Torquay United v Wycombe Wanderers Match Thread

[Gullscorer]

Torquay United v Wycombe Wanderers, Saturday 3 May 2014, 3pm.

One more game!

Well, at long last we arrive at the final game of a season which most if not all of us will be glad to see the back of. We sit at the very bottom of League Two, and by an ironic twist of fate our visitors are Wycombe Wanderers, who are one place and two points above us. And, although our own relegation is confirmed, it is still mathematically uncertain as to who will be joining us in the Conference next season.

So Northampton, Bristol Rovers and Wycombe still have something to play for. And for that matter so do we: if we beat Wycombe on Saturday, they will suffer the ignominy of finishing bottom of the table. But if the Gulls lose to Wycombe, then a defeat for Northampton or Bristol Rovers would see one of those teams going down..!!

There’ll be lots going on: pre-kick-off Gulls awards presentations among other things:
http://www.torquayunited.com/news/artic ... 21235.aspx

About our visitors:

Wycombe Wanderers hail from High Wycombe, which has a population of 120256 and is roughly midway between Oxford, Watford, and Reading. It is the second largest town in Buckinghamshire after Milton Keynes. Their stadium is Adams Park, which has a capacity of 10284 and is situated in a glorious rural setting on the edge of High Wycombe.

The club was founded in 1887 and first entered the Football League in 1993. The club's nicknames are "The Chairboys" and "The Blues". In June 2012, the Wycombe Wanderers Supporters Trust formally took over the club.

Their manager is Gareth Ainsworth, who was appointed as player/manager following a period during which he served as caretaker manager, after Gary Waddock was relieved of his duties in September 2012. Ainsworth retired from playing at the end of the 2012–13 season. His assistant is Richard Dobson.

The club was awarded the Family Club of the Year award twice in a row in 2006–07 and 2007–08. This is the only time that the award has been given to the same club in consecutive seasons. The club received a Football League Family Excellence Award after the 2009–10 and 2011–12 seasons.

A ceremony carried out in the town of High Wycombe since 1678 involves the weighing of the mayor. At the beginning and end of each year of service, the mayor is weighed in full view of the public to see whether or not he has gained weight, presumably at the taxpayers' expense. The custom, which has survived to the present day, employs the same weighing apparatus used since the 19th century. When the result is known, the Town Crier announces 'And no more!' if the mayor has not gained weight or 'And some more!' if he has. His actual weight is not declared!

It was once the home of Victorian Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, but as to how and why the town of Wycombe came to be called High Wycombe, well, I'll leave that to your imagination....

http://www.wycombewanderers.co.uk/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27241046

League Two Table

Here are the league positions of the two teams and their nearest competitors:

21 Bristol Rovers P45 W12 D14 L19 F43 A53 GD-10 Pts50
22 Northampton. P45 W12 D14 L19 F39 A56 GD-17 Pts50
23 Wycombe W.. P45 W11 D14 L20 F43 A54 GD-11 Pts47
24 Torquay Utd.. P45 W12 D:9 L24 F42 A63 GD-21 Pts45

Recent form (last six games): Torquay United: LLWLWW Wycombe Wanderers: DWLDLL

Previous games (Saturday 26 April): Wycombe Wanderers 1 Bristol Rovers 2, Mansfield Town 1 Torquay United 3

Head to Head (Saturday 12 October 2013): Wycombe Wanderers 3 Torquay United 2

Previous line-ups:

Torquay (v Mansfield): Rice, Tonge, Cargill, Lathrope, O’Connor, Pearce, Coulthirst (Stockley – 83’), Mansell, Benyon (Chapell – 76’), Yeoman, Cameron. Substitutes: Poke, Downes, Harding, Chapell, Thompson, Stockley, Stevens.

Wycombe (v Bristol Rovers): Ingram, Rowe, Wood, Scowen, Stewart, Pierre, Bloomfield, Lewis, McClure, Craig (Styche – 83’), Kretzschmar (Morias – 83’); Substitutes: McCoy, Johnson, Horlock, Morias, Kuffour, Arnold, Styche.

Saturday’s referee: Craig Pawson (Sheffield)
http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/refe ... aig-pawson
http://www.soccerbase.com/referees/refe ... ee_id=1045

Team news yet to be announced.

Though I suspect most of us will be partly focussing on the close season activities and the prospects for a promotion challenge to bounce back immediately from the Conference, this will be the last opportunity for us to see the Gulls play in a Football League match for fifteen months minimum, so I for one will go and make the most of it, and wish the lads a big win to round off the season!

