What Has Gone Wrong?

[portugull]

We entered 2021 with 37 points from 16 games with only 2 defeats.

On New Years Day we lost 2-1 at Yeovil having lead 1-0 with 4 minutes to go. We are now 7 games into the new year with a record of 1 win, 3 draws and 3 defeats taking just 6 points from 21.

Clearly injuries have been the major reason for our dip in form. On Saturday excluding Davis and Nelson we had 8 players unavailable. The most important unfit to play being Nemane, Little, Wright and Moxey. If Kyle Cameron is out for a while he will be badly missed.

The incoming loans Street and Sheaf have made no impact whatsoever.

With the number of injuries we have to ask are we over training on a plastic pitch? I assume, and maybe wrong, that we are being forced to use the plastic pitch because Seale Hayne is too wet.

Gary Johnston kindly answered my question on set pieces but look at Saturday nights performance. Abysmal comes to mind with one glaring example resulting in Halifax scoring. We have got to pay more attention to free kicks and corners.

When will Olaf Kozela get a run of 4 or 5 games as our lead striker? He has got to be better than Umerah.

I think Gary should sit the team down and watch our 6-1 win against Yeovil on Boxing Day to remind them how good they can be.

Formation. Are we over thinking our set up for each game and losing out as a result. Players like continuity and young players quickly lose confidence when things go wrong.

Before our dip in form we were scoring 2.3 goals per game but since the turn of the year we have averaged 1 goal per game excluding FA Trophy games.

We have the best Manager in the lower leagues and we just have to trust Gary to turn round what is a serious dip in form as we have just got to get back to winning ways if we want automatic promotion.

[brucie]

That's going to be easier said than done when we have so many players done. However good a manager he is he can only play whats available.

[North Curry House]

We can not get the injured players back quickly and when they do, they have no confidence. Little is an example - out for ages, comes back and is afraid to tackle, now out again.

With the exception of Davis, who is finished the others need to start working on a comeback. I am told Davis was offered to have his contract paid up but he refused - thanks!

The two loan signings must be the worst we have ever had. Why can we not get a Jason Roberts, Keiffer Moore, Dean Sturridge or Jim Fryatt???

Our recruitment is left to Garys brother - is that the best we can do? His record is not great and got his sibling the sack at Yeovil.

Unless things improve quickly, we will be the laughing stock of not just our League but ALL Leagues, losing an eleven point lead since New Years Day.

COYY.

[SuperNickyWroe]

We can not get the injured players back quickly and when they do, they have no confidence. Little is an example - out for ages, comes back and is afraid to tackle, now out again.

With the exception of Davis, who is finished the others need to start working on a comeback. I am told Davis was offered to have his contract paid up but he refused - thanks!

The two loan signings must be the worst we have ever had. Why can we not get a Jason Roberts, Keiffer Moore, Dean Sturridge or Jim Fryatt???

Our recruitment is left to Garys brother - is that the best we can do? His record is not great and got his sibling the sack at Yeovil.

Unless things improve quickly, we will be the laughing stock of not just our League but ALL Leagues, losing an eleven point lead since New Years Day.

COYY.

That is incorrect.
We were 10pts clear, but had played 3 games more than Sutton, Stockport and Notts.
...and now we can see whats happened.
I don't like using the injury excuse, but we have had a full starting XI out - most of which would be in the team.

[Nick Potkins]

I would turn this on its head, what has gone right - LOTS.

Before I write please don't get me wrong, I want to win the league by 20 points. I want us to win every game and I don't like results like on Saturday. However this is football and we are Torquay United.

So what is right, we are top of the league. We are well placed to keep pushing on for promotion. We have a fantastic manager and for once we are not in a relegation struggle.

Never lose sight that two of the drawers were Notts County and Sutton. Results we would have taken in the past and even this year has kept us ahead of the pack.

Injuries have not helped, maybe errors have been made with formations, maybe we need some luck and yes, confidence is now a little low. Things will turn again and with any luck we will be right in the mix.

Top of the league and last eight of the FA Trophy, keep believing, who said it would be easy.

[Dazza]

13 injuries that's what gone wrong. Look at Liverpool's home record - that shows the same thing . Big or small club the outcome is inevitably the same. Aggravating, depressing, ridiculous, embarrassing - use whatever word but the outcome of that many injuries just cannot be avoided.

[happytorq]

I feel like our playing extra games has caught up with us. Playing Saturday-Tuesday every week clearly took a toll, while other team (particularly Sutton) had more time between games. I would expect their performance to drop off at some point, and maybe pick up some injuries (I don't know their squad that well). The guys we have missing about 8/11ths of a really good NL side.

Covolan
Wynter (until the last game), Kerr, Warren, Moxey
Little, Nemane
Wright

Aside from possibly Kerr and Warren in that group, the rest are almost certainly starters. I fear for our backline with Cameron out as as well now (and who knows how long that'll be for) although I think a backline of Wynter, Sherring, Lewis, Moxey, is easily good enough.

I expect Sutton to creep ahead of us at some point, but as long as we can return to winning ways, we still have a great shot. We've yet to play Sutton at home, and while they do have 3 games in hand, there's no guarantee that they'd get maximum points from them.

