Can We Make the Play Offs?

Dazza · Post by **Dazza** » 22 Jan 2022, 21:34

It was always going to be a long shot this year. Take a look at the teams above us, the money they now have ( 80 % of them having said they were broke), and the calibre of the player in their squads. Many are actually equipped to be challenging in Division One let alone the National League. However there are 20 games to go and Johnson is right - fate always seems to produce a minnow to jostle along side them.

standupsitdown · Post by **standupsitdown** » 23 Jan 2022, 09:04

Bookies have us at 250-1 for promotion.
That might be calculated as roughly 20-1 to make the play offs, 6-4 in both the away games & evens to win the final.
Very much a long shot but if we can beat Solihull & Wrexham, with then a couple of easier games to follow, it might look more achievable.

brucie · Post by **brucie** » 23 Jan 2022, 10:03

Probably 250/1to beat Solihull and Wrexham (especially with Lewis and Moxey missing from the first game)

desperado · Post by **desperado** » 23 Jan 2022, 10:40

We could draw with Solihull and Wrexham and beat Dover and Barnet and still be on course for the 2 points a game.
Doesn't matter what the other teams do , they will all take points off each other eg
Tuesday - Halifax v Boreham Wood and Wrexham v Grimsby
If we get the 40 points we will be in the play offs, but agreed it will take a massive effort and run of results.

CourtierGull · Post by **CourtierGull** » 24 Jan 2022, 13:51

Not going to get my hopes up yet, but it wouldn’t be unlike a Gary Johnson side to go on a major winning run. I do think we’re still just missing something and I’m not sure we will see many more incomings.

The problem I foresee, is the current contracts into next season. Whichever league we are in, there are 8 or 9 players we need to be offering contracts too now and not in the last month of the season.
On that matter, could anyone possibly shed any light as to who may already be contracted for next season?

standupsitdown · Post by **standupsitdown** » 24 Jan 2022, 19:24

desperado wrote: ↑23 Jan 2022, 10:40 We could draw with Solihull and Wrexham and beat Dover and Barnet and still be on course for the 2 points a game.
Doesn't matter what the other teams do , they will all take points off each other eg
Tuesday - Halifax v Boreham Wood and Wrexham v Grimsby
If we get the 40 points we will be in the play offs, but agreed it will take a massive effort and run of results.

I was thinking not only about points but that if we can't beat Solihull & Wrexham, (and Dagenham) we can't really expect to make up the required points on them. I feel that after these two games we'll have a better idea as to whether the play offs are realistic for us.
If we are to do it we're going to need good fortune with injuries and to be able to play our strongest team for most games.
At least we're looking up the table, unlike after the Barnet & Aldershot defeats.

Post by **Southampton Gull** » 24 Jan 2022, 19:55

I always look at goal difference as an indicator to where a team is likely to finish. Usually the best is near the top and worst near the bottom. Ours shows a midtable effort backed up by 10 wins, 4 draws and 10 defeats. I'd love to be surprised but to me we're a mid table outfit this year. That's no surprise to myself as I forecast it once we reached the play offs. You can't recruit properly until you know what division you're in unless you have money to burn.

standupsitdown · Post by **standupsitdown** » 24 Jan 2022, 20:26

Yes we're mid table so far.
We could get to 7th but would need to championship form for the rest of the season.
To put it into perspective - Wrexham have just paid £300,000 for Ollie Palmer from AFC Wimbledon. Not surprising that we're struggling to match the top clubs.

Modgull · Post by **Modgull** » 25 Jan 2022, 23:30

Tonight Solihull showed us just how strong the top half of the table is - SG is right we are a bang mid-table side.

davethegull2 · Post by **davethegull2** » 26 Jan 2022, 06:31

Looks like the top 9 have broken away now. So anything 10th and above will be a good season while GJ rebuilds for the next one. However, 10th or 11th seems to be our level.

United62 · Post by **United62** » 26 Jan 2022, 09:57

After last night our hopes of making it anywhere near the play-offs are very remote.

Stranger things have happened though.... and let's not forget, this is Torquay United after all and we don't do things the easy way!

standupsitdown · Post by **standupsitdown** » 26 Jan 2022, 10:03

Still possible, although unlikely, in terms of points.
But if we can't beat our rivals (Dagenham & Solihull) then it seems unlikely that we'll make up all those points.
WE can't afford injuries and had a key one after 5 minutes last night.
But Solihull had players to bring on who made a big difference at the end.

Wolborough · Post by **Wolborough** » 26 Jan 2022, 10:11

Maybe in 2022/23?

desperado · Post by **desperado** » 26 Jan 2022, 10:57

Modgull is right all the teams above us are very strong. The quality of this league gets better every year. Quite depressing as I thought Dagenham and Solihull were much better than us, quicker, sharper , stronger , superior passing and movement.
We defended very well last night , pleased that Ali Omar had a good game and Dan Martin is improving all the time, but we are so toothless up front and can we have a bit more shooting instead of trying to walk it in the net.
Well done to the groundstaff, after the state the pitch was in after the Dagenham game they have done an amazing job.

culmstockgull · Post by **culmstockgull** » 26 Jan 2022, 12:02

No emphatically we cannot, and personally I do not want us to if it leads to the same debacle as last summer when the club gave the frankly unbeieveable excuse that the best players had already been snapped up, even if we crawled into the play offs by default we would be eaten alive by better and far more professional teams, and the same lame excuse of players not being available would be trotted out again in the summer.
Last night showed yet again how lightweight we are across the team but more inportantly we are very unbalanced, I saw the altricham highlights and they could have have had five comfortably second half with better finishing, our defence is porous and that is being charitable, Southamptongull hits the nail on the head, look at our goals conceded , over 1.5 per match, it is three times that of Borehamwood and double that of the other top six sides. Other than Wright we have not one out and out striker, but no worries we currently to my reckoning eight midfielders not counting those that are out on loan.
I listened this morning to Johnsons post match comments, the more he spoke the more frustrated I became, we need a bigger and stronger squad, hello,the fans have known that since day one of the season, we are going to actively look for replacements and additions, why the hell have you waited till now, this should have been planned and sorted in December. Oh, and when and if these replacements arrive can they be players that are used to playing in the position we require not Torquay trying to re invent the wheel and playing good players out of postion just to fill a hole.
A lot ot talk this week about our league in the press, how professional the national has become even from division one managers saying our league is no longer a non league set up, in may cases we have stronger , better players and better crowds than division 2 and he suggested three promotions into the league. I agree with these sentiments but we as a club in terms of quality, strength ,credability and back room staff are a million miles from being one of those clubs.

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