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by Gloomy Gull
05 Apr 2014, 21:44
Forum: All things Plainmoor
Topic: The burning question...
Replies: 39
Views: 4445

The burning question...

CP Gull wrote:Gutted to feel the way I do, but am really starting to question whether Greavsie is really up to the job. I love the guy and as I have stated previously I will aways be grateful to him... more than any other individual (with the possible exception of the Bristow family) for getting us promoted back into the League, but whilst you cannot question his attitude, desire and devotion, which he so ably showed as a player, it is unfortunately the case that a lot of different characteristics are required when you are a Manager ... particularly at L2 level.

Team selection seems to be all over the place, which cannot be doing anything for morale, and yet there are still a few that seem to always feature such as Mansell, Bodin etc. His substitutions are generally bizarre and often later than they should be and all too often don't actually change things tactically, when the situation clearly demands it:

Today, summed it up for me ... even before he stepped up to take the penalty kick ... Dale Tonge who was largely at fault for conceding the penalty with his abject attempt at trying to block the cross ... stepped up to take the penalty. Seriously, what was that all about??? I would guess that if it was down to the fans he might quite easily have been 10th (or even 11th as personally I would have preferred Ricey over him) to take that penalty and yet up he stepped....where was the leadership from the Manager? Surely things as important as this should be decide BEFORE the game by THE MANAGER and NOT, as suggested by the Manager after the game in his interview with Radio Devon as just the bloke "who is most up for it". That is amateur in my opinion, and lacks professionalism.

The decision to replace, what were quite clearly our most effective players in the first half ... in both Cameron and Coulthirst, when we chasing a WIN was baffling (at least to me) in the extreme.

Finally, please show some of that (famous) passion that you clearly had as a player. To see you spend most of the second half, with legs crossed, propped up against a fence, chatting to Robbie Herrera( when your Assistant was a good 10 metres away) was disappointing to say the least. Where was the passion?

I really do fear for our future now as I am not confident in the Manager being either ruthless enough to make the big decisions that will need to be made in the future(regarding the retained list) and not only that but he clearly has a lot to learn in terms of selection and tactics. It is a joke when you hear him continuing to even entertaining the idea of us staying up but I guess he is only saying that because he feels he has to when most of us gave up all hope after the home defeat by Accrington over a month ago.
:goodpost:

I have been saying for weeks that Hargreaves was always the wrong choice (however cheap he was).

Many have been defending him with comments about the dross CH (is that shorthand for Completely Hopeless??!!) was left with . Hargreaves has had 16 games with us now and I have compared his results against Knill's last 16 games in charge.

Knill : W - 3, D - 4, L - 9 = Points 13
Hargreaves : W - 4, D - 1, L - 11 = Points 13

On the face of it there is nothing to chose between them, yet Knill is held up as the architect of our downfall.

To me, this crude analysis shows that, a man who for the majority of his tenure had the full backing and enthusiasm of the fans, plus the comfort of a 2.5 year contract is no better at managing a poor team than one under increasing concern about his future and significant pressure from the supporters.

Why bother changing? The new man has brought no improvement despite "only bringing in players to improve the existing team"

If Hargreaves can improve on Knill's results over his last 21 games, he will need to achieve more than 4 points ........is he capable of that?? In fact IS HE CAPABLE.
by Gloomy Gull
01 Apr 2014, 13:16
Forum: All things Plainmoor
Topic: Who Truly Cares ....??
Replies: 34
Views: 4186

Who Truly Cares ....??

I have read the posts on this site that have bemoaned the quality, determination, care and respect for the club shown by the current crop of players et al OR on the flip side the perceived level of devotion to the club shown by the management and players et al.

Having given the opposing views lengthy consideration I have come to the conclusion that there are only 2 elements in any football club that TRULY care.

1) The Chairperson (and possibly some of the Board of Directors).....why???....because they have willingly INVESTED their own money into the club.

2) The Fan Base.........why???..........because they have willingly PAID their own money into the club.

