Any update on Lingy?

[SuperNickyWroe]

AlexG I merely indicated that Lingy may well have been suffering from this illness before he actually went off sick. And this type of illness is the type which creeps up unawares and really does drag out.

SNW, these are valid, carefully considered and plausible possibilities, rather than conjecture and speculation. And why I included the word 'if': Lingy may decide he is still not fully fit enough to return just yet. I discussed this (sort of) in an earlier post. :rules:

im refering to the "if alan knill....." bit. that is speculation as is your assumption - its like saying "if" fergie hadnt won that cup game then manure would have sacked him........

[Duncan]

How many games have we lost by the odd goal this season? Off the top of my head, quite a few.

How many games did we win last season by the odd goal? Off the top of my head, quite a few.

I may be wrong but margins are slim. Add 12/15 points to this seasons points tally and what could we be dreaming about now?

No doubt a healthy manager getting the most out his players played its part last year.

They call it fate!

Get well soon Martin

Dunc...

[Modgull]

Those who speculate about Ling's illness before he went off sick may well be right. I always thought his outbursts about some of the crowd in the Bench in the early part of the season were extraordinary and a sign of strain and stress. It was a deafening warning bell and I was fearing a poor outcome to the season even as we sat in, or just outside the playoff zone.

Yet, week after week he set up the team to play drab, boring, safety first football which caused the crowd to question him in the first place. We enjoyed more than our fair share of luck to keep us close to and in the play-off zone but once teams worked us out they knew they only had to score first to win or, if they were behind, they would be able to pick up late goals to snatch a point or points.

But those who say we have to give him the benefit of doubt and would welcome him back when he recovers are deluded. He was responsible for getting us into this mess and Knill is doing a good job to ensure that we get out of it. Surely it would be madness to allow Ling back - I am convinced that the supporters, who after all provide most of the revenue to run the Club, would vote with their feet at the prospect of more mind-dumbingly drab football.

[AustrianAndyGull]

[SkyBlueGull]

This may be a tad harsh but I will pose the question anyway

IF Martin Ling had not been ill and the results had been the same (1 win in9? approximately) before Alan Knill came in would he still be our manager?

There are plenty of managers who have had a smaller losing streak than TUFC this season who have been given their P45.

I applaud the club for what they have done but to some extent having sympathy for the managers plight could/may still have serious consequences for the club - sympathy doesnt - under Football League rules give you 3 points.

This is TUFC all over - small friendly club who like to do whats morally right - there are plenty of other clubs chairmen/board of directors I can think of who would have dismissed Ling without a second thought. The clubs board have been stuck between a rock and a hard place over this sensitive issue and done - in my opinion - the right thing upholding all things/value that TUFC stand for . Only trouble is "nice guys dont win"!!!

[SuperNickyWroe]

How many games have we lost by the odd goal this season? Off the top of my head, quite a few.

How many games did we win last season by the odd goal? Off the top of my head, quite a few.
I may be wrong but margins are slim. Add 12/15 points to this seasons points tally and what could we be dreaming about now?

No doubt a healthy manager getting the most out his players played its part last year.

They call it fate!

Get well soon Martin

Dunc...

the problem with this is that the team was set up in exactly the same way - ie to score and then try and hold on for x number of minutes for a 1-0 win.
similarly, if we went 1 down because of the set up the team, it made it difficult - neigh impossible to equalise - hence the 1-0 scorelines either way.

[Dave]

The majority of us agreed not to disscuss this on the forum while the truth was not known, we mostly all agreed when a statement was made it would be open for disscussion. Simon Baker can either misslead or lie to shareholders, he made a statement to shareholders saying that Martin Ling was off sick with a stress-related illness, so there are no "if's, buts or maybes" Here anymore, the truth is out there and this topic should be open for disscussion, and is.

We have had "see the bigger picture" Rammed down our throats all season by some, well there is a bigger picture here aswell, it is the club and its long term well being. Picture the scene, Lingy comes back restores the one up front tactics, we lose some of our opening games, what does anyone think is going happen, simple, crowds will dwindle, moans and groans will get louder and louder, it is not a Torquay fan thing, it is part and parcel of football it happens up and down the country every season..pressure will grow on Lingy as will the stress and he will be off sick again.

The club simply can not afford to repeat this process again next season, it with great sadness as I am a fan of Lingys, but there really is no way on this earth that Martin Ling can return as manager of TUFC, it is not about being fickle or having a short memory, it is just sound common sense, and fool hardy if our board or anyone else can not see the likely outcome if he does return.

We are a professional football club, not a charity.

[yellowmonkey]

[AustrianAndyGull]

[supergulls]

Likewise what happens if he come back and wins the first 5 games

[SuperNickyWroe]

Likewise what happens if he come back and wins the first 5 games

and what if he doesnt?

i have seen nothing since october to suggest this is possible with the way that the team has been set up to play.

[AlexGulls]

Its all ifs and buts at the end of the day. I get that people like Lingy I do as well. But lets be realistic here. Ling's record since about January last year has been poor. And managers have been sacked for doing a lot better than Ling has recently. I wish him a speedy recovery and weather he comes back or not is entirely the boards decision. The fact Knill is getting the best out of the players now and playing some really good stuff suggests that maybe a change is needed.

[AustrianAndyGull]

Likewise what happens if he come back and wins the first 5 games

He might very well do but they'll all be dull as hell 1-0 ers.

[londongull63]

I feel it's pretty unfair this criticism of Taylor. He only ended up as manager because of the unfortunate unforeseen circumstances.
He's supposed to be a coach and as a coach who was a defender he's certainly done a great job with our defence.
Last season we won all those 1-0s built on a rock solid back 4. Nicho was voted top left back in the division.
This year the defence has also done pretty well, especially as for so much of so many games we've been defending, yet they've not conceded that many which is why our goal difference is superior to other strugglers.
On top of that Lingy and him have managed to replace the loss of Robinson and Ellis with Saah, Downes and McDonald (all great finds), and brought in two young full backs who are exciting prospects.
Cyril Knowles built possibly the best Torquay team on one of the best Torquay defences with the likes of Matt Elliott and Jim McNichol. They only needed a goal and you'd guarantee a 1-0 win.
Ok, it's not pretty, and we all like to see attacking players, but a club with our money can't go and outbid others to buy proven attackers with flair. We have to rely on striking lucky now and then with a Rodney Jack or a youngster blossoming, but it's not going to always happen so often we will have to rely on good organisation and good battling spirit. The problem with football nowadays is that when you do unearth that gem, they immediately get snatched away or enticed away by money elsewhere. Kuffour when he was exciting, Carayol was on the verge.

[LOFC Chris]

Hi, me again. I started this thread, my apologies.

Just a quick question. Been reading through this thread and since the club stated the 'cause' of illness to Martin as stress related it seems that everyone is convinced it's depression. Have i missed something? The club have stated the 'cause' not what the illness actually is unless i am not fully up to date. There are lots of 'stress related illnesses'. Anything from high blood pressure, heart problems, strokes or something attacks the nervous system. It might have nothing to do with depression. Don't get me wrong i'm no doctor but just seems strange a lot of people are convinced it's depression.

When we won promotion i will never forget Ling being asked the question how he dealt with the pressure his answer was with a laugh 'It's just what happens to you, i've felt ill at times, but then all that pressure is released with the winning goal and it's an amazing feeling you can't describe' Maybe he has had health problems that he has kept quiet before.

Ling has become properly ill this time. I just hope and pray it is nothing serious.

Nice to see Torquay have picked up some crucial points recently. Best wishes for more success.