Chesterfield v Torquay United - 29/9/12

[Richinns]

Definitely take that. A point at Chesterfield is something that we rarely get, and is good in any circumstance.

The injury situation raises some interesting questions pending the visit of out-of-form Aldershot on tuesday. Ling had alluded to going to two up front which I'd be in favour of for this game, but who would we line up with given the players we have available?

4-4-2, Jarvis and Howe up front? Macklin/Thompson/Stevens and Bodin as the wingers, Mansell and who else in the centre? Stevens? Too small. Oastler? Might do a job but would we trust Leadbitter at Right back? Cruise? Square peg round hole syndrome.

Worrying put like that. Has to be manse and Cruise unless Craig recovers quickly. Doubt we will have time to get a loan in by then.

[y_e_l_l_o_w]

It seems strange that everyone seems happy taking a point every week.... which seems to be the case as was the responses to the Burton game at which point many agreed that a point was a fair return.

If we continue to draw games and fail to win at home, which apart from Rochdale is something that is likely in the immediate future is no one concerned that this equals a recipe for sliding down the league and perhaps being somewhere we should not be after Christmas.

If you look at other teams that are successful, bigger budgets or not, they seem able to get new signings to gel in pre-season ready for the league campaign, we still look at times like a team thrown together, 11 good players but unable to play the formation, certainly not like last season.

I am afraid I am a Ling doubter at the moment, things have to change, we need to be more adventurous at home and stamp out this attitude that everytime we draw it is a good point.

Y_E_L_L_O_W

[Dutchgull]

IDIOT

[AustrianAndyGull]

No time at minute but i'll do a report a bit later. In a nutshell a slight improvement but again we created nothing, if it weren't for Rene we'd be screwed and Bodin didn't turn up again and we played with 10 men. Pleased with the point though.

[y_e_l_l_o_w]

IDIOT

That was not a constructive or mature reply was it 'DUTCHGULL', I go to nearly every game and paying to watch our performances when as others have said we have offered nothing on the pitch naturally makes me upset.

Also why should I hail Ling as a hero? Surely the jury is still out? We did not get past Cheltenham in the playoffs and this really as his second season is his chance to show what he can do, lets also remember pre-Torquay he was not a well renowned football manager with much success so I am logically taking the stance that after his second season we can weigh up his managerial ability with Torquay!

I dread the situation but what if we are 17th/18th at the end of the season, no good saying we wont be, what if we are.... what will be said about Ling then....

Hope our luck changes with injuries soon, this quite obviously is not helping.

[Plymouth Gull]

A Ling doubter? Give it a rest! I guess you loved Buckle, am I right?

[Dutchgull]

YELLOW I don't think your opening post was especially constructive.

Injuries don't exactly help do they. Not only was Ling hampered before the game but during it as well.

We have ONE point less than this time last year and we still ended up in the play offs.

If you haven't noticed we have lost three major players from last years squad. Its not easy to replace those guys in an instant but obviously in this day and age everybody is an expert......

The club is finally able to build for the future with a decent training ground a youth team which is now producing players.

Try and look at the long term aspect . I would much prefer a season where young talent such as Thompson and Bodin who is after all only 20 and is still learning the game gain experience . Hopefully he will fulfill his potential and we will have a great player on our hands. But give him time and with a good footballing coach in Ling he will have a good chance of doing so.

This club is small but I want it in a stable position do you ?

So what are suggesting, sack Martin Ling if we finish 17th ? Hardly a recipe for success is it ?

How long was Dario Gradi at Crewe and allowed to get on with his job. Alex Ferguson took years before Manure won a trophy.

Look at Bristol Rovers bigger club bigger attendances and they are constantly sacking managers. It doesn't help

'So surely stability is the key.

Its a long season.

Yes Ling is a bloody hero for working within the restrictions that Torquay United have.

[Neal]

Good post Dutchgull!

[MH91]

Totally agree with Dutchgull...I think in Ling we have a manager really devoted to the club. He did a great job in Leyton Orient. Remember he took them from League 2 to becoming a stable club in League 1. And he stayed there for 8 years. He is the sort of guy who thinks only about his club. Buckle was the sort of guy who was using Torquay as a way to get to a bigger club with bigger budget and develop his career. And Martin is not that sort of guy. Staying in Orient for 8 years shows it. I am sure he could have gone to a bigger club after their promotion. And I think such a manager is one of the most important things about the base of any football club. We shouldn't even be discussing that sort of thing. It is because of moaners and doubters like this that managers and players loose confidence in themselves which leads to bad results. Trust in Lingy!

[Glostergull]

Some seasons you are going to have relative success. Some seasons you arre going to be average. And the odd season you may have a mare. I think Martin is the guy for us. He has a very able and successfull partnership which will really show improvements over time. It takes time to mature and like cheese it will get better with age.
If you really want a comparison, Look at Crewe or Manure. or even Harsenal. They have stuck by their manager for many years and been at or near the top of their own game. Crewe have batted consistently above their average and if we managed even half of what Crewe have then I would bite yer arm off. HArsenal has been at or near the top for all the time Wenger has been in charge. He has seen success and then seen the team dismantled and then rebuilt it. Who would have thought he could have replaced Terry Henri. Or Van Persil. who score whiter than white every time. without scratching.
We can do that too. Martin should be given the time be it 3 or 4 years to show how by producing home grown talent time and time again we can compete with teams far larger than us. Yes Rovers are a bigger team. Yes they can attract a big name as manager and he will in time get them bock up there. but we can be with them all the way.
If we are honest with ourselves we would admit we would never attract some one of the calibre of Mcghoo. But St Martin as some have coined him has shown you don't need to be a big name to be just as successfull. We are Ahead of Rovers and one or two other big name. We will be for a while yet. Just have some patience. It will turn around. we don't need to be Poughers or Brucies. Just down to earth and sensible. (Oh Damn thats just ruined my fun. I enjoyed not being sensible.). Come on guys lets get behind them and onward and upwards.