ALL the other people involved in the infrastructure of the club TAKE money out.

Oh, there are many protestations of how much they "love the club" "have respect for the club" etc. - some players even symbolising their love and devotion by kissing the badge - how ridiculous that looks 6 months later when they’re at another club!!! These people do not stay, they will move on taking with them elsewhere the money earned, the care and devotion expressed.

My view is that we should not waste our energies vilifying those who we consider do not show the right level of commitment or praising those who we consider do. They do not really care.

We should use our energies to applaud those who do care .........Thea (and maybe some of the Board) and The Fans - be proud of your contribution and realise it will always be greater than that of any wage taker.
by Gloomy Gull
31 Mar 2014, 13:01
Forum: All things Plainmoor
Topic: New home shirt
Replies: 609
Views: 73758

New home shirt

AustrianAntheaGull wrote:I bet Western Training Services are proud to be involved with such an exciting and progressive club now? :lol:

In all seriousness I reckon they have had no dealings with the club for yonks and we are just picking up the cash from WTS such is the outgoing helpful and communicative nature of our club.

I'd like to see WTS introduce a new scheme for the area...........

FOOTBALL PLAYER & MANAGEMENT APPRENTICSHIPS whereby we get random folk from the Torbay area to undergo a brief training course and upon completion they get a contract with TUFC. I'd say it is a lot better than the current situation whereby a player just rocks up and says, "I can play football" and the club reply, "Great! Just what we need! You're in the squad on Saturday!". Or a manager that says, "I am THE man for the job. I have a vision and I can deliver that vision to you. Give me the job". What the manager failed to include however is that his vision didn't stretch to not being able to see the problems that the other 2000 people in the stands can.

Derek, 48 from Chelston has applied already to undergo the proposed management course. He currently works as a drain cleaner for Dyna Rod in Exeter but is now looking for something closer to his Torquay home. He said, "I've had enough of cleaning sh*t up around Exeter and particularly the St James Park area and now I'm looking for something a bit closer to home. I've heard Torquay like to chuck money down the drain so hopefully I can get in there with my cleaning equipment and find some of the stuff as well as learning a new skill.......................getting 11 players to do what they are f**king well paid for". I spoke to Derek and obviously advised him to leave out that last bit in the interview as the players apparently get upset when faced with the truth and if they get upset they might not play for him and he might not get the job as a result. I told him it was a job interview and nobody is themselves in one, you have to act like you know what you are talking about and con prospective employers into giving you a job. God forbid anyone goes into an interview acting THEMSELVES!!!!!

Simon, 24 from Goodrington has also shown initial interest in the proposed course for management. He is employed by Paignton Zoo as a giraffe keeper and has been in the role since he left school. Giraffes plod around all day and the only thing they can see when they look around them is clear daylight. A remarkable coincidence as that could aptly describe our playing style. In addition, Giraffes when they look up can see nothing but space. Again, aptly representing Torquay United and the league table.

Asked why Simon wanted the job he replied,"I just wanted a new challenge as the job had become boring. Especially lately when the new craze of necknominate took off. People kept on nominating my giraffes and not only did it take all day for them to neck a pint of vodka and red bull but it cost me a fortune too!!"

I can quite understand that Simon and he was then asked what he could bring to the table and he said,"A lot more points than you've got now! BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

That is all it would take quite frankly to be given the job as Torquay manager. That or copying Boys from the Blackstuff and constantly repeating "Giz a job! I can do that!". Those ARE the two deal breakers when it comes to getting employment with TUFC.

Next up was Paul, he like Simon had also worked with animals at the local animal shelter. When quizzed on his interview tactics he simply said, "I will go in with a nice suit on and simply state that I'm the man and I have so much experience in rescuing dire situations that you need look no further". What the board wouldn't be aware of is that when Paul was touching upon his career rescuing things, he wasn't referring to doomed football clubs nearing the end of their football league life but guinea pigs. Guinea pigs who had been unceremoniously dumped in shoe boxes outside the shelter and then rehabilitated, renamed Torquay United FC (as that is what we appear to be now as a club - a guinea pig for people to experiment on and 'see how it goes') and ultimately rehomed.