[CP Gull]

Great shame that young Coulthirst is injured and will miss this game as he has been a real shining light over this past month. Not only has he shown great ability and undoubted potential but he has also shown a great attitude too which is just as important when a young star from a Premiership Academy has to slum it out in the depths of League 2.

Best of luck Shaq and thanks for all your efforts ... if only we could have brought you in a few weeks earlier! Would love to see him back here next season, but I doubt that will be in Spurs plans for him ... but I'm certain that Chris Hargreaves will at the very least be asking the question!!!!!

[AustrianAndyGull]

I had my send off for the lads at Mansfield so on this rare occasion I will be fully behind the Chairboys for this one and I'm not interested in finishing one off the bottom. We're down, it doesn't matter if we finish second bottom - the ultimate outcome is the same. Like teams going to win the league 2 title, yeah it's nice but if you're already up then it's job done IMO.

I like Wycombe, I've been twice now and although getting out from the car park at the game of the game is a bit of a pisser, it is a really friendly club all round with a pleasant feel to it. The first time I went they had a family day outside the ground and the atmosphere was so relaxed amidst the backdrop of the hills and woods all around the stadium. It was also a fiver to get in, a special deal I appreciated. Meanwhile at Northampton I paid £23 to sit in a crapper ground with a crapper view and no doubt i'll be paying the same again in the conference too.

Also at Northampton they charged more for their car park than Wycombe, they have quite a few 'socially challenging' individuals amongst their fans, they sold us Ben Harding and they employed Alan Knill. So although I agree with Budleigh when he correctly states that it's where a club is at the end of a season and not just for most of it that determines whether they deserve to go down or not, I still would wet myself with laughter if Northampton fell at the final hurdle.

So what if they continue to chuck cash at the club next season if they drop, we'll be nowhere near the top anyway so I'm not worried about them. They can win the league for all I care. They might not though and they might struggle and given Knill will probably still be there then I'd say there is a good chance of that happening.

If Wycombe stay up with a win at our place then I'd expect them to show extreme happiness obviously even at the home of a team who were already down but I would also expect them to remain respectful of the Torquay fans as I feel they have a decent set of fans.

If it were Northampton on the other hand who needed to beat us and did then there is no doubt in my mind that there would be quite a few of their 'fans' giving it large and rubbing our noses in it.

Wycombe or Northampton?

Play off final to relegation inside a year and they appoint Alan Knill and think they have done some decent business! So so funny!

Northampton everytime.

COME ON THE CHAIRBOYS!!!!!!

[ferrarilover]

How do we know Coulthirst is injured?

Matt.

[CP Gull]

How do we know Coulthirst is injured?

Matt.

Dave Thomas confirms it in the Herald Express Podcast. Got taken out by some lump at Mansfield, who deservedly got booked, but Shaq played on through the injury and still managed to notch a goal before having to be hauled off by Greavsie ... despite him (Shaq) wanting to carry on! Great attitude.

[AustrianAndyGull]

If only we'd have signed Shaq instead of Showumni. He looks a fantastic prospect.

[PlainmoorRoar]

Very true Andy!

Also

FREE programme for everyone on Saturday!

[Scott Brehaut]

Is anybody going able to get me a programme? I'll pay postage etc - please let me know and I will PM my address, and arrange a bank transfer or something for the postage cost.

[AustrianAndyGull]

Is anybody going able to get me a programme? I'll pay postage etc - please let me know and I will PM my address, and arrange a bank transfer or something for the postage cost.

Get a bloody flight and get one theesen yer lazy oik! :na:

[Oil Beef Hooked]

Is anybody going able to get me a programme? I'll pay postage etc - please let me know and I will PM my address, and arrange a bank transfer or something for the postage cost.

I'll pick you up a copy Scott.

[Scott Brehaut]

Get a bloody flight and get one theesen yer lazy oik! :na:

Dondé esta la estación de autobus?

[AustrianAndyGull]

Something about a bus?

[Oil Beef Hooked]

Scott is asking 'Where is the bus station?'

[AustrianAndyGull]

Scott is asking 'Where is the bus station?'

Well why didn't he just say so then?!

die Bushaltestelle ist in Guernsey. =D

[lucy6lucy]

Well why didn't he just say so then?!

die Bushaltestelle ist in Guernsey. =D

Did a bullshitter live in Guernsey.....is that where Knill was born