Torquayunited v Billericay Town 3/11/18

[Teigngull]

What I am struggling to understand is all of this anger being shown towards
1. Billericay town fc
2. The referee
3. And probably me after this, here goes...

We are 15 league games in & we are still finding ways to snatch a draw from the jaws of victory, we are not learning quick enough, I've stated it before about how clever Billericay were yesterday but they didn't engineer their way into a position of parity they were wholeheartedly gifted the privilege by no-one other than ourselves.
Yes it's hard to knock us , especially the way we've managed to put our crap start to the season to bed of late, but I also have feeling that we are beginning to revert to type, you know the one , after you Claude- tippy toes- pussy footed football.
A certain Mr A Merson ( and who is more qualified to know with the amount of the NLS watched by him ) warned us all , way before we,were relegated last season, that if we ended up in this division we would need as a priority FIT FOR PURPOSE PLAYERS to have any chance of getting out of the division first time of asking.
Our opponents yesterday have them in abundance, nasty, clever, savvy, horrible, call them what you will but check out the league table !
40+ years of watching my beloved club has proved that, as much as I am engrossed in my TUFC religion & look forward to my fortnightly visit to the ' church ' that is Plainmoor, we have, more often than not been a soft touch ,& the reason we never win eff all, when the going gets tough.
We've got to get rid of this Southern softy tag we're developing, teams will see that if you put enough pressure on Torquay the they will eventually capitulate.
Time to recruit A SQUAD OF FIT FOR PURPOSE PLAYERS,& don't forget who told you first, cos I'm bloody sure he won't let us forget ( in a positive way , of course ) !

[tauntongull]

Yesterday it was clear that Evans in Midfield is a quality player who can create opportunities. Personally, I do not rate Asa Hall, he does not have the same awareness, creativity or the ability to retain possession. It was quite clear Billericay needed to do something to regain control of the Midfield. Tactically, an excellent decision was made by adding some height into Midfield (14 Cunnington) after half-time we were no longer able to control the game. Cunnington made a nuisance of himself which unsettled our defense. creating a real sense of panic at times.

The true value of this substitution became apparent as he scored both Billericay goals. We were woefully inadequate once this change was made. We need a competitive player alongside Evans. Either something similar to Lathrope in his better days or someone with a combination of height and competitiveness who can feed Evans the ball once won.

Brett Williams is not mobile enough and his first touch has been very poor in games he has played this season. I think his best days are passed. So I would be happy if he was replaced.

McDonald. Whilst having done very well deputizing for Bass, has cost us points now in a couple of recent games and there does seem to be a disconnect between him and our defense with panic and confusion setting in at times. His distribution yesterday was very poor as was his kicking. I lost count of the number of times in the last 10 minutes his goal kicks left the pitch at the opposite end when we needed to keep the ball on the pitch especially as their keeper was consistently wasting time. He doesn't seem to be learning. Personally, I do not have total confidence in him and I feel the players in front of him feel the same.

We need some stronger characters/warriors in our side who will compete with some of the more physical teams in this league.

[brucie]

Because we've blown two games we should have won in quick succession.

Weston Super Mare wasted time from the first minute. They only started rushing 7 minutes from time when they went behind. Thye got the point they clearly wanted from the first minute.

When we went in front - did we start time wasting or feigning injury? - no we keep the ball in play and give the opposition a chance.

I bet it was the same yesterday 2-0 up - I wonder if we started arsing about in the second half? - probably not I guess.

You do have to wonder whether he have any nous at all

[Teigngull]

The one thing that really p!sses me off is that we are unbeaten in the last 2 but if we beat WSM & lost to Bill&Ricky we would be closer to them.
Funny old game saint, funny old game.
Tauntongull, I agree on your Brett Williams synopsis, I feel he is the squads latest 'Rory Fallon'. Time to be put out to pasture maybe at the far end of the lizard peninsula !!!! I'm sure someone not to far away would take a punt .
As for MacDonald, I can only recall him having a dodgy 2nd half yesterday that cost us a couple of goals - the TEAM cost us the win, where & when has he cost us more points ?
And Brucie, we need to learn how to shut up shootings the game is win, especially at home at the moment we are feckin useless at it.

[Southampton Gull]

You're right BUT, Gary Johnson needs time to assess everyone fairly but also needs to make sure he doesn't waste resources by rushing into decisions on players. He's half a dozen games in, league games, and will now have a better idea of where the squad is lacking. He's clever enough to do what Teigngull is suggesting and is almost definitely working on it already. We need to remember we're a squad full of in general the least skilful of professional players. We're probably the lowest placed full time professional club in the country so although we do need to get out of this league there's still time for him to get it right. If we'd won our last two games we'd be top of the league or seriously close to it. I'm confident the right man is at the helm and I trust him to deliver.

[desperado]

"if we beat WSM but lost to Bill&Ricky we would be closer to them" - Aye ?

[Dave]

Being it that Billericay won Tuesday night I'm struggling to work that out as well. Agree with Dave SG GJ needed a fair amount of time to assess what we had, my point if we want top stop, we have to time for young players making mistakes, there time will come, we can't carry players not up for the battle either.

