Torquay United v Exeter City - now 15/01/13

[royalgull]

They'll pay better money than us. Simple as that.

[AustrianAndyGull]

I wouldn't blame Bodin - he is in the team because we don't have anything better. Can someone explain to me How Exeter who don't have any money either can sign good players like Woodman,Amankwaah,Gow,Oakley and the like whilst we sign absolute dross and waste 70k in the process.

I haven't blamed Bodin for tonight Brucie so i don't know where that has come from. I have said i am disappointed that he started and that he yet again appears to have contributed very little but i wasn't at the game so i said afterwards that this comment was probably unfair. I never said anything about him being the reason we didn't win or anything so i thought i'd clear that up incase i get some more abuse.

[jonnyfive]

I love the brutal truth Royal!

Could it be as simple as that? Quite possibly.

And J5, i didn't think Billy was much good before we signed him so i HAD no expectation. You could argue that if he has disappointed someone with ZERO expectation then clearly he's a lot of catching up to do. Without wanting to get into another debate about this i just think he has bottomed out and what we have now is pretty much what we'll get from him for the remainder of his Torquay career. Some people still think he will find a phonebox down Hele Road, change into Superman and finish the season on 478 goals. I don't and i don't see his inclusion helping the team either. No offence to anyone.

Well fair do's Andy, but I think most of us were excited about BB's arrival, and pleased that we had beaten Crewe to his signature.

I am sure you can tell from the second half of my paragraph that I agree with you about his non-performances. Regardless of his price, he has been a weak link for us all year. Were he in Ashley Yeoman's shoes (for example), I would still highlight the paucity of his play, and question his continued selection.

If anything the cost of bringing him in just makes it all the more galling. Can his Dad not have a stern word about fulfilling his potential?!

[AustrianAndyGull]

I know you didn't accuse me of that statement Brucie but the way it sounded was like it was a response for me having brought up the subject of Bodin. Cheers.

[jonnyfive]

I wouldn't blame Bodin - he is in the team because we don't have anything better.

That makes it sound as if he is doing his best and we are being cruel - not the case. Billy is playing at a level well below what he is capable of.

And PS City fans on Exeweb have a rather low opinion of Woodman.

[AustrianAndyGull]

I'd like to hear from someone at the game before i make any further comments as it sounded like we were getting battered for most of the second half and it would be interesting to hear if this is true and why this was. At the end of the day it's another point, we've scored again, it sounded like a good game and we didn't lose to our bitterest of rivals so a decent night out all round. Would also like to hear if the pens were deffo pens too or did the ref level things up with theirs?

[brucie]

No wasn't accusing you of anything - just glad that I didn't go tonight and witnessed us getting the runaround from Exeter reserves. We are actually getting worse as a team and will surely be embarassed when the return is on SKy sports.

[bengull]

Well not the 0-3 d**king most people predicted, and nor was it the victory i predicted so we will meet in the middle at 1-1.

Poor match in terms of entertainment and quality and played on a horrible pitch. Once again we failed to make our dominance pay when we were in the ascendancy having taken the lead. Although we didn't create many guilt edged chances in the first half we had them on the back foot for most of the time and whilst our approach play and final ball was very good on Saturday, tonight it was sadly lacking.

Exeter came into it a bit more in the second half but rarely threatened except for an excellent save by Poke low down. I did think our defence had the measure of their attacking play and they were starting to run out of ideas until Nial's clumsy intervention. Gow's penalty, like Rene's, was high, clinical and unsaveable.

We seemed to lose all shape and menace when a visibly knackered Jarvis came off, I would have swapped him like for like with Yeoman in order to keep the pressure (and some presence) on high up the pitch. Ling tried to change it round by introducing Thompson and Stevens but I don't think they managed to beat either of their full-backs once all night.

Still, a point against a bouyant City side is not a bad result, and at the very least it stops the 2 game losing streak. A positive result on Saturday will set us on the right road again and if we can go to SJP and nick a result maybe the last few weeks will be forgotten about.

Final words saved for Lee Mansell, outstanding, a real captain's perfomance. Hopefully starting to recapture the sort of form of last season, lets hope it inspires us.

[AustrianAndyGull]

No wasn't accusing you of anything - just glad that I didn't go tonight and witnessed us getting the runaround from Exeter reserves. We are actually getting worse as a team and will surely be embarassed when the return is on SKy sports.

I knew that Brucie, no probs mate.

[brucie]

As I say my son was at the game - he said at half time that we would be lucky to get a draw and at the end of the game said that we were useless. Exeter were minus their top scorer thru suspension and lost their second top scorer
after five minutes of the game. What more do we want?
Still it will all be ok when we sign Logan. If it was funny it would be laughable.

[brucie]

Ben - in all seriousness on what you saw tonight and of late do you actually think we will beat Chesterfield and beat an Exeter side who will be back to full strength by then. I appreciate that you were at the game but you or the commentators must have been watching a different match - it seemed as though we spent most of the game defending.

[goodluckgull]

Did anyone have a good view of Danny's appeal for a pen right near the end ? It looked like he was brought down and Manse made a big noise.

[Dave]

Just a few brief thoughts sadly of to work in a mo, first half cant complain , work rate was good tempo was good closed down a very lively looking Exeter team and went in deserving are 1.0 lead.

Second half well as Brucie says same old same old, sat deeper and deeper, every time the ball broke in midfield went straight to one of there players because ours were sat 20 yrds back. What made me laugh is one of the few attacks we did have second half Rene Howe was the only player up with 6 City players to content with, yes the pitch was rough didn't stop them passing on it, we could not hold the ball for more than 2-3 passes.

All in all deserved the point however we have to learn to keep the tempo up get 1-2 players up to support our attacking play and then we might just stop conceeding these late and pick up some badly needed points.

[Dave]

Did anyone have a good view of Danny's appeal for a pen right near the end ? It looked like he was brought down and Manse made a big noise.

Yes right in line 5 rows back away, the worst attempt to buy a penalty I have ever seen, had it been the other way round and given I would have been very angry.

[bengull]

Brucie- Bits of our play are very good, bits of our play are not so good, once we allow for consistency of selection and get our lads playing at 100% instead of carrying injuries I think we will be fine. I know I put myself into the spotlight ready for a great big fall by telling everyone that I think we will win and that circumstances have been against us but I have seen enough good play (albeit in small glmpses) to know we are capable of handing out a hiding to someone. Once that happens the confidence will come back- a bit like 4-0 against Wimbledon last season after something like 8 games without a win.

There is a very good team hiding in amongst this team of players, some of whom look like they are severely lacking in confidence. Its no surprise when you hear some of the shite constantly emanating from the popside. I'll be the first to admit that Billy was below par tonight, some of the abuse he was getting though was a complete disgrace. Support the players whilst they are on the pitch, moan about them until your heart's content after.