The problem is attitude... and...

[tomogull]

Wouldn't disagree that he needed to be taken out of the firing line in the same way city did for a few games with Hart, his confidence must have taken a whack of late and it was the right time to give Jordan a go.

The thing is, Royal, being a goalkeeper is without doubt the worst position of all to play. A 'keeper can make several fantastic saves but then makes one blunder which leads to a goal and all the fantastic saves beforehand are forgotten. You're right - Martin Rice was one of the very few players who came through with any credit last season. Members on this Forum got steamed up after the Grimsby game because Rice was at fault for two of their goals and I agree that some of the postings on here were way out of order. On the other hand, not much was made of the chances that Bowman should have put away which could have had the match done and dusted by half time. That's the difference between 'keepers and outfield players. Look at the wretched Sunderland keeper. In the past, he's done quite well for them but then let in 8 against Southampton and then made another balls up on Saturday which led to a goal and the spotlight is on him. I bet he's had far more stick from Sunderland fans than Rice has had !

[chestertorkyman]

Half-time warming up! What a waste of time. If I was manager I would want all my subs in that dressing room listening intently to my take on the first half performances and the strategic and individual changes needed for the second half. Lethargically kicking a ball around is not going to help a player who comes on during the second half understand exactly what the manager requires. He needs to be part of that half-time team talk, and I see the subs absence from the dressing room as contributing to their attitudinal problems.

By the way, this is perhaps a separate thread, but what exactly is our assistant manager's role. Should he not be the one to be helping the manager to make the right tactical decisions during the match, and substitutions at the right time. Surely he should be the one saying "we need a change at HT because Richards is not a defender" and generally providing advice. Despite having had a wider role than coaching at his previous club, I do not see that support & interaction on a Saturday between our managerial team. Comments?

[Alpine Joe]

chestertorkyman

Should he not be the one to be helping the manager to make the right tactical decisions during the match, and substitutions at the right time. Surely he should be the one saying "we need a change at HT because Richards is not a defender"

If there's space in the dressing room for everyone as well as the tea urn, then I'm with chestertorkyman on this one in that I'd want all subs listening to the half time analysis and the plan for the second half. Subs can do some running up and down the line if they want to keep warm or loosen the muscles. The half time 'warm up' of standing on the spot with your hands in your pockets and occasionally flicking out a leg if the ball comes near you to keep it up in the air is clearly a fans favourite and I'm sure it'll be back on show this Saturday, even if as an exercise it's of negligible use.

Without going along and seeing how the club operates for a couple of days I don't know what the Assistant Manager's job is either, but I'd assumed that in a situation such as the lead up to the Alfreton game when we knew that our two first choice central defenders were unavailable, that Lee Hodges would be the key man in selecting replacements. Would Hodges perhaps work with different pairings and ideas, maybe with Cruise in the middle, then trying Pearce and Hutchings together, a combination of Pearce and Courtney Richards etc, and then by maybe Wednesday afternoon or Thursday lunchtime at latest, go to the Boss and tell him what he sees as the best option for defence in that forthcoming match. If Chris is going to take the advice of his coaching staff on anything then he would surely accept Hodges recommendation on the defensive set up. After all Hodges is the expert on that specialisation rather than Chris. Hargreaves then has to factor in the impact on midfield and the overall shape of the team.

Therefore I can't imagine Hodges then telling Chris that 'Richards is not a defender', as I'd been assuming it was Hodges who had told Chris that Richards would be the best option to use as a defender in the absence of Downes and MacDonald. Had you suggested it was the other way around, with Hargreaves telling Hodges what he thought as his pre match 'advice' then I could envisage that also. If Richards was no good as a defender then Hodges should have spotted that in all the defensive drills that he would have overseen in the week leading up to Alfreton, and made that view perfectly clear to the Manager when discussing the forthcoming line up. Perhaps half time at Alfreton was the one time that Hodges didn't need to say it again, as the painful evidence would have been staring Chris in the eyes for 45 minutes, although an ' I told you so' can be quite satisfying in some circumstances.

I'd expect Hargreaves to listen very carefully to Hodges advice re defensive set up, just as I'm sure he respects Kenny Veysey's specialist knowledge when it comes to who should be in goal. How much 'advice' you want from other members of staff during a match is probably a matter of personal choice. I doubt Steve Bould tells Arsene Wenger where he's going wrong too many times during a game, but hopefully Chris & Lee work in reasonable harmony, and with the right amount of mutual input to help the team.

[royalgull]

Nice reply to Royal Matt perhaps Royal and Ricey need to get some time in private...

Anyway, I am well aware that I make both good and bad points, that I 'think' I know it all about football and that I most likely believe I could do a better job in a number of roles at TUFC... at least I admit I suffer from these complexities

I hope the team finds a way out of this mess, and a mess it is. Even more so I hope that the general persona improves from our on the pitch comrades.

Good luck Saturday TUFC.

LOL yeah wasn't it a witty hilarious retort, you guys! Bet you're the sort of chap that finds Citizen Khan and Mrs Browns Boys an absolute scream don't you?

[SuperNickyWroe]

LOL yeah wasn't it a witty hilarious retort, you guys! Bet you're the sort of chap that finds Citizen Khan and Mrs Browns Boys an absolute scream don't you?

whats wrong with those mate? =D

anyway, back to your point about ricey, some over the top posts.

if all of these lot had riceys commitment to TUFC, we'd be a lot better off than we would be currently....

of course there will be those that will say hes been poor recently, and that maybe true, but so have most of the others - and also, when hes played well others have (continued) to be dire.

problem is of course make a mistake as a goalie, it ends up in the back of the net.....

striker misses an open goal, and its forgotten in minutes............

[Southampton Gull]

The last week has seriously made me question a bit of my feeling towards TUFC and I think it's why I might take a step back away from the forum because it's here where this nonsense is at it's worst to be honest, where people can be faceless and not held account to what they say who would never ever have the balls to go up to him and say some of the stuff they write. Most of our fans are decent folk and it's because forums give the chance for the minority that maybe it's worse than it really is if that makes sense but even so I think it's probably time to step away from here.

Ian, I share your distaste of some of the posts made recently and I'm not surprised to read your take on it. One in particular from a usual suspect was actually a pretty disgusting and cheap shot in my view and I'm still trying to work out why I was still shocked to read it.

My own stance on what you've written is that if people like you and Rich don't offer a valid alternative viewpoint then we're in danger of letting them become the online voice of Torquay fans. Read it, challenge it and pass on your undoubted knowledge of the game. Little oiks who wouldn't dream of airing their thoughts face to face with people can't be allowed to become the loudest voice on forums like this. People don't always agree with what I have to say but I hope that most know I would say exactly the same to their face if asked to. Don't let the toerags in our fanbase put you off supporting a club I know you have a lot of passion for and you know where I am if you ever need to let off some steam