Torquay United Fans Forum

I dont think that's the case. If our midfield was good enough they would be shielding the back 4 more, very much like the 2nd half of last season. The full backs are left exposed too often.

All good opinions....I have to say that with the past few performances and lack of quality in depth, I feel we will be lucky to stay up unless we bolster the squad with some quality....a forward and at least two defenders...our midfield is good enough but our back line is poor and we have been found out. Time to hit the loan market!!

SBGULL wrote:Your thoughts now everyone??? Hate to say it but i told you so!!

Well you have had some feedback SB so any thoughts on our thoughts?

This is a wind up, surely? You told us so, you told us what, that we'd be mid table after 13 games? That with a squad compiled for precisely zero pounds and zero pence, we wouldn't have the league sown up come mid-October? That we are Torquay United and we are infinitely more likely to be in a relegation scrap than we are chasing the dream of L1?

Matt.

SBGULL wrote:Your thoughts now everyone??? Hate to say it but i told you so!!

We have lost 4 games.

Of the top 7 clubs (ie those in the automatic or play-off places) Cheltenham, Shrewsbury, and Wimbledon have also lost 4, whilst Southend, Crawley, and Morecambe have lost 3.

The only difference between our present position of 16th and a place in the promotion mix is not turning some of our draws into wins, but some of those draws were against the better teams in the division and in some of them we were unlucky not to grab the win.

After our defeat on Saturday my immediate reaction was to wonder where the next point was coming from, but then I remembered feeling the same at the same stage of last season after a long winless run and we ended up in the play-offs.

As Trojan pointed out on another thread, this season we have now gone 7 games without a win, whereas last season at the same stage it was 9 without a win, and the previous season it was 11 without a win.

I blame games like 'Football Manager' for making a large proportion of supporters think they know better than seasoned professionals

You said you can't see us finishing above the bottom 4. Well, we are.

Your thoughts now everyone??? Hate to say it but i told you so!!

allez mons wrote:Hold the bus...................

It is pre-season. Tiverton (didn't attend) & Bristol City (did). These games are for shape, work-outs, patterns etc and not really results based.

Personally, I am not to fussed if a new signing/manager gets things wrong in pre-season. That is the time to get it out of the system. Let's judge after 12 games (1/4 way through) when all players and teams have got match sharpness and the the table sorts itself out.

Keep faith!

Not sure what you're protesting against? Most people have been rightly positive about the performance against Bristol?

Hold the bus...................

It is pre-season. Tiverton (didn't attend) & Bristol City (did). These games are for shape, work-outs, patterns etc and not really results based.

Personally, I am not to fussed if a new signing/manager gets things wrong in pre-season. That is the time to get it out of the system. Let's judge after 12 games (1/4 way through) when all players and teams have got match sharpness and the the table sorts itself out.

Keep faith!

knh316 wrote:personally in the first half against bristol city i thought the quality of crosses from chris mcphee were excellent.he tracked back well and think him and joe ostler combined really well,plus the added height of these two will be an added bonus at set pieces in defence and attack.they looked a lot better option than macklin and leadbitter in the second half

Would agree with that completely.

personally in the first half against bristol city i thought the quality of crosses from chris mcphee were excellent.he tracked back well and think him and joe ostler combined really well,plus the added height of these two will be an added bonus at set pieces in defence and attack.they looked a lot better option than macklin and leadbitter in the second half

Fonda wrote:Olejnik, Oastler, Saah, Morris - all very decent signings i reckon

Howe, Mcphee, Leadbitter (and i'd add Atieno if he signs) - the jury is still out, but i have optimism they will all prove ther worth

Rice, Stevens - the only signings i have slight concerns about, but there are obvious reasons for their recruitment (the proverbial cheap, bench warmers)

All things considered i think he's done some very good business, considering the time and budget he's had to play with. After the performance on Saturday, where we had a first glance at his team and his tactics, i'm more confident than i was just a week ago. I also like the fact that he has this strange notion that using players in their preferred positions. It might just pay dividends.

I think I would group the signings in the same way. A kind of mixed bag of recruits and although the first four are probably strong, I think we are slightly in the deficit if you include the loanees who formed a big part of our team at the end of the season but hopefully, Ling can supplement this squad with some talented loanees and then we may even be stronger than last season. I guess he can add another 5 through the loan system, which, if the parent club is paying the bulk of the salary could benefit us greatly.

Olejnik, Oastler, Saah, Morris - all very decent signings i reckon

Howe, Mcphee, Leadbitter (and i'd add Atieno if he signs) - the jury is still out, but i have optimism they will all prove ther worth

Rice, Stevens - the only signings i have slight concerns about, but there are obvious reasons for their recruitment (the proverbial cheap, bench warmers)

All things considered i think he's done some very good business, considering the time and budget he's had to play with. After the performance on Saturday, where we had a first glance at his team and his tactics, i'm more confident than i was just a week ago. I also like the fact that he has this strange notion that using players in their preferred positions. It might just pay dividends.

I posted this on another thread, couldn't be bothered to type it again, so just copied and pasted as it seemed relevant to this thread :-

i'm really impressed with the way Ling is going about his business. many of us were getting anxious about lack of signings, and the amount of departures from the club, but you've got to give Ling credit for the way he's putting his squad together. many have questioned the calibre of the players being brought in, and keeping Danny etc etc, but none of us REALLY know how McPhee has developed as a player, or how good Atieno is, and many are assuming Saah is a fantastic signing along with Bobby, but the truth is, we just don't know yet.

my opinion is that Ling knows what he's doing, he's putting together a squad with what resources he has available, and also has quite a few versatile players on the books now (McPhee can play in many positions, as can Oastler, LRT, Manse........) and i am really looking forward to the season starting.

Given the way things looked a few weeks ago, i'd say it's already a successful season, as people who were convinced we were doomed before a ball had been kicked, are now far more optimistic.

No matter your feelings towards any of our players, try getting behind them and giving them your support, instead of getting on their backs for what they've done in a past life. They're our players, they want to play for the club, and good luck to them - i'm happy with what Ling is doing, and who he has brought in - it's time to forget those who couldn't wait to get out.

Warwickgull wrote:
Good post Fonda, some people need to look up SUPPORTER in the dictionary.

Who is insulting the new manager?

That sort of statement really pi55es me off. Being a supporter does not mean you have to approve of, or agree with, everything the club does.[/quote]

I dont agree with everything the club does! I simply cannot see why some people choose to portray their opinion as fact in what seems to be a mission to constantly critisise/moan and bash the club for just about everything they do, BEFORE a ball is even kicked in anger. Its one thing to give opinion on signings etc, great, thats fine its all about opinion.

Why come on here and start threads such as this one insulting our new manager who has been in the job for only a few weeks, his team is not even assembled yet, and we have had one warm up run around against Tivvy which was also after a training session. Some of you lot are just bloody pathetic. [/quote]