Next up was Sally, 33 who was currently working with animals at Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary. She'll fit right in. Give her the job NOW!!!

Adrian also expressed a serious interest in the managerial course. He is 29 years old and from Newton Abbot and currently working in Torbay Hospital as an A&E nurse, a job which has seen him on the verge of burnout and thoroughly disillusioned with the NHS. He was asked why the job as Torquay manager appealed as a viable employment alternative. "Well you basically do f*** all and get paid for it and you always have ready made excuses if you fail like the players,ref, fans, matchday catering are sh*t instead of taking personal responsibility". He continued, "In A&E you have to think on your feet and be prepared to do whatever it takes in order to save someone. You have to get in there, quickly weigh up the situation and then BANG!! Hit it and get the job done at all costs. When things are critical you have to take urgent and decisive action. I think that mentality applies as a football manager too especially short term. In actual fact I can't understand why that new bloke at the club hasn't done the same? :-/ "

Adrian is used to people collapsing Bodin and Benyon-esque at his feet and also dealing with suspected cardiac victims so although he will be an asset for the former which is a regular occurrence at Plainmoor, he won't need his cardiac resus skills quite so much at Plainmoor as the only excitement likely to be seen there is when the ref blows for full time. In addition Adrian will have a great deal of knowledge about drugs that can be administered to the players in order to improve the squad. Drugs in sport is illegal and rightly so but if Adrian can whack a few hundred amitriptyline in both Mansell's and Harding's pre match energy drinks then it might be enough to relax their muscles enough to not make them run around the field of play with their arms out like they are trying to catch a tennis ball like a woman does. Still, Adrian would be a great manager I feel.

There have been plenty of applications for the playing positions too including from myself, my imaginary friend, my pet cats and a lump of concrete. All potential improvements on what we have at the minute and at a fraction of the cost. I mean all you would have to do is stick a big lump of concrete on the 6 yard line and whack balls into it to rebound off into the net. I fail to see how that strategy could generate a worse goal return than a fully fit and mobile Karl Hawley.

In fact using various inanimate objects could actually improve us as a team when you think about it. We could get our wingers to drive up and down the wings in a mobility scooter in order to get into promising positions so they could get a cross off. I know it's just semantics and we're dealing in tiny margins here but this method would see our attack play from the wings be quicker and more difficult than it is now to deal with for the opposition. Chalk could be used to our advantage to quickly draw on lines on the pitch so we can con the ref, trees could be used instead of players to slightly improve passing accuracy and increase the tempo of the game and finally I reckon for one last roll of the dice we should all club together as TUFC fans to hire a light aircraft to fly over Plainmoor next season with a banner Moyes-esque which reads..............

" "


No point in putting owt on it as there'll be nobody there to read it!! :)

For what it's worth I did speak to a really nice guy called Gerald and his mate Voodoo Ray and I'd say he was nailed on favourite for the job if it ever became available. At the moment he is combining working part time at Morrisons as a shelf stacker with studying for a degree in law. I asked him why he thought he would be the ideal candidate for the position and he said it was because his job was repetitive, predictable and unproductive and so he'd fit right in straight away and he also said that his degree course had made him see that what was happening at TUFC was f**king criminal. =D
Not just a :goodpost: - that was a great post, actually made me chuckle.

Good to have you back online and on form !!
by Gloomy Gull
30 Mar 2014, 16:42
Forum: Matchday Topics
Topic: Southend United V Torquay United 29/3/14
Replies: 142
Views: 17251

Southend United V Torquay United 29/3/14

[quote="arcadia"] The problem is Chris has only seen the players over the last twelve weeks we've had more experience than him as we've seen the team all season.

That paints a false picture.

CH may only have seen the players for 12 weeks and for us it is the 40+ games this season.

