end up if he failed at Plainmoor? Real Madrid?!) give up and waste it. It's like the heart isn't in it anymore. Hawley has ability but he pissed his career away many years ago and although you can perhaps blame Knill for not seeing the terminal downward decline in his career i think on this occasion the buck has to stop with the player himself.

A brief note about CH. Learning all the time i know but after the win over Halifax his team were being talked about as having belief and that play offs are a definate aim. Then he says he wants to win the FA Trophy for Thea despite resting loads of players.

The he blasts the team as 'rubbish' for their performance at Braintree whilst at the same time apportioning no blame for the result to himself, he not for the first time berates officials for poor performances apportioning no culpability at his door. Finally he publically blames Ajala as the reason why Torquay didn't beat Alfreton.

When he first took over i thought he was being too nicey nicey and that was partly the reason for him having no motivational effect on players. Now it appears he has gone the other way. If he takes the credit for the wins then he has to take the flak for the defeats instead of blaming players (young players under pressure as it is) , officials and the fixture calendar. Are there areas in which CH has to really sort himself out or is everyone still happy that he is a young manager doing a difficult job in tough circumstances?

Constructive thoughts anyone?

[brucie]

Actually Hawley did ok - held the ball up quite well playing on his own up front. He actually looked better than Bowman who couldn't control a pedal car.
Quite how Bowman is never subbed is beyond me.
I am actually on the verge of giving up though. They were appalling. Their keeper spent 75 minutes timewasting. The extra game told on us really, not helped by the pitch which was in a poor condition.
We huffed and puffed and after finally getting the goal it looked all over.
Ajala (who was excellent all afternoon) was through in the area - Bowman ran into the six yard box without a defender within 30 yards of him.
A one yard square pass and its a tap in. 2-0 game over - goodnight vienna. Instead Ajala tries to bend the ball around the keeper and Bowman goes banzai kicking the goal post and going baannas at Toby.
You kind of knew what was going to happen after that. The ref (who had actually been decent) started morphing into another bad one. Young was rugby tackled (no foul).
Cruise nearly has his head kicked off (no foul - astonishing) and from that incident their sub buries a twenty five yarder in the top corner.
Beyond frustrating as somehow we lose another two points.

[Modgull]

I think Brucie is quite right here. There was a massive foot up against Cruise which wasn't blown up but in the first half we were blown up for a far less dangerous incident. However, we can't blame the referee on this one. Once again (i've lost count how many times we have sat back on a lead) we conceded the midfield and, what do you know, we concede a goal and two points. Pathetic!

[arcadia]

Maybe I am in the minority, but I thought in the first half we were okay. We kept possession well, moved the ball around the pitch nicely and asked plenty of questions of the opposition, particularly down the wings. Good half from Chappell and Ajala. Where we were struggling was up top, for some reason. Bowman and Duane were very quiet and played like they'd never met each other.

I fully expected us to use that uneventful but solid half as a base and kick up a gear in the second half, because Alfreton didn't look a great side and were happy to let us have the ball. The win, at that stage, was there for the taking. Whatever was said at half time evidently did not work.

I thought the substitutions were strange. Briscoe had a go but I would have liekd to see Yeoman come on much earlier. Richards for Harding was a weird one. Harding did okay and they are reasonably similar players. If anything Richards is more combative.

Another thought - Seabright's kicking is very full-on, in the end it led to a goal but clearly the defenders felt that a short pass was a better option as Downes and Pearce consistently loitered around the edge of the box at goal kicks. Unless that was tactical, I can't imagine that behaviour will do Seabright's confidence much good.

And finally - I think the media is blowing the Ajala comment up a bit, although I have to say CH is very quick to name and shame. I just hope that he is as quick to praise the players when they do something right.

