October Player of the Month

[Gulliball]

Adding up the results for the six games played in October: Rene Howe was the Player of the Month. I have updated the page we have on the main site with the individual breakdown for each game, which can be viewed here: http://www.torquayfans.com/playerawards/

The six individual Man of the Match winners were Nathan Craig (Aldershot and Gillingham), Aaron Downes (Bristol Rovers and Morecambe) and Rene Howe (Wycombe, Accrington and Bristol Rovers). For those paying attention, Downes and Howe were joint winners for Bristol Rovers.

As you can probably tell from just three players winning the six awards, there was quite a large gap between the top three and the rest of the squad. Nathan Craig was second, and Aaron Downes third.

Results so far:
August: Aaron Downes
September: Joe Oastler
October: Rene Howe

[AustrianAndyGull]

Good stats Gulliball, it is interesting to see that Oastler won September player of the month yet barely two weeks into October some fans were saying he was cooked and had been playing poorly for most of the season. Make of that what you will. I believe this vindicates my decision to post the 'OASTLER' thread as at the time of the post he IMO was one of our best players so far this season. Obviously he had a poor october and was red carded against Bristol Rovers but i think that incident clouded some fans judgement of what he has done so far this season.

[Scott Brehaut]

Also, and this is not a dig Andy!!, interesting to note that Bodin is in a third of those stats - 5 out of the 15 games.

[AustrianAndyGull]

It's easy to make stats say what you want them to say Scott, just ask the politicians.

No, i take that on board mate about Billy, but it was only votes from fans who i had p*ssed off trying to get back at me!

No seriously, it just goes to show how different peoples opinions can be, just as many fans have been underwhelmed with Joey, he gets September POTM and a host of other votes for August meanwhile Billy has been slammed by myself and a few others often getting no ratings at all whilst others have seen fit to give him a ratings like you say.

[Scott Brehaut]

I value all opinions (well, almost all), as I am unable to attend many matches. Therefore I rely on everybody who was there to provide a picture of the game for me which, along with the commo and match highlights, I use to form my opinion of who really did play well.

[AustrianAndyGull]

I value all opinions (well, almost all), as I am unable to attend many matches. Therefore I rely on everybody who was there to provide a picture of the game for me which, along with the commo and match highlights, I use to form my opinion of who really did play well.

Mine are as good as anyone elses

[Richinns]

Good stats Gulliball, it is interesting to see that Oastler won September player of the month yet barely two weeks into October some fans were saying he was cooked and had been playing poorly for most of the season. Make of that what you will. I believe this vindicates my decision to post the 'OASTLER' thread as at the time of the post he IMO was one of our best players so far this season. Obviously he had a poor october and was red carded against Bristol Rovers but i think that incident clouded some fans judgement of what he has done so far this season.

We fans are fickle! Made exactly the same point on the thread discussing Oastler or Leadbitter. Oastler (for me) has been our most consistent performer since Ling has been at the club. He rarely has a game where you remember him for his attacking play but he is very sound defensively whereas Leadbitter is more hit and miss as in great going forward but sometimes caught out at the back.
I think Ling will play Oastler in away games and possibly favour Leadbitter at home (of course the opposition will also have a major effect!).
Great that we have this versatility now because last year I was closer to challenging for a place in the team than Leadbitter was but he (like Macklin) has heeded Ling's warnings and really stepped up this year.

[novicegull]

great post richinns and i can't agree with you more. i was beginning to think i was joe oastler's one and only fan

as has been said before i think the sending off at bristol has clouded people's judgement of oastler's previous performances and created a bit of a whipping boy scenario. i don't remember such a negative response when howe, downes and saah got sent off in the past. some reports i've read blamed oastler for conceding goals which were clearly the fault of others. yes, the red card at bristol was stupid but he's young and lost his head somewhat. let's hope he learns from it.

i think both players have the potential to improve defensively (leadbitter) and going forward (oastler). oastler may not be as fast as leadbitter but he has shown many times that he has got some pace, can get forward and put in some great crosses. i think going forward is also down to confidence as leadbitter knows that on most occasions with his pace he will beat his opponent.

anyway i think we're in the good position to having two really promising right backs and competition never did anyone any harm imo. as lingy says it would be good to have that in all areas of the pitch.

[AustrianAndyGull]

great post richinns and i can't agree with you more. i was beginning to think i was joe oastler's one and only fan
as has been said before i think the sending off at bristol has clouded people's judgement of oastler's previous performances and created a bit of a whipping boy scenario. i don't remember such a negative response when howe, downes and saah got sent off in the past. some reports i've read blamed oastler for conceding goals which were clearly the fault of others. yes, the red card at bristol was stupid but he's young and lost his head somewhat. let's hope he learns from it.

i think both players have the potential to improve defensively (leadbitter) and going forward (oastler). oastler may not be as fast as leadbitter but he has shown many times that he has got some pace, can get forward and put in some great crosses. i think going forward is also down to confidence as leadbitter knows that on most occasions with his pace he will beat his opponent.

anyway i think we're in the good position to having two really promising right backs and competition never did anyone any harm imo. as lingy says it would be good to have that in all areas of the pitch.

You might want to read the thread entitled 'Joe Oastler' novicegull, there are a least two of us mate............

[diamondgirl]

I, for one, have not said that Joe has played "Poorly", just that he has not played as well, so far, this season, as he did in the last. Having said that, the 30 mins that he was on the pitch at Rovers, were, IMHO, the worst I have seen him play, this season. I think he just needs a little competition, for his place, and he will be back to his good self.

[novicegull]

i agree diamondgirl. i think complacency quite wrongly set in and oastler underestimated the bristol winger's ability and it all went downhill from there. i hope that if or when he comes back into the starting line up he hasn't lost his confidence and comes back a more developed player after the sending off. after all surely you can't become a bad player overnight !!!

austrianandygull, your thread was very interesting and i can't see what's " baffling " about it 8/