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[Dave]

I think you are looking for a reason why he is a sensible signing when logically he is not. We have a player in Bodin who is light years better than Stevens who could play the role you have referred to.

In many ways you're right, When you say we have Bodin who is light years better and could play the role I am referring to, totally agree with you, sorry all for putting this in caps, BUT THAT'S THE POINT, maybe, just maybe, CH is looking at Danny Stevens as a back up player, some one in the squad who could have an impact off the bench, cover for injuries, again who says he is going to be signed, and go straight into the front 11.

As a general point also, CH took us to Wimbledon, played a narrow formation on a narrow pitch, and won. Who says CH is going to set the team up that way for every game, no evidence of this yet, but maybe we have a manager, with some tactical nous in CH, just saying.

[Gullscorer]

The point about Chris Hargreaves is a good one. CH, when he took over as manager, immediately showed himself to be intelligent, articulate, and with a football education which, as evidenced in the Wimbledon game, inspires confidence in a way not seen since the days of Paul Buckle. Indeed I would go so far as to say that, unlike Martin Ling and Alan Knill, CH has it in him to eventually become a successful manager at Championship level. Would be nice to think he might achieve that with the Gulls..

[tomogull]

The H/E article has to be read and understood properly, it says Hargreaves is 'believed' to be tracking Rendell, as G-I-T-P has already pointed out. Easy story for any journalist to write, (CH) 1 + (SR) 1 as two players know each other well, as former TUFC teammates= 2. And if the story does turn out to be true, then it becomes look you heard here first. it's a piece of guesswork.

It also says 'Danny Stevens is an option to the end of the season'. Who says Danny Stevens is being signed as a first team player, or even a winger, that's the important thing, maybe CH is looking at Stevens to play in the middle behind the front 2 or 1, more than likely Stevens would however be a squad player, can not do any harm. After all Stevens could be the player, who scores the goal, that keeps us in the league, who would moan then ?

The article also says, and this is the most important bit, that CH is waiting for answers from 3 established football league players, it isn't all bad news, I would suggest CH is keeping all options open, which is the correct thing to do.

We are in relegation scrap in case some hadn't noticed, unity across the board is the only thing that will get us out of it, because we, as a club sure as hell can't buy our way out of it, do I trust CH's judgment, yes. Does he have my backing as a fan, yes.

Totally agree with Forever's posting. Let's not keep knocking Danny Stevens - give him a break. CH knows his capabilities/limitations as he does Scott Rendell, so he obviously thinks Stevens can fill a role. Like Forever, I'm 100% behind CH's judgement.

[OllieGull]

I think Rendell could potentially be a good signing if we do sign him, would be a nice change from getting all the inexperienced 20 year old strikers from championship clubs, also the fact he's played for us before and I believe has 8 goals in 15 apps in the skrill prem which isn't the worst but certainly shows he can find the net, bar at a lower level.

[CP Gull]

I think there is a bit more to this story than just " tracking" Rendell .... unless he just likes taking short winter breaks in the Torquay area, that is.

Amazing to think that if Rendell does link up with us again, in him and Benyon we would have a strike force that once was valued (at least in the eyes of Messrs Waddock and Wilson) at just short of a cool quarter of a million pounds. With Rendell going to Wycombe for £120k in the summer of 2010 and Benyon to Swindon for £125k just 6 months later. In theory, both players should now be coming into the prime of their footballing careers at 26 (Benyon) and 27 (Rendell) years of age.

If they can both rediscover their form and fitness of a few years ago it could work out an excellent piece of business, particularly if we end up getting both for nothing (assuming Luton wouldn't want a fee?). They were certainly considered hot prospects just a few short years ago and I can certainly remember feeling disappointed that we weren't able to bring Rendell here on a permanent basis the first time around ... he was never worth £120k mind, and come to that neither was Benyon! But they have both proved that they can score goals at this level when they are at the top of their game ... all that remains is to see whether they have still got it!

[Gullscorer]

Them and Danny Stevens..