Surely CH sees the players training/playing a minimum of 5 times a week and for longer than 90+ minutes at a time. Multiply 5 times per week by 12 weeks = 60 times. Supporters = 40 times (if every game has been attended).

CH has seen much more of the players than we have and still hasn't sussed them out!!!!
by Gloomy Gull
30 Mar 2014, 16:20
Forum: All things Plainmoor
Topic: TOUGH QUESTIONS
Replies: 35
Views: 4485

TOUGH QUESTIONS

aldershotgull wrote: What went wrong was he was brought in when the club has already well on the way down, confidence, morale was rock bottom and there are far too many sub standard players on the books :)
CH was not "brought in" because that would suggest that he was working elsewhere in the organisation and the Board decided that he should be moved into a new role.

CH APPLIED for the job, he (presumably) WANTED to take the job, he CHOSE to accept the offer made to undertake the role in PREFERENCE to an alternative role at Northampton (or so we are led to believe).

He MUST take responsibility for the current debacle - if he thought this job was too hard and was concerned he would/may not succeed then he should not have APPLIED for the bloody role in the first instance - if he took the job believing in his own ability to achieve at it but cannot make a difference - who is supposed to take responsibility for that - Knill (for the "dross" he left behind) ?? Surely not.

The buck stops at the door of the candidate who convinced the Board he was the right man for the job ............or did the Board somehow blackmail him into taking the job.

All this "it's not his fault", he "was left a lot of rubbish" etc.etc - is cr*p.

He should be a man and admit he is out of his depth and was from day 1.

If you had applied for and accepted a managerial position in the working real world and failed at it, would your employers accept the excuse that I was left with a load of sh1t that I could do nothing with ......unless you have a particularly philanthropic employer I doubt you would be seen as completely blameless as you had been employed because YOU convinced the employer that YOU could make a difference and improve on what was already there. Otherwise why employ someone new> :@
by Gloomy Gull
29 Mar 2014, 18:10
Forum: Matchday Topics
Topic: Southend United V Torquay United 29/3/14
Replies: 142
Views: 17251

Southend United V Torquay United 29/3/14

Not in the least bit shocked, but very angry and disappointed that our Manager (who at one time couldn't get enough air time) cannot explain why we have YET AGAIN lost by one goal to a "defensive error".
by Gloomy Gull
29 Mar 2014, 17:59
Forum: Matchday Topics
Topic: Southend United V Torquay United 29/3/14
Replies: 142
Views: 17251

Southend United V Torquay United 29/3/14

Very disappointing that neither CH or Hodges have the decency or the bo**ocks to face the media and comment on another appalling performance .

CH YOU wanted the bloody job....be a man and face up to your shortcomings ....or was there no excuse for the way the team was set up/motivated for this game.
by Gloomy Gull
29 Mar 2014, 17:31
Forum: All things Plainmoor
Topic: Goodbye Football League....Hello Conference
Replies: 158
Views: 24847

Goodbye Football League....Hello Conference

:
stefano wrote: Only one hope!

Mr Knill (who we sacked) got 7 points from his last 5 games with us (easily enough to stay up).

Our new manager (who is still here) has got 3 points from his last 5 games, and has taken us from the 1 point from safety we were when he stepped in to 8 points from safety.

Our new manager seems to think he is running a pub team, he picks his underperforming mates week in and week out, then I assume in order to address the problem that we just cannot score a goal he signs a young striker who scored a hat trick against Barcelona and has attracted interest from several top clubs in Spain, Italy, and Germany ... and puts him on the bench.

You couldn't make it up .... and the solution is not rocket science (hate that expression but it just fits!).

In 2006 we were in a similar position to the one we find ourselves in now with 6 games to go. We sacked our manager and appointed experience which got us out of it with an incredible run of results. Whilst it would be improbable that lightning could strike twice, there is unlikely to be even a gentle shower if we stick with what we have got.

If anybody seriously believes our present manager will lead us out of the Conference then I am afraid you are right. Conference South will be first (probably achieved in only one season) and then whatever is below that.

