Torquay United Fans Forum

Rochdale lost playoff final in 2008, Season after they finished 6th
Shrewsbury lost playoff final in 2009, Season after they finished 12th
Rotherham lost playoff final in 2010, Season after they finished 9th

So in recent years the teams losing the final dont end up doing so bad. Thing could look up for us. Just a thought

ROI2Gull wrote:Definitely top 8 finish.

............. and back in the room.....hes awake now =D

Definitely top 8 finish.

Good luck to The Gulls for 2011-2.

Let's hope new manager Martin Ling can drive the players on to promotion.

I think a top 10 spot is a realistic target but all depends on a number of things coming together like if the players gel, have the team spirit and if they are actuallygood enough for this level which a few have it to prove. Ling also has to lay a few ghosts to rest as he may not have a chance of league management should this job go tits up. This may put pressure on him if things don't go so well and could derail our season. Of course he may rise to the challenge and take L2 by the scruff of the neck, we will have to wait and see. On top of that the usual luck with refereeing decisions and injuries will have an effect. So top 10 for me is a realistic target but won't happen IMO. I expect a long hard season with a few highlights but nothing memorable. There is no chance of us finishing bottom 5 IMO. To go down it will be Barnet and time up for the Macc Lads too.

Get to 50 points must be the first target!! but it's looking like things might not be so bad, fingers crossed

morning all,read most of the posts from yesterday,and most seem very happy with performance,ok a few tweaks here and there,but on the whole very positive,woo hoo,long may it continue.ok granted a psf,the new players seem to have fitted in well so far,bring on them geeks on weds aonther good season for us on the way....simon

Fonda wrote:Some of us consider ourselves realists, not pessimists. I've supported my opinion that we might struggle based on our level of signings. What do you base your opinion of a Top 10 finish on? Pure optimism? I'm interested to know, because i really would like to be convinced that there is real reason to be confident.

ok realists or pessimists which ever you put it,why shouldnt we be confident,and as you i support my opinion that we wont struggle with the level of signings,and yeah i am a very optimistic bout the season ahead,we all have our own opinion whether right or wrong,i believe we have made good signings,and sure ling will bring in more to bolster our squad,oh and kingsgull like that enchanted lol lol

eastyorksgull wrote:good morning all,just been reading the posts,and as per usual the pessimists are here in abundance,ha ha,no seriously everyone,we will be ok and well again this season,so a top 10 finish again,am not bothered about what other teams in the league are doing with there squads,i believe ling will do a great job for us,also like the players he has bought in so far,so onwards and upwards again this season,so heres a another succesful season for us all..simon

god you sound like the hop skipping princess in Enchanted.... o:)

Some of us consider ourselves realists, not pessimists. I've supported my opinion that we might struggle based on our level of signings. What do you base your opinion of a Top 10 finish on? Pure optimism? I'm interested to know, because i really would like to be convinced that there is real reason to be confident.

good morning all,just been reading the posts,and as per usual the pessimists are here in abundance,ha ha,no seriously everyone,we will be ok and well again this season,so a top 10 finish again,am not bothered about what other teams in the league are doing with there squads,i believe ling will do a great job for us,also like the players he has bought in so far,so onwards and upwards again this season,so heres a another succesful season for us all..simon

usagullmichigan wrote:How bad would it be if Exeter end being the only Devon club in league football

Oi ! NO !

Is L2 this season really that much stronger than L2 last season? Last year was only weak because the big players (Northampton, Gillingham, Bradford, Port Vale and Rotherham) failed to perform - they all had strong sides on paper before the season began.

3 Strong promotion candidates to replace the 4 that went up - Swindon, Bristol Rovers and Crawley.

Plymouth - more likely to do a Stockport than a Southend. Far worse state than what Stockport were in - people are being disillusioned by the fact they're a big club to realise just how bad their situation is.

Wimbledon and Dagenham could go either way. I can see strong parallels though with our relegation from L1 and promotion from BSP with those sides though - and I don't remember our following L2 seasons being too pleasant.

Northampton, Gillingham, Bradford, Port Vale and Rotherham will all have promotion winning sides on paper - but did last year as well - so nothings changed this season in that respect. People were impressed by Lincoln's squad on paper and were widely tipped as dark horses- and look where they ended up.

This season L2 being stronger is reliant on all teams performing as well on the pitch as people expect. They won't because this is L2 - a strong squad on paper is often meaningless. The players that show quality in this division are here because they are inconsistent - players can go from being amazing at one club to a despised donkey at the next (and visa versa)- and this is what we see year in, year out. I see next season as being no different.

I guess thats why we got a really good keeper, We are expecting alot of action for him.

It's very difficult to guess at this stage because our squad is (hopefully) not yet complete - and neither are anybody else's, but i just have a feeling this might be a difficult season. I don't blame the board (you can't spend money you haven't got) and i won't blame the manager (he has a lot to contend with). Out of necessity, Ling is building a squad from 'mis-fits' - Mcphee who has failed here before, Atieno who has been a serial failure, Howe who has had more new clubs than Lee Westwood, not to mention having to re-sign Danny Stevens, who's had about half a dozen moments of quality in his entire career. You can't expect to knock all the rough edges off of so many players in such a short space of time and create a winning team. I think we're going to find goals hard to come by, so will be particularly reliant on not conceding too many in order to accumulate points. I fear the season will lack excitement - with 0-0's more likely than 3-3's. I'm just hoping there are two teams sufficiently worse than us than it won't be too nerve-wrecking towards the end. My money is on a finish somewhere between 14th and 18th. And i'm afraid it's probably as much as we can realistically expect. Anything higher than that i'll be impressed.