Bobby I agree with most of what you have stated and would have put the below on yesterday but could not get on.
I went to the Bristol game and the substitutions cost us the game there, the side were coping then tinkerman Hargreaves took off Chappel. Briscoe came on wide but ended up centre forward at times leaving us open. I was behind the dug out when Chappel was substituted yesterday and Hargreaves was laughing with him thinking he had won the game. Yeoman went out wide but the midfield was losing control. Harding must be gutted all his hard work was wasted.
The tactics where the players go wide when the keeper gets it, on goalkicks is a joke as our back four are not comfortable enough on the ball to do this. At half time you could see that the Alfreton manager changed his tactics and pressed us keeping a highline and stopped us playing for long periods because of our passing in our own half, making our passing game break down. The only reason we scored was because we missed out their midfield who were on top most of the second half and Chappel was back sharp again.
We've got to stop playing about in and around our own box and start playing in the oppositions half.
Once again Chappel taken off why! He was our best player. Bowman was lucky to start in my view after the Rovers game away and Briscoe and Ping Pong should have started why was Bowman on the field and Ping Pong taken off.
Sometimes a manager needs to leave well alone when the score is 1-0 as this is the second time we've lost out on two points. Chris you need to take stock of your mistakes and I'm not blaming you but learn from them, as you should keep the blaming of players in the dressing room, a manager under pressure blames his players in the media.

[lucy6lucy]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/30681860

Tad harsh to blame and single him out for losing. Why didn't CH single out rice when he has cost us multiple points. Not happy with his handling of this

[tommyg]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/30681860

Tad harsh to blame and single him out for losing. Why didn't CH single out rice when he has cost us multiple points. Not happy with his handling of this

First sign that Hargreaves is cracking under the pressure. One thing he has picked up from Buckle is that he loves an excuse. Referees, injuries, budget, training ground, red cards etc. Ajala made a mistake but he's certainly not the first this season. Hargreaves has made a number of tactical errors but never holds his hands up. I've always supported him as manager and will continue to do so, but for the first time I am questioning whether he is the right man to take us forward. He's been in the job for just over a year now and whilst he is still lumbered with Knill's overpaid signings, he's still had plenty of time to stamp his own authority on the team.

His biggest weakness is his lack of 'Plan B'. We are too predictable in our shape and formation. Every week it's 4-4-2 and when it's not working he struggles to change things during the match. We're over-reliant on Young. When he's not at the races we struggle badly to create chances and would be quite near the relegation zone without him. We concede far too many goals from set-pieces and this still hasn't been addressed. We can't play out from the back but Hargreaves wants his defenders to pass the ball about in dangerous areas of the pitch. We need to play to our strengths.

I will give him credit for his signings which gives me hope for next season once we've got rid of the dead wood. Young was obviously a great piece of business and he's brought in some talented younger players who lack experience but have the potential to be very good. I actually think Bowman and Briscoe have let him down a little considering they are 'proven' players at this level. They have been far too inconsistent. Bowman frustrates the life out of me and misses too many chances and Briscoe is overweight. He might have a stocky build but he's still carrying too much timber.

Hargreaves said when he took the job that he would keep us up or take us back up. He failed with the first objective and I'm not sure he can fulfil the second. I desperately want to see him succeed but we are dropping like a stone and will be closer to the relegation zone than the play-offs once everyone else has caught up with their games in hand. The biggest positive from yesterday was the attendance. Considering how bad we have been lately and were playing Alfreton, I was shocked we attracted over 2,000. That will change soon though if things don't improve.

[nickbrod]

Need to beat Bromley on Saturday then especially as a cup run will generate much needed income.

[Dave_Pougher]

Unbeaten in three.,

[brucie]

Its been an awful Christmas. We could and should have had half a dozen more points than we ended up with. Clear foul on Cruise before their equaliser.
If Hargreaves is blaming Ajala then fair enough but he should have tempered that with saying that Ajala was excellent for the rest of the game.
He really puts others to shame - with his attitude and work rate.
I do actually wonder anout our training methods - just as before the Bristol Rovers game our players seem to just lollop around the pitch doing not much of bugger all in the pre match routines. Hodges throws up few balls for the four defenders to head and the rest of the players seem to stand around with their hands in their pockets.
Compare that to Alfreton whose routines seem far more structured.
For me the mistake that Hargreaves made was not taking off Bowman who looked as though he had spent all night on the piss with Briscoe.
Yeoman for Bowman seemed the obvious choice - fresh legs to hold the ball up front. Yet putting Yeoman out on the right wing seemed pointless.

