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looks like mr ling has his eyes on some loanees??

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cant come soon enough for me, big striker please

Big striker. We have one. We need a goal poacher.

usagullmichigan wrote:Big striker. We have one. We need a goal poacher.

Agreed. A nippy lad who is the right place at the right time. Benyon-esque.

I just can't see rene turning into a dependable 20+ goals a season striker that we've craved since grits/graham, neither sills nor benyon ever reached the standards I wanted, they both didn't look like real strikers, benyon always reminded me of a sixth form Torquay boys grammar type!

tai could be a foil to the big man surely, he has the pace and skills?

I was going to post a thread today with the title, "Time to act?" as I believe today is the day we can sign players on 3 month loans and have them eligible for the playoff final. I would like to see a right footed winger with pace come in (a Macklin type player, but with a decent attitude). Morris is a good player but he was poor against Bradford and we were crying out for a winger to get to the byline and use his right foot. Another striker would be good too, we could then have a 16 man squad where we are happy with each position, and competition for places.

that playoff clause is crucial, what a cock up missing out on Stanley last season?

bixieupnorth wrote:I just can't see rene turning into a dependable 20+ goals a season striker that we've craved since grits/graham, neither sills nor benyon ever reached the standards I wanted, they both didn't look like real strikers, benyon always reminded me of a sixth form Torquay boys grammar type!

tai could be a foil to the big man surely, he has the pace and skills?

Really only posting this to make a nuisance of myself to be honest as I'm not sure what point it proves, but I'm sure Sills was the first Torquay player in over 40 odd years to score over 20 goals in two successive seasons?

Hmm its a tough one really as I would certainly agree our SQUAD looks light in numbers.

However seven wins in a row with the resources at our disposal tells its own story, especially looking at impressive wins against Shrewsbury and Cheltenham, and the win against Swindon with our squad just as stretched. Lingy is very keen on continuity being the key to success and few would try and disagree that it hasn't been pivotal in our surge up the table.

We don't want to get into the situation we had so many times with Buckle where we are at odds with the manager. Last time we got agitated with Lingy, he calmly stated he was in control of the situation and would find the solution- therefore i see no reason not to trust him implicitly now, if he thinks he can stick with what he has got until he finds the absolute right man for the job than so be it- i will take that as read. Although I think he got it wrong tactically against Bradford, the squad has earnt the opportunity to put it right the first chance they get against Gills, Lingy will be better placed then to judge who or what we need. The last time we tasted defeat, well, we've just gone nine games unbeaten! Lets give our lads a chance to see how they bounce back this time.

What we don't need are rushed loan deals such as Ben Pringle, Ronan Murray, Romone Rose etc who all turned out to be hindrances rather than useful additions. Lingy has earnt the right to do things his way without fear of criticism from the fans, lets get behind the lads who play tomorrow instead of those we would like to see be brought in, in my mind continuity has brought us this far, lets see how much further it can take us without unnecessarily spending funds we don't need to.

Also, I am not so sure a striker is where I would be looking to improve the team. Playing 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 like we do relies on the man up top doing a lot of donkey work for very little rewards, as shown by the goals being shared around the team. Playing with one man up top, a very selfless duty, allows our most creative players Mansell, O'Kane and Stevens to play with freedom, as well as the two full backs to advance very high up the wings. Just because they haven't scored many shouldn't mean that Tai and Rene get left out of praise directed at the team, in my mind we are succeeding because of them not in spite of them. To my mind, any striker we bring in should be a player to come off the bench and get a goal when chasing games, I don't think we could bring in any better strikers to better utilise our current formation than what we already have.

A much more pressing issue for me would be a winger to change the game when in need of fresh legs, Morris and Danny are doing great 70 minutes of each match, but when they tire we need someone to carry on that good work, it is clear than Macklin just isn't fancied for whatever reasons to do with his mentality, and Craig is still very much a work in progress.

As i say though, I trust Lingy to find the right man, and will back whatever positions he decides to strengthen in if and when the time is right.

Another attacker is required ASAP. Couldn't care less if he is a small, diminutive tricky winger, a lurching tower of a target man or Mr Bean, so long as it's not Jamal Easter then i'm well 'appy. We just need to freshen things up a bit and see what happens. It surely can't do any harm?

But its not about getting any old player in up front so long as he apparently 'knows where the goal is'. Surely its about getting the right man in for the team and the squad, if that takes longer than we hope, then in my mind, we should merely trust Lingy's judgement- he who has quashed our fears on more than one occasion this season.

Bringing in any old player {ala buckle) could very well upset the status quo of the resources who, whether you rate them or not, have got us to 5th in the table and exceded our expectations in the process.

Think the sqaud has been looking a little tired for a few matchs now, this is the right time to be looking, the lads need a little help, agree with Bengull, it is about getting the right player, it is not just about signing a player who has proved he can score 20 goals, yes it helps, surely Martin Ling has to look at the bigger picture, for a start the system we play, will a 20 goals striker fit into playing the lone striker role and be able to comtinue scoring goals playing that role , some can, some can't.

Is changing a system that has served the team so well the right thing to do? This late in the season I would say no, this is a bit obvious I know, but stood on the pop Saturday with a few lads I know, we all agreed the game was drifting away from us, but it really did highlight the lack of strenght on the subs bench, there was nothing Lingy could do to change it, apart from Rene Howe, who I am not entriely sure is fully fit right now.

Just imagine if we had one or two players come in, and Lingy could rest the likes of O'kane and Stevens etc, and then bring them back of the bench refreshed, would be a nice place for us to be in, would't it, not sure its going happen though.

Sorry guys ( bengull & forever ) i disagree. I would be happy with literally anybody. They will be new, they will be fresh and they will be eager. Our attack is becoming stale and ANY new impetus or direction can surely only be beneficial? If only until the end of the season. Take Nathan Craig as an example, i may be painting things black and white but if he is a Torquay player then chuck him in there. If he wants to earn a contract then give the lad the opportunity to do so. Who else have we got? McPhee? To me it's a no brainer.

bobby93 wrote: Really only posting this to make a nuisance of myself to be honest as I'm not sure what point it proves, but I'm sure Sills was the first Torquay player in over 40 odd years to score over 20 goals in two successive seasons?

21 and 18 but they were non league days, good at that level for sure

Sounds to me like you are panicking, and there is absolutely no need to panic! Last time we all panicked the manager turned it all around without disrupting the squad. I agree we need a couple of new faces for the run in, plenty of tough fixtures coming up in quick succession, but the squad we have currently have earnt the right to play in these tough fixtures and see what they can do, giving Lingy ample time to find the right man, not the first man he can think of.

The squad that travels to Gillingham is the same squad that took 6 points off of Cheltenham and Shrewsbury which at the beginning of the month everyone was saying was impossible, as such there is no need to panic about tomorrow. We are ahead of the game in terms of league position because of these players, lets give them the chance to keep us there before we shuffle the pack without good reason.