Torquay United V Newport County 22nd March 2014

ROADRUNNER · Post by **ROADRUNNER** » 22 Mar 2014, 18:51

Yes we were poor today but once we lost goodwin that was it, the ref and lino were very poor and once he got sent off we lost our main threat, its to easy now for players to get sent off the game is turning into a farce, its a game for softies these says, the contact has gone imafraid and it has spoilt football, its seems we are now conferance bound, but hey , I will be there.

arcadia · Post by **arcadia** » 22 Mar 2014, 19:03

Thought we started ok and we were passing the ball playing quite well then Newport struck with Zebroski scoring. We continued to pass the ball and were getting on top then disaster struck can't comment I was to far away but I thought it was a very harsh sending off. The player who was hurt in the incident was up in seconds but the referee made his decision before taking stock which I thought was disgracefull. After that we did not put two passes together and gave the ball away cheaply, game over. Strikers let us down did not hold the ball up and kept falling over whenever someone came near them who ever that can be?

CP Gull · Post by **CP Gull** » 22 Mar 2014, 19:04

We quite simply do not have enough quality in this squad and in some cases not enough guts either.... with ONE very notable exception it has to be said.

Krystian Pearce was head and shoulders above everyone else today, he was outstanding. His performance was a 9/10 whilst everyone else was a 4 or 5, perhaps Ricey deserves a 6 but even he was let down by his awful distribution at times.

We look like what we are, a team that just simply doesn't have enough of the qualities you need at this level.

Hate to say it, but I am also getting a little concerned at what the Manager is doing as well. I suggested to my mate that given the state of the game, it might be a good idea to replace both our full backs, the hapless Tonge (who really did have an afternoon to forget) and the anonymous Nico, with young O'Connor who quite frankly should be starting anyway and go with just 3 at the back. To his credit, Greavsie did finally do that ....but 20 minutes later!

We can moan all we like about the referee, he WAS hopeless, but the fact remains is that we were already 1-0 down, courtesy of an extremely sloppy goal, and even though Newport were no great shakes, I am not convinced that we would have won the game even with 11 men on the pitch. It summed it up for me when In the last 10 minutes, we saw Benyon, check back when through on goal and lay the ball back to (the totally ineffective) Craig who promptly gave it away and all impetus was lost.

Then there was Bodin, received a ball close to the penalty spot, ideal opportunity to get a shot away on goal ... but no, he thought it would be a better option to dummy the ball... which would have been pretty cool if there was an onrushing forward about to receive it and smash the ball into the net ... but of course there wasn't a single player in a yellow shirt within about 30 yards of him ... really, what WAS he thinking??????

hector · Post by **hector** » 22 Mar 2014, 19:20

Lee Hodges tried to imply that the red card for Good win was what changed the game. Sadly, he is wrong. We were already a goal down and we didn't look remotely threatening. Newport - remember a team with one win in 6, in free-fall, didn't really even have to get out of first gear to easily outplay us. We could still be playing now and we would not score.

When are people finally going to wake up to the lack of Football League ability of Benyon? Utter tosh. As waste of a salary. A traffic cone would do better. He just gets knocked off the ball, he is slow, turns like an oil tanker and doesn't score. Just useless.

That is why we are bottom because of the utter waste of time that are our forwards. Just embarrassingly bad. To think we once had Zebroski and now look at us.

Like others have said, Pearce and Rice are probably the only players who deserve any credit. Also, really feel that Chapell should be in the team. Just bad beyond words today.

Mattpuma · Post by **Mattpuma** » 22 Mar 2014, 19:36

If Chapell isnt injured then he has to be recalled. Bodin was back to his worst. Stupid flicks awful shooting, hiding from challenges. A really poor performance.Cameron has shown us what a winger CAN do. Tonge was a car crash again and needs to be replaced by O'Connor. Surely Harding deserves another chance in the middle as we have zero creativity. I was a big fan of Showunmi to start with but he was very poor today.
Lets be honest Pearce was the only player today who showed the required standard. If we play like that against Scunny it will be a hammering. We have to get a decent striker somehow and if we could get Mccourt back for some much needed energy.

Post by **oxgull** » 22 Mar 2014, 19:41

Game, season, football league life over. Oh well, non-league joy here we come. onwards and downwards.

Post by **Dave** » 22 Mar 2014, 19:46

Mattpuma wrote:If Chapell isnt injured then he has to be recalled.

Agreed, but we've some how conspired to completely destroy, what was by some way our best player.

Burnhamgull · Post by **Burnhamgull** » 22 Mar 2014, 20:00

Terrible performance........again.

Pearce, take a bow. The only player to come out with any credit today.
Everyone else ran around like a headless chicken with no real idea of what they should be doing.
Special mention has to go to Benyon who loves grass so much he spends most the game face down in it. He surely won his contract off the back of his two goals in the last game of last season against Rovers. He hoodwinked the management at the time into thinking he was competent.

There's no pattern of play. Why does Rice insist on pumping it down field to the shortest player in our team? Why don't we play it out to the full backs?

Shamir Goodwin.......was it a foul? Yes from where I was standing on the pop side. Was it a red? Maybe. You don't lead with your elbow. Simple.

Zebroski took his goal well and good luck to him. I always liked him and he was one of the few class players we've had here in the last few years. People can be bitter and slate him but he had one chance and finished it. Wouldn't we love somebody to do that for us?

On the bright side, the club are freezing prices for next season!!!!! Wahey!!!!