Our recruitment is left to Garys brother - is that the best we can do? His record is not great and got his sibling the sack at Yeovil.

We were all pretty happy with the recruitment that we'd done when we were 11 points clear. When we brought in Wright I think a few eyebrows were raised, but he was great pre-injury.

really the only recruitment that hasn't gone well have been Street and Sheaf - and both of those looked like decent loan signing, given what evidence we had to hand. I would see if we can ship them out and replace them, but of course the loan market means that we have to see who *isn't* playing somewhere else, and that can be a bit of a minefield in itself.

[Plainmoor78]

really the only recruitment that hasn't gone well have been Street and Sheaf

Or Nelson, which must be the most pointless signing we have ever made.

[happytorq]

Or Nelson, which must be the most pointless signing we have ever made.

I don't believe Nelson is a real person, at this point. He's Gary Johnson's imaginary friend.

(this and other [s]excellent[/s] gags available in Talking Torquay, a regular torquay Utd podcast:

[brucie]

That's nonsense. Nelsons injury has been well documented which means there is no way he has been fit to play. The centre half pairing of Lewis and Sherring looked anything but good enough on Tuesday night. More like the kamikaze twins.

Wynter is good enough when fit but he is nowhere near that, and Moxey plays one game out of four a recurring theme.

As for Street looking a good signing, when was that? Looked like he had been playing in an under 14's League in the videos of where he scored a couple of goals. Sheaf was playing regularly in League 2 last year and looked decent against Notts County, but seems out of favour with Johnson already.

Without the likes of Cameron, Wright, Nemane and with a goalkeeper who is conceding cheap goals every game, we are hardly likely to start winning games. A further slide down the table is looking inevitable.

[PL21gull]

We have to set up to control games again from the midfield, and to make chances on the deck. Against Halifax in the first half with the wind we had loads of possession but no meaningful attempts near goal or incisive balls into the danger area. Halifax's first goal came from a quick breakaway and an appallingly bad freekick by us. The only dangerous set piece we produced was an Andrews corner hit with pace which very nearly deceived the massive keeper. Why do we seem so casual with set pieces, even when there is usually good thinking time before the kick can actually be taken?
In the second half we were overrun in midfield and looked like conceding at any time. We badly need CLE in midfield where he has the energy and the skill to make a difference at both ends of the park. There was no midfield axis in the second half, just individual random runs which were blocked by Halifax hunting in packs. Hence moves broke down too easily and we were in trouble trying to get back to defend; we needed to use our last substitute to bolster midfield with fresher legs, but failed to do so.

[Wolborough]

I think we need a good left back.

[SBP]

The injuries have undoubtably affected us like it would with any club. What concerns me about our management was the recruitment of Wright, Moxey and Warren. It was a huge risk imo especially when we have Hall who has had his injury issues, Little who was returning from a serious injury. Evans also had spells of injuries last season.
I also think that the players/management after the victory at home to Yeovil thought that was the promotion in the bag. Season done and just coast home with the remaining fixtures.
Mentally they have lost the edge and need to switch back on and start to fight for each point.
Something needs to change quickly.

[North Curry House]

That is incorrect.
We were 10pts clear, but had played 3 games more than Sutton, Stockport and Notts.
...and now we can see whats happened.
I don't like using the injury excuse, but we have had a full starting XI out - most of which would be in the team.

We WERE eleven points clear on Sunday 2nd January...and would have been fourteen, had we not given Yeovil two late goals.

I am looking at the Non League paper

Torquay played 17 points 38
Hartlepool played 16 points 27
Sutton. played 13 points 26
Stockport played 14 points 24
Notts Co. played 14.points 23
Maidenhead played 14 points 23
Altrincham. played 17 points 23

, You will need to take off a shoe and sock to count up to ELEVEN. 38 minus 27 equals..,..eleven.
I accept not all teams had played the same number of games but I would ALWAYS rather have the points in the bank.

Clearly, one win in the last seven League matches is relegation form, thank goodness that is averted for this campaign.

Am not filled with optimism for tonight at Solihull. I pray for a 1-0 win, any sort of goal. In off someones backside, own goal, anything just as long as weeget

I accept your apology.

[culmstockgull]

I suspect our slump is deeper than any number of the comments already made. The halftime team talks , the Johnson effect, our 90 minute plus goals have all but ceased to have any meaningful effect. He mentioned in early January he was using all his efforts to improve the squads confidence after several poor displays, six weeks on what ever he said or did has had the opposite effect to what he intended. This is the team of Johnson,to say after the Halifax game and lets remember Halifax had seven first eleven players injured, they capitulated, there was no leaders is totally down to him, the style and pace of play is totally down to him, and I like others others the way we play is the reason not only for our injuries but recurring ones at that.The changing room now has many players in the last throw of their careers, they have heard the team talks and witnessed the managers tantrums countless times before,its water off the proverbial ducks back to them,they will not react positively to shouting or abuse that can intimidate younger players, Johnson has very little if any influence on these senior players, at least four are in their final year of football, play, Sub or not even picked will have no effect on them, they still get paid and younger players will always look to the senior pro's for advice and guidance far more than the management team.