Torquay United Fans Forum

Thought you might be interested in this.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news ... Shrews-duo

An interesting and brave team selection by Graham Turner this afternoon.

He's dispensed with both wide men, given a first start to WBA loan striker Romaine Sawyers and recalled Nicky Wroe. It looks like we're going with 4-3-3 or 4-3-1-2, I suspect Martin Ling will have prepared all week to face the two wingers we usually field. It could either be a masterstroke or a disaster, time will tell.

NickGull wrote:Then when we very nearly did, someone (O'Kane?) slipping Bodin through, he was in a race with ex-Gull Reuben Hazell, Bodin knocked it past Hazell, Rubes slid in and took Bodin down. Last man, surely a red card? But no, the ref dished out a yellow, and a freekick on the edge of the box. I can only guess it wasn't a red because Bodin's knock on was not going straight at goal, but thats a limp excuse, if I'm honest.

I wouldn't have been surprised to see the clown Rushton produce a red card for that given his awful overall display today, but I think he probably got this one right.

There is nothing in the laws of the game about the "last man", it's a case of whether the offence is deemed as denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. I think your lad was heading towards the edge of the box rather than towards goal and that's what saved Hazell, but it was definitely a heart in the mouth moment for me and I was fearing the worst at the time.

The game should have been over as a contest after 20 minutes but Mark Wright and James Collins both missed guilt edged, simple chances for us with the score at 1-0.

Rene Howe is a disgrace, how on earth it took the shocking excuse for a referee this afternoon until the dying minutes to send him off beggared belief. He should have been booked early doors for an appalling dive and he was lucky not to receive a yellow for other offences long before he received his first yellow card.

We were way below our best today which is very understandable in the circumstances but still won the game quite comfortably with, as has been said, our only four fit defenders making up our back four.

Well done Torquay, a fully deserved victory over the two legs.

We've seen both sides of the playoff coin in recent seasons now. Twice beating the 4th placed side when finishing well below them in 7th and now the flip side of that this season. The lottery of the playoffs is frustrating but we all know where we stand before a ball is kicked each August. We just need to make sure we're better next time around and do it without needing the playoffs.

Good luck at Old Trafford, make sure you win as these occasions are no place for losers as we know only too well.

Ian Sharps and David Raven are now both expected to be fit to play tomorrow night.

Our best hopes of progressing on Friday night probably involve keeping a clean sheet. Without Ian Sharps that will be very much tougher.

The Shropshire Star seem to think you will sell around 600 tickets.

Awayday wrote:The OS says you must sit in the seat as per your ticket......

If we are going to make any noise and atmosphere (also I will have the drum) the usual suspects are much better all together at the back behind the goal as normal. Does any other fans disaprove if we just make it a "free for all"?

You might want to check with the club to be certain, but i'm 99% sure drums are now banned at Greenhous Meadow.

NickGull wrote:Does this pub have a big car park, then?

It does, i've tried to find a figure but couldn't. There is also Pritchards Van Hire opposite who charge the same price for matchday parking.

Fonda wrote:Shrewsbury were the 4th best team in the League. I've always thought the notion of the Play-Offs a farce. The top 4 teams should take their place in the League above. I've never understood how they can justify the team finishing 7th - perhaps 15 points below the team that finished in 4th, can get promoted. And we've been on both sides of that coin in the past. But those are the rules. And if we do proceed, and who knows get promotion i'll certainly not be complaining about the injustice of it all! But if that transpires, we would have been the best team in a seperate 'mini tournament' at the end of the season proper. The League table orders teams on merit, based on points accumulated. The team at the top are best, the team at the bottom are worst - and over the course of the season, the team finishing 4th have proved a stronger outfit than the team finishing 7th.

The playoffs are a compromise, and it''s difficult to suggest a perfect alternative. The pre-playoff seasons tended to be very dull for the majority of teams as they had nothing to play for over the last couple of months of the season. This way more teams are involved and in contention for something until nearer the end of the season, so I think they do have their merit.

We've also seen both sides of the coin, finishing 7th in 2006/7 and 2008/9, each time beating the 4th placed side in the semi-finals. In 2008/9 the Franchise finished 4th with a whopping 84 points, now I have no time for that club but not being promoted in those circumstances must have been particularly hard to take. The other time we beat Bury in the semi-finals who had missed out on 3rd place on goal difference by just 1 goal. In our Conference playoff final winning season we finished 3rd, 17 points behind 2nd placed Hereford.

One idea I think which has some merit is to give the team which finishes one place outside automatic promotion a bit more of an advantage. Perhaps the playoffs could be reduced from 4 teams to 3 with the top placed side automatically making the final for example? In the BSN and BSS playoffs they give the higher placed side home advantage in a one-legged playoff final rather than using a neutral ground, that's another possibility.

ferrarilover wrote:Out of genuine interest, how many times did you hit the woodwork this season?

20, with Torquay on 30 I believe?

Victor Kasule wrote:If you get there early enough the closest pub (5 mins walk from ground) - The Brooklands - has parking for a fiver.

:-o

Bloody hell Victor, if you can do that in 5 minutes you've certainly not lost any of that blistering pace you used to have down the wing!

As has been described above there is little to be made financially from the semi-finals.

The final is a different matter though, as long as there is a decent attendance that is very lucrative for both clubs. There was around 64000, if I remember correctly, for our Wembley playoff final against The Gas in 2007 and reports estimated that game to be worth somewhere around £250,000 per club, then of course there is all the money to be made from sales of merchandise for a final.