[Teigngull]

What I meant to say Bruce was,
We need to learn how to shut up shop & see the games out when We have the game won, especially at home, at the moment we're feckin useless at it.
Dave. I reckon the next week or so fa cup fa trophy games where no points are at risk will be pivotal in squad changes.
Watch this space.

[lucy6lucy]

What I meant to say Bruce was,
We need to learn how to shut up shop & see the games out when We have the game won, especially at home, at the moment we're feckin useless at it.
Dave. I reckon the next week or so fa cup fa trophy games where no points are at risk will be pivotal in squad changes.
Watch this space.

Fa cup progression is pivotal to our chances of winning this league. So why would Johnson rotate. As for the fa trophy....

[Southampton Gull]

I disagree Lucy. The FA cup is more likely to hinder than help us but for now it's been a competition that's helped Johnson to assess the squad without affecting our league position. Going forward there will come a time where a promotion push overrides any cup game.

[portugull]

The interesting thing Brucie about the 6 League games since GJ arrived is that 4 away games yielded 10 points 3 wins and a draw at WSM.
The 2 home games via Woking and Billericay were draws.
I think it is very simple. Gary has not been able to put out his best team because of injuries.
The loss of Bass, Andrews, Edwards and Hall yesterday was massive.

As for the FA Cup i think there have been 2 major positives. The 14 goals scored helped give the team some much needed confidence and if we can get to the 3rd Round we might get a huge draw away to a top team which would help to finance some deals to bring in a bit more quality to try and ensure promotion.I think this is what lucy was implying.

[lucy6lucy]

I disagree Lucy. The FA cup is more likely to hinder than help us but for now it's been a competition that's helped Johnson to assess the squad without affecting our league position. Going forward there will come a time where a promotion push overrides any cup game.

Quite shocked with your response tbh Dave. If we beat Woking we get an additional £35k, making it 85k so far from fa cup. We then find ourselves in the 2nd round, tv coverage is most likely, then 90 minutes from the 3rd round where a plumb tie generates serious money. The fa trophy is the one we need to avoid. Realistically we have 2 more winnable fa cup games, hardly going to disrupt the schedule but the financial implication are.

[merse btpir]

A certain Mr A Merson ( and who is more qualified to know with the amount of the NLS watched by him ) warned us all , way before we,were relegated last season, that if we ended up in this division we would need as a priority FIT FOR PURPOSE PLAYERS to have any chance of getting out of the division first time of asking. Our opponents yesterday have them in abundance, nasty, clever, savvy, horrible, call them what you will but check out the league table !

As it was Adam Cunnington who came on and the game swung, then I am not surprised because by playing Kalala where Owers played Regis; Johnson is still trying to extend a two-nil advantage rather than shut up shop and match big man Cunnington pound for pound ~ and the number of times I have seen him operate; I can tell you the way to do that is defend from the front and get your foot in front of his and the man in the squad best equipped to do that is the much maligned and seemingly on his bike Chris Regis.

Say what you like about Gary Owers; what he does know is this league and as Teigngull so rightly says I too, know this league and it's styles of play inside out.

Paul Buckle recognised that you need Conference players to win Conference League promotion and then Football League players to survive at that level. Consequently you need NLS players to do well in this league and Billericay have them in abundance ~ oh and a manager in Dean Brennan too for that matter! I feel that just maybe Gary Johnson is already looking for those types of player who will flourish in the league above; but we aren't there yet are we!

This isn't a dig at Gary Johnson but he has never managed at this level has he!

[Southampton Gull]

Quite shocked with your response tbh Dave. If we beat Woking we get an additional £35k, making it 85k so far from fa cup. We then find ourselves in the 2nd round, tv coverage is most likely, then 90 minutes from the 3rd round where a plumb tie generates serious money. The fa trophy is the one we need to avoid. Realistically we have 2 more winnable fa cup games, hardly going to disrupt the schedule but the financial implication are.

Context. You say it's pivotal to our chances of promotion, I say the opposite, prize money doesn't come into it as Osborne will use that to repay the loans he made the club. This season it's purely about gaining promotion, hoping we manage to pull a plum draw is ok but is the competition pivotal to our chances of promotion, no it's not in my opinion.

[Southampton Gull]

As it was Adam Cunnington who came on and the game swung, then I am not surprised because by playing Kalala where Owers played Regis; Johnson is still trying to extend a two-nil advantage rather than shut up shop and match big man Cunnington pound for pound ~ and the number of times I have seen him operate; I can tell you the way to do that is defend from the front and get your foot in front of his and the man in the squad best equipped to do that is the much maligned and seemingly on his bike Chris Regis.

Say what you like about Gary Owers; what he does know is this league and as Teigngull so rightly says I too, know this league and it's styles of play inside out.

Paul Buckle recognised that you need Conference players to win Conference League promotion and then Football League players to survive at that level. Consequently you need NLS players to do well in this league and Billericay have them in abundance ~ oh and a manager in Dean Brennan too for that matter! I feel that just maybe Gary Johnson is already looking for those types of player who will flourish in the league above; but we aren't there yet are we!

This isn't a dig at Gary Johnson but he has never managed at this level has he!

And Owers made it appear he'd never managed at any level. The only thing he knew about this division was how to keep a team near the bottom of it.

Ridiculous comment.