Hampton + Richmond v Torquay United Sat 28/10/23 3PM

[Southampton Gull]

Most fans were happy because they didn't, and couldn't know of Dawson's fitness issues. Johnson surely did know and at least the club should have given him a medical.
Like the case with Hall, if you have a limited budget it is unwise to spend it on players with limited availability.

Guesswork!! Perhaps he did and perhaps nobody knew the extent to which he'd be missing. Like I said, most were happy at the time he signed.

[happytorq]

There are…and prove me wrong here…even part time players who would improve our squad out there..because these are the mechanics kitchen fitters and postmen who have been out playing and out fighting our full time players…so yeah that’s how.

Think you're misunderstanding how the 'part-time' players at this level work. If you have a decent career outside of football (and yes, I'm including the kitchen fitters and mechanics that you seem to look down upon) there's little purpose in them turning fully professional. A really decent mechanic can probably make upwards of £80k a year. Taking a flyer on coming to Torquay for the rest of the season on a pro-rata salary of, let's say, half that - and that figure is probably way too high - makes absolutely no sense. Better for that player to keep having a viable way to earn money and also play football for a few extra quid a week.

If they genuinely have aspirations to become a full professional football, that's where our location does stiff us. Why would you risk moving 200 miles away when there are 2 dozen sides within an hour or so's drive of you where you try it instead?

So yes, while there are part-time players who'd improve our squad, they probably have no interest in coming to Torquay. In that respect being a full-time team in a mostly part-time league can work against you. Of course, if you've done your job properly and have already built a fit (key word!) for purpose squad made up of professionals, that shouldn't matter.

Our biggest failing coming into this season was probably having 4 players under contract that appeared to have no way back into the squad. Of those, McGavin seems to have been rehabilitated (to a degree). Marshall is playing mostly because we literally have nobody else, and despite glimmers of hope earlier on, is now averaging a penalty conceded every 1.3 games*. We tried to farm Crowe out on loan, but they sent him back. And I've no idea what the point of Ryan Hanson is, even though when he signed I thought it was a good acquisition. If you then add on that we've retained players who have yet to feature in any meaningful way - Hall and Dawson - that's half of a side that isn't ready.

(I would like to know what the hell has happened to Dan Martin and Dillon Da Silva, though.)

Yeah, it's very poor right now. But it is a poor league. If we were to get promoted through the playoffs, everybody would say that was 'job done'. There wasn't a side spending the money that Yeovil are last team we were here (well, okay, there was, but it was us!). It's pretty desperate that the playoffs already seem to the only shot that we have, of course.

(*on penalties; I am increasingly livid that Halstead - or goalkeepers in general, really) seems to guess a direction and dive that way. Most penalties - certainly, at this level - aren't going to be unsaveable piledrivers so I don't understand why he doesn't wait until the kcik is take before trying to get it. This will have 2 benefits; first, anything less than great he'll save. and second; he won't look like a plum going the wrong every time, even if he doesn't get that close to it. Anyway, feel free to jump in here because I voiced this opinion the other day and was roundly booed for it, metaphorically speaking)

[AdrianC]

I do agree with you on the point of the goalkeeper making up his mind and diving one way or the other. If you have Alan Shearer or Matt LeTissier facing you, you are unlikely to get near it, but as you say at this level they are not all perfect penalties. Stand your ground and see, if it’s in the top corner you aren’t saving it anyway, hit straight’ish or more tamely then you have a chance. Do the management team watch our forthcoming opponents, do they watch which way the penalty taker favours (if one were to be awarded in the game)? It’s called doing your homework Gary!