[ferrarilover]

So, we've got a starting XI which, to this point, has proven to be no better than 23rd place and you're getting excited because we might sign a reserve standard Jack-of-a-couple-of-trades who will be 5th choice in his preferred position and completely untried in any other.

That's your grand pan for avoiding relegation?

Whay we need, today and exclusively, are players who are better than those currently in the starting 11, because the starting 11 isn't good enough. Come May, if we're in the bottom two, the FL won't look at our squad and say "Oh, I see you have a mediocre midget at 5th choice winger. Clearly you can't be relegated with this sort of class at the club. Here, have a reprieve."

The only players that matter in our situation are the 11 on the pitch. I don't give a monkeys if Danny 'could do a job'. The starting 11 are the ones charged with getting us to safety, anyone who isn't a part of that 11 is irrelevant. We could have the greatest reserve side the world has ever seen, but if the first team aren't good enough, then it will be the reserve side of a Conference club come September.

With our extremely meagre budget, we haven't got the freedom to build a squad and carry blokes who, at a push, might be able to hold the fort for half an hour. We need the best starting 11 we can get and damn quick.

Tezza, in his non-troll mode, is perfectly correct in this aspect. Stevens couldn't force himself into the Conference (or wouldn't take the wage cut, according to some. Ask yourself this, would you play part time and get paid something, or sit at home in your pants earning nothing and not playing?)

For Christ's sake, can we please just sign Jake Hyde and stop all this crazy talk about a bloke who won't be a professional footballer as long as he's got a hole in his arse.

Matt.

[gullintwoplaces]

It isn't down to us who we sign. If Chris and Lee think it's for the best then we as fans have to back them. Otherwise, moaning and groaning at them isn't going to help. We are fighting for our survival. They both want fight and commitment on the pitch, the same goes for us fans. If you don't agree with their decisions don't turn up at the game. Negativity will send us down.

I agree with you. The way some people comment you would think the world was falling in. The negativity is a mixture of: those who are usually/always negative, those who didn't want Hargreaves appointed and have an axe to grind, those who think that their managerial skills are better than a qualified FA Coach. All a bit sad really. To suggest that Hargreaves is trying to give his mates a job (as at least one person has done) beggars belief, this is his first managerial post so why in Christ's name would he do that?

[ROADRUNNER]

whoever we sign we must trust in jesus, and yes rendell is down for a trial, doesnt get on with john still thats why they keep farming him out.

[arcadia]

The point about Chris Hargreaves is a good one. CH, when he took over as manager, immediately showed himself to be intelligent, articulate, and with a football education which, as evidenced in the Wimbledon game, inspires confidence in a way not seen since the days of Paul Buckle. Indeed I would go so far as to say that, unlike Martin Ling and Alan Knill, CH has it in him to eventually become a successful manager at Championship level. Would be nice to think he might achieve that with the Gulls..

[arcadia]

whoever we sign we must trust in jesus, and yes rendell is down for a trial, doesnt get on with john still thats why they keep farming him out.

When players move they are out to prove that they are up to it. It's after ten games when the newness has worn off when their form drops and why a short term contract would suite us for Rendall. You are right to trust Jesus!

[nickfrench82]

Not sure they are the answer to our prayers, however if either of them line up in a Torquay shirt between now and the end of the season, they will get my support.

That is pretty much the minimum requirement of any Gulls fan.

[ferrarilover]

It isn't down to us who we sign.

But it is up to me (and any other individual) what my opinion of the potential signings is. If Stevens was lined up to be signing for, say, Burton or Newport or Bury or any other L2 side, I'd laugh my socks off and I'd be commenting (probably on the Ex-Gull thread) that I thought he was shit and that he's a poor signing. That he's signing for Torquay doesn't change my opinion of him as a player.

If Chris and Lee think it's for the best then we as fans have to back them.

