Torquay United v Sutton United - 20/02/18

[TUST_Member_Rob]

Dont think it was Harrison who did that tbh.
Sure it was number 19 Terrell Thomas. Harrison was no 34.

ah right, thanks, i didnt clock his number tbf

it was pathetic, and deserved a yellow card.

[Southampton Gull]

Owers post-match radio interview sounded like he is a 'Dead Man Walking'. How he has clung to this job till now is beyond me other than the skin of his teeth must be made of titanium.

If you feel a temptation to feel some sympathy for Owers -don't! He wonts you to consider in isolation, some crass individual errors that have blighted the season, which he claims were out of his hands. Yet these are symptoms of a broader malaise, the blame for which lies at Owers door. We might reasonably have expected Owers to have forged a solid defensive unit, but our backline has been a hotbed of indecision for most of the season. There have been back fours, back threes and endless square pegs in round holes, but not much by way of conviction, this season especially. Aside from Guiseley no other side in the division has conceded more goals than us. The lack of a clear game plan has been evident and Owers has been exposed for his muddle of half-strategies and non-existent back-up plans.

And what of the target striker Owers has spoken about sourcing -like a pet unicorn or world peace: nice to dream about but a ultimately bad choice of thing on which to pin your football club's hopes. The sheer number of other strikers who have sunk without a trace in Plainmoor mist this season is damning indictment of his so called footballing contacts and expertise.

Owers has had a fair crack of the whip and not solved the problem. Nor is it the case that he has not been backed with more cash for contracted/loan players, much more than last season. No one is arguing that Torquay's problems do not run deeper than the dugout. There is a very palpable sense of drift here, of a club groping for a future it cannot quite identify, let alone grasp. But Owers, now almost a season into his stewardship of the club, does not look like a man with the answers – or even the energy to seek them anymore. And this is my reasoning why Owers is little more than a 'dead man walking' at Torquay Utd.

As much as I think Owers will be here next season there's a little thought nagging me that Harrop might actually sack him to deflect the blame away from himself. It's just the type of thing he's capable of.

[tomogull]

Yet again, we were let down by the wrong formation. No width, predictable corners and free kicks. The Sutton manager chose to 'go for bust' and bring on extra forwards in the last 20 minutes or so. A brave decision - fortune favours the brave. What did Owers do? Bring on a forward .... and take off a forward (Keating for Williams). We play too deep and too defensively. Why the hell do we need a 'protecting midfield player' (Barnes) when we've got three central defenders? The game was crying out for Jake Gosling to be brought on to give some width.

[WESTWARDGULL]

As much as I think it should happen, I don't think owers will be sacked as that would mean Harrop having to admit he got it wrong. Stuff what is happening to the club, his ego is obviously more important.

[Southampton Gull]

I think it is now pretty obvious to everybody he got it wrong.

[TUST_Member_Rob]

Yet again, we were let down by the wrong formation. No width, predictable corners and free kicks. The Sutton manager chose to 'go for bust' and bring on extra forwards in the last 20 minutes or so. A brave decision - fortune favours the brave. What did Owers do? Bring on a forward .... and take off a forward (Keating for Williams). We play too deep and too defensively. Why the hell do we need a 'protecting midfield player' (Barnes) when we've got three central defenders? The game was crying out for Jake Gosling to be brought on to give some width.

I disagree, in terms of team performance it was chalk v cheese from Saturday,

If Gowling was there i feel we may not have conceded the first couple

Williams looked shattered and wasn't surprised he was taken off - i agree that i would rather Gosling came on than the Bristol City lad, im not sure what he offers!

Lets face it, if Barnes scores the best chance of the 2nd half at the death we would be on here celebrating a fantastic 3-2 win!

It was a glorious chance (anything other than the chip he went for it was in) and like the 2 wasted on Saturday, game changers

[Teigngull]

I disagree, in terms of team performance it was chalk v cheese from Saturday,

If Gowling was there i feel we may not have conceded the first couple

Williams looked shattered and wasn't surprised he was taken off - i agree that i would rather Gosling came on than the Bristol City lad, im not sure what he offers!

Lets face it, if Barnes scores the best chance of the 2nd half at the death we would be on here celebrating a fantastic 3-2 win!

It was a glorious chance (anything other than the chip he went for it was in) and like the 2 wasted on Saturday, game changers

" if Gowling was there " !!!!!
Why are we relying on a perma crock to bail us out of the slurry pit ? He hasn't been available for over half of the season, ok granted, when he has been available we've looked stronger and the ratio of points gained is much better but he still hasn't been available enough to play his part.
We have died a death tonight & it's so very f*(#1ng sad , appalling actually.

[Gulliball]

The Owers interview is pretty bleak reading. He can tell after 3 games that a referee is not good enough for this level, but when you've selected 33 different players in 24 league games, it does leave open the question about why he hasn't got the same level of judgement about players, especially when he has personally signed more than half of those 33, before you even include the players he inherited - and more than half of his starting line up tonight was players he inherited.

