Torquay United Fans Forum

Yorkieandy wrote: ↑13 Nov 2017, 14:26 It's a fair point Matt. It's perfectly understandable however to build up a defence mechanism due to constantly being misunderstood and misinterpreted over time although that doesn't excuse the terminology used. You see i am always able to accept when i'm wrong, have overstepped the mark and apologize yet others don't seem to want to accept responsibility for their actions and comments and instead prefer to encourage others to either 'grow a pair' or 'take it like a man' which is really embarrassing as we're nearly approaching 2018 and to think these attitudes still exist.

My 'veiled threats' weren't veiled although you presume incorrectly. I am not intending to publish any comments by anyone on here in a book. They aren't worth the space and i wouldn't give anyone on here the time of day by and large save a few. What i DO have however is a unique story to impart relating to my footballing travails with autism over the last 25 years and in the section and my experiences with Torquay United Football Club and it's supporters and also social media in football will make for very interesting, eye opening and entertaining reading i'm sure. I'm not too sure where you get the impression that including factual events that actually happened in real life in a book is bullying. Fair enough if i'm accusing individuals of doing or being something hypothetical and based on opinion and speculation then i'd agree but i'm not.

Either way i have to be very careful when publishing anything due to a wide range of legal implications but rest assured. If you've always been alright with me and tolerated and made reasonable adjustments for my eccentricities and idiosyncracies then you really have nothing to be concerned about.

People like Supernickywroe Chris, Big Dave SG, Scotty lad, Tomogull, Bixie, Taxilady, Bengull, Forevertufc Dave, Lucy6lucy and a few others including Ferrari lover Matt who wasn't everyone's cup of tea but again, i know what that feels like and he's always been ok with me so i've no issue. All these people have failed to understand a lot of where i'm coming from with my ideas and views yet they've not judged me nor been nauseatingly irritating and rigidly dismissive of me like most. This is worth celebrating and many will be mentioned on a special acknowledgments page in the book along with a few other people i've befriended over the years from clubs like Hull City, York City, Barnsley FC and Derby County and who have been understanding and accepting of me and who have enhanced my enjoyment of going to watch the football with the various clubs.

I'd also argue that calling someone 'ignorant' isn't bullying. Calling them 'thicko's' is however and i accept that. Most others just refuse to accept they are bullies and that they have posted something insensitive instead of acknowledging that they've posted in haste before thinking things through.

I think we just have to accept that we don't get on and we will never get on. The most disabling aspect of having high end autism is that this is the case with pretty much most of the people i encounter in life due to 'profound differences in thinking' from the neurotypical general population which highlights just how remarkable the people i've mentioned above are.

I'm a fair bloke deep down and have always been so. Just takes somebody who doesn't judge to see. In that respect i'm as blind as they come. Maybe you should nip down to specsavers too? I can admit it and it's not something to be proud of but can anybody else admit it including yourself?

Southampton Gull wrote: ↑10 Nov 2017, 18:45 The reason we can't sign a decent striker is plain and simple finance. Even average strikers cost a lot more than decent players in other positions. Bang in a few goals and the price gets even higher. Lafayette was on our radar a while ago but £1700/week was too much for us.

We'd want a whole forward line for that kind of money.

Burnhamgull wrote: ↑14 Oct 2017, 19:04 The demise of the club is down to many reasons, too many to list here but some of the obvious ones are -

The total mis-management of the club off the pitch
The desire to employ ex-players with no previous experience as manager
A local population who generally don't turn up to support the club and have no real interest.
A fanbase that is getting smaller, season by season, and quite frankly who can blame those who fade away?
The increase in clubs who are better run and have better facilities and matter to their local community.

How many people really enjoy going to Plainmoor these days?

Scott Brehaut wrote: ↑07 Oct 2017, 01:26 It would be VERY harsh on Dorel if Clarke walked straight back into the team. Obviously I’ve not seen him play, but the reports have been excellent. He should be told the position is his until Clarke can find a way to oust him.

Gulliball wrote: ↑28 Sep 2017, 18:09

No-one complained about fitness when we finished the last two seasons stronger than other sides. If I am a supporter of Kevin Nicholson then I could use the examples that we finished strongly in both seasons under Nicholson as proof that his training and fitness programmes must be better than other teams - but it would just be the same confirmation bias from the other extreme.

As a more general point, and as with pretty much every other topic on this board, the reality of the situation is that for the last 2.5 years we've been at the lowest ebb in the club's entire history and in that situation you're not going to get many examples of groundbreaking success. If as a club you're unable to afford transport to take your first team to first team fixtures then it's fair to say there's not much in the way of infrastructure to expect a 'professional club'.

The best long-term judge of how well Kevin Nicholson actually did in the circumstances he was in will be the managers that came in before and after him. We know that Paul Cox walked away after 10 games because the money the club could afford to pay was not enough for him & he didn't want to work under those circumstances. On the pitch, his side had 10 points after 10 games, which is a ratio that would get you relegated.

Owers is coming in now in a reasonably similar situation to Nicholson, who was appointed 2 years ago today. After a slow start he did turn us around and got 31 points from the final 15 games. Overall Nicholson picked up 41 points from 34 games, and if Owers does the same ratio over his 36 games, we'd pick up 44 points during his spell and finish on 47 points.

That might not be enough to survive, but the team he is inheriting now does at least have some quality in it, it is just too small and with too many injured at one time. On paper at least it is a long way above the quality of the Geohaghon, Fenwick, Carmichael, Briscoe, Lavelle-Moore etc that started the 3-7 Bromely fixture before Nicholson took over. I suspect that is the basis of his 'lottery' comments that have been so badly received given our current position.

Southampton Gull wrote: ↑24 Sep 2017, 18:57

Obviously your objectivity is seriously screwed because I've never made any inference whatsoever that he is a friend of mine. The rest of your argument is no different to what I've always maintained.