Good luck to both of you that renew your season tickets.

gcftufc · Post by **gcftufc** » 22 Mar 2014, 20:13

I don't post here much but I feel the need to come on and ask just why people are writing us off after today's loss? I'm not saying we are going to stay up because of course it is a massive ask, but we do still have a chance especially if we win on tuesday night, again I'm not saying we will do that either, but if we do so then we can theoretically go within 3 points of Portsmouth who have a very tough trip to Rochdale and Wycombe who travel to Burton.

If the fans don't believe then neither will the players, and personally while there is still hope I will not give up on our league status, so to all those that are making the trip up on tuesday lets get behind the lads and hope they respond with a good performance.

COYY

A Realist · Post by **A Realist** » 22 Mar 2014, 20:26

Not much to be said about that today. Woeful all round I'm afraid, including from Hargreaves. I have bemoaned bad luck at (many) times this season and in fairness, have been right to. Today wasn't about bad luck though, it was about rank rotten stuff all round.Tonge is shite, plain and simple. His positional play is atrocious at best. I've not seen any replays of the red card but Goodwin, by the time he reached near the tunnel, did not look overly bothered about it. As if he know he was guilty. If so then you have to feel for CH and the other players who have been badly let down. After the Labadie farce you would think that self discipline would be the order of the day for the rest.

However the team did not react at all well after the incident in terms of the rest of the game. For me the strangest call of the day, outdoing even a totally inept official, was to take Showumni off and leave Benyon on. Granted both were having absolute 'mares but it was obvious the long ball was going to come into play even more. Why take off your big target man and leave on the little guy who is meant to feed off of him? Bizarre imo.

The best chance came near the end when there was a headed scramble in the box and from my position it looked like Benyon missed a header from the (almost) centre of the goal from 3 yards out when he put it straight at the keeper who had already parried one from Downes(?).

The defending for their goal is not even worth talking about as its the kind of stuff you normally see on a Sunday morning. Same story. Awful defending, crap finishing and creation leads only in one direction.

Post by **Dave** » 22 Mar 2014, 20:28

Agreed with your sentiment gcf, until relegation is confirmed your always in with a shout. However the main reasons for me, and I expect others is we've had so many guilt edged chances to pull ourselves out of this, Northampton, Accrington home for instance, and today off the back of two straight home wins against a side who's current form was worse than ours, was about the biggest gold laced chance a pull ourselves right back into it we we're going to get.

The players should have come out wired, pumped, their big moment, but they didn't, they should have closed down every Newport player, fought for every blade of grass, chucked the kitchen sink at them, but didn't, and never looked like they would, or could. We're now facing in form York away, Southend away always a tough place to go, and just when it couldn't get any worse promotion favourites Scunny home, we could, still need 5-6 wins after this run of games, trouble is there won't enough games left to get them.

Burnhamgull · Post by **Burnhamgull** » 22 Mar 2014, 20:29

I'm not writing us off after todays performance. I was writing us off after performances in October.....then November....then December....then January.....then February.

In August we had a CHANCE of winning the title but we threw it away......then we had a CHANCE to make the playoffs but we threw it away.......then we had a CHANCE to settle for mid table obscurity but we threw it away........then we had a chance of finishing lower-mid table but we blew that too. Now we have a chance to avoid relegation............

Jeff · Post by **Jeff** » 22 Mar 2014, 21:06

CP Gull wrote:We quite simply do not have enough quality in this squad and in some cases not enough guts either.... with ONE very notable exception it has to be said.

Krystian Pearce was head and shoulders above everyone else today, he was outstanding. His performance was a 9/10 whilst everyone else was a 4 or 5, perhaps Ricey deserves a 6 but even he was let down by his awful distribution at times.

We look like what we are, a team that just simply doesn't have enough of the qualities you need at this level.

Hate to say it, but I am also getting a little concerned at what the Manager is doing as well. I suggested to my mate that given the state of the game, it might be a good idea to replace both our full backs, the hapless Tonge (who really did have an afternoon to forget) and the anonymous Nico, with young O'Connor who quite frankly should be starting anyway and go with just 3 at the back. To his credit, Greavsie did finally do that ....but 20 minutes later!

We can moan all we like about the referee, he WAS hopeless, but the fact remains is that we were already 1-0 down, courtesy of an extremely sloppy goal, and even though Newport were no great shakes, I am not convinced that we would have won the game even with 11 men on the pitch. It summed it up for me when In the last 10 minutes, we saw Benyon, check back when through on goal and lay the ball back to (the totally ineffective) Craig who promptly gave it away and all impetus was lost.

Then there was Bodin, received a ball close to the penalty spot, ideal opportunity to get a shot away on goal ... but no, he thought it would be a better option to dummy the ball... which would have been pretty cool if there was an onrushing forward about to receive it and smash the ball into the net ... but of course there wasn't a single player in a yellow shirt within about 30 yards of him ... really, what WAS he thinking??????

Word for word my feeling on the game, pretty much.

Post by **MidDevon** » 22 Mar 2014, 21:17

Hargreaves is starting to piss me off a bit....constantly blaming everybody and everything he can during the match, which surely must rub off on the players and shows very weak and niave leadership....essentailly the same as Mansell....no matter what goes wrong, you know how both will react, by throwing their arms up in the air and moaning.

.....we are going to start calling them the "Teflon Twins" .... the team need leaders and motivators, not a couple of twats looking like spoilt brats.

Gloomy Gull · Post by **Gloomy Gull** » 22 Mar 2014, 21:19

What does Bodin bring to the FULL 90 mins of football? I can only see he contributes effectively for 15-20 mins in any game.
He was particularly poor today.
I understand that he is not a winger, but as a"professional" footballer surely he understands that he should provide width when asked to play in that position.
Too often today and many other days he drifts inside narrowing our options.

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