[SuperNickyWroe]

GAAAA

We were clear through on attack and some complete pleb blew a whistle in the crowd grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

no we wernt! it was barely on half way....anyway, scottish gull got chucked out for it! =D

[SuperNickyWroe]

No time at minute but i'll do a report a bit later. In a nutshell a slight improvement but again we created nothing, if it weren't for Rene we'd be screwed and Bodin didn't turn up again and we played with 10 men. Pleased with the point though.

id have said 9 men andy with the way danny boy played............... :no:

[AustrianAndyGull]

I thought we did ok today, the first 10 minutes we took the game to them and started very much on the front foot and i thought my prayers for a more attack minded style of play had been answered. They hadn't and although we had some really neat passages of play at times the penetration and threat in attacking areas just wasn't there again. We soon retreated back and began sitting deeper and inviting them onto us but to be fair, like the first half hour at Rotherham they weren't creating much. It was just the subtle change gradually from being offensive to defensive that was noticable. We had a few meek efforts at goal but they pretty much trickled to their keeper and again we were slow to support and our distribution into danger areas was poor.

The second half began with a bang as they took the lead on 48 with a simple pass and move cutting through us like a knife through butter and Darikwa finishing well into the bottom corner. Just minutes later we were level with pretty much our only clear cut chance when Howe pressured the last defender onto a through ball, the defender made a mistake and slipped and Howe was in. He finished with the coolness of a player who should be at a higher level. That is what the man can do. One clear decent sight at the onion bag and thankyou and goodnight. 1-1. If it weren't for his quality in those areas we would be pretty much near the bottom of the table. Again pretty much the usual away performance against a Chesterfield side that are not brilliant by any means, i know yellow posted and said we shouldn't be happy with draws and to some extent he is right but i believe this draw is a good one. I'm just disappointed again with the total lack of creativity in the final third. There is seriously nothing going on up there and it's very worrying. More worrying is the form of Bodin, he was completely erratic again and did zilch. I don't know if it's because the opposition are doubling up on him but everytime he seems to do the compulsory cruyff turn and run into trouble and he just doesn't do anything at all with the ball. A massive disappointment once again and he was awful. Full credit to the Gulls who made it there today and it was good to see the young kids at the front getting involved with us singers at the back. It was good to meet SuperNickyWroe and to catch up with Donnygull Tony again and to see the usual ugly bunch too :slap: and good to see what Bixieupnorth looks like. NOTHING that i thought he would look like i've got to admit! A final word on 'whistlegate', yes it was totally stupid, irresponsible and unecessary and nobody will condone that behaviour but i know the lad was upset and he knows he made a massive error of judgement and is totally apologetic about what happened. I did feel the level of vitriol aimed at him from some of our own fans was a bit uncalled for, yes they have a right to voice their displeasure and let the boy know but some didn't seem to want to let it go. Again, they are totally within their rights as a respected member of our great club but i'm sure the lad responsible feels mortified that he allowed himself to do such a thing and that is punishment enough. It was a minor incident, not football violence but again totally inexplicable and unacceptable.

Anyway, that's all over with now and we move on.

POKE : 7 Made some comfortable saves, not sure he could have done anything about the goal but i didn't get a clear view.

OASTLER: 8 Another solid, hardworking performance from our Joey. A man you can rely on.

DOWNES: 7 Solid enough game against his former employers and got a rousing reception from their fans at the end.

SAAH: 6 Did the simple things well enough and no own goals today. :Oops:

MANSELL: 7 One of the better games i've seen him play this season, combative and more energetic.

EASTON: 5 Had to come of early but had settled well, not read the other posts on here yet so i don't know why he came off.

STEVENS: 6 Started well but faded, as usual. Cut inside ALL the time and disrupted our attack if i'm honest. Worked hard enough though.

MACKLIN: 4 Disappointing, never got in the game much.

BODIN: 1 For making the effort to put on his kit.

HOWE: 9 Worked hard, chased shocking passes, got nothing from the ref who was also a tit and got no service from ANY of our other so called attackers. Oh and he finished his only chance clinically. Feel sorry for him sometimes as he really picks off scraps due to our abysmal attack.

SUBS: CRUISE: 7 Came in and did a solid job. Pleased.

THOMPSON 4: No real impact.

JARVIS: Did he actually come on? You wouldn't have known, 0.


Well that's it.

Roll on Aldershot tuesday night coz i'm going!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AustrianAndyGull]

Oh and thanks Bolton for losing at home to Palace and wrecking my bet!!! AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ferrarilover]

Manse says on Twitter (in reply to your friend and mine, Steve Breed) that he thinks today was the best we have played all season.

I am so startled and dismayed by this that I'm not really sure how to begin to explain just how wrong he is.
It was better than Rotherham (but then, getting raped by SouthamptonGull is better than Rotherham), but not much better.

Two of the very worst teams I've ever seen. Chesterfield got every break of the ball today (not a gripe, no one and nothing but ourselves to blame today), and still they managed to create just 3 shots in 90 mins (1 miles off target, one comfortably saved, one scored). They are a truly dreadful side and the idea that the locals are asked to pay £21 (almost Premier League money) is utterly preposterous.

Bodin was terrible, I wonder if we can con Crewe into buying him from us?

Danny useless.

Why the hell was Tommo left so late when we were so dreadfully ineffective?

All a bit shit really.

Matt.