Torquay United Fans Forum

Judging by the highlights Bevan had a fair bit of 'work' to do in the first half. Looked to me like a draw was pretty much the right result. Only highlights through...

Southampton Gull wrote:
Martin Luther King and Malcolm X used the word negro to describe their race so I'm not the only one am I?

I wasn't for one minute dismissing that it could be, just that I didn't think it was. Do you?

I think it would be offensive to some. As for the esteemed previous users of the word, time has moved on. Given that there are choices it not a word most people would use now.

I wouldn't blame Bevan for those 'special goals. There will also be plenty of specultive shots from outside the box that fly over the bar. If there is a problem it is not closing the opposition down when they're in range.

I agree. For those old enough to remember, the John McGovern syndrome, you only notice him when he wasn't there.

Sometimes we forget we're playing another team, when we obsess about the manager and his tactics. Teams gain momentum in different ways, the crowd, a crunching challenge or a bad foul. There were some pessimistic posts about this result. A point will not seem too bad when we start winning, which I am sure will be soon.

No reason really to be pessamistic. A team has up and downs over the season. We're a decent team playing another decent team. I'll go with the same prediction I made for the Shrews match; 1:1. Goalscorer Robertson or Ellis.

I don't think we'll get a hammering. We may be narrowly defeated. But being a positiive type I'll go for a 1-1. With Billy Kee coming on late in the game to score.

In terms of line up there has been a call for a return to basics, despite many people coming up with elaborate formations when we were winning, trying to incorporate O'Kane into the side. My no-nonsense, back to basics 11 is;

Bevan

Robertson Branston Ellis (Hopefully) Nicholson
Macklin Wroe Mansell Zebroski
Benyon Gritton

Macklin is in because pace is definately a basic requirement.

Fonda wrote:The other drawback of O'Kane playing in the centre of the pitch, is that he would spend so much time 'battling' that we'd likely lose the parts of his game that make him so special in the first place. Part of the reason that Wroe looks increasingly inneffective now is that he's having to spend more of his time in deeper positions. In the BSP, he spent much of his time in more advanced areas, and was able to influence games (in an attacking sense) more.

That is the point I have been labouring to make on other threads. I'm suffering from Nicky Wroe-syndrome, can't find that killer sentence at the moment! Too much huffing and puffing.

Modgull wrote:Agree he looked good going forward but not so sure in defence.

However, for that I blame Robbo who played him into difficult positions especially when he gave the ball to Bensherrif for him to score the first goal.

Not match fit and so for that we must blame the manager.

Agree with the above. Playing Senda over Charnock may have been about underestimating the opposition.

You maybe right about the captain's armband but based on the alternatives we would miss Wroe. By the way he wasn't the worst central midefielder for us yesterday.

It was disappointing yesterday, particularly the way it petered out in the second-half. Seems that Buckle has tried to bring O'Kane into the side based on the positive reviews he has had, many of which have been posted on this site. In fact in the first half O'Kane tried to be the creative spark for the team. Unfortunately, most of it didn t come off, other days it might. He is the sort of player that has to take risks. I thought Senda did ok, he is able to pick out a good forward run with his passing, but in keeping with the previous post he faded.

The point I would make is that with the prior knowledge we had about Macc we didn t need to take those risks to beat them. It should have been accomplished by our usual set up. I don t want to be disrespectful and they deserved the win. If Zebroski had scored instead of hitting the post, as should have, I am sure it would have been a different story with the confidence draining from them, rather then Macc gaining confidence as the game wore on.

Meeting some of the players at the TUST event after, they were disappointed and had received a bit of a rollicking; all had to attend the post-match meal or be fined. They felt they had a good enough squad to be disappointed if they were not challenging for the play-offs. They were also confident that they would up for Tuesday s game.

I do laugh at the criticism that Nicky Wroe receives. I think the games where we see him 'do a bit on the ball' and then hit a 30 yard, defence splitting pass are few and far between. His contribution is often less obvious than Mansell's huffing and puffing (not that huffing and puffing doen't have a place). He does an equal shift, working screening the defence and is more availabe to receive the ball from teammates to keep possession and build attacks. Expectations are high but opportunities for NW to show the full range of his abilities are limited by the way in which all teams set themselves up for majority of games. I think he is a good midfielder who has the potential to get better. We would really notice if he were not in the side.

I agree with the above. I think on balance Buckle has got his decisions about players right. Senda's had the opportunity to sell himself and it looks as if he's done enough. We some of the best players we've had have come to us on the back of injuries; Wes Saunders and Jason Fowler come to mind.

Ridiculous to write him off at this stage.

Usual stuff about players not hitting top form, but I guess it's harder to find things to moan about at the moment. I thought Kee did OK against Northampton, less so aganist Bradford. He probably needs to focus less on directly take on the big defenders and be a little bit clever about his movement ad positioning.

I think Benyon's progress is the lesson here (and he's still got room for improvement).