[Southampton Gull]

Because our record is far better when he's playing than when he isn't...................

[TUST_Member_Rob]

Because our record is far better when he's playing than when he isn't...................

exactly!

I very much hope hes back for the Flyde game

[lucy6lucy]

A very sad night for Torquayunited. I can't be arsed with "Owers out" " get rid of harrop " . It ain't going to happen. And that's the reality we face over a 100k loan.

[merse btpir]

Yet again, we were let down by the wrong formation. No width.......

Playing three at the back makes that ridiculous. The whole point of 3-5-2 is to provide width; the problem comes when the wingbacks get on the back foot and it becomes 5-3-2. A loss of width going forward and the midfield becoming outnumbered.

You must have a cdm (central midfielder) in such a formation and some coaches play with two behind two cfms (central forward midfielders) or even a 1-1. The central midfielder should be the fulcrum of all moves going forward.

Having seen 3-5-2 become 5-3-2 with this lot (most recently at Maidenhead following the loss of Gowling) I would say this is more a player problem than a managerial one. At Maidenhead I witnessed it but could also hear Gowers telling them to get back on the front foot and stop conceding ground. If you care to watch the TUFC TV footage of the game you can hear Gowers (just beneath the camera position) clearly.

When faced with 3-5-2 the primary aim of the game is to get those wingbacks on the back foot and heh presto!

[Teigngull]

Playing three at the back makes that ridiculous. The whole point of 3-5-2 is to provide width; the problem comes when the wingbacks get on the back foot and it becomes 5-3-2. A loss of width going forward and the midfield becoming outnumbered.

You must have a cdm (central midfielder) in such a formation and some coaches play with two behind two cfms (central forward midfielders) or even a 1-1. The central midfielder should be the fulcrum of all moves going forward.

Having seen 3-5-2 become 5-3-2 with this lot (most recently at Maidenhead following the loss of Gowling) I would say this is more a player problem than a managerial one. At Maidenhead I witnessed it but could also hear Gowers telling them to get back on the front foot and stop conceding ground. If you care to watch the TUFC TV footage of the game you can hear Gowers (just beneath the camera position) clearly.

When faced with 3-5-2 the primary aim of the game is to get those wingbacks on the back foot and heh presto!

Bloody hell Merse , are you tired or summat ?
" Gowers," ? & " Heh presto " !
Sounds like you're all key boarded out, mind you I like your style.

[Plymouth Gull]

Playing three at the back makes that ridiculous. The whole point of 3-5-2 is to provide width; the problem comes when the wingbacks get on the back foot and it becomes 5-3-2. A loss of width going forward and the midfield becoming outnumbered.

You must have a cdm (central midfielder) in such a formation and some coaches play with two behind two cfms (central forward midfielders) or even a 1-1. The central midfielder should be the fulcrum of all moves going forward.

Having seen 3-5-2 become 5-3-2 with this lot (most recently at Maidenhead following the loss of Gowling) I would say this is more a player problem than a managerial one. At Maidenhead I witnessed it but could also hear Gowers telling them to get back on the front foot and stop conceding ground. If you care to watch the TUFC TV footage of the game you can hear Gowers (just beneath the camera position) clearly.

When faced with 3-5-2 the primary aim of the game is to get those wingbacks on the back foot and heh presto!

It's a very negative outlook when we are at home and need a result though, in my opinion. We played with a flat back 5 from the hour mark onwards, as Sutton pressed the wing backs back. On top of this, the midfield became deeper and deeper, with only Young providing a link between the team and the two forwards. That is, until he was switched into the CDM position when Evans replaced Efete (Barnes moving to right back). While Efete was struggling, losing Young's ability to get forward up the inside left channel providing a further outlet when we did have the ball did hurt us.

We were very defensive and the gap between the two forwards and the rest of the team got progressively bigger, which meant that even if we did get the ball forward, it was 2 vs 6 - due to Sutton's central midfielders regaining position quicker than our midfielders getting forward. It ended up looking like a 5-1-2-2 at points which is an extremely negative tactical formation at the best of times. Sutton were not a good side; I don't believe there are any this season in this division, but once again, we have managed to come away with nothing.

Relegation will be confirmed before March in my opinion - and then the fun will really begin in terms of off-field shenanigans. I can hardly wait.

P.S - one final note. Fair play to Sutton for the most effective use of a GK I've seen at Plainmoor in a long time. Absolutely acted as a sweeper keeper, often rushing out of goal in order to receive the ball from a free kick up near the half way line. It's bold, but when faced with a defensive minded team like us (ie leaving one upfront), it gave them a much higher chance of keeping the ball.

[goody2449]

Either of you still willing to give him a chance?