[tomogull]

Its been an awful Christmas. We could and should have had half a dozen more points than we ended up with. Clear foul on Cruise before their equaliser.
If Hargreaves is blaming Ajala then fair enough but he should have tempered that with saying that Ajala was excellent for the rest of the game.
He really puts others to shame - with his attitude and work rate.
I do actually wonder anout our training methods - just as before the Bristol Rovers game our players seem to just lollop around the pitch doing not much of bugger all in the pre match routines. Hodges throws up few balls for the four defenders to head and the rest of the players seem to stand around with their hands in their pockets.
Compare that to Alfreton whose routines seem far more structured.
For me the mistake that Hargreaves made was not taking off Bowman who looked as though he had spent all night on the piss with Briscoe.
Yeoman for Bowman seemed the obvious choice - fresh legs to hold the ball up front. Yet putting Yeoman out on the right wing seemed pointless.

I agree with much of what Brucie has posted especially about Ajala who would have been my MOTM if he hadn't made the wrong decision by going for goal instead of passing to Bowman. In the first half, both Chappell and Ajala put across inviting crosses but neither Bowman nor Ofori gambled. I know there are some players and managers who would like a mid-season break. It seems that Bowman has decided to put this into practice already because he's done bugger all over the Christmas matches (I wasn't at the away Bristol game where I understand he was a bit better).

Alfreton's tactics worked like a dream for them. Defend and slow the game up in the first half and then attack us in the second half. Yet again we can't kill off a team at the foot of the table. We are 10th in the league but Lincoln, Gateshead, Dover and even Wrexham in 16th position have games in hand which could take them above us (Wrexham are 5 points below us with 4 games in hand). We huffed and puffed again yesterday and both Ajala and Chappell set up inviting chances but apart from the ball being cleared off the line, we didn't really look like scoring in the first half. We played some neat football at times but we were abysmal up front. Bowman is not the answer as a goalscorer - Robin Stubbs must have been watching and wondering how the hell he is described as a 'striker'.

[Burnhamgull]

CH can blame Ajala but in the first half Bowman missed an open goal (albeit whilst in a offside position) so you can understand Ajala thinking "I'll have a go, he'll probably miss again".

Like Brucie, I can't understand why Bowman doesn't go off. He has progressively got worse for me as the season has gone on. His touch is poor, he doesn't bully defenders and generally I'd rather see Briscoe play alongside Yeoman for a couple of games. Drop Acheampong for Yeoman and give Chappell a run of games.

It's been a year of CH, some are saying give him time, let him build his own team and that's a weak argument in my opinion BUT after a year he should have made some impact on the style of play at least. Incidently, isn't most of the first team HIS team?

One final note, I took the kids on Sunday. Hardly inspiring for them to watch so I doubt they'll go again this season but the queue for tickets to the family stand is ridiculous. Two people serving......one takes the money, one hands over the ticket(s)......it has to be seen to be believed. Amateur.

[PL21gull]

Amateur sums it up; how on earth do we expect to hold onto a lead when, after expending much effort in winning the ball, we just give it back to a team which had easily played through us in the second half and should have scored earlier from any of the chances made.
As noted elsewhere, our formation is far too predictable and rigid; if we want to stop the opposition scoring why not keep the ball? If we are being overrun in midfield why not bulk up the midfield where we demand far too much from just two central players - this would then provide a holding player in front of the back 4 and enable our captain to get forward more effectively where he is likely to hurt the opposition.
If it is so obvious to mere fans that we need the midfield to pass the ball to one another rather than everyone just hoofing it, why is it not so obvious to our professional management team?
More leadership required both from the touchline and on the park.

[taxilady]

Amateur sums it up; how on earth do we expect to hold onto a lead when, after expending much effort in winning the ball, we just give it back to a team which had easily played through us in the second half and should have scored earlier from any of the chances made.
As noted elsewhere, our formation is far too predictable and rigid; if we want to stop the opposition scoring why not keep the ball? If we are being overrun in midfield why not bulk up the midfield where we demand far too much from just two central players - this would then provide a holding player in front of the back 4 and enable our captain to get forward more effectively where he is likely to hurt the opposition.
If it is so obvious to mere fans that we need the midfield to pass the ball to one another rather than everyone just hoofing it, why is it not so obvious to our professional management team?
More leadership required both from the touchline and on the park.