So 6 games to go. Remember 2006 ..... and over to you Mrs Bristow :keepie:
:goodpost:

Although I would not expect Thea to put her hand in her pocket to support any of what we will be left with.
by Gloomy Gull
29 Mar 2014, 17:04
Forum: Matchday Topics
Topic: Southend United V Torquay United 29/3/14
Replies: 142
Views: 17251

Southend United V Torquay United 29/3/14

What can Bodin actually do???? other than step overs.

I have lost count of the number of times this afternoon I heard "poor pass from Bodin", "Bodin's ball did not beat the first man", "poor decision making by Bodin", "can Bodin win/hold this ball"

WHY does CH persist - send him to conference now for some experience of what life will be like next season, because I cannot see any other side snapping him up in the close season, so we will still have to put up with the show pony for another season.
by Gloomy Gull
28 Mar 2014, 14:18
Forum: All things Plainmoor
Topic: It's a long way home from York..
Replies: 28
Views: 3629

It's a long way home from York..

BenGull

That was a fantastic post - thank you for taking the time to appraise the recent past, and probable future, so eloquently.

The only comment that you have made that I feel is generous is : It is not Hargreaves' fault, I maintain that even up to now, he was thrust into a difficult, near impossible, situation and has show he hasn't the experience or contacts needed to sort this mess out.

I find it hard to accept that he is without blame for his predicament. He made comment as a TV pundit that "something needs to change" during the death throes of the Knill era.

He then applied for the role that, he had pointed out, needed a change. IF he failed to carry out sufficient due diligence on that role to satisfy himself of the issues he would likely be facing, he only has himself to blame.

I find it difficult to accept that he has been thrust into a situation without some pre- knowledge, he had discussed the obvious downturn in TUFC fortunes in the media.

I can only deduce that he, possibly with some arrogance, presumed that his status as a club legend would go a long way to protecting him from any vitriol if things turned bad. A dangerous assumption to make in football, and further exposes his naivety.

However, my views on your view of the Hargreaves situation, should not detract from what was a very well crafted post. Again, I thank you for taking the time to gather your thoughts so succinctly and putting them to the written word.
by Gloomy Gull
27 Mar 2014, 13:39
Forum: All things Plainmoor
Topic: Songs to sum us up and our football league future
Replies: 17
Views: 1294

Songs to sum us up and our football league future

The one song AND band that I think sums up this season in a nutshell is :

Song : .......... Pitiful

Band : .......... Failure



:'(
by Gloomy Gull
26 Mar 2014, 18:47
Forum: All things Plainmoor
Topic: Bodin
Replies: 19
Views: 2154

Bodin

I have made a similar comment on another thread :

If Bodin can make the Welsh U21 International squad, there must only be 10 other people aged under 21 in Wales who can play football 8-o
by Gloomy Gull
26 Mar 2014, 11:13
Forum: All things Plainmoor
Topic: Songs to sum us up and our football league future
Replies: 17
Views: 1294

Songs to sum us up and our football league future

It's The End of the World as We Know it (and I Feel Fine) ....REM

Although I don't really =D
by Gloomy Gull
25 Mar 2014, 23:06
Forum: All things Plainmoor
Topic: Relegation confirmed surely
Replies: 13
Views: 1783

Relegation confirmed surely

Still at least there are only 2 more years on his contract.

Thank God the board had the sense to give a 2.5 year contract to a complete novice to appease the fan base - it could have been someone with no tactical nous, no ability to motivate and no contacts!!
by Gloomy Gull
25 Mar 2014, 21:39
Forum: Matchday Topics
Topic: York City v Torquay United 25/3/14
Replies: 186
Views: 32604

York City v Torquay United 25/3/14

CP Gull wrote:I have to say that Greavsie does seem pretty naive tactically.
Swap the word pretty to extremely and you might be close.

How can we come out in the second half and not be all guns blazing given the half time scores and the opportunity that should have presented the manager to fire up the team?