And for the 90 minutes of a match, that is precisely how it shall be. I make absolutely no secret of the fact that I detest Rene Howe as a footballer, but for the hour and a half each week that he was my team's centre forward, he was the best player in the league and I would shout and cheer myself horse in support of him. Same goes for this lot. All the while this remains the internet and not some official channel directly to the players' E-Mail inboxes, I shall criticise the idea of signing a player who, in my view, simply isn't anywhere near good enough. If I meet Danny down the pub or in the street or he's wearing TUFC yellow, then he shall be given all the encouragement and good wishes that I can muster. The same goes for the management team. If Chris signs a bloke, then he has done the right thing all the while it matters. When it doesn't matter (ie, on the internet) then I'll voice an opinion, just like everyone else.

Otherwise, moaning and groaning at them isn't going to help.

True enough, but not relevant. We're not moaning at them, we're moaning about them in a setting they are unlikely (and unwise) to venture into. We're all offering opinions based on what we know of Danny. He's too small, he's too slow and he's not got enough talent to make up for his physical shortcomings. I'm not basing this on Football Management, or unqualified statistics, I'm basing it on a general knowledge of the game and having spent 5 years watching him every week. No, I don't have the UEFA Pro licence, I haven't played professionally, but I can still tell you that Ronaldo is the world's best player and that Lee Mansell isn't going to be on the jet to Brasil. I know this because of what I know about the game and what I've seen. The same knowledge and experience which tells me that Danny Stevens isn't going to make any significant impact on our season and, as the situation exists at this moment, that is what we need.

We are fighting for our survival.

And a 5th choice winger/grossly inexpert back-up to some other midfield positions isn't going to change that situation. Danny would be no better than third choice in any position on the pitch (GK: 5, LB: 3, CB: 10, RB: 4, LW: 5, CM: 10, RW: 5, CF: 6). Quite how that is an effective use of our minute budget is entirely beyond me, I'm afraid.

They both want fight and commitment on the pitch

Which is fine, at Ryman Premier level, where no one has even a modicum of talent, but sadly, at FL level, this isn't enough. Just running about a bit and "working hard" isn't enough. If it were, I'd be at Man Utd. No one will run about a bit as much as me, I'm the King of running about a bit. At FL level, you need a dose of talent to go with work rate. While working hard can make up for a low level of ability, it won't mask a total absence. Watching Danny pick up the ball, run 30 yards down the wing with it, then turn round and pass it back to O'Connor who is 10 yards further back then where Danny started certainly represents good work rate, but it's absolutely pointless. Contrast this with Chaps or Bodin who will carry the ball 30 yards, then skip past their attending defender and get in a cross. Working hard needs to be combined with a level of aptitude which Danny, demonstratively, does not have.

If you don't agree with their decisions don't turn up at the game.

This, patently, is bollocks... for about a million reasons.

So no, thanks Noodle, I won't be rolling out the bunting and tying a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree to welcome back either Danny or Scotty. They're neither one of them good enough and I'm happy with my decision to disagree with Jesus and Lee. Of course, this comes with the proviso that I don't want to be right. I want to be catastrophically wrong. I want to be as wrong as Neville Chamberlain. I want to be as wrong as Michael Fish. I want to be as wrong as William H. Stewart. Sadly, like those three men and countless others through history, I really don't think I am.

Matt.

[Scott Brehaut]

So no, thanks Noodle, I won't be rolling out the bunting and tying a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree to welcome back either Danny or Scotty. They're neither one of them good enough and I'm happy with my decision to disagree with Jesus and Lee.

Matt.

Yeah, well, f*** you then. I don't like you either.

[jonnyfive]

You point blankly disagree with everything. If you know so much. Why don't you get your FA badge and apply for the managers job yourself next time. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. I'm just saying. There's been so much negativity at the club of late. Why be so down beat. I for one won't blame, point the finger at our new management team. The buck stops at Knill. If we get relegated. But in the mean time. Whoever wears the shirt needs our upmost support. What you think of them is up to you.

I wouldn't worry too much about what the PLG says (or rather, pontificates); although it is somewhat refreshing that he has finally admitted to his blinkered Rene revisionism.

This is a person that took nearly 3 months longer than the rest of us to comprehend that our squad and manager weren't good enough. Up until about a week ago, our league position was solely due to bad referees, bad weather and bad luck.

At least the scales have finally fallen from his eyes. Probably another false dawn, but he might just be starting to get it!