Torquay United Fans Forum

SBP wrote: ↑30 Dec 2018, 12:08 Firstly regardless of the performance a win was the most important thing. Getting victories when your not playing at your best is vital.

I thought yesterday that we created many chances and that was a positive. Sure we were wasteful in front of goal however the gulf in class between both teams was very evident. We missed the creative passes from Evans yesterday. JSW hasn't had much game time and that was quite evident. I don't think Jake A is as good playing in that wider role. Him and Janneh were arguing a bit.
Kalala at times is totally unplayable however he was wasteful today. I thought Reid was very good today with his link up play and holding onto the ball. I did miss a good chance which he will be very disappointed about.
I ve been very critical of Ben Wynter however I thought he has improved significantly and his last two performances at home I would have given him MOM.


So considering the players that were not available and the lightweight bench I thought we did ok.

With a full strength squad and playing with the confidence we have I think we are too strong for any team in this league. I think we are well capable of winning this league.

forevertufc wrote: ↑30 Sep 2018, 09:38 Yes, it's very easy to be over critical of Janneh's performance, he did miss a couple of sitters, but for me it's about the bigger picture, and about seeing what all of us fans sometimes miss.

For a start he is a very young player, not sure how much senior football experience he has , it can't be a lot, if any. As already stated, his pace, movement and trickery, was causing Woking's defence to have kittens at times, sure I've read a comment somewhere, apologies can't remember where or by whom, about Janneh's very presence on the field freeing up Jamie Reid, something I totally agree with.


For me the important thing is, Janneh kept, time and time again, getting himself in good attacking positions, he may well have been a tad over eager to impress, this may have caused a lack of composure in his finishing, he'll settle down and that will come, as said the important thing is, he's getting himself in the right place to finish regularly.

MellowYellow wrote: ↑17 Sep 2018, 21:41 My prognosis was more on management style than win ratio's.

So the question posed is do you prefer:

Johnson's 'play to win or
Ower's 'play not to lose'

MellowYellow wrote: ↑17 Sep 2018, 20:34 There is much optimism now among supporters for a good Cup run and promotion. A far cry from a few weeks ago.

Why? A change in management? I would suggest its down to change in managerial motivational style e.g.

Gary Johnson - promotion focused
Gary Ower's - prevention focused

Gary Johnson's promotion-focused personality see's his goals as creating a path to gain advancement and concentrate on the rewards that will accrue when they achieve them. He is eager and he 'plays to win'. You’ll recognize his promotion-focus with each game and see that Gary Johnson is comfortable taking chances; likes to work quickly; dreams big and thinks creatively. What if things go wrong! For Gary Johnson that is a price he will be willing to pay, because for his promotion-focus personality, the worst thing is a chance not taken, a reward unearned, a failure to advance.

In contrast, Gary Ower's had a prevention-focused personality and saw his goals as responsibilities, and concentrated on staying safe. He was ever vigilant and 'played to not lose'. He worried about what might go wrong if players did not work hard enough or aren’t careful enough. Ower's was risk-averse, and not the most creative of thinkers, so in an attempt to succeed he worked slowly and meticulously, to try and grind out a result . This is not to say he was not thorough nor that he could have not been successful over time - but time waits for no man, resulting in a total mismatch for the club and its supporters aspirations.

I do not try to claim one style is better than another - that is for others to judge. But I would ask how you like your manager to prep his players, for example:

We are going to shoot five penalties. Do you prefer a promotional-focus managers aspiration to score at least three times Or do you prefer a prevention-focused managers obligation to not miss more than twice.

You probably wouldn’t expect a small change in wording to affect the outcome, but it does have a big impact. Players do significantly better when the instructions are framed to match their dominant motivational focus: 'Play to Win' …! For this reason I'll take the Johnson way.